Get off work and become a magical girl

Chapter 234 New Year's Blessings at the End of the Night

"Is this really okay?"

Crouching at the base of the towering stone tower, Xia Liang slowly used his magic to remove the lines on the ground, and couldn't help asking, "You said that if we destroy this thing, we can stop Claw Mark's plan, but what if it's a time bomb? If we deal with it carelessly like this, won't it explode instead?"

"No problem. I've already checked. There's no magic supply or storage inside this thing. In other words, it's just an auxiliary device at best."

Bai Ji, who was standing on the top of the stone tower, was doing a similar job to Xia Liang. He said calmly, "Since there is no risk in destroying it, why not get rid of it while the enemy is tied up?"

"But is it really okay for us not to help?"

Glancing in the direction where Lin Xiaolu and the others had left, Xia Liang said with a hint of worry, "That enemy shouldn't be an opponent that they can handle, right?"

“The wood lilies might be a little problematic, but the mimosa is actually pretty good.”

Bai Ji remained calm and said, "I trust my teammates. As for your Fangting City team... I think the two of them are not bad either. After all, they were able to beat us in the previous competition. You should trust them more than I do."

"Thank you very much for the compliment."

Xia Liang couldn't help but laugh dryly twice.

To be honest, she really couldn't understand the strength of her two teammates now.

Although she was the one with the fastest development of abilities in the entire Fangting City team, in some recent situations that required actual combat, she didn't know if it was her illusion, but the other two people's performances were better than hers.

Bai Jingxuan's improvement speed was originally not much slower than his own, and her strength has improved abnormally recently. When she was fighting with the woman with the claw marks just now, she also displayed a transformation that was highly similar to the claw marks.

Not only did Cuique and the others not show any unexpected reaction to this transformation, but even Bai Jingxuan herself seemed to be accustomed to it. It is not difficult to imagine that she had already mastered this transformation without knowing it.

As for Lin Xiaolu, her progress was mediocre at first, and even slow, but recently, especially after the competition with Bai'an City, Lin Xiaolu, who had mastered the turbidity technique, seemed to have come to her senses, and her combat skills improved by leaps and bounds. If she really awakened her magic suit one day, she would probably have combat abilities far beyond the Kaihua stage.

Thinking about it this way, it seems that I, who stayed here to destroy the device, am the one with the weaker combat ability in the team?
"Well, now that I think about it, am I just worrying about nothing?"

The sudden thought in his mind made Xia Liang's eyes widen slightly, and he felt a little surprised.

However, before she could think about it, Bai Ji, who was standing on the top of the tower, spoke again: "Of course, trusting our teammates does not mean throwing all the pressure on them, so after we complete the task at hand, we still have to go to support them quickly to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

"After all, in many cases, if you want to defeat the enemy, it is not enough to just do your job well. Doing a little more also means leaving more space for your teammates."

Bai Ji said this, gradually speeding up his movements: "If you want to be a good leader of Fangting City in the future, you must learn to leave room for your team in many cases. This is what I am trying to learn now."

"...Team leader, me?" Xia Liang raised his head blankly.

"Aren't you your team leader?" Bai Ji also lowered his head in confusion.

"I don't think so. After all, the current team leader is the young senior... that is, Delphinium. At other times, it seems that Baimei took the lead in more things."

Xia Liang thought about it for a while and quickly came to a conclusion: "No matter how I think about it, 'Team Leader' doesn't seem to be a position related to me. Why do you think I am the team leader?"

"I think it's something like temperament or personality. I feel like you are more similar to me than the other two."

Bai Ji retracted his gaze and continued to look at the stone tower: "If not, then let me apologize. I didn't mean to sow discord between you two."

"It's okay, it's okay, I was just asking casually."

Xia Liang smiled and waved his hand, and refocused on his work: "Well, after all, I have never received such an evaluation before, so I am a little surprised."

"So, who is your actual team leader?" Bai Ji asked casually, as if trying to change the subject.

"She's the young senior. After all, she's a senior. She knows a lot and everyone trusts her." Xia Liang replied.

"That's not what I meant by 'team leader'. After all, the captains of most magical girls in most cities are seniors in the team, including the captain of our Baian City, who is also a senior who didn't come to Fangting this time. Everyone respects her very much."

Bai Ji explained: "What I'm asking is, among all of you magical girls of the same period in Fangting City, who is the leader? For example, next, since you are all going to participate in the national assessment, who will be the nominal captain at that time?"

"Is this important?"

