Players in the city of Kirisakura gathered around to watch the aftermath. The Crow Group's territory was now in ruins, engulfed in a raging sea of flames. Peach Blossom, Valentine, and the other guys surrounded Chang Long, who wore a worried expression. The flames and the fiery tornado showed no signs of dissipating.

"Master Chang, the fire is spreading beyond the boundaries!"

Peach Blossom warned, her voice filled with concern.

"The fire tornado is also about to move outside the area, Chang!"

Valentine added, unable to keep quiet as the tornado was moving towards buildings outside the Crow Group's zone.

"Oh no, what should we do!"

Chang Long clutched her head, causing everyone to be stunned. They had not expected Chang Long to have no backup plan, as she usually managed to resolve missions successfully, even when things went sideways.

"W... Water! We need to use water!"

Aden regained his composure first, having already recalled Livia, his beautiful dryad, back into her ring because she was highly vulnerable to fire.

"Right!"

Peach Blossom quickly cast her Water Fury spell, generating a massive wave that surged towards the widespread flames.

"And what about that tornado?"

Oliang shouted in panic. The massive fire tornado was nearing the residential area, which had nothing to do with the Crow Group.

"I'll handle it!"

Chang Long declared, flapping her wings and flying up to intercept the tornado. She grabbed the Eye of Water and fused it with the Sovereign Sword. Under her determined expression, she silently prayed that what she was about to do would work for the third time.

"Player Chang Long has acquired the Water Bullet skill from the Eye of Water."

The system announced as the blue light faded, the Eye of Water was embedded beautifully into the blade.

"A Water Bullet! Let's try it. Water Bullet!"

Chang Long's face turned pale; the skill she received was not what she expected. Despite her disappointment, she had no other choice and decided to use the Water Bullet skill. Dozens of small water orbs were shot out. She was impressed by their size, five times larger than a typical mage's water bullets. It should be called Water Ball skill instead.

"This won't be enough to stop the fire tornado. That's it, Hisa-chan, Spirit Possession!"

Even though Chang Long's Water Bullets were significantly larger than those of a mage, they were still too small in number and size compared to the fire tornado. She forced herself to have Hisa-chan possess again, despite the strain on her body.

"Water Bullet!"

Chang Long called out the skill again. This time, as expected, the water bullets were several times larger. Her enormous water bullets collided with the fire tornado, resulting in a deafening explosion.

Boommm!

The explosion was deafening, sending thick white steam billowing out, obscuring everything in sight. The fire tornado's speed slowed significantly, and the debris it had sucked in was flung out, now reduced to charred remnants. Chang Long continued to bombard the fire tornado with water bullets, determined not to let it escape the combat area.

Finally, the whooshing sound of the fire tornado ceased, and many guessed that it had dissipated. Cheers erupted throughout the city, with the Sanada clan members especially relieved, as the tornado had been heading towards their castle.

Chang Long kept using her water bullets to assist Peach Blossom in extinguishing the flames in the area. Eventually, the two-square-kilometer area was shrouded in thick white steam, preventing anyone from entering to observe. It took two hours for the steam to dissipate enough for them to explore the area.

"Incredible! It's completely clear."

One player, who had joined the survey, exclaimed in astonishment. The area was unrecognizable, with no traces of its former state, though there was still a faint mist lingering.

"Who are these players? I heard the Sanada samurai talking about how they barely did anything. They just surrounded the area at the beginning of the attack. The rest was done by that group!"

Another player remarked.

"I heard there were less than ten of them, and that includes those who arrived later."

A third player added excitedly. The group they were discussing must be incredibly skilled; otherwise, they could not have decimated the Crow Group so thoroughly.

"Look over there. Is that them?!"

A fourth player shouted, pointing ahead where the mist was denser. Through the haze, a group of people stood striking a pose. The person in front wore a tattered black cloak, concealing their clothes and face, making it impossible to identify them. However, the others behind them were somewhat recognizable, prompting a flurry of messages on the public communication channels.

