As the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens drew closer, he could hear the yakshas' desperate cries:
"Lord Skybracer, hurry and save Xiao!"
"God attack!"
"The gods have appeared! Lord Skybracer, hurry and hold them off!"
"It was a trap!"
...
The anguished screams of the yakshas reached the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens's ears one after another.
After cresting another peak, he finally saw the fallen bodies of the yakshas, saw Xiao desperately dodging attacks.
And saw four gods of immense stature!
Like four small hills rising before his eyes.
Seeing four gods appear!
The Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens was deeply shocked!
Why hadn't he detected these four gods from the mountaintop? He had only sensed four divine familiars!
Had they been concealing their auras?
Seeing the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens arrive in shock!
The four gods no longer bothered hiding their auras!
They unleashed their full divine power from their bodies, causing the already injured Xiao to tremble and nearly collapse again.
"Hahahaha, just as planned. Only one adeptus remains here!"
"The feeling of no longer needing to suppress our power is truly wonderful!"
"You must be the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens! This day next year will be your death anniversary!"
"Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens, pay for my brother's life!"
"Kill this adeptus! Flatten Liyue!"
"The dream of unifying this land is utterly impossible!"
"Hahaha, how can a mere adeptus stand against us! Liyue is ours!"
"Partition Liyue!"
...
Clearly!
From the moment they launched the general offensive on Tianheng North Pass to lure the three adepti away, it had all been part of the gods' plan.
And now the plan had succeeded!
After revealing themselves, all four gods erupted with tremendous elemental power simultaneously.
One god instantly condensed massive amounts of Pyro energy, wrapping its body in scorching flames that radiated terrifying heat.
The second god gestured casually, summoning violent winds that sliced through the surrounding rocks like razor-sharp blades.
The third god was enveloped in crackling Electro energy!
The fourth god shook its body as countless Geo elemental forces condensed into layers of hardened armor, encasing its massive frame!
Not only that!
From the fourth Geo god, the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens sensed a faintly familiar aura.
Could this god be the brother of the one Ganyu had choked to death?
Had it come seeking revenge?
Although the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens was not the one who killed that god!
As a mighty adeptus, he had no need to explain himself to the gods. Any god that invaded Liyue deserved to die!
Facing four gods!
The Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens could clearly feel that their strength far exceeded the gods from yesterday.
Fighting four at once would be extremely difficult!
The pressure was immense!
But at this moment, across the entirety of Tianheng Pass, he was the only adeptus remaining!
Only he could defend this pass!
The Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens showed no fear whatsoever, unleashing all of his power to stand against the four gods!
"Come at me all at once!"
"Every god that invades Liyue shares the same fate, and that is death!"
Just at this moment!
After moving the other heavily injured yakshas to safety, Xiao also took his place beside the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens. "Brother Skybracer, let me help you!"
Although Xiao's power was limited!
In the entire Tianheng Pass, he was the only one who could assist the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens.
The Millelith soldiers simply could not help at this level.
The next moment!
The four massive gods let out chilling, sinister laughter, unleashing their divine elemental power as they charged toward the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens and Xiao!
Enormous fists came crashing down!
A colossal god's tail swept across the battlefield!
Countless wind blades raged mercilessly through the surrounding area.
Along with searing flames and crackling lightning!
The instant the battle began, everything within a radius of several hundred meters was engulfed by the various divine forces.
Like a living hell, attempting to slay the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens in a single blow!
But!
For the battle-hardened Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens, these fierce killing strikes could never slay him.
They could barely even wound him!
The next moment!
The Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens grabbed Xiao by his clothes and forcefully yanked him out of the way, dodging the gods' lethal attacks.
Looking at the already injured Xiao!
The Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens said seriously, "Go to Tianheng North Pass. Tell Moon Carver what happened here and have him return immediately!"
Although he feared no four gods!
The Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens understood that against four of the most powerful gods, his chances of victory were slim.
If he lost!
All of Liyue would fall, and every citizen would suffer.
He was confident, yes!
But he would absolutely not gamble the fate of all Liyue on a slim chance!
Although Xiao was unwilling and did not want to leave the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens alone, he could not argue with the logic.
Gripping the Primordial Jade Winged-Spear tightly, he sprinted toward Tianheng Pass!
After Xiao left!
A faint smile appeared on the corner of the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens's mouth. "Good, the kid is gone. Now I can cut loose and fight with everything I have!"
The next moment!
Without waiting for the gods to attack!
The Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens lowered his head, aiming his hardest antlers forward, and charged straight at the scale-armored god.
The god roared loudly, "Seeking death!"
Its enormous body charged toward the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens.
In a single instant!
One adeptus and one god collided head-on.
Boom! Boom!
The massive elemental explosion made the very earth tremble.
Even the mountain peaks swayed as if they were about to collapse at any moment.
With a thunderous boom!
The force of the explosion sent both of them flying hundreds of meters apart.
The god's abdomen had been punched clean through, yet it still laughed arrogantly. "Hahahaha, I have finally avenged my brother!"
"The Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens is finally dead!"
But it had barely laughed a few times!
When a massive pile of rubble in the distance shattered apart.
The figure of the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens instantly rose from the debris.
And he said in a mocking tone, "Your foolish god brother was not killed by me... he choked to death!"
The god's laughter came to an abrupt halt.
What followed was an even greater fury. "Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens, you court death!"
It then roared at the other three gods, "What are you standing around for? Kill this damn adeptus and flatten Liyue!"
Immediately!
The furious roars of the gods echoed across the entire battlefield.
To prevent the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens from escaping!
The four gods surrounded him in the center, unleashing their full power, determined to slaughter him.
...
At the same time!
Back at Tianheng Pass!
Seeing the battered and bloodied Xiao return, the Millelith soldiers hurriedly asked, "Yaksha Xiao, what exactly happened? Why did the Tianheng Mountains just shake? Was it a god invasion?"
Xiao panted heavily. "God invasion... four of the most powerful gods are surrounding and attacking Brother Skybracer!"
According to the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens's orders, Xiao was supposed to go seek reinforcements!
But Xiao wanted to stay behind and help the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens fight.
So!
Xiao turned to little Ganyu. "Hurry to Tianheng North Pass and notify the other three adepti!"
If no adepti came back to help!
The Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens alone would never be able to keep four gods outside the pass.
Little Ganyu blinked. "The Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens wants me to go seek reinforcements?"
Xiao: "Go, now!"
Although Ganyu had not yet reached adulthood.
With her chubby round body and her tumbling skills, she could travel through the rugged mountains at incredible speed.
Sending Ganyu to seek reinforcements while Xiao stayed behind to assist the Adeptus Who Guides the Heavens in battle.
Was the best possible choice!