Chapter 39: This Trainee Fatui Harbinger is Too Unreliable [39]
"Who are you..."
Theresa murmured, dazed. For some reason, she felt as though she'd seen this person before, but with the hood obscuring his face, she couldn't see clearly.
Luo Qing remained silent as he gently set Theresa down. He glanced toward the distant Osial, who was entangled with the Adepti, and then at the Guizhong Ballista on the deck.
With a slight gesture, he summoned his Thousand Rock Spear.
"That's... the Thousand Rock Spear?"
On the Jade Chamber, the people who recognized the weapon looked at the hooded man with suspicion, unsure of his motives.
The next moment, Luo Qing flicked his finger, and several dark brown stone spears materialized, shooting straight toward the Guizhong Ballista.
"Not good! He's going to destroy the Ballista!"
Keqing shouted in alarm, rushing toward the Ballista in a desperate attempt to stop the stone spears. But they were too fast. Before she could reach it, the Ballista had been pierced, rendered inoperable.
Realizing that this hooded figure was an enemy, Lumine brandished her Dull Blade and charged toward Luo Qing.
But Luo Qing didn't move. He stood perfectly still, letting Lumine approach.
As Lumine's sword closed in, she saw Luo Qing raise his head slightly, revealing two golden, slit-pupil eyes that locked with hers.
In that moment, Lumine felt as if she wasn't staring at a person, but at some ancient being.
The next second, her blade missed its mark.
Luo Qing and Theresa had vanished from the Jade Chamber.
"Who is he...?"
The crowd was filled with speculation.
Summoning stone spears and wielding the Thousand Rock Spear—there had to be some connection to Liyue, but now was not the time to dwell on it.
With the Guizhong Ballista destroyed, how were they going to deal with Osial?
Meanwhile.
Luo Qing, having rescued Theresa, leapt a few times and returned to the Northland Bank.
"She's suffered multiple sword wounds. Help her get treated," Luo Qing ordered, placing the wounded Theresa on a bed before swiftly disappearing over the balcony.
Seeing Luo Qing about to leave again, Natalia hurried after him, calling out, "Sir, where are you going?"
"Don't worry. I'm just going to see a friend," he replied before vanishing.
When Luo Qing descended from the Jade Chamber earlier, he had spotted Zhongli standing alone on a nearby rocky outcrop, watching the battle unfold on the sea.
This was a rare opportunity to hear what the old man was thinking, and Luo Qing wasn't going to miss it.
On the southern mountainside, Zhongli stood in solitude, gazing out at the battlefield on the ocean. A moment later, Luo Qing appeared beside him.
"Weren't you supposed to be evacuating Hu Tao? Why are you standing here alone?"
Luo Qing asked, stepping up beside Zhongli.
"Hu Tao insisted on staying with the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. No matter what I said, she refused to leave."
Mentioning Hu Tao brought a hint of weariness to Zhongli's otherwise composed expression.
"So you just left her there alone?" Luo Qing raised a brow, wondering at this rather... peculiar approach.
"Not exactly," Zhongli shook his head and explained, "I used some small techniques to put her to sleep and instructed the funeral parlor attendants to take her to a safe place."
"..."
As expected from Zhongli.
"So, how are you feeling now? A bit anxious?" Luo Qing inquired, adopting a more casual tone.
"A little," Zhongli admitted with a nod.
"It's kind of like waiting outside a school while your child takes an exam—nervous and worried. Except, unlike most parents, you could walk in and help them finish the test yourself if you wanted."
Luo Qing chuckled as he watched the distant battle unfold.
"A rather curious analogy, but it does capture some of the sentiment," Zhongli said, nodding again in agreement. He then added, "By the way, I heard Osial calling out for someone named 'Li Feiyu,' cursing him with a hatred even greater than for me. But there's no such person among the Qixing. Do you have any insight on this?"
"Never heard of him," Luo Qing responded quickly. "Not familiar at all."
"Hmm... I see," Zhongli murmured, casting a thoughtful glance toward the Jade Chamber. "Perhaps there are deeper reasons behind all of this."
Luo Qing immediately chimed in, "Right, right. I think so too."
This entire battle was a test for Liyue. Zhongli wouldn't interfere until the final moment, leaving the city's fate to its inhabitants.
As for Luo Qing's destruction of the Guizhong Ballista when rescuing Theresa, that was simply to curry favor with Childe later. After all, if he hadn't intervened, Osial would have destroyed the Ballista anyway. The outcome would've been the same.
