The Sage of Wavuna was dizzy.
Was that sincerity still not enough?
When he looked at Ningguang, the disdain in her eyes finally made him understand.
It really was not enough.
He was nothing more than a discarded pawn.
Who was in charge of Sumeru?
And whose authority was the greatest right now?
Yes. It was that lofty Great Sage.
A conversation between nations was not something a Sage from the Akademiya could negotiate on his own.
Who did that Great Sage think he was?
He thought he could settle everything without even showing up?
Fine. Then let them understand the price of looking down on them.
A single strike from the Dragon King of Ruoda.
That could be said to have sounded the horn of war.
Even though this Sage from the Wavuna faction had already been prepared to die, Ningguang still was not satisfied.
"You have twenty minutes. If your attitude is still not enough during that time, then war will begin. What just happened was only a lesson.
And let me introduce him while I am at it.
The one who attacked just now is called the Dragon King of Ruoda."
After saying that, Ningguang turned and left.
She did not even look at the Sage kneeling on the ground.
"Hey... old fool, are you only good for watching? Fine, faction struggles aside, they just destroyed one of our nation's territories!"
"Hmph... what can I even say? Their fury is being taken out on me too... If you had not been so foolish, would things have reached this point?"
Faced with his old enemy's scolding, the Sage of the Wavuna faction snorted and quickly had someone bring a communication device.
He reported everything that had happened to the Great Sage.
...
At this time, inside the Sumeru Akademiya.
All the Sages had gathered.
After hearing the whole story, everyone turned to look at the Great Sage at the head of the table.
The situation had already gone completely beyond expectations.
Faced with such a development, the Great Sage let out a long sigh.
So the problem was here.
He really had learned all this uselessly.
He had schemed in every possible way, but he had miscalculated one thing.
The problem was not with that Wavuna faction, and it was not with Snezhnaya either.
It was a clear attitude.
Since he, the Great Sage, controlled so many factions and also managed that Sage from Wavuna, then this matter should be his responsibility.
Of course, the Great Sage could also choose not to go.
Then that title would have to fall on the Dendro Archon's head.
Ningguang's scheme was vicious.
She was forcing him to make a fool of himself.
If he did not step forward in this matter, then once the Dendro Archon came out to calm the situation, all the prestige he had built up over the years, or rather all the prestige the Akademiya had built up, would be thrown away.
"Then, Great Sage, you..."
"I must go. No matter the cost, this matter has to be calmed down. Otherwise, our faction will fall in status..."
"I see."
Everyone present was smart.
A single sentence was enough to reveal everything.
The Great Sage stood up and said to everyone, "It is not just me who has to go. Everyone has to go! Today, we will represent Sumeru. If anyone dares not to go, then that means they are unworthy of being one of Sumeru's Sages."
This move of forcing everyone into it was truly vicious.
The Sages all changed expression.
But there was nothing they could do.
A short while later, everyone rose and said they were willing to go together.
About ten minutes later, after the arrival of special flying transport, the Great Sage and the others descended into the Gandharva Ville area.
However, when they arrived, they discovered the matter was far from as simple as they had imagined.
Because there was actually a live broadcast going on.
And from Ningguang's attitude, it would definitely be sent out to the public.
In other words, those on the border were all watching every move they made.
"What a terrifying woman..."
The Great Sage quickly landed and led everyone to Ningguang.
With an apologetic expression, he said, "This time, we truly have caused you a great deal of trouble. It is all our Sumeru's incompetence. We are deeply sorry..."
Even though the mountains had been bombed, he still had to put on a humble posture.
Unfortunately, Ningguang did not take that approach at all.
She only looked at him coldly.
"Is it your incompetence, or are you working with Snezhnaya? Not long ago, the Sumeru Akademiya wanted to cooperate with us in Liyue. You wanted us to invest fifty million Mora to build a railway across the entire nation for you.
And the price was only to give us some knowledge.
Don't you think that's ridiculous?
And also, the day before yesterday, you suspected our Liyue garrison?
Fine. I am showing you a garrison right now. What are you going to do, Great Sage? Do you want to join Snezhnaya and stand against Liyue?
Perfect timing too. Su Han said he has not fought for a while lately."
Under Ningguang's words, the Great Sage was immediately drenched in cold sweat.
All his pretenses vanished.
He understood that if he kept acting, Ningguang would really use hard measures.
