The Infinite Journey of a Certain Flame

Normally, the rebels on patrol or the Coral Palace maids would take a detour when they saw them.

"It's strange. I thought those who dared to oppose the General and worship other gods would be particularly vicious, but now it seems..."

On the beach outside the Coral Palace, Kujo Sara walked on the sand in straw sandals, feeling somewhat sentimental.

The people here weren't as arrogant as she had imagined; in fact, they were rather timid.

It's unclear who gave these cowards the courage to band together and oppose the General.

"Are they ruthless? There are actually very few people like that. Most of them are just like the people on Narukami Island. The more ruthless ones either join the Nobushige or the resistance."

Kiana casually crossed her arms, treating the outing as nothing more than an after-dinner stroll.

"Yeah, that's true. Heh, I hope the rebels will earn my respect. If they don't have any guts either... that would be very disappointing."

Kujo Sara and Kiana were chatting idly when they bumped into the rebels on the beach.

They were a group of girls who looked to have just come of age, some of them even with baby fat on their faces. They were not carrying real knives or guns, but wooden swords used for training.

At this moment, these girls, dressed in tattered clothes, plain-looking but full of energy, stood enthusiastically before a beautiful woman, their eyes revealing anticipation and admiration...

"Ok?"

The beautiful woman, who wore an eyepatch and resembled a pirate but was not one, noticed Kiana and Kujo Sara and immediately laughed heartily.

"Hey, long time no see. An unknown traveler, and... a general of the shogunate army."

"Hmm...it has indeed been a long time, Beidou."

Kiana waved her hand, then turned her gaze to Kujo Sara, intending to give her an introduction.

However, before she could speak, the other person stared at Beidou with a serious expression.

"Captain who has come all the way from Liyue... I have long admired your name."

The speaker was none other than Beidou, the uncrowned dragon king who had traveled across the ocean from Liyue to Inazuma to help the ship, the captain of the Death Star.

Kujo Sara had heard of this captain who had once slain the sea mountain.

She also vividly remembered the captain's heroic fighting spirit during the battle in which he was captured.

Of course, what impressed Kujo Sara the most was her appearance, after all, she was wearing an eye patch, carrying a large sword, and inexplicably leading a large group of crew members out.

When they first met, Kujo Sara thought he was a pirate recruited by the resistance. But after the battle, when he introduced himself to Kokoro, she realized that he was actually Hokuto, the captain of the Death Star.

As a famous figure in Liyue, she... shouldn't be here, right?

"Why are you here? Was this at the behest of the rulers of Liyue? Do you intend to provoke a conflict between the two nations?"

"Huh?"

Beidou paused for a moment, then turned to look at Kiana with some confusion, crossed his arms and smiled.

"So much time has passed, and you haven't mentioned this to her at all?"

"Um, she didn't even ask, so what should I answer..."

"What is it?" Kujo Sara asked, puzzled.

Kiana and Hokuto's seemingly knowing answers to each other left her completely bewildered; she couldn't understand what they were talking about at all.

“Okay, let me explain now. Kujo Sara, cough cough... Hokuto doesn’t belong to any faction; she can only represent herself.”

"Is that what they say...?"

This answer contradicts some of the rumors.

However, since she can only represent herself, that's actually a good thing.

"If Captain Hokuto has come from afar simply to enjoy the scenery of Inazuma, I welcome you. But if you are a member of the resistance... I'm afraid that conflicts will inevitably arise between us in the future."

Kujo Sara crossed his arms; despite being a defeated general, his spirit remained undiminished.

Faced with the enemy's hired reinforcements, she made her stance clear without hesitation, even in front of several new rebel recruits.

"To be fair, I personally admire your strength. If the Shogunate could have a powerful figure like you join, then..."

Upon hearing this, the few new recruits of the resistance army were completely dumbfounded.

Kiana covered her forehead, speechless at Kujo Sara's blatant poaching.

However, she only got halfway through her sentence before Beidou burst into laughter:

"Haha, that's an interesting suggestion, but unfortunately I'm not interested."

Being rejected so bluntly, Kujo Sara stared at the ownerless captain, completely bewildered.

"why?"

Song of Flames and Lightning (Genshin Impact Inazuma Main Story): Chapter 75 The moment you pick up a sword, you must be prepared to pursue your dreams.

Kujo Sara didn't think that this small Coral Palace could offer the captain in front of her any benefit.

If I had to say something, it would be something like a promise of a high-ranking position or a monetary reward for victory.

But the shogunate can provide all of these, and it will certainly not be less than what the Sangokushi Palace provides.

So why did she refuse without even asking a few questions?

Puzzled, Kujo Sara turned her head and looked at the girls holding wooden swords.

