Sumeru, a hidden desert secret realm.
A large number of Abyss Mages were scattered throughout the area, mixed in among those Primal Constructs, and they even seemed capable of commanding them.
Did the Abyss Order manage to figure out a way to control Primal Constructs? Nolan wondered silently.
These Primal Constructs were mechanical creations once researched by the former lord of the desert, King Deshret, through the use of "Forbidden Knowledge."
Another civilization that had used "Forbidden Knowledge" to develop similar mechanisms was the fallen nation of Khaenri'ah.
Those Ruin-type automatons were precisely the result of Khaenri'ah's research into "Forbidden Knowledge."
There were major differences between Primal Constructs and Ruin Machines, but their common point was that both were forms of mechanical creations.
Clearly, the "Forbidden Knowledge" tainted by corruption contained a great deal of mechanical technology—but compared to the openly shared knowledge of interstellar civilizations, it was still somewhat lacking.
Otherwise, Khaenri'ah and King Deshret might have already built space warships and wouldn't have fallen so easily.
The Abyss Order, being an organization formed by the remnants of Khaenri'ah, naturally possessing some of Khaenri'ah's leftover Ruin Machine technology, was nothing surprising.
And since those technologies shared certain similarities with King Deshret's Primal Constructs, it wasn't unexpected that, through research, they would find a way to control them.
Seen this way, after suffering several setbacks, Aether—his dear brother-in-law—was still working hard in the shadows to grow stronger.
Nolan couldn't help but wonder why Aether held such deep prejudice against the "Heavenly Principles."
As for Nolan himself, his wariness toward the Heavenly Principles stemmed mainly from a lack of understanding. Whether they were truly good or evil couldn't yet be determined.
After all, under their rule, Teyvat had remained relatively peaceful and prosperous.
Although the "False Sky" prevented those within from leaving, it also isolated them from potential invaders from beyond.
Such as the Abyss.
It had to be said—if the Heavenly Principles hadn't taken the lead in resisting the Abyss's invasion, Teyvat might have long since fallen into endless war.
Yet with both Aether, his brother-in-law, and the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya seemingly intent on testing the Heavenly Principles, Nolan found himself unable, for the moment, to judge whether the Heavenly Principles' stance was beneficial or harmful to humanity and the world as a whole.
The former was Lumine's brother; the latter was gathering Gnoses to probe the Heavenly Principles, an act that had received tacit approval from Zhongli, Venti, and the others.
Without truly understanding the Heavenly Principles, it was hard for Nolan not to feel that their position didn't quite align with his own.
After all, Lumine had once been attacked by their subordinate—the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
Even so, judging from the fact that the Abyss's incursions had been effectively restrained, the Heavenly Principles had indeed played a significant role in protecting Teyvat.
Before understanding the full picture, there seemed to be no need to deliberately make an enemy for himself.
After all, they hadn't hindered his own development in any way.
At its core, this conflict was between his brother-in-law, the Tsaritsa, and the Heavenly Principles. For him, there didn't seem to be any real need to get involved.
That said, if both his brother-in-law and the Tsaritsa were hostile toward the Heavenly Principles, there had to be a reason. If it turned out the Heavenly Principles truly posed a threat to Teyvat, then action would have to be taken.
Before that, all he needed to do was steadily improve himself.
With sufficient strength, he could handle any situation with ease.
As Nolan was thinking, the mental power he had extended outward had already located the strongest being within this secret realm.
As expected, it was an Abyss Herald. At that very moment, it was standing before the Semi-Intransient Matrix of Overseer Network, attempting to control it through some unknown method.
That method seemed to be working—the Abyss Herald standing before the Semi-Intransient Matrix of Overseer Network had not been attacked by it.
A smile appeared on Nolan's face as he turned to Faruzan beside him.
"Let's go. I've found the location of the Semi-Intransient Matrix of Overseer Network—and there's an unexpected discovery as well."
"So fast? Then let's hurry over," Faruzan nodded.
Given Nolan's strength, she wasn't particularly surprised. Being able to save the time needed to explore the entire secret realm was naturally a good thing.
As the Void Star Sea enveloped the entire secret realm, the two vanished silently from where they stood. When they reappeared, they were already inside a massive space with a two-tier vertical structure.
There were four passageways here. According to Nolan's perception, this was the central area of the secret realm.
The Semi-Intransient Matrix of Overseer Network was not far ahead of them—and so was that Abyss Herald.
