"The segment of The Doctor in Sumeru is dead! Our plan in Sumeru has failed completely!"
Zapolyarny Palace.
The Jester, Pierro, was reporting the situation in Sumeru to Her Majesty the Empress at her side.
Upon hearing this news, the Empress on the throne furrowed her brows. "What of Inazuma's Heart of God? I gave you the authority to use it. Cut our losses immediately."
"Your Majesty, I have already issued an order to Scaramouche, demanding he return to Snezhnaya with the Electro Heart of God at once."
The Empress nodded, her expression slightly puzzled. "Who exactly was it that could eliminate Dottore's segment? Is there an investigation?"
"This..." Pierro explained, "The segment in Sumeru was one from his prime. The opponent's power must not be underestimated."
"In any case, he will be here shortly to explain himself before Your Majesty."
Before his voice had even faded, the sound of heavy footsteps came from outside the door.
Shortly after, Dottore—who had just died from Ye Xi's Black Flame incineration—appeared in the great hall.
Of course, this was another one of his segments.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
"Dottore, what exactly happened in Sumeru?"
Facing Pierro's questioning, Dottore spoke calmly, "A disruptor from Khaenri'ah appeared in the plan. His methods are unfathomable."
"You say Khaenri'ah?" Pierro's eyes held a hint of astonishment.
He was now The Jester, the Director of the Fatui, but five hundred years ago, he had been a royal mage of Khaenri'ah.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that among those still living in Teyvat, he was the one who understood Khaenri'ah best.
Dottore waved his hand, and a screen appeared in the palace hall. The face displayed on the screen was impressively that of Ye Xi.
"This man! Could it be..." Pierro narrowed his eyes. A look of surprise appeared on his exposed, aged half-face.
"Oh? Pierro, you actually recognize him?"
Hearing this, Pierro nodded. "Even though his appearance has changed slightly, he should be one of the nobles of Khaenri'ah from back then."
"It is just... why is there not a trace of the curse upon him..."
"I need to investigate this point."
The Tsaritsa lost her patience and ordered, "Dottore, the progress of the plan cannot be altered. I can give you more time for the Sumeru Heart of God. Go and retrieve it."
"Yes... however..." Dottore looked as if he wanted to speak but stopped, then finally said, "I fear there will be a problem with the Electro Heart of God as well."
"Hmm?"
"Your Majesty, Scaramouche will likely no longer heed orders."
*
Sumeru.
Lidu Valley, Joururi Workshop.
A Fatui Debt Collector rushed back in a panic, recounting the events that had occurred in Sumeru City to his companions.
"What? You say Lord Doctor he..."
"I will go report to Lord Scaramouche immediately!"
Inside the Main Hall.
Scaramouche had long since lost his patience waiting.
"Lord Scaramouche, Lord Doctor... he was killed by that Khaenri'ahn! What should we do!"
"What did you say!?"
Hearing this news, Scaramouche instantly flew into a rage. "Dottore! That damned Dottore! He made me wait this long, yet he dares to break our agreement!"
"The magnificent Second of the Fatui Harbingers, his prime segment is actually so weak!"
"Simply laughable!"
Just then, a voice echoed in his mind.
[Scaramouche, return to Snezhnaya with the Heart of God immediately!]
Scaramouche couldn't help but laugh aloud. "Pierro, you dare order a god!"
"I have already ascended!"
"Dottore, what you could not achieve, I shall complete!"
The giant hatch of the mecha slowly opened. Scaramouche, his back full of connecting tubes, opened his eyes, which were filled with purple lightning.
As if hearing a summons, the Electro Heart of God in the hall turned into a streak of light and flew into Scaramouche's hand.
"Lord Scaramouche! What about us? What should we do..."
Seeing Scaramouche reveal himself, the Fatui below were filled with confusion. They were all The Doctor's subordinates; now that The Doctor had died suddenly, they could only listen to Scaramouche's instructions.
However, the Fatui did not receive an answer. What they received was the giant palm of the God of Righteousness.
BOOM—
The palm descended, instantly crushing a Fatui soldier into meat paste.
"'Scaramouche'?"
Scaramouche, standing at the hatch, sneered. "To me, that is truly a distant title."
"The moment I obtained the power of a god, I evolved into a deity!"
"Looking back at this body, the existence named 'Kunikuzushi' is so insignificant!"
"So ugly..."
"Hahahaha..."
Amidst the laughter, Scaramouche, clutching the Heart of God, returned inside the capsule.
The head hatch of the God of Righteousness closed instantly, and the magatama symbol on its head bloomed with terrifying lightning.
"Khaenri'ahn."
"Lesser Lord Kusanali."
"Sumeru."
"All of this shall be the first harvest I reap upon ascending to the divine throne today!"
The God of Righteousness raised its head, and the entire massive chassis began to move slowly. As its arms detached from their fixed positions, the tubes also gradually tightened until they finally snapped completely.
The viscous lightning plasma remaining in the tubes dripped down, instantly releasing extremely terrifying power.
