A golden meteor, roughly ten meters in diameter, descended from the sky.
No one knew where it came from.
It carried an overwhelming surge of elemental energy as it crashed down with an earth-shattering force.
The impact covered a radius of several dozen meters.
The Blazes in the vicinity were petrified in an instant before shattering into pieces.
The meteor continued its descent, plunging into the sea of lava below—yet, oddly enough, it caused not even the slightest ripple.
Of course, this didn't mean Planet Befall was weak.
It was just that, in the world of Minecraft, nothing ever made lava ripple.
The seven Blazes that had swarmed toward them were completely annihilated. As expected, with Zhongli's abysmal luck, only two Blaze Rods dropped.
Ryen clicked his tongue in exasperation, nodding as if in deep reflection.
"Man, you've still got it, huh?"
Then, after a moment, he added, "But seriously, from now on, let's not use elemental abilities to farm mobs. Your drop rate is atrocious."
Zhongli shook his head slightly, unconcerned with Ryen's complaints. He murmured, "Too much of my strength is being suppressed here…"
"My divine power is inaccessible. My dominion over stone is gone without a trace… The only abilities I can still use here are the Jade Shield and Planet Befall."
Ryen rolled his eyes.
"Oh, cry me a river. That one move of yours probably does more damage than four or five TNT explosions combined. I don't even have any large-scale destruction abilities like that!"
Zhongli neither agreed nor disagreed. His gaze remained fixed on the few remaining Blazes that floated aimlessly in the distance.
"But you," he said quietly, "possess unparalleled single-target lethality, do you not?"
Ryen arched an eyebrow, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his blade.
"So I do. Ever heard of the Flying Thunder God technique?"
Before Zhongli could respond, Ryen flicked his sword.
In an instant, his figure blurred, flickering through the Nether Fortress like an illusion.
Phantom blades embedded themselves in the ground wherever he passed, marking his path like the strokes of an artist's brush.
To any onlooker, it seemed as though countless copies of him were darting through the fortress at once.
In the blink of an eye, he was back at Zhongli's side.
He tossed five Blaze Rods in the air and caught them with a triumphant grin.
"See? Even without Looting, my luck is still better than yours."
Zhongli sighed, shaking his head in resignation.
The way Ryen had moved just now… like a mirage, an illusion that barely seemed real…
"The power of space is truly terrifying…"
"And Planet Befall isn't?"
The two shared a knowing smile, exchanging no further words.
Zhongli was well aware that, without the fragment of power Ryen had granted him, his Planet Befall wouldn't have nearly the same impact in this world.
In truth, both of them had vastly different strengths within the Minecraft world.
And Minecraft, in turn, severely restricted the abilities of both Genshin characters and gods.
Zhongli excelled in large-scale attacks. Ryen, on the other hand, was an unpredictable phantom, darting through space itself.
With Enma Blade, Ryen could perform feats of teleportation that were almost as ridiculous as the Flying Thunder God technique.
One focused on wide-area destruction. The other specialized in pinpoint assassination.
Together, they had all the tools needed to deal with any danger.
And that was what gave them confidence in this world.
But once they left Minecraft?
Ryen wouldn't need a sword.
One punch would be more than enough.
"Still, from now on, let's avoid using these skills if we can," Ryen sighed regretfully.
"Think about it. We just killed so many Blazes, and with our Looting enchantments, we should've gotten at least twenty Blaze Rods. But instead, what did we get? Seven."
"Massive loss!"
Zhongli understood the importance of resources and gave a small nod of agreement.
"What about the Wither Skeletons?" he asked.
Ryen surveyed the Nether Fortress, confirming that there were no more Blazes lurking outside.
"Let's go back and grab my maxed-out Looting diamond sword from Ganyu and the others," he decided.
"If I kill two Wither Skeletons and don't get a skull, I swear I'm gonna cough up blood."
With that, the two left the area in high spirits.
Truth be told, Ryen hadn't seen anyone use their elemental powers in a long time.
And ever since he got his hands on a diamond sword and a bow, he hadn't really needed to use Enma Blade or his AK-47 either.
He had almost forgotten that Zhongli and the others had these abilities—just like he had nearly forgotten he still had that kind of firepower himself.
But knowing he could use them and choosing to use them were two different things.
At the end of the day…
Farming mobs this way was efficient.
But the loss of good loot was just too painful.
Take this batch of Blazes, for example—at least twenty Blaze Rods gone!
Do you know how many alchemy potions that could make?!
—
Today, Xiao had once again skipped the mines.
Mine #5 wasn't particularly dangerous, so it didn't really need his presence.
With nothing urgent to do, he went up to the Sky Island to check on the mob farm and iron generator. After that, he headed underground to harvest some slimeballs.
Then, he decided to do a maintenance check on all the automatic systems at Ryen's mansion.
As for Cloud Retainer's mountain transformation project…
Xiao wanted no part of that.
Absolutely not.
She wanted to hollow out an entire mountain and then sculpt it into something fancy?
No, thank you.
She could take a squad of interested miners and let them deal with it.
Three or four dozen players with Chain Mining would work far more efficiently than a hundred unenchanted workers anyway.
Besides, if he had that much free time, he'd rather focus on fixing up his own place.
Xiao had built a small room at the very top of Zhongli's treehouse.
It wasn't exactly well-designed, but now that Zhongli and Ryen were away, he had some time to renovate it properly.
His dream was to one day invite Zhongli up for tea.
But, unfortunately, Xiao had zero talent for building.
The tree was blocky, so his house was blocky too.
And he refused to ask anyone for help. So, with nothing else to guide him, he was awkwardly trying to copy elements from Ryen's mansion.
