Chapter 33
"Wind Blade!"
At the Fatui outpost... an endless stream of monsters continuously surged forward, attacking the figure at the center of the encirclement.
However, under the strong hurricane's assault, they were completely unable to get close.
Little Paimon floated in mid-air.
Seeing more and more Hilichurl, mixed with unknown monsters, attacking together, her cute little face was filled with panic.
"Wh-What should we do, Lumine!"
"There are simply too many of these guys; we can't possibly finish them all!"
Mere Fatui soldiers, for Jean, the Dandelion Knight, clearly posed no threat at all.
Plus, the Traveler, theoretically, with just a little effort, they could easily sweep through the area.
But the problem was... the sheer number of these guys was simply too great.
It wasn't just the Fatui soldiers.
Through the inexplicable methods these guys employed,
more Hilichurl continuously attacked, completely filling the spacious outpost hall.
Glancing at the large-scale Hilichurl that had re-encircled them,
Jean let out a soft cry, and the favonius sword in her hand erupted with unimaginable energy.
With afterimages like dandelions,
an incredibly powerful hurricane spread out in a circle around her.
"Wind hear me!!"
"Bang bang bang!!!"
The powerful Dandelion Breeze shattered all the Hilichurl that had been surrounding them.
However, more and more monsters...
continued their assault afterward, not giving them any time to breathe.
Letting out a soft breath, she swung her sword, cutting down a shield-wielding Hilichurl brute in front of her.
Jean retreated a few steps and spoke softly.
"Lumine, I'll try to clear out some of the Hilichurl."
"You take the opportunity to rush out."
In fact, Jean was capable of dealing with these Hilichurl.
After all, as the Dandelion Knight, Jean had once single-handedly...
forcibly crushed the three tribes of Dadaupa Gorge.
Dealing with these monsters could be said to be effortless.
But the problem was... at the scene, she wasn't the only one.
While being distracted protecting Lumine and Paimon, and also having to guard against a sudden attack from the Fatui, even as the Dandelion Knight,
Jean simply couldn't lead the two of them in a calm retreat. She could only do her best to clear a path and cover their escape.
"But..."
Looking at the Hilichurl surging like a tide around them,
Lumine shook her head, her expression filled with gravity.
"If you force us to retreat, Jean, you'll run out of stamina."
"The Fatui haven't made a move yet; they clearly want to exhaust our stamina."
"If I really leave, what will you do, Jean?"
"Don't worry, I am the Dandelion Knight!"
Jean's voice gradually became serious.
In front of Kai, perhaps she occasionally showed a vulnerable side.
But in the eyes of outsiders, Jean was always that powerful Acting Grand Master.
"The Fatui are no match for me."
"As long as you leave, I can quickly follow you out."
The number of Hilichurl and monsters was simply too great.
Even if Jean went all out, she couldn't possibly kill all of them.
But even so.
As the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, ensuring the safety of the people within Mondstadt is a duty Jean must fulfill.
"Take the Holy lyre der himmel and go; may the Anemo God protect you all!"
Taking a deep breath, as her words fell, Jean raised her favonius sword.
A powerful elemental force, channeled through her Vision, continuously diffused outwards.
The strong Wind almost enveloped the entire surrounding area.
Jean's hair flew in the wind, and her clothes flapped loudly.
"Wind Blade!"
"Boom!"
The Hilichurl blocking her path were directly sent flying.
Seizing this opening, Jean's figure transformed into an afterimage and swiftly plunged into the monster horde.
The next second, a faint, sparkling green light spread from her feet.
The fierce energy was like a volatile whirlwind, forming a wind array with dandelion afterimages, erupting suddenly.
"Barbatos, guide us."
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"
The terrifying Wind howled.
Under the full-force elemental burst, it formed an incomprehensible explosion.
Centered on the wind array beneath Jean's feet, the surrounding Hilichurl were almost instantly torn to shreds by the fierce wind.
Facing this full-power attack from Jean, there was simply no monster that could withstand it.
"Traveler…"
"Jean, be careful!"
Looking at the opening that had finally appeared, just as Jean was about to call out to the Traveler, asking him to use this opportunity to escape, what met her eyes were the extremely anxious faces of Lumine and Paimon.
The sudden change startled her slightly.
She quickly looked back.
What then appeared before her were two Ruin Guards descending from the sky.
Their massive bodies nonchalantly trampled the Hilichurl beneath their feet into dust.
Their huge mechanical arms, accompanied by their rapidly rotating bodies, transformed into a terrifying whirlwind, directly stomping towards her.
"What?!"
Having just used her maximum elemental burst, even the powerful Dandelion Knight inevitably fell into a moment of weakness.
Facing these two Ruin Guards descending from the sky, Jean, relying on her battle instincts, quickly began to retreat.
However, almost simultaneously… "Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Three fiery cannon attacks, trailing the glow of the Pyro element, shot out with almost no warning, directly locking down all paths of retreat.
Jean was slightly startled.
She had no time to react in such a short period, so she could only instinctively stop her steps to dodge the cannon fire.
However, taking advantage of this opening, the Ruin Guard, swinging its arms, had already rotated in front of her.
The strong gust of the fierce hurricane was already blowing on her face.
There was no… space left to dodge.
"Jean!"
"Is this how it ends~"
"The Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius is nothing more than this."
In a certain part of the second floor of the ruins, beside several Fatui Pyroslinger Brutes, the Lady walked with elegant steps, quietly observing the scene unfolding before her.
A hint of ruthlessness flashed in her gloomy eyes.
It was completely impossible to dodge now.
Facing a Ruin Guard at such close range, right after releasing an elemental burst, even an existence of the Dandelion Knight's caliber had no room to resist.
"With the Dandelion Knight gone, the Four Winds of Mondstadt will only have the half-crippled Knights of Favonius left."
"Let's see what reason they have left to refuse Snezhnaya's entry."
Although seizing control of Mondstadt's defenses was not her primary objective for coming here, if she could resolve it along the way, it certainly wouldn't be a bad thing.
"Deal with the remaining two and retrieve the Holy lyre der himmel."
"Then…"
"Hm?"
Just as the Lady turned around, casually giving orders, intending to have her soldiers completely eliminate the enemies present, a powerful sword light suddenly appeared.
Under the Lady's surprised gaze, it trailed a fierce aura and struck fiercely towards the two Ruin Guards who were pursuing Jean.
"Get… out of my way!"
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