Hearing Shen Qin's response, Keqing understood that the chances of him returning to Liyue were nearly zero. But the good news was that he was willing to maintain a friendly relationship with Liyue.
Diluc and Jean both let out a sigh of relief.
Keqing smiled and said, "In that case—"
"ROAR!!!—"
A violent dragon's roar rang out from beyond Mondstadt's walls. The massive figure of Dvalin surged toward the city, a storm swallowing the skies in his wake.
The people of Mondstadt watched in terror as a storm more powerful than the last loomed above them, fleeing in panic toward the nearest shelters.
On the balcony of a stronghold, Rosalyne swirled a glass of red wine in her hand.
Looking out over the apocalyptic scene, she laughed heartily. "Oh Mondstadt, look at your useless Knights. If they can't even handle a tiny little lizard like this, how can they ever protect you?"
"And that pitiful little alchemist… Once he realizes how weak Mondstadt truly is, once we swoop in like saviors to rescue this city, he'll surely fall to his knees and pledge himself to us like a loyal hound. Hahaha…"
At this moment, Lumine and Paimon were also in the city. Seeing the wind dragon's overwhelming approach, Paimon was so scared she nearly burst into tears. But Lumine drew her sword and skated up to the highest point in Mondstadt.
If she was needed, she would not hesitate to give it her all.
Jean rushed to the gates of the Knights' Headquarters and, seeing the storm pressing down like a mountain, immediately issued the order, "Knights of Favonius—prepare for battle!"
Keqing raised her sword. "We'll help too!"
But this was her first time facing such a powerful foe. Cold sweat beaded on her palms.
"Thank you, Miss Keqing, but the main force to repel the East Wind Dragon isn't us today," Jean said gratefully. "The Knights are merely a failsafe in case anything goes off-plan."
Keqing frowned slightly. She couldn't understand—was there a force stronger than the Knights hidden within Mondstadt?
Then, to her surprise, Jean turned to Shen Qin and said, "We're counting on you."
Shen Qin nodded calmly. As Dvalin drew closer to the city, he raised his wrist and gave a simple command:
"Activate Skyshield Protocol."
The moment his words fell, everyone in Mondstadt with a Vision felt a suffocatingly powerful energy surge from beneath the earth. In the next instant, the majestic East Wind Dragon slammed directly into a pale-cyan barrier.
The shield had been invisible, but the moment it was struck, the blessing of the Anemo Archon flared to life, bathing it in a faint blue-green glow.
Dvalin was flying fast, and with his massive size and complete lack of preparation, the impact nearly knocked half the life out of him.
Even the storm trailing behind him was delayed momentarily.
Barbatos?! And this damned citywide shield!
Last time, he'd been held back by two humans carrying portable versions of these shields. Now they'd wrapped the entire city in one?
Enraged, Dvalin soared thousands of meters into the sky, gathering dark curse energy in his front claws, then dove down and slammed into the shield again with all his weight.
There wasn't even a sound. The curse energy dissipated instantly, and his claws bounced right off. Once more, his body had a very personal encounter with the barrier.
Still unwilling to give up, he spewed a devastating breath attack infused with wind, poison, and Abyssal power—but the shield remained unscathed.
Even his strongest attacks couldn't break through. As for the storm he'd built up? Only a few harmless breezes slipped through the edges of the shield, gently brushing against Mondstadt.
At first, the people were paralyzed with fear. But after hiding for a long while without hearing any impact—no roars, no windows rattling like last time—some of the braver citizens peeked outside.
And there it was—Dvalin, the once-terrifying East Wind Dragon, blocked outside the shield, flailing around in vain, looking furious and… pitifully helpless.
Cheers erupted.
"The East Wind Dragon's stuck outside! Not even the wind can get in!"
"Haha! No more dragon disasters! The Knights must've solved it for good!"
"So that's the legendary East Wind Dragon? Kind of… funny-looking, honestly."
Word of the dragon's failure spread quickly. One by one, the people of Mondstadt poured into the streets to look up at the scene: a dragon desperately trying to brute-force a barrier it couldn't scratch.
Dvalin looked down and saw the humans—completely unafraid, watching him like a circus act. Rage surged within him. He launched even more furious attacks.
I, your beloved dragon, might've just died of embarrassment today.
All around Mondstadt, the Knights stationed across the city saw that the shield was holding—and let out massive sighs of relief. Elated, they spread the names of the people responsible for the miraculous barrier.
"That shield was made by Master Shen and the Knights' Chief Alchemist, Mr. Albedo, along with Miss Sucrose!"
"No wonder it's so powerful—it was Shen Qin who made it!"
"Sucrose… Hehe… My lovely Miss Sucrose! She's not just adorable—turns out she's a real help to Master Shen Qin too!"
"Mr. Albedo's amazing too! And he's that mysterious blond pretty boy… hiss, haah~"
(Wait, did a couple of weirdos sneak into this crowd?)
Lumine sheathed her sword and sat atop the city's highest point, watching the festive mood below and the furious dragon outside the barrier. A smile crept across her face.
"Whoa—this must be the Skyshield system Shen Qin mentioned! It's amazing! Lumine, we helped too!" Paimon clapped proudly.
"...Helped how, exactly?" Lumine side-eyed her.
"Well, if you hadn't gone fishing with me, we wouldn't have gotten blown up by Klee, and we wouldn't have met Shen Qin and the others, and then…"
Everyone was in high spirits—except Rosalyne. Her face darkened as she stared at the barrier's astounding effect.
"Shen Qin, Shen Qin… I really underestimated you."
Her gaze turned cold and sharp.
"You've become a serious threat to the Fatui's plans. If we can't turn you to our side… then perhaps it's better you didn't exist at all."
Meanwhile, Shen Qin was still cheerfully giving Jean and Keqing a tour of the brand-new barrier system.
"You see, even the eight sub-shield generators can maintain a functional barrier—but we designed this central core generator as a contingency. If any section takes too much damage, this core can double the defense strength in that area."
After all, one of them was his current "patron," and the other a future potential investor—Shen Qin knew he had to make a good impression!