Boom!!
Purple lightning descended like divine punishment, instantly purging all the monsters around Kitsune Saiguu.
"Lady Kitsune Saiguu, please hold on,"
a voice rang out.
The Thunderbird Kapatcirli descended from the sky, lightning surging around her body, her presence overwhelming.
Yet, judging from the countless wounds covering her form, it was clear she had fought her way here all the way from Seirai Island.
"Kapatcirli… thank you,"
Kitsune Saiguu smiled faintly.
Two thousand years ago, Jiang Yan had saved Ruu. Although Ruu had long since grown old and passed on, his descendants continued to live on Seirai Island generation after generation.
And even after Ruu's death, Kapatcirli had not left. She remained on Seirai Island, guarding Ruu's bloodline.
"If you're thanking anyone, thank Jiang Yan,"
Kapatcirli said calmly.
"If not for him, I wouldn't be standing with you now."
Indeed—before Jiang Yan departed, he had made a pact with Kapatcirli.
If Inazuma were ever to face a calamity of extinction, then for the sake of Ruu—whom Jiang Yan had saved—she was to protect Inazuma.
She wasn't required to save it outright.
She only needed to hold the line until Jiang Yan arrived.
Clearly, Jiang Yan had already been laying the groundwork for the Cataclysm of Khaenri'ah long ago.
He knew that when that time came, Raiden Ei would go searching for Raiden Makoto, and Kitsune Saiguu would perish in the disaster.
Though Torachiyo would not die immediately, she would eventually succumb to agony and death from Abyssal corruption after the war.
The Cataclysm of Khaenri'ah could be said to have completely reshaped Inazuma.
Most of Inazuma's original upper echelon died or went mad, leaving behind only a vacant, broken Raiden Ei.
If not for Yae Miko stepping up to shoulder the burden, no one knew how long Inazuma could have survived under Ei's rule.
That was why, from the very moment Jiang Yan met Ruu, a whole series of preparations had already begun.
With Kapatcirli joining the fray, the situation at the Grand Narukami Shrine was effectively stabilized.
No matter how endless the monster tide was, Kapatcirli was a god—there was a gulf like heaven and earth between her and mere monsters.
As for Inazuma City, although Torachiyo led the oni clans in a desperate defense of the front lines, casualties among the soldiers were severe.
Torachiyo's face was twisted with ferocity, her moonlike countenance stained with blood.
She stared around her, the cries of the dying filling her ears.
"All soldiers! You must hold the line!"
she roared.
"We are the last line of defense for Inazuma City!"
"Behind us are the civilians of Inazuma—our parents, our spouses, our children! We cannot retreat!"
She continuously rallied the morale of the troops around her.
At this moment, both the Tenryou Commission and the oni clans displayed fierce resolve.
After learning from Liyue's methods of military training, Raiden Makoto had introduced them to Inazuma as well.
The soldiers of Inazuma were no longer the same as they once were.
"The Eternal Path endures—Narukami shall be eternal!"
Tenryou Commission soldiers and oni warriors roared in unison as they slaughtered monsters without pause.
Torachiyo herself did not slow for a moment.
Her blade flashed again and again, cutting down monsters like ripe stalks of rice, repelling wave after wave of assaults.
But just then, a massive monster seized the opening and lunged forward, biting down viciously.
Torachiyo's pupils shrank. She tried to turn—
—but the monster's gaping maw was already upon her.
"Lady Torachiyo!!"
The surrounding soldiers saw the danger and tried to rush over, but were blocked by the press of monsters.
Boom!!!!
At that critical moment, a beam of light tore through the clouds, instantly piercing the monster's body and blasting straight into the horde behind it.
A massive mushroom cloud slowly rose from the ground.
Not only Torachiyo—even the Tenryou Commission soldiers locked in combat froze in shock.
That sudden laser strike stunned everyone on the battlefield.
High in the sky, a colossal aerial warship descended.
"W-What… what is that?!"
one soldier muttered in disbelief.
"A… a monster!!"
another oni exclaimed, fear in his eyes.
Even Torachiyo's expression turned grave.
Within the city, the civilians of Inazuma trembled.
The enormous warship that had suddenly descended from the heavens left everyone deeply shaken.
The Liyue Air Force rarely appeared. Aside from the grand military parade during the first gathering of the Seven Gods two thousand years ago, they had almost never shown themselves.
At that time, Torachiyo had been stationed in Inazuma and had not accompanied Raiden Makoto to witness the parade.
As for these soldiers, they had never seen such a thing at all.
Facing this monstrous construct descending from the sky—one that had wiped out an entire wave of monsters in a single strike—
no one could be sure whether it was friend or foe.
Especially with the battlefield already at a disadvantage.
Any sudden variable could become the final straw that broke the defenders.
[Liyue Air Force, Aerial Fortress Wu Horse.]
[Greetings to all of Inazuma.]
[Please forgive our sudden entry into Inazuman airspace. May we request energy resupply?]
At that moment, the colossal warship in the sky suddenly spoke.
Its vast voice echoed even into Inazuma City.
Immediately afterward, countless beams of light once again rained down upon the distant monster tide.
At sea, the Chenyu Fleet continued slaughtering the monsters while firing in coordination toward the marked positions provided by Wu Horse.
"G-Great! It's Liyue's fleet!"
"Liyue has come to support us!"
"Inazuma is saved!!"
Cheers erupted among the civilians.
Even Torachiyo and the soldiers finally let out a breath of relief.
"Where is the Wood Spirit Adeptus?"
"Didn't your Tianquan Lord come with you?"
Torachiyo stared up at the massive warship hovering in the sky.
She didn't see the figure she was hoping for, so she shouted loudly.
"The Adeptus did not come,"
Wu Horse replied promptly from above.
It seemed that Liyue's situation was far from optimistic as well.
After all, Liyue was vast, with many regions to defend.
If Inazuma—a mere island nation—was facing such overwhelming monster tides, then Liyue's situation could only be just as dire, if not worse.
Torachiyo understood this clearly.
Although Jiang Yan's absence left her with a sense of loss, the fact that Liyue could still send aid at such a time was already more than enough.
Even though she didn't know that this fleet had, in truth, only charged into Inazuma to prevent the monster tide from entering Liyue—and to forcibly seek resupply.
Still, with the Chenyu Fleet joining the battle, the situation in Inazuma City was finally relieved, if only a little.
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