As soon as Neuvillette finished speaking, all the personnel of the Equitable Judgment behind him clenched their right fists over their left chests in unison and bowed in a synchronized salute.
"Thank you, Lord King!!!"
The movements were crisp and clean, and their voices were full of vigor.
The musical movement played by the orchestra also happened to reach a magnificent climax at that moment.
This scene certainly provided plenty of prestige; it was grand to the extreme.
Paimon, shaken by the momentum, whispered, "So... so formal. It feels even more serious than when we were in Liyue..."
Lumine nodded his head. This was Fontaine's style; they were indeed as meticulous about ritual as always.
Venti looked left and right, and seeing that no gifts seemed to be coming his way, he rubbed his nose in slight disappointment.
King looked at the meticulous Neuvillette before him, then glanced out of the corner of his eye at the little "blue bitter melon" in the distance, who radiated an aura of "I'm unhappy" and "hurry up and coax me."
He felt a bit like laughing, yet also a bit helpless.
"You're too kind, Neuvillette."
King nodded and said in a calm tone, "It was just a small favor."
Neuvillette smiled and nodded, his heart full of admiration.
Then, his gaze swept over the people behind Su Luo, pausing briefly on Raiden Ei before finally landing on Venti, who was holding half a bottle of red wine and looking slightly tipsy.
As the Hydro Dragon King, his perception of elemental power was keen to the extreme.
The pure and vast divine power of wind within Venti was as conspicuous as a lighthouse in the dark night to his eyes.
Almost at the same moment, Raiden Ei's purple eyes narrowed slightly, and a hint of surprise flashed through Venti's emerald pupils.
The two Archons also immediately sensed it—
The life essence of this elegant Iudex before them, scepter in hand, was by no means human.
He was an even more ancient, even more massive existence!
A vast, abyss-like authority over water, pure without a trace of impurity... He was... the Hydro Dragon King?!!
The air suddenly went still for a moment.
Neuvillette's fingers tightened imperceptibly on his scepter.
Toward these "seven sovereigns" who had divided the authority of the Dragon Kings...
He felt a deep-seated loathing and hostility born from bloodline instinct.
But reason firmly suppressed his emotions.
After all, these two were guests brought back by Mr. King.
Stay calm, Neuvillette. You must stay calm.
After forcibly suppressing the surging disgust and a bout of powerful self-hypnosis...
The muscles on the Iudex's habitually expressionless face adjusted ever so slightly, and he gave Venti and Raiden Ei a thin, forced smile.
"Welcome to Fontaine, you two Archons."
His movements were standard and impeccable, but that was all.
The coldness deep within his gaze was even chillier than the frost and snow of Snezhnaya.
Venti blinked, his cynical smile freezing into a block of ice.
His heart was in his throat, and cold sweat was nearly soaking through his vest.
What on earth is going on?!
How could the Hydro Dragon King be serving as the Iudex in Fontaine?
One must know that the Heavenly Principles and the ancient dragons are arch-enemies; it's a hostile relationship etched into their "DNA"!
Even if an ancient dragon King dies and is reincarnated, the new Dragon King will inherit the hatred for the Heavenly Principles.
Although he, Barbatos, slacked off all day, he was still one of the seven sovereigns, on the side of the "Heavenly Principles."
He already had a Wind Dragon King, Dvalin, as a pet at home.
Dvalin was a weakling, so it was fine for King Phanes to turn a blind eye to it.
But if he were to act too chummy with the Hydro Dragon King now...
"..."
No, he had to find an excuse to distance himself!
Otherwise, would he even get to keep his position as the Anemo Archon?
In a moment, he'd be treated as a traitor "colluding with the enemy" by the Heavenly Principles, and a Skyfrost Nail would be dropped on him!!
I haven't lived long enough yet!!!
Venti felt that the red wine in his hand no longer tasted good.
A rare trace of panic flashed deep within his emerald eyes.
He began to think of a way to escape.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Paimon, who was being held by Lumine and still looking around curiously.
Eh? Wait!
A small light bulb seemed to light up over Venti's head.
Isn't Asmodeus right here?
Even if he's in the form of Lord Paimon now, his essence hasn't changed!
When the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up!
Phanes' First Shadow, the Ruler of the Sky, is right here watching with her own eyes!
If they're really going to investigate "god-dragon collusion," they'd have to investigate Lord Paimon's "crimes" first, right?
Thinking this, Venti suddenly felt as if the world had opened up, and his psychological burden was tossed into the sea with a "splat."
His face broke into that cynical, bright smile again, and he even proactively waved at Neuvillette, saying breezily: "Yahoo~ Hello, Neuvillette! Fontaine's welcoming ceremony is truly warm and grand!"
Neuvillette: "..."
Is this Anemo Archon a bit too familiar?
And wasn't he nervous just now?
How did he suddenly become so happy?
Isn't this emotional shift a bit too fast?
On the other side, unlike Venti, who had a rich inner monologue and instantly completed his own mental gymnastics...
Raiden Ei's reaction was... very Raiden Ei.
In her simple, direct, and somewhat shut-in logic:
Hydro Dragon King = ancient dragon Remnant = Enemy.
And an enemy appearing in a nation that should be ruled by the Hydro Archon...
While also holding authority and wearing the clothes of the Iudex... there was only one truth: this Hydro Dragon King had usurped the Hydro Archon's nation!
This was a profanation of the authority of the seven sovereigns!
It was a theft of the fruits of victory won by the Seven Gods in the Archon War!
Intolerable!
Raiden Ei's purple eyes instantly became sharp as knives, and boundless Electro power began to gather around her, with small electrical sparks bursting in the air.
Without a word of nonsense, her right hand reached directly toward her chest.
That was where she kept "musou isshin."
"Usurper! How dare you!!!"
She gave a cold shout and was about to pull the lightning-flickering tachi from her chest to strike the "Usurper" before her with the Musou no Hitotachi!
"Wait!"
King's eyelid twitched. Why was this country girl so reckless?
Drawing her sword just like that?
King's reaction was extremely fast.
Just as a small section of the hilt of "musou isshin" was being pushed out from Raiden Ei's chest...
King flickered and appeared beside Raiden Ei, pressing his right hand against the hilt and pushing it back in with force!
"Clang—!"
The musou isshin, which had just been unsheathed by three inches, was forcibly pressed back into Raiden Ei's body.
The violent Electro power was forcibly snuffed out.
The scene went silent instantly.
The orchestra forgot to play, the soldiers of the Equitable Judgment were dumbfounded, Paimon's mouth hung wide open, and even Venti forgot to drink.
Because King's blocking action was a bit too intimate.
Although King's movement was purely subconscious.
He only wanted to stop Raiden Ei from drawing her sword and hadn't considered the posture at all.
But the result was right there: beneath King's palm was an unbelievable delicacy and softness.
He could even feel the violent thumping of the heart beneath.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
A deathly silence fell over the scene.
Neuvillette held his cane, his eyes vacant.
Venti's mouth was wide open, and the wine bottle in his hand almost slipped.
Ganyu covered his head, shrinking into his chest, his cheeks flushed crimson.
Clorinde and Lynette quickly looked away, pretending to admire the scenery.
Paimon was dumbfounded.
Lumine placed his hand on his forehead.
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