Chapter 78

Paimon looked at Venti, then at the scene of the final battle in the sky, not knowing what to do for a moment.

"Help me up, I can still play!"

At a time like this, Venti wasn't concerned about the Gnosis being stolen, but worried that something might go wrong with Lumine and Fischl.

But fortunately, just as his voice fell, the control device plaguing Dvalin was shot through by Fischl's final arrow.

It was like the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Accompanied by the decoration shattering into pieces and falling, Dvalin, whose mind was chaotic, regained his sanity.

Recalling everything he had caused, he let out a long groan of regret.

At the same time, Lumine and Fischl breathed a sigh of relief, the two looked at each other and landed gently on the ground.

Immediately afterward, they noticed something was wrong; Venti was inexplicably kneeling on the ground, looking uncomfortable, and Paimon was waving her hands frantically in nervousness.

"What happened?" Lumine hurried over to ask.

Paimon hurriedly blurted out everything that had just happened.

After hearing the ins and outs, everyone frowned.

While they were dealing with Dvalin, the Fatui had actually sneak-attacked the Anemo Archon.

Compared to the girls who were filled with righteous indignation, Venti himself didn't have much of a reaction to this.

Of course, this was only on the surface.

What everyone didn't know was that in his heart, Venti was actually full of resentment.

"Why do I have to bear the romantic debt caused by that bastard!"

After seeing Signora's face clearly, he knew who the other party was, and why she had done this.

"Damn it! When I go back, I must make that guy compensate me! I remember five hundred years ago he said there were two jars of Immortal Drunkenness left; this time he must give me at least one jar to let it slide, otherwise it's not over!"

Muttering to himself, Venti didn't seem to care about the lost Gnosis, and even felt he had made a small profit at the thought of being able to trade it for a jar of Immortal Drunkenness.

If it weren't for the fact that there was only one Gnosis, he would have wanted that woman to cough it up twice.

Smacking his lips, but seeing Lumine and Fischl's solemn expressions, he couldn't afford to appear too open-minded.

Coincidentally, perhaps because the battle just now was too intense, the top of the Temple of the Four Winds began to collapse gradually, and the ground shook violently.

Seeing this, Dvalin swooped down and carried everyone on his back, flapping his wings violently to escape the crumbling temple, flying toward the high heavens.

Just like five hundred years ago, listening to poetry, amidst the blessings and prayers of the people, overlooking the land of Mondstadt.

…………

City of Mondstadt! Knights of Favonius headquarters!

After giving Noelle her gift, Luo Li, not yet knowing he was about to be dunned by Venti, dispersed the onlookers and began to teach her the "Mirror of Still Water" heart of the profound realm of sword dao.

This was a spiritual realm reached at the end of rigorous training.

Those who have achieved it always maintain a clear and serene heart, unmoved by any situation.

In battle, they can completely nullify the mental interference caused by their opponent, forever exerting 100% or even super-level strength.

"From today on, you must practice not only the two-handed greatsword but also the single-handed sword."

To Luo Li's sudden request, Noelle agreed without hesitation.

"Is it the Favonius Sword Art like Acting Grand Master Jean's?"

Luo Li shook his head; although Jean had mastered the purest and most primitive Favonius Sword Art, the sword art mastered by the nobility was not necessarily suitable for Noelle.

Just like her greatsword technique, it was the broad and sweeping battle dance most suitable for her after improving the Favonius Sword Art.

"I will teach you the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, which requires an extremely strong physique to use."

"Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu?"

Noelle tilted her head in confusion; she had never heard of this school. Could it be some ancient sword school?!

"That's right. Your battle dance is grand and upright, but your ability for a one-hit kill is too weak. Although you have abundant stamina, sometimes you fall short when facing agile enemies."

After careful consideration, Luo Li decided to teach Noelle the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu.

In these thousands of years, the items and various techniques he had obtained were countless, and the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu was just one of them.

This school pushed "speed" and "ruthlessness" to the extreme; besides focusing on counterattacks, its most powerful aspect was the Iaijutsu (quick-draw technique).

Coupled with powerful attack moves that could make the user a cripple, it could be said to be one of the most suitable sword arts for Noelle.

Imagine a maid who violently slashed with a greatsword suddenly pulling a longsword from her leg binding to perform a "Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki"—I'm afraid no enemy could withstand it.

"For practice, you should use this blade."

Throwing a long tachi with a purple silk-wrapped hilt to Noelle, who caught it in a hurry, Luo Li spoke slowly with a hint of nostalgia: "Its name is Amenoma Kageuchi."

As one of the five blades of the Raiden Gokaden, alongside the "Amenoma Shintouchi" that once served as the sacrificial sword, there were only a handful of "Kageuchi" in total.

Noelle carefully examined the tachi in her hand; roughly looking at it, it was unremarkable, and compared to the Snow-Tombed Starsilver, it was on a completely different level.

But the cold-glinting blade made it clear that this was definitely a rare and precious sword.

Getting two precious swords at once, Noelle was stunned by this happiness and was speechless for a moment.

"……But… these are too precious."

She felt she wasn't worthy of using such famous swords and that using a few training longswords would be fine.

"Since you know that, strive to work hard to become worthy of them."

Luo Li had never cared much for worldly possessions, but that was limited to those around him.

For example, Noelle, who was looking at him with eyes worried about disappointing him, the well-behaved maid held the two swords tightly against her side, and after a long time, seemed to have made a certain determination.

"In the future, please let me ask for your guidance even more diligently! But before that, please allow me to leave for a little while!"

Luo Li didn't understand what she wanted to do, so he agreed.

Seeing Noelle get permission, she immediately hugged the two swords and ran quickly into the distance.

After a moment, she arrived at the Knights of Favonius headquarters and knocked on the door of the Acting Grand Master's office.

Jean was puzzled as to who was coming at this time, and after saying "Please come in," she discovered that the person who came was actually Noelle.

This was an absolute rare guest.

Jean put down the pen she was using to write orders and asked curiously: "Is there something wrong?"

She had a very good impression of this maid knight; if she weren't too simple, she would have long since recruited her into the Knights to act as her right-hand woman.

Noelle, who had made up her mind, took a deep breath and gathered her courage: "Acting Grand Master Jean, I came here to request to temporarily step down from my maid duties. There are more important things to do next."

Jean agreed readily without even asking for the reason or process.

"Alright, go do what you want to do."

"Eh?"

Noelle had wanted to explain a bit, but who knew it would be so easy.