After successfully wiping out a massive portion of Raiden Ei's forces, Fu Xuan withdrew from the battlefield in satisfaction.
"Next."
Bronya stepped onto the arena.
"Oh? It's actually Bronya?"
Up on the high platform, Valerius looked slightly surprised. Early on, the Astral Express side had relied almost entirely on Bronya to hold the line. He had assumed she would be saved for the very end, yet here she was stepping up now.
His gaze shifted to the two remaining combatants on their side — Silver Wolf and Feixiao.
"So who's going to be the final trump card?"
Between those two, one was a seasoned general who excelled at large-scale warfare, while the other was a gaming prodigy who understood systems and mechanics inside out. For once, even Valerius couldn't immediately tell who would be left standing at the very end.
He smiled at Bronya and gave a small nod before withdrawing his gaze.
"Begin."
With a raised hand, he signaled the start of the match.
"See? I told you — Valerius treats Bronya differently."
Up in the stands, Serval elbowed Natasha, grinning from ear to ear.
"I've felt that way for a while too."
Natasha nodded thoughtfully. She'd noticed it long ago. Valerius was polite to everyone, sure — but with Bronya, there was something… extra. Something subtle.
She'd already sensed it back when Valerius helped resolve Belobog's debt crisis.
"In that case, you should keep Seele busy lately. You know what I mean."
"That makes sense."
The two exchanged knowing looks and nodded in agreement. In their eyes, Seele had been glued to Bronya day in and day out — letting things continue like that would only delay progress.
Nearby, Hook listened in confusion.
She didn't quite understand what they were talking about — but one thing caught her attention.
"If Seele has work to do, then what about me?"
She puffed out her chest proudly.
"I'm the boss of the Moles! Getting overshadowed by Valerius — an honorary member — is unacceptable!"
She immediately tugged on Natasha's sleeve.
"Natasha~! Let Hook help too!"
Natasha smiled.
"Alright. You'll follow Seele for now."
"Yay!"
Even if she didn't know what the task was, following Seele had to mean something important.
Meanwhile, the battle had already begun.
As Bronya deployed her troops, Raiden Ei froze.
"…That's it?"
This was far fewer than she had expected. Not only that — it was a mixed force, and a small one at that.
Fire Elementals ×80
Unicorns ×80
Cyclops Kings ×80
Manticore ×50
Wyvern Monarchs ×70
Behemoths ×100
All elite Tier 5–6 units — but the numbers were far lower than anyone else's.
"…Where's the rest of your army?"
"This is all of it."
Raiden Ei's eyes widened.
So all this time, Bronya had been suppressing them with just this much?
Regret surged through her. If she'd known earlier, she would've finished Bronya off herself instead of letting Paimon waste that opportunity.
"Hmph. If this is all you have, then you're finished."
"We'll see."
Bronya remained completely unfazed.
She found Raiden Ei… surprisingly easy to read.
My army is small — that doesn't mean our side's total strength is small. What exactly are you thinking?
"Charge in. Close the distance on the Cyclops Kings."
Bronya only had one ranged unit, so Raiden Ei chose an all-out assault, denying her any chance to form a defensive screen.
"All units, protect the Cyclops Kings!"
Bronya wasn't as tanky as Fu Xuan. As a Cleric-type hero, her base offense and defense were lower — though her high level compensated somewhat.
Still, her real strength lay in magic… which was completely suppressed by Raiden Ei's Anti-Magic Cloak.
Facing the Behemoths' charge, her only option was to shield the Cyclops Kings. They — along with the Behemoths — were the only units capable of inflicting meaningful damage.
The armies collided.
The Behemoths, previously restrained by Fu Xuan's formations, finally got their moment.
Their claws tore through the frontline with ease. Wherever they passed, blood flooded the battlefield.
"Bloodlust."
Seizing the moment, Raiden Ei cast another buff. While she specialized in offense, she still possessed basic support magic.
Bronya's formation immediately began to crumble, on the verge of collapse.
To make matters worse, her luck was terrible — the Behemoths were nearly wiped out, yet none of them triggered their instant-kill ability.
"It's over…"
In the stands, many believed Bronya was finished. Tier 5–6 troops simply couldn't withstand Behemoth charges — especially with Cyclops boulders raining down from behind.
Pure devastation.
"Haha — you're done."
Raiden Ei was openly delighted now.
Though her own forces had taken heavy losses, taking down three opponents by herself was more than worth it.
Bronya said nothing, calmly continuing her rear-guard resistance.
She had never intended to defeat Raiden Ei.
Her goal was reconnaissance.
From Raiden Ei's army composition, Bronya had already confirmed it.
She's strong — but she can't compare to Feixiao.
As long as Raiden Ei's forces were sufficiently worn down, Feixiao could face Hu Tao at full strength later.
Hu Tao's army was massive — but how massive, no one knew yet.
That was why Feixiao had to remain untouched.
With one final Behemoth strike, Bronya's forces were completely annihilated.
Raiden Ei's army… was reduced to four lone Behemoths, standing silently on the battlefield.
"…Next."
Raiden Ei gave Bronya a strange smile.
You people are really something — hiding your troops like that.
From Bronya's deployment alone, Valerius immediately understood the Astral Express side's plan.
If the Genshin side — excluding Hu Tao — split their forces evenly…
Then on the Astral Express side, Feixiao held nearly 90% of the total military strength.
Watching Raiden Ei proudly stand there with her hands on her hips, Valerius felt an urge to warn her.
Run. You barely scratched them — what are you proud of?
Bronya stepped down.
Silver Wolf walked onto the field.
"Begin."
Raiden Ei, now with only four Behemoths left, stood no chance.
A single lightning strike from a Titan erased them instantly.
But Raiden Ei wasn't disappointed.
After all — she had taken out three opponents on her own.
Next up was Neuvillette.
Like Silver Wolf, he commanded Tower units.
The audience watched as both sides' armies clashed in the center, while Titans in the rear hurled lightning nonstop into the fray.
Their intentions were identical:
Clear everything else first. Titans decide the endgame.
For the remaining troops, it was pure hell.
They had to endure both enemy attacks and relentless divine lightning.
When the dust finally settled…
Only Titans remained.
Silver Wolf: 50
Neuvillette: 47
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