Genshin Impact: Towards Godhood

If this person were a brainless brute, then the Flower God must have bestowed all her intelligence upon him in the form of martial prowess.

The lieutenant trembled in fear.

His job was simple: disregard the tribe's interests and ensure that Rama met his demise.

Though he didn't know what Rama had done to provoke such orders from so many elders, the command alone made him wary.

He wasn't a young man anymore.

When the elders of a tribe so desperately want someone dead, but that person is still alive and even leads an action publicly, it says something.

Rama was not easy to kill.

But acknowledging that he was hard to kill and the necessity to kill him were two different realities.

It's like a falcon accepting a hunting task. If the falcon can't kill its prey, it will be killed by the prey instead.

There are many falcons. If one fails, its master won't tolerate its incompetence.

Since he wasn't unique, failure would render him worthless.

And a worthless falcon can only meet its end.

No matter how difficult it was to kill Rama, the lieutenant still wanted to live.

This was his mindset until Rama began his charge.

He thought this troublesome person needed careful planning, never expecting Rama to say, "Wait for me to break their defenses, then follow up."

The lieutenant almost laughed out loud at the time.

If he had to judge when Rama had broken through the defenses, he could start putting on a show.

Considering the wind and sand in his eyes, he might need to observe a bit longer.

Considering the enemy's cunning, he might worry Rama's victory was a trick to lure them in, so he'd observe a bit more.

What? You're struggling? You said you broke through the defenses, but no one followed up?

Well, that's because you thought you broke through, but the one who judges is me. I didn't think you did, so I kept waiting for you to prove your claim.

Clearly, you got pushed back, meaning you didn't fulfill your promise.

So, the failure of this war naturally falls on you.

And if you die in the process, all the better—perfect, even.

The lieutenant had countless reasons and excuses ready. What he didn't anticipate was that Rama truly broke through the entire defense line.

Of course, this wasn't during the day; only a few small squads patrolled the area around the tribe at night.

Rama didn't rely solely on personal strength to achieve this.

At LV6, he might pull off an invincible streak, killing from start to finish, instilling fear in all.

But he was still a normal person now.

Breaking through the entire defense alone was doable, but without soldiers following to expand the breach, Rama would have to withdraw.

If he had to compare, Rama's first choice would be Kujou Sara.

This tengu general was unparalleled in Inazuma.

Above her were only the Raiden Shogun and her familiar Yae Miko, who were not human.

However, during Inazuma's internal conflict, Kujou Sara couldn't quickly end the chaos, being slightly disadvantaged against Sangonomiya Kokomi.

And in the end, Kujou Sara was swiftly defeated by La Signora.

In the early stages of elemental power, individual combat prowess has limited impact, so for Rama to become a hero, he must integrate the tribe's strength.

The higher one goes, the more individual power shines. At Scaramouche's level, ordinary people have no combat value.

Despite the Flower God's enigmatic warnings to King Deshret about the world belonging to humans, Rama believed the Flower God's words meant relying on collective power to weaken enemies and strengthen the Traveler or solely depending on the Traveler's abilities.

At least, in his journey, others had roles but were not crucial, except for the Traveler.

Teyvat's history was essentially about Archons, with limited human involvement.

Rama's ultimate goal was to become an Archon-level being with complete self-reliance. But for now, he needed the tribe's foundation.

He could briefly break through defenses.

If the Tanit tribe's warriors quickly followed, the battle would end swiftly.

This was why ancient wars valued strong generals leading cavalry, capable of turning the tide.

But Rama didn't expect quick support.

He didn't know which elder his lieutenant served, but except for Babel, all wanted him dead.

Forcing them into submission meant their loyalty couldn't be high.

Relying on allies to react quickly and support was unrealistic.

Relying solely on himself to defeat an entire tribe was also doomed.

Yet, Rama planned to single-handedly destroy the tribe.

"Assassination is a dishonorable tactic."

"Fear of death can make some elders submit, but I need the majority's support, so they must see my capability."

Waiting for the signal, Rama then crushed the enemy's neck.

Demonstrating ability requires an environment and action.

The more challenging the task, the more perfectly it's done, the clearer one's ability.

This was Rama's intention.

If he could single-handedly win an entire conflict, both elders and the tribe would welcome his leadership.

Such an absolute victory would showcase the gap between him and others, turning it into admiration due to their shared lineage.

The plan was good, but action was needed.

As a "Vision Wielder" entity, Rama couldn't win.

If he could, Kujou Sara would have decimated the resistance.

Rama could create significant local advantages, but without turning these into larger victories, the outcome remained unchanged.

At this stage, individual strength rarely decided battles.

But he had a scholar's identity too.

The combination of mechanics and alchemy wasn't just for making toys.

"The greatest value of weapon innovation is reducing soldier costs...no, costs sound cold, how about expense?"

Rama murmured, his focus not on the inevitable victory.