The moment the giant stone floor of the hall made contact with the plasma, it shattered instantly.
Rumble—
The giant stones crashed down violently, revealing a massive space in the lower level of the workshop.
The upper body of the God of Righteousness released a vertical current of electricity, aiming at the lower chassis below. The current pulled, generating a massive suction force.
Finally, the waist of the machine combined as one, joining the upper and lower bodies together.
The entire machine frame, powered by Scaramouche's mighty divine power, completely left the ground and floated into the air.
The Fatui outside heard the loud noise and hurriedly came to the main hall, immediately terrified out of their wits by the scene before them.
"My heavens! What on earth is that!"
"The 'God-Making Plan' Lord Doctor spoke of... is this it!?"
"This is simply incredible! I heard that gods are supposed to be the size of normal people! How can this one be so huge!"
"With this, what do we have to fear!"
"Lord Scaramouche! Lead us to charge into Sumeru and tear that Khaenri'ahn who killed Lord Doctor into ten thousand pieces—!"
BOOM—
A beam of fire shot out from the body of the God of Righteousness, burning several Fatui to ashes on the spot.
At this moment, what Scaramouche detested most was others continuing to call him 'Scaramouche'.
Because he had already become a god.
The God of Righteousness raised its head and sprayed scorching firelight toward the ceiling.
In an instant, the mountain body and giant rocks overhead were completely pierced through, revealing the clear sky outside.
"Sumeru, welcome your new god!"
As the voice fell, the God of Righteousness slowly rose toward the sky.
The giant tubes behind it tightened for only a moment before snapping completely.
The False God saw the light of day and revealed its true form.
The earth trembled, and all living things in the rainforest felt panic.
...
Sumeru City.
Everyone was celebrating wildly for the death of Great Sage Azar and the Fatui Harbinger.
As Cyno escorted the Fatui away, the crowd from the Grand Bazaar surrounded Nahida and Ye Xi, leaving the Bazaar and arriving on the streets of Sumeru City.
Outside the Grand Bazaar, many people still did not know the truth. But soon, the citizens who had witnessed everything inside explained what had just happened to those around them.
Hearing the events that had transpired, countless people exclaimed in admiration.
"Thank you, Master Ye Xi, for helping us rescue the Dendro Archon!"
"If not for Master Ye Xi, Sumeru would have been in danger!"
"Master Ye Xi, you are Sumeru's great benefactor!"
"I actually saw the Dendro Archon! I'm so excited!"
"It was Master Ye Xi and the Dendro Archon who saved Sumeru!"
"..."
At this moment, Ye Xi and Nahida became the focal point of the citizens of Sumeru City!
The blonde idiot and the Emergency Food in the crowd also followed the people out of the cramped Grand Bazaar.
"Traveler, let's hurry and take this chance to meet the Little Grass King and that Master Ye Xi."
"Otherwise, we might not get another chance later!"
Lumine nodded, then moved through the gaps in the crowd, approaching Nahida who was surrounded in the front.
But just then, the earth suddenly trembled violently. In the distant rainforest, a pillar of fire appeared, shooting straight into the sky!
Rumble—
For a moment, everyone lost their footing.
Lumine, who had just arrived beside Nahida, stumbled and fell into a warm embrace.
In an instant, a reassuring scent washed over her, making her feel very comfortable.
When she raised her head, her gaze was immediately attracted by the starry eyes of the person opposite her.
The person before her was none other than Ye Xi.
"Are you alright?"
Lumine was slightly stunned, then hurriedly shook her head. "Uh... actually, I have something I want to say to you... Master Ye Xi..."
Having just arrived in Sumeru, she was still not used to this title.
Ye Xi nodded slightly. "It is about your brother's whereabouts, correct?"
"Eh!?"
Lumine hadn't expected Ye Xi to know she wanted to ask about her brother before she even spoke.
This meant Ye Xi definitely knew many things!
She hurriedly nodded. Just as she was about to ask, a loud noise from outside the city attracted everyone's attention.
They saw that in the direction of Lidu Valley, the ground suddenly began to cave in, and a giant mechanical titan slowly rose from the earth.
"Good heavens! What is that!"
"Such a huge machine! Where did this come from!"
"Why is it coming out of the ground! Wait a minute! Could this be the 'New God' that Azar and the others built!?"
As soon as these words came out, it instantly caused widespread panic.
Because this mecha was simply too massive!
Under the gaze of the public, the entire body of the God of Righteousness emerged completely from the Joururi Workshop.
Seeing this colossus, everyone felt their hearts pound and their flesh jump!
"That is too big! It's about to be as big as our Great Tree!"
"Incredible! How could humans possibly manufacture such a thing!"
"This is definitely the Akademiya's supreme masterpiece!"
"Look! Its feet have actually left the ground; it is floating in the sky!"
"I can't understand it. That frame must be incredibly heavy. How is it floating in the sky!"
"Could it be that this guy has really transcended the human realm and became a god!?"
"..."
The scene instantly fell into chaos, with quite a few people fleeing in all directions out of fright.
