Inside the city fortress.
Although Venti managed to stop the losses in time, many buildings had already burned down, especially some of the ancient trees.
They had been torn apart by the raging flames.
Even the remaining wood could no longer support the structures.
One after another, they began to collapse.
Seeing this, Ganyu quickly used ice to freeze the area temporarily.
Only then did the streets avoid total collapse.
After a long while, Tighnari brought the city elders out one by one.
Looking at the ruined area, everyone's expressions were grim.
Some even burst into tears on the spot.
"Damn the Fatui. They actually dared to launch such a large-scale attack on us... They're simply not taking the Sumeru capital seriously..."
"I'm sorry, sir... We did our best."
Keqing stepped forward and apologized.
After all, this battle had taken place on the other side's land.
Causing such destruction meant they also bore some responsibility.
Tighnari hurriedly shook his head when he heard this.
"No... This isn't Miss Keqing's fault. We all saw it. Even to protect us, Lord of the Anemo had redirected the flames away.
Please don't blame yourselves.
The ones truly at fault are those people."
"Yes, everyone from Liyue, please don't blame yourselves for this... We all understand right from wrong. Those people went too far. But the more they act like this, the more it strengthens our resolve to become stronger.
So please, help us as much as you can.
We will repay you all..."
The elder had made up his mind completely.
Whether for Sumeru's future or for this city fortress, he would stand up.
Even if the whole world cursed him, he would still push for change.
He had to.
This was his duty.
Now that people from Snezhnaya had dared to attack the city fortress, disregarding the lives of the common people, and even claimed that a single fire could eliminate all witnesses, then in the future they might as well burn Sumeru City too.
He would absolutely not allow the enemy to run wild.
Hearing the old man's heartfelt words, the other elders also expressed their stance.
"Please help us, everyone from Liyue..."
"Sumeru people are not fools. We can tell who our friends are and who our enemies are..."
"As long as we all work together, no matter what comes, we can get through it! Please help us..."
Looking at the determined expressions on everyone's faces, Ningguang, who had just stepped out of the mirror, nodded and said, "Since everyone is this determined, then let's rebuild this city fortress.
We'll provide the materials. You can handle the design.
Let this city fortress be reborn in flames..."
Ningguang's words shocked everyone.
Rebuilding a city.
Just how massive would that project have to be?
And she had made the decision so quickly.
That was remarkable resolve.
The elder hurriedly shook his head. "How can that be... To rebuild this city would require at least ten million Mora... That's far too much. We can't afford it..."
If it were only a few hundred thousand Mora, they could grit their teeth and manage it.
But at the scale of millions of Mora, the old man really could not repay it. Even if he sold himself, he probably still couldn't.
Ningguang smiled. "I've never lost money in business. Don't worry, sir. This city won't cost that much. As for the money used, we can deduct it from future earnings. How about that?
And timber is everywhere here. We can source it on the spot... In fact, many materials don't even need to be paid for."
After all, mountains, forests, and stone could all be obtained from the Inuyasha world.
What it really cost was just labor.
If they truly built a city like the city fortress, it would probably only take around two hundred thousand Mora.
If this small amount of money could win over the people of this city, then it was an incredible bargain.
At least Ningguang thought it was worth it.
Because this place would become the key point for her to break into Sumeru.
Even a million Mora would be worth it.
After the discussion ended, the residents first evacuated the dangerous zone.
Beidou took charge of clearing the area, directly destroying all the debris.
Watching the familiar city turn into a pile of ruins, everyone felt complicated emotions.
Some of the elderly had lived here for hundreds of years.
To say they had no feelings would be a lie.
Unfortunately, the foundations had already been ruined.
How could it not be repaired?
On the other side, Tighnari led the soldiers in clearing obstacles, laying the groundwork for the future arrival of the train.
Since it had to pass through the Chasm, the train would have to cross the entire gorge.
That required specialists.
Sucrose came over.
After some research, the design drawings were completed within just a few hours.
The equipment used for drilling into rock was already ready.
And the earth-element users began reinforcing the train route.
A passage was dug through the original forest.
Liyue's construction team was extremely capable.
In just a few hours, ten kilometers of road had already been laid out.
They cut into the mountains, opened the road, and laid the tracks.
Even members of the Arcane Throne came to reinforce the magical barriers.
This would keep poisonous insects from getting into the train.
It would also protect against falling rocks causing injuries.
