For the time being, no one had much desire to continue exploring the Twilight Forest.
Everyone already had a staff—whether apprentice-grade or advanced-grade.
Only the master-grade one was still unique: the Thunder Staff in Ryen's hands.
But for the group, that was more than enough.
The exploration of the Twilight Forest had come to a pause.
After staying so long in that perpetual night and dangerous environment, the mental strain was inevitable.
It was time for a well-deserved break.
Albedo brought back a trove of materials and buried himself in his laboratory.
Naturally, his primary focus was the magical applications of Naga Scales.
But in the short term, results were unlikely.
Meanwhile, Zhongli and the others returned to their efforts of reviving the adepti.
During this period, five more had been restored, including the yaksha Yignda and Sea Gazer.
Most of the newly revived adepti were still familiarizing themselves with Ryen's world.
Sea Gazer, however, had already answered Liyue's call, squatting at Mt. Tianheng every day crafting Levitation Stones—
a proper "wage earner."
Thanks to Ningguang pouring in Mora like water, Ryen had also managed to acquire four inactive Visions.
Unfortunately, they remained completely unresponsive.
It left Ryen so frustrated he was tempted to climb up to Celestia and give a speech about his dreams—
a "I have a dream" declaration right on the floating isle of the gods.
If not for Zhongli and the others repeatedly stopping him,
who knew what day a rain of gods might start falling from the sky.
Zhongli was absolutely certain Ryen was capable of doing something as reckless as tossing people down from Celestia.
Meanwhile, the framework of the Millelith Dragonrider Legion was now complete:
one hundred elemental dragons and one hundred of other varieties.
No one bothered to test their power—because who would doubt the might of dragons?
Jean and Rosalyne couldn't help but envy such strength.
So far, it was still Liyue that had achieved the most breakthroughs and greatest accomplishments.
Jean had transferred in another five hundred people during this period.
But turning them into a seasoned fighting force would take a long time.
Most of them were still learning from the original five hundred Knights.
The one piece of good news: Mondstadt had also started converting resources into Mora.
Many projects that had stalled due to lack of funding were being revived under Jean's preparations.
As for Snezhnaya, the Cryo Archon seemed to be struggling to allocate enough non-Fatui manpower.
Word was that after much effort, they barely managed to scrape together seven hundred.
They were supposed to be sent over within the next few days.
But that was a matter Ningguang and the others were handling—Ryen didn't care to know the details.
These days, Ryen didn't visit the Twilight Forest, nor even the Minecraft world.
The only things on his agenda were taking care of the kids and spending leisure time with Ganyu and the others.
A rare stretch where he didn't have to think about complicated schemes.
Sitting on the rocking chair in the little courtyard,
Ryen had Paimon napping in his arms, while Klee and Nahida stacked blocks off in the distance.
Ganyu and the others lounged beside him, basking in the sun.
Ryen chuckled softly:
"This is what life's supposed to be…"
Compared to Ryen's leisure,
the scene at the Northland Bank was a completely different one.
The first floor still carried on with normal trading and storage.
But from the second floor upward…
Ice.
Cold frost covered every corner of the building.
The air was frozen and suffocating, divine power surging like a storm.
The Cryo Archon was furious.
Yet because Zhongli and Venti were not far away, the Tsaritsa didn't dare unleash her wrath too freely.
After all—this was Liyue's territory.
Above the second floor, there were no outsiders.
Only the Cryo Archon, Tartaglia, and Rosalyne.
As for Venti and Zhongli…
those two were just there to watch the show—so they didn't count!
The Tsaritsa's face was cold, her normally gentle demeanor replaced with rare fury.
Rosalyne stood beside her, watching Tartaglia with a hint of schadenfreude.
The latter kept his head lowered, looking every bit like a guilty child.
But from time to time, he would sneak a glance at Rosalyne, his eyes carrying a sharp and hostile edge.
In the end, it had been Rosalyne who tattled on him.
Tartaglia's heart was full of a thousand urges to string Rosalyne up and give her a proper beating.
But right now, the crucial matter was how to get through the Tsaritsa's judgment.
"Tartaglia, what did I tell you?"
The Cryo Archon's icy gaze bore down on him.
He pressed his lips together, muttering in a low voice:
"Don't be reckless… don't be arrogant… don't be careless…"
The Tsaritsa waved her hand.
A freezing gust slammed him hard against the wall.
Her voice was colder than permafrost.
"And this is the promise you gave me?"
Tartaglia coughed once.
Though it looked harsh, it was no more than a slap—embarrassing, yes, but not truly harmful.
Getting back on his feet, he spoke with some guilt:
"Forgive me, Your Majesty… this was my oversight…"
~~----------------------
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