By the time Lumine and Riveria arrived at the village, more than twenty minutes had passed.
It must be said: the distance that a Lv.6 adventurer could cover at full speed in just over ten minutes would take other teammates of lower Blessing levels significantly longer.
Besides, thanks to Lumine's proactive efforts, the monster group near the village had already been dealt with. Naturally, Riveria and the others had no need to rush.
After all, marching quickly through a dim forest was always dangerous.
If people were in danger, Riveria's team would certainly take the risk.
But now… everything was settled. There was no reason to create unnecessary trouble.
"We don't know for sure whether the defenses near the 'Large Tree Labyrinth' were breached, or if these monsters came around from the Kaios Desert. Either way, they haven't moved in yet."
"What we can confirm is that the disaster from this monster uprising has already spread this far."
"We need to contact Gareth and the others immediately."
At the village, there were no injured left to treat. Everyone Barbara could save had been healed. Some remained unconscious and hadn't woken yet, and a few… would never wake again.
Muffled cries echoed in the distance, filling the air with sorrow and despair.
At this moment, Lumine had already built a temporary dark-gold hut in an empty space for the group to stay.
Inside the hall, she and Riveria gathered for an impromptu battle meeting.
"I want to leave tonight, go alone, and reach the frontlines as quickly as possible."
Lumine made her decision.
Riveria's instinctive question followed:
"With your teleportation magic, you could reach the Large Tree Labyrinth quickly… but how exactly do you plan to do it?"
Lumine answered plainly:
"Mr. Zhongli can fly using his constructs. With my current mana, flying continuously for several tens of minutes isn't a problem."
"Even with stops along the way, it's still far faster than walking."
She tilted her head to glance at the village outside the dark-gold hut, now mostly in ruins.
"Next, I plan to move along the border of the Kaios Desert to verify my earlier suspicions."
Riveria paused in thought, then asked:
"Can you take one more person?"
Her meaning was clear…
"You want to come too?"
"Yes."
Riveria nodded, explaining:
"Since you're scouting the Kaios Desert border for monster movements, you shouldn't go alone. Even with your teleportation magic, if you encounter a large group of monsters, you can't just ignore it."
"Otherwise, what happened here today will only get worse."
Her tone turned serious.
"These 'Scorpions' are not only numerous but have already advanced here. This shows how urgent the situation near the Large Tree Labyrinth is. We can't afford delays."
"Even if it's just me, having an extra Lv.1 adventurer at the frontlines sooner will help our side tremendously."
Then she added, with experience:
"Your mana is already quite drained, isn't it?"
Lumine considered it, then nodded.
"Taking one extra person will slightly slow proGareth, but… with Riveria-sama accompanying me, both safety and efficiency will greatly improve."
"Then it's decided."
Riveria didn't hesitate further. She turned to an elf girl nearby:
"Claire, with Arishia absent, this squad is temporarily under your command. Your mission is simple, reach the edge of the Large Tree Labyrinth and join us as quickly as possible."
"Remember, the border of the Rakia Kingdom is extremely dangerous. No one is allowed to act alone. Understood?"
"Yes!"
The girls responded, determination shining in their eyes.
Then…
"Whoosh~"
With the dark-gold hut removed, Lumine summoned the Archon. She briefly explained her plan.
"A small matter. Happy to assist."
Zhongli's Geo constructs were extremely versatile. In Genshin lore, many five-star weapons were personally "hand-crafted" by the Geo Archon himself.
His micro-manipulation skills made the impossible simple. Though he couldn't yet handcraft a five-star weapon, creating a giant structure to use as a flying mount was effortless.
A plain, dark-gold giant ruler materialized.
"Not sure why, but this reminded me of that meme with the Geo Archon squishing his little peach…"
Lumine's lips twitched. Zhongli seemed to sense it, glancing at her silently.
"Hehe~"
Lumine playfully stuck out her tongue, tapping her head, choosing to act cute.
"You… learned that from the drunken poet, didn't you?"
Zhongli frowned slightly:
"Seems that guy really can't teach anything useful."
"Cough cough."
Even Renjiro, quietly recovering mana underground, had no reply to that sharp remark.
After the small interlude…
"Thank you."
Riveria, joining the journey, politely addressed Zhongli.
"No need for formalities, royalty from another world. If it's to save the world's people, I will gladly lend my effort."
The three stepped onto the wide side of the dark-gold ruler. Gradually, they rose into the air under the gleaming eyes of the elf girls below.
"Wow~ Humans can be this cool?"
"That's a Genshin! A Genshin!"
"Riveria-sama said they're like noble 'celestial spirits'!"
"And that one is a 'Sovereign,' royalty among them!"
Half in awe, half gossiping, the girls whispered and squealed below. Even in this fantastical world, elves, despite their keen senses, couldn't resist gossip.
Riveria raised an eyebrow, silently deciding to lecture the familia's unruly youth later.
"They really say anything."
Meanwhile, Zhongli had maneuvered the dark-gold ruler to a safe altitude and began flying toward the horizon.
At the same time…
"Ugh~"
The white-haired boy, previously knocked away by a scorpion split, woke on a nearby blanket.
Through his blurry vision, he looked up to the night sky, seeing beneath the full moon…
A figure, golden and pure white, standing tall.
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