Original God, I am the only designated Red King God Envoy of Xumi

...Perhaps, only by facing it head-on can we have a chance of winning.

Ying put the sword back to her waist, and the mountain mist blew again, but not always as Ying wished. The surging thunder and lightning enveloped her and knocked her down to the water a hundred meters away.

"Soldiers, charge with me!" Sara returned to the front of the battle formation with a flash. Facing Goro's extremely anxious expression, she gave the order resolutely. Following Sara's order, the shogunate soldiers roared and rushed towards the Kaigi army.

"..." Sara did not rush to the front as usual. She took back her bow and arrow, and at the same time looked at the water where the traveler fell - the previous attack was so powerful, but in fact most of it was still blocked by Ying. At first glance, it seemed that she would not have a good end after being shot down a hundred meters away, but Sara was sure that she would be fine.

Therefore, Sara immediately issued an attack order after landing. She was sure that if she did not seize this opportunity, with a 50-50 probability, when she was really defeated, the morale of the shogunate army would fall to an unprecedented low, and if they faced the Shanghai army again, they would hardly be able to avoid failure.

Chapter 79: Big Changes on Haiji Island

"...Damn it." Looking at the shogunate army that suddenly attacked, Goro gritted his teeth. He waved his hand and took the initiative to attack the shogunate army, thus giving the two armies an opportunity to engage in close combat.

The morale of the Haiji soldiers was high. They were not as good as the shogunate army in frontal combat, but they were unexpectedly reliable at this time. Even though the number of Haiji soldiers was much smaller than that of the shogunate army, they still did not fall into a disadvantage in a short period of time. However, the number of people is an important point that cannot be ignored. As the battle progressed, the weakness of the Haiji army gradually became apparent.

Goro led his soldiers in a fighting and retreating manner, while launching defensive counterattacks and keeping distance. Seeing this, the shogunate army pursued them all the way, with the momentum of a decisive battle.

"...Huh." Ying, who was far away, swam back to the battlefield with great difficulty from the center of the lake. Seeing that the Haiqi army was in decline, she was about to join the battle again when she saw the sudden drizzle. Xinhai appeared high up with the rain. She stretched out a hand and held it tightly again.

"Haiqi soldiers, now is the perfect time!"

"Heh, it seems like you're the ones who lost this time! Nine Tengu!" Seeing the drizzle, Wu Lang challenged him, and for a moment, there was no trace of his previous unwillingness and anxiety on his face.

As if in response to the rain, a large number of soldiers emerged from the surrounding ditches where they could hide, from behind broken ships, and even from the grass. They surrounded the shogunate army from three sides at once. Among them, Manye and Beidou were running in the front, as well as the other hired soldiers on the Death Star.

The shogunate army was caught off guard by this surprise attack. It was a hasty and forced attack, and its morale was not very high. When they saw the enemy troops emerging from all directions at once, the morale of the army suffered another heavy blow.

Under such continuous targeting, although the shogunate army was still attacking, it was already at the end of its strength. Sara naturally saw this. This was something she could not reverse even with the strength of a one-person army. Delaying like this would only cause more unnecessary casualties.

Kujo gritted his teeth and gave the order to retreat, accepting the defeat. Facing the retreating shogunate army, Xinhai did not order a pursuit. She slowly walked to Ying's side and looked at the traveler.

It should be said that Xinhai is very good at talking. Just as Goro and the rebels made Ying feel a sense of belonging that she had not felt for a long time, facing the traveler's experience, Xinhai expressed her sympathy and promised the traveler as the present-day shrine maiden of Umijima that she would provide her with help - no matter what, they are now on the same front.

Ying brought Paimon and followed the Haigi Army's ship to Haigi Island, and followed Xinhai's footsteps to board the island. The scenery of Haigi Island, which was completely different from other places, made Ying's eyes widen. She had been a traveler for some time and had never seen such scenery.

"Wow..." Paimon looked around. "Blue grass, purple flowers, and branches that are almost white. Umijima is so beautiful."

