ebookland Chapter 150 Keqing and the Fools
Chapter 150 Keqing and the Fools
Although she didn't know why Keqing was with the Fatui, Kiana still needed to complete the task, so she opened a portal while sensing Keqing's location.
Meanwhile, on Keqing's side...
"We didn't expect there to be any Fatui members still trapped below the Abyss of Lava. We apologize for our oversight."
"So what exactly happened? We were ordered down here to help investigate and clean up the source of the mutation in the Layered Rock Abyss, but in the end, they couldn't even guarantee us supplies."
This man's name was Anton, and he was the temporary company commander of this "Fool's Company." Though called a company, in reality, only four of them remained.
"Sigh, it's a long story," Keqing sighed. "You Fatui, who have been carrying out missions in the underground mining areas where intelligence is hard to get to, may not know that your Enforcer Prince caused a major diplomatic incident in Liyue, which greatly damaged the reputation of the Fatui within Liyue. At the same time, in order to avoid being held accountable, almost all the Fatui on the surface have also withdrawn to winter..."
"So, we've been abandoned?" Anton asked incredulously.
"Perhaps, after all, it was a lady who facilitated the cooperation, and the executive officer who sent you down was also a lady. After the young master took over her work, it's unclear whether the lady gave you any instructions."
"Even so, shouldn't the Liyue government respect our soldiers and provide us with the necessary survival support?"
"This... is indeed an oversight on our side in Liyue. Because a more serious anomaly occurred in the mining area, we, the Seven Stars, issued an order to completely seal off the mining area and sealed off the entire underground mining area. We just didn't expect that this order would not reach your ears. Rather, we thought from the beginning that all the Fatui in Liyue had already evacuated."
Anton's team was about to retaliate, but Anton stopped them, because he understood that attacking Keqing at this moment would not do any good and might even cost them their only chance to return to the ground.
So he suppressed his anger and grievances and asked, "Then what is the reason for Lady Keqing's downfall this time? If possible, perhaps we can make a deal."
"If you want me to take you out, you don't need to go through all this trouble."
"That is to say..."
"Ultimately, this was our mistake. It was our duty to let you go through what you went through, to help you return to the surface, and even to consider you heroes who protected Liyue, but..."
"Just what?"
Anton's heart skipped a beat.
"I came down here this time to investigate whether the anomaly has subsided."
“That’s easy. We have the relevant intelligence, and we’ve even investigated the source of the anomaly. Whether Lady Keqing wants to deal with the source of the anomaly first or return to the surface, we can provide assistance to Lady Keqing.”
"While I appreciate your thoughtfulness, please listen calmly to what I have to say next."
Anton nervously swallowed and said, "Please speak."
Keqing said, "This time, because of the seal, I came down alone. And to ensure the seal wasn't broken, I brought specific items inside. So…"
Now that things had come to this point, Anton naturally understood what Keqing meant.
"I'm sorry, I don't have a way to get all of you up there right now."
"How...could this be..."
Upon hearing this, Keqing could clearly sense that the four Fatui members in front of her were gradually breaking down. After all, before setting off, they were regarded as heroes and blessed by the people of Liyue, but now they were trapped here and unable to return to the surface. Moreover, because of their Fatui identity, they would be despised by those who had once given them blessings.
However, there is no way.
It has been quite a while since Ningguang last made regular contact. Given Ningguang's personality, she should already know that she has lost contact, so there is a high probability that she has sent people down to search for her whereabouts.
Even though it's just a possibility, it's important to share it with them to give them some hope and prevent them from losing their will to live.
"But don't worry! Because of the previous accident, I haven't been able to contact the surface regularly for a long time. Ningguang should have sent someone down to look for me by now, and you might be able to go back then."
Hearing this, Anton and his team exchanged bewildered glances. They knew that Keqing was just trying to comfort them; they weren't new recruits, and they could distinguish between what was true and what was false from their superiors.
But at least there's still hope, isn't there?
"So what do we do next?"
"You don't need to do anything. I have plenty of dry food in my luggage. Take it to fill your stomachs before the rescue arrives. I have a feeling that the support will be here soon."
