I'm in Genshin Impact, and I started by teaming up with Luna.

But no blood flowed. The Hilichurl in front seemed to sense something was wrong and turned around, only to see two Hilichurls standing there dumbfounded.

"&#じ3&"

After being urged, the Hilichurl turned and ran away, completely unaware of anything unusual.

After the Hilichurls left, Ying slowly emerged from the bushes. The two Hilichurl archers over there, upon closer inspection, were now emanating a chilling aura, clearly indicating that their internal organs and blood had been frozen.

"As monsters, Hilichurls are far too alert. If it weren't for..."

Ying stroked the ice mark in her hand. She was surprised by the Hilichurls' keen senses, but she was even more astonished by the intense chill of the ice mark.

If Iceborn hadn't frozen the two Hilichurls for a fleeting moment, rendering them unable to move or make a sound even if they weren't immediately dead, Glow would have already been discovered.

Six Hilichurls paced angrily around the camp. Although they weren't very intelligent, basic safety was still necessary.

Although they are scattered, they are not far apart. They should at least be able to see each other, so that if one is attacked, the others will also notice.

But they had no idea what they were about to experience.

Ying remained hidden nearby, neither moving nor in a hurry to make a move.

With two Hilichurls missing, this will probably be discovered soon. But we can't rush things; the opportunity will come eventually.

About three minutes later, the opportunity arose. For those few seconds, one Hilichurl was in the blind spot of all the Hilichurls.

Meanwhile, watching the other three ordinary Hilichurls turn, Ying had an idea: "If I'm fast enough, it should work."

And so she moved. Like a phantom in the bushes, she suddenly sprang up when she was five meters away from the hillman.

The Hilichurl noticed and turned its head, but it was too late. A flash of cold light, and the icy streak of Glow had already grazed its neck.

Without pausing, the other Hilichurl was already turning to look in their direction. Ying, empowered, pushed off with her feet and charged forward, no longer concealed.

By the time the Hilichurl realized something was wrong, Luminous was already in front of him. Her shoulder slammed heavily into his chest, and at the same time, the Ice Mark in her hand pierced his heart.

The Hilichurl was knocked down by the force and died while still in mid-air.

Before landing, Ying spun around and pulled out the Ice Mark. Grabbing a tree branch in mid-air, she swung forward, moving towards the third Hilichurl.

Ying's series of movements were so fast and fluid, it was as if they had been rehearsed in advance. Even if the third Hilichurl had noticed them beforehand, it couldn't have stopped them at all.

Seeing Ying fall from the sky, he could only raise his wooden stick to defend himself. At the same time, he shouted a warning to his companions.

At this point, Ying's blade was no longer that broken ice blade, but the current two-star weapon "Ice Mark".

The longsword slashed down. The wooden stick was cut in half, and the Hilichurl fell to the ground.

The fourth Hilichurl heard its companion's warning. But when it arrived, all it saw was Luminous standing on the ground, and its companion, who had just been killed.

Before he could make a move, Ying spun the Ice Mark in her hand, then flicked it, sending it soaring through the air like a streak of blue light, piercing the throat of the fourth Hilichurl.

After doing all this, Ying didn't feel excited, because the reason her opponent was defeated wasn't because she was strong enough, but simply because these Hilichurls were weak.

As for guilt? Absolutely not. There are just too many obviously human items in these Hilichurl camps.

It's clear they plundered many human villages, and even found the remains of their companions among the loot. This suggests these Hilichurls are certainly not benevolent.

Moreover, these Hilichurls have already threatened Wu Qiu and his companions' safety. In order to eliminate future troubles, it is necessary to deal with them.

Calmly walking forward, Ying pulled the icicle from the tree. Turning her head to look around, Ying searched for the two charging Hilichurls.

But what Ying found strange was that the Charging Hilichurl was nowhere to be seen. The Hilichurl that had been so loud just now was quite a sound, so why hadn't the Charging Hilichurl come over?

Despite her doubts, Ying remained vigilant. She cautiously surveyed her surroundings, and then she found it.

