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

His master once said that.

Combat is not simply about brute force. When there is not a significant difference in strength, having better martial arts skills can effectively make up for the difference in strength.

For the sake of Master's words.

Tartaglia has trained himself to the point where he is now proficient in all martial arts.

Even his own worst bow and arrow.

In the eyes of those highly skilled masters, it is also a top-level martial arts skill.

Previously, when I was in Mondstadt.

D'Artagnan once fought Rhodes.

That competition.

Both players won one match each, so it was nominally a draw.

But in fact.

D'Artagnan understood perfectly.

If it were a life-or-death struggle, given the thickness of the elemental power that Rhodes controlled, he could simply force himself to death by pouring elemental power into himself.

Therefore, the result of that competition.

D'Artagnan was convinced that he had lost.

because of this.

Since leaving Mondstadt, he has devoted himself to training. Even when he was sent to Liyue by the Ice Queen, he did not slack off at all and continued to improve himself whenever he had time.

And this kind of high-intensity training.

So that when I see Rod again, I can avenge myself.

Now is the best opportunity.

Seeing the enthusiastic Tartaglia, Rhodes added a few conditions to the competition: "Let's make it a bit more difficult. Make the slime into the kind of dumplings I just made, and only take the heart from the Rock Dragon Lizard. We'll ignore the Hilichurls and just kill them. How about that?"

"Are you treating me like a laborer?"

After hearing Rhodes's request, D'Artagnan narrowed his eyes, and his voice became a few decibels lower.

He may be a bit reckless, but he's not stupid.

Rhodes has put forward so many fancy competition conditions. Regardless of winning or losing, he can get a lot of slime dumplings and other ingredients full of abyssal power.

to be honest.

Isn't this just using yourself as a henchman to help him quickly collect ingredients?

"puff--"

Rod didn't deny it, and even said with a smile, "So, just tell me if you're going to compete or not?"

"Compare!"

"Why not compete!"

Even though it was a contest with no stakes whatsoever, and she knew that Rhodes was using her, Dadalia couldn't resist Rhodes' provocation and agreed immediately.

So the two of them went back to the black mud that had blocked the road earlier.

Let's warm up a little.

Rhodes goes left, Datalia goes right.

Both of them used their fastest speed and most skillful techniques to charge and weave through the monsters, crushing and turning them into a large pile of special ingredients, just as Rhodes had requested.

With Rhodes and Tartaglia's skills.

In just a short while.

Not only were all the monsters gathered in the black mud wiped out, but the two also used Lumenite to plug the mud eruption vent that was blocking the area, so at least for the time being, there would be no risk of the mud erupting again.

"I lost."

In the post-war statistics, D'Artagnan readily admitted that he had once again been defeated by Rhodes.

Still the same problem.

Rhodes's elemental power reserves are terrifying; with brute force, he can completely make up for his many shortcomings in technique.

Especially his grass elemental power.

In D'Artagnan's eyes, it was almost an inexhaustible source.

This was something that puzzled D'Artagnan quite a bit.

The real reason is that Rhodes's Grass Elemental Eye of God shattered.

After losing that Eye of God.

Because he lacks an elemental energy storage organ in his body, Rhode's method of using grass elemental energy has changed from initially drawing elemental energy from the Eye of God to now being able to draw grass elemental energy that dissipates in the air at any time.

in other words.

Unless there is absolutely no grass elemental energy in the area where he is, he will have an inexhaustible supply of grass elemental energy.

This is not a joke.

It's important to understand that even elemental creatures rely on their own elemental energy storage organs to use their elemental power, such as the heart of the rock dragon lizard that Rhodes specifically asked Tartaglia to preserve.

But Rhodes has now broken this constraint and can use the grass elemental power freely and smoothly.

To put it simply, this is a privilege that comes with his status as an Arrival.

On a grander scale, this is a special power comparable to that of a god.

Having won the contest again, Rhodes beamed as he accepted the spoils from D'Artagnan. He then walked a little further and came to an open area. He found an elevator that was still in operation, delivered a notice requesting supplies, and then sat down to wait for the main force to arrive.

Compared to the research team, which was burdened with numerous tasks, Rhodes and Tartaglia only needed to focus on the battle, while the research team, which came with a mission, had many more things to consider.

They not only had to constantly monitor the concentration of abyssal power in the underground mining area, but also had to develop plans to clean up the filth based on the actual situation.

Besides.

They also lack the ability of Rhodes and Tartaglia to break through an entire underground mine without needing supplies, relying solely on their own strength.

With so many problems piling up, the expedition team, even with the protection of Seno, Tinari, and the lady, was unable to advance at a very fast pace.

By the way.

Protecting the scientific expedition team is a shared obligation of both Xumi and Zhidong.

This matter was written into the cooperation agreement between the two parties. No matter how unwilling the lady was, she had no choice but to protect the safety of the expedition team in accordance with the requirements of the agreement after D'Artagnan had run away.

Where Rhodes and Datalia are now.

It's a supply point marked on the map.

It's very safe here; Lumenite has been placed at key points all around.

Thanks to the lumen stone, there is no black mud, no monsters, and no diffuse abyssal power here, making it a rare safe spot in this mining area.

"The Ninth Company did a good job."

After wandering around for a while, D'Artagnan returned satisfied.

The Ninth Company was the Fools' squad that they had mentioned before they set off, the one that had remained in the underground mining area.

This is an elite force.

He was subordinate to Dadalia's former superior, the Fifth Executive Officer, the Rooster Puchnera.

The army that Ningguang mentioned earlier, which was escorted and transported by the citizens of Liyue, is them.

This safe spot in front of us is clearly their doing.

Rhodes nodded in agreement, saying, "That was indeed well done."

The butterfly effect has already occurred.

With his involvement.

Without Zhongli's faked death, there would have been no Tartaglia's bizarre move of awakening the Demon God to attack Liyue Harbor, and no falling out between Liyue and Zhidong.

Therefore, this company, which was determined to become heroes, was no longer the defeated and disorganized army that had lost its supply lines.

Liyue has been providing them with ample supplies, and communication has remained uninterrupted.

Think of this.

Rhodes touched the communicator Ningguang had given him.

Mechanical creations that utilize the techniques of immortals.

It has extremely strong anti-interference capabilities and a very wide transmission range. According to Ningguang, even if Rhodes is at the entrance of the Abyss of Lapis Lazuli, he can still transmit the message to Nightlan deep in the underground mine.

Rhodes turned his gaze to D'Artagnan and then, without any hesitation, connected the communicator.

After a brief silence.

Under D'Artagnan's puzzled gaze, a voice, indistinguishable as either male or female, came through the communicator.

"Password."

Hear the words.

Rhodes made no attempt to hide anything from D'Artagnan, saying, "Central Plains offal, delicious and inexpensive."

"."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the communicator before a voice came through again: "This is Mu Ning, a specialist from the General Affairs Department. Which department are you from? Is there anything I can help you with?"

General Affairs Specialist Mu Ning?

Rhodes continued without changing his expression: "I am Rhodes, the special envoy of Sumeru. I am currently conducting an investigation of the underground mining area of ​​the Layered Rock Abyss in conjunction with the Winter Solstice Envoy. This Winter Solstice Envoy wants to know the exact location of the 9th Company of the Fools."

Upon hearing the name of the Ninth Company...

D'Artagnan's eyes lit up, and she stared intently at the communicator in Rhodes' hand.

Compared to all that research and investigation, this is much better.

What he cared about more was the Ninth Company, who were his fellow soldiers and might even have been his colleagues.