He changed Tiwat

This was the first time Tartaglia had felt fear since entering combat – the fear of death.

Even when he was trapped in Yelan's net of destruction, Dadalia felt no fear. He didn't believe that such an attack could kill him.

But when Yelan's arrow was pointed at him, a chill suddenly rose from the bottom of his heart. His warrior instincts warned him: he must not take this arrow, or he would die.

He suddenly realized that perhaps Ye Lan was telling the truth, perhaps she truly possessed the power to kill that abyssal behemoth. Because this bone-chilling cold was exactly the same as the look in his eyes when he faced the abyssal behemoth as a boy.

He may have made a fatal misjudgment—he still believes that dealing with Yelan doesn't require going all out.

East or West? Which arrow is the real thing? Which night-blooming jasmine is the true one?

D'Artagnan didn't have much time to think; he left everything to his honed intuition.

"Stop the water with a single arrow."

Yelan shot the arrow.

Once the arrow is released, it flies like thunder, resembles a white rainbow, and has the power to pierce the sky.

Before the arrow was even released, D'Artagnan had already changed his appearance.

His entire body was covered in purple armor, with a long, star-studded cloak trailing behind him. This was Tartaglia's Armored Form as the Evil Eye Demon King, his strongest form. In this stance, Tartaglia's speed, strength, and defense were all enhanced to the extreme.

His choice was to transform into a purple shooting star and leap high into the air.

Ye Lan uses her legs to draw the bow. No matter how agile her legs are, moving up and down is much more difficult than moving left and right. And with the power concentrated in this arrow, maintaining it will be very difficult. She won't have much time to adjust the angle and pursue.

Therefore, D'Artagnan chose to evade by flying through the air—he crashed through the net formed by the "Entwining Life-Binding Ropes" all the way. In fact, if he had wanted to, Nightland's magic circle could not have trapped him from the very beginning.

Night Oran's arrow grazed past Dadalia's feet.

To be honest, D'Artagnan felt a sense of relief at surviving a close call—even though he was covered in the Demon King's armor, he wasn't confident he could catch that arrow.

If he had been slightly weaker or slower, the arrow might have already pierced his body.

"What a pity, you were just a little short of beating me."

D'Artagnan stood in the air, looking down at Night Orchid.

Yelan looked up at Dadalia in mid-air.

Her arrow missed its mark, her magic circle was broken, and Tartaglia's power was now visibly formidable.

But Ye Lan showed no sign of tension; she was even smiling.

"Have you forgotten? I didn't come here to fight you. You've never been my target."

A sudden gust of wind burst forth behind D'Artagnan, making his star-studded cloak flutter wildly.

He turned around in horror and saw the "Layered Rock Nail" bursting with a dazzling white light behind him.

Yelan's arrow didn't hit Tartaglia, but rather the "Nail of the Rock"!

This woman didn't even take him seriously!

Battle is not the goal, but a means to achieve it. Yelan has always understood this. From the moment she met D'Artagnan, she had been preparing for the opportunity to fire this arrow! All her actions, whether magic circles or provocations, were designed to make D'Artagnan forget his original purpose—to forget that he came here to stop Yelan from attacking the "Layered Rock Nail"!

It was quite rare for D'Artagnan to experience something called "frustration".

"You bastard!" A purple lightning spear appeared in Dadalia's hand.

With a flash of purple lightning, Dadalia, along with his gun, pierced through Yelan's body.

—And Ye Lan's figure vanished without a trace, turning into an afterimage.

"Hidden in the dark night, yet not truly concealed; bathed in sunlight, yet merely a mirage. Reality and illusion are but a thin sheet of paper; who can discern my true face within this illusion?"

In the sound of the wind, Yelan's voice was faint and indistinct.

The headquarters of the "Abyss Order" in the dark realm.

A huge purple crystal floated in mid-air, and everyone—whether they were abyssal apostles, abyssal mages, or massive "black serpent knights" clad in rock armor—knelt before it.

They remained motionless, like kneeling statues.

That crystal was their "destiny," their "deity."

Only one person stood silently before the crystal.

He wore a mask on his face—a Hilichurl mask.

The masked man slowly turned around.

"Ed, it's time for you to set off."

He spoke to a kneeling apostle.

The apostle did not raise his head, but remained in the position of touching the ground with his head, and answered respectfully, "Yes, Lord Calibel."

