Chapter 158

During this process, they discovered that Aizen did not kill indiscriminately. Whether it was conquering the desert or conquering the rainforest in the past two days, Aizen tried his best to minimize killing in order to achieve the best results. This made them have a different opinion of Aizen.

Even Alhaitham had the thought that Aizen, as a god, wasn't so bad.

If Sumeru didn't have Dendro Archon, it would seem like a good idea to let Aizen rule Sumeru. At least Aizen's power would be guaranteed, and he would also be very principled in his actions. It wouldn't be a loss to have such a person as the god of Sumeru. It's just that I would have to give up my position as the Chief Steward. I don't want to sit in this position of Chief Steward and be busy with everything all the time.

However, this idea completely disappeared after Aizen revealed his true purpose.

Sure enough, his intuition was right. This Aizen was suspicious. The reason why this kind of person tried to minimize human casualties was not to protect humanity, but simply to prevent too many humans from dying before he could conduct his experiments.

"Fortunately, there is the Dendro Archon."

"Indeed, thankfully there is the Dendro Archon."

"But now that Aizen's problem is solved, what do we do?"

Alhaitham couldn't help but ask Cyno.

"What do you mean, what to do?"

Cyno asked, puzzled.

"We're both wanted criminals now."

"But weren't those all made by Aizen?"

"We can say it was Aizen who did it, but do you think anyone else would believe that, especially since the two of us even joined the desert people in attacking the rainforest?"

Aizen's crisis was resolved, but his own crisis gave Alhaitham a headache. His current identity was not that of a scribe of the Order of the Akademiya, but the Chief Steward of the Las Noches, a desert tribe. He was second only to the leader in the desert and was practically Grand Sage of the desert.

Although he didn't want to do it, the fact is he did. He helped Aizen manage the desert tribe and even did a lot of other things. With this identity, he'll probably have a hard time in Sumeru from now on. What a headache.

"Now that you mention it, it seems I'm in trouble too, because [Cyno] killed the Grand Sage."

Only two people know the whole story of how the Grand Sage was killed: one is Cyno, and the other is Alhaitham. Alhaitham is in dire straits himself and naturally cannot help Cyno prove that he did not kill the Grand Sage, Cyno in a difficult position.

"Tsk, this is getting troublesome."

Upon realizing this, Cyno couldn't help but cover his forehead, unsure of what to say.

The two people were having headaches, but the Sumeru people didn't have time to worry about them for the time being, because they Sumeru currently in a good mood.

"Long live the Lesser Lord Kusanali!"

"Lesser Kusanali! My proud faith!"

The Sumeru people were all cheering towards the giant Wood Person in the river.

Of course, the Doctor was not among the cheering crowd.

The Doctor also got up from the ground, but he was not happy. He frowned as he looked at the huge Wood Person in the river and the Takemikazuchi Wood Person to it.

"No, that's not how it works after Demon God dies. After Demon God dies in battle, his power should be unleashed! And this Takemikazuchi still exists!"

No sooner had the Doctor finished speaking than the immense pressure descended from the sky once more, forcing everyone in Sumeru City, who had been rejoicing, to collapse to the ground again.

"Wha... what's going on?"

Everyone was terrified again. The pressure was far greater than before, incomparable! This time, they even found it difficult to breathe.

"What an interesting sight to witness, a tiny god."

Aizen, who had just been killed, reappeared on the Wood Person. However, this time, he appeared directly in front of Nahida. Although he had just been killed, he was now completely unharmed.

Nahida clapped her hands in preparation for an attack, but unfortunately, before she could make a move, Aizen grabbed her by the neck and lifted her off the Wood Person Aizen.

The Wood Person sensed that Aizen was attacking its master, turned around, and swung its massive fist to attack Aizen.

However, Aizen, along with the Wood Dragon wrapped around the Wood Person doll.

"How... could this be..."

