"Awooo..."
With a dragon's roar that rang through the sky, the sea dragon plunged swiftly toward Taro Island.
"Wahahahaha! This is what you get for resisting my Funato Clan! Your lives will sink along with this island! From this day forward, the Land of Sea will cease to exist!"
Hearing Funato Arumi's deafening voice and the dragon's roar overhead, the villagers at the harbor could no longer hold on. Their legs went weak, and when they came to their senses, they realized they had already collapsed to the ground.
"We're finished..."
"I don't want to die yet... sob..."
"Wait, look! Lord Daimyo is going to act!"
The despairing crowd hurriedly turned toward Xia Yu, who stood on the shore. He was slowly bringing his palms together, seemingly about to form hand seals.
Hai Shen's face was deathly pale as he asked in a trembling voice, "Hai Xing, do you think Xia Yu... uh, no, Lord Daimyo can withstand that sea dragon?"
Hai Xing turned his head. Rather than answer directly, he merely pointed at Uzumaki Honoka beside them.
"Do you see the look in that young girl's eyes? She hasn't shown a trace of fear. That's her trust in Lord Daimyo!"
"So stop asking me questions like that. The only thing we can do now is believe in Lord Daimyo unconditionally. Thinking about anything else... is useless."
With that, Hai Xing suppressed the terror in his heart, hammered his relentlessly trembling legs with his fists, and struggled to his feet, craning his neck to shout:
"Lord Daimyo, I believe in you! You can definitely protect our country!"
With their pillar, Lord Hai Xing, taking the lead, the villagers rose one after another to cheer Xia Yu on.
"Heh..."
Hearing their encouragement, Xia Yu glanced back with a smile and replied