"Could it be that Kujou Sara, Kujou Masahito, and Gorou are really geniuses?"
Ember was greatly astonished by the scene before him. Books always described certain events as 'wars without smoke,' but today he witnessed a truly smokeless war.
"No, genius is a bit much. They are ordinary people now." Ember pondered for a moment, then retracted the title of 'genius.'
After all, both the Shogunate Army and the resistance had committed unethical acts. With the two canceling each other out, the commanders on both sides were neither geniuses nor monsters, but ordinary people.
"What exactly did you say to them?" Kamisato Ayato's shock was no less than Ember's.
He had previously judged that this war might be problematic based on the absence of nauseating blood nearby.
However, Kamisato Ayato never expected the Shogunate Army and the resistance to put on such a show right in front of him.
And it was quite spectacular, he had to admit.
"I didn't say anything, just told them not to fight anymore, as it wouldn't be good for anyone." Ember spread his hands, not having expected Kujou Sara and the others to come up with such a brilliant idea.
Worth encouraging, worth encouraging.
"Never mind, no matter what you said, Kujou will have a headache from it anyway." Hearing this, Kamisato Ayato no longer dwelled on what Ember had told Kujou Sara and Kujou Masahito.
In any case, if Kujou Takayuki were to learn of this scene, he would surely be fuming.
"It's good, but I wonder how long they can keep up this act." Ember looked at the people below vigorously 'fighting' and couldn't help but worry about how long such a scene could last.
"Haha, you don't need to worry about that, Ember." To his surprise, Kamisato Ayato laughed upon hearing this.
"What do you mean by that? Could it be that Kujou Takayuki, that old geezer, trusts Kujou Sara and Kujou Masahito so much that he didn't leave any of his own confidants?"
Ember pulled his head back and asked Kamisato Ayato. But before the latter could answer, he slapped his own head.
"It seems that's really the case, huh? One is the eldest daughter, the other the eldest son. If he doesn't trust Kujou Sara and Kujou Masahito, then there's no one else he can trust."
Ember nodded. This must be the truth.
"From what I understand, Kujou Takayuki, that old fellow, only trusts himself."
However, Kamisato Ayato shook his head at Ember's words.
"What I meant was, even if Kujou Takayuki's confidants are in the army, with their back-and-forth and Kujou Sara and Kujou Masahito's obstruction, the true battle orders would likely be delayed for a very long time before they could be issued."
"So it can only be delayed for a while?" Ember sighed with emotion, looking at the battlefield again, becoming the sole audience of this grand play.
If Kujou Takayuki wasn't so suspicious, it would be great; then it could probably be kept hidden forever.
"So that's why you're watching with such gusto here? Why don't you quickly take me to Higi Village to have a look?"
Kamisato Ayato patted the engrossed Ember, saying with a hint of helplessness. He suspected that if he hadn't pointed it out, Ember would have watched until the Shogunate Army and the resistance finished their fight.
"Hiss! If you hadn't said anything, I would have really forgotten! My apologies, I'll take you there right away!" Ember immediately reacted.
What are you looking at! You haven't even finished the important business, and you have time to watch here?
After quickly discerning the direction, Ember took the lead, guiding Kamisato Ayato across the battlefield and heading further away... The clear sky disappeared, replaced by an overcast one. The effects of the pervasive tatarigami seemed not so easy to dispel.
Kamisato Ayato had been running behind Ember for some distance now.
They had already arrived deep within Yashiori Island. Besides certain geographical features, the most recognizable aspect was the faint, lingering aura of tatarigami on Yashiori Island.
"Cough, cough, cough! tatarigami..." His throat and chest felt as if countless ants were crawling, and Kamisato Ayato finally couldn't bear it, breaking into a cough.
"tatarigami isn't pleasant, is it?" Ember, ahead, glanced back at Kamisato Ayato but showed no intention of stopping.
Kamisato Ayato, after all, was a Vision wielder. The tatarigami on Yashiori Island had already thinned considerably, so as long as he didn't settle there, he wouldn't run into any serious trouble.
"Indeed, it's unpleasant. It's hard to imagine how the residents of Yashiori Island endured it." After flushing his body with Hydro element power, Kamisato Ayato immediately felt much better.
However, he knew that ordinary people did not possess such abilities. For them, both elemental power and tatarigami were no different from deadly poison.
"Heh, endured it? To put it bluntly, if I hadn't been idle and planted a tree, Yashiori Island would probably be completely dead by now."
"By then, it would be too late to seal the tatarigami!"
Ember snorted. If he hadn't felt this island was somewhat dangerous and left a contingency plan, it would probably have become a dead island long ago, just like Seirai Island and Tsurumi Island.
"Isn't that all thanks to you, Ember? Once everything is resolved, feel free to make any request. I'll fulfill it even if it means giving up my position!"
Kamisato Ayato awkwardly rubbed his nose. How should he put it? It was due to the incompetence of all of them, both the Shogunate and the resistance.
"Forget it, you're doing quite well in this position. I'm afraid the next person to come up might be some kind of humanoid abomination again." Ember waved his hand, refusing.
Kamisato Ayato was one of the few normal people in Inazuma. Among a group of humanoid stars, he shone so brightly.
Ember certainly didn't want him to step down like this.
"See the big tree ahead? Higi Village is almost there."
The two chatted idly while pressing on without stopping. Before long, a golden gleam appeared before their eyes.
"Higi Village... how is it so large!" After a distant glance, Kamisato Ayato exclaimed.
The reason was simple: Higi Village before them was simply too vast, completely unlike a village.
"That's for sure, after all, the people in this village are most of the survivors on Yashiori Island today."
"Is that so?"
Kamisato Ayato observed for a while, then fell silent.
Upon reaching the village entrance, Ember looked left and right, not finding Washizu and the Crucible Knight. So he casually grabbed a villager and asked:
"Where are your village chief and those new tin cans?"
"Oh, you mean them. The village chief said they had great strength, so he took dozens of people with them to open a new mine in the back mountains."
The villager pointed to the low hills behind Higi Village. Those low hills might have been formed from an inconspicuous part of the Great Serpent's body; though small, they could still yield a considerable amount of crystal marrow.
A large portion of Higi Village's 'foreign exchange' was earned by selling these crystal marrow.
"Alright, let's climb the mountain!" After watching the villager leave, Ember began to call Kamisato Ayato to climb the mountain.
"Good, very cautious." Kamisato Ayato nodded approvingly, then followed Ember to set off again.
The mountains near Higi Village were not tall, and the vegetation was sparse, so Ember and Kamisato Ayato didn't spend much effort finding Washizu and their group.
"Push your qi to your chin here, that's how you open up the Hundred Forms Throat Pouch."
"I can't reach. Mine can only puff out my cheeks at most."
"Can't reach? Come look at my movements!"
... In a hidden clearing on the low hill, Ember and Kamisato Ayato finally saw Washizu and his group.
Some were trying to puff out their throats to spew flames, others were attempting to wield the dragon tails condensed behind them, and some even began to vibrate the golden wings behind their backs.
Watching the people in front, each displaying their divine might, the stone suspended in Kamisato Ayato's heart finally settled.
"Whew… their strength is truly impressive." While chatting, Kamisato Ayato's right hand reached into his left sleeve and pulled out a cup of milk tea.
Kamisato Ayato held the milk tea, just about to bring the straw to his mouth, when he suddenly felt a tightening in his brow.
"Don't drink anything in front of a Crucible Knight, hey! Dodge quickly!"
Then he saw Ember's big foot kicking over.
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