Arc 8Mondstadt on the Brink

Yucheng arrived in Mondstadt with Shenhe as the city faced Rifthound attacks, diplomatic negotiations, and a Lawrence Clan conspiracy backed by Snezhnaya. Eula rejected her clan and warned Jean, who prepared to defend the city as Sergei set the Fatui invasion in motion.

  • Shenhe and Klee defeated the Rifthounds with Yucheng's guidance, and Razor thanked them before joining their trip to Mondstadt.
  • Amber escorted the group to Mondstadt, where Yucheng admitted to Shenhe that he had taken the Dragon's Rib and hidden it in his Kamui Dimension.
  • Jean organized a campaign against the Rifthounds and prepared for the Inazuma delegation, while Yucheng revealed to Diluc that La Signora had died and Scaramouche had defected.
  • Yucheng arrived as Inazuma's Regent and began diplomatic talks with Jean, then attended a banquet where Schubert's confrontation with Eula ended with the Lawrence nobles arrested.
  • Yucheng tested Eula's loyalty to the Knights of Favonius and warned her that the Lawrence Clan and Snezhnaya were preparing to destabilize Mondstadt.
  • Eula broke with the Lawrence Clan, while its elders accepted Sergei's support and promised Snezhnaya money and access in exchange for help reclaiming Mondstadt.
  • Eula warned Jean of the conspiracy and handed over documents, and Jean deceived the Lawrence Clan with a false defense map while arranging help from allies and Barbatos.
  • Sergei ordered the Fatui to attack during a guard shift change, seize the Knights' headquarters, and target Jean and the Gunnhildr Clan while avoiding Inazuma's delegation.
Chapters 176–200 Vol. 2 Read

Ch. 176Blanket bombardment

Shenhe and Klee fought the Rifthounds in Wolvendom while Yucheng backed them up. After Klee’s bombardment left only the largest Rifthound alive, it used spatial corruption to attack Yucheng and Klee, where the chapter left it facing Yucheng.

  • Shenhe summoned her Talisman Spirit and fought the smaller Rifthounds while Yucheng warned her about their attacks.
  • Klee destroyed a frozen Rifthound with Jumpy Dumpty after Yucheng told her to target it.
  • Shenhe used Divine Maiden's Deliverance to freeze the surrounding Rifthounds, and Klee bombarded them with Jumpy Dumpty until only the largest remained.
  • The large Rifthound vanished through a spatial rift to attack Yucheng and Klee, but Yucheng calmly met its gaze.

Ch. 177Another girl who looked very hot

Razor joined Klee, Yucheng, and Shenhe after they defeated the Rifthounds attacking Wolvendom. After Yucheng explained the danger they posed, Razor agreed to seek Lisa’s help, and the group headed toward Mondstadt before encountering another girl.

  • Razor found Klee, Yucheng, and Shenhe resting at the devastated battlefield and learned that they had defeated the Rifthounds.
  • Klee introduced Razor to Yucheng and Shenhe, and Razor thanked them for protecting his friend and the Lupical.
  • Yucheng explained that the Rifthounds’ poison, bleeding wounds, and ability to erode space made them a threat to all of Mondstadt.
  • Razor agreed to ask his purple teacher for help driving the Rifthounds away rather than risk more Lupical in a fight.
  • Yucheng took Klee and Razor toward Mondstadt, where the group came face-to-face with another girl who looked very hot.

Ch. 178Amber, the Social Terror

Amber stopped Yucheng's group in Wolvendom, learned about the Rifthound attacks, and escorted them toward Mondstadt with Klee and Razor. As the city came into view, Yucheng spotted two familiar figures waiting on its bridge.

  • Amber introduced herself and questioned Yucheng's group, while Klee explained that they had helped her fight the Rifthounds.
  • Yucheng's group told Amber about the Rifthounds, and Amber decided to inform Jean because the attacks threatened Mondstadt and the incoming Inazuma delegation.
  • Razor initially refused to go to the city, but Yucheng persuaded him to seek Lisa's help for his injured Lupical.
  • Amber escorted the group toward Mondstadt and chatted with Razor until he began opening up to her.
  • Yucheng saw two familiar figures waiting on the bridge outside Mondstadt City.

