"Hey, are you really going to meet him? Or maybe not. Given her attitude towards Snezhnaya, once she knows your identity, she'll probably tear you to shreds."
In Mondstadt City, Venti looked at the white-haired Damselette in front of him and advised, "Although I can try my best to appease her emotions, on certain matters, she won't listen to reason. The Archons' strength is nothing in front of her. Even if you already have my and the old man's Gnosis, you are no match for her."
The white-haired Damselette shook her head, picked up her cup, took a sip of red tea, and said, "Perhaps, but I cannot hide from her because of this. To fight against the Heavenly Principles, I have long been prepared for my downfall. I came here this time not to defend the things Snezhnaya has done."
Venti had a headache. The important Windblume Festival was coming soon, and yet this person was coming to ruin the atmosphere. How could he get along with her during this festival?
Yet, he couldn't drive the other party away. Although Durandal had eliminated the 'erode' imposed on him by the Heavenly Principles, there was still a certain gap in their strength.
Moreover, if he clashed with her, Mondstadt would become a battlefield, and Mondstadt would suffer very severe damage.
This was his nation; only a fool would let his nation become a battlefield. So Venti could only endure the loss and watch helplessly as he landed in Mondstadt City.
Fortunately, he came this time to find Durandal. Durandal's attitude towards Snezhnaya was obvious to all; this guy would definitely suffer.
He admitted this guy was beautiful, but Durandal wasn't Lumine. She wouldn't easily forgive someone based on looks. This guy would ultimately be severely dealt with.
It's just... should he call the old man over to stand by? Otherwise, with just him, he always felt it wasn't enough for the two of them to cause a ruckus.
ε = ('ο｀*))) Alas~ Today's Anemo Archon still has no standing.
— — — — — — — — — —
"So, nosebleeds are out, right? Even if you're going to research, at least get some fresh blood. If researchers like Sucrose or Albedo found out you were using nosebleeds for research, they'd definitely roast you."
At Stone Gate, Paimon, following Durandal, saw the blood floating in Durandal's hand and, recalling its origin, couldn't help but complain.
Because of her acquaintance with alchemists like Sucrose, Paimon and Lumine had visited their research institute and seen many strange and peculiar studies there.
Among them were studies on concocting combat-applicable potions by researching monster blood and utilizing its characteristics.
Human blood wasn't unheard of, but that was freshly drawn from places like the arm. Yet, Durandal, in order not to hurt Lumine, actually used her uncontrollable nosebleed, which made her unable to hold back any longer.
"It's fine, it's not without effect. It's just that her blood is quite special and requires more research to see results."
Although nosebleeds couldn't compare to blood from the arm, Durandal was no ordinary researcher. Her power could help her better stimulate the red blood cells in the blood.
However, the experiment was not going smoothly, which was understandable. No research is ever smooth sailing, let alone Durandal's attempt to restore cell activity and even grant cells life; the difficulty of that was even greater.
Paimon curiously watched the red droplet in Durandal's hand. According to Durandal's method, this was a fusion of Lumine's nosebleed, her Humus Power, and life force.
Although her goal was to imbue cells with life, the individual cells were simply too small, and it was impractical to isolate one for experimentation.
Therefore, research could only be conducted using a unit, and the current droplet-like size was already the limit; any more would be difficult to quantify.
"Durandal's research is completely different from Sucrose's! Maybe this is what a big shot's research looks like; ordinary people can't understand it at all."
Paimon shrugged, flew in front of Lumine, and looking at her bruised and swollen face, asked in confusion, "Only one night has passed, what exactly happened?"
When she woke up this morning, she saw Lumine in this state, and anyone who didn't know would think she had been ganged up on by many people, and those people were incredibly mean, only hitting her face.
"Nothing much, just successfully courted death, and then it became like this. Durandal has already promised to remove these injuries when we get close to Mondstadt. Don't let it look severe; it actually only hurt a tiny bit."
Last night, she successfully got Shenhe to wear the pajamas she gave her to see Durandal. Unexpectedly, Durandal remained unperturbed, figured some things out within thirty seconds of Shenhe entering, and then rushed out of the room to chase after her.
Although she had begged for mercy, what she did this time was indeed too much. No matter how you looked at it, those pajamas were too revealing; wearing them was like not wearing anything at all.
Durandal simply hit her face several times as punishment and promised to help her recover from her facial injuries before arriving in Mondstadt.
To gain Durandal's forgiveness for such a small price was a good deal for Lumine, but... this appearance was a bit too tragic. She worried that next time Durandal would come up with a new trick to deal with her.
