Everyone had arrived, and the anemo element power within the sky harp had reached an active state. All prerequisites for the great dragon purification operation were met. The only thing missing now was—
"So, where should we summon Stormterror?"
Jean's thoughts were the most meticulous, and she was the first to ask this crucial question.
That's right, in fact, until now, this group hadn't even decided where to summon Stormterror.
Jean thought Venti would have an idea, Diluc was purely there to help and hadn't thought of offering suggestions, Rosaria and Barbara had just joined, and Orion, Lumine, and Clara were all outsiders; no one thought to ask them.
Thus, everyone's gaze gathered on Venti.
Venti scratched his head; he hadn't thought of it either.
"Well, well, anyway, we want the song to travel far, right? So we need to choose a high place or a place with sea breeze." Venti only gave the preconditions, then threw the question back.
Jean, as the Grand Master, had her underlying code for protecting Mondstadt directly activated: "Mondstadt City is definitely out of the question. High places are all concentrated with buildings, and if we fail, the losses would be immeasurable. Similarly, the highlands near Dawn Winery also..."
"Even if Dawn Winery were destroyed, it wouldn't be an irreversible loss, but the highlands nearby aren't very high in elevation either." Master Diluc, being wealthy, spoke with confidence, but it was clear Dawn Winery wasn't quite suitable either.
Everyone looked at the Orion trio again.
Lumine: "Singing and playing while flying high in the sky."
"Lumine, you're giving me too much credit."
Orion: "How about the highest level of Stormterrors Lair? Isn't that very high?"
"Then wouldn't summoning Dvalin there be pointless?!"
Clara: "I see a small island in the sky."
"Stop! Don't say anything more!"
Venti had been a god for thousands of years, and no matter where, the most unreliable one had always been himself.
But looking today, these extraterrestrial lords truly are lords! Besides driving, they're always creating! What's the point of constantly thinking about this and that?
In the end, it was Barbara's single sentence that sealed the deal: "Um... Star-Snatching Cliff, wouldn't that be very suitable?"
Dawn Winery is not close to Star-Snatching Cliff, especially with the real-world scale enlarged. Without considering carriages, even for those with Visions, it would probably take until sunset to get there.
Venti didn't want to expose his identity, so Orion snapped his fingers, casting a Light Body spell on everyone present.
This was essentially enveloping everyone with Ideal Fluid. Ideal Fluid would reduce wind resistance, break through wind barriers, make people as light as swallows, and also provide a stamina recovery effect.
This powerful buff greatly astonished everyone present. Previously, everyone's understanding of Orion's strength was primarily focused on brute force. Although they had heard he used elemental power to stop a tornado, most people considered that to be'strong' power, not the 'nimble' kind they were seeing now.
Venti happily skipped over and elbowed Orion: "Amazing! Truly worthy of being the rumored Anemo God's Apostle!"
Orion's veins bulged. Are you trying to take credit for yourself?
Barbara, hearing this, looked a little downcast.
—Anemo God's Apostle? The matter of tricking me with a curse, assisting Amber in protecting the passing crowds—which one is the real you?
...Orion's Elemental Burst—Ideal Fluid—was incredibly useful. Unlike his Elemental Skill, which only had the two effects of healing and shielding, his Elemental Burst could pretty much do anything he wanted. And unlike in the game where you need to accumulate elemental particles or wait for cooldowns, given Orion's internal energy, this skill effect could practically be kept active indefinitely.
In less than two hours, by almost nine in the morning, everyone arrived at the foot of Star-Snatching Cliff. Even the non-combatant Barbara hadn't fallen behind.
Just kidding, Orion was actually supporting her with anemo element for most of the way; the young girl was too innocent to notice.
Unlike Jean and Rosaria, the moment Orion supported them, their curious gazes came over, and Orion simply gave up.
And Lumine? Damn it, Lumine was practically sitting cross-legged on the wind! She didn't want to move a single step, which made Orion so angry he almost revoked all her buffs.
As for Clara, her feet didn't touch the ground the entire time, for food safety reasons.
Master Diluc didn't need it at all. Venti, on the other hand, shamelessly came over, wanting to be carried, but Orion ignored him, leading to the two bickering for the latter half of the journey.
Watching Orion, who was walking ahead and constantly bickering with Venti, Barbara felt a little dazed. Orion's actions, his strength, were all witnessed by her. With a snap of his fingers, he could manipulate the anemo element to such an extent, yet he showed no sign of unreasoning arrogance or self-importance.
"Ah, Anemo God, please guide me... What should I do?"
..."It's just ahead." Venti pointed forward, but his voice suddenly paused just as he finished speaking.
Because he heard a believer's prayer, and then he gave Orion a playful smile that sent shivers down Orion's spine.
"What are you looking at?"
"Heh, nothing. I just hope you don't mess things up yourself."
It wasn't just Barbara; Jean, who was nearby, also watched Orion, who was chatting and laughing with Venti, and fell silent.
She had some suspicions, including Orion mistakenly calling out a name that morning, which all became corroborating evidence for that suspicion.
Were these travelers from afar truly the saviors summoned by the Anemo God, as the rumors claimed?
Not only that, if her suspicion was correct, and Venti's true identity really was... then was it because Mondstadt's faith was weakening that these travelers had to be summoned to Mondstadt to assist the Knights of Favonius in saving Mondstadt?
"Orion, how should I view you? Forget it... Let the wind guide me."
The younger sister's prayer had just ended when the older sister's prayer transformed into a gentle breeze and entered Venti's mind. This time, even Venti no longer had his previous playful demeanor; he directly gave Orion a hard elbow.
Look at what you've done to my two believers! At such an important juncture, their minds are filled with your trivial matters! If you're going to date, just date openly! But do it after you've finished the serious business!
This was the most serious Venti had ever been. If Dvalin could hear these thoughts, he might be purified on the spot.
Amidst Venti's barrage of elbows and Orion's bewildered expression, everyone arrived at the summit of Star-Snatching Cliff.
Everyone stopped. Orion cast an invisible wind shield on them, then yielded the stage.
Next was the Anemo God's stage.
Plucking the strings, Venti's song rose with the clear wind.
The song crossed forests, and all beasts listened; it brushed over snow-capped mountains, and the cold wind ceased; finally, the melody circled above all of Mondstadt, and countless travelers and hunters stopped to listen.
A miracle.
Orion also listened. This song had transcended the realm of human capability; simply listening to it purified one's soul.
If the story had unfolded as it did in the game from the beginning, perhaps this song would have been thought to be a fairy singing in the woods somewhere. But now, with the legend of the Anemo God protecting Mondstadt from the demon dragon having fermented, everyone knew—
Mondstadt's god had returned.
Suddenly, the airflow quickened, and the wind pressure continuously increased. Even the elemental particles in the air became agitated.
In the Vision of Orion and the others, the summit of Star-Snatching Cliff was like a line dividing the sky and the ground, and right at that boundary, a giant dragon's head "rose from the ground"!
Then came its neck, body, claws, and those dragon wings, sacred like stained-glass windows in a cathedral, but now tinged with a dark red hue.
The three-hundred-meter-long giant dragon soared into the sky. The wind pressure from its flight alone was enough to sweep people from the ground into the high heavens. Fortunately, the shield made of Ideal Fluid protected everyone from harm.
Venti looked at the dark red blotches on the dragon's body, his heart filled with pain. He reached out and took a step forward, only to see the giant dragon circling in the air, spreading its full wings and claws, and letting out a roar in an absolute combat stance:
"Ba—Ba—Tos!!!"
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