Chapter 174: Return to Sumeru

"Nadixa, are you busy?"

"In the stationed location of the Knights of the West Wind in Jingfu Harbor, Luo De picked up the Void Terminal and began calling Nadixa."

"Just a few seconds passed."

"Nadixa's response came."

"I'm here, what's wrong?"

"Her voice faintly carried a hint of fatigue."

"But she still asked with a hint of worry: \"Did something happen on Mondstadt's side? \""

"There are an extraordinary number of things going on in Sumeru right now."

"Over the past five hundred years,"

"The Academy has left behind too many messes."

"This isn't something that can be fixed just by changing rules and regulations."

"Especially, the conflict between the rainforest people and the desert people remains severe; the rainforest people whose businesses were seized by the desert people even went to protest twice at the Puregood Palace."

"All of these things leave Nadixa exhausted."

"Aside from these overt problems,"

"the Academy is also conducting a great investigation internally."

"After Hafusai's plagiarism of knowledge was exposed, reports of this kind have been countless; Cyno, in order to investigate these matters, has not taken a vacation for a long time."

"As the actual ruler, Nadixa has to work overtime until late every day."

"Even when she dreams, she is processing documents."

"Even though she is a divine being, such high-intensity labor truly makes it hard to hide her fatigue."

"However, tired as she was, upon receiving Luo De's message, she immediately answered."

"Right now, all of Sumeru's affairs,"

"are not as important as the World Tree."

"Therefore she urgently needs Luo De to bring back the Gnosis."

"Earlier, when Mondstadt's wind disaster was quelled, Luo De had messaged once, saying the Gnosis had been successfully 'borrowed'."

"So when Luo De messaged her again with an anxious tone, Nadixa's first reaction was not whether he was about to arrive in Sumeru, but wondering if he had run into some trouble."

"There are some things that might delay me for two days."

"But the urgent matter is not on my side."

"I just captured a group of Abyss Order monsters here in Mondstadt; they are currently organizing personnel to head to Sumeru."

"Luo De thoroughly relayed to Nadixa all the information he obtained from interrogating the Abyss Mage."

"These Abyss Mages are indeed tight-lipped."

"But faced with the many methods Luo De learned from Cyno, they didn't hold out long before crying and spilling everything they knew."

"This included not only their purpose for going to Sumeru, but also the fact that they had left personnel in Mondstadt preparing to attack the soul of the North Wind Wolf in the Running Wolf Territory."

"These Abyss Order members plan to go to the Ancient Relic Colossus to steal energy and attempt to reactivate these machines."

"This is the information Luo De pried from an Abyss Mage's mouth."

"The Ancient Relic Colossus is a massive war machine left behind by the ancient nation of Khaenri'ah five hundred years ago."

"Its size is enormous, almost equivalent to a mountain."

"The people of Sumeru call it the Ancient Relic Colossus."

"In Ancient Khaenri'ah language, the technical term for this giant machine is the Guardian Mechanism, meaning a giant machine that can bring protection and hope to Khaenri'ah."

"During the Black Disaster five hundred years ago,"

"Although many Khaenri'ah people had fallen to become the Abyss's minions, under the leadership of the Khaenri'ah knight marshal Antasus, the Khaenri'ah White Swan Knights deployed all their elite, piloting three Ancient Relic Colossi to block the surging beast tide for Sumeru."

"Ultimately, all three Ancient Relic Colossi were destroyed, and the White Swan Knights who piloted them, instead of returning to Khaenri'ah, resolutely remained in Sumeru, continuing to resist the Black Disaster alongside the Academy and the Dendro Archon's retinue, the Lanayru."

"At that time, the Great Merciful Tree King was still present."

"The Academy was still the institution that wielded supreme martial power and possessed a noble spirit."

"Therefore, the history of these Ancient Relic Colossi and the White Swan Knights was faithfully recorded."

"Luo De has looked over some records concerning this part of history."

"He also has a certain understanding of the Ancient Relic Colossus's combat power."

"Speaking honestly,"

"Its combat power definitely cannot be compared to that of a peak divine companion like the peak Tawarlin."

"But it possesses a huge physique and a complete arsenal sufficient to withstand beast tides; it can remain unchanged for hundreds of years, and after repair it can still have combat power, and the technology it uses has left the Academy researching for hundreds of years without fully understanding it."

"It can be said to be the pinnacle of power attainable by mortals."

"Once activated by the anti-human Abyss Order, its destructive power would be unimaginable."

