A sudden female voice made the Resistance soldiers instinctively turn their heads in unison, looking towards the figure standing by the broken entrance of the cave in the wall behind them.
It was a girl in a strange uniform, surrounded by a circle of adorable cat shields, and even around her chest... there were several short swords made of water floating in the air.
This...
"Dan...ger..."
A Resistance soldier subconsciously murmured, but the next moment, his eyes widened.
"Swoosh—Swoosh—!"
Almost simultaneously, the water swords surrounding the girl turned into meteors and rapidly attacked the Ruin Graces near them!
"Squelch—Squelch—!"
The sound of blades piercing flesh suddenly echoed!
Along with a few screams, blood splattered everywhere!
A Ruin Grace, already heavily injured, was instantly finished off by the water blades, turning into a pile of dust. The other two, who had managed to resist, hadn't even had time to get angry before Hu Tao, who had instantly appeared beside them, sliced them in half with her staff.
Seeing this masterpiece, even Hu Tao couldn't help but start praising herself.
"Woah?! Finished them off in one go, I didn't expect this Hall Master to be so strong now?! (✪▽✪)"
"That Ying really... this Hall Master is already so strong, she still insisted on being reckless, hmph~ If I don't play some tricks on her later, I won't be able to vent my anger! (￣へ￣)"
Although she was speaking absentmindedly, Hu Tao's body didn't pause at all. She directly activated Spirit-borne Path and transformed into a butterfly, charging into the distant monster horde and wreaking havoc. Single-handedly, she snatched back the front line position that the Resistance had originally lost.
The soldiers of the Second Division were all dumbfounded. The girl's brave performance shocked them so much that they momentarily forgot to act.
"Heavens... a god descending?"
"Should be a fairy descending..."
"Is this the power of a Vision?"
"But... that girl seems to have three elements on her..."
Just as the Second Division Resistance soldiers were in a daze, a roar broke the silence.
"What are you doing?! A young girl is already fighting her way to the monsters alone, and you're still standing there frozen?!"
"Captain?!"
"Captain, you're alive?!"
"Was it this little girl who saved you?!"
The one referred to as the "little girl," Xingqiu: ............
Diona, who was dragging a Resistance soldier she met on the road not far behind: *Pfft*...
Damn it, are you having too much fun!
*Cough cough*~
Upon seeing that their captain and team members were unharmed, the Second Division soldiers were immediately moved to tears. The Second Division captain, knowing his teammates' personalities, immediately roared.
"Brothers! We can't be outdone by a little girl, let's push them back!"
"Yes!!"
The Second Division soldiers responded with loud cheers, and the demoralized atmosphere of moments ago vanished. They plunged back into battle.
And this scene was all witnessed by Xingqiu and Diona, who were standing by.
Watching them charge forward, Xingqiu said with a smile.
"A weak soldier is defeated by a weak commander, a good superior can influence his soldiers, this saying is indeed true."
Diona, however, seemed a bit worried.
"Hmm... although the situation is good now, once Hu Tao runs out of elemental power, things will take a sharp turn for the worse, right?"
Xingqiu nodded.
"Yes, our elemental power is not infinite. Facing this situation, we use it much faster than we recover. If there are no reinforcements later, losing will just be a matter of time."
Even though he said this, Xingqiu didn't show any worry. After all, with Lumine around, she would definitely find a way, just like she did when resolving the crisis in Liyue.
Meanwhile, the Lumine whom Xingqiu had placed high hopes on was...
"Ah! It hurts! It hurts so much, Lumine! (≧﹏≦)"
"Hold on a little longer, it's almost over~"
"No... not there... ah?!"
"Don't move around, don't move around, this isn't the first time, is it?"
"But... my body today... mmm~ No, we need to hurry and help... ah~ help..."
"If we finish this now, you won't have so many worries when helping later. Besides, do you think you can hide it from me? You're not actually in a hurry at all, because, ultimately, we weren't willing to help in the first place."
"You say that... mmm~ but... it really... woo... hurts... I... can't... anymore..."
Some time later...
Ying tidied her clothes and walked slowly on the path towards the cliff, a blush on her face, seeming shy because of what had just happened.
"Woo... to be treated like that in the forest, it's too embarrassing..."
Lumine, by her side, smiled and tapped her little head.
"It's just a massage, we've already kissed hundreds of times, are you still afraid of this?"
Ying gave her a resentful look.
"As if all those hundreds of times were willing! Ninety-nine percent of them were you pinning me down and forcefully kissing me."
Lumine: ............
"What did you just say? (^_^)"
The kind expression immediately scared Ying into shaking her head repeatedly.
"Nothing, nothing! I mean... I mean... ah~ the massage just now was really effective, my body doesn't hurt as much anymore, haha... ha..."
Paimon, who was leisurely at the side: ............
"Host, you say it's not right that we're fooling around here when they're fighting on the front lines, aren't you?"
Ying was unconcerned.
"If it's not right, it's not right. Even though I'm sorry to them, as long as you're okay, that's all that matters."
Saying this, Ying unconsciously quickened her pace, and without forgetting to say,
"To me, their greatest contribution is positioning the battle line near Himuki Village. Considering they indirectly helped the friend who saved me before, I'll just speed up a bit~"
Watching Ying and Paimon walk away, Paimon asked Lumine with some distress.
"Um, this time the scale seems much larger than the one in Liyue Harbor, right? Although Ying is very powerful now, she's only one person, so she probably can't be everywhere in Inazuma, right?"
"Oh? I didn't expect Paimon to think of this? Very good~ (^_^)"
Hearing Lumine's praise, Paimon scratched her head bashfully.
"Hehe~ Thanks for the compliment~"
Knowing Paimon's worries, Lumine affectionately pinched her cheek.
"Don't worry, Ying is no longer the silly, foolish girl you first met. If you can think of it, she naturally can too."
"Is that so..."
Paimon tilted her head and curiously asked.
"Then what is she thinking? Can you guess, Lumine?"