Genshin Impact: I, the Winter Prince, reign supreme.

"You finished so quickly? I haven't had enough of fighting yet." Arecino spat out the blood in her mouth, grabbed her left arm and twisted it hard to correct her dislocated arm. "Why are these bastards attacking like madmen today?"

"They are clever; they discovered His Highness was not there, so they wanted to kill the two of us."

"Aren't they afraid of His Majesty?"

Columbia looked at her as if she were an idiot: "Three years ago, Her Majesty was seriously injured while saving the Prince. The price she paid was extremely high."

Arecino said with shame, "I have been used to Her Majesty's protection for so long. In the past three years, it has become His Highness the Prince who has sheltered us from the wind and rain. It is easy to forget that it is no longer Her Majesty the Empress who is deterring the enemy."

Columbia nodded: "Arechino, you go clean up the battlefield, I'll take care of the rest."

"What did you say? You want me to clean up the battlefield? Absolutely not. I suffered a bit of a loss just now, and I'm going to get my revenge. Once Dadalia finds out about today's battle, I wonder how those guys will mock me."

Tartaglia once followed her master and fought against dark creatures in the abyss. Later, he joined the Fatui and became an Executor, so he is qualified to speak to anyone about the fight against dark creatures.

Unfortunately, this guy can't control his mouth. If he finds out that he's in charge of cleaning up the mess, it won't be long before everyone in the streets and alleys is talking about him.

Chapter 167 Performance

Columbia smiled and said, "Arenchino, haven't you always wanted to know how powerful the Celestial Race is?"

Arecino was taken aback for a moment, then put down her weapon: "You really are annoying. Today was supposed to be my day to make a good impression."

"Perform well? There's no audience here."

"With His Highness the Prince not here, you risked everything to cause such a commotion. What will His Majesty think?"

Arecino said helplessly, "You are His Majesty's favorite, the apple of His Highness's eye. I dare not compare myself to you. His Majesty will not punish you, but I am not so sure. He might charge me with dereliction of duty and deduct half a year's salary. The children in the orphanage will starve with me. So I have to kill more enemies."

She then pointed her chin at the most powerful Abyss Emperor in the distance: "See that humanoid monster with horns on its head and scarlet eyes? If I can kill it, my worthless life won't be in vain. Columbia, they really think highly of you, sending three demon god-level powerhouses and an Abyss Emperor."

“It’s us,” Columbia corrected her. “The credit for making our opponents take us so seriously isn’t just mine; you’re part of it too. You’ve already done your part; leave the rest to me.”

Arecino looked her companion up and down and burst out laughing: "Hey, you know what? Out of the eleven executives, you're not my favorite. You usually keep to yourself, don't like to talk to us, and stay aloof from everyone else, but today I'm starting to like you. I want to be your friend."

"Very good, it's not too late to discover it."

Arecino sat down, took out gauze, and bandaged her wound: "His Highness once taught us that a gentleman should help others achieve their goals. I'll give you the chance to shine. I won't clean up the mess; I'll be your spectator from behind."

"Yes, you deserve it. We're so grateful for your protection today. Watch closely, this is for your performance—"

Columbia made a punching motion, but with her other hand, she threw a snowball at Arecino.

The snowball struck the unsuspecting Arecino squarely in the face, completely unaware of Columbia's intentions.

Columbia smiled mischievously and said, "If you want to be my friend, you'd better be prepared to be bullied by me at any time."

"what?"

Arecino was truly stunned, but one thought popped into her mind: This is the true nature of the aloof and lazy executive officer [girl].

So, was her previous act of appearing very shrewd and calculating in front of others actually a disguise?

While Arecino was still reeling from her surprise, Columbia had already walked toward the Abyss King on the other side.

She strolled leisurely in the yard, without any sense of tension that a great battle was about to break out. For a brief moment, Arecino wondered if Columbia was not ready for battle yet.

Although the Abyss Emperor and the most terrifying Abyss King are vastly different in strength, the Abyss Emperor is still far more powerful than the three Demon God-level experts. Moreover, the Abyss Emperor's power and combat skills are quite strange. He almost killed her during their fight just now. Columbia must not underestimate him.

The enemy opposite was equally puzzled by Colombia's actions and did not launch an attack for a moment, but instead observed the human walking straight towards them warily.

What happened next gave Arecino a new perspective.

It turns out she didn't understand the Abyss Emperor, let alone her partner. Or rather, her previous understanding was based on unfounded speculation, which has now been ruthlessly shattered by reality.

Columbia walked on quietly, barefoot, leaving her tiny footprints in the snow.

Arecino was astonished to see countless low-lying leyline flowers sprouting from her footprints!

It is evident that during her journey, Columbia developed some kind of connection with the mysterious ley lines that she could not comprehend.

