The Unstoppable Open Plot

In the office.

"Felina, the development in the desert region has been progressing quite smoothly lately," Furina said. "With Fontaine's substantial assistance, the desert people have grown very favorable toward us. I think the time is ripe to incorporate the desert into Fontaine's territory, don't you agree?"

Felina smiled faintly. "Furina, you're becoming increasingly capable. I'm pleased to see your growth."

"Hehe, it's all thanks to you. If anyone deserves the credit, it's you," Furina said with a bashful laugh, delighted by the praise.

"You're right; now is indeed a good time to propose annexing the desert. The people of the desert wouldn't object, but it's not yet the best moment."

"Oh?" Furina asked curiously.

"There are still quite a number of Fatui agents in the desert. If we attempt to annex the desert now, the Fatui will likely seize the opportunity to stir up trouble, causing us unnecessary headaches."

"I see."

It had been nearly a year since Felina' arrival. During this time, Furina had learned and grown significantly under her influence. When Felina brought up the Fatui, Furina immediately understood her concerns.

The Cryo Archon was after the Gnosis.

There were seven Gnoses in total. Excluding the Cryo Gnosis, which the Cryo Archon already held, Snezhnaya still needed the remaining six. At present, four Gnoses—Hydro, Electro, Anemo, and Geo—were in Fontaine's possession.

Felina had previously explained that the Gnosis was of paramount importance to the Fatui. They were willing to incite wars and chaos for just one, let alone the four that Fontaine held, which constituted the majority of Snezhnaya's targets.

It was inevitable that Snezhnaya would not let this rest. A war between Snezhnaya and Fontaine was only a matter of time.

Furthermore, the desert region still harbored a considerable number of Fatui agents. If the Fatui caught wind of Fontaine's intention to annex the desert, they would undoubtedly exploit the situation. At the very least, they would create unrest in the desert, complicating the annexation process.

Felina had already noticed the Fatui gathering near Fontaine's borders, particularly along the boundaries shared with Liyue and the desert. The amassing of Fatui forces at a border was an exceptionally sensitive action, often regarded as a prelude to war.

At the time, Zhongli had already been contemplating stepping down from his position as Archon, aiming to eliminate Liyue's remaining threats before his departure.

The Dragon King Azhdaha had been defeated, and Osial subdued. With two of Liyue's three major threats neutralized, only the Fatui remained.

Having foreign military forces within one's own borders was an inherently dangerous situation. Zhongli was intent on expelling the Fatui from Liyue before his retirement and saw their unauthorized gathering at the Liyue-Fontaine border as an excellent pretext.

After consulting with Felina, the two decided to temporarily tolerate the Fatui's gathering at the border.

The reason?

They wanted to escalate the situation further.

At first, the Fatui's gathering was relatively small, likely an attempt to gauge Liyue and Fontaine's reactions.

If the Fatui had been stopped at this point, their actions would only be considered minor transgressions. So both Felina and Zhongli allowed the Fatui to escalate their activities.

Zhongli needed the Fatui to cause significant trouble, providing him with justification to expel them from Liyue. Similarly, Felina required the Fatui to create a larger disturbance, giving her grounds to declare war on Snezhnaya.

After a prolonged period of deliberate inaction, the number of Fatui forces gathering at the borders had grown significantly.

To what extent?

A large number of Fatui troops had assembled under the pretext of conducting drills near the border, posing a severe threat to Fontaine's border security and greatly disrupting commerce. Many merchants who relied on trade between Liyue and Fontaine were suffering significant financial losses due to the Fatui's blockades.

Not only was trade affected, but visits between friends and family across the two nations, as well as the tourism industry, were severely hindered.

If such issues plagued Liyue's borders, the situation in the desert was even worse.

After gaining independence, the desert region had detached itself from the governance of the Seven Archons. It became a lawless area outside the bounds of divine protection. Previously, under the protection of the Dendro Archon, the Fatui were somewhat restrained in their actions.

Now, however, the desert was barren and unprotected, without even a formal diplomatic corps. The Fatui had no regard for the desert people.

A large number of Fatui agents congregated along the border between Fontaine and the desert, using various means to disrupt Fontaine's developmental projects, such as hydraulic infrastructure initiatives meant to benefit the desert while also bringing revenue to Fontaine.

The desert, lacking a proper governmental structure, had no means to protest the Fatui's actions. Even if the desert people did voice objections, the Fatui, who saw the desert as godless, stateless, and powerless, paid them no heed.

As for Fontaine's stance? The Fatui had already been expelled from Fontaine, and since they had actively provoked Fontaine by targeting its national interests and creating crises, they weren't concerned with Fontaine's opinion.

Due to Fontaine's tight security measures, the Fatui remained unaware that Fontaine was secretly developing missiles. Ignorant of Fontaine's military capabilities, the Fatui mistook the passive response from Fontaine and Liyue as a sign of weakness, leading them to act with even greater impunity at the borders.

Felina and Zhongli observed the situation reaching a critical point. In secret, they deployed agents to stir public dissatisfaction with the Fatui.

Merchants whose livelihoods were affected voiced complaints. Residents living near the borders grew increasingly anxious. Fontaine workers deployed to the desert for public works projects were forced to halt their activities due to the Fatui's interference.

Merchants attempting to do business in the desert faced robbery and looting by the Fatui for supplies or found themselves unable to operate due to the chaos caused by Fatui activities. Discontent and unrest grew more pronounced, and the public was filled with resentment.

The havoc wreaked by the Fatui in the desert also made the desert people acutely aware of their vulnerability in a world governed by the Seven Archons. Without divine protection, their plight was pitiable.

