We traveled through time together, but I'm the only dragon? The others are all beautiful girls?

"Paimon, stop talking!"

Her innocent and unfiltered assessment was abruptly stopped when Ying reached out and covered her mouth.

Barbara's face was now completely red, not only because of Paimon's words, but also because of Akalion's gaze that followed.

She wasn't sure whether she should cover herself with her hand. The idol dress she was wearing wasn't her usual solemn and dignified priest's attire. Although the fabric was still quite covering, Akalion's gaze was just too... blatant.

He was jerked from his reverie by Ying's sharp stomp on the back of his foot, realizing the inappropriateness of his behavior. Perhaps he should apologize immediately? Or... would it be better to say nothing?

He gave Ying a questioning look.

As a result, he was met with Ying's stern, razor-sharp gaze.

Akalion knew what he had to do.

He straightened his collar, which had been ruffled by Paimon's coquettishness, and strode towards Barbara. This action caused her two adorable spiral ponytails to tremble violently with nervousness. He coughed to clear his throat, about to speak, when…

"I...I have church affairs that require my attention! Please allow me to take my leave!"

With a whoosh, the holder of the Water Elemental Eye ran at the speed of the wind and disappeared from the VIP box of the performance venue in an instant.

"...They ran away."

Akalion was somewhat disappointed; he hadn't had a chance to apologize yet, and it seemed he would have to wait for another opportunity.

Ying's gaze, at this moment, became somewhat terrifying. Its sharpness made Akalion hesitant to turn around and look at her.

Until that gaze gradually narrowed, turning somewhat sorrowful.

"You actually looked at Barbara with that lecherous look in your eyes! You've never even looked at me like that!"

"Who said that! I've been looking at you like that the whole time!"

Akalion immediately retorted.

"I don't know why, but I've been a bit out of control lately. Just now, even I, Paimon, thought—"

He glanced at Paimon, who was watching all this with curiosity, and immediately stopped talking.

"In any case, let's go and ask Master Zhongli to take a look at what the problem is."

This strange impulse seems to have started after I learned about immortal power.

"..."

Ying, however, was somewhat reluctant to go. Although Akalion seemed to be turning into a teddy bear now, it made things much easier for her to take advantage of him; with just a gentle nudge, he would be hooked.

Just as Ying hesitated.

Help me!

Suddenly, a frantic and weak cry came from the mental link established with Wendy.

No, did Wendy mess up?

impossible!

Volume 1: Snowfield Dragon Lord: Chapter 103 - Saving Private Wendy

【what's the situation? 】

Akalion's voice was transmitted directly to Wendy through the mental link. He had not made contact with the mental link in order to see if he could make the wind god owe him another favor.

[Heh heh, after the Heart of God was taken away, I was careless and used too much force.]

Wendy's voice was like a broken string; every breath he exhaled felt like it was tearing at his lungs, and even his spirit was beginning to weaken.

Akalion's brow furrowed instantly. The Heart of God was created by the Heavenly Principle using the remains of the Third Advent as material to amplify the power of faith and convert it into divine power.

The throne of God, created by the power that Gu Long usurped, is the foundation upon which the seven ruling powers of the mortal world are considered gods.

Losing the former is merely losing auxiliary power, but as long as the latter remains, Wendy's essence remains a powerful ruler of the mortal world.

Through the mental connection established by the psionic spell "Mind Link," Akalion and Wendy's perspectives and senses overlapped, making their desperate escape feel incredibly real.

This usually unreliable bard was now fleeing the woman's pursuit across the wilderness, each breath carrying the thick scent of blood.

If they were in Mondstadt, the Fools would be more restrained.

Has Wendy gone too far?

[The Divine Throne cannot be used yet—it's crucial for maintaining the Mondstadt ley lines! Come quickly and save me, my lord!]

“Luminous, let’s meet in Liyue.” Akalion turned to Luminous and said, speaking very quickly, and in just a few words he revealed Venti’s predicament and the whole drama.

