Inside the Naga's courtyard.

The group stepped in cautiously.

A hoarse screech echoed out as, in the distance, a green, blocky head turned to stare straight at them.

In that moment, everyone finally understood why Jean had been so shaken before.

The thing was downright terrifying.

It had nothing but a head, darting around in a frenzy, and the expression on its face was disturbingly strange.

Coupled with its half-human, half-serpentine features…

Nothing like this had ever appeared in Teyvat.

Even Lumine, who had traveled across the stars, had never seen something so unnerving.

"Careful, get ready for an attack!" Ryen shouted, pulling out a light machine gun.

"Keep your shields up! Spread out!"

His voice snapped everyone back to focus.

They quickly split off in all directions, shields at the ready.

Moments later, they had the Naga surrounded.

They didn't stand exactly at diagonals — avoiding the risk of crossfire.

At some point, the Naga's body had grown unnervingly long, its pupils narrowing into vertical slits.

The next instant, before Ryen could even give a warning, the Naga shot forward like a storm, charging straight at Jean.

Its face twisted in a feral snarl — with something almost like a mocking grin — as it hurtled toward her. The sheer psychological pressure was indescribable.

Jean felt her heartbeat skip.

Even so, she gritted her teeth and raised her shield.

BANG!

A thunderous crash rang out. Her arm went numb, and she staggered back a few steps.

"Attack now!" Ryen barked.

Instantly, a torrent of gunfire rained down on the Naga.

Most of the shots hit its head and upper body, hammering it without mercy.

Its health plummeted, and its long, serpentine form visibly shortened.

Perhaps the barrage was too much — the Naga shook off its stun, its slit pupils burning with fury.

It swung its head toward Ryen and lunged at him at full speed.

In that moment, Ryen understood the same suffocating pressure Jean had faced.

With the world now rendered so vividly real, these monsters felt even more terrifying.

The Naga came roaring at him, and he raised his shield in time.

CRASH!

It was stunned once again.

Ryen stepped back quickly, just as a hail of bullets shredded the spot he had been standing in.

In truth, as long as you didn't fight from high ground, the Naga only had one real attack — its charge.

And that, a shield could handle.

After a few exchanges, the group grew more confident.

The only lingering challenge was the Naga's grotesque appearance — especially when charging, its face looming like a ghost about to press against yours.

Coordinating smoothly, they pressed the attack.

Before long, the Naga let out a final cry and collapsed with a crash, dissolving into wisps of green smoke.

All that remained on the ground was the Naga's green, severed head — the battle trophy.

Honestly, Ryen thought it was downright ugly.

Nowhere near as impressive as the Ender Dragon's trophy.

More like the kind of "prize" that would make you queasy just having it on display at home.

On the bright side, luck was on their side — they'd gotten twelve Naga scales in one drop.

That was the maximum a Naga could possibly yield.

Ningguang walked quickly over to Ryen, giving the trophy a look of clear distaste.

She remembered how, back at the little Teyvat courtyard, he had an entire wall covered with Ender Dragon heads.

Maybe he just had a… unique fondness for collecting such spoils.

"Don't tell me you're planning to hang this thing at home," she said dryly. "If you do, I'm never coming into your room again…"

Ryen waved his hand.

"Something this ugly? Why would I hang it up? I'll either use it to open the Black Forest Fortress gate or just stash it away."

"That's good…" Ningguang let out a breath of relief.

Ryen chuckled helplessly.

"What, do you think I have no taste? Even Wither Skeleton skulls aren't on display at my place."

Ningguang pressed her lips into a faint smile and didn't argue.

Truth be told, she was already resigned to the wall of Ender Dragon heads.

Who in their right mind decorates their home with an entire wall of dragon skulls?

And yet, Ryen thought they looked cool.

She didn't get it — though at least the Ender Dragon's head was somewhat tolerable to look at.

A Naga's head? Hang that up, and you'd be asking for nightly nightmares.

In fact, after fighting the Naga today, Ningguang was pretty sure she'd have nightmares tonight anyway.

Strength-wise, it wasn't that formidable — but in terms of sheer creep factor? Off the charts.

Keqing looked around the courtyard, thinking for a moment.

"I remember you said, Ryen, that if we don't clear every single monster, the Naga won't respawn.

Couldn't we just use this Naga courtyard as a base?"

Ryen raised a brow.

"You've got some nerve. This is a Naga's Courtyard. Sure, it won't respawn now, but doesn't the thought of it make your skin crawl?"

Keqing was quiet for a moment, then said softly:

"The Millelith probably wouldn't care about that."

"…"

The group could only shake their heads.

Ryen shrugged.

"If you put it that way, sure — the walls are already here, and with a little repair, it could work perfectly well as a base.

"But me? I'm not staying here. Just being here makes me think of that disgusting Naga face."

"Enough about the Naga — it's loot time!"

Smiling, Ryen pulled out the Naga scales.

"Twelve scales — that's enough to make some good gear."

Lumine leaned in curiously.

"Like what?"

~~----------------------

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