Genshin Impact: The Beginning of the Wind

A hint of seriousness flashed in the eyes of the goddess, who seemed to have thought of something, but she quickly made up her mind.

There's no other way now, so let's just try anything!

Chapter Thirty-One: I've Got You!

Lightning is constantly fighting against and blocking the filth from advancing—even with the General and Shadow joining forces, this is the best they can do for now.

Having lost their initial advantage, they were enveloped by endless filth. The martial arts skills that Shadow and General were so proud of were now completely useless. Almost all the power in her body was forced to be used to resist the filth that was constantly trying to erode her.

Mana's plan was simple—to use the filth that had almost become one with the entire Inazuma to submerge Shadow and control everything about her, and then the power to govern the mortal world would naturally fall into his hands as well.

The plan was so simple it could even be described as rudimentary, but for Shadow at this moment, she couldn't think of even a single way to break the deadlock, because Mana had already surpassed her in terms of sheer power.

While they couldn't be said to have an overwhelming advantage, it wasn't difficult for Mana to maintain control over Shadow and the General after their successful sneak attack.

Not to mention that this filth is extremely difficult to deal with. Lightning, which is capable of destroying everything in the world equally, has very limited effect when faced with the filth that is as overwhelming as a tide. And no matter how superb one's martial arts skills are, they are equally useless in the face of this situation.

"Still unable to contact the outside world?"

The general, desperately summoning his power to resist the filth, coldly questioned his creator. Although he seemed to be at a complete disadvantage, the general, as a puppet, remained completely calm.

Using everything at his disposal to safeguard Inazuma's eternal existence is a principle etched into the General's very being, and no matter how dire the situation, it will never shake his resolve.

"There's still no way. The other party has completely isolated us from the outside world by using their body. Unless we can unleash a thoughtless strike, we have no way to cut open their body and contact the outside world."

"Right now we are not getting any effective supplies, nor are we able to put up a sufficient fight."

Ying was well aware of just how dangerous their situation was. Although it wouldn't be difficult for them to hold out for several hundred years under the current circumstances, such a pathetic delay and waiting to die was not in their nature. Moreover, Ying did not believe that her people could hold out longer than she could.

Mana is indeed putting all his power into suppressing her, but that doesn’t mean he can’t take action against Inazuma, especially since he inherited everything from those evil gods, which means he can also control those evil gods’ servants.

Shadow did not believe that his people could last long in the face of an endless stream of monsters.

However, the problem now is that they simply cannot find any way to break out of this terrible situation.

"Are we supposed to wait for Su Feng to help us get out of this predicament?"

As if she had fallen into a dead end, Ying suddenly thought of Su Feng for some reason. If Su Feng could come now, he could help her get out of her current predicament. However, Ying did not have much hope for this idea.

Since this newly born evil god still chose to use all his strength to trap her after fighting Su Feng, he must have been confident enough.

Having recalled how easily the black mist had blocked the lightning he had summoned, Ying didn't have high hopes that Su Feng could break through the opponent's defenses in a short time.

She didn't know what the black mist was, but since Mana regarded it as a backup plan to seal Inazuma, it was obviously not something simple. Breaking through the defenses that many evil gods regarded as backup plans was no easy task.

Perhaps she can still be rescued by Su Feng later, but if time is delayed even a little longer, then Inazuma will be finished—can a god who has lost all his people still be called a god?

but......

"Ok?"

Just when Shadow was almost in despair about the current situation, she suddenly felt the filth that had been suppressing her begin to writhe—Mana seemed to have been subjected to a very violent impact, so strong that it was impossible for her to perfectly suppress herself.

"Lightning!"

Although he didn't know what was happening outside, after sensing a loophole in the suppression of the filth, Shadow seized the opportunity almost instantly, squeezing out a bit of power from his body and summoning a swift bolt of lightning that rushed forward.

Then Ying saw that the lightning she released struck the filth hard, actually pushing the filth that had been tightly enveloping her back a short distance.

"!"

Upon seeing this, Ying was immediately invigorated. Although the filth quickly enveloped her again, she had previously used all her strength to only prevent the filth from getting close to her. Now, she was able to squeeze out a little strength to repel the filth, which was enough to change the situation that was almost hopeless!

