In the large office at Suzuki Springs, an emergency meeting was underway. The atmosphere was grave; even with six lights on, the room was still dim. Xu Yang leaned over the smart screen table, analyzing the situation.
"Why the rush?" Farosa said as she pushed the door open. "I wanted to spend more time looking at those Little Witches."
"The Suzuki Group’s agents have returned, and their methods aren’t limited to just the convoy and the gang. Many citizens are rushing towards Suzuki Springs, but it’s against their will—it’s a result of magic power." Xu Yang pulled up footage from the front door’s camera.
About 200 citizens were being controlled, moving forward stiffly like robots, shielding the gang members of the Suzuki Group, preventing the Katsuragi Gang from daring to fire their weapons. For now, they could only close their doors and remain inside, putting them in a very passive position.
Farosa folded her arms across her chest. The room was filled with too many faces fretted with worry, making her feel uncomfortable.
She too had been afraid, but her fears had always come in the solitude of her sleep by the campfire, or as she tossed and turned alone on a lonely stone bed. Now, she was worrying together with a group of people, which only increased the pressure. The blank expressions on the faces of those under control on the screen looked like puppet golems, giving her a sense of dread. Farosa’s first instinct was still to run, to avoid their sharp edges, especially since she could run very fast and spirit witches were so dangerous...
It was too frightening.
"You can recognize what kind of magic power it is, right?" Xu Yang said.
"Of course, it’s mind control magic power, the most annoying kind." Farosa muttered.
"Even you find it difficult to deal with mental enemies?" Xu Yang mused.
"They’re among the most dangerous types of Witches." Farosa emphasized. "You never know when you’ll fall under their spell and they’ll tamper with your memories, influence your emotions and behavior—that’s not the worst of it. The most terrible thing is losing control of yourself in an instant, becoming a puppet under their control."
"Not even the Law of Recovery works."
"Yes, there’s nothing you can do. Once you fall to that state, forget about using your own magic power." Farosa bit her lip.
She didn’t want to admit her weaknesses, but what couldn’t be done just couldn’t be done. Professional mental protection was needed to withstand it.
Xu Yang’s mental processors spun rapidly, calculating every possible scenario that could unfold.
The probability of defeat was extremely high.
An unknown-ability mental Witch could force them into a corner. Just encountering her could lead to being controlled, which meant Farosa couldn’t partake in the direct combat.
"Taking lives can be used through walls," Xu Yang reassured her. "You hide yourself first, then take action."
"Although that’s possible, I’m still worried," Farosa emphasized. "After all the difficulty getting to where we are today, how can I let a mental Witch take me down? I need to stay far away from her, avoid all trouble!"
"Then let us be the stepping stones," Kong Tai said, grabbing an axe. "Witches use their magic to interfere with the battlefield. We mortals expend our lives to buy time."
When Matteo negotiated with him about plundering an Ancient Witch, Kong Tai had imagined the Ancient Witches were omnipotent.
Now, it seemed they had strength to spare but not enough courage.
"I’ll also go," Asa Katsuragi also stood up.
"Who’s going to play the trump card first?" Kong Tai stepped out of the office. "Boss Katsuragi, you need to have the resolve of a leader."
Asa Katsuragi clenched his fists, his expression solemn.
"Is there still a chance to leave?" Farosa asked urgently, "Why insist on fighting to the death here?"
"Compared to retreating, I’d rather die protecting Suzuki Springs," Asa Katsuragi gritted his teeth. "I won’t cede this place to Suzuki Shinji."
"If we retreat, we’ll become the biggest joke," Xu Yang said. "Pull yourselves together."
Farosa felt uneasy about the unpredictable future.
She didn’t care about this place and was fully absorbed in imagining herself as the new Witch God. But now she faced the troublesome mental Witch, with not enough detailed intelligence. Any reckless action could easily land her in a trap.
The battle between Witches... required her to use 100% of her thought and energy to plan, something Farosa hated.
Because of the special nature of magic power, confrontations between Witches were extremely delicate. Any mistake could lead to defeat, and the outcome was impossible to predict. The abilities of many Witches could be decisive, often determining the result in the first moment of confrontation.
It must have been the envious Dilnai who sent the hunter after her; she had made a vicious threat last time. Farosa thought darkly; that person really knew who to send to do the job.
Whether it was Battle Witches, assassin Witches, or Reality Manipulators, Farosa had experience fighting them. No matter how strong, she could find an opportunity to handle them. But mental ones? She really didn’t want to encounter them.
At that point, she could only unleash the "God" engulfing her heart, letting it run wild. Its will was as deep as the ocean and defied mind control. But that was a scorched-earth last resort and couldn’t be counted on as a regular strategy.
Farosa bit her fingertip, held her breath, and silently planned.
A daunting battle was ahead, her expression growing colder by the moment.
The first wave of the enemy’s assault came from a large number of citizens.
They crowded at the front door, unafraid of death due to mind control, violently slamming their bodies, heads, and feet against the bulletproof glass. Shielded by these human shields, members of the Suzuki Group began to move explosive devices and high ladders, preparing to breach the front walls and the entrance, and directly break into Suzuki Springs.
A white shuttle provided support for the entire enemy force, with four hovering cannons loaded with energy ammunition, ready to blast Suzuki Springs to pieces at any moment.