By dawn, a wide and well-built road had appeared before the people of Sumeru.
Some people prided themselves on being educated, but at that moment, they still had to marvel at the speed of Liyue's construction.
Not only that, the stone materials were also quickly transported over.
Sumeru people liked cities with a natural wood style, so that part was very simple.
A few coats of paint would be enough.
At the same time, because of the nature of Teyvat, all those coatings were made from natural materials.
There was no formaldehyde or anything like that.
It was very safe.
Ningguang stood with the elder and the others, looking at the city's foundation, and said, "It should be finished in about three days..."
"So fast? Can those workers even handle it...?"
"Don't worry. Our construction teams work in three shifts. Each person works eight hours, and the rest of the time they can rest as they like."
As the ruler of Liyue, Ningguang naturally would not squeeze the workers.
Even if they wanted overtime, it could not exceed four hours.
Also, all of the workers' meals were half-price.
Such generous benefits also attracted many people to the job.
People in Liyue itself did not like this kind of work, but the common people in other cities loved it.
The pay was good.
Spending was low.
Every month, they could save up a large sum of Mora.
Because of this, Liyue was never short of workers.
Tighnari looked at the people working at high speed and could not help sighing. "This is Liyue... No wonder it's more prosperous than us. Even the basic construction here is far stronger than ours..."
"We can talk about that later. The foreman over there just asked whether you need artificial drying technology?"
"What's that? Lady Ningguang..."
"Oh, it's like this... Many of you living in the rainforest have rheumatism and moisture-related problems. That's caused by the long periods of rainy weather.
Young people can usually handle it, but older people can't.
They can't take it."
"So that's how it is! How much Mora does this drying technology cost?"
"It's not expensive. For a city like this... about two hundred thousand. If there are any problems later, we can also help repair it..."
"..."
Two hundred thousand.
That was expensive.
But if they really had drying technology, then this city would be much better than before.
There would be no need to wait for good weather to dry blankets anymore.
After some hesitation, the elder gritted his teeth and said, "Please install it, Lady Ningguang. As for the debt... we will repay it."
"Mm... That's good."
Time passed quickly.
By the next day, Sumeru's side was already halfway done.
At the same time, the city's basic structure was slowly taking shape.
Electricity.
Waterworks.
Drying completed.
Watchtowers.
City barriers.
Sewage pipes.
Wastewater purification.
Elevators.
Storage warehouses.
This exquisitely built city left the people of the city fortress unable to find a single flaw.
It could be said to be a perfect city.
There were also loudspeakers inside the city.
A movie theater.
An entertainment mall.
Merchants no longer had to sell things along the streets.
They could go inside and sell their goods in an orderly manner.
At the same time, a Liyue bank and a Liyue library were also under construction.
Once completed, people would be able to browse books freely there.
They could also leave messages they liked.
Tighnari found the elder. His expression was a little complicated, but also somewhat relieved.
"What is it, child?"
"Nothing, Great Elder. I just used to think it wasn't a good idea to have Liyue people leading this project. Only now do I realize I was wrong... This city's reform has made the people very happy."
"Yes. A thriving home is what everyone needs. Look at this city, it's expanded to more than three times its original size. Those Mora... I'm afraid even Ningguang is giving us a discount.
Now that the city has been built here, the plant laboratory over there has also started construction.
I agreed to that. We owe Liyue too much. We should also let them make some money...
You, when you have time, help the people from Liyue more.
Don't let them feel cold toward us.
We're not Eagle City.
We're not Watatsumi Island from Inazuma either.
We don't have many valuable things.
What we can give back to others is only sincerity."
"Yes, Great Elder... I understand... I'm planning to hire an instructor to teach the soldiers martial skills. Although we'll need to sign a contract with Liyue agreeing not to leak anything, I want to personally lead the Forest Rangers into battle the next time the enemy attacks.
I will never let something like this happen again."
"Mm, go do it... I'm already old. The new generation depends on you all... Don't worry about being scolded by the higher-ups. Those people are just stubborn old fossils.
They only know how to make things difficult with words.
Look at our city.
It's simply more beautiful than that harbor city.
This is what true happiness looks like.
And yet they talk about invasion, about selling off land... Hmph. Have they even thought about it? If Liyue really wanted to do that, why would they need to spend so much Mora?"
"Exactly... Over ten million Mora, and so much labor. If they were only trying to buy people's hearts, that would be far too extravagant..."
Tighnari said in complete agreement.
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