"Lin Mo, Lin Mo~"
"You'll definitely help me, won't you~!" Guizhong shook Lin Mo's arm.
It gave Lin Mo a splitting headache for a moment.
"She's made it clear she has no interest in you—how am I supposed to help with that~?"
Lin Mo said helplessly.
"I don't care~!"
Guizhong clung to him like a koala: "You're his top strategist; you must have a way!"
Lin Mo was helpless.
Utterly helpless.
If it were just some ordinary person, Lin Mo might have had the confidence to give it a shot.
But who was she?
The Dust God, the most ancient rock in the world, who had awakened sentience and ascended to godhood.
She might have a human form, but that didn't mean she possessed the full spectrum of human emotions.
At the very least, Lin Mo had never seen the Geo Archon smile.
"The Dust God, born from dust, still has feelings..."
"Maybe... the Archon does too?" Lin Mo decided to give it a try.
After all, Baimai's meddling wouldn't derail his own grand design.
Because the mission for this lifetime was named:
[Assist Morax in securing victory in the Archon War, and after the war's end, implement the Mora-based trade policy to establish Liyue's monetary dominance.]
So, getting the battle-shy Dust God to change for the Archon's sake...
It might even accelerate his task's progress.
With that thought, he acted. "Seven-two-zero."
Lin Mo gazed into Guizhong's pleading, watery eyes.
He said solemnly, "I can help, but... I can't guarantee it'll work."
"Yay!" With those words from you, that's enough!"
"Come on, come on!" Let's kick off Operation: Capture the Archon's Heart right now~!"
In Lin Mo's eyes, Operation: Capture the Archon's Heart was simple.
It meant molding Guizhong into a strategic talent just like himself.
And compared to Lin Mo, this strategic talent had one massive advantage.
She was a true god, wielding the might of a demon god.
In times when their forces fell short in battle, even if she wasn't a natural fighter, her combat prowess would outstrip the adepti by a wide margin.
With strategy.
With power.
She'd surely earn the Archon's attention in no time, right?
But at the start, Lin Mo needed to give her a chance to prove her worth.
Otherwise, what good was strategy?
How could she naturally draw close to the Archon's side?
So, Lin Mo came up with a plan.
He recreated the Ruin Guard from the game's Genshin Impact storyline.
He brought it to life on this ancient Teyvat continent.
At first, the prototype Ruin Guard, fueled by divine power, was quickly assembled.
Lin Mo still remembered.
When Guizhong, beaming with anticipation, brought the Archon to try it out.
The Archon's expression barely shifted. He merely said flatly:
"Hm, it's a fine mechanical weapon indeed. Infuse it with divine power, and it's ready to go." "But... it only lets someone unskilled in battle, like you, unleash greater might than before." "To me, it's little more than a toy."
The ironclad straight man Zhongli didn't take the Ruin Guard seriously at all.
Lin Mo still remembered Guizhong's crestfallen face back then.
"Lin Mo~ I'm so unhappy~!"
"The Archon didn't take our invention seriously at all~"
Seeing her all pouty and aggrieved, Lin Mo could only smile wryly and comfort her: "Actually, we've already succeeded big time. Didn't you notice? The Archon already sees you as part of his battle strength."
At Lin Mo's words, Guizhong stopped her sniffling right away.
Yeah~
The Archon was appraising her by the standards of a battlefield asset.
She'd made the cut!
At least in the Archon War, the adepti would invite her to join the fray on the Archon's orders.
But one day, Lin Mo noticed something off.
"Guizhong, you look so drained. What's wrong?" Lin Mo asked with concern.
"Huh? Haha, it's nothing, nothing~"
Guizhong waved it off carelessly: "I just burned through too much divine power in the fights!" "Whoa, you should've seen it! Those demon gods were howling as our Ruin Guard blasted them~!"
"Hehe, even the Archon was impressed with me now~"
Guizhong brushed off the issue of her divine power depletion entirely.
But Lin Mo saw it clear as day.
"No, we have to do something about this."
"Otherwise, she'll wear herself out chasing the Archon before she even catches him!" Lin Mo pondered ways to upgrade the Ruin Guard.
After all, from his memories of the Genshin Impact game, the Ruin Guard wasn't just for gods.
Even when piloted by an adeptus, it could wound the Vortex Demon God, Orobashi.
Though Guizhong's affections weren't for him, Lin Mo.
Though he was helping her only to speed up his mission.
But as her dear friend, Lin Mo didn't want her keep overtaxing her divine essence.
...
In the days of researching the next-gen Ruin Guard, Guizhong continued piloting the prototype, charging through battles north and south, racking up merits for the Archon.
But one day, she came running to Guili Plains in tears.
"Wahhh~ Lin Mo!"
"The Archon won't let me fight anymore~!!"
