The exploration team members who were supposed to go up emerged from the cave entrance, looking at the situation inside.
Lin En was kneeling on the ground treating Chongyun's wounds.
He heard footsteps and looked up to see the young man leading the way standing at the entrance of the passage. His face was covered in dust, but his eyes were completely different from before. There was no panic or dishevelment in them; instead, there was a calm scrutiny in his eyes.
"Lord the Jester, one person is unconscious, and another is injured; the status of the Ruler of Death is unknown."
The young man turned to the side and whispered something towards the deeper passage behind him.
Lin En's hand stopped on Chongyun's forehead, and his pupils contracted slightly.
"Prepare for battle!"
An aged voice came from the depths of the passage, the footsteps unhurried, making a dull sound as they stepped on the gravel.
A tall, thin figure emerged from the darkness, long, greyish-white hair falling over his shoulders— the Jester, Pierro!
" Pierro!"
Ronava recalled her spear, black energy surging within it. With a powerful leap, she shot towards the entrance of the passage like an arrow, the spear tip aimed directly at Pierro's face.
Pierro dodged to the side, raised his hand to block, revealing a black-gloved hand beneath his sleeve, in which he held a dark silver diamond-shaped badge.
He slammed his palm against the side of the spear, the sound of metal clashing echoing through the cave, sending pebbles tumbling down.
Ronava's spear veered off course by half an inch, the tip embedding itself in the nearby rock wall and creating a crack.
The entire cave was shaking.
Lin En leaned Chongyun against the wall, drew his dark red longsword, and charged towards the passage ahead.
The dozen or so Fatui soldiers were filing into the cave entrance, carrying ice-blue muskets, spreading out in formation, attempting to encircle the enemy.
Lin En didn't give them a chance to surround him. He rushed to the soldier at the front, slashed horizontally with his longsword, cutting the musket barrel in half, and then kicked him in the chest, sending him flying into the back of the ranks.
The left hand ripped the Stone Stele from the ground, knocking over three soldiers on the right who were trying to flank him, and with a single slash, the second musket split in two.
Don't let them scatter!
The young people shouted from behind.
Lin En ignored him, Anemo spread beneath his feet, and he slashed horizontally into the middle of the Fatui ' formation, thrusting his longsword repeatedly, taking down six people within three seconds.
The remaining men finally panicked. The muskets were interrupted before they could fully charge. Two of them immediately pointed their guns at Lin En and pulled the triggers. The ice bullets grazed his shoulders and hit the rock wall, freezing into a patch of ice flowers.
Lin En dodged to the side, then slammed the hilt of his sword into the back of his neck. He kicked the remaining men to the ground one by one, scattering guns everywhere.
He glanced back at Ronava's direction.
Ronava and Pierro were fighting in the center of the cave, sending stones flying everywhere.
Ronava's spear rained down like a storm, each strike trailing a trail of black energy, never missing Pierro's vital points.
Pierro's footwork was very steady, parrying left and right, and occasionally he could even counterattack once or twice, but he was clearly being suppressed. His steps kept retreating, and his feet plowed deep furrows.
Is that all you've got?
Ronava swung her spear horizontally, the shaft striking Pierro in the chest and sending him flying. He crashed into the cave wall, creating a dent.
Pierro slid down from the pit, knelt on one knee, and coughed twice.
He raised his head, blood at the corner of his mouth, but his expression remained unchanged. He took out a gray-blue sphere from his pocket and clenched it in his palm.
A burst of purple light exploded from his body, spreading all over his body. Dense patterns appeared on his skin, his pupils changed color, and the temperature of the air around him plummeted.
He used the Delusion!
Pierro stood up, and his speed and power had clearly increased significantly.
The next shot fired by Ronava was caught by him with one hand, the tip of the gun making a grating scraping sound in his palm.
He pulled Ronava forward a step with his other hand, and then punched her in the face with his other fist.
Ronava dodged to the side, her fist grazing her ear as it slammed into the rock wall behind her, creating a half-foot-wide crack in the wall.
The situation has turned around.
