Keqing and Ganyu hurried to the window.
Liyue Harbor had vanished under a lid of black cloud. Terrifying pressure churned through the sky, and even from Yujing Terrace they could hear screams echoing from street to street.
"We're going to the Jade Chamber," Keqing said, staring toward it.
Ryou nodded. Then he turned to Ganyu. "Ganyu, I need you to collect every last Sigil of Permission you find. Childe planted hundreds—he's probably trying to hold Liyue hostage so he can get the Gnosis. If he knew Zhongli was the Geo Archon, he'd go straight for him instead."
"Got it." Ganyu left at once.
Ryou and Keqing headed for the Jade Chamber.
Several adepti were already gathered there. Cloud Retainer had taken human form, with Shenhe beside her. Xiao stood out immediately—mostly because he was shorter than everyone else. Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver were present in their true forms. Ryou also spotted Zhongli, Tabibito, and the others.
"You're here," Ningguang said as she stepped forward.
Keqing didn't waste time. "Ningguang—what's the situation?"
Ningguang's gaze hardened. "The gods surfaced early. They're already in the waters outside Liyue Harbor, closing in."
Ryou looked toward Guyun Stone Forest and felt it too—an overwhelming weight that made it hard to breathe.
[Ding! Stronger With Every Battle triggered!]
[Ding! Targets detected: 6. All attributes +600%!]
Ryou's brow creased. "Six gods have broken their seals."
"Six…?" Mountain Shaper turned his eyes on Ryou. "How would you know that?"
In his view, Ryou's presence here made sense because of who he was.
But just now, Ryou's aura had surged without warning—and Ryou didn't even have a Vision. It was strange enough to be unsettling.
"It's… a feeling," Ryou said. "A sense."
Moon Carver glanced at him and spoke evenly. "Six gods is trouble. Even with the adepti intervening, we won't be able to stop all the fallout. Liyue Harbor is bound to suffer."
He paused, voice sharpening.
"The Geo Archon entrusted Liyue to humans and granted you the right to govern yourselves. Don't disappoint the adepti."
"Rest assured," Ningguang said.
"The Liyue Qixing exist to protect Liyue. We will do everything in our power to stop this disaster. We will not fail Rex Lapis."
Moon Carver studied her for a moment. "We'll see."
"They're here," Xiao said.
Cloud Retainer exhaled, as if accepting something long overdue. "Then we go. This battle was always coming. It's simply arrived ahead of schedule."
She leapt into the air, adeptal power flaring as she went straight to intercept the oncoming demon gods.
Xiao pulled on his mask. A vast tide of power surged around him as he shot after her.
Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver moved as well. Adeptal energy spread over Liyue like a net, smothering the skies. Even standing on the Jade Chamber, the pressure was crushing—so heavy it felt like it was pinning the breath in everyone's lungs.
Ryou looked up.
He saw Osial and his wife—and four other ancient gods, howling as they slammed into the adepti. The battle erupted above the sea, and the moment it began, Liyue itself seemed to warp beneath that unimaginable force.
[Ding, Hand entering Darkened Mode!]
[Ding, Hand Darkened Mode active. Palm strikes: area +500%, power +300%!]
[Ding, Hand Darkened Mode rampaging. Palm strike creates seven linked explosions within 100 meters!]
[Ding, Hand Darkened Mode berserk. When you shout "Buddha Palm," a heavenly palm descends from above—stacking all prior effects. Damage +60%!]
Ryou just stared.
Buddha Palm?
Was he seriously about to drop a palm from the sky?
With +600% to all attributes, plus Hand's boosts, plus another damage increase… the numbers were absurd. If he hit a demon god with that, would it just… die?
A monstrous roar ripped into the night.
Three ancient gods had appeared—somehow—directly in front of Liyue Harbor, hovering over the sea at the city's doorstep.
The pressure crashed over the Jade Chamber like a wave. Everyone's face changed.
"All Millelith captains, hear my command!" Ningguang's voice rang out, taut with steel as she locked onto those three figures.
The adepti were holding the first line.
Now it was their turn.
"Present!" the captains shouted.
