One day later…
"BOOM~"
A violent explosion rang out under the moonlit sky.
This was the northeastern edge of the Kaios Desert. Considering the proximity to the Rakia Kingdom and the Large Tree Labyrinth, the area was practically at the junction of the three major regions.
Just as Lumine had predicted…
"These monsters have been using the unique terrain of the Kaios Desert to bypass the adventurers' defenses along the Rakia Kingdom border."
On the ground, Lumine, Riveria, and the summoned Amber and Fischl were clearing swarms of monsters numbering in the thousands.
Strictly speaking, scorpions weren't "insects" but arthropods… well, let's not get bogged down in technicalities.
What mattered was that these split forms hatched from the "Abyssal Scorpion" had reached an absurdly massive number.
Over the past day, Lumine and Riveria had faced six waves of scorpion swarms, each wave numbering in the thousands. The current wave was the largest yet.
"Most likely, the Scorpion has sensed Riveria and me. It's trying to overwhelm us with a full-scale swarm."
"It won't allow us to reunite with the adventurers stationed at the Rakia Kingdom border… Hah, it really wants to use the Kaios Desert to stir up trouble."
Feet sinking into the soft sand, Lumine mused silently:
"Too bad, this BOSS picked the wrong opponents."
"By feeding all this experience, it only fattened me up."
Indeed, over the past day, Renjiro had been showered with free experience and loot thanks to the scorpion boss's "bad plays," racking up tens of thousands of kills. The reward? Massive experience points and magical stones.
Luckily, Riveria was composed enough not to be fazed by the absurd battle record. One versus thousands? That she could handle. Repetitive, tireless slaughter? That was more like a war machine, and that's what Lumine was witnessing.
No matter how many cannon fodder came, Lumine's mana seemed inexhaustible. Each wave was met with precise rain of flaming arrows, followed by lightning beams clearing the next batch. The cycle almost felt self-sustaining.
Clearly, this was the overpowered effect of the Stellar Abyss mana regeneration buff from "Dungeon Level 50."
Even during the day, if not summoning too many Genshin characters at once, their front line could remain intact. Riveria barely had to intervene, just a light Veil Breath spell here and there.
The proud elf royal, practically turned into a walking shield.
…Oh, you say the Archon is also a walking shield? Well, that's fine then.
Thus, the team worked tirelessly…
"We're less than a hundred kilometers from the Large Tree Labyrinth border. Before dawn, we should reach the destination safely."
This was Lumine's calculation based on the Archon's flight speed.
Honestly, if it weren't for having to repeatedly clear the scorpion swarms, Lumine and Riveria would have already arrived at the border defenses. But ignoring the swarms wasn't an option, doing so would leave ordinary humans unprotected. Even Renjiro would not approve.
Besides, from a personal gain perspective, Renjiro wanted to harvest the free experience.
In the past few days, Renjiro had pulled twelve times, acquiring the four-star weapons Moonpiercer and Serpent Spine, plus ten assorted three-star weapons. Magical stones were just enough to max out the four-star weapons.
Moonpiercer went to Ningguang.
Serpent Spine went to Razor.
Currently, the Genshin roster maxed at Lv.40 included Ningguang and Xingqiu. Diona and Fischl were at Lv.38, Razor at Lv.36, and even Amber, acquired later, had surpassed Lv.31.
Most importantly…
"Barbara reached Lv.37 and awakened her true consciousness?"
A minor surprise, yet expected. Back when Renjiro first played Genshin, Barbara had been a staple in the early party before Qiqi's arrival, so her affection level was already high. Now, fully maxed.
"During downtime, I can ask Barbara for singing technique tips," Lumine thought.
But for now…
"Once we finish this wave, we continue toward the border defenses. There, we'll assess the situation…"
"…and I should have Renjiro relay the information back."
Antares, the Abyssal Scorpion with "infinite spawning and evolution," was not truly limitless in energy. Its hatching consumed resources. Yet it also absorbed surrounding life energy, replenishing itself.
This allowed Antares, after breaking its seal, to quickly generate a massive army of scorpion clones by completely withering the nearby forest.
Destruction plus spawning, classic StarCraft Zerg or Warcraft Undead tactics.
Yet human forces were scarce. Rarely had the Rakia Kingdom's army so wisely stood alongside the adventurers of Orario.
The mastermind behind this? Not the bumbling Ares, but Hermes, self-proclaimed "neutral god," who convinced the kingdom's first prince…
Prince Marius Victrix Rakia, young vice captain of the Ares familia.
Legend said the blonde youth was as handsome as his godly patron. Unlike Ares, Marius's intellect and emotional intelligence were high.
Yet confronted with such a god…
"Marius, why did you agree to form an alliance with Orario?"
"Because otherwise, our country would be doomed."
At the temporary border fort, two armored youths were in a command tent discussing the situation.
Red-armored: Ares, the war god.
Black-armored: Marius, first in line to the throne.
"Fine, alliance it is. But why should I not lead the combined army? Why let those adventurers from Orario…"
"Tsk~"
The blonde youth's patience snapped at Ares's clueless words.
"What's with your attitude? If an alliance creates a second-in-command, why is it you and not me?"
"Because you're hopeless, a muscle-bound idiot."
The youth exploded, pointing and yelling at Ares, forcing even the war god to lean back defensively.
"You command the army? How?"
"Full assault, hit the enemy's lair…"
"And get everyone killed for free?"
"Do you realize the One-Eyed Scorpions number over 500,000?"
"Do you know some have reached potential Lv.2?"
"Do you know, "
"Enough!"
Ares's interruption sounded less like authority and more like a temper tantrum.
"How dare you disrespect me? Careful, or I'll revoke your claim to the throne…"
"Oh? Really?" Marius's eyes sparkled.
"Perfect, I've always wanted to be an adventurer in Orario."
"In your dreams."
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