"Ow, my eyes!"

Oliang blinked rapidly, struggling to find a way out through the thick steam.

"Everyone's eyes are stinging! Stop whining like a child!"

Peach Blossom scolded, causing Oliang to fall silent.

"Did anyone else see something just now?"

Wet Trash Can asked, thinking he saw a group of people a few meters ahead when the mist briefly cleared.

"Let's forget it and just get out of here. My eyes are sore."

Valentine grumbled, wiping her tears again.

"Let's hurry and claim our reward. I'm curious about what we'll get for doing such an excellent job!"

Draco said cheerfully. He had already recalled Firetail into his ring, as it could not withstand the steam, almost extinguishing its flame.

"The mist seems to be clearing up ahead. Let's go that way!"

Siegfried said, taking the lead and guiding the group out.

The rewards from the Sanada clan included gold, jewelry, fine silk, porcelain items like plates, bowls, tea sets, and bottles of alcohol, as well as several chests filled with top-quality weapons. Because no one had completed this mission for a long time, the Sanada clan kept increasing the rewards to encourage more people to take it on. Additionally, they received a badge from the Sanada clan, granting them access to the entire city of Kirisakura, including the clan's restricted areas. They also gained significant fame from this mission, with their names now enshrined in the Hall of Honor in Kirisakura.

After dividing the rewards, Chang Long's group went to celebrate again. This time, they chose to celebrate in the Samurai Cemetery, which, while quieter than the city, had beautiful cherry blossoms to admire. The city was buzzing with people searching for the group that had decimated the Crow Group.

Chang Long separated herself from the celebrating friends, sitting at a distance. She summoned Hisa-chan from the spirit tablet. They smiled at each other as Hisa-chan walked over to sit on a log next to Chang Long, gazing at the many gravestones before them.

"Hisa-chan, I'm sorry for using the spirit tablet to touch your spirit again without asking."

Chang Long said softly after a moment of silence as she looked at him. Although binding a spirit as a familiar did not require the spirit's consent, Chang Long knew Hisa-chan's story and how much he valued his freedom. She did not want to force him. If Hisa, now fully restored, did not want to follow her anymore, she was willing to respect his wishes.

"You don't need to apologize."

Hisa-chan replied, smiling gently at Chang Long.

"But... now that you have your full spirit back, do you still want to follow me? Isn't it embarrassing to have a master of lower level than yourself?"

Chang Long smiled wryly. She had two other pets sharing her experience points, which made her level up more slowly than others without pets.

"That's true..."

Hisa-chan smiled back, remaining silent for a long time, enough for Chang Long to think he would not want to follow her anymore. She decided to take out his spirit tablet to destroy it, which would free the captured spirit.

"But you have proven yourself worthy to be Tokura Hisa's master, more than anyone else. The level doesn't matter because my heart is loyal only to you... my master."

Hisa-chan's words filled Chang Long with such emotion that she fumbled and dropped his spirit tablet, breaking it in two.

"Ah? Oh no!"

Chang Long gasped, staring at the broken spirit tablet on the ground. Davy-chan and Hisa-chan burst into laughter.

"Oh! No need to get that emotional, hahaha."

Hisa-chan laughed heartily, his voice bright and cheerful, as if he had no more regrets or sadness.

"Come on! You're getting all sentimental with Hisa-chan. If you had to lose me, you'd be done!"

Davy-chan, who was invisible, grumbled and pretended to be upset, clearly feeling left out.

"What did you say? Want to test who's really done!"

Chang Long glared at the spirit of the former pirate king, pulling out his spirit tablet as if to throw it away.

"Hey, what are you doing? These jade tablets break easily!"

Davy-chan yelled, stomping his feet in a panic, acting as if he would try to snatch the tablet from Chang Long's hand.

"Uh-huh ...Who was going to be done again?"

Chang Long asked calmly.

"Hmph! If you, who inherited my title, haven't yet become the Pirate King, I'm not going anywhere!"