The two of them were still in a state of invisibility, so the enemy hadn't noticed them yet.
"That's an Abyss Herald… Why is such a powerful monster here too?" Faruzan frowned slightly, her delicate brows knitting together.
"They've always been trying to seize greater power. Looks like they've set their sights on these Primal Constructs this time," Nolan said with a shrug.
Just as he was about to reveal himself, defeat the Abyss Herald, restrain it, and interrogate it about what was going on—
He saw an icy-white glow appear behind the Abyss Herald. The next moment, a white-robed Abyss Mage floating in midair suddenly emerged.
"Lord Thunder," the Abyss Mage said respectfully, "His Highness the Prince asks that if control over this place has been completed, you should prepare to move on to the next location."
"We've already discovered that Dendro Dragon in the desert. At that time, we may also require your assistance."
"I understand. Is His Highness coming here now?" the Abyss Herald known as Thunder turned to look at the Cryo Abyss Mage.
"Yes. His Highness will arrive shortly to relocate the entire secret realm. It seems the human side has already discovered this place."
"To avoid unnecessary trouble, His Highness will be here very soon," the Abyss Mage explained.
"Very well. Then I'll continue waiting," the Abyss Herald said, clasping his hands behind his back as he nodded.
This secret realm was different from ordinary ones—it was once one of King Deshret's factories used to produce large numbers of Primal Constructs.
Although it had long been abandoned, the production facilities were still intact. With some repairs, a great deal of time needed to build new factories could be saved.
To restore their nation, success was impossible without sufficient manpower. Controlling these machines was one part of the Abyss Order's plan.
Oh? Aether is coming over? Still invisible, Nolan listened to the exchange between the two Abyss creatures and once more fell into deep thought.
The current Teyvat was undoubtedly thriving, in a period of rapid development.
But if there were still any dangerous factors left, then the Abyss Order led by Aether undoubtedly counted as one of them.
One of the Abyss Order's goals was to overthrow the gods' rule over surface civilization, and Aether was in the midst of seeking revenge against the "Heavenly Principles."
There was a very high probability that this would bring considerable trouble to the various nations of Teyvat.
If he happened to meet him shortly, then he could seize this opportunity to control him—and through him, gradually bring every powerful Abyss creature under control, one by one.
Wouldn't that perfectly eliminate the Abyss Order as a threat?
The more Nolan thought about it, the more feasible the plan seemed.
The last time he had encountered Aether in The Chasm, Aether had only been around level 100. Even with powerful abilities or weapons as support, being able to display combat strength around level 105 was already quite impressive.
Even if his strength had increased significantly during this period, it was impossible for him to have caught up.
Nolan was completely confident that he could take him down in a single exchange, leaving him no chance to use any special means at all.
Aether might have his own objectives to accomplish, but in the process of pursuing those goals, he had caused damage to the world and harmed the interests of innocent people.
In that case, he couldn't blame others for stepping in to stop him.
As Nolan thought this through, a smile slowly curved at the corner of his lips. If he could deal with the Abyss Order, this dangerous factor, and make them behave, then the arrival of any major crisis in Teyvat could be pushed further back.
By the time his own strength had grown to the point where he could handle any situation, if his brother-in-law still wanted to fight the "Heavenly Principles," then so be it.
Fight however he wanted. Fight for as long as he wanted.
As long as Nolan was watching over things, no accidents would happen.
"What are you thinking about? Why does your smile make it feel like you're plotting something bad?" Faruzan glanced at Nolan.
"Ahem, nothing much—just thought of a pretty good idea."
Nolan rubbed his nose and said a little embarrassedly.
Although the plan was already formed, before putting it into action, he still needed to talk to Lumine and get her consent.
After all, quietly controlling her brother Aether without telling her would definitely make her unhappy.
Lumine was a reasonable person. After explaining the situation to her, there was a very high chance she would agree.
Nolan organized his thoughts and, using a "Waymark," carefully explained his plan to Lumine, who was currently adventuring in Natlan with Paimon.
After the affairs in Fontaine were temporarily settled, Lumine had continued exploring Fontaine for a while before heading toward Natlan with Paimon.
Meanwhile, Nolan had been busy with courting girls and handling matters related to the interstellar side, so he hadn't accompanied them there for the time being.
But it didn't really matter—the Nation of Pyro wasn't going anywhere. He could always head over to adventure there later when he had time.