However, by this time, the two charging Hilichurls were already dead. Their throats had been slit; the wounds were thin but deep, fatal in an instant, and the two charging Hilichurls had no chance to resist at all.

Ying felt a chill run down her spine and didn't dare to linger. She ran back to where she had started, rescued Wu Qiu and Paimon, and then led them a long way before stopping.

She didn't know who killed the two charging Hilichurls, but that fatal wound meant that she couldn't possibly kill the two Hilichurls without any resistance right now.

She wanted to become stronger and break through her limits, but if she still tried to confront this unknown threat head-on, it wouldn't be brave, it would be foolish.

After hearing Ying's explanation, Wu Qiu also felt a chill. Wu Qiu knew very well how strong those charging Hilichurls were.

Putting everything else aside, with a level 4 Fire and Ice Mark, it's not a question of whether they can win, but it certainly won't be an easy victory.

The fact that two Hilichurls were instantly killed clearly indicates that their strength is above that of Luminosity. It's just a matter of how much stronger they are.

"So, are we safe now? That enemy won't catch up, will they?"

Paimon asked with some concern. I waved my hand casually and said, "Don't worry, don't worry, even if he comes, I'll protect you."

I had barely finished speaking when a gust of cold wind swept past, and I felt a flash before my eyes. Instantly, Ying appeared in front of me, blocking my way.

Not far from me, there was a knife stuck in the ground. It was a short knife, roughly made, but exceptionally sharp.

This knife is strange; it's shaped like an eagle's talons. The entire knife is curved and sharp, giving the impression that a single hook could slice off a chunk of flesh.

"Oh my god!" I grabbed Paimon next to me and hugged him tightly. "W-what's going on! Who! Who! Come out!"

"Whoa! Was that knife that just flew over? How scary!"

Paimon was equally startled. He and Wu Qiu huddled together, one cowering behind Ying, trembling with fear, utterly timid.

"Watch out, stay behind me and don't come out."

Ying's expression was solemn. The ice mark she held in her hand gleamed coldly in the moonlight, and her face was unusually grave.

"Seriously?! What did we do to deserve this? This guy just threw a knife at us without saying a word, without even a chance to negotiate?"

Huhu~

The sounds of ghosts wailing and wolves howling seemed to emanate from the surroundings. Wu Qiu shuddered and slapped Paimon across Hu's face.

"No, I... why do I feel so uneasy? Do you think there might be ghosts?"

Paimon was initially quite displeased with Wu Qiu's slap in the face. But when he heard Wu Qiu's words, he was startled: "Didn't you say you were going to protect me? Hurry up and do it!"

The current situation is that, before the other side has even made a move, two of our soldiers have already lost half their lives.

It was pitch black all around, with only a tiny light illuminating a small area. The night wind blowing created an eerie atmosphere, even though there were no graves or anything like that nearby.

Ying took a step forward. Then Wu Qiu heard a very faint whooshing sound, and then a figure suddenly appeared beside Ying.

It was as if he had teleported in the darkness, making it impossible to see how he approached. If it weren't for the cold glint of the curved blade in his hand, Wu Qiu might not even have realized someone was approaching.

Ying reacted much faster than Wu Qiu. She spun around, tilted her body to the side, and raised her hand to collide with the incoming curved blade.

Wu Qiu initially thought it was a close match, or that Ying was at a disadvantage. After all, when such a mysterious enemy first appears, the protagonist's side is unlikely to be able to defeat it immediately.

But that wasn't the case. The two sides clashed, but the other side didn't seem to have any intention of fighting back.

Upon seeing Ying's extremely quick reaction, he was already about to sheathe his sword. Moreover, his refusal to engage in a direct confrontation clearly indicated that he was outmatched in strength.

So, in this collision, the opponent was blasted six or seven meters away. He landed with a backflip, glanced at Ying, and then disappeared right before Wu Qiu and the others' eyes.

