After saying that, Zhongli turned to Rosalyn as well.
"The same applies to you."
The two fell silent. After a long pause, Tartaglia muttered in despair—
"Mr. Zhongli, your job really isn't easy… But in the end, it was you who told me to dispatch the vanguard."
Zhongli gave a slight nod and replied softly:
"Don't worry. Since it was part of our contract, protecting your life is also my responsibility."
"Stay here for now. The Ministry of Civil Affairs won't act against you for the time being. Once Osial is dealt with, I'll explain everything to them."
Only then did Tartaglia and Rosalyn breathe a sigh of relief.
They had no choice. Now that Liyue had revealed its full hand, they finally realized—they truly couldn't afford to provoke this nation.
With Liyue's strength, even if they tried to flee back to Snezhnaya, the Jade Chamber and its dragon swarm could easily fly over, invade the capital, and drag them back.
Between the Jade Chamber bombing the Snezhnayan royal city into ruins and sparing just the two of them, even the Tsaritsa—no matter how much she valued them—would have no choice but to give them up.
They were already on Zhongli's pirate ship, and now there was no way off.
All they could do was ride it till the end, and hope Zhongli protected them.
As for the rest... well, they'd just blame the Doctor or Pantalone.
If they could hold out until the Tsaritsa arrived, maybe there'd be a chance to completely escape danger.
Rosalyn glanced around. On rooftops and in alleyways, she spotted strange devices pointing straight at them.
These must be part of the Tianyan Surveillance System.
A group of Qianyan troops had unknowingly surrounded them, each armed with modern firearms.
They weren't being overtly monitored, but if you paid attention to the soldiers' movement paths, you'd realize—
They were completely encircled.
Any suspicious movement, and they'd be instantly shot down in a focused barrage...
"No way out above, no escape below…"
Rosalyn sighed and shook her head, choosing not to think any further.
Thinking wouldn't help anyway. They had no chance of escaping on their own.
Might as well place their trust in Zhongli—just this once.
"Zhongli, how long do you think Ningguang and the others will take to defeat Osial?"
Lumine asked out of curiosity. Her earlier worries about Liyue were now largely dispelled.
Zhongli was silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head.
"As things stand, they can't kill Osial. He's a god, after all. Unless another god strikes him down, as long as he remains in the sea, he cannot truly die."
"But… he doesn't even have a chance to fight back. He's just getting constantly bombarded."
Lumine scratched her cheek, confused.
Zhongli shook his head again. Even he hadn't expected that Ningguang and the others would try to kill Osial—this was far harder than sealing him.
If he and Ryen didn't step in, they might soon run out of options.
He considered whether to provide the Adepti with some divine power, enabling them to forcefully seal Osial again.
But then—Zhongli's expression suddenly changed.
"We need to go!"
In a flash, he grabbed Lumine and teleported directly to the Jade Chamber.
Tartaglia and Rosalyn were left a bit stunned. But feeling the glances of the Qianyan soldiers around them, they sank into uneasy silence.
Aboard the Jade Chamber.
Just as Zhongli suspected—
Although Osial was being constantly suppressed and couldn't even lift his head, he was still a god, and in his element—the ocean.
TNT alone couldn't kill him.
Even though they had plenty of explosives left, Ningguang now saw it as a waste of effort.
"So he really can't be killed like this... Should we request help from the Lord of Geo? If he only bestows divine power and we do the sealing ourselves, it wouldn't count as breaking the test's rules."
Cloud Retainer turned to Ningguang.
The latter stayed silent for a moment, then said coldly:
"No need. The Adepti may simply observe. This matter—we humans will handle personally."
"But Osial stands in the ocean. Without a god's intervention, he cannot be truly harmed."
Cloud Retainer was helpless. To her, Liyue already had the strength needed to enter human rule.
Why be so stubborn?
Besides, it wasn't like the Geo Lord was stepping in personally. Even if the Adepti helped, it still made sense—they too would be part of Liyue's new human-led era.
"I understand your reasoning, Cloud Retainer," Ningguang nodded slightly.
"But this is humanity's trial. We must let the Lord of Geo—and all of the Adepti—see that Liyue now has the power to face any calamity on its own."
"If the Adepti or the Lord himself steps in, even if we achieve self-governance, it won't fully awaken the people's vision for the future."
"So, Osial must die—and it must be by our hands!"
Her determination earned admiration from the Adepti. But when it came to actually killing Osial, they weren't so confident.
"Unless you possess power on par with a god, strong enough to kill in a single strike, Osial will keep regenerating."
Moon Carver shook his head.
But Ningguang remained full of confidence.
"Then we'll kill him in a single strike."
"What!?"
Before the Adepti could question her further, Ningguang solemnly produced a very special launcher.
"Ryen… is it okay?"
She bit her lip slightly, casting a complicated glance at Ryen.
He nodded calmly.
"It's fine. If something happens, I'll take responsibility."
Ningguang's expression softened completely. Then she took a deep breath and pulled from her storage a missile larger than a rocket.
It was curved, with a clear danger symbol emblazoned on its surface.
"A one-hit kill method—we have it now."
"The pinnacle of modern weaponry... Let the world witness: Total annihilation for all life—The Nuke!"
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