Since there was nothing to do, Hanzō turned his gaze to Lin Ran, his eyes gleaming.
He was actually extremely curious about the bow Lin Ran had just used.
Being highly sensitive to bow-type weapons, he could clearly recognize that Lin Ran's bow was likely even more powerful than the Divine Dragon Bow he held in his hand.
Coupled with the Golden Emerald that appeared earlier, the dark gold chains that crossed dimensions, and the magical artifact that manipulated wind and rain and reversed the heavens and earth, Lin Ran's grand gestures were astonishingly immense!
And even if none of that were mentioned, the spatial storage artifact alone, which was capable of containing the entire Flipping Sea Demon Whale, was already extremely exaggerated…
The wealth this person possessed was simply enough to rival a nation!
Any one of the series of items he had could be something unattainable by others if simply taken out.
Now, Sakura Country, on its path to revitalization, was particularly eager to improve its international standing – even though they were quite impoverished and the wealth gap was extremely large.
The reason they gritted their teeth to build the Amakusa Taro was mainly to deliver a small shock to the world from Sakura.
However, they were completely overwhelmed by Lin Ran's Golden Emerald from the start, and now they were annihilated with no remains.
This was an unbearable loss for Sakura.
If they wanted to compensate for such a loss, taking down Lin Ran seemed like an extremely profitable deal…
Especially since he was currently in a half-dead state.
Who wouldn't want to possess those divine artifacts that looked extraordinary?
The moment Hanzō imagined himself riding the Golden Emerald one day, his heart surged with countless emotions.
With this thought, Hanzō immediately exchanged glances with Minamoto, and they both understood each other's intentions.
"Brother… Shall I contact the country now and have them prepare in advance?"
Minamoto spoke very subtly, and if one didn't know, they would think they were discussing a competition.
Hanzō nodded:
"For matters like this, the earlier the preparations, the better."
"And be sure to act swiftly and decisively, leaving no loopholes!"
Minamoto bowed in agreement and quickly moved aside to make the communication request.
As for Lin Ran, although he generally knew that Minamoto and Hanzō might harbor ill will and take action, he was completely unfazed, relying on the protection of Shen Wei. He continued to comfortably bury his head in Luo Qingyan's embrace, rolling around wantonly.
This comfortable softness sent waves of excitement through Lin Ran.
At several points, Lin Ran even felt an urge to bring his lower half into play – it wouldn't do for only his upper half to enjoy itself, right?
Luo Qingyan found Lin Ran's opportunistic advances quite distasteful, but in order to play the part fully, she could only endure it silently.
Before long, the surrounding captains had tallied the remaining number of survivors.
It had to be said that the casualties during the terrifying wave of the Flipping Sea Demon Whale were truly tragic.
From over ten thousand people at the beginning, including their attendants, to now less than a thousand.
The numbers had instantly plummeted to about 5% of the original.
The most direct consequence of the drastic reduction in numbers was that many units could no longer even form a complete team.
The remaining teams, still able to participate in the subsequent competition, were almost exclusively the main force teams.
Although the captains of these main force teams did not have deep feelings for the reserve members of their respective countries, they couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion at the sight of such a tragic scene.
"This is all we have left. Let's press on…"
"After all, no matter what, the competition must go on."
Kaiser said this while glancing at the Shimada brothers beside him.
Clearly, he intended to unleash all his anger on the Shimada brothers on the arena.
The others also nodded, acknowledging Kaiser's sentiment.
After all, this year's competition could essentially be considered their last dance, and they definitely had to take it seriously.
Even with such a ridiculous incident happening midway, they couldn't easily give up.
"Let's go then!"
Arthur waved his hand.
"We have the wreckage as a resting point now, so we can propel ourselves forward using magic."
"We can even use it as a ship to reach our destination."
"We can talk about anything else after we reach shore."
Such a reasonable suggestion naturally did not meet with any opposition.
The group quickly gathered together, using their magic as oars, and rapidly surged eastward through the waves.
…
This voyage took several more hours.
It wasn't until everyone began to grow impatient that they finally saw the dawn of land on the horizon.
"We've finally arrived…"
"Brother Lin, are you alright?"
Seeing that they were about to reach their destination, Kaiser finally let out a sigh of relief and turned to look at Lin Ran beside him.
Lin Ran had not spoken a single word during the journey, maintaining a sickly appearance as if he were half-dead, which made people quite worried.
Lin Ran smiled with ease:
"It's just a side effect, nothing to worry about."
"After recovering naturally for a while, I should be mostly fine, though there might be some lingering aftereffects…"
"Also, the cooldown period will be very long… these are unavoidable things. But no major problems exist."
"Brother Kaiser, you don't need to worry too much."
Kaiser then nodded:
"That's good to hear…"
"If you had suffered any accident because you saved us, I would probably be filled with guilt for the rest of my life."
Looking at Kaiser's sincere face, Lin Ran secretly rejoiced in his heart.
He had indeed judged correctly; the people he saved were the best choices.
If it were someone like Jin Taiguang, even if saved, they would be ungrateful and useless.
Kaiser and Arthur, on the other hand, were much more reliable…
At the very least, they would remember his kindness.
Tanihiko Kawakami, who looked very tired, weakly interjected:
"We've already arranged accommodation spots around the coast of Kyushu Island. Feel free to choose as you please."
"After all…"
Tanihiko Kawakami originally wanted to say that since most people were dead, there would be plenty of rooms.
But the moment he thought that the deaths of so many people were largely due to his own actions, he immediately swallowed the words back.
It would be too foolish to further provoke these people for such a reason.
Luo Qingyan, however, seemed no longer willing to wait. She smiled at Lin Ran in her arms and said:
"Let's go! Let's go grab a good spot first!"
"That way, we'll have more time to arrange things tonight."
With that, she embraced Lin Ran, spread her wings, and ascended into the sky.