"So that's what happened!"
Lora nodded and said to Dehya, "I was wondering. If you were the one behind this, I'd feel a little bad about making a move."
"No way! If I really were behind it, how would I dare go after you?" Dehya laughed as well.
She knew very well that Lora was not human, but a Liyue adeptus powerful enough to suppress a god.
Dehya walked to her side, looked at the mercenaries blocking the road, and lowered her voice.
"Go back and tell your boss that the desert isn't what it used to be, and neither is the Akademiya.
"With Alhaitham and Cyno's help, Lesser Lord Kusanali's authority is returning to the desert. Working with the Akademiya is the desert's only future."
"Hmph! You desert traitors have no right to say that!"
"The desert has never needed the Akademiya!"
The mercenaries were still shouting. They had a natural resistance toward the Akademiya. Although Rahman had been working hard to get the Eremites to accept its rule, that had also provoked quite a few rebels.
"You people really are..." Dehya clenched her fists, wanting to teach them a proper lesson.
It would be much better for Dehya to act than for Lora or Apep. At the very least, she did not have overwhelming power. No matter what happened, she would not directly kill these mercenaries.
Although they resisted Lesser Lord Kusanali's will and obstructed the Akademiya's decrees in the desert, Dehya was still a mercenary herself. She still hoped these people could come to their senses on their own.
Reducing unnecessary casualties as much as possible was what she wanted.
However, Lora stopped her.
"A lot of the time, blind leniency isn't kindness, and refusing to act isn't the best choice either. Some lessons have to hurt before people remember them."
After Lora said that, Apep was greatly surprised. She looked at her and said, "I never thought I would hear words like that from you. Aren't The Seven supposed to love humanity?"
"The Seven?" Dehya froze when she heard how Apep addressed Lora.
"Lady Apep, please don't say strange things. The Seven? What Seven? I have no idea what you're talking about." Lora tilted her head and put on an innocent, confused expression.
Seeing her like this, Apep fell silent.
Her eyes were full of stories.
The mercenaries surrounding them exchanged glances. In truth, the moment Dehya appeared, they had already started thinking about retreating. Everyone knew her reputation, and they understood her stance even better. What they were doing was something she absolutely would not tolerate.
Lora crooked a finger, and the ground beneath their feet suddenly began to tremble faintly.
Dehya hurriedly shouted, "Miss Lora, please show mercy..."
Lora looked at her and gave a small hum. "Oh, don't worry. They won't die."
As soon as she finished speaking, she raised her hand and snapped her fingers.
Several massive pillars of water burst out from underground, blasting all the mercenaries into the sky until they vanished from sight.
The desert, long starved of rain, welcomed a rare downpour.
"You are still too gentle, Egeria." Apep watched the mercenaries disappear into the sky, then said slowly, "If I had acted, they would all be going to meet Amon."
"Uh..." Dehya knew King Deshret was also known as Amon. Hearing Apep refer to him so casually shocked her a little, and she asked, "May I ask who this young lady is?"
"I am—"
"Oh, she's my relative." Before Apep could speak, Lora cut in and explained first. "A sheltered country bumpkin who's never seen the world. No manners, no sense of etiquette. Don't mind her."
Exposing the identity of a god was not a major problem. After all, Dehya even knew Nahida. But Apep was a Dragon Sovereign. If her identity were exposed in front of ordinary people, there was no telling what kind of reaction it might cause.
Dehya blinked. She looked at Apep, then at Lora, clearly confused. "The countryside? Your relative?"
But... wasn't Lora a Liyue adeptus?
And this young lady did not resemble her at all. In what way did they look like relatives?
Apep also frowned and looked at Lora.
What kind of ridiculous excuse was that?
"Miss Lora, you really are bad at lying. You never manage to fool anyone." Dehya looked at her helplessly and sighed. "It's fine. If you don't want to say it, I won't ask. Judging from your appearance, you and this young lady just came back from the desert?"
Lora nodded. "That's right. You too?"
Dehya shook her head. "You can tell from the way I look that I didn't come from the desert, right? I just came from Sumeru City and was heading back to discuss some things with Rahman. Then I happened to run into those mercenaries, so I'll need to explain everything to him."
"Oh, I see..." Lora nodded, then reminded her, "Remember to go look for them. They probably didn't fly too far. The fall definitely won't kill them, but a few broken bones are probably unavoidable."
"Thank you for showing mercy."
Dehya thanked her. Of course she knew that with Lora's ability, dealing with those mercenaries would only take a flick of her finger. There was no need for her to go through the trouble of blasting them away like that.
After saying goodbye to Dehya, Apep followed Lora into Caravan Ribat.
Walking behind her, Apep stared at her back and said, "Did you just say I have no manners and no etiquette?"
"Oh, come on, it was just a cover story! Be understanding." Lora quickly turned around to soothe the proud dragon's temper.
"Hmph!" Apep snorted coldly, showing her disdain. "That little one was right about one thing. Your ability to lie is terrible. Do you really think people will believe you just because you make up nonsense on the spot?"
"I never expected her to believe me. As long as she doesn't question it, that's enough." Lora spread her hands and said it directly.
Ah, this was the nice thing about having high status.
Even if the other person knew perfectly well that she was making things up, they would not call her out.
"Being one of The Seven really is a dead-end career," Apep sighed and shook her head.
"I think it has plenty of future," Lora retorted.
"Heh."
Apep gave her a simple one-word reply.
They traveled east from Caravan Ribat. Halfway there, Lora grabbed another scholar from the Akademiya to guide them.
At first, the scholar was unwilling to lead the way. But the moment he saw Lora's face, he suddenly became extremely enthusiastic.
Forget guiding them.
He looked ready to wait on her hand and foot.