Chapter 22: Shogun, Save Me!

Back to Liam,

He had now arrived at Tatarasuna. Looking at the small island, Liam sighed deeply, feeling a bit melancholic.

To be honest, in his original world, he was just an ordinary person, with no parents or attachments. The only person he cared about, the orphanage director, had passed away a few years ago.

He used to stay at home writing novels. Luckily, his novels gained some popularity, just enough to make a living. Just when his life was finally getting on track, he ended up in this world.

Although Teyvat's story isn't as catastrophic as some others, its extensive lore hints that Teyvat is not a bright world. It's quite dark...

Surviving this long seemed largely due to luck. When he was abandoned, he was lucky to be picked up by the orphanage director. Later, when he became independent, he was lucky his novels did well enough to cover his living expenses. Arriving in Teyvat, he was lucky to have the help of the System; otherwise, he would've been killed by Hilichurls by now.

After feeling a bit sentimental, Liam felt more relaxed. Regaining his composure, he started walking toward the Mikage Furnace. Since he had to act, he had to do it thoroughly. It wouldn't be good if someone noticed anything unusual. He wondered how effective his plan to lure out Scaramouche would be.

Just as Liam was thinking about how to lure out Scaramouche, his gaze suddenly sharpened. He swiftly drew his Seven Thunders of Retribution from his waist and blocked a flash of lightning.

"Hehe~! So, you're the one that puppet cares about? You do have some skill after all!"

A hoarse, magnetic voice sounded.

Hearing this familiar voice, Liam's eyes lit up. He turned his gaze toward the source of the voice and saw a hooded figure of short stature.

"Scaramouche!"

Seeing this figure, Liam was pleasantly surprised. He never expected Scaramouche would personally attack him. Given Scaramouche's arrogance, he should've looked down on someone he considered an ant.

"Hehe~! You know me?"

Seeing Liam call out his name, Scaramouche looked at him in surprise. He didn't expect this ant to actually know him.

"Hehe, your mother told me before that she once created a failed product. That's you, right? Raiden Shogun's failure!"

Liam pointed his Judgement Seven Thunders of Retribution at Scaramouche, his tone full of disdain. The term "failed product" was undoubtedly dancing on the highly arrogant Scaramouche's sore spot.

Sure enough, the smile on Scaramouche's face vanished. According to the law of conservation of smiles, smiles don't disappear into thin air but transfer from one face to another.

As Scaramouche's smile faded, the corners of Liam's mouth curled up. Clearly, Liam was in a good mood being able to call Scaramouche a "failed product" to his face. However, it was also evident that Scaramouche was now glaring coldly at Liam.

"What right does a mere insignificant bug have to judge me?"

Scaramouche said as lightning erupted from his body, shooting toward Liam.

Naturally, Liam wasn't afraid. Although he was only a half-baked Herrscher, facing Scaramouche didn't make him panic. Moreover, Liam knew that the Shogun was watching. From the moment Scaramouche appeared, he couldn't escape.

However, Liam didn't want to take down Scaramouche so easily. Otherwise, with the weapons he had, whether it was the [Judgement of Shamash] or [Beyond Destiny], any of them could turn Scaramouche to ashes.

As the lightning approached, Liam raised his Seven Thunders of Retribution and thrust forward. The moment they made contact, the lightning dissipated, completely disintegrated by the Seven Thunders of Retribution.

"This weapon..."

Scaramouche noticed the unusual nature of the purple katana in Liam's hand and frowned slightly. He didn't expect Liam to have such an extraordinary weapon.

After the attack, Liam didn't use spatial jump but instead made a swift lunge, sword aimed at Scaramouche. Although Scaramouche didn't understand the origins of the Seven Thunders of Retribution, he could see its extraordinary nature and didn't take it head-on. He sidestepped to avoid it.

Liam immediately followed up with an upward slash. Scaramouche leaned back to dodge again and then used the momentum to do a backflip, creating distance between himself and Liam.

Lightning flashed in Scaramouche's hand, forming a lightning spear. With a wave, he hurled the spear at Liam with greater speed and power than before.

Liam didn't slow down, swirling his Seven Thunders of Retribution to shatter the spear, but he was pushed back a step before chasing after Scaramouche again.

"Is this all you've got? No wonder you're called a 'failed product' with such weak power! Hahaha!"

Liam taunted Scaramouche while pursuing him, messing with his mentality. Scaramouche, never one for patience, showed a vicious glint in his eyes at Liam's words.

"I'll kill you!"

Scaramouche, clearly enraged, stopped dodging and charged directly at Liam.

In an instant, they clashed. Liam swung his sword down, but Scaramouche sidestepped and kicked the sword's back, knocking Liam's hand aside.

Taking advantage of the gap, Scaramouche spun around and kicked at Liam's chest. Liam's figure flickered and suddenly disappeared, reappearing ten steps away.

"This... is it some kind of teleportation ability? I underestimated you!"

Scaramouche observed Liam's sudden disappearance and reappearance with narrowed eyes, his hoarse voice devoid of any emotion.

Liam calmly watched Scaramouche.

"Indeed, as expected of a prototype Raiden Shogun. Your strength is truly formidable. If it weren't for the Seven Thunders of Retribution making you wary, without using the Herrscher of the Void's abilities, my current power couldn't possibly repel you!"

After roughly gauging his current strength, Liam sheathed his Seven Thunders of Retribution.

Scaramouche, seeing this, raised an eyebrow and sneered at Liam.

"What's wrong, realizing you can't win and planning to give up?"

Scaramouche mocked, thinking Liam was surrendering.

"Hehe, I indeed don't intend to fight anymore. I can't deal with you right now!"

