Chapter 425 - 424: Let Me See Your Struggle

The Knights of Favonius quickly formulated an action plan. Jean personally led this operation, accompanied by captains like Eula and Kaeya. They each led their respective teams to other secret Fatui bases to make arrests.

In addition to these captains, Lumine and Shenhe also joined the operation. To prevent unexpected situations, the more capable people, the better. Jean offered a generous Reward, and Lumine was happy to accept the mission invitation.

According to the intelligence provided by Durandal, the operations of each squad proceeded exceptionally smoothly. Not only did they capture members of the Fatui and the Lawrence Clan, but they also collected evidence of their activities.

With both the people and the evidence in hand, they could now bring them back to Mondstadt City and imprison them.

While they were carrying out their operations, another group of Fatui members stealthily brought barrels containing some unknown substance to Wine Lake.

"Captain... do we really have to do this? This is a very important lake for Mondstadt City. Besides water for daily life, it’s also needed for winemaking and other industries. If we do this... it will affect the lives of many people."

A newly joined Fatui member felt a pang of conscience. This wasn’t just targeting the residents of Mondstadt City; it was targeting Mondstadt’s ecosystem.

If Wine Lake had a problem, there would be other chain reactions. The Servant’s move was truly vicious, clearly intending to destroy Mondstadt.

"What do you know? This is precisely the effect we need to achieve. This is an order from The Servant. Are you trying to defy her?"

The captain glared fiercely at the team member, his gauntlet unceremoniously striking him, sending him flying into a nearby tree. He watched him clutch his stomach, groaning in pain.

He looked at the member with a frustrated expression, scolding, "As a member of the Fatui, obeying orders is the only thing you need to do. Don’t think about all those unnecessary things; we are doing this to achieve that goal."

"But... but if we do this, many people will die." The team member clutched his wound, enduring the pain, and said, "Many Children will lose their parents and become homeless."

"That’s even better. The orphanage established by The Servant will take in these Children. They will be trained as loyal soldiers of the Fatui and become future combat power."

"Cough! Just like what happened in other nations?"

"Just like what happened in other nations."

The captain’s tone was devoid of emotion, as if he were stating something self-evident. The other team members present did not object, as if it were a truth, only the member who had been knocked flying had a look of unwillingness.

He... he didn’t want to do this. He had joined the Fatui to fulfill the great purpose of Her Majesty, but what had he seen?

The Fatui ran rampant in other nations. To conduct their experiments, they deliberately dumped poison into water sources, causing local people to contract diseases, and then, under the guise of treatment, imprisoned them for experiments.

Some adults who wanted to see their Children were mercilessly refused, and if they insisted on entering, they would be ruthlessly killed.

Not only that, they would also create various disasters on a large scale, leaving many Children homeless, and then, under the guise of shelter, send these Children to orphanages.

Ostensibly, they were caring for these Children, but in reality, they were training them to be Fatui soldiers, brainwashing them and other such tasks.

The vast majority of Children, under such education, gradually became weapons of the Fatui. Only a few could endure, but in countless missions, they would eventually be assimilated, using any means necessary to complete their tasks.

He didn’t want this. He didn’t want more Children to experience what he had, but... he simply had no power to stop it. He... was too weak.

"Hmph! I will report this matter to The Servant. I believe that under her guidance, your naive notions will quickly be corrected, and you will become a qualified member of the Fatui."

The captain snorted coldly, turned, and hoisted an iron barrel, preparing to pour all the liquid inside into Wine Lake to pollute its waters.

Suddenly, the wind speed around them changed, and the atmosphere also became eerie. The Fatui vanguard responsible for vigilance entered a state of alert, preventing any sudden situations.

They were also excellent soldiers, otherwise they wouldn’t have been assigned to this confidential mission, but they didn’t expect such an exception, which slightly slowed down their progress.

"W-what is this?!"

A terrified voice from a member rang out. Before the others could turn their heads to see what was happening, they heard a shrill scream.

It was then that they saw clearly what had happened: a terrifying beast had appeared out of nowhere near a member, opening its blood-filled mouth and devouring him.

He only managed a few screams before there was no other sign of life, not a trace left behind.

Members armed with muskets and staves immediately attacked the beast, but the beast, with agility unsuited to its body, shrank into the dark shadows and vanished.

The beast disappeared, but everyone’s hearts were in their throats. They all knew that a terrifying monster was hiding in the shadows, watching them like a predator, ready to attack at any moment.

