“Wait, don’t you have other duties outside the city?” Paimon asked in surprise upon hearing that Amber intended to escort them.
“Of course I do!
But don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re safe along the way,” Amber said confidently, her hands resting on her hips.
“As an outstanding knight, that’s what I should do.”
Superficially, she said it to reassure Lumine, but her underlying objective was still to keep a watchful eye on them just in case.
After all, a proper Outrider didn’t drop her guard that easily.
“Thank you,” Lumine nodded gratefully.
Ah, gentle and kind-hearted Lumine harbored not a single drop of suspicion.
*Just a minute ago, she was treating you like a suspicious person, and now she’s suddenly offering to escort you into the city—where would you find such a great deal?* Eve watched the naive Lumine and shook her head internally.
*Sigh, she’s still far too trusting.*
“Right then, stay close behind me!” Amber spun on her heel and set off at a brisk pace down the trail, Lumine following close at her heels.
Along the way, Amber tossed a casual question over her shoulder:
“Say, travelers of unknown origin, what brings you to Mondstadt anyway?
Are you merchants, tourists, or scholars?”
The interrogation had begun, though Paimon and Lumine remained blissfully unaware.
“Lumine lost her older brother during a very, very distant journey.”
“We’re her traveling companions, accompanying her to find her brother,” Paimon immediately jumped in to answer.
“Oh…
searching for family, huh?” Amber hummed thoughtfully.
“Well…
alright.
Once I finish up my current task, I can help you put up some missing persons notices inside the city.”
Amber continued speaking.
“Really?!” Lumine asked, her face lighting up with hope.
“Of course!” Amber smiled warmly in response.
“Oh, by the way…
what kind of mission are you working on anyway?” Lumine asked out of sheer curiosity.
“Hehe, it’s a secret!” Amber tossed a playful glance over her shoulder at Lumine.
Suddenly, Paimon gasped, pointing ahead in sheer terror.
“Look!
Hilichurls!”
They immediately followed Paimon’s line of sight.
Not far up the slope, a club-wielding Hilichurl was on patrol.
However, the Hilichurl didn’t seem to have noticed them yet.
“Shh, take cover first,” Amber lowered her voice.
Amber quickly ushered Lumine and the others behind a massive boulder.
Once she confirmed they were safe, she cautiously poked her head out to observe.
Lumine whispered, “Hilichurls?
What are those?”
“Hilichurls are the most common humanoid monsters across Teyvat. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Nobody really knows where they come from,” Eve whispered back immediately from Lumine’s arms.
Though she knew the true origins of the Hilichurls, she couldn’t possibly voice them aloud.
“Right.
Lately, these wilderness monsters have been creeping closer and closer to Mondstadt, and my mission today is to clear out their camp,” Amber added from the side.
Amber didn’t look back, continuing to track the Hilichurl’s movements.
“If we just follow this Hilichurl, we’ll find their camp,” Amber continued.
“I see,” Lumine nodded solemnly.
“Keep up, it’s moving away,” the ever-vigilant Amber announced.
With that, she bolted out from cover.
Lumine didn’t fall behind either, immediately matching Amber’s pace.
“Be careful out there!” Paimon flew alongside Lumine, calling out warnings.
“Don’t worry, I’m an Outrider of the Knights of Favonius,” Amber said with confidence.
Amber gradually picked up her speed.
Burdened by carrying Eve, Lumine found the distance between herself and Amber widening.
Within moments, Amber vaulted over the ridge, and her figure vanished entirely from their sight.
“Amber’s running so fast—won’t she be in danger?” Lumine panted as she ran hard, worry etched across her face.
“She should be fine, right?
She’s a knight!” Paimon replied from the air.
“We need to catch up, quickly!” A wave of foreboding washed over Eve.
“Right,” Lumine nodded, accelerating further.
Before they even crested the slope, the sharp sounds of fierce combat echoed from afar, accompanied by agonizing shrieks.
“Oh no, they’ve already clashed!” Lumine exclaimed in concern.
To give credit where it was due, an Outrider’s mobility was truly formidable.
It took Lumine nearly twice the time to finally reach the crest of the slope.
But when Lumine looked down from the ridge, the sight before her froze her in her tracks.
