Into the Rider-Verse: Genshin's Lord of Light Chapter 01 (Early Preview) (Patreon)

Chapter 01: Deep Breath

Qiongji Estuary, Liyue

Guili Plains

The sun dipped low over the plains. A caravan rolled down the stone road. They had left Liyue Harbor and were about halfway to the Wangshu Inn.

They passed the ruins of old Guili when they heard a sound. A sharp, whistle cut through the air, and the caravan jerked to a halt.

Figures emerged from behind the undergrowth. Treasure Hoarders. At least two dozen.

Two caravan guards burst from the rear carriage, swords drawn. They moved fast, blades thrust forward. One slashed low, the other swept high, catching the first two Hoarders off guard. Metal clashed. A cry rang out, and blood spilt to the ground. 

From behind cover, two archers shot their arrows. Both guards stiffened mid-swing as the arrow shafts buried themselves into their backs and through their hearts. Their weapons clattered to the ground as they collapsed dead.

The family that ran the caravan froze, stunned. The father’s hand trembled at the reins.

A hoarse voice rang out. “All of it. Every single piece of cargo. Or you’ll die right here.”

The family hesitated. Then, slowly, reluctantly, they began unloading the goods. Bags of rice. Jars of oil. Woven fabrics. Medicine. Anything of value.

Just as the father stepped down to offer the reins, he heard shuffling behind him, followed by a sudden scream.

One of the Hoarders had seized her. She kicked and thrashed, but rope was already winding around her wrists.

“What is the meaning of this?!” the father shouted.

The leader stepped forward, wearing a tattered red sash and iron-plated pauldrons. “Call it insurance,” he said with a shrug. “You think about talking to the Millelith, and we’ll make sure the girl pays for it. But keep the shipments coming, and she stays breathing.”

The father lunged. “You bastards!”

The leader dodged the blow, then slammed a fist into the man’s chest. He crumpled to the ground, coughing hard. “Hold him down,” the boss said. Two Hoarders grabbed the man’s arms, dragging him toward a flat stone and pinning his left arm out.

The leader drew an axe from his back. “Last warning. I’m even giving you a parting gift.” He raised the axe overhead. “Remember this the next time you think about fighting back.”

Then came a scream; however, instead of the girl, it was one of his men.

“What now?!” the leader snapped.

A scout came hurtling out of the tree line, crashing onto the cobbled road, and then fell still.

The Hoarders froze.

From the woods, a figure in black armor stepped out. The bodysuit hugged a powerful frame. Over the torso sat a golden chestplate flanked by silver trim, a black gemstone embedded over the heart. The shoulders were rounded, spiked at the ends.

Silver shin guards were like arrowheads fused into armor. His boots bore metallic ridges and rounded knee plates.

The helmet was black and silver, divided down the center with a blue jewel set into the forehead. Two glowing red eyes glared from beneath the brow, framed by twin golden horns that swept downward and hugged the silver faceplate. Carved gold markings traced beneath the eyes.

The figure didn’t speak. He just kept walking forward.

The leader took a step back, eyes narrowing. “…What the hell are you?”

The first scout didn’t hesitate.

A flick of the wrist, two knives cut through the air. Agito leaned aside, letting the first blade pass clean. The second he caught between two fingers, then calmly flicked it back. It buried itself in the scout’s thigh. The man howled and dropped.

Another closed in from the left, a pugilist, all grit and muscle. Agito twisted low, drove a punch into his stomach, then rose with a brutal knee to the jaw. Teeth flew. The pugilist crumpled.

Heavy footsteps pounded in from the side. A crusher with a sledgehammer screamed as he brought it down. Agito crossed his arms to block. The impact cracked the stone beneath his feet. He shoved the weapon aside, stepped up the man’s leg, and launched off his knee. The backflip ended with both boots hammering into the crusher’s chest, knocking him flat.

Two more scouts moved in from opposite flanks, knives flashing. Agito snatched a wooden crate mid-run, to block one blade as his other hand deflected the second. He then surged forward.

