"Her strength, as displayed just now, was that of a seasoned veteran. Whether it was her situational awareness in combat or her command over elemental power, she was a completely different person from before… Could such a powerful individual truly be so easily deceived…?"
Thus, Tolei, who should have been convinced that Ying was an idiot, was once again thrown into turmoil…
However, the truth was that Ying's current abilities were indeed superior to Lumine's dual-elemental prowess.
In fact, even with Lumine wielding three elements, without a complete mastery of their fusion, she might not be able to guarantee victory against the current Ying.
Meanwhile, on the other side, after eliminating all the surrounding monsters, Ying approached the captain of the Shogunate army. She helped him up from his state of shock, brushed off the dust from his clothes, and said:
"Ahem~ Since I've helped you, you owe me a favor. But don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you. I won't ask you to say things that would violate your regulations, like not pursuing me. So, let this favor serve as compensation for me passing your checkpoint."
"Bye~ (^~^)"
With that, Ying waved goodbye to Tolei, who was still frowning on the mountainside, and once again unleashed her Electro element. With a burst of speed, she turned and charged through their checkpoint…
Several Shogunate soldiers slowly walked over to the captain, stammering,
"Cap… Captain… how are we going to report this to Lord Kujou later…?"
The Shogunate captain had also recovered from his shock. After a moment of thought, he said:
"Just… report it truthfully… Such a huge blunder, even if you wanted to quibble, you wouldn't have any grounds."
"By the way, Captain, that young lady just now seemed to be the wanted person. Why do you think she helped us?"
Another soldier rolled his eyes at him.
"You idiot, she's wanted because she has a Vision, not because she's a murderer."
"But if Visions are so useful, why does the General want to confiscate them?"
"Don't be silly, what if a Vision falls into the hands of a bad person, wouldn't that be terrible?"
"Then why can't they just take them from the bad guys? The young lady just now clearly wouldn't hurt us. Is it worth sacrificing so many good people for a few bad ones?"
"This…"
At the same time, on the cliff, Tolei, after witnessing Ying's actions, temporarily set aside his distracting thoughts and quickly followed her.
Along the way, Tolei kept his eyes on Ying, who surprisingly lacked any hint of being a master. No matter how he imagined it, he couldn't reconcile her current appearance with the Ying he had seen at the Shogunate checkpoint. He finally spoke up, testing her:
"I never expected you to be so powerful. That last move just now… perhaps very few people in all of Teyvat could have withstood it."
"Hehe~ You're exaggerating too much."
As she spoke, Ying scratched her head sheepishly, but the smug expression on her face clearly contradicted her words.
"By the way, do you have some kind of grudge against the Abyss Order?"
Hearing Ying's question, Tolei paused instinctively and asked with some confusion:
"Why would you think that?"
Ying blinked her eyes and looked at Tolei with a serious expression.
"Because all the way here, every time you saw an Abyss Mage, you immediately rushed over to eliminate them. It's hard not to think that."
"Is that so… Haha, you're really smart…"
Tolei readily accepted this explanation. In truth, he had initially only viewed them as rivals.
However, as he encountered more Abyss Mages, Tolei noticed that their eyes held no hostility towards Ying. This discovery piqued his interest, and he captured them several times, intending to interrogate them for information.
Yet, because of Ying, he couldn't resort to any cruel methods. He could only quickly dispatch them. After all, he had put considerable effort into gaining Ying's current trust, and he couldn't jeopardize his grand plan for such minor intelligence.
"Is that so…"
Having received Tolei's affirmation, Ying didn't press further, fearing that she might inadvertently touch upon a sore spot for Tolei.
Of course, Ying also didn't speak ill of the Abyss, as her brother, Lumine's brother, resided within it. Considering him her brother-in-law, if she were to become too involved, she might find herself closer to the Abyss than Tolei was.
Tolei, watching the silent Ying, mused about her origins.
The Abyss Order valued her so highly that they would deploy so many forces just to find her. She must have a significant connection to the Abyss…
He vaguely recalled an Abyss Mage mentioning a "Prince." Could it be that she was a princess of the Abyss who had lost her memory? That would explain her immense power…
But if that were the case, what about her sister? The Abyss could have easily found her, so why didn't they take her? And based on the intelligence they possessed, she had killed quite a few Abyss monsters.
It couldn't be that they were both the Prince's sisters, and the "Honorary Knight" sister, displeased with the Abyss, had fled with her, intending to resist…
"Heh heh heh… How ridiculous. Why am I conjuring such a melodramatic plot? Does staying with her for too long lower one's IQ?"
A voice filled with mockery suddenly echoed in Tolei's mind, causing him to frown.
"Hmph… Sometimes, the greatest use of a person alive is to shut their mouth. And now is precisely that time for you…"
"Heh heh heh… As expected of me, you've spoken the words I was about to say to you. However, I advise you not to put too much effort into that foolish girl for now. After all, the Queen didn't send you to Inazuma to flirt with girls."
"Besides, at your age of several decades, what right do you have to flirt with a minor girl? Shouldn't this be left to me, who is closer to her age~"
"Hmph… I am beginning to regret splitting you off…"
"Oh? Does that make you feel inferior? That's just wonderful…"
Before he could finish, Tolei severed their connection.
"Hmph… It seems I'll have to put this plan on hold for a while…"
Tolei muttered, then called out to Ying, who was walking ahead of him.
"Hm? What is it?"
Ying turned her head to ask, clearly unaware of Tolei's inner monologue. If she had known, she would have undoubtedly burst into laughter, and then, because he called her stupid, she would have beaten him up.
Of course, whether she could actually win the fight was another matter entirely…