Ruola threw the bombs Klee handed her, each one landing precisely in the monster horde.
As explosions echoed, the number of monsters slowly dwindled.
The monsters surging from behind were not as numerous as before; Malice only needed to create chaos, as he had no deep-seated grudge against Mondstadt.
Jean was leading the Knights of Favonius in battle against the monsters; her ultimate ability had healing effects, and the knights, surrounding her, fought with unparalleled bravery.
"Jean, something is coming!"
Ruola, holding a Jumpy Dumpty in each hand, shouted down to Jean.
Jean looked towards the distant sky, where a gigantic demonic dragon was rapidly flying towards them.
"That is—"
The demonic dragon's speed was immense; it was far away one moment and right before them the next.
The 'zombie' Durin was condensing Abyssal energy in his mouth, seemingly targeting their location.
Jean was greatly startled by this sight and immediately shouted to those around her:
"Fall back! Everyone, fall back! Find cover!!!"
But there was no time; Durin's attack was about to unleash. Jean gripped her longsword, almost draining all the elemental power from her Vision, preparing to desperately block the blow.
"Jean!"
Amber's eyes were red as she strained to pull her bowstring, a crimson arrow condensing on it.
Noelle raised a shield that enveloped several people around her, while the others also dealt with the situation in their own ways.
Durin showed no intention of holding back, but just then, a teal arrow struck Durin as he was condensing energy. The Anemo element attached to the arrow directly dispersed the Abyssal energy gathered in Durin's mouth.
Almost in the next instant, Dvalin appeared, directly ramming Durin's massive body sideways into the sky. The sound of the two colossal bodies colliding made everyone who heard it wince.
After the collision, Durin quickly stabilized himself, but Dvalin, who had initiated the attack, was knocked back several hundred meters.
When shaping this demonic dragon's body, Malice not only used Abyssal energy but also almost all the emotional feedback collected during this time, precisely to create such a grand spectacle.
It should be known that emotional feedback isn't just about revealing identities; grand scenes like this can also generate it.
It's just that revealing identities has a greater, continuous, and more abundant output.
But even a sparrow, however small, is still meat; collecting from all angles is the correct method.
Dvalin had only recently escaped the Abyss, his strength had not yet fully recovered, and now he encountered Durin, who was much stronger than his peak, plus the opponent was now using Abyssal energy.
With one side weakened and the other strengthened, Dvalin appeared to be in such a sorry state.
Venti, dressed as a bard, was now positioned atop the Favonius Cathedral. The earlier nonchalance was gone from his face, replaced by anger in his eyes.
Durin's attack had indeed ignited Venti's fury; Mondstadt and the Mondstadters were his untouchable reverse scales.
Now seeing Dvalin at a disadvantage against the demonic dragon, Venti knew he could no longer hide.
A gentle wind lifted him, and a teal wind enveloped Venti entirely. In an instant, the wind dispersed, and the Venti inside was no longer in his bard attire.
He wore a sacred white hat on his head, and behind him were large wings. Although sparsely dressed, the first glance only conveyed immense sanctity.
Venti's teal eyes looked at the demonic dragon, devoid of his usual playful demeanor, filled with divinity.
At this moment, he once again donned the Anemo God's divine crown, ascending to Mondstadt's divine throne!
---
Meanwhile, in Liyue.
A certain elderly man, enjoying opera and sipping tea, suddenly paused. The teacup, already at his lips, stopped there before he slowly set it down.
Zhongli turned his head to look in Mondstadt's direction, his eyes unreadable.
What could make that fellow wear his crown?
---
Player World.
Seeing Venti in his divine attire appear, all players collectively went wild.
Chen Xiyao shouted with a voice loud enough to make her neighbors call the police:
"Venti, so handsome!!!"
She excitedly clenched her fists, her eyes fixed on the divine-attired Venti on the screen. Venti's final look at Durin thrilled her.
"Ah~ I'm dead, what kind of divine beauty is this, so sacred!"
"Family, Venti looks so handsome even when he's angry!"
The bullet comments in the live stream also exploded.
: "Venti, you still say you have no strength?"
: "Look, look, what did I tell you? I said he was acting when he was with the Fatui Harbinger, but you wouldn't believe it. Are you eating your words now?"
: "Is this Venti using his authority? He's really domineering, completely different from his usual self!?"
: "Venti: Abyss? You're getting bold, aren't you? Daring to harm my Mondstadt citizens!"
: "I feel like Venti is truly angry this time; his last look made my heart race!"
: "If you've done Venti's Story Quest, you'd know how much he loves his Mondstadt. Now the Abyss wants to destroy Mondstadt, how could Venti not be angry?"
Let's put the players' frantic comments aside for now.
---
Mondstadt.
When Venti appeared in his divine attire above everyone, the excitement in the hearts of all Mondstadters was far, far greater than that of the players.
This was Mondstadt, where even dogs believed in the Anemo God. For many years, the older generation of Mondstadters had been saying that the Anemo God had disappeared, and that they would never see the Anemo God's true form in their lifetime, only able to express their reverence towards the Anemo God statue in the plaza.
And now, they actually saw the Anemo Archon!
Barbara could hardly believe her eyes; the Anemo Archon had actually appeared!
She immediately bowed her head and prayed to the Anemo Archon.
Ruola's small face was also flushed with excitement; she had never seen the Anemo Archon in this form before!
Because she stood high and was closest to the Anemo Archon:
"Lord Barbatos, you must defeat that evil demonic dragon!"
Venti turned his head and nodded to Ruola.
Jean also looked up at the Anemo Archon in the sky, her expression suddenly relaxing. With the Anemo Archon, everything should be resolved properly, right?
Venti summoned 'Elegy for the End' and drew an arrow.
The surrounding winds gathered towards the arrow, forming a giant vortex.
The arrow shot towards the ground with unparalleled speed; all the monsters on the ground were torn apart by the wind brought by the arrow, while the Mondstadters, also in the wind, were healed by this wind.
One arrow, clear the field!
Bang—
Before everyone could marvel at the Anemo God's power, Dvalin crashed heavily in the distance.
Venti, holding his bow, met Durin.
Dvalin also struggled to get up, following Venti to confront the enemy together.
---
Diluc and his group, who had rushed back, saw Dvalin struck down.
Before they could be shocked, Venti in his divine attire appeared.
Diluc was delighted that Venti had finally done something proper, while also marveling at the Abyss's power, which forced Venti to use his full strength.
Paimon's voice was filled with surprise: "Is that, is that the bard?"
Lumine looked at Venti in the sky, saying nothing.
Aether, did you really cause all this?
---
Durin naturally couldn't be Venti's opponent, but Malice never intended for Durin to defeat Venti.
Durin's mission was only to stall Venti for a period of time.
In a certain corner, Malice saw the figures of one god and two dragons disappear into the sky, knowing it was his time to act.
With a wave of his hand, several Abyssal gates appeared outside Mondstadt City.
What emerged from the portals were no longer low-level monsters, but Ruin Guards and various elemental Hilichurl Kings.
Come, Ruola, prove yourself, and then make a glorious exit!
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