"That's natural. Umi Island was formed by the tides rolled up by the Umi Omikami, the demon god Oropus, and the gathering of corals. After thousands of years of natural changes, it finally created the wonderful appearance of Umi Island today." Xinhai explained the history of Umi Island to the two of them. There were several guards around her. As for Manye and even Beidou and his group, they were taken elsewhere by Goro to discuss the next tactics.

The Shogunate army would probably regard this collision as a defeat that was painful enough but not unbearable, and this was exactly what Xinhai hoped for. She had been waiting for such an opportunity to make major changes in the war situation for a long time. Now that it had appeared, Xinhai would naturally make good use of it.

It has been nearly two years since the day when the rebels' military discipline was rectified. Due to the defeats of both sides in these two years, a long period of peace has been maintained. For a long time after that, even if the two sides clashed, they would not go too far.

Of course, now, those are already in the past.

"Hmm... What's that over there?" Coming to an open space near Wanglong Village that was obviously artificially treated, Ying looked at the piles of pottery jars and rows of drainage gutters in front of her. She saw all kinds of vegetables planted in these jars, but the jars contained water instead of soil.

"This is one of the sources of survival for Haiji Island today. It was a few years ago by a man from a foreign country... um..." When she said this, Xinhai hesitated. She thought for a moment and finally decided to call him a friend.

"—It's a unique technique taught to Haiji Island by a knowledgeable friend. It's a technique called soilless cultivation, which allows fruits and vegetables to be grown without soil." Xinhai recalled those past events briefly, then shook his head and suppressed them. "The land on Haiji Island is extremely unsuitable for growing crops. This is of great significance to Haiji Island."

"Can crops be grown without soil?" Paimon waved her finger. She flew closer to the jars and observed them. "I don't see anything special about this water... It just smells different, like grass."

"But these tomatoes taste really good, they're big and red--" Paimon waved his hand, picked a tomato and took a bite. Seeing this, Ying held her forehead and shook her head, sighed helplessly, and pulled Paimon back.

"Don't eat other people's food without permission—"

"It's just a tomato. You two are important guests of Haiji Island, so it's okay." Xinhai wasn't about to show disdain to the two distinguished guests over a tomato. "Haiji Island has already completed its fifth plantation expansion. Besides the one in Wanglong Village, there are actually two more closer to the Coral Palace. With the current production and Haiji Island's abundant seafood, maintaining basic food and clothing shouldn't be a big problem."

"And soon, the sixth expansion will officially begin." Xinhai explained to Ying and the others with a smile. Compared to the initial closed-door policy after Haigi Island, the current situation is much better. Apart from basic vegetables, the soldiers of Haigi Island can occasionally eat strawberries. This kind of fruit has greatly increased the soldiers' fighting enthusiasm and even their confidence in Haigi Island's victory.

After all, the opposing shogunate army may not even be able to eat these things.

"It takes a long time to expand something like this, right? The planning and preparation beforehand, and then the venue and equipment. We've completed five expansions in less than two years, and the sixth will be coming soon. Are you in such a hurry?" Ying obviously had some knowledge of this kind of thing, and she roughly calculated the time.

"I'm so anxious because I have a pressing need to be self-sufficient." Xin Hai sighed and shook her head. "Let's talk about this while we walk. It's not appropriate to just stand here any longer."

Xinhai took Ying and Paimeng and walked slowly towards the Coral Palace, nodding to the soldiers she met along the way. She took some time to organize her words, and Ying was very patient about such things and did not interrupt them.

"...In the past, before the policy of isolation began, Haiji Island was a very wealthy place." Xinhai spoke calmly, recounting the past. "Because Haiji Island produced a precious luxury: coral pearls. With these and the Haiji people's fishing skills, and with food imported from outside, having enough to eat was never a problem."

"...But these things quickly collapsed under the policy of isolation, right?" Ying's mind raced, and she immediately analyzed the reasons. She even explained in detail to Paimeng beside her: "Under this policy, the imports and exports that Haiqi Island relied on so heavily were cut off. It was like its lifeline was being severed."

