Although Kael couldn't go with her, she was too embarrassed to trouble Kael.
But Kael helping her increase her speed should be fine.
"Sure."
Hearing Amber's words, Kael nodded.
Then he applied Seele's Path Skill [Ripple] to Amber.
Feeling that familiar sensation reappear in her body, Amber thanked him excitedly.
Then she left in a hurry.
She knew that without Kael by her side, this state wouldn't last forever.
She had to take advantage of this time to act quickly.
"I used to see Amber running out of the city in a hurry all the time."
Looking at Amber leaving hurriedly, Barbara's eyes were gentle and nostalgic. She whispered, "Outriders really work hard."
"Eh? Barbara, do you know Amber that well?"
Hearing this, Paimon widened her eyes.
Then Paimon rested her chin on her hand, her expression paused, seeming to notice something. She leaned close to Barbara and looked at her carefully.
Then she frowned. "Barbara, why do I feel that since you came out with us... you seem a little excited?"
"Uh?"
Barbara was stunned, then an awkward smile appeared on her face. "Is... is that so?"
"Of course!" Paimon put her hands on her hips, her tone certain. "You feel a bit out of place for a Mondstadt Pastor!"
"Although I can't say what's wrong, I just feel you seem a bit... different from when you were in the city."
Saying this, Paimon scratched her head.
Hearing Paimon's words, everyone present looked at Barbara.
Lumine looked thoughtful.
Thinking carefully, it was indeed so.
Barbara in the city yesterday was always gentle, decent, and forever maintained the image of the Idol of the Church of Favonius.
But now, Barbara's smile seemed more relaxed, even carrying a long-lost sense of joy.
Barbara lowered her head slightly, silent for a while, before speaking softly: "...Actually, you are right."
Her voice was soft and calm, revealing a trace of imperceptible bitter smile. "Living in the Church of Favonius usually, I always face some pressure because of the outside world's gaze."
Lumine and Paimon were both stunned.
"Pressure?"
Paimon blinked, seeming not to understand.
Barbara nodded gently. "Yes... Whether as a Deaconess or as an Idol, people always have various expectations of me."
"I must always maintain a gentle, considerate, and decent image, and cannot do anything that might affect my image."
"Even if I just want to walk casually in the city, people will surround me, expecting me to smile, say hello, and respond to their expectations..."
Speaking of this, Barbara paused, looked up, and a smile from the heart appeared on her face.
"But when I am with you, I can truly relax."
Barbara whispered, "No need to think about how to respond to others' expectations, no need to pay attention to my image all the time..."
"I can chat as I please, move freely, and explore this world like you, instead of staying in the church all the time..."
"This feeling is really pleasant and makes me feel relaxed like never before."
"..."
Hearing Barbara's words, Lumine and Paimon looked at each other, their hearts touched slightly.
They never thought that Barbara, who looked glamorous in the eyes of outsiders, actually had such troubles.
Paimon curled her lip and muttered, "...Sure enough, being an idol isn't an easy job either."
Kael smiled slightly and patted Barbara's shoulder gently. "In that case, enjoy this adventure to the fullest."
"En!"
Barbara revealed a truly relaxed smile, as if finally unloading some invisible burden.
Chatting, the group continued to move.
Soon they arrived at the Whispering Woods.
When approaching, Kael took out the Bio-wave Probe and began to scan.
As the Bio-wave Probe started, nearby monsters, ores, herbs... etc. were instantly marked.
Kael scanned briefly, then took out a map and quickly outlined an optimal collection route.
"Let's go, start from here."
Kael said while leading the way to the first target point.
Seeing this scene, Lumine, Barbara, and Paimon stared dumbfounded at the scene before them, as if struck by lightning, completely stunned.
"Wait wait wait—!"
Paimon flew to Kael with a shocked face, exclaiming, "Is this how you find specialties?"
"Is this..."
Lumine also widened her eyes. "Your method of scraping resources?!"
"Hiss—!"
Barbara sucked in a breath of cold air, completely stunned.
She thought Kael and the others were just ordinary adventurers, and collecting resources was nothing more than manual searching. Unexpectedly...
Kael could instantly lock onto all surrounding resource points?!
What magical tool is this?!
Invented by an alchemist?
Paimon swallowed. "No wonder you could find the Dragon Tear Crystal so easily before. Finding other specialties seems explainable now."
