"Mmm..."
The glaring sunlight made Beidou instinctively raise her hand to shield her eyes. She squinted the eye not covered by the eyepatch, looking around in confusion.
"Strange..."
She muttered to herself, "Was it a dream? It felt too real..."
"Big Sister... welcome back..."
Before Beidou could react, Kaedehara Kazuha rushed over and hugged her tightly.
The young man's voice trembled slightly, sounding like the relief of surviving a disaster, mixed with some kind of inexpressible complex emotion.
"Huh?"
Beidou paused, then subconsciously patted his back.
"What's wrong? You're acting like we just went through life and death separation..."
As she spoke, she raised her head and looked around, and that sight caused her eyes to widen dramatically—
The Abyss Hilichurl Ranger who beat the Fatui Harbinger like a chick was sitting right next to them!
Even more ridiculous was that the person sitting beneath its butt was Balladeer himself!
"Hey, hey, hey..."
Beidou's eyes went wide.
"Didn't this guy get blown up with his arms and legs flying everywhere? How is he completely whole again?"
Balladeer was currently struggling, gritting his teeth, but the Hilichurl Ranger's claws were pressed firmly against the back of his neck, preventing him from moving.
"Again! I refuse to believe I can't even beat a mere chess piece!"
He roared, his voice full of indignation.
"Yaya..."
The Hilichurl Ranger responded calmly, even crossing its legs leisurely.
Beidou: "..."
Kazuha released her, wiped the corner of his eye, and smiled wryly, "Big Sister, do you... remember what just happened?"
Beidou frowned, trying hard to recall: "I remember... we were surrounded by a group of Abyss Hilichurlss, then you were nearly crushed to death, I was stabbed full of holes, that Fatui Harbinger was beaten like a dog, and finally..."
Her words stopped abruptly because she suddenly realized—
She didn't have a single injury on her body.
"Wait..."
She suddenly stood up, checked her chest, abdomen, and limbs, and after confirming there were no wounds, and not even a tear in her clothes, her expression completely froze.
"What exactly is going on?!"
"Ah, about that..."
A familiar voice came from behind them.
Beidou and Kazuha turned around simultaneously, only to see Jesse, Elliot, Zane, and Matt—the quartet—standing not far away, wearing... a subtle, guilty smile.
Wait! How could she see their expressions through their masks?
"We just resurrected you."
Jesse scratched his head.
"Uh... that 'war' just now, was actually something we set up... a simulation battle?"
"Simulation Battle?!"
Beidou's voice instantly shot up eight octaves.
"Yes, it was... uh, a particularly realistic 'drill'."
Elliot added with a dry laugh.
"But relax! None of you were actually hurt! It was all an illusion!"
Kazuha: "..."
Beidou: "..."
Balladeer: "...You bastards!!!"
He violently struggled free from beneath the Hilichurl Ranger's butt, lightning exploding all over his body, looking ready to fight the quartet to the death.
But the Hilichurl Ranger swiftly grabbed him by the back of his collar, leaving Balladeer only capable of impotent rage.
——————
Beidou's single eye was wide open, her finger joints cracking loudly: "So, in order to make the two armies join forces, you staged an unequal war?!"
Her voice echoed across the beach.
"This old lady was stabbed seventeen times!"
"Sixteen, to be exact."
Elliot corrected seriously.
"The last two spears hit your chest, but didn't pierce through."
"You motherf—"
"Big Sister, calm down!"
Kazuha tightly hugged the furious Beidou.
"You can't beat them! And they can resurrect people!"
This sentence was like hitting a pause button.
Beidou turned to look nearby—Gorou was touching his perfectly intact neck, his dog ears pressed tightly against his skull out of lingering fear.
Sangonomiya Kokomi's folding fan snapped shut: "So... those soldiers who sacrificed themselves..."
"They're all right here~"
Jesse grinned and opened an exquisite wooden box.
Inside, hundreds of chess pieces were neatly arranged. Within each piece, one could see the silhouette of a miniaturized soldier, some of whom were angrily pounding the inner walls.
The Shogunate Army General's mouth twitched: "Even the samurai under my command..."
"Of course!"
Matt scratched his head sheepishly.
"We were very fair; we resurrected the same number from both sides."
Zane cleared his throat: "Now, back to the main topic—"
He looked at Kokomi and the Shogunate Army General.
"After experiencing 'shared life and death,' are the two of you willing to attempt peaceful coexistence?"
The Shogunate Army General's armor creaked under the strain.
He recalled the soldiers torn apart on the battlefield, and the Hydro Hilichurl Ranger's desperate roar when it crushed the Delusion. Finally, he lowered his head in defeat: "...I will try to convince the Tenryou Commission, but don't expect much; I don't have much pull there."
"Sangonomiya?"
Kokomi's gaze swept over the battle-scarred resistance behind her.
The most radical generals were all looking down now—one captain who had previously screamed "fight to the bitter end" was now curled up, hugging his knees and trembling.
"Watatsumi Island... accepts peace talks."
She said softly, then suddenly looked up as if recalling something.
"But the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree..."
"We'll take care of that Homebody General."
Elliot patted his chest assuringly.
"It'll be a good chance for her to stretch her limbs."
Balladeer suddenly sneered, "With just you?"
The Hilichurl Ranger silently revealed its Hydro Blade.
"...I didn't say anything."
Balladeer silently retreated into the shadows.
"Alright!"
Zane clapped his hands.
"Since a consensus has been reached—"
He snapped his fingers, the Wolf King's Cuirass opened, and countless specks of light flew into the distance.
"It's time for the chess pieces to 'triumphantly return'."
That evening, when the "fallen" soldiers returned to their respective camps completely unharmed, they were thrown into chaos.
Some called it a miracle, others called it sorcery, but everyone remembered one fact:
On the battlefield of Nazuchi Beach, the Shogunate Army and the resistance... had indeed fought side-by-side.
——————
The ground in front of the Tenshukaku suddenly trembled, and a twenty-meter-tall Silver-White Mech crashed down, the shockwave scattering the meticulously trimmed pines and cypresses.
The Kujou Clan Elite Troops instantly formed ranks, their spears gleaming coldly as they pointed at the uninvited guests.
"Stop! This is the General's residence!"
The leading Okuyasu roared harshly.
Elliot lazily tossed up a deep blue chess piece: "Hydro Ranger, go play with them."
The moment the chess piece landed, a ghostly, dark blue figure flashed into existence.
The Kujou Clan Elite Troops didn't even have time to blink before the Hydro Ranger appeared at the very rear of their formation.
The action of it slowly sheathing its blade perfectly synchronized with the sound of over a hundred elites collapsing behind it.
"Done~"
Elliot caught the returning chess piece and blew off the dust that wasn't there.
the quartet stepped over the sprawling Kujou Clan Elite Troops and swaggered toward the main entrance of the Tenshukaku.
The heavy vermilion lacquered door opened automatically, as if welcoming its masters home.