Genshin x Minecraft: Building the Temple of Virtue

Chapter 720 - 720: 720: Chaos in the Clouds

The loss of the sub-island sent a jolt of tension through Alhaitham, though it was a blow he had already factored into his calculations. When he had ordered Dehya to sever the bridges earlier, he knew the territory was forfeit. The only surprise was the sheer, suffocating weight of the pressure now bearing down on them.The sky above Sumeru's main island was no longer blue. It was a shifting canopy of wooden shafts and iron heads.

The three invading nations, Mondstadt, Inazuma, and Snezhnaya, were not allies. They shared no coordination, which meant they fired with a reckless disregard for anyone not wearing their own colors. To them, hitting an "ally" from another invading nation was as much a victory as hitting a defender. The arrows fell in a dense, rhythmic sheet, a localized storm of death.

Sumeru's ranks thinned instantly. Four warriors fell in the first volley, their vitality snuffed out before they could even raise a shield.

"Hold the line!" Alhaitham's voice cut through the whistling wind. "They can't sustain this fire forever! Do not let them set foot on this soil!"

Tighnari checked his quiver, his face paling. "We're out, Alhaitham! Our reserves are dry!"

Alhaitham's jaw tightened. He looked at the narrowing bridges of the enemy and then at his own sprawling island. "Dig it up," he barked, his voice cold with resolve. "Strip the island. Reduce our footprint to a hundred-meter radius. Every man stands shoulder-to-shoulder. Give them nowhere to land!"

Tighnari hesitated for a heartbeat before the logic took hold. It was a desperate move, but the only one left. He rallied the remaining builders, and the edges of the Sumeru island began to vanish, block by block, falling into the mists below.

In the observation gallery, Ryen nodded in approval.

"Reducing the battlefield is a masterstroke under a three-way pincer," he noted. "By shrinking their territory, they've turned the island into a fortress. It limits the enemy's landing zone and forces them into a bottleneck. However, the cost of reconstruction after this war... that's going to be a nightmare for the Scribes."

The audience leaned in, eyes glued to the screens.

"Cyno! Are you functional?" Alhaitham shouted over the din. "We need to break Inazuma's momentum!"

Cyno glanced at his health. A sliver of red remained before he was whole again, but the time for waiting had passed. He gripped his weapon and surged toward the Inazuman front.

Tighnari looked back, his eyes weary. "Do you need my bow?"

"I don't need a bow."

Cyno grabbed a handful of loose arrows from a nearby crate. Purple sparks danced across his fingers as he infused the shafts with raw Electro energy. With a violent heave, he hurled them like javelins. They streaked through the air with the force of ballista bolts, trailing jagged lines of lightning.

One struck Ayaka's shield with a resonant crack, the kinetic force throwing her back several paces.

Ryen's brow arched. "Sumeru is getting desperate. Cyno is burning his elemental reserves to compensate for the lack of archers. It's a flashy play, but a dangerous one. In this world, elemental energy recovers at a glacial pace. If he burns out now, he'll be a common soldier by the time the real boarding action begins."

Tighnari felt the same weight in his chest. He watched Cyno, a knot of worry tightening. "You could have waited for the recovery."

"We don't have the luxury of time." Cyno shook his head. "The pressure is too high, and our rations are low. My hunger bar is stuck; I won't be healing anymore. When the line breaks, I'll take at least two of their elites with me."

Tighnari opened his mouth to protest, but the words died in his throat.

On the bridges, the situation was a meat grinder. Snezhnayan and Inazuman soldiers stood on narrow catwalks, occasionally tumbling into the void as they jostled for position. Sumeru's archers, what few remained, picked them off until their own quivers went cold.

Inazuma was now less than ten meters from the shore. The defenders could see the sweat and strain on the faces of the Shogun's troops.

"Watch the Fatui and the Knights," the Shogun commanded, her voice a low, melodic hum. "Sumeru is a dying beast. Once we land, our true battle begins with the other scavengers."

