133: Liyue's Transformation, Mondstadt’s Departure

It had already been a week since Ryen and his group set off on their journey.

During this time, the third wave of miners and Millelith soldiers had also moved in.

After spending three days learning from the first wave of stationed troops, they were assigned to remain behind and guard Base One.

Their primary duties were to continue searching within Base One, assist Cloud Retainer in reshaping the mountains, and begin preparations for city construction across the plains.

The first wave of troops, meanwhile, had followed Zhongli and Xiao into the Nether.

They repaired the portal leading directly to the Nether Fortress and were in charge of harvesting resources from Blazes and other hostile mobs.

Interestingly enough, among this batch of miners, a few were surprisingly good at badminton.

They were entrusted with important roles and officially joined the Millelith, with their main task being to hunt down Ghasts.

Thanks to the large numbers, and with top-tier powerhouses like Zhongli and Xiao frequently stationed there, the Nether resource extraction effort had finally gotten on track.

However, unlike the other stationed teams whose duty shifts were approaching half a month long,

this particular group was required to return to the Overworld daily—to go back to Teyvat and reset their mindset.

After all, the Nether was unlike any other place—it was far too harsh.

Staying there for prolonged periods could easily lead to psychological issues.

The second wave of troops was now stationed at the Snowfield Base. According to Keqing, progress there was going smoothly.

They were currently mapping out all the major cave systems, and once the base repairs were done, mining operations could begin.

As for Base One, it was the closest to full completion.

Redstone technology, villager systems, mob farms, iron farms—all fully operational.

Iron ore wasn't a concern, but equipping everyone with full iron gear would still take some time.

After all, excluding Ryen's party, there were now over a thousand Millelith soldiers and miners stationed in the Minecraft world.

All of this was thanks to Keqing.

Keqing moved fast. She had mentioned recalling the miners from Mingyun Village just a few days ago—and it had already happened.

Still, unlike before, Keqing didn't leave the Minecraft world herself to oversee Mingyun Village's redevelopment.

After all, she had just returned from a trip—what with visits to the Nether and redstone cannon projects.

She didn't want to fall behind.

Let the Millelith soldiers on rest rotation handle it.

Besides, alchemical potions could now be mass-produced, and all elite Millelith soldiers were equipped with enchanted gear.

In one-on-one battles, unless one was a top-tier Genshin character, there was really no way to win against them.

Especially Pyro users, who were heavily countered.

Fire Protection enchantments and Fire Resistance potions had made even Hu Tao feel overwhelmed.

That said, while potion production had scaled up, Ningguang and the others weren't planning to sell them openly—

only a few small-scale previews were shared with Mondstadt and Inazuma, to let them witness the strength of these alchemical brews.

According to Beidou, the moment Kokomi saw them, she hosted a banquet for her and kept requesting potion trade deals.

She even allowed Ningguang to set any price she liked—even if it meant being ripped off, Kokomi was willing.

But Ningguang believed it still wasn't the right time to sell alchemical potions.

Many of Liyue's own Millelith still weren't fully equipped—it wouldn't make sense to prioritize others.

There's profit in wartime sales, but Liyue was above such pettiness.

As it stood, alchemical potions and enchanted gear remained exclusive to those stationed in the Minecraft world and the elite units.

Each person at least had one bottle each of Strength, Swiftness, and Leaping potions.

Ryen also knew that Ningguang had specially deployed Yelan's subordinates and distributed a large number of Invisibility potions.

As for their purpose...

Well, anything tied to Yelan made the implications obvious.

Ningguang had even intended to equip Yelan with enchanted gear, but Yelan was still abroad—rumor had it she was engaged in a standoff with a Fatui Harbinger.

The people of Liyue might not fully grasp how powerful their nation had become.

But Ryen did.

Five hundred heavily armored cavalry had already been mounted on horses across the plains.

Five hundred light infantry, equipped with potions and enchanted weapons, had been mobilized.

And these infantry soldiers were the true monsters.

