"Lady Kujou Sara, all personnel have already evacuated Inazuma City!"
Hearing the report from the Tenryou Commission soldier, Kujou Sara sighed softly.
"Compile the casualty report."
"Yes!"
After receiving the new orders, the soldier immediately withdrew.
Just then, Kamisato Ayato hurried over toward them.
"General Kujou, my men discovered the exit of a secret passage outside the city. The passage leads directly to the area near the Tenshukaku inside the city; it seems to be an escape route dug by those guys beforehand."
"However, the exit shows no signs of having been opened, and the passage itself has already collapsed halfway. I also didn't find any of those nobles among the crowd. I think something unexpected must have happened to them."
Hearing these words, Kujou Sara did not show any expression of sadness, but even let out a cold snort.
"If that is truly the case, then it is a mercy to them!"
"Based on a portion of the intelligence we have currently gathered, even dying several times would not be enough to atone for the sins they have committed.
"Having said that, it also saves us some trouble," Kamisato Ayato spoke slowly.
"Those people did too good a job of handling the matters that would work against them. We had been investigating for a long time but had not grasped the critical evidence. If we continued to delay, the other party might have found a scapegoat to take the blame."
"As long as we do not bypass the Law of Inazuma, it would indeed not be easy to thoroughly root out this cancerous tumor."
"Moreover, I suspect some of them are still hiding well and may have even evaded our investigation. I am afraid only their own internal people know exactly how many were colluding with them."
Kujou Sara thought for a moment, then slowly nodded.
"You are right. Right now, we should focus on helping the people of Inazuma rebuild their homes, rather than wasting time dealing with that group."
Having said this, Kamisato Ayato sighed softly before continuing.
"It is a pity that the Almighty Shogun is not very knowledgeable about political matters and is easily deceived by treacherous people. Otherwise, how could they be allowed to be so arrogant?"
"It is precisely because of this that the Almighty Shogun established the Tri-Commission. It is my incompetence that we have failed to find evidence against these treacherous individuals," Kujou Sara said with some self-reproach. Strictly speaking, there was nothing wrong with her words, because the Tenryou Commission was indeed responsible for arresting people.
However, Kujou Sara had simply had too much on her plate before. She had to fight on Watatsumi Island, execute the Vision Hunt Decree, maintain order in Inazuma City, and clear out the Nobushi in the surrounding waters.
Kujou Sara did not have three heads and six arms. How could she handle everything so comprehensively? There were bound to be oversights.
Moreover, these people were incredibly cunning. Even when the Yashiro Commission and the Tenryou Commission had previously joined forces to investigate their backgrounds, they had not gained much.
To collect key evidence, who knows how many days it would take.
"General Kujou, please do not be too hard on yourself. You have done more than enough."
"The people have a scale in their hearts, and I believe they all see your dedication."
After hearing Kamisato Ayato's words of comfort, Kujou Sara nodded.
"I never expected the Head of the Kamisato Clan to be so adept at comforting people. As expected of someone who handles civilian affairs. In the future, I will bring people from the Tenryou Commission to learn from your experience. I believe this will significantly reduce the resistance the Tenryou Commission faces in its work. I hope the Head of the Kamisato Clan will not decline when the time comes."
Hearing Kujou Sara's words, Kamisato Ayato chuckled.
"Of course. I will be waiting for the arrival of the Tenryou Commission at any time."
With just a few words, the two had established a closer cooperative relationship between the Yashiro Commission and the Tenryou Commission for the period to come.
At this moment, the two looked up at the sky above Inazuma City. The battle there was still continuing, and the aura radiating from it was becoming increasingly terrifying. It was clear that because there were still innocent civilians in Inazuma City earlier, both sides had been holding back.
"Why did Inazuma provoke such a powerful enemy?"
Kujou Sara's expression was somewhat grim. Although the specific casualty figures had not yet been released, one could imagine from the streets dyed a dark red that the casualties were definitely not small.
Kamisato Ayato sighed and spoke.
"Liyue, Sumeru, and Fontaine also encountered powerful enemies. It's just that now... it is Inazuma's turn."
"It is still because Inazuma's information flow is too poor. Otherwise, we could have at least made some preparations in advance, and we wouldn't have been so passive today."
