"The situation isn't good." Venti shook his head. "The erosion from the poisonous blood and the Abyssal curse runs deep. Although it's still within Lumine's ability to purify, during the process Dvalin will most likely lose consciousness and go berserk again."
"Meaning we need to be prepared to defeat Dvalin first before we can purify the Abyssal curse?" Jun Bai asked.
Venti nodded. "Yes."
Diluc snapped out of his disappointment and, looking at Dvalin's massive body, said, "If we truly have to fight the Dragon of the East, many places in Mondstadt will suffer."
Paimon nodded vigorously. "Forget Dvalin's strength—just its size alone means we'll need a very large area to fight."
Size determines the battlefield. Strength determines what's left of it afterward.
"Go to Stormterror's Lair."
Dvalin, his emotions stabilized, spoke in a low rumble.
"Dvalin…" Venti hesitated.
"Barbatos, let's do it this way. I don't care that it's my territory."
Dvalin assumed Venti was worried about damaging the Lair.
Jun Bai quietly added, "Dvalin, Venti wasn't worried about the damage. He wanted to remind you that ever since Lady Alice visited Stormterror's Lair while you were asleep, your home has officially been renamed 'Stormterror's Lair.'"
Dvalin: "…"
— Reality
"Hahaha…" Guinaifen burst out laughing. "Folks, I can feel Dvalin's confusion even through the screen."
[Dvalin: I just took a nap, woke up, and my home's name changed without anyone telling me.]
[Lair renamed to Ruins. So not only did the name change, but the place also got blown up.]
[Who is this Alice? Even the Archon of Nirvana respectfully calls her Lady.]
[Comment above — maybe my husband Jun Bai is just polite? Didn't he also call Master Diluc Mr. earlier?]
"Don't talk nonsense!" Guinaifen suddenly put on a stern face. "Jun Bai is clearly mine."
[Knew Guinaifen wouldn't stay serious long.]
[Streamer, keep watching. Your Dao Heart might crack.]
"What? A 12+ storyline breaking my Dao Heart? Impossible!" Guinaifen said confidently. And then—
"WHAT! Husband isn't coming with us? NO!!!"
— Teyvat
"Let's go to Stormterror's Lair to remove the poisonous blood from Dvalin," Venti decided.
"Good idea," Jun Bai nodded. "Then I won't accompany you further. I need to return to Mondstadt City."
"Huh?" Paimon blinked. "Why suddenly go back to Mondstadt City?"
"The Abyss Order is no match for Venti and me, but they won't just sit still and watch Dvalin recover."
"So the Abyss might control monsters to attack Mondstadt City, using the residents as hostages to force Venti to abandon Dvalin."
"Leave Mondstadt to me, Venti. You focus on removing the poisonous blood and curse from Dvalin."
As he spoke, Jun Bai spread his fiery wings and soared toward Mondstadt City.
Venti watched Jun Bai's retreating figure, stroked Dvalin's head, and sighed.
"Dvalin… it seems Mondstadt and I will owe Jun Bai yet another great favor."
Back when they overthrew Old Mondstadt's rule, Jun Bai had come from Liyue to help the resistance army defeat the Tyrant of the Tower, allowing New Mondstadt to rise.
Since then, Mondstadt has owed this Archon a favor.
And now, with Mondstadt facing another crisis, this Archon stepped forward again.
Venti felt that Mondstadt's debt to Jun Bai might be passed down in stories forever.
A crimson meteor streaked across the sky.
In the original storyline, there was also a monster attack on Mondstadt City, mentioned in Amber's dialogue with the Traveler.
Combining the main story and Diluc's story quest, it was clear those monsters were controlled by the Abyss Order.
Jun Bai's deduction was simply working backward from the outcome.
At this moment, a massive army of monsters had already gathered in front of Mondstadt's bridge.
Mondstadt City stood on the only large island in Cider Lake — though the island may well have been a mountain sliced off by Venti.
Regardless, with only one bridge connecting it to the mainland, Mondstadt was naturally easy to defend and difficult to attack.
As long as they held the gate, Mondstadt was nearly invincible.
But in Jun Bai's eyes, this was both an advantage and a flaw.
If the enemy severed the bridge and chose a war of attrition instead of a direct assault, Mondstadt would eventually fall.
Of course — only if Venti did nothing.
Such is a world ruled by divine authority: every possibility depends first on the gods' decision not to intervene.
Now, with monsters besieging the city, there was one bad piece of news and one good one.
Bad news: the Anemo Archon was busy cleansing Dvalin and could not help Mondstadt.
Good news: the monsters were here for a direct assault, meaning Mondstadt only needed to defend the gate for a while.
Even better news: although Venti wasn't coming…
A powerful foreign ally from a neighboring region was.
That foreign ally landed on the city wall, folded his fiery wings, and was immediately greeted with a "warm welcome" from the guards.
An ice-blue greatsword swung down toward Jun Bai's head.
Any normal person would have been severely injured — or killed.
Fortunately, Jun Bai had spent nearly fifty thousand Popularity Points to restore his strength. He was no ordinary person.
He smoothly dodged, drew the White Tassel, and blocked the follow-up strike, halting the attack entirely.
"Calm down, Knight. I'm not the enemy you need to be fighting."
Jun Bai maintained a relaxed smile — sharply contrasting the frosty expression of the Spindrift Knight, Eula.
"Who are you?! What is your purpose here?"
Suspicion filled Eula's beautiful eyes.
Appearing on the city wall during a siege was certainly suspicious.
"Eula, mind your manners. This is the external ally invited by Acting Grand Master Jean."
A man with dark skin and an eyepatch hurried over.
"My apologies, esteemed guest from Liyue. This is a mistake on the part of the Knights of Favonius."
Hearing Kaeya's words, Eula lowered her greatsword. She glared at Jun Bai — who was still smiling — and said coldly:
"I will remember this grudge!"
Classic. Jun Bai nodded inwardly.
Kaeya watched Eula walk away, then turned back to Jun Bai.
"I'm sorry, guest. That's just Eula's way of speaking. Please don't take it personally."
"It's fine. I don't mind. Where is Acting Grand Master Jean?"
"Please follow me."
Jun Bai followed Kaeya and soon found Jean surrounded by a cluster of knights.
Seeing Jun Bai, Jean's eyes brightened. She quickly issued a few orders, dismissed the knights, and walked over to him.
Before Jean could greet him, Jun Bai spoke first:
"Acting Grand Master Jean, have all the knights retreat into the city."
Note: I'm new to translating so please be kind and tell me any mistakes you all find, I will try to release a chapter a day but don't expect much
Please support the original author: 失渝光
Raw:宝可梦:我的冠军老婆沙奈朵