Xu Yang tapped into Innovation’s military module, using infrared guidance programs to lock onto the enemy’s shuttle, waiting for an opportunity to launch a missile.
He couldn’t fire rashly, the first wave of an attack was likely to be intercepted by the enemy’s anti-missile system. All ammunition had to be utilized before there was any chance of inflicting damage, but it was unlikely to directly sink it.
He attempted to scan and hack into the white shuttle, but encountered numerous difficulties. The first layer of encryption alone used a scheme he was completely unfamiliar with.
The technological means of Lighthouse Core in New Taixi State were not to be underestimated – there was a reason they weren’t hacked directly.
—Another shuttle arrived.
Xu Yang switched the camera angle, only to see a sky-blue shuttle moving slowly towards Suzuki Springs like a gliding whale, hovering over the lane. From its stance, it seemed to be subtly protecting the hot spring.
"Warning, unknown witch detected using magic power on our clients. Cease immediately, or we will intervene," a synthetic voice emitted from the shuttle. "This unit ’Blue Phoenix,’ belonging to Heavenly Cardinal Manufacturing’s Damage Control Department, has arrived to pay a visit!"
Heavenly Cardinal Manufacturing, why have they come? Xu Yang felt surprised. That witch named Lu Jing seemed interested in interfering with the situation.
Without waiting for the white shuttle to respond, Lu Jing clenched the Magic Blade in her hand, opened the hatch, and slashed downward, unleashing her full magic power.
Lu Jing’s magic power was... "Anti-Magic Power"!
A torrent of sky-blue magical power rained down like a deluge, washing over the citizens, cleansing them of the mind control they’d been subjected to.
The citizens instantly snapped to awareness, screaming in panic and confusion.
"Quickly leave the scene!" Lu Jing commanded loudly through Blue Phoenix’s public address system, "Our department is executing necessary measures!"
"Help!" The citizens, freed from control, fled in chaos. The Suzuki Group gang members also had no choice but to back off, afraid of being targeted by Blue Phoenix.
What a helpful "Anti-Magic Power," Xu Yang thought, feeling somewhat relieved. If they had to shoot and kill innocent citizens, the impact would be terribly negative.
For Mireya, the situation turned dire. She tried to mentally control Lu Jing, but Lu Jing had her own protection from Anti-Magic Power.
"What is that?" A soldier by Mireya’s side inquired.
"Anti-Magic Power has neutralized my power," Mireya stood up, "Blue Phoenix and its crew are a formidable force of Heavenly Cardinal Manufacturing on the Archipelago Continent."
"Why does Heavenly Cardinal Manufacturing have any reason to intervene!" another Pale Legion soldier complained, "Are these humans starting to act recklessly now?"
"Please have your armed forces quickly..." Mireya was just about to access the communication system when she felt anxious. Could this really be the end? Impossible, she needed to take back the news of victory. She paused for a while, struggling to clear her thoughts, "...our department is executing necessary recovery procedures on key assets of the Lighthouse Core. Requesting your armed forces to withdraw promptly."
While seemingly seeking to negotiate, Mireya already had the Hovering Cannons targeted at Blue Phoenix.
Lu Jing didn’t want to fight, but a soldier beside her urged her to run to the control panel. In a frantic rush, she managed to operate the weapons module on the shuttle, opening its side skirts to release their own Hovering Cannons.
Mireya launched the first attack – the white Hovering Cannons released high-energy beams, continuously bombarding the sky-blue shuttle above, like meteors, fiercely weakening its energy shield’s defensive strength. These Hovering Cannons fired in rotation to prevent the weapons from overheating and self-destructing due to continuous firing.
Xu Yang immediately had Innovation, hidden in the courtyard of Suzuki Springs, open fire. The directional missile launch tubes on either side of Innovation fired swiftly, four missiles whistled into the sky, then redirected towards the white shuttle.
"Alarm! Missile incoming!" A shrill alarm resounded within the cabin, and a Pale Legion soldier immediately activated the decoy flare system. Twelve high-temperature incendiary projectiles were launched from the rear of the shuttle, scattering like fireworks.
Burning ferociously and emitting heat, the missiles launched by Innovation mistakenly identified them as more tempting targets - the enemy’s engines - and abruptly changed course, colliding with them and exploding.
The missiles exploded violently after being intercepted. They were originally designed for a wider battlefield, but now in the narrow streets, they were triggered to airburst, thunderous noise filling the air. The blast waves and smoke spread, obscuring the sky. Members of the Suzuki Group gang below ran for cover.
"We didn’t hit it!" Suzuki Shinji ducked to avoid the shrapnel, turned, and saw the white shuttle unscathed, heaving a sigh of relief, "Such poor accuracy with these missiles!"
"Boss—Boss!" A comrade urgently gestured, "Look!"
"Cough—cough—" As Suzuki Shinji brushed away the airborne smoke, he looked up, frozen in place.
He couldn’t help but hold his breath.
As the smokescreen on the street cleared, Blue Phoenix had already opened its two side skirts, successfully releasing twelve "Traveling Sword-10" model Hovering Cannons. They trailed purple tail lights, suspended on both sides, forming an orderly battery and identifying all enemies below as targets.