Because they had already agreed to prioritize protecting the lives and safety of the people of Inazuma, and because most people were exhausted after the previous battles, the group at Kujou Encampment decided to take a break for a while.
Everyone else was also resting; the continuous battles had left them in poor condition.
After Arlecchino's retreat, Aether had just missed Lumine and, after searching all around without finding any trace of her, finally decided to leave this matter to his subordinates.
Aether found a new cave and rested while waiting for his monster army.
Meanwhile, out of sheer boredom, Lumine took Paimon for a stroll near Kujou Encampment and helped with the patrol.
After walking for a while, Paimon's stomach let out a "grumble grumble."
"Traveler, let's eat something first."
Paimon spoke to Lumine while rubbing her little stomach.
Lumine looked at Paimon with a helpless expression; they had clearly just eaten before coming out.
Just at that moment, Lumine's stomach also let out a growl, and she immediately turned her head away in embarrassment.
Fine, she admitted that the meal before was a bit too light.
Extra meal, let's go!
Amidst Paimon's cheers, Lumine swiftly scooped a large fish out of the sea, then cleanly killed it and washed it inside and out.
Afterward, she found a long wooden stick and skewered the fish onto it.
Since Lumine had not yet mastered Pyro Elemental Power, making a fire was a bit troublesome. So Lumine directly found a Hilichurl camp, cleared out all the Hilichurls in this camp with her Dull Blade, and then directly seized it.
Next, Lumine kicked away whatever was stewing on the campfire, set up the previously cleaned large fish to roast directly, flipping it over from time to time, while also taking out seasonings from her backpack and sprinkling the soul-stirring cumin on the roasted fish.
Before long, the roasted fish on the fire emitted an enticing aroma, making Paimon drool.
"Traveler, can we eat it now?"
"It should be okay, how about I try it first!"
Paimon was itching to get her hands on it, but Lumine resolutely refused to let Paimon succeed.
Just kidding, the first bite of the fish she roasted must be taken by her personally!
When the roasted fish was finally done, Paimon impatiently wanted to take the roasted fish and feast on it, but she was pushed aside by Lumine pressing down on her head.
Paimon was not convinced and flew over from another direction, but her head was still pressed down, preventing her from advancing an inch. Meanwhile, Lumine brought the roasted fish to her lips, happily opening her mouth and preparing to take a big bite.
However, right at this moment, an Abyss Channel suddenly appeared not far in front of the two of them, followed by a wicked and powerful gust of wind blowing out from it.
Just as the two were drawn by this sudden situation, the wooden stick in Lumine's hand holding the roasted fish was directly snapped in half by this wind, and the roasted fish fell to the ground, covered in dust.
When they looked again at the wooden stick that had already broken into two pieces, as well as the roasted fish that had vanished without a trace, Lumine and Paimon's eyes instantly widened, and their bodies trembled slightly, as if they were suppressing a primordial force within them.
Just at this time, Abyss Monsters began to emerge continuously from the spatial portal, led by a Hydro Abyss Herald and a Pyro Abyss Lector.
After they appeared, they worked together to further stabilize the spatial portal so that the Abyss Monsters could pour out of it more quickly.
Finally found the enemy!
Seeing the Abyss Monsters in front of her acting so arrogantly, even stepping on and extinguishing the campfire in front of them, Lumine's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. Without saying another word, she gripped her Dull Blade and raised her hand to unleash a lightning-fast five-strike combo, quickly hacking the Abyss Monsters on the scene into a chaotic mess!
"Retreat!"
You want to leave after taking my fish?
Seeing those Abyss Monsters trying to run, Lumine's strikes instantly became even faster.
Especially for those two Abyss Heralds, the moment they entered the spatial portal, Lumine simply swung out a gray-white sword aura.
"Got you!"
"This time, I refuse to believe you can still encounter..."
Dainsleif, who was just about to emerge from the spatial portal, saw a gray-white sword light flying straight at him. His expression instantly changed drastically, and he turned to run without hesitation!
The momentum of this sword strike was extremely terrifying. Dainsleif had no doubt that if he had hesitated for even a moment longer, he would have been sent to the afterlife.
"Strange, Traveler, why do I think I heard Dainsleif's voice?"
"Could I have misheard?"
