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

—What are you going to do?

Shen Liang's thoughts were in complete disarray.

"Actually, I guess you still have feelings for the priestesses of Coral Palace. Whether it's Ryuka or Kokoro, both priestesses have treated you well. One treats you like her own daughter, and the other treats you like a lover."

“But you hate Umijima Island, you hate the people here, you hate the bureaucrats. You saved them, and they want to force you to go to the shogunate, which is almost the same as forcing you to die.”

"The last time you went to the battlefield, you almost got killed. You broke down emotionally, revealing your true strength, and your spatial abilities were questioned. I guess you don't want to experience that a second time, right?"

"In the end, a pack of ungrateful jackals is not worth your time. Even if those two priestesses are on the front lines, even if they might die... after all, what good would it do you even if you went? What brilliant strategies do you have to deal with the Shogunate's 100,000-strong army? This time they didn't even need to use the Kamui Island cannons."

The woman walked gracefully past Shen Liang, just as eerily as she had arrived, and vanished as a butterfly.

"How will you choose? I'm very curious."

But the moment she disappeared, Shen Liang left the Coral Palace without even turning his head. He didn't even need a second to make his decision.

"There's no choice, I have to go." Shen Liang said to the air, expressionless. "Coral Palace Liu Ge and Coral Palace Xin Hai, even if they plot against me behind my back, they should fall into my hands. I just have to go save them. I don't care about anyone else, they're none of my business!"

A faint, mocking laugh echoed in the air.

Shen Liang ignored him and started to descend the mountain. He walked quickly and then ran!

He suddenly realized how weak his body was! He couldn't even run fast! The mountain roads on Haiqi Island were steep, and the nearest port was more than 20 miles away. It would take him far too long to run there! He hadn't exercised in his current state. Judging from his physique back then, it would take him at least a morning to run 20 miles!

Damn it, let's find Xin Hai first and get a boat!

Why am I in such a hurry?

—Why should I be in such a hurry?

He opened the teleportation screen, returned to Earth, and then teleported back, instantly creating a 500-meter gap between the teleportation locations.

No...no!

—As high and mighty Earthlings, it's impossible that we can't even decide the fate of so-called natives!

But Shen Liang still rushed towards the battlefield, his unease growing stronger. He vaguely knew what Coral Palace Liuge was thinking.

————————————————————

The great banner of Sangokami Ryuka had been burned, revealing the bright red and ornate twelve-layered shrine maiden robe underneath. The crimson of her body blended with the vibrant color of the shrine maiden robe, making it impossible to tell whether it was the blood of the enemy or her own. She had been shot in the right leg, because Kujo Takayuki would never allow her to come within a hundred paces of him.

So Sangokyuu no longer looked at the opposite tents and Kujo Takayuki, but raised her head and gazed in the direction of Sangokyuu.

The surrounding battlefield had been reduced to ruins, and the decapitation squad was powerless to reverse the situation. These people could no longer mount any decent resistance, or rather, they were almost all dead. The survivors were all crippled with broken limbs, because they didn't even have time to use their Evil Eyes to self-destruct.

The roars and screams blended together.

As Sangokami Ryuka watched Kujo Sara approach, her feelings were somewhat complicated.

—As expected, if men can't do it, I probably can't either.

There were practically no living people left around her. The last person she saw was Morishita, that uneducated, uncultured man who always believed that Sangokuni Kokoro had only become the next Living God Priestess through nepotism. He used up his last evil eye, opened a shield in front of Sangokuni Ruka to block a volley of musket fire, and then fell triumphantly, riddled with bullets.

However, it was of little use; Ruka Sangokami was in a similar situation.

However, Kujo Takayuki gestured for his daughter to stop. He stood at a safe distance and looked up towards the Coral Palace: "What's wrong? Homesick? Your home is beautiful, Miss Ryuka. I've always envied it. Umijima is a poor and remote place, yet it has such a beautiful palace—we will preserve it as a beautiful tourist attraction. We will also preserve the shrine maiden. Beautiful and pure girls are always the most sought-after commodities by the shogunate's high-ranking officials, especially shrine maidens. After all, only your shrine maiden has been defiled in Inazuma. The Shogun won't mind."

"Do you think such words can make me angry? That's so low-class, Kujo Takayuki. You're a high-ranking official, don't be so vulgar." Sangomiya Ruka said with a smile.

