Chapter 254: Venti: I Can't Let the Old Man Laugh at Me for Doing Nothing
Venti scrolled through the chat group interface, his eyes scanning Dan Heng's environmental warning and Zhongli's subsequent solution.
"Oh my, the old man is reliable after all," Venti mused aloud, a classic bard's smile playing on his lips. "Always able to pull out something good right when it's needed."
His relaxed demeanor remained unchanged as he turned to Wise and Belle, who stood beside him. "It seems the old man moves fast. You two should head to the group warehouse and grab a jade pendant to wear. The 'filth' in this place is a bit of a nuisance; wearing one will make you feel much more refreshed."
Wise and Belle simply smiled at each other.
With a delicate motion, Belle pulled a red string from her waist. Tied to its end was a warm, translucent jade pendant that emitted a soft glow, actively repelling the tendrils of dark energy that tried to creep near her. "We already have one," she said cheerfully.
Wise also held up the pendant he was wearing. "This was a gift from Mr. Zhongli when he visited our world."
"Eh? You already have them?" Venti blinked, then a look of realization dawned on his face. He chuckled and, without another word, retrieved two new jade pendants from the group warehouse. These were clearly of a higher quality, their patterns more complex and the jade itself more lustrous. He unceremoniously shoved them into their hands.
"Take these, take these! Switch to the new ones! That Zhongli fellow… don't let his old-fashioned act fool you. His speed at improving his strength and tinkering with these little gadgets is just absurd."
Venti gestured at their old pendants. "Yours must be an old version. In game terms, it's… well, 'outdated'! The effect certainly isn't as good as this one. It's free, so why not take it?"
Wise and Belle examined the new pendants. They pulsed with a richer, more stable aura, and the Geo energy contained within felt purer and more deep, though it shared the same origin as their old ones. They readily made the switch, carefully stowing their original gifts.
And sure enough, the moment they put on the new jade, the subtle, oppressive weight of the abyssal aura seemed to vanish completely. A sense of ease washed over both body and mind. (In truth, it was mostly a psychological effect.)
"Well, since Zhongli has brought out such practical things…" Venti clapped his hands together, a mischievous, competitive glint in his eyes. "Then I suppose I have to do something, too. Otherwise, that old blockhead will definitely laugh at me for just eating and not working."
Under the curious gazes of Wise and Belle, Venti gently closed his eyes. An invisible yet immense Anemo power began to coalesce around him.
Cyan-green motes of light, like a swarm of fireflies, swirled into existence, slowly lifting him an inch from the ground. A gentle breeze spontaneously wrapped around him, rustling the twin braids of his hair and the Cecilia pinned to his beret.
A flash of light appeared in his hand, and the ancient wooden lyre, Fellin, quietly materialized.
His fingers did not press down hard; they merely brushed against the strings with the lightest of touches.
A clear, ethereal note rang out. It did not seem to travel through the air, but rather resounded directly in the hearts of every living being in Natlan who held even a sliver of perception for elemental power.
The sound of the lyre was like a stone tossed into a perfectly calm lake. With Venti at its epicenter, an invisible, enormous ripple, carried on the rhythm of the wind, instantly spread throughout the entire territory of Natlan, moving at a speed that defied physical limits.
The next moment, a wondrous change occurred.
Across all of Natlan—from the lands of the Volcanic Tribes to the domains of the Suspended Wood People and the territories of the Flowing Spring Crowd, and even over every fiercely contested battlefield—the winds, once hot, dry, or humid, now seemed to be infused with life and a single, unified will.
They became exceptionally "sensitive" and "obedient."
On the outskirts of the Yawning Mystery's main tribe, Stelle was fending off a dozen Abyss Mages. After batting away an ice cone with her lance, she heard the wind carry an urgent cry from a distant warrior: "...Northwest corner needs support! The shield is about to break!"
She paused, shaking her head, dismissing it as a hallucination.
Near the Flowing Spring Crowd's tribal lands, Himeko was performing precise sniper support with her recalibrated drones. Her keen hearing suddenly caught fragmented information carried on the breeze from different directions. "Medical station… bandages are running short…" and "...East slope, repelled a wave of the surprise attack…" She and Welt exchanged a look of pure astonishment.
Inside the Holy Fire Arena, Mavuika, who was in the middle of explaining the composition of the support teams to Lumine and Paimon, abruptly fell silent.
As the Pyro Archon, her perception was far stronger and clearer than anyone else's.
She heard it. Not just with her ears, but through the omnipresent wind itself. She perceived countless anxious reports, desperate calls for help, curt commands, and battlefield updates from all corners of the six major tribes, all mixed together.
Like countless tiny streams, this information was converging into a mighty river, flowing directly toward the Holy Fire Arena—toward her—through the newly formed network of wind.
This sudden, territory-wide influx of information, while providing an unmatched grasp of the battlefield, also inevitably sparked alarm and panic among some.
A Natlan warrior, holding his position somewhere, looked around nervously. "Who's speaking? There are so many voices in the wind!"
A tribal communications officer discovered with dawning horror that their encrypted messages, transmitted via traditional drumbeats, now seemed to be laid bare for all to hear. "Oh no! Our communications might be intercepted!"
Even some warriors locked in combat with monsters were momentarily distracted by the unfamiliar voices from other battlefields suddenly echoing in their ears.
[Wow! Venti, you guy!]
Paimon was the first to shout in the group chat. She patted her chest with her small hands, a look of lingering fear on her face.
[Can you give us a heads-up when you're about to pull a stunt this big?! A whole bunch of other people's messages suddenly flooded into my ears! I almost fell from the sky! You scared Paimon to death!]
[Ehe~]
Venti's classic, one-word reply, accompanied by an equally classic emoticon, perfectly conveyed the bard's attitude: 'I know I was wrong, but I'd absolutely do it again.'
Seeing that "Ehe," Paimon stomped her feet in the air in a fit of pique. But she knew the situation was urgent and this wasn't the time for complaints, so she just puffed out her cheeks and let out a frustrated huff.
[Partners, I've put in a lot of effort this time, too!] Venti began to claim his credit in the group, his tone laced with a familiar smugness.
[The winds throughout Natlan have now come alive. They've become our messengers, bringing news from afar. Everyone just needs to calm down and listen carefully to the voices in the wind to understand the situation on other battlefields or pick up some useful information!]
[Of course,] he added, [in very noisy places, it might be hard to hear, so you'll need to concentrate~]
Meanwhile, inside the Holy Fire Arena, Mavuika had recovered from her initial shock. Her eyes were filled with utter disbelief as she stared at Lumine and Paimon.
"This… is this the power of the Anemo Archon? The entire territory of Natlan… such a vast area, and he can integrate and transmit information so clearly through the wind…"
She understood the sheer difficulty of such a feat. It required not only divine authority over an element but also an incredibly exquisite, almost artistic level of control.
The power of this First Anemo Archon was truly unfathomable.
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