"Mmm! Mmm!!" Several Treasure Hoarders were tightly bound by Aether and Amber using the ropes they carried on themselves, and their mouths were stuffed with a piece of rags Aether found casually.
Now, all they had to do was send a message to the Knights of Favonius to have them pick up the people. These guys would surely fill up the empty cells of the Knights of Favonius.
"It seems those guys didn't notice." Aether stood up and looked into the distance. No one had returned from the direction the Monster Bird had left earlier, so his plan seemed to have succeeded.
Although he didn't think his Hilichurl imitation was very good, those guys' stupidity was beyond his imagination.
"Hmm, let's find a place to hide these guys first." Amber glanced at the Treasure Hoarder member who was still groaning, and angrily kicked him.
That guy instantly quieted down a lot.
After the two of them dealt with the scene, they quickly headed towards where the Monster Bird had left.
The journey was smooth, and they didn't encounter any new enemies until they arrived in front of a mountain.
The traces of Anemo element could no longer be felt on the way.
"They, they couldn't have gone in there, could they?" Aether frowned. The crevice in this mountain was indeed a bit suspicious.
The crevice didn't look big, but in reality, it could perfectly accommodate a person's entry and exit.
"It should be..." Amber also nodded, otherwise, there would be no explanation for why the traces of Anemo element stopped here.
Amber squatted down again, poking her small head into the crevice to look.
"It seems to be a Ruins inside."
Amber said with some surprise.
There were all kinds of Ruins throughout Teyvat, which had always been the most enjoyable places for scholars.
And similarly, some hidden Ruins that had not been discovered would also be used as strongholds by people like the Treasure Hoarders.
"Let's go in and take a look." Amber turned to Aether and said.
"Mmm."
The two of them walked into this Ruins one after another.
The inside was not much different from some of the Ruins Amber had investigated before; they were all of the same type.
But for Aether, this was his first time entering a Ruins, and everything in front of him was very new to him.
"Speaking of which, are there even Anemo currents inside this Ruins?" Aether asked Amber curiously.
"Hmm, although no one can explain how these Anemo currents are generated... However, this actually makes things easier for us." Amber nodded, then looked at Aether.
"This is a rare opportunity, why don't we continue today morning's Wind Glider license test?"
Flying would obviously save a lot of time.
"Here?" Aether looked at the distant Anemo current, feeling a little apprehensive.
The height and wind speed here were much higher than in Mondstadt City, and he wasn't sure if he could fly well.
"Hmm, although taking the test here will be a bit difficult, if you can pass it, you won won't need to go through so many cumbersome steps and can directly receive your Wind Glider license." Amber smiled and nodded.
It wasn't that she had this right, but if things went smoothly, she could talk to Acting Grand Master Jean about catching the Monster Bird, and Acting Grand Master Jean would surely be willing to make an exception and directly issue the Wind Glider license to Aether.
"Yay, then I'll have to perform well." Hearing Amber say that, Aether was instantly motivated.
If he could skip the troublesome steps later, then a little difficulty now was worth it.
"But wouldn't flying over so conspicuously alert those guys?"
"Don't worry, I've already prepared for this." Amber revealed a mysterious smile and took out several dolls from behind her.
"Baron Bunny?" Aether still remembered the name of Amber's doll. It seemed that Amber had sewn them herself, and the craftsmanship looked very good.
"This time, it's a concentrated, power-enhanced version of explosives."
"Ex-explosives..."
--------
Aether originally thought that Amber putting explosives inside the Baron Bunny dolls was a bit mischievous, but soon he didn't care about these minor things.
"Woohoo!" He flew in the air, constantly throwing the Baron Bunnys in his hand at the people below.
Watching those Treasure Hoarders scatter in panic from the explosives in his hand, the expression on his face gradually became rampant.
It felt good, it felt really good.
The dosage of the explosives was also just right. Although Amber said it was concentrated, when it exploded on the ground, at most, it would only knock people unconscious and wouldn't cause fatal injuries.
