Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

"No, it's an alchemical technique for enchanting weapons, which allows people to wield swords with elemental power. It's a profound secret of swordsmanship, not something an ordinary person can handle... You back off and hide well. Don't worry, Ruko and I aren't weaklings either."

Ah, right, right, I'm the only one who's completely powerless.

Before the battle began, Shen Liang took off running and hid behind a rock on the mountainside, only sticking his head out to observe the situation.

This decisive act of fleeing disgusted Tanba Tessei. He spat on the ground with a cold laugh, and walked over step by step, carrying a katana that was burning with flames. He mocked, "Is this your Coral Palace? No wonder it's a country ruled by shrine maidens. Grown men actually hide behind women and let them fight. You have no manliness at all! Such a nation should just obediently be a second-class nation. You are not even worthy of being subjects of His Highness the Great Lord... Why bother resisting?"

Coral Palace Heart Sea and Ruko's little faces both darkened, but since they were both highly educated shrine maidens, they couldn't curse, so they could only keep their little faces dark.

But Shen Liang was quite clever. While he was hiding, he looked up what "Okuden" meant, so he laughed loudly from behind the rock: "Indeed, you have manly spirit. But looking closely, you've been expelled from your sect and are living like a savage, eating raw meat and drinking blood. Aren't you a man? How dare you call yourself an Okuden? Does your Iwazo-ryu school even recognize a man like you who's disgraced the sect?"

Tanba Tessō was clearly exasperated: "Shut up! I wasn't expelled from the sect! I just..."

"You're just unwanted?" Shen Liang tried to break down his defenses with a sarcastic tone. Modern people can't compare to Teyvats in terms of martial arts, but the yin-yang skills that modern people have developed in the internet age are different.

"Let me tell you, if you went back to Narukami Island now, your wife would have run off with someone else long ago. Do you think anyone would want a poor wretch like you, who lives a life of hardship and barely earns five million Mora? Oh, right, I forgot you can't go back. If you go back, you'll be killed first and then questioned, without even going to the Heavenly Prison. Your sect looks down on you, your country doesn't want you, your wife dumped you. I'm wondering where you get the nerve to talk about 'Your Highness the Great Lord'? If the Thunder God really blessed you, would you still be sent to Narukami Island by the Heavenly Envoy?"

"you!"

"How despicable! I'm really serious." Shen Liang shook his head and lamented his misfortune. "Even though you've been reduced to a grotesque state by the soldiers, you still think you're from Mingshen Island. They're eating while they're shooting your father without a second thought. You can't even get a friendly face, yet you look down on Haizhi Island, which feeds you with their own filth. Indeed, Haizhi Island is dishonest. At least give them a meal."

Chapter Eighteen: Sister Xinhai still has your right cheek to pinch.

Danbo Tiesheng's hands trembled as he listened, while Coral Palace Xinhai was completely dumbfounded. She hadn't expected that this young man, though not skilled in hand-eye coordination, was truly sharp-tongued and could spew insults like a storyteller on a Liyue bridge.

Who doesn't know how to type? Which of the younger generation in the new China hasn't engaged in heated debates with a group of trolls? From Tieba to Bilibili to Zhihu, everyone has become proficient at using various styles of trolls and sophistry from different angles.

The truth is, Shen Liang's sarcastic remarks are almost an instinct for keyboard warriors; he can say things without thinking. His mind is currently focused on something else.

He is considering the possibility of testing the gun on the Sea Demon.

This was the first time he had encountered bandits from Teyvat. He realized he had made a mistake: he had only thought about how ordinary people were physically strong and how the Eye of God could stop bullets, but he had forgotten that even ordinary people could possess armor.

Although the armor of the Sea Demon was worn, it was clearly Japanese-style guzu, thick and reliable, almost entirely composed of iron plates and bamboo strips. Shen Liang also noticed a protrusion in the middle of the breastplate, a bulletproof slope designed to withstand firearms, meaning that modern armor design already had an awareness of firearms.

I just don't know if it can compete with the Desert Eagle.

"Well said! Ryoko is the best!" Ruko cheered deliberately when she saw Tamba Tesei's face turn as red as his armor with anger.

