Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

Chapter 242 Northern Kingdom VS Jade Tiger

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On the podium, Yae no Kamiko listlessly introduced the origins and records of the four teams. Based on the preliminary results of the preliminary rounds, the first seed was Hokugoku, the second seed was Karasu, the third seed was Fubuki, and the weakest team was Tamahora.

Despite her eloquence, the fox becomes incredibly lazy when it comes to tasks not originally hers, at most offering only the simplest explanations. Therefore, the company invited Kagami Kayo, the company's advisor, to be her deputy, primarily to oversee Yae no Miko.

To prevent her from falling asleep while explaining.

To date, almost no one in the audience knows that the Fubuki team, which originally had the fewest members, has quietly added one more member.

"...As the host, I am the shrine maiden of Narukami Shrine, so naturally I support the little girl whom the shrine advocates. In fact, for this uprising, I bet almost two million Mora on Princess Shiraga." Yae no Miko said lazily, completely disregarding the thousands of spectators present. "There are live betting odds outside, so those of you who are short on cash can go and try your luck."

"Everyone, please don't do it. Lord Miyaji isn't afraid of being arrested, but organizing large-scale gambling without proper registration is illegal in Inazuma," Kamisato Hanayo gently added.

"The information about this year's contestants has been introduced. Besides Tartaglia, the most eye-catching contestants this year are naturally the two lovely girls from the Blizzard Team." Yae Miko changed the subject, "But the real protagonists of the Blizzard Team today are not our White Heron Princess and Summer Festival Queen. I believe some sharp-eyed people have already noticed that there are three people in the Blizzard Team's contestant seat today."

The fox pointed her slender finger toward the players' seats, and the entire venue dimmed slightly. A beam of light shone directly onto the Fubuki team's seats, or more precisely, onto a pretty girl wearing a Rococo-style jazz suit and with a high black ponytail.

Shen Liang was dozing off, one hand supporting himself on the armrest.

In an instant, all eyes of the audience were focused on the highlighted area. It was like when a concert is being held on Earth, and the audience seats are selected by a beam of light from the director, all that's missing is a big screen showing his face.

However, the Teyvats have better eyesight than Earthlings, and the Divine Cherry Dojo is not very large, so there were many people who saw Shen Liang's face clearly and exclaimed in surprise.

"The Blizzard Team has a new member? Wow, is this one going for the long, straight black hair look?"

"The Fubuki team is so beautiful! All three of them are my wives!"

"The new player's attitude of 'Whoever the opponent is, they're all noobs, let me finish this game and go back to sleep' is so cool! Ah, I'm dead, what kind of god-like looks are these!"

"It's just a bit flat..."

"Looking at the position, has he replaced Princess Egret as the general? Has Princess Egret recruited a very strong newcomer?"

"I declare that no matter how strong or weak the Fubuki team is, I will be the Fubuki team's dog for the rest of my life, and perhaps I will never experience joy or sorrow again."

……

Shen Liang raised his head and glanced at the mocking Yae no Miko, then gave a nonchalant sneer.

He understood all too well the fox's wicked sense of humor.

Sure enough, just as the audience was getting excited, Yae no Miko uttered a sentence that instantly silenced the entire venue.

"Pretty, right? But I'm not a girl, I'm..." She tilted her head and looked everyone up and down, "...His Highness the Regent of Haiqi Island, yes, don't make that face. He's the one who defeated the Tenryo Magistrate in the Battle of Nashii Beach, the executioner Shen Liang."

From the initial enthusiastic response to the abrupt halt, the dramatic effect in the audience was akin to playing a game against Koreans on home soil. Yae no Miko watched with a smile as the expressions of the people turned strange and disgusted, then sighed softly to herself.

“Perhaps the hatred between Umijima and Narukamima has been temporarily suppressed, but how can the hatred directed at Ryoko be resolved?” Kamisato Kayo noticed her micro-expression and said softly.

“It can’t be solved; only time can erase it.” Yae no Miko spoke a rare serious statement. “To think that one person can maintain peace is too arrogant. The price of such arrogance is hatred.”

"But it seems that Lord Miyaji doesn't dislike Ryoko."

