In the cave of salt in the earth, except for elemental creatures like Slime, there are almost no other creatures. It feels quite peaceful and quiet. In addition, this is the final resting place of the Salt Demon God, which makes it even more special.
A poignant illusion.
Zhongli, who was blocked by Paimeng, did not punish Wanyan with the majesty of a god like he did with Clement, but just looked at her with compassionate eyes.
"If relief can be achieved that way, it may be an easier way, but as punishment, I will tell you the truth."
The traveler's eyes widened, and Wanyan's voice trembled. She didn't seem to understand what Zhongli was talking about.
"The truth? Are you telling the truth... as punishment for me?"
"Yes," Zhongli lowered his eyes, as if he had transformed back into the Rock King sitting on the throne of God, "The facts you are about to hear next are the price you paid for breaking the contract."
"Unfortunately, the Demon God of Salt, Heulia, is not a powerful Demon God. On the contrary, she is too weak, too accommodating, and too weak. It is absolutely impossible for her to ascend to the position of the Seven Gods... the loser." The last two words that Zhong Li spat out were as majestic as a god, but Wan Yan only found it unbelievable.
"What did you say...?"
Zhongli continued to speak, but what he talked about next was no longer the history of this ruin, but his personal memories as the rock god Morax.
"During the Demon God War, the demon gods in the world used all their strength and wisdom to fight for the continent of Teyvat."
"But Heulia chose to escape. She believed that as long as she gave up before the fight happened, the war would never affect herself and her people."
"However, in the long years of war, there will be no end to concessions. In the bottomless concessions, Heulia lost all the land, leaving only the last shelter."
As soon as Zhongli finished speaking, Wanyan waved her hands repeatedly, shook her head in resistance, and muttered to herself as if she was lost.
"No... no... impossible..."
But Zhongli did not stop talking, and moved his gaze to the two broken swords enshrined on the altar.
"In Heulia's last moments, she didn't even have a weapon to raise to protect her people."
Zhongli's narration ends here.
Perhaps the truth was so heavy that even Paimon didn't know how to answer the question, and the atmosphere in the ruins suddenly fell silent.
After a long time, Famas let out a sigh.
He had tried to persuade Heulia when he was leading troops stationed in the salt soil, but she was still unwilling to have a conflict or participate in the war, thinking that she could protect her people. However, the demon war is so cruel, how can it be caused by personal will?
Shaken?
Hearing Zhongli's last words, Wan Yan seemed to have found a loophole and looked eagerly at the broken sword on the altar.
"You said you don't even have a weapon? But, this sword..."
"This broken sword is not a relic of the Salt Demon God, but... the weapon that killed her."
Zhongli came to the altar and picked up the two broken swords.
Although it has experienced the wear and tear of time and the remaining power of the demon god after his death, you can still clearly see the engagement between the sword blade and the handle, where the snow-white salt flowers are still adhered to the crystals as deep as the starry sky.
It was the blood stain left by [Salt Demon God] Heulia, and the crystal formed by the mixture of divine power and abyssal power.
"The murder weapon?" Wan Yan muttered to herself as if she heard something incomprehensible, "No! This is a lie. Everything you said is false. You want to shake my confidence in Lady Heulia!
”
Zhongli's tone remained calm, and he didn't seem to care about Wan Yan, who was about to fall on the edge of collapse.
"I said, I only state the facts."
"If you want to know the origin of this weapon, maybe you can ask Famas."
Mr. Zhong handed the broken sword in his hand to the young man in red with a complicated look on his face. Everyone's eyes also focused on Famas. Wan Yan clenched her fists and looked at Famas with expectant eyes.<
/p>
"I thought I could slightly change Heulia's ending, but I didn't expect that her fate would return to its original trajectory."
Facing everyone's gaze, Famas took the broken sword handed over by Zhongli and carefully wiped off the stains and blood on the hilt with his palm.
The round head of the broken sword's hilt is engraved with the ancient Munata inscription. Although it is somewhat unclear, it is enough to prove the origin of this long sword.
"Vulkan Ald-Mechanical."
Famas read out the precise meaning of the inscription, but the traveler, Paimon and others were confused.
"What...mechanism..."
Little Paimon approached Famas, looked at the incomplete inscription, and asked curiously.
"Do you remember this painting?"
Famas did not directly respond to Paimon's doubts, but raised his hand and took out a scroll from his arms. It was an ancient painting made by [Hand of the King] Akhtar. The canvas depicted a huge factory with brilliant lights.
But there is no trace of human work.
Sooner or later, this canvas will eventually be destroyed, but the colors on it will become more intense.
"This sword was produced at the Vulcan Arsenal in Munata, and was manufactured by the engineering mech code-named Ald-."
"Vulkan Arsenal was jointly built by Munata and Abyss. It mainly produces various cold weapons used to kill demon gods. All weapons contain a small amount of the power of Abyss."
"Because the black mist of the abyss is highly toxic to any living thing, the factory uses machines to replace human production, achieving almost a fully mechanized process."
Famas shrugged and took the scroll back into his arms.
The traveler was still thinking about why Munata was connected to the salt of the earth, but Wanyan seemed to have grasped the last straw and eagerly came to the young man.
"So Heulia-sama is still very powerful, right? What else can she trade with...Nata Country?"
Famas didn't pay attention to Wanyan's slip of the tongue. He just rubbed the cross section of the sword with his holstered fingers, and then shook his head.
"When Munata's God of War conquered the continent of Teyvat, he once led his troops to briefly stationed in the salt soil."
"At that time, the "King of Men" of the Salt of the Earth met privately with the God of War of Munata, hoping to exchange salt and by-products for weapons they could not make."
"But Heulia soon discovered this secret deal and blocked communication between the two parties on the grounds of causing trouble."
"However, when Munata's army broke camp and left, the God of War personally gave the "King of Men" of the Salt of the Earth a long sword in his own name, and made it clear that he was willing to trade weapons and arms with the Salt and Earth." p>
When Famas told this past event, he used a similar tone to Zhongli, but everyone except Wan Yan knew that what the young man told was what he had personally experienced.
"Unexpectedly... this long sword, given as a gift and a trading sample, turned out to be the murder weapon that killed Heulia."
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The long sword was a gift to the King of Men...but in the end it was not..."
"The ending is just as you imagined..."
The person who responded to the traveler's question was not Famas, but the emperor with deep eyes.
"This is a betrayal from the 'King of Men'."
"In this case, let's continue to go deeper. There... I'm afraid there will be something that makes Miss Wanyan have to accept the truth no matter what."