"This is outrageous!" Danbo Tessei swallowed his anger, which turned into a sinister look as he stared in Shen Liang's direction. "All you do is talk. I wonder what kind of despair you'll show when I cut off your limbs, gouge out your tongue, and humiliate your two lovers in front of you."

"That's such a cliché villain line," Shen Liang said, but his expression turned cold.

Although he didn't particularly like Coral Palace Xin Hai, making threats against women was one of the things Shen Liang hated most, and every time he encountered such a situation, he would think of his group of younger sisters.

Without further verbal sparring, the furious man, wielding a knife, charged towards Coral Palace Heart Sea, the tip of the blade leaving a trail of flames on the ground!

He didn't go looking for Shen Liang because in his eyes, Coral Palace Heart Sea, who possessed the Eye of God, was the only one with fighting power. Killing Coral Palace Heart Sea would naturally be a piece of cake for the others.

"I'm not good at going to the front lines." Coral Palace Heart Sea gritted her teeth and controlled the water elements around her to condense into a water curtain. Fortunately, the air on Sea Island was very humid and the water elements were abundant, so her water curtain rose up quickly.

However, a soft water curtain could not possibly withstand Tanba Tessei's charged, powerful strike. Coral Palace Heart Sea raised dozens of water curtains in front of her, almost forming a thick city wall!

This isn't to block the blade from striking, but to block the opponent's physical advance. If a person is entangled in the water curtain, the blade can't cut through them. A person is much larger than a blade and can't break through the multiple layers of water.

"Hmph! Get ready!" But Danbo Tessei ignored him and continued running, showing no intention of stopping.

His ronin underlings behind him simultaneously threw dry ice packs from their chests. The dry ice powder hit the water curtain, freezing the water into ice blocks! The elemental forces on the continent of Teyvat are extremely demanding; the Water-type Eye of God can only control water, and turning it into ice results in complete loss of control!

The ice block lost control and, unable to hold on, plummeted and shattered from the sky. Coral Palace Heart Sea was horrified. She could still extract water elements and control it, but she knew time was running out!

Water is not an element suitable for combat, and she is not good at combat either. Now that she has been approached by the sea demon, her mind, which has lived the life of a priestess for many years and has not often been exposed to dangerous situations, is indeed a little unable to react. She can only watch helplessly as Tanba Tessei gets within five meters of her.

"Lord Kokoro!" Ruko was struggling with the other ronin, and seeing that the water curtain was ineffective, she also showed a look of despair.

Tanba Tessei held two swords with flames flowing across them, intending to cut her in half before the water curtain could regenerate!

—Success! Although you'll die a horrible death because I won't be able to play with you in front of your lover anymore, don't worry, I'll make him go down with you!

But the next moment he felt the katana in his hand suffer a tremendous blow, and then in his vision, the nodachi that had been with him for decades... shattered.

—What happened? I use human oil for skincare every day, how could this suddenly…?

At that moment, Tanba Tessei felt excruciating pain throughout his body.

Then he heard six voices that sounded like thunder from a clear sky.

"Bang bang bang bang bang bang—"

The echoes of gunshots lingered in the mountains, piercing through the forest and leaves.

In the blink of an eye, Coral Palace Heart Sea, though slow to react, saw that Danbo Tesei seemed to have been struck in mid-air and was falling to one side. She immediately manipulated a thick stream of water to knock the unbalanced Danbo Tesei away, and then wrapped the water around his neck in an attempt to suffocate him. This is one of the most effective ways to use water magic, but it is difficult for agile people to accurately cover their mouth and nose.

But this time, Tanba Tessei didn't even resist. He convulsed and fell to the ground, large chunks of flesh bursting open on his body, especially his left leg, which was blown off right from the thigh.

Coral Palace Heart Sea and Ruko were both stunned. They wanted to check if the person was dead, but they didn't dare to go forward. The gruesome sight of Tanba Tessei, beaten to a pulp, left the two priestesses and the ronin dumbfounded.

Until Shen Liang appeared from behind the rock, twirling his gun.

