Genshin Impact: The Beginning of the Wind

Faced with the sudden attack of Tartaglia, the towering rock dragon lizard stomped its foot, and the entire earth seemed to tremble. The seemingly endless rock spikes that spread from the ground as it charged toward Tartaglia with its forepaw as the core forced Tartaglia to halt its charge, which it had originally planned to use its agility to get close to its opponent, harass it, and seize the opportunity to win.

If it were just a rock spike, D'Artagnan wouldn't care. But once he gets into a fight, he goes completely berserk and doesn't care about getting hurt.

Or rather, for Tartaglia, being able to defeat his opponent with only a minor injury was a worthwhile deal.

But what's rushing towards him now isn't just a single rock spike, but almost a whole string of rock spikes.

If you were to get pierced by these rock spikes, you'd instantly turn into Tartaglia-chan.

Fortunately, although there were many of these rock spikes, they did not pose much of a problem for D'Artagnan. He simply darted and weaved through the rock spikes, which appeared at a slow pace, and sometimes even used a particular rock spike as a foothold.

At this moment, he displayed the agility that came with his small stature to the fullest. Unharmed, he danced among the rock spikes as he slowly but firmly moved toward his opponent.

"Roar!"

Unexpectedly, the first attack failed to defeat Tartaglia, and the rock dragon roared again. However, this time, accompanied by its roar, a huge rock element climbed up its body under its command, and then the rock element armor, which shimmered with a dim yellow color, completely enveloped the entire rock dragon.

The rock dragon realized that its opponent was not easy to deal with, so it decisively put on a shield before preparing to engage in close combat with Tartaglia.

"boom!"

As Tartaglia drew near, the Rock Dragon Lizard swung its sharp claws down with a sudden strike. The heavy earth trembled at the blow, and the spreading cracks spoke volumes about the terrifying power of this almost primal, untamed attack.

Unfortunately, no matter how powerful the attack is, it is useless if it does not hit the target. When he noticed the rock dragon lizard raising its arm, Tartaglia suddenly leaped into the air and raised his water elemental spear after dodging the attack.

"cut!"

Tartaglia swung his spear down heavily, and a massive water elemental slash shot directly towards the Rock Dragon Lizard.

"Pfft"

The slash pierced deep into the Rock Dragon Lizard's body. Although the Rock Dragon Lizard had an absolute advantage in the amount of elemental power, Tartaglia's skill and the purity of his elemental power far surpassed that of the Rock Dragon Lizard.

Even though the Rock Dragon Lizard had put up a defense, it was still easily breached by the Rock Elemental Shield when faced with such a slash, leaving a deep wound on its body.

"Roar!"

The physical pain deeply affected the Rock Dragon Lizard, causing its eyes to turn bloodshot. Accompanying its agonizing roars was an endless surge of fire element, guided by the rock element, that gradually climbed up its body.

Rock dragons can acquire other elements by simulating various types of minerals, a trait also evident in the Rota Dragon King standing atop the rock dragons.

However, compared to the Rota Dragon King, which can use two additional elemental forces at the same time and has mastered as many as four other elemental forces, the Rock Dragon Lizard and even the Ancient Rock Dragon Lizard, which also master additional elemental forces, have at most mastered only one additional elemental force.

However, in the heat of battle, even the slightest oversight can have a significant impact on the situation.

Unexpectedly, the Rock Dragon Lizard was able to utilize the second element so quickly. Tartaglia didn't have enough time to change his position in mid-air, so unsurprisingly, he could only watch helplessly as he was hit head-on by the sudden burst of flames.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Before he could react much, Tartaglia could only manipulate the water element to form a thin protective layer on the outside of his body at the last moment. Fortunately, this hastily formed protective layer was strong enough that the flames erupting from the Rock Dragon Lizard could not break through the water element's protection in a short time.

After all, the fire element was something the Rock Dragon Lizard had only mastered through an additional method. The fact that it unleashed the fire element all at once showed that the Rock Dragon Lizard had not yet achieved good control over the second element, which resulted in the attack not causing much damage.

However, the violent impact still sent D'Artagnan flying immediately, and before he could react, he rolled on the ground like a gourd.

"Cough cough, that was a really powerful attack. I should have just activated the Demon King Armor directly."

Even though D'Artagnan was a battle-hardened warrior who placed great importance on physical training, he was still struggling after being thrown nearly a hundred meters and plowing through the ground in the process.

