Durandal was very angry, on the verge of exploding.
It wasn't because her stress tolerance was poor, or that her nerves were easily provoked. If it were just directed at her, it wouldn't be such a big deal.
She might get angry, but not as severely as now. But Ningguang actually schemed against people she knew, using this indirect method to lure her into action. This made Durandal unable to control herself.
This side of Ningguang reminded Durandal of Hulder, that woman who led her to suffering, that person who left her with countless painful memories.
She hated being manipulated, and she especially hated it when the scheme involved the people most important to her, including Lumine and Klee.
This woman… she really deserved to die! She now had the thought of killing Ningguang. With just a thought, countless deadly Viruses condensed within her body would invade Ningguang's body, easily taking her life.
Ningguang clearly felt the immense killing intent from Durandal. She closed her eyes, trying her best to appear calm, but the constant sweat on her face showed that her mood was not as peaceful as it seemed.
This was only natural. Her intention in having Durandal come this time was to ease the tension between them, but it ended up making the situation even worse.
She suffered from incomplete information. If she had known Durandal's God identity earlier, Ningguang would never have plotted against her. But she had already done so, and if she were given another chance, she would probably make the same choice.
She was gambling now; she could only gamble, to see how Durandal would deal with her. If Durandal decided to eliminate her directly, she would accept it.
Just as the tension mounted, light footsteps approached, and Keqing walked into the room.
Sensing the somewhat heavy atmosphere, she frowned in confusion. Hadn't they said they were going to thank Durandal properly for her contributions this time? Why did it look like they were about to fight?
The obvious culprit for this situation was Durandal; Keqing could clearly feel the anger emanating from her. So… who was the culprit that made Durandal so angry? Who else was here before she arrived? Ningguang.
He was sitting at his usual desk, eyes closed, looking as if he was saying, "Do as you please." It was clear that he had done something to greatly anger Durandal.
"Ningguang, what exactly happened?"
"...It's a long story. You just need to know that some of my actions made Lord Durandal uncomfortable."
"Some of your actions? Strictly speaking, many of your actions make people uncomfortable. In the past, it was because no one could deal with you, which is why you could be so reckless. Now someone can finally deal with you, are you scared?"
Keqing was quite happy to see Ningguang in a pickle. As fellow Seven Stars of Liyue, Keqing and Ningguang's relationship wasn't particularly good. Why?
Firstly, Keqing wasn't very fond of Ningguang's way of doing things, and secondly, he often did things that made her blood pressure rise.
Ningguang ignored Keqing's sarcasm. She noticed Durandal's expression growing increasingly grim, turning impossibly dark.
Durandal glanced at Keqing, then clapped her hands softly. The surrounding environment suddenly changed, transforming from the interior of the Jade Chamber to a desolate, lifeless land.
Ningguang and Keqing were startled by Durandal's power, looking at the unfamiliar environment in surprise, not quite understanding why Durandal had suddenly sent them to this place.
"Although I really want to tear you apart, doing so would cause many negative consequences, so I'll give you one chance."
Durandal sat to the side, looking at Ningguang, who hadn't yet reacted, and said, "This is an illusion I created. It only brings your spirit to this area; your body remains safely in the Jade Chamber. There are many ruins on this vast land; you can treat this illusion as a ruin. What you need to do now is clear this ruin. As long as you can do it, past grievances will be forgotten."
"You can use the power of your Vision here. Even if you fail, it doesn't matter; you can just start over. I'm very curious... how long can you last, Tianquan Star Ningguang."
After much thought, Durandal found the best way to punish Ningguang: to make him, as a former adventurer, participate in a battle against her.
(The Indestructible: "Village of Suffering, Lezefin," and a King difficulty one at that. Ningguang will experience the most thrilling adventure of his life.)
If it were a battle on the original scale, Ningguang would never be able to pass, so she slightly modified the difficulty to give Ningguang a chance to pass this trial.
Of course, if he were to fight alone, Ningguang would find it very difficult to pass. If someone were to assist him, the situation would be different.
Thinking of this, Durandal looked at Keqing beside her. She had been accidentally pulled in. This was originally a trial arranged for Ningguang, and if she wanted to help, Durandal would not refuse.
"How about it? Will you help him, Yuheng Star Keqing?"
"...Let's observe the situation first, and understand it."
It seemed Durandal was serious this time. She hadn't expected such a method of punishment. Doing this could indeed serve as a punishment without harming his life.
But where was this place? Keqing had no memory of it. Was it an ancient city?
There was no sign of life here, and occasionally, roars similar to monsters could be heard. It was safe to say that danger lurked everywhere.
