Liyue Harbor.
Northland Bank, second floor.
Tartaglia stood before the mahogany latticed window, quietly listening to the changes downstairs.
Perhaps it was the clamor within the Northland Bank, or the lively streets of Liyue Harbor.
For the belligerent and active him, this was a rare moment of peace.
After an unknown period, the Northland Bank's manager, covered in sweat and looking slightly exhausted, came upstairs and stood behind him.
"Lord Childe, the Ministry of Civil Affairs' auditors have left..."
Tartaglia let out a soft hum from his nostrils.
The manager continued to report:
"This is the third audit targeting us in seven days, Lord Childe. The Ministry of Civil Affairs is acting more and more frequently."
"Many clients might be affected by the audits and are slowly withdrawing funds stored in the Northland Bank."
"Within two weeks, the Northland Bank's fixed Mora assets have shrunk by a fifth. If this continues..."
Tartaglia subtly raised a hand, interrupting the manager, and softly said:
"Just report this kind of thing to Pantalone."
"But..."
Tartaglia glanced sideways, calmly saying:
"But what? Do you think I should confront the Ministry of Civil Affairs? Or should the Northland Bank go against Liyue Harbor?"
"Lord Childe! This is blatant targeting!"
The manager sighed with a touch of sadness.
Tartaglia sneered inwardly. He wasn't interested in these things and understood that the manager wanted to use his authority for something.
But...
He didn't care about the Northland Bank; ultimately, it belonged to Pantalone.
And how good could his relationship with Pantalone be?
He disliked the treacherous schemes of Pantalone and Dottore, preferring direct confrontation.
Among the Fatui Harbingers, Tartaglia only held 27% favorability for Capitano and Pulcinella.
The former suited his tastes, being strong enough.
The latter, meanwhile, was very good to him and his family, even if that goodness had a utilitarian purpose.
Furthermore, Tartaglia's visit to Liyue this time wasn't truly to oversee the Northland Bank.
The Tsaritsa's mission was the central focus of everything.
Tartaglia interrupted the manager again.
"This is Liyue, not Mondstadt, not Sumeru, not Inazuma..."
"Liyue Harbor's prosperity is unmatched among the Seven Nations of Teyvat. Any material transactions in the other six nations are inseparable from Liyue Harbor."
"Do you think I alone can confront all of Liyue?"
"Do you think the Fatui have the ability to face the wrath of Rex Lapis and the Adepti?"
"Did the Tsaritsa and the Fatui give you too much confidence, making you forget Rex Lapis's moniker of the God of War?"
"Do you know how many Adepti are hidden within Liyue Harbor?"
Hearing this, the manager also fell silent.
Indeed, with the Fatui's backing, the Northland Bank had grown extensively and smoothly in the other Seven Nations.
So much so that he took it for granted that Liyue should be the same.
But...
This was, after all, a land of commerce, Rex Lapis's domain.
Even Pantalone, revered as a god by the Northland Bank, originated from Liyue Harbor.
When it came to business, Liyue was their ancestor.
If the Fatui dared to break the rules and play rough, the Adepti would teach them a lesson.
The only support the Fatui could offer their Northland Bank in Liyue was financial support; nothing else would do.
After a long silence, Tartaglia said with a hint of boredom:
"I heard that the transaction scope and material value of the Sumeru Akademiya have all increased by three hundred percent?"
The manager adjusted his mindset and immediately replied:
"Yes, Lord Childe. All transaction materials, even those traded between other nations in Liyue and Sumeru, require much higher handling fees."
"And these handling fees must all be paid by the Sumeru Akademiya..."
"Also, a message came from Sumeru's Northland Bank yesterday evening that the Sumeru Akademiya was attacked."
"There seemed to be no personnel losses, only targeting the Grand Sage himself. The aerial attack created a crater thousands of meters wide and hundreds of meters deep in the center of the Sumeru Akademiya with a single strike."
Hearing this, Tartaglia finally became interested.
He didn't care who the Grand Sage had provoked.
But he was very interested in the attacker.
Such a strike, executed while controlling strength and angle, clearly couldn't have been a full-power blow.
If so, the opponent was at least an Archon-level entity.
Tartaglia's dormant fighting spirit flared up, but it quickly settled back down.
That kind of enemy was beyond his current capabilities; while he wouldn't mind a fight, he was too far away now, and the mission was more important.
"Is the Sumeru Akademiya attack related to Liyue targeting the Sumeru Akademiya?"
The manager shook his head.
"We haven't found any clues yet. The Liyue Adepti are not the type to act recklessly, and furthermore, only a minority of the Liyue Adepti can reach Archon-level strength."
"Also, it's said that that attack involved no elemental power..."
Tartaglia raised an eyebrow.
"So, pure physical strength... what a thrilling powerhouse!"
His eyes filled with a fighting gleam, Tartaglia wished he could leave Liyue for Sumeru immediately.
"There's one more thing. The Grand Sage is reportedly not dead, only severely injured. He publicly claimed it was due to an earthquake..."
After a pause, the manager added:
"In addition, the Grand Sage seems to have mobilized all of Sumeru's forces to search for the enemy."