"It's not just that I don't dislike him, I actually love little wolf dogs." Yae Shinko looked at Shen Liang, who was relaxed and disdainful in the face of the malice of the entire audience. "He felt that only he could do it, that some things had to be done, that he had to do them even if he had to bear hatred and be misunderstood... That's so cool, right? It's true, that's how it is with Ying... and that's how it is with little wolf dogs too."

"True...shadow?" Kayo Kamisato was puzzled.

"Heh, so he's actually... just like Ah Ying."

……

"What a joke! This is outrageous!" The audience erupted in anger.

They had been drooling over the face of a top-tier beauty, but the moment their identities were exposed, those voices were drowned out by a louder and more irritable one.

"They actually let him participate in the Hundred-Man Uprising! They actually let him compete for the Jade Dragon Flag! Was the Grand Society coerced?!"

"The executioner Shen Liang, he actually dares to come to Mingshen Island!"

"Where is the Tenryo Magistrate? Where is he? General Sara, capture him quickly! He's over there with the Blizzard Squad! Lord Kuji has already spotted him! Charge!"

"it's him!"

"He burned my son to death... He burned my son to death, please, please arrest him!"

"Make him get off! Otherwise, we'll get a refund!"

Angry shouts and sobs mingled, and the audience erupted into chaos, a deafening wave of condemnation washing over them. Yoomiya's face paled slightly, and even Ayaka Kamisato looked at him in fear. She hadn't expected the reaction to be so intense; she hadn't anticipated that, a year later, so many people still harbored hatred for Shen Liang in Inazuma's eyes.

She truly regretted it then. If only she had known... she wouldn't have asked Ryoko to come. Wouldn't this have only brought trouble to Ryoko and made him have an even worse impression of Inatsume?

"Are you alright?" Torachiyo asked him with some concern.

"I'm fine. I expected this. There's always a price to pay for getting involved in a war. It's just being condemned by everyone, which is a relatively mild price," Shen Liang said calmly. "When I was writing my novel in Japan, I was attacked by thousands of people, who even sent me emails to hurl insults. Compared to that, this is nothing."

[You have such a great attitude.]

【But Chiyo, I personally killed so many Inatsume people. As an Inatsume person, don't you think I'm incredibly cruel?】

I don't think so.

Don't you think so?

Torachiyo chuckled, "Don't take yourself too seriously, you little wolf. Let alone someone from another world killing for peace, in my entire life I've fought hundreds, if not thousands, of battles. The number of Inatsume people who died by my hand is probably more than you... And what was my reason for killing? Tsk, probably not as noble as yours."

Shen Liang was silent for a moment, then said, "Thank you."

Then, he drowsily pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes to rest amidst wave after wave of condemnation and countless hostile gazes.

"If I were an ordinary person, I would have done the same, so I can't blame them." Shen Liang leaned on Ayaka's shoulder. "It's just that they've already been cursing for three minutes, so there's still some..."

"Noisy!" The Eightfold Divine Son shouted!

"This is the last time I'm saying it: no noise allowed in the competition area! Any repeat offenders," she slammed her hand on the table and shouted fiercely, "get out!"

As she spoke, she glanced at Kujo Sara, who immediately understood and nodded calmly.

"Mr. Shen Liang's entry into Narukami Island was legal, and his participation in the Hundred-Man Uprising was also legal. The General personally approved his residence permit. Questioning Mr. Shen Liang's legality is questioning the General's methods," Kujo Sara said coldly. "The Tenryo Magistrate knows that you all harbor resentment, but the war is over. What's past cannot be undone, but the future can still be shaped. Please act rationally."

Finally, the wave of anger subsided.

Although Kujo Sara was cold and rigid, it didn't mean she wasn't smart. In fact, she knew that neither the Narukami Shrine nor the Tenryo Magistrate were qualified to speak in front of the hatred-filled Inazuma people, and they might even be questioned about whether she was bribed by Umijima with 50 million.

However, by invoking General Thunder, the public's doubts will be greatly reduced. General Thunder is beyond questioning; all her actions are far-sighted and absolutely justified.

