"Hey, hey, isn't encountering a huge monster supposed to make you feel, you know, tense or scared? Why do you have that 'I'm going to kill you' look on your face?"
"If I don't kill it, should I just wait for it to kill me?"
Gu Sanqiu licked his lips. "Tell me, aren't you even a little curious about how this thing tastes?"
"My family's archives are vast, but I don't think any of my ancestors ever took a bite out of a... hmm, a creature influenced by the power of a god."
"Are you seriously planning to eat it?"
Σ(ﾟдﾟlll)
Xingqiu and Chongyun both stared at him, dumbfounded, and maybe a little horrified.
"Aside from the flavor, if this thing is prepared properly, it could be a great source of nourishment, right?"
"Wait a second, don't tell me those pork knuckles you gave us earlier were made from creatures like this," Xingqiu said in shock. "I thought they were just normal ingredients!"
"Me too..." Chongyun swallowed hard. "But... with a sea snail this big, won't the meat be tough? Are you sure it's even edible?"
"That's not the problem! The question is whether it can even be used as food!"
"I already told you, it might be highly nutritious. Haven't you heard the saying: 'bitter medicine cures the sickness'?"
Crunch, crunch...
Chongyun's face turned pale. "Something's gnawing at the ice under us!"
"Figured as much. We're surrounded."
Gu Sanqiu glanced at his two companions.
Ice element, water element.
Damn!
If only I could get Childe over here, he thought. With him, we could spam electro reactions all over the place. But with just the three of us? We don't have the same kind of crowd control.
Sure, Gu Sanqiu had his own AOE attacks, but don't forget, their footing was just a thin sheet of ice created by Chongyun's elemental power. Using a wide-scale attack could shatter the platform, and then they'd really be in trouble.
"Chongyun, maintain the ice and protect the boat. Xingqiu, cover us. I'm going to go greet that big guy!"
Two bottles of elixirs clinked onto the deck. Gu Sanqiu let out a loud cry as his Wind Glider unfurled in the breeze, and he launched himself into the air, hurling his staff straight at the enormous sea snail.
Crack!
The staff shattered, only managing to chip off a small stone attached to the snail's shell. Gu Sanqiu drew his spear—the one he'd used against Childe—and charged again, transforming into a streak of golden light.
Meanwhile, Xingqiu stood beside Chongyun, protecting him as a horde of fish and bizarre-looking shellfish swarmed toward their boat.
One by one, Xingqiu's sword flashed, delivering precise, lethal strikes. His movements were less grandiose than Chongyun's heavy sword swings, but his assassin-like precision spoke volumes about his skill.
"Can't we just set sail and leave? Why are we maintaining this ice to keep them from reaching the boat?"
"No, we can't!"
Xingqiu brushed the wet hair from his forehead. "There's something controlling the water element below us. I suspect it's that giant sea snail disrupting the currents. We can't sail out of here."
"It's manipulating the currents? I can't protect you and fight the current at the same time, let alone deal with all these little pests swarming us."
The ancient arts of the Guhua Clan flared from Xingqiu's hands as he continued to fend off the onslaught. Razor-sharp water blades tore through any creature foolish enough to get near Chongyun.
"We'll have to rely on Gu Sanqiu. If he can create an opening, I can use it to get us out of here!"
In a flash of golden light, Gu Sanqiu's spear pierced the shell, shattering part of it and leaving a crack!
Hisss!
Instead of the strange fluids he expected, a mixture of blue and black mist began seeping from the wound, filling the air with a noxious odor as it mixed with the seawater.
"Poison!"
Geo energy flared as Gu Sanqiu created a protective mask over his face, ensuring he could keep up the assault.
"Xingqiu should know what I'm planning by now. Let's see if our teamwork is as good as ever."
Fending off creatures trying to protect the snail, Gu Sanqiu threw a handful of talismans into the opening in the shell.
From his perspective, the snail had just been standing there since it appeared, limiting the currents but not doing much else. However, he couldn't afford to take chances—what if it was charging up some deadly attack?
This thing was like a huge, silent thug standing at the back of an enemy gang. Even if it didn't act immediately, leaving it unchecked would be reckless.
Boom!
Gu Sanqiu delivered a powerful blow to the shell. "Charging up a big attack, huh? Acting all cool, huh? Not on my watch!"
Boom!
The massive snail was forcefully pushed back into the water by Gu Sanqiu's raw strength. At the same moment, Xingqiu's eyes gleamed with determination.
"The opportunity is here!"
The blue glow of Xingqiu's Hydro Vision intensified as he pinpointed the source of the tangled elemental energies below the surface—energies that had been preventing them from sailing away.
"There it is!"
Xingqiu gripped his sword tightly, focusing his power. With a precise thrust, he stabbed into the elemental knot binding the currents.
"Raincutter, sever!"
A brilliant surge of Hydro energy erupted from Xingqiu, forming a giant calligraphy brush that shot toward the entangled sea currents, the tip striking the exact point of disruption!
"Sanqiu!"
Gu Sanqiu, now battling the toxic mist, felt the shift in the currents and delivered a final kick to the snail's shell. He leaped into the air, deploying his Wind Glider and flying back toward the boat.
Whizz!
Something pink shot toward Gu Sanqiu's leg—a pillar-like appendage, aiming to impale him!
"Did you think I forgot about you?"
Gu Sanqiu spun midair, retracting his spear and drawing a blade, slashing at the incoming attack.
Screeeee!
A high-pitched, ear-splitting shriek echoed through the air. Gu Sanqiu winced at the sound—it was so grating, it felt like dozens of tone-deaf singers screaming right into his ear.
"What the hell is that?!"
Chongyun stared in disbelief as a grotesque, humanoid creature slowly crawled out of the snail's shell. It was made of pink, fleshy snail meat, with no visible eyes or facial features, only vaguely resembling a person.
It had just shot its tongue—or whatever that was—at Gu Sanqiu!
"Who knows what that thing is? But it's definitely not some 'Snail Girl' who fell in love with you and wants to make you dinner!"
Gu Sanqiu landed safely on the boat. "Chongyun, take the helm. Xingqiu and I will row us out of here. We need to get away from this mess first!"
"Agreed. Fighting at sea like this puts us at a huge disadvantage."
Xingqiu rolled up his sleeves and took his place at the oars. "By the way, what's this 'Snail Girl' you mentioned?"
ヽ(｀Д´)ﾉ
"Row faster! Or I'll make you eat a thousand pork knuckles once we're out of here!"
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