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

Otherwise, the Ice Queen alone would not be a match for the Ruler of Heaven.

Even so, the Ice Queen nearly died in battle that day, only managing to escape with the help of the eleven executives.

"You usurper, you are cursed! Await your death sentence!"

At that time, the guardian of justice stood in the sky and spoke indifferently.

Her words were clearly transmitted into Su Yu's mind.

Perhaps he had absolute faith in the curse and believed that Su Yu was doomed, or perhaps he was in a hurry to block the spacetime tunnel (wormhole) through which Su Yu had traveled. In any case, after saying this, the Keeper of Heaven's Law quickly flew away into the distance and did not continue to pursue him.

“Your Highness, Falgar said that in order to avoid the morale of the expeditionary force wavering, he asked me to lie to the outside world that he was missing, and at the same time hand over the command of the expeditionary force to the deputy commander, Bishop Simon Page of the Church of Westwind, who is the father of Qin and Barbara.”

"His last words were a wish that we, the Fools, could cause some trouble in Mondstadt. He wanted to test whether the acting vice-captain, Jean, could handle his position."

"The Mondstadt expeditionary force must continue its campaign, and the news of Grand Master Falgar's death must remain concealed. Mondstadt is still unaware of this news. Your Highness, now that you have come to Mondstadt, could you fulfill Falgar's wish? I have worked with him in the border region; he was a brave warrior."

"Captain," Capitano pleaded.

“Of course. Falgar died protecting Mondstadt and earned my respect. I will fulfill his dying wish. It just so happens that I have some plans to carry out in Mondstadt, so we can do both at the same time.”

……

Let's return to the present.

In her final moments, Qin displayed the integrity she should have shown, choosing suicide rather than compromising herself.

With this new commander leading the Knights of Favonius, Mondstadt will surely fight to the last breath, no matter what oppression or dire straits it faces in the future.

The words Su Yu left in her mind were both fulfilling Falga's last wish and a reward for her.

"Schubert, everything is going according to plan."

Su Yu greeted them and carried the zither upstairs to the second floor.

The Goethe Hotel, which serves as the headquarters of the Fools in Mondstadt, had reserved one of the most expensive bedrooms for Su Yu's use before his arrival.

Pushing open the door, Su Yu took off Qin's white boots, placed them on the bed, and covered them with a blanket.

If it weren't for the difference between men and women, he would have liked to help her take off her white leggings, since sleeping in clothes is always uncomfortable.

At that moment, the storm outside the window subsided without anyone noticing, and sunlight pierced through the thick clouds, shining in through the window frame. Qin's face was instantly bathed in a golden halo, serene and gentle.

Su Yu recalled the people of Mondstadt's opinion of the harp—

"She is a strong knight, a kind girl, a reliable leader. She is serious, disciplined, diligent, and strong; just looking at her gives you peace of mind..."

Watching Qin's even breathing and her mature, full curves, Su Yu did indeed find a brief moment of peace.

But this subtle feeling is fleeting.

"Your Highness, Captain Kaeya of the Knights of Favonius has just escaped."

The voice of the woman with the hidden mirror came from outside the door.

"He'll definitely go to his sworn brother Diluc if we set up an ambush at Dawn Winery. Is there anything else going on?"

"Lisa, Barbara, Amber, and Klee have all been captured, and the squad leaders of several squads under the Knights of Favonius have also surrendered one after another."

"As per your request, the Lawrence family used anesthetic in the firearms, and so far the Knights of Favonius have suffered zero casualties."

“Oh, by the way, Your Highness, there’s something strange. There’s a girl named Noelle who claims to be a maid of the Knights of Favonius. She says she wants to be arrested, just like her friends. If we don’t arrest her, she’ll challenge us to a duel. It’s really absurd.”

Noelle...

In Su Yu's opinion, this was quite in line with her personality.

Sharing the fate of the Knights of Favonius has always been her goal.

Even a timid and cowardly little maid can have a brave day.

It seems that many people in Mondstadt have matured after this upheaval.

"Let her in. As an all-around maid, I'm sure she'll find it very rewarding to take care of Qin."

The lady with the hidden mirror hurriedly asked, "Your Highness, where are you going?"

"The top brass of Mondstadt has been kidnapped, the entire Mondstadt has fallen, and the true master has lost his temper and come to me."

Su Yu looked out the window, breathing in the fresh air after the rain, while gazing at the enormous statue of the wind god in Mondstadt Square.

On the palm of the wind god statue, a guy wearing a green hat and a gray cloak sat, his legs swinging back and forth like he was on a swing, and then he waved and smiled in this direction.

"Barbatos, you've finally shown yourself..."

Chapter 37 She condensed stardust into a crown

The next second, Su Yu teleported to Barbatos' side.

Alternatively, you can call him Wendy or the busker, depending on his form.

However, it would be more formal to address each other by the god Barbatos's name to symbolize a formal meeting between the two gods.

"Prince Winter, welcome to Mondstadt."

Barbatos' face was beaming with enthusiasm; the guy looked like he'd just finished some cider at a tavern and was quite tipsy.

The smile looked harmless, but Su Yu felt that the pretense was a bit contrived.

Because Su Yu knew all about his secret.

“Barbatos, I come on behalf of the Ice Queen. You know the purpose of my visit.”

Upon hearing this, Barbatos spoke in the voice of a bard: "She draped herself in the aurora borealis, condensed stardust into a crown, and transformed the eternal night and icy landscape into her palace. Knights raised their lances, dragons roared with heads held high, and the Queen of Winter descended upon the world..."

"This must be the scene from five hundred years ago when the new Ice Queen was born."

Su Yu sighed softly.

With the fall of the Kanria Empire, the former Ice Queen, who harbored a "heart of love," was killed by divine justice during the war for her compassion for the people of Kanria. Only then did the current Ice Queen ascend the throne of Winter.

