Genshin Impact's Incense Burner Of Liyue [537]

At this moment, Gu Sanqiu’s expression was a mix of gritted teeth and sheer exasperation.

The Ruin Grader… could merge with other machines?

This was definitely beyond anything he had anticipated!

I’m gonna be sick!

There were so many things he wanted to complain about, but he had no idea where to even begin. Everything unfolding before him was completely outside his predictions.

He had expected the Ruin Grader to retain some mobility—it was, after all, a massive, high-precision machine. There was no way something like this wouldn’t have at least three to five layers of fail-safes.

But the fact that those small-fry war machines hadn’t been completely destroyed?

Not only had they survived, but they had also combined with the Ruin Grader—right in front of him—in a full-on mecha fusion sequence.

This was unacceptable.

The Ruin Grader lifted its right arm. The integrated Ruin Machines immediately fired a volley of energy beams, while the missile launchers on its chest reactivated, forming a new wave of projectiles that rained down on Gu Sanqiu.

At the same time, the power cores on its back ignited, releasing a burst of thrusters that propelled its massive frame forward—barreling straight at him with no intention of stopping!

Gu Sanqiu quickly calculated the Ruin Grader’s weight and his own current condition.

Then, without hesitation—he dodged.

There was no way he could take this head-on.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

From above, the integrated Ruin Hunter’s weapons activated, unleashing a barrage of shells that sealed off Gu Sanqiu’s escape routes, ensuring that the cumbersome Ruin Grader would have the space to execute its charge with maximum impact!

"How the hell is this something a machine should be capable of?!"

For some reason, this reminded Gu Sanqiu of that blue falcon he had once seen atop Dragonspine.

Back when Durin’s bloodied shadow emerged, the falcon had dived straight for his throat—just like Dvalin had done to Durin before.

It was a moment of pure déjà vu.

And now, staring down these machines, Gu Sanqiu couldn’t shake the same eerie feeling.

High-precision combat chips? Bullshit.

Someone had to be controlling them from the shadows!

If this were a game, and Gu Sanqiu were the final boss, then this Ruin Grader was the player’s character unleashing a finishing move—because the player had just determined that he was now within kill range.

"The Pyro Archon herself stepping in? No way. I’m just some random guy, why would I deserve that kind of attention? If she’s got this much free time, shouldn’t she be pestering Diluc instead—maybe trying to get one of her former subjects back under her wing?"

Summoning a shield, Gu Sanqiu rapidly deployed miniature elemental fields beneath the Ruin Grader’s feet, distorting its movement patterns and increasing his chances of dodging.

"If only these were real people instead of robots…"

With a powerful leap and a tactical roll, he barely avoided the incoming charge—enduring the searing heat of the laser barrage and the molten ground beneath his feet.

If this were a humanoid enemy—one this size, who had the guts to charge in completely unguarded—Gu Sanqiu could guarantee he’d recruit them as his finance minister once he built his own Mora empire.

But that wasn’t the case.

Critical weak points meant nothing against machines.

In all of Teyvat, Khaenri’ah was the only technological civilization ever known. No other nation had developed effective countermeasures—otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many machines wandering the wilds unchecked.

And currently, there was only one known method to deal with these things—strike the core with overwhelming force to temporarily disable it.

This was the standard approach for battling Ruin Machines in the wild, ruins, and domains.

But the Ruin Grader’s core was ridiculously well-protected.

Not only was it buried deep within its structure, but it was also shielded by multiple layers of barriers generated by the integrated Ruin Machines.

Getting close enough to land a decisive blow was nearly impossible.

Gu Sanqiu had no interest in gambling on that slim possibility.

Compared to the Ruin Grader, he couldn’t afford even a single mistake.

"A game where one slip-up means instant death, huh? But I only like casual games…"

Another tactical roll—or rather, a desperate, flailing dive—saved him from another devastating attack.

He exhaled sharply, then unleashed a blast of Anemo and Pyro, sealing the Ruin Grader’s arm cannons for a brief moment, buying himself some distance.

"If this turns into a ranged war of attrition… can my elemental energy even hold out? Am I really going to have to go in for melee?"

Gu Sanqiu hesitated.

Because if he got hit by something with that much mass behind it… it wouldn’t be a joke.

But his current condition didn’t allow for the long-range war of attrition required to whittle down the Ruin Grader.

Short of forfeiting the match, his only choice was close-quarters combat.

His weapons could pierce through the armor.

But he needed a perfect opportunity—one that would let him strike the core directly!

"All or nothing. If this fails, I’ll just have to climb my way back up the rankings again."

Gu Sanqiu’s mind raced through potential strategies before he finally raised his hand and tossed out a handful of talismans.

Paper figures emerged from the spells, scattering in all directions—rapidly approaching the Ruin Grader.

These machines definitely had heat-sensing capabilities.

Rather than concealing his own presence entirely, Gu Sanqiu linked his elemental energy to the paper figures, simulating basic life signs!

"If you can detect me… let’s see just how advanced your intelligence really is."

The paper figures drew their weapons and charged.

The Ruin Grader immediately halted its forward momentum, spread open all its fire ports, and unleashed a full-scale barrage, determined to wipe them out.

Perfect.

Everything was unfolding exactly as expected.

Gu Sanqiu steadied himself, dodging attacks while monitoring the rate of paper figure depletion.

Under the merciless Ruin Grader’s onslaught, the fragile decoys vanished one by one.

Had they not outnumbered the machine, his approach would have been exposed long ago.

The Ruin Grader’s core pulsed with energy as it maintained continuous fire.

Then—its limbs glowed, revealing sharp metallic blades.

It was activating Whirlwind Mode.

The deafening hum of spinning steel filled the air—if Gu Sanqiu got any closer, he’d be shredded on contact.

"But your head doesn’t have that feature!"

Gu Sanqiu raised his spear high and dove from above—aiming straight for the core!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Hidden launchers on the Ruin Grader’s back opened fire—integrated Ruin Hunter cannons, designed specifically to counter aerial assaults.

But Gu Sanqiu twisted through the turbulent winds, forcing the missiles off course, and with a final burst of energy—he drove his spear straight into the Ruin Grader’s head!

CRACK!

The armor shattered.

The spear pierced the core.

Using the machine’s head as leverage, Gu Sanqiu kicked off and narrowly dodged its retaliatory swipes.

The Ruin Grader’s glow flickered.

Then, before Gu Sanqiu’s watchful gaze, it collapsed.

The fused Ruin Machines detached, falling lifelessly to the ground.

"Victory."

SHOOM!

A beam of light suddenly shot from the Ruin Grader’s remains—slamming into Gu Sanqiu’s chest and blasting him backward!

"There's more?!"

Gritting his teeth, he locked onto the source, summoned his sword, and in one clean strike—sliced it to pieces.

---

T/N: dark souls teyvat edition

This is a fan translation of 原神之璃月奉香人 by 淡白蛋清. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!