In a dark cave on Narukami Island, there was only a sparse flicker of candlelight, yet it was packed with a full few hundred people!
They were all wearing ritual robes, their faces painted with thick oil paint, and the atmosphere at the scene seemed incredibly eerie.
At this moment, a man appeared before everyone, holding a huge water jug with both hands, and spoke loudly.
"Family, I've already sent someone to fetch the most potent seawater from the vicinity!"
After hearing these words, the crowd burst into a commotion, their faces showing expressions of longing and excitement.
And at this time, the man's expression suddenly changed, and he spoke with a somewhat heavy tone.
"However, there's a regrettable thing I must tell you all. The brother who fetched the water failed to withstand the God's test for us and has left us forever."
"Let's observe a minute of silence for him!"
Right after these words were spoken, everyone bowed their heads, and the scene fell so silent that you could hear a needle drop.
One minute later, the crowd erupted in cheers once again.
"Cheer as much as you want! Today is the day we completely awaken!"
"Come, distribute all this water!"
Soon, the seawater in the man's hands was distributed into the bowls in everyone's hands. Because there were too many people, the water in the bowls was probably not even a mouthful, but even with just this little, everyone treated it as a precious treasure, carefully cradling it in their arms and warily watching others.
The seawater in the bowls was a deep purple that seemed to be boiling, and even countless arcs of lightning could be faintly seen flickering within it.
At this moment, the man found a stool to stand on, raised his bowl, and shouted to everyone.
"As long as we can pass this test of the God, we will possess unimaginably powerful strength!"
"What are Vision holders compared to us? We can directly master the lightning and shatter the darkness with it!"
"When that time comes, we will be the most revered beings in Inazuma besides the Almighty Shogun, enjoying the admiration of ten thousand people. We are the humans of the new era!"
"Not only that, we can also become the Almighty Shogun's trusted subordinates and attend to her closely. That is our supreme glory!"
Hearing the beautiful blueprint he painted, the eyes of everyone present grew brighter and brighter.
"For the Almighty Shogun!"
"For the Almighty Shogun!!!"
"Come, let's drink this water together!"
"Let's chug it, brothers!"
After speaking, everyone raised their bowls and drank it all in one gulp.
"Open up, the takeout is here!"
Suddenly, a voice came from the blocked cave entrance, followed by a dull explosion. The entrance was blown open, and then a squad of soldiers in Tenryou Commission uniforms rushed into the scene.
"Don't move!" "Nobody move!" "Put your hands behind your head and kneel down!"
However, no one paid them any attention, because after drinking the most potent seawater nearby, everyone had already completely lost their minds.
"Hahaha, I've become the Electro Archon of Inazuma, I am the Raiden Shogun!"
"Mom, do you see? I've fulfilled your wish and stood at the highest point of the Tenshukaku!"
"Almighty Shogun, it's impossible between us, the age gap between me and you is too big, but I can be your godson!"
Seeing the scene of chaotic madness before him, the leader's brow furrowed deeply. He even saw a man doing push-ups on the ground, shouting "Miko Sister" with every rep, which was an absolute eyesore.
Oh, and there was another one barking like a dog while calling out "Kamisato Ayaka." For some reason, he actually felt like this person was the only sane one here.
Could it be that he'd dealt with so much of this nonsense that even he was being affected?
It seemed he would definitely need a psychiatrist after this was over.
With this thought, the man hurriedly spoke.
"Quick, get a doctor! Is there any doctor available right now?"
"Sir, all the doctors are busy treating patients, they can't come here!"
Hearing this, the man sighed.
"We're still a step too late. They brought this on themselves!"
By now, those who had drunk the Electro Elemental Polluted seawater had already started vomiting blood uncontrollably. More than half of them had already collapsed on the ground unconscious, barely breathing, and were clearly on the verge of death.
Their squad only had about twenty-some people, and they simply couldn't care for so many people; they could only let nature take its course.
"Try to save who you can. Find a way to make those who are still conscious vomit up what's in their stomachs. Whether they survive after that will be up to fate."
"Then take the people with milder symptoms to find a doctor for treatment. We can't help the rest. We still have three other suspicious locations to investigate."