“I want to go too!” Ying answered almost without hesitation. Now Barbatos was practically one of their own gods, and the climate of Brightcrown City still needed Him to adjust. Now that Him was in danger, she had no reason to stand idly by.

The traveler has already made his stance clear, and Paimon, his personal guide and emergency food provider, naturally follows suit. In her view, as long as Akalion, the omnipotent dragon, is present, there is no crisis to worry about on the continent of Teyvat.

In an instant, the texture of reality was distorted, and Akalion's figure returned to its original form as a thirty-meter-long true dragon.

Ying used wind elemental power to lift herself up, then landed steadily on his broad, hill-like back.

As for Paimon, she can fly, so there's no need to worry about her.

Please hold on for another ten days—

Ten minutes? Okay, Akalion, but I really can't hold on much longer!

【--Nine.】

A dazzling crimson torrent suddenly erupted from the tip of Akalion's giant sword-like dragon tail.

A thunderous sound rang out, and the massive dragon body instantly sped towards Wendy's location like a white comet tearing through the night sky, traveling at nearly Mach 15.

【eight. 】

......

【seven.】

As Akalion's cold, merciless countdown echoed in his mind, even though Wendy's robes were tattered, his body bruised, and blood still lingered at the corner of his mouth, he still had the leisure to turn around and give a bitter smile to the relentlessly pursuing Eighth Executive Officer of the Fatui, "Lady".

"It's not too late to stop now."

"Oh?"

A cold smile curved the woman's lips. She calmly raised her slender hand, and dozens of ice spears, powerful enough to pierce city walls, materialized behind her, radiating an absolute zero that rejected everything.

"Until then, take care of yourself first, Barbatos."

Her pale purple eyes churned with a hatred that had not diminished even after five hundred years. The grief stemming from the loss of her former lover had long since become the flame that sustained her existence, making her never show a moment's sympathy for this "negligent" wind god.

"Having lost your power, you are just like you were five hundred years ago, unable to save anything. Even so, someone will come to help you." The woman's lips curled into a cruel, almost gleeful smile. "Is it that dragon from another world? That dragon's nature is colder than ice and snow, more ruthless than steel. In his world, everything is nothing but his own power and desires."

"Then—you're so wrong!"

Wendy stopped and confidently turned to face the oncoming rain of deathly ice. He raised his hand and used the last of his strength to create a seemingly insignificant breeze that deftly deflected the soul-freezing ice spears.

At this distance, the debt collectors and elite soldiers of the Fools had long been left far behind.

Wendy truly hadn't expected this woman to be so persistent. Even though she had already obtained the Heart of God, she still relentlessly pursued him. If the [Millennium's Great Symphony] hadn't been restricted from use, and if she hadn't recently shared some of its power with Dvalin, he wouldn't have escaped in such a sorry state.

fine--

Look behind you.

Akalion and Luminosity have arrived.

"A naive lie, do you think I'd believe it!"

The woman, however, believed that Wendy was bluffing in order to take the opportunity to escape.

However, the next moment, an unparalleled impact struck from the side, sending her flying. It wasn't just physical force, but a more fundamental and ruthless form of conceptual suppression.

By the time she struggled to her senses from among the fallen trees...

"do not move."

Ying's figure had already appeared before her like a ghost.

The black blade of [Echo of Eldra] was pressed coldly against her throat.

There was no killing intent on the sword's edge, only a deathly silence, as if the end of a world had been solidified there.

With just a slight thought, Ying could send the eighth executive officer of the Fools to reunite with her long-deceased lover.

"It all ends here."

Akalion's figure slowly emerged from the distortion of light and shadow, returning from dragon form to human form, and came to the lady's side.

"Take the Heart of the Wind God and report back to your Winter Queen."

He had no interest in killing the lady; if it were the Doctor, he would have sent that thing to the underworld long ago.

"..." The woman was silent for a moment. She raised her head and stared at Akalion with eyes full of resentment and unwillingness, as if she wanted to ignite his soul as well. "Why, why, why do you protect this god who can do nothing!"

