Chapter 32: It’s Time to End This

The scorpion monster’s body was protected by a magical shield and a tough exoskeleton, so even with Ke Xin unleashing the rifle at full power, she hadn’t managed to injure it.

But that didn’t mean her attacks were completely useless. Every time a magical projectile hit, the shield had to consume more magic to block it.

Even monsters have a limited amount of magical energy, and Ke Xin was trying to force it into a battle of attrition—trying to win this war of magical consumption.

The other magical girls present had never seen such a straightforward, brute-force approach. Usually, when facing a monster with a magical shield, most would switch to melee mode to bypass the shield. Most magical girls’ weapons could switch modes.

In melee mode, the weapon itself carried an anti-magic enchantment, which even a Gamma-level monster couldn’t withstand.

It sounded simple, but fighting a monster up close was extremely risky, not to mention that some monsters had close-combat self-defense capabilities.

Some could even detonate the magic cores inside their bodies, causing a massive explosion that would harm anyone nearby.

“Don’t just stand there! Concentrate your fire!”

Although Qisi didn’t seem like a very reliable senior, she had been a magical girl for over a year and had experience coordinating freelance magical girls in large-scale operations.

Seeing the monster focus on Ke Xin, Qisi immediately gave orders.

The stunned magical girls reacted, infusing their wands with magic. Colorful magic projectiles shot out from the gem-like parts of their wands, striking the scorpion from all directions.

By focusing the attacks on the side facing Ke Xin, the monster’s defenses in other directions weakened, and its magical shield dropped. Some attacks even pierced the shield, leaving marks on its body.

Although the shield mitigated most damage, it couldn’t prevent all harm to the monster’s exoskeleton.

Even so, the scorpion monster’s instincts were threatened. It ignored Ke Xin for a moment and aimed its tail-mounted projectile launcher at the source of the last attack.

The magical girl who fired that slightly stronger projectile froze in fear at the sight of the enormous scorpion turning suddenly, its crimson eyes glaring. Her legs trembled, making it difficult to move.

She stood there dumbfounded, staring at the monster much larger than herself.

Ke Xin noticed the monster wasn’t shooting at her and initially thought the attack wave had ended, but seeing its back fully exposed, she immediately realized something was wrong.

The scorpion fired the remaining projectiles at top speed. When Ke Xin first encountered this monster, she had barely survived—these projectiles could reach speeds up to five times the speed of sound.

Without preparation, dodging them was extremely difficult.

The terrified magical girl hadn’t even activated her shield, forgetting she could do so.

Ke Xin, on the other side of the monster, knew what was about to happen and moved to intervene.

At the last moment, a yellow figure dashed in front of the frozen magical girl. Qisi raised her shield, and a massive barrier instantly formed, taking the brunt of the projectiles at close range.

Seeing the shimmering golden magical shield, Ke Xin realized Qisi had succeeded. She changed her approach and switched her weapon to melee mode, aiming for the scorpion’s tail while the monster’s attention was still elsewhere.

Her blade, made from special materials and embedded with high-level magical runes, automatically disrupted the monster’s magical shield upon contact, slicing through it cleanly.

The projectile-launching section and the scorpion’s tail were severed in two. The monster reacted quickly, swinging the remaining tail toward Ke Xin.

Ke Xin instinctively raised her weapon as a barrier. Gamma-level monsters were incredibly strong.

With a heavy thud, Ke Xin was thrown back, crashing into several pillars.

The scene looked dire, but the actual damage was minor; her combat outfit was merely covered in dust and grime.

Hit by a tail thicker than a paint bucket, Ke Xin was stunned, but she quickly activated a personal shield and used magic to slow her fall.

Unlike the previous magical girl, she didn’t get sent flying out of the building. Falling from dozens of floors without a shield would have been fatal, even for a magical girl.

Qisi, retracting her large shield, saw a pink beam streak past. She knew this attack wouldn’t harm Ke Xin and didn’t even bother to confirm. “Xingyao, we’ve got this. Go join the others outside.”

Xingyao was the codename of the previously terrified magical girl. Hearing Qisi, she regained control of herself, nodded, and stepped back before leaping out through a broken window.

For a new magical girl who had never imagined being involved in combat, the ability to leave was a huge relief.

As the battle continued, untrained freelance magical girls would increasingly become a liability, so it was wise to let them retreat.

But that meant the remaining fighters had to face the monster’s full attention.

Qisi tapped her sword against her shield, making a noise to draw the monster’s attention. “Hey, big bug, over here. Don’t get distracted!”

“You’re in a good mood,” Ke Xin remarked.

The monster had lost its long-range weapon and even considered reattaching its severed tail. Ke Xin immediately fired, destroying the exposed launcher.

This confirmed to her that the tail weapon wasn’t generated naturally; otherwise, the monster could have recreated it with magic.

Even though Ke Xin frowned at the sight of the giant insect, she continued to monitor its magical energy fluctuations.

The situation wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t impossible.

Qisi smiled casually. “Heh, at least I have to look composed in front of a rookie. Otherwise, you’d have a bad impression of your senior.”

Her magic reserves were below 20%, heavily depleted from protecting others. But this wasn’t the first time she had been in such a situation.

“Oh, so you care about that?”

Ke Xin had already formed her opinion: Qisi was unreliable and a bit frivolous.

“What do you mean? Not every junior is as ‘unlovable’ as you, Ke Xin.”

Around the time Ke Xin became a magical girl, many other candidates appeared in Muzhou City. The Special Investigation Bureau naturally recruited a large number of new magical girls, though most weren’t keen on becoming full-time agents.

Qisi’s “unlovable” comment referred mostly to personality. Ever since Ke Xin and Qisi were assigned to the same liaison, Ke Xin had never treated Qisi with respect and occasionally showed disdain. This was a big blow to Qisi… probably.

Ke Xin rolled her eyes, ignoring her. She tightened her grip on her weapon, similar to a fang-and-halberd hybrid. “I’ll handle this one. Switch mode—Annihilation Magic Cannon!”