Genshin x Minecraft: Building the Temple of Virtue

"Ryen!"

"Master Ryen!"

With the sudden attack, Ganyu and Keqing quickly drew their shields and rushed to Ryen's side.

Zhongli's expression darkened slightly, swiftly casting the Jade Shield to protect everyone.

He had to admit, even he hadn't sensed the attack earlier.

Xiao's face grew serious as he watched Ryen deflect the strange weapon. His expression turned grim.

After all, he had just promised to protect everyone. And Ryen was specifically under Zhongli's protection—an even greater responsibility.

Seeing himself as the bodyguard, Xiao felt ashamed and furious. If Ryen or anyone else had been hurt, he doubted he could ever forgive himself.

Especially with his leader standing right there watching.

Fuming, Xiao drew his weapon, the Primordial Jade Winged-Spear, and coldly said,

"Master Ryen, please retreat with Tianquan and Ganyu. I will handle this enemy!"

However, Ryen remained calm. The trident was indeed powerful, but with his Steve physique, deflecting it wasn't a problem.

Still, if Ningguang had taken that hit, even with his partial protection, she would've been seriously injured.

"Xiao, wait a moment."

Ryen stopped the charging Xiao and glanced back at Ningguang, whose face showed a hint of surprise.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

Ningguang returned to her senses, her expression serene as always.

"I'm fine. Thank you, Ryen," she said with a gentle nod and a faint smile.

Seeing her composed reaction, Ryen relaxed. He silently praised Tianquan's calm demeanor and gestured for her to join Ganyu and Keqing.

However, he didn't notice the faint blush on Ningguang's ears—a subtle indication of her unease.

"Master Ryen…"

Xiao's low voice broke through his thoughts, his gaze focused warily on the river surface.

Earlier, he felt the attack coming from the river, but now there was no trace of the enemy.

Considering this world's peculiarities, Xiao dared not act rashly.

Ryen stepped forward, holding his shield as he scanned the river carefully.

He quickly figured out who their attacker was.

Only a Drowned would throw a trident like that.

Drowned were more troublesome than zombies.

First, they could hide underwater and were immune to sunlight.

Second, many carried tridents, giving them a ranged advantage. Tridents dealt significant damage.

Third, there was a high probability of encountering multiple Drowned at once—likely a small group of them.

Ryen's keen eyes quickly identified five Drowned floating up from the water. Three of them held tridents.

It seemed his luck wasn't in his favor today.

Xiao, seeing the rising threats, was about to leap into battle.

"Hold on. The underwater fight isn't your specialty, Xiao. It's too dangerous."

Ryen stopped Xiao again. The latter frowned but reluctantly withdrew.

"Should we retreat?" Xiao asked cautiously.

"Retreat?" Ryen chuckled softly, his gaze fixed on the five Drowned.

"Three tridents between them? That's too valuable to leave behind."

After a brief moment of thought, Ryen handed his shield to Xiao and handed him one of the tridents thrown by the Drowned.

"Use this. Your weapon's damage won't be as effective here," he said.

Xiao obediently stored away the Primordial Jade Winged-Spear and curiously tested the trident's weight and balance.

It was halfway between a spear and a gun, but for Xiao, it was still a functional weapon.

"The trident seems heavy, and its damage seems pretty high," Xiao remarked thoughtfully.

"Xiao, I'll leave these to you."

Ryen glanced at the setting sun, which had begun to dip towards the horizon.

"Before sunset, I want all these creatures gone."

Xiao nodded solemnly.

"I understand. What do you need me to do?"

Ryen pointed to the riverbank and softly said,

"Grab your shield and go to the riverbank. Those monsters will be drawn to you and swim towards you."

"All you need to do is protect yourself. When they get close, use your weapon to push them back. Leave the rest to us."

Xiao didn't ask further. His training as a Vigilant Yaksha taught him to trust his teammates.

Without hesitation, he grabbed his shield and trident and jumped into the water.

As expected, the Drowned sensed the human presence and immediately roared as they surged towards Xiao.

Ryen handed Ganyu a wooden bow and a few arrows, smiling.

"From now on, we're going to work together, Ganyu."

Ganyu nodded seriously.

"I understand! I won't let Ryen down!"

"It's not that serious."

Ryen waved his hand dismissively, leisurely pulling out a fishing rod. With a soft chuckle, he said,

"Just follow my lead. When I tell you to shoot, you shoot, okay?"

Ganyu didn't speak, but simply nodded solemnly, standing beside Ryen.

Ningguang watched Ryen with the fishing rod, gesturing as if he was about to fish up Drowned. She opened her mouth, about to advise against it, but before she could, Ryen's eyes lit up.

"You're it!"

He suddenly swung the fishing rod with force.

The long fishing line, driven by the hook, traced a perfect arc and landed precisely on the leading Drowned wielding a trident.

"Dead corpse hook! Reel in!"

Ryen heaved the rod, and with a single powerful pull, even the fishing rod barely bent. No finesse, no skillful maneuvers—just sheer strength.

The fishing hook snagged the Drowned, lifting it out of the water and into the air. It landed just a short distance from Ryen.

"???"

Watching Ryen's bizarre fishing technique, whether it was Xiao down below wielding his shield or the others watching in astonishment, they were all stunned.

This method, even after thousands of years of experience, felt unprecedentedly explosive.

Even though everyone had seen absurd feats throughout the day, Ryen's violent pull to fish out the corpse still left them speechless.

Ryen, however, remained unfazed. His gaze was locked on the Drowned that, exposed to sunlight, burst into flames.

Flames engulfed it, causing the corpse to flail wildly, screaming as it stumbled and ran aimlessly. Yet Ryen's fishing technique was too refined.

No matter how the Drowned tried to escape, it couldn't return to the river.

Calculating its health, Ryen estimated its life force had nearly depleted.

He turned to Ganyu and patted her on the shoulder.

"It's your turn, Ganyu. Finish it."

"Ah… oh, okay!"

Still a bit bewildered by Ryen's mysterious techniques, Ganyu raised her bow. Yet, her archery skills were deeply ingrained.

Without needing to aim, she simply drew her bow and shot. The arrow found its target, and the Drowned collapsed into a wisp of smoke.

Only a piece of rotten flesh and the trident it carried were left behind.

Ryen smiled slightly, internally praising Ganyu's luck.

Killing a Drowned often resulted in a trident drop—a one in ten chance.

Ryen didn't rush to collect the trident, instead patting Ganyu's shoulder again with a grin.

"You worked well. There are still four left."

"So… time for me to cast again!"

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