After walking a little further, everyone heard the sound of clashing weapons. They quickened their pace and saw that it was none other than the Feiyun Commerce Guild, whom they had met before.
At this moment, the members of the Feiyun Commerce Guild and the common folk traveling with them were huddled together inside the cargo carriages, afraid to move.
Outside the carriages, the fighting was intense. There were about fifty bandits surrounding the group on the roadside, and upon closer inspection of the nearby ruins, there were many more ambushing them with crossbows, and even more blocking potential escape routes.
In total, there might have been over a hundred people.
Over a hundred people, all Treasure Hoarders.
"How can there be so many Treasure Hoarders? Don't they usually only deploy about ten people at most?!" Paimon had followed Lumine to wipe out many Treasure Hoarder strongholds in Mondstadt, and since she flew high and saw far, she naturally recognized who the opponents were instantly.
Although Orion was also curious, he first focused his attention on the battlefield.
On the battlefield, about twenty Escort Guards were struggling greatly. However, one flexible young man wielding a greatsword moved like a Wushou dancer, swiftly weaving between the combatants, seizing every opportunity to deliver a heavy blow with his greatsword.
Huh? Isn't that Gaming?
So the Sword Box Escort Agency is the one belonging to Gaming's family?
It seems the Feiyun Commerce Guild's convoy had too much cargo this time, so they hired many Escort Guards, but they never expected to be surrounded by over a hundred Treasure Hoarders.
In the field, even though the Escort Guards were all skilled fighters, two fists couldn't beat four hands; even heroes couldn't handle sheer numbers. Moreover, while defending against attacks, they also had to guard against sneak attacks from the rear, and there were people shooting arrows from afar.
As time passed, Gaming also found the fighting increasingly difficult. Over a hundred people, even using a simple war of attrition, could wear them down to death.
"Wow, these baddies are really annoying! They dare to rob people in broad daylight? Aren't you afraid of the Millelith?"
A Treasure Hoarder standing on high ground laughed upon hearing this: "How many Millelith are stationed here anyway? What can they do even if they come? We brought all the brothers from nearby for this big score!
Kid, I advise you to be sensible. Drop the goods, and we can let the people go. Otherwise, if the Millelith really show up later, we won't be able to spare you — Ow!"
Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly took a kick to the rear, and the entire person flew straight out. Yes, he didn't fall down; he flew straight out.
Everyone on the ground heard a miserable "Ah ——————" that started in one ear and flew out the other, much like a surround sound effect.
Looking up, they saw a person flying far away like a shooting star, eventually landing beneath a hollowed-out ruin, followed by the cries of "Ya! Gusha!" and the sound of a giant axe scraping, his fate unknown.
Gaming reacted the fastest. He quickly looked up toward the high ground and saw a man in red clothes holding a white jade branch, standing majestically.
What kind of man was he?
He had sword-like eyebrows and star-bright eyes, hair like morning glow, and eyes like the red sun — what a handsome young gentleman!
The young gentleman supported himself with the branch in his right hand, pointed down with his left, and shouted: "I am here to help you!"
Then he brandished the massive branch, twirling it, leaping high into the air, and slamming down fiercely!
"Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's Hundred Thousand Revolutions! Take this Plunging Attack!"
With that single strike, more than ten Treasure Hoarders directly in front were sent flying, and several distant buildings were shattered into debris, causing a rain of bricks from the sky!
Gaming's eyes widened in disbelief: "No way, does it have to be this exaggerated?"
Following that, a wave of shouting and killing came from the direction of Dihua Marsh. Before the fear in the hearts of the Treasure Hoarders could subside, they were startled by this new development. Looking back, they saw a group of shrewish women (from the Treasure Hoarders' perspective) charging toward them with strange weapons.
There were those holding polearms, those raising swords, one being carried on the shoulders of a robot, and even one charging forward carrying a wooden door panel. Wait? That's not a door panel? It has a hilt — is that a greatsword?!
"Take this Old Iron Strike!" Yunli took the lead and slammed an "Old Iron" directly onto a Treasure Hoarder's waist.
