Chapter 38: Firepower Above All

In fighter pilot air combat, there is a theory known as the OODA Loop, which stands for Observation, Orientation, Decision, and Action. The core of this theory is to gather relevant external information through observation, perceive threats, make response decisions based on one’s own state, and finally take action.

Right now, the thing both Kexin and Qisi lacked most was information.

Driven by intuition, they had sensed that the monster was planning something, but clearly had no idea how to start. If they attacked recklessly, it could lead to unexpected consequences.

“What should we do then?” Qisi tightened her grip on her one-handed sword, ready to act at any moment.

If only someone more skilled in magical formulas were here. Time was slipping away, and yet the reinforcements that were supposed to arrive still hadn’t. They couldn’t rely on anyone else.

Staring at the ruined factory district, already scarred by battle, Kexin closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, her crimson eyes seemed to glow under the moonlight.

“I hope no one shows up.”

After all, it was all abandoned projects. Kexin thought, no one should mind her cleaning up the aftermath.

Qisi immediately understood Kexin’s intention without a word. “Even if someone shows up, the Special Investigation Bureau is here. Don’t worry.”

“Mm.” Kexin nodded and began infusing magic into her weapon, simultaneously constructing a new weapon form in her mind. The activation of a magical formula is, to some extent, linked to human imagination.

Under Kexin’s control, the weapon—originally a sniper rifle—split into multiple parts and automatically moved behind her, forming a circle.

If the attack against the scorpion monster was a magic cannon for annihilation, this could now be called wide-area strike.

The 12 bar-shaped objects were each a magic annihilation cannon, their barrels rotating to follow Kexin’s gaze. Wherever she looked, it would be targeted.

However, before firing, they needed to charge. Especially under the current circumstances, Kexin had to put in extra energy. During this process, she needed extreme focus. If the magic went out of control, the whole world would likely detect it.

“Cover’s on you.” Kexin closed her eyes, and a continuous stream of magic surged from her body, precisely flowing into the cannons’ energy storage systems.

“Got it. Bring it on—no, I mean, bring the spiders,” Qisi said, raising her shield and casting a slightly taunting glance at the spider-woman monster below.

Though it was still pitch-dark, the monster could clearly see in the night. And the magic around Kexin shone as brightly as the midday sun.

To the naked eye, it was still only a faint pink glow.

Even the monster couldn’t help but show a puzzled expression. What exactly was it facing? A monster? But it was the monster itself.

Gone was the confident composure it had a few minutes ago. It was now trying to figure out the situation.

Before that, though, the magic source that kept growing had to be stopped.

The spider monster waved its human-like upper body arms, and a cloud of purple-black mist appeared. From within the mist emerged several three-meter-tall giant spider monsters, each with a strange object growing from its back.

The spiders scattered across rooftops, taking firing positions, their backs flickering with purple light. Qisi saw this clearly from the air.

This was the charge-up of their magical cannons. Many monsters recently had learned long-range magic attacks, which was a headache for Qisi, who preferred close combat. And now to see so many magical points at once—it was overwhelming.

Her task was simple:

The moment she infused magic into her shield, a massive barrier expanded, enveloping the magical girl.

In just a blink, magic cannon fire rained down like a torrential storm. Each strike against the shield caused a physical and mental impact on Qisi, but it was not enough to break her.

The spider monsters had limited magical reserves. After repeated attacks, some even dissipated into particles, unable to maintain their forms.

The spider monster had to summon more, but each summon drained its energy. Moreover, another force was siphoning energy from the monster’s magical crystal core.

It had to reserve some magic for continuous summoning; otherwise, overloading could cause it to vanish instantly.

From the monster’s perspective, the shield above remained unmoved. The attacks had no effect, as Qisi was safely behind it.

“Done yet?” Qisi gritted her teeth, barely getting the words out.

Kexin opened her eyes. “Can you stop acting like you’re desperate to use the bathroom?”

“Well, that’s because you’ve been hogging it for so long,” Qisi said, suddenly feeling much lighter and speaking more smoothly.

Though the cannons had only charged to 80%, Kexin had to end the charging prematurely. If she continued, Qisi would be the first to falter.

After stopping the charge, Kexin distributed her magic to Qisi to maintain the shield and remain linked to it.

Using her multi-functional tactical goggles, Kexin scanned the ground and marked 12 targets. When she issued the firing command, all 12 floating annihilation cannons fired simultaneously, and the targeted monsters vanished along with the ground beneath them.

Of course, this did not expend all the energy. Kexin immediately began marking the second batch of targets, sometimes clearing multiple monsters with a single shot.

The spider-woman was not idle. She commanded her spiders to increase their firing rate, but the shield held.

Kexin’s magic pulses were in sync with the shield, firing from within.

Soon, the spider-woman noticed most of her minions had been destroyed, losses still increasing. Her resupply rate could not keep up.

If she focused on replenishing, the other side would—she realized her plan. She could not win a war of attrition; her magic was insufficient.

She abandoned the lost monsters, shrank her formation, and let some anti-air units deploy their shields.

Still, Kexin’s magic could penetrate, destroying even buildings with weakened power.

“Really makes no sense,” Qisi muttered, watching the completely reversed situation. If Kexin was given a proper chance to attack, things became easy. Yet she did not relax.

“Kexin, the monster’s attack frequency dropped suddenly.”

“Mm, got it.”

Out of sight, the spider-woman quietly moved to the underground center of the park.

A huge space had been excavated, with a large magical array at its center.

The monster’s magic flowed into the array, soon fully charging. If successfully activated, everything could still turn around!

The monster shifted all output into the array.

However, the slight fluctuation in magic was detected by Kexin’s equipment. Despite efforts to conceal the magic transfer, it was imperfect.

Thanks to the equipment’s durability, Kexin thought, and she immediately aimed all 12 cannons at the fluctuation. A simultaneous barrage leveled hundreds of meters of buildings around it.

The ground collapsed, revealing a massive pit.

The spider-woman, standing in the ruins, looked up in disbelief at the pink magical girl and her 12 floating cannons.

She seemed to ask how it had been discovered. The combination of magic pulses and debris rendered the elaborate magical array useless. All previous effort was wasted.

“It’s over, monster. This world doesn’t welcome you,” Kexin slowly descended, approaching the spider monster. She knew it could understand speech; it just didn’t want to communicate.

Every monster’s appearance brought massive losses to humans, which is why magical girls had to fight them.

“Over? I think the real show is just beginning.” The spider-woman’s shock faded; her expressionless face returned as she spoke in a vague voice.

Classic villain exit line. Kexin silently mocked herself for it.

She took the monster-handcuffs from her belt and tossed them forward. “Stop resisting, we—”

Before she could finish, the spider-woman suddenly teleported in front of her, her sharp toe aimed at Kexin’s neck.

Yet, like a tomato hitting a wall, it instantly turned to mush.

The 12 floating cannons fired a final volley. Pink light flashed, and everything ended.

Kexin bent down, picked up the dropped magic crystal core, placed it in the recovery container, and ran diagnostics. Lessons learned before meant the Special Investigation Bureau now added more training subjects and requirements for magical girls.

Only after confirming the crystal truly belonged to the monster could they proceed, otherwise fake crystals could cause severe consequences.

“Target confirmed destroyed.”

Looking at the crystal in the box, Kexin sighed. “Why would anyone think I’d approach a monster without the shield?”