The law of fearing the strong and bullying the weak applied even to the demonic creatures.
Lightningman’s primary target was clearly Yin Lin; his murderous intent was not concealed at all.
It was as if he was saying, “I’m only targeting her—what are you going to do about it?”
Jinluan’s role was to stay close to Yin Lin to prevent Lightningman from charging his attack.
Only Lightningman’s charged attack posed a deadly threat to Yin Lin.
Without charging, he could only break through her shield and cause minor injuries; it was nearly impossible to kill her outright.
Jinluan was also hesitant to charge up, fearing that his speed wouldn’t keep up with Lightningman and that he wouldn’t be able to interrupt the attack in time.
Three beings capable of one-shotting their enemies had turned their fight into a war of attrition due to various considerations.
In recent days, Jinluan had already used up a portion of her mana maintaining the Magic Girl Transformation and enduring prolonged flight.
Combined with the earlier battle, her current mana reserves were down to about one-third.
She feared depletion the most at this moment.
At this rate of consumption, she estimated she could only hold out for another five minutes.
The Instant Step technique was the most mana-consuming, but it was the only way to keep up with the battered Yin Lin and the rapidly sprinting Lightningman.
She didn’t even dare enchant her weapons—it would increase mana consumption and wouldn’t necessarily break through Lightningman’s basic defense.
A new round of battle was about to begin.
The roar of a plane echoed overhead as it swiftly crossed the sky, dropping something without stopping.
No one paid it any mind.
From the corner of her eye, Jinluan noticed Lightningman land and immediately adjust his posture, preparing to sprint.
Jinluan Instant Stepped back to Yin Lin’s side just in time—Lightningman arrived the next instant.
But this time, something unexpected happened.
Instead of attacking Yin Lin, he stopped and circled around to Jinluan’s back.
Jinluan’s eyes barely managed to track his speed, noticing that he slowed down behind her.
He swung a punch toward Jinluan’s body, but she disappeared again, instantly appearing behind him.
Then she leisurely slashed with her blade.
He calmly dodged and reappeared at her side.
Jinluan vanished once more, returning behind him.
Her slow slash cut against his tech armor, failing to penetrate but sparking a shower of flames.
This was one reason Lightningman disliked fighting Jinluan—though her attacks were slow, she possessed the Instant Step, effectively teleporting.
Others might not see it clearly, but Lightningman saw it perfectly; the only thing faster than him was teleportation.
Having fought Jinluan before, he also knew her weakness.
Lightningman continued pursuing Jinluan, forcing her into continuous Instant Steps.
At this point, Yin Lin felt surprisingly unpressured.
She reached the destination safely, observing the battle while charging up her power.
“Observing” was more a figure of speech; all she could see was a shadowy figure and the cracking ground beneath.
A few seconds later, Jinluan was caught again—struck by a punch that sent her tumbling dozens of times across the ground, rolling over a hundred meters and leaving a trail of blood.
It was brutal.
Enduring the pain, she Instant Stepped away to a safer distance to evade.
Just from that single punch, she was heavily injured, nearly losing the ability to resist.
They should have done this earlier—killed this annoying fly Jinluan first and solved Yin Lin sooner.
Experts from the Human Alliance watching from afar witnessed this scene, confirming their earlier judgments.
Something was commanding Lightningman—he had been following orders all along.
This explained why, even when at a disadvantage, Lightningman recklessly insisted on settling the Magic Girl today.
His commander was demanding he deal with Yin Lin quickly, for reasons unknown.
Until just now, when the signal was disrupted and command lost.
Only then did Lightningman start acting on his own initiative, deciding first to take out the most troublesome Jinluan.
After incapacitating Jinluan, only Yin Lin remained on the field.
Taking her out would take just one punch.
Two seconds to end the battle!
Seeing fragile Yin Lin, he sprinted forward. In his eyes, she was like a helpless little lamb, apparently terrified, awaiting imminent death.
Closing in, after running more than fifty meters, suddenly his footing slipped—his soles, ankles, and knees refused to bend, scraping against a strange metal net.
He lost balance and fell.
That fall sent him rolling over a hundred meters.
Sparks, electric arcs, and harsh explosions rang out from his body; his tech armor was smoking and catching fire.
He had no idea what had happened—only that his whole body tingled numb, his sense of touch dulled, as if he’d lost all sensory response.
His body was uncontrollable; even moving was difficult.
From Yin Lin’s perspective, a different picture emerged.
She had noticed the metal nets laid across the ground, connected to a power distribution facility.
She knew exactly what this meant.
It was a deliberate trap set by the Human Alliance.
So, she had flown onto it deliberately, baiting Lightningman, who couldn’t fly, into the trap.
Lightningman initially went after Jinluan, but after severely injuring her, he fell for the trap.
Once he stepped on it, he was electrocuted and toppled, turning the battlefield into chaos.
Absurdly, the high-voltage electricity couldn’t kill him.
Even though he was set on fire and his tech armor burned, he remained alive.
Yin Lin wanted to act, but her charged power was still insufficient.
Moreover, Lightningman was still capable of moving at lightning speed, likely able to escape the blast radius of her magical cannon.
He actually grabbed hold of the metal nets crackling with electric arcs on the ground, slightly tearing and pulling away the troublesome trap.
Even steel rods several centimeters thick were as fragile as paper to him.
The high-voltage electricity that could char Yin Lin to a crisp only mildly paralyzed Lightningman’s nerves.
His electric magic resistance was at least 90%.
No wonder the Qianlong Island Incident had caused such massive losses.
Now, Yin Lin deeply understood what it meant to face a cadre-level demon—a single creature nearly capable of annihilating the world!
Only two seconds had passed, but fear surged within Yin Lin, urging her to fire immediately.
Yet if she fired now, the power wouldn’t be enough to kill Lightningman.
She had only one chance to fire; if this shot missed or failed to kill, she would be killed in return.
No matter how much mana she had, she couldn’t withstand Lightningman’s continuous five-minute assault to charge up a second blast.
Should she fire?
If she didn’t fire now, she might never get another chance.