Davy-chan, who had appeared in shock, quickly tried to make himself sound good. In truth, the reason Davy-chan did not want to leave Chang Long was because of the alcohol, food, beautiful women, and perhaps he had actually grown fond of this successor who had a knack for annoying him.

"It's unbelievable that this game has such a detailed system of bonding. You must be very attached to Chang Long, right, Kitsune?"

Siegfried turned to ask Kitsune, who was standing nearby, watching the entire scene.

"Yes, Master. My master is the best. For me, my heart can never be loyal to anyone else but her."

Kitsune replied with a bright smile, his eyes shimmering with love and reverence as he looked at Chang Long. The young fox ran over to Chang Long, who was joyfully arguing with Davy-chan, and threw himself into her arms. Siegfried did not feel jealous at all, knowing that Kitsune's feelings for Chang Long were pure, like a clear pond, filled only with love and respect.

"Sigh... Should I get a pet too!"

Siegfried smiled faintly and muttered to himself as he walked over to join Chang Long.

Kimhant led Chang Long to look at portable printing presses for novice journalists, which were ten times cheaper than the large presses used by the Journalists and Writers Association. Even so, they were still quite expensive, costing no less than a hundred thousand. Kimhant explained the features of each portable printer in detail to make her feel it was worth buying one.

After getting the printer, paper, and ink, they also had to buy equipment for developing the photos Kimhant had taken. They needed to buy a darkroom to add to Chang Long's house since they had not rented or bought any buildings in the city from the system. In the end, that morning, Chang Long spent no less than a million. Kimhant, however, was beaming because he could finally publish the newspaper he had poured his heart and soul into creating.

"Are you going to include the story about the Ocean Dragon too, Kimhant?"

Chang Long asked as she reviewed the manuscript Kimhant had given her for approval before publishing.

"Of course. As far as I've seen from the Journalists Association, no one has gotten as close or taken clearer pictures than mine!"

Kimhant said proudly.

"Uh-huh, the story of the Ugly Duckling Prince, the Cursed Forest and Witch Lily, the audacity of the Black Horse Guild—this is personal revenge, isn't it?"

Chang Long turned and asked when she saw the story about the Black Horse Guild extorting other players, despite their lower level, leaving them to die miserably.

"Hehe, yeah, that's right. Those guys need to be taught a lesson so they would be ashamed!"

Kimhant said firmly. Chang Long shrugged and continued reading the other stories set to be published.

"You're including Hisa-chan's story too!"

Chang Long scolded loudly when she saw Hisa-chan's full name in the headline.

"Whoaaa, listen first. The story I included is about Tokura Hisa. Many people still don't know about this hidden quest. Besides, even if they do, they can't take the quest anymore. And the picture I used is the ugly drawing from the Sanada clan's announcement board!"

Kimhant quickly explained, fearing he would not be able to publish the story.

"Alright then. By the way, are those freshly developed photos? Let me see."

Chang Long turned her attention to the photos Kimhant brought from the darkroom, ready to filter out any that should not be published.

"Sure. By the way, where is everyone? We haven't seen anyone since we left to buy things and came back?"

Kimhant frowned in confusion as he handed the photos to Chang Long.

"I saw them continuing the celebration on the front lawn,"

Chang Long nodded towards the front yard without taking her eyes off the photos.

The previous night, after celebrating late into the night, Chang Long brought everyone back to sleep at her house. In the morning, she went shopping with Kimhant, leaving Kitsune to guard the house so that the guests would not be automatically kicked out due to the owner's absence.

"Master Chang, let's have breakfast in the garden!"

Peach Blossom said, walking in and pulling Chang Long's arm after she and Valentine had prepared everything.

"Alright, let's go have breakfast first, Kimhant. We'll come back to this later,"

Chang Long agreed, placing the photos on the table.

"Okay!"

Kimhant also put his work aside and followed Peach Blossom and Chang Long. He had not eaten anything since waking up.

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