"Go."
The lightning needle flew swiftly from Wende's fingertip, piercing through several corrupted automatons rushing toward the group and shooting toward Stelle's already ignited lance.
BOOM!!!
A violent explosion erupted, followed by a continuous series of chain reactions. The group's vision was instantly obscured by a thick cloud of black smoke.
"Wow… when did you two practice a combo attack? How come I didn't know about it?"
March stared at Wende and Stelle in amazement. This was way too cool!
"Aiyo… my floor… I'll have to apply for more maintenance funds from the higher-ups now."
Master Gongshu looked at the smoke and dust left by the explosion, covering his mouth to hide his pained expression, but he almost let out a laugh. Now he had another reason to get the Divine Foresight Residence to allocate relief funds!
"By the way… you just threw your spear over there like that. Won't it get damaged?"
Master Gongshu, having recovered from his sudden windfall, looked at Stelle with curiosity.
"?"
Stelle tilted her head at Master Gongshu in confusion. With a light flick of her wrist, the lance she had just thrown reappeared in her hand.
"Ah, this… I have overstepped!"
Master Gongshu cupped his fists toward Stelle and retreated sheepishly.
"Alright, stop joking around. Can we get to the Alchemy Commission by going straight ahead?"
Wende turned to the still-fooling-around Master Gongshu.
"Yes, there's a starskiff ferry port that leads to the Alchemy Commission just ahead on the right. But first, we have to check on my Artisanship Commission's greatest treasure, the [Creation Furnace]. If something happens to it, the entire Xianzhou might be in peril!"
Master Gongshu stopped his antics and spoke to the group with a grave expression.
"Is this the 'one' thing you were talking about?"
March looked suspiciously at Master Gongshu, who clearly just wanted them to keep working.
I knew it, but your attitude changed way too fast!
"Aiya, my young friends, it's not that I won't compensate you. In my younger years, I enjoyed collecting some peculiar little trinkets, and I happen to have collected quite a few of these…"
"Huh? WTF! Stellar Jades!"
Sister Guoguo stared in shock at the item in Master Gongshu's hands.
"Is your game really this intelligent now?! NPCs can even bribe people?!"
[As expected of Master Gongshu, who discusses Gundams with Uncle Yang. The older the ginger, the spicier it is!]
[Say no more. It's all work anyway, one more job doesn't matter!]
[To save the Xianzhou from dire straits! It is our undeniable duty!]
[At first, I thought this old man was pretty cunning, but it turns out he's actually a nice guy.]
[You guys think there'll be an event later where this old man builds a giant robot and asks us to help test it?]
[A prophet, are we? Off with his head!]
[Very possible, very possible!]
[My take is, bring it on. As long as there are Stellar Jades, anything is negotiable!]
[What a kind and amiable old man (sheds a tear)]
"I believe that as Trailblazers, it is our duty to help those in need!"
Stelle's expression became righteous and stern the moment she saw what Master Gongshu had taken out.
"Err… what's this? Is this what they call 'eyes lighting up at the sight of money'?"
"Actually, I feel that lending a helping hand is not too much to ask."
"Eh? Uncle Yang, you too…"
"Let's go."
"Wende! Wait! For me!"
March, seeing the righteous demeanor of the others, decisively chose to continue working as well. She couldn't help it; the Astral Express was also very poor. Why not earn some extra cash when you can?!
Under Master Gongshu's guidance, the group quickly arrived at the location of the Creation Furnace.
"This is…"
Master Gongshu's brows furrowed deeply as he looked at the Creation Furnace, which was completely encased in layers of branches.
"…"
Sensing the astonishing power of Abundance up ahead, Wende's expression turned grim. This dense aura of Abundance… and this aura of pure Yang…
"Quick! Young friends, help me chop off these Arbor sprite branches! We absolutely cannot let those branches pierce the furnace!"
Master Gongshu was about to step forward but was immediately forced back by the swirling branches coiling around the Creation Furnace.
"Be careful! Something is coming out!"
Welt gripped his cane tightly, warning the group with a grave expression.
"Watch me!"
March quickly applied a Six-Phased Ice shield to everyone. She then drew her longbow to its limit, her pink-and-blue eyes fixed on the figure that was about to materialize from beneath the furnace.
"Is that… a deer?"
Seeing the deer, which contained an immense amount of the power of Abundance, a small smile curved the lips of Tingyun, who stood behind the group.
Such overflowing Abundance…
Her gaze fell upon Wende, and "Tingyun" quietly licked the corner of her mouth.
I wonder… what kind of surprise can you bring me?
"Hmm… one, two… this is a boss, yo!!"
Dogzi let out a strange cry of surprise.
"No fear! This time I brought Jing Yuan, Wende, and Tingyun! And I even have Bailu holding down the rear! There's no way I'll embarrass myself again this time!"
Dogzi crossed her arms, a look of absolute confidence on her face.
[You might wanna take a closer look?]
[Lmao… is that the only team Dogzi has built?]
[Oh no, she's gonna get wiped again.]
[Haihai wailing.jpg incoming.]
"Huh? What are you guys talking about? I have these four great generals. How could I possibly… lose?"
Staring at the Abundance's Mystic Deer on the screen, Dogzi rubbed her eyes with her little hands, then sheepishly shrank back.
[Abundance's Mystic Deer: Go on, keep talking! I'm listening!]
[LMAO, it has no Lightning weakness! Your entire team is Lightning!]
[Someone who just finished this fight is here to tell you: not only does this thing have no Lightning weakness, but its summons… also have no Lightning weakness.]
[Thank goodness my first 5-star was Himeko.]
[This is a case of wood conducting electricity, I guess.]
"S-So what if it has no Lightning weakness! I can still handle it!"
[Defeat]
"…"
"I think I'll just switch to Seele…"
[LMAO]
[Lmao]
"What the hell is this monster?! We can't even damage it!"
March cried out in alarm as she dodged a whipping branch.
"Something's wrong. The power of Abundance in its body allows it to recover quickly, no matter how severe its injuries!"
Wende frowned.
"Then what do we do? Should we retreat for now?"
Stelle blocked the deer's stomp with her lance, then sidestepped to deflect the force, shouting to the others behind her.
"Kids, retreat for now! As long as the green mountains are there, we won't run out of firewood!"
Master Gongshu, who had at some point run to the other side of the Creation Furnace, waved his hands and shouted at them while dodging the lashing branches.
"Let's go for now. There's nothing we can do about this monster at the moment."
Welt said decisively. Although he had the power to slay the Abundance's Mystic Deer, it would inevitably affect the Creation Furnace behind it. While he didn't know what was sealed inside, for now… they could only temporarily avoid a direct confrontation.