"They're new recruits for the resistance? Ha, sending these kids to the battlefield, the resistance and Coral Palace are truly disappointing."

Kujo Sara's blunt sarcasm, though merely expressing her views on the resistance, was rife with hostility.

The younger girls, whose expressions had grown increasingly gloomy, brandished their wooden swords angrily after hearing her sharp and sarcastic words.

"You're not allowed to speak ill of Sister Xinhai! You wicked woman!"

"Hmph, at your age, you should just stay home and play with puppets."

Kujo Sara stood with her arms crossed, looking at them coldly, showing no intention of being sarcastic.

She viewed this behavior entirely from her own perspective, so she didn't feel anything was wrong with it. On the contrary, she was able to righteously tell them to go home and do what they were supposed to do.

This behavior, unsurprisingly, exacerbated the discontent of the younger girls.

"You bad guy!"

One of the girls, who looked rather tall, raised her wooden sword and slashed at him.

Kujo Sara coldly stared at her opponents, ready to teach these greenhorn rebels a lesson at any moment, so that they would understand just how vast the gap was between them and the enemy.

However...

"Forget it."

The wooden sword the girl swung was gently caught. The girl who stopped her looked at Hokuto with some grievance, not understanding why she would protect this general of the shogunate army.

"Big Sister Beidou, you're not falling for her, are you? No way..."

"Who said that?"

Beidou released the wooden sword from his hand and then ordered his men to take the swords from their waists and hand them over.

The girl hesitated before accepting the sword from the subordinate, but as soon as she held it, she almost dropped it because it was too heavy.

"Ouch, it's so heavy..."

"Is it heavy? It's good that it's heavy. It will be much more powerful than a wooden sword when you use it to cut people. You can continue after you get it, but I need to tell you in advance."

Beidou slowly stepped forward, knelt down in front of the girl, and then gently stroked her short black hair, saying in a very tender tone:

"The moment you pick up the sword, you must be prepared for the consequences. Whether it is your life or her death, the decision is in your own hands."

"I..." The girl hesitated upon hearing this.

The girl, who had volunteered to join the resistance with great enthusiasm but was completely unprepared for the consequences, lowered her head, clearly lost and confused by this setback.

Her companions also lowered their heads, bewildered by the enlightenment that Beidou had spoken of.

"Hehe," seeing that the girls were starting to get nervous, Beidou did not show any disappointment. He simply stood up and rubbed each girl's head. "Sorry, I shouldn't have told you this. Well... I have some things to take care of next, so I'll have my men teach you how to use a sword."

After saying this, the female crew member wearing glasses picked up a wooden sword and slowly stepped forward to teach the girls how to use it.

After everything was settled, Hokuto turned around, put his hands on his hips, and looked at Kujo Sara.

"Kujou, you really don't know what's good for you. These kids are asking me to train them, and you have to interrupt them?"

"I just wanted them to understand how brutal the battlefield is. Captain Beidou... I think you know that too, right?"

Hokuto hissed, then nudged Kiana and Kujo Sara with his neck, signaling them to step aside and speak.

After making the invitation gesture, the dashing captain strode out with an imposing and powerful stride.

If she weren't currently lacking sufficient influence, she might very well be the Pirate King of Teyvat.

After Kiana and Kujo Sara caught up, the captain turned around and said somewhat reluctantly:

"Hmph, so what? At least everyone should have the right to dream. You've worked so hard to help your general collect the Eye of God, haven't you ever thought that one day you'll have to hand over your own Eye of God?"

"...If that day ever comes, I will not refuse in order to fulfill the eternity promised by the general."

"Tch..." Hokuto felt increasingly unable to have a proper conversation with this Shogunate general. "So your wish is to dedicate everything to your general?"

“This is the Kujo family’s mission,” Kujo Sara replied coldly.

Kiana saw that the tension between the two sides was escalating, and felt that if she didn't say something soon, a fight would be inevitable.

"It's also the dream you're pursuing; actually, that's the right way to put it."

"You don't actually have any feelings for those girls; you only provoked them because you're a general in the Shogunate army, right?"

"No, I..." Interrupted by Kiana, Kujo Sara hesitantly revealed her true thoughts, "I just don't want these young girls to lose their lives for the sake of fighting against the Shogun."

As Kujo Sara revealed his true intentions, Hokuto's displeasure lessened somewhat.

So her difficult behavior stemmed from good intentions? She just wasn't good at expressing herself...

He's an interesting guy, though.

"Haha! If it weren't for the fact that we were helping with the work, I really wish I could have brought you on board too."

"No thanks. I'm not good at swimming, and besides, without the General's orders, I would never rashly join a foreigner's ship."

"Hmm, it seems your conflict has been resolved. That's really good news..."