Three wooden-shield hilichurls.
Amber definitely couldn't handle them alone.
Fortunately, she had two teammates.
"I'll use Baron Bunny to draw their attention. Then we rush in together and take them out from behind!"
Amber whispered.
"Amber—wait."
Jiang Yan stopped her just as she was about to throw Baron Bunny.
"What's wrong?"
Amber asked quietly.
"Nothing's wrong," Jiang Yan said.
"I want Lumine to try first."
He had noticed that Lumine looked far too relaxed—clearly not taking the three wooden-shield hilichurls seriously.
She was probably subconsciously equating them with the hilichurls near Mondstadt.
But with the dragon's power influencing the temple, the enemies here were noticeably stronger.
You could tell just from their levels.
Of course, Lumine couldn't see that—only he could.
"Me?"
Lumine had been itching to act.
The Favonius Sword appeared in her hand. She took a few running steps and leapt straight off the platform, her blade crashing downward with the force of gravity behind it.
"Yayaika!"
The hilichurls erupted into chaos.
In a panic, one raised its shield over its head.
Clang!
The sword struck the wooden shield. Lumine rebounded from the impact and slid back several steps, momentarily stunned.
The Favonius Sword was clearly sharper than her previous weapon—and with a plunging strike added on top, it should have cut through.
Even if it didn't cleave the shield in half, the impact should've numbed the hilichurl's arms enough to make it drop the shield.
"…Are hilichurls different in strength too?"
Lumine figured it out almost instantly.
She glanced back toward the platform above.
It was obvious now—Jiang Yan had stopped Amber's plan specifically to let her experience this firsthand.
"Teyvat's ley lines constantly influence all life on the surface."
Jiang Yan spoke from above, instructive and calm.
"Creatures that absorb more ley line energy become stronger."
"And beyond that," he continued,
"places like the Temple of the Eagle of the West are saturated with dragon power right now. That energy can also be absorbed—making enemies even more dangerous."
"Got it!"
Lumine acknowledged firmly.
She raised her sword in front of her chest, her expression serious as the three wooden-shield hilichurls closed in from different angles.
One alone would've been manageable…
"I'm throwing Baron Bunny—Lumine, move!"
Amber's voice rang out as a red bunny doll dropped from above.
The hilichurls immediately went berserk, hacking wildly at Baron Bunny—
Completely ignoring the enemy that had already slipped behind them.
"Wind Vortex Blade!"
Lumine thrust her hand forward.
Anemo surged, forming a spiraling field of cutting wind in front of her. The three hilichurls, utterly unprepared, were shredded from behind as the wind tore through them.
At the same moment—
Boom!
Baron Bunny exploded.
Anemo and Pyro reacted violently, expanding outward in a roaring blast. Shields, clubs, and hilichurls alike were incinerated into ash.
Some of the flames splashed onto Lumine, leaving faint scorch marks on her clothes.
Jiang Yan and Amber jumped down from the platform.
Lumine lowered her head beside him, her voice filled with shame.
"I'll be more careful next time."
If she hadn't had teammates today, her overconfidence would've cost her dearly.
"Mm."
Jiang Yan rubbed her head gently, signaling her not to dwell on it.
Then he turned to Amber.
"From now on, use Baron Bunny less."
"Why?"
Amber asked, confused.
Baron Bunny was one of her strongest tools—and incredibly versatile.
Many times during reconnaissance missions, it had saved her life by drawing enemies away.
"Train your archery."
Jiang Yan's tone was serious.
"Before your fundamentals are solid, stop relying on Baron Bunny to draw aggro while you stand still and fire randomly."
"Charge your shots," he continued.
"Even if you can't hit weak points every time, you should at least maintain fifty percent accuracy while firing on the move."
"W–What?!"
Amber cried out.
"Charged shots? While moving?!"
As a Pyro user, charged shots meant fully condensing flames into her arrows.
That was a huge demand.
When enemies rushed her while charging, she panicked—and once she panicked, her hands shook.
And now he wanted weak-point accuracy on top of that…
"If you're scared," Jiang Yan said evenly,
"then stick with me. I'll make sure nothing happens to you."
To most people, Amber was just a tool for detonating explosive barrels.
But in the hands of a true FPS player?
She was a top-tier carry.
Amber's talent was pure sniper specialization.
Weak-point hits were guaranteed criticals.
Which meant she didn't need crit rate at all—just crit damage.
And repeated weak-point hits even built up a brief stun effect on enemies.
The prerequisite was simple—and brutal.
She had to hit weak points consistently.
Jiang Yan had seen Amber fight plenty of times in the wild before. He knew exactly where her flaw lay.
Back then, he hadn't planned to train her.
But now that Lumine was here, real cultivation could finally begin.
Naturally, his standards for Amber rose with it.
"Jiang Yan suddenly got really strict…"
Paimon muttered.
"This is for our own good!"
Amber felt the difficulty—but if Jiang Yan said it was possible, then it was possible.
She had an almost blind confidence in him.
After all, this was someone who had singlehandedly driven off countless vicious treasure hoarder gangs.
More than that—
Being trained so seriously by Jiang Yan made her incredibly happy.
Wasn't her eagerness since entering the temple precisely because she wanted to prove herself to him?
As the three of them spoke—
A mysterious force drifted out from where the hilichurls had vanished, splitting into two streams that entered Lumine and Amber's bodies.
"This is…"
Lumine clenched her fist, feeling her strength grow fuller.
"This is what I meant by dragon power and ley line energy," Jiang Yan explained.
"When enemies die, that energy returns to the environment—but since you were the ones who defeated them, it prioritizes you."
"And gets absorbed first."
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