Genshin Impact: Rise of the Desert

Ivan activated the wind element within his body and arrived above the thick fog, but even Ivan couldn't see what was inside the fog.

In the distance, a group of immortals strode arrogantly, chanting obscure incantations as they slowly made their way into the thick fog.

Oh no, it should be called blood mist.

The fog was filled with a blood-red hue, and the shouts of battle emanating from within it made the area particularly eerie.

The blood of the dead creatures was rapidly evaporated and merged into the mist, which, under the spell of the immortals, gradually shrank in diameter.

Outside the blood mist lay the mummified corpses of humans and wild beasts, their blood drained from their bodies.

Ivan unleashed the golden power within him, gathering wind elements in his mouth and roaring at the thick fog below.

"Gale-force winds"

"Listen to my command!"

Instantly, a fierce wind howled across the battlefield, dispersing the blood mist and making it extremely sparse. Some of the blood mist was blown towards the immortals, adding to their already mysterious aura.

The beasts in the fog were already overwhelmed by fear and panic when the fog turned into a blood mist. Now that the blood mist has been blown away, fear has taken control of their minds, and they are fleeing in all directions.

The desert soldiers braved the fierce wind, endured the throbbing pain in their eardrums, and breathed deeply into the sweet air, looking up at Ivan.

Ivan's sacred armor shone brightly in the sunlight, golden and blue light gushing from his seven orifices, and visible wind elements surrounded him.

Suddenly someone shouted, "Fresh, tender flesh and blood! Offered to the Stormlord!"

"Wind Lord!"

"Wind Lord!"

"Wind Lord!"

The desert army roared and charged towards the immortal.

The immortals were shrouded in a thick fog, within which they could see a gigantic Xuanwen beast, an eagle with its wings folded, and a massive white skeletal warhorse...

The immortals joined forces to cast spells, hoping to further expand their gains. However, the Fiery Sand Narrator within the desert army hindered their spellcasting, and the possessor of the Eye of God destroyed the array's core, forcing the immortals to increase their efforts and causing them to lose much of their magical power.

However, just when success was within reach, Ivan suddenly roared, dispersing the blood mist and destroying the formation. Many immortals suffered the backlash from the damage to the formation, their blood and qi churning within them.

These immortals are now at their last gasp!

"kill!"

Riding a warhorse in the river, one horse led the way, and with a reverse grip on his curved blade, he slashed across the side of the giant Xuanwen beast, opening a large gash.

Hulushan lost his warhorse in the battle. Enraged, he activated the Eye of God, and a massive amount of water element enveloped him as he plunged into the huge wound of the Xuanwen Beast.

The massacre began.

A deprived immortal is like a large wild beast, helpless against the desert people's furious hunt. Having lost his companions and warhorse, and with his mouth and nose blocked by blood mist, he unleashed his powerful fighting strength under such immense humiliation.

The flying bird fairy recovered and tried to escape, but the desert people crawled onto his body like ants, dragged the giant fairy down, and hacked him to pieces.

Faced with such a huge and magical beast, the desert people were instinctively afraid, but hatred and anger made them overcome their fear and dare to attack their fear.

Wild animals can be consumed by fear, and so can humans. But humans are not controlled by fear; they muster the courage to fight it. This is one of the reasons why God loves humanity.

Human-like god.

"Courage" is not the absence of fear, but the understanding and overcoming of fear.

Humanity's greatness lies in its courage, and humanity's hymn is a hymn to courage.

Ivan landed from the sky, panting heavily. Looking at the battlefield where the outcome was already decided, he smiled from the bottom of his heart.

Ivan knew that his group was like tiny ants compared to the 800,000-strong Liyue army. But it was this group of tiny ants that crushed Zhou Chen's 120,000-strong army and killed the immortal!

Ivan also knew that Morax and the Liyue Sept longed to see human governance, and that in the face of natural and man-made disasters, the Liyue Sept must demonstrate their ability to govern with human strength!

Morax won't be playing!

And I am the whetstone that Morax gave to the Seven Stars of Liyue, but unlike them, this whetstone knows military strategy and can run away!

Having absorbed the wind element, Ivan felt muscle soreness and therefore did not participate in the war.

"Whoosh-"

A whooshing sound came from behind, and Ivan turned around sharply, his iron claws grabbing a spear.