Faced with the terrifying aura of a Fatui Harbinger, they had been afraid, but not to the point of running away.
But seeing the frame of the God of Righteousness, many felt an abnormal terror.
This was the psychology of meglophobia.
Even if the opponent posed no threat, seeing a giant object would still cause great fear.
At this moment, a deafening voice came from the direction of the God of Righteousness.
"Tiny insects, submit to me!"
As the voice slowly drifted over, a terrifying bolt of lightning suddenly erupted from the body of the God of Righteousness.
The light shot straight onto the grass near Sumeru City.
Boom, boom, boom—
The ground was instantly blasted, dust flying everywhere, leaving behind a deep crater!
This scene instantly scared everyone into drawing a sharp breath.
Everyone couldn't help but think: if that lightning strike had landed in the city, probably more than half of the people present would have died instantly!
The scholars turned their gazes toward Nahida one after another.
"Lord Dendro Archon, what should we do!"
"We can't win! It's impossible to win! If that lightning strike just now had landed on the Great Tree, even our Great Tree would have been pierced through!"
"Oh my God, Sumeru just escaped a crisis, how have we fallen into a new disaster so soon!"
"It's over! Sumeru finally had a god again, and now it's all over!"
"..."
People couldn't help but fall into despair.
Even the Vision holders in every corner of the city cast their gazes toward the God of Righteousness.
Cyno abandoned those Fatui and rushed back at high speed.
Alhaitham's expression was grave, his mind searching for a solution.
Clearly, facing such a disaster, the full power of Sumeru must be gathered!
Otherwise, Sumeru would surely cease to exist.
Tighnari, Dehya, Candace...
Seeing this behemoth, they all felt lingering fear.
Ye Xi and Nahida exchanged a glance.
They had long anticipated the appearance of the God of Righteousness.
To be honest, Ye Xi did not know how much power the 'Dream Mass Production Plan' from last night had injected into the God of Righteousness.
But looking at it now, the situation was already very dangerous.
The most critical point was that Sumeru had no defensive measures.
Look at Liyue's combat power: leaving aside the nuclear deterrent of Ningguang's Jade Chamber, just the strength of those Adepti, illuminated beasts, cultivators, and the Guizhong Ballistas...
If the God of Righteousness were in Liyue, it probably wouldn't even know how it died.
Even Inazuma and Mondstadt had the Musou no Hitotachi and a certain bard who slacks off watching over them.
But what about Sumeru?
If one had to say, the Red King's technology in the desert could make the cut, but those things were completely uncontrolled.
Ye Xi dared to say that without him, the only method right now would be for those with Visions to bite the bullet and charge.
Or, let the radishes in the forest rush up and act cute.
Nahida extended her small hand, countless green lights appearing in her palm, and subsequently observed the condition of the God of Righteousness.
"His body indeed possesses the power of a god, but it is still far from reaching the level of a true deity."
Hearing Nahida's words, Ye Xi nodded and prepared to act, when suddenly he heard a firm voice from his embrace.
"I want to fight too!"
Lumine broke free from Ye Xi's embrace, stood firm, and took out a Dull Blade.
Although her equipment was trash, her eyes were very determined.
"Uh... maybe you shouldn't—"
However, not allowing Ye Xi to refuse, Lumine whispered, "After we defeat this guy, I'll have to trouble you to tell me about my brother!"
Paimon at the side also put her hands on her hips. "Don't worry, Master Ye Xi, the Traveler and I are people who have experienced many adventures!"
"The three of us will totally crush him!"
Before Ye Xi could speak, Lumine charged toward the God of Righteousness.
A light flashed beneath her feet as she leaped high into the air.
With a delicate shout, she swung the Dull Blade and slashed forward.
"Yah—ha!"
"It's you!"
Scaramouche recognized this blonde idiot at a glance.
Back when he was in Inazuma, he had wanted to deal with this blonde girl. If not for someone protecting her, he would have made his move long ago.
He didn't expect that this time in Sumeru, the blonde girl would come to cause trouble again, and right after he had become a god!
At this moment, having become a False God, Scaramouche had long since lost his patience.
He raised his hand and swatted at Lumine.
Smack—
In the next moment, Lumine flew back like a kite with a broken string.
"Aaaaaah! Traveler!"
Paimon's small face turned pale, and she hurriedly flew toward Lumine.
Ye Xi's face was covered in black lines.
As expected of the idiot who dared to kick Osial's wife; he thought she was somewhat powerful, but she got one-shotted instantly.
At the critical moment, he still had to act himself.
He used 'Walk on the Wind' to fly over, arriving behind Lumine.
That delicate body crashed into him, and he absorbed the force.
"Ugh..."
Lumine, in his arms, had already closed her eyes and fainted.
Ye Xi used a 'Basic Heal'. Scaramouche's slap just now had broken at least a few bones.
Paimon cried anxiously, "Wuwuwu, Traveler! Last time in Liyue you broke several ribs and they just healed!"
"Wake up! Open your eyes!"
Ye Xi: ...
Nahida: ...
________________________________________
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