At such times, the most terrifying thing was that sense of unease. If the beast appeared before them, it would be fine, but what was unbearable was knowing it was nearby yet not being able to see it. That feeling would gradually crush you, and even the most excellent soldiers couldn’t endure it.

"I... I know! According to The Lady’s intelligence, this kind of beast was summoned by that fellow named Durandal. Damn it! Why is she interfering in this matter? How did she know?!"

Didn’t The Servant say that as long as they were discreet enough, Durandal wouldn’t find out? They had been so careful, so why was Durandal still able to discover them?

He understood! It must be those guys from the Lawrence Clan, those useless people they used to attract attention, who ended up attracting attention instead.

How infuriating! Didn’t they even use the Treasure Hoarders as a disguise? How did they still not fool her eyes? What should they do now?

According to intelligence, Durandal’s strength was terrifying. Even Harbingers were no match for her, let alone mere cannon fodder like them.

Surrender was impossible. Durandal had an extremely poor impression of the Fatui, and countless Fatui members had died at her hands. If she knew about the Fatui’s current operation, she certainly wouldn’t let them go.

Clenching the gauntlet in his hand, no matter the outcome, he had to complete this mission. This was for a glorious cause.

Thinking this, the captain picked up the iron barrel beside him and forcefully threw it in the direction of Wine Lake.

They were only about ten or twenty meters from Wine Lake. This distance might be a bit far for ordinary people, but they were trained and had technological equipment to enhance their strength, so this distance was nothing to them.

Seeing the captain’s actions, the other members quickly reacted, following suit and throwing their iron barrels towards Wine Lake.

The Servant was truly a brilliant strategist. To avoid any unforeseen circumstances, she had prepared several extra barrels of poison. Now, by throwing so much poison at once, they wanted to see how Durandal intended to stop it.

"Could it be... that there’s really no way?"

Initially, when he heard that Durandal had appeared, he still had a glimmer of hope, but after seeing the actions of these people, he also felt that it would be impossible for Durandal to stop it.

Durandal was very powerful, that was true, but no matter how powerful she was, she couldn’t stop so many iron barrels. Destroying them was even more impossible. Even a drop of poison entering Wine Lake would affect it. This was almost an unsolvable situation.

Under the triumphant gaze of the Fatui, a strong gust of wind blew, and a black mist enveloped in the wind covered all the iron barrels.

It was clearly just mist, yet it successfully halted the barrels, causing them to fall flat on the ground, not a single drop of liquid spilling out.

"T-this... how is this possible..."

It was supposed to be a foolproof plan, so why did it turn out like this?

As the black mist gathered, the face recorded in their files appeared before them.

The Fatui’s most dangerous enemy, the person who should have been eliminated, yet neither Her Majesty nor the other Harbingers had ever said anything similar.

He knew very well why. She was too terrifying, so terrifying that even Her Majesty was unwilling to provoke her.

To prevent her from directly going to Snezhnaya and wreaking havoc, they could only allow Durandal to obstruct and disrupt the Fatui’s operations.

"I thought your plan was so brilliant, but it’s just poisoning. It seems I overestimated you. I thought you would release the God sealed in Mondstadt, like what happened in Liyue Harbor, to let the God destroy Mondstadt."

Patting the iron barrel beside her, Durandal shook her head: "I forgot, Mondstadt doesn’t have any sealed Gods. They were either driven away or dealt with. Even if you had such a plan, it wouldn’t be enough. And... you still know too little about me."

How exactly did The Lady’s intelligence work? Did she really think that she could only create "poison" and not absorb it?

Even if Wine Lake were truly polluted by the poison, she could still use her abilities to extract the "poison" from Wine Lake.

Or...were they just cannon fodder, and this operation was merely a test from The Servant? Was her goal to see what other abilities I possessed?

Forget it, why think so much? Even if my abilities are understood, what then? Is it possible she could find a way to deal with me?

"Next...I’ll have some fun with you all. What do you think...is it better for you to face one clone? Or for each of you to face a clone?"

Monsters, matching the number of Fatui, crawled out of the shadows. They glared at the Fatui with ferocious eyes, awaiting Durandal’s command.

"My strength is considerable, I know that, so I won’t join the upcoming battle. For the sake of fairness, I’ve arranged an opponent for each of you. That makes the conditions very fair, wouldn’t you agree?"

"You are the elites of the Fatui; surely, you can handle a single monster, right?"

"Now...let me see what struggles you’ll make to survive."

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