Yin Lin hadn’t made a move yet, still wary of the Gravity Magic wielded by the Abyssal Demon.
The Eastern Alliance members could see what she feared; they had witnessed how a Mana Cannon’s flight path was forcibly altered by Gravity Magic.
It was reasonable to infer that the Light Gun Yin Lin held, making its debut, would also be affected by Gravity Magic.
In the Command Center’s safe room, a middle-aged man was wrestling with a difficult decision.
Should he embarrass himself by assisting the magical girl and giving her a chance to attack?
Or should he wait for the magical girl and the Abyssal Demon to inflict mutual harm and then swoop in to finish off the enemy?
Was preserving face more important? Or was safeguarding the people more critical?
His human side hoped to protect the people, but sitting in his position, he bore the important responsibility of expanding the Eastern Alliance and the Human Alliance.
He was torn.
Looking at Huang Yi in the room, who was lost in thought, that kid belonged to the Witch faction and was itching for the Eastern Alliance to cooperate with the magical girl.
Did they really want to bolster the Witch faction’s influence?
While the middle-aged man hesitated, the special task force had already made the decision for him and was chasing after the Biscuit Boy.
The first to catch up was a vehicle equipped with a large-caliber mounted cannon, manned by two people.
One drove the car, the other operated the turret from the passenger seat.
They aimed but dared not fire.
The Abyssal Demon had hostages, and the chance of killing the hostages was greater than killing the demon.
They hesitated, consulted the Command Center, and were told to stand by.
Inside the Command Center, the middle-aged man found Huang Yi.
Handing him an earpiece, he said, “You make the call. You’ve wanted this chance for a long time, haven’t you?”
Huang Yi exchanged a look with him, understanding immediately.
He asked, “Even if the decision I make isn’t necessarily good for the Human Alliance?”
The middle-aged man replied, “Just this once. I’ll take full responsibility.”
Huang Yi took the earpiece without hesitation and issued an order to the special task force at the other end: “Fire at all costs.”
When they received the order, the two in the vehicle were stunned. “Um… who are you?”
The middle-aged man interjected, “Listen to him.”
The people in the vehicle hurriedly explained, “But there are hostages there. If we fire recklessly…”
The middle-aged man repeated firmly, “Listen to him, I said.”
“Understood.”
Yin Lin faced two problems: one was that outrageous Gravity Magic, making both the Sky Piercing Spear and Mana Cannon difficult to use effectively.
The other was the hostages in the demon’s grasp.
The man was still struggling desperately, biting at the Abyssal Demon, blood dripping from his mouth.
Some of the blood was from the wounds he inflicted on the demon, and some was his own.
He still wanted to live.
From afar, the cannon vehicle fired. The first shot almost grazed the demon’s head, nearly a direct hit.
Seeing this, Yin Lin recalled what Huang Yi had said and instantly understood everything.
The Eastern Alliance wanted to help Yin Lin solve one of two problems—the hostage issue.
They would make the citizens suffer a little and bear the blame for the Eastern Alliance.
The second shot was fired, and this time it hit the demon’s head squarely—a direct hit.
The shell exploded; it wasn’t a high-explosive round, but it still knocked the man in the demon’s arms unconscious, blood pouring from his ears, mouth, and nose.
The skin was bleeding heavily, appearing moderately injured.
Biscuit Boy was also slightly wounded, staggering from the impact, taking a few wobbly steps, nearly falling.
There was some blood on its head, like a human’s scrape from a fall.
A child from a nearby road ran over, crying and shouting, calling for his mom and dad.
The voice… sounded familiar.
Looking closely, it was indeed familiar—the chubby kid from the milk tea shop’s group.
Earlier, he had come alone to the shop, and Yin Lin had even given him a cup of lemon water.
It proved Yin Lin couldn’t be completely cold-hearted. She quickly descended, grabbing the back of the little boy’s collar to lift him away.
But her strength was too weak, and the boy accidentally pulled off her staff.
“Let me go! I want my dad! I want my mom!” he struggled wildly.
Yin Lin simply hooked the tip of her staff under his collar, lifted him into the air, and flew several hundred meters away, then dropped him to the ground.
She was about to leave.
The little boy cried out, “Sister Yin Lin, please save my dad! Please save my mom!”
He still didn’t know what had happened to his mother.
Yin Lin neither nodded nor shook her head; she just patted his little head and smiled.
Turning away, she flew on with her twin-handed staff, closing the distance to the Abyssal Demon to just 70 meters.
The special task force’s cannon vehicle continued its assault.
The Abyssal Demon learned to use its hands to block the shells, protecting itself and the hostage at its chest.
That’s why the man wasn’t killed by the explosion.
Huang Yi’s intention was clear: kill the hostage, then Yin Lin could use the Mana Cannon to launch a full-power barrage on the demon at this river crossing.
Yin Lin would bear no responsibility—the hostages would have been killed by the Eastern Alliance.
In Liang Tai’s live stream, the viewers were already cursing furiously. Liang Tai kept urging them to watch their language to avoid the channel being shut down.
Yin Lin felt conflicted; she hadn’t expected the Eastern Alliance to be so ruthless.
She quickly sent various hand signals to Liang Tai’s drone, signaling to cease the attack.
She thought the Eastern Alliance would see her signals.
In the Command Center, the middle-aged man looked at Huang Yi, whose expression was grim, issuing no further commands.
This meant: continue the attack.
The special task force in the cannon vehicle also faced immense psychological pressure; some shots were deliberately off target.
No one knew how much longer this charade could continue.
They had started praying, hoping the magical girl would quickly deal with the demon.
Every minute now was torture.
Perhaps Huang Yi wasn’t helping the magical girl—perhaps he was trying to save more citizens by forcing Yin Lin to kill both the hostages and the demon together.
They wanted to kill the demon before it crossed the river.
The Abyssal Demon quickened its pace, nearing the riverbank, preparing to enter the water.
It was unknown if it could swim underwater, but if so, the hostages would likely drown.
Yin Lin took a deep breath, adjusting her flight angle.
She had tried countless positions, but always missed the mark.
Now, the pressure on her was immense, giving her only one final chance.
She aimed and fired based on instinct, without a crosshair.
The demon finally stopped and focused entirely on Yin Lin, sensing she was about to strike.
This time, she didn’t bluff—it was a decisive frontal clash.
The Sky Piercing Spear shot out as she envisioned, its speed incredibly fast, far faster than the Mana Cannon.
The moment she fired, the demon confirmed the attack and hastily used Gravity Magic, but was a bit slow.
Sure enough, this projectile magic, with a fixed trajectory, was countered by the demon’s Gravity Magic.
But this time, there was a slight difference.
The Sky Piercing Spear seemed to have a carefully calculated flight path, piercing through the center of the Gravity Magic.
After its trajectory was forcibly altered, the spear still accurately struck the Abyssal Demon in the middle, piercing through its collarbone.
It pinned Biscuit Boy to the cracked ground.
Man, the mother …