Anqi looked back at Balladeer:
"I'll remember this grudge. I'll settle it with you next time."
After saying that, Anqi left the Delusion factory directly.
Balladeer: "...Crazy..."
Just like her older brother, all brawn and no brains!
Not long after Anqi left, a Fatui soldier came up to Balladeer.
"Lord Balladeer, the matter of the Delusions has been discovered by the resistance forces. They are currently doing their best to confiscate them."
"Why are you telling me? Ask..."
Balladeer suddenly choked mid-sentence, his gaze involuntarily drifting towards the frosty land.
"Pack up. Prepare to leave."
"Yes!"
---
Player World.
: "It's her, the Wave Grudge Knight!"
: "666, is Anqi really that strong? It seems she even had the upper hand against the Sixth Harbinger, Balladeer?"
: "This scene... if we had arrived a bit earlier, maybe it would have been like with that person called 'Dottore.'"
: "By the way, who is 'Dottore'? Is he also one of the Harbingers?"
: "From the codename, he must be, but his rank shouldn't be high. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been instantly killed before I even saw him clearly?"
: "'Dottore,' just by hearing the name, you know he's the type who does research. To be able to join the Fatui, and even become a Harbinger, he's probably one of those mad scientists, and those types are often the hardest to kill. It might have looked like he was instantly killed on our side, but he might still be alive somewhere."
: "Hahaha, I'm so happy to see Balladeer get put in his place, hahaha!"
: "Understood. Never say 'small' in front of Anqi, or she'll hold a grudge."
---
Yashiori Island.
Lumine, Paimon, and Yunling finally arrived after hurrying.
"It's here, Lumine, let's go in!"
Yunling pulled out her greatsword and charged in first, with Lumine and Paimon immediately following.
The Delusion factory was mostly evacuated, and there were far fewer Fatui inside, but some still remained.
These ordinary Fatui were no match for Lumine and Yunling.
Soon, the two broke into the factory's core area.
Upon arriving here, Yunling quickly felt physical discomfort, but this feeling only lasted a short while.
The residual resentment of the gods here corrodes angry individuals. Although Yunling was also angry, she was much better than Lumine.
Thinking of this, Yunling looked at Lumine.
At this moment, Lumine's face was very pale, clearly enduring physical discomfort.
"I didn't expect you to find this place. You've done well."
Paimon vigilantly asked, "Are you a Fatui Harbinger, like Childe and La Signora?"
"La Signora? Childe? Oh... I didn't expect you to have already met our two least reliable colleagues."
"Fatui Harbinger Sixth, Balladeer, it's a pleasure—"
Balladeer appeared behind a railing.
Yunling had been on guard for a long time. Seeing Balladeer appear, she immediately:
Judgment, Earth Record!
Balladeer looked at the exaggerated greatsword that had broken through the roof, and his mouth twitched.
Why was he only encountering such people today, who didn't follow the usual rules?
What, does a zero-frame start excite you so much?
He condensed Electro element in his hand to block Yunling's greatsword, and Balladeer almost instantly teleported to another spot.
"How rude. Don't you know that you shouldn't interrupt people when they're speaking?"
Balladeer, who seemingly easily blocked that attack, was actually not at ease.
He glared at Yunling, how could this person be so strong?!
Yunling stuck her greatsword into the ground:
"You're manufacturing Delusions and distributing them to the resistance..."
"Oh, so it's about that. But you've got one thing wrong. Although I'm standing here, I'm merely executing the plan on behalf of someone else."
Balladeer's tone turned nasty: "The mastermind is, of course, someone else. Aren't you very capable? Go find him!"
Lumine gritted her teeth, looking at Balladeer with anger.
"Oh, to be so angry over such a small matter..."
"You call this a small matter?!"
Paimon angrily waved her tiny fists.
"Isn't it? In this world, humans are like weeds. Those ordinary people who received Delusions, they would still die without them. Rather, Delusions gave them a chance to fulfill their wishes. They should be grateful."
Balladeer continued, "Do you truly understand the Vision Hunt Decree? It took us a lot of effort to bring that about, naturally because it benefited us."
"But now it seems, everything was worth it. Creating conflict, paving the way for the promotion of Delusions, letting power naturally attract the weak who seek it..."
Balladeer was very eloquent, and Lumine became increasingly angry at his words.
"You! Detestable!"
Yunling was infuriated: "Lumine, let's go together and beat him up!"
Just as Yunling was about to charge, she suddenly noticed that Lumine's expression was very off.
"Lumine, what's wrong?"
Paimon also reminded her from the side, "Lumine, calm down quickly."
Lumine took out her longsword, and just as she was about to charge, her body suddenly stiffened, and her mind became muddled.
The triumphant Balladeer also smiled at the opportune moment: "Hahaha..."
"That's right, just like that, be angry, be angry... Anger is excellent sustenance for the gods' resentment in this factory."
The more Balladeer acted like this, the angrier Lumine became, and the angrier Lumine became, the blurrier her vision grew.
"Lumine!"
Yunling watched as Lumine fainted. She immediately ran to support her.
"Damn it! Paimon, take good care of Lumine. I'm going to give this guy a good beating!"
Yunling charged at Balladeer with her greatsword, using her body's coordination and momentum to swing it wildly at Balladeer's head.
Balladeer sneered and quickly dodged.
He countered with an Electro attack on Yunling's greatsword, knocking Yunling back and taking the opportunity to climb up, leaping onto Yunling's greatsword.
"Heh, overestimating yourself!"
Balladeer channeled power with both hands, pressing down with raging lightning.
The lightning wrapped around Yunling's hands along the greatsword, numbing her hands.
She gritted her teeth tightly, also exerting force with her hands to prevent the greatsword from slipping.
"You haven't won yet!"
Paimon was shaking Lumine vigorously, looking worriedly at the battlefield between Yunling and Balladeer.
It was clear that Yunling was being completely suppressed, and she hadn't lost yet purely by relying on her brute strength.
Perhaps it was also because Balladeer wasn't taking it too seriously.
Bang—
Yunling was slammed heavily against the wall, then fell to the ground, her greatsword slipping from her grasp.
It seemed to have hit her nose when she fell, as her nose was bleeding profusely.
The blood flowed to her mouth, then dripped from her chin, looking utterly pitiful.
Damn it, I can't beat this guy!
Yunling got up and picked up the greatsword that had fallen to the ground.
---
Player World.
The players, who had been looking forward to a grand display, were all dumbfounded.
What the heck?! The protagonist fainted?!
: "Why is mhy pulling this on me?"
: "Balladeer, if you dare harm Yunling, I will absolutely not forgive you!"
: "Yunbao, run! We can't rely on ourselves!"
.
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_