A storm suddenly rose on the horizon.
The morning sunlight had only just spilled across the rainforest when it was abruptly blotted out.
An overwhelming pressure descended like a collapsing sky.
A sharp sense of danger surged into everyone's hearts.
All eyes turned upward.
Like a tidal wave rolling in from the edge of the world, a massive presence swept across the heavens, and in the blink of an eye, it halted above them.
More than two hundred colossal dragons hovered in the air, wings beating with thunderous force.
The riders upon them stood tall and imposing, their enchanted diamond armor shimmering with an eerie, otherworldly light.
The soldiers of the Corps of Thirty stared up in despair.
Even the hardened Eremites of the desert mercenary bands showed signs of panic.
That was,
Two hundred Dragon Knights.
Alhaitham's eyes flickered as he stared skyward, momentarily lost in thought.
He had expected Jean and her allies to deploy the overwhelming heavy cavalry, five hundred of them would have been enough to wipe out these two thousand enemies.
But he had never imagined this.
A full Dragon Knight legion.
Even fifty Dragon Knights would have been more than sufficient to annihilate two thousand troops.
At that moment, every assumption Alhaitham had ever held about that other world collapsed entirely.
This was something he could not comprehend, and perhaps never would.
A mystery beyond reason.
"This has to be a joke…"
Rahman swallowed hard.
"A force like this can exist? Dragon knights… actual dragon knights!"
Lumine raised an eyebrow and smiled at the Doctor opposite her.
"Two hundred versus two thousand.
Looks like the advantage is mine."
The Doctor's gaze sharpened as he quietly studied the dragons above.
After a long pause, he let out a soft laugh.
"Interesting… truly fascinating."
"These creatures are not native to Teyvat, are they? Dragon riders… a dragon legion…"
"What an extraordinary surprise."
"I'll admit it, this experiment, I like it very much."
A powerful aura began to rise from the Doctor's body.
At a glance, he could tell: these Dragon Knights were not a force belonging to Sumeru.
"Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma… and even Snezhnaya?"
"It seems Her Majesty the Tsaritsa has made new plans at last. Has she finally realized that the gun in her hand is no longer under her control?"
"So the rumored two-nation alliance… is now a four-nation alliance? All because of these lives that do not belong to Teyvat?"
"Fascinating… I can feel it. This is an experiment far greater than any of my previous creations."
He cared little for cooperation between the Cryo Archon and Liyue.
To the Doctor, only one thing mattered: whether an experiment was interesting.
And these Dragon Knights were more interesting than anything he had ever created.
With their arrival, the war itself became almost irrelevant.
The Corps of Thirty had completely lost their will to fight.
As for the modified soldiers,
Even twice their number would not be a match for the Dragon Knights.
In the end, there was only one option.
He would have to step in personally.
"Still," the Doctor said lightly,
"I must thank you for delivering such valuable experimental material to me."
This was not arrogance.
His strength was unquestionable, on the level of the Seven Archons.
Two hundred Dragon Knights might pose a threat to Lesser Lord Kusanali.
But to him, they were merely troublesome.
"Ah, but clearly, they are not your opponents."
A flippant, mocking voice rang out.
Emerald light surged through the air, coalescing into a familiar figure.
Venti hovered in the sky, great angelic wings unfurled behind him, his body wrapped in pure divine power.
Barbatos, crowned once more.
The Doctor raised an eyebrow and finally grew serious.
"Barbatos… I see. Quite a crowd has gathered."
"You should know how many enemies you have, and how many people want you dead."
Riding atop a dragon, Diluc flew to Venti's side, his eyes burning with murderous intent.
"The master of Dawn Winery… Diluc?"
The Doctor nodded in understanding.
"You've come for your father. That's understandable."
"But you must accept this, great experiments inevitably require sacrifices.
Regarding your father, I offer my condolences."
Diluc's grip on his weapon tightened, barely restrained.
Hearing the Doctor speak so casually about his father, Diluc swore that if he did not tear this man apart today, he would kneel before his father's grave for three days and three nights in shame.
"So," the Doctor continued calmly,
"you bring an army to our doorstep under the banner of vengeance?"
"In that case, you are not violating the covenant of the Seven.
A clever approach."
Jean stared coldly at the Doctor.
The thought that many of the modified soldiers below might once have been children of Mondstadt made the killing intent in her heart surge uncontrollably.
She was about to speak,
When Eula snapped impatiently,
"Why waste words on him? Just kill him!"
In the same instant, Venti drew his bow.
A divine tempest surged forth, a storm infused with godly power sweeping straight toward the Doctor.
Jean, Diluc, and the others raised their staves and launched their attacks as well.
In a battle of Archon-level beings, especially with Venti unleashing wide-area storms, close combat was the most foolish option.
The war erupted in an instant.
Dragon Knights dove from the sky, torrents of dragonfire harvesting Fatui lives with terrifying efficiency.
Though they were outnumbered more than five to one, the Dragon Knights slaughtered their enemies without the slightest resistance.
The disparity in strength was absolute.
They controlled the skies; the modified soldiers could not even reach them.
On the rare occasion that a firearm struck a rider on a dragon's back, the enchanted diamond armor did not so much as scratch.
Dragon pressure meant little to the modified troops, who lacked true consciousness.
But to ordinary soldiers, it was the unquestionable might of heaven itself.
