BOOM—
Blades collided, steel clashing against steel.
The fierce battle before the Big Wall of Grief continued unabated.
Only now, one side was clearly losing ground, retreating step by step.
"The situation isn't looking good," Finn sighed helplessly as one of the spectators. "Ais is starting to get impatient."
Everyone present understood this well: fighting other people was completely different from hunting monsters. In battle, the greatest taboo was letting hot blood cloud one's judgment.
Low-intelligence monsters always fought with everything they had. But when facing other intelligent races… they would deliberately leave openings, lay traps, lure you into mistakes—and then strike back suddenly.
Especially someone like Keqing. Compared to the sword styles of this world, her techniques were bizarre—yet exquisitely clever. One didn't even need to think about it to know she excelled at creating deceptive illusions that misled her opponents.
If one had to put it simply…
Ais was a "swordsman."
Keqing, however, was a "swordmaster."
When the two met in battle…
For Keqing, it wasn't a big issue. After all, on Teyvat there were forces like Mondstadt, and she had plenty of experience fighting against swordsmen.
But for Ais…
This was truly her first time facing a swordmaster.
Zero experience.
The reason she felt more and more uncomfortable the longer the fight dragged on lay precisely there.
Of course, this didn't mean that swordsmen were inferior to swordmasters.
The two paths clearly had their own strengths and specialties.
On Keqing's side, she absolutely did not underestimate the Acting Grand Captain of the Knights of Favonius.
But Ais… despite being granted the title [Sword Princess] by the gods, simply did not know how to deal with the chaotic, rhythm-breaking style of a swordmaster.
This cursed combat experience was far too fresh for her liking.
"Keqing's current Genshin level is Lv.40. Under normal circumstances, with bonuses from talent levels, Elemental Sight, a four-star weapon, and a one-star artifact set, she can evenly match a newly promoted Lv.6 adventurer without even trying."
"If Ais were at the point after successfully defeating Udaeus, she might be able to make Keqing fight seriously."
"But right now…"
Renjiro knew his own people well. The moment he saw that Keqing hadn't even started pulling out those continuous, exaggerated sword lights, he knew the Yuheng Star was already holding back significantly.
And that was without even mentioning the fact that she hadn't used—ahem—hadn't used her Elemental Burst yet.
That move would absolutely one-shot the current Ais.
Still…
"Ais was never good at fighting people in the first place."
That's right. This expressionless girl with the [Sword Princess] skill was, at her core, a professional monster hunter.
If their [Basic Abilities] were equal and Keqing and Ais competed to see who could kill monsters faster in a short time, Ais would undoubtedly come out on top.
But then again…
If it became a contest of long-term monster-slaying efficiency, Keqing would win without suspense.
After all, Ais's Sword Princess was a burst-type buff. Compared to Keqing, who could fight without rest, her endurance simply couldn't compare.
Not to mention…
"Mm—"
On the battlefield, as both sides continued exchanging high-frequency rapid attacks, the moment Ais's rhythm broke, her breathing grew ragged, and even her mana began to drain excessively.
Keqing, on the other hand…
She looked exactly the same as she had at the start.
This was the true strength of an energy life-form.
Finally—
"You've reached your limit."
After casually retreating a short distance, Keqing raised the Lion's Roar horizontally before her for the first time. "Out of respect, prepare to challenge yourself."
"The next strike—if you can take it in your current state… you should be able to undergo a transformation."
"If you can't," she continued calmly, "then it simply means you haven't accumulated enough yet. That's all."
The moment those words left her mouth—
"Lumine, summon Barbara. I'll summon Xiao."
Renjiro deliberately didn't lower his voice as he spoke. "Aqing usually knows her limits, but… just in case, be ready to save her."
"Okay."
As his words fell, under Finn and the others' watchful gazes, the two of them completed their preparations.
And it was at this very instant—
The lightning-elemental power overflowing around Keqing seemed to hit a sudden pause, vanishing abruptly.
Even the phantom afterimages disappeared.
This wasn't because she had canceled her mana-consuming combat state.
Rather, all of that lightning energy had compressed and gathered within her body in an instant—
As though waiting for an imminent explosive advance…
BOOM—
A deafening roar erupted, like a thunderclap exploding right in front of them.
The sheer impact made everyone present skip a heartbeat.
And yet, just before that tremendous sound—
HUM—
From the spectators' perspective, a silent streak of purple light flashed past Ais's position, piercing straight through her entire body.
In the stunned gaze of the one involved, Keqing's figure had already vanished without a trace.
The spectators, however, saw it clearly.
Keqing had moved together with that purple flash, advancing at extreme speed.
She now stood a short distance behind Ais, sword sheathed, calm and composed.
Because that strike had been faster than sound itself, everyone saw the purple flash first—only afterward did the muffled thunder reach their ears.
At this moment, one look at the astonishment on Ais's face was enough to tell that she hadn't reacted at all.
Thankfully, Keqing had deliberately altered the trajectory of her strike. The Lion's Roar merely skimmed past Ais's side, leaving behind strands of fading purple lightning.
Had that blow landed directly…
Ais would have lost an arm.
Or worse…
She would have died on the spot.
"Come to think of it, that didn't look like Stellar Restoration," Renjiro muttered as another spectator, having just sent the "came-for-nothing" Xiao back. Why was it only a single flash?
"Because one flash was enough," Lumine replied through their mental link. "Strictly speaking, that was Stellar Restoration. It's just… well, the difference between Thunderclap and Thunderclap Flash: Eightfold, you could say."
"Miss Keqing's Stellar Restoration leaves a phantom at each pause, then continues dashing in another direction."
"You could say those phantoms act like springboards."
"That's why, when she uses the full version, she can ignore physical laws during ultra-high-speed movement—making sharp, extreme-angle turns without losing speed."
"After eight consecutive dashes, she merges the power of those eight strikes into one ultimate final sword…"
"And yet its multiplier still isn't as good as Ayaka casually waving her fan at the same level?"
Renjiro's instinctive snide remark nearly made Lumine lose her composure.
"I feel like we should show Miss Keqing the chat log from just now."
"Whoa—don't!"
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100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter
140+ advance chapters available on P@treon(.)com/Veltoria