I, the leader of the esoteric sect, am doing great things in the infinite world!

Li Lin was completely unaware that in Maple Leaf's mind, his image was already sliding irreversibly into an abyss, but then again, it didn't seem out of place at all.

As he calmed himself down, Kaedehara Manyo tried to banish these thoughts from his mind. He felt it was necessary to explain the existence of the shogunate to Li Lin.

“Although I don’t know what other views you have on the Shogunate, if we really want to establish ourselves in Inazuma and return to Liyue, we must deal with the Shogunate.”

Kaedehara Manyo said helplessly, "After all, you are a celestial being of Liyue. If, I mean if you intervene in the war between the Shogunate and the Coral Palace, the nature of the Inazuma civil war will change instantly."

"Although I have received favors from the Coral Palace, and even my ability to escape the Shogunate's pursuit and board the Hokuto boss's ship was thanks to the generous assistance of the people from the Coral Palace, this is a red line that cannot be crossed."

“If that’s really the case, then what’s the difference between you and the Fools?” Kaedehara Manyo stroked his chin, then revealed a relieved smile. “Of course, it’s also possible that I’m overthinking it. The strategist of the Coral Palace Army, the living goddess priestess of the Coral Palace, that is, Lady Coral Palace Heart Sea, would probably not allow such a thing to happen.”

Li Lin was immediately shocked. They actually pinned their hopes on that ornamental fish. How incompetent is the army of your Coral Palace?

On the other hand, this also shows that the army of the Inazuma Shogunate was just as bad.

There's a reason why they were able to fight a protracted battle that was evenly matched.

222 Marking the boat to catch fish (referring to ornamental fish)

On the bright side, perhaps the coral reefs here aren't just ornamental fish that hang water in the background and read light novels to replenish their energy?

Li Lin asked tremblingly, "Could it be that before each expedition, Coral Palace's Xin Hai would secretly slip some kind of secret plan into the generals' hands, claiming to be strategizing military tactics, but in reality it's all just exhaustive enumeration?"

Kaedehara Manyo's reaction was even stronger than Li Lin's: "How did you know?"

Moreover, he spoke with great clarity and order, as if he had witnessed every step firsthand.

Li Lin waved his hand weakly: "Search 'Genshin Impact' on Baidu Tieba and you'll see Xin Tianhou and Ye Tiandi start their debate."

"The Queen of Heart is Lady Coral Palace..." Maple Leaf asked cautiously, "Then who is Emperor Ye?"

Li Lin didn't speak, but pointed to the huge sail that was raised not far away, indicating that Kaedehara Manyo should look at the Thunder Triple Tomoe on it.

That was not just one ship, but a fleet of nearly ten large ships.

Master Li was heartbroken and waved the grilled fish in his hand, angrily rebuking Wan Ye: "If you hadn't planted that flag, would we have encountered the shogunate's ship?"

Before anyone could react, the grilled fish flew off, sliding down the bamboo pole into the water and disappearing without even splashing.

Kaedehara Manyo's lips twitched, unsure whether to worry about the ship in the distance or laugh first.

Then he saw Li Lin staring at him with dead fish eyes.

"This is not my fault!" Kaedehara Manyo waved his hands repeatedly, indicating that he had nothing to do with the matter.

"cut."

Li Lin, feeling displeased at being seen through, reached into his pants and pulled out the Jing Shen, extending it out over the edge of the boat.

"You want to use this thing to scoop up the fish...?" Wan Ye couldn't help but ask, a sudden urge to make a sarcastic remark arise within him.

"Have you been ripped out of your mind by Oser?" Li Lin looked at him like he was an idiot, brandishing the crowbar in his hand. "Try using a crowbar to retrieve something."

Kaedehara Manyo took a deep breath: "So what do you want to do?"

Li Lin leaned out of the boat and used the sharp end of a crowbar to carve a mark on the gunwale: "The fish disappeared here. As long as I leave a mark here, I can go into the sea to catch them when we get to the shore."

"...?"

Kaedehara Man'yō had a hesitant expression, wanting to say something but holding back, and in the end, he couldn't say anything. He could only watch helplessly as Li Lin finished carving triumphantly and stuffed the crowbar back into his crotch.

At that moment, he suddenly remembered that the Shogunate fleet, flying the Thunder Triple Tomoe flag, was already very close.

......

The navy under the command of the Heavenly Realm has always been at a disadvantage compared to the Coral Palace.

It wasn't just because the islanders of the Coral Palace were skilled in swimming, but also because the shogunate's supply lines were too long, which led to repeated attacks on their long and poorly defended supply lines by the Coral Palace, resulting in a stalemate in the battle at the front.

More importantly, the Shogunate army's fighting spirit was not particularly strong.

The reason why the shogunate army, which once raised the banner of the Thunder Triple Tomoe, was invincible was that the targets they had fought against were either demons that invaded Narukami's land or rampaging monsters.

This time, when they came to suppress the Sangokyu army that was resisting the Eye Hunting Order, the shogunate used the same "righteous cause" of suppressing the rebels.

Coincidentally, in the past, the great god Orobas of Haigi Island also invaded the kingdom ruled by the Thunder General and was eventually killed with a single blow. His remains still stretch to this day, and countless generations of swordsmiths have made mining the crystallized marrow of the serpent god their main business, hoping to forge famous swords made of tamago steel.

The shogunate army then spread new and old grudges, demonizing the Sangoku-no-kyo army.

However, the Eye Hunt Order was not only aimed at the Coral Palace army. The first batch of those captured by Raijin were Inazuma's own people. Many generals in the army were even forced to hand over the Eye of God immediately, and then fell into a dazed and depressed state.