"Everyone, move quickly!"
As these orders were passed down, the soldiers began to act. They tackled the people who were seeing hallucinations, then struggled immensely to restrain their movements before trying to force their fingers down their throats.
But their efforts were not going smoothly. Although these people had lost their minds, their bodies possessed terrifying strength. It took several soldiers just to barely pin one person down, making it impossible to carry out the procedure.
Just then, several startling bursts of purple light flashed in the cave, followed by two screams of agony.
When the others noticed what was happening, they discovered that those people had actually mastered Electro Elemental Power.
However, they couldn't control this power well. Ultimately, the powerful electric current shocked them to the ground, and after their bodies convulsed a few times, they fell still.
The two soldiers who had tried to restrain them before also stopped breathing, and immediately, the others' eyes turned red with rage.
"No!"
"Everyone, listen to my command, strike their stomachs directly with your weapons!"
"Strike! Strike them hard!"
The man spoke through gritted teeth, and after hearing his words, the others also set aside most of their reservations. This time, no more casualties occurred until the end.
"Drag them away, drag these bastards away!"
The man spoke angrily, unable to stop himself from kicking the huge rock beside him hard. He was worried that if these people stayed in his sight for a little longer, he wouldn't be kicking the rock, but these people.
His men didn't die on the battlefield, but ended up dying at the hands of these people. What kind of situation was this?!
"Sir, someone has already dragged them away. Are we going to the next location now?"
After hearing these words, the man took two deep breaths, barely suppressing his emotions, and then nodded.
"The next location is nearby. Let's go."
After speaking, he hurriedly led the others away.
However, just as they left the cave, they discovered that the Electro Element in the air seemed to have grown even more dense. The lightning in the sky poured down upon the ground like water, creating a scene that looked like the end of the world.
This sight made everyone's eyelids twitch wildly, their hearts filled with terror.
"How could this be? Didn't they say the abnormal situation in the sky wouldn't affect Narukami Island for another two days?!"
At this moment, the Electro Elemental Power in the air was so dense it was almost visible to the naked eye. Even though they had already drunk the Dragon Blood Potion, they felt their breathing become exceptionally difficult. Moreover, with every breath, a strong tingling sensation arose in their chests, and their heads felt dizzy and groggy.
For some reason, both the sea and the thunderclouds in the sky, which were originally expected to affect Narukami Island in two days, had all arrived now. Such a terrifying disaster was simply not something they could withstand!
"This is bad! The people in Inazuma City must find sealed spaces or higher ground to take refuge in immediately!"
The soldiers' expressions changed, and they immediately began to worry about their family members within Inazuma City.
However, there were simply not many places that met these conditions, and it was impossible to fit so many people from Inazuma City. This meant that they would truly have to fight against fate next.
"Almighty Shogun, please protect my family!"
In the end, they, as well as the people in Inazuma City who had also noticed the abnormality, began to secretly pray to Raiden Ei in their hearts. Because it concerned their own and their family members' lives and safety, these wishes were so sincere and fervent.
On the other side, Raiden Ei, who was still at a disadvantage even after giving it her all, suddenly felt her body tremble. A massive amount of Power of Faith converged upon her, causing the Resolve Halo behind her to light up rapidly, and a terrifying aura erupted from her body.
Such formidable Resolve was something she had never felt even during the attack of the Dark Beast Tide five hundred years ago; the difference was nearly several-fold!
Because when they faced the Dark Beast Tide head-on back then, the people of Inazuma had only heard about it, and they were in the rear, with basically no threat to their lives.
But this time was different. Everyone in Inazuma was facing a life-and-death crisis. In such a situation, almost everyone began to pray to the god they worshipped.
A dazzling purple light almost completely enveloped Raiden Ei's body. At this moment, she had transformed into the most terrifying and dazzling lightning between heaven and earth.
Zhongli noticed the abnormality in the situation, immediately withdrew a distance, and then quietly looked at Raiden Ei. His expression shifted slightly, as if he had thought of something, and he let out a soft sigh.
Raiden Ei did not know the specific reason for this situation and could not help but calm her mind to sense it.
Then, when she heard the cries for help swarming her ears, her heart ached with infinite sorrow.