"Liyue Harbor is in immediate danger. The adepti have already intercepted six ancient gods—yet Liyue cannot avoid battle."
She pointed down toward the harbor.
"Now, we must stop what remains. Behind us is Liyue Harbor. We cannot retreat."
Her voice rose, hard and clear.
"Today, every citizen of Liyue is watching us!"
"We fight for Liyue—starting now!"
As the captains rushed out, Ningguang turned her gaze to the waterfront.
A colossal surge was rolling in, a mountain of seawater sprinting toward the city. The crushing aura above it made people's knees go weak.
"Rise!"
Ningguang formed a seal with her hand. Geo energy burst forth, wrapping the Jade Chamber as it pushed forward.
The Jade Chamber moved to the very front—planting itself between the harbor and that incoming wall of water.
"Ryou…" Keqing whispered beside him, stepping forward as if she could shield him with her own body.
The gesture hit him like a punch.
He looked at the towering wave and raised his hand, gathering power—ready to test this so-called Buddha Palm.
Then a talisman flew past him.
Shenhe stepped forward, and a surge of talismans and icy adeptal energy snapped together into a freezing storm.
In an instant, the enormous wave hardened into solid ice.
At the open ground near Liyue Harbor's entrance, several thousand Millelith stood in formation.
They stared at the gods, fear burning in their chests—yet not a single one stepped back.
Captain Fengyan's face was grim.
Just their presence alone was enough to suffocate the will. He could feel it in his bones.
But he also knew one thing with absolute certainty.
There was nowhere to run.
He turned to the soldiers behind him and barked, "Millelith! The ancient gods are terrifying. The adepti are fighting them overhead—but we humans don't get to cower behind them like turtles!"
"I know it. Today, we might not make it home."
He swallowed hard, then forced the words out anyway.
"But we don't have a choice!"
"We buy time for Ningguang-sama. Even if we die here, we do not retreat!"
He raised his voice. "Tell me—are you afraid?"
"No!"
The shouts rolled like thunder.
Captain Fengyan nodded once. "Good. All units—load Geo bolts. Aim at the ancient gods."
"Understood!"
"Fire!"
A storm of Geo bolts tore into the sky by the thousands.
One of the gods—tiger-shaped, enormous—stood above the sea and watched the incoming glow.
It opened its jaws and exhaled.
Flames poured down like a falling sky. The land outside the harbor lit up in an instant, and screams erupted everywhere.
But the bolts kept flying.
The ancient god roared—furious, unhinged.
The screams dwindled into the firestorm.
The flames didn't.
As the tiger god turned to rush in and finish the soldiers, a powerful impact slammed into its side—then another, and another.
It snarled, whipping its head around.
Out on the sea, several ships had appeared.
Cannons lined their decks, each barrel gathering dense elemental power.
The ships rocked violently on the waves—but the shells still struck true, and each hit tore into the god with brutal force.
On one of those ships, Beidou braced herself with one hand locked onto the prow, staring down two towering ancient gods in front of her.
"The Millelith bought us time and drew their attention," she shouted. "Don't let them die for nothing!"
Her face was set like stone.
"Stop holding back. If we live, we make Ningguang reimburse every Mora of this."
She bared her teeth.
"And if we don't make it back… then so be it. I'm from Liyue. Dying for Liyue means I die with my head held high!"
She lifted her arm. "Let's see how strong these ancient gods really are."
"Everyone—fire!"
"Yes, Boss!"
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The barrage shook the sea and the city alike. Under the relentless cannon fire, the two ancient gods finally slowed—unable to push deeper into the harbor.
For a heartbeat, people breathed again.
Ryou noticed Shenhe's aura sag. She'd spent too much power.
He crossed the distance in a few strides and caught her before she fell.
Then he looked back toward the sea.
Beidou's ships couldn't hold forever. If this dragged on, they were dead.
And this time, the adepti weren't coming to cover the gap.
This was humans, alone, trying to stop ancient gods.
They couldn't afford even one more minute.
Ryou watched as several Millelith positions were ripped apart by god attacks. If this continued, the soldiers would be wiped out.
He had to move.
The only question was whether his Buddha Palm could really crush an ancient god outright.
[End of chapter]
[200 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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