Nahida stared in shock at the Wood Person that had been cut open. Just now, when fighting Takemikazuchi, the Wood Person and the Wood Dragon could clearly withstand the attack, but now Takemikazuchi didn't move. Instead, he easily cut the Wood Person Wood Dragon apart with a katana.

"A little bit of playfulness seems to have given you some confidence, but unfortunately, useless confidence will only make you Pride and thus weak."

Aizen held Nahida in one hand and Enma's Blade in the other, a gentle smile on his face.

"Alright, that's enough of our playful banter. I need to finish my experiment now."

The red ring reappeared, enveloping the entire Sumeru City, and the red light instantly filled the entire Sumeru City!

267. I will stand atop the heavens for the third time!

The speed at which the situation turned around exceeded everyone's expectations.

Just when they all thought Dendro Archon had won the battle and was becoming relaxed, the slain Aizen reappeared, once again plunging them into despair.

Among them, the desert people are the most desperate.

They were collected by Aizen and used as test subjects. They were finally rescued by the Dendro Archon. They thought that although they had offended the Dendro Archon, at least they could live. Moreover, the history of the King Deshret was that he sacrificed himself and died. In fact, the desert was saved by the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. The desert people did not remember the good things about the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. Now they were thinking about conquering the rainforest.

The two consecutive betrayals of the Dendro Archon made them feel extremely ashamed, and they felt that whatever punishment the Dendro Archon might give them afterward would be justified.

Just when they finally saw an Aizen reappeared, leaving them utterly hopeless.

"I knew you wouldn't die so easily, hahahaha."

The Doctor was pinned to the ground. Compared to the others, he was much more relaxed, at least he could speak normally. He felt an even more terrifying pressure on his body than before, and even laughed happily.

"You're just like me. I can sense it. You and I both crave more of the unknown. Although I don't know exactly what your abilities are, it's impossible for you to die so easily! Now the facts prove my guess was right, hahaha!"

Despite facing the threat of death, the Doctor was completely unconcerned, showing no concern that he might become part of an experiment and die.

"Alright, that's enough playing around."

Aizen, with one hand gripping Nahida's neck, looked towards Sumeru City. His right hand sheathed the Enma's Blade and extended it towards the Sumeru City. As he moved his right hand, the red ring surrounding Sumeru City began to spread, and a complex pattern appeared below the Sumeru City. If viewed from directly above Sumeru City, the pattern would be identical to the human alchemy pattern from Fullmetal Alchemist.

"Farewell, humans of Sumeru. You brought me much joy during this time, and I will remember you in the years to come."

As he spoke, Aizen clenched his right hand.

Everyone in the Sumeru City felt their consciousness beginning to blur.

"No... don't..."

"I don't want to die..."

"Help me..."

People cry out in agony before they die.

"Stop!"

Nahida suddenly interrupted Aizen's actions.

"Oh?"

Aizen looked at Nahida.

"So, you still want to struggle? But unfortunately, your strength is insufficient to resist me, so your struggle is futile."

Nahida was very composed.

"Indeed, I cannot resist you, but what about the principles of Heavenly Principles?"

"..."

Aizen fell silent for a moment, and even the transmutation array of Sumeru City stopped, changing from its activated state to a standby state.

The people of Sumeru City began to gasp for breath. They had just felt like they were about to die, but now that they had recovered, they quickly caught their breath.

"I am the Dendro Archon of Sumeru, one of the Seven Archons recognized by the Heavenly Principles. Although I cannot defeat you, I am not the strongest god on the Teyvat continent. It is not an exaggeration to say that I am the weakest god."

"However, if I commit suicide, the commotion of the Dendro Archon's death will alarm the Heavenly Principles. At that time, the Heavenly Principles will definitely descend upon Sumeru. Not only the Heavenly Principles, but other gods will also be summoned by the Heavenly Principles and descend upon Sumeru. At that time, your experiment will be impossible to complete, and you yourself will not even be able to escape!"

Nahida Aizen unwavering determination.

"Oh? Are you saying you're threatening me with your life?"

"That's right, I'm threatening you with my life."

"Are you willing to give up your life for these humans?"

