Genshin Impact: Rise of the Desert

By the time Ivan and Navelette finalized the arrangements for the Water God's bodyguards, the ships had already begun to set sail for Blade Forest.

Desert timber is scarce, and even timber transported from Fontaine cannot be used to build a port.

Esen then used dairy products to hire strong Hilichurl thugs and, using cement brought from Fontaine, built a huge port with massive stones.

The port was extremely rough, basically just a jumble of stones piled together and then connected with cement.

When people stepped onto the port, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

We are going home.

The road, made of cement and small stones, runs all the way from the port to the Moscow Tribe, weaving through the entire Moscow Tribe.

You can see a small bump in one spot, which was filled with cement by the naughty little Hittites after stepping on it.

Ivan Rurik returned like lightning. When Ivan arrived at the tribe, the tribesmen all knelt down on one knee and touched their left chest, where their hearts were located, with their right hands.

I offer my most fervent heart to my most honored chieftain.

..............

Ivan walked through the tribe, which had not changed much, with Esen accompanying him and reporting on the events he was in charge of.

“Some merchants have already started trading with us, and fur is the main commodity. I have organized hunting teams to hunt long-haired tigers and crested crocodiles... To be honest, these merchants will buy any kind of fur. The jackals that steal sheep near the tribe have all been slaughtered by the children with wooden spears.”

"There are also some tourists who came to see the scenery. I set up their tents over there... They are not like Navia, a gangster girl. It's one thing for them to rob caravans from other countries, but I have already killed all the slaves."

Then, Esen seemed to have thought of something interesting and laughed, "I originally wanted to let them go, but these people thought I was easy to talk to and wanted to stay, so I killed them and had the hunting team throw their bodies somewhere else."

It's understandable; hiking from Moscow to the rainforest was simply impractical, so the only option was to become a slave in other tribes.

Other tribes were not as wealthy as Moscow, able to afford to feed their slaves milk curd.

Ivan watched the children running around with windmills, and his mood brightened. He laughed, "If you throw gold into a donkey's ear, it'll shake its head; if you throw animal dung into it, it'll shake its head too, hehe..."

Nowadays, tribes have more convenient workers like Hilichurls, so they don't need those former adventurer slaves. Not only are they difficult to control, but they also cause trouble all the time, so it's necessary to kill a group of them every now and then.

Although Hilichurls are classified as monsters by adventurers, they are meticulous in their work, never slack off, and are rewarded with food according to the amount of work they do.

After handing over various matters to Yesen, Ivan was put in charge of entertaining the tourists, while he went into the shaman's tent.

The midday sun hung high overhead, but the tent in Perm was pitch black, with only the fire pit providing a faint glow.

Ivan broke out in a sweat as soon as he entered; Perm's tent had been converted into a blacksmith's shop.

The room was filled with crudely made weapons, mostly hollow iron pipes. A cement ventilation pipe connected to the roof encircled the fire pit in a semi-circle, keeping the room free of smoke.

Perm held a book and gestured to his son who was forging iron.

Ivan approached and saw that the fire pit contained coal brought from Fontaine, a red-hot iron ingot on top of it, an anvil next to the fire pit, a bellows buried in the ground, and some herbs nearby that were meant to be dried, but were left there because it was warmer here.

Perm held up a book and pointed it out to his son, Belo Yaroslavl. Ivan noticed that the book was a handwritten copy.

Perm also spotted Ivan and patted Belo on the shoulder: "You keep an eye on yourself, don't break him."

Then, pulling Ivan along, they limped out of the tent, taking a few books from the doorway before leaving.

Ivan felt a little cooler after the tent was opened, even though it was still very hot outside.

Perm was covered in sweat, and as he wiped it away, he said, "This is a good thing; we can't let other tribes see it."

As he spoke, Perm handed the book in his hand to Ivan.

Ivan took the book and casually flipped through it: "What, what are they doing here? Want to eat sheep?"

After opening the book, Ivan's eyes widened.

These books are all handwritten, painstakingly written with ink that they had painstakingly obtained.

This is Silhind's handwriting.

Ivan casually flipped through the pages. They contained information on the melting points of various metals, treatments for diseases in ungulates, methods for maintaining muskets, disassembly diagrams of muskets for easy replication, and methods for preparing gunpowder.