Ch. 179An exchange at the city gates

Yucheng and Shenhe arrived at Mondstadt, where Eula questioned Albedo about a stolen Dragon's Rib while privately suspecting Yucheng. After the others left, Yucheng admitted to Shenhe that he had taken the bone and hidden it in his Kamui Dimension.

  • Yucheng's group reached Mondstadt's bridge, where Albedo and Eula were waiting, and Klee ran to greet Albedo.
  • Eula told Amber that a Dragon's Rib had vanished from Dragonspine and that Albedo had noticed nothing unusual.
  • Albedo thanked Yucheng and Shenhe for taking Klee out, and Eula warned him to be more careful about leaving Klee with strangers.
  • Amber welcomed Yucheng and Shenhe as friends of Lumine, then left with Eula, Albedo, Klee, and Razor for the Knights' headquarters.
  • After the group departed, Shenhe asked why Eula had been staring at Yucheng, and he admitted that he had taken the Dragon's Rib.
  • Yucheng told Shenhe the stolen bone was hidden in his Kamui Dimension, where Eula could not find it.

Ch. 180First Meeting with the Boozehound

Yucheng and Shenhe arrived at the Angel's Share to visit Venti, bringing him fine wine from Liyue and Inazuma. Venti recognized Yucheng and happily called for the tavern's best wine, declaring that someone else would pay.

  • Yucheng and Shenhe entered the Angel's Share, where Diluc welcomed them and told them not to disturb the other customers.
  • Yucheng and Shenhe went upstairs and found Venti drunk at a table amid empty bottles.
  • Venti recognized Shenhe and asked why she had come, then learned that her companion was Uchiha Yucheng.
  • Venti revealed that he knew Yucheng's subordinates were still at Jingfu Port, and Yucheng said he had traveled overland to Mondstadt.
  • Yucheng placed fine Liyue and Inazuman wines on the table, and Venti grabbed them and called downstairs for the best wine on someone else's tab.

Ch. 181The Knights' response

Jean organized Mondstadt’s response to the missing dragon remains on Dragonspine and the Rifthounds in Wolvendom while preparing to receive Inazuma’s delegation. She sent Eula to escort the delegation and assigned Kaeya, Lisa, Amber, and Razor to deal with the monsters.

  • Klee and the others reported the missing dragon remains and the Rifthounds to Jean, who sent Klee to solitary confinement for her explosives.
  • Jean ordered Eula to lead her Reconnaissance Company to Jingfu Port and escort the Inazuma delegation to Mondstadt City.
  • Lisa identified the Wolvendom monsters as Rifthounds left from the Dark Calamity and advised eliminating them quickly.
  • Kaeya volunteered to lead the operation against the Rifthounds.
  • Jean assigned Lisa and Amber to join the operation and told Razor to warn the wolves in Wolvendom, including the Youkai.

Ch. 182The chatterbox and the sucker

Jean arranged for adventurers to investigate the theft of dragon remains while the Knights of Favonius handled the arriving Inazuma delegation. At Angel's Share, Yucheng treated Venti to an extravagant meal, then offered Diluc information about two Fatui Harbingers to cover the staggering bill.

  • Jean posted a lucrative Adventurers' Guild commission to investigate the theft of the dragon's ribs on Dragonspine.
  • Venti drank and ate at Yucheng's expense, stashed away the two jars of fine wine, and drunkenly gossiped about people across Teyvat.
  • Yucheng paid a visit to Diluc to settle Venti's tab and learned the bard had run up a bill of more than twelve million Mora.
  • Diluc told Yucheng that the Inazuma delegation had reached Jingfu Port without its Chief Envoy, and Yucheng offered information instead of payment.
  • Yucheng revealed that La Signora had died in Inazuma and Scaramouche had defected to Sumeru, asking whether the news would cover Venti's bill.

Ch. 183Tonight's drinks are on me

Diluc learned from Yucheng that La Signora had died and Scaramouche had defected, and he celebrated by putting every drink in Angel's Share on his tab. Yucheng left with Shenhe to find a hotel, while Jean prepared the Goth Grand Hotel for Inazuma’s arriving delegation.

