After Venti finished speaking, Lu Chen noticed that the Doctor still wore that same calm, indifferent smile. In this situation, however, it seemed more than a little arrogant.
This only made him more curious. What was the Harbinger's trump card? What gave him the courage to stand before the Four Archons?
"Since I already know the missing deity may be on your side, did you really think I wouldn't prepare?" The Doctor chuckled softly and clapped his hands.
Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet rumbled.
It was the sound of countless synchronized, heavy footsteps.
Lu Chen expanded his perception, and in an instant, a pitch-black army manifested within Sumeru City.
The mysterious soldiers were all tall and imposing, clad in dark armor with masks that concealed their faces. They marched forward like a wall of steel, radiating a suffocating killing intent as they pressed in.
"The Snezhnaya army?" Venti looked on in surprise. "Why are they here?"
"They actually managed to mobilize an army so quickly?" Lu Chen frowned as he watched the silent, disciplined soldiers. In no time, they had surrounded the upper levels of Sumeru City with airtight precision.
The wall of armored soldiers exuded a murderous aura.
This was no ordinary military force—these were hardened veterans forged in the fires of countless battles. Compared to them, the disorganized mercenary bands of The Eremites were no more threatening than paper.
Yet even so, this alone wasn't enough to unsettle Lu Chen.
What truly made him wary was the figure standing at the very front of the formation. He wore the mask of a Fatui officer, its hollow eye sockets swallowing all light, hiding his face even in the sun. Only a pair of eerie, soul-piercing blue glints shone from within.
Lu Chen had never seen him before, but he instantly recognized his identity.
The Fatui Harbinger—" Il Capitano."
Venti, unconcerned, nudged the old man beside him with curiosity. "So that's the strongest human in Teyvat? He does look pretty formidable."
Lu Chen hadn't expected Fatui to treat this plan with such gravity. Not only were the Doctor and Il Capitano here, but even Capitano's elite forces had been deployed.
The Doctor's smile deepened when he saw him.
"Long time no see, Capitano. It took no small amount of persuasion to pull you back from the front lines."
From the darkness of the mask came a low, heavy voice. "Dottore, does your so-called plan truly involve opposing the gods of four nations? Recklessness like this doesn't suit your character."
"I had no choice." The Doctor laughed lightly. "His Highness of Inazuma over there disrupted our plans. I merely made preparations for multiple outcomes. I didn't expect that today would be the day you'd be needed."
Capitano's tone was cold. "You had better produce results worthy of the resources you've consumed. Otherwise, I will not spare you before Her Majesty."
The Doctor gave a grim chuckle.
"This time's research results will definitely satisfy Her Majesty..."
"This will become one of the cornerstones of our grand undertaking. Believe in my ability. Ever since the Delusions, I've proven myself time and again..."
"I hope so," Capitano said flatly.
"Enough reminiscing." Lu Chen abruptly cut them off, his eyes fixed on Capitano. "I've heard you're a dutiful and respected soldier. Do you even know what you're doing? This conflict involves the four nations. Are you trying to ignite a war—one that will engulf all of Teyvat?"
Capitano stood in silence for a long moment before replying heavily, "It is precisely because of my duty that I am here."
"Did your Empress oversleep? Or has your Jester lost his mind?" Lu Chen swept his gaze across the group. "Even a retired god isn't someone you mortals can oppose."
He refused to believe any Fatui Harbinger could stand against the gods gathered here—especially when those present had all been strengthened by the "power of faith." Excluding Nahida, who was not skilled in combat, the others—Zhongli, Venti, and Ei—were all formidable. Did Snezhnaya really not fear losing its finest forces here?
After their exchange, the Snezhnaya army remained still, the tension thick and oppressive.
A great battle was imminent.
Yet even someone as arrogant as the Doctor did not strike first against Lu Chen's group.
Lu Chen frowned. Something wasn't right. It felt as though the enemy was waiting for something.
"Something's off..." Nahida tugged lightly at his sleeve.
He looked down and saw her frowning in puzzlement.
"Could it be that the Doctor and Capitano are only here to stall for time?" She glanced up toward the top of the Irminsul, where the Sanctuary of Surasthana lay.
"Chen."
Ei's eyes darted warily around them, Musou Isshin materializing in her hand.
"There's an intense... elemental aura deep within the Irminsul..."
"I feel it too..." Lu Chen muttered, confused. Could it be Nahida's Gnosis, which maintained the Akasha? But Nahida was standing right beside him.
"This power... it feels so familiar!" Venti's expression shifted as he stared at Lu Chen in shock.
Lu Chen stretched his perception further, sensing two immense forces at work. Venti's usual carefree demeanor had vanished, his face tense.
"It's the Gnosis," Zhongli finally spoke. "And there are two of them."
"Two Gnosis?" Lu Chen was stunned. He glanced at Capitano and the Doctor, who had done nothing but delay them. No wonder they had lingered at the gate so long—it was all to buy time!
Two ownerless Gnosis, and one of them felt familiar to Venti. The truth was becoming clear.
"Come with me!" Lu Chen grabbed Nahida and unleashed his spatial power—tearing open a space-time rift.
Before everyone's eyes, the air split apart like a dark zipper. Lu Chen pulled Nahida toward it.
"What?" The Doctor's calm shattered. He hadn't expected Lu Chen to possess such an ability.
"Don't let them escape! Hold them back!" he barked coldly.
The black army of Snezhnaya finally moved, surging forward like an awakened war machine straight toward the gods.
Capitano vanished from sight, reappearing as his massive black sword cleaved down toward the spot where half of Lu Chen's body had already vanished.
The strike was simple, direct, unadorned—yet it carried an unstoppable, domineering force. Even the mercenaries of The Eremites held their breath, their hearts pounding wildly.
Capitano's pressure was no less than that of a Archon.
A thunderous clash rang out as Ei's Musou Isshin intercepted the blow. But Capitano seemed unfazed, his gaze locked firmly on where Lu Chen had disappeared. His only goal was to delay the group at the main entrance.
"You hold them off! Nahida and I will go!"
Lu Chen's voice echoed as he vanished. Venti and Ei both nodded firmly.
But just then, Scaramouche's figure flickered.
"Take me with you!"
At the very last moment before the rift closed, Scaramouche slipped inside.
Lu Chen pushed the rift forward through the Irminsul, glancing down to see Ei and the others already locked in battle against the two Harbingers and the Snezhnaya army. What surprised him, though, was that Scaramouche had followed.
"Why did you come?" Lu Chen asked, baffled.
"I..." Scaramouche stammered, uncharacteristically hesitant.
Bypassing the Sanctuary of Surasthana, the three arrived at a strange workshop hidden deep inside the Irminsul. Enormous machines filled the space, their design utterly unlike Sumeru's architecture—clearly of Snezhnayan origin. At the far end pulsed the power of the Gnosis.
Scaramouche hesitated for a long moment before finally speaking.
"Nahida told me she can take me to the entrance of the Irminsul."
"The entrance to Irminsul?" Lu Chen looked at him. "Why do you want to go there?"
"He wants to uncover the truth," Nahida explained gently for him. "Ever since Miko told him that the accident at Tatarasuna and his friend's betrayal had many hidden truths, he's been determined to learn what really happened."
"I see."
Nahida smiled faintly. "In that respect, I'm the same as him. So, once this is over, let's go to Irminsul together."
"There, I will find the last memory the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata left me."