"Yes, Ying, you're absolutely right." Xinhai nodded with a wry smile. "Those early days were bleak. Even though I immediately gathered all the daily necessities and implemented a strict distribution plan based on demand, I only managed to delay the huge crisis."

"During that time, I sent an envoy to negotiate with the Kanjo Bugyo, the trade regulator, but he wasn't even allowed inside. When the envoy reluctantly returned, I asked him why he had failed, but all I heard was that the receptionist implied he wasn't sincere enough and wasn't worth the Bugyo's high-ranking officials wasting their time on him."

"This—this is too much, isn't it?" Paimon's eyes widened. "But if you think about it carefully, if it was the Kanjo Bugyo group, they would indeed do such a thing!"

"Foreign merchants on the outlying islands can't return home because of the country's isolation, and they're also being charged exorbitant detention fees. They're barely making ends meet. And when Ying and I first arrived here, we were charged 400 million in fees just to process our documents!"

Paimong stamped her feet. She and Ying had also been cheated by Kanto Bugyo's gang. She immediately understood the meaning of the word "sincerity" that Kanto Bugyo said to Xinhai, and for a moment she felt the same way as Xinhai.

"The population of Kaigi Island is not as large as that of Inazuma Castle, but there are still many people there. Faced with such a situation at that time, if the problem is not solved, it will really lead to very bad consequences." Seeing that the two knew the situation of the Kanjo Bugyo group inside and out, Xinhai no longer concealed it and expressed his dissatisfaction with this group of people directly in his words.

"But in the eyes of those people, this news is not as good as the so-called 'sincerity'! Are so many lives not worth that little bit of Mora?"

"...So Xinhai showed them her 'sincerity'?" Ying gently patted Xinhai's shoulder to calm her down.

"Yes, the second time I went there personally, carrying sufficient sincerity, along with a few accompanying personnel." At this point, Xin Hai's anger subsided, turning into pure disappointment. "This time, I did meet a so-called important figure, but when it came to matters concerning Haiji Island, he kept dragging his feet and dragging his feet. He dragged on for two or three days without giving any results."

"Finally, our stance became increasingly assertive, leading them to respond with, 'We have no right to make decisions without the General's orders.' Hah, according to that statement, imposing unreasonably high detention fees on foreign merchants staying on the outlying islands isn't the General's plan either, right?"

"So we simply requested an audience with the General directly, but ultimately, we were unsuccessful. All our avenues were blocked by the Commissioner's Office. Finally, when I realized I couldn't get an answer from either the Commissioner's Office or the General and was about to return home, they confidently demanded payment for 'protecting me from the Eye of God's confiscation by the Eye Hunter Order'."

Having said that, Xinhai closed her eyes and fell silent for a while. She did not say what happened next, but Ying could guess - there were only a few people accompanying her, and Xinhai herself was not the type who was particularly good at fighting, so how could the result be good?

Either pay the money obediently or sneak away with your tail between your legs, but either way it is considered a great humiliation.

Chapter 80: The Careless Person

"...During those few days," Xinhai opened his eyes and spoke again, "I witnessed all sorts of chaos around Inazuma City. Whether it was the Kanding's unscrupulous money-making, or the Tianling's extremely unreasonable control, everything was going in a bad direction, and the future seemed bleak and gloomy."

"The magistrate claims that the Shogun's decision is for the better future of Inazuma, and so the residents of Inazuma Castle tolerate it... But I don't believe it. The magistrate's attitude towards the envoys from Umijima speaks volumes."

"I don't know if these were the Shogun's original intentions—but judging by the current situation, none of this matters. Whether they were truly the Shogun's, or the magistrates were acting presumptuously to deceive their superiors, the fact remains that Inazuma has a major problem."

Xin Hai waved her hand, and her furisode, shaped like waves, made a slight noise. Her voice rose a few notes. "This is the meaning of the establishment of the resistance army. It is a helpless act because if we don't take action now, we will die. If the culprit is the magistrate, then we must storm the castle tower and convey the true voice of the people to the ears of the general."