  • Yucheng told Diluc that La Signora had died in Inazuma and Scaramouche had defected, and Diluc concluded Yucheng had killed La Signora.
  • Diluc recalled how the Fatui’s Delusion had led to Crepus’s death, driving him to leave the Knights of Favonius and spend four years investigating the Fatui.
  • Diluc announced unlimited drinks for everyone at Angel's Share, and the customers cheered while the tipsy Venti called for another bottle.
  • Yucheng and Shenhe left Angel's Share and went looking for a hotel in Mondstadt.
  • Jean decided to use the Goth Grand Hotel to accommodate the incoming Inazuma delegation.

Ch. 184Extermination and a search

Jean led the Knights of Favonius and Razor’s Lupical in exterminating Rifthounds in Wolvendom, then learned that Inazuma’s Regent Yucheng had arrived in Mondstadt early with Shenhe. While the Knights searched for them, the couple toured Mondstadt and stayed at Dawn Winery, where Diluc offered Yucheng one hundred million Mora for every question he answered.

  • Jean and Kaeya led the Knights of Favonius, aided by Razor’s Lupical, in killing forty-six Rifthounds in Wolvendom.
  • Eula learned from Yae Miko that Yucheng and Shenhe had arrived in Mondstadt two days ahead of the Inazuma delegation.
  • Jean ordered the Knights to search for Yucheng and Shenhe, but discovered that they had not stayed at any hotel or inn.
  • Yucheng and Shenhe visited Mondstadt’s landmarks and accepted Diluc’s invitation to dinner and an overnight stay at Dawn Winery.
  • Diluc questioned Yucheng and offered him one hundred million Mora for every answer.

Ch. 185The city entry ceremony

Jean led Mondstadt’s officials out to welcome the Inazuma delegation, while the missing Regent, Yucheng, remained unaccounted for. As the delegation approached, Diluc drove a carriage toward the city ahead of it, and Eula stopped him at the bridge.

  • Jean sent the Knights of Favonius searching for Yucheng, but they could not find him before the Inazuma delegation arrived.
  • Jean led Mondstadt’s officials and Church leaders outside the gates, where they prepared a formal welcome for the approaching delegation.
  • The Inazuma delegation worried that Yucheng might fail to appear, while Yae Guuji remained untroubled.
  • Eula spotted Diluc’s carriage approaching from the south and moved to prevent it from entering before the delegation.
  • Eula warned Diluc to wait, then drew her Song of Broken Pines and stopped his horses with a line carved into the ground.

Ch. 186A historic meeting

Diluc brought Uchiha Yucheng, the Regent of Inazuma, to Mondstadt ahead of the Inazuma delegation. Yucheng and Acting Grand Master Jean formally met on the city bridge, opening the historic diplomatic visit.

  • Diluc and Eula argued about Eula's place in the Knights of Favonius before Yucheng revealed himself as the Regent of Inazuma and asked Eula to escort him to the delegation.
  • Eula led Diluc's carriage ahead of the Inazuma convoy, surprising the Knights and onlookers gathered outside Mondstadt.
  • Jean recognized Yucheng in the carriage and approached to welcome him as the delegation arrived.
  • Yucheng and his companion stepped out and clasped hands with Jean, officially beginning the meeting between Inazuma and Mondstadt.
  • Yucheng and Jean exchanged diplomatic greetings, then Jean invited him and the delegation into the city for their prepared accommodations.

Ch. 187Welcome banquet

Yucheng and the Inazuma delegation entered Mondstadt and attended a welcome banquet hosted by Acting Grand Master Jean, where they began meeting the city’s merchants and officials. At the banquet, Jean introduced Yucheng to Amber and Lisa.

  • Yucheng and Shenhe arrived at Mondstadt’s city entrance ceremony, relieving both delegations and surprising Amber with their identities.
  • The Inazuma delegation checked into the Goth Grand Hotel, where Kuki Shinobu revived the receptionist who fainted after recognizing Yucheng and Shenhe.
  • Jean gave the exhausted delegation the afternoon to rest and arranged an evening welcome banquet at the Anemo Archon Plaza for Mondstadt’s prominent residents and merchants.
  • Yucheng and his subordinates attended the banquet, and he sent the delegation members to make connections while he considered how to persuade Klee to visit Inazuma.
  • Jean approached Yucheng with Lisa and Amber and introduced the two Knights of Favonius members.