However, those ley lines grow quickly, but they also wither very quickly. About three steps after Columbia takes a step, the old ley line flowers will wither, and new ley line flowers will sprout from her new footprints.

She was quite certain that it wasn't the grass element, but rather the power of the ley lines.

Ley lines are like the blood vessels and nervous system of Teyvat, transmitting elemental energy on one hand and storing information about the passage of time on the other.

On one occasion, Arecino and the Doctor traveled to Sumeru. The wise man of the Sumeru Cult told her that human knowledge and power originated from the ley lines, which nurtured human civilization and may contain a power surpassing that of the gods.

The fact that the World Tree of Sumeru is connected to the earth's veins is no secret to her. However, when the wise man finished speaking, she had a feeling that he was deliberately exaggerating in order to highlight the wonder of the World Tree.

This is like someone constantly boasting to people from other countries about how amazing their eleven executives are, only to end up just showing off the power of the Winter Kingdom. Therefore, she believes that the claim that "the earth veins contain power surpassing that of the gods" is debatable.

Although humanity's research on ley lines is still in its early stages of exploration, she does not deny their wonder and power. The Celestial Race has a unique physique, and if Columbia used the power of the ley lines to send her song to His Highness the Prince, then perhaps she could also use the power of the ley lines to fight.

Her judgment was immediately proven correct.

As Columbia walked, she chanted a rousing melody. She had never heard Columbia sing such a fast-paced ancient song before; it was, in short, a piece of music used for battle.

A near-tangible shockwave of mental energy instantly met the charging horde of monsters.

The monsters that participated in today's attack are equivalent to top-tier experts among humans who possess the Eye of God. They are fierce and tenacious, and were sent by the Abyss Emperor to lead the charge and test Colombia's strength.

In just one encounter, the entire horde of monsters collapsed and fell fast asleep in the snow. A few seconds later, one monster's head after another exploded like a watermelon, turning the entire snowfield red.

The Abyss Emperor snorted angrily and sent three demon god-level subordinates to besiege Colombia.

Three demon-god-level creatures stood like three mountain peaks blocking the way, their enormous bodies momentarily obstructing the southeast wind.

Columbia felt that the biting cold wind hitting her face had become much milder, so she decided to use the enemy's body to shield herself from the winter wind in the eastern part of the city.

The thought made her slow her pace, but her singing became even more soaring and passionate.

A few seconds later, the three demon-god-level creatures attacked each other like madmen, biting each other's necks off, and died on the spot before they could even reach Columbia.

Next up is the emperor of the abyss.

Chapter 168 The Singer

The dark creatures in the abyss, like humans, also have a strict hierarchy. At the bottom are mostly shrimp soldiers and crab generals, whose fighting power is only slightly stronger than that of an average adult.

Columbia had heard Arecino mention something about a warrior who was somewhat famous in history, who had once been born in her hometown.

Five hundred years ago, when the warrior resisted the invasion of the dark forces, he led the villagers to defend their village for decades with hoes and sickles as weapons, at a minimal cost. Afterwards, his heroic deeds were widely known, and when Her Majesty the Queen learned of this, she ordered a monument to be erected in the area to commemorate his brave and indomitable fighting spirit.

But in Columbia's eyes, this man was not only brave but also very lucky.

Back then, dark forces invaded the Winter Kingdom from all directions. The dark army besieging that small mountain village had no leader; they were all low-ranking soldiers, mere shrimps and crabs. If the villagers organized themselves, they could easily fight them off. In a one-on-one battle, none of the villagers could match them, but when they united and attacked together, the enemy's soldiers were defeated.

A neighboring town, with a much larger population than the village where the warrior lived, and equipped with advanced firearms and cannons, encountered a dark creature of general-level rank. The city gates were breached in an instant, and the monsters rushed in and slaughtered everyone in a horrific massacre.

In short, the individual combat strength of these dark creatures, which are at the level of shrimp soldiers and crab generals, is not very strong. Ordinary people can handle them as long as they unite.

The middle ranks of the dark creatures consist of leaders and elites who command the lower-ranking soldiers. Because the dark creatures value strength above all else, those who hold the positions of leaders and elites are exceptionally powerful, capable of rivaling humans with the "Eye of God." Eliminating these elites and leaders often requires the combined efforts of dozens of humans with the "Eye of God."

The highest level of dark creatures is the level of kings and emperors.

Dark creatures at the Emperor level are usually quasi-demon gods or powerful beings at the level of demon gods, with the best among them capable of contending with the Seven Gods; Dark creatures at the King level are even rarer than Emperors and hold a higher status in their race because they dare to defy the laws of nature.