Chapter 273 Plans Can't Keep Up with Changes

Han Fulai spotted Dadalia's figure from afar.

That blue whale is Tartaglia's attack. As a Genshin Impact player who beats up Tartaglia in the Golden House every week, Han Fulai would never mistake it.

To be honest, he was genuinely surprised by D'Artagnan's appearance.

As far as he knew, the Fools were irreconcilably opposed to the Abyss Order, and the blood debt of the Ninth Company's fallen soldiers was mostly attributed to the Abyss Order.

So, how did D'Artagnan, the executor of the Fools, end up getting involved with the "Order of the Abyss"? Given D'Artagnan's personality, he and the "Order of the Abyss," a group that's always up to scheming and plotting, are completely incompatible!

However, he quickly remembered that the one who fought Nightlan at the beginning was not this form of Tartaglia, but a "Dark Shell".

It is clear that Datalia disguised himself for some purpose.

The "Dark Shell" is now under the command of Ye Mingxiang, the "Black Serpent Knight".

When he spoke with Ye Mingxiang in the consciousness space before, the confidence she revealed in her words puzzled him. Now that he thought about it, it was probably because she had joined forces with the Fools.

With the Fools as his powerful ally, he certainly had reason to be confident.

In a fighting party like Dadalia's, Yelan would probably not fare well, so his choice to support Yelan was actually the right one.

The terrain inside the rock hall was complex, surrounded by cliffs with a significant drop in elevation. Han Fulai neither possessed the skills of Jiang Xue and Ye Lan, nor could he fly, so his travel speed was far slower than theirs.

Just as he was about to reach the high ground on Yelan's side, a purple meteor suddenly shot into the sky before his eyes.

This was the first time he had ever seen Dadalia in his "Kamen Rider" form after he activated his Evil Eye.

At the same time, an indescribable beam of light tore through hundreds of meters of space and struck the "Layered Rock Nail" in mid-air.

The rocks of all sizes surrounding the "Layered Rock Nail" were reduced to dust by this arrow. The "Layered Rock Nail" suddenly began to tremble, as if a sleeping lion had been awakened from its dream, and suddenly burst forth with a dazzling white light—"Pure Light Bloom"!

The black mud that had been wrapped around the "Nail of Layered Rock" disappeared.

Surrounded by abyss mages, Jiang Xue stood silently on the "arena," holding a greatsword burning with cyan flames.

This was the first time he had used the "True Art" in actual combat since he started learning it from his senior brother.

“I remember you once said that you only needed your family’s ‘Thousand Rocks Technique’ and didn’t need any other martial arts techniques.”

Ye Mingxiang stared at the blue flames on Jiang Xue's sword.

He thought of that sixteen-year-old boy, stubborn, obstinate, and innocent... just like himself in the past.

"Techniques may be righteous or evil, but the Way is one." Jiang Xue only answered with these eight words.

He wasn't unaware of the power of the "True Technique" before, but he was unwilling to use it—because he had vaguely sensed the "forbidden" nature of this power.

That might be a power that humans shouldn't touch, that's what Jiang Xue's intuition told him.

After breaking with her senior brother, Jiang Xue sealed the "True Art" deep in her heart.

But now he's figured it out.

What is good? What is evil?

Are martial arts techniques used by good people considered righteous? Are martial arts techniques used by bad people considered evil?

Liyue's swordsmanship is swordsmanship, but Kanria's swordsmanship is not.

Because the Kanriars caused the Dark Calamity, are their technologies, wisdom, and power all burdened with original sin? Should they all be hidden and forgotten?

There is no such thing.

Power should not be categorized by nature; whether it is good or evil depends on what people use it for.

A sword can kill... or it can save lives.

Inheritance, identity, stance... none of these have anything to do with his "Dao".

The focus of "exorcising demons and upholding justice" is not on exorcising demons, but on upholding justice.

Martial arts is also a kind of "way".

Those who seek the Way will always encounter doubts and struggles on their path, and will always have what is called "inner demons." But once these inner demons are overcome, one can embark on a path to enlightenment.

Ye Mingxiang also raised her greatsword, and blue flames also ignited on it.

At that moment, boundless light suddenly emanated from the "Layered Rock Nail," illuminating the entire rock hall as if it were daytime.

"He actually succeeded."

