Raiden Makoto's sudden disappearance caught Gu Chen and the others completely off guard.
Whenever Raiden Makoto went out to travel or simply clear her mind, she would always leave sufficient information to let them know.
Leaving without a word like this—this was the first time.
It gave everyone an ominous sense of foreboding.
"What exactly happened?"
The little Yae fox didn't understand.
"No idea. That's exactly why we're worried about her," Gu Chen sighed.
"We've searched all over Inazuma and found nothing. That means she must be outside Inazuma," Kitsune Saiguu said gravely.
"There shouldn't be anything in this world capable of abducting a god without a sound, right?" Gu Chen frowned.
"Whether such an existence exists is hard to say… but Makoto definitely wouldn't have offended someone like that,"
Kitsune Saiguu said irritably, waving her hand before continuing,
"I don't know what else we can do now. We can only rely on Ei. Maybe she should go to Liyue and ask the Geo Archon on the other side of the sea?"
"That's all we can do," Gu Chen replied helplessly.
Raiden Ei departed immediately.
Inazuma couldn't be left without a ruler even for a single day, so Kitsune Saiguu stepped in.
Gu Chen acted as her aide, helping handle various matters, while the little Yae fox was thrown straight into the role of acting Guuji.
Several days later—
"Ei still hasn't sent any news back," Kitsune Saiguu揉揉 her temples.
"No idea how things are going," Gu Chen said with a headache.
"Being stuck in this passive situation is so frustrating," Kitsune Saiguu grew even more irritated.
Gu Chen said nothing.
Under these circumstances, he felt just as frustrated—but there was nothing he could do.
With nothing urgent at hand, Gu Chen left Tenshukaku, walking along the streets of Inazuma and out into the wilds.
Only the wind blowing across the open fields helped him relax a little.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Gu Chen's keen senses detected something unusual in the distance.
As he drew closer, he saw the soil turning pitch-black.
"What is this?"
Gu Chen frowned slightly.
The change lasted only a short while before stopping.
The plants growing in the blackened soil had already withered.
Gu Chen scanned his surroundings. He could feel something lurking in the void, watching him.
After a brief thought, his right arm turned black as he reached straight out.
Crack!
The void shattered. Gu Chen grabbed something and dragged it out of the emptiness.
The thing he held looked very much like a wolf.
The aura emanating from this dark creature made Gu Chen feel uncomfortable—and disgusted.
Its sharp claws seemed capable of tearing through space itself.
"A strange creature,"
Gu Chen frowned, preparing to crush it.
The next instant, he clearly felt the surrounding void ripple—more grotesque creatures were about to break through and attack him.
"Like a pack of wolves?"
Gu Chen clenched his fingers, crushing the creature's skull. Then he drew his tachi and slashed horizontally.
Another wolf that had just emerged from the void had its skull split open instantly, falling out of the rift and smashing into the ground.
Its blood splattered everywhere, visibly polluting the soil. Any plant it touched withered instantly.
"Where did these things come from?"
Gu Chen looked around.
He was already surrounded by these wolf-like, dog-like creatures.
His expression grew serious. These beings themselves didn't pose much of a threat to him,
but one thing was certain—Inazuma had never had creatures like this.
Foreign species.
That realization put Gu Chen on high alert.
Black arcs of blade light swept through the air.
The pack of wolves was quickly reduced to corpses.
Whether burned by fire or annihilated by overwhelming power, their strength couldn't be completely erased.
At best, the pollution they left on the land could only be somewhat reduced.
Sensing something deeply wrong, Gu Chen immediately returned to Tenshukaku.
"You're saying you encountered an entirely new species? One that can tear through the void and contaminate the soil, killing plants?"
Kitsune Saiguu looked incredulous.
Yet the corpse placed in the hall was undeniable proof.
"This is bad," Kitsune Saiguu said heavily.
"I don't know if this is connected to Makoto's disappearance," Gu Chen pondered.
"We need Ei to come back as soon as possible!" Kitsune Saiguu said at once.
"She's already back."
Gu Chen raised his head toward the direction of Liyue.
Lightning flashed across the sky.
Raiden Ei returned.
Her expression was grim.
"Did you find Makoto?" Gu Chen asked.
Raiden Ei shook her head. "No news at all. I didn't even see the Geo Archon in Liyue. The adepti there didn't know where their Archon had gone either. I also went to Sumeru—same thing. I didn't see the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata…"
"So… the Seven who govern the mortal realm have all disappeared?" Kitsune Saiguu said in disbelief.
"This is bizarre," Gu Chen couldn't understand it either.
Raiden Ei looked worried. "I don't know how my sister is doing."
Noticing the monster corpse in the hall, she asked, "What is this?"
"A corpse of a strange monster,"
Gu Chen explained in detail what he had encountered.