Perm said, "They wanted to come here to do business with the Fontaines, so I had Essen send them away. Oh right, all of this was written by that rainforest scholar. Where is that kid?"

Ivan put the book back in the tent: "He died, and he died quite spectacularly. I plan to have his name engraved on a monument."

“That’s to be expected,” Perm said, his eyes turning serious. “I observed the celestial phenomena last night and discovered that your destiny is running rampant, disrupting the fates of many people… and your Seat of Fate has even changed! Chief, this is very dangerous.”

Ivan looked at Perm and smiled: "Come to my tent."

The two arrived at Ivan's tent, where a wooden box stood out conspicuously.

Perm looked at the wooden box, then at Ivan, and went up to open it.

"Holy crap, Ahmar!" Perm's eyes rolled back, barely managing to breathe. He pointed at the Holy Mech and asked in a trembling voice, "This is the exoskeleton armor you made from the gold of Erinas? I thought it was some crude thing like your father's iron horse."

The deeds of Ivan and his companions had long been spread by the people of Fontainebleau, such as their battle against the Abyss Apostles in the secret realm.

They had clearly never seen it, yet they spoke of it in a very convincing manner.

Ivan nodded, stroking the sacred mech: "With it, I can become stronger, and even use this thing to refine it to [Gold]. I can even unite all the desert tribes and stand at the very top of the desert."

Perm paused for a moment, then said, "There are no living legends in the desert, and your elders once tried to break that rule."

"But both Toghtog Bukha and Varisi failed. Toghtog Bukha died from a fall from his horse the day after he declared himself Chanyu of Fuluoyou. Varisi became the first Bat'er of Fuluoyou and was just one meeting away from declaring himself Chanyu when he was poisoned."

“We know exactly who did it! Liyue needs a small, weak border region, and Sumeru needs a scattered desert.”

“Kazan Uzbek of the Uzbek tribe, and me, do you think we're incapable of becoming the Chanyu? To become the Chanyu is to die. The fact that you're doing well now has already crossed their line! For the sake of Varishi saving my life, stop now, Chieftain.”

"What makes you think you're at the top? Is it because of the advanced technology from Fontaine? Are the people in the Order of the Church just sitting around doing nothing? Sumeru isn't lacking in advanced technology; it's just that only Brahmins can use it!"

"Hahahaha..." Ivan laughed, a loud laugh.

Ivan poked Perm’s somewhat atrophied muscles with his finger: “I can see that you were once a powerful warrior, but your bloodline of the Red King has become so thin that it’s almost nonexistent! God loves the world, but you, and Kazan, only love yourselves.”

"The hair that grows first doesn't last as long as the beard that grows later, and the ears that grow first aren't as strong as the horns that grow later. Let them try whatever dirty tricks they have! Eagles are not afraid of the storm, and heroes are not afraid of death!"

“My actions have sown the seeds among my people. Even if the next chief of Moscow does not possess my talents, he will need to have the courage to give his life for the tribe!”

"I will stand at the top of the desert, unite all the tribes, and take revenge on the rainforest! Hatred can only be washed away with blood. Rather than fighting amongst ourselves, we should unite against a common enemy!"

Even though I will die, my soul will still shine like gold!

Ivan's words silenced Perm for a long time.

Ignoring the cowardly old man, Ivan walked out.

Perm remained silent for a long time before looking up at the Holy Mech.

"Chief, I'm too old to fight anymore."

"When I gave up following my master to the ends of the earth and came to Moscow instead."

"I'm already old."

............

Sylhind's ashes were scattered around the perimeter of the monument.

The monument in Moscow is a tall stone pillar where the name of every deceased person is engraved, along with a biographical account of no more than one hundred words.

The bottom was already covered with carvings, and Ivan climbed onto the empty space by stepping on other people's names.

He drew his curved sword and carved words on it.

[Moscow's Sachima and Twainnayan]

Ivan IV's most loyal friend

[Once had a spirit hidden in its belly]

[Once danced amidst a storm]

Born in the year 512 of the Black Calamity Calendar, died in the year 545 of the Black Calamity Calendar.

[Here he rests in eternal sleep]

Do not wake the sleeping Draco.

(Volume 2: Journey to Fontaine) (The End)

(Volume 3: The Burning Crusade)