Natlan.
Beneath the high mountains.
The Fatui were carrying out a digging operation.
The Harbinger "Captain" stood not far away, supervising his subordinates' work.
Ever since entering Natlan, the Captain had been dedicated to searching for the Ley Line mechanism buried deep within Natlan.
As long as he found that mechanism capable of reconstructing the Ley Lines, he could alter Natlan's Ley Lines, and the Abyssal monsters would no longer be able to invade this nation as frequently as in the past.
"Sir, our digging operation is going very smoothly. I believe it won't be long before we find it."
A Fatui intelligence officer came over to report.
In the initial period after entering Natlan, the Fatui encountered obstructions from the people of Natlan no matter what they did.
The Fatui's reputation was poor in all nations except Snezhnaya, so many people in Natlan, upon seeing the Fatui, assumed they were up to no good and wanted to stop them.
The Captain could very much understand these Natlan people's feelings, after all, his colleagues had indeed turned other nations upside down.
Therefore, he didn't take the Natlan people's obstructions too much to heart; he simply quietly mined for the mechanism, though the efficiency was quite low.
It wasn't until after the "deal" with the Pyro Archon Rios that the Fatui's operations in Natlan became easier.
There were few instances of attacks launched against the Fatui while they were working.
Even when encountering them on the road and receiving wary gazes, those Natlan people wouldn't take action.
It could be assumed that the Pyro Archon Rios had issued an order, telling the people of Natlan not to be so hostile toward the Fatui anymore.
And speaking of the Pyro Archon Rios...
"How has the Pyro Archon been lately?" the Captain asked.
"Yesterday, just like before, he distributed the Pyro Visions he made himself to Natlan's elite warriors."
"Then, someone witnessed him specially riding a Qucusaurus to the tribe of the Children of Echoes, landing in the workshop of the craftswoman Xilonen."
"We don't know yet what he did there."
The intelligence officer reported truthfully.
"He's distributing Visions to Natlan's warriors again?"
The Captain had been keeping close tabs on the Pyro Archon Rios's affairs these past few days.
Utilizing the Ley Line mechanism to reconstruct the Ley Lines was merely his backup plan.
His original plan was actually to use the Pyro Archon's Gnosis to weave the souls of the Night Kingdom into a net to repair Natlan's Ley Lines.
If the Pyro Archon still hadn't produced a way to resolve the Ley Line issue before Natlan's Ley Lines reached their limit, he would take action to seize the Gnosis.
However... the Pyro Archon Rios's various actions had kept the Captain hesitating on whether to make his move.
Suspending the Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame, personally creating Visions to enhance the combat power of Natlan's people—and now seeking out Xilonen...
"Xilonen is a craftswoman who can forge ancient names."
"Could the Pyro Archon be planning to grant ancient names to those who received Visions?"
Combining this with Rios's previous actions, the Captain made a deduction.
Those who possess ancient names can revive through the Ode of Resurrection.
If ancient names could be mass-produced, that would mean creating a large number of warriors who could revive.
"If that's the case, then he's aiming to further strengthen Natlan's power against the Abyss."
"He's planning to fight the Abyss to the death!"
The Captain understood the Pyro Archon Rios's intentions.
Natlan's Ley Lines were approaching their limit; even if the Sacred Flame continued to burn, it would be meaningless.
In that case, he would stop the energy-consuming Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame, conserve the strength of Natlan's people, and use it for the final decisive battle against the Abyssal monsters.
"Does the new Pyro Archon still hold hope for Mavuika's plan?"
"Or does he believe that using this method is what will promote the awakening of the six heroes?"
The Captain had also fought against Abyssal monsters in Natlan five hundred years ago and knew about the plan Mavuika had devised at the time.
He believed the plan's chances of success were too small, which was why he wanted to use the souls of the Night Kingdom to reconstruct the Ley Lines.
However, the successive Pyro Archons all supported Mavuika's plan, so Natlan's policies hadn't changed much over the past five hundred years.
Even though Rios unusually suspended Natlan's traditions, that couldn't prove he held a negative attitude toward Mavuika's plan.
Perhaps he was simply helping the six heroes awaken in his own way?
"Wait a little longer."
"If Natlan's situation doesn't improve, then I'll go to the Sacred Flame Colosseum and seize the Pyro Archon's Gnosis."
Just as the Captain was thinking this, a cry of alarm pulled him back to reality.
"Enemy attack!"
"Abyssal monsters are assaulting the merchant caravan!"
The Fatui sentries keeping watch from above transmitted the message.
Even though Natlan's Sacred Flame was still burning, it couldn't block all of the Abyss's invasions.
From time to time, a few monsters would slip into Natlan to wreak havoc.
This time, the target they had set their sights on was a merchant caravan conducting trade.
"Come with me to rescue them."
The Captain turned around without hesitation and hurried toward the caravan's location.
Chill emanated from his hand, ultimately condensing into a gray-blue ice sword.
The Fatui soldiers also picked up their weapons and followed the Captain to rescue the caravan.
The Fatui saving people might seem utterly absurd, but for the team led by the Captain, it wasn't an uncommon occurrence.
The ones assaulting the caravan were several Beast Realm Hounds; they floated in the air, their movements eerie, and even seasoned warriors had a hard time gaining the upper hand against them.
Just as the Captain was preparing to raise his sword to eliminate these hounds, he instinctively sensed a... no, a group of powerful forces flying toward this side.
The number was neither too many nor too few—exactly matching the number of Beast Realm Hounds.
"Halt."
The Captain hurriedly called for the soldiers to stop.
The next moment, the scene before their eyes was dyed in fiery red light.
Several crimson light arrows streaked across the sky, plummeting at extreme speed and accurately striking the Beast Realm Hounds assaulting the caravan.
Those hit Beast Realm Hounds didn't even have time to let out wails of grief before the burning flames engulfed their bodies, leaving only ashes to fall to the ground, as if they had never come to this world at all.
"The Beast Realm Hounds... were dealt with just like that?"
"Who did it?"
The Fatui soldiers hurriedly scanned their surroundings, but aside from themselves and the caravan's people, there was no one else around.
"He's not here."
The Captain said in a low voice, turning his head to gaze in one direction.
Just like his subordinate soldiers, he hadn't seen the attacker's figure.
He could sense that earlier, a powerful warrior from a thousand, or even ten thousand meters away, had held a bow and arrow in hand and fired mighty arrows toward here.
"That is Natlan's Pyro Archon..."
The Captain could sense divine power in the arrows; the one who had acted without a doubt was the Pyro Archon Rios.
"To launch such precise attacks from so far away..."
"Even I from five hundred years ago couldn't achieve such a feat."
The Captain quickly made a judgment, reevaluating in his heart whether to use force to rob the Gnosis.
At that moment, the caravan's people came over.
"We are truly so grateful to you."
"If it weren't for you, our lives might have been lost."
The merchants who had come to Natlan to do business expressed their gratitude.
"There's no need to thank us."
The Captain looked in the direction from which the arrows had come: "If you want to thank someone, thank Natlan's Pyro Archon."