Chapter 38: Gods Love People
"So, it seems we have to go down one more time. Why not let little Paimon fly down? After all, as long as the crystal components are placed on the mechanism, it should be fine."
With a mischievous look, Wang Daoyi glanced at Paimon. "Paimon should be able to do it, right?"
Paimon's face was filled with terror as he quickly hid behind Lumine. "No, no, Paimon can't do it! There are monsters everywhere down there, Paimon will be eaten by them!"
The group burst into laughter.
After teasing little Paimon, everyone shook off their exhaustion from the journey and prepared to head to the scattered light mechanisms.
---
A single Rock Spear took down a Hillachurl Shaman, retrieving a light component from the tribe's belongings.
"Lumine, Venti, I've completed my side. How about you?"
On the other side, Venti also waved the part in his hand. "I'm a bard, why should I be doing this fighting stuff?"
Lumine emerged from a nearby Hillachurl house, holding a light component in her hand, waving to Wang Daoyi effortlessly.
Clearly, the Hillachurls couldn't trouble them.
After descending from the tower, they split up, each group of three dealing with the light mechanisms on either side before converging at the central mechanism.
"Well, it seems to be quite fast to do!"
The three placed the light components back into the central blue device.
A beam of light shot up into the sky, and simultaneously, in the tower not far away, the barrier representing the layers of seals dissipated.
Looking at the towering structure, Wang Daoyi couldn't help but sigh.
"So, this is the dwelling of the Sovereign of the Tower, truly an astonishing architecture!"
Venti also gazed at the tower, seemingly reminiscing about something, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.
"The Archon of the Gale, the Lord of the Tower, was indeed a formidable opponent!"
Shaking his head, Venti returned to his cheerful demeanor.
"Well, before the establishment of the current Mondstadt, the people of old Mondstadt resided here, under the rule of the Sovereign of the Tower."
Recalling events from a thousand years ago, Venti seemed to transform into the minstrel once more, beginning to tell stories to Wang Daoyi and Lumine.
"At that time, people were not satisfied with the rule of the Sovereign of the Tower and called him a tyrant. They launched a rebellion against him, and the Sovereign was angered by the defiance of the common folk."
"On this land, countless warriors slept from the resistance wars of the past. But in the end, they emerged victorious. They traded blood and struggle for freedom."
"Thus, the new Mondstadt was established, the old tower was forgotten, and everything began anew!"
Wang Daoyi's lips curled into a smile, seemingly genuinely captivated by the story.
"So, Venti, was the Sovereign of the Tower truly a tyrant?"
Narrowing his eyes, Venti looked at Wang Daoyi, seeming somewhat threatening, but then quickly turned into a fleeting shadow, as if nothing had happened.
"Of course, everyone says he was a tyrant, don't they?"
With Venti the minstrel's response, a pleasant breeze also entered Wang Daoyi's ears.
"Guardian of the Geo Archont, are you trying to trace my past?"
Wang Daoyi realized that Venti had discerned his knowledge of his identity, but what surprised him was that Venti referred to him as the Guardian of the Geo Archon.
[Seems like treating Zhongli to dinner wasn't in vain!]
Though warned by Barbatos, Wang Daoyi continued to inquire: "I've heard that gods love people. So, why would the Archon of the Gale be called a tyrant by his subjects?"
Venti, or rather, Barbatos, replied: "Every sentient being has its own thoughts. Gods love people, but each Archon has a different way of showing love to their subjects."
"Like Morax, his way is to walk alongside his people, experiencing hardships together, building a nation together, and sharing prosperity together."
"Or like me, my way is to grant freedom to the people. I won't force them to do anything. The people of old Mondstadt fought for freedom, so I became the new Anemo Archon, so I gave them freedom."
"And Dvalin, he confined people within the tower surrounded by cyclones, protecting them from the wind, snow, and beasts. But he violated the will of the people, depriving them of their freedom!"
"Guardian of Mondstadt, gods love people, but people may not necessarily accept the love of gods. Do you understand?"
Barbatos's voice echoed in Wang Daoyi's ears, leaving him in deep contemplation.
On the other side, Lumine, unaware of the clandestine conversation between a man and a god, saw another burst of light erupting and knew that their group had also completed another light mechanism.
"Daoyi, Venti, it seems that Lumine's group has also completed their task. Let's converge at the final mechanism!"
With their previous experience, the group quickly solved the final light mechanism, then hurried back to the tower.
This time, without the barrier of the seal, they used Elemental Sight to look down. Sure enough, deep within the tower, a massive elemental creature emitted dazzling elemental radiance—it must be the Anemo Dragon.
Looking at the powerful elemental radiance emitted by the Anemo Dragon, Wang Daoyi took a deep breath. This was his first time facing an opponent of this caliber, and he couldn't help but feel nervous.
"What's wrong, scared?"
Perhaps feeling displeased about Wang Daoyi probing into his past, Venti teased Wang Daoyi, who was taking deep breaths.
"Not scared, just a bit nervous. After all, facing an opponent of this caliber is no small matter."
Wang Daoyi glanced irritably at Venti. Damn, it's all because of you; even your own followers didn't realize they were being corrupted.
"What about you? Why don't you try to persuade the Anemo Dragon with your rhetoric?"
The others also looked at Venti. Except for Xiangling, everyone present knew Venti's true identity.
Venti shrugged helplessly.
"Dvalin has been too deeply corrupted by the tainted blood and manipulated by the Abyss Mages. I'm not sure if he would listen to me anymore!"
In fact, if persuasion worked, Venti could have solved the problem when he first summoned Dvalin with the Skyward Sonnet. Unfortunately, their initial communication was interrupted by Lumine, and the second time, Dvalin was bewitched by the Abyss Mages.
By now, on their third encounter, Venti had lost hope in persuading Dvalin through rhetoric.
The group nodded, abandoning the idea of persuading the Wind Dragon through rhetoric.
"Then, let's first confirm our next objective in the battle."
"This time, we've come to deal with the Dragon's Wrath. So, at least we need to ensure that the Anemo Dragon loses its power to continue threatening Mondstadt!"
"To achieve this goal, the best way is for the Traveler to purify the corruption on the Anemo Dragon. That's correct, isn't it?"
Diluc's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Lumine, who was arranging her equipment.
"Lumine can purify the corruption of the tainted blood. We've tested this several times already!"
Diluc nodded.
"In that case, we'll attract the attention of the Anemo Dragon, and the Traveler will act accordingly to purify the tainted blood!"
Without devising any elaborate battle tactics, they couldn't be effective against an opponent like the Anemo Dragon. They could only set a clear goal and act accordingly.
(End of Chapter)