Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

The two of them widened their eyes at this moment, not daring to blink for a second. The sword in their hands, their body's movements, were at the highest level of response status. Pain perception was temporarily shielded, solely to face the battle hovering on the brink of death.

In just a few seconds, continuous sparks from clashes erupted in the alley, leaving scorched marks all over the walls and floor.

Finally, due to overheating and energy loss, the mantid's reactions became less agile, and more burned smells spilled out from the gaps between its armor plates.

"Zi-la——" A teeth-gritting metallic rip sounded as a member came behind the 'mantid', thrusting the light saber into the armor's gap, then strenuously tearing it open. Intense sparks and explosive sounds burst from the inside of the mantid afterwards.

Not long after, the mantid's head dimmed, its components shut down, and it fell to the ground.

Feeling relieved yet apprehensive, they watched the now motionless but still smoky and burnt-smelling 'mantid' Autonomous Unit, then gave another slash, cutting off its head, and finally sighed a breath of relief.

"It's absolutely terrifying."

"With such speed and explosive power, even ordinary Sequence 6 Transcendents are doomed to be instantly killed."

"A fearsome killing weapon."

Outside the base, Audrey's support troops had arrived and were battling with Ores' offensive personnel—one side was soaring giant eagles and ice spellcasters, while the other side was shuttlecraft members and hundreds of high-altitude roaming White Wing Fighters.

"Swan Secret - Phantom Luminous Cloud Shadow Array."

Several black-haired members dressed in Shrine Maiden Outfits leapt off from the shuttlecraft. They gradually slowed down in the air, then the tin staffs they held resounded like large swaths of wind chimes.

Soon, pale water mist obscured the sky, like descending clouds. Within half a minute, this white fog rapidly expanded, covering several kilometers of sky and land entirely.

Among the clouds, members of the Ores Constellation atop giant eagles found their senses blocked, even electronic signals were severely interfered, unable to communicate. Just as they were trying to rise in altitude to escape the area, faint whooshing sounds emerged from the fog.

"What's this?"

One member felt a coolness on his cheek. When he reached to touch it, a sharp pain came, followed by blood covering his hand.

Within the fog, small Silver Scaled flying fish swam, their fin spines on the backs like serrated edges, refracting faint cold glints. These creatures adapted extraordinarily well to the fog environment, not only unimpeded but also able to move at high speed, leaving blindfolded enemies defenseless.

Thus, successive strangulations happened in the fog, with many members plummeting from the sky covered in blood before they could call for help.

Seeing the situation deteriorate, the remaining personnel wrapped themselves in ice shards, continually flying upward, eventually breaking free from the thick fog area. Just when they saw the bright sun in the sky, they also saw the White Wing Fighters circling the sun's halo.

Over a hundred White Wing Fighters overlooked the few ant-like spots below from high altitude, then brilliant laser beams converged. These members who emerged from the clouds ignited like fireworks in the sky and fell again into the dense, windless cloud layers.

Inside the base, the silver 'mantids' tore apart the last line of defense, cutting down the last resisting person in the base. Shortly the central AI within was destroyed by these 'mantids', incapacitating all facilities in the base.

Although the sky combat was a major victory for Audrey's side, the battle within the base was a complete failure. In terms of material and points loss, Audrey suffered more, but in terms of personnel out, Ores was at a bigger disadvantage.

However, war is always filled with deception. Just as Audrey received the front line news thinking the strangulation of the 'mantids' within the base was near, a rapid alarm sounded above her head.

[Warning, numerous unknown heat sources are approaching, preliminarily assessed as enemy vehicles, please base personnel prepare for engagement] The AI synthesized voice consistently cold.

In the distant heavens above, several deep-red comets descended trailing long tails of flame. To avoid being detected early by Audrey, Prin's personnel adopted an ultra-high-altitude assault method, thus evading a variety of ground-based detection units.

...

"This method of descending from high altitude is truly captivating and never gets old."

