The space inside the cliff on Yashiori Island was unexpectedly vast, large enough to build several layers of factories and their accompanying warehouses.
"There shouldn't be any problems here!"
Shikanoin Heizou glanced at the solid wood floor beneath his feet. The heart-pounding purple aura from before didn't assault him, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.
"There's a big problem," Ember said, toying with the ritual pot in his hand that glowed with a purple light, pointing at the wary Fatui in the corner.
At the end of the corridor was a spacious Training Field. Of course, it wasn't used for fighting here.
Ember estimated this was where the Fatui held their meetings in this stronghold.
This Fatui stronghold, hidden in the mountains, was divided into several layers, and this fact was clearly visible from this square.
Mainly, the layers of Fatui, three deep inside and three deep outside, were too conspicuous for Ember to ignore.
"You two! What are you doing!" Someone's reprimand came from all around, but due to the dense crowd, Ember didn't know who shouted it.
"Hmph—, everyone, is there still any point in asking that?"
"Don't tell me those poisonous gases earlier were accidentally released by you," Shikanoin Heizou retreated a few steps, standing with Ember.
"Hey! Great Adventurer, can you hold them off? I'll scout out the terrain here!"
Shikanoin Heizou whispered to Ember. He looked up at the surrounding wooden structures; the light was dim, the patterns uniform, and it was divided into multiple layers. Looking up from here, it was like being deep inside a maze.
If no one figured out the terrain, they might be trapped and killed by the Fatui.
"Hold them off?" Ember heard Shikanoin Heizou's request, looked at the purple ritual pot in his hand, and nodded heavily.
"No problem, leave it to me!"
"Good! I'll be right back!"
Shikanoin Heizou heard Ember's confident reply and turned to run deeper into the Evil Eye Factory.
"Kid, since you're here, you might as well stay!" The Fatui certainly wouldn't let others wander freely in such an important place.
As Shikanoin Heizou and Ember separated, Fatui soldiers immediately approached him.
"It's you who should stay here! Taste my Hypnosis Arrow!"
Nocking an arrow, Ember raised his hand and shot several arrows glowing with a sacred purple light.
Hypnosis Arrow — a beast bone arrow with a water lily ointment on its tip. It has the effect of inducing the abnormal status of hypnosis.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The arrows accurately embedded themselves into the moving Fatui soldiers. The Fatui soldiers, who had been aggressively rushing towards Shikanoin Heizou, immediately collapsed to the ground as if their bones had been removed.
Seeing this scene, both Shikanoin Heizou and the surrounding Fatui were shocked.
Shikanoin Heizou touched his cheek. Many arrows had passed by his face with a strong gust of wind, making him almost think he would be hit.
Recalling the moment he competed with Kujou Sara in the martial arts tournament, Shikanoin Heizou vaguely felt that Ember's archery was even better than General Kujou's!
But the arrow placement… Shikanoin Heizou looked at the unconscious Fatui lying on the ground. They all had one thing in common.
That was, each of them had a wiggling arrow stuck in their rear.
"..."
Rubbing his eyes, Shikanoin Heizou ran straight away from there. The Great Adventurer Alice, who had visited Inazuma before, had made the Tri-Commission feel as if they were sitting on pins and needles. Looking at it this way… perhaps all Great Adventurers had some quirks!
Unbeknownst to him, Shikanoin Heizou had found a reasonable explanation for Ember's actions.
"It seems my aim isn't bad." Seeing that no one was chasing Shikanoin Heizou anymore, Ember turned to face the swarming Fatui.
"Speak! What is this place for? Tell me the truth! Otherwise, I'll make sure you regret it!"
Facing the Fatui, Ember immediately turned the tables and began to interrogate them.
This nearly baffled the Fatui opposite him. Anyone who didn't know would think this was Ember's territory.
"Knowing too much isn't good." With a cold snort, countless muzzles were aimed at Ember.
Not only that, Anemo Boxer, Electrohammer, and other melee units among the Fatui slowly approached Ember, stirring up elemental power.
Ember's archery earlier had indeed startled them. In Teyvat, having "guns" didn't mean one could completely overpower archers.
A skilled archer could split mountains and rocks with a single arrow, and striking an enemy from a thousand miles away wasn't impossible.
If they really wanted to compete, they'd need cannons.
However, the Fatui here clearly didn't have such good firepower, and deep in the mountains, even if they had cannons, they wouldn't dare fire them.
Otherwise, if the mountain collapsed, everyone would be buried with it.
"Fire!"
"Wait! Let me…"
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Just as Ember was about to say something, a series of flashes erupted from the dark muzzles, and the resulting smoke and sound completely obscured his figure and voice.
"Hiss…"
In a cloud of grayish-white smoke, a hint of purple suddenly emerged.
The Fatui, who were reloading and cautiously approaching, widened their eyes in horror. Even though each of them wore masks, they couldn't hide the panic that had spilled over.
"Damn it! Retreat quickly! Who released the remnants of a god?!"
Amidst a series of exclamations, the Fatui retreated step by step. Clearly, they knew the dangers of the remnants of a god better than anyone.
"I told you to wait, but you didn't listen, so is it my fault?" Ember walked out from a cloud of purple remnants of a god.
Beside his feet lay the ritual pot that had just been shattered by the Fatui. The rising remnants of a god were emanating from the broken pot.
The remnants of a god seemed to sense the breath of life; they suddenly came alive, surging frantically towards the retreating crowd.
"Thud!"
"Clatter!"
"Clang!"
The sounds of heads hitting the ground, free falls, and clashing weapons were incessant. Under such a high concentration of remnants of a god, even Fatui soldiers couldn't last long.
Whether on the ground or hidden in high places, as soon as the remnants of a god covered an area, it wouldn't be long before that place fell into a deadly silence.
"Hypnosis Pot?" Ember said, raising an eyebrow as he looked at the Fatui sprawled on the ground.
However, this Hypnosis Pot seemed to have some major side effects.
Even if these Fatui didn't die, they would probably be tormented by the remnants of a god on their bodies.
"This won't do, are you just going to die like this? Am I supposed to clean up the mess you made?" Ember thought for a moment. Given the current situation in Inazuma, the Fatui definitely bore a significant part of the blame.
You want to die? At least clean up your mess before you go!
"Click… click-click!"
The fragments of the ritual pot by Ember's feet trembled, then these fragments seemed to come alive, leaping back into his hand and recombining into a brand new ritual pot.
Ritual pots were always like this; they were inexhaustible pots. Each breakage meant the rebirth of these pots.
"Whoosh…"
The remnants of a god, which had been seeping everywhere like headless flies, were once again drawn by an invisible force, surging back into the ritual pot in Ember's hand.
"Ugh…"
"What are you groaning about? Lie still!"
Ember held a handful of Hypnosis Arrows. Whenever he saw a Fatui showing signs of waking up, he would give them a jab in the rear.
In a short while, all the Fatui had a neatly placed, wiggling arrow in their rear.
Looking at the Fatui who looked as if they were dead, Ember's eyes darted around, and he said with emotion:
"Sleep well. You won't have such good sleep when you become beasts of burden later."
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