Tartaglia did not bring his Crimson Calamity Toad.
The truth was, the Crimson Calamity Toad had just reached the fifth rank and couldn't withstand battles at the level of him and Diluc.
Of course, this wasn't to say the Crimson Calamity Toad was weak—it was just that the two of them were even stronger!
"Harmony brings wealth."
Before the fight began, Venti said with a chuckle.
The Fatui were no good, but Tartaglia wasn't a bad guy—he'd even treated Venti and Zhongli to meals when he handed over the "key."
But was that the main point?
Actually, no.
The real point was that Tartaglia only obeyed the Tsaritsa, and Venti and Zhongli had no grudge against the Cryo Archon!
If there really were bad blood, they'd rather toss the Gnosis into the ocean than hand it over!
So, looking at it this way, as long as there were no conflicts of interest, they had no reason not to accept Tartaglia's presence.
Three minutes later.
Diluc and Tartaglia stood ready.
"Begin!"
As the referee Zhongli gave the signal, the two instantly moved at zero frames—so fast it defied comprehension!
Tartaglia, now in his "Uncrowned Lord" form, wielded the Coiling Dragon Spear and closed the distance in a flash.
Diluc, however, teleported dozens of kilometers away in an instant.
For fighters at their level, this distance wasn't much.
But once the gap was opened, closing it immediately wasn't so easy!
"Hah…"
Diluc took a deep breath.
Mountain Stance Seal Art!
His aura surged, layer upon layer.
To onlookers, his presence swelled like an unscaleable mountain—vast and insurmountable!
Five Lightning Thunderbody!
BOOM!
Golden lightning crackled around Diluc's right arm as his power skyrocketed once more.
Charging!
An overwhelming force gathered within him.
But Tartaglia, with his blinding speed, was already upon him.
The spear thrust forward—a roaring dragon, jaws wide, ready to tear through flesh and bone!
Diluc's mind flashed.
Perfect. He wanted to test the Blessing of the Goddess of Life anyway.
In an instant, a magic circle formed, radiating a potent life force within a ten-kilometer radius around Diluc.
It was as if spring had arrived—buds sprouting, life blooming.
The spear struck true.
The terrifying dragon-force slammed into Diluc's chest, leaving a grievous wound.
But specks of green light gathered at the injury.
In the span of a breath, the bleeding stopped—and the wound began to heal!
"You lunatic! You're even crazier than I am!" Tartaglia exclaimed, horrified.
He never expected Diluc, who always seemed so composed, to willingly take a direct hit from his spear!
Even with a two-stage gap in their equipment, did he really think he could survive that?!
"Just an experiment. Now, let's get serious."
The power concentrated in Diluc's right arm had reached its peak.
With those words, he threw a punch.
This fist carried the terrifying might of thunder, the very space around it cracking like a spider's web.
Endless lightning coalesced into a monstrous Night Owl, spreading its wings with a piercing cry!
Tartaglia's instincts screamed.
If this punch landed—death.
Without hesitation, he activated Desperate Survival.
His flesh, bones, and even his soul began to burn.
Agony.
But his power surged explosively.
The Uncrowned Lord's crimson wings and cape billowed as he roared—
"HAAAH!"
A colossal dragon manifested behind him as he thrust his spear to meet Diluc's thunderous Night Owl!
Dragon vs. Owl.
The collision of these two forces erupted into a cataclysmic explosion.
Venti's face paled.
Zhongli immediately reinforced his Jade Shield.
Yet even so—
The shockwave of destruction rippled across hundreds of kilometers.
Beneath Guyun Stone Forest.
The terrifying energy fluctuations reached even the depths.
Osial let out a silent wail.
What in the world was that?!
Had a new Archon War broken out?!
One of the auras was familiar—the same being that had fought Beisht not long ago.
But how had that one not perished under Morax's stone spears?
Osial couldn't comprehend it.
All it knew was that both auras—the one it recognized and the other, suffused with terrifying lightning—were overwhelmingly powerful.
Had the Electro Archon come?
Osial didn't know.
All it could do was hide in the depths, suppressing its presence as much as possible, praying it wouldn't be noticed—or worse, casually obliterated.
Inazuma. Tenshukaku.
The Raiden Shogun, seated behind her desk, abruptly opened her eyes.
Lightning flickered in her gaze as she looked toward Liyue.
As the Archon who ruled over lightning, her sensitivity to thunder was unparalleled.
That direction radiated an immense Electro aura—a storm of power erupting.