Just as he was struggling to figure out how to expand his treetop garden without ruining the tree's aesthetics…
A member of the Millelith came running up below, looking urgently for him.
"Vigilant Yaksha! There's trouble! Something's happened at the base!"
The next moment, Xiao leaped from his perch, his wind glider unfurling as he descended gracefully to the ground.
"Speak!"
His expression was calm but sharp as he strode quickly alongside the Millelith soldier toward the base.
The soldier hurriedly reported, "A group of creatures, wielding crossbows and looking quite similar to villagers, appeared outside the base just now."
"Vice Captain Chang Yi thought they were just lost villagers and was about to fence them in until Lord Ryen returned to deal with them."
"But suddenly, they opened fire with their crossbows, attacking Vice Captain Chang Yi!"
Hearing this, Xiao's brows furrowed slightly.
"They attacked first? Then they're not villagers, but hostile entities. What about Chang Yi?"
"Vice Captain is fine," the Millelith soldier reassured him, shaking his head.
"As soon as he realized the attack, he retaliated swiftly. With the help of the wolf pack and our men nearby, he only lost three hearts before we wiped them out completely."
"He has since recovered fully."
Xiao found this even more puzzling.
But since they were already near the base, he didn't press for details and quickened his pace.
At the base, a group of Millelith soldiers and off-duty miners had gathered around Chang Yi, while the wolf pack remained on high alert, sitting obediently on the ground.
"The Adeptus is here!"
"Great Sage!"
"Vigilant Yaksha!"
The moment they saw Xiao, the tense crowd immediately parted, as if reassured by his presence.
Chang Yi stood tall, his uniform slightly damaged—there was a hole in the fabric, revealing the leather breastplate beneath.
That leather armor was a standard issue for all Millelith soldiers, something they wore at all times, even outside the MC world.
Iron armor was too heavy, but leather armor was at least manageable in Teyvat.
Surprisingly, despite his modified standard-issue armor being pierced, the leather beneath remained unscathed.
A crucial lifesaving detail the Millelith never overlooked.
"Vigilant Yaksha!"
Chang Yi greeted him with a crisp salute.
Xiao nodded, his sharp gaze scanning the ground where discarded crossbows and arrows lay—likely the loot dropped by the attackers.
After a brief moment of contemplation, he spoke, "Describe the enemies—appearance, numbers, and any other unusual details."
Chang Yi nodded and recounted, "While I was on watch in the lookout tower, I spotted several figures resembling villagers, but their skin was gray, and they were carrying crossbows. The one leading them had a strange banner attached to his back."
"But the moment I stepped out, they attacked me."
"Fortunately, with the wolf pack and the others assisting, we swiftly eliminated them. They dropped some arrows, and since my hunger bar was full, I recovered quickly."
"However…"
Chang Yi hesitated slightly, then lowered his head, his tone tinged with self-reproach.
"After I killed their leader, a strange status appeared on my personal panel—Bad Omen, with a countdown of thirty seconds."
"Shortly after…"
He took a deep breath before continuing.
"Everyone at the base, including the Millelith and miners, now has a Raid Progress Bar on their panels."
Bad Omen… Raid…
Xiao's eyes narrowed as he processed this information.
He vaguely remembered Ryen mentioning these terms in his Monster Notes.
Flipping through the notebook, he quickly found the relevant entry, and his expression turned somewhat grim.
Pillagers.
Hostile entities.
Or rather, an entire hostile faction.
What they had encountered earlier was, without a doubt, a Patrolling Pillager Squad.
Killing the squad leader automatically inflicted Bad Omen on the killer. If they entered a recognized village before the countdown expired, a Raid would be triggered, and the village would be under siege by waves of pillagers.
Normally, drinking Milk could remove the Bad Omen effect.
However…
Chang Yi had slain the leader while inside the base, which the system recognized as a village.
Thus, the raid had been instantly initiated.
Xiao exhaled sharply, feeling a slight headache coming on.
If it were just a few enemies, it wouldn't be a problem—killing them would even yield valuable loot.
But…
According to the notes, Raids occurred in multiple waves, each growing progressively stronger.
Xiao had no idea just how dangerous this could become, but he knew he couldn't let the Millelith and miners handle it alone.
Besides, there was another important detail.
The notes mentioned that if they successfully defended against the Raid, they would receive the "Hero of the Village" buff.
This buff significantly lowered villager trade prices, which could be incredibly useful for Ryen and the others.
After a brief silence, Xiao asked, "How much time do we have before the raid begins?"
"Uncertain," Chang Yi replied, shaking his head.
"Judging by the progress bar, approximately a day."
"A day… That should be enough."
Xiao nodded, his expression firming.
"Send someone to Mine Shaft No. 5 and recall everyone immediately. Strengthen our fortifications—convert all structures to cobblestone."
"Seal the main entrance with an iron door, and I will go to the Nether to find Lord Ryen."
"Bring the wolf pack back inside the base, and gather iron ingots—we'll build an Iron Golem outside as an additional guard."
The Millelith straightened and saluted.
"Understood!"
As the soldiers and miners swiftly sprang into action, Xiao turned and sprinted toward the manor villa.
The moment he stepped inside, he spotted Cloud Retainer sitting on the ground, studying a large construction blueprint with a furrowed brow.
Before she could even react, Xiao urgently called out:
"Cloud Retainer! The base is under attack! A massive wave of enemies is about to descend—we need you to hold the line while I go to the Nether to find Lord Ryen!"
The blueprint in Cloud Retainer's hands slipped from her fingers, rolling onto the ground.
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"An attack? By whom?!"
~~----------------------
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