Chapter 135: The Show Comes to an End

"What a great show." Sen'emon, who had been silently watching the drama unfold, remained smiling the entire time. Looking at the Supreme Bishop, her face was filled with joy, and her right hand gently caressed the hilt of her sword. "But it doesn't matter. Even if I'm being used as a tool, it's fine. After all, I am a tool to begin with. As long as I can achieve my goal, I don't mind being used once." In an instant... Scaramouche didn't even realize what had happened. The Supreme Bishop suddenly appeared by his side, his right hand raised, just like when he had protected the Traveler before, gently grasping the blade of Sen'emon's sword. But this time, he was protecting a Fatui Harbinger. Scaramouche finally reacted, his pupils contracting sharply. The reflection of the sharp blade shone in his downcast eyes, and a chilling sensation spread across his neck. Instinctively, Scaramouche wanted to retreat, but— "Don't move." At the Supreme Bishop's words, an indescribable sense of fear surged through Scaramouche's heart. His body stiffened completely, unable to move a muscle. Sen'emon, still smiling, looked at Ye. "You're the first person to ever block 'Soul Cleansing.'" Ye replied in a calm voice, "This just shows how far behind your swordsmanship is." "Compared to you, perhaps it is." Sen'emon didn't deny it. Instead, she nodded with a smile. "I can feel that you are a stronger sword than I am. So, please let me witness your sword." Ye sighed slightly. "I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I'm not skilled in combat or swordsmanship. In fact, it's been years since I last touched a sword." Sen'emon raised an eyebrow. "Then what are you holding now?" "..." Ye blinked slightly, looking at the blade he was holding in his hand. Then, without changing his expression, he said calmly, "You're from Inazuma, so you might not understand. In your eyes, a sword is a sword, and a blade is a blade—there's no difference. But in my eyes, what you're holding is a blade, not a sword." Sen'emon couldn't help but giggle. "You're such an interesting man. You're exactly my type." Ye: "....." Am I really being flirted with by my own alt? Isn't this a bit ridiculous? Should I micro-manage this? While Ye was momentarily speechless, Scaramouche felt like a rabbit caught between a tiger and a leopard. His lips trembled slightly, filled with humiliation and anger—but no matter what, he didn't dare to make a move. He had underestimated Sen'emon. Her terrifying strength was something Scaramouche could hardly believe. If the Supreme Bishop hadn't intervened just now, his head would have already rolled on the ground. Well, no—Sen'emon had used the Asada family's famous technique, Soul Cleansing, so his head wouldn't have fallen off. But he would still be dead. However, Scaramouche certainly didn't feel grateful to the Supreme Bishop. Because the Supreme Bishop's intervention directly confirmed the collusion between the Fatui and the Supreme Bishop, who was a wanted criminal designated by the Raiden Shogun. Otherwise, why would the Supreme Bishop save you? Even if everyone present knew the Supreme Bishop was acting, the justification for taking action against the Fatui was more than sufficient. Whether it was true or not no longer mattered. No one had any goodwill toward the Fatui, and with Sen'emon's strength, she had no reason to fear them. Therefore, she naturally had no reason to pass up this golden opportunity to openly take action against the Fatui. Although her mind wasn't really on Scaramouche, the Fatui Harbinger, at the moment. Of course, even though she wasn't paying attention, Sen'emon still took the opportunity to pin a crime on the Fatui. "You saved a Fatui Harbinger, which means you're colluding with the Fatui, right? So, the incident at the Statue of the Omnipresent God also involved the Fatui?" Ye played along perfectly. "Well, it seems there's no point in hiding it now. Yes, I was able to come to Inazuma thanks to the Fatui's cover." Scaramouche: "..." His expression of frustration made Yae Miko, who was watching from the sidelines, laugh uncontrollably. Sen'emon was also smiling brightly. Well, regardless of how much Scaramouche wanted to curse, Sen'emon was having a great time. And... "Alright, then today seems like the perfect day to arrest you all." It happened in an instant. Sen'emon's strikes were always lightning-fast. The blade that Ye had been holding firmly in his hand vanished in an instant. At the same time, Sen'emon's entire figure disappeared. Ye didn't turn to look at Sen'emon, who had already appeared behind him. Instead, he immediately reached out and grabbed Scaramouche's shoulder. Thud—!! Boom!!!!!!! "Hmm?" Sen'emon raised an eyebrow slightly. The strike she had aimed at Ye from behind was blocked by a thin curtain of water. The blade sank slightly into the water but failed to penetrate. Sen'emon sensed something and instantly turned her gaze to the left. There, standing silently, was a slender girl with white hair and red eyes. The moment Sen'emon looked at her, she seemed to tremble slightly out of fear. But it was this seemingly weak and timid girl who, with a scale floating in her right hand, had blocked the strike of Sen'emon, who was known as the strongest