The Embers of King's Teyvat Journey

After crossing a side peak, the view of frost and rapids suddenly opened up. The rugged gravel disappeared, replaced by a large expanse of green at the foot of the mountain.

And a hazy city surrounded by greenery.

"That's Mondstadt!" The two apostles' eyes widened suddenly. The windmills below, which had remained unchanged for millennia, and the city walls surrounding the entire city—these features made the apostles recognize Mondstadt at a glance.

Since the city below is Mondstadt, then this must be Dragonspine.

Frostfall and Rapids carefully surveyed the rolling mountains and actually found some particularly distinctive landmarks.

As for the others, they have all changed drastically.

Leaving aside the changes in terrain caused by the growth of the Golden Tree, the shedding of snow from the Dragon Ridge alone would probably be enough to make this mountain range, covered in thick snow, completely different from what it used to be.

The two apostles shook their heads; clearly, they had considered this as well. Having composed themselves, Frostfall and Rapids continued their journey along the gentle slope.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the golden tree in front of the two apostles grew larger and larger until it almost filled their entire field of vision.

At this point, they were not far from the summit.

"hidden!"

Just then, Shuangluo's eyes narrowed, and after giving a low shout to her companion beside her, she jumped into the unfolded abyss passage.

Seeing this, the rapids belatedly jumped in. The once somewhat lively mountain area suddenly fell silent again.

"Swish!"

The tranquility didn't last long; the sound of footsteps crunching on fallen leaves echoed once more in the deserted mountains.

Soon, a man wearing a straw hat and with rather peculiar clothing emerged from a group of rocks.

What's peculiar is mostly the fact that the conical hat he was wearing was far too large, to the point that one might wonder if he had torn off some kind of umbrella hat and put it on his head.

"Hmm? That smells familiar." The skirmisher sniffed, and amidst the snow and gravel, he caught a whiff of something different.

He was very familiar with that smell, after all, he had spent a long time exploring the abyss underground, and that's how he climbed to the position of the sixth executive officer.

"Hehe, I think if you guys weren't as forgetful as gophers, you'd know who I am, right?"

The soldier stopped and spoke to the open space ahead. He had fought many Abyss Apostles back underground, and he was sure he had left a deep impression on those troublesome fellows.

"call……"

A gentle breeze blew by, swirling up withered yellow leaves and weeds from the ground; all that was missing was the cawing of a few crows.

Unfortunately, they were already close to the summit of Dragon Ridge Snow Mountain, and crows couldn't fly up there. The stragglers waited for a long time, but didn't even hear a crow's call.

"Hmph, not bad, let's see who has more patience. Others may not know, but I know very well."

"Staying inside the abyss passage must be very uncomfortable for you, right?"

Receiving no response, the stragglers grew somewhat annoyed. However, they didn't show it outwardly, simply leaning against a rock and waiting quietly.

As he said, it was a contest of patience. Although he wasn't very patient, the Scatterers believed that the Abyss Apostles were even less patient than him.

Sure enough, the stragglers didn't have to wait long before the elemental energy around them began to fluctuate.

I've seen the abyss passage open many times, but this time, what emerged first wasn't the abyss apostle's body covered by a robe, but an ice spike radiating a chilling aura.

"Oh? Frostfall? Looks like I'm in luck this time!" The soldier's lips curled up, and lightning element began to ripple around his body.

His Evil Eye is of the lightning element, making it perfect for dealing with the Abyss Apostle Frostfall, who wields the ice element.

"boom!"

The purple lightning collided with the flying ice spike, shattering it into pieces. The scattered icy mist finally added a touch of ferocity to this otherwise "gentle" snow mountain.

"Hahaha, if you don't run now, you might not have another chance!"

The frigid fog posed no problem for the puppet-like soldier. He strode through the fog and laughed loudly as he looked at Frostfall emerging from the abyss passage.

“Don’t assume you know everything about the Order.” Frostfall looked at the “human” before him; he recognized him.

This guy is a human who went deep underground many years ago, and seems to belong to an organization called "The Fools".

However, to the Abyss Order, the Fools, the Knights of Favonius, and the Thousand Rocks are all the same—they are all enemies.

Frostfall's arm was suddenly illuminated by a bright white light, and then ice elements rapidly gathered, instantly forming an icy claw that firmly gripped the stragglers not far away.

"Huh? So fast!" The soldier only felt the elements gathering in his senses, and before he could react, a cage made of solid ice grew out of the ground.

"But do you think it will work?" Looking at the cage emanating a chilling aura, the skirmisher covered his arms with lightning element and threw a heavy punch!

"Crack!"

Just as he shattered an icicle, the skirmisher smashed the ice cage with a single punch.

"I've already told you, don't assume you know everything about the Order."

Another voice suddenly came from beside the soldier, catching him off guard.

Immediately, two light blue cross-shaped water blades appeared out of thin air in front of the stragglers.