"--But if these were truly the work of the General," Xinhai's eyes dimmed slightly, "then there's nothing more to it than death."

"If the gods treat Inazuma like a piece of clay, showing no mercy to the people living on Inazuma's land, and twisting and flattening them like a child, then I will stab the gods fiercely, even if I am eventually reduced to ash by thunder."

"To die on the road of resistance, or to die under the policy of the gods being completely divorced from the grassroots people, it's all death in the end, isn't it?" Xinhai picked up a lump of soil and crushed it. The dust drifted away with the wind, just like the death that Xinhai mentioned.

“…” Ying didn’t speak at first. She just felt something extremely heavy.

"I finally understand why both Mondstadt and Liyue pursue human rule rather than relying on gods." Ying took a deep breath and gained a new understanding. "Because if a supreme ruler with absolute military power makes a mistake without realizing it, the consequences are unimaginable."

"Yeah." Xinhai couldn't remember how many times he'd sighed today. "It was precisely because of that dark time that I realized the consequences of not being self-sufficient in special circumstances. I don't want something like this to happen again on Haiji Island, so naturally I'm quite anxious about these things."

"Okay, we're here." Xin Hai looked towards the nearby Coral Palace. "Please follow me, both of you. I've made some preliminary plans for your future. It's up to you to decide how to proceed."

"Yeah." Ying and Paimon looked at each other, nodded, and quickly followed Xinhai. They walked straight into the reception room of Coral Palace.

……

"How does it feel to be back home, Scaramucci?" Inazuma, at the sand-breaking place in the heart of Kannazuka, the masked blue-haired man said to the young man next to him who was a head shorter than him and whose eyes were full of hostility.

"If you're asking me how it feels to be back in Inazuma, I'll tell you I have nothing but endless hatred for it - and now seeing it in dire straits is one of the few sources of pleasure for me right now." The young man, wearing a hat that was a size larger than the ones worn by ordinary vagrants, spoke like this.

"...But if you're asking me how it feels to be back in Talingsha." The young man's words were tinged with violence, and his eyes, when he looked at the blue-haired man, were filled with murderous intent for a moment. "Dottore, are you trying to provoke me?"

"Don't make jokes like that at a time like this, Scaramucci," Dottore said, his lips curling slightly as if he were amused by the boy's words. "I don't have the leisure to tease you. I'm trying to confirm whether your bodily functions have been damaged after those experiments. Right now, I'm checking your emotional perception."

"But it seems that there is no problem now." Half of Dotole's face was hidden behind the mask, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking. As the words fell, Dotole did not pause for long and walked straight into the factory where the Yuying furnace core was located.

“…” Scaramucci lowered the brim of his hat slightly, and he stopped talking, following Dottore in silence.

The death of the demon god Orobas brought pollution. Although the pollution was suppressed, with the passage of time, something called "crystallized bone marrow" condensed on the earth, which also contained pollution. These by-products of the demon god's power needed to be processed and digested. In addition, the steel with the addition of crystallized bone marrow would be greatly improved in hardness and even toughness. Thus, the Shenwuzhong Ta'ersha Forge was officially established.

The device that Taliangsha uses to smelt steel mixed with crystallized bone marrow is called the Imperial Shadow Furnace Heart. Only such a creation can melt the product of the demon's power. The Imperial Shadow Furnace Heart has had problems twice in history, and the second time happened in recent years.

At present, the entire forge of Tadashi Sand was filled with dangerous pollution due to the problem of the Yuying furnace core, and had been ordered to be sealed off. However, faced with such a situation, the blue-haired man and the young boy walked in as if they didn't care at all.

Dotole, or the second Fatui executive officer: "Doctor", is naturally not afraid of the contamination of the demon remnants, and the young man next to him is not an ordinary person, he is the sixth Fatui executive officer: "Skirmisher" Scaramucci.

