Mondstadt, the city protected by Barbatos, the God of Wind, is a free city-state located in the northeast of the continent of Teyvat Continent.
Amidst the mountains and vast plains, the Wind of Freedom blows across the land, carrying the scent of dandelions.
A young girl's scream echoed in the outskirts of Mondstadt City. The scream suggested that its owner was currently terrified and helpless, as the girl who made the sound was completely surrounded by a group of Hilichurls.
"Ah! Don't come any closer! My meat doesn't taste good! I'm not afraid to tell you, I haven't showered in a week!"
The Wooden Stick Hilichurl said indifferently, "It doesn't matter! We haven't showered in a year! Yours is nothing!"
The Shield Hilichurl nodded in agreement and said, "That's right. We must eat you today. Who told you humans to disrupt our territorial expansion!"
The Hilichurl Archer shook its head and said, "Blame yourself! Why did you have to gather food here? Didn't you know this is already our territory?"
"I'm sorry! I really didn't know this was your territory! If I had known, I definitely wouldn't have come here to gather food!" the girl said apologetically.
The girl, named Lin, claimed to be a Wilderness Survival Expert. As usual, she was gathering food in the wild, but somehow, she was suddenly surrounded by a group of Hilichurls who had rushed out of the grass. These Hilichurls claimed they had been hungry for days and were going to chop her into pieces and boil her in a pot to eat.
The Shield Hilichurl shouted to its brothers, "Why are we wasting words on her! My wooden stick is already itching to smash human flesh! Let's hurry up and attack now!"
"Ah! Am I going to die? At least let me eat a full meal before I die! My request isn't high, just one plate of Mushroom Skewers will satisfy me!" Lin, squatting down, covering her head, and closing her eyes, gave her last words as she watched the Hilichurls approach.
Just as the Wooden Stick Hilichurl raised its stick, intending to give Lin a blow and send her to the afterlife, it suddenly found itself frozen into an ice sculpture!
Its entire body was immobile, only its eyeballs could move. The Wooden Stick Hilichurl looked with its movable eyes at its two other brothers and found them in the same situation—frozen into ice sculptures.
"Hilichurls again! Most of what I've seen along the way are Hilichurls. Why are there so many Hilichurls? Has this world been occupied by Hilichurls?"
The voice came from behind them. This must be the person who froze them. The Wooden Stick Hilichurl was terrified! Because it could feel the murderous intent emanating from the owner of the voice. The Wooden Stick Hilichurl wanted to beg for mercy, but it was too late.
"What an eyesore. Disappear!"
"Bang, bang, bang!" The three ice sculptures shattered into ice shards, which turned into tiny ice flowers floating in the air, beautiful yet carrying a hint of gore.
This person was so powerful that they instantly turned them into ice sculptures. The three Hilichurls were killed so easily, and they didn't even know who the person behind them was when they died.
The sound of the shattering made Lin slowly open her eyes. She found that she hadn't died; instead, she saw ice flowers everywhere, and amidst the ice flowers, a fairy-like girl walked toward her.
The girl had long, smooth, lustrous silver hair and wore an off-the-shoulder short dress, looking quite beautiful. She must have been saved by this Silver-Haired Girl. Lin said gratefully, "W-well, hello! Thank you for saving me. My name is Lin, I'm an Adventurer and a Wilderness Survival Expert, currently on an adventure in Mondstadt."
The Silver-Haired Girl smiled and said, "My name is Illustrious, and I am from Liyue. Miss Lin, it's nice to meet you."
"You're from Liyue! Is Miss Illustrious here for a trip?" Lin asked curiously.
"No, I came to find Stormterror. I want to take a dragon claw from it. As an Adventurer, does Miss Lin know Stormterror's whereabouts?" Illustrious asked Lin.
"What? You want to find Stormterror, and you even want to take a dragon claw from it? Don't do that! Stormterror is a very powerful giant dragon! It's as huge as the Mondstadt Cathedral! With your small frame, you'd probably be smashed into meat paste with one slap!" Lin quickly tried to stop Illustrious after hearing she wanted to find Stormterror.
"Oh! Judging by your tone, you've seen Stormterror! Do you know where it is now? Since I'm the one who saved you from the Hilichurls, can you tell me?" Illustrious said excitedly.
"Listen to the important part! If you go looking for Stormterror, you'll be killed!" The Silver-Haired Girl was her benefactor, so how could Lin just watch her go to her death? Thus, she shouted loudly.
"It's fine. I'm very strong, you know. I can knock Stormterror down with one punch," Illustrious said carelessly.
"N-no, I can't watch you go to your death." Lin refused to tell Illustrious anything. In Lin's eyes, even if Illustrious could defeat a few Hilichurls, it was nothing compared to Stormterror. After all, the size difference between Illustrious and Stormterror was too great, and Lin couldn't believe Illustrious could defeat Stormterror with one punch.
"Miss Lin, does Stormterror have six wings and is its body entirely blue?" Illustrious asked, sounding doubtful.
"Eh! Has Miss Illustrious seen what Stormterror looks like before?" Lin asked strangely.
"No, I haven't," Illustrious admitted frankly.
"Then how do you know what Stormterror looks like?" Lin asked suspiciously.
Illustrious pointed to the sky and said, "Because I see something dragon-like flying toward Mondstadt City!"
Following Illustrious's finger, Lin immediately saw that there was indeed a dragon! And it looked exactly like Stormterror! Wait, exactly alike—isn't that Stormterror? "Oh my god! Stormterror is attacking Mondstadt City again!"
Just as Lin was about to turn her head and tell Illustrious that it was Stormterror, hoping that knowing its power would make her retreat, she felt a terrifying aura burst forth from Illustrious's body. The intensity of this aura made it difficult for Lin to breathe.
Seeing Illustrious's immensely powerful aura, a thought suddenly popped into Lin's mind: perhaps Illustrious really could defeat Stormterror with one punch!
Extreme Ice Power enveloped Illustrious's entire body like flames. Lin felt that Illustrious was incredibly powerful now, as if she could kill her with a single wave of her hand.
"Well then, Miss Lin, thank you for telling me about Stormterror. I need to go find it and get a dragon claw now. I hope we can meet again later." After Illustrious finished speaking, she shot away with a whoosh, transforming into a silver streak of light flying straight toward Stormterror.
Lin looked up at Illustrious, who was flying into the sky toward Stormterror, and shouted loudly at Illustrious in the air: "Miss Illustrious, I wish you success! I hope you can save Mondstadt City and defeat Stormterror."
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