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

Therefore, Goro always harbored a beautiful fantasy about the prosperous Liyue that Beidou spoke of.

"So, can we get down to business now?" After being interrupted by Li Lin time and time again, the atmosphere of the negotiation became somewhat awkward. Goro tried to get the conversation back on track.

“Of course it is,” Kujo Masahito replied.

The two sat down at the rough wooden table. Li Lin plopped down in the middle, his eyes darting around as if he were thinking about something.

"First, we need to establish the division of regions," Kujo Masahito said bluntly. "The worship of gods has disappeared, and the shogunate will soon advance."

“Then there’s nothing to discuss.” Goro’s stance was even more resolute than Kujo Masahito’s.

Goro knew that the leader of the shogunate army was not as resolute as he appeared.

As long as you show more determination than him from the beginning, you won't suffer any losses.

This is also one of the "strategies" that Coral Palace Xin Hai has in the brocade pouch.

"Do you intend to seize Hachiunjima?!" Kujo Masahito's voice rose. "This land originally belonged to Narukami!"

“But the remains of our sea god Omikami are still here. Even now you are still desecrating his remains. Generation after generation of miners have been digging out his marrow and transporting it to Tamasamune to make it into tamaste.”

Goro argued forcefully: "For both moral and rational reasons, I will not allow this to happen again."

"That's the fate of the defeated!" Kujo Masahito's voice rose even louder. "If your Umi no Omikami hadn't been so arrogant as to invade our land and slaughter our people, how could he have ended up bleeding to death!"

"That's something General Raiden should say," Goro replied coldly. "Otherwise, as the victor on the battlefield, wouldn't I also be able to humiliate you so thoroughly?"

Kujo Masahito's eyes widened as he gripped the sword at his waist: "You think you've won?"

"If the supply lines were cut off, the navy was trapped in Tasuna and dared not come out, and Kannazuka suffered repeated defeats and was forced to retreat... if these are not considered losses, then we have indeed never had a single victory."

Goro responded tit for tat.

For a moment, the only sound in the negotiation tent was Li Lin cracking sunflower seeds.

"Crunch, crunch, crunch, pfft." Li Lin spat out the sunflower seed shells on the ground. "Why did you stop? Keep going!"

"Sigh." Goro sighed. "In the end, this immortal from Liyue isn't really suited to participate in our negotiations, is he?"

Kujo Masahito didn't say anything.

But the agreement revealed in his eyes still showed what he really thought.

While they wouldn't kick Li Lin out on the spot, it would be best to shut him up—a consensus the two had reached for the first time ever.

Li Lin smiled and put the sunflower seeds back onto the dark green tabletop.

"None of my business? Do you really think so?"

Both Kujo Masahito and Goro felt a sense of unease, but they remained silent.

Li Lin snapped his fingers.

Metalworking technique, gold melting, activated.

In an instant, Kaedehara Manyo and the head division commander, who were in the corner outside the tent, were dragged inside by Li Lin.

"Brother Manyo!" Goro stood up excitedly.

“I told you, you fugitive, were colluding with the rebels on Umijima Island!” Kujo Masahito’s reaction was exceptionally strong.

"Calm down." Li Lin gestured for them to be quiet. "On my way here, I encountered a group of Shogunate Navy personnel who wanted to sink my ships without any explanation."

Kujo Masahito's mouth was agape; he already knew what Li Lin was about to say.

“Yes, just like you thought, I blew them all up.” Li Lin shrugged. “That’s fair, isn’t it?”

235 We all have a bright future!

“This is war.” No matter how much Kujo Masahito tolerated it, he couldn’t just sit and watch Li Lin continue. “I believe that Uchimizu Kotaro is not someone who doesn’t distinguish right from wrong.”

"If you had truly revealed your identity from the beginning, how could the Navy have possibly opened fire on you?!"

Kujo Masahito's tone was full of grievance and anger.

“But that’s not the case.” Li Lin reached into his pocket and, under the horrified gazes of the crowd, pulled out a notebook used by the Shogunate Army and opened it to a page.

"Please remember the Lord's instructions: Speed ​​is of the essence in war. If there are any refugees or sick people on the island, do not show them any mercy. Quickly lure them to the ferry crossing and sink their boats halfway there. If questioned, say that it was done by the rebels, so as not to disturb His Highness General's heavenly realm with such a small deity."

Kujo Masahito gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, seemingly furious, but in reality, he was in shock.

As a colleague who had worked together for many years, he naturally recognized that it was the handwriting of Kotaro Uchimizu, and he also knew who the head of the family was referring to!

That was his father, Tenryo, who followed the nine filial acts of the current head of the family.

"Impossible, this is a forgery!" Kujo Masahito drew his sword and slashed at the notebook in Li Lin's hand. Only by destroying this evidence could they ensure that there was no way to prove it.

A faint rumble of thunder exploded from his chest, two winding streaks of blood dripped from Kujo Masahito's nostrils, his eyes bulged, and he staggered backward, collapsing to the ground, the sword in his hand falling to the floor.

Kujo Masahito did not die, but his blood was flowing too fast, making his internal organs feel like they were being pounded ten times with drumsticks. More importantly, he raised the flag again at this moment.