This is one of the reasons why the Ice Queen defied the laws of nature.

Barbatos exclaimed in astonishment, "You actually knew about this?"

"She never hid any secrets from me."

Barbatos noticed that Su Yu addressed the Ice Queen as "she" instead of the usual honorific title.

This signifies a very close relationship and is also a metaphor for immense power.

The gods are transcendent and can never be equal to ordinary people. The word "she" led Barbatos to deduce a great deal of astonishing information.

"It seems that the information we received about your discord with the Ice Queen and the Fools was false, and our assessment of your strength was seriously inadequate. The Knights of Favonius believed this information and tried to dampen your spirits with a 'compensation agreement,' but you turned the tables on them and successfully captured the high command of the Knights."

"The whole thing was doomed to failure from the very beginning, alas."

Barbatos analyzed.

Su Yu stood with his hands behind his back and said, "Besides being careless and underestimating their enemy, the Knights of Favonius do have some commendable aspects. For example, influenced by your ideas, they have long implemented discriminatory policies against the old nobles of Mondstadt. In order to suppress the Lawrence family, they did not hesitate to exploit Yura's love and loyalty to the Knights of Favonius. Heh, this is shaking the foundation of the Western Knights."

“Hey, hey, hey, Prince Winter, you can’t wrong me. In the last hundred years, I have never met anyone from the Knights of Favonius. A free city-state does not need the rule of a monarch; that was my original intention in establishing it.”

Barbatos defended himself, feeling extremely wronged.

"Wrongly accuse you?" Su Yu chuckled. "Barbatos, do you still remember that secret pact called 'The Covenant with the Wind at Your Side'? If you've forgotten, let me help you recall history..."

More than a thousand years ago, Vanessa led the people of Mondstadt in a conspiracy to overthrow the Lawrence family's slave rule. The conspiracy stipulated that the Lawrence family would sell the entire Mondstadt to the neighboring country of Liyue.

It was precisely because this secret agreement was exposed that a large number of soldiers from the Lawrence family, who originally had the advantage, defected to Vanessa's revolutionary camp, directly leading to the Lawrence family's defeat.

The reason it had such an effect was not because the Lawrence family soldiers were not intelligent enough, but because the four characters signed "Rock King Emperor" at the end of the secret agreement were indeed the handwriting of a deity.

This persuasiveness rendered any attempt by the Lawrence family to futile, as the secret covenant was endorsed by the gods.

But Su Yu knew the truth about this matter.

The Lawrence family has never made a deal with the Rock King Emperor!

The signature of "King Rock" on this secret agreement was completely forged by Barbatos.

“Your Highness, there is nothing wrong with what I am doing. The Lawrence family’s slave rule has caused great harm to Mondstadt, and whatever method I use to deal with them is the punishment they deserve.”

Su Yu said, "The Lawrence family's brutal rule was certainly wrong. Their ancestors were tried and sent to the guillotine, and the family was massacred and purged. They have already paid the price. Only Yura's lineage survived."

"But the most crucial issue is that you have never clarified this matter to the people of Mondstadt afterward!"

"The people have always believed that the Lawrence family were traitors. Their betrayal of national interests deepened the resentment of the Mondstadt people towards them, a hatred that even surpassed the brutal rule itself. So much so that this hatred has persisted to this day, hundreds and thousands of years later."

Su Yu added, "Another consequence of this formation was that civilian exchanges between Mondstadt and Liyue were almost completely interrupted for the next few hundred years, which had a significant impact on the relationship between the two countries. In the subconscious of the people of Mondstadt, they always believed that Liyue was an accomplice of the Lawrence family when they traded with them, and therefore they were unwilling to associate with them."

Barbatos's smile seemed to freeze.

“Prince Zhidong, is everything you’re saying true? The Four Winds Guardians never told me about these things. And the Rock King Emperor, in all the times I’ve met him, he’s never mentioned this matter either.”

"The Four Winds Guardians are your servants. Even if you, as a deity, are wrong, they will uphold your dignity and honor and stand with you. The Geo Archon prefers to be an observer of history rather than a participant. With this mindset, he would probably only be moved if Liyue were to fall one day. Otherwise, how could he care about ordinary things?"

Barbatos remained silent.

The only sounds were gentle breezes brushing against my face.

"The freedom that Mondstadt seeks cannot be built on lies. Prince of Winter, thank you for pointing this out to me. I have heard that you have transformed Winter into the strongest nation in just three years, and now I fully believe that you possess this talent. Compared to you, I, as the ruler, am truly incompetent and ashamed."

After saying that, Barbatos said with a self-deprecating tone, "The Ice Emperor has told you many stories about me being idle, wasting my time, and irresponsible, and even my own followers think so. Please give me some time, and I will resolve this issue."

“Barbatos, you’re wrong again. Everyone thinks you’re slacking off, but I’ve never thought so. You’ve simply chosen to fight alone.”

"what?"

Su Yu looked down at the entire city of Mondstadt and said in a low voice, "At this moment, the gate to the Sky Isle is right beneath your feet, and you, Barbatos, as the Wind God, one of the Seven Rulers, have been searching for a way to reach the Sky Isle for many years."

"Your usurpation of the Isle of Sky could incur divine retribution at any time. You do not want the people of Mondstadt and their families to be implicated by your actions, so you have chosen to act alone."

"Spending all day drinking in taverns or wandering around as a bard is just to deceive Sky Island's surveillance."

Su Yu paused for a moment, then looked at the dumbfounded Feng Shen.

“Barbatos, actually, you and we share the same goal.”

Chapter 38 Ascension Land

The characters engraved on the base of the giant Anemo statue in Mondstadt mean:

The gate to Sky Island.