Kujou Sara wholeheartedly agreed with Kamisato Ayato's words.
If Lumine hadn't arrived to provide timely support, the number of casualties would probably be more than several times the current number!
Setting aside other things, just from that terrifying tsunami before, I'm afraid that besides Inazuma City and some villages located on higher ground on Narukami Island, at least two-thirds or more of the personnel in other places would have suffered casualties.
After they retook control of the Yashiro Commission and the Tenryou Commission, the intelligence from the front line was also passed to their hands.
Even the well-trained soldiers defending the Kujou Encampment suffered huge casualties, let alone those ordinary civilians on Narukami Island.
After hearing about the casualties of the soldiers from the Kujou Encampment, the one who was most anxious was Kujou Sara, as those were basically the soldiers she had brought up herself.
However, she still needed to command the Tenryou Commission here in Inazuma City. In addition, hearing that Sangonomiya Kokomi had carried out treatment for everyone, Kujou Sara also felt a little relieved.
"I hope the Almighty Shogun will be safe and sound."
Kujou Sara also wanted to help Raiden Ei fight the enemy, but the mere shockwaves of that battle were more than she could bear, let alone participate directly. If she did, she would only cause trouble for Raiden Ei and be unable to do anything else.
"Have faith in the Almighty Shogun, she will definitely win."
Just as Kamisato Ayato finished speaking, a streak of light suddenly fled from the battlefield in the sky above Inazuma City.
Although Kujou Sara and Kamisato Ayato could not see who was within the streak of light, they could see the figure left behind, and it was not Raiden Ei.
At this, Kamisato Ayato and Kujou Sara completely broke down. They had just said Raiden Ei would definitely win, yet the very next moment she fled. Such a face-slapping reversal had never been faster.
The two could not understand it. From the previous battle, Raiden Ei had not been completely unable to fight back, so why did she suddenly flee?
This scene was also witnessed by the civilians who had fled Inazuma City. Their faces also showed disbelief; they never would have imagined that Raiden Ei would be defeated, and even flee directly.
This was followed by uncontrollable panic. Even though the people of the Two Commissions tried their best to maintain order, the results were still not very ideal.
Just then, the figure in the sky glanced over here, and the other party's appearance instantly left everyone stunned.
So similar, just so similar!
This time everyone clearly saw the figure; aside from some minor differences in detail, both the aura and appearance were so similar.
This time, everyone even began to doubt: Could this be their Raiden Shogun, while the one who fled before was an imposter?!
Just as everyone was pondering, Raiden Mei also turned into a purple light and shot away in another direction.
The reason Raiden Mei did not pursue was that she knew the benefits of doing so would be minimal.
Raiden Ei had indeed retreated, but the previous battle had not actually determined a winner. Raiden Ei simply considered that she was already severely injured; if she continued the fight, she would only suffer further losses.
Of course, even so, the Raiden Ei of the past would have absolutely refused to retreat. But this time, she had something she could not afford to lose, and even changed her own consistent style for its sake.
After judging that Raiden Mei was not someone who killed innocent people indiscriminately, Raiden Ei had found an opportunity to leave the battlefield.
The battle between the two had not activated the Mark. Although they had both seen how to use it, they also believed that losing the Mark meant elimination, so they naturally would not use it lightly.
Seeing Raiden Mei's departure, everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief.
However, when they turned their attention to the heavily damaged Inazuma City, their eyes instantly filled with pain.
The most painful thing in life is losing your home but still having to pay the mortgage.
Fortunately, everyone soon received notice that the government would fund the post-disaster reconstruction, which made them feel much better.
"Lord Kujou Sara, according to preliminary statistics, approximately 12,000 people died accidentally this time, and 30,000 were injured."
Although they had expected it, Kujou Sara and Kamisato Ayato's hearts still sank upon hearing the massive casualties.
"Save the injured with all our strength! Not a single innocent person can be sacrificed!"
"Yes, Lord Kujou Sara!"
Watching the soldier's back recede, a wave of intense sorrow surged in Kujou Sara's heart.
The total number of casualties in Inazuma recently had probably already exceeded 100,000.
The Shogunate had been at war with Watatsumi Island for so many years, yet the number of people who died in this incident alone had probably surpassed the total war casualties. And this was only the beginning.
