Genshin Impact, all those behind-the-scenes big shots are me

"Your Excellency Elpers."

“Miss Coral Palace, we meet again.” The man named Elpers raised his eyes, his vertical pupils radiating an inexplicable charm. He said succinctly, “I have come this time with the will of the Great Protector to inquire about the matter from last time… What have you thought about it?”

Xin Hai gently shook his head: "Please tell the Great Protector that the power that Lord Kadodia left on Haiqi Island is for the protection of the Haiqi people. I have no right and it is impossible for me to hand it over."

Elpers said in a deep voice, “Miss Coral Palace, you should know the situation of Haiqi Island. If this continues, it will surely be devoured by those greedy people of Narukami. The Great Protector has promised that as long as you agree to hand over that power, Qinglai Island will continue to provide food and supplies to Haiqi Island, and at half the price as before.”

Xin Hai frowned slightly.

This offer is undeniably tempting.

If they agree, then the current crisis on Haiqi Island will be completely resolved.

Ke Xinhai knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch; the more the other party gave, the more they wanted.

“Elperth, please forgive me for refusing.” Xin Hai breathed a sigh of relief. “You should know that the faith of the Sea Gods in Lord Cardodia is not to be used as a bargaining chip.”

“Yes, as a fellow citizen of Cardodia, of course I know that, but…” Elpers narrowed his eyes slightly, “what if I said that all of this was for Lord Cardodia?”

Xin Hai's expression froze for a moment: "You mean..."

"Five hundred years ago, Inazuma suffered an unprecedented calamity. The outcome of that disaster was unacceptable to everyone. Lord Kadodia's power fell silent, and no matter how we called upon him, it was to no avail... Yes, we are grateful to that thunder god for giving us a place to live, so the guardians have never complained, because Lord Kadodia once said that protecting Inazuma is also the duty of the Dragon Lizard Clan."

"It wasn't until one day, when the Grand Protector went to the Castle Tower to pay homage to the Thunder God, that he learned that all of this was actually the Thunder God's conspiracy, her plot to kill Lord Cardodia!"

Elpers spoke in a somber tone.

His life was long, and he was fortunate enough to witness the most prosperous time of the dragon lizard clan, but now everything has changed.

"How is that possible?!" Xin Hai exclaimed in disbelief. "According to the records of the Coral Palace, Lord Cardodia and that Thor have always had a very good relationship."

"Ha~ We thought so too."

Elpers said sarcastically, “But the world of gods also has its false appearances. Lord Cardodia showed sincerity, but was only rewarded with betrayal. So we are angry, but we have to tolerate it. Fortunately, after nearly five hundred years, we have prepared everything. As long as Sea Island helps us, we can regain Lord Cardodia’s power, let the thunder return, and let its glory descend upon the world once more!”

"Resurrect Lord Cardodia..." Xin Hai was utterly shocked.

If anyone else said that, she would definitely think they were crazy.

The dragon lizards were the original followers of Cadodia and are Cadodia's most loyal subjects; they would never betray Cadodia.

At this moment, Xin Hai fell silent.

The other party must have completed all preparations and is not afraid of any accidents since they told her such an important matter. In addition... telling her is equivalent to recruiting Haiqi Island to join forces against that Thor.

“I’m sorry, Your Excellency Elpers, the facts you’ve told me are too… I need time to process them, and even more time to consider them.”

“I know, Miss Coral Palace.” Elpers nodded. “I understand how you feel, just as I did when I first heard the news. I never doubted the Thor before, but the Great Protector wouldn’t lie.”

"Moreover, even someone as powerful as Lord Cardodia, whose strength is by no means weaker than Thor's, why did Thor survive while Lord Cardodia perished?"

After saying that, Elpers left with his men.

He will come again, before the Dragon King Festival, carrying the will of the Dragon Lizard Clan. Whether Haiqi Island agrees or not, the outcome will not change.

"The Dragon King has returned..."

Xin Hai stepped out of the reception room and onto the summit of Yunhai Mountain, gazing at the beautiful scenery of Haizhi Island.

Through thousands of years of change, the scenery remains the same.

The bright moon still shines on people's hearts, but unfortunately, things have changed and people are no longer the same.

Did Lord Cardodia once stand here, gazing at the beauty of Umijima Island?

"We must not... let Lord Cardodia's hard work go to waste."

Reviving Cardodia sounds wonderful, but Xin Hai knows it won't be that simple.

Moreover, she did not believe Elper's one-sided story. The thousand-year friendship between Thor and Cadodia was the premise for the initial development of Qinglai Island and Haiqi Island. If Thor was really as hateful as Elper said, why has Qinglai Island remained intact and Haiqi Island still enjoyed Thor's protection so many years after Cadodia's death?

These things are not hard to imagine, but the hatred of the dragon lizard clan is probably already deeply ingrained.

They probably just wanted to vent their frustrations.

They just didn't want to face a world without Lord Cardodia.

Xin Hai reached out and grasped the purple crescent pendant on her chest. It was a legacy passed down through generations of the Coral Palace and the 'key' to unlocking the power of the Dragon King Kadodia.

...

Inazuma Castle!

When Su Chen stepped into this ancient city again, everything he saw compared with his memories. Five hundred years of change, the transformation of the world, was nothing more than this.

The streets and alleys were bustling with people. Although the situation in Inazuma was very unstable, the situation in Inazuma Castle, which was under the nose of the Narukami Shogunate, was not too bad.

