Standing at the entrance of the castle, Paimon felt a moment of dizziness.
Then she suddenly snapped awake.
"Oh no, oh no! I have to find other people!"
Without hesitation, she immediately rushed toward the town.
Earlier, Black Swan had sacrificed herself to weaken Silver Wolf's level to around twenty. As long as Paimon could recruit a few more teammates, they could definitely defeat Silver Wolf.
Time was critical.
Ningguang wouldn't be able to stall for long.
If she missed this opportunity, everything would be over.
[Attention: Your teammate Beidou has been eliminated.]
[Attention: Your teammate Diluc has been eliminated.]
The notifications rang out.
Paimon sped up even more.
Now that Beidou and Diluc were already eliminated, Ningguang was the only one holding Silver Wolf back.
If she didn't hurry, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity would disappear.
"Ruu—la!"
Without further delay, Paimon cast a teleportation spell and rushed toward the town she had visited earlier.
Inside the tavern.
Keqing was packing her gear.
Although she couldn't move freely around the world, she could still travel within the surrounding area of the city.
She planned to go grind levels.
Otherwise she might be looked down upon again later.
Several other players were thinking the same thing.
They couldn't just stay here forever.
Their levels needed to catch up too.
Just as everyone was about to leave, the tavern door suddenly burst open.
Paimon rushed in, looking frantic.
"Huh? Paimon, why are you alone?"
"Did your team get wiped out?"
"Probably. That must be it."
The players started discussing among themselves.
But Paimon didn't care what they were saying.
She jumped onto a table and shouted loudly.
"Everyone! Form a team with me! Let's go defeat a Demon General!"
"What?"
"A Demon General?"
"You already ran into one?"
Everyone was shocked.
At the same time, they were curious.
Was it really that easy to encounter a Demon General?
Why did Paimon look so confident?
"Hurry! Or it'll be too late!"
Without hesitation, Paimon explained everything that had happened earlier.
Of course, it was Black Swan's edited version of the story.
Her memories had already been tampered with.
In her mind, this was the perfect chance.
After hearing her explanation, many players became excited.
This really was a great opportunity.
Defeating a Demon General would give a massive amount of experience.
And the treasures in the castle would definitely be valuable.
"Paimon! Pick me!"
Arataki Itto immediately stood up.
He had already been rejected by Paimon before.
This time she couldn't possibly reject him again, right?
"Okay, you're in."
Paimon didn't bother being picky anymore.
Anyone willing to go was good enough.
"Wait."
Suddenly, a voice interrupted the excited crowd.
Kaeya slowly walked forward and crouched down in front of Paimon.
"Paimon, the castle you mentioned… is it the one just west of here?"
"Yes."
Paimon nodded.
Kaeya revealed a strange smile and stood up.
"Everyone, the castle to the west isn't far."
"That means we can go there ourselves."
"We don't actually need Paimon."
Earlier, Paimon had rejected many people and carefully picked her teammates.
So unless necessary, these players really didn't want to team up with her.
Now that they heard Kaeya's reasoning, they immediately understood.
If a Demon General was about to be defeated—
Why let Paimon take the credit?
Didn't she reject them earlier?
Now they could reject her instead.
Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted:
"Charge! Let's go steal the kill!"
"OOOOOOH!"
The other players immediately agreed.
Why follow Paimon when they could claim the reward themselves?
If they landed the final blow on the Demon General, the experience gain would be huge.
And if another Hero appeared later, their high levels might make them the top choice for recruitment.
In an instant, the entire crowd rushed out of the tavern.
Everyone headed straight for the castle.
Only a few relatively kind people stayed behind, looking at Paimon with helpless expressions.
"…You guys…"
Paimon stood there blankly.
Her eyes were full of confusion.
What just happened?
Why did everyone run off?
Did they not want her, the Hero, anymore?
"Sigh…"
Keqing walked over and gently patted Paimon's head.
"Don't be discouraged."
"As long as you level up more, you'll still find teammates."
"Mm…"
Tears welled up in Paimon's eyes.
Looking at Keqing, she felt deeply moved.
Everyone else had abandoned her.
They were all bad people.
Only Keqing was truly kind.
"Keqing, want to form a team?"
"Let me ask first… where are Ningguang and Black Swan?"
"Black Swan sacrificed herself, and Ningguang is holding the enemy back alone."
"I see."
Keqing thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"My level is too low. I'd only slow you down."
"And I don't plan to leave here right now."
"I should focus on strengthening myself first."
The only reason Paimon had been so popular earlier was because Ningguang and Black Swan were on her team.
Now Black Swan was gone.
And Ningguang would probably be eliminated soon too.
So what benefit was there in teaming up with Paimon now?
It was better to wait for the next Hero to appear.
Paimon's mouth trembled.
Since Keqing didn't want to team up, there was nothing she could do.
Creak—
The door opened again.
A young boy entered the tavern, followed by a cloaked figure.
"Yanqing?"
Keqing's eyes lit up.
If he arrived alone like this, that meant—
Another Hero had appeared.
"You're the Hero, right?"
"I'm a level 21 Red Mage."
"Want to team up?"
Paimon froze completely.
"Keqing… didn't you say you didn't want to leave the city?"
"You sounded so determined earlier!"
"So why are you trying to team up with someone else now?"
"I changed my mind."
Paimon: "..."
It was obvious now.
She simply didn't want to team up with Paimon.
All those excuses were just polite lies.
"Hmph! I'll go find Lumine myself!"
Paimon stomped toward the door with her tiny legs.
In this world, only Lumine truly treated her well.
Everyone else was terrible.
After Paimon left, Yanqing finally spoke.
"Is she the only one here?"
"No. The others went to hunt a Demon General."
"What?!"
The cloaked figure spoke in surprise.
Hunting a Demon General?
What was going on?
"Oh, earlier…"
Keqing explained everything that had happened.
Yanqing stared blankly after hearing the story.
He turned to the cloaked figure beside him.
"Didn't you say Ningguang and Black Swan were Demon Generals?"
"They are."
"It seems… they got tricked."
"What do you mean?"
Keqing felt something was wrong.
Why was this person saying Ningguang and Black Swan were Demon Generals?
Then why were they running around with the Hero?
The cloaked figure pulled back the hood.
Revealing Feixiao's face.
"Let me introduce myself."
"One of the Four Demon Generals."
"The Black Knight."
"WHAT?!"
Keqing nearly jumped.
A Demon General had entered the city?!
But then she remembered something.
Ningguang and Black Swan had walked into the city earlier too.
…Alright.
Maybe that wasn't such a big deal after all.
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