"With this thing, your speed of scraping resources is comparable to locusts passing through. Have you always relied on this thing to find treasures?"
Hearing Paimon's words, Lumine beside her nodded subconsciously.
According to Kael's collection method...
He could completely loot the entire area.
No wonder he asked them to take so many sacks.
Because with Kael, the concept of "missing something" didn't exist at all!
Klee and Fischl had seen this scene long ago, appearing very calm.
Klee even whistled gently, saying proudly, "Big Brother Kael is amazing, right!"
"The Whopperflower before was also scraped out like this."
Hearing Klee's words, Barbara snapped back to reality.
Looking at Kael with complex eyes, her mouth opened slightly, seeming to want to say something, but finally turned into a simple sigh:
"This... is truly incredible..."
And in the following time.
Kael completely started the "Scraping Mode" of the Whispering Woods with everyone.
While scraping, Kael couldn't help sighing.
Even though he had scraped it many times before, the resources of the Whispering Woods were still extremely rich.
Making Kael sigh that this was truly a treasure forest.
Time passed quietly unknowingly.
Kael and his party shuttled through every corner of the Whispering Woods, constantly scraping resources.
Sunlight spilled through the gaps in the branches and leaves. Mottled light and shadows reflected on the damp soil. Bird songs echoed in the quiet forest from time to time.
Collecting ores, herbs, and monster materials in this forest all the way.
Everyone's sacks were heavy, a bountiful harvest.
However, just as they were about to walk out of the Whispering Woods.
Whoosh—!!
A creepy cold aura swept in suddenly!
Suddenly, the temperature of the entire forest dropped rapidly.
White mist could be seen between breaths.
The originally lush trees were covered with a layer of crystal clear frost.
Leaves withered and shattered due to the cold, falling to the ground like a frozen graveyard.
"...What happened?"
Lumine frowned.
She could clearly perceive that this sudden Cryo elemental power was unusually violent, even revealing a trace of ominousness.
"So... so cold!"
Paimon shrank her neck, hugging her arms and shivering. "Wh-What's the situation?! Where did this violent Cryo element come from? Could it be a Cryo monster running wild?"
"Hmm?"
Kael's gaze sank slightly, looking at the Bio-wave Probe.
A constantly flashing, dazzling red dot appeared on the screen.
Even more intense and exaggerated than the mark left by the Whopperflower corpse before!
"...More intense than the Whopperflower?"
Kael frowned, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Could it be..."
"Wait! Could there be some treasure!"
Seeing the reaction of the Bio-wave Probe in Kael's hand, Paimon sniffed hard.
Widening her eyes abruptly, she looked at Kael excitedly. "Kael, look! The materials of that Whopperflower corpse before could sell for a million Mora. This time the cold air is so terrifying, it must be something amazing too!"
"As Honorary Knights of Mondstadt, we have a responsibility to patrol abnormal situations within Mondstadt!"
Paimon said solemnly.
But her sparkling eyes had completely exposed her true thoughts.
She just wants to find treasure.
"...Just say you want to join the fun."
Lumine couldn't help rolling her eyes.
But, although Paimon's reason sounded forced, Paimon was right.
Such a violent Cryo elemental riot appeared in Mondstadt.
Whether out of responsibility or curiosity, she had to investigate!
After all, her impression of Mondstadt was quite good.
"A signal point brighter than the Whopperflower?"
Beside them, Klee's small head leaned in, staring with big eyes, waving her Jumpy Dumpty excitedly. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
"Maybe it's more durable than the Whopperflower!"
Klee jumped up excitedly, her small face full of eagerness.
"Hmph hmph hmph... The fate of darkness has descended, our steps shall tread into the unknown land!"
Fischl half-narrowed her eyes, a mysterious smile on her lips, using her chuunibyou-filled tone: "The source of this Cryo elemental energy must hide unknown secrets, or priceless treasures... The Whopperflower corpse before could sell for a million Mora. The thing this time will only be more!"
"This is the guidance of Fate!" Fischl said passionately.
"..."
Kael was silent.
He hadn't even gotten excited yet, but this group was already completely excited.
However, he himself was also very interested in this abnormal Cryo elemental energy.
After all, this fluctuation...
Was a bit too intense.
Thinking of this, Kael looked at the expectant look of everyone and smiled calmly:
"Let's go. See what exactly is hidden in this Whispering Woods..."
