Three Kingdoms Iron Cavalry Invades Natlan: Lumine of the Abyss Burns the Heavens
Lü Bu crosses dimensions to conquer Fontaine and Sumeru, his iron hooves shattering the thrones of gods.
Zhang Liao leads a hundred thousand elite troops on an expedition to Natlan, only to fall into an ambush by Natlan forces in the Craggy Gorge.
At the critical moment, Lumine, the Princess of the Abyss, leads one hundred and thirty thousand abyss legions pouring forth from the earth.
Amid intertwined flames and rockslides, Zhang Liao watches his soldiers torn to shreds by elemental powers with his own eyes.
The iron cavalry is routed amid the roars of sky-filling monsters, fleeing in disgrace with sixty thousand troops lost…
Crimson boulders, like discarded bones of the heavens, stand jagged on both sides of the narrow valley path. The wind is stagnant here, swirling with grit and scorching heat; every breath feels like swallowing burning charcoal. Zhang Liao reins in his warhorse, his gaze sharp as a falcon beneath his iron face-guard, slowly scanning this dead end known to the Natlans as the Craggy Gorge.
His hundred thousand troops, a giant python forged from dark armor, wind their way into this narrow choke point. The soldiers march in silence; only the clank of clashing armor, the muffled thud of hooves crushing gravel, and stifled gasps from the sweltering heat merge into a dull undercurrent in the valley. This is the first heavy blow Lord Lü Bu strikes south into the barbaric lands after crossing dimensions to conquer Fontaine and Sumeru, and camp his armies by the capitals of wisdom and waters. Where his army marches, Natlan tribes should flee at the mere sight of his banners.
Yet a faint sense of unease coils around Zhang Liao's heart like a venomous snake. It is far too quiet. Apart from the wind and his own marching sounds, not even a lizard can be seen crawling on the dizzyingly tall crimson cliffs on both sides. The scorching Natlan sun roasts the rocks until they glow, warping the air, and countless pairs of cold eyes seem to lurk in the shadows of the cliffs.
"General, this terrain is treacherous. Shall we slow the vanguard and send more scouts…" A deputy general rides forward, his voice low and hesitant.
Zhang Liao does not turn back, merely raising a hand to silence him. He knows full well the wisdom of avoiding dangerous terrain. But Lord Fengxian has just claimed two nations, his might shaking the world, and his army is at its peak. Intelligence reports Natlan is internally fragmented, its main forces no match for his own. A swift victory, crushing this last resistance with the prestige of triumph, is the best strategy. How could he, Zhang Wenyuan, the sharp blade under Lü Bu's command, shrink back for mere treacherous terrain?
"Order the rear army to speed up and pass through this valley as quickly as possible!" His voice, filtered through the face guard, carries a cold metallic edge, leaving no room for argument. That flicker of unease is suppressed by stronger confidence and longing for merit. The python continues slithering deeper into the gorge, its scales reflecting the cruel sunlight.
The moment the central army fully enters the narrowest part of the gorge, with front and rear unable to support each other—
Boom!
The first war drum resounds not from the valley mouth nor the end, but from above, from the cliff tops reaching toward the sky! Deep and earth-shattering, it instantly shatters all silence in the gorge.
Then the second, the third… Countless drums merge into a violent thunder, pouring down from all directions.
Woo—ao—
Bizarre howls mix with the drumbeats, and countless figures surge onto the cliffs on both sides in an instant. These are not neatly arrayed military formations, but Natlan warriors clad in various leathers, feathers, and even painted with eerie pigments. They cling to the steep cliffs nimbly like apes, wielding fire-wreathed javelins or heavy hammers glowing with earthy yellow light.
No warning, no declaration of war.
The first wave of burning javelins, like falling meteor showers with the shrill cry of death, rains down upon the army at the valley bottom. Flames erupt on the dry air and soldiers' armor, igniting a sea of fire in an instant. Screams replace marching sounds as the valley's main melody.
"Enemy attack! Form up! Raise shields!" Zhang Liao's roar thunders like a tiger, quelling the initial chaos. The battle-hardened elite show their discipline; outer soldiers quickly lift tall shields to form a tortoise formation, attempting to block attacks from above.
But the assault is not limited to fire.
Rumble!
Huge boulders are smashed loose by Natlan strongmen with heavy hammers, or torn free by earthy yellow elemental light, rolling and leaping down from hundreds of meters high. Shields crumble like paper under such impact, soldiers and shields alike smashed into pulp, the sound of shattering bones grating on the ears. The entire valley bottom becomes a meat grinder, roasted by fire and crushed by rocks.
Zhang Liao draws his longsword, slashing a sharp sword aura to split a falling boulder mid-air. Scattered gravel clatters against his armor. He glances around, eyes bloodshot with rage. In a single moment, the vanguard is cut off, and deafening shouts of killing erupt from the rear—their escape route is blocked too. His army is trapped like turtles in a jar.
"Break through to the valley mouth! Vanguard becomes rear guard, follow me to kill!" Without hesitation, Zhang Liao wheels his horse around, sword pointing toward the way they came. The only way out now is to gather strength and tear open a gap.
Yet just as he rallies his troops for a desperate charge, the ground beneath trembles with a deeper, more terrifying vibration. This is no falling rock nor war drum, but… something colossal stirring deep beneath the earth.
Hiss—crack—
At the center of the valley bottom, the relatively flat crimson rock suddenly splits open a massive rift. Rock at the edge drips like melted wax, revealing a dark, deep space churning with purple and black energy. A cold, filthy, corrosive aura, mixed with a sulfurous stench, surges into the sky, instantly diluting the scorching heat of fire.
Zhang Liao's warhorse rears up in terror, neighing frantically. He grips the reins tightly, pupils contracting sharply as he stares at the widening crack.