Ch. 188An unwelcome guest

At a Mondstadt banquet, Yucheng socialized with Lisa, Jean, and Amber before Schubert of the Lawrence Clan arrived and demanded a private conversation with him. Eula stood against her uncle’s attempts to use her and the Knights of Favonius, then confronted him with her greatsword.

  • Lisa praised Yucheng and teased him, while Jean cautioned her about the occasion.
  • Amber apologized to Yucheng for mistaking him for a suspicious stranger, and he reassured her and praised her work.
  • Yucheng toasted friendship with Lisa, Jean, and Amber, and they drank together.
  • Schubert arrived with members of the Lawrence Clan, insulted the banquet, and demanded that someone take him to Yucheng.
  • Eula blocked Schubert’s followers when they moved to attack a merchant, then refused her uncle’s orders to harm the man and clear the banquet.
  • Schubert revealed that he had wanted Eula to spy on the Knights of Favonius, and Eula silenced him and advanced with Song of Broken Pines.

Ch. 189The Lawrence Clan's Infamy

After the Lawrence nobles were arrested, Eula left the banquet feeling isolated, while Amber took over her guard post. Yucheng explained to Shenhe how the Lawrence Clan rose to prominence and then became Mondstadt’s tyrannical ruling class, leaving the story at the arrival of an outsider who would change the city’s future.

  • The Knights of Favonius arrested Schubert and the other Lawrence nobles, and Amber relieved Eula of her post after Jean noticed her distress.
  • Eula left the banquet for Angel's Share as the crowd resumed celebrating, while Jean also departed.
  • Shenhe asked why Mondstadt’s people despised the Lawrence Clan, and Yucheng began explaining the city’s history.
  • Yucheng described how the Lawrence Clan gained influence through practical service, then became a noble class that oppressed the common people and turned gladiatorial contests into executions.
  • Yucheng explained that the Lawrence nobles abandoned their duty to protect Mondstadt, and their leader eventually sacrificed people to the Dread Dragon Ursa to secure peace.
  • Yucheng said that an outsider arrived a thousand years ago and changed Mondstadt’s future.

Ch. 190Help the Lawrence Clan?

Yucheng recounted how Vanessa and her allies overthrew Mondstadt’s aristocrats and established the Knights of Favonius, then explained why the Lawrence Clan might be seeking Inazuma’s help to regain power. He weighed the potential benefits against the clan’s weakness and Mondstadt’s deep-rooted commitment to freedom.

  • Yucheng told Shenhe how Vanessa led her people against the aristocrats, with Barbatos circulating a forged contract that helped turn the soldiers against them.
  • Yucheng explained that Vanessa founded the Knights of Favonius and became their first Grand Master, while the Church of Favonius lost its former political privileges.
  • Shenhe asked why the Lawrence Clan still dared to provoke Mondstadt, and Yucheng said some members wanted to restore their clan’s former glory.
  • Yucheng suggested the Lawrence Clan might seek Inazuma’s support while most of Mondstadt’s Knights were away with Varka.
  • Shenhe asked whether Yucheng intended to help the Lawrence Clan, and he said it might benefit Inazuma but doubted the clan could hold power in a city shaped by freedom.

Ch. 191Eula drank her sorrows away

Eula drank alone at the Angel's Share after leaving the welcome banquet, voicing her anger at her clan and the people who shunned her. Uchiha Yucheng joined her and discussed the careful use of authority, then Eula asked why he had sought her out.

  • Eula spent nearly three hours drinking alone while the tavern patrons avoided sharing her table.
  • Eula muttered about her uncle, the Lawrence Clan's past, the city's judgment, and her need to apologize to the Gunnhildr family's daughter.
  • Uchiha Yucheng sat at Eula's table and remarked on her helplessness.
  • Yucheng argued that authority should be exercised with care and mocked the Lawrence Clan for ruling tyrannically without sufficient strength.
  • Eula objected to Yucheng's insults and asked what had brought him to seek her out.

Ch. 192The time it takes to drink a glass of wine

Yucheng tested Eula by claiming Inazuma could help the Lawrence Clan seize Mondstadt and asking her to betray the Knights of Favonius. He immobilized her and gave her until he finished his glass of wine to choose a side.

