Seeing Arataki Itto pull a full one-eighty in attitude, everyone and every spirit around him was left speechless.
Ye Xi waved a hand, signaling the Shogunate troops to release Arataki Itto.
A few of the Shogunate troops froze, glanced at Kujou Sara, and then loosened the ropes.
Arataki Itto lit up with joy. "Good brother, what's your name?"
"I'm the boss of the Arataki Gang, and I've got more titles than I can count."
"You can call me Arataki 'Peerless Under Heaven' Itto, Arataki 'Sumo Oni King' Itto, Arataki 'Pride of the Oni Clan' Itto—"
"All right, all right."
Ye Xi cut him off in a hurry. If he let the man rattle off the whole menu like that, there was no telling how long it'd drag on.
"Just call me Ye Xi. I'm from Liyue."
"Ohh, hahaha! A friend from Liyue, huh!"
Arataki Itto roared with laughter and thumped his chest in guarantee. "We're both beetle buddies! Brother Ye Xi, if you ever need anything down the line, just say the word and the Great and Mighty Me will help you out!"
"Oh? There actually is something I could use your muscle for!"
"What is it? I'm on it!"
Seeing Arataki Itto so brimming with drive, Ye Xi spoke up. "In a little while, we'll all reach the Dark Sea. It's dangerous beyond compare out there, teeming with sea-beasts."
"Looking at how strong you are, Brother Arataki, I'm sure you can fight side by side with the Shogunate troops and keep everyone aboard safe."
Hearing all this flattery, Arataki Itto swelled with pride. He slapped his chest and laughed. "Relax, relax, it's just a few sea-beasts! Brother Ye Xi, you can set your mind at ease! The Great and Mighty Me will carry the load!"
"Then many thanks. Once the job's done, I'll be sure to give you the mightiest Onikabuto around!"
In Inazuma, Onikabuto were a common sight, but these beetles didn't actually enjoy fighting. So the ones fit for beetle-battling were few and far between, and it took a great deal of time and effort to hunt one down.
Normally, only idlers with nothing better to do would go searching for Onikabuto.
But Ye Xi had a blessed paradise like the Serenitea Pot. All he had to do was grab any old one, toss it in, and raise it a couple of days — it would absolutely become the overlord of the Onikabuto world!
Watching Arataki Itto bound off toward the deck, all fired up and ready for a great battle, everyone fell silent.
"Truly worthy of Master Ye Xi. Two or three sentences and he had him settled."
Kamisato Ayato praised him again and again.
The truth was, that fellow Arataki Itto did have a certain brute strength to him, and if he'd really decided to make trouble it would have been quite the headache.
Yet Ye Xi, with nothing more than a single Onikabuto, had smooth-talked Arataki Itto into calling him brother — that counted as a kind of wisdom in its own right.
As they spoke, a rumbling roll of thunder came from outside. Even with the sky clear, purple lightning still flickered within the clouds. This was plainly no natural phenomenon, but the majesty of the Raiden Shogun.
"The Dark Sea is almost upon us."
Yae Miko gazed at the wild sea in the distance. Far ahead, countless shattered warships had appeared. Those were the Shogunate Navy ships dispatched to the front lines earlier. Before long, the fleet drew ever closer to the front. On the water's surface drifted the splinters of many wooden boats, along with the corpses of Shogunate troops.
There were even wounded men clinging to planks, drifting toward them.
"Master Ye Xi, there are quite a few survivors around us. Shouldn't we rescue them first?"
Seeing her former subordinates slain so brutally, Kujou Sara felt the killing intent within her mount ever higher.
Hearing this, Kokomi offered a suggestion. "We can use cannon fire to strike the far distance, covering our men as they carry out the rescue — quickly."
Ye Xi nodded. "Slow the pace. Let everyone prepare to save people."
As the order went out, cannon fire suddenly thundered from every ship. Those with an Eye of God worked the cannons, bombarding the distant battle line.
After the dense swarms of sea-beasts were struck by those Elemental-powered shells, they burst apart like eggs cracking open, shredded flesh spraying in all directions.
On the wooden boats at the front, the Shogunate troops still locked in desperate battle with bow and spear had long since gone bloodshot with fury. Watching their brothers drop one after another into the sea, torn to pieces and bitten to death by the sea-beasts, each of them hunted the sea-beasts with everything they had.
But when the cannon fire boomed, that was when they suddenly came to their senses.
"Lord Hatamoto, look! A fleet's come from behind to reinforce us!"
"Wonderful, we're saved!"
"Look, look — those ships! They're huge!"
"It's General Kujou!"
At the sight of reinforcements, hope kindled in the soldiers' hearts.
The Hatamoto hurriedly gave the order. "Quick, fall back!"
Under the dense hail of cannon fire, the black, roiling Beast Tide in the water seemed startled, and began to shrink back.
The Shogunate troops at the front hastily withdrew toward the fleet as well. Still, there were plenty of sea-beasts gone berserk with slaughter, and they charged straight at the fleet.
The men aboard scrambled to raise their weapons, ready to block them, but when the sea-beasts slammed into the towering ships of steel, they were knocked out cold in an instant, heads split and bleeding.
The sight sent the Shogunate Navy's morale soaring.
"What sturdy ships! These beasts can't even budge them!"
"This is perfect! Let's press the attack while we've got the upper hand!"
"Don't let them get away — avenge our fallen brothers!"
Earlier, the sea-beasts had been ramming the boats, shattering their hulls, then savaging the Shogunate troops who fell into the water.
Now that trick no longer worked, and the tide of battle turned in a heartbeat!
Watching all this, the wounded who had been pulled aboard felt a great surge of vindication.
Seeing that these sea-beasts' attacks amounted to nothing and could do no harm to the cruisers' solid frames, Ye Xi set his worries aside.
Just then, Yae Miko's low murmur reached his ears.
"Ei…"
Following Yae Miko's gaze up into the sky, he saw a figure the size of a bean appear in the heavens. And all around her, countless massive creatures, shrouded in lightning, let out anguished wails of pain.
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