Atop the Southern Desert Fortress, Ling Qinghe stood on the trembling platform, surveying the battlefield below. A torrential curtain of fire, spreading boundlessly, had become the decisive factor in turning the tide of battle. Unbeknownst to everyone, she had infiltrated the depths of the Southern Desert Fortress long before the fighting escalated. She had deployed eighty percent of her magical phantoms—over three thousand of them—each armed with a single-use ‘Backstab Blade,’ a magical artifact designed specifically to sever mana circuits. Should a magical phantom silently backstab a Magical Girl, severing her mana circuit, any Magical Girl below the Special Grade would be rendered utterly helpless. This tactic allowed the magical phantoms to possess the fortress personnel, forcibly seizing control of their bodies. Their aim was to compel them to continue emergency repairs and, crucially, to wrest control of the Southern Desert Fortress’s primary systems.
****
Ling Qinghe first observed the towering wall opposite them. It had nearly sealed itself, leaving only a slender fissure. With a swift sweep of her right hand, a section of the fortress’s cannons abruptly pivoted, unleashing a devastating barrage. The Lightning-Wielding Special Grade’s expression drastically shifted. She swiftly manifested her lightning core, deploying a plasma net to intercept the assault, but it was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of fire after only a brief resistance. The Lightning-Wielding Special Grade had no choice but to hoist the Beast Mistress, who lay limp on the ground, and retreat clumsily towards the passage exit. The very moment she turned, a new volley of concentrated fire precisely struck the towering wall. With a thunderous explosion, shattered rock fragments flew. The recently mended wall was ripped open once more, leaving a gaping breach and sending clouds of dust swirling into the sky. Within the cloaking field, the Witches seized their opportunity. Their forms blurred into eleven streaks of light, using the cannon fire as cover to slip into enemy territory.
Moments later, they materialized atop the fortress, behind Ling Qinghe. The snow beneath their boots crunched softly with each step.
“Sister He, your grand entrance at the climax truly turned the tide!”
The lead Witch’s voice, though tinged with the scent of gunpowder, could not conceal her fervent excitement.
At this, Ling Qinghe offered a slight nod. Her gaze remained fixed on the battlefield, meticulously adjusting the trajectory of the cannon fire, locking onto every entity marked with an ‘anomalous color.’
****
Yet, the situation was far from resolved. After all, two Transcendent-Grade individuals were present on the field. The colossal dragon, thousands of meters long, merely let out a single roar. Atop its head, the woman in the green dress gracefully waved her sleeve. Countless vines erupted from the earth, rapidly growing, intertwining, and weaving across the snowy ground. They formed an impenetrable barrier, effectively blocking the majority of the cannon fire. The other young woman in black narrowed her eyes. Layers of glaciers surged from the ground, and colossal ice giants awakened from within them. Wielding ice blades and shields, they positioned themselves before the Magical Girls, serving as a frontline defense and intercepting a significant portion of the artillery. Meanwhile, on the Dragon Rider’s side, her black dragon spewed dragon’s breath, intercepting the incoming cannon fire. However, when the Dragon Rider turned her head, she noticed that one of the two Witches was missing.
Xia Naxin was gone…
It turned out she had first slipped into the inner world, freeing herself from the shackles of the binding magic, and then reappeared in reality. Xia Naxin scooped up Ling Cheyin, transforming into a streak of light as she soared towards the fortress. The Dragon Rider attempted to intervene but was cut off by the relentless, concentrated cannon fire. As for the vast numbers of High and Mid-Grade Magical Girls, they could only rely on the protection of the Special Grades. Otherwise, widespread casualties would have already occurred. The Border Fortress’s firepower was calibrated to target those of Special Grade and above.
****
After a while, Ling Qinghe watched Ling Cheyin return to her side, then stepped forward to embrace her, offering comfort.
“Are you… not too scared?”
Ling Cheyin, however, shook her head, her hair still dotted with unmelted snowflakes. She made no mention of having been ‘beaten’ to the point of dispelling her transformation earlier.
“Not at all! I trust Sister…”
Concurrently, Xia Naxin stepped forward, interrogating the eleven junior Witches.
“Are you kidding me? It took you this long to breach a wall? Did you even follow the plan…?”
Upon hearing this, the lead Witch hastily stepped forward to explain.
“Senior Xia, you might not know, but the Southern Desert Wall somehow gained a ‘self-healing’ property, which greatly slowed down our progress. And… we lost a member; the Beast Mistress was captured…”
****
Meanwhile, the battle had devolved into a stalemate. The Witches had almost entirely gathered atop the Southern Desert Fortress, while the Border Magical Girls advanced like an overwhelming army. At the forefront, Transcendent-Grades and Special Grades formed a defensive line, staunchly resisting the cannon fire. Of course, the Border Magical Girls held two hostages: the Beast Mistress and Lina. Just then, another Transcendent-Grade arrived, shattering the clouds as she descended. Her nascent magical fluctuations emanated an oppressive aura that warped the very sky. With her arrival, the advance against the cannon fire accelerated noticeably.
