"Wind Blade!"
A violent gale surged forth.
As Lumine raised her palm, strong Anemo energy suddenly gathered before her, launching a fierce offensive towards the Anemo Hypostasis.
Not far away… Kai leaned casually against a tree, watching as Lumine's Elemental Skill had no effect whatsoever on the Anemo Hypostasis.
Instead, she was immediately put at a disadvantage by its counterattack, looking quite disheveled.
He couldn't help but narrow his eyes and let out a slight sigh.
"Fighting the Anemo Hypostasis with Anemo energy is truly quite difficult."
In Teyvat… Anemo Hypostasis creatures are immune to attacks of the same element.
Just like the Anemo Hypostasis, Beth, which lives at Starsnatch Cliff, its entire body is almost entirely composed of pure Anemo energy, forcibly condensed into a battle-creature.
It can easily achieve complete immunity to the Anemo Elemental Skills released by Lumine.
This is somewhat similar to the Elemental Shields of the Abyss Mages.
In other words, for Lumine to challenge the Anemo Hypostasis with her current abilities, she would probably only be able to use her weapon to slowly wear down the opponent, sword by sword, and then deliver a killing blow.
However, Kai clearly didn't feel there was anything wrong with this.
After all, isn't that what 'honing' is all about?
In a situation of absolute disadvantage, unleashing one's potential beyond oneself, thereby completely dismantling the enemy in front of them.
Not only himself, but even Acting Grand Master Jean back then, must have done the same, right?
"Speaking of which, when Acting Grand Master Jean came to challenge the Anemo Hypostasis,"
"She seemed to be about the same age as Lumine."
Staring at the battle in the arena, Kai seemed to recall something and couldn't help but narrow his eyes.
Acting Grand Master Jean back then was incredibly resilient.
She had just become a Dandelion Knight, and neither her combat experience nor her techniques were at a top-tier level.
Yet, even so, in order to be accepted by the Knights of Favonius more quickly and to prove the glory of being a Dandelion Knight, she simply didn't notify anyone and came to challenge the Anemo Hypostasis alone.
She even managed to win in the end.
A naive novice knight, with a seemingly useless Anemo Vision.
Finally, she defeated the Anemo Hypostasis, which was immune to Anemo.
No matter how you look at it, that was not an easy feat.
"But this is Jean," Kai couldn't help but smile.
She would never back down, no matter how difficult the situation.
As the spokesperson for Mondstadt, the esteemed Dandelion Knight, she would surely persevere, no matter how brutal the battle?
This is also why, despite her talent not being top-tier, Jean still became one of the most powerful fighters in Mondstadt City.
This... this is the result of constant tempering and self-improvement.
Purely in terms of effort, even Kai felt that he couldn't compare to her.
"Buzz~"
Just as Kai was sighing, the battle in the field suddenly underwent a drastic change.
The Anemo Hypostasis, which had been slowly depleted, finally seized the opportunity to unleash its skills while the Traveler retreated.
Pale green crystals floated into the air.
Violent tornadoes transformed into blades, constantly sweeping out at this moment, roaring within the Anemo Hypostasis's domain.
"Ugh..."
During the constant dodging and clashing, the Traveler's stamina had been significantly depleted.
Her movements were no longer as agile as they were at the beginning.
Facing this sudden Anemo Blade skill, she instinctively dodged to the side, but even so, the biting wind still grazed her body.
"Bang~"
The Traveler's body trembled, her right shoulder was severely grazed, and she couldn't stop retreating.
Seizing this opportunity, the Anemo Hypostasis didn't hesitate.
One after another, Anemo Blades continuously swept out from its crystalized body.
The powerful storm transformed into an invisible current, almost instantly sweeping before the Traveler's panicked eyes, leaving no room to dodge.
"It's over!"
The desperate storm, like tearing pain, swept over her.
Facing the attack that was about to land on her body, the Traveler's mind went almost blank, and she instinctively closed her eyes.
It was already too late to dodge.
She had originally thought that with her ability to easily escape from the encirclement of numerous Hilichurl and even Abyss Mages, facing this trial would be effortless.
But she hadn't expected the battle to quickly spiral into a situation of complete defeat after only a brief period.
Once such a powerful attack hit her body, she knew the consequences without needing to think much.
Even if her life wasn't in danger, serious injury would be the least of it.
"Is the battle ending like this?"
"Bang!"
Just as the Traveler was filled with despair, even gritting her teeth and preparing to endure the blow, a dull yet crisp sound suddenly appeared before her eyes.
The violent gale quickly disappeared, replaced by a slightly pained wail from the Anemo Hypostasis, accompanied by a hint of frightened roar.
"You..."
"What are you doing?"
"Hmm?"
The Traveler slowly opened her eyes.
In the void, a treasure flew out, forcibly knocking the crystalized Beth back several meters.
As it fell back to the ground, the immediate crisis was resolved.
Facing Kai's sudden intervention, the Anemo Hypostasis clearly felt considerable confusion and fear.
"Didn't you tell me to temper this girl and fight with all my strength?"
"Why are you interfering now?"
"You really didn't intend to let me go!"
It claimed to be tempering, but in the end, it was clearly just looking for an excuse to beat it up.
That damn liar.
Humans are all bad.
The Anemo Hypostasis felt very angry!
Not only angry, but it also hurt a bit from being hit just now.
"I told you to use all your strength, but I never said I would stand by and watch when it came to life and death," Kai said, giving it a calm look.
Although he seemed to be contemplating life just now, he had been paying attention to the battle the entire time, ready to intervene at any moment.
After all, no matter what, the Traveler was entrusted to him by Jean.
And he had been given the opportunity to improve the relationship between Barbara and Jean.
Given this, even for that reason, Kai couldn't possibly ignore her in a life-or-death situation.
Bringing the Traveler back safely was his basic duty.
"However, though that's what I said..."
"But, Traveler..."
Kai turned his head, his gaze falling upon the still-shaken Traveler, his tone slightly helpless.
"After you were hit by the skill just now..."
"You were planning to give up the fight, weren't you?"