"So strange. I've never heard of a creature like this," Raiden Ei frowned.
After examining the corpse, she added, "It's extremely abnormal. How could a living being have such a structure?"
"You mean…?" Kitsune Saiguu raised an eyebrow.
"There aren't enough clues yet. I can't say for sure," Raiden Ei shook her head.
"Bad news!"
An Okuzumeshu rushed in anxiously to report,
"Your Excellency, reports are coming in from everywhere—strange monsters have appeared!"
"Like this?" Gu Chen pointed at the corpse.
The Okuzumeshu glanced at it and nodded. "Yes, but there are many others as well—lifeforms we've never seen before!"
"I'll go take a look!"
Raiden Ei turned into a bolt of lightning and vanished.
"Let's go too. I'm not at ease,"
Kitsune Saiguu said, heading out with Gu Chen.
The sky, once clear, had grown dim, as if a shadow had been cast over it.
Narukami Island, long cleansed by Raiden Ei, should have had very few monsters—but now vast numbers were emerging.
"Hili—churls?"
"How can there be so many?"
Kitsune Saiguu was astonished.
In this era, hilichurls were extremely rare.
Yet here, just in this region alone, there were tens of thousands—forming a surging tide.
Besides hilichurls, countless autonomous machines were advancing, destroying every living thing in their path.
Blackness spread beneath their feet.
Beasts manifested within that darkness.
Their shapes were grotesque. One monster resembling a tiger was as large as a small mountain.
Mikoshi Chiyo was already fighting that tiger.
As one of Raiden Ei's most trusted generals, Mikoshi Chiyo was ferociously powerful, yet even she was wounded—swallowed whole by the tiger.
Rip—
A tachi pierced through the tiger's body, tearing open a massive gash.
Mikoshi Chiyo emerged from its belly, her entire body seemingly coated in black blood.
Gu Chen and Kitsune Saiguu had arrived.
"Are you alright?"
After cutting down nearby monsters, Gu Chen asked.
"Something's not right…"
Mikoshi Chiyo leaned on her tachi, panting.
"This black blood… seems… poisonous."
"Poisonous?!"
Gu Chen's pupils shrank.
"Kitsune Saiguu, take her out of here first—and warn the shogunate soldiers to be careful of these monsters' blood!"
As he spoke, Gu Chen's right arm turned black, and eerie black flames spread along his tachi.
"Be careful!"
Kitsune Saiguu warned him, then swiftly retreated with Mikoshi Chiyo.
Farther away, thunder roared.
Blades of lightning descended from the sky, accompanied by the shrill howls of countless monsters.
Gu Chen glanced at the strange black flames on his blade, then at the onrushing tide of monsters.
"Those who deserve to die—die!"
His blade swept out, flames erupting.
Monsters touched by the black fire screamed as they turned to ash.
Gu Chen charged through them like no one could stop him.
Each casual swing of his blade claimed countless lives.
The tearing pain coming from his right arm made him frown slightly.
After destroying several autonomous machines with a single strike, Gu Chen flickered and erased hundreds of hilichurls in an instant.
[Shikanoin Heizou]: Ruin Guards, Ruin Hunters, Ruin Sentinels… This is practically a mechanical army! (Paimon · Shocked)
[Thoma]: The mechanical troops might be handled by the shogunate soldiers, but those Riftwolves aren't something ordinary soldiers can deal with. (Paimon · Shocked)
[Kamisato Ayaka]: That black liquid flowing on the ground… it's so eerie. And it's spawning such terrifying monsters. I remember that after slaying that tiger beast, Lady Mikoshi Chiyo came to be known as "Torachiyo"… The legends say she later went mad, rebelled against the Shogun, had one horn cut off, and vanished without a trace…
[Arataki Itto]: Huh?! So my oni senior was ruined by this disaster?! (Scratching head)
[Kuki Shinobu]: From what we're seeing on this battlefield, history has already been confirmed.
"Chiyo, how do you feel?"
Kitsune Saiguu asked anxiously.
"Not great…"
Mikoshi Chiyo shook her head.
"My mind feels chaotic… This poisoned blood is problematic, but it won't kill me."
"That's good. Rest for now—we can't find a solution yet," Kitsune Saiguu said, rubbing her head.
"It's fine. The battlefield still needs me,"
Mikoshi Chiyo shook her head.
Though her mind felt muddled, it didn't significantly affect her combat strength.
Kitsune Saiguu wanted to say more, but fell silent when she looked at the overwhelming calamity outside.
"Little fox, guard the shrine properly," Kitsune Saiguu said to the Yae fox.
"Okay… please come back safely," the little fox said fearfully.
"Mm-hm. Don't worry."
Kitsune Saiguu smiled.
She went to Chinju Forest to rally allies.