"Maybe? At least it's important from my point of view."

Bai Ji stared at the lines in front of him: "Maybe it's because my mentor has high expectations of me and hopes that I can 'become a team leader', so over time, I also unconsciously began to care about this issue. After all, there will always be a day when our seniors will retire and we will become seniors of others. At that time, who will make the decision in the team?"

"That sounds like a really distant topic. I think it's okay if we don't think about it now, right?"

Xia Liang smiled helplessly: "Well... But if I really want to say, it would probably be Bai Mei."

"Bai Mei? She?"

Bai Ji was a little surprised: "Are you going to let that kid be the leader?"

"Yes."

"why?"

“It’s hard to explain the ‘why’ of this kind of question.”

Xia Liang shook his head and whispered, "But, from my personal understanding, if there must be a leader among the three of us, it definitely won't be me. Of the remaining two people, Bai Mei is more likely at the moment."

"Because the inspection made the adults look favorably upon her?" Bai Ji was puzzled.

"Of course not." Xia Liang chuckled and reminded: "Also, you just said you didn't intend to sow discord."

"Oh, sorry." Bai Ji also realized his slip of the tongue, so he apologized immediately.

The two of them were silent for a while, just concentrating on processing the patterns on the stone tower.

Just like that passed for a while, when they had finished the work at hand, the blue moon that was originally hanging high in the sky suddenly seemed to be hit by something and instantly faded a lot.

Before the two could react to this change, the black and other magical powers that had been in fierce confrontation in the mountains not far away suddenly dissipated.

As if they had discussed it, the battlefields on both sides changed their positions at the same time, as if silently urging the two of them.

"It seems we have to hurry up." Bai Ji said slowly.

"Well, let's finish it as soon as possible." Xia Liang responded.

Both of them continued to focus on their work and deliberately did not talk much, as if the previous topic had never existed.

……

……

Consistent with what Xia Liang saw from a distance, the battle between Cuiqiao and the other two and Yuan had indeed come to an end.

This judgment was first made by Margaret.

The reason why she could make such a judgment was that just now, after a long battle, she keenly noticed that there was only a glass of red and black wine left in Yuan's hand.

The stratification phenomenon that had been lingering in the Kite Wine Glass had disappeared unnoticed as it was attacked again and again.

If the previous inference is correct, then this can basically be regarded as the liberation of Yuan's beast heart has failed.

Everyone present was not surprised by this result. After all, since Yuan failed to dodge the attack for the first time, this battle had already become a competition of endurance. As long as Kui and others could continue to attack Yuan without losing their own combat power, Yuan would continue to weaken until he completely lost the blessing from the liberation of the beast heart and returned to his normal combat power.

This was an open conspiracy, but Yuan had no choice but to fight back.

After all, for her, the purpose of this battle from beginning to end was to defeat Cornflower.

Things like destroying the city's defense network and attracting beast disasters to Fang Ting are not important. They are just means to force the other party to come and fight. What is important is the task that Bai Lang assigned to her at the beginning - the source of beasts, cornflowers, and Bai Jingxuan.

Bringing back these three goals is the top priority.

As long as they could defeat Cornflower head-on, it wouldn't matter if the stone tower was destroyed. No, it would be a good thing if the stone tower was destroyed as long as they could achieve their goal.

Yuan knows White Wolf very well.

She knew that when White Wolf said "massacre the citizens of Fangting to threaten Cornflower", the emphasis of this sentence was never on "massacre the citizens of Fangting". As long as she completed the task, whether or not the "massacre" was completed was naturally not important at all.

There are actually only two things that Bai Lang cares about: first, whether he has achieved the goals she mentioned; second, whether he has remembered the details she emphasized.

The former is self-explanatory, and the latter, if everything goes well, even if the stone tower is destroyed, it will not be a big deal. When I go back to report to Bai Lang, and get asked "did you do it according to her method", I can find Semi to prove that I did work hard on the stone tower, but it was ruined in the end.

That’s right, Yuan doesn’t want to commit unnecessary massacres.

Whether she was criticized by her colleagues for being soft-hearted or denounced by her enemies for being hypocritical, it didn't matter what others said, she simply didn't want to think about it.

People who practice martial arts must uphold morality, and one of the core principles of morality is that one should not bully the weak.

These words were taught to her by her master, and she has never forgotten them.

In fact, she also knew that since she chose to defect with White Wolf and joined Claw Mark, the so-called morality no longer existed. But even so, she was like a drowning person, holding on to this last life-saving straw tightly, unwilling to let go.