"The facilities here are severely damaged. It will take some time to reach the Imperial Shadow's core." Dotole looked up and scanned the surroundings before making a judgment. "There's no time to waste. The next thing we need to verify is the memory module. Briefly describe your experience, Scaramucci."

"..." The soldier did not speak immediately. His eyes were filled with murderous intent several times stronger than before, but the doctor did not react at all to such a look, or he did not regard the soldier in front of him as a threat at all.

The Fatui have always been ranked based on strength. Strength here does not only refer to combat effectiveness, but also talent. The Doctor ranks second to a certain extent because of his unparalleled talent, but there is no doubt that his combat effectiveness is also outstanding. The Skirmisher knows very well that he does not have much chance of winning.

"You'd better be serious about checking my memory, Dotorei." The soldier put away some of his hostility. He raised his head and looked at the high Imperial Shadow Furnace Core. The already strong anger in his heart seemed to be turning into substance. "Since you want to hear it, I will tell you."

"Baalzebul, the Inazuma God of Thunder, dreamed of creating eternity. Using the technology of the ancient dark kingdom as a model, he attempted to create an immovable, immortal 'doll' to serve as his body in the eternal kingdom. Currently, the doll resides deep within the castle tower. However, before this doll, there was also a 'failed creation.'"

"The failed doll was implanted with the Heart of God, but it felt emotions and shed tears in its sleep. Emotions are ever-changing, so Baalzebul believed the doll was weak. She should have destroyed it, but in the end, she gave in to her own 'mercy' and chose to seal it away. She no longer reserved space for the Heart of God in the dolls she created afterwards."

"--She turns a blind eye to her own creations, yet calls it not being able to bear to interfere. Perhaps she is just being hypocritical." Arcs of electricity pulsed in the palms of the soldiers' hands. As he clenched his fists, the arcs exploded and struck the surrounding rock walls. The sight of the earth and rocks cracking made the soldiers feel a little relieved.

"The doll was abandoned in the House of Borrowed Scenery, staring blankly at the empty beauty all day long until it lost all sense. It wasn't until some time later that it was unexpectedly rescued by a samurai named Katsuragi. Katsuragi brought the doll to Tadosa Sand, where it lived with the locals. The locals taught the doll reading and writing, as well as various other things."

A long time ago, Ta'esha was not like a factory as it is now. Many people lived directly around it. It was more like a settlement and a warm village than a factory in name only.

"The highest administrator of Tadashi Sand is named Niwa—a hypocritical coward and a disgusting liar." Sanbing gritted his teeth at the mention of Niwa. "He told the puppets that, aside from lacking a heart, they were no different from humans. It was these words that deceived the puppets, who longed to become human."

"It didn't take long for Niwa to reveal his true identity. Due to a technical error, 'black smoke' spread from the heart of the Mikage furnace, bringing endless death and plague. In this life-or-death situation, the puppet, regardless of his own safety, rushed to Inazuma Castle, seeking help from its creator, but ultimately received no results."

"—The God of Thunder has already abandoned her physical body and hidden within a puppet, isolating herself from the outside world. The disaster of stepping on the sand seems to be nothing to her."

"The puppet returned to Tado Sand, only to learn that Niwa was on the run!"

"The workers at Tatar Sand and even the puppets themselves trusted him so much, but he betrayed everyone!" Sanbing became emotional and his voice became much louder. He looked at the Yuying furnace not far away from him. Everything was so similar to that day, as if the past was repeating itself.

On that day, Escher held a device that absorbed pollution and said to the doll, "This is the purification device left by Niwa. Now all we need is someone who can carry this device into the core and dare to die."

Escher was a craftsman from Fontaine, whose technology greatly improved the efficiency of the forge's processing of crystallized bone marrow, and for this he was highly trusted.

"So this person is me?" The puppet took the device from Escher's hands, showing neither sadness nor joy, only an unusual calmness. "Did he... say anything before he left?"

"...He also said that it was just a puppet after all, and that such an inhuman being could be left alone if it died. Using its death to purify the heart of the Mikage furnace was also a way of making good use of waste."