"Can't you protect anything at all?" Akalion's gaze fell on the deep, bone-revealing wound on Wendy's left chest. He flicked his finger, and a gentle psionic spell emanated, slowly healing the wound. He looked directly into the woman's eyes. "Wind God, is there absolutely nothing you can protect?"

"Or perhaps, he simply failed to protect... the person you wanted him to protect?"

“You know better than anyone, Rosalyn Cruzshika Loefat.”

"..."

The woman continued to grit her teeth, the real name that had been called out acting like a key, unlocking the prison of her past memories.

That hatred was so deeply ingrained that it had long since transformed into an inextinguishable flame, completely enveloping her soul.

If it weren't for the power of the Winter Queen sustaining her, she would probably have been burned to ashes by her own flames long ago.

This is the foundation of her existence, the sole meaning of her being in this world.

How could it possibly... waver?

How can it be......

"Ying, put the sword away."

Akalion glanced at Luminous, then turned his gaze to the Fool's Enforcer who was still lying on the ground, and a warm smile appeared on his face.

“I will forgive you, but this will not be without a price. From this moment on, any Fool who steps into the territory of Brightcrown City must unconditionally accept the jurisdiction of the ‘Duke of Brightcrown’. Please remember that this is the rule, not a proposal.”

"Otherwise, I will regard them all as illegal intruders. As for the bandits who invade my territory, I think it would be a good way to deal with them, using them as free labor until I obtain enough crystals."

"This... I need to consult Her Majesty the Queen."

The woman's wavering will, bolstered by her work and loyalty to the Winter Queen, was rekindled. She broke free from her past slumber and returned to her role as the eighth executive officer of the Fools.

Faced with absolute power, temporary obedience is a logical strategic retreat.

She slowly rose, and the coldness that belonged to an executive officer returned to her face, as if her previous disheveled state was just an illusion.

“I do not have the authority to make this decision entirely. But I can assure you that my direct subordinates here will follow your orders.”

In any case, Mingguan City doesn't have much strategic significance to begin with, and it will be four or five years before it comes into play.

Moreover, as long as the members of the Fools' Clan do not reveal their identities, they are just ordinary merchants, tourists, or immigrants and adventurers, and naturally not within the jurisdiction of the 'Duke of Mingguan'—the lady had already devised a strategy to deal with this unequal clause.

However, she did not know that, to Akalion, as long as the Fools dared to bring those [Evil Eyes] tainted by the remnants of the demon god into the country, they would be as transparent to Akalion's senses as fish swimming in crystal-clear lake water.

“Very well, I hope to receive a formal reply from the Kingdom of Winter within seven days.” Akalion narrowed his eyes, his inhuman vertical pupils suddenly widening, an ominous light flashing within them. “Otherwise, you may not be able to obtain the Heart of the Rock God.”

These words, like an invisible hammer, struck the woman precisely where it hurt.

Although the Heart of the Geo Archon is not in Akalion's possession, this does not prevent Akalion from using the prestige of Master Zhongli to weave an undeniable lie.

After all, his and Ying's identities as disciples of the Geo Archon and Prince of Qiongji were already a tacit consensus among the Liyue leadership, thanks to the efforts of certain individuals.

Moreover, the Rock Lord is completely different from the remaining six gods of Teyvat.

According to the Fools' internal records, this ancient being's history is far longer than mortals can imagine.

In the four hundredth year since the creation of mankind by the Heavenly Principles, He was already worshipped by mankind as the God of Noble Gold. Before this ancient deity, even the proud Ice Queen had to pay the highest respect.

Volume 1: The Snowfield Dragon Lord: Chapter 104. Venti's Mission and the Journey to Liyue

The woman froze for a moment, then bowed slightly to Akalion, who had returned to his original form, and replied with impeccable diplomatic courtesy: “I understand. You will receive a formal reply from Winter within three days.”

As soon as she finished speaking, her figure transformed into countless cold ice crystals and vanished in the wind.

Akalion didn't care at all.

Whether it's genuine or ulterior motives, it's all meaningless.