Any one of them, after drinking a few potions and donning their gear, could—

if not crush a Geo Mitachurl with ease, at least wipe out an entire Hilichurl camp of dozens without breaking a sweat.

If someone's solo combat capability couldn't reach the point of destroying four Ruin Guards in one fight,

they weren't qualified to join this squad.

The baseline combat strength had skyrocketed in just one week—enough to outright crush the Fatui's modified soldiers.

Yes, Fatui soldiers could use elemental energy—but so what?

Among the five hundred Millelith, two hundred wielded Flame Aspect enchantments, two hundred wielded Strength and Sharpness, and the rest used Flame arrows.

With potion buffs, it wasn't even a challenge to steamroll several thousand Fatui troops.

The only limitation now… was numbers.

As for Liyue Harbor's resources, they'd entered a phase of stable output.

Averaging 40 billion Mora worth of resources per week, Ningguang and the others had agreed in a recent meeting that this level of supply should be maintained.

It sounds like a lot—but consider that Liyue's monthly financial throughput hovered around a trillion Mora.

This flood of resources, at best, made a ripple.

But it wasn't about the profit—it was about influence.

These resources were top-grade, and carried a hint of law-defying power foreign to this world.

That alone cemented Liyue's place at the pinnacle.

In fact, if these 40 billion Mora worth of goods were ever released on the open market,

merchants and nations across the Seven Realms would empty their coffers by noon to snatch them up.

There was no worry about selling them—on the contrary, countless factions were already begging for pre-orders and custom orders.

Even if it looked like massive stockpiles—thousands of tons—

once distributed across the Seven Nations and other major factions, it barely scratched their demand.

But that's the strategy:

Artificial scarcity.

As for Liyue's own use...

For critical departments, resources were provided at dirt-cheap prices.

For instance, iron ore, which could fetch hundreds of thousands of Mora per ton on the open market,

was sold to the Forging Division for a mere 10,000 Mora per ton—at most.

Because honestly, the production cost was practically zero!

The iron farms were still running non-stop, and Millelith soldiers could just swing their sword, pick up a bar, and it would still be worth tens of thousands of Mora.

At this point, they were completely numb to it.

Three days ago, Liyue's newly established Forging Division had finally succeeded in using iron ore, lapis lazuli, and select Teyvat materials—

along with Zhongli's divine assistance—

to forge Elemental Resonance Weapons.

The production cost? 500,000 Mora per weapon.

They created ten of them in one batch.

And immediately sold them off—at 10 million Mora apiece.

The Adventurers' Guild bought seven; the remaining three were taken by Genshin characters.

And even then, people felt they were getting a great deal.

When news broke that the Forging Division would accept custom orders (as long as you supplied some Teyvat materials),

a swarm of eager buyers showed up waving their Mora and materials, desperate to place orders.

These weapons weren't at the level of Divine Artifacts, probably on par with 4-star weapons.

But here's the thing: they could be tailored to the user's preferred weapon type and elemental alignment.

Even 4-star weapons were rare—Keqing herself only had one Lion's Roar until recently.

For many Genshin characters, this was a game-changer.

Rumor had it that Tartaglia (Childe) had immediately placed an order for every single weapon type,

and insisted they all be top-tier versions.

Childe spent five hundred million Mora on the weapons.

As for the cost...

It's uncertain.

The Forging Division is still on holiday, enjoying life, but even with rough estimates, it wouldn't exceed five million.

Custom weapon forging is just like scarcity marketing.

You can't let people know that making these so-called treasures just involves dumping materials into a container, melting them down, and then pouring them into molds.

All things considered, it takes no more than two hours to complete a weapon.

It can't be helped—Lapis Lazuli and Elemental Resonance effects are unexpectedly excellent.

But knowing it yourself is one thing. Letting others know is another.

If all of Teyvat found out that the weapons they treat as heirlooms can actually be mass-produced,

then the prices would crash completely.

