The echoes of the battle for Sumeru had barely faded when the conflict on the Inazuma and Snezhnaya fronts reached a boiling point.
Childe stood on a distant ledge, his health still a flickering sliver. With fewer than ten soldiers left and no way to heal, his presence was more symbolic than tactical. Despite the massive resource haul he had secured from Sumeru, he couldn't reach his own lines to distribute it. He watched from a safe distance, unable to intervene as the Millelith tightened the noose around his homeland.
Inazuma was in even worse shape. The Raiden Shogun was being pinned in the ruins of Sumeru by Xiao's elite archers, unable to cross the flaming bridges. Meanwhile, the Inazuma main island, with fewer than sixty defenders, was being hammered by a combined force of nearly eighty Knights and Millelith.
"The bridges are lost," the Shogun said, her voice a low crackle of lightning. "Head for the sub-islands. Dig up what blocks we have left. We bridge the long way around and circle back to Inazuma from the flank!"
Her soldiers nodded frantically, following her into the mists of the perimeter islands.
Zhongli watched the movement from his tower, a small, satisfied smile touching his lips. Everything was unfolding according to the script. Now, it was time to harvest.
He opened his comms, his voice deep and resonant. "Beidou, launch the final assault. Use the weapons Xiao provided. Do not get bogged down in a duel. Focus on the bed. If the bed falls, the war is won. We do not need a body count."
"Cloud Retainer, prepare for extraction. Mondstadt is closing in on Inazuma; their fall is a matter of when, not if. When the Knights move to break the bed, withdraw your team. But leave them a few parting gifts before you go."
"Cloud Retainer, you will then pivot to the Center Island. We cannot lose the geographic advantage."
As his commanders acknowledged the orders, Zhongli stood up and rolled his shoulders. The time for sipping tea was over.
On the Snezhnaya front, Beidou wasn't in a hurry. She directed a rhythmic, rolling assault, sending waves of soldiers toward the gates only to have them "repelled." To an outside observer, Liyue was taking its first real losses of the tournament.
Beidou didn't care. She was the anvil, and she was waiting for the hammer to strike.
While she locked eyes with the Tsaritsa and Rosalyne, holding their attention in a fierce exchange of steel and elemental fire, she was constantly checking the coordinates in her private channel.
Finally, a notification pinged. A Millelith soldier, intentionally knocked off the island, sent a final message before his void-death.
"Commander, position confirmed. Southeast, seventy meters!"
"Good!" Beidou's eyes flared with a wild light. She parried a volley of Cryo arrows from the Tsaritsa with a violent sweep of her claymore. "Dashi! Go!"
In the shadow of the main brawl, a soldier named Dashi broke away from the formation. He slipped over the edge of the bridge, placing blocks beneath him to create a hidden catwalk that led straight under the Snezhnaya island's foundation.
"Report! Height!" Beidou messaged.
Three more Millelith charged the island in a suicidal feint. They were cut down within seconds, but their sacrifice gave Dashi the final number he needed.
"Twenty-six meters!"
Dashi nodded. He began to build a vertical pillar, digging upward into the stone belly of the island.
Beidou gritted her teeth, absorbing a punishing barrage from Rosalyne. Even with her Tidecaller shield, the elemental pressure was immense. Just a little longer, she told herself. If they took Snezhnaya, they took Childe's Sumeru haul by proxy. With three nations' worth of resources, Liyue's victory would be absolute.
"Dashi, status!" Beidou exhaled, her stamina bar flashing.
"Commander... they've encased the bed in obsidian!"
"Understood. We'll give you the opening!"
Beidou roared, her voice echoing across the island. "All units! Full charge! Take the gates!"
The remaining Millelith surged forward with a deafening cry. The Tsaritsa's heart sank. "Defense! They're making their final play! Everyone to the front!"
The Fatui defenders, exhausted and flagging after hours of continuous combat, threw themselves into the breach. This was exactly what Zhongli had waited for: the moment when the "Saturation" of the enemy's focus was entirely occupied.
In the dark tunnel beneath the bed, Dashi took a deep breath. He pulled out an iron pickaxe and began to chip away at the stone surrounding the obsidian. He couldn't mine the obsidian itself, not without a diamond pick, but he didn't need to. He just needed a gap.
Suddenly, a crack appeared. Light flooded the tunnel from above.
"Czaritsa! Someone's beneath the floor!" a guard screamed.
"What?!" The Tsaritsa spun around, seeing her guards pointing frantically at the stone floor near the bed. "A decoy?! Rosalyne, back to the objective! Now!"
Rosalyne sprinted toward the bed, but Snezhnaya's island was large, and Dashi was already through. He leaped from the hole, landing squarely in the middle of the obsidian-encased room.
"Kill him! Don't let him touch it!" Rosalyne screamed.
Five guards closed in, blades raised. Dashi laughed, a sharp, jagged sound. He didn't reach for a sword. Instead, he pulled a heavy, blackened rifle from his inventory, a treasure from the Center Island.
"Too late! Liyue wins!"
Ignoring the blades that bit into his iron plate, Dashi leveled the barrel at the exposed corner of the bed and squeezed the trigger. A deafening roar filled the small chamber as a hail of lead tore through the wood and fabric.
His iron armor held just long enough. As his Totem of Undying shattered in a flash of gold, the final blow landed.
A sharp, resonant chime of a gong echoed across the entire sky.
"Snezhnaya: Eliminated."
The Fatui soldiers froze. The Tsaritsa lowered her bow, a long, weary sigh escaping her lips. The fire in her eyes dimmed as she watched her soldiers fade into the blue light of the spectator transport.
Beidou lowered her blade, breathing hard. "Good game, Your Majesty."
The Tsaritsa shook her head, a ghost of a smile appearing. "A masterpiece of deception. It seems Morax's children have learned his lessons well. The tactics of the Archon War... you've brought them into this new world."