"Therefore, no matter how tired,"

"After hearing Luo De's report on the Ancient Relic Colossus, Nadixa's voice immediately turned grave, and she carefully inquired of Luo De about the movements of this batch of Abyss Mages."

"The Subjugate Demons Mountain in the Ato River Valley."

"This is the information Luo De obtained."

"Back then, Antasus brought out three Ancient Relic Colossi in total; one was severely damaged from overuse in the war, leaving only short-range combat capability; after assessment by Khaenri'ah's technical team, per Antasus's order, its parts were dismantled and the main body was abandoned; another had a fault in its intelligent guidance system—that is, its navigation system was damaged and its power system partially failed, losing the ability to travel long distances, ultimately becoming lost in the desert; the White Swan Knights had intended to recover this machine after the war, but sadly they did not live to see true peace, and that Ancient Relic Colossus remained abandoned in the Broken Leg Valley of the Thousand Ravines Sandy Land."

"As for the third Ancient Relic Colossus,"

"it is the one located on Subjugate Demons Mountain that the Abyss Mage has set its sights on."

"Unlike the other two, which were abandoned due to battle damage, this Ancient Relic Colossus was destroyed by a traitor of the White Swan Knights; given the remaining resources of the White Swan Knights at the time, it was in an irreversible scrapped state, so it was abandoned on Subjugate Demons Mountain, and its energy core, being difficult to handle, was finally sealed by the Academy."

"And now the Abyss Order has its sights set on this Ancient Relic Colossus."

Don't assume the report from back then was an irreversible scrapped state.

But back then, because the White Swan Knights were in a state of war, they couldn't return to Kanrui'ya to fetch spare parts for repairs.

Given the current Abyss Order's technology, there might actually be a chance to restart it.

Besides.

According to the records left by those White Swan Knights back then.

This energy core capable of driving the ruin golems was made by Kanrui'ya using Abyssal power.

Kanrui'ya called it sustainable energy.

By utilizing this highly efficient energy that far surpassed the technology of the time, Kanrui'ya's technology advanced leaps and bounds, with all kinds of large machinery being produced like dumplings, and they truly achieved the ability to drive huge humanoid mechanisms without relying on a Vision, solely through human strength, entering an epoch-making mech era.

The energy produced using Abyssal power ultimately carries a very high level of danger.

Not mentioning whether the Abyss Order can actually activate the ruin golems, once such an energy core leaks, it will cause Abyssal power to seep out, forming large areas of pollution.

Back then, the Academy couldn't solve this problem.

Even now, the Academy still can't deal with this problem.

Therefore, the Abyss Order's current actions pose an obvious threat to the rainforest region.

After processing all the information Luo De had transmitted, Nadixa left a sentence, 'I'll go find someone to handle this right away,' and hastily closed the communication.

"Time should still be enough."

Luo De lightly shook his head, muttering again the words he hadn't finished saying just now.

He roughly remembers a place where the Abyss Order attempted to draw energy.

If I'm not mistaken.

By the time Ying travels to Sumeru, that energy source's seal will have been broken; time-wise, there is still plenty of time.

Information transmission complete.

Luo De got up and left the room that Youla had specially prepared for him.

He had originally intended to stay at an inn by himself.

But Youla insisted he was a great hero of Mondstadt, and she even pried this important information out of the Abyss Order's mouths, no matter what Luo De said, she insisted he stay overnight at the West Wind Knights to properly fulfill her duties as host.

As for Qin's recall order.

Youla plans to wait until after holding a small celebration banquet for Luo De before departing.

Regarding that.

Her explanation was also quite justified and confident.

"Anyway, returning to Mondstadt City also means going out of the city to hunt monsters and the Abyss Order; what I'm doing here isn't the same kind of work?"

With such a reason.

That night, after Luo De finished interrogating that group of the Abyss Order, Youla invited Luo De and Yanfei to go together to the most luxurious tavern in Jingfu Port.

Also present was Amber, who would get angry at the sight of Luo De.

She still insisted she wasn't seeing things; the Vision Luo De produced that night was definitely a Wind-element Vision, and she absolutely hadn't mistaken it.

She also told this to her close friend Youla.

Then the drinking session turned into a joint interrogation by Amber, Youla, and Yanfei.

"Do you really still have a Wind-element Vision?"

The speaker was Yanfei.

Among those present, she was the oldest, and despite claiming to have extensive experience, she had never seen such a situation, and immediately became eager to ask.

"Can a person have two Visions?"

"No wonder Qin's letter said you are someone favored by both the Dendro Archon and the Wind God."

Upon saying that.