Keqing noticed a puddle of purple liquid on the ground not far away. It was clearly poison. Could it be… that this place was related to Durandal?
As an observer, Keqing began to watch Ningguang's battle. He wasn't facing familiar beings like Hilichurls, but creatures infected by the Virus, and other terrifying mutated entities.
The first time, Ningguang hadn't gone far before he was defeated due to not understanding the monsters' situation.
The moment his life reached zero, he returned to the starting point. He clearly remembered the feeling of death just now, as well as the pain from being attacked.
He could feel that the pain was not the full extent of it, but even that was enough to make him break out in a cold sweat.
But his adventure was not over. Durandal's requirement was to clear this illusion, which meant… he still had a long way to go.
Keqing joined Ningguang after his second "death." Although the two usually didn't get along, she wasn't an evil person and naturally couldn't bear to see Ningguang suffer.
With Keqing's addition, Ningguang's situation improved greatly. The two, one in front and one behind, eliminated many enemies. Even some elite enemies could be dealt with during their first encounter.
And so, after an unknown number of restarts, they finally arrived at the final area. As long as they defeated the BOSS here, they could return to the real world.
But upon seeing the true face of this BOSS, both their expressions changed, because the final BOSS that appeared before them was Durandal in his "black plague" state.
What kind of fight is this! What's there to fight! How could they possibly be a match for Durandal!
It was under this desperate thought that Keqing and Ningguang were defeated.
Fortunately, neither of them were pessimistic people. Upon discovering that the plague released by Durandal couldn't instantly kill them, and that their attacks could inflict effective DMG on Durandal, their confidence reignited.
During the process of the trial, they discovered the terror of the black plague and realized that if Durandal had used these abilities during her battle with Osial, Liyue Harbor would probably have become as lifeless as this dead land.
After much hardship, Keqing and Ningguang finally, through persistent attrition, depleted the black plague's last HP. The moment Keqing's sword struck, the surrounding scenery changed dramatically, and they returned to the Jade Chamber.
Ningguang and Keqing's bodies jolted from the sudden change. As both were in a state of high tension, even upon returning to reality, their bodies maintained a fighting stance, warily observing everything around them.
Only after confirming they had returned to the real world did they gradually relax, checking their physical condition. There were no injuries, but the feelings of death and pain they had just experienced were still deeply etched in their minds.
"Not bad, you passed this illusion. According to your rules, bygones are bygones."
Ningguang wasn't happy with Durandal's words. She walked to the window and looked at the sun. If she remembered correctly, the sun was in the same position when they were pulled into the illusion.
They had restarted countless times in the illusion. Even if each time was only a dozen minutes, it should have been about a day or even more, but from this appearance, it seemed not much time had passed?
"Since it's an illusion, it's like when humans dream. In a fleeting moment of reality, you can spend months, years, or even longer in a dream; it's not impossible."
Spirit truly is a powerful force. Even Durandal couldn't fully grasp this power. It had been thousands of years, yet her application of spiritual power was still so shallow.
Ningguang and Keqing accepted Durandal's explanation. They each poured themselves a cup of tea to calm their startled minds.
Although this experience was unforgettable, it wasn't without its benefits; at least they gained extremely valuable combat experience.
Ningguang stood up and came before Durandal, apologizing, "I apologize to you again. I am truly sorry for scheming against you. I assure you, this situation will absolutely not happen again."
At least here in Liyue Harbor, Ningguang would absolutely not let such a thing happen again. If it did, they would probably be facing a Durandal who was not weakened by countless times, as she was in the illusion.
"I will also keep an eye on this fellow. Although I know you don't trust me either, I will supervise this fellow well."
During the process of clearing the illusion, Keqing also understood why Durandal did what she did, and recognized Ningguang's self-destructive behavior. She decided to keep a close watch on this fellow in the future, absolutely not letting her act recklessly again.
Durandal didn't reply. No matter how pleasant their words were, she wouldn't fully believe them, because humans always break their promises. Otherwise, the Geo God would not have used contracts to bind the residents of Liyue.
"Let's talk about the reward then. That's the main reason I came here, isn't it?"
"Of course, as long as it's within our acceptable range, we can agree to your request."
What did she want them to agree to? Durandal didn't know. She didn't lack anything, but this was a good opportunity, a very good opportunity.
"Deepen the cooperation with Mondstadt. That is my only request."
Ningguang remained outwardly calm. She had long anticipated this request from Durandal, which aligned with her predictions of Durandal.
Noticing Ningguang's expression, Durandal knew this fellow had seen through her thoughts again, which made her frown.
Indeed... she didn't like this human.
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