When Jean heard the report, her expression instantly turned heavy. "What did you say? Missing? But my order yesterday was to investigate only. How did this happen?"
In truth, everyone already suspected there was likely a problem on the snowy mountain, so Jean's intention was to have Eula go and check the situation first. Only after confirming the issue would they take further action. But no one expected an accident to occur.
The young knight shook his head. "We don't know either. The frontline reported that the blizzard intensified after midnight and that they received no messages at all until morning. Considering that Dragonspine is not somewhere ordinary knights can reach, they decided to send an urgent report."
Lisa analyzed the situation. "Jean, I don't think it's that simple. Eula was most likely intercepted by the Abyss Order. Otherwise, mere wind and snow would not be enough to stop her."
"Mm, I think the same. But right now we have no manpower to mobilize. This afternoon I still need to head to Stormterror's Lair, and we can't leave the city understaffed."
Jean was extremely anxious. Ever since the Grand Master left, the Knights of Favonius had been severely understaffed. Otherwise, the entire city wouldn't have fallen into crisis during Dvalin's incident.
"What about Diluc?"
Su Han asked in confusion. He didn't care about others, but that man was indeed capable. Was he busy too? Logically, after the Knights reorganized, Diluc should have resumed his official position.
"Diluc is investigating the insider problem. He cannot reveal himself yet. Actually, there is someone else who is perfect for this task. The only question is whether he's willing."
As Lisa spoke, her gaze slowly turned toward Su Han. The man in front of her could fight a hundred by himself. He could clash with a dragon head-on and even destroy an Abyss tumor. In strength and strategy, he far surpassed Diluc.
And now, he was their Lifetime Honorary Knight.
"Su Han, this time we must ask for your help. I won't let you help us for nothing."
"Ah well, I guess suffering is just my fate."
Seeing Jean's hopeful eyes, Su Han knew he couldn't refuse. Besides, he had just accepted a medal from her earlier. Refusing now would feel coldhearted. The trip wouldn't trouble him much anyway since he had the Jade Bamboo Flute.
Most importantly, Su Han had something interesting he wanted to try. And the Abyss Order just happened to make the perfect test subject.
Seeing him agree, Jean's sorrow vanished instantly. She clasped Su Han's hand with gratitude. "Thank you. Don't worry about the shop. I'll assign people to watch it. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility."
"Alright. I'll head out now. Oh, and if Hu Tao comes back, tell her I went out to play. Don't say I'm saving people, or she'll lecture me again."
"No problem."
After getting Lisa's reply, Su Han opened the back window and shot into the sky riding the Jade Bamboo Flute. Since it was a rescue mission, speed was essential. Once he left Mondstadt, he went straight toward Dragonspine.
There was no point going to the Knights' outpost. It would only waste time. Eula went missing because she was investigating Durin's corpse, so heading straight there was the fastest route. Before transmigrating, Su Han had taken many newbies to Dragonspine, so he knew the route very well.
But as he approached Dragonspine, the temperature rapidly dropped. His breath froze into white frost the moment it left his mouth.
Fortunately, with the Fire Qilin bloodline, this level of cold was nothing to him.
After around twenty minutes, the massive remains finally came into view. Su Han lowered his altitude at once. As he neared the ground, he found numerous traces of battle.
Some rocks even bore deep sword marks.
"A depth of thirty centimeters. This isn't something an ordinary knight could do. This should be Eula."
Su Han examined the marks and continued flying ahead. The traces of battle grew more and more frequent. Near the corpse nest, he even found large amounts of blood. Some were purple-black, and some were bright red.
"This is bad. Eula may already be injured."
Su Han's heart tightened. Staring at the dark cave, he summoned the Fire Qilin Sword and rushed inside.
The corruption of the Abyss was unmistakably thick. The ground that was originally reddish now appeared an eerie purple-black. This meant the Abyss had been nesting here for a long time, but no one knew.
As he went deeper, Abyss creatures appeared in his path: Rifthounds, Abyss Mages, and enslaved Hilichurls.
"So another intruder dares to come. Dogs, eliminate him!"
The Abyss Mages detected Su Han immediately. But before they could command their Rifthounds, Su Han had already appeared before them. Golden light burst forth and shattered their shields. His sword aura engulfed all three Abyss Mages in an instant.
The slowest to die stared at the golden light on Su Han's sword with terror. "No… impossible! How could someone still use this golden power… argh!"
After wiping out the small group, Su Han didn't speak a word. He sped further inside. He could already hear faint sounds of battle.
At the same time, deep within the cave:
Eula's companions had collapsed. Only she remained, barely holding on. But having to protect her teammates while fighting made everything much harder. She had no idea how she survived the entire night.
"Heh. Give up, human knight. You cannot hold on any longer. Submit to the Abyss. I will transform you into a perfect Abyss being."
"In your dreams!"
Eula stared at the swirling Abyssal miasma and unleashed another burst of Cryo energy. A flash of pale light swept across the ground as a layer of frost formed again. But unfortunately, this was Durin's core. The temperature here was abnormally high. Her frost could not last long. The edges were already melting.
After another clash:
The Waverider Knight leaned heavily on her greatsword, gasping. She hadn't rested for an entire day and night. Combined with continuous fighting, her head was spinning. How long she could hold on was entirely up to fate.
"No one's coming yet? I can't hold on much longer…"
Though she refused to admit defeat, the Abyss Order's power was overwhelming. She simply couldn't resist it.
The distant Abyss Herald mocked her weakening posture. "Your stamina is at its limit. Allow me to grant your end. Dying beneath my blade should be an honor."
As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished.
Eula tensed. She raised her greatsword to counterattack, but her body suddenly gave out. She stumbled backward and fell, her sword slipping from her grasp.
At that moment, despair swallowed her completely.
"It's over. My body has reached its limit."
The enemy needed only one strike to kill her. Unfortunately, even in death, she would not be able to correct Mondstadt's prejudice against the Lawrence clan.
Just as Eula resigned herself, an overwhelming surge of frost swept in from the cave entrance. Its terrifying power froze the Abyss Herald midair. Everything inside the cave turned crystalline white.
Eula collapsed onto the ground, staring wide-eyed at the entrance. As far as she knew, Mondstadt had no Cryo user this powerful. Who could it possibly be?
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