It's not a solution for the Shogunate Army and the resistance to keep fighting like this."
Elliot rubbed his temples, the Hydro element runes flickering slightly with his movement.
Matt excitedly waved his massive fist: "Why don't we just step in and beat both sides into submission?"
"It would cause too much commotion."
Zane refuted.
"It would alert the Raiden Shogun, that shut-in."
The Wolf King's electronic eyes suddenly glowed blue: "Proposal: Initiate War Simulation Game."
As he spoke, he projected an exquisite tactical table covered with miniature models of the Shogunate Army and the resistance.
"Oh? A board game?"
Jesse leaned in with interest, suddenly pulling out a box of Hilichurl chess pieces from his pocket.
"Then we have to use our exclusive pieces!"
Zane swung his thunder hammer, and four luxurious seats inlaid with Electro element crystals appeared out of thin air.
Matt sat down cautiously, only to "crunch" and crush the backrest.
"It's fine, it's fine."
Elliot stifled a laugh and handed over a bucket of glue.
"We aren't here to judge furniture quality anyway."
The Wolf King elegantly transformed into human form, its mechanical arm holding a fruit platter: "Would the Masters like some Sunsettia juice?"
"They're all Hilichurl pieces..."
Elliot picked up a Hilichurl Shooter wearing a pirate eye patch.
Jesse smiled mysteriously, suddenly slapping down a model: "Look! The Hilichurl Special Forces Squad!"
The model showed finely carved Hilichurl Grenadiers carrying rocket launchers, Hilichurl Thugs wearing camouflage, and even a Samachurl sitting in a wheelchair.
"What the heck is with this wheelchair?"
Zane's mouth twitched.
"Field Medic!"
Jesse declared righteously.
"According to the Geneva Convention..."
"The Geneva Convention definitely doesn't say Hilichurls need wheelchairs!"
Elliot complained.
The Wolf King interjected at the appropriate moment: "Game rules loaded. Special clause: Any Hilichurl variant unit is permitted."
"OK, let's start!"
——————
—— The silence of the battlefield was more suffocating than the slaughter itself.——
The sea breeze of Nazuchi Beach carried a salty, fishy scent as it swept over the two opposing armies.
The sound of waves crashing against the shore was particularly jarring at this moment.
The resistance array was orderly; the soldiers' eyes were sharp and their fighting spirit high.
Although they were vastly outnumbered by the Shogunate Army, their successive victories boosted their morale, making it seem as if every breath carried the conviction of certain victory.
The Shogunate Army, however, was the complete opposite.
Since Kujou Sara was transferred from the front lines, the Shogunate Army's command had fallen into chaos.
After several engagements, they not only failed to suppress the resistance but were continuously defeated.
If the resistance hadn't been limited in troops, preventing them from holding captured strongholds long-term, the front line would likely have already advanced to the base of Inazuma City.
Now, the Shogunate Army soldiers gripped their weapons, cold sweat seeping into their palms.
Their eyes focused unanimously on the figure at the front of the resistance array—the resistance General, Gorou.
He did not speak, merely stood there quietly, his bow unstrung, his arrows un-nocked.
Yet, those sharp eyes seemed capable of piercing the mind of every enemy.
—— Oppression spread silently.
Several Shogunate samurai who had previously been defeated by Gorou in duels on the front lines now looked pale.
They desperately clutched their sword hilts, their knuckles white from the strain, yet dared not rush forward.
—— The crushing defeat from last time was still vivid in their memories.
"Hey, what are you waiting for?"
A young Shogunate soldier lowered his voice, which trembled slightly.
"If we wait any longer, morale will completely collapse!"
"Shut up!"
The commanding samurai snarled through gritted teeth.
"You think I don't want to charge? But that guy... he's not someone ordinary people can handle!"
Gorou remained motionless, merely narrowing his eyes as his gaze swept over the Shogunate Army's formation.
—— He was waiting.
—— Waiting for a flaw, waiting for a moment.
—— Or, waiting for an opportunity that would make them retreat without a fight.
—— After all, a true general never needs needless slaughter.
—— It is enough for the enemy to collapse on their own.
Within the Shogunate Army, soldiers had already begun to unconsciously step backward.
—— Fear was spreading.
—— The outcome, perhaps, was already decided.
The sea breeze of Nazuchi Beach suddenly froze.
"Ya!"
This childish Hilichurl battle cry sounded incredibly abrupt on the solemn battlefield.
Both sides' soldiers turned simultaneously, only to see five Hilichurls carrying sizzling Pyro Slime barrels, hopping onto the beach flanking the two armies.
"Something's wrong..."
Gorou's dog ears suddenly perked up.
"Normal Hilichurls seeing an army should..."
"Yaaaaaaaa——!!!"
A deafening explosion interrupted his judgment.
A searing white fireball soared into the sky, the shockwave flipping over all the soldiers in the front row.
Gorou gripped the ground tightly, watching helplessly as a Mushroom cloud bloomed before his eyes.
"The power... something is wrong!"
A Kujou Clan samurai climbed up, his face covered in blood.
"How could a Pyro Slime..."
His voice cut off.
On the sea surface, bizarre, faint blue flames were Burning fiercely.
There was no oil or combustible material; the flames danced on the crests of the waves like living things.
"Hooowl——!!!"
A chilling battle cry came from the sea of fire.
The resistance archers suddenly found that their arrows were rattling wildly in their quivers.
"Form ranks! Form ranks quickly!"
Gorou's shout was distorted.
When the first metal war boot crushed a Burning wave, the entirety of Nazuchi Beach fell into a deathly silence.
Is that... a Hilichurl?
No, that was clearly—
"How could there be Hilichurls like that..."
A Shogunate veteran collapsed onto the ground.
Marching out of the flames were Hilichurl Heavy Infantry, armed to the teeth.
They wore metal masks inscribed with bizarre runes, and their standard shields flowed with lava-like patterns.
Even more terrifying, as these Hilichurls walked, the sand beneath their iron boots Crystalized.
"Whoosh!"
The first crossbow bolt pierced the air, immediately shooting through the chests of three Shogunate soldiers.
Only when the bodies fell did people realize those bolts were concentrated Electro element crystals.
"Catapults! It's catapults!"
Following the sharp warning, Burning boulders streaked across the sky.
When the first one landed on the sea, the entire surface instantly boiled—those weren't stones at all, but Pyro Slimes compressed to the extreme!
"Eight... eight Hilichurl Chieftains..."
Gorou's tail was completely bristled.
Behind the legion, eight heavily armored Hilichurl Chieftains were simultaneously raising their respective weapons.
The Delusions embedded in their chests lit up simultaneously, and the elemental power across the entire battlefield began to run wild.
What was most despairing was the sheer number.
The Hilichurls pouring out of the sea of fire had completely swallowed the coastline as far as the eye could see.
The seawater they stepped through Vaporized into mist, the sand they trod on turned to glass, and even the air was warping.
"How is this possible..."
The Kujou Clan samurai's katana clattered to the ground.
"How could Hilichurls..."
"Hold the line! Hold the line!"
Gorou's roar finally woke the stunned soldiers.
But it was too late.