Dan Oni Roku walked up to Nojima Kazunari, pinning him firmly with his knee, then savagely plunged the wakizashi in his hand into Nojima Kazunari's back.
"Pfft… gurgle…"
The sound of gushing blood and the blade cutting through flesh resounded, staining Dan Oni Roku's already dull armor crimson once more.
"Ugh…"
"Heh… heh… it's useless…"
A small pool of blood spread beneath Nojima Kazunari's body. His voice grew fainter and his breathing weaker, until he finally became completely still.
The crowd finally stirred, but only with sounds of fear and retching. Yet, the captured individuals remained unresponsive.
It was as if the person who had just died wasn't their captain.
"If you could apply such resolve elsewhere, I imagine a Vision or something similar would be well within your grasp."
Washizu saw the situation and knew he wouldn't get any answers. So he waved his hand and said to the few who could still stand:
"Kill them. Bury them under the tree."
..."Ha… ha…"
"I'm exhausted."
Dan Oni Roku leaned on his shovel, resting against the Golden Tree.
"Tired already?" Washizu, seeing Dan Oni Roku panting, teased him.
"What do you think? I just killed one, and now I have to dig a pit." Dan Oni Roku rolled his eyes at Washizu, speechless.
"Sigh—if only they could use this determination elsewhere… they'd surely get a Vision, wouldn't they?"
Washizu took out a dangerous-looking glass bead from his hand—a Delusion stripped from the Sergeants.
Initially, Washizu thought it was a Vision, but after a closer inspection, he realized it wasn't.
This was likely a tool for using elements developed by some faction; which faction, he didn't know.
In any case, Washizu wouldn't use this thing. Because on the bodies of those Sergeants, he saw many signs of premature aging. Washizu hadn't lived long enough yet; he wouldn't trade his lifespan for elemental power.
"If it were elsewhere, these people probably wouldn't be so deranged." Dan Oni Roku scoffed, then fell silent for a moment before saying with lingering fear, "I'm sorry, this trouble started because of me, bringing you such a big problem."
"Haha, if people in Higi Village had died, I'd probably resent you, but now…"
Washizu raised his eyebrows, looking at the many burnt items in the village, and joked, "Let's just consider it a renovation for the village!"
Dan Oni Roku heard this, looked up at the smiling Washizu, shook his head, and smiled too.
"How can you, a village chief, be as inscrutable as Ember, that iron can?"
"Who called me?"
Speak of Ember, and Ember arrived.
He poked his head out from within the Golden Tree, looking left at Washizu and right at Dan Oni Roku.
"What is that?!"
"A ghost!"
Both Washizu and Dan Oni Roku were startled by the sight, but upon seeing it was Ember, they actually found it somewhat normal.
"Have you two finished everything?" Ember asked, seeing the two slacking off.
"Yes, we're done. They're all sleeping under this big tree now." Washizu pointed to the ground of the Golden Tree.
"I didn't realize you were so decisive. And quick to act." Ember stepped out from the Golden Tree, quite surprised that Washizu had handled things so quickly.
"Partly because of me, and partly thanks to Morgott." Washizu nodded, then shook his head, not directly denying it.
"How so?" Ember floated out from within the Golden Tree.
"Because most of the attackers were killed by Morgott. We only dealt with a very small portion."
Washizu recalled what the villagers had said and couldn't help but marvel at Morgott's mystery and power.
According to the villagers, they had seen Morgott at different times and in different places. The successful resolution of this crisis owed much to the efforts of this large figure shrouded in a cloak.
"No wonder Morgott's evaluation of you was that there's a lot of room for improvement." Ember nodded.
When Morgott returned, the first thing he mentioned were the various oversights of Higi Village during this incident.
"What did he say again?" Ember stroked his chin, pondering for a moment before saying:
"The watchtowers are scattered, and there are too many blind spots."
"No traps were set in the blind spots, and the lighting near the watchtowers is insufficient."
"There's no patrol team within the village; there's simply no ability to respond to emergencies."
...The more Ember spoke, the more embarrassed Washizu's face became. He also understood that Morgott's words were not unfounded; if Morgott hadn't intervened this time, the initial surprise attack alone would have been enough to put Higi Village in a tough spot.
Perhaps Higi Village could still have eventually wiped out all the attacking resistance, but the price to pay would not have been so simple.
"I know, I know. In the future, if there are any loopholes in the village's defenses, tell Morgott to point them out!" Washizu nodded in agreement to Ember while hastily writing down Ember's words.
These were things that couldn't be found anywhere else; he should write down as much as he could.
Seeing Washizu writing diligently, Ember patted him on the shoulder, "Forget it, no need to write. Let Morgott guide you."
"Strengthening your power in troubled times is never a bad thing."
"That's great, but where is Morgott?" Washizu was also excited; their village was just an ordinary village, and its defenses relied entirely on the villagers' experience.
There were undoubtedly many loopholes, and if they could receive guidance from Morgott, the village's safety would surely be further enhanced!
"Look at you, so excited. There are also many flaws in your own use of power; if you have nothing else to do, you can also ask him." Ember waved his hand at the excited Washizu.
But he waved for a long time, and Morgott didn't appear. Now, the previous awkwardness shifted from Washizu to Ember.
"Morgott!" Ember stopped waving. His voice rose a few octaves, but still, no one responded.
"Could it be that he killed too many enemies before and is now resting from exhaustion?" Dan Oni Roku tried to alleviate the awkward atmosphere.
"He'd be tired from so few people?" Ember declared it impossible. He turned around and ran back into the Golden Tree.
"Morgott?!"
"Mohg is looking for you, Morgott!!"
"I misspoke just now, the Elden Beast is looking for you!!!"
...Ember immediately merged into the Golden Tree. Almost at the same time Ember entered the Golden Tree, his heart-wrenching cries came from within it.
After a long while, Ember emerged from the Golden Tree, patting his chest.
"I guess he was so homesick that he ran back on his own."
Ember said with a sigh. Just now, he had "invited" everyone related to Morgott to Teyvat, but he couldn't even lure out Morgott's shadow.
Considering that this included Morgott's favorite Great Golden Tree, the personification of the elden ring—the Elden Beast, Ember guessed that Morgott had probably run back to The Lands Between.
This made him sigh with emotion; he was, after all, the previous king, and his influence was not what it used to be. Morgott had actually left without even reporting!
But Ember then thought, he hadn't actually said that one needed to report before leaving. In that case, Morgott's departure was quite normal.
Shaking his head to clear away the jumbled thoughts, Ember quickly calmed down.
Morgott's departure, for Ember, was at most a small surprise.
As for any anger at being disrespected, or overstepping the king's authority, Ember's mind didn't even go there.
He never considered himself a king; it was always others who called him king.
However, as more and more people did so, Ember truly became a king.
"Ran back because he was homesick?" Washizu found this reason far-fetched, but then again, it seemed quite reasonable.
Morgott was definitely not from Inazuma, so perhaps he really missed his hometown?
"It seems the defense of Higi Village still falls to me, this amateur." Washizu shook his head, smiling wryly.
"Actually, not necessarily." Ember looked at the fierce-looking Dan Oni Roku beside him, who was tearing off bandages, and slowly said.
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