"This... this was our mistake. We failed to provide timely support to this city. Also, the Sumeru Akademiya produced a beast who nearly destroyed the relations between two nations. Come here. Execute that man immediately!"
"Yes..."
The Sage of the Wavuna faction was pinned to the ground.
He was directly killed by the others.
That bloody scene shocked everyone.
The Great Sage continued, "We never wanted to become birds of a feather with the Fatui of Snezhnaya. It's just that sometimes, you need to understand the difficulties of a small nation.
Still, we can guarantee that we will issue a nationwide warrant for the Fatui of Snezhnaya. Would that be acceptable?
And I, on behalf of the nation of Sumeru, apologize to you..."
"I'm sorry, Miss Ningguang..."
Under everyone's gaze, a Sage had been killed.
The other Sages all lowered their heads and apologized.
Ningguang looked at their posture and nodded.
"I hope you can learn from this lesson. A conversation between nations is not something you can settle by casually sending one person.
Given our losses, Sumeru must provide ten million Mora."
"Yes, I will immediately have someone prepare it for you."
A mere sum of money like that was nothing the Great Sage cared about.
He quickly sent people to prepare the Mora.
Only then did the matter finally calm down.
Watching the Dragon King of Ruoda and the other soldiers withdraw, the Sages finally let out a breath of relief.
The pressure had been too great.
They had almost triggered a full-scale war.
Fortunately, the other side had not come to fight.
They had only come for face.
Knowing that Ningguang did not like the others, the Great Sage hurriedly left with his people after handling the matter.
Ningguang then smiled at Tighnari and the others. "You see? This time, the Mora for rebuilding the city has been covered."
"But... what about the forest that was destroyed over there?"
Not having to pay money was indeed a good thing.
But the pit in the distance was far too terrifying.
Even the mountain body had been deformed.
Ningguang smiled lightly. "Ruoda only blasted apart the mountain. Actually, if you have suitable soil, it can recover very quickly. It could even become suitable farmland.
Do you think we were destroying it?
No. We were only rearranging the land."
If they had only wanted to cause damage, they could have picked anywhere.
In fact, from the very beginning, she had already decided on the target of the destruction.
And the people nearby, hearing this, finally understood how terrifying Ningguang was.
True, Gandharva Ville was a beautiful place.
But because of its geography, it could not form wide roads.
It also could not be used to grow crops.
If this area were leveled and then turned into a massive greenhouse, many things could be cultivated inside.
That was Ningguang's plan.
Every step had been calculated.
And forcing the Great Sage to make a statement, did they think that was the end of it?
No. That had only just begun.
On the surface, the other side had become Sumeru's ruler and calmed this matter down.
But in reality, as long as Ningguang had something to do in the future, she would look for trouble with them, and each time it would be more troublesome than the last.
Until the Great Sage completely broke down.
...
The broadcast finally ended.
The war that had seemed imminent was resolved by the Great Sage.
But everyone in the other nations understood one thing now.
Do not easily provoke the women around Su Han.
Especially those in power.
If you angered them, the military strength of three nations would let you know what fear was.
They had forced a Sage to death in front of everyone.
They had even blasted a mountainside apart with one strike.
You say Liyue is domineering?
Then is Snezhnaya not domineering too?
Did the other side not do anything arrogant?
Then what about Snezhnaya's bank?
When your fists are big enough, your words naturally carry weight.
That was what Ningguang was expressing.
She would treat friends with kindness.
She would answer enemies with her fists.
So if anyone wanted to deal with the three nations, they had to think it through carefully.
As for the people of the three nations, this time they had really stood tall.
They had gathered their strength to suppress Sumeru.
Not only did they show outsiders their military power, they also made everyone understand one thing.
Liyue, Mondstadt, and Inazuma.
They were not to be provoked lightly.
...
Inside Sumeru's rest area, Arlecchino looked at the newspaper brought by her subordinate and sneered, "So this is how it is..."
Su Han's temperament would not let him suffer losses.
She knew this attack was only a warning to everyone.
But the real trump cards had not even been revealed by a tenth.
Anyone who underestimated him would die miserably.
"My lady... should we move too? The people of Sumeru are issuing warrants for us..."
"But we are merchants, not the Fatui. What are you afraid of? Besides, I am the director of an orphanage..."
Hearing their lady's words, the Fatui all laughed.
Yes.
Sumeru was only putting on a show.
If they really fought?
They would probably only be asking for trouble.
What they were truly worried about was their lord's enemy: Su Han.
How were they supposed to defeat this man?
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