Even if it means asking people to abandon their hatred, they must do it.

On this land, General Thunder is heaven, ruler, and father.

She's never wrong.

Once the initial outrage subsided, the voices advocating for licking the faces of young girls and boys regained the upper hand.

This was unavoidable. The Battle of Nashiina Beach resulted in the loss of 80,000 lives, which seems like a lot, but for the Inatsume people, only the 80,000 families who died truly mattered. Most people didn't really understand war, nor were they interested in it. They probably only knew of Shen Liang's existence from the newspapers.

After all, this is not a modern society; information travels slowly, and it's impossible to truly empathize with everyone.

The Fubuki team boasts the highest level of attractiveness among all the teams. The White Heron Princess is the unattainable beauty in the hearts of all the young people in Inazuma, and the Fireworks Queen is the symbol of summer on Narukami Island. The new boy, although a boy, has a face that is even more beautiful than Ayaka Yomi. If his actual gender were not revealed, he could even surpass Ayaka Kamisato and become the new dream object for most young people.

Humans are visual creatures. When you meet a stranger and don't know whether they are good or bad, their appearance accounts for more than 90% of your perception of good or evil.

Meanwhile, in the first-class section, sat the noble families of the shogunate.

How will today's match proceed?

"The Northern Country Team is facing the Jade Tiger Team, with Fubuki and Karasu going head-to-head. It's going to be a good show. I wonder if the Northern Country Team will field Tartaglia this time. He hasn't played against weak opponents before. If the Jade Tiger Team gets crushed this time... that would be a huge disgrace to the Commissioner of the Imperial Guard."

The one who spoke was a civil official from the shogunate.

Before he could finish speaking, Shinsuke Hiiragi coldly retorted, "You should worry about the magistrate of the company. The third seed, a beauty and a young man, all hype, but who knows what kind of strength he actually has. Shen Liang is strong, but his strength lies in his methods of warfare. We can't let him run rampant in the arena... Hmph, the Fubuki team already lost to Tartaglia before, I wonder who's the one who's embarrassed!"

"Ahem..." Ayato Kamisato coughed lightly. "It's understandable that my younger sister is a frail young girl. Besides, even General Sara of the Kujo clan was defeated by D'Artagnan, wasn't he?"

These words were quite offensive, and many of the nobles and officials present looked away.

The reason the Northern Country team was the number one seed was because they were undefeated during the preliminary rounds. The other three teams all had more or less losses during the final selection period, but they had the higher total score. The Fubuki team, the Karasu team, and the Tamago team had all been defeated by the Northern Country team. It could even be said that the reason the Karasu team had to be second was because Kujo Sara only lost to D'Artagnan.

Ayato Kamisato's words made everyone feel a little awkward, regardless of which team they supported.

"The main problem with the Raven Feather Team is that the rest of the members are no match for the rest of the Northern Team. General Saro, as the commander, fought three against one, but he was already exhausted when he encountered Tadalia. Hmph, if we play better this time, it might not be a bad chance!"

"Oh? Team Fubuki has strengthened its roster this time. Are you so sure Team Fubuki will be easily defeated?"

"Hmph, our Jade Tiger Squad, which we are committed to upholding, is not as bad as you think! Whether it's an ice slime or a water slime, we'll find out once we bring it out for a spin!"

Just as the nobles and high-ranking officials in the first-class seats were arguing and exchanging ideas, Yae no Miko rang her bell, once again silencing the entire room.

Then she finally perked up and shouted, "Preparation time is over, the competition begins!"

On the arena, two large signs were raised, one displaying the flags of the Northern Team and the other the flag of the Jade Tiger Team, with the order of appearance submitted by both sides below.

Northern Team: Yegor (forward), Dadalia (general).

Jade Tiger Team: Hiiragi Tokuji (forward), Hiiragi Yota (center), Shiraishi Ki (defender), Kiyoi Kotora (captain).

Two against four?

Shen Liang was slightly taken aback.

He remembered that the Northern team should have had four people.

Then it suddenly dawned on me.

—Are those two girls still taking a nap?

—Oh, so our Blizzard team took care of two of them before the match.