Lumine was having a blast.
Ganyu spoke up to warn everyone, "Be careful, everyone! The power of the god has likely reached its limit..."
Pant... pant... "In other words, if we hold on, there won't be anything harder after this, right?"
As Keqing finished speaking, her Lightning Stiletto flashed, and with a single sword strike, she took down a Fatui Agent.
After enduring Osial's Archon-level pressure and fighting for so long, even a Vision wielder like Keqing was starting to feel exhausted.
She took a deep breath to steady herself and looked around—the Fatui forces were gone.
Mu Yang had already shattered all the teleportation portals, and the remaining Fatui had been swiftly dealt with by Lumine, empowered by the Adepti's blessings.
"With the interference cleared, we can finally focus... and go all out!"
The Adepti concentrated their energy, pushing the Guizhong Ballistas to their maximum output.
Three beams of golden light converged, and the resulting blast struck Osial, triggering a massive explosion.
In an instant, flames erupted into the sky.
[Phased Array—Ignition! (?)]
[It's the Armstrong High-Speed Rotary Jet Armstrong Cannon!!!]
[Planetary Engine Ignition!!!]
[Holy Fate Electromagnetic Lance]
[So hype, but let's switch to Boruto, folks]
However, the massive explosion didn't deal any substantial damage to Osial.
Instead, it enraged him.
Now, each of his heads roared and shrieked in fury...
[Classic "smoke but no damage" moment]
Paimon flailed around in the air, mimicking a set of military hand-to-hand combat moves.
"If we keep suppressing him ..."
She remained optimistic, thinking Osial's screeches were from pain.
But Ningguang, who was controlling the Jade Chamber's formations, frowned deeply.
She could sense Osial's energy rapidly escalating.
Sure enough, a bright light erupted from the ocean depths, surging up along the patterns on Osial's necks.
Each of his five heads gathered energy, then merged it into a single concentrated blast—a modified Archon-level annihilation beam.
The collision of energy turned all of Liyue into daylight.
[Osial: Bet you didn't see this coming. I learned it just by looking.]
[One more glance and it explodes.]
[Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon? (Hallucination)]
The beam wasn't aimed directly at the Jade Chamber.
If it had been, Ningguang could have evaded it with speed.
But Osial wasn't that stupid.
He fired the beam into the sky, where it dispersed into countless blue streaks, raining down on the Jade Chamber like a storm.
With such wide coverage, escape was nearly impossible.
[This blue light… who's pulling gacha?]
[I'll strangle you, monkey—watching a stream and still getting emotionally wrecked?]
[How can a 37°C mouth utter such icy words?]
The platform holding the Guizhong Ballistas had no protective barrier.
Mu Yang and the Adepti joined forces, weaving a net of adeptal energy to shield the Millelith soldiers as they retreated to the Jade Chamber.
But the attack was too dense—there was no way to block everything.
The blue platform couldn't withstand the barrage and shattered.
Those who couldn't retreat in time lost their footing and plummeted toward the sea—including Lumine, who had stayed behind to cover the retreat.
Mu Yang had already prepared for this.
Pushing Soaring Cloud to its limits, he moved faster than even Xiao—despite his current power being forcibly amplified.
In the blink of an eye, Mu Yang reached Lumine and swept her up in a princess carry.
His goal was clear: I've come to Teyvat—if I let you hug her right in front of me, what's the point of getting stronger?
Mu Yang kicked off the wreckage of the Guizhong Ballista, leaping twice before landing safely back on the Jade Chamber.
Only then did he set Lumine down.
The others were rescued by the Adepti—no one was in mortal danger.
Guinaifen's Livestream.
The streamer was frozen.
Staring blankly at the screen...
She was so stunned she might as well have keeled over on the spot.
[Did the streamer die? Should we call an ambulance?]
[AHHHHHHHHHHHH HUSBAND SAVE ME!!!]
[Who dares say he doesn't have me in his heart? SPEAK UP!]
[Mu Yang, don't be so loving, okay? JK, HUSBAND SPOIL ME MORE!!!]
[I declare this the place where my love story begins.]
"Chat… what do I do? What do I do with this man…?"
"I feel like I'll never love anyone else again."
[Same, Little Gui. Wanna make do with each other?]
"Li Sushang, what kind of nonsense are you spouting in chat?!"
[Someone's using jokes to speak their truth. Not naming names.]
Mu Yang set Lumine down, gently supporting her waist but saying nothing more.
But our dear Lumine was struggling.
Her mind was a chaotic mess—so many thoughts that she didn't even know what to focus on.
'No, no, this is a battlefield! Lumine, pull yourself together—don't drag everyone down!'
'AHHHHH, why did it have to be in the middle of a battle?!'
'Damn you, Vortex god… I hate you…'
Xiao and Ganyu were also stunned by Mu Yang's actions, silently thinking:
'Was he in that much of a hurry? And he carried her back like that…'
Cloud Retainer stepped forward.
"The Guizhong Ballistas are destroyed. Without their suppression, counterattacking will be difficult..."
"But the Jade Chamber is our last line of defense. No matter what, we cannot retreat any further!"
Ganyu, usually soft-spoken, now spoke with unwavering resolve.
What she sought to protect was the sea of lights behind them—Liyue's countless homes.
This was… her promise with Rex Lapis.
Ningguang descended from the sky. The formations were mostly destroyed now—she needed a new strategy.
"I have… another plan."
"Lady Ningguang, you mean…?"
"I'm going to sacrifice the Jade Chamber."
Ningguang's tone was firm, leaving no room for doubt as she stared at Osial.
After a moment of contemplation, everyone understood.
Ningguang intended to crash the Jade Chamber directly onto Osial—forcing him back into the seal.
"How long do you need to prepare?"
Of course, Mu Yang already knew what Ningguang was planning.
He had been waiting for this moment.
Before you get your big moment, let me steal the show first.
After all, in the Teyvat Storyline Preview, my character art came before yours.
Perfectly fair, right?
Ningguang answered, "The formations are broken—we can't accelerate. It'll take one minute."
Everyone looked at Osial, still churning in the sea.
Osial wasn't stupid—would he really give them that chance?
The Vortex god was now stirring up whirlpools again, making the task even more difficult…
Mu Yang let go of Lumine.
"I'll clear the path for you."
Lumine reached out, hesitating before finally saying, "Be careful."
Mu Yang drew the Skyrider Sword and walked to the very edge of the Jade Chamber's platform.
Gazing at the god before him, frost began creeping along his blade...