"Not good, our lord has been killed!"
The Abyss Mages who were besieging the stronghold were scared out of their wits when they saw the Pyro Abyss Lector being killed by Su Han.
They all turned and fled in disarray.
But how could Su Han let them escape so easily?
Since you dared to cause trouble for me, you should be prepared for the consequences of offending me.
"Fire Dance: Sun-Halo Dragon's Cataclysm!"
A scorching dragon's breath erupted from the Tessusaiga.
The terrifying sword energy engulfed the dozens of Abyss monsters, and the fiery purgatory did not end until they were all burned to ash.
Although the Wind Scar was useful, it consumed too much Haki. If the enemy wasn't numerous, Su Han preferred not to use that move.
The people inside the stronghold heard the miserable screams of the enemy and peeked their heads out to check.
"It's Lord Su Han himself!"
"Quick, come out!"
"Our lord is here!"
In a short while, all the members of the Black Blade unit in the stronghold ran out.
Looking at the young men with fervent eyes, Su Han asked, "What are the casualties?"
"Reporting to our lord, with the defense of Haki, it's nothing major. We just have some injuries that aren't healing very well. Luckily, we have the Military Ration Pills, so our Haki is recovering very quickly."
Su Han checked and found that most of the injured were suffering from the corrosion of the Abyssal aura.
With the hardening of Haki, there were no cases of serious injury.
"You all head to the upper level for now. The wounds will heal quickly if you're near the Dragon Veins!"
"But, my lord, you…"
"Don't worry. The mere Abyss is not enough to stop me."
The men exchanged glances and finally chose to obediently depart. Although their strength was decent and they could fight the Abyss, they were still a bit lacking.
On the way out, the atmosphere of the Black Blade unit was a bit heavy.
The captain looked at everyone and encouraged them, "Don't be so discouraged. If this were the past, we would have definitely been killed by those monsters. But now, we can resist for a long time and even kill some of them. We should hold our heads high. After we get out, we'll continue to train hard!"
"Yes, Captain!"
"We must continue to work hard and not let our lord down!"
On another front, Keqing had also encountered the enemy.
However, what she found strange was that the Abyss monsters were fighting each other.
The people in her stronghold, on the other hand, were completely unharmed.
"What's going on?"
Keqing did not choose to attack, but instead nimbly dodged the enemy's line of sight and entered the stronghold.
One of the Black Blade soldiers came out and said, "We don't understand either. When these monsters first appeared, we protected the workers as they retreated. By the time it was our turn, we found that we were surrounded. After weighing our options, we could only retreat to the stronghold first. But just now, a group of strange Abyss monsters appeared out of nowhere and started attacking the ones that were attacking us."
"That's right! And these guys are very strong."
"Because we don't know the situation, we didn't dare to make a rash move."
Keqing nodded, understanding the course of events. She turned and looked outside.
The battle was still ongoing.
However, because one side of the Abyssal forces was continuously being reinforced by Rifthounds, the side that was helping the stronghold slowly began to show signs of being overwhelmed.
A Pyro Abyss Mage cackled, "Sinners! You still dare to resist us? You truly don't know death! Let the flames burn everything! Hahahaha!"
A continuous spray of flames put the knights who were helping the stronghold at a disadvantage.
At that moment, the other Abyss Mages also began to attack with fire, frost, and lightning. The elemental power washed over them, directly sending one of the knights flying with a miserable scream.
Keqing did not hesitate any longer. Regardless of the reason, they had helped her people. She would kill the attacking side first.
"Hundred-Blossom Mayhem!"
The power of the Flower-Flower Fruit was activated.
The Abyss Mages, who were laughing arrogantly within their elemental shields, did not notice a pair of hands sprouting from their own bodies.
The small, fair hands were like the scythe of the Grim Reaper, directly gripping the necks of these Abyss Mages.
Crack. Crack.
With every crisp sound, an Abyss Mage was killed.
"Enemy attack! There's an enemy!"
A certain Pyro Abyss Mage was in the middle of speaking when a hand also grew out of his body. With a crack, his neck was also twisted.
Mages were weak in close combat, and Keqing's Flower-Flower Fruit ability, which could sprout hands from any surface, could easily assassinate enemies without needing to break their shields.
She had originally just wanted to give it a try but hadn't expected the effect to be so outstanding. It was like discovering a new continent.
