"Ugh!!!"
The rough handling made Barbara uncomfortable. The liquid kept pouring down her throat, forcing her to swallow instinctively, which also brought involuntary tears to the corners of her eyes.
Finally, the bottle of water of purity was finished, and Barbara breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing the black smoke drifting off Barbara's body, the crowd below the stage also breathed a sigh of relief—Barbara was finally saved!
However, Arkz's devilish voice echoed in everyone's ears at that moment:
"Barbara, the Abyssal Power hasn't been completely cleared yet, so you can't stop resting yet~~"
"Ah!!!"
"No!!!"
"Mmm—Sister—Mmm—Rosaria—Fie—Help!!!"
Barbara struggled to shake her head, looking pitifully at Arkz outside the stage seal, hoping he would let her go. However, the 'heartless' Arkz would never let Barbara off so easily.
Under Arkz's control, the vines formed from Dendro Element trembled excitedly, continuously pouring the water of purity into Barbara's small mouth.
"Barbara, be good!"
"Drink this bottle of water of purity, and you will become pure again!"
"Vines! Pour it in!"
No matter how much Barbara struggled, suppressed by Arkz's Geo Element power, she was already weak and powerless. Moreover, she was bound by Arkz's Dendro Element vines, so how could she resist?
Watching the 'miserable' Barbara on the stage, the crowd felt both worried and scared—worried for Barbara, and scared that they might be force-fed water like this too. Unfortunately, no one present dared to resist the great devil Arkz's imposing might, so the few of them could only turn away.
As long as I don't see it, I won't have a guilty conscience.
After a long while...
"Hoo—!"
"Barbara has finally recovered!"
Seeing Barbara lying there with her eyes rolled back, her stomach round from being filled with water of purity, Arkz breathed a sigh of relief and pulled her out of the seal with the vines.
Hearing the movement, the crowd turned around and looked at Barbara, who was lying peacefully on the grass, looking as if she had already gone to meet the Anemo Archon Barbatos. Everyone let out a breath of relief.
"Good, she's fine."
But just then, Amu asked a question: "Has the Abyssal Power on Barbara been completely cleared?"
For a moment, everyone was stunned, including Barbara lying on the ground.
Arkz smiled confidently: "Of course. If you don't believe me, I'll verify it for you."
Immediately, Arkz summoned vines to drag back Barbara, who was trying to escape. Under Barbara's desperate gaze, he poured another bottle of water of purity down her throat.
"See? No black mist is coming out!"
Acting Grand Master Jean stepped forward and embraced Barbara tenderly.
Barbara kept mumbling from her mouth: "I can't drink anymore, I really can't drink anymore."
...
...
The crowd reassembled inside the pavilion. By this time, Barbara had returned to her usual self, though she looked a bit shy.
Seeing Arkz approach, she quickly hid behind Acting Grand Master Jean.
Acting Grand Master Jean said: "Thank you for your help, Mr. Arkz. You will forever be a friend of the Knights of Favonius."
"Mr. Arkz, what about the stage that was corroded by the Abyssal Power? How should we handle it?"
"Also, the Cavalry Captain Kaeya and the Knights who came into contact with it earlier—they might also be infected by the Abyssal Power. Kaeya and the others have already returned to Mondstadt. Will they spread the Abyssal Power throughout all of Mondstadt?"
Rosaria also frowned upon hearing this and said: "If that's the case, this will be troublesome!"
"It's not that exaggerated!" Arkz waved his hand and explained, "If the Abyssal Power were truly that powerful, Teyvat would have been occupied by the Abyss long ago. It wouldn't be hiding in the sewers of Teyvat like it is now."
"As long as the Anemo Archon takes action, the problem of the Abyssal Power spreading will solve itself."
Acting Grand Master Jean looked embarrassed: "Mr. Arkz, you may not know, but Mondstadt's Anemo Archon, the respected Lord Barbatos, has not appeared in Mondstadt for several hundred years."
"Oh, that's not a big deal then."
"Although the Abyssal Power intensifies negative emotions, for ordinary people without Elemental Power, a little bit of Abyssal Power will only make them more impulsive. The worst-case scenario is Mondstadt changing from the 'City of freedom' to the 'City of Crime'."
"City of Crime!!!" x N
Acting Grand Master Jean's tone became urgent. Whether it was the spread of the Abyssal Power or Mondstadt becoming the 'City of Crime,' neither was a result she wished to see.
"Mr. Arkz, can the [water of purity] you used earlier be mass-produced?"
Arkz nodded, his tone relaxed: "That's not a problem. The only issue is that making the [water of purity] requires a material called Tidalga, which comes from Fontaine, the nation of water."
"I've used up all the Tidalga I brought from Sumeru."
"So, regarding materials, I might need... uh... you understand."
Acting Grand Master Jean immediately understood and said seriously: "Mr. Arkz, please leave it to me! The Knights of Favonius will vigorously purchase Tidalga from Fontaine to ensure that you, Mr. Arkz, will not lack materials."
"Furthermore, the Knights of Favonius are willing to purchase the [water of purity] from you, Mr. Arkz, at a price of 2000 Mora per bottle. I wonder if this price is satisfactory to you, Mr. Arkz?"
"Oh?" Arkz raised an eyebrow, "I'm making a fortune at this price!"
"The raw material cost for each bottle of [water of purity] doesn't even exceed 100 Mora."
Acting Grand Master Jean remained composed and said earnestly: "Although the raw materials are cheap, your craftsmanship, Mr. Arkz, is worth this price."
Arkz smiled: "No problem, no problem! Acting Grand Master Jean, as long as the Tidalga supply is in place, I can produce as much [water of purity] as you need."
He looked up at the sky, trying hard to prevent the crowd from seeing his mouth stretch into a grin that reached his ears.
He originally thought he would get rich through farming. He also guessed he might get rich through mining. He even guessed he might get rich by taking commissions from the Adventurers Guild. But he never expected that he would actually earn heaps of Mora by selling an inconspicuous potion.
"Money is dirt, Mora is dirt, Morax... no, I mispronounced it, try again!" Arkz repeatedly chanted these words in his heart, finally succeeding in calming himself down.
Arkz looked at Acting Grand Master Jean with the demeanor of a master.
"Acting Grand Master Jean, if you want to use the water of purity to screen all the residents of Mondstadt, I have a suggestion."
"Make test strips out of the water of purity. Detect them by extracting a bit of mucus from the body. If the test strip turns black, it proves there's a problem. Then, pour the remaining water of purity down their throats."
"This way is not only more efficient but can also save the Knights of Favonius expenses."
At this moment, everyone looked at Arkz differently. He could have taken the opportunity to earn a large amount of Mora, yet he voluntarily reduced his own profit to help Mondstadt overcome this crisis.
Such noble character was truly admirable!!!
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Rexlent
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"