Coppelia immediately reached back to unslave Amos's Bow, but amidst the high-speed movement and rapidly shifting line of sight, her peripheral vision keenly caught a glimpse of something below.
Just at the foot of that mountain peak, where vegetation was sparse and the land barren, the earth presented vast patches of sickly gray decay.
Not only that, but gathered within an area smaller than a soccer field were seven or eight twisted Consecrated Beasts of various colors, their bodies radiating an unsettling aura!
It was hard to say if more such monsters were lurking beyond her field of view, especially in the sky.
Coppelia instantly abandoned any thought of analyzing the prototypes of these monsters and made an immediate decision: they absolutely could not engage in a dogfight here. Once surrounded, the consequences would be unimaginable!
"Quick! Fly towards the river! See if we can shake it off!" Coppelia shouted instantly.
Columbina understood immediately, abruptly banking their flight angle to dive rapidly toward the broad river surface to the north.
Coppelia kept her eyes fixed to the rear. Sure enough, atop several distant mountain peaks, she spotted another five or six equally hideous bird-shaped Consecrated Beasts.
Fortunately, the only one in hot pursuit at the moment was the one they had first encountered.
Confirming the distance was sufficient to avoid alerting the other Consecrated Beasts, Coppelia hesitated no longer.
She steadied her form, nocked an arrow, condensed a light arrow, and enchanted it with Electro and Pyro elements.
"Shoo—shoo—!"
Streak after streak of elemental arrows sliced through the air, bombarding the relentlessly pursuing Consecrated Beast in succession!
Lightning exploded, flames scorched, and the [Overloaded] reaction stirred up waves of turbulent energy.
However, the monster was abnormally fierce. It did not dodge or evade at all, emitting hoarse, ear-piercing shrieks from its mouth. Withstanding the violent attacks, it continued to charge forward with reckless abandon, its eyes flickering with a berserk cyan light as they locked deadly onto the target.
Columbina carefully maintained their high-speed flight to dodge potential pounces while mobilizing the little power she had recovered, channeling it continuously to Coppelia to support her barrage of powerful shots.
Coppelia focused completely, firing over thirty arrows in succession! Finally, in a precise explosion of thunder and fire, the monster's incredibly tough left wing was thoroughly shattered!
The monster let out a miserable wail and lost its balance. Its massive body spun madly as it plummeted straight toward the river below.
Splash!
A huge sound of water crashing rang out. The monster flapped its remaining right wing futilely in the turbulent river, unable to take flight again. It was soon swept away by the surging currents, rushing toward the unknown downstream.
Coppelia slowly lowered her bow, unable to help but mutter in a low voice, "That is way too overpowered..."
Not to mention its thick HP, even [Overloaded] couldn't trigger a hit stun.
Seeing that the monster threat was temporarily lifted, Columbina quickly brought Coppelia down to a relatively gentle sandy beach on the north bank of the river.
The moment her feet touched the ground, Columbina involuntarily reached out to support herself against a giant rock nearby. She bent slightly, her chest heaving violently as she gasped for air. The chase and energy transfer just now had clearly been an immense drain.
"Are you okay?" Coppelia asked immediately with concern.
Columbina tried hard to steady her breathing, straightening her body as she attempted to release her hold on the rock. "I'm fine... let's keep going."
Saying this, she took Coppelia's hand again, preparing to take flight once more.
However, Coppelia clearly felt that the hand holding hers was trembling uncontrollably.
"You're too tired." Coppelia reached out to clasp her trembling hand. "Purifying that mass of black mud this morning almost exhausted your strength. Then you flew at full speed for so long, and even had to distract yourself to provide me with energy support. How could you be fine?"
She pulled Columbina, signaling for her to sit. "Listen to me. Sit down and rest for a while. We'll leave after you recover some stamina."
Columbina took a few deep breaths, trying to make her voice sound steady, even deliberately straightening her back. "I really... am fine."
Coppelia looked at the way she was forcing herself to hold on. Understanding dawned in her heart, and she changed her approach, asking softly, "Are you... very afraid of losing these new friends, Fujin and Changsheng? Is that why you want to be faster, just a little faster, to find reinforcements to help them as soon as possible?"
Columbina fell silent for a moment, then nodded gently, her voice lowering. "Mn... If I don't do this, my heart... feels a bit panicked. I can't calm down..."
"I am just as worried about them..." Coppelia looked at her, understanding clearly.
It seemed that as the soul fragments gradually returned, Columbina's emotions were becoming richer and more intense.
She thought briefly, then continued in a more solemn tone, "However, Columbina, likewise, you are also a very important friend to me. I am also very afraid of losing you! If you collapse from overexertion, or meet with some mishap in this state, my heart will also panic, and I won't be able to calm down either."
Hearing this, Columbina jerked her head up, looking somewhat at a loss.
Coppelia held her shoulders with both hands. "So, rest for a while. Just a little while, okay?"
This time, Columbina did not resist again. She obediently sat down on the soft sandy beach, though her gaze still stubbornly looked toward the south.
However, the sight to the south seemed to surprise her. She unconsciously straightened her back and leaned forward slightly.
Coppelia followed her gaze, and her brows immediately knit together tight.
Looking south of the riverbank, as far as the eye could see, the land was devastated.
The fields were nothing but cracked yellow earth, devoid of life, dotted sparsely with dead black tree trunks. Ruins of collapsed houses were faintly visible in the distance, the broken walls covered in creeping dark vines and moss, with no sign of human habitation.
Turbid dust and sand shrouded the vast wasteland, within which twisted and grotesque figures could be vaguely seen wandering. In the sky, ominous flying shadows occasionally swept past, emitting ear-piercing cries.
Those were monsters in staggering numbers.
Coppelia felt a chill in her heart: Just that small patch of land just now harbored over a dozen difficult Consecrated Beasts. On the vast land across the river, who knows how many demons and monsters are lurking... Compared to this land before us, the icy plains and snowy fields of Mondstadt seem like a tranquil and safe paradise.
Is this caused by the Archon residue left after Guizhong's death? No, there were plenty of Archons who died on this land...
But regardless of the cause, the conclusion was obvious: Liyue in this era was terrifying.
Coppelia withdrew her gaze and said to Columbina, "Those guys on the opposite bank are definitely not something we can handle. We should take a detour along the river later."
"Since the Millelith can travel north by water to Chenyu Vale, there definitely aren't that many monsters in the river. That's the safest way to go," she added. "You must rest well. Absolutely do not push yourself anymore."
Columbina remained silent for a long while before slowly nodding. "Mn."
____
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