With the Ballista out of commission, the tide of the battle on the Jade Chamber shifted once again. Osial began summoning increasingly larger waves, and despite the combined efforts of the Adepti and Shenhe, some of the waves crashed into the outer harbor, causing significant damage to buildings and ships.
Just as the defense line was about to break, a soft yellow light spread across the Jade Chamber.
Above, Ningguang floated in the air, casting a protective barrier around the Jade Chamber. She ordered the others to retreat, leaving only herself behind.
She then began to pilot the Jade Chamber, steering it directly toward Osial.
However, just as the Jade Chamber was about to crash into Osial, a sharp cry pierced the air from the sea below.
Another beast, similar in size to Osial, emerged from the depths.
It was Beisht, Osial's wife.
Either of the two monsters alone might have struggled to withstand the Jade Chamber's assault, but together, they conjured a powerful water vortex and hurled it toward the descending platform.
With a thunderous crash, the vortex was broken, and the Jade Chamber still landed on Osial and Beisht, leaving large gashes on their bodies. But the power of the platform had been diminished, and it could no longer suppress Osial.
Now, the two beasts loomed over the sea together, still very much alive.
"Hah... is that all you've got?! Morax! Li Feiyu! Come out and face me! If you surrender now, I might consider leaving these people in one piece. Otherwise, I'll drown this entire city!"
Osial's voice thundered across the harbor. With his wife by his side, the prospect of Morax not appearing emboldened him further. The Adepti and the Millelith wouldn't be able to stop them now.
On the harbor, both the Qixing and Adepti watched in silence, frowning at the growing threat.
The effects of the forbidden ritual would only last for so long, but if they retreated now, by the time the ritual wore off, Liyue—the millennia-old city—would be in ruins.
"Lady Ningguang, what should we do now..." a Millelith soldier asked, dejected.
With the Jade Chamber now destroyed, Ningguang's expression was grim. Her usual confidence had faded. After a long pause, she finally ordered, "We've lost this battle... Prioritize the evacuation of civilians inland. As for the city... buildings can be rebuilt, but our people must survive."
"...Understood, Lady Ningguang."
As the Millelith began preparations to retreat, Osial and Beisht conjured another massive wave, poised to crash down upon Liyue.e, this one aimed straight at Liyue Harbor.
---
T/N: Woah that's actually different from usual fanfics!
Chapter 40: This Trainee Fatui Harbinger is Too Unreliable [40]
But this time, the wave was summoned by the combined might of Osial and Beisht, far more powerful than any previous assault.
The deep blue waters roared like an unstoppable beast, crashing against the golden barrier with thunderous force. The barrier trembled, on the verge of shattering at any moment.
The Millelith had already followed orders to evacuate civilians to the inland regions. Now, only Lumine, Ningguang, and the Adepti remained, standing as the final line of defense for Liyue Harbor.
Without the Jade Chamber and the Guizhong Ballista, even those blessed with Visions—like Ningguang and the others—found themselves too weak to challenge the might of a God. With the Jade Chamber gone, they couldn't hope to defeat Osial, let alone get close enough to try.
Wave after wave crashed against the Adepti's defensive barrier, and even though they combined their powers, cracks began to form on the surface of the shield.
Standing at the harbor, Ganyu turned to look at Ningguang and the others, her eyes resolute.
She lowered her longbow, cold determination flickering in her gaze. A blue light began to radiate from her fingers, spreading across her entire body. In the next moment, her form began to shift, growing larger at a rapid pace.
As the light faded, a majestic azure qilin stood before them.
"Ganyu... you foolish child..."
Above, Cloud Retainer watched, a hint of sadness in her eyes.
For as long as Ganyu had lived among humans in Liyue, she had carefully concealed her Adeptus identity, attributing the horns on her head to a family heirloom whenever someone asked.
Almost no one in Liyue knew that Ganyu was a half-Adeptus.
But now, revealing her true form to protect Liyue meant that she had chosen the path of the Adepti, distancing herself from humanity. It was a choice that would inevitably create an invisible barrier between her and the people she had long served.
The qilin that Ganyu had become galloped across the surging waves, freezing everything in her path.
With her Vision amplifying her powers, Ganyu's control over Cryo surpassed that of the Adepti, allowing her to manipulate vast amounts of ice. The towering wave froze solid, forming an icy barrier to slow the oncoming tide.
