“Such strange Hilichurls, have they mutated?”
Paimon and Lumine, having arrived at the headquarters of the Knights of Favonius, met with Jean under Amber's guidance.
Upon seeing the two, Jean and Lisa were more convinced of the accuracy of the screen exposure, meaning that the Abyss Order would launch an attack on Mondstadt in the near future.
And, the strengthened Hilichurls.
“I apologize for this, Traveler,” Jean said with shame.
Lumine and Paimon had helped Mondstadt in the future, proving their kindness to Mondstadt.
But as the Acting Grand Master of Mondstadt, Jean had no way to help Lumine find her sibling, and even let her see her own helplessness.
Absolutely not the way a knight should treat their guests.
“It’s okay, Jean, I understand,”
Lumine responded with understanding: “If the exposure is true, Mondstadt will be attacked by the Abyss Order in the next few days.”
“In that case, the overall situation must be prioritized.”
“I can slowly search for my brother’s traces in the future exposures and chat rooms.”
“By the way, if you need any help, I’m here for you.”
Since the future exposure showed scenes of helping Mondstadt defeat the Abyss, Lumine had no reason to turn around and run away.
Even if the Hilichurls, empowered by the Abyss Order, became stronger, they shouldn't be able to truly take over Mondstadt.
What’s the point of running away at the first sign of trouble? It would be shameful.
“Really? That would be incredibly helpful,” Jean exclaimed, grabbing Lumine’s hands.
In a future filled with uncertainty, extra help was crucial.
Moreover, the screen mentioned that Lumine had helped them resolve the Geo veins in the Temple of the Four Winds and had repelled the Abyss Order's first wave of attacks, so her skills should be good.
“Do you think there's another possibility?”
“For instance, the Abyss Order might see their actions being exposed and decide not to attack Mondstadt.”
Lisa laughed.
“Lisa,” Jean rolled her eyes at Lisa.
Her dear friend was different from her.
Jean had achieved what she is today through constant hard work, but Lisa was smart since childhood, with an unparalleled talent and aptitude.
Unfortunately, she was lazy.
As Acting Grand Master, Jean wouldn't treat a war, especially one targeting Mondstadt, as a possibility.
She had to extract all the intelligence about the enemy from the screen to best protect Mondstadt from harm.
【Night fell.】
【Under Jean’s leadership, the Knights of Favonius had set up barricades at the bottleneck outside Mondstadt.】
【Each knight was staring ahead with tense expressions.】
【Occasionally, a few knights would grumble softly.】
【“Tsk! This is such a pain! I thought I could have a good drink tonight.”】
【“Who would have thought that the Hilichurls would attack Mondstadt again just as night was falling? It’s really annoying.”】
【“Didn't the Traveler come to help?”】
【“She’s a guest from afar. She already helped us repel the Abyss Order’s attack once. It’s getting late. Jean definitely wouldn’t feel right asking her.”】
【“Oh, one more person would be helpful. If we can resolve the Abyss Order's attack sooner, everyone can be…”】
【The knight's words were interrupted.】
【The knight talking to him saw a black shadow flash before his eyes. The next second, he looked at the knight he was just talking to with terror.】
【The other knight's head had been hit by an arrow.】
【“Ah!”】
【The knight's scream immediately drew everyone’s attention.】
【Jean, standing at the forefront, turned to the source of the shout and roared: “What happened?”】
【“Jean... Grand Master…”】
【The knight screamed in terror.】
【Just about to tell her what happened.】
【Whoosh!】
【Another arrow came flying and hit him right between the eyes.】
【“Enemy attack!”】
【The surrounding knights immediately fell into chaos.】
【“Calm down! Don’t break formation!” Jean quickly stepped forward to stabilize the situation.】
【The commotion coming from the hillside nearby also caught her attention.】
【Looking up, she saw a Hilichurl Archer, exactly as Amber had described, peeking out from behind a tree.】
【“This…” Jean froze for a moment.】
【A Hilichurl Archer hiding behind a tree and shooting arrows?】
【This situation was completely beyond Jean’s understanding of Hilichurls. Those low-intelligence creatures, how could they…】
【The Hilichurl Archer was white in color, with pink arms, and was much stronger than normal Hilichurls.】
【But what shocked Jean the most was that it seemed to have intelligence.】
【“Jean… Grand Master!”】
【While Jean was still paying attention to the Hilichurl Archer, a scream instantly pulled her thoughts back.】
【“What happened!”】
【“Grand Master, look!”】
【Jean looked in the direction the knight pointed.】
【In front of her, a Hilichurl Berserker, two meters tall, was now in a human running stance.】
【“It's charging.”】
【Jean instantly understood the enemy’s intention.】
【It must be trying to break through the bottleneck barriers with a savage charge.】
【“Archers, prepare, shoot them down!”】
【Jean shouted sharply.】
【However, something incredible happened.】
【The arrows shot at the Hilichurl Berserker had no effect.】
【Instead, the Berserker’s savage charge smashed all the barricades set up by the Knights of Favonius.】
【Jean and the knights under her command were thrown to the ground.】
Lisa was stunned, Jean was stunned, Amber’s eyes went wide.
The Knights of Favonius were all staring with disbelief at the content of the screen.
They were actually killed by a Hilichurl Archer, who shot two knights with a surprise attack, and their formation was broken by a Hilichurl Berserker.
This was definitely the biggest shame in the history of the Knights of Favonius.
【Foulina】：“So… the Abyss Order is that scary? They can actually make the Hilichurls so strong?”
【Navidya】：“Foulina, are you alright?”
【Foulina】：“Oh! I mean, the Abyss Order is pretty capable, to be able to turn a low-intelligence creature like the Hilichurls into something somewhat capable.”
【Jean】：“This is impossible. How could our Knights of Favonius…”
The Abyss Order.
Aether looked panicked.
After hearing Amber’s description of the Hilichurls’ appearance, he had felt that something was amiss.
Although the Abyss Order could control Hilichurls to form organized units, they did not yet have the ability to excessively increase their strength.
Not to mention changing their appearance.
There was only one truth.
The one who attacked Mondstadt this time was the mysterious fifth descender.
“Abyss Flame!” Aether said anxiously, “Explain in the chat that this wasn’t done by our Abyss Order.”
“Yes! Your Highness,”
【Abyss Flame】：“Hmph! Don’t blame everything on our Abyss Order.”
【Paimon】：“So it was someone from the Abyss Order?”
【Foulina】：“Hehehe, looks like we’ve blown the Abyss Order people out of the water. It wasn't you, then who else could it be?”
【Foulina】：“But it’s understandable. No one would admit their crimes. But no one can escape my scrutiny.”
【Hu Tao】：“Wow, this Foulina seems to be a big shot. Should I make a reservation for her at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?”
【Foulina】：“You have good taste. I am the Hydro Archon of Fontaine, the Queen of All Waters, All Places, All People, and All Laws, Foulina de Fontaine.”
【Hu Tao】：“Huh? Th… the legendary Hydro Archon?”
【Abyss Flame】：“We admit that the first attack on Mondstadt led by the Hilichurls was our Abyss Order’s plan, but we have no plans to attack Mondstadt again, and we don’t have the ability to change Hilichurls as you imagine.”
【Nahida】：“If the Abyss Order isn't lying, the mastermind behind this…”
【Zhongli】：“Could it be the fifth descender mentioned in the future exposures?”
PS: Please give me some data, readers! Otherwise, it feels like I'm playing alone!