Their target was actually the Millelith!
As the Vanguard Bracer brought his hammer down, several Millelith soldiers were sent flying, their armor shattering into pieces.
Little Ningguang had never seen anything like this. Her face turned deathly pale.
Fang Xun hurriedly shielded her, keeping her from seeing the scene.
Hearing the cries of pain around him, the Millelith captain's expression darkened.
He demanded of the Electrohammer Vanguard, "Why is Snezhnaya attacking the Millelith? Are you trying to start a war?"
The Electrohammer Vanguard didn't respond. His hammer began charging again, clearly ready to launch another attack.
The Millelith captain understood Snezhnaya's stance. Turning to his companions, he ordered, "Everyone, form a defensive line! We outnumber him. We can take this big guy down!"
But before the captain could finish speaking,
a hulking blue man walked over, spraying bullets from the water gun in his hands.
The Millelith couldn't withstand that kind of attack either. Several more soldiers were sent flying.
Meanwhile, a man with a sniper rifle was taking down one Millelith soldier after another.
The Fatui hadn't sent just an Electrohammer Vanguard. They'd also brought a Hydro Fatui Soldier and a Pyro Agent!
The three of them together were more than the Millelith could handle.
Before the Millelith squad could even react, they had all been taken down.
The only ones still safe and sound were Fang Xun and Ningguang!
Little Ningguang clung tightly to Fang Xun, her young face full of fear.
"B-Brother Fang Xun, I'm scared..."
The little girl's voice trembled with terror.
"Don't be afraid, Little Ningguang."
"Your big brother's here."
At the same time,
at Wangshu Inn,
a young man stood atop the eaves with his hands behind his back, still as a statue.
His short teal hair moved in the breeze, and the red diamond on his forehead gave him a distinctive air.
His golden eyes were calm as still water, as if they had lain dormant for millennia.
A finely crafted, imposing yaksha mask hung at his neck.
Most strikingly, his arms bore the markings of an illuminated beast.
The markings seemed to radiate an untouchable force, driving away all evil.
The young man looked not yet twenty,
but in truth, he was a Guardian Yaksha who had lived for two thousand years,
known as the Great Sage of Demon Subjugation,
As usual,
Xiao stood atop Wangshu Inn, silently watching over bustling Liyue.
But at that moment, he sensed something amiss and slowly lowered his gaze.
He clearly saw that, a thousand meters away,
a group of Treasure Hoarders had surrounded a man and a woman.
It was obvious the Treasure Hoarders meant them harm.
Not long after, the Millelith arrived and brought the scene under control.
Thinking the matter had been settled, Xiao was about to look away,
but just then, he noticed an unexpected turn of events.
Three Fatui soldiers had joined the fight, attacking the Millelith without mercy.
Xiao didn't know when the Fatui had infiltrated Liyue,
but he knew their bodies had been modified. Ordinary people would likely struggle to deal with them.
Sure enough,
the Millelith were powerless against the Fatui, forced back again and again.
In the end, every Millelith soldier fell.
At that point, Xiao couldn't simply stand by.
The Liyue of today was the result of a thousand years of effort by the Lord. Xiao wouldn't allow anyone to destroy its peace.
He put on the Yaksha Mask, then drew a deep breath.
In that instant, Xiao underwent a complete transformation.
It was as if invisible shackles had been released.
His extinguished golden eyes blazed to life again, like a beacon that wouldn't go out in a storm!
Then, black karmic flames began to gather around him.
Along with the immense pain came the release of his power.
The next second,
Xiao vanished in a wisp of smoke.
As Xiao sprang into action,
Ganyu also received word from the Millelith and hurried to Wangshu Inn.
But by the time she arrived, all the Millelith had already fallen.
She also saw three Fatui soldiers slowly advancing toward Fang Xun and Ningguang.
There was no time to think. Ganyu immediately drew Amos' Bow, ready to fire and save them.
Blue light gathered around the arrow, and powerful energy surged from Ganyu.
At last, a brilliant blue flower bloomed at the arrow's tip.
Just as Ganyu was about to release the arrow,
she saw the foreigner named Fang Xun holding Ningguang in his arms and quickly stepping back.
As he retreated, several illusory images of Fang Xun appeared.
And,
he left a lotus behind where he had stood!
Ganyu was astonished.
Wasn't that her skill, "Mountain Marsh Lin Ji"?
In all of Liyue, only she and her master, Cloud Retainer, could use this skill.
How could Fang Xun use it too?
What's more,
Ganyu noticed
that Fang Xun's version of "Mountain Marsh Lin Ji" was slightly different from hers.
When Ganyu used the skill, she left behind an ice lotus.
Fang Xun, however, left behind a golden lotus.
They were both lotuses, but Ganyu could clearly sense
that the lotus Fang Xun had left behind contained an incredibly terrifying aura.
As a half-human, half-illuminated beast, Ganyu couldn't help feeling a shiver of dread in the face of that aura!
Her instincts told her that the golden lotus was dangerous!
The Fatui, however, clearly weren't as perceptive as Ganyu.
They only glanced at the golden lotus before striding right past it.
To them, it was just a defensive skill and not worth worrying about.
But in the next instant, the golden lotus blossomed in all its glory, bursting with dazzling light.
The sea of light swallowed the three Fatui officers. Their bodies turned to dust and began to vanish.
When the light faded, not a single Fatui remained. Only a scorched, smoking warhammer was left behind.
The Millelith stared in utter shock.
They hadn't even been able to handle one Fatui officer,
yet this foreigner named Fang Xun had taken on three!
And he'd killed them instantly, leaving not even a speck behind.
It was simply unbelievable!
Little Ningguang, still in Fang Xun's arms, was stunned too. She hadn't expected Brother Fang Xun to be so powerful.
One lotus had taken out all three bad guys!
Before you continue