Genshin Impact world.
The blonde girl and her emergency food were advancing along the mountain path.
"Traveler, what do you think our journey in Natlan will be like next?"
Paimon floated in the air, her small hands propping up her chin as she pondered: "Natlan is the nation of war; surely the people there all love fighting and will want to pick a fight with us as soon as they see us?"
"It should... not be that bad." Lumine's tone carried a hint of uncertainty.
Natlan's warriors weren't Fatui or Treasure Hoarders; they shouldn't just see her and say, "You've made the wrong choice," then start fighting her, right?
As Mondstadt's Honorary Knight, her image in Teyvat should be that of a good person. If Natlan's warriors were normal, they wouldn't treat her as an enemy.
"The Traveler isn't sure either." Paimon spread her small hands, "But based on our experiences in the previous countries, it's most likely we'll still have to fight the people of Natlan."
The Pioneers only get targeted by locals once in three pioneering journeys, but us Travelers have to fight it out with the locals every time we arrive in a new nation.
Now we've even come to Natlan, known as the nation of war; we might have to fight from the start of the version all the way to the end.
"If a fight breaks out then, you absolutely have to protect me, okay."
The floating Paimon clenched her small fists, looking over with a face full of worry.
"Wumoo?"
Before Lumine could respond, the little ridgeback Saurian following behind them tilted its head, its amber eyes filled with confusion.
"Oh right, and protect Mambo too." Seeing the little ridgeback Saurian's dazed appearance, Paimon smiled and added, "Having one more companion on the journey feels a bit unaccustomed to for the moment."
Not long ago, they had suddenly entered a strange place and picked up this little ridgeback Saurian.
Since the little dragon looked like it couldn't fend for itself, they simply decided to keep it with them for the journey.
For convenience in addressing it, they even gave the little dragon a name: Mambo.
This name was chosen by Lumine, but Paimon like calling the little dragon Mambo.
"It's like you've never had me protect you before."
At Paimon's statement, the blonde girl crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes as she looked over with a look of disdain.
"Hehe, I'm just the guide; I don't have power as strong as yours."
Paimon scratched her head, laughing embarrassedly.
"Then, dear guide, how much longer until we reach the place where the Natlan people live?" Lumine asked.
"It's almost there." Paimon pointed ahead, "We just need to cross that bridge, and we'll arrive at the Children of Echoes' place."
The journey from Fontaine to Natlan was far from short; if compared to a novel, it would be like saying they set off in the first chapter, still traveling in the tenth chapter, and only finally arriving at the destination in the thirtieth chapter, leaving the readers impatient from waiting.
"I've heard Natlan has six major tribes, each with their own specialties. As for what the Children of Echoes specialize in..." Paimon furrowed her brows, trying hard to recall, but she couldn't remember the specifics no matter what.
Judging from the literal meaning, "Echo" probably means bringing sound back.
So, does that mean the Children of Echoes specialize in imitating others' speech, acting as a parrot?
"Dear guide, you didn't forget your lines, did you?" Seeing the white-haired girl clutching her hair, Lumine couldn't help but tease.
As soon as Paimon started thinking, she wanted to laugh.
"Don't laugh at me!" Sensing that the Traveler was looking down on her intelligence, Paimon angrily stomped her feet.
Amid the banter, they crossed the bridge and entered the Children of Echoes' tribe.
As soon as they entered the tribe, they felt the overflowing enthusiasm.
[There's an Pyroculus, I'm picking it up!]
[Sorry, Yueyue Mom, I swear that during my travels in Natlan, I absolutely won't open chests or pick up Pyroculi; I'll only follow along like a dragon after you release your video, but this Pyroculus is just too close.]
When the Traveler and the others arrived in Natlan, players far away in another world were also exploring this world through the Traveler's eyes.
"There seems to be some sound over there."
Paimon looked toward the source of the sound and saw a huge stage in the distance, where many people were performing dances.
"It looks like the people of the Children of Echoes specialize in dancing?" Paimon guessed.
"Dancing shouldn't have anything to do with war." Lumine quipped.
After all, they were one of the six major tribes of the nation of war; their specialty should be related to combat.
[Who says dancing has nothing to do with fighting? (͡°͜ʖ͡°)]
[I still remember that rainy daytime...]
[Stop it, you guys don't fight anymore! (╯°□°）╯︵┻━┻]
Hearing the conversation between the Traveler and little Paimon, the players all recalled that famous scene of the two guys battling with dance.
"Huh, it seems even more lively over there?"
Paimon noticed more people gathered elsewhere, as if watching a performance: "Traveler, let's go join in on the fun too."
Lumine nodded.
She had glanced at the dance the Children of Echoes people were doing earlier and felt it wasn't as good-looking as her own.
So they arrived at the place where the crowd was gathered, using brute force to push through the surrounding people to the front, where they saw several Natlan people surrounding a tall tower device.
The tall tower continuously spat fireballs at the nearby Natlan people, who performed various fluid movements to dodge, trying to evade the fireballs' attacks.
"Are they training?" Lumine saw at a glance that the fireballs spat out by the tall tower had no lethality; even if hit, there wouldn't be any impact.
Even if it hit little Paimon, it would only make little Paimon go "whimper whimper," without causing much harm.
As expected of the nation of war; they even made a machine specifically for training evasion abilities.
"Wow, those people are so amazing." Paimon didn't know what the Traveler was thinking; her attention was focused on the Natlan people dodging the fireballs.
Those people were undoubtedly well-trained warriors, facing the incoming fireballs without panic or fear, calmly making judgments to dodge the flying fireballs.
However, the speed at which the tall tower spat out fireballs was gradually increasing.
As time passed, the Natlan warriors gradually felt overwhelmed, and in the end, everyone was hit by the fireballs.
"The Aykun team held out for 2 minutes and 30 seconds before total annihilation, refreshing their own record."
"Next, please welcome the Kachina team for training."
A middle-aged man wearing sunglasses stepped out from the crowd and called out, looking like he had some status among the Children of Echoes.
However, that Kachina team did not appear.
"Pacal, actually..."
Someone came to the middle-aged man's side and whispered for a bit; the middle-aged man nodded, then said to the surrounding people: "Kachina and the others have something temporary come up; they'll be able to come over for training later."
"Next..." Pacal looked around, then noticed the blonde girl in the crowd—namely, Lumine—"This traveler from a foreign land, are you interested in experiencing our Natlan's latest training project?"
"Don't worry about getting hurt; the fireballs spat out by the defensive tower have very low power—even if it hurts, it's only for an instant." Pacal said.
"Sure." Lumine also wanted to try the power of the fireballs, so she stepped forward to the front of the defensive tower.
At the same time.
The players got excited.
[I see!]
[Barrage!]