"Hm? Why's that?" Lin Mo asked, puzzled.
"He said piloting the Ruin Guard is wearing down my divine core too much, so he won't let me battle anymore~!" Guizhong's voice dripped with resentment.
Clearly, she'd grown accustomed to her role as a divine warrior.
But the issue Lin Mo had spotted early on—how could Morax have missed it?
"There, there. The Archon's just looking out for you."
Lin Mo could only smile wryly and soothe her: "Think about it." "If he didn't care, if he didn't ache for you," "why would he even notice your divine power wearing thin?"
"He doesn't want to claim the land only for the sky to come crashing down right after."
...
"Really? Is that really it?"
Guizhong's mood lifted once more, thanks to Lin Mo.
But in the next breath, she fretted again: "Then what do we do~? Quick, help me think—how else can we aid the Archon?"
"Hm... let's see."
Lin Mo had been about to suggest upgrading the Ruin Guard.
But he figured this girl wouldn't have the patience for that.
After tasting the thrill of charging into battle alongside her beloved, how could she sit still for research?
"How about I whip you up a mount to ride? Sound fun?" Lin Mo suggested on a whim.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Guizhong looked baffled.
"This land is home to all sorts of elemental beasts with power rivaling the gods." "If we could win their trust, make them battle companions." "You'd storm the field with a mighty ally at your side—how could the Archon keep you sidelined then?" Lin Mo's idea sparked a gleam of excitement in Guizhong's eyes.
The next day, Lin Mo led Guizhong to the southwestern reaches of Liyue's earth.
In the future, this place would come to be known as the Chasm.
"Roar!!!"
The earth dragon's bellow... even shook the ground like a quake.
From the sky, the land below looked like a boiling sea, churning wildly.
"So... so scary~"
Guizhong was visibly on edge: "Isn't this the earth dragon's domain!?" "I remember how the adepti described it..." "Sure, its body's just rock." "But when it thrashes, it can send mountains tumbling." As Guizhong spoke, a flicker of panic crossed her eyes.
Because in the adepti' tales, this earth dragon was kin to the Archon.
Both born from the world's mightiest geo essence, awakened to sentience.
In other words, it shared the Archon's roots.
Its future strength would be at least on par with the Archon's baseline.
As for its ceiling...
No one dared dream of it.
"Yeah, that's the one. Its power's just a hair short of the Archon's."
Lin Mo grinned: "Tame it, and what battlefield would dare bar you?" "C-Could that even work?" Guizhong asked uncertainly.
"Why not?"
Lin Mo said matter-of-factly: "Right now, it's like a babe in swaddling clothes, nestled in the earth's embrace—this is the perfect time to earn its trust."
"Then... I'll give it a shot!"
A spark of resolve lit Guizhong's eyes.
From that day on, beyond plotting strategies for the Archon, the two would head to Nantianmen each day, descending into the earth to chat with the dragon's nascent mind.
The earth dragon had no name yet.
But in time to come, it would bear a title that struck fear even into gods: the Yatodra Dragon King.
Under their care, the Yatodra Dragon King's awareness blossomed.
"Father...."
"Mother.."
Hearing the call rise from the depths, Lin Mo and Guizhong exchanged a joyful glance.
They'd done it!
They had become the Yatodra Dragon King's most trusted guardians.
When Zhongli learned the news, he was stunned.
He rushed to Nantianmen at once.
Guided by Lin Mo and Guizhong, in the pitch-black underground, the still-formless Yatodra Dragon King—little more than a bizarre hunk of stone—opened its eyes for the first time.
At the same moment, the Archon forged a pact with it, drawing it to the surface.
As its "mother," Guizhong naturally returned to the fray as a god of war, all thanks to the Yatodra Dragon King's birth.
That same year, Lin Mo unveiled the next-gen Ruin Guard.
Liyue's adepti could now unleash geo might rivaling the gods.
Lin Mo fell silent there, saying no more.
Because he felt...
Guizhong's later years...
Were truly heartbreaking.
She'd stood by the Archon through the Archon War's tempests.
But...
The war had drained too much of her divine essence, wearing her form to ruin.
"And then?" Zhongli prompted, seeing Lin Mo halt his tale.
In truth, Lin Mo's recounting covered events Zhongli had lived through.
What he truly yearned to know was...
What else had unfolded between Guizhong and Lin Mo back then?
Especially in Guizhong's final days.
Had she left any words behind?
"And then..." Lin Mo's gaze dropped low.
He turned his eyes slowly aside.
Gazing at the bustling crowds passing below the teahouse, feeling Liyue's lanterns flicker into the night.
"Lord Morax, all these years... have you ever felt..."
"That you're worthy of the world, but solely sorry—to Guizhong."
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T/N:
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