"This is troublesome."
Albedo watched Frostfall and Torrent turn around, and fine sweat began to seep from his forehead.
Although he did not know the origin of these two fellows, according to Balladeer, they should be some kind of Abyss Monster.
Monsters that could speak human language and contend with a Harbinger, their strength could not be weak.
[Unknown Abyss Monster], Albedo looked at the Abyss Herald, suppressed his curiosity, and once again drew his weapon.
"Perhaps, we can talk. You want to explore the Golden Tree? Very well, I will share my research findings with you."
Albedo gripped his Sword, vigilantly watching Balladeer and the two towering Abyss Heralds.
"He's stalling for time, hurry up! If Mondstadt's reinforcements arrive, forget him, you won't even get a single hair from that big tree!"
Balladeer shouted and then charged at Albedo first. Now was a race against time; even if they couldn't abduct Albedo, his research data would be a good harvest.
If they missed this opportunity, the Fatui would probably only be able to obtain information about the Golden Tree through diplomatic means.
If it came to that, how much information they could get was secondary; the most important thing was that it signified Balladeer's failure.
And Balladeer would not allow himself to fail.
As for the Abyss Order? As non-human entities, if they wanted to approach the Golden Tree so easily again, they would probably have to resort to force.
And a large-scale deployment would mean exposure, which was unacceptable to the Abyss Order, who lurked in the shadows.
There were too many things within The Order that could not be brought to the surface.
"I am smarter than you!" Frostfall and Torrent were not to be outdone, following closely.
"Was it seen through after all?" Albedo looked at the three charging figures, lowered his head, and sighed.
His intention to stall for time had been exposed.
"I hope everything is alright." Albedo's eyes suddenly became incredibly serious; even when Balladeer and the Abyss Heralds had formed an alliance just now, his expression had not been so grave.
Calx was the beginning of change, the product of stripping away all impurities. At the same time, it was the raw material of the primordial human.
Albedo concentrated his consciousness immensely, gradually guiding the omnipresent desire for "change" within his body.
The first to change were Albedo's eyes; his emerald pupils were no longer smooth but rugged like convex and concave lenses.
Reflected within them were the rippling, distorted mirror images of Balladeer and the Abyss Heralds.
At the same time, the figures of Balladeer and the Apostles instantly slowed down in Albedo's eyes.
But Albedo made no move. It wasn't that he didn't want to move, but that his body couldn't keep up with his reactions.
If he wanted his body to keep up with his now enhanced reactions, Albedo estimated he would have to "change" all his muscles and organs.
Instead of that, it would be better to take advantage of this rare time to enhance his local strength first.
Enduring the pain of his consciousness being torn, Albedo looked at his waist, where his Geo Archon's Vision hung.
Closing his eyes, Albedo shaved off a bit of his immaculate body. The pure white, flawless clay wriggled to Albedo's waist and began a "blasphemous" transformation.
First, a frame similar to the outer layer of the Geo Archon's Vision was kneaded, and then a smooth, eyeball-like glass bead was born within the frame.
However, the glass bead was incredibly murky and had not yet taken on its proper color.
"Ah!" The scene before Albedo's eyes suddenly became colorful, and a violent tearing sensation felt as if it would rip his consciousness into countless pieces.
His immaculate body craved a pure soul. Clearly, Albedo's soul was not yet completely pure, insufficient to support his limitless immaculate body.
"Oops!" Albedo's face contorted; he could now feel his body starting to disobey his control. This was a premonition of losing control.
"A constantly changing body? I didn't expect to see such a miraculous 'person' at first glance."
A rough, hairy hand grasped Albedo's throbbing head.
In Albedo's blurred Vision, he only saw a huge black shadow quickly enveloping him, forming a stark contrast with Balladeer and the Abyss Heralds, who were slowly approaching in the distance.
Then, a warm current surged from the top of his head into Albedo's body. Instantly, the tearing, blurring, changing... everything returned to its original state.
Similarly, the three figures in the distance also blurred instantly.
"Watch out!" Albedo, ignoring his own changes, instinctively shouted, hoping the huge figure behind him would be alert.
"Boom!"
A phantom-like afterimage, carrying a golden stream of light, was so fast that in an instant, the three figures charging at Albedo were sent flying.
"Bang!"
Dust kicked up in the distance, but Albedo paid no attention. Because a never-before-seen "giant" appeared before his eyes.
A dark brown hooded cloak draped over him. On the left side of his head, a cluster of spiraling, intertwined horns grew, appearing to be about half the size of his head.
The "giant's" physique was a bit taller than the Ruin Guards wandering in the wild. In his hand, a golden dagger, like a long Sword to an ordinary person, was gradually dissipating. It seemed that the golden stream of light had been emitted by this dagger.
"So… so fast!" Balladeer struggled to his feet. He had only felt a blur before his eyes, and then he was struck by some weapon and sent flying.
Balladeer took a deep breath, the anomaly in the airflow making him somewhat surprised. He looked down and found a hideous gash on his chest.
However, the assailant seemed to have no intention of taking Balladeer's life; the wound only cut his skin and did not go any deeper.
Balladeer turned his head and saw Frostfall and Torrent, who also had a similar gash on their chests.
Unlike Balladeer, only their outer garments were torn, revealing their black and blue intertwined bodies underneath.
"Morgott bids you all greetings," Morgott said, nodding at the four, leaning on the Cursed Sword like a staff.
"Is that how you greet people?" Balladeer touched the scar on his chest, scrutinizing Morgott.
Why did the Fatui have no intelligence about such a powerful individual?
If it were just Albedo, it could be explained as an oversight, but with two more appearing at once, Balladeer felt like cursing.
"That I can still greet the three of you is enough for you to be secretly pleased," Morgott said, looking up at the brilliant Golden Tree nearby, speaking as if in recollection.
The new Golden Tree was smaller than The Lands Between's, but larger than the small Golden Tree. But no matter what, he saw the Golden Tree again, didn't he?
Originally, Morgott thought he would be very excited to see the Golden Tree again, but to his surprise, from walking out of the Golden Tree to looking up at it from outside, no great ripples stirred in Morgott's heart.
Did Morgott like the Golden Tree? Probably not; he only liked prosperity, order, and beauty.
Although this was out of reach for Morgott, who had spent half his life in the sewers, Morgott simply liked these things.
Just as the voice echoing in his soul-touching Great Rune stated, simply wanting to love, to love without expecting anything in return.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this that Morgott would retire in the new era, peacefully watching passersby from his small hut, smiling silently.
"Oh? I'm now finding that you seem even more arrogant than I am." Balladeer raised an eyebrow; this was the first time he had been scorned by another.
"It's not arrogance, it's a fact." Morgott raised his Cursed Sword and gently tapped the ground.
"Clatter!"
A silent pressure blew up withered branches and fallen leaves from the ground, spreading in all directions, making everyone's heart clench.
"If you do not wish to return to the tree, retreat quickly!"
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