"Keqing!"
Artoria took the initiative to find her and drew her sword to guard her side.
"I can feel that the enemy this time is very strong, you must pay attention to your safety."
Seeing Artoria's serious expression at this moment, Keqing couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth.
"Um, Artoria..."
"You haven't wiped your mouth yet..."
After hearing Keqing's words, Artoria was stunned at first, then hurriedly wiped away the food residue from the corner of her mouth.
"Now is mealtime, the enemy attacked at this time, obviously they have seen through our weakness."
Hearing Artoria's words, Keqing didn't know what expression to make.
For a person like her who often skipped meals when busy, it was hard to empathize with a foodie.
Just as Keqing and Artoria were communicating, the dust around them grew thicker and thicker, and the visible distance had already shortened to dozens of meters.
Not only that, Keqing even felt a terrifying wave of power in the surrounding dust, then immediately ordered to spread a bright yellow barrier to protect everyone.
The soldiers gripped their weapons, warily guarding their surroundings. Yet, they could see no trace of the enemy, only their own nearby comrades. An inexplicable sense of dread crept into their hearts.
Fortunately, the elemental shield currently deployed gave them some sense of security. Moreover, since the expeditionary force consisted entirely of elites, this flicker of panic was quickly suppressed.
"Miss Keqing, do you know who our enemy is this time?"
Clorinde materialized beside Keqing in a flash of lightning, wielding Absolution as Electro energy surged wildly around her.
Keqing couldn't help but glance at Clorinde. For some reason, she felt that the other woman was very similar to herself.
"I believe the enemy we're facing this time is a god," Keqing said, her tone heavy. Only that one person could have used such a technique.
As luck would have it, Neuvillette, their only combatant with Archon-level strength, had already gone to investigate the battle in the distance. Although many of the remaining soldiers possessed means of attack that could reach the Archon-level, their overall strength was still insufficient. They were like a group of children wielding dangerous weapons; while they posed some threat, it was not much.
Their original plan was to provide cover for Neuvillette, as the enemy also had some weaker combatants that could be dealt with by them.
However, Neuvillette clearly could not have anticipated that a god would attack after his departure, so they had no choice but to hold the line as best they could.
Fortunately, they weren't completely without a chance. Thinking of this, Keqing couldn't help but look toward Xiao in the corner. He had already walked slowly to the front of the group, wielding the Primordial Jade Winged-Spear, as formidable Anemo Energy began to surge around him.
Xiao's strength was already infinitely close to the Archon-level. Furthermore, because the evil power that had plagued him last time had been almost completely purged, Xiao was now completely free of any burdens and could unleash his full power.
Besides that, they could also draw upon the power obtained by activating the Marks. The Marks had already been gathered before this, and as the presumed ceiling of Liyue's combat strength, Xiao had naturally received several.
In addition, Hu Tao, who specialized in soul attacks, Keqing, who could wield a portion of the Demon Sword's power, and the powerful Artoria and Ganyu had each received one Mark.
Keqing wasn't too sure about Clorinde's strength, as she hadn't personally seen her fight. However, she saw two Marks on the back of Clorinde's hand and figured her strength must be impressive.
Coupled with the Clockwork Meka, which seemed to be centuries or even millennia ahead of its time, and Liyue's ultimate weapon, the Jade Chamber, Keqing remained confident even though she knew they were about to face a god and many unknown forces.
"It's a good thing Rex Lapis didn't come along. Otherwise, he would have found it extremely difficult to make a choice in this situation," Keqing sighed inwardly. She then turned her gaze to the bright yellow barrier not far in front of her.
At this moment, the barrier looked as if it were being washed by rain. Ripples like those on a lake's surface continuously appeared on it, spreading out circle by circle.
In the areas not protected by the barrier, the vegetation on the ground was quickly torn to shreds and then further pulverized into dust.
Seeing this scene, the soldiers standing at the edge of the barrier all retreated a considerable distance in terror.
