Although her leg was injured, she could still move using her Lightning Stiletto.
After several flickers, Keqing appeared next to a horse-drawn cart.
The horse had long since been scared away by the intense battle, but the cart remained.
The water barrel on it had been partially shattered during the fight, but the water inside was just what she needed.
The sound of shifting sand pursued her from behind.
In a few more seconds, that man would be upon her again.
Without a moment's hesitation, Keqing used her sword to flick the entire wooden barrel up, flinging it violently behind her.
"What is this?"
Crocodile paused for a second, looking at the barrel, then he noticed the drops of water leaking from it.
Not good.
That lightning woman is trying to use water to attack me.
Realizing this, Crocodile swung his hand, and a blade of sand shattered the water barrel in mid-air.
"Trying to defeat me with water? Don't be ridiculous! In your dreams!"
He had eaten his Devil Fruit countless years ago. He understood his own weakness better than anyone.
To think she would try to defeat him with a mere barrel of water. It was a joke.
"Oh? Is that so? Unfortunately for you, your weakness is just too obvious."
As her cold voice rang out, Keqing charged into the airborne spray of water.
The water, scattered from the shattered barrel, drenched her completely.
Lightning flared.
She moved again.
"Starward Sword!"
A beautiful, deadly light of pure Electro bloomed, splitting into eight graceful figures that completely surrounded Crocodile.
The phantoms began their assault.
They were so fast he couldn't even distinguish the real body from the illusions.
The sword light was wreathed in both water and lightning.
Every single slash rendered Crocodile's counter-attacks meaningless.
The lightning paralyzed his body.
The water prevented him from turning into sand.
In less than two seconds, dozens of strikes found their mark.
The final sword thrust pierced directly into Crocodile's heart.
Only then did Keqing stop, her face pale.
She swayed on her feet, nearly collapsing.
For some reason, her head felt incredibly dizzy.
Fortunately, the system notification sounded in her mind. The mission was complete.
[Ding! Congratulations on completing the 3-star Multiverse Mission. You have been awarded 50,000 points.]
[Hint: You may choose to return immediately or remain for a short while.]
[Note: The maximum time you can remain is twenty minutes.]
"Return…" Keqing managed to think.
Then, her vision went black, and she vanished from the spot.
When she next awoke, she found herself surrounded by the smell of medicine.
Keqing frowned slightly, her voice weak as she asked, "Where am I?"
"This is Bubu Pharmacy. I wonder where Lady Keqing received such an injury, to have our National Treasure personally carry you here," a smiling face, that of Baizhu, appeared in her vision.
Appearing along with him was the adorable little zombie, Qiqi, who was tilting her head and looking at her.
Keqing managed a faint smile. "Thank you both."
"It's no trouble. A doctor's duty is to heal. Besides, we were paid for our services."
As he spoke, Su Han walked in from outside.
Seeing that Keqing was awake, he rushed to her side and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
"Mm, I'm okay. Just a little weak. I can't seem to muster any strength," Keqing replied honestly after assessing her condition.
The nearby Baizhu glanced at the two of them and silently excused himself.
Su Han shook his head. "Don't be so reckless next time. Did you know that Crocodile's weapon is poisoned? And it's a lethal poison."
"At the time, you could have just forfeited the mission and returned."
"But you insisted on continuing the fight."
"If I hadn't noticed you in time and brought you here immediately, you would have been bedridden for at least half a year."
"It was that serious?" Keqing was shocked. She hadn't realized the enemy's poison was so terrifying.
Su Han shot her a glare, his voice angry. "Serious? If you didn't have such a strong constitution, you would have been dead long ago!"
Did this woman not understand how much danger she had been in?
The moment he saw that her complexion was off, Su Han knew that Keqing had been poisoned.
That old dog Crocodile would do anything to win. He had used poison in the original story, too.
It was a good thing he had reacted quickly.
The instant Keqing returned, he had picked her up and run straight to Bubu Pharmacy.
It had taken a full hour of treatment for her to wake up.
"I was thinking at the time that if I had those fifty thousand points, we could exchange them for many useful things to enhance Liyue's strength," she tried to explain. "I didn't think the enemy would be so despicable."
"And did you think about what a loss it would be for Liyue if you died?" he retorted. "It's not like that was the only mission. If you forfeit, another one will come in three days! But if you're gone, Liyue won't have a second Keqing."
"I… I…"
The always strong-willed Keqing, for some reason, suddenly didn't know what to say.
It was true that it was his drunkenness that had forced her to accept the mission in the first place.
But after hearing what Su Han said, Keqing realized that she, too, had a problem.
And this feeling of being cared for also brought a warmth to the heart of the Yuheng.
No one had ever treated her like this before.
Slowly, in an extremely quiet voice, Keqing murmured, "I won't be like that next time."
"Hmph. As long as you know. I've already had Xiangling prepare a medicinal meal for you. We'll go back to the Jade Chamber to eat in a bit."
"Mm."
Keqing closed her eyes and answered softly.
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