Kiana and the Captain's Bizarre Adventure

Chapter 110 Coral Palace Heart Sea

First to enter the fray was a soldier with the Eye of the Water element, who had a significant advantage in this area rich in water element. Unfortunately, it was all for naught. Wielding a blunt sword with bare hands and controlling the elements of wind, rock, and lightning, the soldier was defeated in less than three rounds.

Then, the soldiers of the Lightning and Grass Elemental Eyes were defeated one after another, and thus the resistance army won a great victory in this competition.

Kujo Sara was furious to see his men so easily dealt with, and immediately ordered the three soldiers to return and train even harder. According to the agreement, Kujo Sara should have withdrawn his troops at this point and let the rebels go, but it was clear that Kujo Sara did not intend to keep the agreement.

Under Goro's furious expression, Kujo Sara gave the order to attack, and Nashiina immediately fell into chaos.

As the saying goes, generals face generals, and kings face kings. Goro and Kujo Sara, as commanders of their respective sides, naturally began their duel when they met.

Both were more skilled with bows and arrows, so before the actual battle began, they were both helping their teammates out of trouble within the crowd. After accidentally intercepting each other's arrows, they charged at each other with remarkable coordination, occasionally firing deadly arrows, all of which were blocked. Finally, when they closed in, they simultaneously discarded their bows, drew their katana from their waists, and began hand-to-hand combat.

Mei originally wanted to step forward and use her appearance to stop the fight, but Kiana and Bronya stopped her at the same time.

The reasons given were all very consistent: although the resistance army seemed to be at a disadvantage, in fact, an ambush force was already quietly approaching on the main battlefield, waiting for the best opportunity to launch a surprise attack.

Without a doubt, this ambush force most likely belonged to the resistance army. As part of the Shogunate's army, the Tenryo Enforcer's troops wore excellent standard armor and were equipped with the best weapons; each soldier was an elite force rigorously selected and trained. Even now, lacking supplies, they were still far beyond the capabilities of a newly formed resistance army.

Moreover, the lack of supplies is only temporary, and supplies from the rear will soon catch up, at which point the scales of victory will tip even further in favor of the shogunate army. Therefore, Kujo Sara doesn't need to use the ambush tactic; she only needs to defeat the enemy head-on. This will maximize the display of her and her army's bravery and skill in battle, greatly boost morale, and increase her prestige within the army.

The once clear sky gradually darkened, as if expressing its dissatisfaction with the battle. Suddenly, many unnatural water droplets appeared on the battlefield, floating upwards in an unnatural way. Then, a pink-haired woman emerged from the wreckage of a ship.

With a wave of her hand, the rising water droplets stopped in mid-air and began to shoot towards the Shogunate army, and her voice slowly rang out at that moment.

"I've kept you all waiting. Now is the time to strike back!"

From the moment Goro saw the woman, his expression relaxed. Clearly, just as Bronya and the others had guessed, this woman belonged to the resistance.

At the woman's command, a large number of resistance soldiers rushed out from various hiding places. Kiana even saw Hokuto and Kaedehara Manyo, whom she had just met, as well as Hokuto's crew.

It's obvious that Beidou's earlier statement about not being able to stay long wasn't just because there was a wanted criminal hiding on her ship, but also because she needed to rush to join forces with the forces on Haizhi Island to join the battle as mercenaries.

While it's unclear what price the resistance paid to persuade Beidou to intervene, it's likely to be a one-time event. After all, Beidou is a fleet with Liyue connections. Getting involved in another country's civil war once or twice is fine—it could be considered just getting caught up in it—but too many times could easily lead to diplomatic problems, which is certainly not what Beidou wants.

With the help of this surprise force, the shogunate army suffered repeated defeats, and seeing that victory was hopeless, Kujo Sara decisively chose to retreat.

Thus, the resistance won the battle by relying on the ambush strategy. Afterwards, in a conversation between Goro and the woman, he learned that the woman's name was Coral Palace Heart Sea, the living goddess priestess of Umijima Island, the leader of Umijima Island, and also the organizer of the resistance.

"...I had already heard about you from Hokuto and Manyo, but I didn't expect you to join the resistance. What are your plans afterward?" Sango Mikoto asked.

