ROAR!!
Dvalin glared at the three of them with blazing fury.
After an angry bellow, the dragon spread its wings, ready to take off.
"You dare roar at me?"
"I've never suffered such humiliation in my life!"
In the original story, the dragon would simply roar and leave.
But now?
To hell with the original storyline.
The moment Jiang Chen arrived in Teyvat, the script no longer applied.
He came here expressly to skip the plot—
by solving everything on the spot.
"Lumine, take Paimon and move back!"
"I'm fighting this thing."
His voice carried pure excitement.
His blood was boiling —
he wanted a real opponent.
And Dvalin?
Looked perfect.
"Huh??" Lumine blinked.
"You're just— charging in?!"
She was stunned, completely unprepared.
But before she could say another word—
Jiang Chen had already charged forward, spear in hand.
Hidden in the shadows, Venti — quietly observing everything — froze.
This guy was… reckless.
Was he… challenging Dvalin head-on?
Under Venti's bewildered gaze, Jiang Chen streaked through the air like a comet.
Dvalin, who had intended to leave, snarled in rage as Jiang Chen approached.
The clouds twisted violently, the sky rumbling with wind.
A howling storm swept across Whispering Woods.
"The Stormterror!!"
Elsewhere in the forest, Amber and several Knights felt the violent surge of Anemo.
Shocked, they stared at the sky.
What was happening?!
Before the Knights could react—
the battle above the trees exploded into full view.
Jiang Chen's body ignited with roaring flame as he lifted off the ground.
With Karna's power, flight was trivial.
Seeing him ascend, Dvalin wasted no time.
The dragon unleashed a furious roar—
deeply corrupted, its sanity was long gone.
It wanted nothing more than to tear the human in front of it apart.
A blast of razor wind hurtled toward Jiang Chen.
But Jiang Chen wasn't fazed.
His spear elongated and morphed—
transforming into a massive greatsword infused with blazing mana.
With both hands gripping the fiery blade, Jiang Chen swung.
The scorching strike cleaved straight through Dvalin's wind attack.
Then, in the blink of an eye, Jiang Chen surged forward—
appearing right before the dragon's head.
He twisted the blade and—
THUNK!
Slammed the flat side across Dvalin's skull.
Not a killing blow—
though he could have taken the dragon's head clean off if he wanted.
Hidden in the trees, Venti felt his heart stop.
This offworlder was terrifying.
Please don't kill Dvalin—
please—
He was about to intervene the moment Jiang Chen raised his sword.
Thank the Archons Jiang Chen changed his strike at the last second.
Dvalin crashed from the sky like a meteor.
BOOOOOM!!
The impact shook the entire forest.
Trees bent under the hurricane winds.
Paimon, watching from afar, was nearly blown away and barely saved herself by grabbing Lumine's hair.
Dvalin hit hard—
but Jiang Chen wasn't finished.
His greatsword shifted again, turning back into a spear—
then into a burning arrow-like projectile.
Jiang Chen raised it.
"Brahma—"
"—Cover the land."
Flame coiled around the throwing spear.
He aimed straight at the corrupted crystal embedded in Dvalin's back—
And threw it.
The fiery projectile tore through the air like a meteor.
Venti's pupils shrank.
Was he trying to kill Dvalin?!
But the next second, Venti understood.
Jiang Chen wasn't aiming for the dragon—
He was aiming to shatter the corruption.
CRACK—!!
The crystal exploded, and the spear embedded itself into the ground.
If Dvalin had been lying face-down, that throw would've ended its life.
Luckily, being on its side exposed only the corruption crystal.
Even so—
the explosion sent another shockwave through the forest.
A mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
Knights patrolling nearby stared in horror.
"W-What's happening?!"
"Did the Anemo Archon descend?!"
"Nonsense! It looks like the Pyro Archon dropped a bomb!"
They were panicking.
A few wanted to investigate—
but after seeing that explosion?
They hesitated hard.
Amber clenched her fist.
"I'll check it out. You return to Mondstadt and report to Acting Grand Master Jean!"
The Knights scattered.
Honestly, Jean had already seen the explosion—
that mushroom cloud was visible from inside Mondstadt's walls.
Back in the confinement room—
"Woooow!"
"What kind of bomb is THAT?!"
"So cool!!"
Little Klee stared out the window, eyes sparkling like gems.
If only she could make explosions like that…
It was beautiful!
Jean nearly fainted.
"Klee!!"
Klee shrank instantly.
"S-Sorry, Acting Grand Master!"
Jean sighed deeply.
"You're not allowed to leave the city. I have to handle this."
She immediately began mobilizing the Knights.
Meanwhile, in Mondstadt, everyone was staring at the mushroom cloud over the forest, whispering nervously.
But Jiang Chen knew nothing of that.
He descended beside the fallen Dvalin.
The dragon was barely conscious, weak and struggling—
but its eyes had regained clarity.
Breaking the corruption crystal had freed some of its mind.
It was still in terrible shape, but no longer fully berserk.
Jiang Chen looked down at it, then raised his head.
"Barbatos—come out."
"If you don't, your beloved companion is going to die."
He knew the Anemo Archon was nearby.
So he called him out directly.
Venti froze in shock—
but hurriedly appeared anyway.
"Hi there~!"
A green glow shimmered beside Dvalin—
And Mondstadt's resident professional slacker–bard, Barbatos himself, stepped out.
Advance Chapters available on Patreon