Chapter 303

When Luo De was piecing together the consciousness fragments of the True Thunder.

The negotiations between Sea Deity Island and the Shogunate Army, which had already taken place an unknown number of times, also began.

This time.

Jiu Tiao Sha Luo completely changed his previous tone; both his attitude and tone were much tougher than before.

On the Sea Deity Island side, however,

Wu Lang's attitude remained as resolute as ever: he would absolutely not let Sea Deity Island become a vassal of Inazuma.

But today, Shanhu Gong Xin Hai acted contrary to her usual self.

She not only no longer insisted on the previous principle that Sea Deita Island must be independent, but instead began discussing the details with Jiu Tiao Sha Luo.

This made the accompanying Wu Lang both surprised and anxious.

Had it not been for his loyalty and trust in Shanhu Gong Xin Hai, he would certainly have confronted her directly to get answers.

Even so.

After the first round of negotiations, Wu Lang, upon returning to the camp, immediately stepped forward and questioned: 'Coral Palace Lord, how can you agree to the conditions put forward by the Shogunate? They clearly intend to utterly destroy Sea Deity Island at its root.'

Wu Lang is a military officer.

But being a military officer does not mean he knows nothing about politics.

He had heard all the regulations proposed by the Shogunate Army.

Even he could see it.

If everything were done as they said, Sea Deity Island would completely become history within at most a few decades.

For Wu Lang, who had fought and bled on the battlefield for Sea Deity Island,

this was absolutely unacceptable.

"Coral Palace Lord."

"The brothers are willing to wield their blades for Thunder God Island and even sacrifice their lives and shed blood for Thunder God Island; if you so easily accept the Shogunate's terms, then their blood would have been shed in vain."

Wu Lang had even harsher words he did not utter.

The main force of these Rebel Army troops, fighting and dying on the front lines, even saw the vast Famous Chinquapin Beach covered with blood crystals that could only grow when irrigated with fresh blood.

Now Shanhu Gong Xin Hai has become a surrender advocate.

Even a traitor who sold the entirety of Sea Deity Island.

Still the same old saying.

If it weren't for Wu Lang's trust in Shanhu Gong Xin Hai and his internal self-justification that she must have some difficulty in doing this, he would certainly have staged an immediate coup, first overthrowing Shanhu Gong Xin Hai before dealing with the rest.

At the same time, he finally understood.

Why this round of talks would be a secret meeting.

On the Sea Deity Island side, only he and Shanhu Gong Xin Hai were present; on the Shogunate side, only that General Jiu Tiao Sha Luo was present, whereas previously both sides would have brought along their full intelligence teams and guards.

Perhaps the Coral Palace Lord also feared that if the people of Sea Deity Island learned of her decision, they would cause an uproar.

Wu Lang, as the General of Sea Deity Island,

knows no less about the current state of the Sea Deity Island army than Shanhu Gong Xin Hai does.

He also knows that if they fight to the bitter end, defeat is inevitable for Sea Deity Island.

But he also knows that

the people of Sea Deity Island would rather die standing than live kneeling.

Shanhu Gong Xin Hai also knows this.

Then why is she causing Wu Lang this series of bewildering confusion?

He soon got the answer.

"If we do not accept the terms, they will slaughter the island."

When she said these words, Shanhu Gong Xin Hai was utterly exhausted mentally and physically.

"Slaughter the island?"

These two unfamiliar words made Wu Lang stare for a moment.

Immediately he came to his senses, his face solemn as he said: "They actually really want to slaughter the island?"

Hmm.

They said it was to avenge the innocent residents of Bayun Island who died unjustly.

Sangonomiya Kokomi still remembers every word of that reason.

The rebels released the Archon's grudge on Bayun Island to delay the shogunate army's advance, and Gorou knew about this.

Indeed, many people lost their lives because of that at the time.

But, but.

Many of the evacuating islanders were killed by the shogunate army, ah.

Even though he was speaking the truth, Gorou's face nonetheless showed an uncontrollable look of shame.

No matter how you explain it.

No matter whether the shogunate army also participated in this slaughter that is essentially a massacre.

Releasing the Archon's grudge, which resulted in no one surviving on Bayun Island, ultimately was done by the rebels.

No matter how you explain it, it's all feeble.

Especially when Gorou tried to justify it by saying that the shogunate army was also killing the Bayun Island residents infected by the Archon's grudge.

This is nothing short of quibbling.

Basically, it amounts to the excuse 'the shogunate army did it too'.