Standing on the landing pod, Purin grasped the handle with one hand, wearing protective goggles on her face. She glanced down at the increasingly clear ground below, her hair wildly fluttering in the wind, feeling the searing airflow and the swift breeze — an unprecedented excitement filled her heart.

This was certainly not the safest way to land, but it was undoubtedly her favorite way to make an entrance.

'I descend like a heavenly fire, scorching all that exists in the world...,' the words of ancient legend echoed in her ears as Purin released her grip on the handle, letting herself be engulfed in the turbulent winds.

With a faint pop, transparent red flames enveloped her. The petite songstress closed her eyes midair, chanting a constantly rising song, until the entire sky was lit up by a crimson glow.

At this point, she raised a hand with index finger pointing straight at the heavens.

A noticeable flare and light appeared at the top of the sky, followed by a gigantic, boiling stream of deep red light piercing through the atmosphere, grazing past her not far away, shooting into the ground below.

This brilliantly dazzling and scorching light stream was visible from tens of kilometers away. It burned through the atmosphere, cascading onto the mountains, spreading shock waves and fiery streams in all directions, swallowing thousands of meters of forest trees in mere seconds. At the center of the fiery stream, a scorching dark red crater emerged, with molten metal and concrete emitting white smoke inside, distorting the air slightly.

The originally impregnable stronghold and defense layer was breached in seconds, exposing its fragile inner parts. Although Audrey still held many strongholds, and had a fair number of combat forces outside, at this moment, as she gazed up at the rapidly descending red comet in the sky, she still felt a sense of powerlessness and vulnerability.

Is it over already, she couldn't help but think.

At this moment, the stronghold's interior was utterly exposed, and the remaining personnel were unable to resist the full-scale assault by Purin and her team. There was no defensive line to buy time, and being defeated was almost inevitable.

Without much more time to think, as she gathered the remaining members to seal the breach and brace for combat, those descending 'comets' smashed through the residual defenses like bombs. As the hatches opened, members dressed in red uniforms dashed out, with sounds of shooting and explosions echoing throughout the stronghold.

The autonomous units and defense gun turrets inside the stronghold were activated, continuously firing to repel these red-clad members' advances. However, their numbers were overwhelming, and they broke through from multiple positions, consistently severing the stronghold's defensive lines.

In nearly a few minutes, all active forces inside the stronghold were annihilated.

Surrounded by the crowd, Purin, cloaked in a red hooded cape, strolled out, her small boots tapping crisply on the steel grid flooring, producing a clear echo.

Passing through layers of human walls, the caramel-haired, fiery-eyed songstress halted, facing the 'White Swan' Audrey, who was cornered in a desperate situation.

At this moment, Audrey was clutching her injured arm, leaning against the wall, with only two members by her side holding shields and firearms. Her once beautiful long hair was somewhat singed now, and her face was marred with numerous ashen streaks.

"Quite the sorry state, Audrey," Purin no longer advanced, but turned to walk towards another side, where the main control platform of the stronghold was located.

"Actually, I don't want to bully you either, but we just happened to cross paths again," she remarked without turning, glancing at the help request that had just been sent from the platform.

"Too slow, sending a plea for help won't make it in time now."

She placed her hand on the identity verification panel on the platform, while the red-clad member beside her assisted in unlocking the main control AI's secret lock. With a slight sound, the system began rebooting.

[Stronghold ownership transfer initiated. The current highest authority holder is: Purin Aiko]

...

On the 10th day of the competition, the Ores clashed with Audrey, both sides sustaining damages. In the midst of the heated conflict, Purin led her constellation members straight to ambush Audrey's stronghold, defeating the opponent and eliminating this songstress from the competition on the spot.

Thus, only three songstresses remained in the contest, and among them, the two allied songstresses now controlled nearly 5/6 of the strongholds. The only remaining resistor, Hexia Tilan, retained only a few strongholds in the southern region.

The scales had fully tipped to one side, as if the fruits of victory were about to precariously fall.