This wasn't the first time such a disturbance had appeared.
Divine battles, if distant, meant little to ordinary people.
But the stronger one was, the sharper their perception—even across tens of thousands of miles, they could sense it faintly.
Before, the Shogun had sensed Morax's presence clashing with another over the distant seas.
The outcome was obvious—against that opponent, Morax had no reason to lose.
Now, that same aura was fighting another—one crackling with lightning.
Who was it?
The Shogun's expression remained indifferent.
She had no intention of investigating. She merely noted the event.
Her prime directive was "Eternity."
As long as it didn't affect Inazuma's eternity, it was irrelevant.
As for whether her "other self" cared, the Shogun paid no mind.
She closed her eyes, returning to standby.
Grand Narukami Shrine.
Yae Miko flipped through the latest light novel in one hand while her gaze drifted toward the horizon.
As a kitsune serving the Narukami, she too could sense the disturbances of divine combat—though far more faintly than the Shogun.
All she knew was that somewhere beyond the seas, an earth-shattering battle was unfolding.
(Thankfully, the open ocean allowed the energy to travel. If mountains or valleys blocked it, she might not have sensed it at all!)
"Is the world's balance shifting?"
Miko sighed, rubbing her temples.
Liyue Harbor. The Jade Chamber.
Ningguang leaned on her hand, watching the distant sky.
There, a faint golden barrier shielded the world—a sign of Rex Lapis's intervention.
She knew this was the Emperor's doing—
Not only blocking the shockwaves from reaching the harbor but also muffling the terrifying presence of the divine battle.
Only those with sufficient strength could feel it.
For the weak or ordinary folk, it merely seemed like a brewing storm—thunder rumbling behind a golden veil.
Zhongli's actions carried deeper meaning.
He wanted to show Liyue that times had changed.
If they wanted peace, they needed the strength to shield against all threats.
Without it, even the aftershocks of a god's battle could reduce the harbor to ruins.
Keqing's Office.
She was swamped, drowning in self-assigned work, eating lunch at her desk while handling documents.
Unlike others, she only had one gold card.
But that five-star gold card, shimmering faintly red, filled her with confidence.
She knew what was happening beyond the skies. Though grave, she wasn't overly worried.
A battle of gods? Strictly speaking, she couldn't participate.
But!
Against a god, Keqing felt no fear.
As the unrivaled master of the sword, if her blade could draw a god's blood—then a god would bleed.
The only thing holding her back was her equipment's rank.
"I hope my family can free up more funds soon."
Such was the reality of Liyue's economy.
"This family has some shares here, that one has investments there…"
A single stake might be worth billions, but that wasn't the same as liquid cash!
The Keqing family had investments everywhere, year-end dividends a considerable sum.
Some went to living expenses—the rest? New ventures, emerging industries.
A cycle that left them with sprawling assets.
At a certain level, money made money on its own!
Of course, investments could fail—but for these families, losses were manageable.
The result? Vast holdings, but not much ready cash.
The Impact of the Battle.
The clash between Tartaglia and Diluc sent ripples across Liyue.
The greatest effect was within the harbor itself.
Ningguang, Keqing, Yelan, Xiao, Ganyu, Xiangling, Yanfei, Yun Jin, Beidou—anyone in the city with a Vision could feel the "real effects" of the cards.
After all, if you never tested them, how would you know their limits?
But once tested—
Like this divine battle, if such events multiplied…
A repeat of the Archon War wasn't just possible—it might be even more devastating!
Meanwhile, Lu Heng was discussing this very issue with his wives.
"What if Teyvat gets destroyed?" Furina fretted.
(Teyvat was a planet—as Neuvillette said, the Primordial Sea lay at its core. If it broke, where would everyone live?)
"If it breaks, it breaks."
Lu Heng shrugged. "If that happens, I'll sell tickets. Not expensive—just 10,000 Mora each. Everyone can move to the Starlight No. 2!"
The Starlight No. 2—a battleship larger than a planet!
Teyvat's population wasn't huge. Moving aboard would be no issue.
This was a star-system-level warship, after all.
At the sixth rank, its mastery of space was profound.
Its interior was vast, even capable of environmental simulation.
Want to live in a forest? A desert? It could mimic any setting—indistinguishable from reality unless you overthought it.
"That's a relief!" Furina relaxed instantly.
"Fight all you want! Blow Teyvat to bits! Then we'll just buy tickets and go on a cosmic road trip!"
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T/N:
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