Everyone jumped down from above, entered the altar, and walked forward cautiously to face Lupus Boreas.
Upon arriving, everyone instinctively looked at Venti.
The fact that a fight hadn't broken out immediately meant there was still room for negotiation.
While there were quite a few of them present, the only one capable of communicating with Andrius was the Anemo Archon.
With a helpless sigh, Venti had no choice but to step forward.
Looking at the familiar bard, a visibly agitated Andrius barely managed to maintain its final shred of composure as it spoke in a human voice:
"Barbatos..."
Venti frowned.
He could hear the struggle and fury in Andrius's voice. What kind of torment was it enduring?
"Andrius... we've come to save you."
Hearing Venti's words, Andrius bared its sharp teeth:
"Save me?
When... when did I ever need the likes of you to save me?!"
Andrius let out a terrifying roar that instantly echoed across all of Wolvendom, the shockwave of its howl sweeping through the altar like a gale!
The next instant, Andrius unleashed an ominous surge of Abyssal Power and lunged furiously at the group, its razor-sharp claws slashing viciously!
Having anticipated this, everyone scattered in all directions, just barely managing to dodge the sudden ambush.
Guchen, who had grabbed Paimon by the back of her collar and retreated a short distance away, couldn't help muttering in speechlessness:
"Still attacks the moment things go sideways—Venti's talking was completely useless!"
With that complaint, Guchen let go of Paimon and tossed her into the air:
"Paimon, you stay out of this. Your combat power is less than one-fifth of a wild boar's—go find a place to hide first."
Having said that, Guchen summoned a Slash Cutter in his hand and eagerly charged into the fray!
Left behind, Paimon angrily stomped her feet:
"What is that supposed to mean?! What kind of combat power unit is 'less than one-fifth of a wild boar'?"
Before Paimon could complain any further, Kaeya—who had just been swatted away by Andrius's tail—came flying backward and almost crashed right into her.
Seeing Kaeya pick himself up, wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, and charge right back in, Paimon was somewhat frightened.
A flash of starlight emanated from her, and she hurriedly vanished into the void, deciding to honestly watch the battle from afar.
This was a truly fierce battle!
Guchen, Venti, Jean, Lisa, Kaeya, and Diluc—six top experts—surrounded and attacked Lupus Boreas, Andrius.
Andrius was already formidable on its own, and now, corrupted by Abyssal Erosion, its combat power had skyrocketed, making it exceptionally difficult to deal with.
Fortunately, the six of them coordinated quite tacitly, and everyone's attacks were effective.
First, Jean.
Acting Grand Master Jean truly lived up to her title. Leading the charge with heroic flair, this dashing female warrior served as the primary assailant against Andrius, continuously landing effective blows.
Then there was Lisa.
Her combat zone was quite expansive; wielding her catalyst, she rained down lightning and thunder. Purple bolts continuously struck Andrius, dealing impressive damage.
Diluc was evidently the strongest among the four members of the Knights of Favonius in terms of sheer visible combat power.
His greatsword swung with such force that it generated whistling winds, allowing him to match and partially parry Andrius's strength head-on.
Combined with his blazing Pyro element, Diluc alone caused no small amount of trouble for Andrius.
As for Kaeya...
He seemed to be the weakest among the four Knights of Favonius.
Yet he did his utmost, moving along the periphery to strike and create the best opening for his companions.
Then there was Venti...
This slacker almost relapsed into his old habit of coasting.
Instead of getting too close to Andrius, he patrolled the outer perimeter the entire time, constantly harassing and attacking with Anemo-infused arrows, which yielded quite decent results for the battlefield.
And finally, Guchen.
His fighting style could easily be described as the most reckless of all.
Relying on his formidable physical constitution, Guchen chose to fight head-on!
Andrius's claws were indeed sharp and terrifying, but his fists were no slouch either!
Every time claw clashed with fist, Andrius's massive body would be repelled several steps back, and Guchen would also be forced back a good distance to neutralize the recoil.
Seeing Guchen trade blows head-on with Andrius left everyone else astonished!
Venti wasn't all that surprised, though.
Are you kidding me? Someone strong enough to give Dvalin a shoulder throw—how bad could his physical strength possibly be?
Not only was Guchen's strength formidable, but his speed was also blistering.
With wind beneath his feet at almost every step, flexible and fierce, he could dash right up to Andrius in the blink of an eye and throw a punch without the slightest hesitation!
Such punches invariably landed solidly against Andrius's body!
Andrius could take a few punches head-on, but after taking too many, it couldn't help but wince in pain.
Especially since Guchen always aimed for its waist.
As everyone knew, a wolf's waist was its most vulnerable spot; it simply couldn't take that kind of punishment!
Sometimes, driven to desperation by the annoyance of the others, Andrius would ignore the interference, bare its bloody maw filled with sharp teeth, and lunge savagely to bite Guchen!
Unfazed, Guchen would whip out a Slash Cutter and jam it straight into Andrius's mouth!
Let's see if your teeth are scarier or my Slash Cutter is sharper!
After a few rounds of biting and slashing, Guchen came out completely unscathed, while Andrius had several of its teeth chopped right off!
How utterly frustrating!
Prolonged frustration led to anger, and anger led to frenzy.
Thus, in the next phase of the battle, Andrius slammed its foot hard into the ground, causing Anemo, Cryo, and Abyssal Power to erupt simultaneously in a ferocious synergy that kept everyone at bay!
When even approaching it became impossible, how were the others supposed to fight?
Capitalizing on this advantage, Andrius bolted back and forth, launching rapid, unpredictable blitzes that caught everyone off guard and left many of them injured!
Seeing this, Guchen thought to himself: this won't do at all!
Just because others couldn't get close didn't mean he couldn't; his physical endurance made him fearless!
With a stern shout, Guchen leaped high into the air and executed a Leo Kick!
His foot burned with glowing Light Energy flames, and the terrifying drop-kick descended from above, striking Andrius squarely on the forehead.
With a thunderous explosion, the flash of fire generated by the impact dazzled the eyes of everyone nearby!
The Leo Kick was no joke; Andrius let out a miserable howl and was kicked flat onto the ground.
The ground beneath it fractured and shattered in layers, a testament to the terrifying force of that blow!
Having landed the kick, Guchen smoothly straddled Andrius's back.
To be honest, he had found the successive rows of bone-white spikes sprouting all over Andrius's body an eyesore for a while now!
You are Lupus Boreas! Not a Rifthound! What's with all the bone spurs sticking out of you?
Besides, those bones looked suspiciously like horns.
Although he wasn't some kind of horn-breaking fanatic, looking at those things made his hands itch all the same.
Thus, sitting astride Andrius, Guchen summoned rapidly spinning Slash Cutters in both hands.
Then, wielding the blades of light, he began hacking and slashing left and right at the bone growths!
With a flurry of sparks flying everywhere—*crack, snap, sizzle*—the severed bones kept dropping to the ground.
Even though they were just bones, getting them chopped off like that still hurt immensely!
Stunned and dazed on the ground, Andrius snapped its eyes open in response to the agonizing stimulus, and began to roar and struggle frantically!