Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
As Barbara charged forward, the two women exchanged several blows in an instant.
Miyabi was an Assassin, and direct frontal combat was not her specialty.
After a brief clash, she immediately leapt backward to disengage.
At the same time, she flicked out a chain, wrapping it around Yanagi and pulling her safely to her side.
"Uh… Barbara, stop!"
Jean hurriedly shouted.
"I summoned you to fight Yunli, not our ally!"
"Big Sister, don't come any closer. She's dangerous."
Having already fallen victim to Miyabi's abilities once, Barbara remained extremely wary.
She was terrified that Jean might be caught off guard as well.
"Interesting."
Yunli watched the situation unfold with amusement.
She had expected the two Servants to team up against her.
Instead, they were fighting each other.
With a grin, she stepped forward.
"I'll help you. Let's eliminate her first."
"Deal."
In an instant, the battlefield shifted.
Miyabi became the isolated target.
Yanagi glared at Jean with fury.
"What is the meaning of this? This is not what we agreed on!"
Although she was furious, her first instinct was to retreat.
Barbara's attack had revealed a critical flaw.
She and Jean had signed a magical contract forbidding them from harming one another.
Yet Barbara was still free to attack Miyabi.
That meant the contract only restricted the two Masters themselves.
It said nothing about their Servants.
In other words, Jean had never intended to cooperate without holding something back.
"Uh…"
Jean looked deeply embarrassed.
Surrounded by Barbara's knights, she couldn't get close enough to intervene.
All she could do was shout.
"Barbara, Yunli is the enemy! You've got the wrong target!"
"The wrong target?"
Barbara glanced at Yunli, then back at Miyabi.
What's wrong about this?
This is the one who tricked me.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with attacking her.
"Hehe. How entertaining."
Far away, Ningguang observed the battle through her familiars and nearly burst out laughing.
Pressing her hand against the ground, she summoned a host of earthen humanoid constructs.
"Keep fighting. Once you're all exhausted, I'll eliminate every one of you."
In the live chat:
[Jing Yuan: Fascinating. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it.]
[Seth: What is wrong with Mondstadt? Didn't you agree to fight together?]
[Belle: Exactly. Totally untrustworthy.]
[Koleda: Seriously. I'll never trust Mondstadt again.]
[Lisa: Everyone saw it. This was an accident.]
[Venti: Right, right! Pure accident!]
What else could they do?
All they could do was insist it was a misunderstanding.
If this continued, no one would ever agree to ally with Mondstadt again.
[Kaeya: Don't blame us. Yunli attacked first. If anyone's at fault, it's the Xianzhou side.]
[Fu Xuan: Are you trying to redirect the blame?]
[Albedo: Ningguang is quite cunning herself. Waiting to steal the victory.]
[Keqing: It's called strategy.]
[Yanfei: Exactly. Why should only you be allowed to form alliances?]
[Xiangling: Go, Lady Ningguang! Eliminate them all!]
[Valerius: And you're all focused on that?]
[Seele: What else should we be paying attention to?]
Now that Silver Wolf and Kafka were temporarily safe, Seele just wanted to watch the others beat each other to a pulp.
[Valerius: The taxi driver called the police before he left.]
[Bronya: Uh… Are they about to get arrested too?]
[Sampo: Heroic Spirits getting hauled into jail? That would be hilarious.]
[Sparkle: Go, Officer Hat!]
Back on the battlefield, the situation had become incredibly delicate.
Jean and Yanagi's alliance had nearly collapsed before it even began.
"Barbara, stop!"
Left with no other choice, Jean quickly explained that she and Yanagi were allies.
"Oh… so that's how it is."
Barbara finally understood.
Her face fell.
Big Sister, if you form an alliance, at least tell me beforehand.
My Noble Phantasm is single-use!
And I just wasted one life because of our ally.
That's so unfair.
Miyabi, on the other hand, quietly nodded.
"So you have no reason to attack me now, correct?"
"…Our personal grudge will have to wait."
Barbara was capable of seeing the bigger picture.
Yunli was the true enemy.
Now was not the time for internal conflict.
"Good. You hold her off head-on. I'll strike from the flanks."
"Agreed."
Seeing the two women genuinely unite, Yunli checked Yanqing's position and confirmed he had retreated far away.
The corners of her lips curled upward.
Come on, then.
You two little weaklings think you can take me on?
She spun her meteor hammers, planted her feet, and launched herself forward like a cannonball.
Clang!
With just a single exchange, Barbara was driven backward several steps, barely keeping her footing.
"How is she so strong?"
Barbara was stunned.
Her own strength was considerable.
Yet compared to Yunli, it felt utterly inadequate.
"An opening!"
Yunli's center was exposed for a brief moment.
Miyabi seized the opportunity, darting in front of her.
In the next instant, she vanished and reappeared behind Yunli, driving her blade forward.
Fortunately, Yunli's reflexes were extraordinary.
She twisted aside, narrowly avoiding the strike.
At the same time, she released one meteor hammer, drew a short blade from her waist, and slashed.
Miyabi was forced to retreat several steps.
In the live chat:
[Sushang: Wow, how shameless! Two against one!]
[Guinaifen: Exactly! She's just a kid!]
[Jaina: Perfectly legal under the rules. That's not cheating.]
[Blade: Despicable.]
[Lisa: Why are you complaining?]
[Kaeya: Exactly. It's called tactics.]
[Sparkle: She eliminated you last time, and you're still defending her? How noble of you.]
[Firefly: …]
That's right.
Yunli eliminated you last time.
Why are you supporting her now?
If you're being held hostage, blink twice.
On the battlefield, Jean watched with growing concern.
Barbara was tying Yunli down from the front, while Miyabi attacked from the sides.
They should have had the advantage.
Yet something felt terribly wrong.
The two of them were still being suppressed.
"Chief… go after the Master."
Yanagi was becoming increasingly worried.
Barbara at least had armor.
Miyabi had none.
If one of those meteor hammers connected, the consequences would be disastrous.
There was no need to continue fighting Yunli head-on.
Miyabi was an Assassin.
Her true strength lay in eliminating Masters.
Right.
Yanagi's reminder immediately cleared Miyabi's thoughts.
Why keep fighting Yunli?
I can simply eliminate her Master.
"You two…!"
Yunli's eyes widened.
Miyabi was clearly an Assassin.
If she managed to reach Yanqing, he might not even realize he was dead until it was too late.
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