The instant the seal was lifted—
"ROAR!!!"
A deafening dragon's roar shook every soul to its core.
Even everyone except Venti could hear it clearly—pain, hatred, and… helplessness, all entwined within that cry.
The roar carried with it an overwhelming surge of Anemo power, flooding heaven and earth alike.
The shattered walls and ruins of Stormterror's Lair were caught up in rising tornadoes, ripped from the ground and hurled into the sky.
And it wasn't just Stormterror's Lair.
At that very moment, the skies over western Mondstadt had been completely swallowed by dark, roiling storm clouds, blotting out the sun like a vision of the apocalypse.
"Dvalin! Who did this to you?!"
Venti shouted anxiously.
"ROAR!!!"
The only response was another dragon's roar, brimming with pure hostility.
"Watch out!"
Lin Mo shouted as he shoved Venti aside.
"ROAR!!!"
Another roar followed—and a terrifying blast of dragon's breath swept straight toward Lin Mo!
"Dad!!!"
"Lin Mo!!!"
In that instant, Eula and Klee forgot the name Lin Mo bore in this life.
But no matter how loudly they screamed, their voices were swallowed by the raging wind and the thunderous dragon cries.
The gale, sharp enough to slice through steel, made it impossible for anyone to even keep their footing on the platform—
let alone Lin Mo, who was directly engulfed by the fearsome dragon's breath.
The scorching torrent of power completely swallowed him, leaving no trace of his figure behind.
No one could imagine what kind of devastation Lin Mo would suffer after being hit head-on by such an attack.
"Cloud-Hidden… Wild Goose Cry!!"
"CLANG—!"
A single sword-drawing sound rang out, overwhelming every other noise.
The dragon's breath was suddenly scattered.
Dvalin's massive head was even forced slightly backward by the recoil of its own reversed breath.
As the storm of energy dispersed, everyone realized something astonishing—
At some point, a dazzling circular wall of wind had formed around the platform, shielding everyone within and blocking out all the raging gales.
If Beidou were here, she would have recognized this move instantly.
It was none other than Kaedehara Kazuha's famed technique—One with the Wind.
Yet Kazuha's version was merely an imitation.
The true creator of this technique… was Lin Mo.
At this moment, though his knight's uniform was torn and tattered,
his body was completely unharmed.
He stood calmly on the platform, his unfledged sword slowly sliding back into its sheath.
Everyone stared at his solid, unyielding back—
and at the lingering Anemo enchantment shimmering along the blade.
They all understood.
Lin Mo had merely drawn his sword,
yet he had created a wind wall that radiated absolute security.
He had even sliced apart that terrifying dragon's breath, forcing it to recoil upon itself.
"So… so strong…"
Paimon murmured, her small face full of shock.
It was the same Anemo element—but she was absolutely certain now.
Lin Mo's combat power was dozens, perhaps even hundreds of times greater than Lumine's.
"What kind of strength… is this…?"
Jean's eyes were filled with disbelief.
In the dream they had shared, Lin Mo was indeed powerful—but only roughly on par with Grand Master Varka.
There was no way he should have possessed the strength to confront a corrupted Dvalin's breath head-on.
"My little brother… to think you're this strong~"
Lisa's eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
But in the next moment, that warmth turned into a resentful pout.
"Hmph. Being so powerful, yet acting so helpless in the dream… I'll have to punish you properly later."
There was one person feeling particularly stifled at this moment.
Diluc.
In the dream, the battle-loving him had naturally crossed blades with Lin Mo as well.
They had fought until both were utterly exhausted, ending in a draw.
But now?
Looking at this scene, Lin Mo hadn't just been holding back—
he'd practically flooded the battlefield with mercy!
…
At that moment, Lin Mo spoke up.
"Everyone, fight from within my wind barrier."
"Do not leave it unless absolutely necessary. Dvalin has been severely corrupted by a curse and has completely lost his reason. His strength is far beyond what it once was."
"That's right."
Venti nodded solemnly.
"Under the Abyss's corruption and Durin's curse, Dvalin has been burning through his own life force. His combat power is more than twice what it used to be. No one can afford to be careless."
The gravity in Lin Mo and Venti's voices made everyone instinctively look toward Dvalin's pitch-black body.
Only then did they truly notice how different he looked from before.
But as their pupils widened, they realized something even more horrifying—
What truly broke their hearts wasn't the change in color, but the sight of it.
Eight jet-black spikes jutted out from Dvalin's massive body, stretching from the back of his neck all the way down to his tail.
Without question, these black spikes were the source of Dvalin's agony.
What had once been a single spike at the nape of his neck had somehow multiplied into eight.
"ROAR!!!"
Another dragon's roar split the sky.
Seeing his Anemo attacks completely blocked by the wind wall, Dvalin was consumed by rage.
His enormous body rose high into the air, then hurtled straight toward the group.
He clearly intended to smash into them, forcing everyone out of the safety of the wind barrier.
"Oh no! Dvalin's trying to drive us out of the wind wall!"
Paimon cried out in alarm.
Even without any combat experience, she immediately saw through his plan.
At that very moment—
Three figures flashed past Lin Mo almost simultaneously.
Eula.
Diluc.
Noelle.
The three strongest claymore wielders in Mondstadt charged straight toward the oncoming dragon head.
"Leave the defense to me!!"
Noelle rushed ahead, taking the lead.
BOOM!
She slammed her golden greatsword into the ground.
At the same time, a brilliant Geo shield flared to life around her body.
She intended to stop the charge of the massive dragon all by herself.
Then—
The darkened sky suddenly lit up.
"Hah!!"
"Judgment!!!!"
A blazing phoenix of flames soared into the heavens, racing straight toward the roaring dragon head.
"ROAR!!!"
Thick white steam erupted from Dvalin's face.
The attack worked—
at the very least, it slowed his charge.
In the next instant, Dvalin's enormous head crashed down as expected.
"RUMBLE—!!!"
The dragon's head slammed into the golden greatsword Noelle had embedded in the ground, forcibly halting Dvalin's upper body atop the platform.
And at that moment—
A graceful figure leapt high into the air, landing atop the dragon's head.
Before her lay the source of Dvalin's torment—the black poisonous spike.
Eula raised Song of Broken Pines high above her head.
Frost surged forth, instantly dyeing the rising steam in a storm of icy crystals.
"Frozen steel—sever all grudges!"
--------
T/N:
You'll also get 5 extra chapters just for being a free member!
Access 40 chapters in advance on my Patreon : [email protected]/furinaimpact