First, countless pale, twisted, inhuman arms—some covered in dark carapaces—reach out. Then monsters of all shapes pour forth from the fissure like a volcanic eruption. Some float in the air, formed of pure dark element, emitting piercing shrieks; others are giant reptiles with hard carapaces, dripping corrosive mucus from their mandibles; still others resemble twisted human figures, exuding madness and destruction.
One hundred and thirty thousand abyss legions!
At the forefront of this monster tide, a figure slowly rises from the ground.
She floats a few feet above the earth, short golden hair fluttering slightly in the sulfur and dust wind, its tips wreathed in an ominous dark aura. Her attire is unlike that of any nation in Teyvat—simple yet strange, bearing marks of a lost civilization. Most terrifying are her eyes; once clear, they now hold the cold silence of the abyss, as if witnessing the destruction and rebirth of countless worlds. She wields no weapon, only deep dark energy coiling and flowing around her fingertips.
Princess of the Abyss, the Traveler—Lumine.
Her gaze sweeps calmly over the chaotic battlefield, over Lü Bu's soldiers struggling amid fire and rockslides, and finally settles on Zhang Liao, the general struggling to steady his ranks. That gaze is devoid of all emotion, as if inspecting a swarm of ants destined to perish.
She says nothing, merely lifting her right hand gently.
At her gesture, the endless tide of monsters behind her roars deafeningly. The roar condenses into a tangible sound wave, slamming against the valley cliffs and darkening the sky.
In the next moment, the abyss flood merges with Natlan's flames and rockslides, launching a devastating assault on the stunned Zhang Liao's army.
The battle becomes a one-sided massacre.
Flames intertwine with shadows, rockslides with elemental explosions. The bravery of Natlan warriors seems almost "simple" compared to the eerie power of abyss monsters. The creatures ignore physical impacts, spewing corrosive breath and slashing energy claws, easily tearing through iron armor and dragging soldiers into darkness. Dark element corrosion weighs down soldiers' weapons and clouds their will.
Zhang Liao roars furiously, his longsword whirling into a wheel of light, slicing monsters into scattered shadows wherever he strikes. He charges toward the abyss commander, the young maiden standing calmly at the heart of the storm of destruction. Kill her, and there might still be a chance!
A sharp, unmatched sword aura tears through the air like thunder from the nine heavens, slashing straight at Lumine.
Lumine does not even move. A barrier of pure dark element instantly forms before her. The sword aura slams into the barrier, bursting with blinding light and energy ripples, yet fails to shake it in the slightest. Runes flickering on the barrier absorb and neutralize all the power of Zhang Liao's enraged strike.
She finally fixes her gaze fully on Zhang Liao, a faint trace of… evaluation? flickering in her cold eyes, like a craftsman inspecting a passable piece of material.
Then she extends her index finger and flicks it lightly toward Zhang Liao.
No sound, no light. Yet Zhang Liao feels an indescribable force slam into his chest!
Pfft—
He flies backward off his horse, crashing heavily into the cliff behind him, spiderweb cracks spreading across the hard rock. His breastplate caves in visibly; a sweet taste rises in his throat, blood gushing uncontrollably from his nose and mouth. His warhorse, which had fought alongside him for years, lets out a mournful whinny before being torn to shreds by the shadowy impact that follows, blood and flesh flying everywhere.
"General!" Several personal guards, eyes bloodshot, rush forward desperately to protect him.
But more monsters surge up, engulfing them in an instant. Screams cut off abruptly, leaving only the chilling sounds of bones being crunched and flesh torn.
Zhang Liao struggles to stand, his vision darkening. He watches his proud Bingzhou iron cavalry melt like snow in sunlight amid the elemental tide and sea of monsters. Soldiers fall in droves, burned by fire, buried by rocks, torn apart by monsters. Loyal generals shout his name, erupting in brilliant but brief elemental light before being swallowed by endless darkness. The valley floor is soaked in blood, thick enough to cover ankles, tattered banners burning and curling in flames.
Sixty thousand! At least sixty thousand brothers perished in this accursed valley, fallen to Natlan's ambush and the sudden abyss legions!
Defeated. Utterly defeated.
Unprecedented humiliation and despair gnaw at his heart like venom. Zhang Wenyuan, who has dominated battlefields all his life—when has he ever suffered such a crushing defeat?
"Get the general out!" The few remaining guards, covered in blood, fight like madmen, dragging the nearly immobilized Zhang Liao and charging with the last wave of soldiers toward the valley mouth, now blocked by layers of Natlan troops and monsters.
Behind them lies a scene of hell. Fire blazes to the sky, dyeing the crimson cliffs like furnace walls. The roar of rockslides, monster shrieks, dying wails, and a low, grand hum from the depths of the abyss weave a requiem of destruction.
Zhang Liao glances back one last time.
He sees the golden-haired abyss princess still floating in place, watching the massacre indifferently. Her figure, small against the fire and shadows, is utterly terrifying. And behind her, in the splitting rift, deeper darkness stirs with even larger, more indescribable shadows.
Cold, bone-chilling cold, worse than the chest pain, grips him instantly.
What kind of being have they… provoked?
His vision blurs, consciousness fading. He only feels himself being dragged and pulled by surviving soldiers, stumbling through sword blades and monster claws. Every breath reeks of blood, every heartbeat a toll of death.
Time passes unknowingly—like a moment, like an eternity. He feels a sudden lightness, as if breaking free from the death-shrouded valley. The shouts of killing fade slightly, yet monster shrieks still linger.
Then he sinks into complete darkness. Only the cold gaze of the golden-haired maiden and the endless wails of the abyss are seared into his soul, never to fade.