"Lady Keqing, the Jade Chamber's energy reserves are dropping sharply!"
Just then, a Millelith soldier hurried over and reported the bad news to Keqing.
"How much is left?"
"According to the display, about 83% of the energy remains."
Hearing this, Keqing frowned slightly and lamented inwardly. The ancient god was truly formidable to have drained so much of the Jade Chamber's energy so quickly.
But faced with such a situation, Keqing had no good solution.
Participating in a war on a god's level was proving to be quite a struggle.
Moreover, this was while the opponent was not even being serious. Otherwise, the Elemental Shield wouldn't have been able to hold up at all.
"Lady Keqing, we can dismantle a Clockwork Meka Squad here in Fontaine and use their energy cores to recharge the Jade Chamber."
"I'll leave that to you, Miss Clorinde."
Keqing nodded. Although she didn't think this would provide much energy for the Jade Chamber, something was better than nothing. They just needed to hold on as long as possible.
However, right after the Clockwork Meka's energy cores were connected, Keqing heard a burst of excited cheers from afar.
"We have it! The energy is back to full!"
"It's incredible! How can such a small thing contain so much energy?!"
Hearing the commotion, a look of surprise crossed Keqing's face.
The energy core installed on the Jade Chamber was a massive block, the size of a whole room, which was necessary to fully supply its daily consumption. Yet, the tiny energy core from the Clockwork Meka had instantly replenished the previously depleted energy, with some to spare.
Fontaine Technology was indeed far ahead of the rest of the world!
At this moment, Keqing felt more at ease. She immediately activated the Jade Chamber's detection system to search for the enemy's location.
However, the moment it started, the Jade Chamber emitted a piercing alarm. This was because the enemy was already very close.
Sure enough, the next moment, a massive indentation suddenly appeared on the top of the bright yellow barrier enveloping the Jade Chamber, as if it had suffered a tremendous impact. The barrier was even covered in a dense network of cracks.
Seeing this, Ganyu acted without hesitation, unleashing her Adeptal Energy to swiftly repair all the cracks. Meanwhile, Xiao seized the opportunity from this strike to pinpoint the enemy's location. His body transformed into a streak of teal light, leaving the protection of the barrier and plunging into the impenetrable dust and smoke.
The gale Xiao unleashed struck the smoke screen, yet it only managed to disperse it slightly. The dust then quickly coalesced again, and Xiao's figure was lost to sight once more.
"This won't do. We can't keep defending passively and let the Conqueror of Demons fight alone. We must take the initiative," Keqing said to the others, hearing the series of dull thuds echoing from within the thick smoke.
"Do you have a plan?" Clorinde asked, agreeing with Keqing's decision.
"Perhaps we could try to completely tear open the smoke screen with a powerful attack."
After speaking, Keqing took a deep breath. A conspicuous golden formation appeared beneath her, and her body gradually levitated into the air as the formation rose. Streaks of golden light flew to various parts of the Jade Chamber, activating the Guizhong Ballistae.
Clorinde pondered for a moment before ordering her men to aim at several locations and begin concentrated fire.
Moments later, when all the weapons fired simultaneously, the multicolored beams of light wove a dazzling pattern across the sky.
At first, the attacks sank into the smoke screen like stones into the sea, creating not the slightest ripple. But as the intensity of the assault rapidly escalated, even the methods of a god could not completely withstand such a powerful onslaught. Soon, the crowd saw the smoke screen gradually dissipate under the attrition of the multicolored attacks, and before long, they could see a bit further again.
Just at this moment, they faintly glimpsed Xiao fighting fiercely against several figures within the smoke. Moreover, the aura Xiao was emitting now was far more powerful than in the previous battle, clearly indicating that he had already activated the Mark.
"Cover the Conqueror of Demons!"
Seeing this, Keqing immediately issued the order. Then, countless Guizhong Ballistae aimed at the figures fighting Xiao and unleashed a terrifying torrent of energy.