In the midst of this turmoil, calls for the desert to join Fontaine and come under the protection of the Hydro Archon grew louder than ever.

At present, the military provocations by Snezhnaya at Fontaine's borders were severely affecting Fontaine's interests, and public dissatisfaction was growing.

Felina and Zhongli had an astute grasp of the situation. Seeing the timing as ripe, they began preparations.

The next day, the Palais Mermonia issued an official statement:

Announcement: Over the past six months, Lady Furina has conducted cordial and friendly visits to Sumeru, Liyue, Mondstadt, and Inazuma, fostering development and cooperation between Fontaine and these nations.

During these visits, Lady Furina engaged in in-depth discussions with the Archons and leadership of these nations regarding collaborative development and reached mutual agreements.

These nations highly praised Fontaine's willingness to assist in the construction of Fontaine's Arkhe Reactors and its leadership in advancing collective progress.

Furthermore, in gratitude for Lady Furina's efforts and Fontaine's assistance, the Sumeru Akademiya has shared its research findings on mechanical creations with Fontaine's Institute of Sciences.

Meanwhile, the Anemo Archon Barbatos, the Geo Archon Morax, and the Electro Archon Baal have each gifted their Gnosis to Fontaine as a gesture of their appreciation.

This announcement, steeped in formal language and devoid of flair, did not garner much attention from the general public in Fontaine.

This was expected; when something does not interest a person, it simply means they are not the intended audience.

Ordinary citizens were uninterested in the announcement because it wasn't directed at them—it was aimed at the Fatui and the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya.

Felina's purpose in issuing this announcement was simple: to convey a single message to the outside world: the Hydro, Electro, Anemo, and Geo Gnoses are now in my possession.

The day after the announcement, similar statements were issued by the officials of Mondstadt, Liyue, and the recently reopened Inazuma, confirming that their respective Gnoses had been handed over to Felina.

As expected, this announcement caused an uproar among Snezhnaya's leadership.

Previously, after the Knave returned from Mondstadt, she had already informed the Tsaritsa about Felina acquiring the Anemo and Geo Gnoses.

Now, even the Electro Gnosis had fallen into Felina's hands.

That day, in the conference room of Snezhnaya:

The Fatui Harbingers gathered for a meeting, the atmosphere somber. Clearly, none of them were in a good mood as they discussed the issue of the Gnoses.

Dottore: "According to intelligence provided by the mole we planted in the Akademiya, we already know that Hydro Archon Focalors is collecting Gnoses to manufacture heavy assault machinery."

The Jester turned to the Knave: "Arlecchino, you've had the most contact with Focalors. What are your thoughts on this matter?"

The Knave: "Hydro Archon Focalors is shrewd and deeply calculating. Based on my impression of her, I don't believe her purpose in collecting the Gnoses is solely to produce assault machinery. It's also possible she intends to use the Gnoses as bait to provoke us into taking action."

"I don't know what gives her the confidence to do so, but it's certain that she understands the importance of the Gnoses to the Fatui. Otherwise, she wouldn't have previously used the Gnoses as bait to lure the House of the Hearth's children into a trap, leveraging the opportunity to expel the Fatui from Fontaine."

After the Knave finished speaking, the room fell into silence.

After a long silence, Pulcinella finally spoke:

"I agree with Arlecchino's assessment."

"If her sole aim were to use the Gnoses to develop assault machinery, she could simply conduct her research quietly.

"But instead, she's made a grand spectacle of announcing it. Coupled with her previous use of a Gnosis as bait, it's clear that her public disclosure of Fontaine possessing four Gnoses is yet another trap set specifically for the Fatui."

With this statement, the Harbingers engaged in further discussion.

Half an hour later, after an in-depth analysis, the Harbingers reached a conclusion:

The likelihood that Felina was using the Gnoses as bait was extremely high.

They surmised that Felina must have prepared some sort of strategy, waiting for the Fatui to take the bait willingly.

But no matter how much they deliberated, they realized this was an inescapable open conspiracy.

The Gnoses were simply too important to the Fatui. Out of the six they needed to collect, four were in Fontaine. In other words, by seizing Fontaine, they could achieve two-thirds of their objective in one stroke!

Even knowing it was a trap, the temptation was too great to resist. The Fatui would have to step into it.

And the sooner, the better. Felina was gathering the Gnoses to create god-level assault machinery. If the Gnoses weren't seized quickly, once Fontaine had four entities with godlike combat power, taking the Gnoses would become even harder.

Initially, the Fatui had dispersed their forces across multiple nations to secure the Gnoses. But now, with four in a single nation, they began redeploying troops from other nations to Fontaine's borders.

This led to an ever-growing Fatui military presence at Fontaine's borders.

The situation grew increasingly tense. With so many Fatui troops amassing at the borders, even the most naive observer could smell the scent of war.

...

In the Palais Mermonia office:

"Felina, do you think the Fatui will truly start a war?" Furina asked nervously.

"Not quite yet," Felina replied with a smile.

"Since the Archon War, the order among the Seven Nations has been established. If they can avoid it, Snezhnaya wouldn't risk drawing universal condemnation by directly starting a war with Fontaine."

"Creating chaos and looking for an opportunity to seize the Gnoses amidst the disorder—that's the Fatui's typical strategy."

"I suspect it won't be long before they send someone to negotiate over the Gnoses."

"Deploying troops to the border is just a way to pressure Fontaine—and me—to gain more leverage in the upcoming negotiations."

"Of course, the Gnoses are so vital to the Fatui that, if negotiations fail and they have no other options, war could become a last resort."

"Those reinforcements at the border are their contingency plan. If negotiations fail, the Fatui troops stationed at the border will surely invade Fontaine."

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