"Amber!"
A cold, angry shout pierced the silence of the forest.
The Spindrift Knight, Eula, galloped over with her guerrilla squad, her ice-blue greatsword gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
When she saw Amber tied up like a zongzi, the fury in her eyes almost materialized.
"I'll remember this grudge!"
Eula gritted her teeth and raised her greatsword, its tip pointing directly at the quartet.
Jesse and the other three exchanged a knowing look, then drew their weapons.
Lumine wisely retreated to a safe distance with Paimon—because Jesse had already raised a sign:
"The trouble we caused, we'll handle these Knights."
"Let Amber go!" Eula lunged forward, her greatsword whistling through the air as it slashed towards Elliot.
"Clang—!"
Amidst the deafening clash of metal, a shocking scene unfolded—Elliot, holding a scythe with one hand, effortlessly parried the powerful, heavy blow.
In a pure contest of strength, he suppressed the Spindrift Knight, who was renowned for her swordsmanship!
"What?!"
Eula's pupils contracted, and she immediately changed tactics.
She nimbly retreated half a step, ice elements condensing on her blade, then launched into a flowing, graceful sword dance.
Sword light like snow, Eula's figure traced elegant arcs across the battlefield.
However, Elliot seemed to anticipate all her attack routes, his scythe precisely blocking every time.
Sparks flew continuously from the clashing metals, leaving Paimon wide-eyed: "Elliot... he's so strong!"
At the same time, the other Knights also charged.
"Form ranks!"
The leading Knight shouted, his spear pointing directly at Jesse.
"Tsk."
Jesse pouted, pulling out a... baseball from his four-dimensional pocket?
"Whoosh—!"
The baseball cut through the air, accurately hitting the leading Knight's helmet.
"Thud!"
With a muffled sound, the Knight fell to the ground.
Even stranger, the baseball bounced off like it had eyes, hitting the second Knight, then the third... "W-what kind of sorcery is this?!" A still-standing Knight stared in horror at the flying baseball, then his vision went black.
Zane's approach was even more direct and brutal.
He held a shield engraved with the words "Physical Persuasion" and directly launched a Savage Charge.
"Take this Pig Rush!"
"Bang!"
Over a dozen Knights were sent flying like bowling pins, tracing perfect parabolas before... landing precisely in the bamboo basket behind Matt, which read "Knights of Favonius Recycling Bin."
Eula's situation grew increasingly dire; her Knights of Favonius Greatsword had been knocked away.
She dodged the scythe with a side roll, then picked up a stone and threw it at Elliot—
"Swish!"
A cold glint flashed, and the stone was split in half in mid-air.
"Damn it!"
Eula gritted her teeth and threw a punch, but Elliot landed a front kick to her abdomen, sending her flying backward.
Just as she landed and stood up, Zane suddenly flashed in, precisely placing an iron bucket over her head.
"Clang!"
Jesse, pulling out a wooden stick labeled "Physical Hypnosis Wand" from who knows where, struck the iron bucket.
"Buzz buzz buzz—"
The iron bucket emitted a teeth-grinding vibration, and Eula inside immediately saw stars.
When Zane removed the iron bucket, the formidable Spindrift Knight had turned into a dizzy mess with spiral eyes, wobbling around twice before collapsing to the ground with a "thud."
"Ugh..."
Amber, still bound, witnessed the entire scene, the light of hope in her eyes gradually dimming.
She now looked at the quartet as if they were some kind of Abyss Lord.
Paimon trembled, clutching Lumine's clothes: "T-Traveler... things seem to have gotten even worse, haven't they?"
Lumine looked at the mess on the ground and suddenly understood why Dvalin had fled so quickly.
From the distant church bell tower, Venti, who was secretly watching, fumbled, and his wine glass fell to the ground with a "clatter": "Are outsiders these days... all so ferocious?"
——————
"Let me go! You Hilichurl!"
Amber thrashed wildly under Zane's armpit like a startled rabbit, her legs drawing angry arcs in the air.
If she hadn't been tied so tightly, she would have used Baron Bunny to blow everyone sky-high.
Zane helplessly looked at Lumine, his eyes full of "You do it if you can."
Lumine took a deep breath and walked up to Amber.
The Reconnaissance Knight's large Amber eyes were filled with fear and anger, making Lumine curse the four troublemakers eight hundred times in her heart.
"You don't need to be afraid, we're not bad people."
Lumine forced herself to explain, and even she felt her words sounded like a villain's lines.
Amber bit her lip and said nothing, but her eyes clearly said: "I'd be crazy to believe you!"
In her opinion, anyone who could tame four such powerful Hilichurls must be a high-ranking cadre of the Abyss Order! This harmless appearance must be a disguise!
Lumine felt her scalp tingle from the stare, cursing her four useless teammates eight hundred times in her heart.
She rubbed her temples and turned to Jesse: "Give me the sign."
The next half hour was arguably the most difficult negotiation in Teyvat's history:
Lumine gesticulated wildly with the sign;
Jesse and the other three cooperatively removed their masks to show "friendly" smiles (which scared Amber into shrinking back);
Paimon floated in the air, acting as a simultaneous interpreter;
Zane had to hold down Amber three times when she tried to escape;
Elliot even pulled out a photo album to prove they had been to other worlds (but Amber became even more scared after seeing Dvalin's embarrassing old photos).
"So... you really are humans from another world?"
Amber huddled by the tree roots, half-believing, half-doubting.
"Just souls attached to Hilichurls?"
the quartet all nodded in unison, and Matt added: "We don't even speak Hilichurlian."
Yet, the moment he opened his mouth, it was a standard "Yaya ika!" (Hilichurlian: Hello there!)
Lumine: "..."
Amber: "..."
Finally, Zane took out paper and pen, wrote a line of text, and had Lumine read it aloud: "We can help clear the Stormterror crisis."
Only then did Amber reluctantly relent.
"Why didn't you do this earlier!"
Lumine angrily kicked Jesse's knee.
"Hiss ah—!"
Jesse cooperatively let out a scream.
Then Lumine hopped on one leg, holding her foot: "Ow ow ow!"
She had forgotten that her powers were sealed, and that kick was no different from kicking a steel plate.
Paimon quickly supported her: "Traveler, are you okay?!"
Amber watched this scene and suddenly burst out laughing.
The tense atmosphere finally eased, and she rubbed her reddened wrist, muttering softly: "What kind of Abyss cadre would be stupid enough to kick a steel plate..."