The surrounding grass rustled with unnatural movement.
One of the knights escorting the convoy cautiously stepped forward, sword raised. He parted the brush with his blade—nothing. Just empty air. He sighed in relief, turning to report back—
But then, from the side, a hand shot out.
"Watch out!" Amber's voice rang out sharp and clear. She loosed an arrow instantly, aiming straight for the intruding hand.
Startled by the shot, the hand jerked back into the foliage.
The Knights of Favonius snapped to battle-readiness immediately.
"Tsk. The Knights live up to their reputation," sneered a voice.
From the trees stepped out a man with an arrogant grin: the bandit leader, Levin. Beside him stood two others—one rotund, one lanky, both exuding the sketchy aura of Treasure Hoarders. Glinting at their waists were Vision gems.
Levin had recruited these two goons as backup, both wielders of Visions and top-tier thugs in their own right. And behind them, dozens upon dozens of bandits emerged from the surroundings, easily a hundred in number. They had laid in ambush here for three days just for this.
"You should just surrender. Black Moon Treasure Gang's got you surrounded," Levin said smugly.
"Even if one of Liyue's Qixing showed up, it wouldn't save you now," the fat one snorted, his greasy eyes raking over Eula inappropriately.
Eula scowled in disgust.
Amber already had an arrow nocked, flame pulsing on its tip. She loosed it without hesitation.
The fat bandit raised an earth-element shield just in time. The arrow struck and fizzled, barely leaving a ripple.
Watching from inside the cart, Xu Zheng shook his head. Classic Amber. Scratching enemies since day one.
Still, it wasn't her fault—Geo shields were tough. And Amber was young, with lots of room to grow.
With a skilled player, Amber could dish out five-figure damage. But right now, she was still in tutorial mode.
Xu Zheng glanced around inside the cart. Fire Visions everywhere: Xiangling, Yanfei, Hu Tao.
Days ago, they'd taken a shortcut to rendezvous with the convoy for this exact moment.
The rice transport plan? Bait. A trap.
Xu Zheng had leaked the info on purpose, setting up a perfect sting operation.
To avoid tipping off the enemy, they'd stayed hidden in the cart the entire trip.
It was... boring. So naturally, Xiangling, Yanfei, and Hu Tao had passed the time by bullying Xu Zheng.
He suffered. Repeatedly. But there were perks.
Like unlimited access to premium lap pillows.
He even wrote three comparative essays titled "On the Pillowy Softness of Lap Options."
Yanfei: too skinny, not enough bounce. But hey—belly access. Girl rocked a crop top.
Hehe. Bellybutton.
Anyway.
Back to the fight.
"Hahaha! That tickled!" the fat one jeered, seeing Amber's arrow fizzle. "This red bunny girl's mine."
The lanky one licked his lips. "I call dibs too."
Xu Zheng clenched his fists. Oh, it was on.
You dare hit on my Amber?
He jumped down from the cart.
The fat and skinny thugs didn't even react.
Just a kid, they thought.
Levin, though, narrowed his eyes. He knew this kid. The one who repeatedly outplayed Chayevich and Huang Mao. Xu Zheng wasn't to be underestimated.
Still, brains weren't fists.
"What, come to die, Xu Zheng?" Levin mocked.
"I'm sooo scared," Xu Zheng drawled.
"Take him!" barked the skinny one.
Wind swirled around him—Anemo Vision. He leapt with agility, racing toward Xu Zheng.
Just as he struck, Xu Zheng vanished, leaving behind a blooming ice lotus.
BOOM.
The lotus exploded with frost, drawing blood.
One move. The skinny one staggered back, wounded.
The fat one roared, charging to avenge his buddy. Xu Zheng again used a lotus to dodge.
BOOM.
But this time, no effect. The guy's Geo shield held strong.
"Haha! Kid, I'm called Mountain Wall for a reason. Go home and suck your thumb."
Dude had trained his defense for years. Physical and elemental attacks bounced right off.
But Xu Zheng smiled calmly.
He pulled out a bamboo flute.
A soft, melodic tune began to drift through the air.
"Skill activate: Soothing Melody."
This was a support ability he'd unlocked ages ago: the better the music, the more powerful the effect.
And he'd been practicing. Plus, he had a stat boost in music.
The sound was so beautiful it stunned the entire battlefield.
The melody turned tangible, sonic waves rippling outward.
The fat guy's shield didn't stand a chance. The waves passed through like butter.
Sound wasn't an element. It wasn't physical. It ignored everything.
In fact, even a dirt wall would've been more effective than his dumb shield.
The sound waves washed over the fat one—and kept going.
He looked down at himself.
"What? Nothing happened. I'm fine!"
Xu Zheng shrugged.
"Maybe... my attack speed is just too damn fast for your body to realize it's already dead."