Moreover, the situation outside Mana is probably not good right now, otherwise it would never have relaxed its suppression of Shadow, because if Shadow really broke free, it would mean that it had completely failed.

Since that's the case, then we must give it our all!

Upon seeing hope, Shadow immediately assisted the general in resisting the filth while continuously squeezing out every bit of power from his body to launch a relentless counterattack. Perhaps because they were being attacked from both inside and outside, the loosening caused by the filth gradually began to expand.

"Light?"

However, just as Ying was working diligently with the general, a sliver of light suddenly pierced through the thick filth. Upon sensing this ray of light, Ying was momentarily stunned—she seemed to sense a familiar aura emanating from it.

No, it's not just "seems," it's a familiar scent.

"Kusai-miya, Yuraku-sai, Miko, Yaozo, the siblings of the Kamisato family... no... there are more..."

"This is..."

After carefully sensing the aura emanating from the light, Ying instantly fell into a daze. She sensed so many familiar faces within the light. At that moment, she almost thought that time had quietly turned back a little, and everything she had lost had returned.

Unbeknownst to her, Ying had regained control of the general's body. Almost unconsciously, she reached out her hand toward the light, but quickly withdrew it in fear.

She is afraid.

I fear that what I am experiencing is nothing but a fleeting illusion, that this light is nothing but my own wishful thinking.

"Got you!"

However, at that moment, a pale white hand suddenly grabbed Ying's retracted hand. Startled, Ying looked up and saw Yae no Miko, whose beautiful face was covered with scarlet marks, yet she was smiling brightly.

"You actually want to back down at a time like this? This isn't the Shadow I know!"

"Now...come out here!"

The next moment, Yae no Miko, with an immense strength that seemed to come from nowhere, pulled the shadow out of the filth.

In an instant, the darkness vanished, and light shone down.

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Will of the People

If we rewind time a little, when the Divine Child realized that he and his companions had no way to affect the Cocoon of Filth in front of them, he knew that he had to use his last trump card. Although this trump card was originally intended to have the Traveler help awaken the Shadow, it should be considered as being used on the Shadow in this situation.

With this in mind, the divine child activated his magic—although he had lost the blessing of the divine cherry tree and the help of the earth's veins, wishes and faith were the most precious treasures of mortals, and these wishes were even enough to transcend time, space, and more.

As the long-prepared ceremony began, radiant lights symbolizing wishes gradually appeared around the goddess. Even Hana-san couldn't help but widen her eyes after sensing these lights, which symbolized the wishes and beliefs of every one of Inazuma's people.

But her surprise at this moment did not stem from the fact that the divine child could gather the wishes of the Inazuma people here, but from seeing that the divine child was actually trying to use his own body to contain all the wishes and beliefs of Inazuma!

This is something that even the vast majority of demon gods cannot do, something that even the rulers of the mortal world must carefully consider, but the divine child did just that!

This is dangerous!

The danger here is no joke. You should know that back in Mondstadt, the willpower of just one possessor of a Vision was enough to transform into a meteorite falling from the sky. The power contained within that meteorite was enough to make Venti take it seriously, and it later attracted the attention of the Fatui.

That was merely the power of a wish transformed from the possession of the Eye of God, but now the Divine Child is to bear the wishes of the entire Inazuma people—even if the wishes that can be absorbed in life are far less than those that are hung in the sky after death, these are the wishes of all the mortals of an entire nation!

With such a massive amount of wishes gathered together, even the gods would not dare to underestimate it, or rather, if this power could be properly utilized, even the gods would have to give way.

But is a mere ordinary divine child, a member of the divine retinue, powerful enough to accommodate so many desires?

"Well!"

Sure enough, just as Hana Sanri was still feeling worried, the Divine Child couldn't help but let out a cold snort. At the same time, her body began to tremble violently. Clearly, she had already lost control of this enormous and terrifying power at the very beginning.

But since the ceremony has already begun, there is no reason why it can be stopped at any time.

"You little fox, you're so stupid!"

