Tartaglia’s Return, Has Zhongli’s Shield Broken?

T/N:

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On the outskirts of Liyue, where an earthquake was ravaging the land, the orange-haired [Tartaglia] Childe stepped onto a wooden bridge, heading toward Liyue Harbor.

"Hey, you there! It's dangerous to cross the bridge during the earthquake! Please seek shelter in an open area," a Millelith soldier warned from the other side of the bridge.

Tartaglia looked at the bridge, which was swaying slightly due to the earthquake, and marveled, "I never imagined the land of the Geo Archon would one day suffer from an earthquake."

Was this some kind of irony?

Shaking his head, Tartaglia ignored the Millelith's warning and continued forward.

This time, he had received a new mission from Snezhnaya: to capture a juvenile dragon that could potentially become the next Geo Archon.

Previously, his plan to seize the Geo Archon's Gnosis had been entirely overshadowed by [the Lady] Rosalyne taking all the credit. Therefore, this time, Tartaglia was determined to succeed and demonstrate his abilities to Snezhnaya.

It's just a juvenile dragon, after all. How hard could it be to bag and send it back to Snezhnaya?

Tartaglia believed that no matter how strong this young dragon was, it couldn't be stronger than an adult one, right? After all, he had even damaged the remnants of Morax's godly form—what could a mere juvenile dragon do to him?

As he pondered optimistically about how he would capture Lin Yuan, a stronger tremor shook the ground.

The wooden bridge, which connected the outskirts to the city of Liyue, began to creak under the strain. Planks of wood splintered and fell into the chasm below.

The Millelith soldier on the other side shouted, "Danger! The bridge is about to collapse!"

At the moment when the bridge began to crack, Tartaglia sped up, sprinting across the bridge. He nimbly leaped over broken planks, clearing wide gaps in a single bound.

This level of earthquake isn't enough to stop me, Tartaglia thought smugly.

Just as he was feeling triumphant, the entire framework of the bridge gave way with a loud snap. The wooden structure split in two, leaving Tartaglia on the back half. If he wanted to reach Liyue, he would have to jump to the front section.

He took a running start, dashing forward with incredible speed. Just before the back half of the bridge plunged into the abyss, Tartaglia leaped through the air, flying over a considerable distance and landing on the front section.

However, this part of the bridge was also collapsing. Tartaglia darted forward, zigzagging across the remaining frame as it disintegrated beneath his feet, moving swiftly towards Liyue.

The Millelith soldier watching from the other side was stunned. He had never seen anyone cross a collapsing bridge with such agility.

As the last piece of the bridge's structure fell into the chasm, Tartaglia pushed off with his legs, twisting gracefully in mid-air. Just before the bridge crumbled entirely, he landed safely on Liyue's ground.

"Who... who are you?" the Millelith soldier stammered in shock. His skills were incredible, and his outfit wasn't from Liyue—clearly, he was someone important.

"Tartaglia, toy salesman from Snezhnaya," Tartaglia responded coolly, placing his hands behind his head as he casually walked toward the Northland Bank.

Despite the chaos of the people hurriedly evacuating around him, Tartaglia strode confidently through the panicked crowd, like a stream flowing against the current.

Looking at the unprecedented disaster and the fearful citizens of Liyue, Tartaglia clicked his tongue and said, "A nation without a god—how will it survive this calamity?"

As he walked, his mind drifted to thoughts of Morax, now known as Zhongli.

Knowing Zhongli's nature, even if he had faked his death and retired from his position as the Geo Archon, Tartaglia couldn't imagine that he would ignore the current disaster in Liyue.

What could Zhongli be doing right now?

While Liyue was being struck by earthquakes, deep beneath the Fulong Valley, Zhongli was in the midst of a battle with the Dragon King of Ruin.

The Dragon King swung its massive tail, shaped like a towering tree, unleashing a barrage of ice spikes.

"As solid as stone," Zhongli murmured, summoning a protective shield.

The human-sized ice spikes flew from all directions, sealing off Zhongli's escape routes and slamming into his shield, producing clouds of ice mist.

Zhongli's figure slowly emerged from the icy haze, completely unscathed. Even his shield remained intact.

Seeing this, the Dragon King roared in frustration, "Morax, how long can you keep this up?"

The elemental energy in its tail shifted from ice to fire. Massive fireballs formed and shot toward Zhongli.

Seeing fireballs coming from all directions, Zhongli calmly ascended into the air, stepping as if on solid ground. But the fireballs, controlled by the Dragon King, relentlessly pursued him.

At the same time, the Dragon King lashed its tail toward Zhongli. Though Zhongli effortlessly dodged the tail attack, he couldn't completely avoid the fireballs. They crashed into his shield, melting away the lingering ice element and releasing steam as they burned.

Despite the intense flames, Zhongli's shield held strong.

The Dragon King stomped the ground and roared, "Your shield is as unbreakable as ever, but it won't last much longer, Morax!"

Zhongli, his hands behind his back, replied calmly, "When you break through this shield, we can talk."

With that, Zhongli went on the offensive. He raised a hand, and countless Geo elements in the air coalesced into several enormous stone spears.

These stone spears were so massive, they resembled mountains—enough to pin down the Dragon King.

With a simple downward motion of his hand, the giant spears shot toward the Dragon King.

Although slow, the Dragon King had ways of dodging. It lowered its head, and the ground beneath it became fluid, allowing the massive creature to sink into it in an instant.

The giant spears embedded themselves into the earth, leaving enormous cracks in their wake.

Then, the Dragon King erupted from the ground, charging at Zhongli with its twin horns aimed straight at him.

"Sacrifice your life for my release, Morax!" the Dragon King roared, its voice filled with hatred. It seemed that only Zhongli's death could quench its fury.

Zhongli stood impassively as the Dragon King's horns struck his shield, driving him into the rocky wall behind him. The impact caused the entire cavern to tremble.

At that moment, Zhongli manipulated a boulder from above, smashing it down onto the Dragon King's head. The rock shattered, and the Dragon King let out an enraged roar as it crashed to the ground.

Zhongli moved his shoulders and slowly stepped out from the deep crater in the wall.

The Dragon King shook its head and glared at Zhongli with eyes full of hatred. Though Zhongli appeared calm, in truth, he was being pushed back.

Creak.

Suddenly, a sharp cracking sound echoed in the chamber.

A small crack had appeared in Zhongli's shield.

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T/N:

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