"So what if I'm lowly or not? I'm not like you. You're fierce and noble, but what's the result?" Kujo Takayuki said. "You should accept your fate. Just be the lord of your island, pay your taxes on time, and even if people starve to death, you won't go hungry. If someone rebels, you suppress them. If you can't suppress them, the magistrate can help you... You could have stayed your high priestess, your local tyrant, why did you do this?"

Chapter Seventy-Six: A Thousand Hands and a Hundred Eyes!

“That was the fate you chose,” Coral Palace Ryuka said softly, but with unwavering resolve, “but it wasn’t my choice. I don’t believe in fate, and I’m determined to say no to all of this. For example, if I say I’m going to kill you, I will definitely kill you.”

"Is that so? As a priestess, you don't believe in fate?" Kujo Takayuki smiled. "That won't do. It violates the code of conduct for priests. You must apologize to your god. I'll take pity on you and help you so you can meet your loyal god sooner."

Kujo Takayuki raised his hand, signaling Kujo Sara to execute her.

A bolt of lightning pierced through the air, and Coral Palace Ryuka let out a deep sigh.

She still didn't know what Kujo Takayuki used for defense, or why the barking tail's self-destruction was useless, but time didn't allow her to think about it any further.

Grip the Eye of God tightly and unleash your power!

Water-type God's Eye!

A massive surge of water rose from behind Coral Palace Ryuka, intent on killing her! It forced Kujo Sara to retreat violently!

"Let's witness the final 'War Priestess'!" Kujo Takayuki clapped enthusiastically!

Kujo Sara felt an overwhelming and terrifying pressure!

Water is not an element that excels in combat. All the current human and divine priestesses possess the divine eye of water, so their secret arts are incredibly powerful healing abilities. Theoretically speaking, even if Coral Palace Ruka is strong, she can only be said to have mastered martial arts; her elemental power alone shouldn't be excessive.

But Kujo Sara understood why she was called the "War Priestess".

Water is indeed a gentle element, but it depends on who wields it! The water in Coral Palace's Heart Sea is barely enough to deal with the Sea Demon, but the water in Coral Palace's Ryuka is simply a devastating typhoon!

Sangomiya Ruka drew her sword from her waist, and the water flow around her formed thousands of cold, identical blades. Countless water blades reflected the light and shadow of the battlefield. Sangomiya Ruka's black hair was loose, and her eyes were lowered, like a beautiful demon in a ukiyo-e print.

"Slay!" Coral Palace Ryuka suddenly shouted!

She unleashed a beam of bright moonlight!

A single slash unleashed a thousand blows! Thousands of blades rushed towards Kujo Sara, like facing a towering tsunami! The nine directions of Inatsume Tachijutsu swept over Kujo Sara! Every move she made was locked onto by Sangomiya Ruka's blade!

Tang Zhu! Kasaya beheads! Reverse cassock! Left pheasant! Right pheasant! Cut on the left! Cut right! against the wind! Thrust!

It was just water, yet it sounded like thunder and lightning! Its force was like a raging torrent!

Kujo Sara's concentrated burst of lightning was almost instantly crushed! She leaped backward repeatedly, drawing her waist sword to defend herself and cutting down the oncoming blades one after another, until she was back near Kujo Takayuki before she could barely hold on.

Blood was drawn from her tiger's mouth. Kujo Sara stared incredulously at Sangokami Ryuka. She was a powerful warrior with a perfectly matched Divine Eye, and few could rival her in the shogunate. Yet, she was no match for this war priestess.

Kujo Takayuki stared at the shrine maiden who looked like a demon descended from heaven, and took a puff of his pipe.

This woman is actually over forty years old, but the power granted by the Eye of God makes her age much slower than ordinary people. Her period of strength coincided with the time when Kujo Takayuki was still active on the battlefield. At that time, Kujo Takayuki was similar to Kujo Sara now, holding the second-in-command position in the Heavenly Territory, just one step away from becoming a general.

At that time, the relationship between the shogunate and Sangokushima was not so bad, and Umijima would send people to participate in the annual Jade Dragon Flag competition. Sangokushima Ruka was one of the participants in a certain year. She was beautiful as jade, but had the strength to lift mountains, and she stole the show during the grand competition in front of the castle tower.

At that time, Kujo Takayuki, who was in his prime, was indignant. He believed that the title of "Peerless in the East" should not be taken away by an outsider. He used a rather despicable means to challenge Sangomiya Ruka, also known as the "Comeback Challenger". He adjusted his swordsmanship level to be two ranks lower than hers and then gathered ten people to challenge her.