Ah—

Shanhugong Xinhai didn't blame Wu Lang for his rash words; instead, she sighed and said: "The shogunate's attitude here has suddenly become extremely resolute, and they have even suppressed all of the forces that were helping us via the three commissioners, displaying an extremely hardline stance, leaving us no room to maneuver."

How could this be?

Before this, Shanhugong Xinhai had never told Wu Lang about it, so he only learned these details today for the first time.

Possibly.

This time, the Raiden Shogun must have really flown into a rage, right?

Shanhugong Xinhai's words were full of helplessness.

In a country where gods exist.

The Thunder God is supreme.

Before, Sea Deity Island had the Sea Deity Orubasu, and in order to avoid the devastation caused by the Archons' conflict, they could still maintain the right to independence and self-governance.

But after the Sea Deity died,

Everything bestowed upon Sea Deity Island by the Thunder God was like charity.

The shogunate's officials also thus adopted an aloof attitude toward Sea Deity Island.

Moreover, Sea Deity Island's land is barren, and food cannot be self-sufficient; the most important aspect of livelihood—food—must rely entirely on trade with the shogunate.

Thus the shogunate's appetite grew ever larger.

Not only did they levy taxes on trade, they also took a share of the harvest, and later added many extra fees specifically targeting Sea Deity Island, gradually forcing the island from initially getting by on local specialties and tourism to desperately digging for coral pearls, barely able to exchange them for enough food.

Did they really raise arms and rebel just for the people of Inazuma?

No.

Everything is exactly as Luo De said.

They rebelled because they could no longer survive; it was a necessary rebellion.

The Vision Hunt Decree was merely an excuse for them.

Likewise.

If it weren't for the Eight Brews Island incident,

The Sea Deity Island resistance army, with a clear rallying cry for armed struggle, would not have fallen into this irreversible disadvantage in negotiations.

After all, they were resisting the Vision Hunt Decree.

In other words, they were opposing the shogun's national policy.

If it were merely a military campaign, then once the war ended, as long as the Vision Hunt Decree was abolished, Sea Deity Island would indeed have grounds to demand fair treatment as meritorious contributors, even fertile land.

Damn the Fools.

Shanhugong Xinhai rarely swore.

If it weren't for the Fools inciting the Eight Brews Island incident, how could Sea Deity Island have fallen into such a passive situation?

So does that mean we can only accept the shogunate's terms now?

Wu Lang understood what Shanhugong Xinhai said.

Although he felt a thousand kinds of reluctance, he could not help but acknowledge Shanhugong Xinhai's point: Sea Deity Island now simply lacks the strength to negotiate fairly with the shogunate's army. "I can only do my best to secure somewhat looser terms for us."

At the very least, we must not let the Sea Deity's heritage be completely cut off.

Shanhugong Xinhai said bitterly: "After the peace talks are concluded, I will go to the statue of the Sea Deity to atone."

Are you really giving up so easily?

Back then, I really misjudged you and chose the wrong partner.

A sudden voice made both Shanhugong Xinhai and Wu Lang instantly alert.

However, no matter how they searched, they could not find where that voice came from.

Moreover, after uttering just those few sentences, the voice never appeared again, as if it had never existed.

Shaoqing.

Only then did Wu Lang discover the abnormal spot.

He looked in astonishment at the letter that suddenly appeared on the table; after seeing the title clearly, he exclaimed: "Lady Shanhugong, there is a letter here for you."

Luo De continued to piece together the fragments of the Raiden Shogun's true consciousness.

This task consumes mental energy far beyond the ordinary.

Given Luo De's level of mental energy,

He can at most last a day and a night before failing.

And each time his mental energy is exhausted, he must eat a large amount of food to replenish it, then rest a night before fully recovering.

The benefit is that through this repeated depletion and recovery, over a few days his mental energy visibly increases, and the duration he can sustain grows longer.

So slow.

Once again seated in the mental space, Luo De gazed at the remaining two-thirds of the thunderclouds above and the faint humanoid consciousness fragment shimmering in his hand, and couldn't help but sigh.

He has already done his best.

He truly has done his best.

Every day he repeats the motion of searching for gaps and piecing together the puzzle, and he only rests after completely exhausting his mental energy; over time, he sometimes sees double vision when looking at things.

But even though he has exerted himself so much,

After spending nearly ten days, he has barely managed to assemble one-third of the consciousness fragment.

And even at this point,

a new problem has actually arisen.

