As the Pyro energy Bennett had slammed into the ground continued to melt the ice beneath everyone's feet, Su Bai stood near the edge of the cave, remaining constantly alert to his surroundings.
"That kid named Bennett," Su Bai asked suddenly, "don't you hear anything strange coming from beneath your feet?"
Bennett looked confused. He lowered his head and checked the ice under him—no cracks, no movement. He then looked back up at Su Bai with a blank expression.
And in the very instant, Bennett let his guard down—
A Ruin Grader burst straight through the ice.
Before Bennett could react, the massive machine rammed into him and sent him flying. Watching Bennett rub his backside nearby, Su Bai pressed a hand to his forehead.
I made it that obvious, and he still didn't get it…
"Hah! It's just a Ruin Grader!" the Fatui hammer wielder shouted. "With the buff, I can handle this thing myself—wait, where's the buff?!"
Charging forward with his hammer to dismantle the one-armed Ruin Grader, he suddenly realized the enhancement field beneath his feet had vanished.
The Ruin Grader showed no such hesitation.
Boom!
One punch sent the hammer wielder flying.
Leaning against the wall, Bennett relaxed a little when he saw there was only one Ruin Grader and said with cautious optimism:
"Th-that's a relief… It's only one. Even if my Pyro gets reacted away by all this Cryo, we should still be able to handle it."
The moment his words fell—
The hammer wielder, who had just been knocked away, felt the ice beneath him shift.
Relying on years of combat experience, he rolled away just in time as another Ruin Grader erupted from below the ice.
Seeing a second one appear, Bennett swallowed hard—but quickly tried to encourage everyone.
"It's fine! Just two Ruin Graders! We can still manage—everyone, hang in there!"
The words had barely left his mouth when the ice beneath Razor's feet suddenly cracked.
A third Ruin Grader awakened from the ice.
If Razor hadn't noticed in time, he would have been sent flying just like Bennett.
Staring at the three Ruin Graders, the hammer wielder felt death closer than ever before. If looks could kill, the combined glares of the five Fatui would have killed Bennett thousands of times over.
Bennett scratched his head awkwardly.
"Uh… if we really can't win… we could always run together?"
Crack.
The sound of ice breaking echoed from the passage behind Fischl.
The commotion inside the cave had finally affected the tunnel. From within the widening fissure, yet another Ruin Grader slowly pushed its head out.
Because of the tunnel's low height, it became stuck—but in doing so, it completely blocked the only exit.
"This… we're kinda—"
"Fox Bind."
Before Bennett could finish speaking, Su Bai immediately used the illusion he had been preparing—for the Fatui—on Bennett instead.
If I let this kid keep talking, next year today might be my memorial day.
Seeing Bennett suddenly silenced by some unknown technique, the five Fatui visibly relaxed.
If he'd kept talking, today they really might have ended up sacrificing themselves for the Tsaritsa.
"Fox kid," the hammer wielder said, gripping his weapon. "Let's work together. No matter how this ends, we won't make things difficult for you—and you don't make things difficult for whoever survives. Deal?"
They had detoured through Dragonspine for the captain's personal reasons. If his three brothers died here, he'd regret it even in the afterlife.
Su Bai narrowed his fox-like eyes, calculating silently. After a moment, he nodded.
"Fine. Me, the Anemo gauntlet guy, and the greatsword kid will hold them off. You provide support from the back."
The proposal earned nods all around.
Bennett, wanting to help but unable to move or speak, could only frantically signal with his eyes.
"Brother Bennett," Su Bai said calmly, "don't make things worse. You're almost out of Pyro, right? Just stand there and watch."
Controlling Bennett's body, Su Bai walked him into a corner and made him squat down with his head covered.
Honestly, letting him hide might help us more than sending him into the fight.
The Ruin Graders gave them no time to prepare.
The first Ruin Grader, upon spotting them, immediately fired a laser at the hammer wielder.
The man roared and charged straight into it, hammer blazing with Electro.
"Oz, go!" Fischl commanded. "Let these ignorant souls witness the wrath of the Prinzessin der Verurteilung!"
With a flap of his wings, Oz joined the battlefield.
Though small, the amount of Electro stored within Oz was no joke. Lightning crackled from his wings, making life miserable for the slow, cumbersome Ruin Graders.
Watching everyone fight at full strength while he stood idle made Su Bai feel a little awkward.
Left with no choice, he condensed a few weak lightning bolts and zapped the Ruin Graders half-heartedly.
"Hey, fox," the Fatui Pyroslinger scoffed. "Could you at least try? Your lightning doesn't even leave a scorch mark."
"I am trying," Su Bai replied seriously. "I'm just a fox who isn't good at fighting."
The Pyroslinger's expression twitched.
If he didn't know Su Bai's background, he might've believed that nonsense. A Liyue adeptus not good at fighting? Did Su Bai think the Fatui were brainless?
Feeling a bit embarrassed under that stare, Su Bai slightly increased the power of his lightning.
At least now it left a small black mark.
"That's strange…" Su Bai muttered. "Back in Inazuma, this level of lightning would've blasted a hole in a Ruin Grader."
Sensing something was wrong, Su Bai began observing more closely.
Sure enough—these Ruin Graders were abnormal.
Their attack speed was increasing. Their laser charge time was getting shorter.
As the Ruin Graders grew stronger, Razor began to struggle. Already exhausted from being chased by the Fatui, his stamina was nearly gone.
He wasn't the only one.
The hammer wielder had taken several heavy punches, and the gauntlet fighter had it even worse—after being clipped by a laser, a massive wound had opened across his abdomen.
The battle was rapidly turning against them.