"Courted death? I really don't understand why you always like to do strange things when I'm asleep, and why don't I know anything about it?"
"Because you were sleeping too soundly at the time; no matter how much noise was made, you didn't hear it. Seriously, I suspect even the end of the world wouldn't be able to wake you up."
Anyone who didn't know might think she gave Paimon a glass of water with special medicine every night before she fell asleep, but she actually did nothing. Paimon herself couldn't wake up no matter how much noise was made.
This was good, at least some of her embarrassing moments weren't seen by her. If this little guy saw her embarrassing self and later told others, then she would be utterly humiliated.
Durandal, who was experimenting, frowned. She looked up, towards a spot not far ahead.
"This aura... Abyss?"
Undoubtedly, an Abyss aura appeared ahead, but this aura was different from what she had felt before. It wasn't an Abyss Mage, nor an Abyssal Apostle, but an unfamiliar Abyss creature.
Hearing the name Abyss, Lumine and Shenhe immediately changed their expressions, took out their weapons, and went to Durandal's side.
"Where did you sense the Abyss aura, Durandal?"
"Just a few hundred meters ahead. Although the aura is faint, it undoubtedly comes from the Abyss."
After a brief assessment of the situation, she discovered there were several Abyss units, and they seemed to be fighting someone.
This was not good. Abyss creatures were difficult even for Vision holders to deal with. If ordinary people encountered these Abyss creatures, the situation would be even more dangerous.
At the border between Mondstadt and Liyue, several Knights of Favonius were fighting.
Their enemies this time were not Slimes, nor the common Hilichurls, but dog-like creatures they had never seen before.
Although they looked like dogs, they could float in the air and hide their bodies in secret spaces, waiting for an enemy to expose a weakness before launching a sudden attack.
"What exactly are these monsters? Why... why can they devour element power?"
They had never seen such enemies before. They were certain these creatures had never appeared in Mondstadt.
Why did they suddenly appear here? Were they brought here by someone? Was there some conspiracy involved?
"Lian, do you remember what happened recently in Wolvendom? A group of foreign wolves appeared in Wolvendom. The wolf boy living in Wolvendom said that a group of wandering black wolves had invaded the area and disrupted its rules."
When they learned of this, they didn't take it to heart, thinking it was just a dispute between wolves. Now, it seemed it wasn't as simple as they had imagined.
They had to send information about these foreign creatures back to the Knights of Favonius, but... currently, with just a few of them, there was no way to escape from them.
Could it be... there was no way out?
Just as they thought they were doomed, a giant Geo Element construct descended from the sky, slamming heavily onto one of the black wolves attempting a sneak attack.
Then a gust of wind swept past, and a beautiful figure arrived in front of a black wolf at an extremely fast speed, wielding a Sword and launching a fierce attack.
Reinforcements? Had reinforcements appeared? The knights watched the Damselette who came to rescue them, still not reacting, when another Damselette holding a spear also appeared.
She wielded Cryo Element, joining the battle with sharp spear techniques and adepti arts, instantly reversing the previously disadvantaged situation.
No matter how strange the black wolves' attacks were, the Damselettes could easily dodge them, as if they were just facing ordinary Hilichurls, very relaxed.
"I remember now, she's that honorary knight! The white-haired Damselette next to her is her traveling companion."
The name of the honorary knight was not unfamiliar to Mondstadters. A quick observation would reveal that this golden-haired Damselette was the great hero who helped Mondstadt resolve the Stormterror incident.
Since the two of them appeared here, it meant that the divine physician was also nearby.
Recalling the divine physician's medical skills, the knights relaxed. It seemed they could return to Mondstadt City alive this time.
"Be careful, there's also a big one hiding."
Durandal summoned her great scythe and threw it at an empty spot. The huge impact created a large crater in the ground, and not only was the ground affected, but even space vibrated.
The hidden black beast finally appeared. Compared to the smaller ones before, these were significantly larger, and the aura they emitted was even more terrifying.
Durandal observed her surroundings and did not notice any Abyss Mage or Abyssal Apostle. It seemed these Abyss creatures were not brought here by them, but came to this area on their own.
Also... Durandal looked at the injured knights. Their wounds were worsening.
One of the knights, who had Geo Element, clearly used a shield to protect himself, and the shield did block the black wolf's attack, but his body was still injured by the black wolf.
It seemed a shield-buster had appeared. These creatures were specifically designed to counter shields.
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