There was Amber, drenched in blood and crouching behind a stack of hay, bow drawn taut as she aimed straight ahead.
Advancing toward her were two massive, hulking Hilichurl Berserkers, moving slowly in Amber’s direction.
One clutched a wooden shield, while the other wielded a giant axe, radiating an oppressive aura of menace.
“Oh no, Hilichurl Berserkers!” Paimon shrieked in terror, diving immediately behind Lumine’s back.
With only her own strength, Amber stood no chance against so many Hilichurl Berserkers.
Lumine’s expression turned grim.
She immediately set Eve down on the ground, turning to instruct Eve and Paimon:
“You must hide yourselves well.”
With that, the Silver Sword materialized in her grip, and she prepared to charge forward.
At that moment, Amber noticed Lumine’s figure.
Just as Lumine was about to rush in, Amber let out a desperate scream:
“Run!
You can’t handle this!
Don’t worry about me, get to Mondstadt and sound the alarm!”
Amber shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice cracking.
This completely contradicts the intelligence report!
This is clearly a massive Hilichurl camp!” Amber gnashed her teeth in fury.
Before embarking on the mission, she had checked the briefing regarding the camp’s estimated scale—it was supposed to be a small outpost populated solely by ordinary Hilichurls, with zero chance of any Berserkers being present.
That was the only reason she had dared to charge in alone.
Who could have expected this to be a massive Hilichurl camp, teeming not only with countless standard Hilichurls but even two Hilichurl Berserkers?
Amber had expended nearly all her strength just clearing out the ordinary monsters, only to be slashed and wounded by the giant-axe Hilichurl Berserker.
Now completely stripped of her mobility, she could only cower behind cover and cling desperately to life.
Seeing Lumine appear, she immediately urged her to run.
After all, casualties could not be allowed to mount any further.
“How could I ever abandon you?” Lumine declared with absolute conviction.
Unshaken by Amber’s warnings, she gripped her Silver Sword and charged straight into the fray.
Watching this scene unfold, Eve felt a complex swirl of emotions in her chest.
*Perhaps…
this is precisely why she was chosen as the destined savior of this world,* Eve muttered quietly to herself.
“You can do it!” Paimon clenched her tiny fists in mid-air, cheering Lumine on.
The two Hilichurl Berserkers locked their sights on the white-clothed girl charging toward them, their wooden shield and giant axe twitching in eager anticipation.
The shield-bearing Hilichurl led the charge, raising its heavy barricade to smash violently into Lumine.
Watching the shield close in rapidly, Lumine sidestepped with blinding agility, dodging out of harm’s way just in time.
Yet before she could even breathe a sigh of relief, the sharp gleam of a heavy axe cleaved straight toward her.
Realizing she had no time to dodge, Lumine raised her Silver Sword to block.
*Clang…*
The violent collision of axe and sword produced a piercing, ear-splitting metallic shriek.
Suddenly, the Hilichurl Berserker poured even more force into its downward chop.
“Oh no!” Lumine’s pupils contracted instantly.
The rapidly escalating pressure threatened to knock the wind right out of her.
With a sharp twist of her wrists, she heaved upward, deflecting the heavy blow aside.
*Bang!*
The heavy axe blade slammed deep into the earth under its own unstoppable momentum.
Before the brute could recover its balance, Lumine scrambled around to its backside, seizing the opening to thrust her Silver Sword toward its exposed flank.
But right at that moment, the heavy, grating drag of timber across stone echoed from behind.
Lumine’s instincts screamed a warning, and she immediately leaped backward into a hasty retreat.
Her decision was undeniably correct, as the shield-bearing Hilichurl Berserker had swung back around, charging fiercely into her previous spot.
Once again, the shield-bearing brute struck empty air.
“That was close!” Paimon cried out in relief from a distance.
With distance re-established, Lumine adjusted her breathing, steadying herself for combat.
Not far ahead, the two Hilichurl Berserkers had regrouped once more, standing shoulder-to-shoulder.
Lumine gripped her sword with both hands, her expression dead serious.
The coordination between these two Berserkers was terrifyingly seamless—like seasoned veterans who had fought alongside each other for decades.
She found herself momentarily at a loss for an opening.
Meanwhile, taking advantage of the distraction, Eve quietly slipped away around the flank…