Umibozu, demonized giant sea beasts, wielded Hydro elemental power to a degree. In the ocean, they were a massive threat to ships, but on land, their menace and lethality dropped sharply.
Urged by the Watatsumi pirates' whistles, these beasts attacked the Shogunate fleet.
The Shogunate deployed over 100 small ships, 30+ large ships, and one colossal warship.
The pirates, spotting the fleet, didn't sit idle on their islet. They moved to engage.
The Shogunate, seasoned from years of battling Watatsumi pirates, knew their tactics. The Kujou general slashed his blade, freezing a swath of sea with Cryo. Two Umibozu, caught off-guard, were pinned in ice.
Two Electro lances pierced them, nailing them dead to the frozen surface. The general raised an eyebrow, signaling a "well done" to Reisen Riou's direction. The remaining Umibozu fled under whistle commands.
Per the plan, Reisen Riou ordered the skirmish fleet to flank swiftly, while the main fleet charged the pirate stronghold.
Before the main fleet reached position, a rain of Hydro-wrapped arrows rose from the islet—enemy spellcasters and archers, at least 500 strong, a high archer ratio.
The Shogunate countered. Shrine mikos and Tenryou Commission onmyoji raised elemental shields.
Reisen Riou, pinpointing the enemy archers, struck back. "As a youkai, my elemental reserves are deep," he grinned, waving a hand. Shogunate archers on the skirmish ships gaped as their arrows gained an Electro coating.
"On my command—ready, loose!"
"Loose!"
Sound delayed the order, but no matter. Reisen Riou's arrow led the charge. Squinting, he drew massive elemental power from the air, wrapping it around the volley.
"One becomes six—Thunderlance Array."
His arrow as the core, 37 massive Electro lances formed among the thousand-plus purple arrows, glowing like meteors—clearly no ordinary attack.
A massive explosion and 36 smaller blasts sent smoke pillars skyward. The enemy archers suffered heavy losses.
The real devastation came from elemental reactions: Overloaded with campfires, Electro-Charged with Hydro, Aggravate with Dendro. Staggered volleys kept reactions chaining, with Electro-Charged proving deadliest to personnel.
By the time the main fleet stormed the islet, fewer than 100 pirate archers remained.
When Reisen Riou's skirmish fleet landed, the battle was over. All pirates, including the Umibozu-summoning leader, were dead.
Shogunate soldiers with dogs hunted for stragglers, saluting as Reisen Riou passed.
He ignored them, inspecting the Thunderlance Array's damage. It was his first time going all-out, using his High-tier Elemental Leader ability to manipulate ambient elements. He'd burned half his refined elemental reserves for those 37 lances' massive power.
In Inazuma, youkai-refined elemental power was called youki, differing from standard elemental energy only in concentration. Archon-tier fighters could condense similar energy.
At Great Youkai (LV70+), youki transformed, boosting move power and unlocking abilities like shapeshifting, life extension, spellweaving, or receiving offerings.
Only Great Youkai could receive true offerings (faith) in Inazuma. As Ritou's Shrine Guardian, Reisen Riou got material tributes, but true faith went to Narukami. Even Great Youkai split faith with Narukami, reportedly at a 1:9 ratio.
Back to business, he sent his deputy to report to the general while he checked the enemy archer position.
He'd fired two volleys from five kilometers out. Only the first triggered the Thunderlance Array; the second was standard Electro arrows.
On a cliff—the enemy archer camp—arrows littered the ground. Logistics samurai recovered standard arrows, occasionally finding wounded pirates.
Reisen Riou stepped over bodies and arrows to the Thunderlance craters. "This move's overkill for regular troops," he mused, stroking his chin. "But it's effective, with decent accuracy. Guided by Heart Flow, it hit my targets."
The blasts struck campfires and torches—where pirate archers gathered, aiming for Vaporize reactions with oil-soaked, flaming arrowheads.
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