Chapter 180 - 178: Face-Tanking the Ultimate Move

Words : 1128 Updated : Oct 1st, 2025

In Fontaine, there exists a unique Dueling Proxy system, much like Inazuma's Duel Before the Throne, which is a distinctive national tradition. If a suspect accused of a crime in Fontaine does not wish to stand trial in court, they may request a duel with a Dueling Proxy. If they lose, they must obediently accept judgment; if they win, they are exempt from trial. At first glance, this rule may seem nonsensical—after all, guilt or innocence can apparently be determined by strength. Even if one is truly guilty, as long as they defeat the Dueling Proxy, they can evade accountability. It almost seems like treating the law as a joke. However, Fontaine's rule exists for a reason. —Justice requires strength to uphold. Justice without strength is nothing but an empty, laughable ideal. And at least until now, Fontaine's justice has never become a laughingstock. Why bring this up so abruptly? Because Furina is feeling a little nervous right now. The battle between Liyue and Osial may not be as earth-shattering as Osial's wrath, but it can still be described as a storm of towering waves. Though Furina claims she's just here to watch the spectacle, in truth, she's utterly terrified. After all, this is genuinely the first time in her life she's faced such a scene. In the past, as an archon, she always avoided situations that required the Hydro Archon to display her power. And after Ye becoming the Supreme Bishop, she has been under a comprehensive protection policy for Furina. What? That a god's strength needs no guarding? Whether a god requires protection is one thing; whether we have the heart to protect our god is another. What, do you lack even the slightest faith to fight for your deity? If so, what right do you have to beg for divine protection? Thanks to such brainwashing propaganda, no one has ever questioned the excessively meticulous security measures around Furina. Under these circumstances, Furina has encountered even fewer dangers. Basically, the only combat scenes she's ever witnessed are the duels where Dueling Proxies uphold the justice of the court. But... those duels are merely battles between humans. Even the current strongest Dueling Proxy, Clorinde—who could be called a monster in terms of strength—has always held back in her duels, as her opponents are usually humans rather than monsters. Thus, she has never displayed her true power as a Chasseur—a Chasseur is an expert in hunting monsters, and all their combat techniques are designed for monsters, not humans. In short, every battle Furina has ever witnessed has been human-scale combat. This isn't to say human-scale combat is weaker than monster-scale combat. For example, Shenhe's fighting style is human-scale, yet her strength rivals that of a god. It's simply a difference in approach... but setting aside power levels, the sheer spectacle alone isn't even comparable! Just look at Liyue's display—doesn't it seem hundreds, thousands of times more impressive than Shenhe's? And for Furina, an ordinary mortal without any power, what truly makes her realize what strength means isn't raw capability, but precisely this kind of spectacle. She now has an achievement. To be honest, when Furina used to hear those legends, she treated them like stories—tales of how powerful the gods were, how mighty Neuvillette was, how formidable Ye was. She only had a vague concept of what "power" meant. Furina had no tangible sense of strength... but now... if not for her rationality telling her it was impossible, she might even think that the giant sea serpent before her was stronger than Neuvillette and Ye, because she had never seen Neuvillette or Ye unleash power on this scale. "Ye," Furina said in a normal tone, "do you think Liyue can win this battle?" Ye replied calmly, "They will win. Even without the adepti intervening, Liyue alone can handle threats to Beisht." Furina relaxed and sighed with a smile, "Even without the protection of their god, humans can still defend themselves against such a threat. Nothing could bring greater joy to a deity." "Indeed, humanity's strength is never weak," Zhongli said quietly. "At no other moment have I been so convinced of humanity's power." What Furina didn't know was that as Zhongli spoke these words, his gaze was fixed on her. Even when he decided to step down as the Geo Archon, Zhongli still harbored doubts about humanity—otherwise, he wouldn't have arranged such a test. As he said, watching Furina now, he felt for the first time such unwavering belief in humanity's strength. Then, Zhongli turned and walked away. Since he had confirmed that Ye was merely testing him and had no real intention of killing Beisht, there was no need for Zhongli to stay any longer. As long as Beisht remained alive, hatred would not be fully directed at Liyue Harbor—that was enough. And just after Zhongli left, this grand spectacle finally reached its climax. Unable to endure the combined assault of the Millelith and the Jade Chamber's high-tech (adeptal) bombardment, Beisht finally unleashed a colossal tidal wave in retaliation. Witnessing this, Ningguang was first startled, then sighed with both relief and frustration, "Thanks to the Supreme Bishop's warning, or else we would've had no choice but to have Ganyu intervene." Relief, because she had heeded the Supreme Bishop's advice and had the Millelith set up a temporary barrier along the coastline; frustration, because she hadn't thought of it herself and needed the Supreme Bishop's reminder... a clear reflection of the gap in their foresight. This minor difference in consideration might seem insignificant, but the disparity between people is precisely built upon such details. And just as Ningguang was lost in her frustration, she failed to notice the Traveler leaping into action in the face of danger, charging straight at Beisht. Ningguang's expression instantly changed: "Wait! Traveler! There's no need—" Her call came too late. Facing the Traveler's attack, Beisht did not underestimate them—on the contrary, she immediately counterattacked, her maw glowing with blue light. The scene could be summarized as follows: The Traveler went in. The Traveler face-tanked the ultimate move. The Traveler was blasted away in one hit. Fortunately, Shenhe caught the Traveler, then immediately froze the tidal wave in fury, ready to fight Beisht to the death. "The Traveler's body is ridiculously durable," Ye remarked mildly, watching as Beisht ultimately chose to flee while the Traveler—who had just face-tanked an ultimate move—chased after Shenhe without hesitation. "Zero magic resistance, but physical resistance must be maxed out." Hm? Was Beisht's attack magic or physical? Let's not dwell on such trivialities.

Chapter 180 - 178: Face-Tanking the Ultimate Move

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