Reaching the edge of Chinju Forest, Yuuko looked up at the sunlight filtering through the trees and let out a soft sigh.
The events of this period still left him a little dazed.
The wager he had just made with Ioroi was something Yuuko fabricated out of his own will.
Although it wasn't ideal.
But if he had to do it again, Yuuko would still do the same.
Perhaps in a few hundred or a thousand years, Ioroi would realize it was a lie, right?
But at least for now, Yuuko didn't want to expose the lie.
Thinking of this, Yuuko shook his head and sighed:
"I should go back to Inazuma and see if the Abyssal Monsters situation is over."
Since the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual was completely finished.
Now, Yuuko had to hurry back to Inazuma to check on the situation.
Although he hadn't seen any Abyssal Monsters since midway through, they were, after all, elusive.
He didn't know if they were truly resolved.
So, for now, it was better to quickly return to Inazuma and check the situation.
With Kitsune Saiguu's memory of facing the Abyssal Monster army five hundred years ago, Yuuko deeply realized the danger of Abyssal Monsters.
Five hundred years ago, Inazuma suffered such a heavy blow, and so many brave people died protecting their homeland.
Five hundred years later, Yuuko would absolutely not let it happen again.
Because Inazuma held many things he cherished deeply.
However, just as Yuuko was about to leave.
Whoosh!
An ice shard filled with chilling energy suddenly shot out from the side.
Its speed was almost impossible to catch with the eye.
In almost an instant, it had already reached Yuuko's face.
In this urgent moment, Yuuko had no time to deploy his Jade Shield. He could only quickly lean back to dodge the ice shard.
But the ice shard was still too fast.
By the time Yuuko started to dodge, it was already a little late.
The ice shard grazed Yuuko's face, making a 'crackling' sound, then passed by his cheek and continued to shoot in its fixed direction.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
It wasn't until it had consecutively pierced through several large trees that the ice shard finally shattered, turning into a cold mist that dissipated into the air.
This showed how powerful the ice shard was.
And Yuuko, though he had dodged the ice shard, his white fox mask was broken due to that impact.
Yuuko's face darkened as he looked in the direction from which the ice shard had come.
Just then, a stunning, graceful figure walked towards him from that direction.
It was a woman in a blue and white long dress, with shoulder-length white hair and a beautiful, delicate face.
The woman didn't look old, appearing to be a mature woman in her twenties.
Her temperament, in some ways, was similar to that of the Fatui Harbinger, La Signora, giving off a noble and dignified feeling.
But in terms of nobility, she surpassed La Signora by several degrees.
With just one glance, Yuuko could tell that this woman was extraordinary.
Because the feeling this woman gave off was similar to that of Raiden Ei and Zhongli.
The woman kept scrutinizing Yuuko, resting her chin in her hand, and murmured in confusion:
"I've heard many rumors about you before, but seeing you in person now, I can't find anything remarkable about you..."
"How strange, why would Morax place such a big bet on you?"
This woman was none other than the Tsaritsa, Empress of Snezhnaya.
She had come to Inazuma now because of Zhongli's words earlier.
The Tsaritsa wanted to see what kind of person this Yellow Fox was, who had been disrupting her collection of Gnoses everywhere and had received such high praise from the Martial God of Liyue.
What kind of person was he, exactly?
But upon seeing him now, the Tsaritsa was utterly disappointed!
Because she couldn't see anything remarkable about Yuuko.
Just then, Yuuko suddenly spoke:
"Although I don't know who you are, do you realize... you just destroyed something very important to me?"
Originally, Yuuko had planned to return Hanachirusato's mask to its rightful place at the Grand Narukami Shrine after everything was over.
At the very least, he should have handed the mask over to Yae Miko.
That was his promise to Kitsune Saiguu.
But now, the mask had been destroyed by this woman who suddenly appeared.
A rare surge of anger rose in Yuuko's heart.
Facing Yuuko's anger, the Tsaritsa, Empress of Snezhnaya, was unconcerned and said, rather impertinently:
"What does that have to do with me? I only have one purpose for coming today."
"Hand over the two Gnoses you possess. If you do, out of consideration for Morax, I can overlook your past actions... Ugh!"
Her words were cut short as the Tsaritsa felt the scene before her blur.
By the time she reacted, a seemingly small hand had already reached her face, growing larger and larger in her vision!
The Tsaritsa's eyes widened instantly.
At this distance, it was too late to dodge!
Just then, the Tsaritsa suddenly recalled something.
During the Vision Hunt Decree period, the Fatui Harbinger, La Signora, who was severely injured in Inazuma, reported to her immediately upon returning to Snezhnaya.
At that time, La Signora had said this:
"Empress! That Yellow Fox possesses power that cannot be understood by conventional means! Once he grabs your face, you are completely unable to resist!"
At that time, the Tsaritsa, Empress of Snezhnaya, couldn't understand what La Signora's words meant.
She didn't even take La Signora's words seriously, believing that La Signora was simply incompetent, which was why she kept losing to the Yellow Fox.
Can't fight back if your face is grabbed?
What kind of twisted logic was that?
Until now... *Smack!*
That powerful hand had firmly gripped the Tsaritsa's face.
Immediately after, the Tsaritsa felt an unreasonable force pressing her head firmly into the ground!
The Tsaritsa was completely unable to resist such power!
Bang!
A huge crater was smashed into the ground!
This impact also caused the Tsaritsa's gaze to blur for several seconds.
That blow almost rendered her mechanical body useless!
When she recovered, the Tsaritsa's eyes were filled with an expression of disbelief:
"How is this possible...?"
She tried to break free from Yuuko's control, but found her head was as if being pressed down by an immense heavy object!
She couldn't break free at all!
This made the proud Tsaritsa feel deeply humiliated!
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