Late at night, Higi Village fell into silence.
Although the Golden Tree's light was eternal and unchanging, it struggled to illuminate every corner of Higi Village.
Not to mention that at dusk today, the Golden Tree had moved from the center of the village to the village entrance. This made Higi Village's already poor lighting conditions even worse.
Due to a lack of fuel, villagers quickly ceased their activities after the last ray of sunlight vanished from the sky.
Aside from the Golden Tree, newly relocated to the village entrance, still emitting golden light, only a few watchtowers built on the outskirts of the village had any firelight.
And these were the few places in Higi Village equipped with long-range lights.
The searchlights bought from the pirates emitted bright, clear light, forming several intertwining beams in the darkness, extremely conspicuous.
"How is it? Have you found out?" On the hillside outside Higi Village, dense shadows lay prostrate on the ground, seemingly merged with the darkness.
A figure swiftly darted from a distance, silently blending into this mass of shadows.
"That runaway kid should be here."
The shadows writhed, and the figure that had just arrived came before the leader, responding.
"Is that so…"
Nojima Kazunari slightly closed his eyes. Originally, if that guy had just died quietly, no one in the world would have known that they were the ones who had broken the seal of the tatarigami.
But unexpectedly, that guy's escape speed was too fast, and in a blink of an eye, he had left their group far behind.
Fortunately, their group was a squad formed by like-minded companions from the resistance.
There were Sergeants from various brigades, and naturally, many of them were skilled in tracking.
Although the fleeing Shogunate soldier ran fast, he was severely wounded, neither treating his injuries nor concealing his footsteps.
Such carelessness, even the continuous rain on Yashiori Island could not save his life.
Nojima Kazunari shifted his body, looked down at Higi Village in the distance, surrounded by watchtowers, and asked in a deep voice:
"How is this village's defense?"
"Defense? It's very rudimentary, at most enough to guard against mountain bandits. Not to mention us, even the Shogunate Army couldn't be kept out."
The shadow spoke again, relaying the intelligence he had gathered.
Immediately, as if he had thought of something, his tone carried some hesitation: "Captain Nojima, you wouldn't be thinking…"
"That's right, there's no one else nearby, you know that, don't you?" Nojima's face was grim, a hint of madness revealing itself on his face, shrouded in darkness.
"No! This village isn't a small one! With just us, it's impossible to leave no one behind; someone will definitely escape!"
The shadow trembled a few times, then spoke rapidly.
"Are you hesitating, Anayama Shinkichi!" Nojima's voice grew a little louder.
"No, I'm not." Anayama Shinkichi lowered his head.
"I'm just pointing out the flaws in the plan, that's all," Anayama Shinkichi added, as if in defense.
"Heh heh, don't doubt the abilities of our brigade comrades." Nojima Kazunari looked back at the dozens of shadows lying prostrate behind him. These were fellow brigade members who harbored the ideal of "restoring the great serpent god's dignity."
It was because of them that the plan to destroy the tatarigami could be carried out. Although, the intelligence from that coward named "Nathan" was also indispensable.
"What's more… we still have this!" Nojima Kazunari revealed a glass bead at his waist.
It was a glass bead that looked like an eye, but its color was much dimmer.
A Delusion, originally equipment for Fatui elites, now appeared in the hands of the resistance.
"A Delusion. If you use it again, Captain Nojima, you…"
"Cough, cough, cough!" Anayama Shinkichi hadn't finished speaking when he heard Nojima Kazunari's violent coughing.
After several tremors, Nojima Kazunari opened his palm. Although it was dark, Anayama Shinkichi could vaguely see a splash of crimson on his palm.
"I don't have much time left. Before I die, to experience the thrill of freely manipulating elements, like an extension of one's arm, as Vision wielders do, wouldn't be a wasted life."
Nojima Kazunari squeezed the blood in his palm, dispersing it. His eyes, far from showing the sorrow of a dying man, were filled with eagerness.
"Remember, die for the great serpent god!"
Nojima Kazunari raised his arm and shouted.
"Die for the great serpent god!!!"
Seeing this, the shadows behind Nojima Kazunari also waved their arms in unison. When they looked at Higi Village again, it was no different from looking at a roadblock in their path… "Ha… Morimasa, what do you think that big tree in the village is? Today, it actually ran. Is it even a tree?"
Okubo looked at the Golden Tree not far in front of the watchtower, yawned, and asked his partner, Morimasa Kenji.
The area in front of this watchtower was empty yesterday, but today a big tree had appeared, and this tree had even run there by itself.
When Okubo saw this scene, he almost popped his eyeballs out in surprise.
"Shh… don't talk!" Morimasa Kenji's ears twitched, and he shushed his sturdy partner.
Then he walked to the watchtower railing and leaned down to examine the area below carefully.
Morimasa Kenji rubbed his eyes, his pupils rapidly dilating. Okubo, beside him, could even see his faintly glowing eyeballs.
"Is someone coming out to use the latrine?" Okubo, seeing Morimasa Kenji's wary demeanor, couldn't help but offer reassurance.
They had scouted the vicinity of Higi Village, and there was almost no one around.
Late at night, who would be wandering around the village besides villagers with urgent matters?
"I hope I'm overthinking, but let's stay alert. I can only hear sounds but can't see anyone, which is a bit strange."
Morimasa Kenji looked around. He could only hear sounds but found no one, which made him a little uncertain.
Could he be imagining things again? Or was the person who came out just in his blind spot?
After all, Morimasa Kenji's body, like other villagers, had undergone some changes, the most obvious being his powerful hearing, which had already affected his daily life.
Sometimes, in the dead of night, faint sounds would reach his ears, making it hard for him to distinguish whether it was tinnitus or something happening in the deep night.
To this extent, his hearing had actually weakened. However, Morimasa Kenji wasn't too bothered. The cost required to remove the tatarigami, there had to be some.
If he could cure the legendary tatarigami illness, which kills invisibly and is more terrifying than a great plague, without paying anything, he would instead feel suspicious.
Below the watchtower, in the blind spot of the two men's Vision, several resistance members dressed as pirates lay steadily in the shadows on the ground, not even breathing heavily.
As the firelight from the watchtower stopped swaying, the resistance members below began to communicate.
"Who was clumsy just now! Do you want to taste military law?!"
One of the leading squad leaders rapidly changed his hand gestures, questioning his team members behind him.
The defenses of this village were only at the level of an ordinary village. The watchtower setup, the concealment of traps… all of these, in the eyes of their elite resistance force, were full of loopholes.
Yet, such a simple infiltration and assassination mission was almost discovered by the villagers on this rudimentary watchtower.
How could this not enrage the resistance squad leader?
If they weren't currently on a mission, he would definitely drag out that foolish guy behind him and deal with him on the spot, to serve as a warning to others.
Seeing that the prostrate figures behind him made no movement, the squad leader's anger gradually subsided.
The immediate priority was to blind the "eyes" of this village; everything else had to wait.
"Prepare!"
The squad leader's prostrate posture changed to a half-crouch, and his palm was slightly raised, appearing so conspicuous among the low-lying figures.
"Ascend the tower!"
With a change in hand gesture, the half-crouching squad leader, like a nimble leopard, swiftly and silently climbed the watchtower.
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