Ayaka nodded, barking orders to the vanguard.

Ryen stood up in the gallery, his voice rising. "The ranged phase is over! The quivers are empty, the bows are cast aside! Now, we see the steel!"

"Look! Snezhnaya has made contact! The final charge has begun!"

A team of Fatui engineers slammed a platform into the edge of Sumeru's main island. Childe drew his blade, a feral grin splitting his face.

"Onto the island! The spoils belong to the Tsaritsa!"

"Kill!"

Dozens of men flooded forward, blades gleaming.

"Not while I breathe!"

Cyno transformed into a blur of violet light, intercepting Childe in a shower of sparks. Their blades clashed, but Childe's strength was a mountain. He parried the strike with casual grace.

Almost simultaneously, Scaramouche landed, flanking Cyno.

"Two against one is hardly honorable," Childe laughed, "but this is war. We only care about the result!"

A blade of wind from Scaramouche caught Cyno in the side, forcing him into a defensive crouch. Against two combatants of their caliber, the General Mahamatra was instantly pushed to the brink.

Tighnari moved to assist, but a sudden flash of purple lightning materialized before him. The Raiden Shogun stood there, her blade already in motion. She didn't speak. She didn't boast. She simply struck with the weight of a falling star.

Ayaka followed close behind, watching for an opening to end it.

"Dehya! Support Tighnari!" Alhaitham yelled. The Shogun was a greater threat than Childe and Scaramouche combined. In a heartbeat, Tighnari's life force was halved. He was being driven toward the precipice of the island, the Shogun's strikes relentless and precise.

"Forget the sub-islands! Push the boarders back!"

The main island was now a mosh pit of steel and blood. Within the tiny hundred-meter circle, nearly two hundred people were crammed together. It was impossible to tell friend from foe in the press of bodies.

A Snezhnayan soldier would be cut down, only for an Inazuman to be tackled into the abyss by a dying Sumeru guard. It wasn't a coordinated assault; it was a three-way slaughterhouse.

"It's a mess!" Ryen laughed. "Total chaos! This is what Bedwars is meant to be!"

"It looks like Tighnari is in more trouble than Cyno," Ryen observed, shaking his head. "The Shogun's martial skill, even without her godhood, is peerless. She is a master of the blade in its purest form."

Within twenty exchanges, Tighnari was forced to the very edge. Even with Dehya at his side, they were being toyed with. The Shogun fought two-on-one with the ease of someone brushing away a fly. Ayaka lurked on the periphery, waiting for the final stroke.

"It's bullying, honestly!" Nilou puffed out her cheeks in the stands. "No one in Inazuma can stand against the Shogun's sword. How are Tighnari and Dehya supposed to manage?"

"Fairness doesn't exist on the battlefield, little Nilou," Ryen replied. "But if you think this is bad, remember that Zhongli hasn't even stood up yet. When he puts on that Jade Shield and enters the fray... you'll understand why he's called the God of War."

The Inazuma delegates felt a chill. Ryen was right. The hammer of Liyue had yet to fall.

"Watch! Tighnari is at his limit!"

Tighnari was a sliver of health away from elimination. Dehya was battered, her vitality flagging. The Shogun stepped forward to deliver the coup de grâce.

Suddenly, Tighnari met Dehya's eyes. A silent signal passed between them. Dehya's heart sank, but she moved with practiced synchronization.

The Shogun struck. They caught the blade together, the force sliding them back until their heels hung over the empty air. As the Shogun prepared to finish them, Dehya suddenly spun, her foot slamming into Tighnari's chest.

The kick sent Tighnari flying backward into the void. But as he tumbled into the mists, he didn't go alone. With a flick of his wrist, a grapple line snaked out, the iron hook biting deep into Ayaka's armor.

Ayaka, caught off guard, was yanked off her feet. She let out a short, sharp gasp as she was dragged over the edge, plummeting alongside the Forest Watcher.

Tighnari had been eliminated, but he had taken the Frostflake Heron with him.