Paimon scratched her head and ultimately gave up on thinking about this matter.
On the other side, a spatial portal suddenly appeared in front of Aether. Seeing this scene, he immediately stood up.
It's here!
However, what Aether completely did not expect was that the first figure to fall out of the spatial portal was actually an old acquaintance!
"Dainsleif, you're dead!"
Dainsleif, who was just celebrating his good fortune in running away quickly, heard the commotion coming from in front of him, and his expression instantly changed again.
Oh no, why did he end up here?!
Just at this moment, four figures, two blue and two red, also fell out of the spatial portal.
Why were there four figures? Because those two Abyss Heralds had been sliced in half by a single sword strike.
Seeing this scene, Dainsleif felt a chill run down his spine. At the same time, he felt somewhat relieved that his traveling companion back then was Aether. If it had been Lumine, he probably wouldn't have lasted two days before becoming a corpse in a field.
While thinking this, Dainsleif spoke to Aether.
"I didn't do this. If you don't believe me, ask them."
After speaking, Dainsleif pointed to the Abyss Heralds on the ground. The two of them still had a single breath left.
He could let it slide before, but today, no matter what, he could not be the scapegoat again!
He really hadn't even had time to make a move!
After hearing Dainsleif's words, Aether turned his gaze to the two Abyss Heralds, only to hear them speak in incredibly weak voices.
"Your Highness Prince, he's the one who did it. You must avenge us!"
"My younger brothers Hongyu and Hongyan are entrusted to you!"
After speaking, the two Heralds' heads tilted, and they died on the spot.
Their figures turned into a ball of light, gradually sinking into the ground.
Hearing this false accusation, Dainsleif almost had a mental breakdown on the spot.
"They're lying! This is completely slander! It was clearly your sister who killed them!"
As he spoke the last part, Dainsleif's tone gradually softened. He had finally discovered the key to the problem.
Who was the person standing in front of him? It was Lumine's own older brother!
Complaining about his sister in front of her own older brother, where do you think he's standing?!
The next second, a Golden Sword slashed toward him, giving Dainsleif his answer.
Dainsleif blocked it with all his might, then his body was sent flying thousands of meters.
He himself used this force to directly run into the distance.
Not far behind him, Aether was relentlessly in pursuit.
Kidding, right? Dainsleif had killed his subordinates time and time again, which was one thing, but now he had the audacity to kill his own man, and even had the nerve to pin it on his sister right in front of him.
Even if it was just for his sister's innocence, he had to hold Dainsleif accountable this time!
At this moment, Lumine, who was grilling another large fish, shook her head as she heard the commotion from afar. She wondered who was fighting again.
When would Inazuma ever finally settle down?
As Lumine pondered, she flipped the grilled fish over.
-
In the time that followed, with Neuvillette's selfless contribution, the production of the Dragon Blood Potion was increased very smoothly. It had increased by at least tenfold in output, and in less than two days, it was more than enough to supply all the people of Inazuma.
However, this then gave rise to a new problem. A portion of Inazuma's people refused to drink the Dragon Blood Potion under any circumstances, claiming it was a conspiracy intended to extinguish the human race and such nonsense. They even called on others not to use it, and said to everyone that they were ignorant of their own blessings, and that this was all a test for them by the Almighty Shogun.
The most ridiculous thing was that someone even drank a cup of Electro-corroded seawater in front of many people in Inazuma, and after a few minutes, he passed away in plain sight of everyone, leaving them all speechless.
However, the people of Fontaine were all very calm. Is it strange to have people like this? Fontaine is full of them!
It seems absurd, but it's actually quite reasonable.
The bigger the forest, the more kinds of birds there are. They should respect natural selection.
Fortunately, since they didn't want this portion, a lot of Dragon Blood Potion was saved up, enough to strengthen the two Expeditionary Forces, especially their main combat strength. Every single point of enhancement would have a significant impact on the course of the battle.
By now, the Electro-corroded ocean had already spread to the vicinity of Kujou Encampment. The thunderclouds in the sky had also drifted over from Seirai Island, and the rumbling of thunder had already reached their ears.
Everyone realized it was time to put an end to this farce and seek Persephone to settle the score.
Just as they were about to act, several others also sensed the arrival of the final outcome and began to make their final preparations.
