As Lydia's figure disappeared from the cemetery, she discovered a sneaky Lumine and Paimon around the corner. The two of them were looking left and right for cover, but had nowhere to hide.
In the end, they could only guiltily come up to Lydia and greet her: "What a coincidence, Lydia, you're here too!"
At their clumsy acting, Lydia helplessly facepalmed.
"Let's go together."
Lumine & Paimon: "Okay, okay!"
-
The last ray of golden sunlight slid down the crenellations of the Mondstadt city wall, completely disappearing as if swallowed by the darkness.
Night slowly wrapped around the earth, and as the wind swept up the dead leaves on the ground, it also brought the faint roars of distant monsters.
The sounds were low and dense, making the fingertips of the knights on the city wall tremble, their hands gripping their spears unconsciously tightening.
At this moment, deep in the Whispering Woods, Amber and a three-person Scout Knight squad had just finished checking the last patrol point.
The light of the torches danced, casting warm shadows on the tree trunks and illuminating the young faces of the squad members.
"Ta-da! This is the lucky flower crown I prepared for Lydia. When she stared straight at the flower crowns on the children's heads during last year's Windblume Festival, I knew she would absolutely love this!"
"That's not enough. I took out half a year's savings and bought a bottle of fine wine from Master Diluc! The last time this girl wanted to trade for my wine and I refused, her pitiful little expression, oh my~ it really made my heart ache just looking at it."
Jack, the youngest, tightly gripped a small carved wooden windmill with the name "Lydia" engraved on it. As the windmill blades spun gently in the breeze, he blushed and said softly, "It took me three days to carve it. I hope she likes it."
Amber stood to the side, smiling with her eyes curving into crescents.
She held a plushie that was a size smaller than the usual Baron Bunny. Tiny luminescent stones were sewn onto its body, glowing with a soft blue in the dark.
This was the mini glowing Baron Bunny she had stayed up for two nights to make; initially, she was worried that Lydia would find it childish.
But seeing her teammates' expectant looks, the anxiety in her heart gradually dissipated. "Alright, let's hurry back to Mondstadt. Tomorrow we're going to give Lydia a huge surprise!"
The group let out a collective cheer. Just as they turned around, a piercing chill suddenly came from behind them.
It wasn't the coolness of the forest's night breeze, but a coldness like countless fine needles piercing into their bones, making even their breaths sting.
Amber's back instantly tensed up; her years of scouting experience made her instinctively vigilant.
"Careful!" Amber whipped her head around, her pupils suddenly shrinking to pinpricks.
A ten-foot-tall spatial rift was opening in the clearing behind them. The black mist pouring out from it churned frantically as a figure clad in frost armor slowly stepped out.
It was exactly the final version Lu Qiuyun had modified—the Poison Dragon Knight!
Its left chest was exposed, where half of Durin's heart was beating with a dark red glow in the darkness. Blood vessel-like patterns spread across the heart's surface like a spiderweb, a sight that made one's scalp tingle.
Its right chest was covered in heavy frost armor, with half-foot-thick icicles condensed on the plates. Through the gaps, an ice-blue Vision could faintly be seen.
Its pupils, flickering like flames, held no emotion—only a cold killing intent as it stared intently at everyone present.
The miniature dragon wings on the Poison Dragon Knight's shoulders flapped gently, shedding a fine, poisonous mist.
The moment the poisonous mist touched the ground, the withered fallen leaves instantly froze into sparkling ice crystals.
"Wh-what is that monster?" Jack's voice carried an uncontrollable tremble. He subconsciously raised his sword, but the hand gripping the hilt wouldn't stop shaking.
Amber's heart leaped into her throat. She could clearly feel the terrifying, oppressive aura radiating from the Poison Dragon Knight.
That power weighed on her chest like a massive mountain, stronger than any monster she had ever encountered, making even breathing difficult.
But the Poison Dragon Knight did not give them any time to react.
It slowly raised its right hand, and a sword forged from ice extended from its palm, its blade wreathed in black mist and icicles.
With a light swing, an ice blade carrying poisonous mist howled forward, its speed so fast that there was simply no time to dodge.
The knight closest to it didn't even have time to let out a scream before the ice blade instantly pierced through her body.
The knight's eyes widened round. The flower wreath in her hand fell to the ground, colliding with the ice that was freezing her body and shattering into countless tiny ice crystals.
