"Then… Dark Night Sovereign, how do you intend to test us?"
Cloud Retainer also wished to see whether Elliot truly possessed enough strength. If he did, trusting him wouldn't be such a bad thing. After all, with two godss as their backing, paired with his mastery of mechanical arts, they could stand almost unshakable.
Elliot understood her thoughts perfectly and said, "Ganyu mentioned you're skilled in mechanical arts. Then use the skill you're most proud of to impress me. You decide the challenge—pick whatever you excel at."
Cloud Retainer froze, marveling at Elliot's boldness in allowing her such freedom.
"My lord, do you mean that?" Cloud Retainer asked carefully.
She had confidence in her craft, yet also knew her limits. Even if Elliot's strength wasn't overwhelming, killing her would be effortless. godss and beasts who merely wielded elemental power existed on entirely different levels. Until she could fully trust Elliot, Cloud Retainer dared not show the slightest disrespect.
"Of course. Do as you like," Elliot said casually.
"Very well, then please follow me, my lord."
Cloud Retainer led Elliot to a special place filled with mechanisms.
"My lord, there are three separate areas here, each designed with my most intricate mechanisms. Please, take a look…"
Elliot stepped inside without hesitation. The traps were neither crude nor ingenious—everything was within his control.
On the surface, it seemed Elliot was testing Cloud Retainer, but in truth, it was the other way around. They couldn't just follow an gods of unknown power. Yes, Elliot could have forced them to leave with him, but that would only win their bodies, not their loyalty. And in times of war, half-hearted allies were useless. If he wanted them to devote themselves fully to Liyue, he first needed their recognition.
"I'll give it a try."
Elliot walked into the trap-laden zone alone, then began to demonstrate his strength.
He moved with incredible agility, dodging countless traps. His defenses were so impenetrable that every strike against him proved useless. At the same time, his intellect shone—he dismantled the mechanisms easily, without any brute force.
Within the trial of mechanical arts, he had shown both strength and intelligence, completely winning over Cloud Retainer.
She had assumed an gods like Elliot would simply smash through with brute force, clearing the way without a thought. After all, though Cloud Retainer had confidence in her own craft, she also knew godss—most relied on strength, not intellect.
Yet the masked gods clad in black before her had shown far more than expected. Not only were the attacks meaningless against him, he had also completely unraveled the traps.
"Well," Elliot said as he strolled forward, his tone calm and unhurried, "though it falls short of my expectations, it's acceptable."
Those plain words struck Cloud Retainer like a heavy blow. These mechanisms were the fruit of painstaking labor, yet Elliot dismissed them as "slightly below expectations"!?
She couldn't sit still after that. Her breath grew uneven—perhaps because his words stung, or perhaps because she wanted to learn more from him.
"May I… ask… Dark Night Sovereign, in what ways should my mechanisms be improved or supplemented?"
In that instant, Cloud Retainer's attitude shifted completely. She became profoundly respectful, her gaze free of suspicion.
"Hmm… too many. Let me think…" Elliot mused.
After a pause, he pointed at several mechanisms.
"These are far too clumsy. Don't bother optimizing them—just discard them. Anyone could see they're traps at a glance."
"This one's hiding mechanism is fairly decent, but its effect is unimpressive. At best, it might kill ordinary folk, but anyone with even minimal elemental power would survive."
"This one has the power, but the concealment is terribly done…"
"And this one… and this one…"
Once he began, he didn't stop. Elliot laid bare the flaws of nearly all the mechanisms.
Cloud Retainer was left stunned. With each flaw revealed, her eyes widened in growing shock.
By the time Elliot finished, she was already in awe—utterly convinced. Her gaze was now filled with pure admiration, as if looking at an idol.