The once rolling hills had been completely flattened.
All that remained on Wuwang Hill were scattered, broken trees, small pools of stagnant water, and a leaking ley line.
With a casual press of his hand, the Geo Archon caused a stone gate to fall upon the leaking ley line, completely suppressing it.
He was aware that the ley lines at Wuwang Hill were rather chaotic, but he had never imagined that a mere fight would be enough to draw out their energy.
Under the Geo Archon's deliberate control, the stone gate transformed into a domain and sank into the earth.
This was only a temporary solution. Otherwise... the ley line energy would throw the entire vicinity into chaos.
After dealing with the ley line energy, the Geo Archon turned his gaze to the "Bai Luo" he had been fighting for so long.
The special ability that had cloaked his body had faded, revealing a young man's form.
If he remembered correctly... this person was a colleague of Bai Luo's, and also a Fatui Harbinger, codenamed "Childe."
This Childe had even had people investigate him before, looking into both his identities as Zhongli and Morax.
Did Bai Luo send him here as a substitute?
No... that shouldn't be the case.
Because this man had just called out Bai Luo's name, just as he had. Upon realizing he wasn't fighting Bai Luo, he almost coughed up blood from the sheer rage.
If it weren't for that, this Childe wouldn't have lost so quickly.
It seemed he, like himself, was a victim.
"Hey... you're Morax, aren't you?"
Having reverted from his Foul Legacy Transformation, Tartaglia's reason had mostly returned. Noticing the stone lances around them, he finally remembered why this mysterious person in strange robes looked so familiar.
The clothes he was wearing were the divine garb of an Archon.
"Why was it you who came today? Where's Bai Luo?"
The Geo Archon did not answer Tartaglia's question, but he did not deny it either.
Instead, he crossed his arms and asked Tartaglia in return.
At the mention of Bai Luo, Tartaglia felt another surge of anger in his chest.
Three days! Did he know how he had spent these past three days?
He thought he was finally going to end his life of using a bow, but the person who showed up was not Bai Luo, but Morax!
"We agreed to have a friendly spar here today, so..."
Tartaglia didn't continue, because everything was already self-evident.
"Did he say that after three days, *he* would be sure to arrive?"
Compared to Tartaglia, the Geo Archon, as the God of Contracts, was clearly quicker to spot the loophole in the wording.
Bai Luo's original words were: Within three days, someone will definitely arrive. The Fatui keep their word.
Indeed, someone had come within three days. But Bai Luo never said that *he* would definitely arrive, only mentioning the Fatui at the end.
This meant... even if it wasn't Tartaglia who came today, but an ordinary Fatui skirmisher, the contract would have been fulfilled.
If anyone else had done such a thing, the Rex Lapis would have found it utterly absurd.
But when applied to Bai Luo... it actually seemed damn reasonable.
Tartaglia also realized it.
Although at the beginning, Bai Luo had said, "If you're a bro, come and fight me."
But when it came to making the vow, he had used that same wordplay to brush it off.
The earlier sentence was more like a way to mislead him.
In other words... the so-called contract they had made with Bai Luo was actually just Bai Luo, acting as a middleman, setting up a fight between the two of them.
Tartaglia seemed to understand why the Tsaritsa had given Bai Luo a Dendro Delusion. Her Majesty was truly wise and brilliant.
However, for him to dare to offend both himself and Morax at the same time, he really had some nerve.
Was he not afraid of him coming to cause trouble?
Wait...
Tartaglia suddenly remembered Bai Luo's purpose for seeking him out in Liyue after coming from Mondstadt—to borrow a ship to go to Inazuma. Could it be that fellow had already...
The Geo Emperor also seemed to realize something. His expression changed slightly, and he transformed into a streak of golden light, shooting straight into the sky.
Among the sea of clouds, the Geo Archon transformed into a divine dragon, entirely golden in color. He used his authority as the [Geo Archon] and began to search for Bai Luo's figure within the territory of Liyue.
But he ended up in failure.
Was he hiding? Or had he used that appearance-changing ability to transform into someone else?
No... it was neither.
Three days. No wonder he wanted to fight three days later.
One day was enough to leave Liyue's borders, let alone three.
Three days was enough time for some of the faster ships to reach Inazuma.
Having figured this out, even the mature and steady Rex Lapis revealed a "benevolent" smile.
Compared to the Geo Archon, Tartaglia obtained information much faster.
Because Bai Luo hadn't hidden the fact that he was on Beidou's ship, through the Fatui's internal intelligence network, he quickly found out that after Bai Luo had separated from him that day, he had immediately contacted the Crux Fleet.
This meant... luring him to Wuwang Hill to fight Morax wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision, but a premeditated plan.
"Lord Harbinger, this is a letter left for you by the Instructor."
After a long hesitation, the Pyro Agent who had helped Bai Luo investigate the spy at the docks took out a letter that the Instructor had personally handed to him.
At the time, the Instructor had repeatedly instructed him that it must be delivered personally into the hands of the Harbinger.
Taking a deep breath to calm the urge to beat Bai Luo to a pulp, Tartaglia took the letter Bai Luo had written for him.
The envelope was the standard type used within the Fatui, and at the seal, a cute little yellow duck had been drawn.
But the contents of the letter were... difficult to describe.
Except for the neatly written "Tartaglia" at the beginning, Tartaglia couldn't understand a single other word. He even began to doubt if it was writing at all.
"Oh, this is a cipher invented by the Instructor. Our intelligence department often uses this cipher for communication."
The Pyro Agent beside him seemed to notice Tartaglia's confusion and took the initiative to take the letter, beginning to translate the words on it for him.
My dearest Tartaglia:
Of course, I had my reasons for doing this.
Regrettably, it was my fault; I shouldn't have hidden it from you.
And I had my reasons for deceiving you.
Xpecting you to understand my good intentions is what I hope for, right?
Indeed, you have every right to be angry.
Seeing as you had been unable to find any trace of Morax,
And given how well you took care of me in the past,
Finding him for you was the least I could do.
Undoubtedly, I hope you like this surprise.
Combat may be difficult at first, but Morax is a good person.
Kind-hearted, a truly good person.
Eventually, when we meet again, I hope you will have completed Her Majesty's mission.
Regards, Bai Luo.
!
If you're still angry, just read it again from the beginning.
"Hmm?"
At first, when he heard the Pyro Agent read the contents of the letter, Tartaglia didn't find anything strange. He even felt some of his anger dissipate due to Bai Luo's sincere apology.
But the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.
When he had the Pyro Agent write down the contents of the letter again in the language of Liyue...
"Pfft— BAI LUO!!!!!"
A mouthful of blood sprayed onto the paper. Already seriously injured by the Geo Archon, Tartaglia's vision finally went black, and he collapsed.
The blood covered most of the words on the paper, leaving only the first character of each line visible on the side.
My
Of
Reason
And
Xpecting
Is seeing
As
Finding
Undoubtedly
Combat
Kind-hearted
Eventually
Regards!
(Of course I was tricking you, but I'm very happy. Goodbye!)
This damn thing was an acrostic letter
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