"Damn it, quickly shoot those two crazy girls down!" The Monster Bird angrily commanded his subordinates.
"Yes!" Two people immediately grabbed crossbows and aimed at the two in the sky.
"Aether, be careful!" Amber keenly noticed the two Treasure Hoarder members below who were ready to counterattack, and quickly said to Aether.
However, he didn't need her reminder at all. Aether's reaction was very fast. Before the two men's crossbow bolts were even shot, the two Baron Bunnys in his hand had already been thrown.
Those two Baron Bunnys were clearly just thrown by Aether, but visually, they looked like two shells fired by a Ruins Guard.
"Ah!" A white light accompanied by two screams came over.
The Baron Bunnys heavily smashed at the feet of those two people. Except for the Monster Bird, who reacted quickly and jumped back a step to dodge, the two Treasure Hoarder members were instantly knocked unconscious by the explosion of the Baron Bunnys.
"Nice work! Aether!" Amber couldn't help but shout at Aether.
In this way, their only threat was gone, and all they had to do was apprehend that Monster Bird.
"Damn it..." The Monster Bird glared fiercely at the two in the sky. He no longer hesitated and immediately took out his spare Wind Glider, rode the Anemo current, and flew deeper into the Ruins.
"Oh no, he's trying to escape, Aether, let's catch up quickly!" Amber quickly said to Aether.
"Okay, leave it to me." Aether felt that he had mastered the Wind Glider. Controlling the Wind Glider, he quickly chased after the Monster Bird.
A moment later, the two landed beside a cliff.
"Strange, I clearly saw him coming this way just now, where is he?" Aether looked around, his vigilance not letting up.
In front was a tall cliff, and it was impossible for a Wind Glider to fly up without an Anemo current.
"It shouldn't be... Where did he hide?" Amber also frowned. She carefully observed the surrounding situation. As an Outrider, she had explored many Ruins, and she knew what kind of mechanisms usually existed in such places.
"You two really caught up, you two lunatics." The Monster Bird's voice suddenly came, and Aether instantly held the baseball bat in his hand.
The two looked up along the sound, only to see the Monster Bird standing on the distant cliff, looking down at them from above.
"Heh, surrender, you can't escape." Aether sneered and pointed his baseball bat at the other party.
This guy was so fearless, did he think they couldn't get over there?
Although Aether hadn't yet discovered how the other party got up there, this distance...
Aether roughly estimated that throwing his bat to smash down this cliff was still doable.
"I don't need to hurry and escape at all, you two can't come up anyway." The Monster Bird also looked confident.
"Can't cross?" Aether raised an eyebrow. He didn't say he was going to cross, he would just solve it with brute force.
"Amber, don't be impulsive. It's true as he said that you can't fly up this cliff with a Wind Glider at all." Amber pulled Aether's hand. She seemed to have misunderstood Aether's meaning.
"Amber, don't worry, I just..."
"At this position, even grappling hooks or spikes would be difficult to throw to the other side... Besides, there are no traces of stakes left." Amber pondered silently, seemingly not hearing what Aether was saying.
There were no mechanisms nearby that could go back and forth, no possibility of using elemental magic. Apart from using a Wind Glider, there seemed to be no other way.
"Amber..." Aether looked at Amber who was silently pondering, and finally didn't disturb him anymore, waiting quietly.
"Aether, don't worry, I'll definitely figure out a way."
"Mmm, I believe you." Aether nodded. He wasn't in a hurry.
That Monster Bird couldn't escape; this was a given fact.
Compared to apprehending that Monster Bird as soon as possible, Amber at this moment was more important.
He also wanted to see what Amber looked like when he was working seriously.
"I advise you two to go back quickly. Call your Acting Grand Master Jean, and I might even surrender."
However, this time, neither Amber nor Aether paid any attention to the Monster Bird's chatter.