The smoke and dust along the path were swept clean by the concentrated energy beams, which then precisely struck one of the burly figures. That figure was instantly blasted backward, and because he could not completely block the attacks, two of them even pierced straight through his body.
"Big Brother!"
Seeing this, Xiao's body instantly transformed into a streak of cyan light and flew rapidly toward the figure, his voice filled with urgency and worry.
However, just as Xiao was about to reach the figure's side, he was slapped back by the other party's four arms in four consecutive, powerful slaps. Blinding lightning erupted as the figure finally came to a halt after retreating a little further.
In a single breath, the injuries on his body healed at a visible rate, though the aura he emitted weakened slightly.
"Fight well, Alatus, let's see how much you've improved over all these years!"
"In the end, I hope you will be the one to personally stop us!"
After leaving these words, the figure raised his hand and grasped the air. Then, a purple palm composed of Electro Element appeared in front of Xiao, reaching out to seize him.
Xiao's expression changed. He forced himself to a halt and immediately dodged to the other side.
At this moment, a golden figure appeared at the position where Xiao was about to dodge. A phantom Dharma Body emerged from within, directly and forcefully knocking Xiao back.
"Alatus, so many years have passed, and you still prefer to go it alone."
"Although we have already left you, don't forget that you still have companions who can fight side by side with you."
Xiao swung the Primordial Jade Winged-Spear with all his might, directly shattering the giant golden Dharma Body, but he also suffered a brief pause due to this strike.
Seizing this opportunity, a blue figure appeared behind Xiao, and then countless streams of water appeared around Xiao, binding him firmly.
"Hehe, Alatus, your thoughts are still as easy to read as ever."
"Although you are much stronger than us now, defeating all four of us at the same time will not be that easy."
Finally, a fiery red figure appeared some distance away, taking a deep breath, his chest visibly swelling. In the next second, a stream of dark red flames erupted from his mouth, flying rapidly toward Xiao.
"Don't go soft, Alatus, we are your enemies now."
"If you lose, everything you and we want to protect will be completely destroyed, so you absolutely must not lose!"
"Move, Alatus!"
With a furious roar, Xiao finally unleashed his power completely. A mask woven from countless evil power appeared on his face, and at this moment, his mind's perception was clearer than ever before.
"Break!"
A massive amount of Anemo Energy was completely gathered by Xiao on the tip of his spear, and the terrifying energy fluctuations even caused the space to warp slightly.
Immediately after, power surged within Xiao's body, directly shattering the water streams that bound him. Finally, clutching the Primordial Jade Winged-Spear, he launched a terrifying thrust toward the dark red fireball hurtling toward him.
Incomparably terrifying Anemo Energy bloomed from the spear's tip, forming a cyan spiral storm. It was as if thousands of sharp blades were cutting simultaneously, and the fireball was instantly decomposed into countless specks of flaming light.
After neutralizing the attack, the remaining force frantically continued to assassinate the fiery red figure. The opponent was unable to evade in time and could only erupt with a massive amount of Pyro Elemental Power, forcing himself to take the hit head-on.
However, the gap in combat strength between the two was enormous. In such a rushed state, the opponent simply could not withstand Xiao's full-power strike. Just like the fireball before, he was dismembered and disassembled by the center of this storm.
Seeing the obvious expression of pain on the opponent's face, Xiao's mind went blank for a moment. His memories returned to the past, and he subconsciously controlled his power to divert the attack. The opponent also seized this opportunity to activate the Mark, using the surging power to barely escape from the center of the storm. Ultimately, this strike failed to completely erase him.
After that, a giant hand wrapped in terrifying lightning came grabbing down. Xiao had already been prepared to trade a light injury for the reduction of the opponent's numbers, so he was ready to take this blow head-on.
But just at that moment, over a hundred missiles struck that giant hand, blasting it to pieces after a brief interval.
Xiao was momentarily stunned at this sight, then truly felt the sensation of having teammates by his side, and once again threw himself into the battle.