He is indeed a genius, but even the greatest genius needs time. At present, D'Artagnan's strength is still within the realm of mortals. Even if he uses the Evil Eye or the Demon King's Armor, he can only slightly touch the pinnacle of mortals.

But even after being caught off guard and suffering a severe attack, he still couldn't withstand it.

"boom!"

The rock dragon lizard didn't care what Tartaglia was thinking. Realizing its attack had hit its opponent, it immediately became excited, and then an even more vast sea of ​​fire, under its control, instantly transformed into a sea of ​​fire and rushed towards Tartaglia.

"Well!"

Seeing this, Tartaglia had no choice but to grit his teeth and stand up, preparing to unleash his Demon Lord Armament—he had indeed been too overconfident, and the Rock Dragon Lizard had caught him off guard. But if he unleashed his Demon Lord Armament, he could still...

"Tear!"

However, before Tartaglia could activate the power of the Evil Eye, a slender, emerald-green wind blade suddenly swept across the battlefield. Where this wind blade passed, the sea of ​​fire that seemed to be drying up the earth was immediately split into two pieces, and then directly extinguished by the powerful wind pressure that should have fueled the fire.

"Crack!"

But cutting through the sea of ​​fire was not the end of this wind blade. When the unstoppable wind blade directly pierced through the rock dragon lizard's most solid obsidian scales and entered its body, the rock dragon lizard, which seemed to be planning to press its advantage, stopped in its tracks.

"Okay, it's over."

At this moment, Su Feng casually dispersed the longsword he had condensed with wind elements. With his movement, the rock dragon lizard, which had stood like a tall building, slowly collapsed. At this moment, its life force gradually dissipated from its massive body.

Chapter 8 D'Artagnan: So I'm the weakest?

When D'Artagnan saw this, his pupils contracted sharply. He almost instinctively simulated in his mind how he would react if he faced this attack, but the answer he got shocked him.

Because he couldn't react.

He had clearly memorized the wind blade that had shattered the sea of ​​fire and killed the dragon lizard, but now, when he tried to recall it, he found that he couldn't remember how long it had taken to complete that attack.

The strange feeling was as if Su Feng had just swung his longsword, and the wind blade had already annihilated the dragon lizard in the next instant. Yet, this attack, which should have been beyond Tartaglia's perception, had clearly left all traces in his mind.

The contrast was so stark it could drive a person mad, and D'Artagnan was already feeling extremely unwell. Fortunately, after realizing this, D'Artagnan decisively chose to give up on recalling this memory.

Did such monsters really exist in this world?

Finally believing he had glimpsed deeper secrets of the world and the powerful, D'Artagnan was trembling with excitement. He tried his best to suppress his excitement, but just as he struggled to get up to say something, he suddenly noticed that the other three had temporarily put aside their previous nonchalant attitude.

"Ok?"

Before D'Artagnan could ask anything, Zhongli, who had been crossing his arms, suddenly opened them wide, and with his movement, a large, transparent shield suddenly enveloped everyone present.

"!"

Although he didn't know what the others had sensed, Tartaglia was immediately dumbfounded when he realized that Zhongli had gathered even more terrifying rock elemental power than the rock dragon lizard had done before in just a moment.

Even though he hadn't personally experienced just how powerful Zhongli's elemental shield was, Dartalia's instincts told him that even if he activated his Demon King Armor, he might not be able to break through it.

Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?

"Boom!"

Just as Zhongli activated his shield, the entire land suddenly began to tremble. Upon sensing this turmoil, the rock dragon lizards, who had been wailing incessantly because of the deaths of their companions, suddenly panicked.

These enormous monsters, whose mere appearance was enough to throw the small group of Thousand Rock Army into a panic, now seemed to have fled underground just like the young rock dragons that had been driven away. Upon seeing the rock dragons in this state, Tartaglia couldn't help but gasp.

"Ancient Rock Dragon Lizard?"

Clutching his ribs, D'Artagnan asked Wendy beside him with some curiosity. As for why he approached Wendy, it was mainly because he instinctively felt that this person was the easiest to mess with among the three, or rather, Wendy had the lowest danger level among the three in his perception.

But in contrast, Dadalia is now more concerned about the big guys that might be coming out next.

At first, D'Artagnan thought he might be able to have a thrilling hunt after encountering the Ancient Rock Lizard, but after suffering losses at the hands of the Rock Lizard, he immediately realized that he probably couldn't risk messing with the Ancient Rock Lizard now.

"That's right, the big guy is coming!"

Wendy directly confirmed Tartaglia's conjecture, and as his words fell, the ground in front of everyone suddenly cracked open, and then surging ley line energy burst forth from beneath the earth.

