Unconventional Warfare

“Hey! These vegetables are all wilted, why can’t you sell them cheaper?”

“Auntie, take a good look, where are these vegetables wilted? They’re perfectly fresh, aren’t they? You can’t haggle like this!”

In a suburban vegetable market, a lively cacophony of aunties haggled fervently with the vendors. Everything seemed utterly routine, yet no one was aware of the extraordinary events about to unfold.

Just as everyone settled into the belief that it would be another tranquil day, some of the elderly patrons at the market’s entrance suddenly observed a throng of people fleeing, as though pursued by some unseen force.

“What are those people doing?”

“I don’t know. Hey! Auntie, why are you stealing my vegetables?”

The elderly patrons, dismissing the unusual commotion outside as merely some youthful escapade, paid it no further mind and continued with their shopping.

Just then, a sharp-eyed elderly man noticed that at the market entrance, which had been cleared of people, now stood a humanoid creature. It was utterly black, with a stark white ‘X’ emblazoned on its face and a prominent pair of horns jutting from its head.

“Guga…”

The black humanoid creature let out a low growl. With monstrous strength, each step it took left a small crater in the market’s tiled floor. This was clearly no ordinary human.

Indeed, such humanoid creatures were not singular.

No sooner had the first black, horned humanoid emerged than more identical creatures swiftly followed in its wake. Each one appeared to be carved from the same mold, utterly indistinguishable from the next.

Confronted by these bizarre creatures, the elderly patrons froze for a few seconds before swiftly—and rather urgently—completing their vegetable purchases.

“Hurry, hurry! With so many of them, they’re clearly here for a group purchase at our market. If you’re slow, there won’t be anything left.”

One auntie, feigning worldliness, remarked to the one beside her, who nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, on a street several hundred meters from the market, an eerie silence had settled. The only occupants were another cluster of horned humanoid creatures, alongside Maositog and Yue Ling.

“Tsk, I truly don’t know what the Commander is thinking,” Maositog grumbled, a tender blade of grass, plucked from who knew where, between his teeth. He shouldered a two-meter-long steel great axe, chewing thoughtfully as he continued, “to actually send me to familiarize you with fighting Magical Girls.”

“Hey,” Yue Ling retorted, crossing her arms and subtly shooting Maositog a similarly disdainful glance, “don’t talk as if I’m thrilled to be here with you… Besides, with my current strength, I hardly need your company.”

‘Well… I haven’t actually fought any Magical Girls, it’s true, but I’ve certainly watched plenty of Magical Girl anime, you know~ Most of them weren’t exactly serious, but that’s beside the point. Anyway, based on the intel I’ve gathered, the Magical Girls in this world are best defeated using rather unconventional methods. And to employ such unconventional tactics against Magical Girls… well, that certainly requires the Magical Girls’ best friend, Tentacle-chan~’

“Hmph? You?” Maositog scoffed. “You can’t even tell people apart, yet you’re still so confident? What brazen arrogance! Let me be clear: if you get seriously injured, don’t expect me to save you.”

“What do you mean ‘can’t tell people apart’?” Yue Ling retorted, a hint of indignation in her voice. “The three girls I saw in your video looked exactly like those three Magical Girls, alright? It’s your problem that you couldn’t see it.”

As she uttered those last four words, Yue Ling deliberately extended a finger and poked Maositog four times on his body. While the physical damage was negligible, the insult was immense.

As Maositog’s lips twitched with suppressed fury, Yue Ling was suddenly struck by a realization.

‘Hmm… it’s truly peculiar, now that I think about it. Their appearances were so strikingly similar; with the Commander’s discerning eye and the other executives’ sharp perception, they shouldn’t have failed to notice that those three were indeed Magical Girls. Could it be… some form of facial information interference? Their looks didn’t drastically change before and after transformation, yet no one could discern it… If so, perhaps it’s a unique ability I possess as a reincarnated individual… Hehe… I’ve just thought of a rather delightful way to play this out.’

Just as Yue Ling became utterly absorbed in the fascinating new game she had devised, one of the black, horned humanoid creatures scurried over to Maositog, emitting a series of ‘guga, guga’ sounds, as if relaying some urgent information.

“Hmm? Are you saying there’s a group of elderly people in the market who can’t be scared away?” Maositog mused. “Tsk… how troublesome. Very well, have the Obscure Forms use the old method.”

Upon receiving Maositog’s command, the Obscure Form immediately snapped to attention, saluted him, and then swiftly departed for the market.

So… what was the choice of these horned black humanoids, faced with the utter indifference of the elderly patrons? They simply hoisted the market vendors’ stalls onto their shoulders and fled, compelling the aunties and uncles to follow them, all the while shouting curses.

As for why Maositog instructed his subordinate Obscure Forms to act in this manner… there was simply no other recourse. The Commander had explicitly forbidden killing, and all destruction was to commence only after a complete evacuation. The elderly, being far more fragile than ordinary individuals, could not be allowed to sustain injuries, as even a minor wound might prove fatal. Thus, Maositog had been forced to devise this particular method, even requiring the Obscure Forms to carry any elderly person unable to escape to a safe location. Consequently, there were even instances where the elderly ended up thanking the Obscure Forms.

“It appears everyone who needed to evacuate has done so,” Maositog declared. He glanced at the data displayed on a device in his hand, and after confirming that no one else remained in the area designated for destruction, he raised his great axe with one hand and bellowed, “Commence destruction!”

Upon receiving Maositog’s command, the Obscure Forms instantly shed their previously gentle demeanor, launching into a furious rampage against the surrounding buildings. The immense sounds of demolition resonated so powerfully that they could be heard clearly even from a kilometer away.

“So, the Obscure Forms are in charge of destruction and creating a commotion,” Yue Ling inquired, a hint of confusion in her voice. She observed Maositog standing motionless, his axe propped beside him, eyes closed in apparent rest. “And we just need to wait for the Magical Girls to arrive?”

“Isn’t that obvious?” Maositog retorted, opening one eye to glare at her. “You even have to ask me something like this. You… you didn’t pull strings to get into our team, did you?”

“…………”

‘As expected… I shouldn’t rely on this person…’

Yue Ling sighed, a silent thought echoing in her mind. From her pocket, she then produced a blue, gelatinous object that resembled a jellyfish. ‘Little one, don’t disappoint me later, okay~’