"...Heh." The puppet lowered the brim of its hat slightly, and there was finally some emotion in its voice. It was sarcastic, but it was unclear whether it was directed at Niwa or at itself.

Chapter 81: The Past

The puppet held a device for purifying pollution and entered the heart of the Imperial Shadow Furnace with the determination to die. He thought this was his farewell to the world, but in the end he walked out safely.

It wasn't that his puppet body at that time was strong enough to completely offset the pollution of the demon god, but that the device completely absorbed the pollution without leaving a trace. The puppet even had an inexplicable feeling that the device was "protecting" itself.

"...What exactly is in here?" When everything was settled, the puppet found Escher. Holding the device in his hand, he asked his biggest question at the moment.

"...I think it's best if you don't know." Escher closed his eyes. "There's a hidden button on the bottom of the device. Once opened, it can be easily disassembled. But what's inside will probably only cause you pain. If you're willing to follow my advice, just dispose of it."

"..." The puppet did not reply. He had already turned the device over and his fingers had touched the hidden button. For a moment, all his attention was on the device and he did not notice the meaningful smile on Escher's face at all.

"This is...!" The puppet's eyes widened, and his previously calm tone finally showed some obvious fluctuations. For a moment, he felt that the device in his hand seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.

"Boom... Boom..." The drum-like sound spread as the device was disassembled. It seemed low and weak, like an old bellows, hissing weakly.

——This is a heart, a heart that is almost as black as charcoal because it has absorbed too much "black smoke". It probably came from a human body, but humans are not puppets after all. Losing their heart will undoubtedly lead to death.

...So, who does this heart belong to?

"Before leaving, Niwa randomly killed an innocent man, cut out his heart, and made this device." Escher's eyes narrowed slightly, like a venomous snake. "He said, 'Doesn't this doll crave a heart? Then give it a heart.'"

"..." The puppet was struck by lightning and became as stiff as a statue. A long silence fell. Escher sighed and left the place in front of the puppet, but appeared in a high place where the puppet could not see him a moment later, observing his every move.

When the doll first came here, it was called "Qingqizhe" because of its strange clothing and even behavior. In Inazuma's language, this is used to describe people with strange clothing and behavior. Because the doll had no name, soon the residents of Tadashi Sand began to call him "Qingqizhe".

As the doll almost merged into the Tadashi sand, the original warrior Katsuragi suggested giving the doll a name, but was ultimately rejected by the doll - or rather, the doll didn't care at all. He was born nameless, so why bother with it? Besides, the doll quite liked the name of the Stranger.

It’s simply because the curious person described it as a “human”, and the doll has begun to desire to become a human.

"...Niwa——!!" After a long silence, the puppet moved. His whole body was shaking for a moment. It was the first time since his birth that he showed such intense anger. It was also the first time that he experienced what "anger" was. Niwa once won the puppet's trust by saying, "The only difference between you and humans is that you lack a heart." But his current actions were undoubtedly a deception and a blasphemy to the puppet's sincere trust.

But there was no trace of Niwa. After the anger, there was endless emptiness. The distraught puppet left this place. When Inazuma Castle finally organized people and came to support belatedly, there was no trace of the puppet.

"After that, the puppet began a long journey of wandering. He met a child with a strange disease. His parents had gone out and never returned. The puppet saw his own reflection in the child. They were both 'abandoned'. So the puppet took the child back to the Borrowed Scenery House where he had stayed before, and agreed to live together in the future."

"But how can a mere human life compare to God's creation, let alone a child suffering from a strange disease? He died soon, and the puppet was alone again." The doctor took over the words of the soldier, with a noticeable arc at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes hidden behind the mask were full of satisfaction.

Sure enough, no matter how much time passed, as long as he saw the doll in front of him believing in the lies he had made up and hating his friend Niwa who loved the doll the most, he just wanted to laugh.

Probably not many people think that others know their past better than themselves, and the same is true for Sanbing, but the past of this puppet is not that simple.