Before the words were finished, a dark purple portal appeared in front of everyone. The four members of the Fatui immediately became alert and tightly protected Keqing in the middle to prevent any accidents from happening to her.
Keqing, on the other hand, looked completely relaxed. She knew this was Kiana's portal. Although she hadn't seen it herself, Ningguang had and had shared this information with her.
Therefore, Keqing was quite certain that what came out of the portal was definitely not an abyssal monster, so she spoke up to tell the other four to calm down.
As expected, it wasn't some abyssal monster that emerged from there; just as Keqing had suspected, it was Kiana.
"So, Keqing, can you explain to me why you're with the Fatui?"
Kiana, who stepped out of the portal, immediately saw Keqing being protected by the four Fatui members, who were calmly directing them.
Those in the know understand that Keqing is a member of the Liyue Seven Stars and has absolutely no connection to the Fatui, while those who don't might think she's some newly recruited Fatui Enforcer.
"Let's talk while we rest. Did Kiana only send you down this time? And is the seal alright?"
"Indeed, I'm the only one who came down here. As for the seal, don't worry, it's absolutely safe. I can even help reinforce it if you need it."
“That won’t be necessary,” Ke Qing refused.
After a short rest, Kiana finally understood what had happened.
It turned out that on the very day he and Zhongli left, the Abyss of Layered Rocks erupted with an extremely powerful abyssal aura.
In order to investigate this aura, Keqing, one of the Seven Stars, defied all objections and went to investigate.
Ningguang knew she couldn't persuade Keqing, so she simply let Keqing go.
Keqing then brought ample supplies to part of the underground mining area of the Laminariat. After making some simple adjustments at the camp at the entrance, Keqing set off to investigate.
At first everything was normal, but as Keqing went deeper, clumps of foul-smelling black mud began to appear all around.
Ke Qing was naturally prepared for this situation, and she took out the prepared Lumenite catalyst to disperse the black mud.
But with the disappearance of the black mud, all sorts of abyssal monsters appeared in its place.
Although these monsters were not particularly strong, they were outnumbered. Keqing was forced into a corner and forced to fight and retreat. Just when things were at their most critical, Anton led his team to successfully rescue Keqing.
Then came the events before Kiana arrived, and after hearing the explanation, Kiana suddenly understood.
It seems that when she confronted forbidden knowledge, the fluctuations generated by the forbidden knowledge triggered an invasion of the abyss, which led to Keqing's subsequent series of misfortunes.
Wait a minute! So, this whole thing is my fault?
Thinking of this, Kiana felt a headache coming on. However, she did not expect that the changes in the Abyss of Layered Rocks would happen earlier than she thought.
It seems there must be some other reason for the anomaly, but before Kiana could go to the ley lines to find out the cause, Anton, who was standing nearby, told her the results of their investigation, which saved Kiana some effort.
According to the intelligence provided by Anton, there are even deeper places beneath the underground mines. There, they even found an inverted ruin hanging above, where Anton and his team unexpectedly discovered traces of the Abyss Cult's activities.
As the investigation deepened, Anton and his team eventually discovered a ruin in the deepest part of the site, above which hung a huge, nail-like structure.
Below the building was an open space, and Anton and his team risked coming to the area beneath it in order to investigate the building.
They were then attacked, and after losing their captain and another member, Anton and his team managed to escape back to the upper mining area.
In the days that followed, they tried every means to bring back the captain's and the other team member's remains, but all their efforts ended in failure.
After their final raid failed, they abandoned their plan to retrieve the body and returned to the main mining area, where they encountered Keqing, who had been attacked. Out of self-interest, they intervened and saved Keqing.
"So, you believe that the source of all the anomalies in the Layered Rock Abyss is that nail-shaped structure at the deepest part?"
“Yes,” Anton replied.
The nail-shaped structure, if I'm not mistaken, must be the Sky Nail. I never imagined they were able to reach such a deep place.
Kiana glanced at Anton and the others subtly, then asked, "How did you manage to get to such a deep place?"
The four Fools exchanged glances, thinking that since they would share the information anyway, they might as well just reveal it all.
