He changed Tiwat

Tartaglia looked up and drew his bow, firing an arrow into the sky filled with water arrows and silk threads.

"Stop the water with one arrow!" Datalia shouted.

The water arrow left the bow and transformed into a colossal object.

That wasn't an arrow, but... a gigantic blue whale!

The whale sucks in water, and the entire net is swallowed by the fish.

Above the stars of Teyvat, the fate of every person is etched, and each person has a "Constellation" that symbolizes their destiny. Tartaglia's Constellation is called "Whale."

A whale that swallows the heavens.

D'Artagnan didn't believe in the existence of "fate" in this world; his favorite thing to do was to challenge fate.

Ice fishing is one of D'Artagnan's hobbies that he has maintained since childhood.

When he first went fishing with his father, his name was Ajax.

Together with his father, he would chisel holes in the frozen lake and then sit and fish. It was no easy task, sometimes taking up an entire morning. But whether it was chiseling through the thick ice or waiting patiently for the fish to bite, it was always accompanied by his father's endless stories.

That was his father's youthful adventure, and also the future D'Artagnan secretly promised himself. Therefore, he always listened attentively, imagining himself as the protagonist in his father's stories. While waiting for the fish to bite, he was always engrossed in the tales.

His father had told him that his name came from his father's favorite adventure story, a tale called "The Old Man and the Sea."

The protagonist of the story is an old man named Ajax.

In the story, Ajax is a thin, haggard old fisherman with deep wrinkles on his neck and brown spots on his cheeks. Everything about him is ancient, as old as the ancient erosion land in the desert. He is lonely and has almost no friends—except for a little boy. But his eyes are as blue as the sea and full of joy.

Coincidentally, D'Artagnan's eyes were also as blue as the sea, exactly the same as the eyes of the old man his father had seen when he was a child.

The old man went out to sea for eighty-four consecutive days but caught nothing. Other fishermen laughed at him, but the old man remained convinced that he would catch a big fish.

The little boy in the story—D'Artagnan's father—also firmly believes that Ajax can catch big fish. His fishing skills were taught to him by an old man, and in his heart, Ajax is the best fisherman in the world.

On the eighty-fifth day at sea, Ajax encountered a giant fish, larger than his boat. He outwitted and outmaneuvered the fish, eventually managing to kill it. If he could sell this fish, it would earn the old man a great many Mora.

However, the fish was too big to fit on the boat, so the old man had to tow his prize back. The fishing boat, carrying the large fish, moved very slowly, and the fish's blood attracted a swarm of sharks. These fierce and greedy predators coveted the old man's prize and attacked him one after another.

To protect the fruits of his labor, the old man bravely fought against the sharks.

His harpoon was taken by the wounded shark, so he tied a knife to his oar and used it as a spear. When the knife broke, he continued to fight the shark with a short stick. He was exhausted and covered in blood, but he said, "As long as I have an oar, a short stick, and a rudder, I will find a way to kill them!"

For three whole days and nights, the old man faced the entire shark swarm alone, killing and injuring countless sharks.

In the end, all the old man dragged back to the harbor was the skeleton of the big fish; he still couldn't save it.

But D'Artagnan's father considered Ajax a triumphant hero.

"A man is not made for defeat. You can destroy him but not defeat him."

That's what D'Artagnan's father said.

D'Artagnan will always remember this story.

In his eyes, there is no such thing as a "dead end" because he can never be defeated.

The enemy is strong—then I will become stronger than the enemy!

With the Devouring Whale gone, three of the seven Night Orchids have been obliterated by the Whale's power. This is equivalent to three of the array's seven key points being destroyed, reducing the array's power by half.

However, Ye Lan's "Mysterious Throwing Array" was not over; she still held the "Abyss Map Exquisite Dice" steadily in her hand. The four "Abyss Map Exquisite Dice" and the four Ye Lans were still positioned in the east, west, south, and north respectively.

A fearless smile appeared on D'Artagnan's face.

The disguise of "Dark Shell" has been torn apart by Ye Lan—and he no longer needs to worry about hiding his identity.

“I once heard a saying in a story: ‘A warrior’s strength is like a circle. The bigger the circle, the more people he can challenge.’ Now, I will challenge your proud formation. I promise that I will break your formation within one minute.”

Chapter 271 Stopping the Water with an Arrow (Bonus Chapter 16/20)

D'Artagnan put on the fiery red mask.

He once again grasped two sharp blades in his hands, this time, the blades flashing with purple lightning.

—He freed the Evil Eye.

This evil eye is a medal of his past honors and proof of his current power.

