Kamisato Ayato looked at Ember with burning eyes, so bright they could almost be used as light bulbs.
Before, he thought Ember's strength was only at the Harbinger level, perhaps a bit stronger, but limited.
Who knew, upon seeing him today, that he wasn't a Harbinger at all? He was clearly a God!
And a very powerful God at that. Legend has it that the great serpent Orobashi couldn't withstand a single strike from the Raiden Shogun, yet Ember blocked it without a scratch.
Although whether that strike was truly from the Raiden Shogun remained a mystery, it couldn't have been far off.
After all, the Raiden Shogun's power was on par with the Raiden Shogun herself; both were on the same level.
If they could bring Ember into their ranks, why wait for a suitable candidate? They could march directly to Tenshukaku right now and make the Raiden Shogun understand what "the will of humanity" truly meant!
"Do I have something on my face, for you to stare at me like that?" Ember wiped his helmet, making it even blacker.
Why did Kamisato Ayato look at him as if he wanted to devour him?
"Cough, cough, cough! I was just too excited inside, unable to control my emotions. My apologies! My apologies!"
Kamisato Ayato coughed a few times awkwardly. The thought that his long-prepared plan might soon come to fruition filled him with an uncontrollable excitement.
"Tell me, what's the plan? You seem so worked up. And isn't your General not exactly easy to talk to? How do you plan to convince her?"
Ember saw Kamisato Ayato's rare moment of gaffe (losing composure) and grew even more curious about his "plan."
"Indeed, as Ember said, the General values valor and will more. Mere rhetoric cannot persuade her."
Kamisato Ayato strongly agreed with Ember's assessment of the Raiden Shogun. Compared to debates, the Raiden Shogun preferred to see a person's courage and will.
How did the main families of the Tri-Commission become the main families? It was because, in the distant past, the will of the three main families' ancestors was recognized by the Raiden Shogun, thus making them the main families.
"So you're saying a fight is inevitable?" Ember scanned Kamisato Ayato from head to toe. If he went, his life or death would depend entirely on the Raiden Shogun's mood.
Kamisato Ayato saw Ember's scrutinizing gaze and immediately knew what he was thinking.
"Haha, Ember, don't look at me. With my small physique, I stand no chance."
"That's not true. Give you some buffs, and you could still exchange a few blows with your General."
Kamisato Ayato's strength was not as simple as his appearance suggested; he was actually quite powerful.
It just wasn't enough when compared to the Raiden Shogun.
"Is it Yae Miko then? Besides the Raiden Shogun, she seems to be the strongest in Inazuma, right?" Ember scratched his head and asked.
"Not exactly. While Guuji is strong, she is still quite a bit weaker compared to the General," Kamisato Ayato shook his head, then continued:
"This person, we were still waiting for her before; she hasn't arrived in Inazuma yet."
"No way? How is your plan so desperate? You need an outsider to help? Besides, what outsider could defeat the Raiden Shogun…"
Ember's voice gradually trailed off, because Kamisato Ayato's gaze was simply too piercing.
"Alright, alright, I won't speak. You go first." Ember wisely shut his mouth, deciding to let Kamisato Ayato finish speaking before discussing anything else.
"Sigh," Kamisato Ayato sighed, "where do we not know this plan is desperate? But we have no choice but to do this, after all, the opponent is the General."
If possible, who would place their hopes on an outsider? This was simply a last resort.
"Then who is this person…?"
"Ember, you should be very familiar with her. It's Lumine, who, like you, has recently risen to fame."
"So Lumine offended the Yashiro Commission at some point without me knowing? Tell me how she offended you, and I'll have her apologize."
Ember immediately thought Kamisato Ayato wanted Lumine to go to her death.
"Lumine has certainly never offended the Yashiro Commission. It's just that among the people we could find, she is the most suitable."
"You want her to fight your General? I think it's not much different from you going. No, it's not much different from all three of you going together."
Ember thought for a moment, even pulling Yae Miko into the comparison.
"You've misunderstood," Kamisato Ayato waved his hand, then explained:
"Of course, we know Lumine's strength cannot be compared to the General's. But as Ember said, we can give her some buffs to elevate her strength to a level where she can fight the General."
"That's strange. If it's such a good method, why don't you use it yourselves?" Ember immediately spotted the loophole.
Suddenly boosting one's strength, and by so much, could not possibly be a good thing.
"Haha, we'd like to, but we can't use it," Kamisato Ayato gave a bitter laugh, then asked, "Ember, do you know about the Gnosis?"
"I know about it. It seems to be something that collects faith and converts it into power." Ember nodded. A Gnosis was like an amplifier that could enhance the holder's power.
However, Zhongli and Venti didn't seem to care much about it. Zhongli's position as the Geo Archon was earned through battle; he was already the strongest God, so after amplification, wouldn't he still be the strongest?
As for Venti… a Gnosis is meant to collect faith, and he had slept for so long that his Gnosis had been dormant for just as long. If he were to reveal the power his Gnosis possessed, his other six colleagues would probably burst out laughing.
Clearly, the Raiden Shogun's attitude towards the Gnosis should be similar to Zhongli's, and indeed, it was.
"Yes, and it is in the hands of Guuji Yae Miko."
"She really doesn't care, does she? To entrust such an important item to others for safekeeping, isn't she afraid of losing it?" Ember couldn't help but exclaim when he heard that the Raiden Shogun truly didn't care about the Gnosis.
"And then?" After his exclamation, Ember continued to ask. What good was having a Gnosis? Could Yae Miko really mobilize the power within the Gnosis?
"Guuji has been researching the Gnosis these past few days and has already achieved some results. With a suitable candidate, the Plane of Euthymia can be opened.
"At that time, Guuji will enter the Plane of Euthymia with Lumine, gathering the wishes of the people of Inazuma, to give Lumine the strength to stand against the General!"
Kamisato Ayato slowly laid out their plan. As he spoke of the exciting parts, even he, who usually showed no emotion, had a hint of excitement in his tone.
"But listening to this… it sounds like you have no part in it at all?" Ember's single sentence choked Kamisato Ayato.
"Cough, cough, cough… I haven't gotten to my role yet," Kamisato Ayato coughed a few times, then continued:
"Just fighting the General is not enough to convince her. So, we also need to let the General see the will of Inazuma's people resisting the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree."
"Only the resistance can achieve this."
"I understand! You're going to be a guiding hand!" Ember pointed at Kamisato Ayato and exclaimed loudly.
He hadn't expected Kamisato Ayato, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, to actually become a traitor. Truly, one cannot judge a book by its cover!
"Don't talk nonsense. Watatsumi Island is inherently a part of Inazuma; how is this being a guiding hand? Furthermore, the people I can bring over cannot threaten the General in the slightest."
Kamisato Ayato vehemently refuted the term "guiding hand," but he did not deny that he would transport the resistance.
This was already part of the plan. The Raiden Shogun resided deep within Tenshukaku. Although the resistance had rebelled, they could only push the front line to the vicinity of Yashiori Island.
The Raiden Shogun, residing deep in the rear, might not feel the impact of the war at all. That's why Kamisato Ayato intended to transport the resistance into Tenshukaku, to make her directly face the people's will to resist.
Combined with Yae Miko and Lumine, empowered by wishes, the probability of success was very high!
The only flaw in this plan, perhaps, was the variable of "Lumine."
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"