But it didn't take long before another wave shattered the frozen wall, crashing once more against the weakening barrier.
Ganyu knew that defense alone would not be enough. She leapt from the ice, dashing towards Osial.
"Ganyu, stop! Do you have any idea how long it's been since you've assumed your true form? How can you be so reckless?"
Cloud Retainer's voice was filled with worry, but she couldn't move from her position, bound by the need to maintain the barrier. All she could do was watch anxiously as Ganyu drew farther away.
At the harbor, the silver-haired Shenhe stood firm, watching the qilin engage Osial. A flicker of understanding crossed her usually expressionless face.
She had always struggled to grasp human emotions, but seeing Ganyu transform and charge toward Osial, she felt like she was beginning to understand.
"Senior Sister..."
Shenhe glanced down at her open palm. A moment later, she pushed off with her toes and charged into the waves.
A surge of Cryo energy gathered beneath her feet, freezing the broken ice wall once again.
The Adepti were granted a brief respite.
Meanwhile, back on the rocky outcrop overlooking the battlefield.
Luo Qing and Zhongli observed the clash on the sea, each with their own thoughts.
Ever since Beisht had emerged from the depths to assist Osial in repelling the Jade Chamber's strike, Luo Qing's expression had grown more serious.
This wasn't what they had planned.
Wasn't there supposed to be only one boss, Osial?
Where had Beisht come from?
Did Childe seriously summon Osial's wife just to provoke Zhongli into action?
Did he really need to go that far?
Beside him, Zhongli appeared calm, but seeing Ganyu reveal her true form as a qilin had stirred something deep within him.
He clasped his hands behind his back, fingers tapping thoughtfully against each other.
It seemed he was debating whether to step in.
"Thinking about making a move, Zhongli?" Luo Qing asked quietly, noticing the subtle tension.
"Indeed," Zhongli admitted with a nod.
The current situation had been brought about because he allowed it, and it was the actions of the Fatui that had led to this confrontation.
As the former God of War, he recognized that if this continued, the Adepti and the Qixing would be the first to falter and fall.
He had seen Ningguang's determination in her decision to sacrifice the Jade Chamber, and he could feel the combined resolve of the Adepti and Ganyu, who fought with everything they had to protect Liyue Harbor.
But the crisis had grown beyond what they could manage alone. He couldn't allow needless sacrifices.
Just as Zhongli took a step forward, ready to intervene, Luo Qing held out a hand to stop him, his voice calm.
"If you step in now, Zhongli, have you thought about what comes next?"
"What do you mean, 'next'?"
"Deep down, you've already made up your mind to step down and leave Liyue's future to the mortals, right? If you step in now, you'll be forced to continue playing the role of Rex Lapis. You'll have to keep handing down your divine decrees, won't you? But that's not what you want, is it?"
"I have already seen the will of the Qixing and the Adepti. Their actions have exceeded my expectations..."
Zhongli's tone was pensive. "But this situation has gone beyond their capacity to handle. Since I am the cause, it should end with me."
"If that's the case, how about letting me handle this in your place?"
Luo Qing's eyes drifted to the two sea monsters in the distance, facing off against Ganyu. His voice was light, but firm.
"You?"
Zhongli's brow furrowed with doubt.
"Yeah, me."
Luo Qing chuckled. "I carry Liyue's blood, and I'm still human. If I'm the one to take action, wouldn't that count as the people of Liyue handling their own problems?"
"Hmm... I suppose that's true."
Despite Luo Qing being a Fatui Harbinger, his lineage was Liyuean, and his conduct reflected the culture and values of Liyue. Compared to the likes of Childe or La Signora, Zhongli found him far more relatable.
After all, if Zhongli didn't see him as a kindred spirit, he wouldn't have agreed to all those fishing trips.
Luo Qing's offer to act in Liyue's stead was, in many ways, a valid solution.
But could he handle it alone...?
Zhongli glanced at Luo Qing again.
"Why are you looking at me like that, Zhongli? Do you think I'm not up to the task?" Luo Qing teased, eyes glinting with a playful smile as he glanced toward Ganyu, still fighting in the distance.
"How about this? Let's make a deal. If I solve this problem for you, you'll owe me a favor."
"A favor...?"
Zhongli hesitated, then stepped back, giving his silent agreement.
"Alright then, I'll remember that, Zhongli. Consider it noted," Luo Qing said with a grin, his eyes flashing with golden light.
In an instant, he vanished from sight.
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