He changed Tiwat

However, both Han Fulai and Jiang Xue understood that for Dainesreb, the highest praise was for his knights to have fulfilled their duties. Anything else was superfluous.

Daines Reb lowered his head, recalling the first time he met Hafdan.

More than 500 years ago, Hafdan, who had just turned 20, was recommended to join the Kanria Palace Guard because of his outstanding achievements in defeating monsters during a patrol mission of the Knights.

As the captain of the guard, Dainesreb asked the young man a question that day—

"Joining the 'Black Serpent Knights' means becoming Kanria's sword and shield, forever bound to danger. So... do you want to live a peaceful life, or do you want to be a hero, even if only for a few seconds?"

With his still youthful face, Hafdan straightened his chest and answered with his head held high—

"I want to be a hero."

Dainesreb extended his hand and shook hands with Hafdan.

"Young man, welcome to the 'Black Serpent Knights'."

This moment feels like that moment before.

Daines Reb closed his eyes and stood up.

"……let's go."

Daines Reeb took a few steps toward the stairs, only to find Han Fulai and Jiang Xue still looking behind him.

He turned around abruptly, his eyes widening in surprise.

In the glow of the fireflies, a young man dressed in the robes of a Kanria knight stood before him.

The young man had gray hair and blue eyes, and his face still had a touch of childishness. He was the same Hafdan who had just joined the "Black Serpent Knights" in his memory.

—This must be what Hafdan's soul looks like.

Hafdan raised his right hand to shoulder level, then clenched his fist and punched it into his left chest, performing the most standard Kanrija knightly salute.

Daines Reb stared blankly at Hafdan, speechless for a moment.

Hafdan lowered his head. "I'm sorry, Lord Dainesreb, the 'Sword of the End,' back then... I failed you and couldn't protect my people."

His voice was filled with deep regret; for five hundred years, his soul had been filled with remorse for this.

Daines Reeb pursed his lips and slowly clenched his fist.

"No, you have fulfilled your responsibilities over the past five hundred years."

Then he returned the gesture by striking his left chest with his right fist.

"To this day, you remain my glory."

"Haa..." Hafdan's mouth dropped open. This was the first time he had ever heard the stern "Sword of the End" praise him personally.

He scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly, his eyes a little moist.

Sparkling light fell from his face.

"Kanria hasn't fallen, has it? After all, you're still standing here," he asked expectantly.

Dain hesitated for only a moment, then nodded seriously.

"Ah."

A genuine smile spread across Hafdan's face.

Five hundred years of obsession, five hundred years of sorrowful vows, were released in this instant.

There's nothing left to cherish.

Having fulfilled their duty, the knights transformed into streaks of light and scattered in all directions.

The Black Serpent Knight's body also vanished in a stream of light.

A resilient soul found peace at this moment.

Watching Hafdan's departing figure, Dainesreb murmured, "So... there's no need to restore the kingdom."

Only after Daines Reeb calmed down did Han Fulai ask, "Was that Hafdan's soul just now?"

Daines Reeb turned around, resuming his stern demeanor: "Yes. More than one power converges here, so it wouldn't be surprising to see souls."

"However, if you wish to continue exploring deeper, be careful... cough..."

Han Fulai understood the implied meaning in his words: "You can't travel with us anymore?"

Din covered his mouth with his hand; his black gloves were stained with dark blood.

Even he couldn't continue to endure the injuries he had just sustained. He desperately needed a safe and secluded place to heal, otherwise, in addition to his injuries, the corrosive influence of the curse would continue to worsen.

"I... need some time to recover, I'm sorry."

Despite having already made an agreement, Daines Reeb was unwilling to help his ally at the crucial moment, as this was not his style.

But if he forced himself to continue, he would only be a burden to his allies, so he made a decision.

“I have something to tell you, something very important that I can only say now,” Dain said to Han Fulai.

Chapter 215 Humans Have Their Own Foundation (Bonus Chapter 8/20)

The fact that Daines Reeb said to him so solemnly, "I have something to say to you," and that it was something "that can only be said now," clearly indicated that it was something very important.

Han Fulai could also tell that this was Daines Reib's "compensation" to him.

Having made a promise to help them, but being unable to fulfill it due to his injury, clearly contradicts Daines Reeb's principles. His proposed "compensation" is "intelligence."

Dain has some very important information that he can only reveal now, and he has to tell him this.

The reason he could only speak now was partly because he needed to find a place to recuperate quickly after being injured and would soon be separated from Han Fulai and the others, and partly because it was related to his earlier statement that "more than one kind of power is gathered here".

If Dain meant to say that there was the "purifying" power of the pool and the abyssal power of the black mud here, he should have just said "there are two kinds of power here". So he was obviously referring to more than two kinds of power.

The appearance of Hafdan's spirit and other phenomena may all be related to the "convergence of various forces".

Han Fulai nodded solemnly.

He was about to call Jiang Xue when he saw Daines Reib wink at him.