With the arrival of the Dragon King Festival, preparations for the festival are everywhere. Beautiful seashells hang in the streets and alleys, and Dragon King figurines, Dragon King picture books, and snacks that even the Dragon King would praise are presented one by one amidst the shouts of vendors.

"Seashells! Beautiful seashells just arrived from Nashiina Beach, selling cheap!"

"Boss, isn't there a battle going on over at Nashiina Beach?"

"That's why they're so precious! Look how fine these seashells are! Buy a string of them and wear it on your wrist, and the Dragon King will protect you for a year!"

"real or fake?"

"More real than pearls! My wife wore the seashell bracelet I made, and last year she gave birth to triplets! Hey? How did they run away?"

Su Chen stopped at the stall selling seashell bracelets.

The shopkeeper looked away and smiled warmly, "Would you like a skewer, sir?"

Su Chen asked with a smile, "Do you have to wear a bracelet during the Dragon King Festival?"

"Haha! This guest is obviously a visitor, isn't he? This is a custom of our Inazuma. The Dragon King even gave the General a string of them back then! ... But these days it's rare to meet a traveler from another country. How about I give you a 20% discount for this special occasion? Buy one string, and the Dragon King will bless you for a year!"

"Is it that good? Is it any good?"

The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly: "It'll definitely work. I'll wrap it up for you."

Su Chen smiled and said, "Okay, wrap it up."

Just then, a fair and delicate hand reached out: "I want one too."

"What are you coming here for? You don't even like this."

Torachiyo stubbornly said, "I also want the Dragon King's blessing."

The shopkeeper immediately said, "This customer, you can definitely buy one more. One for you and one for your wife, and you'll surely have a litter of big, healthy boys next year!"

"Go away, go away." Su Chen waved his hand. Was he really going to curse someone like that?

"What do you want? Haven't I bought you enough things along the way?" Su Chen was speechless. Half of the diplomatic funds that Qin Zhong sent him had been eaten up by this guy on the way here.

Torachiyo's eyes lit up: "Then you'll only buy one skewer?" She then started counting on her fingers: one, two, three, four, plus herself, that's five.

"Yes, one skewer is enough."

While they were still counting down the days, Su Chen wanted to give her the middle finger.

He only planned to buy one and give it to Ying as an apology for not being able to keep his promise back then.

"Tch, stingy~"

Even so, Torachiyo laughed. She had never been interested in these things. Pearls and shells were just things humans made up. Cardodia didn't like shells at all.

After buying the bracelet, I headed towards the Inazuma Embassy. Along the way, besides the Inazuma people enjoying the prelude to the Dragon King Festival, there were also many Tenryō magistrates maintaining order. The shogunate and the resistance army were fighting fiercely on the front lines. Although it wouldn't affect the Dragon King Festival, we still had to be careful.

In addition, the topic of dragon lizard people has gradually become a hot topic of discussion.

The Dragon King Festival and the Dragon Lizard People seem to be easily linked. When the Dragon Lizard People still walked in Inazuma, they claimed to be the original inhabitants of Kadodia. These records can still be occasionally found in some ancient books.

The Dragon Lizard sacrifice has been causing turmoil recently, leading the Inazuma people to speculate whether that creature might be up to something during the Dragon King Festival.

However, they are not worried.

"What's there to be afraid of? With the invincible General here, those cricket-dragon-lizard people can't cause any trouble."

There were many such opinions, which greatly comforted Su Chen. Yes, although Ying had been withdrawn, he had not lost faith in his people.

Upon arriving at the embassy, ​​the Mondstadt envoys all rested inside.

"Why don't you go out for a stroll? It's such a nice day," Su Chen said in surprise.

Karls looked miserable: "Sir, you didn't give us Mora."

"Uh...sorry."

He doesn't usually carry money. Didn't he ask Ge Chen for a pot to play with last time? Then he just tossed it aside. He's getting old and forgot that the other envoys' money is all here.

"Take it and spend it."

Su Chen gave them all the money.

The messengers cheered and set off toward freedom.

Karls had already handled the diplomatic coordination issue. The person in charge of Inazuma regretfully informed them that although they had applied for an audience with the general, it had been rejected by the latter.

This is actually quite normal. Although Inazuma maintained diplomatic relations with other countries, very few envoys were able to meet the general directly.

Minor matters can be left to the officials of the shogunate to handle.

Torachiyo asked, "Shall we go find the Shadow?"

"Let's not go yet. Do you know where the Divine Child is?" Su Chen wanted to try using the Heart of God to wake Zhen first. When he saw Ying, he would have to bring Zhen along, right? A family reunion is important, and no one can be missing.

Torachiyo shook her head: "That guy's tail is hard to find, you'd have to look for it in noodle shops, bookstores, food streets and the like."

The implication is that he is cunning and doesn't do anything productive.

“However, the Dragon King Festival should take place tomorrow,” Torachiyo added.

Su Chen nodded: "Let's talk about it tomorrow."

Tomorrow, it will be over in the blink of an eye.

...

Tick.

The underground space was empty and dimly lit.

Campfires burned, illuminating the darkness.

The entire underground palace is divided into four entrances in the east, west, south, and north. At the center where the four directions converge is a huge dragon-shaped statue.

Before the statue, the seven dragon lizard guardians stood with devout expressions, behind them were a group of key figures of the dragon lizard people.