That's why she came up with such a seemingly unconnected plan - using "destroying Fangting City's defense network" as bait to force the local magical girls to come forward to fight, then taking the opportunity to defeat them, and then abducting them and running away.

During this process, if you win, you can quickly end the battle and run away with the "spoils" before the device is detonated. The remaining magical girls will naturally have time to deal with the stone tower.

If I lose, then the result is obvious. The stone tower will undoubtedly be demolished by the Fangting City team and will not cause any damage.

In this way, if Yuan wants to achieve the goal that best suits his own interests in the entire plan, then naturally there is only one option left:
Win, and win as quickly as possible.

That's why she tried to stop everyone halfway, and that's why she used the Beast Heart Release at the beginning, wanting to win directly with the overwhelming power gap.

In the end, the result turned out to be what it is now.

Not to mention a quick victory, she was even forced to release her beastly heart. One wrong step, then another, perhaps because she was too eager for quick success, perhaps because she underestimated the strength of the three-person team of Fangting City, or perhaps because Margaret's blooming just happened to point out her flaws...

All in all, Yuan has indeed been forced into a desperate situation.

Delphinium stood on a branch not far from her, watching her quietly; Hong Siyu was floating in the sky far away, overlooking the battlefield; Margaret stood in front of her, shaking the wine glass in her hand without saying a word.

The clothes of the three people were damaged to varying degrees, and their hairstyles were a little messy, which was enough to prove that they had all suffered some degree of injuries, but there was no doubt that they all still retained a certain degree of combat effectiveness.

Even Delphinium, which was in the worst condition, did not show any sign of dejection at this moment.

After the fight had gotten to this point, no one had the energy to say anything more. Everyone was standing firm with their own willpower, fearing that if they lost their energy even a little, they would no longer be able to maintain their high state of concentration.

"Ah."

However, Yuan still smiled.

Not for others, but for yourself.

Because no matter what happens next, she is finally satisfied now.

Face your enemy with dignity, fight with dignity using all your means, and then face defeat with dignity.

This is not shameful, but rather what all warriors should pursue.

No matter how detailed your plan for "after victory" is, if you lose, you lose. The opponent defeated you under fair and just conditions. If you do not acknowledge this result, you will be at a disadvantage.

"Cornflower."

She murmured, her hoarse voice sounding like a hiss: "Are you sure you don't want to consider coming to our claw mark to take a look?"

"…I don't have a hobby of putting myself in danger."

After hearing this, Kuizi paused for a moment, then shook her head slightly: "The promise made by your leader is indeed very tempting, but I can't believe her, nor can I believe Claw Mark."

"Really?" Yuan sighed helplessly and shrugged his shoulders as if resigned to his fate: "Well, it seems that tonight's event will have to end here."

"Is this admitting defeat?"

Margaret, who was standing at the front, looked suspicious: "You are running out of energy, old man."

"Alas, you are a handsome young man, but you never say a good word."

Yuan glared at her with some dissatisfaction: "But what you said is not wrong. I lost. Your abilities have been developed to maturity, your basic skills are very solid, and your cooperation is indeed exquisite. I didn't lose unfairly."

"What do you mean? You're praising me all of a sudden."

Margaret covered her mouth in surprise. "What are you going to do next? Ask them to treat the prisoners well? Or make some harsh remarks before the disaster strikes?"

Delphinium also looked at Yuan with confusion, not understanding what the other party was up to.

"Just saying something harsh... maybe?"

Yuan sneered twice: "But I still don't intend to be caught by you here, so even though I lost, please forgive me for what I will do next."

After she said this, she suddenly raised her hand and gently tapped her heart twice.

The two strikes did not cause any special magical fluctuations, nor did they make any loud noises. They were quieter than any moves Yuan had used before, so much so that at first, the three people from Fang Tingshi had no idea what she was doing.

But then, almost in an instant, everyone felt that something had disappeared from their bodies.

It is not a withdrawal, not a reduction, not a weakening, but it disappears in an instant.

brush.

The first to be affected was Delphinium. Her body had been severely injured, and even after using magic to repair it, it was still in poor condition, so she almost fell from the tree. Fortunately, she adjusted her center of gravity in time and only fell on the branch below.

Then, it was Hong Siyu. She was floating in the air and suddenly seemed to have lost the ability to fly. She fell directly from the air and hit the ground heavily.

As for Margaret, although she did not make any fool of herself, at the same moment she also noticed an astonishing fact.

