Genshin Impact: The Road to Reversal

Chapter 548 Building a City with One's Own Body

On the front lines in the freezing cold, the fighting is becoming increasingly fierce.

The monsters surged like a tide, wave after wave crashing against the barrier Phoenix had erected. By now, the ice wall was riddled with cracks, and although it was constantly being repaired by Phoenix's chilling aura, the rate of repair was gradually falling behind the rate of destruction.

Although the soldiers' arrows and elemental attacks could kill a large number of monsters, their effect was negligible due to the presence of those dimensional rifts.

"No, Lord Phoenix, there are too many monsters! We can't hold on much longer!"

"We have to hold on, even if we can't. Then there's the glacier. We absolutely cannot let the Sangyang people bring these monsters into the glacier!" Phoenix gritted his teeth, with countless dimensional monster corpses beneath his feet.

Just now, many monsters bypassed the ice wall. Despite Arecino's help, the sheer number of monsters still distracted her.

The ice wall's repair speed slowed down significantly, and several cracks suddenly widened, allowing several beast-like hounds to squeeze in and pounce on the nearby soldiers with their sharp claws.

"careful!"

Arecino slashed with her longsword, cleaving one hound in two at the waist, but another had already pounced on a soldier, tearing him apart with its claws.

scoff!

Blood splattered, and the soldier's screams came to an abrupt halt.

"Damn it!" Arecino's eyes widened in fury, and with another flash of her sword, she severed the monster's head. But more monsters were pouring out of the rift, and the defensive line was already in grave danger.

At this moment, looking at the tragic battle before him and at the rift that was constantly breeding monsters like a malignant tumor, Phoenix's expression became even more solemn.

"No, we must find a way to fill those cracks, otherwise..."

She looked at Arecino.

"Arechino, I'll leave this place to you for now. I'm going to close those rifts!"

Upon hearing this, Arecino's heart clenched.

"Wait, teacher." She turned around and said anxiously, "That's too dangerous. The monsters in the rift are still overflowing. You're all alone..."

“There is no other choice!” Phoenix interrupted her, his tone leaving no room for argument. “If the rift isn’t closed, the defenses will inevitably break, and then it will be beyond repair!”

After saying that, she turned towards the rift, but just as she was taking a step to prepare for takeoff, Arecino called her back again.

“Wait a minute…” Arecino paused, “Couldn’t we… wait for Lord Hyotei to come? If it were Lord Reikos, we should…”

Phoenix turned to the side, as if he had sensed something: "It's too late. Rek'os has his own methods, but he is currently overwhelmed. Because of Sang Yang's evil deeds in Lin Hui, he left after handing over the glacier to us."

"But, if we do that..."

Before she could finish speaking, her face suddenly darkened. At that moment, Phoenix looked at her, his expression becoming even more serious.

"Heh... I've found it strange for a long time. You always acted this way whenever we talked about me. Although I had some suspicions, I still firmly believed that the hardships of the past 200 years had changed you. But now, with a formidable enemy at hand, you remain the same..."

She sighed deeply, then turned to face Arecino.

"Answer me, Peruvieri, is my future self already...?"

Upon hearing this, Arecino was startled. She pursed her lips, and amidst the pain and struggle, she finally revealed the hidden truth.

"Yes... 200 years ago, which is now, the Sangyang people used dimensional monsters to attack the glacier, and you, in order to repair the breach, ultimately sacrificed yourself, building the city with your own body..."

Arecino's voice was strained, each word sounding as if it were being forced out of her throat.

Phoenix listened quietly, his heterochromatic eyes showing no shock or fear, only a deep calm that seemed to have been anticipated all along.

She even smiled slightly, with a sense of relief as if she had seen through fate.

“I see… building a city with one’s own body…” she repeated softly, her gaze fixed on the distant crack. “That’s a good end for me.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Arecino paused again, looked up at Phoenix and asked in confusion, "Even knowing the outcome, you still want to do this?"

“Of course,” Phoenix chuckled softly.

"why?"

"Because this is a 'glacier'."

Phoenix's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable resolve, as if stating an age-old truth.

“I have a friend who held the same position as me, but for the sake of humanity, he ultimately became a traitor to the glacier.”

"Is this Lord Solgarlie?" Peruvieri asked.

"That's right. You're a paladin, so you should have heard his story. Back then, Rek'os sent him to guard the Abyss, but the environment there was so harsh that ordinary people couldn't survive. He pleaded with Rek'os, but was refused because he was afraid that the Abyss's ominous influence would affect the outside world. In the end, for the sake of the Abyss's inhabitants, he had no choice but to rebel against the Ice Emperor, and you know what happened after that."

"Originally, as the world's first dominant species, humans were not worth our attention at all. But since the establishment of glaciers and coexistence with those tiny life forms, everything has quietly changed."

Her gaze swept over the soldiers fighting fiercely around her.

"While I am not like Solgaley, willing to give my life for unrelated humans, I do know one thing: my territory will not be allowed to be trampled upon by others!"

"Oh no! The monsters are charging again!"

The soldiers' terrified screams shattered the brief calm, and countless monsters poured out of the rift, twice as many as before.

At that moment, Phoenix roared angrily at the approaching horde of monsters, "This is Hantian, and I am its lord. How dare you act so recklessly!"

In an instant, the elemental power around her surged, and the icy blue elemental power soared into the sky. A pair of huge wings, made entirely of pure ice crystals, suddenly unfolded behind her, and with just a gentle flap, they scattered ice dust all over the sky.

"Everyone, heed my command! Hold the line! Do not allow any enemy or monster to set foot on the glacier!"

"Yes!"

Ice crystals fell from the sky like rain, showering everyone.

In a short while, everyone's injuries were healed, and their morale even soared.

Amidst rousing shouts, Phoenix soared into the sky, the cold wind sweeping away everything in its path, turning it into icy dust like a cold star flying in reverse.

However, the number of monsters was beyond imagination. Every time a wave was defeated, a new wave would surge out of the rift like an endless tide. What was even more deadly was that every time a new monster appeared, the rift would widen.

Phoenix wanted to repair the rift, but she was also facing the onslaught of monsters from all around, leaving her unable to do so. Elemental power swirled wildly around her, freezing wave after wave of attacking monsters, but she remained so close to the rift yet unable to reach it.

Her brows furrowed more and more, she could feel her power dwindling, and she could clearly see the rift slowly expanding as the monsters poured out.

"This can't go on... We have to find a way to break through!" she gritted her teeth.

At that moment, the ending that Arecino had described suddenly echoed in her ears.