"Next."
Diluc stepped forward.
"How many throws are you aiming for?"
"Heh." He glanced sideways at the still self-destructing Tartaglia. "At least fewer than him."
"Alright. Do your best."
As expected—Diluc still couldn't stand the Fatui.
He grabbed the chain and threw.
[274M]
The first throw—exactly the same as Tartaglia.
Reaching the grass, Diluc focused intensely. He had already seen Tartaglia fail here.
He spun—
Yes, it was slippery.
[197M]
The distance dropped, but at least he stayed on his feet.
[263M]
[220M]
"…Seriously?"
Looking at the finish line, now less than 50 meters away, Diluc twitched.
Just this little distance—and it still counts as another throw?
With no choice, he stepped forward, picked up the hammer, and tossed it casually.
[Finish… 5 Throws]
"Five, huh…"
He looked slightly disappointed.
He could've done it in four—but he held back on the grass to avoid falling.
"Next."
From Inazuma—Gorou.
[Finish… 7 Throws]
"…Well."
No mistakes, no water penalty—but still tied with Tartaglia.
Completely out of contention.
"Next."
Sumeru–Fontaine Alliance: Wriothesley.
[Finish… 4 Throws]
"Nice."
He couldn't beat Ben anyway, but four throws currently put him in second. That was good enough.
Belobog Alliance: Dan Heng.
[Finish… 5 Throws]
Xianzhou Alliance: Luocha.
[Finish… 5 Throws]
Seeing so many five-throw finishes, everyone turned to Valerius.
"If it's a tie… how do you calculate that?"
"Shared ranking."
"Do we still get points?"
"Everyone gets them."
Valerius nodded.
Honestly—impressive.
Except for Inazuma and Liyue.
"You've got to be kidding me. I haven't even thrown yet, and you're already splitting points?"
The last contestant stepped up—Boothill.
Trying to secure shared third?
Dream on.
"Watch closely."
He grabbed the hammer.
Whoosh!
[299M]
"WHAT?!"
The five-throw group panicked.
If this kept up, he might finish in four—or even three!
That would knock them out of scoring entirely.
"Slip! Slip! Slip!"
"Fall into the water! Fall into the water!"
They started praying.
But—
Reality said no.
[217M]
[303M]
181 meters left.
Wriothesley stayed calm—worst case, a tie.
But the others were sweating bullets.
Final throw—
Boom!
[Finish… 4 Throws]
—
Men's round over.
Zenless Zone Zero: 3 points.
Sumeru–Fontaine + Penacony Alliance: 2 points.
Everyone else: 0.
—
"Mr. Valerius, that's not right, is it? Based on ranking, we should still be third and get points."
Luocha made a last attempt.
Valerius glanced at him.
"Have you never seen rankings before? When there's a tie, the next rank shifts down. You know that."
"…Right."
He knew.
Just didn't want to accept it.
—
Men's group exited.
Women's group entered.
Valerius scanned the lineup, expression turning strange.
Mondstadt: Noelle.
Liyue: Shenhe.
Inazuma: Sayu.
Sumeru–Fontaine: Dehya.
Belobog: Hook.
Penacony: Acheron.
Xianzhou: Yunli.
Zenless Zone Zero: Caesar.
Noelle and Shenhe—fine.
But Sayu and Hook?!
Were they… just giving up?
These players really knew how to have fun.
"Line up. First contestant."
"Me."
Yunli stepped forward immediately.
Seeing Luocha need five throws had already annoyed her.
She grabbed the hammer.
"…Not that heavy."
She genuinely didn't understand.
Why were those guys struggling so much?
Disdain.
She spun—
Released—
[325M]
The audience erupted.
A small girl—throwing farther than Wriothesley?!
"…Can I really do this?"
Noelle started doubting herself.
Everyone here was terrifying.
Was this even her level?
—
Whoosh!
Second throw—
[301M]
Still massive, even with the slippery grass.
"…Hmm?"
Yunli frowned.
There were still 374 meters left.
So… three throws wasn't happening.
"…What a pity."
With a sigh—
She accepted it.
Fourth throw—
[Finish… 4 Throws]
—
"Not bad."
On the Xianzhou side, Feixiao nodded.
Aside from Ben, the best men's result was four.
Yunli matching that?
Excellent.
—
"Next."
Acheron walked forward.
"Oh? How many throws are you aiming for?"
Valerius was curious.
Acheron shook her head.
"Strength is not my forte."
"…Huh?"
That answer surprised him.
Shouldn't she be roasting him right now?
Then—
It clicked.
"Wait… your punishment period is over?!"
The moment he said that—
Acheron and Caesar both froze.
"…I'll just compete."
Without another word, Acheron walked to the throwing point.
Inside—
Pain.
Pure pain.
Every word she had said during that punishment phase…
Still echoing in her mind.
How did she even say those things?
She wanted nothing more than to go back—
And eliminate her past self.
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