The Eye of God is an external magical organ granted when a person's desire reaches its peak and the gods cast their gaze upon them. From the moment it is bestowed, it becomes inseparable from the possessor of the Eye of God.

Removing it directly is like undergoing a violent prefrontal lobe surgery, turning someone into a brain-damaged person who can only babble.

This tactic, which results in heavy losses even before achieving victory, is truly a case of shooting oneself in the foot.

However, as the head of the navy who was in charge of the Tenryo magistrate, Kotaro Uchimizu only felt a slight sense of dissatisfaction before forcibly suppressing it amidst his fear and trepidation.

"Kubo, have they handed over all their God's Eyes?"

The people rescued from the burial site of the serpent god seemed to be affected by the lingering resentment of the demon god, to the point that some of them were in a daze, but there were still those among them who possessed the Eye of God.

A soldier from the Shogunate army named Kubo Moriyo bowed to Uchimizu Toraro: "Yes, Lord Toraro. The two Thunder-attribute God Eyes and the one Grass-attribute God Eye, a total of three, have all been captured without any resistance."

Kubo Moriyo pulled a slip of paper from his pocket: "Their names are..."

However, his actions were interrupted by Kotaro Uchimizu.

The forty-year-old naval admiral sternly stared at Kubo Moriyo: "What are you doing? Don't you know the orders given by Admiral Kujo? Why are you asking their names? Their value lies only in the Eye of God."

"I am very sorry! It is my fault!" Kubo Mori bowed deeply. "I have arranged for them all to be on the same ship."

Kotaro Uchimizu's gaze gradually softened, and he nodded slightly: "Indeed, as subjects of the Great Lord, this is how it should be."

"Kubo, I've always had high hopes for you, so don't make a mistake, and don't forget your duty. We are just swords, swords belonging to Lord Oogami, swords belonging to Lord Kujo. We don't need any extra emotions, understand?"

Kubo Mori nodded emphatically: "I understand, Taro-sama. Then I will do it."

"If it really comes down to getting your hands dirty, then let me do it."

The young samurai raised his head with a fanatical expression: "The eternal way is magnificent, the resounding god is eternal!"

“Yes.” Kotaro Uchimizu nodded solemnly. “The Way of the Constant is magnificent, and Narukami is eternal.”

......

"Kumiko? Kumiko?" The young man nudged his wife, watched her open her sleepy eyes, and then smiled.

"Are you hungry? Here, have something to eat."

The young man took a small rice ball from his pocket and handed it to Kumiko, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly. "Eat it quickly, it won't look good if others see."

The rice ball was still slightly warm from her husband's body temperature.

The pale-faced wife smiled gently and slowly put the rice ball into her mouth.

Kumiko knew that this was food that her husband had secretly hidden, but if she didn't eat it, it would be a waste of her husband's good intentions.

More importantly, what will happen to the baby in her belly if she doesn't eat?

After seeing Kumiko finish eating the rice ball, the young man reached out and pulled her into his arms: "Don't worry, Kumiko, the shogunate will send us to Narukami Island. I've heard that Hanamizaka on Narukami Island is a very beautiful place. I want to take you there and live there until we die..."

Kumiko covered the young man's mouth: "Lord Masaya, please don't say such things! We will definitely arrive at Narukami Island safely."

Masaya Watanabe smiled, looking at the crowd of people on the ship: "It definitely will."

He glanced down at the somewhat faded amulet in his hand and repeated it.

"Most definitely."

223 Killing innocent people and claiming credit is a tradition of Inazuma; one must try it.

Just then, a violent tremor came from below the ship, and Watanabe Masaya's smile froze.

"Kumiko, be careful." He shoved the amulet in his hand into Kumiko's hand and hurriedly ran towards the front of the deck.

However, the throngs of refugees severely hampered his movements, slowing him down more than ever before.

"I am Masaya Watanabe, the village chief of Snake Eyes Village—get out of my way!"

After Watanabe Masaya revealed his identity, his speed finally increased, and a few minutes later, he successfully reached the front of the deck, where two other owners of the Eye of God arrived one after the other.

However, by this time, their divine eyes had already been handed over to the shogunate army—after all, as the price for taking away the suffering villagers, they had to obey the eye-hunting order.

"Tomoki-kun, Ryūto-kun."

Watanabe Masaya nodded slightly to the remaining two, then boldly looked out of the ship's side, only to see a series of bubbles rising from the bottom of the ship, while the huge warships on both sides were gradually moving away, with several dark cannons already pointed in their direction.

Legend has it that during the Battle of Kannazuka, several terrifying cannons, capable of blasting mountains apart with a single shot, made a fleeting appearance, but before they could be fired, they were disposed of harmlessly by the Coral Palace's suicide squad.

I've heard that it was a powerful weapon specially made for the Shogunate by experts from Fontainebleau, and it's called the "National Collapse" cannon.

The cannons now appearing on the hull of the Shogunate warships were clearly replicas of the Kokubō-jutsu cannons. Although their caliber and size were far inferior to the Kokubō-jutsu cannons, when the dozen or so cannons were aimed at the unarmed villagers, Watanabe Masaya and his two companions still gasped and felt the hairs on their backs stand on end.

"What are you trying to do!" Watanabe Masaya roared at the nearest warship. "You promised me!"

As the battleground between the Umijima Coral Palace Army and the Shogunate Army, they had long witnessed all sorts of indescribable darkness, such as killing innocent people to claim credit, scorched earth policies, and blowing up the Garden Pass.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that we've already sampled enough.

Kubo Moriyo stood on the deck, his gaze as cold as a blade, staring directly at Watanabe Masaya and the other two, as well as the ordinary villagers crammed onto the ship.

“Your lives can create greater value for the shogunate army, and you have already been infected by the worship of the gods. Rather than letting you influence the lord's domain, it would be better to—”