The Battle For Liyue - Part 1

Sorry for the late update, school on top of my job has got me really busy these past few days! Anyway, before this chapter kicks off, a quick note. The OC's intelligence and decision-making skills are only as great as the authors. Basically, if he makes a dumb decision, it's either because it was intentional or I'm dumb.

Also, regarding Neptune's level of power, for this story, she won't be the overpowered being that people make her out to be. If you do not agree with my decision, then I apologise, you are more than free to leave the story. I know I can't satisfy everyone's expectations.

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At the top of the mountain where the chat group members had initially met Morax were numerous adepti, all of who were busy with their own conversations concerning the sudden invasion they were soon to be experiencing.

Amongst the group of adepti, both Ganyu and Neptune could be seen sitting on one of the large rocks while looking around. They had arrived not too long ago after Indarias informed them of the situation, and to say they were worried was quite an understatement.

"There they are!" Neptune suddenly voiced as she noticed both Kenji and Kojou who had just jumped their way up the mountain. Both males quickly made their way over to the females. "You guys sure took your sweet time!"

"Sorry, we were busy with something." Kenji responded simply as he crossed his arms before looking over towards Bosacius, who could be seen staring down near the edge with the other four standing beside him. "Did we miss anything?"

"No, Bosacius hasn't spoken yet. We were waiting for everyone to gather first." Ganyu was the one that answered as she hopped down from the rock she sat on. The half-adeptus then frowned heavily as she looked towards the five foremost yakshas. "..."

While Neptune certainly wasn't the most observant of characters, even she could notice something was wrong with her fellow female chat group member. "What's with the long face, Ganyu? Aside from there being an invasion and all that."

"...So, it's this day." Ganyu muttered mostly to herself as the others looked at her in confusion. Soon noticing their expressions, she gave a small sigh before explaining. "I've recently come to notice some rather familiar events, while my memory is rather hazy, I still recognised them."

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"It's... I remember this particular event. The invasion of thousands of demonic manifestations..." The others could only blink their eyes when they heard this. Looking around for a second, Ganyu continued. "It was the battle during this day that was the major turning point, particular for the Yakshas."

"You did tell us something about them suffering from karmic debt, something about them accumulating malice from their many battles or whatever." Kojou seemed to remember as he also glanced towards the beings in question. "Now that I think about it, the quest said something about it."

"Oh, yeah!" Neptune lightly smacked her closed fist onto her palm while widening her eyes. "Something about their ultimate... ends?"

"Indeed." Ganyu nodded upon hearing their words. "Essentially, it was the negative karma they built up over the years that resulted in them eventually going into insanity. This particular day, the day of the invasion, was what most of that malice stemmed from."

"Makes sense. If the information about there being literal thousands is true, then that doesn't surprise me." Kenji frowned with a look of understanding as he uncrossed his arms. "Then all we need to do is assist them the best we can, are you guys prepared?"

Kojou rubbed the back of his head. "As ready as ready can be, I guess."

"All set, ready to kick some butt!" Neptune grinned as she summoned forth her katana. "Now, if only I could access my HDD then I'd be able to kick even more butt... The author nerfed me, he's taking away my amazing goddess powers!"

Kojou deadpanned at that. "Is that your way of admitting you just can't transform?"

"Listen up, buddy! I'll have you know that I am not lying at all!" Neptune huffed as she played both hands on either side of her waist. "I'm no longer in my world, and without a Share Crystal, then the Neptune's been nerfed! I can't go HDD like this!"

"Whether or not she's lying doesn't matter right now, we're in the middle of a war you two..."

"One is glad to see you've accepted to assist us." A new voice suddenly sounded as the group all turned to see one of the adepti flying down to greet them. The Adeptus looked to be a crane just like Pervases, this one appearing to have snow-white feathers along with a few feathers with various blue shades. "You all seem quite eager, especially the small one."

"Oh, it's... what's her face? Loud Container!"

"One's name is Cloud Retainer..."

The crane that had just flown down to them was Cloud Retainer, one of the many adepti that the group had the pleasure of meeting during the past few days. They had met a few others such as Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper, who they all got along pretty well with, although their number of interactions was few.

However, what caught their attention the most was the individual that seemed to be sitting on Cloud Retainer's back. The individual looked to be a bit younger than Kenji but older looking than Neptune, having light blue hair and a pair of rather... familiar horns.

Neptune's eyes turned into small dots that blinked. "Hold on a second... is that?"

"How rude, come on down now. It is rude not to introduce yourself. You haven't feared humans in a long time now, so you should show proper etiquette." Cloud Retainer spoke to the female on her back who nodded before hopping off. "This one is a half-adeptus, just like your other friend."

"I-It's a pleasure to meet you all, my name is Ganyu." With only a small stutter, the 'new' individual introduced herself while giving a small bow as the group felt their jaws hanging a bit. Giving each other incredulous looks, they all turned towards their Ganyu...who was no longer in sight.

While they would be surprised by meeting the past version of Ganyu, it wouldn't be nearly as much as now since they would have kind of expected to run into her at some point. What really surprised them though was the past Ganyu's... physique.

Unlike the one they all knew and loved, this past version of her was... wide.

While not substantially obese, this Ganyu in front of them was much wider compared to their rather lean chat group member. Her face and cheeks were puffier, and her waist and stomach were quite a bit wider in comparison. Honestly, they were speechless.

"N-Nice to meet you, Kenji Kusanagi... a pleasure." Trying his best to act natural, Kenji introduced himself while extending a hand for a shake. Past-Ganyu stared at it for a second in confusion before hesitantly taking hold and shaking it lightly. The others also introduced themselves as well afterwards. "...So, are you participating in this war?"