While the ancient kingdom of Kanria was indeed very powerful, even the seven kingdoms combined might not have been able to defeat it at its peak, the reason why Tianli led the seven gods and many powerful allied forces to fight it was because it had the support of the Abyss King. Although Kanria ultimately suffered a crushing defeat, Tianli's maintainers were severely injured, and several gods among the seven gods perished.

The humanoid sovereign being that Columbia was currently dealing with had been frozen underground for many years, causing its strength to plummet to the level of a quasi-sovereign, equivalent to a quasi-demon god, making it easy for Columbia to handle. Even the three demon god-level beings had greatly weakened, their minds controlled by the mental storm she unleashed, leading them to fight each other.

If they were back to their peak condition, she wouldn't be able to deal with them so easily.

Colombia would naturally not give the Abyss Emperor any time or opportunity to recover.

A powerful voice rang out, and she began to sing a war song once again.

"Wait a minute, I have something to say."

The Abyss Emperor suddenly spoke, and at the same time, his enormous body rapidly shrank. Under the unpredictable and bizarre mental attack, his massive size was actually a disadvantage in defense.

"Ok?"

Columbia stopped singing the overture. Her opponent seemed frightened. Let's hear what it has to say.

Two crimson will-o'-the-wisps flickered in the Abyss Emperor's eyes: "I recognize you, Singer of the Celestial Spirit Clan. Five hundred years ago, it was you who, together with the Ice Queen, froze my clan's army beneath the walls of Winter's End. The Celestial Spirit Clan is truly monstrous; there's a reason you suffered divine retribution in the ancient times. Your ancestors were banished to the mortal realm by the supreme ruler for falling in love with a human..."

"enough!"

Columbia did not want to recall the past, nor did she want to hear others discuss it.

She followed two Ice Queens and never spoke of the past of the Fairy Spirit Clan to anyone. Currently, besides the Queen, Su Yu is the only one in the Winter Kingdom who knows the history of the Fairy Spirit Clan.

That night, Su Yu came to visit her, and she told him about the history of her clan. She would not hide anything from Su Yu.

Columbia said coldly, "You want to stall for time? Give up that idea. Even if you recover to your peak, there will still be people who can deal with you."

“You mean Prince Winter? I’m sorry, you can’t fool me. We abyssal races are very sensitive to elemental power, and there was no trace of him in Winter City today. Let me tell you, we’ve been monitoring his movements underground. It was only because we were certain he wasn’t there that we dared to launch this decisive attack.”

Columbia deliberately said, "Her Majesty the Queen is in the city right now."

She wanted to know just how well the Abyss Emperor understood the situation inside Winter's End.

The Abyss Emperor replied, “Your Empress’s condition is unstable. Since Prince Zhidong appeared three years ago, she has been in seclusion to heal her injuries. She will occasionally come out a few times, but will soon go into seclusion again. As long as I don’t rush into the city and slaughter the people of Zhidong, it’s not worth her taking action.”

"Hmph, you know quite a lot."

Columbia was slightly surprised; the intelligence the enemy possessed was more detailed than she had imagined.

The Abyss Emperor spoke sincerely: "Your strength is unexpected, and your mental techniques are impossible to defend against. My subordinates fell to you today; their deaths were not in vain. I've changed my mind; from now on, I will no longer be your enemy. Singer of the Celestial Spirit Clan, I wish to discuss a deal with you."

"What deal?"

“You tell me about Prince Zhidong’s weaknesses, and in exchange, I will tell you about my king’s weaknesses. Is that fair?”

The fact that the Abyss Emperors compared Su Yu to the Abyss Kings shows how much they value Su Yu.

"Wishful thinking!" [Servant] Arecino rebuked.

Columbia then asked, "Why do you want to know His Highness's weaknesses?"

“Five hundred years ago, you stood on the side of Heaven's justice and were our enemies. Times have changed. The Kingdom of Winter has chosen to defy Heaven's justice, making us natural allies. But you humans are cunning and treacherous. My king's meaning is that if you want to cooperate, you must complete this deal. Oh, and I must add that we don't really intend to kill you today, otherwise my king would send ten emperors like myself to surround you.”

"Your king is quite confident, certain that our Winter Solstice Kingdom will cooperate with you, is that right? What you say makes some sense. Everyone has objections to Heaven's justice, so we can cooperate to deal with her."

Upon hearing Columbia's reply, Arecino cautioned, "Columbia, don't believe it!"

Columbia waved her hand, signaling her not to interrupt her negotiations, and then said, "You want to know His Highness the Prince's weakness, right? Well, I'll tell you, his weakness is me."

The Abyss Emperor eagerly awaited Colombia's reply, only to find that she seemed to be joking.

"I have to remind you, this deal needs to show me sincerity. Does his cultivation method have any flaws? Does he have any illnesses? What mistakes is he prone to making? Does he have any family members? These are the kinds of things I want to hear."