"Morax, look at what you've done. You've destroyed this land!"
Azhdaha, the Dragon King, roared into the sky.
The surrounding atmosphere was unfamiliar—filled with strange energies he had never felt before. The environment itself had changed drastically.
Yet, he could still sense the drifting traces of the Geo element in the air.
Azhdaha felt something. He slowly turned his head and saw a beam of light piercing deep into the sky from afar.
Without a doubt, it was a Statue of The Seven.
This had to be Liyue.
The moment he saw the statue's glow, Azhdaha burned with the urge to rush over and smash it to pieces—to find Morax and settle the score.
His reason overcame his rage.
He was at his weakest. To confront Morax now would be nothing short of suicide.
"Morax... just wait. I will come for you, and everything will be repaid."
At that moment, Azhdaha hadn't realized—
Ever since breaking the seal and reaching this world through a branch of the earth vein, his mind had become more stable.
Even the spiritual damage he had endured seemed to be easing.
Nearby, the cardboard box Bangboo stared at Azhdaha in shock. It never expected the Dragon King to be this powerful.
With just one charge, he had sent two vicious gang members flying.
Moonlight spilled across Azhdaha's body.
Though he was small now, in the eyes of the Bangboo, he appeared towering—like a mountain that had to be looked up to.
Only the latest Bangboo models in the city, perhaps, had such overwhelming strength.
Azhdaha turned his head and looked at the cardboard Bangboo behind him.
"Tell me. What is this place?"
The Bangboo quickly responded, "Mm-hmm, mm-mm (This is the Outer Ring of New Eridu)…"
It was the first time Azhdaha had heard this language.
But strangely, he understood it.
"New Eridu? Outer Ring?" he murmured.
During the years he was sealed, even the names of the lands of Liyue had been changed—twisted by Morax and those wretched humans.
Once he drove them out, he would restore the land's original names.
Then the Bangboo spoke again.
"Mm-mm, mm-mm-mm, mm-mm-mm, mm-mm (My name is Boxer. I'm a cardboard Bangboo. Mighty Bangboo Lord, my friend is lost in the Hollows. Please help me save him)…"
Azhdaha frowned slightly. "Bangboo?"
Could a new race have been born in Liyue over the past thousand years?
From what he'd seen, the Bangboo kind appeared to be heavily oppressed by humans.
"I am Azhdaha," he said solemnly.
Boxer quickly said, "Mm-mm, mm-mm, mm-mm (Lord Azhdaha Bangboo, please save my friend)…"
Another victim of human cruelty.
Azhdaha felt a twinge of sympathy.
"Get up and lead the way. I despise humans and Morax more than anything. I will help you. But first, answer me this."
Boxer nodded rapidly. "Mm-mm (Ask away)…"
Azhdaha asked, "Do you know my enemy—Morax?"
Boxer looked confused. "Mm-mm, mm-mm, mm (Morax? Never heard of him)…"
Though disappointed, Azhdaha wasn't discouraged.
Once he regained his strength, finding Morax would not be difficult.
He turned to follow Boxer and rescue his friend—but the Bangboo was limping far behind.
Azhdaha looked back and noticed Boxer struggling.
The poor thing had broken a leg in the earlier scuffle.
Seeing this, Azhdaha walked over, placed a claw on Boxer's leg—
In just a moment, the injury was encased in a layer of Geo.
Boxer tested it—his leg was completely healed.
"Mm-mm, mm-mm (Thank you, Lord Azhdaha Bangboo)…"
Soon after, they left the district and reached a massive Hollow ahead.
It was this very Hollow that had devastated the area.
Boxer perked up. "Mm-mm (This is the place)…"
"Damn you, Morax. Just a thousand years, and you've turned Liyue into this..."
He stepped into the Hollow.
As he felt the dense Ether and its corrosive aura, his frown deepened.
"This calamity... is it the only one?"
"Mm-mm, mm-mm-mm-mm (There are many more—Hollows everywhere outside)…"
Hearing this, Azhdaha's fury ignited anew.
The once-pristine lands of Liyue, ruined by Morax and the humans.
Old hatred and new—he would settle them all.
Azhdaha raised his front limbs, walking upright like a Bangboo using only his hind legs.
Now, with his plump, rounded body, he looked even more like a Bangboo.
Boxer followed behind him like a loyal little brother.
"Mm-mm-mm, mm-mm (Lord Azhdaha Bangboo, so mighty)…"
Azhdaha didn't take it to heart.
With this small body, he was anything but mighty.
But once he restored his true size—mountainous and imposing—that would be true power.
Guided by Boxer, the two of them wandered through the Hollow.
Eventually, they found Boxer's friend—a battered cardboard Bangboo like himself.
Nearby, a few Ethereals lurked.
Boxer shouted, "Mm-mm, mm-mm (Hurry, save Cratehead)!"
Azhdaha glanced at the strange-looking Ethereals.
Instead, he let out a furious roar.
Spikes of Geo shot from his body, striking the Ethereals dead on.
But his current body was too small—so were the Geo spikes.
They didn't kill the Ethereals.
Instead, they caught their attention.
The creatures charged at Boxer and Azhdaha.
Azhdaha roared again.
"You pathetic wretches dare oppose me?"
He opened his small mouth and spat out a ball of fire.
It blazed through the air, striking the Ethereals—and instantly igniting them in roaring flames.
They were reduced to ash.
Then he spat out a few more, burning the rest into cinders.
Boxer and Cratehead stood in awe.
They had never seen a Bangboo this powerful.
"Mm-mm, mm-mm-mm, mm-mm (Lord Azhdaha Bangboo, let us follow you)…"
"Mm-mm, mm-mm-mm (Cratehead, call him Lord Azhdaha Bangboo)…"
"Mm-mm, mm, mm-mm (Lord Azhdaha Bangboo, we want to be your little brothers)…"