Balladeer shielded his eyes with his arm. The wind Morgott blew wasn't strong, but he involuntarily retreated a few steps.
His entire body felt as though it had been submerged in the deep sea; every movement was met with immense pressure.
Under this pressure, even Albedo, who wasn't directly facing Morgott, couldn't help but breathe heavily.
Balladeer looked up in shock, his eyes wide.
"Who exactly are you!"
Mist began to rise from Balladeer's body, a sign that his core power was Overloaded.
It was no wonder he was so shocked; Balladeer had experienced this kind of aura before.
It was during his investiture ceremony when he became a Harbinger.
The Tsaritsa, seated high on the throne, exuded an aura quite similar to Morgott's.
However, the Tsaritsa's aura was mixed, with the presence of a god and a ruler intertwined, creating the unique pressure of the Tsaritsa.
Morgott, on the other hand, had gone to another extreme. Stripped of the mystery and gentleness of a god, everything about him exuded the aura of a king forged from iron and blood.
This was the Lord of Blessing, Morgott.
The last king who had spilled the blood of heroes on the outskirts of Leyndell. Everything about him had been tempered in countless wars.
Beneath his gentle demeanor, Morgott possessed all the qualities necessary to be a king.
"Who am I?" A slight smile played on Morgott's lips. "A traveler, looking and walking, and incidentally assisting those who need assistance. Nothing more."
"Buzz—"
An Abyss Passage suddenly appeared behind Morgott. A black-blue figure emerged from it, attempting to abduct Albedo, who was barely supporting himself on the ground.
"You, are very dishonest." The smile vanished from Morgott's lips. He turned sideways and swung his Cursed Sword expressionlessly, directly striking the arm that had reached out.
"Pfft—"
A severed arm, spattering black blood, fell to the ground. The dark blood splattered on the ground, corroding it and emitting plumes of black smoke.
"Hmm? There are many strange things." Morgott raised an eyebrow, but he quickly dismissed them.
Things from another world were merely a fleeting illusion to him, a passerby.
The figure of Torrent emerged from the Abyss Passage. He shook his head at Frostfall beside him. For a moment, he had thought he would truly have to serve the Abyss.
This guy in front of him was simply invincible.
"It seems you truly wish to return to the Golden Tree." Morgott glanced at Torrent, who was clutching his arm, and said faintly.
Then he strode forward, his entire being once again transforming into a blurred afterimage.
"Run!" Frostfall and Torrent's pupils contracted. In their haste, they unleashed several spinning water wheels and ice cones, then vanished without a backward glance into the Abyss Passage that had opened behind them.
"Bang bang bang!" Not daring to be careless upon his arrival, the Cursed Sword, no different from withered branches on the roadside, swung. The rapidly approaching water wheels and ice cones were shattered completely.
As he swung, Morgott also seized the opportunity to casually unleash several golden daggers. Their speed was such that the three couldn't evade them.
"Hiss—" A sharp pain suddenly shot through Balladeer's half-body. He knew without thinking that the golden throwing knife Morgott had swung had truly caused him DMG.
Only when the internal workings of the puppet were damaged would Balladeer feel pain. Superficial wounds, like those before, would not cause him any sensation.
"Retreat!" In an instant, Balladeer made his decision. He glanced at the gradually closing Abyss Passage beside him, gritted his teeth, and leaped in.
Jumping in might offer a sliver of hope, but if he did nothing, Balladeer didn't believe he could survive at Morgott's hands.
"Did they escape?" Morgott casually shattered the last spinning water wheel, shook his wet arm, and murmured.
This was fine too. Having just arrived in this world, he still understood nothing. Killing people arbitrarily might bring unnecessary trouble.
"Let's ask about the King's whereabouts. He should be easy to find." Morgott recalled Yu Jin's actions and shook his head helplessly.
Only in such circumstances could Yu Jin's unrestrained personality be of some use... "Crack!"
In a canyon in the uninhabited mountains, a crack suddenly appeared on the ground. From within the starlit crack, a disheveled figure fell out.
The figure's body was riddled with holes, scratches, and hollows everywhere. Among these wounds, the one on the puppet's abdomen was the most severe.
This wound was deep, having reached its internal wiring and machinery. Sparks mixed with element power erupted, forming a scorched patch on the ground beside the puppet.
"Cough... cough cough!"
After a long while, the motionless puppet suddenly stirred. The sound of coughing startled the birds resting on him and caused the wild rabbits in the grass to retreat.
"This... where is this?" Balladeer struggled to his feet, then a sharp pain shot through his mind.
"Hiss—" Balladeer, who had just stood up, knelt on one knee. Now fully conscious, he finally understood what had happened.
"I didn't expect traversing through the Abyss Passage to be so terrifying. If I weren't a puppet, I'd probably have gone mad by now."
"Those ground rats have some skill."
Balladeer rubbed his temples, speaking to himself with a hint of relief.
As soon as he entered the Abyss Passage, countless memories flooded him. If he hadn't promptly shut down his consciousness core and entered a dormant state, he would probably have gone insane long ago.
"First, I need to bandage it." Looking at the wound on his abdomen, which was spewing sparks and purple light, Balladeer opened the external component of his thigh and took out a simple repair kit from the groove.
This was something the Fatui had specially equipped him with, so he could perform simple repairs on his injuries in the wilderness.
Puppets were not like humans. When a human was injured, they could find an alchemist or a Vision holder, and their wounds would heal easily.
But when a puppet broke, it was truly broken; it wouldn't repair itself. So Balladeer had learned to repair himself early on.
After a while of busy work, Balladeer's abdominal wound was finally repaired. Looking at the bandage on his abdomen, which was distinctly different from other places, Balladeer suddenly shook his head and chuckled: "Heh, terrifying fellow."
"The harvest should be enough, right?" Balladeer looked up at the sky. He didn't know how far he was from Dragonspine, but the faint golden hue visible on the horizon reminded him of the Golden Tree's existence.
Although he had only obtained the name of the Golden Tree this time, gaining information about such a powerful individual as Morgott was not bad.
Balladeer withdrew his gaze and looked around. He was currently in a mountain fissure, with a rushing river beside him and almost vertical cliffs on either side.
"Liyue?" Balladeer glanced at the topographical features around him. The exposed boulders and brownish-yellow vegetation all indicated to Balladeer that this was Liyue.
Looking into the distance, a large tree, a mix of wood and stone, grew beside the river valley, causing Balladeer to shiver involuntarily.
Surely, no Albedo or Morgott would pop out here, would they?
Balladeer carefully observed the distant tree. The trunk and top of the tree revealed a faint sky-blue hue, looking as if jade had grown within the wood.
"Ley Line?" Balladeer breathed a sigh of relief. Although he didn't know much about Ley Lines, encountering something familiar was enough to put Balladeer at ease.
Limping along the river valley, Balladeer quickly arrived beside the large tree. He gently tapped it; there was nothing unusual.
"Perhaps it just happened to grow at a Ley Line node." Balladeer shook his head, thinking he was being overly suspicious.
Trees growing at Ley Line nodes generally undergo very peculiar changes, and emitting blue light was reasonable.
His gaze caught a cave in the valley, and Balladeer sighed. He hadn't realized how severe his injuries were until he started walking.
So severe that he needed a major overhaul.
"Heh, I never thought I'd be in such a sorry state. It's truly not a good feeling." Musing to himself, Balladeer walked into the deep mountain cave.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"