He still vividly remembered the day he was granted the Evil Eye and became an Executor of the Fatui. Before the cold and stern god, the Fatui's first Executor, "The Clown," personally pinned the badge on him.

That was the reward for defeating the terrifying monster, and also a memento of countless battles.

But Datalia was not pleased by this, for it was an honor a warrior deserved.

He deserves the power of this evil eye.

The net of silk threads and water arrows attacked again, but Tartaglia's figure moved through it like lightning.

As he paused, his twin blades had already shattered the northern array's core.

"Tsk, didn't win. My luck with bets is always terrible." D'Artagnan clicked his tongue. "But it's okay, it's just three more swings of the knife."

The remaining three Night Orchids suddenly raised their Ruoshui Bows at the same time.

"Haha, so you finally remembered you're an archer?" Tartaglia laughed loudly. "But Miss, you can't draw your bow to maintain this magic circle. But if you dispel it, I can take your life in an instant. In your Liyue language, this is called 'a ram butting against a fence, unable to dismount,' isn't it?"

Yelan did not answer, while Dadalia had already pounced on the next key point of the formation.

“You once said something that I agree with: archers shouldn’t be so close to the enemy. You and I are… too close.”

In the Qunyu Pavilion, Baiwen, Baishi, and Baixiao gathered once again in Ningguang's study, a rare occasion.

Since Ningguang sent them to important positions in the Eight Gates, these three have rarely had the opportunity to meet. They are here today because of Ningguang's special summons.

Ningguang summoned them for help because she was facing a serious shortage of manpower.

Bai Xiao was categorizing and posting intelligence reports on the whiteboard in the study, so that Ning Guang could have a comprehensive overview.

Beside Ningguang, Baishi was reading the intelligence she was holding to her at an extremely fast pace. At her speed, most people would have difficulty understanding what she was saying, but Ningguang could not only understand clearly, but also analyze the intelligence as she listened and even give corresponding instructions.

For Ningguang, multitasking is just a normal part of her life.

If any merchant could see that whiteboard in Ningguang's study, he would probably jump up as if his pants were on fire—large quantities of goods from several countries had suddenly all converged at this time to demand delivery, and all of them had to be paid in Mora!

Moreover, Northern Bank has also made moves, seemingly selling off its debt holdings to raise cash.

The financial market in Liyue seems to have been thrown into turmoil overnight—this is what business opportunities are!

But what Ningguang saw in his eyes was not a business opportunity, but a person—a man wearing silver-rimmed glasses whose eyes were always squinted.

She had just received intelligence this morning that there seemed to be unusual activity in the direction of Qingxupu. Although Ningguang didn't know exactly what had happened there, she knew that Gan Yu, the executive secretary who rarely left Yuehaiting, had also gone to Qingxupu.

Pantalone certainly picked a very good time.

So-called intelligence always contains both truth and falsehood. Some intelligence may be true, but it is highly time-sensitive. Once the time expires, it can be more misleading than false intelligence.

How to sift through such a vast and complex sea of ​​information, separating the true from the false, and find the most useful intelligence—this is a skill many people may never learn in their lifetime. However, Ningguang seems to be born with a natural talent for this.

Under her guidance, Bai Xiao kept posting new intelligence on the whiteboard while tearing off intelligence that Ning Guang considered useless.

The number of slips of paper on the whiteboard will gradually decrease until only a few remain. At that point, Ningguang will make a crucial decision that could affect the entire nation—a decision often referred to as "The Guide to Prosperity" in popular culture.

Outside the study, Baiwen had just received an important piece of intelligence: a letter with a die engraved on its sealing wax.

Bai Wen knew that the information came from Miss "Youke".

She dared not delay and immediately handed the information over to Ningguang.

After Ningguang looked at it, a rare hint of hesitation appeared on her face.

"Lady Ningguang, does Miss 'Youke' need support?"

Baiwen still remembered the time when "Youke" followed that Vice Minister Han to the Abyss of Layered Rocks. As Ningguang's confidential secretary who helped coordinate intelligence, Baiwen knew a little about the strange things about the Abyss of Layered Rocks—for example, it seemed that there was a path to another world at the bottom of the Abyss of Layered Rocks.

At least Baiwen herself was unwilling to set foot in the Abyss of Layered Rocks. In her opinion, no number of lives would be enough to survive in such a bizarre place. Therefore, she greatly admired the "Ghost Guest" lady. Although she did not know the "Ghost Guest" lady's true identity, that person always seemed to appear in the most dangerous places, bringing back the most precious information for Lady Ningguang.

