"Why did you come to this place? What do you want to do?"
At Cape Oath, Durandal's eyes were cold as she questioned the Treasure Hoarders kneeling on the ground.
She and Shenhe were resting peacefully here when a small deer suddenly ran over, saying that humans had trespassed into this area.
That was nothing; occasionally, some people would stumble upon this place. Although she had some defensive measures, it wasn't impossible to enter.
But this time, it was the Treasure Hoarders. As soon as they arrived, they immediately started destroying the place without a word, digging up the flowers and plants with hoes, and even setting fires.
They came here to destroy this area. Durandal didn't care about their motives and rushed over at an extremely fast speed, grabbing a few of the Treasure Hoarders and instantly turning them into liquid.
She was truly angry this time. Seeing more than half of the flowers and plants destroyed, she had no intention of showing mercy. Controlling her clearance, she instantly filled the surroundings with a deadly Virus.
With just a slight inhalation, the Treasure Hoarders' bodies showed adverse reactions. Some members with slightly weaker resistance directly collapsed to the ground, their vitality gradually disappearing, and their bodies eventually turning into a puddle of thick liquid.
The surviving Treasure Hoarders watched in horror. They hadn't expected such a terrifying presence here.
Although they committed evil deeds, often robbing passing merchant caravans, and even kidnapping people to find out the location of treasures, they had never committed murder.
The organizations that arrested them in various countries had never killed them either, at most imprisoning them for a period or other punishments. They had never faced such a thing.
They had just witnessed a living person being dissolved into a puddle of liquid right before their eyes. This caused a huge visual impact on them. For a moment, desperate thoughts surfaced in their minds; they regretted taking on that commission.
Just as they were preparing to meet their demise, the uncomfortable sensation gradually disappeared. Although their bodies were weak, they no longer felt pain.
While they were rejoicing that they were still alive, Durandal came before them and questioned why they had come to this place and destroyed her flower field.
Facing such a terrifying figure, the Treasure Hoarders dared not conceal anything and immediately revealed the reason.
"It... it was the Fatui. A group of Fatui found us. They gave us a large sum of money to destroy everything in this area."
Because it was just a simple task of destroying vegetation, the Treasure Hoarders accepted it without much thought, not expecting such a thing to happen.
"The Fatui? Again, the Fatui? Haven't their main forces already left Mondstadt? Why did they send you to this area?"
Durandal couldn't understand. This area was her territory; not many people should know about this. How did the Fatui know about this? Even if they knew, why send the Treasure Hoarders to cause destruction here? What was their purpose?
"I... I don't know. They told us to be thorough and leave nothing behind. It seemed... it seemed to be an order from someone called 'The Doctor'."
After saying this, the Treasure Hoarder could no longer hold on and directly fainted.
He didn't die. To obtain information, Durandal had cured him of the poison, and two other Treasure Hoarders also survived.
Although they survived, their bodies had been corroded by the deadly Virus. Their bodies were no longer as healthy as before, and they could no longer bully ordinary people.
Durandal beckoned, sending them out of the canyon. She then spent some time clearing the surrounding clutter, and with Humus Power, revitalized the flower field.
However, the flowers that grew this time were not the same; their gaudy red made Durandal uncomfortable, so she added a bit of her own vitality, finally making the flowers' colors look better.
"Fatui, The Doctor, hehe~ They really have a lot of Harbingers, don't they? How long has it been since I last returned, and now there's another new Harbinger."
And this Harbinger is truly interesting, daring to take the initiative and provoke her through Treasure Hoarders who don't understand the situation.
What nerve! What absolute nerve! Although she hadn't met this The Doctor, Durandal's desire to kill him already surpassed her desire to kill The Lady.
"Durandal..."
Shenhe, who had been observing from the side, looked at Durandal worriedly. She wasn't looking well, appearing as if she could erupt at any moment.
Shenhe's thoughts were correct; Durandal was indeed ready to erupt, but she was calm. Exploding here would only be impotent rage; if she were to vent, she would vent her anger on the Fatui.
"Don't worry about me, Shenhe. It seems we'll have something to do for a while."
Durandal quickly calmed down, returning to her original self, and said to Shenhe.
After such an incident, she had no interest in staying here. Now, she needed to investigate thoroughly, and the first thing to do was to figure out what kind of person this so-called The Doctor was.
Durandal brought Shenhe to the Angel's Share. As soon as they entered, Charles at the counter saw Durandal, who was exuding a terrifying aura.
This was the first time he had seen Durandal like this. Usually, customers with such an aura were in a bad mood and needed their favorite wine to soothe themselves.
Charles quickly brought Durandal's favorite rice wine. Looking at the rice wine in front of her, Durandal took a large gulp and took a deep breath.
