In Teyvat, it all begins with rescuing the grass god.

The moment we met.

Tadalia, who hadn't even looked at the lady, burst into laughter and came over to greet her.

"Hey friend, we meet again~~"

He paid no heed to his colleague's comment about "making a fool of himself," and happily joined Rhodes's group, leaving the lady all alone.

For Datalia

Rhodes is a strongman who can fight me, and the two of us have no conflict of interest, which is enough.

"haven't seen you for a long time."

Rhodes responded with a smile, then asked, "Did you come here specifically to see me?"

"no?"

D'Artagnan said honestly, "I'm here to be Rosalind's bodyguard."

talking.

He stroked his chin: "What did Her Majesty the Empress say you called this? Joint scientific expedition? Oh dear, the technical terms you scholars use are too complicated. I don't understand them. Anyway, that's the gist of it. Let's go together and bring back the company that's still underground."

Joint scientific expedition.

This is why the lady and her companions traveled with Rhodes this time.

This is why the lady insisted on wearing her own Church attire from hundreds of years ago.

Scientific expedition, scientific expedition.

Such a collaborative relationship would be impossible without the expertise of a professional scholar.

That's the reason.

The woman directly invoked her title as an outstanding graduate of the Academy, regardless of whether her degree certificate was from five hundred years ago.

The degree certificate issued by the College of Education has no time limit.

That's enough.

The lady's degree was the same as that of the Lodrati Nari, a very standard academic status of the monastic college, not as intimidating as the Habantha, but sufficient.

The scholar team that Sumeru sent this time.

Apart from a few practical forest rangers who hadn't obtained degrees, the rest were mostly tasata.

Nasida attaches great importance to this cooperation.

Not to mention traveling scholars like Tiriyasi, she didn't even send a trainee Śāstra.

Considering the lady's status as a thuja (a type of Buddhist robe).

After much hesitation, Naxida decided to abandon sending Habantha. Otherwise, such a large group would have required at least one renowned Habantha to oversee and coordinate the operation.

Hebantu cannot come.

Instead, Seno, who enjoyed a prestige among scholars no less than that of Habantha, came.

Of course.

It was less about prestige and more about infamy.

In the mouths of the Sumerian scholars, Seno was no better than Rhodes was infamous in the desert.

Some scholars have even reached the point where they are afraid to talk about his name.

If it weren't for the fact that his confidence was severely damaged after being dealt a blow by Rhodes, and he rarely told lame jokes anymore, his reputation would be even more fearsome.

This is D'Artagnan's mission.

That's what he was talking about, being a bodyguard for women.

It sounds a bit ridiculous that the lowest-ranking executive is acting as a bodyguard for the eighth-ranking executive.

However, this could be interpreted as the Winter Queen providing insurance for women.

Executives do indeed prefer to act alone.

In particular, the personalities of the lady and the gentleman are extremely incompatible.

They were able to get the two of them to act together.

It can only be said that the Ice Queen was worried that, given the lady's personality and the extent of her hatred for the Abyss, letting her go deep underground alone might cause some unpleasant trouble.

As for Dadalia.

This guy's combat power is indeed inferior to that of the lady.

However, his body has extremely high resistance to the erosion of the abyss.

To put it simply...

Tartaglia can wander around the Dead Zone without using elemental power.

This is a skill that not everyone possesses.

Even someone as experienced as Tinali was nearly killed on the spot by the Dead Zone without the protection of elemental power.

This demonstrates just how useful Tartaglia's unique ability is in the underground mining areas ravaged by the power of the abyss.

According to Rhodes's judgment.

The Ice Queen's decision to have Tartaglia accompany the Lady is most likely because, given the high concentration of Abyss power, Tartaglia's power is greater than the Lady's power without her Flame Witch form.

"Gentlemen, let's stop with the nonsense."

The woman stepped forward, interrupting Rhodes and D'Artagnan's pleasantries, and, amidst the scholars' curious gazes, brazenly joined the group, saying, "It's time to set off."

"Wait a moment."

Instead of doing as she said, Rhodes turned and walked toward several stone towers some distance from the entrance.

It is said to be a stone pagoda.

It's actually just a pile of stones made up of several rocks.

The tallest one is only about the height of a person, and my favorite is less than knee-high.

These piles of stones, which look quite old, are neatly arranged with offerings of flowers, fruits, and candles that have not yet been extinguished.

Rhodes walked to the stone pile and, following the rules of Liyue, remained silent for a minute before offering sacrifices to these seemingly insignificant objects.

His offerings were very simple.

In front of each pile of stones was a standard-issue long spear of the Thousand Rock Army, given to him by Ningguang. They were all new. As for whether they would be stolen, judging from the density of Thousand Rock Army patrols around here, it was unlikely that anyone would dare to come here to steal the standard-issue weapons of the Thousand Rock Army.

Do it all.

He bowed again before returning to the group.

Whom did you just worship?

The people here aren't stupid; they can tell at a glance that there's a grave under that pile of rubble, maybe even a cenotaph.

Therefore, it wasn't just Datalia.

Everyone else was also very curious.

Why would someone born from Sumeru come to Liyue to pay respects at this nameless cenotaph?

However, before Rhodes could answer...

The woman, who had been looking impatient, suddenly changed her expression and followed the path Rhodes had taken to the cenotaph.

Same as Rod's action.

She also remained silent before offering the sacrifice, including several bottles of her favorite spirits.

"Those are the people who died in the Dark Calamity."

Rhodes explained to the puzzled crowd in a low voice.

At the same time, his gaze towards the woman was also slightly flickering.

"Soldiers who died here?"

Upon hearing this, everyone present immediately became serious.

"Yes, not all."

"Five hundred years ago, the Geo Archon of Liyue was not present. Under the leadership of the guardian Yaksha Tengshe Grand Marshal, the Liyue Thousand Rock Army and sorcerers used themselves as bait to lure all the rampaging monsters into the Abyss of Rocks, and sealed themselves and the monsters underground together."

"Later generations wanted to pay tribute to these heroes who bravely sacrificed their lives, but they could not find a single one of their remains. Therefore, they could only erect a cenotaph here to commemorate those who perished in the dark calamity."

Rhodes sighed, recalling the stories Zhongli had told him before he came, and looked in the direction of Liyue, saying, "With their backs against the layered rocks and their faces towards their homeland, this was the only thing they did before they went to their deaths."

The words fell.

D'Artagnan was the first to move.

He is indeed an executive officer.

Before becoming an executive officer, he was also a member of the Winter Army, a soldier who had fought against monsters for many years.

Therefore, he was able to empathize more with these heroes who died for their hometown.

After him.

The others also went to pay their respects at the cenotaph in an orderly manner. Since they had not prepared in advance, they just put down whatever they had on hand.

When everyone returned, the cenotaph was already filled with offerings.

Then, the Chiyan Army guarding the area paid their respects.

The expedition team, composed of members from Liyue to winter, arrived at the mine elevator under the guidance of their guide.

Before going down into the mine.

Some necessary preparations still need to be made.

Lumenite lamps that can illuminate the underground and solidify black mud; a magpie used to test underground air for highly toxic gases; emergency food and water; detailed maps of underground mining areas; and some other miscellaneous precautions.

After everything has been explained clearly.

Rhodes took the lead and boarded the elevator, which, amidst the rumbling of gears, led him straight into the deep, dark cavern.

too many people.