Ten swordsmen of lower rank, wearing protective gear, surrounded Sangomiya Ruka. However, the impatient Sangomiya Ruka used her Divine Eye. The ten men could not withstand the thousand swords and were defeated in a very humiliating manner. Not only did this not prevent her from winning, but it also made her famous for the "Ten Battles".

But most of the players back then didn't think giving Sangomiya Ruka a Jade Dragon Banner was a big deal. Sangomiya Ruka was only sixteen years old then, clever and cute, and many people couldn't even bring themselves to fight her. But she was indeed ridiculously strong, and time didn't leave any trace on her. She was more beautiful than before, and more ruthless than before.

It was so brutal that it was almost impossible to handle.

"Nine Filial Piety Practices"

The shrine maiden, wielding a long sword, grinned as she rose into the air! After forcing Kujo Sara back, she launched a second attack, giving the shogunate army no chance to react!

She clearly didn't have the Wind God's Eye, but she leaped twenty meters into the air using only her jumping ability! The water behind her gathered into a three-story-high sword blade, slashing down towards Kujo Takayuki!

"boom!"

Fire a volley of muskets!

Sangomiya Rika gritted her teeth, a thin curtain of water protecting her, but it was too weak to withstand the impact of the musket. But she didn't care; all she wanted was to avoid being hit by a bullet and have her trajectory disrupted. She had to kill Kujo Takayuki today; no one could save her!

"break!"

Those wielding the Eye of God around Kujo Takayuki also unleashed their power! Some activated their shields, while others directly attempted to shoot down Sangomiya Ruka!

But Ruka Sangokami laughed wildly, and a black light shone from behind her!

Kujo Sara and Kujo Takayuki were both stunned.

Evil eye!

He was clearly the holder of the Eye of God, clearly already favored by the gods...

But this guy is still borrowing power from this thing! As a priestess who believes in God, how could she dabble in such an impious and evil object!

Ice-type Evil Eye! A violent frost instantly enveloped the entire water blade, and the water, though not the most powerful, transformed into sharp, piercing ice blades!

She hid behind her enormous ice blade, relying on its power to cut through even the air to forcefully penetrate all elemental barriers. This ice blade was at least forty meters long and wide, and weighed tens of thousands of tons. Such gravitational potential energy was simply beyond the ability of the troops currently guarding Kujo Takayuki to defend against.

She was cut by shards of ice, and blood spurted from her pale skin. The evil eye was draining her life force, and her long, black hair was gradually drying out, but she was completely unaware, stubbornly continuing her attack on her target!

The Evil Eye—this was her last trump card. No one could have imagined that someone who already possessed the Eye of God would still pursue the Evil Eye, but it represented the highest power that humanity could wield.

How could Ruka Sangomiya possibly let such power go!

Kujo Takayuki slowly drew his sword.

Seeing his actions, Sangokami Ryuka laughed loudly, "You still keep that katana? Weren't you ashamed enough to take that sword and kill yourself after losing to me? Didn't you say that the lowly people of Umijima Island weren't qualified to be the Musou of the East? Seeing this reminds me of you, Takayuki-senpai. Twenty-five years ago on Narukami Island, I was the strongest swordsman in Inazuma! You were nothing but a scumbag kneeling on the ground, mocked and humiliated by me!"

“In the presence of a genius like you, I am indeed a disgrace,” Kujo Takayuki said softly. “But we have gods, priestess. You will never know what it feels like to be blessed by a god.”

Thunder light.

A bolt of lightning flashed by casually, and in a daze, Coral Palace Ruka seemed to see the direction of Narukami Island, where a gaze that had traversed thousands of miles swept over without any emotion.

Kujo Sara put away her weapon and was no longer worried. Sangomiya Ryuka stared blankly at the lightning that flashed from Kujo Takayuki's scabbard, watching it strike her like a dragon dancing.

She recognized what it was and screamed wildly, hoarsely, and desperately!

"A thousand hands and a hundred eyes!"

In an instant, the lightning shattered the greatsword made of ice crystals into pieces! Coral Palace Liuka's trajectory from high above was almost instantly halted; she seemed to lose all momentum and plummeted straight down!

The ecstasy of almost hitting Kujo Takayuki instantly turned into fury at the loss!