  • Yucheng asked Eula to chill his wine with her Cryo Vision, then questioned which side she would support if the Lawrence Clan fought the Knights of Favonius.
  • Yucheng argued that Varka's absence and the Inazuma and Snezhnayan delegations gave the Lawrence Clan an opportunity to reclaim Mondstadt.
  • Eula suspected Yucheng's delegation was plotting with her uncle and accused him of inviting thieves into Mondstadt.
  • Yucheng suggested Eula could serve as an inside agent for the Lawrence Clan and threatened to dispose of her if she chose the Knights of Favonius.
  • Yucheng used his power to pin Eula against the table and gave her the time it took him to drink one glass to decide.

Ch. 193The test passed

Yucheng tested whether Eula would side with the Lawrence Clan or remain loyal to the Knights of Favonius, and she chose the Knights despite believing he would kill her. He revealed the test was over and warned that Mondstadt was nearing turmoil, with the Lawrence Clan’s rebellion and Snezhnaya’s aid being real.

  • Yucheng held Eula restrained at a tavern table and pressured her to choose between the Lawrence Clan and the Knights of Favonius.
  • Eula reflected on her loyalty to the Knights and her friends, then declared that she chose the Knights.
  • Eula condemned the Lawrence Clan’s ambitions and braced herself for Yucheng to kill her.
  • Yucheng set off fireworks, released Eula, and told her she had passed his test.
  • Yucheng explained that he would pursue equal diplomatic relations with Mondstadt rather than restore the Lawrence Clan to power.
  • Yucheng warned Eula that the Lawrence Clan’s rebellion and Snezhnaya’s aid were real, and that Mondstadt was about to fall into turmoil.

Ch. 194The Lawrence and the Uchiha?

Eula learned that the Snezhnaya Diplomatic Mission might help the Lawrence Clan overthrow the Knights of Favonius, while Mondstadt lacked the strength to confront them openly. Yucheng explained why her situation reminded him of the Uchiha Clan’s history, leaving Eula wondering whether she was destined to destroy her own clan to protect Mondstadt.

  • Eula asked Yucheng what Inazuma planned, and he said the delegation would establish diplomatic relations while leaving Mondstadt’s internal affairs to Mondstadt.
  • Yucheng warned that the Snezhnaya Diplomatic Mission could support the Lawrence Clan and that Mondstadt could not arrest its envoys or declare war without risking a conflict with Snezhnaya.
  • Eula questioned why Yucheng had chosen her, and he said her situation and the Lawrence Clan’s history reminded him of the Uchiha Clan.
  • Yucheng recounted how an Uchiha clansman massacred his clan to stop its rebellion and protect the village, sparing only his younger brother.
  • Eula suspected Yucheng was connected to the Uchiha massacre, then wondered whether he meant for her to bring about the Lawrence Clan’s destruction herself.

Ch. 195The Secret Was Exposed

Eula worried that the Lawrence Clan would be destroyed if its rebellion failed, and Yucheng advised her to save the clan’s children by separating them from its vengeful elders. The conversation ended with Eula recognizing Yucheng as the person who had seen her at Wyrmrest Valley, leaving him afraid she would expose him.

  • Eula asked Yucheng whether there was a way to protect the Lawrence Clan from the consequences of rebellion.
  • Yucheng urged Eula to abandon the clan’s stubborn elders and protect its children from their teachings of revenge.
  • Eula accepted Yucheng’s advice and left to consider how to carry it out.
  • At the tavern entrance, Eula asked whether Yucheng had been at Wyrmrest Valley two days earlier and recognized his reaction as confirmation.
  • Eula left in a hurry, while Yucheng worried that she might reveal he had seen her bathing.

Ch. 196Severing ties with the clan

Eula publicly severed her ties with the Lawrence Clan, returning its Glacial Seal while keeping the Lawrence surname. That night, Lawrence elders met with Snezhnaya ambassador Sergei to discuss the clan's future.

  • Eula announced that she would leave the Lawrence Clan, give up its property, and return the Glacial Seal while retaining the name Eula Lawrence.
  • Schubert ordered the clan guards to subdue Eula, but she defeated them and left the estate.
  • News of Eula's break with the clan spread through Mondstadt, prompting reactions from Jean, the citizens, and Yucheng.
  • Schubert escorted Sergei to a late-night meeting with the Lawrence elders, who welcomed the Snezhnayan ambassador as an honored guest.

