si-mexico Chapter 143 A Symphony of Ice and Fire
Chapter 143 A Symphony of Ice and Fire
Kaiya led Xu Ning and Ke Lai on a long, winding journey through the alleys of Mondstadt.
Xu Ning walked intentionally or unintentionally between Kaiya and Kelai, glancing up at the location of the huge windmills around him between drinks. This was the second time he had passed through this unnamed alley.
It seems our cavalry captain isn't looking for an easy spot to strike, but rather waiting for the right moment to make his move!
I'm tired of wandering around all day. If you want a chance, here's yours.
Xu Ning pretended to trip over the uneven stones on the ground, tilting his body half a step to the left.
At this moment, Cole finally couldn't help but mutter, "How much longer..."
With a "whoosh," a silver light suddenly shot out from Kaiya's fingertip, its target not being Kolai's throat, but his left shoulder.
"They really went to great lengths!"
Xu Ning sighed and flicked the Dust Concealment Gourd in his hand.
Although he was a beat slower than Kaeya, he managed to block the path of the silver light.
The silver light struck the copper gourd, shattering into a shower of tiny, sparkling ice jelly-like particles that scattered down.
"Why can't we sit down and talk things out? Why do we have to resort to such extreme measures?"
Xu Ning pulled the red string in his hand, and the wine gourd bounced back, feeling icy cold to the touch.
Cole was stunned by this sudden turn of events.
"Why……?"
Kaiya wasn't prepared to answer Xu Ning's question, but was amused by Ke Lai's "why".
"You ask me why? Ha, isn't this role-playing game over yet? You, the murderer of the Black Fire case."
Cole was speechless for a moment, and after a long while, he gritted his teeth and said, "I... they deserved to die!"
Xu Ning frowned and said, "Those so-called diplomats are nothing more than cold-blooded researchers. You should have seen the data on human experiments in the Fool's Car, right?"
"Even if a hundred more of those kinds of people died, I wouldn't feel the slightest bit sorry."
Kaeya sneered, "However, little guy, you dragged the entire Mondstadt down with you all by yourself, and now you even have to trouble my righteous sworn brother to risk his life to take the blame for you. That's a bit unreasonable, isn't it? I think we should just take you and hand you over to the Fatui."
Ke Lai turned her head sharply, looking at Xu Ning in shock. She didn't understand at all what Kaia meant by taking the blame.
Xu Ning pondered for a moment and said, "So, Diluc is planning to take the blame for the Blackfire case himself? Have you told Jean and the others about this plan?"
Kaiya toyed with an ice flower covered in thorns in his palm. "This plan will definitely be approved by our leader, Qin, without even needing to ask."
"After all, ever since this little one entered Mondstadt, everyone has been desperately protecting her as if they were possessed. Jean, Lisa, and even you, a Liyue native with no connection to her, are all willing to go against the Knights of Favonius for her sake."
Xu Ning smiled and said, "This is what we in Liyue often call human warmth; it's something very precious!"
Kaiya snorted and looked at the silent Kele behind Xu Ning, saying, "Humanity? You were standing with me at the circus just now, weren't you? Don't tell me that her stab at Amber was just a joke."
"Hmph, if that short sword hadn't been a toy, I'd probably be collecting Amber's corpse by now."
Upon hearing this, Cole shuddered and lowered his head even further.
Seeing Kele's appearance, Xu Ning felt a surge of anger and said coldly to Kaiya, "I think if someone hadn't thrown a sword in beforehand, Amber might have been greeted with a warm hug."
Seeing that Xu Ning had started to argue illogically, Kaeya was unwilling to continue the argument, otherwise this Liyue person would ruin a good show.
"Further words are useless. I'm going to arrest the real culprit in the Black Fire case. You'd better not interfere, or I will arrest you along with him for obstructing official business."
Xu Ning took a sip of his drink and said calmly, "Do you think I'll get involved?"
Without saying another word, Kaiya tossed a piece of ice flower he had been playing with behind Xu Ning and Ke Lai.
He then drew out the "Dark Alley Flash" from his waist.
Xu Ning reached out and grabbed Ke Lai, who was burying her head in self-blame, and flung her far away before the ice flowers could hit the ground.
The ice flowers fell to the ground and burst open between Xu Ning and Ke Lai, suddenly revealing a thick wall of ice.
"Can you protect her for a while, or can you protect her forever?"
Kaiya thrust his longsword straight at Xu Ning, and along with the sword, three sharp ice spikes shot out.
Xu Ning did a side somersault, leaping over the horizontally shooting ice spikes, and immediately landed a heavy punch.
"Let's drink!"
The dragon-shaped wine aura roared away.
Xu Ning didn't have any ill feelings towards Kaiya. At most, this guy was just a scheming person, and whether he was a brother-complex was unknown.
Overall, this guy's behavior so far has mostly been playful and mischievous.
Even now, when facing his own opponent, the swordplay he uses is conventional and rigid, with performance being the main focus.
However, his "Drinking Song" move did not cause any harm to Kaiya.
The dragon-shaped aura of alcohol had barely reached Kaeya's side when it was frozen and dissipated by the intense cold air attached to the three icy prisms surrounding Kaeya.
It was Kaeya's elemental burst skill, "Raging Dance".
"Heh, I didn't want to get really angry with you, but it seems that if I don't put in my effort, our little rabbit with a keen sense of smell will miss out on the good show it's supposed to be in."
The chill emanating from Kaiya suddenly intensified by several orders of magnitude.
Xu Ning took a swig of strong liquor, exhaled a puff of white steam, and laughed, "Speaking of getting really hot, I can do that too."
With a snap of his fingers, Xu Ning's right hand, which had been accumulating alcohol, was instantly ignited, and a scorching aura rose around him.
"That's interesting."
The intense firelight reflected in Kaiya's single eye as he slowly swung his longsword, stirring up a chilling atmosphere throughout the surrounding area.
Ice and fire collided in an instant, and a huge explosion could be heard from afar.
The ice wall between Xu Ning and Ke Lai was also shattered.
Cole was also awakened by the loud noise.
Looking up, one could see Xu Ning and Kaiya engaged in close combat, their fists and swords clashing.
Xu Ning splashed wine with his left hand while his right fist continuously spewed flames. Although he didn't use "Drunken Madness," he was already putting most of his fighting power into the battle.
While Kaiya's expression was no longer the same as his usual smiling face, it became more serious and earnest.
However, in Xu Ning's perception, Kaeya was not fighting at full strength.
It was still that same solemn and ceremonial swordsmanship, casually unleashing a chilling aura that froze Xu Ning's wine and flames one by one.
Occasionally, he would launch a few counterattacks, but the ice spikes that burst forth did not put much pressure on Xu Ning, as if he was waiting for something.
Although both of them held back, in Cole's eyes...
The two were practically risking their lives, while the one who started all of this was watching the battle without any burden, waiting for one side to win before deciding his own future.
Cole suddenly raised his head and charged into the middle of the fight between the two.
“I will take responsibility for my own actions. I don’t need you to make decisions for me. You… just kill me!”