"Gone!" Paimon exclaimed in surprise. Wu Qiu rubbed his eyes and exclaimed, "Holy crap! Invisibility!"

Wu Qiu had just finished speaking when Ying suddenly turned her head and thrust the Ice Mark in her hand towards Wu Qiu.

"Hey! Sister Ying, you..."

Before Wu Qiu could finish speaking, Ying's longsword had already grazed Wu Qiu's neck and collided with a short sword that came from behind.

An ice ring exploded, and Wu Qiu felt his ears ringing. He was completely stunned, standing there feeling like he was about to wet himself. But he quickly came to his senses and realized what was happening.

That enemy just disappeared and then reappeared behind me. That's absolutely shameless! They'd rather ambush than fight head-on.

Chapter Twenty-Two: This Enemy is Treacherous

The enemy lurking in the shadows was forced back several steps by Ying's attack. And at that moment, everyone finally saw the enemy's face.

"A Hilichurl!" Wu Qiu was completely stunned. At first, he thought he had encountered the Fire Debt Settler from the Fatui, the guy who knew the Instant Shadow Killing Formation and invisibility.

But it doesn't seem so now; the person in front of me is a Hilichurl. Not much different from a regular Hilichurl.

However, this guy was wearing a mask made of wood. Not the kind we see in games, but a demon mask, which looked quite scary.

In other aspects, they are no different from ordinary Hilichurls. The only difference is that they have many curved swords hanging from their waists.

Wu Qiu felt very strange. This was clearly just an ordinary Hilichurl, so why did it give Wu Qiu such a terrifying feeling?

Moreover, it was clearly this guy who made the move just now, but could an ordinary Hilichurl be so troublesome for Luminosity? Obviously not.

"That mask, could it be... the assassin of ten thousand ghosts!"

Paimon suddenly spoke, his pupils contracting, his fear evident in his eyes.

Wu Qiu was dumbfounded. "Ten thousand ghosts? Assassins? What are those?"

Does this exist in the game? No, Wu Qiu was certain. According to Paimon, Wan Gui should be an organization, but clearly it doesn't exist in the game.

Furthermore, there are no Hilichurls wielding short swords in the game. Therefore, the Hilichurl in front of me must be one that I am not familiar with.

"That's a legend. It's said that the Hilichurls have an assassin organization called Ten Thousand Demons."

The Hilichurls there are not only powerful, but also highly intelligent. Even the lowest-ranking members are far more intelligent than other Hilichurls, and the more powerful ones are in no way inferior to humans.

"I heard their ranking system is very strict. It's divided into wood, bronze, iron, silver, gold, diamond, and red diamond."

"It is said that there are Ghost Kings and Commanders above the Red Diamond. But these are just legends. Not only that, almost no one has ever seen even the weakest plank, because they never miss their target when they kill, and those who have seen them are all dead."

"And this person in front of me, judging from his mask, should be a mere board-level assassin. He is the weakest among all the ghosts."

Paimon spoke with such seriousness that he forgot all his fear. Wu Qiu, who was completely bewildered, was dumbfounded.

"Gold? Diamonds? Are you playing King of Glory with me here?"

"Little thing, you... know quite a lot."

The Hilichurl of the board-level rank spoke up. Paimon put his hands on his hips. "Of course, I am..."

But she quickly froze. Wu Qiu was stunned, Ying was stunned, and everyone was dumbfounded.

"You, you can talk!" Wu Qiu was so surprised.

"Why are you shouting so loudly? You can talk, so why can't I?"

This guy spoke again. Although what he said was clearly unfamiliar, just like the first time we communicated in English.

Ah—of course, I've never communicated in English. After all, I'm a terrible student, so foreign languages ​​are out of the question.

"No! How can you speak like that! Aren't you a Hilichurl?!"

Wu Qiu still couldn't believe it. The guy in front of him seemed angry upon hearing Wu Qiu's words, "What's wrong with Hilichurls? Do you look down on Hilichurls?!"

Wu Qiu saw that this guy was angry and said, "Hey, hey, hey, no, no."