Youla seemed to have discovered a new continent, slapped her palm, and, thinking she had found the true answer, said: 'I get it; surely the Wind God secretly gave you some benefit? Look, Amber, I'm telling you: as long as you can curry favor with the gods, they can give you a Vision.'

So that's how it is!

The Knights of Favonius commander indeed said that Mr. Luo De is someone the Anemo Archon greatly favors, so receiving such a blessing is indeed not surprising~~

Anyway, one dares to say, another dares to believe.

Moreover, judging by Amber's appearance, she truly believes Luo De has won the favor of the Anemo Archon Barbatos, which is why he received a Vision.

She even went on to ask Luo De: "Mr. Luo De, are you unwilling to speak of this because you think the Archon's gift is somewhat embarrassing?"

Hey, what's there to be embarrassed about?

Eula tilted her head back, took a sip of wine, then chuckled: "How many people want a Vision but can't get one? If they knew they could obtain a Vision by currying favor with the gods, the threshold of the Church of Favonius would be stormed~~~"

Eh~~~

Among the three, Yanfei looks the most normal.

But she also gazed at Luo De with an envious expression and said: "Turns out one can obtain a Vision this way; when I return to Liyue, I will definitely burn incense and pray every day, seeing if the old one will grant me another Vision~~"

They say three women make a drama.

Luo De truly witnessed this point now.

Now it's Eula who guesses, Amber who persuades, and Yanfei who plays the straight man.

The three of them chatted back and forth, leaving Luo De unable to get a word in edgewise; in the end he could only drink honestly, neither admitting nor denying.

If that's how they want to think, let them think so.

Luo De now has just this one thought.

However, regarding this suddenly appearing Anemo elemental energy Vision, he indeed has some thoughts.

It's still the issue of the Gnosis that Venti gave out.

Luo De tried again when he was free.

But no matter how he tried, he could never again activate the power within it.

Moreover, he had tried every possible method, including the way to use the Dendro Archon's Gnosis that he had asked Nadixa about.

The result was that none of them worked.

The earlier activation of power seemed to have been deliberate, a special situation that arose solely to bestow him a Vision.

Such a strange phenomenon made Luo De unable to avoid suspicion, even if he didn't want to doubt.

He had always firmly believed that these Visions of his were not playthings, but shackles that had befallen him.

Now this Wind Element Vision seemed to further attest to that.

"We still can't jump to conclusions."

"When the opportunity arises, I will go 'borrow' another god's Gnosis; if the situation remains the same, then we can basically confirm that the Sky Island is imposing shackles, binding my path within Teyvat's indigenous power system."

Luo De, who had secretly made a decision in his heart, downed the cup in one gulp amid the cheers of Youla and the others.

He was hungover all night.

Luo De really hadn't expected that.

Youla could drink so much, while Yanfei and Amber had average alcohol tolerance; it's this Youla, Luo De completely couldn't match her—he had already drunk to the point of seeing double, while over there Youla could still energetically call for more drinks, which is absurd.

Fortunately, the wine from Mondstadt is truly of high quality.

Even though he had drunk to the point of being completely lost the night before, when Luo De woke up the next day he did not experience a splitting headache.

Of course.

This might also be related to his constitution growing stronger and stronger.

However, no matter how you say it, last night's hangover really did not affect his condition today.

Therefore, after getting up,

His first task was to pack his belongings.

Because traces of the Abyss Order were found on the dock, the entire dock has now been sealed off.

Under these circumstances,

At least three days are needed before it can be reopened.

Fortunately,

After Luo De said he had urgent business to return to Sumeru, Youla generously waved her hand, immediately issuing a special pass and arranging a special ship. Incidentally, she also complained that Qin couldn't handle affairs at all, saying that someone like Luo De, a great benefactor of Mondstadt, should have a green light all the way—no need for a special pass; the West Wind Knights should have already dispatched a special ship to send Luo De back to Sumeru, rather than making him buy a ticket and take a boat, making Mondstadt seem so petty.

As for her complaints,

Luo De could only say that he had refused Qin's good intentions, and he would not mention that she was actually just doing her job, never even considering that angle.

After packing his belongings,

Luo De bade farewell to Youla, who had risen even earlier than him, and asked her to inform Amber and Yanfei, who were still asleep, that he was leaving. Then, under Youla's personal escort, he went to the dock and boarded the West Wind Knights' special ship.

This time,

Luo De encountered no hindrance whatsoever; the West Wind Knights' special ship was much faster than ordinary passenger vessels, taking less than half the time of the outbound journey, and he set foot on Sumeru's soil with the Gnosis in hand.

(End of chapter)