Jiang Xue was no longer a naive young man; he was quick to read people and knew exactly what Daines Reib meant.

Although, as the ruler of Yao Guang Star, he was theoretically Han Fulai's superior to Hai Ting's secretary this month, and Daines Reeb should have given him priority in sharing any intelligence, Jiang Xue didn't really care about that. Besides, he was in the Layered Rock Abyss to handle personal matters as Han Fulai's "bodyguard," and he didn't want to get involved in any official business.

He really wanted to know, but he could just ask Han Fu to report it later. Besides, Dain only wanted to talk to Han Fu, so he must have his reasons.

So Jiang Xue chuckled and said, "I'll go patrol the entrance and be on guard against a surprise attack from the 'Abyss Order'."

After saying that, he walked straight out of the hall.

Han Fulai stepped forward and stood in front of Daines Reeb, lowering his voice: "Mr. Daines, is what you want to say related to... Sky Island?"

“Yes…and no.” Daines Reb used his riddle-man’s signature phrase.

“Even here, where the ley lines are disordered and various forces converge, there are some things I can only tell you in this way… How should I put it, on this continent of Teyvat, fairy tales and fables may outlive the gods.”

Han Fulai simply listened quietly.

As Yuehaiting's secretary, Han Fulai could understand the riddle man's way of speaking without any difficulty—after all, in Keqing's eyes, he should speak in the same tone as Daines Reeb.

Dainesreb was telling him that in order to evade the records of the ley lines, he would speak very cryptically, just like Zhongli would always tell him stories he "heard from a friend," and forbade him to ask, "Is that friend you're talking about yourself?"

Judging from Dain's attitude, perhaps many historical records, such as history books, were destroyed after Sky Island discovered them. Instead, the truth was preserved through metaphorical means such as fairy tales and fables.

There may be many buried historical truths about Kanria, a kingdom that perished five hundred years ago.

It was because he understood these truths that the traveler Kong embarked on the path of "restoring his kingdom" and rebelling against Sky Island.

"Legend has it that the gods created the world, and there is a vast ocean in the world, and on the ocean there is a solitary island."

Daines Reeb crouched down and, using the dust on the ground, drew a large circle with his finger to represent the sea, and a small circle to represent the island.

Is this referring to Teyvat and the "Dark Sea"? Han Fulai also squatted down.

"On the isolated island stands a sacred giant tree, whose roots are embedded in the island and spread throughout the entire island."

As she spoke, Dain drew a vertical line and eight horizontal lines in the small circle to represent the giant tree and its root system.

Although Dai Yin's drawing was rather ugly, and his drawing skills were not as good as Han Fulai's, a liberal arts student with experience in geographical drawing, Han Fulai immediately understood what Dai Yin meant. This was the "World Tree" and "Earth Vein" that Zhong Li had mentioned to him before.

"The humans on the island established a civilization under the guidance of the gods. In that era, humans could communicate directly with the gods through divine messengers from the heavens. The gods generously satisfied all of humanity's needs—the only thing forbidden was 'greed'."

Dain tapped his forehead with his finger to indicate that the sentence was important, while Han Fulai carefully memorized it.

"However, humans are insatiable creatures. The giant trees on the island are a symbol of 'life.' As long as the giant trees do not die, even if their branches are broken off, they can still maintain a connection with the giant trees, growing everywhere and spreading life and hope..."

Dain pressed his left hand against his right chest, where a branch was growing, feeding on the cursed power within his body.

"At the same time, the giant tree also brings 'wisdom' to mankind. All knowledge, memories and experiences flow through the roots and stems of the tree. Just as streams flow into rivers, rivers flow into the ocean, and then turn into rainwater to fall on the earth."

"Legend has it that a wise man once sacrificed one of his eyes to a giant tree, hanging upside down on it for nine days, gaining the ability to write runes and wield 'word power'. He then built his kingdom along the tree's roots. However, his kingdom was ultimately destroyed because 'greed' allowed him to glimpse the secrets of the gods. This wise man was known as 'Ilmin the One-Eyed'."

“‘One-Eyed Illmin’…” Han Fulai frowned. He thought he seemed to have heard this name somewhere before. In his memory, the person who mentioned this name had a clear and pleasant voice… “Ah!”

He remembered, it was Xingqiu!

After Xingqiu borrowed the sixth volume of "The Record of the Broken Halberd of Shenxiao" from Master Chang Jiu, he discussed the plot with him on the way back.

In that novel, there is a "first divine halberd that pierced through Kunlun," and its name is "Ilmin."

He also remembered that in the story of the novel, the mad Heavenly Emperor issued a judgment on all things in the world, saying: "This world is ruined and must be burned to the ground and started anew."

The weapon that the protagonist of the novel uses to fight against the Heavenly Emperor is "Irmmin"!