Although they had failed to eliminate the opponent's numbers by one before, the opponent had basically lost its combat power, so Xiao's pressure this time was much lighter.
"These are all the former Guardian Yakshas."
Keqing recognized those figures and her face showed a hint of bitterness.
As expected, the thing she worried about the most had happened. When Persephone took them away before, she realized there might be such a day. Sure enough, the worst thing had happened now.
Fortunately, after a short hesitation, Xiao had now regained his composure, but Keqing knew deep down the pain and numbness Xiao was feeling at this moment.
To prevent Xiao's heart from being hurt even more, this battle had to be ended as quickly as possible.
Thinking of this, Keqing once again controlled the aiming direction of the Guizhong Ballista, then ordered the Millelith to quickly reload the energy of the Guizhong Ballista, while Clorinde directly ordered two squads of Clockwork Meka to join the front battlefield, without hesitation resorting to self-destruction to create more opportunities for Xiao to end the battle.
In fact, Fontaine's true trump card, the mecha, had not yet been deployed, because Clorinde had been vigilantly watching the entity that had raised this smokescreen.
Unknowingly, the dust that had previously subsided a bit now became dense again. Except for the area where Xiao was fighting the other Guardian Yakshas, where the continuous impacts prevented the dust from re-spreading in a short time, all other places returned to the previous state where even light could not penetrate its interior.
Suddenly, the Jade Chamber shook violently, and then most of the people on the Jade Chamber fell to the ground due to this sudden situation.
However, this was not the end, but the beginning.
Next, the Jade Chamber began to plummet rapidly, and many people let out a burst of startled cries.
But after falling dozens of meters, Ganyu, discovering that she could not stop the Jade Chamber's fall with her own strength, activated the Mark without hesitation. The suddenly surging power allowed her to successfully hold back the Jade Chamber with her Adeptal Energy, and then the Jade Chamber's falling speed became slower and slower until it came to a complete stop.
"Ganyu, are you okay?"
After Keqing snapped back to her senses, she saw that Ganyu seemed to be struggling and quickly asked with concern.
"I'm okay, I can still hold on," Ganyu said, gritting her teeth and speaking with some difficulty.
As Ganyu spoke, the Jade Chamber suddenly dropped several meters, until she concentrated her energy again to resist the force pulling the Jade Chamber down, only then did it stop once more.
"Keqing, I've found another enemy, watch your own safety."
After Artoria told Keqing, she also left the area protected by the barrier and plunged into the dense smokescreen.
However, not long after, a blinding golden light swept the dust and smoke in that area clean, and Artoria's figure reappeared before everyone, and of course, the enemy's figure was there too.
"Skybracer!"
Keqing immediately recognized the opponent and couldn't help but clench her fist.
Because Skybracer was interfered with by Artoria, the pressure he exerted on the Jade Chamber instantly dissipated. Ganyu immediately felt her body relax, and after taking a few breaths, she spoke to Keqing.
"Keqing, I'm going to help Artoria."
After Keqing nodded, Ganyu also left the Jade Chamber with Amos and joined the battle.
To prevent the Jade Chamber from falling again, Keqing immediately ordered the two Expeditionary Forces below to retreat some distance.
Just at this moment, over a dozen indentations suddenly appeared on the bright yellow barrier at the same time. The dull booms struck everyone's hearts like beating drums, making their spirits sink.
Just as the barrier was about to shatter, under everyone's terrified gaze, the bright yellow barrier suddenly burst with a dazzling glow. Then, ring after ring of shockwaves spread out from the barrier, each shockwave sweeping away the nearby dust and smoke, greatly reducing its density.
Just as everyone was wondering who had intervened, a familiar and majestic figure appeared before them.
"That's Rex Lapis!"
Everyone cried out in excitement.
Zhongli did not respond, but instead looked with extremely complex eyes at the gentle and elegant familiar figure before him.