"Speaking of the Millelith, my father once told me about the ancient Millelith led by the Rex Lapis."
"Each of them wore armor weighing a thousand jin and wielded spears that weighed a hundred jin."
"I've heard that wars were everywhere back then—so much so that even the Bishui River was stained rust-red."
Xingqiu gestured as he spoke to Qiu Nian.
Xuehua froze for a moment when she heard this.
[Wait—what? A thousand-jin armor and a hundred-jin weapon?!]
[That's insane.]
[So everyone was basically Xiang Yu, huh?]
"I've heard that story too."
"It's said that when a thousand Millelith formed a battle formation, they could even resist a god."
Chongyun nodded.
"That's because Liyue back then was still in the era when the adepti openly walked the world."
"Their formations and equipment were enhanced with adeptal power."
"Of course their strength was on a completely different level."
Hu Tao spread her hands.
"Didn't someone discover ancient Millelith weapons in The Chasm recently?"
"Apparently modern Millelith soldiers can't even lift them."
"Even the soldiers themselves were wondering how their predecessors managed to fight with those weapons."
Xiangling added.
"That… that's ridiculous!"
Paimon was stunned.
"So they were stronger than most Vision holders?"
Lumine asked in disbelief.
If that were true…
Any single ancient Millelith soldier could probably exchange a few blows with Childe today.
The chat immediately exploded.
[A thousand soldiers forming a formation to resist a god? That's crazy.]
[Venti said Snezhnaya has the strongest army now, but if Liyue still had the ancient Millelith, one spear could probably stab the Fatui Cryo Gunner to death.]
[Ten ancient Millelith soldiers could gang up on Childe.]
[LMAO.]
[Okay maybe Childe could still beat ten… maybe.]
"Actually, the Millelith during the Archon War weren't even at their peak."
Qiu Nian suddenly spoke.
"Back then, Visions didn't exist yet."
"The Millelith between one thousand and five hundred years ago were the strongest."
"At that time, quite a number of them possessed Visions."
The chat exploded again.
[Well… now ten ancient Millelith definitely can gang up on Childe.]
[Everyone is Xiang Yu with a Vision. That's terrifying.]
[Childe: So I'm the new unit of power scaling now?]
"Unfortunately…"
Qiu Nian's tone grew quieter.
"According to records, five hundred years ago, an endless swarm of black beasts invaded the seven nations of Teyvat."
"Liyue was no exception."
"The vast plains north of Mt. Tianheng were swallowed by a pitch-black calamity."
"Under the command of Rex Lapis, the Millelith formed battle formations and fought to the death."
"They managed to hold the frontline within two hundred li outside The Chasm."
Qiu Nian paused.
"My guess is…"
"The ancient Millelith were likely wiped out in that catastrophe."
"A thousand ancient soldiers could resist a god's power for a time…"
"But before the darkness that covered all of Teyvat…"
"And before the endless tide of corrupted monsters…"
"All they could do… was fight to the death."
Qiu Nian looked toward the bustling streets ahead.
Zhongli sighed softly.
The livestream chat slowed.
[Darkness that covered all of Teyvat…]
[That hurts… they were all wiped out…]
[Look at Zhongli's expression… he looks sad.]
[Where did those monsters come from?]
[Could that be the Abyss Dainsleif talked about?]
[If that's the Abyss… that's terrifying.]
"A darkness that covered all of Teyvat…"
Lumine murmured.
Could it really be the Abyss Dainsleif mentioned?
"I knew about that event."
"But I've never heard it explained in such detail."
Xingqiu looked impressed.
"As expected of Mr. Qiu Nian. You really know a lot."
"This is the first time I've heard such a detailed explanation too."
Xiangling nodded.
"Mr. Qiu Nian is amazing."
"You flatter me."
Qiu Nian shook his head modestly.
"It's nothing that impressive."
"As expected of my consultant—so knowledgeable!"
Hu Tao placed her hands on her hips.
"Since everyone's here, let's go eat at Xinyue Pavilion!"
"My treat!"
"Can we come too?"
Paimon asked excitedly.
"Of course!"
Hu Tao nodded.
Soon after, everyone went to Xinyue Pavilion for a meal.
Xuehua's screen faded to black.
A short line appeared:
"After finishing the meal…"
Then the quest notification appeared.
Archon Quest — Chapter I, Act IV
"A New Star Approaches" — Completed
Xuehua leaned back in her chair.
She still felt reluctant for it to end.
The Lantern Rite… was already over.
Soon after, the internet exploded with fan creations.
There were countless videos shipping Qiu Nian and Zhongli:
"People who love Rex Lapis probably love Guixu too, right?"
"Zhongli × Qiu Nian — The Ultimate Ship."
"Two Gentlemen, Saying Nothing, Only Looking at Each Other."
"Guixu, the Honored Son-in-Law — Zhongli: Refuse to Accept This Sick Son-in-Law!"
"What kind of friendship did you forge in just ten years?"
Artists also began drawing them standing shoulder to shoulder.
High-quality fan-made PVs appeared everywhere.
Many recreated the legendary battle between Guixu and Morax.
Most of them ended with both sides severely wounded.
But there were also plenty of chaotic meme edits.
For example—
Someone replaced both Zhongli and Qiu Nian's animations with Klee's running animation.
Two dignified ancient gods ran through Liyue Harbor yelling "Da-da-da!"
The entire playerbase was instantly traumatized.
The comment sections were filled with shocked fans.
You really had to admire the internet's ability to create chaos.
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