Liyue, Scorching Cave.
When Lumine and Paimon returned, Nolan and Xingqiu also regrouped with them.
"Huh? We already told Chongyun to climb up. What were you two up to just now?" Paimon tilted her head, looking puzzled.
"We went to deal with the monsters that came in," Xingqiu answered first, then turned to Nolan. "I found that the Pyro Flower had disguised itself as a Pyro Whopperflower again, but I've already taken care of it. Did you find anything?"
Nolan nodded, "The Pyro Bats have also been dealt with."
"You two sure are carefree."
Lumine crossed her arms, casting a helpless glance at the two of them. Were they not worried about drawing the Pyro Regisvine's attention too early?
She shifted her stance, hands on her hips, ready to say something else when she suddenly noticed Chongyun waving at them from the crack in the ceiling above. She changed her tone and asked:
"Chongyun is ready. Do you have a plan?"
"A plan... The primary objective should be to find a way to attack the Pyro Regisvine's root weak points. If we can break through, the rest will be straightforward," Xingqiu, clearly familiar with this type of boss-level creature, responded.
"Exactly," Nolan agreed with a nod, adding, "My Elemental Skill is an elemental shield with decent defensive capabilities. Let me draw the Pyro Regisvine's attention up front, and you two can launch a surprise attack."
This seemed like a solid plan. After a brief consideration, both Lumine and Xingqiu agreed.
"Alright, I'll go ahead. You two wait for the right moment to strike," Nolan said, gripping his greatsword and starting to walk toward the still-dormant Pyro Regisvine in the center of the area.
"Be careful! Paimon will be cheering for you," Paimon called out with a smile as she hovered in mid-air.
"Don't worry."
Nolan responded simply, but despite his words, he felt slightly anxious about whether his elemental shield would be strong enough.
As he walked, he kept an eye on the Adventure EXP on his character panel.
[Adventure EXP: 33,217]
Even with over thirty thousand Adventure EXP, it wasn't enough to raise his level to match the Pyro Regisvine's, and without the corresponding skill levels, he wouldn't be able to exert much combat strength.
His main task now was to use the Dandelion Shield to hold the front line, giving Lumine and Xingqiu the opportunity to exploit the Pyro Regisvine's weak points.
So it made sense to further enhance the already Level 5 Dandelion Shield.
[Adventure EXP -26,000]
Elemental Skill: Dandelion Shield Lv.5 (0/5000) → Elemental Skill: Dandelion Shield Lv.9 (0/9000)
Upgrading the Dandelion Shield to Level 9 increased its duration from 15 minutes to about 30 minutes and greatly enhanced its defensive capabilities.
Now, he should be secure.
Unfortunately, he was about two thousand Adventure EXP short of maxing out the Elemental Skill, which would have given him even more confidence.
As time passed, Nolan steadily approached the Pyro Regisvine.
Not taking any chances, he activated the newly upgraded Dandelion Shield, instantly enveloping himself in a deeper, more intense green shield.
Soon, Nolan, with his elemental shield up, entered the Pyro Regisvine's alert range.
It suddenly sprang to life from its dormant state, where it had been absorbing Pyro elements for growth.
The thick trunk, which had an incredibly flexible, flower-like stem, jerked upwards, lifting the "head" of the Pyro Regisvine. Even though it had no eyes, Nolan could clearly feel its gaze fixed on him, as if the temperature around him had risen by several degrees.
Without the usual roar that accompanies most monsters, the Pyro Regisvine suddenly used its head as a weapon and slammed it down toward Nolan.
Bang!
The head collided with the elemental shield, and unsurprisingly, the impact caused a brief standoff. Despite the fact that the Dandelion Shield had been upgraded, it wasn't easy to deflect such a formidable creature.
However, once the Pyro Regisvine was roused and attacked Nolan, its weak spot—a core resembling a Pyro element crystal located at its roots—was exposed. This was the perfect moment to strike.
Xingqiu seized the opportunity.
He used Hydro elements to conjure a barrage of *Rain Swords*, which he then launched at the Pyro Regisvine's core.
As the first Hydro sword hit the Pyro Regisvine, Nolan could feel the boss-level monster's aura weaken noticeably.
