Su Yuan looked at Zhongli, whose expression had grown dark and grim, and couldn't help but think to himself, This is bad.
Don't tell me Zhongli is also falling into an Eerie state?
The condition for Zhongli's Eerie corruption was someone breaking a contract right in front of him...
Back then, it was said that Azhdaha had signed a contract with Zhongli after a great battle between the two, willingly agreeing to be sealed away...
But now—regardless of the reason—Azhdaha had, with the help of Eerie power, broken free from the seal Zhongli had placed on him.
That act was, without a doubt, a violation of the contract he made with Zhongli!
Someone must have secretly been mining ore and damaging the ley lines, going beyond a certain threshold and causing Azhdaha to be corrupted by Eerie power!
And once Azhdaha, corrupted by the Eerie, used that power to break Zhongli's seal and violate their contract, it triggered a chain reaction—causing Zhongli himself to fall into an Eerie state as well!
In other words, a battle to the death between the now-Eerie-corrupted "Zhongli" and "Azhdaha" had become inevitable.
"Azhdaha…"
"Zhongli" stared at the massive form of the Geo Dragon Sovereign and began to speak in a calm, emotionless tone:
"In the past, you willingly entered into a contract with me, agreeing to be sealed away…"
"But now, you seek to break free, to shatter the seal, to violate that contract…"
"Liyue is the nation of contracts. And I am the God of Contracts…"
"Once a contract is made, those who betray it shall face the Judgment of Wrath of the Rock."
Upon hearing "Zhongli" say this, Su Yuan suddenly had a strange thought…
Not to mention how massive Azhdaha's body is—how many tons of rock would it even take to stuff him full and make him explode…
Besides, isn't Azhdaha a primordial being born of Geo-elemental crystals?
Isn't his very essence made of stone?
"Zhongli," are you really punishing him by feeding him rocks?
Or are you just… feeding him?
After hearing "Zhongli's" words, "Azhdaha" suddenly burst into wild laughter and bellowed:
"Morax!!! You usurper, how dare you speak to me of contracts???"
"You dog of the Heavenly Principles, you conspired with them to steal the power of us elemental dragons of Teyvat, and now you have the gall to stand before me???"
"And the humans you protect are no better!!!"
"They mine the stone, ravage the ley lines, and destroy the very home I depend on to survive!!!"
"This nation of Liyue has no reason to exist! Let it all be reduced to ruin!!!"
"Azhdaha" roared in fury, stomping the ground with his mighty limbs!
The entire land of Liyue was trembling, and even the mountains were swaying!
"Lord Rex…"
Xiao stood atop the highest floor of Wangshu Inn, gazing in the direction of the Dragon-Queller Tree, murmuring with concern.
From the Jade Chamber, Ningguang couldn't feel the tremors directly, but she could hear the deep rumbling.
She looked toward the Dragon-Queller Tree with a grave expression, her thoughts unreadable.
At Yujing Terrace, Madame Ping turned her gaze eastward, toward the sea beyond Liyue Harbor.
She could feel it—the shifting tectonic plates were stirring up a massive tsunami, now brewing and rushing toward the city…
And the residents of Liyue Harbor had sensed it all too.
They quickly fled from their homes to gather in the open plazas, filled with confusion and anxiety.
Wasn't Liyue's geology supposed to be exceptionally stable?
How long had it been since such a violent earthquake had last struck?
Su Yuan looked on in shock—no wonder Azhdaha was hailed as the Geo Dragon Sovereign.
With just a few simple stomps, he had triggered such a violent earthquake across all of Liyue!
But what happened next astonished Su Yuan even more!
He watched as "Zhongli" slowly crouched down, power surging through his hand—and then he slammed his fist fiercely into the violently shaking ground!
In an instant, the earthquake that had rippled across all of Liyue… abruptly came to a halt under the forceful counter-impact of that single punch!
Su Yuan couldn't help but exclaim in awe:
Good grief!
Tartaglia has his "arrow that stops the waves," and Old man Zhongli here has a "punch that stops the quake," huh?
And this scene—why did it feel just like that "strongest creature on the surface" from a series in my previous world, the one who also stopped an earthquake with a single punch?
*Baki reference Yujiro Hanma Lol
"Azhdaha…"
After temporarily halting the earthquake, "Zhongli" once again turned his cold gaze toward the "Azhdaha" and spoke in a chilling tone:
"In the contract you and I once signed, you swore never to harm the innocent again."
"But your actions just now were a clear violation of that contract."
As "Zhongli" spoke, an eerie, rock-forged spear wreathed in corrupted power took shape in his hand.
He forcefully leapt into the air, lunging straight toward "Azhdaha " to strike!
At the same time, behind "Zhongli," several enormous stone spears infused with eerie power materialized—then shot forth one after another toward "Azhdaha "!
"MORAX!!!"
"Azhdaha " roared in fury, opening its jaws wide and unleashing a beam of energy made entirely from eerie power—clashing head-on with "Zhongli's" incoming assault!
Su Yuan had thought that "Azhdaha " would gain the upper hand in this exchange.
After all, its attack was pure eerie energy, while Zhongli's spears were merely infused with some eerie power—clearly, Azhdaha had the advantage in sheer volume of eerie force…
But things didn't turn out that way.
In this direct clash, the two sides seemed to be evenly matched…
Su Yuan figured it might be because Zhongli, after all, was the God of War.
His combat experience, strength, and technique were all at their peak—allowing him to achieve maximum results with minimal effort.
However, judging from the current situation, it seemed almost impossible to determine a clear victor between "Zhongli" and "Azhdaha"…
After all, Zhongli had once said it himself: "When the earth dragon stirs, it shakes the heavens and the earth."
With the power of Azhdaha, even Zhongli in his prime would have a hard time handling it alone, let alone sealing it.
If Azhdaha hadn't willingly signed a contract and allowed himself to be sealed, it's likely that Zhongli and Azhdaha would've been locked in a stalemate like this from the beginning…
Was he just going to let them keep fighting like this?
Su Yuan could clearly feel that as the two of them battled, the land of Liyue continued to tremble.
The earthquakes outside likely hadn't stopped for even a moment…
If they wait until one of them wins, won't the entire Liyue be reduced to ruins from the earthquakes?
Su Yuan thought to himself, maybe it's time to consider a "death rewind"...
The current situation had no clear end in sight!
It was better to be proactive—find the person who was over-mining and damaging the ley lines, to prevent Azhdaha from falling into eerie state!
Also, Zhongli shouldn't come near the Dragon-Queller Tree anymore.
If he saw Azhdaha breaking the contract and breaking the seal again, it would lead to this endless, no-win, life-or-death situation all over again...
Wait!
Just as he was thinking and hesitating, Su Yuan suddenly seemed to remember something!
That's right, the strategy pouch!!!
Now that he was facing a crisis he couldn't solve and was seriously considering a death rewind, and besides, he was luckily unharmed and physically intact—this was the perfect opportunity to use the strategy pouch that Kokomi had given him!!!
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