Stellar Train: I Open a Small Shop on the Train-Chapter 143

After that, The Knave left the Mormer Palace with Lyney and Lynette.

She instructed them to return first to take care of their younger siblings and then vanished alone into the bustling crowd of the streets.

Neuvillette saw her off and began working on organizing the migration list.

He had a very good memory—he remembered the elites of every profession.

Picking up a pen, Neuvillette started working despite still being ill.

At Ye Yun's shop...

Kiana, Silver Wolf, and Calestia were huddled together on the sofa playing console games.

Suddenly, the portal shimmered, and Theresa burst out from it.

She looked around and quickly spotted Kiana, who was completely absorbed in her game.

"Kiana! Didn't I tell you there's a meeting today? Come back with me, now!"

Kiana pouted.

"Nooo, Auntieee~ I don't wanna go to the meeting. I always end up dozing off during those!"

Theresa tried to reason with her patiently.

"Kiana, this meeting is really important. It concerns the future development of Schicksal. As the First Valkyrie, you must be there."

Kiana clung to Theresa's arm, gently shaking it.

"Auntie, pleaaase~ I just wanna play games~"

Theresa sighed.

"How about this—come with me to the meeting, and afterward, I'll give you a few days off. Deal?"

Kiana's eyes lit up immediately at the word "vacation."

"Really?! I get time off?"

Theresa nodded.

"Mm-hmm. Now come on, the meeting's about to start."

She grabbed Kiana and pulled her through the portal, heading back to St. Freya Academy.

Silver Wolf, watching them go, picked up her controller.

"Calestia, it's just us now—let's keep going."

In the observation car...

Himeko, Welt, Stelle, March 7th, and Dan Heng were gathered to discuss their next destination.

At Black Swan's suggestion, they decided to head to Amphoreus next.

According to her, it was a world that even Akivili had never visited—a place that could only be reflected through the Garden of Recollection.

Stelle glanced at Elio, who was playing around with Pom-Pom nearby.

She walked over and pulled the cat and bunny apart, lifting Elio by the scruff of his neck.

"Elio, question—you know the script, right? What are we going to encounter in Amphoreus?"

Elio shook his head.

"I can't tell you that. You have to experience it for yourself."

Stelle waggled the dangling Elio around, making his whole body swing back and forth.

"Stop stop stop! You're shaking my brains out!"

Stelle grinned.

"Tell me or not? Huh? Tell me or not?"

Elio's cat eyes were spinning.

"Nope."

Pom-Pom watched from the side, laughing hysterically.

Ever since Elio boarded the train, he came to spar with Pom-Pom daily.

The two had their wins and losses—sometimes Elio won, sometimes Pom-Pom.

Seeing that she couldn't get anything out of him, Stelle pouted and set Elio down.

"Fine, tough guy!"

Himeko smiled.

"Alright then—it's decided. We'll head to Amphoreus in a week."

Just then, Lumine walked over.

"Count me in. I'll come hang out too."

Firefly, Hutao, and others also decided to join.

Hutao said,

"I don't have much going on lately. Count me in. A new world, huh? I wonder what it's like."

March 7th looked at Hu Tao.

"Hutao, isn't Teyvat about to start the migration? You've got time?"

Hutao spoke with mock seriousness.

"Of course I do~ The first group from Wangsheng Funeral Parlor is already arranged. They'll come straight over when it's time."

March 7th replied,

"Oh~ I heard from Furina that things are only just getting started over there."

And speak of the devil—Furina, Barbara, and Topaz had just finished recording and returned to the train.

Furina jumped aboard.

"Ta-da~ Everyone, I'm back!"

Stelle came over.

"Furina, weren't you recording music? Done already?"

Furina nodded.

"Yep! It's already uploaded. Quick, go download it and support me!"

She urged everyone to take out their phones and download her song.

March 7th opened an app and checked it out.

"Oh my gosh! Furina, your song already has over three million downloads! That's insane!"

Stelle chimed in.

"Furina, you're rich now! Just those three million downloads probably earned you tens of millions of credits, right?"

