Tartaglia and the Captain were the first to push forward.
After advancing for a while, both of them stopped at the same time.
"Something's wrong!"
"It's too quiet here... There's an ambush!"
Tartaglia quickly drew his dagger.
Then the sky suddenly lit up.
Two figures stepped out from the shadows.
Keqing and Beidou.
"Well, well... Isn't that Tartaglia? What, after getting beaten up by Su Han, you decided to run all the way here?"
"Quit talking nonsense. I'm already itching to cut down a few Fatui to let off some steam. Bankai, Thunder Emperor..."
Along with a thunderous roar, Beidou completed her Bankai.
Lightning armor spread over her body.
In the next instant, she vanished from where she stood.
Boom.
Almost at the same time, her longsword shot straight toward the Captain.
"Capitano..."
"Enough talk. This level of power? I can take it!"
The Captain clenched the lightning blade tightly with both hands.
The force was so great that even the armor on his arms shattered.
How could this woman be this terrifying?
Capitano could not help feeling shocked.
"Hey, I only used fifty percent of my strength. And you can't hold out already? The fight's just begun... Hah!"
Beidou smiled mockingly.
Lightning burst violently.
The impact sent the enemy in front of her flying straight back.
Beidou immediately followed up with another slash.
The tremendous force drove the Captain all the way out of Gandharva Ville.
"Let's fight out here instead. It's too cramped inside."
"Heh... I was just about to say the same. Being looked down on all the time won't do. After all, I still need some face in front of my men."
Capitano unlocked his Delusion.
His entire presence instantly turned eerie and cold.
The dark blue armor on his body shifted into crimson.
At the same time, a blood-red longsword appeared in Capitano's hand.
He was also a heavily armored fighter.
His battle power was terrifying.
Their weapons collided.
The entire sky erupted with violent shockwaves.
The dark night was torn apart by golden lightning and blood-red light.
Above Gandharva Ville, a girl sat in the air and watched the battle from afar. She shook her head and said, "Such crude fighters... But this way, the next battle will be much more interesting.
Go. My servants..."
The third Fatui Harbinger entered the field.
Countless mechanical troops began providing support from the air.
At the same time, many mechanical insects crawled out along the streets of Gandharva Ville.
Keqing was fighting Tartaglia.
Water waves and lightning intertwined.
The two of them were locked in an intense battle.
But Tartaglia could feel the pressure growing heavier and heavier.
Keqing's strength was several times higher than before.
"Hey... If this is all you've got, then I'm going all out. Watch out, or you might die."
As the cool voice fell, countless flowers bloomed on the ground.
Keqing's figure shot forward like lightning, straight toward Tartaglia.
Every petal carried a dangerous aura.
Tartaglia's forehead broke out in a cold sweat.
With no choice, he activated his Foul Legacy.
If he kept holding back, he would die.
Boom.
The petals collided with the water-and-lightning shield.
A flicker of shock crossed Tartaglia's eyes.
There had been no physical contact in that collision.
Could it be...
"You know nothing about my abilities."
The petals gathered together.
Keqing's body appeared behind Tartaglia.
Her longsword stabbed straight toward his back.
But just as it was about to land, dozens of missiles arrived in succession.
Keqing had no choice but to abandon the attack.
When the flowers drew together again, she realized that countless robots had already surrounded her from behind.
"Hey, idiot, hurry up and carry out the mission..."
"Thanks, Sandrone..."
Tartaglia waved in acknowledgment and rushed straight into the wooden house.
But the instant he charged inside, a beastlike aura surged out from within.
Was there another enemy?
Tartaglia's body was sent flying by a cyan fist.
Then a tall, icy man slowly walked out from inside.
"This area is off-limits."
"Cough..."
Tartaglia clutched his aching abdomen, his eyes full of shock.
Who was this man?
He had seen him on television before, as if he had been resisting Abyss monsters.
But wasn't that man in Inazuma?
Why was he here?
Tartaglia's gaze turned cold.
"Looks like this is getting more interesting."
His figure flashed, and the lightning spear in his hand thrust straight out.
But the other man only tilted his head slightly and dodged the attack.
"Too slow. Your martial skill is decent, but if you don't know how to use Observation Haki, then your offense is useless."
