"Old man, we're here—"
"And who is this?"
"He's Neuvillette, the Water Dragon Sovereign of Fontaine. Fontaine no longer has a Hydro Archon…"
With Venti, Ei, Neuvillette, and Mavuika joining the battlefield, the situation shifted instantly.
As Venti plucked the strings of her lyre, a roaring storm swept across the desert, burying tens of thousands of pitch-black monsters beneath raging winds and sand.
As Neuvillette called down surging waterfalls, vast swathes of Abyssal creatures were swallowed whole in an instant.
As Mavuika swung her greatsword, blazing flames erupted, incinerating all wickedness in their path.
As Ei drew her blade, lightning flashed across the heavens. With a single strike, even the sky and earth seemed to change color.
The gods moved as one.
The power they displayed stunned everyone from New Eridu.
Just as the rumors had said—
Sam Li was only one of Teyvat's Seven. The other gods were no less formidable, each possessing world-shaking, heaven-destroying might.
Seeing it with their own eyes, their strength was truly terrifying.
Especially Miyabi.
The moment Ei drew her blade, Miyabi felt the overwhelming aura radiating from her, along with the pervasive sword intent that filled the air.
She understood instantly.
The god before her was the creator of that strike.
Suddenly, the demon sword in Miyabi's hand seemed to resonate, trembling faintly, as if eager to join the battle.
In the next moment, she hesitated no longer.
One hand gripped the hilt, the other pressed against the fingerprint unlock.
The demon sword was drawn in an instant, slashing forward with the force of the unsheathing.
In that split second, an icy chill swept outward.
Bone-piercing frost surged from the blade's tip, spreading rapidly ahead.
Wherever the frozen blade passed, Abyssal monsters were instantly sealed in ice, a vast area frozen solid in the blink of an eye.
At that moment, even Ei sensed the disturbance and slowly turned her head to glance over.
When her gaze fell upon Miyabi, she spoke calmly.
"Not bad—"
As soon as the words left her lips, Ei transformed into a streak of violet lightning and plunged into the densest mass of Abyssal monsters. Lightning flashed again and again, and countless enemies vanished from existence.
After a brief pause, Miyabi followed her, charging straight into the Abyssal horde.
At the same time, not far away, Nicole, Billy, Anby, Nekomata, March 7th, Himeko, Hu Tao, Xilonen, Tighnari—along with the warriors of Sumeru City and fighters from other nations—all joined the battlefield.
Although many among them were powerful, compared to the Abyssal monsters surging like an endless tide, Teyvat's forces were still far too few.
Even so, despite their vastly inferior numbers, they managed to hold the Abyssal army within the desert—and even push it back.
Just like the pitch-black calamity five hundred years ago, this war was equally brutal.
Warriors were constantly wounded, constantly falling.
After a grueling day and night of relentless combat, even Nekomata, Nicole, Tighnari, March 7th, and the others had suffered injuries to varying degrees.
Just as the battle grew ever fiercer, reinforcements from New Eridu finally arrived—bringing with them advanced heavy weaponry.
Massive artillery.
Heavily armored vehicles.
Dense barrages of bullets.
The moment Billy spotted them, he immediately holstered his twin pistols—long since out of ammunition—and leapt onto one of the combat vehicles.
"You finally made it! All weapons free—charge with me!"
"Billy, you're injured—"
"It's fine. This big guy here is a firepower-focused, area-suppression, high-intelligence tactical unit!"
…
The reinforcements included not only humans from New Eridu, but also numerous Bangboo piloting combat vehicles, as well as intelligent construction machines developed by Belobog.
With the arrival of so many heavy weapons, Nicole, Billy, March 7th, Himeko, Nilou, and the others—who had been locked in bitter combat—finally gained a moment to catch their breath.
Following Sam Li, Venti, Mavuika, Ei, and Neuvillette, they steadily forced the Abyssal army back toward the Mausoleum of King Deshret, attempting to drive it off the Wish Star entirely.
But—
Just as they caught sight of the dawn of victory, a thunderous explosion suddenly erupted from the distant mausoleum.
Under an overwhelming force, the massive Mausoleum of King Deshret was violently torn apart.
Countless Antimatter Legion soldiers, radiating destructive auras, surged out from the ruptured structure and immediately joined the battlefield.
At the sight of this, Sam Li, Venti, Mavuika, Ei, and Neuvillette all frowned deeply.
They weren't afraid of the Antimatter Legion soldiers.
What troubled them was the far more terrifying presence they felt within the shattered mausoleum.
Sam Li recognized it instantly.
The aura of a Lord Ravager.
The moment the Antimatter Legion entered the battlefield, the destruction-bearing soldiers charged forward like ruthless killing machines. Abyssal monsters and warriors of Teyvat alike became targets of their slaughter.
Seeing this, feeling that horrifying destructive energy, even the Traveler, Paimon, Tighnari, Zhu Yuan, Caesar, and the others froze for a moment.
"It's the Antimatter Legion! Everyone, be careful—"
"Stay alert—there's still a bigger one that hasn't appeared yet!"
"Doomsday Beasts! More Doomsday Beasts are emerging from underground! All firepower—suppress them!"
In an instant, dense barrages of fire engulfed the pitch-black monsters, Doomsday Beasts, and Antimatter Legion forces ahead.
But the moment the artillery fell silent, even more Antimatter Legion soldiers, Doomsday Beasts, and Abyssal monsters surged forward.
Sam Li, Venti, Ei, Mavuika, and Neuvillette struck together, barely managing to hold the line.
Yet before anyone could relax—
the ground suddenly began to tremble.
From the direction of the Mausoleum of King Deshret, a series of earth-shaking explosions erupted. With a deafening roar, half of the mausoleum was blown apart.
Immediately afterward, a colossal, pitch-black presence slowly emerged from a dark rift beneath the mausoleum.
It was not humanoid, but an enormous, monstrous beast.
However, the moment it stepped out of the darkness, it transformed into a humanoid figure wreathed in crimson light, radiating an aura of pure terror.
Even from a great distance, that dreadful presence pierced straight into the soul.