"Heh, goodbye, little girls--" The Monster Bird saw that the two ignored him, and seemed a bit exasperated.
He made a gesture as if he wanted to leave, but walked particularly slowly, as if deliberately trying to annoy the two of them.
Aether's anger immediately flared up, and he coldly glanced at the other party.
A dangerous glint seemed to flash in his golden eyes, causing the Monster Bird, who still wanted to say something, to tremble and his just-opened mouth to close tremblingly again.
"Hmph..." Aether snorted disdainfully, then looked at Amber with gentle eyes.
"I see." Amber finally lifted her head. "Besides flying, there's no other answer."
"Amber, are you planning to fly over?" Stelle quickly asked.
"Hmm, a favorite fable book of mine mentioned: the first birds couldn't fly; flying was their reward for bravely leaping into the canyon." Amber's eyes were filled with determination.
"So, I must also gather my courage. Please witness me, Stelle!"
"I see." Stelle nodded, then glanced at the distant broken cliff, showing a slight smile.
"But just witnessing isn't enough. Since that's the case, I'll take Amber flying."
"Eh?!" Amber looked at Stelle in surprise.
"Didn't we agree before? Once I can fly well, I'll take Amber on a flight around the sky," Stelle said to Amber with a smile.
"But, but…" Amber hesitated slightly.
She had gathered her courage, but even if there was a ninety-nine percent chance of success, she didn't want Stelle to take that one percent risk.
"No buts. How about we consider this the final test for my flying license?" Stelle reached out and wrapped an arm around Amber's waist, lifting her into a bridal carry.
"Stelle…"
"Amber, you have to believe in me, and believe in yourself."
"Mm… I understand!" Amber felt the warmth in Stelle's embrace, no longer hesitating, and nodded firmly. "Then—the wind says, we can fly!"
As Amber's words fell, Stelle also took Amber and leapt, flying between the two broken cliffs.
As their altitude grew lower and lower, Amber's heart became increasingly nervous.
Time and space seemed to stand still.
The whistling wind in her ears seemed to gradually fade. Amber felt as if she were submerged in water; she could even easily hear her own and Stelle's heartbeats.
"What's important isn't the strong wind, but courage, right?" Stelle suddenly lowered her head and said to Amber with a smile.
"Eh?" Amber looked at Stelle's beautiful face in surprise.
"That fable book Amber mentioned, I saw it in your bedroom. After reading it once, I think Amber must really like that sentence, so next…"
Stelle didn't finish her sentence. The two, who were about to fall into the abyss, were suddenly lifted by a strong gust of wind.
"This is the reward for Amber's courage!"
The two landed steadily on the ground. Monster Bird stood in place, staring at them with wide eyes, especially at Stelle.
His body trembled continuously; he didn't dare to move.
"Hmph, surrender, Monster Bird!" Amber took out her bow and arrow, aiming at the white-haired young man.
"Boss!" Behind him, three Treasure Hoarders members suddenly rushed out.
"Damn it, quickly kill these two girls for me!" Monster Bird seemed to have just come to his senses and quickly shouted orders to his subordinates.
"Yes!" The subordinates obediently took out their weapons, but they didn't look very formidable.
Especially the fat one, holding a shovel, Stelle almost burst out laughing.
However, Monster Bird himself showed no intention of fighting. Stelle could even see the idea of escaping in his evasive gaze.
This guy probably planned to take advantage of the chaos and fly over the cliff to escape again.
"How could I let you have your way, not after coming this far." Stelle took out her baseball bat.
This time, there was no need to worry about alerting the enemy; it was fine if she used a little more force, as long as she took down these guys.
She especially remembered that this Monster Bird had disturbed her, causing her to fall from the sky.
Stelle held a grudge.
"Do you guys know? Rules are meant to be broken." Electric light flashed on Stelle's baseball bat as she spoke a nonsensical sentence to them.
"?"
"Rest in Peace Home Run!"
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