"We discovered the cave entrance by accident. Since the entrance didn't look like it was formed by a natural collapse, we went down to investigate."
"Even you didn't expect such a big gain, did you?"
Anton nodded in agreement with Kiana's prediction. To be honest, even they didn't know they would obtain so much information after going down there.
“I have a general understanding of the situation. I know the nail-shaped building you mentioned.”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's attention immediately turned to Kiana.
"That structure is called Sky Nail. Just as its name suggests, it comes from Sky Island and is a device used to suppress and purify the abyss."
"Suppressing and purifying the abyss...so the abyss once erupted here, right?"
"maybe…"
Kiana did not directly respond to Keqing's words, after all, the function of the Sky Spikes was not only to suppress and purify the Abyss, but also more than enough to serve as a space-based weapon in the way it descended.
"Since it came from Sky Island, how did it get to the ground? Sky Island is in the sky!"
Faced with Anton's questions, Kiana knew that if she didn't explain herself clearly today, they wouldn't let her off the hook.
Kiana scratched her head, looking troubled, and said, "You really love to pry. I already said it came from Sky Island, so what's the simplest and fastest way to send it down?"
"..."
Anton fell silent. At that moment, a ridiculous idea swirled in his mind, but he couldn't bring himself to believe it. Kiana's subsequent answer completely shattered his naive notion.
"The simplest way is to drop it directly from the sky. The sky nail is sturdy enough. Just throw it from Sky Island to the target location, and then boom! That's it."
Although Kiana described it very casually, everyone present felt a heavy weight in their hearts.
Throwing it directly from the sky to the ground is indeed the simplest and fastest method. But it is also undoubtedly the most cruel, because it would inevitably destroy all living things and even civilizations on that land.
But can they say that this is definitely wrong?
Everyone knows the dangers of the Abyss; anyone who comes into contact with it will meet a bad end. I believe the reason Sky Island was struck by the Heavenly Nails must be because that place has been completely corrupted by the Abyss. Yes! That must be it!
This wasn't because Keqing and Anton were foolish enough to believe that Sky Island must have some hidden reason, but rather because they had no choice but to believe it.
Otherwise, how could they guarantee that the celestial nails wouldn't descend upon their country in the next second?
Yes, as soon as Kiana revealed the method of transporting the Sky Spikes, everyone already understood that the Sky Spikes were definitely not just for dealing with the Abyss.
Aside from the abyss factor, the Sky Nail itself is undoubtedly the most threatening weapon.
At this moment, Anton and the others finally understood why the Empress chose to defy the laws of nature. With such a tyrannical monarch above her, it was no wonder that her beloved Empress would raise the banner of rebellion.
Time passed silently, and Kiana and her companions finally arrived at the area where the Sky Spikes were located, led by Anton and the others. Along the way, they even saw a projection of a Sky Spike.
This was the interior of a dark cave, illuminated by the blue light emanating from the Heavenly Nail itself.
Below the sky nail was the open space that Anton and his group had mentioned earlier. From there, one could vaguely see something being dug in the open space, kicking up a lot of dust.
"Is that what attacked you?"
"That's right. We were ambushed by that thing when we arrived at that open space. Judging from its appearance, we can only guess that it came from the same era as the guardians of the ruins on the ground. As for other information, we don't know."
Anton wanted to tell Kiana and the others about the information they had gathered after fighting the monster, but then he saw that Kiana had already arrived at the open space.
Just as Anton was about to remind Kiana to come back quickly, he saw the monster burst out of the ground and attack Kiana.
What appeared was a mechanical construct resembling a giant snake, its body composed of numerous old mechanical parts. Perhaps due to years of neglect, Kiana could hear the grating sound of the gears rubbing against each other.
Based on the intelligence obtained from the ley lines, this giant serpent of the ruins was merely a tool created by Kanria to dig tunnels for transporting troops. Although it possesses some combat capabilities, it is far from sufficient for Kiana.
With a crisp snap of the fingers, the giant serpent of the ruins stopped moving and then turned into pieces scattered across the open ground.