Upon seeing the goddess's appearance, Hana Sanri, who had been praying that the goddess had found a way to bear such a huge number of wishes, suddenly became anxious.

The power of a wish is not something everyone can bear. Even Shadow wouldn't dare say he could withstand this sudden and immense wish without paying a price—the Traveler is naturally the only exception in this world.

The reason why the divine child, who knew certain secrets, chose Ying as the executor of her "awakening the shadow" plan is that Ying can truly bear these wishes without any cost!

But the Divine Child is clearly not an exception like the Traveler.

Even if she is a member of the Kage's family, even if she is the priest of Narukami Shrine, even if she is a great yokai, it's still no good!

She couldn't take it anymore after just getting started; if it continued, there was no other possibility for her but to be blown to bits and turn into a pool of blood.

"Haha, although I was tricked into taking on this palace duty by you with a plate of fried tofu, it is already an unimaginable favor that you and His Highness have taken a liking to a talentless little fox like me who doesn't even have the blood of Bai Chen."

"Even though it was once just a silly little fox used to warm hands and feet, it still knows how to be grateful."

"Now that things are this way, it is naturally time for me to do so."

The goddess's body was constantly disintegrating. The entire wish of Inazuma was beginning to crush her body. As a mere great demon, she could not possibly withstand this wish, which was as heavy as a mountain even for a god.

Even so, she remained quite stubborn—the divine child knew, of course, that she was powerless to bear this power, so she planned to just make a start—once she made a start, these desires would naturally impact the filthy cocoon under the influence of inertia.

This is the only solution she can think of right now.

"You guy..."

Upon seeing the current state of the divine child, Hana-sanri couldn't help but sigh.

Just like the Fox Prince five hundred years ago, who gave everything to protect Inatsume who lost Narukami, the world is like a cycle, and now it is the Divine Child five hundred years later who is giving everything for Inatsume and her god.

Fortunately, there is still a chance for things to turn around, or rather, even so, she can offer her own form of help.

"Although it's just a drop in the ocean, please accept everything I have left. Perhaps it can give you a glimmer of hope."

"Little fox, you've really grown up!"

Hana Sanri's body gradually turned into dazzling points of light—although only a few memories remained, in this world even memories contain power.

She was already dead, so if she could help her juniors at the last moment, there was naturally no need for her to hesitate.

She transformed everything she had into power and silently merged into the divine child's body to help her bear this wish. Perhaps this way of disappearing from the world is much better than the ending she had planned for herself before.

As the power transformed by Hana Sanri gradually flowed into the Divine Child's body, her body, which had begun to crack due to the immense desire, gradually began to recover. However, not long after, when an even stronger and more immense desire rushed into her body, her body, which was in the process of repair, cracked again.

The power of just two foxes was still insufficient to bear so many desires.

"Ha, what a decisive move, worthy of being the priestess of the god we follow—but aren't you really disregarding us old folks a bit too much?"

"To be able to have such a thrilling parade of a hundred demons at the last minute, and even to have it play a role in rescuing the general, is truly satisfying!"

When the divine child's body could no longer hold on, Yurakusai also uttered the same sentiment, and the remaining demons, like him, trembled slightly in the air as if in agreement with his words.

Brilliant points of light once again filled the entire sky. Just like Hana Sanri before, the remnants of the Hundred Demons unhesitatingly transformed all their remaining strength into power and poured into the body of the Divine Child.

After absorbing the remnants of the hundred demons, the goddess's power increased rapidly at an unimaginable speed. The surging power quickly repaired her damaged body and helped her share the pressure brought by her many wishes.

"Hmm! Still a bit short... but with me, it should be enough!"

After obtaining all the power transformed from the hundred demons, the goddess couldn't help but show a pained expression. Her body, which was constantly collapsing and repairing itself, was a huge torment for her, not to mention bearing the wishes of all the people of Inazuma.

The goddess felt as if she were carrying an insurmountable mountain on her back, and more importantly, she had to carry this mountain to rescue her god.

She has to rescue Ying!

As her consciousness began to fade, the goddess instinctively took a step forward, but the immense pressure made her stagger. Just when she seemed about to give up, a familiar voice suddenly rang in her ears.