"two?!"

The stragglers stared wide-eyed. Two apostles moving together? He'd never seen anything like it before!

Moreover, these two apostles are complementary in this instance.

The water jet slashed at the soldier's side; the pain was secondary, the more troublesome issue was the solid ice that was about to spread throughout his body.

"Ha!" The lightning snake surged, and the thin ice that had formed on the skirmisher's body was instantly shattered.

The apostles knew, of course, that they couldn’t freeze the scattered soldiers; what they wanted was just an opening.

"Kid, watch your step next time, don't be careless!" The light blue arm blade slashed at the soldier's crossed arms, the immense force instantly sending him flying.

"Boom!" Rock fragments flew everywhere, and the stragglers only managed to stop after smashing a few rocks.

Feeling the unusual sensation on his blade, Jiliu nodded to Shuanglu beside him, and said somewhat solemnly:

"This guy isn't human."

The skirmishers during the Executive's era didn't have the Eye of God yet; I forgot.

Chapter 279 A Strange Discovery

2023-11-07

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Amidst the rubble, the stragglers gradually rose to their feet. He looked at the wound on his arm that was almost to the bone, and a surge of anger welled up within him.

In the past, when the Abyss Apostles encountered him, they would always run away, but today they never expected to be pecked in the eye by a goose.

"Doll?"

"If they're not human, why are they fighting against the cult?"

The two apostles looked at the lines and joints beneath the wound and said with some surprise and uncertainty.

Could it be that the kingdoms on Earth have developed to such a powerful level? Even in the destroyed Kanria, intelligent machines only exist in laboratories.

"Heh, you don't need to know. Ask these questions after you're dead!"

The stragglers activated their Evil Eyes and instantly rushed to the two apostles' sides. Their speed did not decrease in the slightest.

He is a puppet; as long as the internal wiring and structure are not damaged, even if his exterior is riddled with holes, his performance will not be affected in the slightest.

Coincidentally, the two wounds caused by the rapids were only superficial injuries. As long as they didn't escalate further, they were merely unsightly for the skirmishers.

"Death? You're strong. But killing us isn't enough!"

A passage to the abyss appeared, and the apostles vanished. The scattered soldiers also stopped before the passage to the abyss.

The starry sky is beautiful, but it contains countless dangers. The soldier was certain that if he jumped in, he would surely meet a gruesome end.

There are many dangerous places in this world. And the Abyss Order happens to be the organization that knows these places best.

"how?"

The abyss passage opened, and the apostles reappeared.

The Fools weren't the only ones trying to investigate the cult's secrets. And the stragglers were just one of the more active ones among them.

To think that he alone could kill the Abyss Apostle is not far off, if not delusional.

Daines Reeb, the Abyss Order's greatest enemy, was far stronger than any of the skirmishers. Yet, over the centuries, he had only slain a handful of Abyss Apostles.

Most of the time, it just disrupted the cult's plans.

"Just a bunch of rats who only know how to run away," the skirmisher said with a sneer, retracting his fist.

"I don't want to argue with you, but since you're not human, we don't need to waste our time here. You do your thing, and I'll do mine."

Shuangluo glanced at the scattered soldiers poised to attack, then turned her head away and refused to look again. The most important thing now was to gather more information about the Golden Tree.

A straggler, just an insignificant person, not worth wasting too much time on.

"Boom!" A flash of lightning surged forth, rushing towards Frostfall and Torrent.

However, both sides seemed to have been prepared. The abyss passage in front of them reappeared, and the attack that the skirmishers had prepared had no effect other than shattering the rocks.

“I’ve discovered that you have a lot of flaws: arrogance, hubris, and now you’re also failing to see the bigger picture.”

The leisurely teasing echoed in the open space, but the two Abyss Apostles had long since disappeared.

"Phew—, damn it!" the stragglers muttered under their breath. Although unwilling, they had to admit that the Abyss Apostle was right.

If there is only one Abyss Apostle, he might try to stay, but if there are two, then fighting them will only become a meaningless waste of time.

You can't kill it by hitting it, and you can't keep it alive either. It's useless except for wasting energy.

"You'd better not pray that the Fools will explore the abyss again, or you'll be in for a world of hurt!" The skirmisher pounded the rock beside him and continued toward the summit.

His trip to Mondstadt was not originally scheduled for this early, but headquarters observed the unusual changes in Dragonspine and sent him ahead of schedule.

The skirmisher had no objection to this; ever since he returned from exploring the abyss underground, his mission had become mobile standby.

"On standby" sounds nice, but it really just means handling emergencies and doing things that others are unwilling to do.

……

The summit of Longji Snow Mountain has undergone a dramatic transformation. The once jagged rocks have been roughly smoothed and pushed aside by the growing trees, and the rugged summit is now incredibly flat.

The snow in the large open area in front of the golden trees had melted away. Dots of green dotted the landscape, making the mountaintop the most vibrant place.