Qianhe Yinbai's already pale face turned even more unsightly after being berated by him.
Lin Ran's exhilarating victory had not only slapped her face but also severely shaken the unshakable faith she held in her heart!
Because in this offensive, she hadn't sensed Lin Ran using any of what she called "setting power"!
(Although logically, he should have, like the effect of the Slaughter Undying Blade rendering the undead attribute invalid, which, according to her classification, would definitely belong to this category. She simply hadn't noticed...)
Before, Lin Ran's strong counter to the heroes' attacks, and his effective counter-attacks, could still be attributed to him using some setting power, allowing her to rationalize it.
Although not much, it was still there.
Now, without using any setting power, Lin Ran had directly shattered the heroes, who were empowered by nine types of setting power, and prevented their resurrection. This completely subverted her worldview.
Therefore, even after being severely scolded by Tanaka Kenho, she remained lost in her own sorrowful world, unable to extricate herself.
"Cold... so cold..."
Qianhe Yinbai did not answer Tanaka Kenho's questioning. Instead, she suddenly crouched down, her face pale, and began to tremble, holding her head.
Initially, seeing Qianhe Yinbai standing there like a wooden dummy, pretending to be deaf, the furious Tanaka Kenho had intended to escalate his scolding tenfold.
Upon witnessing this scene, Tanaka Kenho suddenly calmed down.
As a tenth-tier expert, he could naturally tell that Qianhe Yinbai's current state was not a pretense.
Furthermore, her earlier out-of-control behavior truly did not befit a warlord aiming for the throne.
After taking several deep breaths, Tanaka Kenho managed to calm his emotions somewhat and walked up to Qianhe Yinbai, staring at her.
The reason he had been so frantic, to the point of completely losing his composure, was primarily because the situation that had unfolded was simply too outrageous and completely unexpected!
After all, the Shinkan organization had guaranteed victory, and a beautiful one at that.
The only variable was how beautiful the victory would be.
Therefore, this turn of events was a complete Waterloo for Tanaka Kenho, a fall from heaven to hell.
Moreover, because the Shinkan organization had spoken with such absolute certainty, Tanaka Kenho had truly believed their assurances. His preparations and plans for the subsequent stages were all developed based on the branch scenario where Hanzō successfully defeated Lin Ran.
Now, with a major problem at the source, all subsequent branches were ruined, and all his efforts had gone to waste...
He felt as though he would be letting down his current extreme grief and indignation if he didn't cough up a mouthful of blood!
Thus, the more Tanaka Kenho thought about it, the more painful it became, and he involuntarily felt the urge to curse Qianhe Yinbai again!
While mindlessly venting negative emotions was useless, it at least felt good to do.
After all, Lin Ran's strength had far exceeded everyone's expectations. This had caused Tanaka Kenho, who had always prided himself on being a master strategist, calm in the face of crisis, and composed, to involuntarily begin to evade reality...
Moreover, Lin Ran, who had disrupted his plan right from the start, was already giving Tanaka Kenho increasingly bad premonitions.
He now felt that his decision to enlist Lin Ran's aid to counter Kanna Miyaji might have been a deal with the devil.
If it failed, he might lose more than just a straightforward gamble, or suffer the bitter fruit of a failed rebellion.
He might very well lose his own life and fortune, the foundation and legacy of the Tanaka family, the tireless efforts of the Sakura clans for generations, and even the very land he stood upon, Kyushu, the entire Sakura empire, and all its territory.
While it sounded impossible, that was precisely how Tanaka Kenho felt!
This extremely terrifying thought, upon surfacing, instantly terrified him, causing him to shiver. He refocused his attention on Qianhe Yinbai before him.
Qianhe Yinbai's complexion had still not improved in the slightest, but she gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand up from the ground, trembling and shaking. With a voice so devoid of life it was almost desiccated, she slowly said:
"Patriarch Tanaka... I... I am truly sorry..."
"I... I am truly, truly sorry..."
It was evident that Qianhe Yinbai no longer knew what else to say. She had become an emotionless repeater, monotonously and tediously repeating simple phrases, her eyes devoid of light.
Tanaka Kenho sighed inwardly. Gritting his teeth, he consoled Qianhe Yinbai:
"It's alright, it's alright..."
"Our Great Sakura Empire has endured countless storms to reach this point. This is nothing."
"Since the matter has already occurred, what we need to do is not to dwell on past failures, but to quickly move past them and face what comes next!"
"In this regard, I require your full assistance and that of your Shinkan organization!"
"Allow me to apologize for my recent indiscretion!"
Saying this, Tanaka Kenho bowed respectfully to Qianhe Yinbai.
He was truly suffering!
Given such a ridiculous turn of events, it was impossible not to be infuriated.
But life had to go on, and the path still needed to be tread. He couldn't just abandon everything.
With the situation having deteriorated to this extent, the most pressing task was to unite all the forces that could be united.
Qianhe Yinbai stared blankly at Tanaka Kenho, who was bowing to her. After several seconds, she nodded as if she understood, indicating for Tanaka Kenho to continue.
...
Meanwhile, back in the arena.
Lin Ran glanced at the half-dead Hanzō and the dormant Yoroi Minagi and sneered dismissively.
There was a reason why he had expended so much extra energy.
Otherwise, if his sole objective was to utterly destroy the Shimada brothers, perhaps fifteen percent of the energy he had used today would have been sufficient.
The manipulation of energy to crush the heroes and dragon souls, and the fusion with his own cannon fragments, was for the purpose of maximizing energy analysis to obtain the most detailed intelligence.
As for leaving the Shimada brothers barely alive, it was to do things that would be more agonizing for them than killing them.
Lin Ran harbored no sympathy for such shameless individuals who couldn't play by the rules, resorted to cheating, and operated with double standards.
"Heh! Borrowing others' power to cheat in a competition, is this the samurai spirit of your Sakura country?"
"Truly laughable!"
With that said, Lin Ran raised his foot and kicked Hanzō into the air.