Only now did she realize that her battle had directly accelerated the process of Inazuma's environmental anomaly.
The battle between gods had too severe an impact on the environment.
It could be said that the current situation in Inazuma was also partly her fault.
Some of the casualties in this disaster died because of her.
Under such circumstances, she had failed to stand by the people of Inazuma to protect them. Not only that, she had even used the power of the Gnosis.
But she could no longer turn back. Having come this far, if she were to retreat now, she would truly be left with nothing.
At this moment, the purple light on Raiden Ei's body gradually dimmed, and her aura became deeper and more terrifying. Even the expressions on Zhongli and Neuvillette's faces shifted slightly.
Boom
Raiden Ei merely raised her hand, and a spatial collapse occurred in Zhongli's area. A torrential flood of energy then surged in like a tide.
However, the moment Raiden Ei raised her hand, Zhongli's figure had already left his original position. Immediately after, countless rock spires erupted from beneath the sea, continuously growing longer. In an instant, this area of the sea seemed to have become a forest of rock spires.
Raiden Ei's attack destroyed many of the rock spires like rotten wood, but then even more rock spires emerged from the sea. This time, even Zhongli had to get serious.
A massive amount of divine power poured out, and the power of the Ley Lines continuously flowed into his body. Facing Raiden Ei at this moment, Zhongli had no choice but to unleash the portion of power he had retained after losing his Gnosis.
The two clashed fiercely once more, and the space shattered inch by inch at the point of impact. Geo and Electro elements intertwined, brutally slaughtering each other. The resulting shockwave was far more terrifying than before, causing even the Protective Barrier Neuvillette had erected to tremble visibly. Everyone present had no doubt that without Neuvillette's intervention, over ninety percent of them would have perished in the aftershocks of Zhongli and Raiden Ei's battle!
Even Keqing and the others lacked the confidence to believe they could survive until the end. This battle was truly far beyond anything they had imagined.
Unlike Persephone's pure display of power, the fight between Raiden Ei and Zhongli seemed even more horrifying.
No wonder humans were the weakest of all races during the Archon War. Even the slightest tremor caused by the war was enough to cost them their lives.
Even after so much time and development, though their strength had improved greatly, they were still like ants in such a battle, easily crushed to powder.
"Sigh, can't everyone just talk it out peacefully? Why do they have to fight?! Our enemy is supposed to be Persephone (No. 3)!"
Paimon watched the battle in the distance, flying frantically back and forth in the air, as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
Then, Paimon turned her gaze to Lumine and spoke.
"Traveler, who do you think will win between Zhongli and Ei?"
Just then, Paimon, who had yet to receive a reply from Lumine, suddenly noticed her staring blankly.
"Traveler?"
Lumine snapped back to her senses. The momentary fluctuation in aura just now had instantly caused her to lose her composure.
That incredibly familiar aura, there was no mistake, it was her brother, her brother had also come to Inazuma!
"Traveler, you felt the aura of your blood relative?!"
After hearing Lumine's explanation, Paimon spoke in surprise.
"Can you tell where he is?"
Lumine shook her head. The moment the aura leaked was simply too short. If she hadn't been particularly familiar with Aether's aura, she probably wouldn't have noticed it at all, let alone found his exact location.
Lumine only vaguely felt that he was in a certain direction, but his exact location remained unclear.
Still, this was enough. At least it was much better than before, when she had no clues or information.
Also, she had to slightly explain to Aether the incident where he had brought the Abyss Order to save her, while she had used the Abyss Order to build up her combat record. She had been forced to do that at the time.
Thinking of this, Lumine immediately sprang into action. Taking advantage of the fact that everyone else's attention was on the battle in the sky, she secretly left the Protective Barrier and ran in the general direction where the aura had appeared.
"Traveler, wait for me! I want to go with you!"
Seeing this, Paimon also prepared to follow, but at this moment, Enjou suddenly stopped her and spoke.
"Let them talk alone. We shouldn't disturb them."
"Otherwise, something terrifying might happen!"
Enjou frightened Paimon, and she was truly spooked. After hesitating for a moment, she completely lost sight of Lumine.