The Jade Chamber and the warships at sea had already begun their return journey to Liyue Harbor. Ningguang didn't instruct the Jade Chamber
The Jade Chamber and the warships at sea had already begun their return journey to Liyue Harbor.
Ningguang didn't instruct the Jade Chamber to move too quickly — the same applied to the warships.
They proceeded slowly, maintaining a steady pace to give everyone time to take stock of the day's expenditures.
It was also a chance for the Qianyan Army to listen and savor the thunderous cheers rising from Liyue Harbor.
Of course, Ningguang wasn't against it either. She wanted to hear it too — the voices of the Liyue people welcoming their heroes.
After all…
This time, they had relied on no gods. No adepti.
Only on themselves — on the foundation of humanity, on human wisdom — had they achieved such a resounding victory.
For hundreds and thousands of years, even tracing back to the Archon War, Teyvat had never witnessed such a decisive triumph!
To crush a god purely through the strength of mankind.
Only Khaenri'ah had come close to achieving that once.
But Khaenri'ah had been destroyed, while Liyue lived on.
They were different.
Khaenri'ah ultimately didn't have the strength to stand up against the mighty Seven Archons and Celestia.
Liyue may not yet be ready to face the Seven.
But…
As of now, among the Seven Nations, Mondstadt had already become Liyue's ally.
The Anemo Archon and Geo Archon — two of the original Archons, and among the most powerful — now stood firmly behind Mondstadt and Liyue.
With history as a warning and a lesson for the future, Liyue would never walk the same doomed path as Khaenri'ah, isolated from the world.
On the contrary, Ningguang had always firmly upheld the principle:
"Anyone who dares to raise a hand against Liyue shall find the world itself turning against them."
Even in the worst-case scenario where Liyue couldn't yet face Celestia on its own—
By then, at least four of the Seven Nations and Archons would already be standing at their side, ready to fight together.
And as for the top-level power needed to oppose Celestia…
Ryen would step forward.
No matter how little Ryen might seem tied to this world, in the end, he was Ningguang's, Ganyu's, and Hu Tao's man.
Anyone who laid a hand on them — Ryen wouldn't hesitate to deliver a few devastating punches.
"Though today was a great victory, we must also take our heavy expenditure seriously."
On the Jade Chamber, after the cheering faded, Ningguang actually began to feel a little troubled.
At some point, she had already closed the account ledger in her hands. After roughly estimating the used supplies…
It was a staggering number.
Half of their obsidian stockpile was gone.
All the magma had been used up.
A quarter of their TNT had been burned through.
As for ammunition from the hot weapons — forget it. Nearly every Qianyan soldier had emptied four or five full magazines.
And for things like rockets, there were barely half a crate left.
It sounded like a decent amount remained — but it had taken over a dozen deep mines to accumulate those resources in the first place.
Now that the joy of victory had passed, what crept in was a new kind of fear — the fear of running out of firepower.
Even though the beginning of human governance had proven that they could suppress a god with their strength…
They themselves knew the truth all too well.
Unlike the Archons, who could recover their strength by drawing from the ley lines,
their supplies had to be gathered manually.
If another god-level threat appeared now, Ningguang would truly be forced to resort to nuclear weapons.
The current state of Liyue Harbor was essentially this:
Very powerful — but only when resources were abundant.
As long as the materials were sufficient, even the Seven Archons couldn't withstand the firepower Liyue could unleash.
But if those supplies were depleted...
It wasn't as though anyone could just bully them — but they definitely wouldn't be able to face another god.
In other words:
Back when the Geo Archon ruled, Liyue fought with individual strength.
Now, as the nation entered an era of human governance, the battles would be fought with resources.
The only good news was — Ryen's world had infinite supplies.
There was no need to worry about obtaining materials.
"When we get back today, let Dashi and the others rest for a day. Starting tomorrow, we resume large-scale mine exploration.
Also, we need to send more people out."
Ningguang sighed, visibly troubled.
"The mines around Base 1 and Base 2 are basically depleted. Keeping troops stationed there is no longer productive."
"Relying solely on ourselves to explore isn't going to work. We need to deploy the Qianyan Army more widely —
but doing so will require even more manpower."
"And we'll need powerful people to lead those teams..."
She raised her head and looked at the Adepti, offering a weary smile.
"I wonder if the True Lords would be willing to take on the task?
If the Qianyan Army ventures out alone, it won't be very safe."
Moon Carver smiled cheerfully and nodded.
"We have no objections. In fact, we were planning to go out for a look anyway.
It's a kind of special journey for us."
"To participate in Liyue's grand progression — this is something we earnestly look forward to."
Ningguang's expression softened, and she responded gently:
"Then I must thank all of you.
But there's no rush — the True Lords still need to participate in the Rite of Parting to send off the Geo Archon."
"Besides, we also need time to train and mobilize more personnel. At the earliest, that will take a week."
Saying that, Ningguang turned to Keqing.
"Keqing, the harbor was flattened by the people of Liyue themselves.
As agreed in the Qixing meeting, the land reclamation project — can you take charge of it?"
Keqing nodded decisively.
"Of course. I'll lead the initial phase. Once things are running smoothly, I'll return to my position.
Being away too long, I feel like I might miss too much."
"Naturally. Tomorrow, collect some magma and water, then start laying the foundation," Ningguang said with a smile.
"This time, try to avoid damaging Liyue Harbor's original structures.
My thought is to construct a new large-scale island, but the exact plan will be up to you."
Keqing fell silent for a moment in thought.
This newly built island would represent the first major project of the new human-led era.
As for the original Liyue Harbor...
Truthfully, Liyue people tended to be sentimental by nature.
If it could be preserved, then it should be.
"What about the name for the new island?" Keqing asked.
Ningguang chuckled.
"We haven't even started yet — already thinking about names?"
"There has to be a name on the official documentation," Keqing shrugged, then added:
"How about we gather suggestions from the people of Liyue?
'Liyue Harbor' was a name bestowed by the Geo Archon, representing the age of divine rule."
"The name of the new island should be chosen by the people — representing the future of human rule."
That made sense.
Ningguang nodded thoughtfully.
"Very well. Once we return, we'll begin collecting proposals from the citizens."
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