What kind of commission could there be now?
Surely, they didn't want him to help at the city gates?
In the original storyline,
even without Mu Yang,
the Knights of Favonius had held the line.
Now, with La Signora having promised not to cause trouble,
what else could there be to deal with?
Could it be a personal request?
That wouldn't be appropriate...
Alchemy and magic weren't his forte anyway.
"Alchemy and magic aren't my strengths."
"It's combat-related. Please support the Knights at the city gates."
So it really was about reinforcing the city gates.
"Did something go wrong with the monsters?"
"With the Knights' capabilities, defending the city shouldn't be difficult."
Lisa took out a small vial of strange liquid.
She said she had just returned from the city gates.
This was tainted residue extracted from the hilichurls.
"These hilichurls have suddenly become extremely violent for some reason."
"Even experienced adventurers can't handle them one-on-one."
"Let alone newcomers."
"Right now, we're relying entirely on Vision-bearers to take turns holding the front line."
This was indeed strange.
Hilichurls shouldn't be this strong.
"Researching this isn't my specialty, but Albedo is deep in Dragonspine right now..."
"Understood. I'll head to the city gates now."
Mu Yang agreed to Lisa's request.
He had been planning to go anyway.
Now, the Knights were even offering to pay him.
With that, Lisa took the vial of tainted residue and went back to her research.
She hoped to find a way to subdue the frenzied hilichurls soon.
the Knights would surely suffer heavy losses.
Mu Yang bid farewell to Lisa.
Just as he was about to leave,
he suddenly heard loud banging from downstairs.
Mu Yang thought for a moment.
The most likely culprit was Klee, who was locked in solitary confinement.
Though Klee appeared to be a harmless little girl,
she was already a titled knight of Mondstadt—
the Spark Knight Klee.
A regular resident of the confinement room.
Klee should have been a great asset in this situation.
Lisa hadn't released her.
Maybe she had forgotten.
Mu Yang ignored the noise.
Mondstadt only had two city gates.
A few hilichurls were nothing to him.
He didn't need Klee's help.
He left the Knights of Favonius headquarters
and used his lightfoot technique to rush toward the city gates.
on the great bridge outside Mondstadt's main gate,
a striking blue figure weaved through the hilichurls,
dodging the swing of a giant axe.
"With ice, I sever the past!"
Eula swept her greatsword through the Mitachurl,
"Eula, watch out! Go, Baron Bunny!"
Amber provided ranged support,
using Baron Bunny to block incoming arrows.
Then, she fired a flaming arrow that struck a hilichurl archer.
It was clear both of them were starting to tire.
The number of hilichurls was overwhelming,
and they had clearly grown much stronger.
After several rounds of battle,
exhaustion was inevitable.
Sister Rosaria stepped forward, spear in hand,
"Step aside. It is time for the Prinzessin to take the stage!"
"As my lady commands."
Amber swapped places with Fischl from the Adventurers' Guild
and retreated to rest.
Behind the city gates, Barbara was already swamped.
She used healing magic to treat injuries
while comforting the wounded.
This was the first time she had to heal so many people at once,
and she was starting to feel drained.
"No, no, Barbara! You have to keep up with your sister's pace!"
Barbara rallied herself
and threw herself back into the fight.
By the time Mu Yang arrived,
this was the scene he witnessed.
The hilichurls had grown strong enough to push the Knights to this extent.
There might be a manipulator behind this—someone higher than an Abyss Mage.
Mu Yang used his lightfoot technique to leap onto the city walls,
then kicked off lightly
to land beside Rosaria.
The two stood side by side.
Rosaria speared another hilichurl.
"I hate trouble. Don't drag me down."
Mu Yang knew Rosaria's temperament.
She was wary of anyone who might pose a threat to Mondstadt.
Under normal circumstances,
she would never fight alongside a stranger like him.
Mu Yang only said two words:
Rosaria was initially annoyed,
but for some reason, she obeyed.
As if Mu Yang's words carried an inexplicable authority.
Seeing Rosaria retreat,
the hilichurls found only Mu Yang standing alone on the bridge.
They immediately began beating their war drums.
Suddenly, the ground trembled.
Three Lawachurls appeared on the distant plains—
and worse, they were Frostarm Lawachurls,
which were particularly troublesome for Mu Yang's ice-based abilities.
The three Frostarm Lawachurls advanced in unison,
their footsteps matching the rhythm of the war drums.
rows upon rows of hilichurls formed orderly ranks,
marching steadily toward Mondstadt.
Rosaria's brows furrowed.
"What's wrong with these monsters? Since when do they know how to march in formation?"
Eula and Amber had only just begun resting
when they felt the tremors.
They rushed out to see what was happening—
and were stunned by the sight.
They often cleared out hilichurl camps during patrols.
Hilichurls barely cooperated in battle,
attacking purely on instinct.
Never had they seen such disciplined military movement.
If even veterans like Eula and Amber were shaken,
what chance did the novice knights
and rookie adventurers have?
Some of them took one look at the approaching army
and collapsed to their knees, legs giving out.
"What do we do? Is Mondstadt really going to fall?"
Despair began to spread.
Then, a sweet voice rose from behind them.
Sensing something amiss in the battle ahead,
she had come to check.
Seeing the group's demoralized state,
she sang an uplifting hymn.
she addressed everyone:
"Take heart! Lord Barbatos will surely protect us."
"He will surely protect Mondstadt!"
Inspired by Barbara's song and words,
the group picked themselves up
and readied their weapons.
They formed a small defensive line.
Though outnumbered by the hilichurls,
everyone was filled with renewed determination.
"That's right! Lord Barbatos will surely lead us to victory!"
"By the wind's guidance!"
"By the wind's guidance!"
Rosaria clicked her tongue.
"Rather than praying to Lord Barbatos, why not watch our new ally here?"
"He doesn't seem the least bit intimidated."
Mu Yang stood alone on the bridge,
exuding an aura of "one man holding back an army."
Watching the hilichurl battalions advance,
he couldn't help but curse under his breath.
"Dammit. I wanted to save some Popularity Points and refine my settings first."
"Looks like that's not happening. Gotta boost my strength first."
"Deep Blue, allocate points!"
System: "You idiot, I'm the Character Popularity System!"