"Is this a full-on expedition?" Reisen Riou groaned, staring at the conscription notice.
He'd been cozy at Ritou Shrine when a Shogunate enforcer arrived with the summons.
Unlike his "I'm doomed" sulking, Reisen Anko was thrilled. "Didn't expect I'd get to join such an expedition!"
She itched to clash with demon gods.
"No way! I'm too weak for a war this big. It's a death sentence!" Reisen Riou whined.
Anko snatched his notice, her face falling. "I thought it was a Dark Sea campaign. Just Watatsumi Island pirate suppression? Lame. You're on your own."
"What? You're not coming?" He double-checked the notice: Conscription of Ritou Shrine Guardian for Watatsumi Island Pirate Suppression. No mistake.
Then it hit him—Anko, despite being called Second Shrine Guardian, was technically a Palace Miko, not a Shrine Guardian. He was the only official Shrine Guardian.
"That's not fair!"
"Conscription's no party invite. Get moving," Anko said, gleefully shoving him onto a military ship bound for Kujou Encampment.
Ritou's Shogunate forces sent a chunk of their elite too, headed to Kujou Encampment for joint training. Reisen Riou, conscripted as a high-tier combatant post-LV50+, was listed by the Tenryou Commission as skilled in leading elite archer squads. The campaign needed a bow expert, so he was drafted.
Watatsumi Island bred archery masters. The legendary Thundering Moon bow came from there. Though Watatsumi offered one at each Narukami Festival, their production wasn't limited. Pirates around Watatsumi wielded plenty.
Reisen Riou wondered why Narukami's leaders tolerated this. Were they turning a blind eye?
He napped in the warship's VIP cabin, arriving refreshed at Kujou Encampment.
The area, dotted with villages serving the encampment, teemed with blacksmiths, carpenters, shipwrights, and armorsmiths. Reisen Riou marveled at their skill—most hit LV3, many reached LV4, though LV5 craftsmen were rare.
Standard bannermen ranged from LV30–40, elite ones LV40–50, with a few hitting LV50–60. Ritou's bannermen sat at LV30–40.
After greetings, he asked about the campaign's leader: a young Kujou clansman, barely thirty, sporting a square face, goatee, and a rare Cryo Vision—scarce since the Tsaritsa assumed the Cryo Archon role. He was the Tenryou Commissioner's brother.
His adjutant, a Hydro Vision bannerman and his eldest son, stood behind him. They specialized in Permafrost tactics.
Reisen Riou, next in rank and strength, led the archer unit—unlike the small Yougou Mountain squad, this was three skirmish ships with 450 archers, tasked with arrow barrages and countering enemy bowmen.
A bannerman deputy joined him, but one glance told Reisen Riou why he'd been conscripted. The deputy, the Commissioner's youngest son, was LV31—barely bannerman-worthy. Young and likely inexperienced in command, despite some battlefield time.
Reisen Riou sighed. At least the kid wasn't arrogant and cooperated, though his Archery LV4 was mediocre. The unit's archers mostly hit LV3, with some junior officers at LV4. The deputy was the best technically, and all were elite at LV16+.
He wanted to gripe about their quality, but this was a pirate hunt, not a Dark Sea monster battle. They'd do.
They sailed to crush the pirates.
Reisen Riou studied intel: the targets, remnants of the Orobashi Shrine, were a potent Watatsumi pirate force controlling mighty sea beasts like Umibozu. Based on a northern Watatsumi islet, they had 1,500+ fighters (LV11+), including elite soldiers (LV16+). Their leader, a LV40+ beast-summoner, commanded ocean currents. They had thirteen small ships, three large ones, and formidable bows and crossbows.
Reisen Riou's skirmish fleet needed to suppress their archers, letting the main force crush them with minimal losses.
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