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[Genshin Impact] Chapter 362: A Fierce Battle
🕑 Added 2024-12-08 04:30:00 +0000 UTCThe "Concealment Form" skill, though classified as a secret-art level ability, isn’t flawless. Against individuals with immense mental acuity, a small slip-up can still lead to detection.
Furthermore, Nolan had rendered a small section of the wall “invisible,” which, although subtle, could still alert those inside if their senses were sharp enough.
Nolan had anticipated this risk. After all, barging directly into the room wasn’t an option; doing so would leave no time to assess the Harbingers' strength.
As the ferocious lightning strike surged toward them, the interference from elemental energy disrupted their camouflage, revealing their presence.
Lumine instinctively summoned Geo elemental energy to form a defensive barrier.
Nolan stepped forward, shielding her. He didn’t dodge the lightning attack unleashed by Scaramouche, instead choosing to meet it head-on.
“Crackle—Boom!”
The lightning struck him squarely, but it didn’t leave so much as a scratch. Not a single hair on his head was out of place.
Nolan’s current level was 88, and his "Elemental Immunity" ability allowed him to negate 88% of all incoming elemental damage.
Even though Scaramouche was two levels above him, slightly reducing the immunity effect by 2%, Nolan still retained an 86% damage reduction. The remaining damage was fully absorbed by his "Battery Body" ability, leaving none to spill over. In fact, the energy absorption wasn’t even enough to fully charge him.
This was partly because Mona’s extensive use of divination earlier had consumed nearly a third of his energy reserves, leaving his Battery Body less than fully replenished. Scaramouche’s lightning attack, however, was a convenient recharge.
Dusting off his clothes, Nolan looked at the hat-wearing boy who seemed momentarily stunned and smirked.
“So, you’re the Sixth Harbinger, Scaramouche, huh? What’s the matter? Is the Fatui not feeding you properly? That attack felt a little... weak.”
In Teyvat, while there are powers like divine energy, yokai abilities, and spiritual forces, elemental energy remains the dominant form of extraordinary power.
This is where Nolan’s "Elemental Immunity" gave him a significant edge over elemental power users, essentially granting him a “boss-level” resistance template.
This immunity was the very reason behind his confident taunts, especially against Harbingers like these who specialized in direct elemental attacks—essentially wielding catalysts as their primary weapons.
Against Nolan, they were at a severe disadvantage, lacking effective countermeasures.
Though Nolan couldn’t necessarily handle all three of them at once, his innate immunity ensured he wouldn’t lose outright. He had no reason to back down!
---
“Oh?”
The masked Doctor (Dottore) intertwined his fingers beneath his chin, gazing at them with mild interest as a faint chuckle escaped his lips.
Even the usually arrogant La Signora raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Though Scaramouche could be insufferable, there was no denying his power. At full strength, he surpassed her, something even she begrudgingly admitted.
But this man—someone they had encountered in Mondstadt not long ago and who had been unremarkable at the time—had grown so much, so fast. To think he could now shrug off Scaramouche’s attack as though it were nothing!
It was almost inconceivable.
---
Unlike Dottore and La Signora, who managed to maintain their composure outwardly, Scaramouche was far less reserved.
The fact that this stranger had the audacity to sneak into the Delusion factory and mock him infuriated him to no end.
“Heh... You’ve got a death wish!”
Scaramouche let out a short, manic laugh that abruptly stopped. Lightning flickered across his body as he disappeared from sight, reappearing in an instant directly in front of Nolan.
The boy’s once-handsome face was now twisted with rage, his expression turning feral. With his arm crackling with lightning, Scaramouche swung it toward Nolan’s head with brutal force.
Nolan wasn’t concerned about the attack's strength, but he had no intention of letting his face take the hit. Even if he came out unscathed, the embarrassment alone would be unbearable.
He sidestepped slightly, dodging Scaramouche’s blow. At the same time, he channeled wind elemental energy around his leg, sweeping a kick toward Scaramouche’s abdomen.
Thanks to his martial arts skill “Subtle Mastery,” the strike was swift, precise, and unexpected. Scaramouche, perhaps blinded by his rage, failed to react in time.
“Bang!”
Just as quickly as he had charged in, Scaramouche was sent flying back. He crashed into the round table, breaking it in half with the impact.
La Signora and Dottore dusted off their clothing as they stood up from their chairs, their expressions becoming more serious. Seeing Scaramouche being kicked back so easily in such a short exchange made it clear—this intruder was no weakling.
For The Doctor, who had already suffered at Nolan’s hands once before, the situation was particularly striking. He knew this young adventurer had yet to unleash his golden avatar, a fact that left him uneasy.
In fact, it was precisely because of that previous loss that "The Doctor" had come to warn La Signora and Scaramouche about Nolan. He hadn’t expected to run into him again so soon.
It was as if Nolan was deliberately targeting them, a notion that left "The Doctor" feeling increasingly irked.
With his hands clasped behind his back, "The Doctor" deliberated for a moment before addressing Nolan.
"Friend, our Fatui doesn’t seem to have any major conflicts with you. Might there be a chance to de-escalate this situation? We wouldn’t mind adding a new Harbinger to our ranks."
Though Dottore’s words were conciliatory, his trademark arrogance was evident in his tone, completely unmasked.
Nolan wasn’t blind to the offer's hypocrisy. Strictly speaking, he and the Fatui had no deeply personal grievances. Most of his animosity stemmed from his knowledge of their role as villains in the original game, coloring his perception of them negatively.
And so far, reality had proven his assumptions correct. The Fatui’s actions were oppressive and despised by the people in every nation.
Furthermore, they had bullied the citizens of Mondstadt—and by extension, Jean, the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius. And if they bullied Jean, wasn’t that equivalent to bullying him?
There was no way Nolan could align himself with the Fatui! He raised an eyebrow in annoyance at the thought.
However, before he could respond, Scaramouche, who had been lying on the ground after Nolan’s kick, suddenly burst into manic laughter.
“Ha… hahaha!” Scaramouche laughed uncontrollably, though the reason was unclear.
"Dottore, when did you become so coward?"
Scaramouche stood up sharply, throwing a taunting glare at "Doctor".
While he might have been wary of the full-strength version of Dottore, this was just a clone—there was no need to hold back his mockery.
In this moment, Scaramouche believed himself to be the strongest person in the room, and therefore, the one in charge.
“Heh, Scaramouche, your arrogance will cost you dearly,” Dottore responded with a faint smirk.
His earlier offer to recruit Nolan was more of a casual remark than a genuine invitation. Whether or not it succeeded was of no real importance to him. In truth, his arrogance far surpassed that of Scaramouche, whom he considered an impulsive fool.
“Hmph, Scaramouche is right,” La Signora interjected with a cold glance at Dottore. “The enemy is already at our doorstep—what’s the point of all this talking?”
She couldn’t help but find Dottore’s hesitancy uncharacteristic for someone of his stature, even if this particular version of him was younger.
---
(End of Chapter)