According to Daines Reib, many historical truths in this world have been passed down as obscure stories. Therefore, the author of this book is very mysterious, and the sixth volume is very different in style from the first five volumes. It has never been reprinted since its publication, so it is called "The Phantom Sixth Volume".

Xingqiu had been searching for it for three years, and the only one in the entire Liyue was still kept by Master Chang.

What if this book was also written on a whim by some "Teyvat historian"?

It was only much later that Han Fulai learned from Yae no Shinji that the author, "Teacher Jiu," was actually a nine-tailed fox spirit who possessed both beauty and wisdom.

"I happen to have a carving of Irmmin from a story here."

Dainesreb pulled out a small iron engraving from his person. It was shaped like an arrow and depicted the image of a king with one eye.

Han Fulai took the carving and held it in his hand, seemingly able to feel the warmth emanating from it.

May it become your best friend, your support, and give you the courage to keep moving forward.

Din stared into Han Fulai's eyes, hoping that this "Descendant" had truly understood everything he had said.

Han Fulai solemnly accepted the gift given to him by Daines Reibu.

"Now that the story is over, I'd like to add a little something."

Daines Reb stood up and wiped the marks of the drawing on the ground with his foot.

“There’s a reason we saw Hafdan’s spirit just now,” he said in a low voice. “I was thinking about Hafdan from back then, and I was thinking that it would be nice to see him again and say a few words to him in person. And I believe that Hafdan also has something to say to me.”

"You mean...?" Han Fulai frowned. He really couldn't understand what Daines Reeb was referring to. It couldn't be that they "shared the same idea" so they met, could it?

Dain said in a deep voice, "The bottom of this layered rock abyss is different from the outside world. Here, all the power is amplified due to the disorder of the earth's veins. I sensed three forces here. Two of them are constantly fighting, while the third force may be able to help you."

Daines Reeb first pointed to the pool in the ceiling, then to the ground, and finally to Han Fulai.

“I know you don’t have the ‘Eye of God,’ and neither do I. But that doesn’t matter, because we humans inherently possess the power to create history and weave destiny. So, I have another piece of advice for you.”

"Humans have their own inherent qualities; we are not the residue left after the chosen ones have been filtered out. These words are my 'words of wisdom' for you."

Chapter 216 Everything is "Man's Plan" [4k]

After exchanging a few more words with Daines Reeb about the "Loom of Destiny" plan, the two left the hall, and Jiang Xue, who had been waiting outside the door, silently followed.

What the three of them need to do now is to leave this place as soon as possible.

The Abyss Order had been plotting and scheming in this ancient ruin for at least six months. They set up a black mist barrier to isolate the inside from the outside, created mechanisms to enhance the purification power of the pool water, sent Abyss Mages to find dying Kanria survivors to bring in, deployed Black Serpent Knights to guard the ruins, and even assigned at least four high-ranking officers of the Abyss Apostle level to be in charge of this matter.

It was a huge project, and today was supposed to be a good day for them to top out and complete the project, but Han Fulai and his group ruined it.

When the leaders of the "Abyss Order," such as "Prince," come to inspect the project and find that they have ruined it, won't they fight them to the death?

Although if the three of them were to reveal their names, such as "Successor of the Emperor," "Sword of the End of Light," and "Seven Star Breaker," they would all sound like formidable fighters, seemingly not afraid of trouble from the "Abyss Order"... the reality is that "Successor of the Emperor" is currently powerless, "Sword of the End of Light" is seriously injured and could cough up blood at any moment, leaving only a fisherman who originally wanted to slack off to bear all the burdens with tears in his eyes.

The purification ritual that the Abyss Order was preparing for its "restoration" was disrupted by them, and the trap they set to kill Dainesreb was also destroyed. Along the way, they also killed four Abyss Apostles... According to Dainesreb, if this gets out, Han Fulai and Jiang Xue will never have a peaceful day again—especially Jiang Xue.

Leaving aside the fact that they disrupted other people's plans, just killing four Abyss Apostles was enough to severely damage the Abyss Order.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the four Abyss Apostles they encountered earlier seemed a bit eccentric, and that Jiang Xue killed them without much effort. But if you look at their positions in the Order, those four were all high-ranking officials at the level of "Bishop"—Han Fulai understood this, since Jesus only had twelve apostles, and the Abyss Order certainly wouldn't have many apostles either.

The fact that they've sent four high-ranking officials to oversee this ruin shows they're taking it very seriously. In terms of combat power, each of these four was a renowned figure hundreds of years ago, and their strength is considerable. If these four were to join forces and use the "Dark Descent" combined with the "Abyss Codex" for support, even without the weakening effect of purification, Dainesreb would be no match for them.

If the Abyss Order's plan succeeds, Dainesreb will first be lured deep into enemy territory by the Apostle "The Foreshadower," then be bogged down and restrained by his former subordinates, the "Black Serpent Knights." Finally, the Abyss Order will initiate a purification ritual to weaken Dainesreb, allowing the four Apostles to join forces and trap him like a turtle in a jar...