in Inazuma. "So it's you? The one who blocked the Raiden Shogun's 'Musou no Hitotachi.'" Without hesitation, Sen'emon shifted her target, slashing toward the white-haired girl with delight. To be honest, Sen'emon had long wanted to face the Raiden Shogun's Musou no Hitotachi and had been itching to fight her. But unfortunately, that would have been too disrespectful. Sen'emon didn't know how to hold back, and if she won, it would deal a significant blow to the Raiden Shogun's prestige, which she didn't want to do. And if she lost... she wouldn't lose. This was quite awkward. Sen'emon craved battles with strong opponents and was extremely warlike, but she never believed she would lose to anyone. Even if that someone was the god she served. Thus, Sen'emon was uniquely unable to challenge the Raiden Shogun. Having such a powerful figure right in front of her, yet being unable to fight her, was an agonizing feeling. In Sen'emon's character story, this internal conflict was clearly described, leading to countless players complaining and it had even become a meme online. But now, Sen'emon no longer had to struggle. The strong opponent who could rival the Raiden Shogun was right in front of her. The Supreme Bishop could wait. Defeating the Four Heavenly Kings before taking on the Demon King was the proper order, after all. So, Sen'emon shifted her target without hesitation. So, the Supreme Bishop grabbed Scaramouche and fled without hesitation. So, the white-haired girl... her eyes turned golden in the midst of her fearful expression, also without hesitation. Clang!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wings spread out behind her as dual swords clashed. Themis glared coldly at the woman who had frightened her sister. "You're asking for death." "Oh? A change of opponent?" Sen'emon raised an eyebrow as she locked eyes with Themis. "So, was it you who blocked the Musou no Hitotachi? Never mind, it doesn't matter who it was. Since the Supreme Bishop has run away, you'll have to keep me entertained." Yes, the Supreme Bishop had already fled. Grabbing Scaramouche and abandoning Themis, Ye fled without hesitation. "I really took a huge loss saving you." After bringing Scaramouche to a quiet, deserted beach, Ye finally released him and said: "Themis is no match for Sen'emon. She'll definitely be captured. What do you think we should do?" "Hmph, do you expect me to thank you?" Scaramouche finally shook off his fear and sneered at Ye. "What's your goal? Just say it." If he had to die, so be it. Scaramouche wasn't overly afraid of death; he just didn't want to die meaninglessly. And now, it seemed the Supreme Bishop wasn't simply trying to take action against the Fatui. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered bringing Scaramouche along. The question was, what did he want? "My goal? Isn't it obvious? I just want to cooperate with you." "Is this how you cooperate with me?" "I want to cooperate with you, not the Fatui." Scaramouche couldn't help but frown deeply. "What do you mean?" "What I mean is..." Ye looked down at Scaramouche, his voice calm yet thunderous: "Kunikuzushi, do you want to take revenge on the Doctor?" Scaramouche's eyes widened in shock. "How do you know that name? And what do you mean by revenge? What grudge do I have against the Doctor?!" "Sooner or later, you'll understand what this means. But for now..." Ye raised his right hand and took out a chess piece. Scaramouche's eyes widened even further in shock. "Take this Electro Archon's Gnosis and leave Inazuma." "You... what do you mean by this?!" Ye didn't answer. Instead, he left the Gnosis with Scaramouche and calmly walked away. "One day, you'll understand." The animated short ended with the Supreme Bishop's figure walking into the distance and Scaramouche's uncertain expression. "What... what's going on here?" After finishing this part of the story, Brother Ma was also confused, but he quickly regained his composure. "Brothers, there's something big going on here! The amount of information in this storyline is huge!" First, the Supreme Bishop and Yae Miko were actually working together. Second, the Supreme Bishop had already obtained the Gnosis and had even given it to Scaramouche. The purpose behind this was unclear, but it was undoubtedly a major plot point. Finally, the Supreme Bishop asked Scaramouche if he wanted to take revenge on the Doctor, but Scaramouche himself didn't know what grudge he had against the Doctor. This clearly indicated a significant issue! This was a plot point, undoubtedly an important one. It was just unclear when it would be fully revealed, but there was no doubt that there was a lot going on here! "Brothers, since the 2.1 storyline is over, let's end the stream here. I need to think things over and make a video analyzing the story." Brother Ma was determined to thoroughly study the information revealed in this storyline and deduce the future developments of Genshin Impact. This was the professionalism of a dedicated game streamer. As for Elysia, she didn't pay much attention to this. After happily finishing the story, she started to feel a bit sleepy. After all, unlike other players, Elysia knew that all these so-called plot points were just Kiana's whims. Who knew how she would tie up these loose ends