During the Inazuma civil unrest, as the war between Narukami Island and Watatsumi Island reached a stalemate, the Shogunate was forced to issue multiple conscription orders to replenish its troops.
Initially, due to the Shogunate Army's reputation and its representation of the Shogun's will, people believed the Watatsumi Island resistance was merely a minor ailment. Enlisting in the army would even allow them to earn military merits; where else could such a good opportunity be found? Thus, many citizens responded.
However, as time went on, the public realized that the war's direction was not right. Not only did very few of those who enlisted return alive, but even those who did return were often disabled, missing limbs.
Under these circumstances, naturally, fewer young men responded. The Shogunate Army sometimes had to resort to forcibly conscripting men to meet their recruitment quotas.
This further reduced the number of volunteers. Many young men, to evade conscription, were forced to become wandering samurai, ronin. Some, to survive, became bandits who settled in the mountains and specialized in plundering villages.
With Kannazuka and Yashiori Island engulfed in war, the common people on Narukami Island itself also suffered. Their main laborers were gone, leaving only the old, weak, and sick, and they were constantly plundered by Nobushi. The phrase "people without a livelihood, displaced" perfectly described their situation.
The Shogunate Army, which should have been responsible for suppressing bandits, was unable to do so due to the intense fighting on the front lines, leading to a proliferation of bandits on Narukami Island.
Among these, Kannazuka Island, north of Narukami Island, due to its remote, easily defensible, and isolated location from Narukami Island, became the largest gathering place for Nobushi in Inazuma. They built simple houses and fortifications there, living like mountain kings.
After the Inazuma civil unrest ended, Miyashiro, in order to vigorously rectify Inazuma's public security, ordered Sara to lead the Shogunate Army to encircle and suppress the Nobushi on Kannazuka Island. He eventually executed several bandit leaders on Kannazuka Island and sent all remaining criminals to Seirai Island to build Seirai Castle as atonement for their sins.
Kannazuka Island thus became desolate again, until recently, in the past two months, this deserted island welcomed two new masters: Yoimiya and Klee.
Having experienced Klee's previous attack incident, this time, Miyashiro was thoroughly invested. Also, to allow Klee and Yoimiya to focus on their explosive research, Naganohara Fireworks in Inazuma City was clearly no longer the optimal location.
Thus, Kannazuka Island, being far from the city and uninhabited, naturally became the best place for explosive research.
With such an excellent research facility, Yoimiya and Klee became unstoppable in their explosive research. Once they had an idea, they could directly conduct explosion tests around Kannazuka Island.
After two months, several small islands near Kannazuka Island had been blown up, reducing Inazuma's already scarce land area by several square kilometers.
Even though Kannazuka Island was far from Inazuma City and Ritou, the people in both places could still frequently hear loud noises and see soaring flames, sometimes even witnessing the spectacular scene of Mushroom clouds.
This time, the people of Inazuma had grown accustomed to such displays and would no longer inquire too much about what was happening there. They would also warn tourists new to Inazuma not to be curious about that place, otherwise, the consequences would be severe.
On Kannazuka Island at this moment, Yoimiya was in the finished goods warehouse, counting and inspecting the fireworks prepared for the fireworks festival. If a newly developed 'Xiao Jinyu ('Little Goldfish')' were mixed in with the display fireworks, the consequences would be unimaginable.
'Xiao Jinyu ('Little Goldfish')' was a new type of weapon developed by Yoimiya and Klee, drawing lessons from their shortcomings during the previous encounter with Maguu Kenki. Simply put, it was the prototype of a mortar.
Unlike fireworks that Bloom in the air, the 'Xiao Jinyu ('Little Goldfish')' shells do not explode in the air but instead fall in a parabolic trajectory, detonating only upon impact with an object. If this thing were used at a fireworks festival, it would definitely randomly take away a batch of lucky spectators. Therefore, Yoimiya inspected them very carefully.
Meanwhile, Klee was sitting bored at a table in a corner of the warehouse, diligently drawing something, her eyes occasionally glancing at Yoimiya.
If this scene occurred in an ordinary warehouse, it might be a very warm and loving picture. But the warehouse they were in was filled with gunpowder. If outsiders saw it, they would surely break out in a cold sweat, especially upon seeing the two Pyro Visions on their bodies, which would give them a tingling sensation on their scalp.
If they accidentally sneezed and caused the Pyro element to gather here, the consequences would be unimaginable. However, both Yoimiya and Klee had an accustomed expression to their situation, showing no fear or panic.
When Yoimiya finally finished counting all the fireworks, she let out a sigh of relief and said to Klee behind her, "Little Klee, Big Sister is done checking here."
Klee, who was drawing, heard this, immediately dropped her paintbrush, and bounced over, her eyes full of an expression seeking praise and affection.
Klee: "Big Sister Yoimiya, Klee has been drawing diligently, and I haven't disturbed your work."
Yoimiya patted Klee's small head and smiled, "Klee is the best. Big Sister will take you back to the city to eat delicious things. Inazuma City is so lively now, with so many new things, some of which even Big Sister Yoimiya herself hasn't tried!"
Klee immediately became excited upon hearing this, then shyly said, "Yay! But, Big Sister Yoimiya, before we go back to the city to eat delicious things, Klee wants to launch a few 'Xiao Jinyu ('Little Goldfish')' to fish, can I?"
Klee pointed in the direction where the 'Xiao Jinyu ('Little Goldfish')' were stored, her eyes full of longing and anticipation. Clearly, she had been planning this for a long time.
Seeing Klee utter such fierce words with her innocent and pure appearance, Yoimiya couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. Her face showed an embarrassed expression as she said, "Little Klee, it seems we've blown up all the fish around here. There might not be many fish left."
Seeing that Big Sister Yoimiya's refusal was not strong, Klee quickly pulled her hand and pleaded, "Big Sister Yoimiya, please, please, please, let Klee play!"
Yoimiya already found it difficult to refuse a child's request. Plus, she thought that 'Xiao Jinyu ('Little Goldfish')' was a newly developed product and needed more tests for improvement, which was also the Regent's intention. In that case, this time, they would test how far the 'Xiao Jinyu ('Little Goldfish')' could shoot.
However, Yoimiya still deliberately put on a troubled expression, pondered for a moment, and finally reluctantly nodded in agreement, "Alright, seeing how obedient Little Klee has been today, Big Sister will take you to test a few 'Xiao Jinyu ('Little Goldfish')'."
At the same time, an official ship from Mondstadt sailed from north to south, passing by Kannazuka Island, preparing to head to the port of Ritou.
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