“The silencer doesn’t seem to be working very well. It’s fine in the chaos of battle, but in a quiet place like this, even if it’s silenced, it’s still very noticeable. It seems that guns aren’t omnipotent.” Shen Liang kicked Danbo Tiesheng’s corpse and frowned. “He was only hit by three shots.”

He was not satisfied.

After three days of special training, I was able to hit a jumping sea monster, a target as large as it, from a distance of 20 meters, and only three out of six shots hit.

The first shot hit his knife. Of the remaining five shots, two missed. The other three hit his nose, shoulder, and left leg. The shot to the nose was fatal; the bullet entered through his face and exited through the back of his head. From the description, you can tell that Shen Liang was reluctant to search Tanba Tesei's body, because he knew that seeing the back of Tanba Tesei's head would probably make him lose his appetite for a month.

It was obvious that these armors made of iron-skinned bamboo looked thick and heavy, but they were as fragile as tofu in front of the Desert Eagle's bullets. Humans without the Eye of God are just that vulnerable.

The experiment concluded, and the modern firearms proved highly effective. Shen Liang was already considering the possibility of selling arms.

He looked at Coral Palace Heart Sea, only to find that the two priestesses took a step back in unison when they saw his gaze. Then, as if realizing that this would hurt Shen Liang, Coral Palace Heart Sea forced a smile.

"Your smile is uglier than your crying." Shen Liang walked over and pinched the little witch's fair, watery left cheek in front of her, his smile quite wicked. "Now do you see my abilities? Do you have anything else to say? If I were your Coral Palace, I would be worshipping Mr. Shen right now."

I'll give you my foot!

Coral Palace Xin Hai felt her cheeks were being pinched so hard they hurt, but she could only maintain a smile and couldn't refute it. If the previous photos of seawater rice made Xin Hai feel that war was possible but their authenticity was questionable, then this powerful alchemical weapon dispelled seventy percent of her doubts. After all, who else but a legendary alchemist could create an alchemical weapon with such power and accuracy!

Although her relationship with Shen Liang had been strained since their first meeting, she now had to back down and put on a sweet and charming smile in front of him. Xin Hai, oh Xin Hai, you must be patient! You must know that you must maintain your friendship with this shameless boy. He's here to do business, and you must fight for the greatest possible benefit for Haiqi Island, even at the cost of everything!

“Ryoko… little brother,” Coral Palace Kokomi clenched her little fists, but her smile was still as warm as a spring breeze. She turned her right cheek to him and said, “Does it feel good? If it does, Kokomi-neechan will give you another right cheek to pinch.”

Chapter Nineteen: A Black Umbrella Slipped Upside Down

By passing through the village entrance checkpoint of Wanglong Village, you can already see children running and playing.

Wanglong Village is not actually a single village, but rather a collection of many villages nestled on the mountainside in the southern part of Haizhi Island. Several suspension bridges connect it to several steep cliffs, and one must cross these suspension bridges to reach it.

If Haiji Island were to fall, Wanglong Village, nestled on the mountainside, could hold out for a long time simply by cutting the suspension bridge connecting it to the outside world. This is Haiji Island's rear base, where the vast majority of its residents live. Although located deep in the mountains, its population numbers over 100,000. It is a place that the people of Haiji must defend to the death.

This settlement is one of the properties of Coral Palace.

As the masters of the entire Sea God Island, the Coral Palace enjoys various privileges and priorities. For example, commerce and military affairs are all controlled by the priestesses, making the union of religion and politics a reality here. Similarly, rights and obligations go hand in hand; the Coral Palace is also the "government" of all the Sea Gods, and the priestesses also perform various functions that a government must undertake.

For example, they came to Wanglong Village now to do something... that wouldn't be well-received.

“We’re about to reach Wanglong Village. Given the special nature of this mission, Brother Liang… it would be best if you remained silent. Our mission will likely be completed in a few hours. Just follow us and observe, but don’t offer any opinions or say anything,” said Coral Palace Heart Sea.

This time, her tone was unusually serious. Shen Liang looked at Lu Zi and found that the priestess had also restrained her playfulness along the way, standing upright and straight behind Coral Palace Xin Hai, without saying a word, her face solemn.