Lumine swiftly gathered an Anemo vortex in her pale hand, and with her graceful legs in motion, she sprinted forward and pressed the wind vortex against the Pyro Regisvine's core.
Continuously spreading the Hydro elements would inflict significant damage on the Pyro Regisvine.
Sensing the rapid depletion of Pyro elements in its core, the Pyro Regisvine instinctively lifted its head and, glancing upward at the ceiling, quickly transferred its core to its head.
At the same time, searing flames began to erupt from the ground, agitated by the Pyro elements.
These flames, in perfect synchronization, began to spread toward Nolan and Lumine. It was clear that these ground flames were being controlled by the Pyro Regisvine itself.
Seeing this, Nolan quickly expanded his elemental shield to encompass Lumine as well.
The ground flames continuously scorched the Dandelion Shield, causing the Anemo elements to deplete rapidly.
Just then, a massive Ice Sword descended from above, smashing directly into the Pyro Regisvine, which had transferred its core to its head.
Chongyun... Nolan glanced upward casually.
The short-haired youth with ice-blue hair was in the crack above, continuing to gather a large sword composed of Cryo elements, aiming to smash it down onto the Pyro Regisvine's Pyro core.
Regardless of whether it worked or not, Nolan took the opportunity to infuse his greatsword with Anemo energy and slashed at the base of the Pyro Regisvine.
"Swoosh!"
As the wind blades cut through, the fibrous tissues at the base of the Pyro Regisvine were torn apart, scattering in all directions.
The Pyro Regisvine seemed to have a sense of pain, and in response, it quickly curled its massive leaves around its head.
While protecting its Pyro core, it also swung its head down like a hammer.
"Crash!"
Because Nolan had expanded the wind shield to include Lumine as well, its overall strength had slightly decreased.
The Dandelion Shield emitted faint cracking sounds, indicating the immense force behind the Pyro Regisvine's attack.
Fortunately, Nolan had prudently upgraded the shield's level just in time; otherwise, it wouldn't have held up.
Even though the shield managed to withstand the attack, Nolan didn't want to take any further risks.
He quickly pulled Lumine out of the Pyro Regisvine's attack range and then slashed forward, sending more wind blades towards the enemy.
For a moment, wind, ice, and water elements exploded upon the Pyro Regisvine. However, it instinctively protected its Pyro core, so the damage it sustained wasn't too severe.
"Ugh, what a hassle," Xingqiu remarked with a slight sigh as he held his longsword. Despite his and Chongyun's efforts, they hadn't been able to freeze the powerful creature even temporarily.
Just then, the ground fire attacks from the Pyro Regisvine ceased.
Noticing this, Nolan immediately became alert. Usually, when a monster retracts an ineffective attack, it's preparing to unleash something even more powerful.
"Let's move back a bit more," Nolan said, tugging Lumine's arm to urge her to retreat.
Lumine nodded in agreement, but before they could act, the Pyro Regisvine suddenly unfurled the leaves covering its head, exposing its Pyro core aimed directly at them.
The next moment, a blazing column of fire shot out like a beam from a flashlight, moving too fast to dodge and striking the wind shield directly.
The already weakened shield quickly became unstable, rippling like a disturbed lake.
In less than a second, the shield was pierced by the fiery column. Realizing the danger, Nolan immediately tackled Lumine to the ground, helping them both avoid the attack.
"Oof."
Lumine winced as her back hit the ground, causing some discomfort. She propped herself up slightly, her fair face flushed as she prepared to say something to Nolan, whose face was pressed against her body.
But then she noticed that the fiery column from the Pyro Regisvine hadn't dissipated after breaking through the wind shield.
Instead, it was sweeping horizontally towards them.
Lumine quickly dismissed her thoughts and grabbed Nolan, urging him to run.
As they ran, Nolan stumbled slightly, feeling fatigued both mentally and physically from the strain of maintaining the wind shield.
Earlier, when his face had brushed against Lumine's dress, which hadn't fully covered her chest, the warmth of her soft skin had momentarily confused his mind, making him feel like he was in bed and almost causing him to drift off to sleep.