"Lucy!" Amber's eyes were red, tears welling up in them, but she gritted her teeth and refused to let them fall.
She fiercely threw Baron Bunny at the Poison Dragon Knight, her voice hoarse with anger and fear: "Detonate!"
"Boom—"
The moment Baron Bunny exploded, the flames and the Poison Dragon Knight's ice element triggered a violent Melt reaction. Boiling hot steam instantly spread out like a thick fog, obscuring the entire forest.
Amber seized the opportunity to grab the remaining two knights beside her, running desperately toward Mondstadt.
Seeing its "prey" trying to escape, the Poison Dragon Knight gave them no chance at all.
Its speed was astonishing. Swinging its ice sword once more, an ice blade grazed Amber's left arm, instantly leaving a bone-deep wound.
Blood gushed out, but the moment it touched the air, it froze into tiny ice beads. The piercing pain made Amber gasp sharply.
"You guys go first! I'll hold him off!" A knight suddenly stopped in his tracks, fiercely pushing the others forward.
Tom's face was pale, but his eyes were firm: "Since the day I joined the Knights, I have been prepared for today!"
As soon as he spoke, a Cryo blade pierced his chest without any resistance.
His body went limp and collapsed. The cloth bag at his waist fell to the ground, and Mora rolled out from it, corroded and deformed by the poisonous mist.
Seeing Tom fall, Jack's eyes turned red and he tried to turn back to save him, but was stomped to the ground by the Poison Dragon Knight.
The cold armor crushed down on his body, and Jack let out a pained groan. The small wooden windmill in his hand fell to the ground, viciously cleaved in two by the Poison Dragon Knight's Cryo sword.
The fragments of the windmill scattered across the ice, much like Jack's shattered hopes.
In just a few short seconds, Amber was the only one left in the squad.
Her left arm was bleeding profusely. The agonizing pain from the wound made her vision go dark, and every running step made it feel as if her body was being torn apart.
But a single thought remained taut in her mind—she had to bring the news back; she could not let her teammates' sacrifices be in vain!
The Poison Dragon Knight's Cryo sword swung toward her once again, and Amber could even feel the chill of death rushing against her face.
She threw herself to the ground just as the Cryo blade grazed her hair, cleanly slicing the large tree behind her in half.
The trunk crashed down with a deafening roar, kicking up a sky full of ice crystals. Many of these crystals fell onto Amber's back, leaving behind a series of tiny cuts.
Ignoring the pain, she seized the opportunity to scramble up and kept running forward. The footsteps behind her sounded like a death-knell drumbeat, each step bringing her a fraction closer to her demise.
Just as Amber was about to give out, the firelight from the Mondstadt City Gate appeared in the distance, and the shouts of the knights pierced through the dense fog.
"Amber! Over here!"
Seeing the familiar city gates and the anxious faces of the knights, the figure of the Poison Dragon Knight gradually faded away into the black mist, and Amber's tightly wound nerves finally relaxed.
She opened her mouth, wanting to shout something.
But before the words could leave her lips, her vision went black, and she fell heavily to the ground.
"Amber!" Swan rushed over, carefully gathering her freezing body into his arms.
He could clearly feel the bone-chilling cold radiating from Amber. The wound on her left arm was still oozing blood, her lips were frozen purple, and her breathing had grown faint.
Swan's hands trembled as he yelled to the knights behind him: "Quick! Take Amber to the Cathedral to find Barbara! Go as fast as you can! The rest of you, heighten your guard!"
Two knights carefully lifted Amber and sprinted madly in the direction of the Cathedral.
-
At the Knights, Jean had just finished reading the report on the attack in Springvale.
Just as she was about to say something to Lisa, Diluc, and Kaeya, another knight burst through the door in a panic.
"Jean! A large number of Abyss monsters have been spotted in the direction of the Whispering Woods. They are advancing toward Mondstadt at high speed!"
"What?" Jean abruptly stood up.
The teacup on the table was accidentally knocked over, and the warm tea instantly soaked the spread-out map, bleeding into a dark stain over the location of "Mondstadt."
Before she had time to deploy defensive measures, a deafening explosion suddenly rang out from outside the city.
"Boom!"
The shockwave of the explosion rattled the windows, and the firelight instantly dyed half the night sky red, causing even the walls of the Knights of Favonius Headquarters to tremble slightly.