——The brightly colored wine in his own glass suddenly turned into a glass of plain water.

Even after this phenomenon appeared, her wine glass slowly faded, flickering a few times before disappearing. The surrounding wonderland was like being erased by an eraser, disappearing in an instant.

Then the magical clothes on her body, which symbolized the magical girl's transformation, turned into stars and dissipated, turning into the pajamas she wore in the base before coming here.

At this moment, even the most slow-witted magical girls should understand that what "disappeared" was nothing but the magic power that had always existed in their bodies.

What happened? Why did it happen?

This was also the thought in the minds of everyone present except Yuan.

When the Delphinium held the tree trunk and raised its head to look in the direction of the kite, it found that a circle of white outline was spreading rapidly in all directions with the kite's body as the center.

At first glance, nothing seemed to have changed in the area covered by the white outline. However, when this outline touched the blue moon in the sky, the already shaky blue moon collapsed at the slightest touch and completely disappeared from the night.

The sky returned to its moonless blackness.

"I'm sorry, if I could, I wouldn't want to resort to such despicable means."

Yuan smiled as if apologizing: "But there is no other way. I can't win in a normal fight. When I run away, I can only cheat."

Like everyone else present, her magical clothes had all disappeared, replaced by the Taoist robe she usually wore.

However, compared with the people who lost their magic power and suddenly turned back into ordinary people, she seemed to be completely unaffected, and her steps were light as if she was strolling in the garden.

As she spoke, she walked straight past Margaret, and even though Margaret wanted to stop her, she just dodged her move with a flick of her body.

She walked up to the delphinium, raised her head slightly, and looked at the delphinium on the treetop.

And Delphinium looked at her expressionlessly, without showing any sign of helplessness.

Even though there was no trace of magic power left in her body at this moment, it did not stop her from looking into Yuan's eyes.

"interesting."

Yuan just looked at her for a while, then laughed: "Cornflower, you are more special than I thought."

"Thank you for the compliment. If you fight like this, perhaps you can see something special." Delphinium narrowed her eyes slightly, and did not show any weakness in her words.

"Do you know why this is happening?" Yuan tilted his head.

"Isn't this your wonderland?" Delphinium's voice was flat.

"Awesome, you have a really good eye." Yuan seemed really impressed and clapped happily.

"You said before that if you use 'Wonderland', the battle will become very 'unfair'. Are you referring to this situation?"

Delphinium lowered her eyelids: "In other words, the reason why your leader only sent you to carry out this mission is based on the premise that you own such a wonderland."

"I have previously separated your 'Chi', and at that time I always felt that this energy seemed to have another source and purpose in you. Otherwise, the magic power I consumed would be too much."

"Even your 'Liberation of the Beast Heart' can only be exerted several times more effectively under the influence of this wonderland, right?"

Soon after she finished speaking, she felt the treetop beneath her suddenly sink, and the branches that were originally more than enough to support her were almost bent and deformed. And all this was because Yuan had sat down next to her without her knowing.

"You really won't come with me?" she asked. "This is the last time I ask you. I can personally assure you that if you go to our Claw Mark, no matter the leader, deputy leader, or I, will do you any harm."

"…Thank you for your help." Delphinium replied sternly.

"Oh, kid." Yuan sighed helplessly: "You are so stubborn that it makes me irritated. I really want to knock you out and carry you away."

"You can try." Delphinium lowered her eyes.

"Well, I know you still have some cards up your sleeve, but I don't plan to start a fight in this state. I've said before that it's too boring."

Yuan shook his head: "I just want to take a closer look at what kind of person the Sapphire Scepter, which is coveted by countless people, is."

"…I am not a jeweled scepter."

Delphinium tightened her grip on the tree trunk, but her face remained expressionless. “If your leader is looking for me for this kind of thing, why don’t you go back and tell her that anyone who wants the codename Cornflower can take it.”

"I dare not guess what she is thinking."

Yuan laughed again: "But I got what you said. There will be people who need it."

Delphinium didn't respond to her again.

So Yuan jumped down from the treetop quite naturally, patted his butt, waved with his back to her, and leaped lightly into the distance.

After a few seconds, everyone felt the magic power in their bodies restored.

At the same time, a figure appeared in the distant night sky, holding a black cat fairy in his hand and flying towards the even more distant sky.

With the eyesight of a magical girl, Delphinium could actually see that she had opened her mouth and was shouting something in her direction.

And these words that failed to convey sound are actually very simple:
——"Congratulations on your victory and Happy New Year."

(End of this chapter)