Aizen looked at Nahida with curiosity.

"The Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was willing to dedicate his power to the desert and sacrifice his life to save Teyvat. As Greater Lord Rukkhadevata successor, I can do the same!"

"For the sake of Sumeru, I must stop you. So if you want to conduct the experiment, I have no choice but to stop you, even if it means sacrificing my own life."

Nahida's expression was very resolute, which gave Aizen a headache.

"This is really troublesome. If you really do that, my experiment will be impossible to continue. After all, I don't want to see my experiment have to be stopped because of the arrival of Heavenly Principles."

"In particular, the Heavenly Principles you mentioned will also summon the other Seven Archons."

"But how can you be sure that what you're saying is true?"

Despite having a headache, Aizen didn't completely believe Nahida's words.

"You may not believe it, but do you dare to try it? I'm willing to risk my life to try it. Do you dare to try it with me?"

Aizen fell silent.

The pressure eased with Aizen's silence, and everyone turned their attention to Aizen and Nahida.

Everyone heard their conversation: Dendro Archon threatened Aizen with his own life, willing to sacrifice himself to save Dendro Archon Sumeru people.

"So, what's your choice?"

Nahida spoke, staring intently at Aizen, awaiting his reply.

"Alright, little Dendro Archon, you've successfully threatened me."

Aizen released Nahida's neck, allowing Nahida to fall back onto the remaining half of the Wood Person.

"Although you are weak, you are very good. You have successfully used your wisdom to stop me."

"It is my honor to be able to stop a strong person like you."

After stopping Aizen, Nahida didn't make any harsh remarks; instead, she was very polite.

"Then, God of Wisdom who has returned to Sumeru, I hope you can protect your country well. I look forward to your future performance."

Aizen withdrew his right hand, and the red light of Sumeru City disappeared again. Aizen slowly left the Wood Person and began to rise into the sky. Behind him, a dark spatial gate suddenly opened.

"Aizen!"

As Aizen was about to leave, Nahida suddenly spoke again.

"As a god, why would you conduct such experiments that sacrifice humanity!"

Nahida's question drew the attention of the few people who had been freed from Sumeru City, especially the Doctor, who immediately focused his gaze on Aizen, awaiting his answer.

"For a higher realm!"

Aizen answered loudly, while raising his hand to take off the black-rimmed glasses on his face.

"No one stands in the heavens from the beginning, neither you nor I, not even the Heavenly Principles. But the unbearable vacancy of the throne of heaven is about to end, for from this day forward, I will stand above the heavens!"

With a gentle squeeze, the glasses were crushed, then the hair was swept back and turned into a slicked-back style.

"What? You mean you want to!"

Nahida Aizen utter shock, but Aizen no longer answered her; he had already entered the dark portal.

"Farewell, humans of Sumeru, and you, little god of wisdom. As far as gods are concerned, you are truly interesting."

After saying these words, the dark spatial door closed completely, and Aizen disappeared from the sky above Sumeru.

His disappearance caused an uproar throughout the entire Sumeru City.

Most people didn't know what Aizen's words meant. They were all cheering. The Dendro Archon had saved them again. They wouldn't die. The Dendro Archon was indeed the God of Wisdom of Sumeru. Although he couldn't match his opponent in battle, he used his wisdom to defeat him. However, this method was a bit exhausting for the Dendro Archon. If the opponent really wanted to make a move, then Sumeru would have to consume another Dendro Archon.

But at least the ending was good; they didn't die and survived under the protection of the Dendro Archon.

Among the cheering crowd, some people behaved in a completely different way from those around them.

The Doctor was overjoyed after watching Aizen leave.

"I never imagined that your goal would be to replace the Heavenly Principles. What a grand ambition indeed."

Paimon and Ying's faces were filled with confusion.

"Traveler, Paimon, what's wrong? Why do you both look so worried? We barely survived!"

Dehya helped Dianazade up, and while happy, she asked the two of them curiously.

"Um... it's nothing, it just feels a little strange."