As the Hakushin Matriarch, her standing among Inazuma's yokai was extremely high.
At her call, many great yokai rushed to the battlefield.
"Fox Lady, I want to go!"
Ioroi shouted.
"You just stay here and protect the forest," Kitsune Saiguu said.
"Why can't I go fight? Why do I have to guard the forest?" Ioroi complained.
"Because you're strong—that's exactly why you should protect the forest from disaster," Kitsune Saiguu said with a gentle smile.
"Oh~"
"Leave it to me!"
Ioroi grinned broadly.
"Mhm~"
Kitsune Saiguu left with a smile on her face.
[Kamisato Ayato]: It seems Mr. Gu Chen's presence has indeed changed some things. I recall that Lady Kitsune Saiguu once feared Ioroi would fall fighting an unbeatable monster while protecting the forest, so she tricked him into hiding there. When he later realized something was wrong, he caused a huge commotion, stole the sacred object, and was ultimately sealed in stone.
[Thoma]: The footage is already at the battlefield… My gods, people are dying everywhere. The calamity five hundred years ago was truly horrifying.
"Kitsune Saiguu, are you alright?"
Gu Chen asked, tachi in hand.
"I'm fine," Kitsune Saiguu shook her head, then smiled. "What about you?"
"Not injured," Gu Chen replied.
"Where did these things come from?" Kitsune Saiguu asked.
"No idea," Gu Chen shook his head.
"Those machines look like human creations. Among the Seven Nations, I don't recall any that make such things," Kitsune Saiguu frowned.
Raiden Ei suddenly appeared beside them, her voice cold.
"Khaenri'ah."
"Khaenri'ah?"
Gu Chen and Kitsune Saiguu both froze.
"I suspect my sister was summoned to Khaenri'ah," Raiden Ei said gravely.
"Khaenri'ah…"
Gu Chen shook his head, pushing the thought aside.
"Then shouldn't you go check on Makoto's situation?"
"Go quickly. We can hold out against this much," Kitsune Saiguu said.
Raiden Ei looked around, her expression heavy.
"Don't push yourselves too hard."
"They're just monsters—only a bit more numerous than usual," Kitsune Saiguu replied.
"Alright, hurry and go."
Raiden Ei nodded firmly, then looked at Gu Chen's blackened arm.
"Don't overuse that power. Wait for me to return."
"Got it," Gu Chen nodded.
Raiden Ei immediately vanished in a flash of lightning.
Gu Chen and Kitsune Saiguu stood side by side.
"Confident you can hold the line?" Kitsune Saiguu asked.
"It's only this level," Gu Chen chuckled lightly.
"I think so too," Kitsune Saiguu smiled brightly.
They exchanged a glance, then charged straight into the monster tide.
Gu Chen's first strike unleashed a thousand-meter-long arc of blade light.
Black radiance surged across the land like waves crashing onto a shore, sweeping everything away.
No monster or machine survived that slash.
Gu Chen's terrifying combat power drew the focused fire of the autonomous machines.
Kitsune Saiguu led the great yokai, carving the battlefield into segments.
Mikoshi Chiyo lived up to her name.
Like a raging tiger, even stained with poisoned blood, her every strike was ferocious—she alone fought like an entire army.
Behind them, endless waves of shogunate soldiers steadily pushed forward.
The little Yae fox stood at the cliff's edge of the Grand Narukami Shrine.
From this height, she could see far into the distance.
She saw the endless monster tide being forced back, compressed toward its source.
"Brother A-Chen is amazing!"
The little fox clapped her hands, eyes full of admiration.
Boom!
The source of the monsters was a deep crater.
It had become a passage through which the monsters poured.
Like a volcanic eruption, endless monsters crawled out of it.
They were enormous, like colossal beasts, each carrying a vicious, ominous aura.
The world grew darker.
Gu Chen's expression changed abruptly.
If the situation earlier could still be suppressed with effort, now the balance had flipped.
The newly appeared monsters were far stronger!
Cracks opened in midair, and a massive head slowly emerged, exuding kingly might.
"The king of the wolf monsters?" Gu Chen frowned.
And not just that—he also saw cube-like autonomous machines!
What truly weighed on Gu Chen's heart wasn't the new monsters themselves—
it was the black tide spreading across the land.
These black currents carried intense poison.
The earth was being contaminated; even the sea was turning murky.
Humans who came into contact with it suffered unbearable agony!
Kitsune Saiguu stared at the distant source of the monsters, her eyes flickering.
"Gu Chen, can you cut off that source?"
Gu Chen glanced at it and replied, "Yes."
"And the price?" Kitsune Saiguu asked.
She knew that using that cursed power would exact a cost.
"I won't die," Gu Chen answered.
"Then that's enough!"
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