魈！

The demon exudes an eerie, bluish-black aura, indicating that he has been corrupted by karma.

Karma is the remnant of demons, and Xiao's duty is to cleanse the land of Liyue of this remnant in order to protect the peace of mankind.

"die!"

Xiao roared, his spear imbued with wind element, and thrust forward, piercing Ivan's breastplate.

Ivan exerted all his strength, and pure white light emanated from his seven orifices.

"world!"

"Click-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack—"

A stopwatch clicked, and time was stopped.

Ivan gripped the spear in his right claw and reached for the demon's eye with his left.

suddenly!

An ancient cylindrical rock elemental shield appeared on Xiao's body, with a prismatic jade scepter in the center, which was bound by chains.

Morax's Elemental Shield!

The iron claw landed on it, sending sparks flying.

Ivan quickly looked around but did not find Morax or any aura of a demon god.

"Phew~" Ivan breathed a sigh of relief. If Morax were here, he would have a real problem dealing with him.

Then Ivan frowned and released a shield during the pause, indicating that Morax had also obtained the Time Godhood.

Since he couldn't harm Xiao, Ivan simply left Xiao's attack range and interrupted the skill.

"Click-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack—"

A stopwatch clicked, and time continued to tick.

"Uh?"

Xiao's spear missed its mark. He was wondering why Ivan had suddenly run so far away, and why he was protected by the Emperor's shield.

Xiao, bring Liu Yun and the others back. You are no match for him.

Xiao was stunned for a moment, glanced at Ivan, and then teleported away.

Ivan sensed that Xiao had first gone to Qiaoying Manor, picked up those immortals, and then teleported away somewhere else.

Ivan immediately disarmed himself.

"Crack—"

The mech's armor plates moved, accompanied by a large amount of steam, and the mech fell to the ground.

Ivan took two steps forward, then suddenly collapsed to the ground, using all his strength to turn around and gasp for air.

"Heh heh heh heh... Hahahahahaha!" Ivan laughed loudly, his eyes wide with rage as he roared, "Morax!"

"Fuck your mother! Didn't you say you were a human healer? What the hell are you talking about, releasing your immortal spirit and your shield?!"

After cursing a few times, Ivan, exhausted both physically and mentally, fell into a deep sleep.

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

Zhongli refurbished more than a dozen old and dilapidated coffins, then came to the marble table and chairs in the courtyard of the Hall of Rebirth, poured himself a cup of tea, and slowly savored it.

After a while, Xiao suddenly appeared before Zhongli, kneeling on one knee and bowing his head: "Your Majesty, I don't know why you released that desert boy. Clearly, if he were dead, the desert people would have been routed..."

Zhongli put down his teacup and sighed, "I originally thought the internal strife in Liyue was caused by the Desert People, but I've discovered that they were just a trigger."

"Your Majesty, what do you mean by that?"

"The Salt God believers in the Silver Plains Hall claimed that they needed more funding because of a shortage of manpower. The General Affairs Department's stamping staff took advantage of the Seven Stars' lack of time to deal with these trivial matters and made demands for benefits from those who were doing the work. If they didn't get them, they would pass the buck to various departments and refuse to do the work. This is just what I, as a 'mortal', have seen."

After Zhongli finished speaking, Xiao raised his head in disbelief: "Are the aftereffects of your 'ascension' really that severe?"

Zhongli sighed deeply: "Alas—right now, within Liyue, at least a third of the government personnel are thinking about profiting from the bloodshed and the dead in this battle. Another third, along with other followers of the Demon God, are thinking about how to overthrow the Seven Stars. Only the remaining third are actually getting things done..."

The two remained silent for a long time before Zhongli suddenly flashed a murderous aura in his eyes: "I truly deserved to have killed these demon gods! I've killed the demon gods for you, but if you still can't subdue their followers... No, how can merely subduing these demon followers demonstrate the Seven Stars' effective rule? Xiao!"

Xiao lowered his head: "Here!"

"Do you remember when I asked you to capture those Inazuma Umi demons who crossed the sea?"

"Yes, they are all inside the amber of Mount Hulao."

"Release them, along with the others who were sealed in amber by the Lishui River, and send them to Liyue Harbor!"

"Yes!"