Information brought by Sangonomiya Kokomi from the Kujou Encampment indicated that before long, all of Inazuma would be surrounded by a sea eroded by Electro Elemental Power.
Although the Dragon Blood Potion brought by Sangonomiya Kokomi seemed highly effective, its production capacity was too low, and many people would probably not be able to wait for it to save their lives in the end.
By then, the number of casualties would probably multiply several times over!
Kujou Sara and Kamisato Ayato were anxious about this, but they had no better solution.
As the old saying goes, if there were truly a solution, the problem of Musoujin Gorge would have been solved long ago.
Just then, a soldier suddenly came hurrying toward them from the distance.
"Lord Kujou Sara, Lord Kamisato Ayato!"
"What is the matter that you are in such a hurry?"
Kujou Sara and Kamisato Ayato looked at the soldier with some tension, afraid of hearing more bad news, as Inazuma really could not afford much more now.
"In reply to the two lords, the brothers found Liyue and Fontaine people appearing and searching for something everywhere, so they had a conversation with them, and finally learned from their mouths that Liyue and Fontaine have both sent Expeditionary Forces to support us!"
The other party's tone was clearly much more excited when saying the previous words.
At such a critical moment for Inazuma, the arrival of the Expeditionary Forces from Liyue and Fontaine was truly an army from the heavens!
Inazuma was saved!
Kujou Sara and Kamisato Ayato's faces also showed expressions of surprise and joy, and they hurriedly asked the soldier for further details about the two Expeditionary Forces. After learning that the other party had already stationed at Ritou and had not rashly entered Narukami Island, the two felt even more at ease.
If the other party had come to Inazuma with other intentions, they would never have obediently stationed at Ritou, but would have rushed in long ago.
This action of theirs also expressed their attitude to them.
Just then, Kamisato Ayato suddenly thought of the terrible commotion that had come from the direction of Ritou earlier, and hurriedly looked at Kujou Sara and said.
"General Kujou, I wonder if you still remember the battle commotion that came from the direction of Ritou earlier."
After hearing Kamisato Ayato's words, Kujou Sara's expression changed, and she then hurriedly said.
"Do you mean that those two Expeditionary Forces have encountered a terrible crisis?"
"This is just my guess, but it seems this is the only possibility. You and I both know that Ritou has not deployed too strong a combat force, and engaging the enemy would not produce such a large commotion."
Kujou Sara nodded, forced to accept this reality.
"The fighting has ceased over there. I wonder how they are doing."
Although they had felt the commotion from Ritou earlier, Kujou Sara and Kamisato Ayato had no immediate plans to go check, as they couldn't even attend to the matters in Inazuma City.
But knowing that reinforcements had arrived and were waiting for them, Kujou Sara and Kamisato Ayato had no choice but to go.
"We must hurry to their aid. We cannot let those who came to help Inazuma be disheartened!"
After speaking, Kujou Sara quickly issued several more orders, then took a group of men and rushed to Ritou with Kamisato Ayato.
Kujou Sara and Kamisato Ayato were both prepared for battle, and they would have to intervene no matter how strong the enemy was.
However, when the two arrived at Ritou, they found that the battle had already ended.
As they walked, seeing the roads that had turned into sandy patches and the vegetation and trees that had completely vanished, Kujou Sara and Kamisato Ayato's hearts sank once again.
Just by looking at the impact of the battle on the environment, they could tell what kind of terrible enemy the other party had been facing before.
If Liyue and Fontaine had not intervened, these powerful beings might have attacked the Raiden Shogun alongside that figure from before.
If such a thing had truly happened, the Raiden Shogun's situation would have become extremely perilous.
The two continued walking forward, and the Jade Chamber, now broken and with only about half of it remaining, abruptly appeared before their eyes. This caused their hearts to sink once again. They had heard of the Jade Chamber's fame, but they never expected it to be so severely damaged in this battle.
Finally, when the two finally passed through the layers of screening and arrived on Ritou, they saw, as expected, one body after another covered in white cloths.
A rough glance revealed that there were already hundreds of bodies visible to their eyes.
Seeing this scene, their hearts were filled with both gratitude and guilt.
Originally, these people did not need to support Inazuma and die in a foreign land, yet they still came. This kindness was enough for the people of Inazuma to remember for a lifetime.