The divine eye of Coral Palace Heart Sea glowed slightly. She reached out and touched the air in front of her, pulling out two black umbrellas, a stack of white cloth, and a neatly stacked pile of letters from the void.

This is an innate ability of those who possess the Eye of God. Each Eye of God has a storage space of about ten cubic meters. Therefore, most Eye of God holders do not carry any bags when they go out. They usually have a place to put their food, weapons, and other miscellaneous items. This is also why the Adventurers' Guild is often willing to pay Eye of God holders several times the wages when recruiting messengers. After all, it is always easier to travel across the seven kingdoms with light and agile hands than to carry heavy bags.

Coral Palace Xin Hai cut the white cloth into three pieces and gave them to the two of them. Then she tied the white cloth on her right hand. Seeing that Shen Liang was following suit, she could only come over and untie it and fix it for Shen Liang. "Boys should tie it on their left hand."

Next came the black umbrella. The two priestesses carried the black umbrella upside down in the crook of their arms as they stepped into the village.

Shen Liang realized that their actions did indeed have a familiar and habitual feel to them, clearly not the first time. And this kind of thing... had become so commonplace for fifteen-year-old girls?

He made his judgment in his mind.

As soon as the three entered the village, the little girl who was making a small house out of wet mud noticed them. She immediately jumped up, waving her dirty little hands and shouting loudly towards Coral Palace Heart Sea, "It's the priestess! Wow, priestess, you're still so beautiful!"

This clear voice immediately attracted the attention of the other villagers. Shen Liang saw many elderly people looking towards the village entrance. Their first reaction to Coral Palace Xin Hai was surprise and respect. Then, perhaps because they saw the black umbrella in her hand, Shen Liang clearly noticed that the elderly people's eyes suddenly became evasive, and some even turned to leave, not wanting to meet Coral Palace Xin Hai's gaze.

Shen Liang's mood grew even heavier.

Coral Palace Heart Sea and Lu Zi also noticed the elderly people tremblingly trying to open the door to go home without even saying hello, but they remained silent and showed no surprise. Coral Palace Heart Sea squatted down facing the little girl playing in the mud, washed her face and hands with pure water element, and gently touched her little face, saying softly, "Little Future, what are you doing at the village entrance?"

"I'm waiting for my brother to come home for dinner!" Future shouted. "Mom's cooking is so awful, I'm waiting for my brother to come home and cook for me!"

Shen Liang frowned slightly.

"Picky eaters are not likable. You need to learn to eat your mom's cooking, otherwise your mom won't like you anymore."

Future clearly pouted and made a face, "Sister witch, you've never eaten my mother's cooking. If you had, you wouldn't say that! Besides, I'm not afraid at all. It doesn't matter if my mother doesn't like me, as long as my brother likes me! I won't go hungry if I marry my brother in the future."

Children speak without thinking; little did they know that their words would come true and send their brother to jail.

Lu Zi couldn't help but laugh twice, but Coral Palace Heart Sea didn't laugh. Instead, she took out a fried radish ball from her God's Eye and handed it to her: "Eat this to fill your stomach first."

"I knew the shrine maiden was the best! Hehe, Grandma Kokoro was right, a sweet tongue gets you good food!" Mirai, afraid that Coral Palace Kokoro would change her mind, happily ran off with the dumpling in her hand.

Coral Palace Heart Sea stood up, not looking in the direction of the future, but simply walking towards the village.

Most people were pleasantly surprised when they first saw Xin Hai. The second-in-command of Haiqi Island, the chief priest of Coral Palace, and the next current human god priestess, visiting the village was not only an honor but also an honor. Many villagers subconsciously called out, "Lord Coral Palace".

However, almost all the villagers stopped midway through their greetings. When they saw the three of them holding up the black umbrella, everyone looked away as if they had encountered a plague, praying that the three of them would not walk to their doorstep.

Shen Liang took this opportunity to carefully observe the basic situation of Wanglong Village.

The population here is not small, but the vast majority are women, the elderly, and children. The young men are either sick, weak, or too ill to serve in the army, or they are wounded soldiers who have been discharged from the front lines.