While Eula and Amber were celebrating obtaining their second Eye of God, a System notification chimed in Ye Xi's mind too.
He'd long grown used to it.
Not long after, once he'd seen Amber and Eula off to work, he returned to the Serenitea Pot to scrounge up something to eat.
But when he got back, there were no girls in the living room, and no one came to greet him.
At this hour, the girls were probably all off busy with their own affairs. Yet by rights, Dehya, Alusha, and Dunyarzad had nothing pressing to do, so they should have been home.
And Lumine and Paimon too.
Why was the house so cold and quiet now that he was back?
Had they gone shopping in Liyue Harbor or Sumeru City?
Leaving him alone to guard an empty room?
As he mused, Dunyarzad came stumbling back in from the courtyard.
The moment she saw Ye Xi, it was as if she'd spotted her savior. Before he could react, the girl threw herself into his arms.
"Master...! Ngh..."
Ye Xi had no idea what had happened. Seeing how worked up Dunyarzad was, he held her close and patted her back gently.
"What's wrong? I'm here."
Dunyarzad, in his arms, seemed terrified, still trembling.
But under his soothing, she gradually calmed.
"Master... hurry to Inazuma! There's a sea-beast attack over there!"
Ye Xi was mildly surprised, but he didn't panic. "Zad, tell me what happened," he said in a low voice.
Then Dunyarzad recounted everything that had just happened.
Soon Ye Xi understood the whole story from start to finish.
Until not long ago, the house had been just as usual: everyone ate breakfast together, then went their separate ways after tidying up.
In the end, only she and Dehya's group were left to watch the house. Just then, Kujou Sara rushed back from Inazuma, saying the situation there was dire and they needed help.
So Dehya took everyone off to Inazuma. Now that Dunyarzad had an Eye of God, she wasn't powerless either, so she went along too.
Inazuma City was now under complete martial law. Countless sea-beasts had come from the Dark Sea to launch their assault on Inazuma. The Raiden Shogun stood at the very front, already locked in battle with those Demon Gods of old for a full day and night.
Though those Demon Gods were no match for Raiden Ei, Raiden Ei no longer had enough power to intercept all the sea-beasts.
The Beast Tide was ferocious. The Shogunate Navy's front line collapsed, falling back again and again. Some sea-beasts even broke through the defenses and landed directly on Narukami Island to attack the people.
For now, Yae Miko and the three Commissioners held down the island.
But with more and more sea-beasts slipping through in ambush, the Shogunate was severely short-handed. Left with no choice, Kujou Sara had come back to the household to beg for help.
Dunyarzad had gone into Inazuma City, only to be startled half to death by a sea-beast that suddenly burst up from the ground. Though she had an Eye of God, it was only enough for self-defense, and running into a sea-beast had truly frightened her.
So Dehya sent her back home to find Ye Xi.
"Master, let's hurry to Inazuma and help!"
Dunyarzad was scared, but she wasn't about to cower at home.
Ye Xi nodded. "Don't worry. For Dehya and the others, those sea-beasts are practically sparring toys delivered right to their door."
"I'd say she and Alusha have been bored out of their minds. This is the perfect chance for them to cut loose."
"We can just take our time getting there."
He had not the slightest doubt about Dehya's fighting strength. As long as it wasn't a Demon God or a Fatui Harbinger, Dehya could handle it easily. A reaction between two elements — how could ordinary little sea-beasts withstand that?
He took Dunyarzad by the hand and stepped through the teleport gate to Inazuma.
Inazuma City.
All of Inazuma was wracked by thunderstorms, the sky black as pitch.
Lightning split the sky and thunder rolled, rain poured in sheets, and the sea heaved with endless surging waves. This purple lightning, seemingly stirred up by the Electro Archon in battle, was unusually violent.
In the war council room of the Tenshukaku.
Yae Miko had set aside her usual playfulness; her expression now was grave.
Kujou Sara was reporting on the front-line situation. "Lord Guuji, everyone, the situation within the city is under control now. Many people with Eyes of God have stepped up to surround and strike down the sea-beasts that came around by other routes."
But the fighting at sea was still crumbling.
"Our forces are strong, but the sea-beasts keep attacking the ships, sending many warships to the bottom of the sea."
"Once soldiers fall into the water, they can no longer fight back."
"We must find a solution fast!"
Just then, a maiden beside them, like a mermaid princess, spoke up. "General Kujou, I have a plan."
She was the living-god priestess of Watatsumi Island, Sangonomiya Kokomi. This Beast Tide from the Dark Sea threatened all of Inazuma, and as the leader of Watatsumi Island, she naturally had to come.
"I propose we abandon the naval front line and pull back to fight on land."
At these words, both Yae Miko and Kujou Sara fell into thought.
The naval front had already collapsed; sending more people out would only throw their subordinates' lives away. Pulling back to fight along the coast was clearly the safer choice.
It had to be said, as a strategist, Kokomi had real cunning. But withdrawing the line all the way back to Narukami Island in one stroke also meant the danger drew one step closer.
Kamisato Ayato knit his brow slightly. "Everyone, some sea-beasts can burrow underground. These creatures could very well slip past our surface defenses and strike the rear directly."
"The Lord of the Yashiro Commission speaks well. If the sea-beasts mass into a fighting force behind our lines, they could coordinate an inside-outside pincer and wipe out our front-line troops."
Kujou Kamaji sighed, his face full of worry. Since the disaster five hundred years ago, Inazuma had in fact stayed quite stable all this time.
No one had expected the Dark Sea's assault to come so swift and fierce. In just one day, it was already reaching the mainland!
He had no experience with this at all!
Kokomi nodded. "Rest assured, everyone. We need only guard the interior at the same time."
"My subordinate Gorou and his troops can guarantee the safety of the interior."
At that moment, footsteps sounded outside the door.
The next instant, the guards pushed the great door open.
"Master Ye Xi, after you!"
The war council room held the highest secrets; ordinary people could never barge in. But the moment the guards saw it was Ye Xi, they tossed all those rules aside! This man was the Raiden Shogun's honored guest — how could they slight him?
Still, this was Kokomi's first time seeing Ye Xi, so someone bursting into the council room caught her off guard.
"Oh, everyone's here."
The moment she saw Ye Xi's figure, Yae Miko let out a breath of relief.
You could say the weight lifted from her all at once.
As a familiar of a God, she worried more about Raiden Ei's safety than about the state of the battlefield.
Now that Ye Xi had come, she had nothing left to worry about.
With Ye Xi here, Inazuma would absolutely be fine!
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