A magic cannon at 50% power does not mean its output is exactly 50% of a full charge; the difference is actually quite significant, but it is enough to handle most magical girls.
Yin Lin crawled up from the ground. This was likely the second time she had suffered a serious injury.
Rising from the ground, she sat on her staff and flew away from the mall.
On the way, she coughed up blood while tidying her disheveled hair and uniform.
Her dress was already torn and could not be repaired unless she transformed again. This appearance added a few more touches of a pitiful charm.
Luye did not run away. She was still playing the role of a Strange Demon, constantly causing destruction and using her weak whip to damage facilities that were not very important.
Until Yin Lin arrived, the two faced off from a distance of fifty meters.
Luye looked up at the silver-haired girl floating in the air. The tattered Strange Demon Suit was stained with some blood.
“You gave me a lash. I cannot possibly forgive you just like that without doing something.” Yin Lin prepared to fire her cannon.
“Come then, Hero of Yiri City. Complete your feat and step onto another level.” The flying Strange Demon continued her destruction.
Just like a real Strange Demon.
12 o’clock finally arrived. Amidst the agony, the Countermeasure Center issued that order: destroy the portal.
The Special Task Force did not hesitate for even a second and immediately began the execution.
Yin Lin shouted toward the green Strange Demon: “I do not need you to arrange the kind of path I should walk. My achievements do not need to be faked by you. Stop trying to make yourself look better.”
The 50% power magic cannon fired, heading straight for the green Strange Demon.
At the same time, the portal was shattered with countless cracks by precise micro-explosives and collapsed to the ground. Steamrollers started up, grinding over the gate.
Yin Lin’s thick magic cannon blast also reached the green Strange Demon’s side. In the end, she did not want to die. There were still many cute little sisters in this world she hadn’t played with, and many places she hadn’t visited yet.
She retracted her long whip to block the front, forming a more solid shield.
She also forcibly created another magic shield.
The magic cannon was detonated before it hit her. She also suffered physical, magical, and additional damage. Its power was actually weaker than the earlier lash, but it was not something Luye could easily catch.
Her rope shield was broken, and of course, her magic shield was destroyed along with it. Her entire body was sent flying dozens of meters, crashing through the glass of a shop by the street and falling inside.
When the destructive power is strong enough, even the most unbreakable defense will be pierced.
She was still alive. Aside from the magic cannon being detonated early, which prevented maximum damage, the two layers of defense she had hastily stacked played the biggest role.
The sound of high heels echoed in her ears. Looking up, she saw the scarred silver-haired girl.
Both of them had suffered significant injuries.
Most of Luye’s Strange Demon Suit was destroyed, exposing her body.
“I won’t apologize, you know.” A lot of blood was also coming out of Luye’s ears, nose, and mouth.
Yin Lin set her staff aside, walked over, and straddled her.
A right hook was thrown. Although it was a delicate girl’s punch, hitting a fellow girl like Luye—and in the face, no less—it was still somewhat painful.
More blood appeared in Luye’s nose, but her expression was not particularly pained.
Yin Lin: “That punch just now was my private revenge for being annoyed.”
She shook her aching right hand, raised her right fist again, charged up, and struck Luye’s face hard once more.
According to the law of action and reaction, Yin Lin’s hand hurt a lot, so Luye’s face likely hurt a lot too, but Luye started laughing.
Yin Lin: “This punch just now was still my private revenge. I haven’t had enough yet.”
Then came the third punch. Her hand was red, and Luye’s face was also red: “This punch is because of the damage you caused to the vicinity while pretending to be a Strange Demon.”
The fourth punch was not thrown. Her right hand hurt a bit, so she raised her left hand high instead.
“Can’t you tell that you are being used? Your actions today were all within those people’s expectations. They intentionally let you out to cause us some trouble.”
Yin Lin was very angry about this.
The plan to destroy the portal today was an open scheme. They deliberately set a time to force the enemy’s hand.
Having the Gold, Silver, and Red sisters appear here and calculating that Luye would show up to fight them openly in Yiri Square was likely a flaw the Eastern Alliance wanted to expose.
This series of actions was like a person pretending to be drunk in a deserted alley, intentionally letting their wallet fall to the ground to lure someone into stealing it.
Yin Lin was very angry—angry that Luye had become a pawn of the Eastern Alliance.
Luye’s smile faded slightly: “I wasn’t aware. Even if I were, my choice wouldn’t change. I have no interest in whether humans or Strange Demons live or die.”
Yin Lin threw another punch. This time it was a left hook, though it lacked sufficient force.
So she threw two punches in a row.
She remembered when she first became a magical girl, how she was very resistant to her so-called duties and did not want to transform.
Now, seeing that version of herself in Luye, she realized that if she hadn’t changed and had continued being that cold, the current Luye is who she would have become.
It turned out that a magical girl who was cold toward both humans and Strange Demons was truly detestable.
“I have another question. Why go to this extent? Even wearing a Strange Demon Suit, are you afraid that causing destruction as a magical girl would make others disappointed?” At this moment, Yin Lin appeared very mature, in stark contrast to her youthful appearance.
Luye replied: “I just thought it would be fun.”
Yin Lin: “You were there that night too, right? At the Grand Theater.”
Luye did not deny it.
Yin Lin: “You wanted me to defeat you while you posed as a Strange Demon. You wanted me to show off in front of people and become a magical girl everyone admires. But don’t you think you’re insulting me? Do I need this kind of fake merit? I can kill Executive-level Strange Demons with ease. What glory is there in killing a fake like you, who is only as strong as a mid-level Strange Demon?”
Luye turned her face away, not daring to meet the silver-haired girl’s gaze.
Yin Lin: “Forget it. I don’t want to preach. if you don’t want to redeem yourself, then so be it.”
She stood up, intending to leave.
After taking two steps, she suddenly remembered something. She turned back, sprinted toward Luye, and landed another right hook on Luye’s face.
It really hurt; blood was flung from her mouth.
“This punch is the winner’s punishment for the loser of this battle.”
Leaving those words behind, Yin Lin departed.
She didn’t want to make things too serious, so she ended the conversation with a chuunibyou tone.
Taking flight and rising high into the sky, she watched those steamrollers crushing the fragments of the portal in Yiri Square, realizing that the matter of the portal had also come to an end.
The Eastern Alliance’s tactics had failed. No enemies appeared, and these portals were not activated at the last moment.
Both Huang Yi and the people of the Eastern Alliance knew that a high-intelligence creature was on the opposing side. It was very likely that a traitor had appeared among the humans.
Only the final piece of evidence was needed to confirm this speculation.
Unfortunately, they still hadn’t lured the enemy out.