The rest of the group arrived and immediately engaged the Treasure Hoarders. Facing these guys who were weak on the forehand, clumsy on the backhand, slow-footed, and dull-witted, Lumine and her companions were generally taking them out one by one, and they were still holding back their strength.
You ask why they were holding back? Because the one Yunli had sent flying earlier was already folded in half the wrong way.
"Where the hell did these smelly bitches come from?!" The Treasure Hoarders cried out in terror, but relying on their superior numbers, they rushed out from their hiding spots, intending to win through a human wave attack.
"Brother! Thank you, brother!" Just then, Gaming came up to Orion, thanking him while advising him: "I'm really grateful to you guys, but even though none of them are strong individually, there are too many enemies here. Could I trouble you to take the villagers here and run first? We'll cover your retreat, and we'll pay you later."
Orion asked Gaming with interest: "No need for payment, but why are there so many Treasure Hoarders here? Are the Millelith that ineffective?"
"Ah, no, it's not that. Recently, Mondstadt has become a tough place to operate. Apparently, there was some kind of Dragon Crisis, and a blonde husband-and-wife duo appeared, slaying everywhere and constantly protecting passing merchant convoys. These Treasure Hoarders couldn't make a living anymore, so they all ran over to Liyue."
Orion: "..."
If that was the case, it was still his fault.
That works out perfectly. He could test out a new skill.
Orion patted Gaming's shoulder: "Don't worry, leave it to me."
Orion whistled toward Lumine and the others, signaling that he was about to show off.
Hearing the signal, the women retreated to Orion's side. Although the Escort Guards didn't understand why, they also fell back.
Then, Orion clasped his hands together, one above the other. When he opened them again, there was a black sphere in his palm. He raised his hand, and the black sphere slowly ascended.
{DOOM}
The Treasure Hoarders were raising their knives and preparing to charge, but upon seeing this sight, they all stopped dead in their tracks. Their instincts told them this thing was extremely dangerous.
"Gentlemen," Orion said, "Have you ever seen a star shatter?"
The leading Treasure Hoarder stared blankly at Orion: "N-no."
Orion gave him a slight smile, pointing a finger toward the sky: "Is that so? Then go look inside my Schwarzschild Radius!
Pseudo-Black Hole!"
The ideal black body in the air instantly began to emit a terrifying gravitational pull. The clouds in the sky twisted slightly, and the surrounding air immediately began to contract toward the black body. A circle of bright light gradually appeared around the black body, and the surrounding scenery began to distort along with it.
One second.
It wasn't truly distorted space, but light — the light within the human visual field began to rapidly escape in the opposite direction of the naked eye, and a high-brightness halo appeared around the black body. The emergence of the event horizon marked the preliminary formation of the black hole.
Three seconds.
As the black hole's suction grew stronger, more and more objects began to be absorbed toward it: stones, debris, bricks, and tiles — countless unattached objects were swept high into the sky and merged with the black hole.
Six seconds.
The Treasure Hoarders quickly grabbed hold of large ruins nearby that were buried deep and virtually one with the earth, barely managing not to be sucked away. But soon, the ground began to crack, large sections of the topsoil started peeling off, and the connection between the ruins and the ground began to loosen.
Ten seconds.
As the high-density matter inside the black hole continuously rubbed together, the surrounding temperature began to rise sharply. At positions infinitely close to the black hole, the temperature had soared to nearly a million degrees, and gamma rays and X-rays were poised to erupt.
Thirteen seconds.
Gaming and the others were unaffected because Orion had designated them as teammates, but they watched the scene in terror. Some of the older villagers even began clasping their hands together, murmuring, "Please, calm your anger, O Archon, please, calm your anger."
Only twelve or thirteen seconds had passed since that black sun appeared, but the entire Guili Plains looked as if it had fast-forwarded straight into the apocalypse.
At the same time, countless eyes across Liyue looked over the mountains. This was arguably the most threatening attack to appear in Liyue since the Archon War.
Orion scratched his head awkwardly: "Did I... go too far?"
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