"Not at the moment..."

"In that case, why don't we go to the Coral Palace for a visit?" Coral Palace Shinkai suggested. "Although the Shogunate army has temporarily retreated, the war is far from over. The Eye Hunting Order has not been abolished, and the Tenryō Magistrate and the Raiden General have no intention of stopping... The problem has not been resolved. I suggest we go to the Coral Palace to discuss our next steps. What do you think?"

Unable to come up with a better solution in a short time, Kong simply agreed to Coral Palace Heart Sea's request. The soldiers beside him hurriedly asked Coral Palace Heart Sea if they could also go to Coral Palace together.

His name was Teppei, and he was the first friend Sora made after joining the resistance. He was also the one who introduced Sora to Goro. Although they didn't spend much time together, they had already formed a deep friendship.

After agreeing to Teppei's request, Sango Mikoto turned her gaze to Goro, who was standing aside awaiting instructions.

"Goro, you've had a tough time these past few days. The resistance forces are weaker than the shogunate forces, and you must have suffered a lot while I was away. I'll need you to stay for a while longer, keeping an eye on the shogunate forces while also treating the wounded. I'll have mercenaries stationed here, and with Manyo here too, your workload will be much lighter."

Kiana was somewhat surprised by what Sango Kokoro said. She had originally thought that Hokuto would leave after helping the resistance this time, but judging from Sango Kokoro's words, it seemed that Hokuto wanted to help to the end.

Was it because Coral Palace Heart Sea paid enough compensation?

No, given Beidou's personality, no amount of reward could compensate for the safety of her brothers. So the reason Beidou chose to stay and help was because…

Kiana's gaze fell on Kaedehara Manyo beside Hokuto. Clearly, the moment Kiana's gaze fell upon him, Kaedehara Manyo noticed and walked straight to Sango Miyako's side.

"I still have some things to take care of back at the Coral Palace... Once you're ready, go find Teppei, he'll take you to the Coral Palace. But before that... Manyo, you sensed it too, didn't you?"

Coral Palace looked at Kaedehara Manyo, who had come to her side, and said, "After all, the other party's gaze was completely undisguised, so it's hard not to notice."

"What? Am I the only one who doesn't know what's going on?"

Paimon looked left and right, and realized that he was the only one who hadn't kept up with the others.

"Paimon means...aren't those guys over there planning to come out yet?" Coral Palace shouted towards Kiana and the others' location.

"We've been discovered."

Kiana scratched her head in confusion. However, given her blatant gaze just now, it was inevitable that she would be discovered by Kaede and the others. She just didn't expect that even the seemingly frail Coral Palace Heart Sea would discover their presence.

However, since they needed to go find Kong anyway, and they had already been discovered, they simply came out of their hiding place.

To Kiana's surprise, the moment they stepped out of their hiding place, everyone present turned wary.

Many people were trembling uncontrollably, their hands holding weapons could barely grip them properly, and their eyes were filled with fear.

"General!"

Amidst the tense whispers of Coral Palace's Heart Sea, Kiana suddenly understood why they were afraid. Following the direction of everyone's gaze, she saw, unsurprisingly, that everyone's eyes were fixed on Mei, who was following behind Kiana.

Kiana's eyes darted around, and a mischievous thought suddenly arose in her mind. She said, "Now that you know the General is coming in person, why don't you surrender quickly? If you obediently hand over your Eyes of God, perhaps the General will show you some leniency."

Now, Coral Palace's heart is filled with fear and terror. If she surrenders immediately and hands over her Eye of God as Kiana said, she can escape this calamity. Yes, if she does that, she will be fine, but then the resistance will completely lose its reason for existence.

Therefore, she absolutely cannot surrender easily! Now that the General has come in person, she has the opportunity to personally persuade the General to abolish the Eye Hunting Order!

Despite being terrified, her legs trembling uncontrollably, Coral Palace Heart Sea resolutely took her first step towards Mei, the fear in her eyes transformed into unwavering determination.

But before she could even speak, Kiana was hit hard on the head by Mei.

"Ouch! Mei, couldn't you have gone a little easier?" Kiana said, crouching on the ground and covering her head where she had been hit.

