Chapter 69: Lessons in Strategy and Sacrifice

Perhaps, the full-force display of a Fourth-Tier ‘Assault-type’ Magical Girl had left a profound impression on the children.

Su Qingyao stood at the back of the line, her magic staff clutched in her arms, discreetly observing the solemn young faces of the reserves. ‘Or perhaps,’ she mused, ‘they were simply stunned by that final burst.’

Beyond that, however.

To say Su Qingyao still stood at the very end of the queue would now be somewhat inaccurate.

Six bandaged casualties sat beside the young girl. While Su Ling, Lin Xiaoxiao, and Liu Huayun appeared relatively well, the three children who had ‘hindered their retreat’ wore solemn, somewhat dejected expressions.

Indeed, as a ‘Healing-type’ (in the most literal sense) Magical Girl, Su Qingyao had finally been assigned her task.

“Guh-woo.”

Su Ling seemed uncomfortable, attempting to shift her hand, only to nearly dislodge the makeshift support Su Qingyao had crafted.

“Don’t move around too much, be careful.”

Su Qingyao bent down, whispering her caution as she solicitously adjusted the bandaged area.

“Oh… alright.”

The small Magical Girl responded sluggishly.

Previously distant and cold towards others, Su Ling no longer maintained a stiff facade in front of Su Qingyao; instead, her expression was endearingly dull.

“Pfft, Su Ling, why are you so dazed?” Lin Xiaoxiao, who was nestled beside her, was amused by Su Ling’s reaction.

“Am I? Is that true?”

Su Ling’s lips twitched slightly, and she turned her head to a spot where no one could see her.

Su Qingyao had no intention of interfering with the children’s conversation. After exchanging a glance with Su Muxue beside her, she refocused her attention on Xu Yanqing, who was leading the debriefing.

“As I just analyzed, the intelligence and magical prowess displayed by this demon beast far exceeded that of ordinary demon beasts.”

“Therefore, everyone can breathe a sigh of relief. In this defeat, the element of luck played a significant role.”

Xu Yanqing paused briefly at this point, seemingly allowing the reserves gathered before her time to process the previous segment.

As Su Qingyao savored the young Magical Girls’ expressions—some bewildered, some enlightened—Xu Yanqing continued her explanation.

“Regarding the coordination within this round’s groups, there were many commendable aspects, especially in terms of team composition. I hope you all will try to learn from and experiment with these elements during your practical exercises later.”

“Miss Su Qingyao—”

“Eh!” Su Qingyao, startled by the sudden call, instinctively responded before collecting herself and answering, “I’m here.”

“I’m here.”

“I’d like to hear your assessment of Lin Xiaoxiao and the others.”

Xu Yanqing stated this impassively, seemingly for purely instructional purposes.

—Had Su Qingyao not discerned a glint of cunning in Xu Yanqing’s eyes.

Su Qingyao sighed inwardly, yet slowly replied aloud, “In my opinion, both Lin Xiaoxiao and Su Ling’s performances were largely outstanding.”

“Regardless of the unique magic we acquire in the future, we must develop it to its fullest potential—Lin Xiaoxiao and Su Ling are excellent examples of this.”

“As for the other children—”

Su Qingyao’s words faltered for a moment as she realized she had inadvertently uttered the term ‘children’ from her thoughts.

She quickly corrected herself.

“Classmates, I believe your performances all had noteworthy aspects. For instance, Fang Ruxue clearly put considerable effort into the most fundamental magic, the Mana Cannon.”

As the young girl spoke, she reached out and gently ruffled the hair of the dejected individual. “I strongly advocate for all of you to research foundational magic.”

The Blue Witch, who had proven that Magical Girls were also innate mages, wore a serene smile. Her sincere, satisfied, and appreciative gaze swept across each person’s face.

“I hope the six students from this round won’t be disheartened. I believe you will perform even better in the next round.”

The young girl’s gentle aura seemed to affect the other children. Liu Huayun, who had been silent until then, raised her hand and, after receiving permission, timidly inquired.

“But—where exactly did we go wrong? Or, if we didn’t err, how can we improve the outcome?”

Su Qingyao closed her eyes, pondered for a brief moment, then, with a slight shift to a more serious demeanor, offered her answer.

“In such a situation, my general approach would involve two main strategies. The first is a forced breakthrough: once the battle’s tone is set, leverage the advantage of suppression to achieve a swift victory and eliminate risks.”

“What—if we can’t achieve a swift victory?”

Su Qingyao exhaled softly.

“The second strategy is to prepare for unforeseen losses, controlling the cost of information gathering within an acceptable range.”

The moment Su Qingyao finished describing the second strategy, everyone inexplicably detected a faint scent of blood permeating the air.

“But what if someone sacrifices themselves?!”

Liu Huayun felt a pang of disbelief at this second option; the disparity between it and her expected foolproof plan was simply too vast.

Yet.

When confronted with that final question, Su Qingyao’s reaction defied everyone’s expectations.

Silence.

The gentle Magical Girl, uncharacteristically, displayed an expression both sorrowful and resolute.

“Then that proves the sacrifice was necessary.”

So spoke Su Qingyao.

After her words fell, a long silence lingered.

The young Magical Girls couldn’t discern the undertones of bloodshed in Su Qingyao’s words, yet they were momentarily stunned by terms like ‘sacrifice’.

Before this, such words might have seemed distant to them.

Now, however, the plight of Su Ling and He Baimiao had brought it sharply into focus for all Magical Girl reserves.

What was once a casual joke had transformed into a tangible terror, now within arm’s reach.

Xu Yanqing opened her mouth, but after a moment of hesitation, slowly closed it again.

Because it was the truth.

“Transcendent combat inevitably leads to critical choices.”

Su Qingyao lightly coughed twice, breaking the suffocating silence. “However, there’s no need for everyone to ponder these issues so early.”

A smile returned to the young girl’s lips.

“Generally speaking, most costs won’t escalate to the point of endangering one’s life…”

Su Qingyao’s eyes gazed into the distant beyond, and from her lips flowed a few more encouraging words.

Only then did the atmosphere slightly lighten.

After Su Qingyao concluded her summary, there was, predictably, little applause. Her words were not merely distant to the children; they demanded profound ‘thought’.

While the majority of the Magical Girls wore thoughtful, distracted expressions, Su Qingyao quietly slipped away to a spot largely unnoticed by most.

She ceded the stage back to Xu Yanqing, who was now taking charge.

Next was Xu Yiyi’s commentary. As Su Qingyao prepared to listen, her skirt hem was gently tugged.

Su Qingyao looked down to see Su Muxue, her face serious.

“I think what Mama said was very good, you know.”

She seemed to think Su Qingyao had been neglected, and was attempting to console her mother with a gentle, warm tone.

‘Aww, so cute,’ Su Qingyao thought.

Su Qingyao crouched down, embracing the little cat’s head and rubbing it repeatedly.

This caused Su Muxue, who was clutching her hat, to blush once more.

****