If the Jade Chamber had a will of its own, it would probably have already been worshipped alongside the Geo Archon by now.
But for those harboring ill intent, seeing the Jade Chamber pass overhead with such overwhelming presence left them drenched in cold sweat, their whole bodies trembling.
Tartaglia and Rosalyne had kept an extremely low profile, hiding in a corner as they watched the Jade Chamber slowly depart.
Rosalyne's face was filled with shock.
"If only Her Majesty also had a Jade Chamber… we'd have no trouble accomplishing any grand ambition!"
She had already begun to imagine a future war with Celestia—multiple Jade Chambers rising into the sky, bombarding Celestia relentlessly.
Even if they couldn't kill the Sustainer, they could at least blow her into a stupor.
"Don't bother thinking about it. There's no way anyone can buy one of those… Let's wait until Her Majesty arrives."
Tartaglia shook his head and looked at the Qianyan Army troops beginning to encircle them, letting out a helpless chuckle.
"For now, we should focus on staying alive."
The moment he spoke, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from all directions.
It wasn't light infantry. Nor was it cavalry.
It was the hot weapons division that had just disembarked from the ships.
Each of them held pitch-black firearms, all aimed squarely at Tartaglia and Rosalyne.
Judging by the look of them, they were already loaded—and ready to fire at any moment.
What gave Tartaglia an even bigger headache was the sight of someone in the distance setting up a rocket launcher—the very same kind that had bombarded Osial—and pointing it right at them.
There was also a faint sense of deadly threat coming from the rooftops—likely the same sniper rifle that had taken down that monstrous sea beast with a single shot.
Hundreds of troops had them surrounded.
Even if Tartaglia activated both his Vision and Delusion at once, they would be shredded before they could even fight back.
Almost on instinct, Tartaglia slowly raised his hands, a bitter smile on his face.
"Listen… we're not trying to resist. Could you please stop pointing those things at us?"
Dashi stepped forward, a light machine gun slung over his shoulder, quietly staring at Tartaglia and Rosalyne.
"Fatui Harbingers—La Signora and Childe—you are suspected of damaging Liyue Harbor. Under Liyue law, we are authorized to arrest you."
"Do not make any sudden moves, or we will open fire."
Tartaglia glanced at the other Fatui nearby—even the stealthy Debt Collector now had three guns pointed directly at his head.
He was trembling all over, too scared to even twitch.
Tartaglia let out a long sigh and said helplessly:
"We're innocent. Those earlier vanguard forces—they weren't under our direct command. They belonged to the Doctor."
"We knew nothing about the vanguard's attack…"
Dashi let out a cold laugh.
"That's your problem. The only order I received was to arrest you and throw you in prison."
Tartaglia's heart was full of bitterness and anger. Hadn't Zhongli just said he would handle this? So why were they still being arrested?
Zhongli… really was unreliable!
If he had known things would turn out like this, he never would have agreed to work for Zhongli in the first place!
As for resisting...
Tartaglia wasn't stupid.
These Qianyan soldiers all looked quite eager—probably hoping they'd resist so they'd have an excuse to open fire.
Tartaglia might not be afraid of a dozen guns, but...
Surrounded by hundreds, with sniper rifles aimed at his head and RPGs ready to fire?
He wasn't a god. There was no way he could survive that kind of assault.
Especially since even Osial's body had been blown apart multiple times by these thermal weapons.
At this point, surrendering really seemed like the best option.
Tartaglia gave a bitter smile and was just about to speak when Zhongli appeared in the distance, leisurely strolling over with Lumine at his side.
At the sight of Zhongli, Tartaglia finally saw his savior.
"Mr. Zhongli! Over here, over here! Hurry up and get over here! If you don't, they're going to execute us by firing squad!"
Zhongli paused for a moment, glanced at Tartaglia, and only then seemed to remember the promise he had made.
A bit embarrassed, he quickened his pace and walked over.
"What's going on?"
Seeing Zhongli arrive, Dashi's expression softened significantly. He responded quietly:
"Lord Zhongli, the Fatui are suspected of coordinating with internal forces to allow the vanguard troops to launch their assault on Liyue. Lady Ningguang has ordered us to apprehend all of them."
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