Topaz added,

"More than that—each download is 666 credits. Three million means nearly two billion."

Furina turned to Stelle.

"And you're calling me rich? You're a shareholder in Penacony! You own the Fluorite! You're the real rich lady here."

Stelle put her hands on her hips and giggled.

"Just small change, small change—nothing to worry about~"

Topaz chuckled.

Small change? That's small change? The Fluorite alone is worth over 50 billion credits, not to mention the Penacony stock...

Firefly looked at Barbara.

"Barbara, your song's a hit too—it's already got over two million downloads."

Barbara smiled, very pleased. For a place like Mondstadt with a relatively small population, two million was a big deal.

Her song was priced a bit lower than Furina's—500 credits per download.

Barbara planned to transfer all her earnings to her sister to support Mondstadt's development.

Furina put her hands on her hips.

"Stelle, March, come over to my place tonight—I'm treating you to cupcakes to celebrate the release!"

Stelle and March 7th both agreed.

"Sure, if we're free we'll come by."

Furina skipped off toward a portal. As soon as she returned to her room—

BOOM!!!

A loud explosion shook the air.

Then, a flurry of hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway.

They got closer and closer. Furina's door burst open—Focalors rushed in with several Lancelot knights.

"Furina! Hurry! Go find Lady Calestia—something's happened!"

Furina was stunned.

"What happened?"

Before Focalors could reply, a massive whale appeared in the skies above Fontaine, releasing a deep, echoing cry.

Around the whale, Neuvillette, The Knave, and Tartaglia were already engaged in battle.

And that wasn't all—Abyss portals had opened around the city, and waves of monsters were flooding into Fontaine Court.

"Furina! There's no time to explain! Go find Lady Calestia, now!"

Furina nodded and responded.

"Lancelot! Stay here and help Focalors—I'm going to find help!"

Lancelot nodded and stood beside Focalors, awaiting orders.

***

Furina dove into the portal to seek reinforcements.

Within Fontaine City, smoke and fire filled the air.

Dark clouds loomed over the sky, casting a gray gloom as light rain fell.

Neuvillette and Arlecchino had lured the Star-Devouring Whale high into the sky to prevent it from harming the city's residents.

The entire Fontaine City had become a battlefield, with various clockwork machines and members of the Gardes fighting against monsters.

Clorinde stood guard with a squad of Gardes at the gates of the Palais Mermonia.

With a stern expression, Clorinde stepped forward and, with a few swift sword slashes, took down several hilichurls.

She raised her arm in a commanding gesture.

"Hold the line! We cannot let them harm Lady Furina!"

Those who stood with her were the elite of the security forces.

"Yes, ma'am!"

At the Rose Society's Fontaine stronghold—

Navia, along with Marius, Silver, and the armed members of the Rose Society, were holding their ground around the perimeter.

After slashing down a few hilichurls with her greatsword, Navia noticed a young girl being chased by monsters in the distance.

"Marius! Silver! Save her!"

The two nodded, and the trio rushed out of the defense line toward the girl.

Navia rescued the child just as a hilichurl was about to strike.

"Hrahhhh!"

With a mighty swing, she sent the monster flying. Silver quickly scooped up the girl.

"Miss Navia! Let's go!"

They returned to the defensive line after rescuing the girl.

Meanwhile, Lyney and Lynette led Fatui soldiers to secure the area near their base.

They were facing the fiercest wave of monster attacks.

Standing atop a lamppost, Lyney continually drew and loosed arrows, each one striking true and taking down a monster.

Lynette weaved between enemies, every appearance marked by a clean kill.

Lyney drew his bow to full, releasing a triple fire-element arrow volley at a rampaging axe-wielding hilichurl.

All three arrows hit its heart, taking it down.

He waved his hand and shouted,

"Hold your ground! We must not let them break our defense!"

At the northern city gate—

Wriothesley and Sigewinne had arrived with surviving prison guards from the Fortress of Meropide.

Not long ago, someone had opened the outflow valves of the fortress, releasing Primordial Seawater.

A riot had broken out in the prison, barely suppressed when dozens of portals suddenly opened, and a flood of Abyss monsters emerged.

