"Rոնava, do you think the Fatui came to help the Knights of Favonius, or the monsters?"
Ronava's gaze shifted from the Fatui to the dark mass of monsters outside the city. "Snezhnaya probably doesn't have the nerve to openly attack a nation yet."
Before she had finished speaking, chaos suddenly erupted at the rear of the monster formation.
Large numbers of Fatui soldiers attacked from behind. The roar of muskets and the glow of elemental power wove together into an impenetrable net, instantly shredding the monsters' escape route.
"Friends of Mondstadt-" a Fatui officer shouted, loudly enough for the entire city to hear. "We Fatui have come to save you!"
Compared to the Fatui and their fine standard-issue equipment, the Knights of Favonius looked like a pack of primitives.
They relied entirely on flesh and blood and brute force to hold their ground, and the most "advanced" weapons in their hands were still Klee's few bouncing bombs.
"Looking at it this way, if you don't count top-tier combatants, Snezhnaya's military strength really has secured first place among the Seven Nations."
Seeing how badly things were going, the Abyss Mages slipped away, every last one of them.
In the top-floor suite of the Goth Grand Hotel, La Signora leaned by the window.
Beside her, a Hydro Abyss Herald stood surrounded by surging, eerie blue waterlight.
"If you joined forces with us," the Herald said, his voice muffled and cold, "we could take the City of Mondstadt outright, right now."
"Oh?" La Signora turned, her red lips parting slightly. "Doing that would give Her Majesty the Tsaritsa a bad reputation. But if we do as we said-feign an attack and offer help today, then wait until they've completely let their guard down-we can take the City of Mondstadt in one stroke."
The Herald was silent for a moment. "His Highness the Prince can only keep the Anemo Archon and the others trapped for one more day at most. I hope your plan won't go wrong."
With that, the waterlight swirled, and the Herald disappeared into a portal.
La Signora looked out the window again.
"Barbatos," she said with a soft laugh, "this time, will you save your people first, or that pet of yours?"
With the Fatui joining the fight, the tide quickly turned.
The Hilichurl hordes that had roared and charged under the cover of their superior numbers were swiftly swept away in droves.
The strongest Frostarm Lawachurl roared and raised its ice shield, only to be pierced by a streak of frigid swordlight the next instant.
Eula's elemental burst, Glacial Illumination, came crashing down, and the Lawachurl's massive body crashed to the ground.
With its fall, the battle officially came to an end.
Only two unlucky knights among the Knights of Favonius had been injured, and none had died. The wounded had already been sent to the Cathedral of Favonius for treatment.
"We won!"
No one knew who shouted it first, but cheers swept across the entire battlefield.
In recognition of the Fatui's "life-saving kindness," Lisa tacitly allowed them to enter the City of Mondstadt alongside the Knights of Favonius.
The Fatui had vast resources, after all. They had long since booked the entire Goth Grand Hotel, sparing the Knights of Favonius even the trouble of arranging lodging for them.
News of the victory spread like the wind throughout Mondstadt.
At first, the city sang the Knights of Favonius' praises, but before anyone noticed, the wind had changed direction-the story became that "the Knights of Favonius were saved by the Fatui."
The people of Mondstadt praised the Fatui's bravery and loyalty with one voice, then turned around and disparaged the Knights of Favonius for their incompetence: if the knights had been able to hold the line, how could the enemy have reached their own doorstep?
"How can they say that?" Lawrence slammed a fist against the wall and gritted his teeth. "We were the ones who defeated most of the enemy, so how did someone else get all the credit?"
Swan leaned against a wall by the street, looking relatively calm. "Don't say that. They did come to help, at least."
"You've got a better attitude than I do." Lawrence sighed, then his gaze suddenly fell on Swan's sword. "By the way, your sword... why was it crackling with electricity during the fight?"
"I just coated it with a bit of alchemical potion." Swan put his sword away, his tone indifferent. "I'm not like you. I don't have a Vision."
Lawrence scratched his head and smiled a little sheepishly. "I was just lucky, that's all. Swan, you should go clean yourself up first."
He ran a few steps forward, then looked back and called out, "Patrol squad, follow me! Someone will relieve us in two hours!"
"Yes, Captain Lawrence!"
Swan stood where he was, motionless for a long time.
In the gathering dusk, his expression gradually darkened, and his fingers creaked around the hilt of his sword.
"...So you know you were just lucky," he murmured. "And you went out of your way to show off your new Vision in front of me-Lawrence."
Lawrence had truly been wronged.
He had only meant to look after the brother who had once stood guard alongside him, nothing more.
Inside the Knights of Favonius' headquarters, Kaeya frowned deeply. "Lisa, how could you let Snezhnaya's army march into Mondstadt so brazenly?"
Lisa leisurely closed the book in her hands. "What else could I do? They just helped us. If we turned around and chased them out of the city, the Knights of Favonius' reputation would only get worse. Let's wait until Jean gets back before deciding anything."
In fact, Lisa had already given Albedo quiet instructions, and he had taken Klee to bury bombs all around the Goth Grand Hotel.
The power of that ring of bombs was enough to send every Fatui inside sky-high.
But the fewer people who knew about that, the better.
That night.
"This is the City of Mondstadt's defense plan?"
Schubert Lawrence straightened his back, a note of pride in his voice. "Of course. I obtained it through the Lawrence Clan's connections."
La Signora said, "Why is it different from the other one we obtained?"
Schubert's expression changed. "Impossible! Who gave you the other one? I want to confront him in person!"
"I did."
The door was pushed open, and Swan came in from outside.
"You-" Schubert's eyes widened. "A mere knight like you dares betray Mondstadt!"
Swan looked at him coldly. "How is what you've done any different from what I've done?"
"We're not the same!" Schubert practically roared. "We of the Lawrence Clan are the rightful masters of Mondstadt! What are you, to think you can compare yourself to me? In the old days, someone like you wouldn't even have been fit for me to lead around as a dog!"
"You!" Swan drew his sword in a flash.
"Enough."
"Both of you, get out. I'll verify the information, and naturally, I'll do what I promised you."
La Signora looked at the two men before her, a trace of nearly imperceptible contempt rising in her eyes.
They were nothing more than two chess pieces, yet they could quarrel like this over such a trivial matter.
Waterlight flashed, and the Hydro Abyss Herald appeared once more. "According to our intelligence, the defense plan sent by that knight named Swan is more likely to be genuine."
The corners of La Signora's lips curled up. "Then make your move."
The Herald hesitated. "Ordinary knights are easy to deal with. But that Lawrence has a Vision. It'll be a little difficult to get rid of him without alerting anyone."
"Someone will take care of him."
La Signora pushed the door open and walked out. Outside, Swan and Schubert were still facing off, ready to draw their swords.
"Swan," she said, her voice gentle, "your information is genuine. Proceed as planned."
A flash of satisfaction crossed Swan's eyes. He shot Schubert a smug glance, then answered and left.
Schubert remained where he was, his expression utterly wretched. "Impossible... how could mine be fake?"
"Your 'connections' deceived you," La Signora said scornfully. "For all you know, the Knights of Favonius already know. If tonight's operation fails-you know the consequences."
Schubert clenched his fists and left without a word, his face dark.