Only Chen Mo and Tartaglia remained in the corridor.
Although he knew that Childe was one of the few Fatui Harbingers with relatively proper conduct, Chen Mo still chose, out of caution, to keep a distance from him that was neither too far nor too close.
“I saw the entire fight just now.” Tartaglia looked at the Stand beside Chen Mo and asked curiously, “That shadow beside you seems capable of turning things into small animals.
How interesting.” “What?
Does this Childe also want to play with us?” Tartaglia was briefly stunned.
Then he quickly burst into wild, uninhibited laughter.
“Talking to smart people really does save effort!” He clapped in praise, then introduced himself in a steady tone.
“I am the Eleventh of the Fatui Harbingers, Childe.” “Or you may call me by my name: Tartaglia.” Childe was famously battle-crazed in the game.
From the moment he appeared, Chen Mo knew he would not be able to avoid a fierce fight.
Since there was no avoiding it, he might as well use this chance to test the limits of his current strength.
“I am the Deputy Director of Liyue’s Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
My name is Chen Tailang.” Gold Experience stood guard beside Chen Mo.
Chen Mo supported his waist with one hand and looked sideways at Childe with a condescending gaze.
“Not a bad pose.” Tartaglia rotated his wrists, and Hydro energy gathered in his palms, forming two long, slender blades.
“Even if you lose later, it doesn’t matter.
I’ve always been very gentle with those I defeat.” “Heh.
Same here.” The atmosphere in the corridor grew cold enough to nearly freeze.
Chen Mo and Childe stared at each other, neither of them willing to make the first move.
Only when the sound of a church bell rang from outside the hotel did Tartaglia finally lose patience.
His figure flashed forward like an arrow, both blades swinging straight toward Chen Mo.
“Muda muda muda!” Gold Experience counterattacked at high speed.
The Stand’s fists collided with the Hydro blades again and again, producing a series of crisp impacts.
In the opening between attacks, Gold Experience suddenly raised its leg and aimed a high kick straight at Tartaglia’s chin.
Unfortunately, his opponent’s footwork was extremely agile.
The Stand’s toes only lightly grazed Tartaglia’s lip before he flipped backward several times, narrowly dodging the attack.
“That was close!
What terrifying speed!” Chen Mo paid no attention to Childe’s praise.
His gaze fell on the small cuts across the backs of his fingers.
Tartaglia was the first person so far who had managed to injure him by attacking his Stand.
This confirmed his guess.
“Individuals with powerful mental strength can indeed harm Stands.” In the battle ahead, Chen Mo had to be even more careful.
The Fatui Harbinger before him was on an entirely different level from every enemy he had encountered before.
“I have to admit, once you get close, even I find it rather troublesome.” Tartaglia combined the two Hydro blades, and a blue-glowing Hydro bow appeared in his hands.
“If I use this move, how will you respond?” Tartaglia retreated several steps and drew the bowstring.
A bad feeling rose in Chen Mo’s heart.
He quickly commanded Gold Experience to launch a fierce attack on a cracked wall beside him.
“Muda muda muda!” “One Arrow Stills the Water!
Starsea Roaming Whale!” Pale blue water ripples spread across the floor, and a young whale formed from Hydro energy leapt out from within them.
It smashed through the hotel ceiling and, with a long, drawn-out whistle, swam slowly toward Chen Mo along a graceful parabolic arc.
The young whale was not fast, but Chen Mo had nowhere to dodge.
Its body was not especially large either, yet it still radiated a suffocating pressure.
Chen Mo worked together with his Stand and placed the detached wall in front of him.
He tore off part of his clothing and hung it over the wall, then used Gold Experience’s ability to transform it into highly absorbent moss.
“So you finally decided to use your ability?
How interesting!” The young whale slammed into the wall with full force.
The surrounding droplets were either firmly absorbed by the moss or splashed everywhere.
As a result, the Hydro energy could no longer maintain the whale’s form.
Losing its structure, it gradually broke apart into pure flowing water and continued surging toward Chen Mo.
The continuous impact of the water pressed against the wall, making it shake slightly, as if it might collapse at any moment.
“Gold Experience!” Chen Mo shouted and pushed his mental strength to the limit.
Tremendous power gathered in the Stand’s fists.
Gold Experience aimed at the wall and unleashed a barrage of “Muda” punches at maximum speed.
This was a contest of power between elemental energy and a Stand.
After only a few breaths, the wall crumbled into fragments under the pressure from both sides.
The flowing water swallowed Chen Mo completely like a heaven-shaking tidal wave.
It surged along the corridor all the way to the end.
It shattered the windows, creating a fleeting artificial waterfall in Mondstadt City.
“Mister Chen Tailang, are you all right?” Tartaglia scanned ahead, but he could not see anyone.
The corridor was full of standing water.
Aside from the rushing sound of flowing water, there was no other movement.
“Don’t tell me he was washed outside?” Just as that thought appeared in his mind, he saw several large, round blue objects rolling in the water.
“Hm?
What huge slimes!” “Muda—!” A sudden battle cry pierced his eardrums.
Tartaglia quickly condensed a Hydro spear and swung it at the Hydro Slime flying toward him.
When the creature blocking his vision was knocked away, a golden phantom had already silently appeared in front of him.
Gold Experience struck decisively.
Tartaglia was caught off guard, and his handsome face took a solid punch.
“That hurt…!” Tartaglia rubbed his injured cheek and said unwillingly, “Mister Chen Tailang, that was rather dishonorable of you.
And here I was worrying about you!” “Sorry.
I couldn’t help myself.” He looked toward the wall on the other side and saw that the Hydro Slime he had just knocked away had already turned into a piece of broken stone and a puddle of water.
Tartaglia roughly understood why Chen Mo had not been swept away by the current.
He had used the slimes to absorb the Hydro energy, reducing the water volume and weakening the impact of the current.
What surprised him, however, was that the other party could even create elemental lifeforms.
“What a troublesome ability.” He straightened up, took the mask from his head, and placed it over his face.
“I suppose it’s time for me to get a little serious.
You’d better be careful.” Blue Hydro energy swirled around Tartaglia, quickly gathering into an opaque hemispherical barrier that covered him.
Purple lightning flickered across the Hydro shield.
With a muffled clap of thunder, the barrier vanished in an instant, and Tartaglia’s figure reappeared within the lightning.
“Delusion Unleashed?” “You know quite a lot.” Tartaglia chuckled softly and spread his hands in a teasing manner.
“What do you think?
Want to consider joining the Fatui?” “With your strength, winning a seat would only be a matter of time.” “You make a fair point, but I refuse.” Chen Mo answered cleanly, without the slightest hesitation.
“Is that so?
What a shame.” Chen Mo seemed to glimpse a hint of disappointment beneath the mask, but he had no time to concern himself with such trivial matters.
He took a deep breath of stale air and calculated how to deal with the situation ahead.
With Gold Experience’s speed, it would probably be unable to keep up with Childe after his Delusion was unleashed.
Gold Experience’s figure gradually faded away.
In its place appeared a much sturdier purple figure.
“Oh!?
Does that shadow of yours have a second phase too?” Tartaglia’s interest grew even stronger, the excitement in his eyes almost overflowing.
“They’re called Stands.
They’re not shadows.” “I’m becoming more and more interested in you.” Holding a spear of lightning, Tartaglia said passionately, “Then let me test what this so-called Stand of yours can do!” Before his words had even finished, Tartaglia’s figure suddenly turned into a streak of light.
Moving at a speed ordinary people could not react to, he flashed behind Chen Mo.
“Got you!”