"She is not, Ganyu will be staying here in the harbor to protect the citizens. One has already been told to make sure that no demons make it past the line of defence." Cloud Retained explained as Kenji nodded in understanding. "If the harbor is overrun, we will have no choice but to leave as quickly as possible."

"Will you even have time?" Kojou asked with doubt clear in his voice. "Escorting hundreds of people during an invasion can't exactly be done on a moment's notice..."

"One does not have much of a choice. For now, ensuring the citizens are all safe in their homes is the best course of action. Leaving in advance can prove particularly dangerous if they happen to come across demons who may attempt an ambush."

"We're really in a pickle, huh?" Neptune sweatdropped. "I'm really starting to feel nervous now."

"One wishes you all the best of luck for the coming battle, and one bids farewell for now. Ganyu, let us get going." Cloud Retainer spoke before looking down to face the half-adeptus who nodded before attempting to climb back up.

Once Ganyu placed herself on top, Cloud Retainer gave a small grunt when some new weight pressed down on her...

"Pffft...!" Neptune was about to burst into a fit of laughter at the scene when Kojou quickly smacked her across the head to shut her up. "O-Ow!"

"Farewell, until next time." With that, Cloud Retainer quickly took off into the sky with Ganyu hanging on as she then dived down the mountain towards the harbor. The group watched as she disappeared beneath the mountain top's edge.

"So... that was something." Neptune laughed nervously a few seconds later. "To think Ganyu was that fat back in the day, surprises really do come every day."

"I mean, it's no wonder she seemed so hesitant with us meeting her past self." Kenji smiled nervously as he had the image of the past and present Ganyu in his mind side by side, it was an amusing image to say the least. "Speaking of which, where'd she go?"

"Who knows, she made a break for it while we were gawking..." Kojou sweatdropped as they all looked around trying to find their companion. Soon enough, it was Neptune who managed to locate her as she was calling them over. "Seems like Neptune's found her."

"Guys, I found her! She's over here!"

"N-N-Neptune...!" Ganyu's voice quickly shouted in a whisper from behind the singular tree that was next to one of the large rocks. As she noticed both males walking over, she fell to her knees with her arms supporting her. "Y-You all weren't meant to see me like that...!"

The three members weren't really sure what to say to the girl, and from the way she was acting, she really did seem to be sensitive towards her weight. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Neptune was the one to break the silence.

"Umm... great job on the diet!"

"..."

The next few minutes were spent with Ganyu still despairing over the fact that the others had seen her... past self's current situation. Soon enough, Bosacius called for everyone to gather as all the adepti and the chat group members walked over to hear what he had to say.

"I see, the situation isn't looking good..." One of the Yakshas that had just returned to relay some information spoke to Bosacius whose face twisted into a grim look. Bosacius then faced the gathered adepti. "Brothers and sisters, it seems we really are facing an invasion! From recent reports, we are expecting more than fifty thousand demons who are approaching the city as we speak!"

The news was obviously a major tension spiker as the adepti all immediately went into their own hushed whispers, which proved to be quite loud with all of them talking at once. The four chat group members weren't any better as they gave each other worried looks.

While Kenji's abilities certainly give him the upper edge in fights, he was still just a single person.

He couldn't be anywhere and everywhere.

"Everyone, please be silent!" Bosacius quickly shouted as the adepti went quiet and listened. "I know this isn't comforting news, even I am unsure of the outcome of this day. However, I'm sure that none of you wish to just let them do as they please. We'll separate ourselves into three groups, and we'll strike them from the north, west and south!"

Despite the simplicity of that plan, it was the only thing they could really do. They couldn't wait any longer since that would just give time for the demons to get closer, which would overwhelm them and the entire harbor. If some do get by, they just have to have faith in the adepti that are remaining to protect the harbor.

"Each group will be led by one of us five, with two of the groups having two!" Bosacius gestured towards the fellow foremost Yakshas beside him. "Your task is simple, defeat any and all demons that come your way! We are heavily outnumbered, but we will not surrender! Do you all agree with me?!"

In response to that, the adepti all gave their own shouts of agreement as Bosacius nodded his head, pleased at their reaction. It was true, their numbers were easily overwhelmed by the demons. Despite that, all of the adepti weren't looking to back down any time soon.

"Ganyu, how did the situation end originally?" Kenji whispered to Ganyu who blinked at the sudden question. "Obviously the harbor survived, but at what cost?"

"...There was a lot of destruction and death of many adepti during this battle, along with a majority of the civilians perishing." Ganyu sighed as she answered, a look of sadness forming on her face as she seemed to recall the memory. "We managed to rebuild eventually, but the scars of that time heavily affected us all."

Kenji didn't give a verbal response, but merely frowned as his eyes narrowed a bit. The other two also heard Ganyu's words and frowned as well, they could see just how affected Ganyu was with the current situation. They hadn't experienced what she had, so they didn't know how she truly felt right now.

As the meeting went by, Bosacius then quickly assigned everyone to their respective groups. Each group was led by the five foremost Yakshas, two of the three groups had two of the Yakshas leading to ensure the chances of survival for the group members.

Due to Neptune's inability to properly utilise her full strength, Kenji suggested that she either joined up with one of their groups and stay close to one of the others, or remain here in the harbor to assist with the potential breaking of defence. Seeing no choice, Neptune had eventually decided to stay behind.

Soon enough, the chat group members were separated into these groups.

● Bosacius Group - Kenji

● Alatus and Menogias Group - Kojou

● Indarias and Bonanus Group - Ganyu