"Seize him!"
Cyno's voice was ice and judgment, laced with killing intent.
At his order, Matra sprang like arrows loosed from bows, elemental light weaving into a net to bind every escape route.
The residents and rangers of Gandharva Ville froze, stunned. Collei paled, hands clapped over her mouth.
But the "Orien" on the bridge only smiled stiffly.
Next moment—
Whoosh!
The attacks passed straight through him. No blood, no cries—his figure rippled like water, then popped like a bubble, vanishing in sparks of grass and light.
An illusion.
The Matra halted, dumbfounded.
Cyno's pupils narrowed to needles. Rage boiled—but he forced it into cold focus.
"He's here. Hidden."
Orders snapped out: "Spread out! Sweep every sector! Trace elemental residue and space distortions. Tighten the perimeter. Nothing leaves!"
The net spread. Gandharva Ville became chaos—scholars questioned, families herded inside, rangers unsettled.
Tighnari arrived, grim. "Cyno, this—"
"Your survivor is no mere stray. He's tied to the sky screen." Cyno's voice cut like steel.
Meanwhile, the real Orien slid down the trunk's shadow like a ghost.
Stealth and Concealment cloaked him in stillness.
Guerrilla Tactics guided his every silent step.
Thunder Shadow Flash flickered in micro-bursts, carrying him unseen.
Above, boots thundered. Below, his heart pounded. But he flowed toward the river's roar—the best escape.
Two Matra blocked the last platform, compasses in hand.
Orien crouched behind vines. Breaking through would expose him. Then—his eyes lit. Tigers prowled nearby, restless.
A flick of Verdant Feather Thorn. A sting to a tiger's flank.
"Raaagh!"
The beast roared, lunging at the Matra.
"Monster attack!"
Their attention broke—
Thunder Shadow Flash!
A spark darted unseen past their blindside.
Splash!
The river swallowed him whole, covering all trace.
The Matra glanced back, saw only water and branches. "Just the beast stirring the wind."
Cyno, above, seethed as reports came in—nothing found.
"Impossible! He's close! Expand search! Seal Port Ormos! Check every Liyue-born youth!"
"Yes, Great Matra!"
But far downstream, Orien pulled ashore, drying himself with grass power. He grinned toward the distant Ville.
"Perfect. All eyes on Gandharva Ville—while I slip free."
His course: Port Ormos. There, in the black market's chaos, lay traces of the Akademiya's pact with the Fatui—the god-making project.
"Next broadcast, I won't just reveal the poison of Canned Knowledge… I'll drag the sages' blasphemous ambition into the light."
He vanished into the jungle's shade, heading for the storm brewing at Port Ormos.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For 20+ Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!]
[[email protected]/Draumel]
[Thank You For Your Support!]