Ronava was forced back several steps by Pierro's counterattack. Her spear attacks were no longer as fluid as before. The amplification from the Delusion made Pierro's speed and strength exceed her expectations.
She only has 70% of her power now, and she is at a disadvantage in a head-on confrontation with an Harbinger has gained Delusion.
" Lin En!"
Ronava called out.
"They're here!"
Lin En dealt with the last Fatui's soldier and charged in from the side, his longsword imbued with Anemo, aiming straight for Pierro's ribs.
Pierro dodged to the side, and the spear seized the opportunity to pierce his shoulder, black energy flowing in, causing Pierro to stagger.
Lin En followed up with another sword strike, stabbing him in the outside of his thigh. Anemo seeped into the wound, and Pierro's speed visibly slowed down.
"Good teamwork."
Ronava's gunfire pressed down again, Pierro was caught between the two, struggling to defend himself.
Lin En's Anemo and Geo alternated in restraining the enemy, Ronava's black energy was the main offensive force. Even with Pierro's powerful Delusion amplification, he couldn't withstand the combined onslaught from the two of them.
Lin En seized an opening, launched himself forward, and thrust his longsword straight into Pierro's chest. The tip of the sword emerged from his back and embedded itself half an inch into the rock wall, pinning Pierro to the wall.
Pierro looked down at the sword in his chest, coughed twice, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but his expression remained calm.
Just then, a bone-chilling cold emanated from the depths of the passage.
The water vapor in the air instantly condensed into ice crystals, and the water seeping from the walls of the cave froze into a thick layer of ice in an instant, causing the temperature to plummet below freezing.
Ronava's expression changed; she turned her head to look into the depths of the passage, something churning within her golden eyes.
"She's here too?!"
Lin En followed her gaze.
Deep within the passage, a tall figure in blue and white slowly walked towards her, surrounded by a visible chill. Her long white hair cascaded down to her waist, her face was cold and noble, and her deep blue dress trailed on the ice, each step creating a frosty flower. The Tsaritsa had arrived!
Lin En tightened his grip, pulled the longsword from Pierro's chest, and retreated to Ronava's side.
In their current state, Ronava had just finished fighting Pierro with 70% of her strength, and he himself was also mostly exhausted. They had no chance of winning against the Tsaritsa.
"Let's go first!"
Ronava grabbed his wrist and sprinted toward the passage behind them.
Behind him came the sound of Pierro falling to his knees, the dull thud of his knees hitting the rocks, followed by the calm voice of the Tsaritsa.
"You did a great job, Pierro. Leave the rest to me."
Ronava and Lin En disappeared into the passage without looking back.
The chilling aura chasing after them stopped after a while, probably because the Tsaritsa didn't intend to make a move here.
The two ran for a full fifteen minutes. The passage became narrower and narrower, and there were more and more forks in the road. Lin En followed Ronava's steps the whole way, turning seven or eight corners, and finally squeezed into a narrow gap that could only allow one person to pass sideways before stopping to catch his breath.
Why is she here?
Lin En leaned on his knees, panting for a long time.
"Have no idea."
Ronava leaned against the rock wall, her silver hair covered in shards of ice, and her complexion was not good.
"But the fact that she came in person shows that they really want to kill us. Their request wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision; it was planned."
"What about Chongyun? He's still unconscious in the cave!"
The Tsaritsa will not kill him.
Ronava said.
" Pierro is injured; she needs to take care of her own people first. Chongyun is irrelevant; she won't waste her energy on him."
Lin En gritted her teeth. That damned Tsaritsa!
"So what do we do now?"
Ronava remained silent for a few moments, then glanced into the depths of the passage.
"Let's go further in and see where this passage leads."
What if she bumps into me?
"If you bump into her, go ahead; I'll hold her off."
Ronava straightened up from the rock face, but Lin En said firmly.
"If we really run into each other, I'll stop her. She might not kill me, but you..."
Lin En picked up the miner's lamp from the ground, blew off the dust, and turned the switch; the lamp was still on.
He followed Ronava deeper into the passage. The chill behind them had completely disappeared, but the temperature in the passage was getting lower and lower, and a thin layer of frost had formed on the rock walls.