"Your strength's not bad—I underestimated you." After dozens of exchanges without gaining an advantage, Tartaglia swept his hand and donned his mask.
"If it were any other time, I might've enjoyed fighting you. But right now, I'm getting serious."
Purple lightning flickered across his body, and a spear formed of entwined electricity and water appeared in his hands, a dangerous aura spreading around him.
"Heh. Compared to Signora-san, you're way weaker," Jiang Bai scoffed lightly, as if implying he hadn't even used his full strength yet.
With a wave of his hand, a massive rock prison surged up from the ground, sweeping toward Tartaglia with unstoppable force!
Boom!
The electrified spear sliced across, violently blasting a hole through the stone cage. A figure dashed out from within, the spear crackling with fierce lightning as he charged straight at Jiang Bai.
Jiang Bai stood unmoving. [Baiyuan] had already transformed into a firearm, unleashing dense, concentrated bullets of wind-element, weaving into a net that sealed off all escape routes.
He'd tested it before—just a single ordinary Geo bullet could easily pierce through an adult boar. Even the tough-armored Geovishaps would shatter after three bullets, instantly killed!
That meant if Tartaglia took even one bullet head-on, his mortal body would suffer grave wounds immediately.
If the shot landed on a critical area like his head or heart, even the Tsaritsa herself couldn't save him!
The elements themselves had different traits: wind-element bullets lacked the sheer penetrating force of Geo-element, but they possessed an innate trait that Geo did not—Swirl.
Tartaglia swung his spear, attempting to cut open a vacuum space. Lightning and Hydro danced on his weapon, but upon contact, all the wind bullets activated at once, erupting in a chain reaction, abruptly forming an indiscriminate net of lightning midair.
Trapped in this unavoidable cage of lightning, Tartaglia was paralyzed by the current coursing through his body.
"The anemo element sure is convenient," Jiang Bai inwardly praised. Not missing this opportunity, he condensed several sharp stone spikes in midair, intending to suppress him directly!
Flashing coldly, the spikes pressed downward with crushing force toward Tartaglia.
Boom!
Multiple giant stone spikes slammed together, smoke and dust filling the room as fragments of rock flew everywhere, gouging massive craters into the ground.
Having narrowly avoided the fatal strike, Tartaglia panted heavily, his right hand gripping the spear uncontrollably trembling.
At this moment, he'd already activated his [Foul Legacy Armor], forcibly relying on his [Delusion's] power to evade that deadly blow.
Though he'd dodged quickly, his right arm was still struck, trembling beyond his control.
He'd already estimated Jiang Bai's strength as highly as possible, yet Jiang Bai's full power still exceeded his expectations.
Taking advantage of the dust obscuring the hall, Tartaglia abruptly turned, charging straight toward the Exuvia.
"Cough, cough!" Aether, carefully watching the fight, coughed from the choking dust, trying to locate Tartaglia.
Suddenly, he felt a presence appearing right above him.
Before he could react, Tartaglia, clad in his dreadful armor, pierced his hand directly into the Exuvia. Immense energy surged within his palm, attempting to form into the shape of a Gnosis—but when he withdrew his hand, there was nothing!
"Nothing?!" Tartaglia sharply turned his gaze toward Aether, who'd arrived before him. The intense strain of his [Foul Legacy Armor] clouded his mind.
"Ha! So that's it! You've beaten me to it!"
Consumed by rage, sinister lightning shimmering ominously coalesced in Tartaglia's left hand. Roaring furiously, he hurled a massive sphere of lightning toward Aether with overwhelming power.
"Hand over the [Gnosis] now!"
A protective shield rapidly formed around Aether, but even with its protection, the incoming attack still felt dangerously oppressive.
Aether had no intention of directly blocking it. Just before the strike landed, he leapt backward, narrowly dodging.
Of course, Jiang Bai wouldn't miss this chance, as Tartaglia was blinded by anger. Raising [Baiyuan], elemental energy surged endlessly into the gun, creating waves of two different elements due to the sheer quantity of energy.
Wind and Geo elements compressed and fused continuously within [Baiyuan's] barrel, hammered and refined repeatedly until they condensed into a single, tangible elemental bullet of intertwined Geo and Anemo.
Silver light flowed along [Baiyuan's] barrel, a sign that the weapon was fully charged.
Jiang Bai pulled the trigger.
A bullet flickering gold and blue burst forth from the barrel with unmatched momentum. It tore through the air so fast, so powerfully, that it emitted a sharp, piercing whistle.
Tartaglia felt an instant of mortal danger, yet the bullet was too swift to evade.
Instinctively, he raised his spear horizontally to block, but the weapon—his trusted companion through countless battles in the Abyss—snapped cleanly apart beneath this strike.
Although the bullet's momentum was greatly reduced, it still slammed into his chest armor.
"Pff—!"
Blood spewed from his mouth. The bullet lodged itself firmly in his armor, but he felt his internal organs taking a devastating impact.
Clutching his chest, Tartaglia collapsed onto one knee as his [Foul Legacy Armor] rapidly dissipated.
"Cough, cough... To think you'd make me feel this close to death—I truly underestimated you." He raised his head to stare at Jiang Bai, blood trickling from the corners of his lips, looking exceptionally battered.
"At a time like this, save the bravado." Jiang Bai held [Baiyuan] in hand, the blade pointing diagonally at Tartaglia's neck. With a mere flick, the Harbinger before him would lose his head.
"Heh…" Tartaglia chuckled lightly, quite readily admitting defeat.
"I lost."
"You're lucky you didn't touch the Director. Otherwise, I would've ended you right here." Jiang Bai coldly glanced at him, [Baiyuan] reverting into an arm guard.
Still unsatisfied, he delivered two swift punches straight into Tartaglia's face.
Jiang Bai's strength was no joke. Immediately, Tartaglia's handsome face became bruised purple and blue, eyes turning thoroughly black, his vision swimming with stars—he nearly ascended straight to the afterlife.
"So brutal…" Paimon clicked her tongue.
"Not killing him outright is already mercy."
Jiang Bai prepared to hand this fellow over to Ningguang, planning to demand a huge sum of Mora as compensation—or perhaps simply tie him up and send word to Northland Bank, demanding ransom for their precious Harbinger.
Just as Jiang Bai finished tying him up, crisp footsteps echoed clearly in the hall.
Whipping around sharply, he saw Signora leisurely approaching, her figure gracefully swaying beneath her trailing cloak.
She gently clapped her hands, as if she'd just watched an entertaining drama unfold.
"Marvelous! Truly marvelous!"
Aether gripped his sword tightly, eyeing her with heightened vigilance.
Just after defeating one Harbinger, yet another appeared.
Tartaglia, his head still spinning from the punches, struggled to open his swollen eyes, rasping weakly, "So you've finally decided…to show yourself."
"How could I resist seeing my dear 'Childe' beaten into such a pitiful state?" Signora made no effort to hide her pleasure in his misfortune.
"Tch, looks like your Fatui aren't exactly united," Jiang Bai scoffed, dismissively tossing aside the battered Childe. Just in case, he secured him again, sealing him in a stone prison to prevent escape.
He was still in good shape, [Baiyuan] securely in hand, completely confident he could handle another Harbinger.
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