hsntnovel Chapter 831 Dancing for Sacrifice
Chapter 831 Dancing for Sacrifice
Just as the Icefire Sorcerer's icy mist slowed Frost Armor King's advance, the core of the Relic Heavy Machine suddenly glowed red. Several missiles whistled as they shot into the center of the Fools' formation.
"Scatter!" The shouts of the guerrillas were swallowed up by the explosion.
Flames and shrapnel swept everything away. The rock pillar barrier shattered instantly, the Wind and Thunder Vanguard was blown away by the shockwave, and the musket guerrillas' firing ceased abruptly. The Ice Fire Mage staggered backward, his protective icy mist teetering on the verge of collapse.
Frost Armor King broke free from the frost, slamming his massive fist into the ground. A terrifying ice explosion violently ripped the Ice Gun Heavy Guardian who tried to climb up, the sound of cracking ice armor echoing through the air. The Water Gun Heavy Guardian's healing streams splashed in vain, unable to keep up with the rate at which his teammates' wounds were multiplying.
The relic machine approached with earth-shaking strides, its single eye glowing crimson, beginning a new round of charging. The Fatui's formation was already in disarray, their elemental power nearing depletion.
"Retreat...retreat!" the Icefire Sorcerer hissed, crushing his magical artifact to release the last ice wall to buy time.
"Kolya! Help me out!" the Wind Fist Vanguard shouted to the musketeers.
"Oh no! My pipe is broken!" the water cannon guard reported anxiously, looking at the ruptured jet pipe.
"Pavel! Is there any barrier left? The last one!" the musketeer asked the rock envoy in a hoarse voice as he retreated.
"...Retreat!" The Ice Gun Heavy Guard, leaning on his weapon, gasped for breath. "I...I can't hold on much longer..."
None of them expected their patrol of the snowy mountains to encounter such a situation. The once dormant heavy machinery of the ruins had suddenly awakened for some unknown reason, and the aftermath of the battle had attracted the Frost Armor King of the Hilichurl. They were merely the advance team; neither of these two monsters was within their capabilities to defeat, and with both appearing together, their chances of winning were practically zero, and even their hope of survival was extremely slim.
"It's no use... This body will eventually return to the wind and snow..."
They are now completely exhausted, the machine guns of the Relic Heavy Machine are fully charged, and the attack of the Frost Armor King is ready to be unleashed—they have reached the end of their road.
"Icy Waves and Raging Waves!"
In their despair, a melodious voice pierced the wind and snow like the dawn. The extremely cold ice elemental force, so dense it even overwhelmed the snow-capped mountains, suddenly erupted. The powerful force, carrying the icy elemental energy, swept outwards, forcing the two demons, who were poised to attack, back considerably.
"Can you still move? If you can, hide first, I'll deal with the enemy in front of me."
After leaving those words, the girl with light blue hair charged into the enemy ranks alone, leaving behind only an elegant silhouette.
......
"Challenge enemies you can't defeat, is this how your executives teach you? Humph, I'll remember this grudge!" Yura looked at the exhausted Fools slumped on the ground with dissatisfaction, her hands on her hips, her words utterly merciless.
"Although you saved us, I won't allow you to speak of the Executor like that!" The ice sorceress named Ara retorted wearily to Yura. For the Fatui, the Executor's reputation was more important than their lives.
"Ara, if you're too tired to say anything more... I'm sorry, and thank you for saving us." Pavel, being the most composed member of the squad, naturally reassured his teammates and thanked and negotiated with the Knights of Favonius before him.
In fact, situations where the Knights of Favonius help the Fatui or vice versa have been common since the Dragon Plague. It's just that the Knights of Favonius rarely visit places like Dragonspine Pass; only a small number of them patrol regularly. Therefore, the Fatui squad's presence was somewhat unexpected.
"The commotion you guys caused has ruined my precious vacation. Humph, I'll remember this grudge." Despite saying this, Yura didn't look displeased. "You won't be so lucky next time."
After leaving those words, the knight named Yura turned and left.
......
At the foot of Longji Snow Mountain, by the icy spring, Yura quietly curled up on a rock by the water.
She had been soaking in the icy spring here before, and only got up to help when she heard the commotion up the mountain. Now that the matter has been resolved, she has returned here.
But after returning, she lost the desire to continue taking a bath and just sat by the water, lost in thought.
During this time of free time, she would often space out like this, sometimes slightly tipsy from drinking in the gift of angels, and sometimes like now by the frozen lake.
When she was lost in thought, she would always hold a delicate pocket watch in her hand and stare at it, but her gaze was unfocused, as if she were looking at something else through the pocket watch.
This pocket watch was given to her by a meddlesome "enemy" of hers, who said it could be used to communicate with him and to defend himself in critical moments... Communication aside, she has never used it for self-defense so far.
This is clearly underestimating her strength, and she's been holding a grudge about it for a long time.
There were many grudges between her and that guy, such as "deliberately letting her drink more when drinking", "although he had clearly advised her not to get too close to him, he didn't listen", "he was clearly an executive officer, but he approached her without any purpose, which clearly showed that he looked down on her", and so on... many, many.
She had already planned to settle the score with that guy in ten or twenty years, but then...
She was the captain of a guerrilla squad and was often away on missions, sometimes not returning to the city for ten days or half a month at a time. Naturally, she was far behind others in terms of information.
This meant that she didn't learn of his death until half a month after the funeral.
She initially didn't believe it; how could someone like that be dead? But after sending the message, she received no further response...
After that, she became the way she is now. Except when she is on a mission, when she is relaxed, Yura will stare at her pocket watch and read the letters they exchanged over and over again.
The acting leader was worried about her, so he gave her a short vacation. Yura wanted to refuse, but for some reason, she felt that refusing was a bit tiring, so she agreed in a daze and then rested for a while in a daze.
During that time, she went to Winter Solstice—she didn't know why, perhaps because she had heard that a new god's coronation ceremony had just been held there, so she was a little curious?
In short, led by a Liyue person who always had a strange smile, wore glasses, and looked rather unsettling, she arrived at a graveyard with mixed feelings, where she saw a new tombstone.
The inscription reads as follows:
"
The people who sleep here
He once used a mortal body to test the wrath of the gods.
The heavenly punishment paused for a moment for his heartbeat.
Where the gears lay scattered, all beings were able to continue writing the unfinished poem.
Awaiting the awakening of the steel king from the falling star.
Winding up the world again
—The Twelfth Seat [Mortal] Mortal—
His silence is the most exquisite compassion in the world.
'
Yura didn't remember how she felt at the time, only that something seemed to slide down her face and her eyes inexplicably became wet... Maybe it was raining.
Composing herself, Yura scooped up a handful of icy spring water and splashed it on her face. This couldn't go on any longer—she told herself. Today she had to say a proper goodbye, and then... continue living with that "hatred."
Yura gently used her ice elemental power to freeze the pocket watch inside the translucent ice monument, and then stood in front of the ice monument.
She took a deep breath, adjusted her mood and physical condition to their best, and then... slowly struck a graceful pose.
"You'll see it eventually, won't you? After all, this is what you've always wanted to see... this ritual dance."
"It's not easy, you're finally willing to dance for me?"
The voice from my memory rang out, carrying that familiar, playful tone.