Sure enough, after drinking the rice wine, the aura around Durandal significantly diminished, and Charles also breathed a sigh of relief.
Many people in the tavern noticed the aura around Durandal. They were curious about what the divine doctor of mondstadt had encountered to make her so angry.
But they weren't familiar with her, and Durandal wasn't an approachable person, so they didn't meddle and continued to drink at their tables.
"Where's Diluc? Is he at the tavern? I have something to discuss with him."
"You're looking for Master Diluc? He's in his office on the third floor. Please wait a moment, I..."
"No need, I'm coming down."
Before Charles could finish speaking, Diluc walked down the stairs.
He had known when Durandal entered, and just as he came down, he heard Durandal wanted to see him.
This was quite rare; normally, she came to the tavern mainly because Venti dragged her along to drink rice wine. This was the first time she had come to the tavern specifically to find him.
Noticing Durandal's mood, Diluc knew she likely had something important to discuss and gestured to talk upstairs, as there were too many people here for a private conversation.
Durandal brought Shenhe to the third floor, where Diluc usually worked. As soon as they entered, before Diluc could ask why Durandal had come to see him, she spoke.
"Do you know a Fatui Harbinger named The Doctor?"
"The Doctor? Why are you looking for him?"
The Doctor had once visited Mondstadt, and at that time, he had a face-to-face encounter with him to investigate certain matters.
He was an extremely arrogant person, wearing a very strange mask on his face. Anyone who had seen him would never forget that face.
He hadn't been to Mondstadt for a long time, so why was Durandal suddenly asking if he knew such a person?
"Just now, a group of Treasure Hoarders came to my territory and destroyed the flowers and plants I cultivated."
She briefly recounted what had just happened at Cape Oath. The mastermind mentioned by the Treasure Hoarder she had captured and interrogated was that The Doctor.
After listening to Durandal's account, Diluc nodded, a frown on his face.
Diluc had investigated The Doctor. The Doctor was a research-oriented talent, and the technology that allowed the Fatui's Vanguard to use elements was likely his research.
While arrogant, he was also very confident in his abilities.
He probably learned about Durandal through some means, knowing her ability to use poisons, and thought she could assist him in developing certain things, which is why he targeted her.
Given his personality, even if someone warned him that Durandal was formidable, he wouldn't take it seriously.
After all, without witnessing it firsthand, how could an arrogant person take others' advice to heart? Moreover, the Harbingers' relationships weren't very good; perhaps they were quite happy to see others die in other countries.
The Doctor's research had always continued, and Durandal's 'poison' was helpful for The Doctor's research on Delusions, which is why he targeted Durandal.
This guy... it's hard to say what to call him. Although Diluc also disliked The Doctor, he truly provoked the wrong opponent this time.
Durandal was not someone who could be threatened through diplomacy. The Doctor's actions this time had already marked him for death in Durandal's mind, and she planned to eliminate him upon meeting him.
Thinking of this, Diluc took out a document from his desk and handed it to Durandal. It contained the intelligence he had gathered about The Doctor, including a photograph of his appearance.
"This is the information I currently have. If you need it, I can help you find clues about him in Mondstadt."
"I'll find him faster myself. Remember, Mondstadt is not to get involved in this matter. I don't want any unnecessary trouble, understand?"
She didn't want to deal with any extra trouble because of people from Mondstadt meddling.
After giving these instructions, Durandal took Shenhe back to their hotel room.
Tonight, she would mobilize all her 'intelligence personnel' to conduct a comprehensive search of all of Mondstadt, leaving no stone unturned, to find that The Doctor as quickly as possible.
As soon as she returned to the hotel room, Durandal saw a small piece of paper on the floor with the word "Here" written on it.
Following the paper to the bathroom, she saw Lumine sitting in the bathtub, wrapped in red ribbons, looking at her with an "alluring" expression.
It must be said that although this person was usually carefree, she was also a beautiful young girl, and most people couldn't resist this posture.
But Durandal was not in the mood to play these games with her. She gave a few cold glances, closed the door, and then locked it from the outside, giving her no chance to come out.
As Durandal turned around, she heard Lumine knocking on the door from inside.
"Wait! Even if you don't say anything, don't lock the door! I didn't bring clothes in, and it's cold in here. Let me out, Durandal!"
Shenhe listened to Lumine's distress and looked at Durandal with an inquiring gaze.
"Ignore her. Let her stay in there for a bit. Even if she catches a cold, I'll absorb her germs."
"Okay."
Thus, Lumine's "apology attempt" completely failed. She stayed in the bathroom for about half an hour before Durandal let her out.
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