On a stone platform above, a marksman steadied a crossbow. Agito darted between two support beams just as the bolt flew past. He vaulted up, cleared the railing, and dropkicked the shooter clean off his perch. The man crashed into a collapsed wall below.

As they continued to fight, the other family members pulled the father and daughter away from the fight. The young adults who were still there cheered on the stranger.

A punch clipped Agito’s ribs. He turned to see another pugilist throwing a follow-up. Agito caught the fist, countered with an elbow to the nose, then spun into a backfist. The fighter dropped, unconscious before he hit the dirt.

Two crushers stormed in together. One hammer came down, Agito blocked with his forearm. The second came swinging sideways. Agito ducked under and struck the first attacker square in the chest with a palm strike. The second hammer arced down diagonally, Agito vaulted, landed an axe kick to the man’s shoulder, and dropped behind them.

Another scout lunged from behind with a blade.

Agito didn’t look. He drove a backward elbow into the ribs, caught the man’s collar, and hurled him straight into one of the crushers. Both went down quickly.

A crossbow bolt whistled through the air. Agito tilted it at an angle, and the bolt pinged harmlessly against his armor. He dropped into a slide, gravel scraping beneath him as he rushed the marksman. One punch sent the man crashing.

Two more pugilists moved in together, tight and aggressive with practiced strikes. Agito matched their rhythm, parried left, blocked right, caught the next hit and twisted. He dropped low and swept their legs. Before they hit the ground, he spun up into a rising kick that sent them flying.

A crusher charged next, swinging wild and furious. Agito stepped in, caught the haft mid-swing, and drove a knee into the man’s sternum. The air left the crusher’s lungs in one sputtering gasp. Agito yanked the hammer away and hurled it into the gut of a scout trying to flee. The scout folded over and collapsed.

Then the boss stepped forward. He bellowed and came swinging in an extended flurry

Agito ducked, closed the distance, and broke into a fast four-hit combo, hook to the cheek, jab to the ribs, a low kick to the shin, and an uppercut that snapped the boss’s head back.

He tried to attack again, but Agito met him with a sharp forearm parry, stepped in close, and struck the haft with the edge of his hand.

The axe split in two. The boss stared, stunned. The confidence drained from his face. His knuckles whitened around the shattered axe shaft.

“Now!” The boss snapped. “Trigger the backup plan.”

One of the scouts, bloodied, froze mid-step. “What?! That’ll get us killed too! Are you sure?”

“If you don’t,” the boss growled, eyes locked on Agito, “we’re likely all dead.”

The others shifted uneasily but moved in. Weapons raised, they tried to box Agito in, lunging and swiping to slow him down. It wasn’t meant to win, just to buy time.

The scout fumbled at his belt, pulling a cylindrical tube. His hands shook as he stabbed it into the dirt and lit the fuse.

The flare launched into the sky and burst above the treetops in a violent red bloom.

Agito dispatched the last two attackers with a knee to the gut and a sweep to the ankle. He turned his head at the flare, and then the ground trembled.

Birds scattered from the canopy as the eastern treeline shook. Something huge moved through the forest.

A scout burst from the underbrush, screaming. He sprinted past his comrades and the caravan for saffety.

And behind him, stepping into view with a mechanical hiss, was the answer to the flare.

A Ruin Guard.

Its eye blazed orange. Each footfall sent a quake through the clearing. It locked onto the Hoarders.

The boss watched it arrive, then smirked. “That’s our cue. Everyone out.”

The Treasure Hoarders didn’t wait. They turned and ran, bolting past the family. Immediately, the Ruin Guard added the family to the internal list of hostiles.

The boss slowed just long enough to glance back at Agito. “Heh. You can either chase after us... or let that family get slaughtered. Your choice.”

He turned and vanished into plains.

The Ruin Guard advanced, massive arms winding up with mechanical whirs. The caravan horses bucked in fear. The family quickly huddled behind crates.

Agito moved between them and the machine. He planted his feet. Raised his guard.  He drew a deep breath, steadying his stance.

Its single eye blazed orange, then flared red. Its arms spun up, locked onto its target.

The armored warrior stood firm. Cracks spidered under his boots as energy gathered beneath his feet.