This notebook was not forged by Li Lin. If he wanted to cheat and frame someone, he wouldn't need to use such methods.

The notebook containing the instructions given by Kotaro Uchimizu to the head of the Kujo family to attempt to sink the warship halfway through its journey, resulting in the deaths of the villagers of Hachiyū Island, was found on Kaedehara Manyo's person.

I don't know who made that rule, but you always have to get something as a drop when you defeat a monster.

"So, you're trying to frame our resistance army?"

Goro couldn't contain his elation. The resistance army had always been weaker than the shogunate army in spreading propaganda, and once he got hold of this bombshell and released it, it would definitely deal a heavy blow to the shogunate army.

Even without Coral Palace's advice, he should know what to do: First, send people to spread the word that the shogunate army's war was unjust, weakening the soldiers' morale. Then, send people to infiltrate the rear and spread news of the defeat at the front on Narukami Island, while also uniting the local forces on Hachiyū Island...

No normal general would give up such a hard-won opportunity.

Li Lin turned to look at him: "What are you so smug about? I haven't even told you about the mess your Haiqi Island has left."

The clanging of metal and the faint rumble of thunder rang out together, and the strange white viper climbed up Li Lin's palm, wrapped around his right arm, and poked its head out towards Wu Lang.

"This...is this?"

Goro could sense that the white viper with its smooth scales had some inexplicable close relationship with him, a relationship that transcended social hierarchy, time, and blood ties... connecting them on a higher level, more inseparable than flesh and blood.

"oath."

Li Lin shrugged, and the white viper on his shoulder bounced like a spring.

"It seems that the islanders of Haiqi Island still uphold the oath you made with their ancestors in the darkness of Yuanxia Palace, Orobas."

This name caused more shock to everyone than anything Li Lin had done before.

Even though he had guessed that Li Lin might be up to something big, including Kaedehara Manyo, he didn't expect that what Li Lin had said before was true.

This guy actually brought Orobas back to life after he'd been dead for who knows how many years!

Maple Leaf suddenly felt uneasy: Since Li Lin is so true to his word, he wouldn't actually go to Inazuma Castle and pry open the God's Eye on the Thousand Hands Hundred Eyes statue in the middle of the night, would he?

No way?

"Orobas... no, Lord Umi no Omikami?" Goro asked tentatively, kneeling on one knee.

The white viper stuck out its tongue but didn't say anything.

But Goro could sense the emotions emanating from the clear snake eyes.

It was a complex mix of guilt, grief, and relief, like a cup of bitter wine that made one's insides churn.

“Aurobas is no longer the Serpent God,” Li Lin said. “He has automatically been downgraded to a magical beast.”

The so-called monsters are beings equivalent to rock dragons and thunderbirds like Sugana Kapachiri.

The one that truly possesses the status of a demon god is the seven-branched sword covered with six-colored coral in Li Lin's hand, while Orobas is merely a "spirit" that exists by attaching itself to it.

Li Lin pulled out another crumpled piece of paper, which he had found next to the snake god's head talisman.

After thinking about it, I handed it to Kaedehara Manyo.

Giving the head of the division a chance could easily cause this young man to experience a rollercoaster of blood pressure at such a young age.

Kaedehara Manyo cast a pitying look at Goro, saying that as a friend, he would do his best to help him. After all, he was able to escape thanks to the kindness of Umijima, and he had even fought alongside Goro.

When he saw the words on the note, Kaedehara Manyo froze, and then a surge of anger rose from the bottom of his heart.

The hand that could kill ten people in a row without trembling was now twisting the edges of the note out of shape.

“Phase one.” Kaedehara Manyo’s voice was dry. “Using tactics that we have studied for many days, we will launch a surprise attack on the shogunate soldiers, exchange their equipment, and seize their ships and supplies.”

“There’s no problem with that?!” Teppei, who was listening nearby, retorted. “The Shogunate army has done this before, and it’s a very common tactic during wartime.”

Kaedehara Manyo ignored him and continued reading: "Using the method suggested by Mr. Nathan, we will destroy the protective objects set up by the shogunate and restore the dignity of our Great God..."

There was silence.

Teppei's face drained of color as he looked at Goro, who was equally pale and trembling: "Shin... Shin—"

A figure suddenly darted out and ran outside the tent; it was the distraught division commander.

Was the deity released by someone?

"Nathan, Nathan..." Goro thought of the Mondstadt man who always had a cheerful smile on his face, but now he realized that every smile he had had was a mockery!

Kaedehara Manyo took a deep breath, but his voice carried more anger: "Phase Three, if it goes smoothly, we will retreat unscathed; if it doesn't, we will serve the Great God to the death. However, we must never reveal our identities, lest we implicate the current Goddess Priestess... What I have said above, from the current Goddess Priestess down to my comrades in each squad, cannot be revealed. Those who speak out will be held responsible."

In the silence, a sudden hiss of alarm from a white viper rang out. Everyone turned around and saw Li Lin calmly pulling his hand out of his crotch.

Even in this outrageous rage, Kaede Manba couldn't help but wonder: What did Li Lin want to do with Orobas just now?