Smoke billowed, and both sides stood in tense confrontation. The Southern Desert Fortress was once again encircled by a human tide. The three Transcendent-Grades positioned themselves at three corners of the battlefield, now able to steadily resist the firepower and push forward. Atop the wooden dragon’s head, the woman in green manipulated terrain-altering vines, which writhed and coiled like living serpents. The young woman in black caused the uprooted glaciers to shift, while the ice golems breathed icy blasts, freezing artillery shells even as they wielded their ice blades. The newly arrived Transcendent-Grade manifested a colossal external avatar behind her, which swung a massive axe. Each powerful cleave detonated swathes of incoming cannon shells. Two Special Grades stood in the rear, directing the throngs of Magical Girls. Endless streams of elemental magic rained down upon the Southern Desert Fortress’s summit, directly targeting Ling Qinghe’s position. However, they were all repelled by a translucent, golden energy shield. It rippled like a spiderweb, accompanied by the faint, crackling sounds of dissipating energy.
Witnessing the Border Magical Girl army, a ‘dark cloud pressing upon the city, threatening its destruction,’ it was clear the fortress would eventually fall if this continued. Xia Naxin stepped forward a few paces, attempting to inquire about their strategy.
“What do we do?”
Ling Qinghe, however, simply gazed at the distant horizon, where dawn was approaching. She merely murmured:
“Don’t rush. There’s still time. The person I’m waiting for hasn’t arrived yet…”
“Who?”
Ling Qinghe only smiled, offering no words. Seeing her like this, Xia Naxin felt a surge of frustration she couldn’t express. ‘At a time like this, she’s still playing coy?’ ‘Can the riddler just disappear already?’ But then, a new thought struck Xia Naxin, and she ventured a guess:
“Have you prepared some contingency, like a mana-blocking device? And a large quantity of goldstone, perhaps?”
Ling Qinghe gently shook her head.
“Those things are useless against Transcendent-Grades. Using them would be a waste; they wouldn’t change anything…”
****
Time ticked by, second by agonizing second. The Border Army had advanced to less than a kilometer from the fortress. The snowy ground and the sky itself were either swarming with the human tide or dominated by colossal entities: black dragons, wooden dragons, sky-piercing external avatars, and countless ice giants covering the terrain. The fortress’s artillery fire persisted, a continuous roar. Even as the magic-powered cannon barrels glowed red from overheating, they continued to operate under extreme stress. Ling Qinghe leaned against the railing, feeling no remorse whatsoever, as none of it was her property anyway. Concurrently, overwhelming torrents of elemental magic pressed in. The relentless exchange of fire between both sides transformed the snowfield into an inferno, obliterating any trace of white.
It was at this critical juncture that a rift tore open in the sky. A manned capsule, wreathed in flames and trailing a long fiery tail, sliced through the clouds and plummeted from above. Under the astonished gazes of all present, it descended rapidly. ‘Wait, that symbol on the capsule door… wasn’t that the mark of Tanhua City Prison?’ Consequently, neither side made any deliberate attempt to intercept the manned transport capsule. Indeed, the rhythm of their attacks momentarily faltered. And so it was. With a resounding crash, the capsule landed squarely between the two warring factions, carving a snow crater several meters deep. This, however, did not halt the ongoing conflict; artillery and magic continued to clash. Yet, every eye periodically flickered towards that newly formed snow crater.
Meanwhile, atop the fortress, Xia Naxin staggered to the edge of the platform, utterly disbelieving what she sensed. ‘Such an aura… how is it possible?’ ‘Is it Silvia?!’ ‘How was he ‘deployed’ onto the battlefield? What was Tanhua City Prison thinking?’
Beneath the snow crater, however, from within the ruined capsule, a weak, listless cough echoed. Suddenly, the capsule door was blasted open by an unseen, immense force. A gaunt figure clambered out of the snow crater, still coughing. His tattered black-and-white prison uniform hung loosely. Silvia leaned against the capsule, his pale face still bearing the signs of exhaustion from days of confinement. Having endured prolonged exposure to a mana-nullifying environment, he was still somewhat disoriented by his sudden return to the outside world. Gradually, however, with each breath he took, his body began to recover. It was an involuntary healing magic, swiftly eradicating the physical frailty accumulated during his days of imprisonment. His slightly hollowed cheeks gradually filled out, his spine slowly straightened, and his silver short hair lifted in the wind. His once dull, lifeless purple eyes now held a glimmer of brilliance. He was no longer gaunt but had regained a firm physique. At this, he looked around at the chaotic, war-torn landscape, under the vast, snowy night, with a puzzled, bewildered expression.
“Where is this?”
His voice carried the faint bewilderment of someone newly awakened.