Chapter 1000: Weng Falos 3.0 (46)

"Forge a shell with Primogems, then infuse it with the deity's golden blood to give it life… No wonder Xuanfeng City can win battle after battle; using this method, its soldiers are practically endless."

After penetrating deeper into Xuanfeng City's inner district, Bai'e soon met Wandi again; he had been waiting here for the two of them for a long time.

"Too slow." Wandi turned around leisurely.

"Sorry, but someone didn't clear the obstacles on the road, did they?"

"Cut the nonsense and show me your results."

Wandi displayed the thirty Xuanfeng City seals he had collected, while Bai'e calmly produced forty.

"Ha! Looks like the winners are us."

Wandi snorted coldly: "…May the loser accept defeat; the final strike is yours."

"Wait, I've reconsidered—this wager is still too large. Deciding the claim to glory through a single contest isn't a tribute to the gods. I'll change the terms: you just give us half of the spoils you obtain. As for Nicadoli… we'll join forces to defeat it."

"…The premise is that you and I can actually do it."

"So, it's ahead of us?"

Wandi nodded: "Hmm, the aura is faint, but it's right here. Our path toward the Strife Titan is about to converge."

The three were about to push open the massive door ahead and advance further toward the Strife Titan when Bai'e suddenly noticed a huge lion's head carved on a nearby wall.

Bai'e asked curiously, "That big fellow—could it be the True Word Lion's Mouth?"

"Show some respect." Wandi turned his face aside, "This is the Golden Lion's Head; don't compare it with those rumor‑spouting, pseudo‑historical things. The Golden Lion's Head is Xuanfeng City's top strategist—its counsel has won our clan many battles and thwarted countless plots. Regrettably, it has fallen silent now. If the Golden lineage could borrow its wisdom—"

As soon as Wandi finished speaking, the lion's head above them emitted a weak voice: "Maid…emos?"

"Wang…heir…"

Star's eyes widened instantly: "It spoke! It's speaking!"

——

Genshin Impact.

Paimon whispered into Ying's ear, "Traveler, don't you think the way the Strife Titan creates its minions is a bit like …"

"Hmm, Remuria." Ying nodded, "But the statues in the Sea of the Past contain living souls; once bound to the stone they become immortal for ten thousand generations, and they're far fewer than the Strife Titan's. Still, that said, wielding such near‑'creation' power, the Strife Titan's abilities are probably far more complex than Bai'e and the others imagine…"

Paimon: "So I'm wondering, could those lion heads also have human souls infused? Otherwise they're way too clever."

The two were talking when a familiar voice came from beside them.

"What's 'too clever'?"

A Mao appeared behind the two at some unknown moment; he seemed to have just left the Academy, still smelling of book ink.

Paimon jumped in fright, then puffed out her cheeks: "Why are you so silent when you walk!"

A Mao didn't answer her, just looked up at the sky dome and immediately asked, "Are you discussing that lion?"

"Precisely, we're debating whether those lion heads actually contain human souls."

"A trivial question," A Mao said lightly. "But my answer is: yes, of course. If not, it would mean the Strife Titan has mastered technology beyond this era, creating inorganic life capable of self‑awareness…" He hesitated, using a new term he had just learned from the sky dome.

"Indeed, Aohema's technology itself is riddled with contradictions, like how Inazuma, centuries ago, was technologically backward yet suddenly produced advanced automaton tech."

"But didn't automaton tech originate from Kanhri?" Paimon frowned.

"Exactly, so I speculate that before Weng Falos there must have been a highly prosperous, technologically advanced civilization. Aohema's advanced stone‑tablet communication, these speaking, thinking lion heads—all stem from remnants of that now‑extinct civilization."

"A Mao, why do you think that?"

A Mao withdrew his gaze from the sky dome and said calmly, "Because Weng Falos is so much like Teyvat—whether it's Heichi or the Abyss, the 'chaotic matter that wraps the world' and the 'false heavens', the Titans and the Seven Archons… there's just too much overlap. I'm now a nominal scholar of the Yinlun School, habitually inclined, and it's hard not to use Teyvat's history and experience to conjecture Weng Falos's past."

——

"…Lion head?" Wandi's voice trembled slightly, "It's been many years… are you still awake?"

"Maid…emos… I won't… forget your voice. I have been… waiting for this moment." The lion head's voice sounded ancient and hoarse.

"Speak, my master! I will heed your teachings."

The lion head's voice was intermittent: "Prince… Xuanfeng City has lost everything—its people… its traditions… and its most precious thing, glory."

"The people migrate for survival, traditions erode with time, but glory? Even if it hides in mist, walls crumble, Xuanfeng City has never abandoned the warriors' honor. Why speak so?" Wandi asked, puzzled.

"Our deity… has completely lost its sanity. It is no longer the war totem revered by countless people… it has fallen, brewing a scheme devoid of glory… I beg you, Maid…emos… end its long suffering, let it die as a warrior! It must… die with glory…"

Before the words finished, the lion head fell silent amid a cry of pain.

Wandi didn't understand why the Golden Lion's Head would say such things and was about to press further, but Bai'e stopped him. He pulled a previously undecipherable Xuanfeng City stone tablet from his pocket and handed it to him: "This is the tablet I mentioned earlier; we couldn't read it, but perhaps it relates to what that old lion's mouth spoke of."

Wandi took the tablet, and the text on it shocked him.

"…Heichi, though an unknown foe, can become a weapon for us against our arch‑enemy if used wisely."

"The designated infiltrators will transport several polluted minions, encase them in a special soil layer, mix them into the cargo of the earth‑beast caravan, and use the opportunity to slip into Aohema. After entering the city, they will hide the minions throughout the city during the veil's concealment. After a few days, the soil will erode, and the minions' foul aura will pervade Aohema's streets and alleys."

"When that moment arrives, the people of Aohema will be frantic searching for the source of pollution. We only need to wait for their chaos, then take the decisive step: gather the heroic soul‑Qi of the city, direct the Heaven‑Punishing Blade toward Aohema, and pierce the entire city‑state with the Strife Titan's sword‑radiance. Afterwards, our massive forces will crush everything, achieving a victory that will last through the ages, finally falling into our hands."

Wandi's hands trembled as he stared at the detailed plan on the tablet, unable to believe his eyes: "No… Nicadoli would never …"

Bai'e inhaled sharply, "No wonder Aohema was attacked; I never expected a titan driven mad to have such a scheme…"