"Acting Grand Master Jean! Jean! Jean!"
"Kaeya! Kaeya! Kaeya!"
"Master Shen Qin! Shen Qin! Shen Qin!"
"Knights of Favonius, victory! For Mondstadt, victory!"
The people of Mondstadt had heard news of the Knights' deployment. They gathered along the roads the Knights would take, sending their heartfelt blessings to these beloved warriors.
Whenever a squad passed before their eyes, the crowd would shout the captain's name in unison.
But when Eula appeared with her guerrilla squad, the crowd fell silent. Eula was long used to such treatment, following expressionlessly behind the troops ahead.
The members of the guerrilla squad felt bitter, but they held no resentment toward their captain. Only they knew how much she had sacrificed for Mondstadt.
"Eula Lawrence! Eula Lawrence! Eula Lawrence!"
From within the crowd, a middle-aged man dressed in outdated Mondstadt noble attire suddenly raised his arm and shouted. Those around him glanced at him disdainfully and moved aside, but he continued to shout without hesitation, as though the girl passing before him embodied the entire glory of the once-grand Lawrence clan.
Gradually, scattered shouts of "Eula" began to rise from the crowd. By the time the guerrilla squad departed, the synchronized chants of "Eula!" echoed through the night sky.
Eula's vision blurred slightly. She blinked rapidly to keep the tears from affecting her line of sight.
'To restore the honor of the Lawrence family—this is our solemn duty.'
After all the knights of the expedition passed through Mondstadt's gates, everyone stepped onto flying boards and soared skyward, heading toward Stormterror's Lair, leaving behind the deafening cheers of the citizens below.
As Mondstadt's standing army, the Knights of Favonius naturally had strong tactical discipline. They maintained formation as they flew to a point one kilometer outside the barrier. After a headcount, they began setting up camp on the spot. Shen Qin and his group transported the Solar Annihilator to the pre-designated hillside.
When the Sun's Annihilator landed, it pressed the ground down 2 to 3 centimeters.
"It is a good thing that you designed a levitation system under the turret. Otherwise, moving this thing would've been a real hassle," Albedo gave Shen Qin a thumbs-up.
To make transporting the heavy weapon easier, Shen Qin had repurposed the levitation structure from the hoverboard and installed it under the turret. This allowed it to reach flight speeds of up to 50 km/hr, not as fast as mid- or high-end flying boards, but more than enough for moving it around.
"After tomorrow, everything will be over, right? Things have been so tense lately!" Sucrose sighed.
Shen Qin quickly grabbed the air in front of her, tossed it to the ground, and stomped on it.
"Pffft! Don't say that, kids' words don't count!"
"Eh?!—" Sucrose pouted unhappily at him.
He explained, "Back where I'm from, we're not allowed to say any hopeful expectations before doing something important. Otherwise, reality tends to develop opposite to your hopes. Like someone saying before a battle, 'After this, I'll go home and get married,' and then some mysterious force ensures he dies in combat, while his comrades remain unharmed."
"Hmm… it sounds superstitious, but weirdly convincing," Albedo rubbed his chin, seriously pondering it.
"So that's why! No wonder every time Lumine says, 'Today I'll make something even tastier than before,' the food either gets burnt or ends up on the floor!" Paimon had an "aha" look on her face, clearly taking it seriously.
Lumine gave her a gentle punch on the head, flattening her whole face.
Sucrose quickly covered her mouth in panic.
…
…
The night passed without incident.
At sunrise the next day, Venti prepared to break the barrier. He floated before the wall of wind, sensing the familiar aura and energy it radiated, his eyes filled with nostalgic memories.
Whether he was mourning the Storm King Decarabian, his former enemy, or the comrades who once fought beside him, none could say for sure.
He plucked his lyre strings, and an ancient ballad spilled from his lips. Everyone nearby heard the song, its melody like a gentle breeze, strangely stirring a fierce desire in their hearts.
To fight for freedom.
Before their eyes, visions flickered of countless people charging toward the storm wall, led by six warriors and a tiny sprite. The green-clad youth with a lyre in his hands had begun to play the anthem of freedom.
「 It's you… 」
The lingering will of the Storm King stirred from its obsession. It saw Venti. It saw Mondstadt, thousands of years into the future, and the people who once called him king.
「 So that's how it is… 」
His final lingering obsession, infused with his remaining strength, returned to the ley lines, no longer obstructing their path.
The barrier vanished. Everyone snapped out of the vision and saw the quiet bard floating in the air, his back overlapping with the green figure they had just glimpsed in their minds.
Jean looked deeply at Venti, then gave the order to the knights:
"Commence the assault!"
The knights charged into Stormterror's Lair, sweeping every inch of land. Gunfire and explosions resounded constantly throughout the ruins.
Originally, Jean had planned to use small squads to gradually clear out the enemies in the ruins. However, Shen Qin suggested launching a full-scale assault with the entire force. After all, they had stockpiled an enormous amount of ammunition during the recent factory ramp-up, more than enough for the Knights to expend.
Compared to saving on ammo, it was more cost-effective to end the battle in the shortest time possible.
While the knights carried out the sweep, the team responsible for dealing with Dvalin arrived at the massive central spire of the ruins. They discovered that the path into the tower's depths was sealed off by three layers of magical seals.
"I can sense Dvalin slumbering below, but these seals don't rely on Decarabian's power. I can't break them," Venti said.
"Take a look at this. It's an ancient light-guiding mechanism. You can only activate it by restoring all the scattered components to their rightful places. Once activated, it'll deactivate the seal," Albedo stood before a broken device.
Diluc surveyed the surroundings and said, "Looks like there are three mechanisms that remain inactive, coinciding with the three seals."
Paimon was surprised: "Wait, Lord Diluc, you know about this kind of stuff too?"
Lumine, being the one who had to purify Dvalin, was also part of the team confronting him directly.
"I studied archaeology for a while. Just a bit."
"That's great! Then let's go activate them all quickly!" Paimon said excitedly.
Lisa poured cold water on the excitement:
"I'm afraid it won't be that simple… Light-guiding mechanisms usually have their activation and response components placed far apart, to prevent enemies from easily breaching the final line of defense."
"So… those three?" Jean stood at the tower's edge, pointing toward the three large circular platforms spread across Stormterror's Lair.
"Our luck is good. Time has weathered most of old Mondstadt's tall buildings, but the light-guiding mechanisms are well preserved," Albedo said with a smile.
"Let's split up then. Diluc and I will take one team, Eula and Lisa another, and Lumine with Albedo for the third. Venti, stay here and keep watch, in case Dvalin wakes up suddenly." Jean commanded.