Hearing this, Tartaglia let out a dismissive chuckle.
"Earthquake? Search? What an amusing farce..."
"That Grand Sage has clearly learned knowledge poorly. What right does he have to seek out such an enemy?"
"Forget it, I'm not interested in Sumeru's situation. Just keep an eye on that attacker of the Sumeru Akademiya; the Tsaritsa might be interested."
"Furthermore..."
Tartaglia took out a special Fatui Harbingers communication letter from his pocket and casually tossed it to the manager.
"Pantalone's current instructions for the Northland Bank are: do not go against the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and do not go against the Liyue Qixing."
"Procure as many resources as possible that Liyue has put onto the market recently."
"Mainly coal and iron ore. As for the Lapis Lazuli that resonates with elemental power..."
"Snezhnaya will send an official trade caravan to transact."
Hmm...
Lapis Lazuli could resonate with elemental power, which alone was enough for it to have a huge effect.
Whether for forging high-grade weapons or other uses, there was no such thing as too much of this material.
Coupled with the truly excellent Minecraft iron ore, there was a complete opportunity to forge more divine-tier weapons.
Its strategic significance was immense.
However, Ningguang and the others released very little onto the market, which caused the price of Lapis Lazuli to rise repeatedly.
Snezhnaya, currently undertaking a major endeavor, wouldn't mind acquiring it at a premium.
Lapis Lazuli and this iron ore were exceptionally significant to them.
The Tsaritsa's directive was to collect it at all costs.
The manager took the letter but didn't open it immediately, only asking with some confusion:
"Lord Childe, won't the Ministry of Civil Affairs target Snezhnaya's trade caravan?"
"Pantalone's letter has it."
Tartaglia curled his lip, saying with disinterest:
"That guy says the Fatui are the Fatui, and Snezhnaya is Snezhnaya. This trade caravan doesn't belong to the Fatui or the Northland Bank; it's merely Snezhnaya's civilian power."
"In short, his letter will tell you how to proceed. Also..."
"He also asked me to remind you that Liyue's Northland Bank must not provide any financial support to the new trade caravan."
"Ideally, the two sides should not meet or have any interaction."
The manager suddenly understood, bowed slightly, and excused himself.
The second floor was once again left with only Tartaglia.
Gazing at Liyue Harbor again, after a long while, Tartaglia let out a soft sigh.
"So prosperous and peaceful..."
"If not for the Tsaritsa's great plan, perhaps Teucer and the others settling here would lead to a better life..."
"What a pity..."
As he spoke, Tartaglia's expression also grew somewhat troubled.
Having been in Liyue for so long, Tartaglia had gained nothing.
He wanted to contact Zhongli as per the Tsaritsa's instructions, but Zhongli had not shown up in Liyue Harbor.
Tartaglia's work could not proceed at all.
He wanted to find powerful enemies to fight.
There were Adepti in Liyue Harbor, but he couldn't find them and dared not cause a big commotion here.
He followed rumors to Nantianmen to search for powerful monsters.
A powerful entity was indeed sealed there.
But he didn't know how to approach it, and...
The feeling it gave him was even more terrifying than the eyes he had seen in the Abyss.
Nothing was going right...
Tartaglia sighed in his heart.
Fortunately, the acquisition of the Talisman of Hundred Taboos was going smoothly and had already entered the production process.
The root of all these misfortunes still lay in that tightly controlled private courtyard.
That place seemed to be the eye of the storm in Liyue.
But Tartaglia could no longer go there.
There, an Adeptus was clearly watching.
Although Tartaglia was belligerent and wanted to fight an Adeptus.
He was not seeking death.
He could perceive that if he trespassed there, the Adeptus watching him would fight with deadly intent; there would be no sparring, only killing blows.
Tartaglia didn't want any further complications.
Moreover...
The aura of that Adeptus indeed gave him a severe sense of fatal danger.
He surmised that it must be one of the top combat Adepti famous in history.
Either the Conqueror of Demons, known for their slaughter, or one of the legendary Three-Eyed and Five-Hued Adepti.
The only good thing was that this Adeptus seemed to only target powerhouses like him, and seemed to disdain other Fatui agents?
This was Tartaglia's opportunity.
As he pondered, hurried, frantic breathing came from the second-floor room.
He frowned slightly, turned around, and looked at the newcomer.
It was a Fatui Pyro Agent, or rather, a very disheveled Fatui Pyro Agent.
He was covered in blood, as if attacked by some man-eating monster, with terrible bite marks everywhere on his body.
One arm hung limply, clearly broken.
Tartaglia frowned tightly. While Fatui Pyro Agents weren't much to him.
Nor were they strong compared to most Archons.
But their stealth and escape abilities were top-notch, so such a situation shouldn't have occurred.
Moreover, he had sent out four of them; how was only one left?
"What happened?"
Tartaglia asked in a deep voice.
The Fatui Pyro Agent gasped, his eyes filled with fear, trembling as if recalling a terrifying experience.
"Lord Childe... that small courtyard... that small courtyard..."
"That small courtyard is surrounded by hundreds of Millelith!"
"And... and traps, filled with lava!".
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