Although the Rifthound was very powerful and troublesome, it wasn't much of a threat to Yuto at the moment. He was about to unleash a few ultimate moves to instantly defeat it, but Sister Shenhe, who was beside him, stopped him.
Shenhe: "Yuto, leave these monsters to me!"
Yuto: "These monsters are very dangerous. If you get injured, the consequences will be severe. It's better to be careful."
Shenhe merely smiled at him upon hearing this: "I know, but I am an Adeptus disciple, a personal student of Liyue's three Adepti. Have some confidence in me, alright? Besides, I don't want to just stand behind you and be protected. I don't want to be a pretty vase."
Yuto was silent for a moment: "Since that's the case, I'll provide support for you. But you still need to be careful of the danger. These Rifthounds have the ability to corrode space, and they might attack from unexpected angles."
Shenhe: "Understood."
Klee: "Klee wants to help too! Bad guys, you're going to be punished!"
Yuto: "In that case, Klee, you can provide cover for Sister Shenhe from behind. Just be careful not to let your Jumpy Dumpty hit Sister Shenhe, okay?"
Shenhe: "Talisman Spirit Manifestation!"
A complex talisman appeared in Shenhe's hand. With a light tap on the talisman, a blue talisman spirit, identical in appearance to Shenhe, appeared behind her.
"The spirit's power is not false, it commands a hundred crafts. The Divine Maiden has commanded, swiftly to the talisman. Seize!"
The Cryo Vision at Shenhe's waist instantly glowed brightly. The terrifying cold air, enhanced by the calamity queller in her hand, became exceptionally biting. Then, Shenhe, along with the talisman spirit she summoned, charged towards the Rifthounds ahead, leaving a path of ice in their wake.
Shenhe's first target was not the massive Electro Rifthound, but rather the smaller ones.
For monsters like Rifthounds, the tactic of 'capturing the leader first' was not applicable. Shenhe intended to wipe them out completely. If so, she would first deal with the weaker ones, reducing the enemy's numbers, so she could fully concentrate on the larger one without distraction.
Shenhe was already naturally gifted with divine strength. The talisman spirit she conjured was essentially another version of herself, somewhat similar to Yuto's Shadow Clone Technique, though with more restrictions, but still possessing its own extraordinary qualities.
After charging forward, Shenhe immediately spun around in a horizontal sweep. The Rifthound instinctively tried to block with its hard claws, but upon contact, its proudest claws were shattered by the calamity queller, and its body was sent flying by the terrifying force.
Like a cannonball, it slammed heavily into a nearby rock, and its form began to dissipate due to the heavy blow.
Meanwhile, Shenhe's talisman spirit also made contact with another small Rifthound Whelp. The talisman spirit merely tapped the Whelp's head, and a chilling cold instantly froze it into a block of ice, which crashed heavily to the ground.
Seeing this, Yuto quickly instructed Klee: "Klee, quickly throw your bombs at that Frozen black wolf."
Klee: "Okay! Heave-ho! Jumpy Dumpty!"
Klee threw her Jumpy Dumpty at the Frozen Rifthound Whelp. Klee's Jumpy Dumpty bounced three times on the ground, causing three explosions, and then even split into a series of smaller landmine-like bombs, triggering multiple explosions.
The freezing combined with the explosions immediately triggered a violent elemental reaction. When the smoke cleared, the Frozen Rifthound Whelp had been completely obliterated, not even a speck of ash remaining.
The instant reduction of two Rifthounds did not frighten the remaining large and small Rifthounds. As 'Leaching-grade' products created by Gold Rhinedottir, they were never programmed with fear. They always faced life and death with indifference, ready to fight if challenged.
Furthermore, their bodies, full of poison and curses, didn't need to truly kill an enemy. Sometimes, just a small wound on the enemy's body was enough.
Soon, several small Rifthound Whelps surrounded Shenhe and her summoned talisman spirit, preparing to sneak in and bite Shenhe.
However, Shenhe and her talisman spirit also cooperated very well. One person and one spirit stood back-to-back, covering each other. The flesh-and-blood body feared the Rifthounds' bites, but the talisman spirit did not. Therefore, the talisman spirit was responsible for dealing with the pouncing Rifthounds, while Shenhe delivered fatal blows to them.
Seeing the Rifthounds closing in, Shenhe immediately activated her Elemental Burst, Divine Maiden's Deliverance. A frost power even stronger than before erupted from the talisman spirit, instantly freezing all the Rifthounds within a dozen meters.
Shenhe quickly broke out of the Rifthounds' encirclement and nodded in Klee's direction.
Klee also immediately went all out. The Pyro Vision on her backpack instantly glowed brightly. A giant Jumpy Dumpty, guided by her, rose into the air and positioned itself above the Frozen Rifthounds. Then, the bombardment began.
As if on autopilot, countless fiery explosions rained down on the Rifthounds below, achieving full coverage of firepower.
The continuous explosions even caught the attention of some people in Mondstadt City, such as a certain blonde Horsetail Damselette who was busy preparing to receive the Inazuma Delegation. Upon hearing the familiar explosions, she suddenly remembered that she seemed to have forgotten about the most unstable element in Mondstadt City.
Perhaps... during the Inazuma Delegation's visit to Mondstadt City, Klee should be confined to solitary confinement until the Inazuma Delegation leaves?
After a barrage of explosions, Wolvendom fell into an eerie silence. As the smoke cleared, only the large Rifthound remained from the original dozen or so.
Seeing this, Yuto couldn't help but feel a bit envious of Klee's abilities. Indeed, compared to cold weapons, hot weapons were the true hard power.
Poverty leads to tactical maneuvering, wealth leads to firepower saturation. All fear stems from insufficient firepower. If Inazuma's army had been equipped with Klee's bombs, greeting enemies with grenades, the losses in that war five hundred years ago wouldn't have been so severe.
Hmm... but how could he 'kidnap' Klee to Inazuma?
While Yuto was still pondering a solution, the large Rifthound finally couldn't hold back and lunged at Shenhe. Shenhe remained calm, twirling the calamity queller in her hand, then using the rotational force, she intended to bat it back.
However, at the moment of impending close combat, ripples appeared in the Rifthound's space. The next moment, it disappeared completely, bypassing Shenhe and heading directly for Yuto and Klee, two humans who appeared to have no self-preservation abilities.
One must always pick the softest persimmon to squeeze!
As the Rifthound charged towards Yuto and Klee, it turned its head, expecting to see a look of panic on the woman's face. However, the woman's face was expressionless; she didn't even pursue to stop it, merely silently retracting her spear.
What's going on?
The moment the Rifthound turned its head, its eyes met with the man who hadn't made a move. That man even smiled at it, and a sense of unease from the depths of its soul arose spontaneously.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded over 40 chapters of this story on Patreon.
If you're enjoying it and want to read ahead, feel free to check them out here:
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thanks a lot for your support, it really helps me keep going.