Fortunately, he had the [Abundant Life] skill.
His stamina and mental clarity quickly returned, allowing him to refocus and stay alert.
With the wind shield just recently broken, he couldn't deploy it again immediately.
For now, he could only rely on evasive maneuvers to keep the Pyro Regisvine's attention, hoping that Xingqiu and Chongyun could seize the opportunity to shatter its Pyro core.
About two minutes later...
The Pyro Regisvine couldn't maintain the fiery pillar indefinitely and had to retract it to use another skill. This seemed to create a brief window of opportunity.
Nolan and Lumine observed that the Pyro Regisvine had stopped its attack, and they immediately halted their retreat to counterattack with Anemo energy from a distance.
The damage dealt wasn't the primary concern; the main goal was to help Xingqiu and Chongyun spread their Cryo and Hydro elements to destroy the Pyro core quickly.
Under the continuous assault from everyone, the Pyro core's fire elements were rapidly depleted.
Soon, a sound like breaking glass came from the Pyro Regisvine. It stuttered for a moment and then collapsed like a felled tree.
"Phew, it's finally down!"
Paimon, who had been watching from the side, wiped the sweat from her forehead and approached Nolan and the others.
"No, it's just temporarily weakened," Nolan replied. "Look at its root; the Pyro core is slowly regenerating. At this rate, the Pyro Regisvine will soon awaken.
"We need to defeat it completely while we have the chance."
Xingqiu pointed at the broken core, which was absorbing nearby fire elements to recover. "Yes, that's right!" Paimon exclaimed.
"Then let's keep attacking to finish it off," Lumine said, raising her wind-enchanted sword, but Nolan stopped her.
"Since it's absorbing fire elements to recover, is there a way we can reduce the ambient fire elements to stop its recovery? That would give us more time to attack."
Nolan had the idea of defeating the Pyro Regisvine on his own. Given that the Regisvine was in a "downed" state, it would be difficult for him to deliver the final blow if everyone was attacking simultaneously.
If Lumine or Xingqiu landed the final blow, Nolan would only receive thirty percent of the Adventure EXP. It would be a significant loss, and if Xingqiu or Chongyun finished it, he wouldn't receive any Adventure EXP at all.
"Hmm, that's possible," Xingqiu considered. "I can use Hydro to create a water barrier around it, and then you can use Anemo to blow away the Pyro energy inside. The Pyro and Hydro will react and cancel each other out, which should slow down its recovery. However, we'd only buy about five minutes, since it's still absorbing Pyro from its roots underground."
"Alright, I'll leave it to you. Let me use my most powerful skill to send this formidable enemy out of this world to prevent it from posing a danger to other adventurers."
Nolan was excited and gave a "please take care of it" look to the two of them.
"Haha, alright. I'm curious to see your most powerful skill," Xingqiu said with a nonchalant smile.
"What are you planning now?" Lumine said, clenching her fist on her hip and giving Nolan a resigned look, but she didn't refuse.
The group wasted no time.
Xingqiu enveloped the fallen Pyro Regisvine in a water barrier, while Lumine used a whirlwind to disperse the Pyro energy inside, forcing it to react with the water and slow down the Regisvine's recovery.
Nolan, holding his sword in one hand, stared intently at the Pyro Regisvine.
Golden light began to gather around him, and a sense of calm washed over everyone watching. Xingqiu's eyebrows twitched as he realized what was happening.
"Is this... Sword Intent?"
Sword Intent was something only achieved by those who had deeply comprehended swordsmanship. Even a prodigy like him would take time to master it.
Sword Intent was unique to each swordsman, representing their personal insights and unique path in the art of the sword.
"He's gotten stronger again."
Lumine thought with mixed feelings, remembering that just a month or two ago, Nolan needed her help to master Anemo elements.
"Wait!"
Her amber eyes widened in surprise as she watched the Sword Intent manifest as golden, translucent dots that slowly formed a humanoid outline.
Over-the-knee boots, a slanted skirt, long-sleeved gloves, familiar facial features, short neck-length hair, and flowing ribbons on the back.
— It was like a larger version of herself!
(End of Chapter)
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