Immediately, everyone advanced rapidly toward the direction of the Cryo elemental riot with high spirits.
Along the way, the air became colder.
Frost gradually covered everything, as if the entire forest was transitioning into winter.
Finally, everyone arrived at a valley.
Cold air permeated. The entire valley seemed to be shrouded by an invisible cold current. Even the breath exhaled condensed into white mist.
The surrounding air seemed to be frozen. Even the wind seemed to carry sharp ice blades.
A gentle brush made the skin sting.
The ground was covered with thick frost. Every rock, every blade of grass.
Even the originally soft soil became as hard as iron, bone-chillingly cold.
Sharp ice prisms protruded from the ground like ice blades, ready to tear any intruder stepping here at any time.
Ice crystals scattered everywhere in the valley refracted gloomy blue brilliance under the weak light, revealing a strange sense of mystery.
As if telling the terrifying story that happened here.
A huge ice tree stood majestically in the middle of the valley ahead.
Branches as sharp as blades, the tree body wrapped in frost, emitting a grim cold air.
Every slight shake of it would bring up an ice-blue storm, causing the surrounding temperature to drop sharply.
Fine snowflakes and cold mist drifted around, making the entire valley in a hazy extreme cold, like a forbidden land dominated by Cryo elements.
Barbara shrank her neck, hugging her arms tightly, her face pale, her breathing trembling slightly. "Here... so cold..."
This feeling was too targeted for a Hydro Vision holder like her, making her very uncomfortable.
Fischl narrowed her eyes.
Usually confident and flamboyant, she swallowed subconsciously at this moment, her tone carrying a trace of imperceptible hesitation. "This Prinzessin... is not afraid, but wants to remind thee, facing such a taboo realm, do not be careless!"
Paimon floated in mid-air, hugging her arms shivering, staring dead at that huge ice tree emitting terrifying cold air, whispering, "Uh... You guys say, this treasure... won't be it, right?"
The aura of Cryo elements oppressed everyone like substance, making even thinking sluggish.
The chill permeating the air seemed to penetrate into the marrow.
Even sound was swallowed by the cold, the echo short and weak.
As if reminding everyone that this was not a domain mortals should set foot in.
"Cryo Regisvine."
Kael looked at the flashing light point on the Bio-wave Probe, his eyes condensing slightly. "More intense reaction than the Whopperflower back then. Not surprising."
"Cryo Regisvine?!"
Hearing this, Barbara's face changed. "It's a monster formed by the frost in the ley lines of Mondstadt attaching to vines."
She still knew a little about the information on the Cryo Regisvine.
Outside Mondstadt, near the Whispering Woods, there was a very terrifying Cryo elemental monster.
Cryo Regisvine.
"So, what do we do next?"
Paimon looked at the huge monster like an ice sculpture in front of her, swallowing, her face full of hesitation.
Looking around, the cold air seemed to freeze everything, making the air sticky and dull, suffocating.
Paimon shrank her neck carefully. "...We can't really solve this thing, right? It... It's too big... Can we really beat it?"
Although they fought Stormterror before.
But it didn't count as a battle, only a confrontation.
Stormterror's attacks were eliminated by Venti.
Then Kael cleared Stormterror's poison blood curse, and it was done quickly.
But this terrifyingly huge Cryo Regisvine was different.
Those branches were bigger than them.
Fischl's purple eyes flashed with excitement, as if facing not a fierce battle, but a heroic challenge woven by fate.
She gently raised the bow on her back, squinting her eyes with her usual chuunibyou tone: "Hmph hmph... Although this behemoth is appalling, in the eyes of this Prinzessin, this massive thing is immobile, likely bound by the shackles of heaven and earth, unable to move at will."
"In other words, we can stand in the distance and borrow the power of divine punishment to weaken it gradually with the speed of thunder!"
"My Lady means: We can try long-range attacks."
Beside her, Oz flapped his wings and translated thoughtfully.
"Right, right, right!"
Hearing Fischl's words, Klee jumped up excitedly, her face full of eagerness.
She waved her small fist, looking at that huge Cryo Regisvine with glowing eyes, saying enthusiastically, "This thing must be very durable for bombing!"
"If it's similar to the Whopperflower, then it must be super fun to bomb!"
"Hehe."
Read ahead with 50+ chapters now with daily updates!
@patreon.com/Zefyrus