[Who gets it! I didn't laugh when I saw Xuanjian punch Pantalone unconscious, but when I saw the look in Zhongli's eyes after he put away his spear, I inexplicably burst out laughing for no reason.]
[Zhongli: This guy's sleep quality is pretty good—even in heavy rain, he doesn't wake up.]
[Big brother-in-law: Self-important delusional guy—I wasn't looking for you, and you just drop for me!]
"The 84th Generation Ziwei Star of Guili Assembly pays respects to Rex Lapis." After dealing with Pantalone, Xuanjian knelt on one knee toward Zhongli to show his respect for the god.
"Mm." Zhongli nodded slightly. "You coming here isn't to seek me out, is it?"
"Lord Rex Lapis is mistaken. For the people of Liyue, is there anything more important than meeting you face to face?"
Xuanjian said with a generous laugh.
Zhongli looked at his face and furrowed his brows slightly. He knew encountering Xuanjian here was purely coincidence.
Yet at this moment, he simply could not discern the truthfulness of the words Xuanjian spoke.
They seemed true, yet also false. In all his long experience, this was the first time Zhongli had encountered such a thing.
In the end, Zhongli could only change the subject: "Liyue Harbor has suffered this calamity, yet was fortunate to receive aid from Guili Assembly. On behalf of the countless citizens of Liyue Harbor, allow me to thank you first, as the one in power over Guili Assembly."
"Lord Rex Lapis is too kind, but I believe the citizens of Liyue Harbor would prefer to express their thanks in person." Xuanjian cupped his hands in salute.
"In person...?" Zhongli caught the implication behind Xuanjian's words and gave a helpless smile. "Then I was being superfluous."
Liyue Harbor was about to enter the era of human governance. Since it was to be human governance, it was no longer appropriate for Rex Lapis—the symbol of divine authority—to speak thanks on behalf of Liyue Harbor's people.
What Xuanjian wanted to see was the people of Liyue Harbor personally thanking Guili Assembly.
"The battle at Yunlai Sea is growing increasingly tense. I have reasons I cannot speak of—I cannot act until the very last moment. But as Ziwei Star, are you not planning to join the fight?"
Zhongli asked.
"Of course I am going to join. Or rather, the very reason I appear on Mt. Tianheng is to reverse the tide of battle."
Xuanjian walked to Zhongli's side, his deep gaze directed toward Yunlai Sea.
The war between gods lay in that direction.
"Oh? Reverse the tide? Could Mt. Tianheng hold some secret even I am unaware of?" Zhongli chuckled lightly.
"If Lord Rex Lapis truly does not know, I would be happy to explain it to you in detail... after the battle."
"As for now, the situation is special. I must ask Lord Rex Lapis to forgive my rudeness and allow me to take my leave first."
Zhongli scrutinized Xuanjian.
Xuanjian smiled calmly, showing no trace of nervousness.
Zhongli gave a slight nod.
Xuanjian bowed in salute, turned, and strode boldly deeper into Mt. Tianheng.
[From the sound of it, the blade Xuanjian is carrying isn't the secret weapon—the real secret weapon is still somewhere in Mt. Tianheng?]
[Reverse the tide? Could there be another god hidden deep in Mt. Tianheng? Is Xuanjian here to ask them to come out?]
[Not necessarily a god, but it has to be god-level combat power—otherwise, there's no way to gain any advantage against Osial.]
[Hmm... I suddenly thought of the Hall of Heroes setting. So is it possible that deep in Mt. Tianheng lies the heroic soul of the Qingce Sword Immortal? It seems to be the only god-level combat power that hasn't appeared in the plot text yet.]
Zhongli looked at Pantalone on the ground, sighed, then chose another spot to continue observing Yunlai Sea and Liyue Harbor.
Not long after Xuanjian entered Mt. Tianheng, Pantalone awoke on the ground. He stood up, clenched his fist, and glared at the now-empty space ahead.
"That guy!" Pantalone gritted his teeth as the scene of Xuanjian punching him in the abdomen replayed in his mind.
