"Ah, I forgot that Lady Ganyu likes to go to the Tianheng Mountains, so I forgot to look for her there!"
"But it does not matter. I have already told the story of Lady Ganyu's childhood to the Yujing Terrace staff and the citizens in the city!"
"Once Lady Ganyu hears about this story, she will definitely come to listen to the storytelling!"
"Once Lady Ganyu finds out, she will definitely thank me! Hehe!"
...
As the audience discussed this!
At this moment!
In one of the corners of the inn.
The three Raiden sisters, Barbatos, Tartaglia, and the others were deeply shocked to see the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens fighting four gods alone.
They had not anticipated that the battle would be so difficult.
So many gods had appeared at just one location, Tianheng Pass.
Seeing the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens cough up blood and get injured by the gods, Raiden Ei felt a surge of annoyance. "Morax, why did you not go save him?"
Zhongli: "..."
Barbatos sighed and explained, "At that time, the old man was being besieged by dozens of incredibly powerful gods out at sea. He also had to protect the southeastern borders of Liyue. The pressure on him was immense!"
Raiden Ei: "Hmph..."
Zhongli: "..."
No matter how it was said!
Regarding the fate of the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens, Zhongli felt profound sorrow.
But... even if history were to repeat itself.
The Zhongli of that time could only act as he did. It was impossible to abandon the defense of Liyue's southeastern borders, to abandon all the citizens of Liyue, just to go and help the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens.
He could not make such a decision.
Thinking of this situation, a hint of loneliness appeared on Zhongli's face.
He truly could not save the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens.
Even when facing Raiden Ei's accusations, he simply bore it all in silence.
...
Once the murmuring from the audience below subsided!
Ling Mo picked up his teacup, took a sip of water, and set it back down.
He then continued the storytelling!
As Ling Mo spoke!
The Electro elements above the inn condensed once more, and the visual, which had been paused, began to shift again.
In the visual...
The Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens was already injured, his body covered in bloodstains in multiple places.
But... he felt no fear toward the gods.
Instead, he continued to use the antlers on his head to launch attacks, constantly clashing with the elemental power unleashed by the gods.
The battle had raged from the western side of the Tianheng Mountains all the way to the eastern side.
If the battlefield spread any further east.
At that time... the elemental power erupting from their clash would very likely spill over into the villages at the foot of the mountain.
It would harm the citizens of Liyue.
To prevent the war from reaching the citizens.
The Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens erupted with power once more.
Using a nearly frantic fighting style, he used his hard antlers to relentlessly suppress the gods.
He forced the three gods back toward the eastern side of the Tianheng Mountains.
Facing this situation!
All three powerful gods were furious.
"You think a single adeptus can protect Liyue? Delusional! Stop holding back. Use your strongest methods and slay this detestable adeptus as quickly as possible!"
The three gods were seething with rage.
Their original plan had been to use a full-scale assault on Tianheng North Pass to draw away the adepti guarding Tianheng Pass.
Then, they would swiftly breach Tianheng Pass and occupy Liyue!
From within Liyue, they would launch a pincer attack on Tianheng North Pass, completely crushing the adepti at both passes and securing victory in this war.
But events had unfolded in an unexpected way.
Who could have guessed that this detestable Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens would be so resilient?
He had forced a one-on-four fight, battling to the death.
He had first managed to slay one god, and was now locked in a fierce struggle with the remaining three.
Under these circumstances.
If they wanted to defeat the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens as quickly as possible!
The remaining three gods also had to unleash their ultimate techniques.
They had to be prepared for the possibility of being slain, and fight to the death alongside him.
After realizing this.
The three gods stopped holding back, unleashing even more powerful elemental energy one after another.
They deployed their ultimate trump cards!
Using their most devastating techniques, they launched a fierce assault on the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens.
Seeing this scene.
The Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens was also deeply shocked.
He had never expected that these three already overwhelmingly powerful gods could push their limits even further, erupting with even greater strength.
The Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens's expression turned grave. "Xiao, are you prepared to die in battle?"
In a battle with such a massive disadvantage.
Only by being prepared to fight to the death, and ready to make the ultimate sacrifice, was there any hope of victory.
Xiao paused for a moment, but then replied with unwavering resolve. "Even if I die in battle, I will protect Liyue!"
This was his promise to Lord Morax.
Hearing this answer, the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens nodded. "Then let us strike together!"
The next moment!
The Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens raised his proud antlers, bracing for the three gods' increasingly frantic assault.
Xiao showed no signs of cowardice either.
Gripping the Primordial Jade Winged-Spear tightly, he executed his spear techniques to their absolute limit, determined to assist the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens.
Even if he could only absorb a fraction of the damage for him, it would be meaningful.
Immediately!
When one adeptus, one yaksha, and three gods collided.
The violent eruption of energy exceeded the very limits of what the Tianheng Mountains could withstand.
The entire Tianheng Mountains trembled violently!
Terrifying, massive fissures appeared at the foot, the slopes, and the very peak of the mountains.
It looked as though the mountains were on the verge of collapsing, filling everyone with dread.
But... at this moment, the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens was fully occupied resisting the three gods.
He had no spare attention to notice any of this.
When the massive energy erupted!
The three gods were blasted away in three different directions.
Xiao was also caught in the blast, his body taking severe damage as he was instantly sent flying backward.
But in that very instant!
A figure covered head to toe in blood, moving at incredible speed, suddenly appeared right in front of one of the gods.
The god was utterly shocked. "Impossible! Why were you not blasted away by the explosion?"
The Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens sneered. "No, I was certainly blasted away. It is just that we were blown in the exact same direction!"
Just moments ago!
The Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens had risked his life, willingly taking on more blast damage to adjust his positioning.
He had deliberately aligned his trajectory with that of the god.
Immediately!
Without giving the god a chance to counterattack!
The Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens took advantage of the god's loss of balance, using his hardest antlers to pierce straight through its heart.
He had slain a second god.
When the other two gods saw the blood-soaked Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens forcibly slay their companion, despite his own body being mangled by the blast.
They felt not only fury, but also a flicker of genuine fear.
"You are a madman!"
They had not anticipated this!
That this adeptus, for the sake of protecting Liyue and for the sake of battle, would go to such extreme lengths.
He was acting more like a god of destruction than the gods themselves.
Witnessing the gruesome death of their second companion, the remaining two gods even felt a sudden urge to retreat.
They did not want to die!
The Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens, his body mangled and bloodied by the blast, forced himself to stand up from in front of the god's corpse. "I told you, I will slay you all!"
From this moment on!
The scales of victory had begun to tip in favor of the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens.
It seemed as though everything was finally turning for the better.
But just at this moment!
The fissures in the Tianheng Mountains grew wider and wider.
After enduring yet another energy explosion, the mountain could no longer hold.
The earth trembled and the mountains shook!
The peaks were on the verge of collapse!