Kaeya spoke righteously—while very carefully not making eye contact.
"So! As Captain of Cavalry, I hereby declare a change in the assessment!"
"Recently, a group of Hilichurls has occupied a trade route outside the city and built a camp—seriously affecting Mondstadt's commerce!"
"We'll go clear them out!"
"That's a knight's true duty! Real combat, real contribution! Perfect evaluation!"
"And this has nothing to do with me being scared or in pain! Absolutely not! This is purely strategic!"
Yichen stopped walking and stared at Kaeya's clearly terrified yet stubbornly dignified expression.
Then crossed his arms.
A profoundly punchable smile appeared.
Kaeya: "..."
His smile twitched.
But to avoid further elbow-based life reconsideration, he forced a laugh.
"Haha… let's go, then! No time to waste! Hilichurls won't clear themselves!"
He turned and hurried off—nearly fleeing the scene.
Yichen snorted, patted his Vision, and followed.
At least the first stage of the trainee assessment had been… successfully completed.
Even if the examiner suffered emotional trauma.
Outside Mondstadt, along the trade route.
As Kaeya said, a group of Hilichurls had set up camp—some archers patrolling, a larger Mitachurl dozing with its shield.
"All right, here we are."
Kaeya gestured forward.
"Elbow Knight—show your… uh… value. Go!"
He instinctively stepped back, ready to spectate.
But Yichen didn't charge.
Instead, he turned to Kaeya and smiled—a smile that sent chills straight down Kaeya's spine.
"Watch closely."
Yichen raised his right arm, elbow bent, assuming a perfect elbow-strike stance.
But the target wasn't the Hilichurls.
It was the air in front of him.
"This move… was originally meant as a special gift for you."
Kaeya: "???"
Then—
The space in front of Yichen's elbow rippled, like disturbed water.
"Wah—?!"
A Hilichurl's cry erupted out of nowhere.
One Hilichurl—previously more than ten meters away—was violently yanked through space, its body blurring as if forcibly relocated.
It was delivered with terrifying precision—
Directly into the path of Yichen's fully committed elbow strike.
And at the worst possible angle.
The elbow—powered by Captain America ×4 strength and the mysterious Mamba Elbow Law—
Slammed squarely between the Hilichurl's legs.
"AAAAAA—!!!!!!!!"
A scream so high-pitched and soul-rending it chilled every male within hearing range tore through the road.
The Hilichurl flew backward like a broken sack, crashed to the ground, twitched twice—
Then went completely still.
The camp fell silent.
"WHAT THE F—!!!"
Kaeya's face drained of color.
In pure reflex, he clamped both hands over his groin with a grip strong enough to weld steel.
He felt phantom pain.
What kind of cursed technique was that?!
Long-range grab?!
Auto-targeting?!
And it only hits the lower half?!
If that had happened earlier—
Kaeya didn't dare finish the thought.
"YICHEN!!!"
His voice cracked.
"DO NOT SAVE THAT NIGHTMARE FUEL FOR ME!!!"
Yichen calmly lowered his arm, examined the distant victim, then nodded in approval.
"Mm. Good results."
"'Auto-Targeted Weak-Point Strike.' Success."
He turned back, smiling innocently.
"What's wrong, Captain Kaeya? Didn't you want to test my combat ability?"
"I think it's very practical—efficient, decisive, and devastating to morale."
He pointed at the panicking camp.
"They seem… very discouraged."
Kaeya: "..."