The combat notifications ringing in his mind left SunsetWarGod numb.
He never expected to be dragged into combat so quickly—
not even giving him time to log out and run for his life.
"That fatty clearly came back with backup.
Judging by how confident he looks…
his reinforcements must be way stronger than him."
SunsetWarGod scanned the group and muttered inwardly:
"Nope. I need to get away from the frontline.
If I can exit combat before the others,
I won't have to die here!"
With that in mind, he raised his voice:
"Yeah, we took your weapon—SO WHAT?
If you hadn't blocked FireFlameYan from chopping trees here,
NONE of this would've happened!
YOU were the one who started the fight!"
He was trying to redirect the Fatui's aggro—
to make sure they didn't come straight for him.
Better the others die than him…
Sabotaging teammates was just another day's work.
"I just hope these NPCs are smart enough to understand me…"
SunsetWarGod thought anxiously.
When he finished speaking,
the entire Fatui squad turned to look at the Cryo Fatty.
"I—I didn't do anything!
They were chopping trees on our territory,
so I just asked for a few raspberries as a fee…"
The Cryo Fatty sounded genuinely wronged.
"So… because of a handful of raspberries,
they beat you up like this
AND stole your gear?"
The leading Pyro Debt Collector frowned in anger.
"These Liyue people really need a lesson!"
The moment he finished speaking, he flicked his arms outward.
Three fire blades spun into existence around him.
The players hadn't even been hit yet—
but the Fatui behind him,
a Pyroslinger, an Electro Cicin Mage, and another Cryogunner,
were already sliced by the stray fire arcs.
Liang Chuan, who had been preparing to charge in,
quietly stepped back again.
"…Better observe for now.
If I fight these Fatui directly,
I'm afraid my IQ might drop."
He whispered to Citra Lili and Oloron.
The Pyro Debt Collector then dashed straight toward the players.
SunsetWarGod had already retreated to the very back.
Naturally—the people closest suffered first.
The first to be hit
was the player who had been leeching the whole time.
A single dash from the Debt Collector
instantly took him out.
The spinning fire blades tore through three more players.
In one entry move—
one dead, three critically injured.
Even Liang Chuan frowned.
"I was hoping we could work with the Fatui in Natlan later,
so I didn't want to kill any of them…
but they sure aren't holding back against my players."
Liang Chuan snorted coldly.
He drew his two-star longsword
and activated [Gale Step],
quietly slipping toward the Pyro Debt Collector.
By now, the Debt Collector had split into multiple afterimages,
surrounding the players.
He was preparing to unleash his ultimate—
dashing between the illusions at high speed,
slamming into targets again and again.
Liang Chuan was unfamiliar with this attack.
Back when he was weak, he died before the Debt Collector ever used it.
Later, when he became strong,
the Debt Collector died before getting the chance.
"The move… creates six invisible clones.
He jumps between them at high speed,
performing repeated dash attacks.
Pretty hard to track unless you've got a special method."
Liang Chuan murmured as he recalled.
Luckily, one of the players had chosen the support class
[Adventurer],
whose talent skill was [Explore]—
capable of sensing everything within view.
Liang Chuan activated [Explore] immediately.
Information flooded his vision.
————————————
Pyro Debt Collector
HP: 95%
Friendliness: 0%
Threat Level: E
(Compared to the player using [Explore])
Countermeasure: Use elemental attachment to negate invisibility.
————————————
Besides the HP bar, extra data floated above the opponent.
Liang Chuan already knew that applying an element
could "dye" the Debt Collector and break invis.
But right now, he didn't even need that.
The huge bundle of floating text above the Debt Collector's head
was brighter than any elemental marker anyway.
The Pyro Debt Collector laughed wickedly,
ready to slaughter every outsider present—
SHLICK!
A sword tip erupted through his chest.
The grin on his face froze instantly.
He stared down at the blade protruding from his heart,
eyes wide in disbelief.
"H…how…?"
His HP bar hit zero in an instant.
Liang Chuan withdrew his sword.
The body collapsed.
And Liang Chuan appeared before the stunned players
after his Shadow Break strike.
"Hu—?! It's Brother Chuan!!
Brother Chuan came to save us!!!"
Players cheered in relief.
"Hahaha! I thought that hooded NPC was some badass!
But Brother Chuan one-shotted him!"
Some players immediately swelled with confidence.
"Or… maybe it's not that the NPC is weak—
but that Brother Chuan is too strong?"
One more reasonable player pointed out.
"Courting death!!!"
Enraged, the surviving Fatui—
the Pyroslinger, Electro Cicin Mage, and Cryogunner—
charged together.
But none of them were Liang Chuan's match.
His stats were already far beyond most Vision holders.
And with access to every player's skill set…
His true combat power
was at the absolute peak of "ordinary humans."
One more step—
and he'd be on par with Liyue Adepti or Inazuma yokai.
These Fatui were nowhere near his level.
He prepared to finish them off—
—but suddenly, the air turned frigid.
Liang Chuan felt his body stiffen,
as if the cold alone could freeze him solid.
Someone approached.
A tall figure in a thick Snezhnayan coat,
a mask obscuring his face,
walked forward unhurriedly.
Liang Chuan glanced at him—
and his pupils constricted.
"That's… The Captain.
All this tiny commotion…
and it actually drew The Captain out?!"
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