Ningguang shook her head slightly. "No need... If it's something she can't handle, it's pointless for anyone else to go. Besides, I promised her that ordinary people shouldn't be involved."

Bai Wen wisely kept quiet, but her expression still showed obvious worry.

Seeing this, Ningguang simply smiled.

A few years ago, she had worried about Ye Lan... but now she no longer worries about Ye Lan.

She was a woman who voluntarily stepped into the darkness to protect Liyue.

She was a woman who willingly became a lone wolf, no longer wanting to see ordinary people bleed and sacrifice because of the darkness of the world.

She was a woman who voluntarily gave up "the happiness of an ordinary person" forever.

Trusting her abilities is the greatest respect you can show her.

Yelan's letter to her contained only one sentence: "I'm sorry, the third mission failed."

This was neither a request for her help nor an excuse for failure, but rather a way of telling her: I will definitely succeed in completing the other two tasks.

Tartaglia's twin swords shattered the southern key to the formation.

The "Mysterious Throwing Exquisite Formation" seems to be on the verge of collapse.

Ye Lan maintained the posture of holding up the "Yuan Tu Ling Long Dice" with her right hand, struggling to maintain the magic circle, while only holding the bowstring of the Ruoshui Bow with her left hand, seemingly wanting to use the bowstring as a guide to cast some kind of spell.

"Hmph, a cornered beast will fight to the death, won't it?"

Even though Tartaglia was the one trapped in the formation, in his eyes, he was the hunter, while Yelan was just a pitiful mother beast caught in a dilemma.

"It seems you're right about one thing: you really aren't good with a bow."

Yelan raised her left leg high.

Her legs were beautiful and long enough to attract the attention of any man—but D'Artagnan saw that her legs were resting on a longbow.

"Who says you can't draw a bow with one hand?"

Using his legs as arms and his hands to draw the bowstring... D'Artagnan, who prided himself on being proficient in all martial arts, had never seen such a way of drawing a bow.

“Your move had a nice name just now. Now it’s mine,” Ye Lan said.

The bow is as full as a slew of moon, the arrow as swift as a shooting star.

"Stop the water with a single arrow."

Chapter 272 Reality and Illusion are as Vast as a Sheet of Paper; Who Can Recognize My True Face Within the Illusion?

Few people know Ye Lan's true strength, or rather, few have ever seen Ye Lan make a move.

But Ningguang knew.

If there are geniuses in magic in this world, Ye Lan must be the most talented among them.

Before Yelan became a "Gengoku" and obtained the Vision of God, she had already plunged into the darkness and experienced countless dangerous missions—yes, including the Abyss.

Ningguang still remembers the day Yelan obtained the Eye of God.

That happened after Yelan finished her Abyss investigation mission. Yelan disappeared from Liyue Harbor, and Ningguang, after making inquiries from various sources, finally found her deep in the mountains.

That day, Yelan said to her, "We both made a mistake. What we did should not have affected ordinary people."

On that same day, Yelan pointed an arrow at her.

She saw a beam of indigo light streak through the air and hover just above her brow. The arrow was controlled with perfect precision, quickly transforming into jade-like droplets that scattered and glowed before hitting the ground.

Ningguang saw that Yelan was holding a bow, with blood dripping from her fingertips.

An archer must have practiced relentlessly day and night to have blood on his fingers.

But Ningguang also understood that Yelan's personality must have come from encountering setbacks that ordinary people could not have experienced, and from making a determination that ordinary people could not have made, before she went into seclusion to practice martial arts again.

Ye Lan has always been a very clever person; she's always been good at tricks, bait, traps... But these skills of hers can't handle everything.

A self-disciplined enemy will not fall for bait, a cunning and treacherous enemy will not fall into a conspiracy, and a formidable enemy will not be trapped by a snare.

Therefore, Yelan needs power, but not the kind that involves ordinary people—power to break the deadlock.

As if to give Ningguang an answer, Yelan drew her bow and aimed at the distant mountain peak.

The arrow, once released, flew like thunder, like a white rainbow, with the force to pierce the sky. In an instant, the mountain spring water surged and churned, summoned by an invisible force, transforming into several water arrows that spiraled upwards. The arrows intersected and converged in mid-air.

The collapsed mountaintop was clear proof of the arrow's power.

The water curtain created by the arrows was like a sudden summer rain.

After the rain, there were no fluttering butterflies or bright rainbows, only a pale beam of light descended into Ye Lan's hand.

Then Yelan's divine eye descended.

According to Ningguang, this Eye of God is a signal, meaning: "From this day forward, all matters shall be entrusted to the extraordinary Lord Yelan."