"Roar!"

Along with the earth vein energy surging forth like a tsunami, a long and ancient dragon roar resounded to the ground. Then, surrounded by endless earth vein energy, an ancient rock dragon lizard, resembling a small mountain, appeared before everyone.

"This is the Ancient Rock Dragon Lizard?"

"Isn't this size a bit too exaggerated?"

When Tartaglia saw the ancient rock dragon lizard appear in front of him, he couldn't help but let out a terrified scream.

If a rock dragon lizard that is more than ten meters tall is still within the range of human confrontation, then is this monster, which is at least several hundred meters tall or even larger, really something that humans can fight?

This is practically a moving little mountain!

And... there's something like this even underground in Liyue?

Doesn't the Rock King Emperor care? A monster of this level could probably cause widespread turmoil just by rolling around in the ley lines, right?

How did the people of Liyue manage to establish themselves in such a terrible place and thrive to this day?

D'Artagnan couldn't help but sigh.

"roar~"

Accompanied by the ancient dragon's roar, endless ley line energy transformed into a torrent of pure rock element that rushed towards everyone. Upon seeing this, Tartaglia instinctively wanted to unleash his elemental power to resist this incredibly extravagant and terrifying attack.

But he soon discovered that he had no room to maneuver this time. When the seemingly unstoppable torrent of elements collided with the thin shield released by Zhongli, it was like a wave crashing against a cliff, smashing itself to pieces instead of shaking the mysterious shield in the slightest.

"..."

So Zhongli Keqing was this powerful?

I never expected that Zhongli, who has been spending money everywhere with me lately, would release such a powerful shield just by doing something that looks ordinary. Sure enough, this is the immortal of Liyue.

D'Artagnan couldn't help but think this.

"They came out so quickly, and they seem quite unhappy."

The fact that the Ancient Rock Dragon Lizard couldn't break Zhongli's shield was a minor matter that only surprised Tartaglia. Su Feng and Wendy were more concerned about the Ancient Rock Dragon Lizard's current irritability and rage.

Unlike ordinary dragon lizards, the ancient rock dragon lizards, having reached the end of their dragon lizard existence, are actually more inclined towards the existence of rock dragons. If they spend another long time and accumulate their strength, these ancient rock dragon lizards can once again embark on the path to becoming dragons.

Theoretically speaking, all rock dragons are subjects and descendants of the Rota Dragon King, but in reality, the Rota Dragon King probably only cared about a few ancient rock dragons.

Because only these ancient rock dragons have the potential to truly become dragons.

Each true dragon is an extremely important member of the dragon race, which has now declined to an unimaginable state. Naturally, the ancient rock dragon lizard, which has the potential to become a dragon, is also highly valued by the Dragon King of Ruotu.

If these big guys are really hurt, Ruo Tuo Dragon King will probably choose to fight to the death. That's why Zhong Li chose to take action at this time. He was really afraid that Su Feng would completely wipe out the few remaining ancient rock dragon lizards. That would be almost equivalent to severing the root of the rock dragon lineage!

"However... this power seems quite interesting."

Unaware of all this, Su Feng stood within Zhong Li's shield, thoughtfully observing the ancient rock dragon lizard whose power was emanating from the earth's veins. He uttered this remark—he sensed something interesting in the power wielded by the ancient rock dragon lizard.

Unfortunately, the power that Su Feng found interesting about this ancient rock dragon lizard was rather limited.

Chapter Nine Suppression

Unexpectedly, Zhongli blocked his breath so easily. The ancient rock dragon lizard once again used its innate talent to plead with the local ley lines for help. As a favored one of the earth, the ley lines of Tianqiu Valley readily responded to this request.

A slender branch extended from the depths of the earth, and after the ancient rock dragon lizard manipulated the earth to open a channel, the surging energy of the earth veins once again surged into the sky.

The power of the ley lines is surging—the ley lines, which should have been flowing along their prescribed routes, seem to have heard a call at this moment. Under the control of the Ancient Rock Dragon Lizard, the vast ley lines of Tianqiu Valley emerge from the depths of the earth and become the most powerful force in the hands of this giant beast.

Unlike the ley line energy that accompanied the Ancient Rock Dragon Lizard before, the exaggerated scene just now was merely a few 'splashes' brought out by the Ancient Rock Dragon Lizard after it emerged from the vicinity of the ley line. But now, a water pump has been pulled up, ready to spray it out directly with a high-pressure water gun.