That is, as the Raiden Shogun's true consciousness fragment recovers, although she shows no signs of conscious fluctuation, she instead exhibits a rejection of the Huasanli consciousness.

This has nothing to do with Luo De.

But it is the true divine aura that repels Flower Scatter Village's aura, which originates from outside the world.

This should have been a good thing.

This indicates that the true consciousness of Leidian Zhen and the Electro Archon's aura are gradually merging.

But now this has become a problem.

Based on this repulsion.

Luo De needs to expend greater effort when binding the consciousness fragments.

Even though Leidian Zhen's true consciousness has not yet been fully corrupted, given the current situation, it is very likely that Leidian Zhen's true consciousness will be fully corrupted into an outsider's aura faster than Luo De's progress.

In other words.

Luo De will likely also have to face the problem of Leidian Zhen's consciousness fragments repelling each other.

"Really now."

"This must be paid extra; not paying extra is unreasonable."

Luo De complained while increasing the force in his hand, firmly pressing a consciousness fragment together to bind it.

Just like that.

Another week passed.

Luo De finally could not endure the torment and decided to rest for a day.

He really couldn't hold out any longer.

The previous worry became reality.

Flower Scatter Village's aura's corruption speed against Leidian Zhen's true consciousness is gradually increasing.

Initially, because the adhesive was used sparingly, its effect on Leidian Zhen's true consciousness was not too great.

As Leidian Zhen's true consciousness became more complete, the corruption speed also increased; yesterday it caught up to Luo De's speed of repairing consciousness fragments, and indeed a situation arose where their own consciousness repelled each other, causing Luo De great trouble.

Of course.

It's not all bad news.

There is still a piece of good news.

That is, Leidian Zhen's true consciousness has awakened.

Although it is very weak, it has indeed awakened, and upon awakening it reached a level where it can communicate with people.

Besides that.

In fact, there is also a piece of news that gives Luo De a huge headache.

That is, the awakened Leidian Zhen has also become a chatty, flighty personality, exactly the same as the symptoms shown by the Great Merciful Tree King and Flower Scatter Village.

Luo De can now basically confirm.

That is, any consciousness revived by his hands will definitely suffer a major personality change.

Don't think the Great Merciful Tree King and Flower Scatter Village have ample reasons to explain their surroundings, such as being influenced by the Flower God or by memories from the Fox Purification Palace.

Now Luo De knows.

It's all nonsense! These changes are all due to his influence.

Otherwise, Leidian Zhen, who before dissipating was a tranquil deity, how could she suddenly become a flighty, chatty constitution after awakening?

"Oh, the sin."

This is the only complaint Luo De can muster.

"What's wrong? Little guy, you look worried."

"Didn't I tell you? If you feel tired, just rest properly; overworking yourself is bad for your body."

"You see, the Fox Purification Palace used to be like that: when tired, go play; when played out, rest a bit then get up and play again, even dragging along those who are studying swordsmanship to go play."

"You ought to learn from her properly."

"Work and rest should be balanced; even though your strength is comparable to an Archon, you can still wear yourself out."

Leidian Zhen's voice remains just as gentle; even being chatty, it makes Luo De unable to get angry.

But the problem is that it's too tormenting.

Although having someone to talk to during the dull work is a good thing.

But it can't stand you saying one sentence and her replying with ten.

What's more.

Sometimes Luo De talks to himself or stays silent for a long time, and Leidian Zhen can find something to say on her own, chattering ten or twenty sentences at him.

Luo De rests today.

Not only because of mental fatigue, but also because he's weary at heart.

This is the first time he has known.

As it turns out, this outsider's aura within him also has such a bizarre side effect.

"Ah—"

Luo De sighed again, then gazed fiercely into the distance at the blue waters and green mountains until he felt his eyes and spirit finally recover from fatigue, whereupon he began to walk around the Shogunate's camp.

He had just finished the first lap.

Then he discovered a problem.

"What about Jiutiao Suoluo?"

Luo De was very curious.

According to his estimate, even if Sea Deity Island fought to the death, seeking some lenient terms for themselves, given Jiutiao Suoluo's personality, negotiations would be over in at most ten or eight days.

But it's been over half a month; why hasn't Jiutiao Suoluo returned yet?

Looking over there, it doesn't look like a fight has broken out; could Sea Deity Island have some hidden card that makes Jiutiao Suoluo wary of applying pressure?

In keeping with the spirit of the contract, Luo De stepped toward the negotiation site of Sea Deity Island and the shogunate army; in just two or three minutes, he arrived at the site.

(End of chapter)