The Corps of Thirty had completely lost all fighting spirit.
Even knowing the Dragon Knights would not target them directly, the dragonfire passing dangerously close was enough to leave them frozen in place.
As for the Eremites, although they too felt the oppressive dragon aura, the realization that these Dragon Knights were their allies sent exhilaration coursing through them.
Rahman strode forward, standing opposite the Corps of Thirty, his voice cold.
"Fight,
or surrender."
The soldiers of the Corps of Thirty lowered their heads, uncertain how to respond.
"Tch. Pathetic," Rahman sneered.
"The rainforest really does breed weakness."
With that, he led his forces forward, following Lumine and the others as they passed straight through the shattered, spiritless ranks of the Corps of Thirty.
Rahman looked up at the majestic Dragon Knights in the sky, his eyes blazing with excitement.
He knew that this operation was meant to resolve Sumeru's crisis, and that once it was over, Sumeru would join the alliance.
And if what the Doctor had just said was true, that the Dragon Knights above belonged to a four-nation force,
Then this was clearly a selection process.
Once the alliance was formed, wouldn't that mean he might also have a chance to become a Dragon Knight?
Wouldn't that be infinitely more glorious than remaining the leader of a mercenary band?
As for selection trials or evaluations…
Rahman wasn't boasting.
These Corps of Thirty soldiers were no match for his men.
They had carved out their reputation in the desert, a land where death lurked everywhere.
How could the pampered troops of the rainforest possibly compare?
And with his good relationship with Lumine and the others…
Rahman felt his chances of becoming a Dragon Knight were actually quite high.
Glory.
Pure glory.
Watching the Corps of Thirty he had just passed completely lose the will to fight, Rahman smacked his lips and said quietly,
"Just stay put and behave yourselves.
Don't let yourselves get tricked again like fools."
"Oh, and from now on, you eat at the kids' table."
With that, he strode off after the others, carefree and confident.
This battlefield no longer needed their attention.
The Fatui stood no chance against the Dragon Knights, there was no suspense there.
And the Doctor facing Venti?
That outcome was just as clear.
The Doctor was undeniably powerful, but against someone like Venti, who had lived for over three thousand years, he still fell short.
Not to mention Jean and Diluc were also present.
Even if they couldn't engage directly, harassing the Doctor was well within their ability.
The Doctor knew it too.
He couldn't escape, and continuing the fight wouldn't lead to victory.
Losing a segment, especially one in its prime, was annoying, but not unacceptable.
Death itself meant nothing to him.
Since the situation was already irreversible, he might as well collect as much data as possible and transmit it to his other segments.
Though selfish and indifferent toward his other selves, at the end of the day, they were still parts of a whole.
If he could no longer continue the experiment, then surely the others should.
Letting such a fascinating experiment simply end would be a waste.
The enchanted weapons and staves in Jean's group were of particular interest to him.
Recording data with one's life sounded insane,
But to him, it was perfectly logical.
Sumeru City soon became an empty shell.
The Corps of Thirty had all been drawn away, and the remaining defensive forces were effectively gone.
Lumine and her group advanced without resistance, distributing prepared evidence and pamphlets along the way, exposing Azar's conspiracy.
They weren't asking the people of Sumeru to believe immediately.
All they needed was for them to follow the main group to the Akademiya, where the truth would reveal itself.
With no interference, Lumine's group quickly arrived at the Akademiya.
Alhaitham exchanged a glance with Lumine and said softly,
"Leave the Akademiya to me.
The final matter… I'll entrust it to you, Lumine."
Lumine thumped her chest confidently.
"No problem! Just a false god, right?
I'd like to see what he's really capable of."
Alhaitham nodded.
"There's still one Harbinger unaccounted for, Scaramouche.
To be safe, have Rahman and Dehya take three hundred men with you."
"There may still be many Fatui inside the Sanctuary of Surasthana."
"The Akademiya itself poses little risk.
I'll apprehend the participating sages first, then rescue the remaining two sages."
Lumine wasn't worried.
Alhaitham's combat ability was nothing to scoff at, and he carried plenty of alchemical potions as well.
She waved and led the main force toward the Sanctuary of Surasthana.
At this moment, there were no guards left at its entrance.
Without hesitation, Lumine pushed the door open.
The Sanctuary was completely empty.
Paimon stayed close at Lumine's side, clutching a small pistol with both hands as she cautiously peeked around.
"Lumine… where do we go?"
Dehya leaned in and asked quietly.
Lumine surveyed the surroundings and replied softly,
"According to the Sanctuary that Nahida recreated… there should be a special area here.
Even she wasn't sure what lies inside."
As she spoke, Lumine strode forward and stopped before a wall that clearly stood out.
After a moment of thought, she placed her hand against it, channeling elemental energy to resonate with the structure.
Soon, a door shimmering with an otherworldly glow silently emerged.
Rahman gestured, and someone stepped forward cautiously to enter.
Not long after, the scout returned.
"It's safe. There's a strange corridor inside."
Lumine nodded and led everyone through the door.
Unlike Ryen's portals, passing through this one felt like moving through a veil of mist.
After a brief pause, the surroundings came into view.
Just as expected, it matched the architectural style they had seen before in Snezhnaya.
Lumine took a deep breath and exchanged looks with Dehya and the others.
"This is it," she said quietly.
"The final battle."