After taking several deep breaths, he barely managed to calm himself.
"Rex Lapis, I know you can hear me."
"I understand that you, as the God of Contracts, will not violate the contracts you yourself established. But I..."
"Am a merchant!"
A cold glint flashed in Pantalone's eyes as he continued speaking to himself: "A merchant believes in no one—only in the benefits he seizes for himself. Even if you are the God of Contracts who values them most, it's the same."
"The Gnosis—only by obtaining it through my own methods can I feel at ease!"
"Actively releasing Osial was one way to force you to hand over the Gnosis, but it appears to have no effect on you."
"But that's fine. I still have other little tricks."
Pantalone gently pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, returning to his usual elegant demeanor.
He strolled through the pouring rain, exuding the aura of a refined scoundrel. Then he snapped his fingers.
[Holy crap—this part is so evil, so cool!]
[This is a threat! A threat to the Geo Archon!]
[Such calm madness—does Pantalone really understand that what he's doing right now could lead to war between Snezhnaya and Liyue?!]
[Is Pantalone thinking of atoning with death—getting the Gnosis while preventing war between the two nations?]
Jade Chamber.
Led by Lumine, the four non-adeptus women faced the horde of monsters, slaughtering wildly amid the army of demons.
Fortunately, the abyssal power Osial wielded was limited in both quantity and level. The strongest monsters summoned onto the Jade Chamber were only at the level of Rock Drake Lizards.
If It had summoned an Ancient Rock Drake Lizard, that would have been somewhat troublesome.
Paimon cheered on the four women while keeping an eye on the entire battlefield, calling out alerts for everyone.
Whenever a monster approached the adepti, she would immediately announce it in her voice that covered the whole area. Those who received the warning would rush to that position to repel the monster.
The defensive line formed by four people prevented even hundreds of monsters from breaking through.
"Turn to dust!"
Lumine stomped her foot on the Jade Chamber. Countless yellowish Geo constructs rose up, crushing all nearby monsters.
"Hah—"
Lumine roared. The Dawn God's Sword was coated in massive amounts of Geo energy, transforming into a giant sword.
She swung the giant sword, shattering all the Geo constructs in front of her. The broken fragments, carrying Lumine's power, flew toward the monsters ahead.
Under the barrage of countless shattered stones, the monsters were swept clean.
Lumine planted the Dawn God's Sword into the ground and leaned on it, panting heavily.
"Lumine, Ganyu, Ningguang, Keqing—good work. No more monsters are coming through the portals. Looks like we can rest for now."
Paimon flew over and said to everyone.
"This is probably the only good news right now." Keqing mimicked Lumine's posture, leaning on the Lion's Roar as she spoke.
Ganyu lowered her drawn bow, breathed a sigh of relief, and gave Paimon a gentle smile: "Thank you for the warnings, Paimon."
Paimon scratched her head bashfully.
"Ladies." Ningguang walked over and said: "Please rest well and prepare to meet the next wave of monsters."
Lumine was about to nod in agreement when her expression suddenly turned grave.
Beside the abyssal rift torn open by Osial, more shadow-like rifts of similar appearance appeared again.
What emerged from them was not monsters, but—
The Fatui.
"It's the Fatui! They're heading straight for the Guizhong Mechanism!"
Paimon cried out in alarm as she watched the Fatui moving with clear purpose.
Ningguang and Keqing unconsciously clenched their fists at the same time and let out an angry roar: "Fatui!"
...
Mt. Tianheng.
Pantalone looked up at the sky with an elegant smile: "Esteemed Rex Lapis, you now have two choices."
"One: use your divine power, which surpasses all worldly forces, to erase me from existence. Two: hand over the Gnosis."
"No matter which choice you make, the Fatui who have boarded the Jade Chamber will become Liyue's temporary allies and assist Liyue in overcoming this crisis."
"Either way, you get a very favorable outcome. But if you make no choice at all..."
"I will not let anyone on the Jade Chamber come to harm, but they will inevitably have to suffer a little hardship."
"I have not lied. Please believe me, Rex Lapis."