"Are you kidding me? We're supposed to stop this thing with our two small frames? Even with Ling Xuan's power boosting us, there's no way we can take this on!" Li Jiahao stared at the seemingly boundless skeletal monster and complained in exasperation.
"Exactly! Sure, we've been strengthened, but that doesn't mean we can fight this thing! Just looking at it, it's obviously on a completely different level!" Lin Qiye chimed in.
Neuvillette, hovering above the Court of Fontaine, had naturally seen the resurrected skeleton. He immediately went on high alert. If he were in his complete form, he wouldn't have much to fear.
But right now, he had to protect the people of Fontaine while also fighting off countless monsters and the terrifying skeleton, which had been transformed by the mutation!
The situation was perilous in the extreme.
Fontaine didn't have many powerful fighters, and Furina, its Hydro Archon, was merely Focalors' human personality. She didn't possess even a trace of divine power, so she couldn't help, of course.
And with the threat of the Primordial Sea Water looming, all of Fontaine was on the brink of disaster.
Of course, escaping would pose no problem at all for Neuvillette. As the Hydro Dragon Sovereign, he was practically invincible in the vast ocean, let alone when it came to getting away.
But it was clear he wouldn't flee. He had witnessed and judged countless cases, great and small, and seen the many sides of humanity. By now, his bond with humanity was something he could never sever.
He wouldn't leave. But faced with a situation that was practically hopeless, Neuvillette had no solution either.
Unless... he reclaimed the Authority of the Dragon Sovereign and became a Complete Dragon!
At that point, he would command all Hydro that existed on Teyvat, and resolving the crisis before him would be easy.
The problem was that, according to the Genshin Impact storyline, the Traveler had only just arrived in Liyue. Fontaine was still a long way off.
While Neuvillette considered how to respond, Lin Qiye and Li Jiahao, both intelligent men, discussed their abilities and came up with a plan.
Since they had been enhanced, their combat power was now astonishing, and their defenses were virtually impenetrable. But their limited abilities meant they couldn't deal widespread damage.
So Lin Qiye would go and hold the skeleton back for a while. Li Jiahao, meanwhile, would go all out. With his talent, the power within him, and the item he'd obtained earlier, he could truly reverse time and space—or, more precisely, reverse the time and space of a particular thing!
He could even make the effect permanent. The price, however, was that his energy would be completely drained, the item would break, and he wouldn't be able to use the full power of his talent for a while.
After all, the reward for completing this first-ever world mission was guaranteed to make the effort worthwhile. Otherwise, Li Jiahao wouldn't have been willing to do this.
What Li Jiahao had to do now was draw the Hydro Dragon Sovereign's Authority of the Dragon Sovereign—the Hydro Authority—from the future and manifest it in the present, so Neuvillette could resolve the crisis.
As a veteran Genshin Impact player, Li Jiahao knew very well that Neuvillette in his complete form could command all Hydro in the world of Genshin Impact. Taking care of a mere skeleton would be a piece of cake!
After that, he could leave the rest to He Lingxuan. With the time they bought, He Lingxuan should be strong enough to deal with the source of the disaster.
What Li Jiahao didn't know was that He Lingxuan had already unleashed a technique that covered all of Teyvat, and was about to reach Fontaine.
Since He Lingxuan hadn't said anything in the group chat, Li Jiahao had decided to do this for the sake of his mission contribution.
He thus activated his Power of Time and Space and went straight to Neuvillette's side. An antique pocket watch appeared in his hand as the power he wielded, along with the power He Lingxuan had given him, began to drain rapidly!
Neuvillette had only just noticed him when time stopped. That was right: to avoid interference, stopping time was the best option, and freezing a single person didn't take much energy.
The next moment, a power originating from the World Origin of Genshin Impact appeared from within spacetime and began slowly merging into Neuvillette's body.
Neuvillette became a Complete Dragon, and time resumed.
Seeing Li Jiahao suddenly appear before him—and realizing that he now possessed the Authority of the Dragon Sovereign—Neuvillette was deeply confused. But at last, he had confidence that he could resolve Fontaine's crisis.
Li Jiahao looked as if he were about to collapse from exhaustion and fall out of the sky. With a casual wave, Neuvillette used Hydro to gently lower him to the ground.
Then he turned his gaze toward the skeleton. A young man was frantically attacking it with a long blade. With another casual wave, Neuvillette teleported Lin Qiye, who had been holding the skeleton back, to his side.
Neuvillette's eyes narrowed. An unprecedented killing intent surfaced as Hydro across all of Fontaine—no, all of Teyvat—began to stir!
In the next instant, the mutated skeleton was shattered by the terrifying Hydro!
But what happened right after made even Neuvillette realize something was wrong.
The skeleton was constantly absorbing nearby monsters to replenish its flesh, and its strength was rapidly increasing!
Even Neuvillette's absolute command over Hydro had little effect on the mutated monster.
Without hesitation, Neuvillette began gathering Hydro to attack. But in the blink of an eye, the entire sky over Teyvat suddenly lit up!
Countless golden Ki Blades swept through the sky, then descended like rain, slaughtering countless monsters!
The skeleton, which had been absorbing monsters to replenish its flesh, was cut down by a single blade as well!
The golden Ki Blades continued spreading into the distance, across the nations of Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, Fontaine, Natlan, and Snezhnaya!
Above all seven nations, countless golden Ki Blades appeared and began slaughtering the monsters. Without exception, every monster touched by a golden Ki Blade was killed instantly, no matter how strong it was. None could mutate or recover.
The people threatened by the monsters looked up at the golden Ki Blades and believed they were witnessing a divine miracle.
As for the Archons and other powerful beings across the nations, they were all stunned by the blades' might. None of them could be sure they'd survive a single strike!
Most astonishing of all, the golden Ki Blades covered the entirety of Teyvat and seemed endless!
The one behind it all—He Lingxuan—was seated cross-legged high above Teyvat. He locked onto every monster with his psychic power, then precisely sent down blade after blade to destroy them!
At last, when the crisis across the Seven Nations seemed to have passed, He Lingxuan raised his head and looked beyond the world, murmuring,
"You've finally shown yourself? I was starting to wonder how long you'd keep hiding!"
(I wanted to ask: do you all prefer a fast pace or a slow one? If you want a fast pace, I'll move things along faster from here on. If you prefer a slower pace, I'll keep it like these recent chapters.)
Before you continue