Whenever Lumine and Paimon returned at noon or in the evening, they would also share stories from their journey, so Nolan was already quite familiar with Natlan.
Over in Natlan, after hearing Nolan's idea, Lumine thought it over and ultimately agreed.
Using Command Seals to control Aether wouldn't cause any harm to his body or soul, though it would likely make him resent her and Nolan.
But there was no other choice—after all, her brother was standing on the opposite side from them.
"Alright then. Don't worry, I won't hurt my brother-in-law. By the way, do you want to come over and see him later?"
After getting Lumine's approval, Nolan wasn't surprised at all. He happily said this to her in his mind.
"…"
Lumine fell silent for a moment. When she imagined her brother being forcibly controlled by Nolan, she knew he would definitely be furious.
If he saw her appear, he might demand that she make her brother-in-law release the control. If she didn't help, it could very well damage their sibling relationship.
In that case, it was better to pretend she knew nothing at all.
Thinking this way, Lumine hurriedly shook her head and said to Nolan in her heart:
"Whatever you do, you take responsibility for it yourself. If my brother asks, just say it was your own idea and that you never told me about it."
Even though the siblings' stances were somewhat opposed now, Lumine still didn't want her relationship with her brother to deteriorate too badly.
"Hehe, no problem. I'll make sure everything is handled properly," Nolan said in a reassuring tone.
Ending the mental communication with Lumine, Nolan turned to Faruzan beside him and said:
"Let's wait a bit. Didn't they just say that the Abyss Order's Prince is coming over?
"When he arrives, I'll beat them all up together and eliminate the Abyss Order as a dangerous organization for Teyvat."
"Mm. Those Abyss Order monsters are one of the main reasons adventurers get killed. They're intelligent, and far harder to deal with than ordinary monsters.
"If they were gone, adventurers and everyone else would be much safer," Faruzan also agreed with the proposal.
The two of them remained invisible, standing quietly in the back, with no worry of being discovered at all.
"By the way, Faruzan, do you know anything about the Dendro Dragon they mentioned earlier?" After more than ten seconds passed without Aether appearing, Nolan asked the girl beside him.
If it had caught the Abyss Order's attention, it was probably an existence similar to Dvalin. Unfortunately, when he transmigrated, he hadn't heard any news about a Dendro Dragon.
"The Dendro Dragon…" Faruzan crossed her arms, resting them beneath her not-so-full chest, and pondered for a moment before shaking her head.
"There are legends saying that somewhere in the desert, there exists a terrifying Dendro Dragon. But as for who has actually seen it, I don't know much either."
"I see. Then after we capture these Abyss Order members, we'll interrogate them properly," Nolan said casually.
He only asked because he didn't want the Abyss Order to do something that endangered everyone's safety—like when they had poisoned Dvalin back then.
After all, the Dragon Crisis had caused significant damage to Mondstadt.
Later, he would also need to check on that Dendro Dragon. If there was any looming danger, it would be best to resolve it while it was still in its early stages.
Time slowly passed. Another few minutes went by.
Seeing that his brother-in-law still hadn't arrived, Nolan continued asking Faruzan to teach him more about runic knowledge.
The growth of seeds required nourishment from knowledge—it wasn't something that could be carried innately.
Watching Nolan study so earnestly, Faruzan felt slightly surprised. According to the rumors she had seen online, Nolan didn't seem like someone who loved studying.
On the contrary, he appeared to be very interested in women, often seen walking together with different girls.
Could it be that he was trying to attract her attention through this?
Faruzan's heart skipped a beat and her cheeks flushed as she thought about it—wait, no, that's not right. How could she, a senior, be interested in a junior more than a hundred years younger than her?
Hmph, a mere junior trying to attract her attention was still far from enough!
[Faruzan Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 620 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.7 (560/700)]
Nolan, who had been listening attentively, was interrupted by the sudden affection notification. He glanced at Faruzan with some surprise.
He was naturally familiar with this kind of sudden affection—it was obvious she had gone off on some wild train of thought.
Nolan chuckled inwardly. And at that very moment, he sensed faint fluctuations at the level of space itself.
A portal resembling the starry sky slowly manifested in the distance, gradually shifting from faint to vivid.
(End of Chapter)
RedX43's Note:
➤ Want More? Get up to +25 Extra Chapters on Patreon!
➤ [email protected]/RedX43
➤ +400 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter Drop!
➤ Thanks for reading! 🙌