Liam spread his hands, looking nonchalant.

"Hehe..."

Seeing Liam's confident demeanor, Scaramouche felt a twinge of unease. But he quickly dismissed the absurd thought. After all, Liam was just an ant.

Though thinking this, Scaramouche still decided to deal with Liam swiftly.

With that thought, Scaramouche moved swiftly toward Liam, aiming to capture him.

However, facing the fierce Scaramouche, Liam remained calm, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth as he softly called out, "Shogun, save me!"

In an instant, the atmosphere changed dramatically. The Electro element became increasingly violent, and a bolt of purple lightning struck down, hitting Scaramouche squarely.

"Ah—!"

Caught off guard by the sudden lightning strike, Scaramouche was sent flying backward with a scream, landing several meters away from Liam.

As the lightning dissipated, a tall figure appeared before Liam.

With long purple hair and a circular, lightning-embellished symbol of the Shogun's might on her back, her violet eyes were devoid of any emotion.

"Cough! Cough! Cough! Ha—!"

Scaramouche stood up awkwardly, his eyes locking onto the Raiden Shogun standing beside Liam.

"You actually came here? It seems this ant is quite important to you! Hahaha!"

Scaramouche mocked, his eyes flashing with sarcasm as he laughed.

"A puppet meant to guard 'eternity' without emotion, giving special attention to an ant? Does she know?"

The "she" Scaramouche referred to was clearly the true Raiden Shogun, Ei, the creator of both himself and the Raiden Shogun.

Unbeknownst to him, Ei was not only aware of Liam and the General's situation but was also gradually being influenced by Liam herself.

"Hehe, it's not just special attention!"

Liam chuckled as he stepped forward, wrapping an arm around the Shogun's slender waist. The Shogun didn't resist, and even the killing intent in her eyes diminished considerably.

This scene left Scaramouche dumbfounded. He had assumed they were merely close, but he never expected their relationship to be this intimate. He burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! I never thought her puppet would end up like this. Inazuma is doomed!"

Watching Scaramouche's crazed demeanor, Liam clicked his tongue.

"What are you barking about? Whether Inazuma is doomed is uncertain, but you might be finished today!"

With that, Liam gave the Shogun a meaningful look. Understanding, the Raiden Shogun drew her Musou Isshin and began walking slowly toward Scaramouche.

Scaramouche's eyes grew serious. He knew from the earlier encounter that he stood no chance against the Raiden Shogun. To think this puppet had grown so strong over the years made him hesitant to engage further.

Sensing Scaramouche's intention to retreat, Liam launched into a taunting tirade.

"Oh dear~! Our mighty and arrogant Scaramouche, who thinks he's a god, is getting scared? No way! You're facing someone you always deemed a 'failure!' Don't tell me Scaramouche doesn't even have the courage to fight?"

Each mocking word from Liam hit Scaramouche's sore spots, fueling his anger.

He desperately wanted to tear Liam's taunting mouth apart, but reason told him he couldn't, or more accurately, he couldn't manage it. Simply surviving under the Raiden Shogun's gaze was a challenge, let alone attacking.

Seeing Scaramouche in this state, Liam taunted even more vigorously.

"Oh dear~! Scaramouche, Scaramouche! How useless are you? Facing someone you always looked down on, you don't even have the courage to fight? Truly a 'failure!'"

Liam wasn't particularly skilled with words; he simply leveraged his knowledge to hit Scaramouche's weak spots. But that alone was enough to enrage Scaramouche.

Though fuming, Scaramouche suppressed his emotions, shot Liam a fierce glance, then turned and fled.

Even against the previous Raiden Shogun, Scaramouche might not have escaped, let alone against the much stronger current Raiden Shogun.

It could be said that even the Tsaritsa herself would not be a match for the Raiden Shogun now.

This was why Liam had sought the Raiden Shogun from the start. He feared that if he didn't inform her in advance, Scaramouche might be struck down before even seeing her.

Liam then communicated to the Raiden Shogun, "Don't reveal all your strength at once. Pursue him relentlessly, but let him escape through a 'mistake.' Can you do that?"

The Raiden Shogun quickly responded, "Understood, but I'll break one of his legs."

The Raiden Shogun, almost always obedient to Liam's requests, seldom made her own demands. Thus, Liam was curious.

"Alright!"

As long as Scaramouche wasn't killed outright, anything was acceptable. The Shogun could do as she wished!

Receiving Liam's permission, the Raiden Shogun nodded slightly, her figure vanishing.

Not long after, a purple sword light flashed in the distance.

"Boom—!"

With a loud explosion, the massive sword light cleaved a small island in half as if slicing through tofu.

"Is this the famous Musou no Hitotachi? Impressive!"

Liam remarked, reassured by the fact that the island was uninhabited, usually occupied by a few wandering samurai.

As he pondered this, Liam suddenly clapped his hands.

"Damn! What if that strike killed Scaramouche? That would be too easy for that bastard!"

With that thought, Liam disappeared, reappearing on a high ground after a moment. Confirming the position, he then teleported again.

After two or three spatial jumps, Liam arrived beside the Raiden Shogun. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he asked, "Did something go wrong? Why use that move?"

Although confident in the General's abilities, Liam still worried about potential mishaps. He cared less about Scaramouche's fate and more about the Raiden Shogun's well-being.

"Everything's fine."

Seeing Liam's concern, the Raiden Shogun was touched, and the coldness on her face softened.

Usually expressionless, the Raiden Shogun had little emotional fluctuation, always appearing indifferent.

However, Liam could now clearly sense the change in her emotions.

At that moment, the Raiden Shogun clenched her hand in the air, and a white object materialized before them.