The Ruin Guard launched forward, arms wide. A double spinning punch tore through branches and stone alike. The warrior slipped left, then forward, narrowly dodging both swings. The machine crouched low and jumped.

Seeing this new fight develop, the father and family quickly untied the daughter and loaded into the caravan. 

The daughter looked back at the warrior as he continued to fight.” Thank you!”

The father cracked the horse's reins and fled. “Thank you, stranger!”

The warrior rolled aside just as the Ruin Guard landed where he’d been, the ground erupting beneath its impact. Before it could reset, he darted in and drove a clean strike into the exposed joint of its right leg. Sparks burst from the hit. The warrior flowed into an elbow to the side of its head, catching the second weak point, just above the glowing eye.

The machine stiffened. It staggered backward, joints locking. Stunned.

The warrior vaulted off a broken tree trunk and landed a crushing side kick to the Guard’s torso. The blow sent its upper body tilting. He stomped once, sending a spike erupting behind him. Two missiles struck it mid-chase, bursting in mid-air.

But it recovered fast. The eye surged red. With a warning hiss, the Ruin Guard raised its foot high, then slammed it into the earth. The shockwave buckled the ground. The warrior shifted back. The Guard leaned forward and clapped both hands together with explosive force. Bark and soil flew outward in a wave. The warrior blocked, arms up, skidding a few feet but holding firm.

The Ruin Guard reeled its arms back. Its upper body twisted and snapped into a full-body spin. Its arms extended as it spun forward, tearing through underbrush and debris, grinding toward him like a spinning saw. The warrior backed off, angling around its path. At the fourth rotation, he dashed in, ducked low, and launched a rising knee to the exposed midsection. Metal dented. The Guard's spin faltered for a beat, then picked up again.

The warrior leapt back, letting it finish its march. 

But the machine adjusted. It swiveled 180°, plates shifting as missile panels opened across its back. The core was exposed. A red laser traced his chest, locking on. The core flared, and six missiles fired.

The armored warrior dashed left. The first missile tracked and veered hard. He slid under it. Two more screamed from above, he rolled between them, grabbed a branch, and swung onto a low perch. The last three curved wide, then doubled back.

He jumped from the tree, dropped, and sprinted low as the missiles trailed behind. Just before they struck, he launched a stone spike behind him, forcing two missiles to explode early. The third followed.

He ducked behind a rock, the final blast ripping past overhead. 

As the smoke cleared, the Guard charged again. A punch. Another. Then a leap.

The armored warrior met it mid-air. He struck the weak joint again. The eye flickered. He landed, turned, and struck just below the collar plating. The Ruin Guard froze, stunned a second time.

He stepped into position at the center of the road. 

A pair of additional fins suddenly unfurled from the Cross Horn, snapping into place with a loud SHING. Agito exhaled slowly and sank into a wide-legged stance, left hand extended, palm up, right hand lowered near his waist, palm down.

At that moment, a glowing symbol appeared beneath his feet. Horns, shaped like the ones now flaring from his helmet, formed a radiant crest etched into the ground. Geo energy spiraled upward from the symbol, winding around his boots and legs. The symbol had been completely absorbed.

The Ruin Guard's eye lit one last time. It began to stomp forward, arms rising. Servos groaned. Fists tightened.

Agito launched into the air, kicking off the cracked stone with enough force to crater the road beneath him. At the peak of his arc, his body twisted, right leg extended into a flying kick. For a heartbeat, an afterimage lingered where he had been.

He struck center mass, heel-first.

The impact echoed like a thunderclap. The Ruin Guard flew backward, skidding and crashing through broken rubble as sparks burst from its chest.

Agito landed in a crouch.

He rose slowly, turning from the machine.

Behind him, the halo appeared, hovering above the Ruin Guard’s twitching form. The machine let out a low, distorted cry..

It erupted, heat and light tearing outward in a wide blast. When it cleared, there was no trace left.

Another sharp SHING rang out.

The fins on Agito’s helmet retracted. He looked over his shoulder at the retreating caravan before going on his way. There was still work to be done.