Andrius let out a wild flurry of struggles, throwing Guchen off its back!
Guchen hit the ground, rolled quickly, and narrowly dodged the heavy paw Andrius slammed down!
That single paw crushed the solid ground right into pieces, sending shattered stone flying everywhere!
After rolling clear, Guchen sprang swiftly to his feet, facing the colossal Wolf of the North, Andrius, head-on.
Andrius let out a ferocious, agonizing roar.
It opened its gaping maw, where Anemo, Cryo, and Abyssal Power simultaneously surged and gathered.
Seeing this, Guchen braced himself.
Finishing its swift charge, Andrius unleashed a terrifying blast straight from its jaws!
Instantly, a howling, explosive gale burst forth with ferocious violence!
Torn along with the terrifying Anemo energy came dense, biting hailstones of concentrated Cryo!
The Anemo and Cryo elements fused together, condensing into a fiercely compressed storm of ice and wind!
And that was not all.
Interwoven between the Anemo and Cryo elements was a streak of dark purple Abyssal Power, surging forward just as fiercely!
In other words, this was an assault of an Abyssal storm and hail, blended from three distinct forces! This terrifying bombardment charged straight at Guchen's face!
Had anyone else taken this hit head-on, they would likely have been blasted into a pulp of flesh and bone in an instant.
Yet Guchen was fully prepared.
He quickly raised both hands level, Light Energy surging across his body as he once again pulled open a Barrier of Light to shield himself.
Though it looked no more substantial than pale-blue, shimmering water, the Barrier of Light blocked the Abyssal storm and hail with impenetrable density!
On one side was a roaring, terrifying jet of destruction beyond imagination.
On the other side stood the immovable, utterly unharmed Barrier of Light.
The two forces clashed and locked, looking evenly matched on the surface, but in reality, Guchen was effortlessly weathering the storm.
Judging that the time was right, a sharp glint flashed in Guchen's eyes, and he triggered the rebound effect of the Barrier of Light!
Following the same routine as before, just as the barrier flung the attack back, Guchen suddenly unleashed his Ultra Psychokinesis, thrusting both hands forward horizontally!
The terrifying mental shockwave surged outward like a tidal wave, carrying specks of Light Energy that swept away Andrius's Abyssal storm and hail with unstoppable force!
Under Andrius's shocked gaze, the rebounding psychokinesis slammed squarely into its body, carrying a terrifying amount of might!
How to describe it...
It was like a speeding train crashing head-on into it! Who could possibly withstand that kind of impact?!
With a mournful howl, the colossal Andrius was sent flying backward by the sheer force of the rebounding psychokinesis.
The injured onlookers nearby watched with their own eyes as Guchen repeated his trick, using the illusory, surging tide of mental light to knock Andrius far away!
At that moment, the shock in everyone's hearts was beyond description.
With a deafening crash, the heavily wounded Andrius slammed down on the far side of the arena, creating a massive crater upon impact.
Guchen remained standing right where he was.
He dusted off his hands symbolically, then looked around at the others one by one:
"Your turn. Go finish it off."
For a moment, everyone stared at each other in blank dismay.
Diluc was the first to snap out of it.
Brandishing his claymore, he charged out ahead of the rest, his Pyro vision blazing as he leaped high into the air and slashed down toward Andrius.
Immediately afterward, the others reacted as well.
Jean, Lisa, and Kaeya closed in from different directions in waves, determined to beat the fallen wolf!
Or rather, the fallen dog.
Only Venti watched the scene, a pang of pity stirring in his heart.
Standing there, he couldn't decide whether to draw his bow or not, utterly torn by hesitation:
"You guys... could you please go a little easier?
Andrius has already completely lost the upper hand, and victory is basically ours. Do we really... need to hit it that hard?
Hey, hey, hey! Diluc, I'm talking to you! Stop using your Elemental Burst!"
Panicking, Venti rushed over, though whether to assist in the fight or act as a peacemaker was anyone's guess.
Guchen had already handled the most crucial turning point of the battle; the rest was just cleaning up, and he had lost all interest.
Calmly stepping away from the center of the battlefield, Guchen walked toward the spot where Paimon had vanished into the void.
No sooner had he arrived than a spark of starlight flashed, and Paimon popped right out of the void.
Appearing thrilled and delighted, Paimon hovered close to Guchen and eagerly began showering him with praise:
"Guchen, you are so strong!
You knocked such a scary wolf away in a single hit! Even Venti and the others couldn't do that!"
Hearing this, Guchen shook his head:
"They couldn't do that?
Paimon, don't let them fool you.
To tell you the truth, out of these five people, at least three of them weren't using their full strength."
"Three of them?"
Paimon leaned forward in disbelief, glancing over at the fierce cleanup battle still raging nearby:
"Venti is the Anemo Archon, so I can understand him not using his full power.
Who are the other two?"
"Why don't you take a guess."
"Hmm... Could it be Acting Grand Master Jean?
She is the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, after all. It's only normal for her to have some hidden strength, right?"
Guchen shook his head:
"No, Acting Grand Master Jean's strength is indeed impressive, but unfortunately, this is pretty much her limit."
Paimon tried guessing again:
"Could it be Kaeya? I always felt like that guy was hiding a lot."
Guchen chuckled in amusement:
"Not him either.
Actually, Paimon, your intuition is right—he really is hiding a lot, but it isn't his combat strength.
Never mind, there are only five of you in total, and you've already guessed three wrong. Are you just playing a game of elimination?"
Hearing this, Paimon finally caught on, her eyes wide with disbelief:
"No way?
Does that mean besides Venti, the ones holding back were Lisa and Master Diluc?"
Guchen smiled and nodded.
Paimon still found it hard to believe:
"Master Diluc aside, I suppose he does feel like the type of hidden big shot, considering how wealthy he is.
But Miss Lisa... as a librarian, you really can't tell."
This time, Guchen just smiled without a word, offering no detailed explanation.
Diluc was the Darknight Hero secretly protecting Mondstadt, and had once even infiltrated the Fatui; his true strength was far beyond what appeared on the surface.
As for Lisa...
Once the most brilliant student in the Sumeru Academia, she possessed unimaginable knowledge and had paid an unimaginable price for it.
Shaking his head slightly, Guchen gradually pushed these thoughts aside.
Because over there, under the joint assault of the five, Andrius was finally beaten flat out!
Once it was down, Diluc looked as though he wanted to deliver a few more blows, only to be stopped by Venti, who pressed his palms together with a pathetic look.
Having restrained the hot-tempered, cold-faced man, Venti hurriedly waved at Guchen across the way, signaling him to come over and purify and heal Andrius.
Helpless, Guchen walked over with Paimon.
Without even needing Venti to plead a second time, Guchen immediately indicated he understood, rubbing his hands together as he prepared to unleash the Full Moon Wave.
However, an unwelcome pest had arrived with a hostage!
"Stop right there, traveler!
If you dare purify Andrius, I'll kill this little imp right now!"