Ye Mingxiang sighed softly.

For Ye Mingxiang, the "cooperation" she discussed with Han Fulai in the space of consciousness had a prerequisite—Han Fulai had to actually be able to summon the "Apostle of Destiny".

They remained enemies until the "Apostle of Fate" arrived.

Therefore, Ye Mingxiang will send D'Artagnan to stop Ye Lan and will personally come to stop Jiang Xue. Whether the "Layer Rock Nail" will be contaminated or not is of no concern to him. Since it is a matter of mutual exploitation, demonstrating "utility value" is the premise of cooperation.

Han Fulai seems to have already demonstrated his value. The disruption of the Abyss Order's contamination plan means they must eliminate the intruders with swift and decisive action, while simultaneously accelerating the contamination of the "Layered Rock Nails."

At times like these, the person he's waiting for might arrive ahead of schedule.

Ye Mingxiang raised her sword and swung it, causing the surrounding "dark shells" to turn around and rush towards the "layered rock nails".

Without saying a word, he turned back and headed towards the central plaza below the "Layered Rock Nail".

He knew that Jiang Xue would follow.

Although Jiang Xue was slightly taken aback, he quickly understood what had just happened—Ye Lan's mission had been successful.

According to Han Fulai's plan, after striking the "Layer Rock Nail" to temporarily stop the pollution of the abyss's power, Jiang Xue should cover Han Fulai's retreat from the battlefield, since their strategic objective has been achieved.

But Jiang Xue hadn't had time to settle things with her senior brother, so he wasn't planning to leave.

And most importantly, where did Han Fulai go?

Han Fulai held the Lumenite catalyst and tried to call the Wishing Stone, but the Wishing Stone didn't respond at all. Han Fulai guessed that the Wishing Stone was currently in a "system busy" state—after all, it had to seize this rare opportunity to eliminate the erosion of the abyss's power.

Plans can't keep up with changes.

This was Han Fulai's only thought.

Yelan did indeed fire the arrow, but he did not expect it to be so powerful that it actually temporarily dispelled the black mud that was binding the "Layered Rock Nails".

The siege on Jiang Xue's side was indeed lifted, but he did not expect that Jiang Xue would not retreat, and even break through the encirclement of the abyss mages and rush into the center.

Most importantly, he hadn't even made it to the center of the rock hall, nor had he had time to communicate further with the "wishing stone."

Before entering this rocky hall, Han Fulai's real plan was as follows—

He and Jiang Xue went to draw the enemy's attention, while Ye Lan stealthily found a sniping position and fired an arrow at "Layered Rock Nail".

When Yelan fires that arrow while in stealth, her stealth will be broken, and the members of the Abyss Order will then discover the presence of this long-range sniper.

They will discover that Han Fulai and Jiang Xue are just two feints, and the real main force is Ye Lan, who can remotely interfere with the "Abyss Order" and corrupt the "Layer Rock Nail".

Next, Yelan will become the target of the "Abyss Order's" concentrated attacks.

In other words, the night-blooming jasmine is the real bait.

Ye Lan is very skilled at stealth and escaping, so when she ran away, she naturally lured away the main force of the "Abyss Order".

At this point, he and Jiang Xue would turn their "feint" into a "main attack," advancing all the way to the "Layer Rock Nail," using the "Lumen Stone" catalyst and the "Pursina Light Nail" to help the "Wishing Stone" remove the black mud, thus completing the "mutual assistance among civil servants."

Although he was planning to trick Ye Lan again... he had repeatedly emphasized to Ye Lan that if the plan failed, he would run away.

As a result, one unexpected event after another occurred.

First, Ye Mingxiang discussed a collaboration with him in the consciousness space, which took up a lot of his time.

Then, "Young Master" suddenly became attached to Ye Lan, forcing him to change course to help Ye Lan.

Before he could even help Ye Lan, he discovered that she was so strong that she could fight the "Young Master" while simultaneously completing the task of striking the "Layered Rock Nails," and with such outstanding results... Just how much strength did this woman Ye Lan have hidden?! If you had told me you were this strong, the three of us could have teamed up and taken down the "Abyss Order" head-on!

Who will the Wishing Stone credit for this time? Him or Yelan? Should he tell the Wishing Stone, "I directed this arrow"? Will the Wishing Stone even acknowledge it...?