Wriothesley had no choice but to lead the guards and some prisoners in retreat.

They had just reached the Opera Epiclese when the enormous Star-Devouring Whale burst from the sea, heading straight for Fontaine City.

Seeing this, Wriothesley immediately brought reinforcements.

Some prisoners followed, but most scattered like birds.

Wriothesley struck down several hilichurls with a few powerful punches.

He surveyed the battlefield—strewn with wounded guards and broken machines.

"Quick! Tend to the wounded!"

Back at the gates of the Palais Mermonia—

Clorinde, panting after slaying another brutish hilichurl, was growing exhausted—the monsters were endless.

Looking around, she saw more and more enemies flooding in.

Suddenly, pillars of water burst forth, wiping out large swaths of monsters.

Clorinde looked toward the palace gates—Furcalor had emerged, flanked by the Lancelot Knights.

Furcalor stood with arms raised, clearly the source of the water pillars.

With a cold gaze, Furcalor surveyed the battlefield and gave his orders:

"Lancelot, assist Neuvillette. The rest of the knights—teams of eight—head into the city and rescue the citizens!"

Lancelot bowed slightly.

"Yes, my lord. Lancelot Knights—march!"

He leapt high into the air, charging toward the Star-Devouring Whale.

Of the knights, eight stayed to guard the palace while the remaining twenty-four split into three groups to assist across the city.

Back at the palace gates, the eight knights joined the battle.

In moments, hundreds of monsters fell beneath their swords. freёwebnoѵel.com

To Clorinde, all she saw were blurs—streaks of motion darting through the enemy ranks.

The monsters fell like wheat before the scythe.

For the first time, Clorinde and Seele grasped the true power of the Lancelot Knights.

In the skies—

Neuvillette and Arlecchino were still locked in battle with the Star-Devouring Whale.

Suddenly, Lancelot joined in—his surprise attack wounding the beast.

Flapping its wings, the whale retreated.

Neuvillette and Arlecchino appeared behind Lancelot.

Lancelot raised his rapier.

"I'll lead the charge! You cover me!"

With that, he vanished in a flash, charging the whale.

The trio engaged the beast fiercely. With Lancelot joining, the whale was pushed slightly onto the back foot, new wounds appearing across its body.

Back at Ye Yun's shop—

Stelle, March 7th, and Sparkle were playing a round of "Three Kingdoms Kill."

March 7th's face was covered in sticky notes, completely obscuring her features.

Suddenly, Furina burst in and rushed toward the portal to Liyue Harbor.

Stelle looked up in curiosity.

"Furina? What's the rush?"

Seeing her, Furina quickly responded.

"Stelle! You've got to help—Fontaine's in serious trouble!"

Hearing that, everyone turned solemn. Judging by Furina's tone, this was no false alarm.

"Can you all go help? I'm going to find Lady Calestia."

Stelle gave a resolute wave.

"Ladies! Let's move!"

At that moment, Calestia's voice rang out.

"Furina, what's happened?"

Furina looked at him like seeing a savior.

"Lady Calestia! Fontaine is under siege by monsters—and there's a giant whale!"

Calestia narrowed his eyes.

"Let's go!"

He grabbed Furina and jumped into the portal. Stelle and the others followed closely behind.

Ye Yun looked over at Welt.

"Shall we take a look?"

Welt nodded.

Ye Yun instructed the six kids to stay put, then entered the portal with Welt.

They emerged in Furina's room.

She anxiously pointed outside.

"Look! That giant whale!"

Calestia glanced at the Star-Devouring Whale.

"Interesting... It actually made it in."

He stepped forward and vanished, reappearing in the sky.

From above, Calestia quickly located Mersen on the battlefield.

"Oh, that old undead bastard—so he's crawling out of the Abyss again."

With a flick of his hand, several portals opened.

Soon, a force of Millelith soldiers stepped through, led by Xiao, Cloud Retainer, Mountain Shaper, Moon Carver, Madam Ping, Ningguang, Keqing, Ganyu, and Yelan.