Meanwhile, part of the Qianyan Army was reassigned to handle the breeding of wolves.

Now there are already four to five hundred of them.

A hundred wolves were sent to Liyue Harbor and integrated into the Qianyan Army.

They were officially declared as special magical beasts discovered by Liyue that obey human commands.

Ningguang and the others even gave them formal military designations. These wolves are now official military dogs.

Although the people of Liyue thought the wolves looked a bit strange, they were incredibly obedient and loyal,

risking their lives to protect their human companions.

Because of this, they became extremely beloved.

Wolves patrolling with the Qianyan soldiers would often be approached by children on the streets, who pet their heads or fed them meat.

And the wolves would wag their tails and whimper happily.

Still, no one doubted how terrifying they were.

They could bite through trees like it was nothing.

But the greater the contrast, the more lovable they seemed.

Fierce to enemies, fearless in battle; but gentle, affectionate, and obedient with allies.

These were no longer just magical beasts—they were precious to the people of Liyue.

To the Qianyan soldiers, you could scold them all you want—but if you touched their wolves,

they'd fight you to the death.

In just a week, the wolves saved hundreds of merchant caravans, Qianyan soldiers, and civilians.

They were literal guardian spirits of Liyue—saviors in wolf form.

The lightly-armored infantry that had been equipped with enchanted gear and alchemical potions stayed in the shadows,

assigned only to eliminate high-level monsters.

But the heavy cavalry?

They were rolled out often—paraded around for everyone to see.

Their presence alone caused a noticeable drop in activity from treasure hoarders and the Fatui.

Even they had started behaving themselves.

After all…

Those horses were clad in solid refined iron, and they ran incredibly fast.

Forget the lances—the impact alone from just one charge could shatter a Mitachurl.

People didn't know exactly what changed in Liyue over the past month.

At first, some were curious and wanted to investigate…

But then?

They got scared.

Wolf patrols.

Heavy cavalry roaming.

Qianyan troops now armed with gear levels above anything Teyvat had seen.

Ordinary people didn't dare think about it anymore.

Before, being surrounded by Qianyan troops might've meant you had a chance to escape.

Now?

The moment you're surrounded, your best option is to surrender immediately.

Otherwise, the wolves will bite.

These new Qianyan troops, empowered by alchemy and enchantments, were eager to fight.

They often banded together to hunt monsters, itching to burn off their fighting spirit.

And no one in their right mind dared test their patience.

Ningguang had talked about Liyue's transformation,

but Ryen never gave it much thought.

To him, this was all just normal development.

His days were full—building the Sanctuary of Surasthana with Nahida,

occasionally exploring with Ningguang and the others, cracking open Lucky Blocks,

and… spending wild nights with Ganyu.

His life was as fulfilling as it could get.

He planned to finish building the underwater villa, renovate his mountain manor,

and then get ready to host the Rite of Parting.

By then, he'd be able to gleefully watch Zhongli bungee jump with no rope,

see Ganyu and the others smash Osial's head in,

and then finally pay a visit to The End (The End dimension in Minecraft).

Once all of that was done, he figured he'd have enough Wither Skeleton Skulls to complete his mission…

and unlock the next modpack!

As for whether they could defeat Osial?

Come on—do you even need to ask?

The Rapid-Fire Redstone Bombing Cannon on the Jade Chamber was already complete.

And if that wasn't enough?

They also had two full crates of lava and five crates of alchemy potions stored up there.

Surely, that would be enough?

Everything was progressing smoothly. Ryen and the others were happy every day.

With no external pressure, even Ningguang began to launch "attacks" on Ryen from time to time,

leading to him being dragged into countless awkward romantic skirmishes.

A mix of pain and joy, really.

However, far away in Mondstadt, things were a bit different.

Dvalin had already been saved by Lumine and the others,

earning her the title of Mondstadt's hero.

After that, she asked Jean to help her find her brother.

And then…

They decided to take a trip together—

to Liyue.

~~----------------------

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