By now, there were not many Marks left. In addition to the two Marks on Neuvillette's body and the three Marks on Xiao's body, Arlecchino also had three Marks on her body. These were the ones she had subsequentally plundered from the Moyun Sisters and [Higashiyama-no-Ou].
Then there was Raiden Ei with two Marks, one of which came from Sasayuri. Of course, it wouldn't have been voluntary, but it also didn't take Raiden Ei much effort.
Subsequently, Kamisato Ayato and Kujou Sara each had one Mark on their bodies. Raiden Mei had one Mark on her body. This was all of them.
When making the final mobilization, Zhongli once again appeared before everyone in the image of Rex Lapis, causing everyone's hearts to settle down completely.
After Hu Tao saw this scene, she immediately began to look for Zhongli's figure. As expected, he could no longer be found.
"Rex Lapis."
Upon seeing Zhongli appear, Xiao respectfully cupped his hand in greeting, then casually transferred the Marks on his body to the other man.
Immediately after, Neuvillette also slowly walked toward Zhongli and spoke.
"Mr. Morax, my power has been considerably weakened now. I am afraid you will need to withstand most of the pressure in the upcoming battle."
At this moment, a look of guilt appeared on Neuvillette's face, and Zhongli quickly spoke.
"Monsieur Neuvillette has already sacrificed enough for everyone. Leave the rest to me, and you can rest well."
Neuvillette nodded, and then he also transferred the Marks on his body to Zhongli's hand.
"I'm counting on you."
The final use of the Marks had been discussed, and they eventually chose to use this hard-won opportunity to restrict Persephone's power, thereby increasing their chances of victory.
When the time comes, all the Marks will need to be gathered on one person, so it doesn't matter if they are concentrated now.
As the most ancient god, Zhongli was completely qualified to hold all the Marks.
At this moment, Zhongli looked at the Marks on his hand, his gaze fluctuating slightly. No one knew what Zhongli was thinking in his heart at this moment.
At this moment, Zhongli also sensed the fluctuations of the other Marks, discovering that the other Mark holders were rapidly making contact with one another.
Of course, they were not planning to unite, but rather wanted to decide on a final winner, and then try to seize the Marks from his body, and finally go to Persephone to realize their own wishes.
Since this was the case, they only needed to set out one step ahead and then quietly wait for the result.
Thinking of this, Zhongli temporarily took over the overall command of the Expeditionary Force, and under the gaze of countless admiring eyes, ordered them to advance toward Seirai Island.
Subsequently, giant warships were launched into the sea, and countless Clockwork Meka took to the sky to scout the surroundings. Five black mechas surrounded everyone in a circle, constantly observing the situation around them. The Guizhong Ballistas were pushed onto the decks, beginning to be fixed and loaded. Golden formations appeared on every warship, providing them with meticulous protection.
Even though they knew what level of enemy they were about to face, most of the people did not show fear or hesitation on their faces, only full-faced fighting spirit and admiration for Zhongli and Neuvillette.
They believed that victory in this war absolutely belonged to them!
Perhaps there would be many sacrifices along the way, but those two figures would eventually lead them forward!
Such scorching will and trust made Zhongli's eyes grow deeper and more complex.
Then, Zhongli raised his head and looked toward Seirai Island.
During this period, Persephone had not left Seirai Island. She even released her power at all times, as if worried they would not find her location.
That burning fighting spirit was as dazzling as the sun, making those who sensed its aura extremely wary.
Sensing the Expeditionary Force's deployment, the aura Persephone emitted grew more domineering and conspicuous.
Zhongli's gaze seemed to cross countless distances, once again meeting those eyes.
Zhongli could almost see the smile now spreading across Persephone's face, as if she were eagerly anticipating their next performance.
Another surge of anger rose in his heart, but Zhongli quickly suppressed it.
Thousands of years had passed, and the erosion of time had not only brought him irreversible damage, it had also tempered his character to its limit, preventing him from easily revealing his true thoughts to others.
But in truth, Zhongli wanted to vent his emotions properly right now, just like Xiao beside him. At this moment, Xiao was continuously emitting a heart-palpitating rage, causing those nearby to involuntarily back away a little.
Let everything end completely today.
Zhongli believed he had already made his decision, but a beautiful figure lingered in his mind, refusing to fade...