"How dare you say that? How can you fool people like that? I'm sorry, this child was just joking because he didn't know any better. I am not the general you're talking about."

Coral Palace Heart Sea stood there dumbfounded, her mind blank as she stared at Mei bowing and apologizing to her.

What did she just say? She's not the general? How could that be?

"Mei! It's Mei!" Paimon exclaimed, relieved. "I knew it! How could the one who came with Kiana be General Raiden! Kiana, really, always making these kinds of jokes!"

"Hehe, I just couldn't resist on a whim," Kiana said with a smile.

"Kiana, what should you say at a time like this? Or... do you want to never eat my cooking again from now on?"

Seeing Mei's smiling face, Kiana felt immense pressure. Without hesitation, she knelt down and attacked in a dogeza (a traditional Japanese kneeling posture).

"I'm sorry! It was my fault! I shouldn't have made such a terrible joke! Please forgive me!"

Paimon looked at Kiana, who apologized without hesitation, and didn't know how to respond. He could only spread his hands and look at Coral Palace Heartsea, who had no reaction.

In the end, it was Beidou, being a Liyue native, who was the first to come to her senses and asked Chao Kong, "So... what exactly happened?"

"This... is a bit hard to explain..." Kong scratched his head, not knowing where to begin.

At this moment, Paimon picked up where Sora left off, saying, "Do you remember why Kiana and the others came here in the first place?"

"You mean that the person who looks a lot like General Raiden is the one Kiana and the others are looking for?"

"That's right, anyway, here's what happened..."

After Paimon explained, everyone finally understood what was going on.

"So that's how it is..." Sango Mikoto said with a sigh of relief, "Miss Mei... I was rude just now, please forgive me, Miss Mei."

"It's alright, after all, we were in the wrong first."

As she spoke, Mei glanced at Kiana with a slightly disdainful look, then looked at Coral Palace Heartsea with a gentle gaze.

"Just call me Mei, calling me Miss sounds too formal."

"So...Mei, did you come here to join the resistance?"

“No,” Mei denied. “We came here because we were asked by Miss Yae to deal with the matter of the tsukishin. We just happened to run into your battle with the shogunate army on our way back.”

"So that's how it is. No wonder the weather on Hachiman Island cleared up this morning after a long time. It turns out Mei and the others helped repair the talisman..."

Coral Palace Heart Sea sighed and said, "I've heard about this. The continuous war damaged the protective objects on Hachi-Yun Island used to suppress the evil spirits, causing the island's residents to be displaced. This was caused by the resistance army, and it was originally our army that was supposed to help repair it. However, due to various reasons and the island's residents' distrust of us, the matter was left unresolved. Fortunately, you've resolved it, which puts my mind at ease. But I wonder, Mei, is the Yae-san you mentioned...?"

"It is Lady Yae no Miko, the priestess of Narukami Shrine. Fortunately, we were able to avoid being captured some time ago thanks to her help. However, we will not be able to enter Inazuma Castle for the time being."

"Mei, forgive my bluntness, but you'd better not trust her too easily. After all, she is, after all, a member of the General's household; to associate with her is like seeking a tiger's skin!"

"But judging from your tone, it seems that it's not as simple as just Miss Yae being a member of the General's family."

"Yes. After all, our faith on Umijima Island has always been Umijima Omikami, also known as the serpent god Obaro. As the living shrine maiden of the deceased Omikami, I am naturally at odds with that Yae-no-miya-sama. But never mind, if Mei and the others are thinking of joining the resistance, then come to Umijima Island. We welcome you to join us anytime."

After saying this, Coral Palace Heartsea led the resistance army back. Only Sora and Kiana remained, exchanging bewildered glances. Finally, Kiana broke the silence.

“Sora, if the resistance intends to launch a counterattack on Narukami Island, you can go to Narukami Shrine to find Yae no Miko. You may not believe it, but the Miko is indeed on our side.”

After saying that, Kiana left with the others, leaving only Sora on Nashii Beach to ponder the meaning behind Kiana's words.

Unable to grasp the deeper meaning, Sora kept his questions to himself and called upon his best friend Paimon to leave Nashii Beach, intending to head to Umijima Island first and then discuss the matter further.