However, the other Abyss monsters were not so simple.
Petals of light bloomed from Keqing's body, and two identical versions of her appeared in the air.
"Starward Sword!"
The three figures flew into the enemy ranks and launched a fierce assault.
As the light of her Electro power flashed, the enemies were reaped like stalks of wheat.
In less than five minutes, all the Abyss monsters had been killed.
Then, she came before the Abyss knight who had protected the stronghold and asked tentatively, "Can you understand me?"
The latter looked at her blankly. After a long while, it slowly nodded.
It can understand me. It seems we can communicate.
Keqing's eyes lit up. She thought for a moment and asked again, "Then why did you protect us?"
This time, the other party was silent for a long time. Then it looked up at the ceiling and pointed with its finger, as if trying to express something.
Keqing frowned, not understanding what it meant. She could only try another method.
"You have no ill intentions, right?"
"Hrrgh." The knight leader nodded, then slowly sat on the ground, as if trying to calm its wounds and recover.
Keqing was completely baffled, but at least one thing was certain: this was a special kind of Abyssal creature. They had reason, and at the same time, they had their own thoughts.
And so, Keqing opened the Multiverse Mission Group and contacted Su Han.
Keqing:Come over here for a second. I've encountered something very strange.
Su Han:Okay!
Su Han was on his way. Hearing Keqing's call, he quickly changed direction and headed towards her.
Ten minutes later, he saw Keqing and the dozen or so Abyssal creatures.
"These guys are…"
"I don't know either. When I got here, they were fighting with another group of Abyssal creatures. So, I wanted you to come and take a look," Keqing said, exasperated, recounting everything that had just happened.
Su Han turned to look at the knight leader, recalled some things, and said in surprise, "Could he be that person?"
"Who? You know him?"
"Mm. Inside The Chasm, there is a group of Abyssal creatures that possess reason. They are called the Black Serpent Knights, and they were once the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Khaenri'ah. If I'm not mistaken, the Black Serpent Knight before us should be the elite of the Royal Guard—Halfdan."
Hearing his own name, the Black Serpent Knight, who had been sitting on the ground, suddenly shuddered.
A flood of memories surged through his mind. The strange feeling was very uncomfortable, yet also very nostalgic.
However, the power of the Abyss continued to surge, causing Halfdan to start roaring.
Keqing thought he was about to go mad and quickly raised her weapon.
But Su Han shook his head. "Don't be so nervous. He won't hurt anyone."
"But…" Keqing looked nervously at the Black Serpent Knight. He was an Abyssal creature. Who knew what he would do next?
"Hah… hah… why… do you know my name?" The voice was hoarse and unimaginably heavy, as if speaking was very difficult for Halfdan.
Keqing was surprised. "He responded! His name really is Halfdan! What's going on?"
"Have you regained some of your senses?" Su Han asked, walking up to the Black Serpent Knight.
The other party slowly nodded but did not speak again. It was clear that he had used all his strength just now.
Looking at Halfdan and the knights behind him, Su Han had an idea. What made these guys protect those Black Blade knights? If it was just their own conviction, that didn't seem right.
Suddenly, he remembered what Keqing had said. When she had asked Halfdan why he had protected the Black Blade unit, he had pointed up. But besides rock, there was nothing above them.
If there was really something that could attract Halfdan, it could only be the Dragon Veins.
Thinking of this, Su Han's eyes lit up, feeling that he had solved the mystery.
"Perhaps it was the influence of the Dragon Veins that made Halfdan and the others willing to protect the Black Blade soldiers."
"Huh? Why do you say that?" Keqing looked at him, confused.
Su Han explained, "Because the Dragon Veins suppress the power of the Abyss, it attracted the attack of the Abyss Order. But have you ever thought that the power of the Dragon Veins is constantly spreading, eventually radiating throughout the nine provinces? Although it has only been a short time, it has already begun to spread its influence. And after Halfdan was affected, he slowly regained his reason. The Dragon Veins are here to protect Liyue, and the Black Blade unit are the people of Liyue. You could say that under the influence of the Dragon Veins, the Black Serpent Knights might be able to be recruited to our side."
"What?" Keqing looked at him in shock. "You want to recruit Abyssal creatures?"
read with no limits on Patreon:
patreon.com/Zefyrus , 70+ chapters availabe now!