Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

After gaining control of the enemy, the 'Corpsedes' members didn't let their guard down. Three of them switched to the electromagnetic pistols at their waists and kept shooting, but the bullets only left some charred marks on the suits before being deflected and scattered away.

As members of a firm specialized in combat, their protection couldn't be penetrated by ordinary firearms.

After failing to execute a kill, the three members discarded their pistols, contacted the control AI of the building through their headsets, and soon an elevator opened on the side of the corridor, delivering a cart with a wobbling water tank.

The three 'Corpsedes' employees picked up water guns from the tank and shot at the agency members, who were still unable to get up due to the electric current interference.

The light blue stream of water washed over them, quickly solidifying on contact and soon encasing the hallway in a blue-white solid gel, trapping the agency members inside and rendering them incapacitated. They might have just lost consciousness or possibly suffocated inside, but at that moment, no one cared.

Since these agency members had accepted the contract, they were prepared to die in the patent wars. Such contracts were extremely lucrative, but equally dangerous.

In the 22nd-floor lobby, ten agency members wearing white masks charged past the obstacles set up in the hall. They rapidly closed in on the opposite 'Corpsedes' members, slicing through the barriers with their vibrating high-frequency particle knives, then it turned into a one-sided melee, with numerous Corpsedes members cut down amidst a ceaseless mix of screams and alarms.

'They've broken through our defenses; the control AI of Building Three is about to fall!'

A Corpsedes security captain was reporting to the rear when, in a flash, a masked man rushed up to him, his pale orange long blade stabbing through the captain's chest, making him tremble and then lose the ability to fight.

Then it was time for cleanup. The agency members skillfully injected the still living 'Corpsedes' members with a sedative, putting them to sleep, while a few members smashed the outer metal protective glass of the building's control AI, shutting down the high-rank AI and pulling out its chips.

With that done, the remaining Corpsedes members in the building could no longer count on the support of the control AI, and many autonomous units would go out of control.

Time was of the essence. After dealing with this building and leaving a few members to search and retrieve, the 'Repeater' agency members rushed to the next structure. They had to resolve everything before midnight, which was the federal police's final deadline for tolerance.

Outside the Corpsedes headquarters, Hexia swept her gaze over the distant buildings where the ongoing battles and fluctuations of magic power allowed her to sense the general state of the fights.

The agencies hired by Ysie currently seemed to have the upper hand, but...

Hexia shifted her gaze towards the dark red hovercraft flying in the sky. When they reached the space above Corpsedes, their bottom hatches opened, and warriors clad in dark red exoskeleton armors leapt onto the rooftops of the buildings below.

The still-intact rooftop elevators opened swiftly, the members stormed inside, and then sped toward the sites of conflict. At the rooftops of some breached buildings, they began setting up defensive lines. Dark red shields connected together, and the cannons behind their exoskeletal shoulders rose to unleash slender, blazing streams of fire, sweeping across all floors of the adjacent building, infiltrating the interior through the melted and broken glass, and forcing the agency members inside to vacate the floors and herd in one direction.

"What is that?" Hexia asked.

"Those are the combat forces of 'Fire God Heavy Industries'. They're a well-known military-industrial company in the Four-leaf Crystal Star Domain, and all the equipment they use is produced in their own factories," Annelli explained at her side.

"Due to federal law restrictions, ordinary firms and enterprises cannot have military-grade combat arms, but companies that produce military products are not included in this limitation; they can have them legally."

"These combat personnel are from a security company affiliated with 'Fire God Heavy Industries', so they're also allowed to use the company's arms. They must have been urgently hired by 'Corpsedes', as 'Fire God Heavy Industries' is a member of the Starship Faction, which always maintains neutrality and doesn't easily lean towards any side," Annelli continued.

"The military faction," Hexia murmured.

The girl reflected that, ever since the military enterprises of the Four-leaf Crystal Star Domain had been largely dismantled and relocated, only a few remained. Most were clustered around the 'Thunder Edge Academy' group, their overall presence not dominant within the Four-leaf Crystal Star Domain.

"Even if it's just a contract, 'Fire God Heavy Industries' involvement really upsets the balance. Have the Academy get in touch with them and question their actions," Hexia instructed.

"Yes," Annelli replied before returning to the vehicle, activating the onboard computer, and quickly contacting the Academy to report the current situation on site.

A few minutes later, Annelli emerged from the vehicle.

"The Academy has responded, they are already in communication with the top management of 'Fire God Heavy Industries'."

As the two of them spoke, the battle inside the Corpsedes headquarters continued unabated.

Within the building, heavy armored warriors emerged from the elevator shafts, sweeping with their broad gun barrels as surges of crimson-gold bullets poured out, turning the walls of the corridor into honeycomb, and the agency members attempting to breakthrough were hit by the dense fire. Their protective suits, which had easily withstood small arms fire, were quickly penetrated, and the bullets piercing their chests turned these daredevil agency operatives into a sieve.