later? Speculating about the story was a waste of effort. Well, that might not be entirely accurate. As Fu Xuan put it, Kiana should carefully study and learn from those videos analyzing Genshin's story. That way, she might actually be able to fill in the holes she had dug. In any case, Elysia didn't want to trouble herself. Overthinking was pointless. One day, the truth would come to light. This was the only thing she firmly believed in. How would Kiana fill in the gaps? No, the real question was, what did the Supreme Bishop plan to do? This thought briefly crossed Elysia's mind, but she had no intention of telling anyone. Yes, everything would eventually come to light. After putting on a performance, Ye felt a bit tired. After all, he wasn't a professional actor, and acting wasn't his forte. But fortunately, today's goal had been perfectly achieved. First, it was to pad out the runtime for the 2.1 storyline. Second, it was to set up the Sumeru storyline and plant a foreshadowing for Scaramouche's eventual redemption. From what Ye knew, after Scaramouche's redemption, there was a huge uproar among Chinese players, with significant controversy. Although this was limited to China—in other countries, Scaramouche's popularity remained high, and in Japan, he was second only to Furina—even if it was just China, there was no need for such drama. Any storyline that could affect Genshin's reputation and indirectly impact Ye's popularity collection naturally needed some oversight. How did the controversy around Scaramouche start in China? It was sparked by his redemption arc. Although the main reason was that many players were led to forget the story due to the uproar, the root cause was that Scaramouche's redemption lacked any buildup, which led to strong backlash from players who disliked such redemption arcs. In that case, let's add some buildup for Scaramouche. Huh? What? Why would Ye do this? Of course, it was because the Supreme Bishop was merciful, compassionate, and overflowing with pity, wanting to give Scaramouche a chance to reform and turn over a new leaf. As everyone knew, the Supreme Bishop's benevolence was on par with the Dendro Archon, Nahida. If Nahida could show such kindness and help Scaramouche gradually reform and become a better person, how could the equally benevolent Supreme Bishop not act as a father figure to Scaramouche? Don't worry, Scaramouche. The Supreme Bishop's saintly heart is as clear as the heavens and the earth. Even someone as you could be reformed under the Supreme Bishop's patient guidance. You'll be fine, right? Compared to undergoing reformation under the Dendro Archon, this would undoubtedly be a better path. Of course, the future father-son relationship was still a long way off. For now, Ye didn't focus too much on Scaramouche, his future "son," but rather on his own "daughter," who was clearly no match for Sen'emon. Yes, Themis. In Sen'emon's hands, she had completely fallen into a disadvantage. Well, although this was expected, even without Ye's micro-management, the story had unfolded exactly as Ye had anticipated. But now... Ye actually felt a bit uneasy. Think about it. Astrea was the first alt Ye created, and Themis was the second. Since her debut, Themis had always been portrayed as highly prestigious. Although she had few appearances, each one significantly boosted her reputation. Defeating La Signora, slashing the Doctor, facing the Raiden Shogun Themis had truly risen step by step. In the hearts of players, Themis's prestige was rock-solid... yet now she was being crushed by Sen'emon. Even though the camera was no longer on them, and the 2.1 storyline had ended with the animated short of Ye and Scaramouche, Ye still felt uneasy watching this. Should he give Themis a power boost? Thinking this, Ye raised his hands, and ten energy threads connected to various parts of Themis's body. In the next instant, Themis's movements changed, shifting from defense to offense, catching Sen'emon off guard. Sen'emon narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at Ye, her smile growing even more delighted. Meanwhile, Yae Miko walked up to Ye and asked softly, "Can I ask what's going on with the puppets you create? Why does she become so much stronger when you control her?" "Is it hard to understand?" Ye said lazily: "Themis has no martial arts skills. She's always relied purely on brute force to overpower her opponents. Facing Sen'emon, who is stronger and more skilled, Themis naturally can't win. But now, with my control, while her strength remains the same, her martial arts skills are on par with Sen'emon's." "So, the one fighting Sen'emon now is actually you?" "You could say that." The one fighting Sen'emon now was indeed Ye, while Themis was more like a weapon in Ye's hands, directed wherever he pleased. "Didn't you say you're not skilled in combat or swordsmanship?" "That's right." "Then what's going on now? You can control someone and fight Sen'emon to a draw with a sword?" "This isn't swordsmanship. This is puppetry." Ye answered matter-of-factly, while Yae Miko couldn't help but laugh. "Whatever it is, it seems the entire world has truly underestimated you." The Supreme Bishop of Fontaine isn't skilled in combat? Indeed, when it comes to him, not a single word can be trusted.