Ch. 197Scheming

The Lawrence Clan negotiated with the Snezhnaya delegation to help them seize Mondstadt while the Knights of Favonius were away. They agreed to provide tribute, pay for Fatui troops, and surrender relics of Barbatos, while Sherman revealed a powerful treasure from The Doctor as their trump card.

  • The Lawrence elders abandoned their attempts to recruit Inazuma and turned to Sergei for help restoring their rule over Mondstadt.
  • Sergei initially refused, but Schubert offered Snezhnaya forty percent of the clan’s annual tax revenue and promised to pay for a Fatui garrison.
  • The Lawrence elders eagerly agreed to give Snezhnaya anything connected to Barbatos after Sergei mentioned the Tsaritsa’s search for divine relics.
  • The clan planned to give the Fatui a map of Mondstadt’s defenses, but Eula’s allegiance to the Knights of Favonius left them without their intended mole.
  • Sherman reassured the elders that The Doctor had provided a treasure capable of defeating the Knights of Favonius, even at full strength.

Ch. 198Reporting and exposing

Eula reported the Lawrence Clan’s plot to seize power in Mondstadt with the Snezhnaya delegation and gave Jean a list of twenty-one young Lawrence children she hoped to protect. Jean recognized the danger posed by the Fatui and began considering how to defend Mondstadt with its depleted forces.

  • Jean reviewed reports of suspicious watchers, Lawrence Clan members recording information, and the Inazuma delegation delaying diplomatic talks.
  • Eula told Jean that the Lawrence Clan was conspiring with the Snezhnaya delegation to seize power and handed over two documents.
  • Eula left Jean’s office dazed after trading information on the clan for hope of cleansing its name, while Jean studied the evidence and the list of twenty-one children under seven.
  • Jean realized Mondstadt’s knights were too weakened to face the Fatui alone and considered seeking help from local Vision holders and Diluc.
  • Jean decided she would have to find a way to bring Diluc from the Dawn Winery into Mondstadt City to defend it.

Ch. 199Klee's stockpile

Jean prepared Mondstadt to face the Lawrence Clan’s planned rebellion, but Barbatos refused to intervene in a human conflict unless supernatural beings joined it. After discovering Klee had been making bombs in her confinement room, Jean confiscated them and decided to use the stockpile.

  • Jean tricked the Lawrence Clan with a false map of Mondstadt’s defenses and gathered trusted allies to help resist the rebellion.
  • Jean refused the Inazuma Regent’s demand for a permanent five-percentage-point tariff reduction and asked Barbatos for help instead.
  • Barbatos declined to interfere in Mondstadt’s political conflict but promised that Dvalin would assist if nonhuman supernatural beings intervened.
  • Jean heard crackling from Klee’s confinement room, found her making bombs, and ordered Wood to confiscate the finished explosives.
  • Jean brought Klee’s confiscated bombs to a secluded warehouse and resolved to put the stockpile to use.

Ch. 200Pre-battle rally

Sergei rallied the Fatui forces in the Whispering Woods before their planned attack on Mondstadt City, promising them privileges and encouraging them to seize the city for the Lawrence Clan. The Fatui prepared to exploit a guard shift change in two hours, unaware that a small piece of wood was stuck in Sergei’s shoe.

  • Sergei gathered the Fatui combat forces and told them the Lawrence Clan had asked Snezhnaya to help reclaim Mondstadt City.
  • A Fatui soldier questioned why the Fatui would let the Lawrence Clan rule, and Sergei framed the plan as restoring the city to its rightful owners.
  • When another soldier raised concerns about Barbatos, La Signora’s Agent and other Fatui dismissed the Anemo Archon as weak.
  • Sergei ordered the Fatui to enter during the gate guard shift change, eliminate the patrolling knights, seize the Knights’ headquarters, and prioritize Jean and the Gunnhildr Clan while avoiding the Inazuma delegation.
  • Sergei finished his rally, and the Fatui prepared to rest before the attack as a small piece of wood remained lodged in his shoe.
Arc 8 of 19