"One for one. Fair trade, isn't it?"
"In other words, agreeing to the request of the Dendro Archon's followers is my greatest concession. Is that not enough?"
[Paimon: The desert people are so infuriating.]
[Cyno: It's clearly the Akademiya's fault, yet they blame everything on the Dendro Archon.]
[Dehya: The Akademiya is definitely complicit in this.]
[Paimon: Looking at it this way, the Akademiya is pretty impressive—they've managed to fool everyone.]
[Dottore: The Akademiya is just a bunch of fools. The only reason they can deceive anyone is that the masses are even more foolish than they are.]
[Paimon: That actually sounds about right.]
[Lumine: After dealing with the Akademiya, we deal with Dottore. No need to overthink it—just fight.]
[Nahida: Dottore possesses power on a demonic level. Vision wielders can't stand against him.]
[Paimon: But we have plenty of deities on our side too. Ei and Zhongli will both help.]
[Ei: I'm too busy with Inazuma's affairs today. I can't get away.]
[Zhongli: I have nothing much to do. Traveling abroad sounds nice.]
[Ei: I envy you, Rex Lapis, so carefree and at ease.]
[Zhongli: Yes, I suppose this is what humans call retirement.]
"Don't move." Dehya charged forward with her greatsword and swung it straight at Rahman's neck.
Rahman barely managed to block two strikes before Dehya pinned him to the ground with her foot.
She raised her greatsword high and stopped it at Rahman's throat.
Now both sides had a hostage, and a stalemate ensued.
Suddenly, a vortex of quicksand appeared on the ground, threatening to swallow everyone.
At the critical moment, a green light burst from the Village Guardian, protecting everyone present.
Lumine asked, "Is everyone alright?"
The others climbed out of the sand one by one.
Dehya sighed. "What a disastrous day!"
Cyno looked at the Village Guardian and said, "The dune just collapsed. I saw a barrier—that Village Guardian protected us."
"It was green Dendro energy. Based on what you said, it's likely the Lesser Lord Kusanali's power still lingering within that scholar."
Lumine said, "That's right. Now do you believe what I told you?"
Cyno muttered, "The current Dendro Archon...?"
After a quick survey of the area, they noticed an ancient temple.
Alhaitham observed briefly and said, "The symbols on the door all belong to King Deshret's civilization. This building must be very old and was completely buried by sand until now."
"This might have been an underground palace in ancient times."
[Paimon: The legendary King Deshret is finally about to appear?]
[Lumine: We've heard so many legends about King Deshret by now.]
[Paimon: I'm really curious now—what did King Deshret actually look like?]
[Nahida: You won't find King Deshret inside. He was severely contaminated by forbidden knowledge and completely erased.]
[Dehya: I'm also curious about King Deshret's ruins. After all, I'm a child of the desert.]
Rahman was extremely excited. "A miracle of King Deshret!"
"Our exalted king has guided us to this sacred temple!"
Paimon exclaimed, "He's not actually going to go in, is he?"
Alhaitham mused, "Coincidentally, I'd like to go in and take a look too."
Paimon looked at Alhaitham in confusion. "Why would you want to?"
Alhaitham spread his hands. "Don't you think it's interesting? The Lesser Lord Kusanali's power protected us from disaster, and then a building from King Deshret's civilization appears."
"Two deities showing off their power in succession—it would be a shame not to witness it."
Paimon crossed her arms. "Didn't you say you weren't interested in deities?"
Alhaitham nodded. "Correct. To me, deities are just another form of higher life—animals, even."