An azure shield of ice materialized instantly before him.
"Bang!"
A violent impact resonated. In a flash, ice chips scattered through the air. At the same instant, a polearm of unique design pierced through from the side, ruthlessly driving into the body of the giant Hilichurl.
"Rise!"
A spirited feminine shout rang out.
The unique polearm suddenly erupted with intense flames.
The fire swept outward, and the raging inferno instantly swallowed the giant Hilichurl.
Seeing that the Millelith soldier was saved, Fang Qiu, who was positioned not far away and had condensed an ice shield from the void to block the giant Hilichurl's momentary attack, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
However, the giant Hilichurl did not die from this alone.
With the addition of Hu Tao, Xiangling, and Fang Qiu to the fray, the situation was completely stabilized.
Although Hu Tao and Xiangling possessed outstanding combat prowess, they dared not rashly pursue the enemy in order to protect the civilians behind them.
Thus, the battle remained in a delicate balance.
As a long-range mage, Fang Qiu had thoroughly figured out her positioning, hiding behind the cover of the Millelith to fire cold shots.
Fang Qiu waved her hand, sending an ice sword shooting toward a small Hilichurl wielding a giant wooden club. Just as the Hilichurl was about to swing its club backhanded to strike the ice sword, a bolt of purple lightning suddenly bombarded its body.
Fang Qiu's pupils constricted slightly. Immediately following the bolt, a young girl clad in purple flashed into existence. With a longsword dancing with electric light in hand, and coordinating with Fang Qiu's ice sword, they ruthlessly bombarded the Hilichurl together.
That Hilichurl didn't even have time to let out a scream before it collapsed to the ground with a wet splat.
As soon as the girl in purple appeared, the morale of the Millelith present rose greatly.
"It's Lady Yuheng! We're safe."
"Lady Yuheng is indeed valiant and heroic, a woman who rivals any man."
"Such a handsome fighting stance."
The Yuheng?
Fang Qiu's pupils constricted slightly.
This girl before her, with the adorable purple cat-ear hairstyle, was actually one of the legendary Liyue Qixing?
However, the girl in purple seemed not to hear everyone's praise. She simply looked back, meeting Fang Qiu's gaze for a moment, before transforming into lightning and rejoining the battle.
With the addition of the girl in purple, the battle quickly turned into a one-sided rout.
Soon, under the combined siege of the three of them, the last giant Hilichurl crashed to the ground.
At this moment, the Millelith reinforcements arrived, and the girl in purple began to handle the aftermath in an orderly fashion.
Only after the cleanup work was thoroughly on track did the girl in purple walk over to them.
"Apologies, handling the aftermath took some time. Director Hu, Xiangling, and..."
As she spoke, Fang Qiu felt the girl in purple cast her gaze upon her.
"Her name is Fang Qiu, she's our friend," Xiangling introduced.
"Fang Qiu. Truly a good name. Hello, I am Keqing, the Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing."
Keqing extended her hand.
"Hello."
Fang Qiu shook hands with this young member of the Liyue Qixing, appearing neither humble nor arrogant.
Keqing was strikingly beautiful; even compared to Hu Tao, she held her own.
One was full of heroic spirit, the capable and refined type; the other was the quirky and eccentric type.
Their temperaments differed, making it impossible to rank one above the other.
However, in terms of physique, Hu Tao lost by a significant margin.
Leaving aside other factors, solely the clothes propped up high by Keqing's chest were enough to completely outclass Hu Tao.
That scale, size, and shape... even compared to herself, Fang Qiu thought Keqing was likely not inferior.
However, Hu Tao was only sixteen, while Keqing looked to be eighteen, about the same age as Fang Qiu.
There were still two years; it wasn't completely hopeless.
While Fang Qiu was scrutinizing Keqing, Keqing was also scrutinizing Fang Qiu.
She was secretly surprised as well.
Although she cared little for appearances, valuing a person's talent more, she had to admit that Fang Qiu was born remarkably beautiful.
Her eyes were bright and expressive, her gaze captivating; a beauty that would shame peach blossoms and make swallows jealous.
Especially that touch of frailty between her brows—even as a woman herself, Keqing couldn't help but feel a sense of pity.
Of course, what interested her more was that Fang Qiu was also a Vision holder.
Nowadays, the era of the Adepti was fading, and the era of humanity was gradually becoming a reality.
She understood how difficult it was to govern such a superpower nation.
Therefore, she needed more talent.
Especially talent possessing Visions.
If she could recruit her for her own use, it would surely be of great benefit to Liyue.
"Thank you three for your assistance. It prevented greater casualties."
"No need to be polite. When seeing injustice on the road, one draws their sword to help," Xiangling said with a smile.
"I still have to deal with the caravan's aftermath, so forgive me for not keeping you company. If you're free later, I'll treat you to a meal. Oh right, to thank you for your help, you can go to the Millelith tomorrow to collect a reward. I will have people prepare the Mora," Keqing said.
After a few pleasantries, Keqing turned and walked back to the caravan to continue directing the work.
"Fang Qiu, ten thousand Mora per person!"
Hu Tao's eyes lit up as she spoke. "I didn't expect to earn so much on this trip."
"Yeah."
Fang Qiu nodded, suppressing her delight.
She had thought she would have to go hungry later this month. She hadn't expected that going out to test her combat power would result in a windfall dropping from the sky.
Tonight, she would treat herself to the most expensive package at the bathhouse!
However, at the same time, Fang Qiu made up her mind: until she possessed absolute strength, she would not easily leave the city again.
She would stay safe at home and be a novel-writing shut-in.
Some of the uninjured civilians and Millelith soldiers came forward one after another to thank them.
Seeing that the matter had come to a close, they didn't stay long on the official road. Following the road, they headed all the way back to Liyue Harbor.
________________________________________
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