By now Tartaglia was attacking like a madman.
Every strike was evaded by Katakuri.
No matter how hard he tried, when an attack could not be dodged, Katakuri would turn elemental.
His body would become mochi and slip out of the way.
Tartaglia had never experienced a battle like this before. How could a human body become like that?
He leaped back and panted hard.
"What exactly is going on with you?"
"Devil Fruit. As for seeing through your movements, that's Observation Haki. I'm a man who can see the future. If you don't have the same power, you won't be able to resist me."
"Oh? From the way you talk, it sounds like you haven't even gone all out. Then I'll have to learn a thing or two from you."
"Is that so? You want to see my power? Fine. Since your martial skill is decent, I'll let you see it. My own power.
Fruit Awakening!"
The wooden ground suddenly turned soft.
Even the surrounding houses turned into mochi.
"This is Devil Fruit awakening. My power can affect everything around me. Take this... Nine-Headed Mochi!"
Countless fists attacked from every direction.
They were ten times faster than before.
And there were ten times as many of them.
Tartaglia's scalp tingled.
He hurried to move.
But no matter how fast he was, under Katakuri's Observation Haki, there was no chance to dodge.
He was sent flying after the second punch.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Countless fists kept raining down.
The force was so great it shattered even his armor.
At that moment, all of Tartaglia's pride was shattered too.
When Su Han defeated him before, he had admitted that he was inferior.
But now, being crushed by a stranger like this, his pride had been completely trampled.
Less than a minute later, Tartaglia was left on the verge of death.
Katakuri did not kill him, because he could tell this was a man fighting while injured.
If he kept going, it would not be a fair victory.
"What a pity... You're not at full strength. How boring."
Katakuri put on his mask.
Just as he was about to leave, Fatui reinforcements arrived.
Thousands of soldiers, along with assassins and the other Harbingers, all rushed in at once.
The battle became even more chaotic.
Although Tartaglia had lost, he had bought time for the others.
Among the Fatui crowd, several figures with strange auras could even be seen.
Some controlled thunder like birds.
Some controlled flame crows.
Their combat methods were astonishing.
Katakuri was actually held back.
At that moment, a special robot headed toward the room.
But just like Tartaglia, it was also sent flying by a powerful attack.
"Looks like it's my turn now."
Inuyasha walked out from inside, carrying Tessaiga on his shoulder.
Looking at the robots, he sneered.
"Hm... There are a lot of enemies? Even Master is in a tough fight. But don't worry, I'll smash them all. Wind Scar!"
Inuyasha leaped high into the air.
The Tessaiga in his hand lit up with a cyan glow.
Countless gusts of wind burst forth from his blade.
The robots were all torn apart by the sword aura.
Sandrone frowned in the sky and muttered, "Why are there so many problems? Didn't they say only Keqing and Beidou were coming?
Something's wrong..."
Her creations had been destroyed quite a lot.
Yet she still hadn't seen Ningguang herself.
And Tartaglia had already been badly injured.
Now Capitano couldn't make it back, and there was no progress on this side either.
This was getting troublesome.
Just as the girl was thinking about what to do next, a cold arrow shot out from a tree trunk.
The impact was so strong it even froze the air.
Sandrone reacted quickly.
With a flick of her fingers, dozens of defensive barriers formed.
Boom.
In just one second, more than half the barriers shattered.
Sandrone looked toward the tree trunk.
There stood Ganyu, holding a long bow and staring at her.
"She... She came too?"
The qilin adeptus Ganyu had entered the battlefield.
At that moment, Sandrone thought of many things.
She even felt that today's battle had all been predicted by Su Han.
Even Ningguang's departure must have been a trap.
It had been set up just to lure them in.
"Damn it... Even if there was a spy, they shouldn't have been able to rush over this fast. There's a conspiracy! Doctor, you damn bastard, how long are you going to keep us waiting?"
"I'm here, my dear lady..."
Below Gandharva Ville, a young man wearing a mask threw a crimson flask to the ground.
A strange blaze instantly spread toward the city.
He only cared about completing the mission.
As for what would happen afterward, he did not care at all.
Even though the battle had gone badly, he still did not want to abandon this task.
Ningguang's strategic value was simply too great.
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