"Hey!" Seeing Dvalin fly away, the noble from the Lawrence Clan immediately roared, "You lowly thing!"
After a string of curses, he swaggered toward Tang Wang and Albedo. For the moment, the two powerful fighters had lost the ability to move.
"Oh well. Two powerful vessels will make up for the lo-"
"Bird of death, spread your wings!" Before he had taken more than a few steps, a crimson raven fell upon him.
In the final moment before his death, the noble looked in disbelief toward the stone bridge outside Mondstadt City's main gate. There, he saw three women hurrying toward him.
A short while earlier, just after Tang Wang had kicked Dvalin out of Mondstadt City...
"So, the knights... don't need to keep organizing the evacuation anymore, right?" Danika asked Amber, who was beside her.
"Huh?" Amber paused. "If Stormterror isn't going to keep attacking, I suppose not?"
"Come on, Ronava." Danika immediately waved her over. "Just in case, let's go check on Tang Wang."
"Okay." Without any hesitation, Ronava immediately followed her.
"Where are you going?"
"To make sure our companion is safe," she replied.
"Hey, wait, count me in!" Amber took off after them.
When they finally reached the city gate, they saw Dvalin breaking free.
"That person over there... isn't that Eula's uncle?" Amber spotted the member of the Lawrence Clan at once. "What is he doing?"
Amber nocked an arrow and drew her bow, intending to knock the crystal out of his hand as quickly as possible.
"Wait." Danika held out her greatsword to stop her. "Don't alert him."
"He's suspected of being one of the masterminds. If we can capture him alive, perhaps none of our problems will be a problem anymore."
"Ronava, use your Elemental Power to restrain him..." Danika turned her head, only to discover that the short, white-haired woman had already raised her arm high and unleashed her Elemental Skill with pure fury.
She didn't know why she was being so impulsive. She only felt anger erupt from her chest alongside the image of Tang Wang spilling blood in midair.
"Boom!!!" After the thunderous impact, all that remained of the Lawrence Clan noble was a pile of black ash.
"Quick... check his injuries," Ronava panted after unleashing the attack. "Then, find Linaya and heal him."
"...Don't be so impulsive next time." Danika had almost cursed at her, but after considering Ronava's situation, she swallowed the rebuke.
"So this is... what impulsive means?" After saying those words, Ronava too fell onto her side.
Looking at the three unconscious bodies, Danika felt completely numb.
"Um... Miss Knight, could you give me a hand?"
"...As the Knights of Favonius' chief alchemist, Albedo's contributions are beyond question."
"But what about this adventurer? How should we reward him? Simply granting him a title probably wouldn't be enough, would it?"
"Mm..." An unknown amount of time later, Tang Wang slowly opened his eyes. In his field of vision, two pink crescents rose slightly; he was familiar with this sight.
"Lili, where am I?" He adjusted his position and closed his eyes again.
"The Cathedral of Favonius, a temporary shelter Mondstadt prepared for residents affected by the disaster." Linaya's voice came from above his head. "Tang Wang, how are you feeling now?"
"Fine, except my head's still a little fuzzy."
"Do you want to lie down a little longer?"
"No, no, that won't be necessary." As if remembering something, Tang Wang hurriedly sat up from Linaya's lap.
After he got up, the previously rather lively room suddenly fell quiet.
"Huh? What's going on?" He looked around in bewilderment. In this small space, virtually all the "characters" he knew had gathered:
Acting Grand Master Jean, Barbara, Albedo, Kaeya, Diluc, Mika, Eula, Rosaria...
"Oh, Mr. Tang Wang, you're finally awake." Seeing him wake up, Acting Grand Master Jean was the first to speak. "The Knights of Favonius are discussing a reward for your heroic performance during the dragon disaster."
"Are there really no capable people left in the Knights of Favonius?" Diluc said with a hint of disdain. "Saving Mondstadt had to be left to an outsider?"
"That's mainly because the Grand Master is away on an expedition," Tang Wang said, stepping in to smooth things over. "Otherwise, there wouldn't have been any need for me to step in."
"By the way, Master Diluc, I heard you were injured fighting an Abyss Herald... How's your recovery going?"
"At least I can still hold a sword." Diluc shrugged indifferently. "You, on the other hand, were hurt so badly, yet you're already up and about?"
"Of course! After all, I have the greatest Adventurers' Guild advisor as a teammate!" He smiled and patted Linaya beside him.
"All right, enough small talk." He looked at Acting Grand Master Jean. "After what just happened, Albedo and I have confirmed beyond doubt that the young man from the Lawrence Clan was telling the truth."
"That's right." Albedo nodded from his bench. "All the Four Symbols Seals must be purged before the spike formed from poisonous blood can possibly be dissolved."
"As things stand, the last obstacle should be the Electro Abyss Lector."
"Knowing you, Tang Wang, you should already have a basic plan for dealing with that fellow, right?" Albedo looked at him.
"Of course." Tang Wang nodded confidently.
Then, without going into detail, he turned to Jean beside him:
"Acting Grand Master Jean, I don't need any extra reward. I only ask that the Knights of Favonius bring me the information we agreed on."
"And I wasn't the one who contributed the most in this incident." He looked over at his companions.
"Against the Hydro Abyss Herald, it was Linaya and Lumi's efforts that gave us the chance to defeat it."
"Against the Cryo Abyss Herald, it was Danika and Ronava's efforts that allowed us to win in the end."
"The credit for success isn't mine alone; I just happened to be there when we succeeded. So, if you're going to reward anyone, please don't forget them."
"All right." After following his gaze over the others, Acting Grand Master Jean nodded. "We'll give it serious consideration."
"So, what exactly do we need to prepare for this plan of yours?" With that first question, Albedo successfully brought the conversation back to what everyone present was most concerned about.
"First, we have to wait three days." He held up three fingers. "Second, I need a batch of ingredients for making various pastries, and the most vibrant Cecilia."
"You only need to notify the shops to prepare the ingredients. I'll pick the flower myself."