The Badma, knocked back by Yang Xia’s shield, skidded across the ground for a distance before quickly preparing its next assault. Low growls escaped its throats as it gathered strength in its front and hind legs. The veins on its muscles bulged from the effort, and after a brief delay, it exploded forward with startling speed.
Instead of dodging, Yang Xia charged straight toward the creature. In less than two seconds, the Badma’s three heads were inches away from her. At this proximity, she became even more keenly aware of the size difference between herself and the beast, but not a single flicker of fear touched her heart. Even in this split second, she remained calm, observing the Badma’s every move.
‘Both hind legs are already tensing, and based on the tilt of its body… I see!’
Just as Yang Xia predicted, the first strike was a diagonal swipe from the left front claw. She responded by stepping directly into the Badma’s personal space, dodging the attack from the inside of its arm by a mere hair’s breadth. Then… she jumped! Kicking off the ground with all her might, she leaped high toward the beast’s heads.
Given the height of its heads, the Badma should have been able to avoid her before the attack landed. However, at that moment, it actually thrust its central wolf head forward. To be more accurate, it intended to bite her, but Yang Xia had anticipated the move.
In the next instant—!
A heavy, dull thud echoed through the air from the impact of the shield and the resulting counterforce. The wolf head’s jaw was smashed out of shape, and several fragments of broken teeth scattered in every direction. The Badma was sent flying into the air by the force of the shield before slamming heavily onto the ground, where it struggled desperately to stand back up.
Yang Xia naturally had no intention of letting such an opening go to waste. She immediately sprinted toward the fallen Badma, but after only two steps, she came to a sudden halt. A look of hesitation and awkwardness crossed her face as she glanced at the shield in her hand, then at the distant Badma, before searching the ground around her.
Finally, Yang Xia’s gaze landed on a fragment of a tooth lying on the ground. She shouted to herself, “This is it!”
She hurried to pick up the fragment and resumed her charge. Her delay had given the Badma enough time to nearly pull itself back up. As she neared the beast, it suddenly lunged, opening all three of its bloody maws to attack her simultaneously.
Yang Xia lowered her body and used a sliding tackle to pass beneath the creature before its heads could make contact. It tried to turn back to continue the assault, only to be met with a head-on strike from her shield. This time, however, the beast’s attack was not entirely fruitless. After Yang Xia used the shield to flatten the leopard head’s nose, the dog head on the far right took the opportunity to bite down on the shield. With a violent jerk of its head, it ripped the shield from her hand and flung it away.
As soon as the shield left Yang Xia’s hand, it instantly reverted into an ordinary piece of rubble. It traced a beautiful arc through the air before vanishing without a trace. Despite losing her weapon, Yang Xia didn’t seem nervous. Standing before the ferocious Badma, she simply laughed playfully. “Oh, do you want to play frisbee? But you’re the one who’s supposed to catch it, not me.”
Whether or not the Badma understood her words, it let out a roar and pounced with all its strength. Yang Xia stood perfectly still. Just as the beast’s claws were too close to dodge, a crimson light suddenly began to emanate from her clenched left palm.
What she held was the tooth fragment from earlier, but it was about to change its form. Yang Xia leaped back with an elegant motion to avoid the claw strike before quickly darting back in. As the light extended, the fragment instantly transformed into a pale rapier. Yang Xia drove it deep into the Badma’s shoulder, causing all three heads to let out a piercing wail.
A puncture of that size should not have been enough to significantly damage such a large prey, yet at the moment the rapier struck, an X-shaped wound tore across the Badma’s skin. The intersection of the two scars was exactly where the rapier had landed.
Perhaps the pain from that attack was too much, as the Badma’s movements became hysterical. This, in turn, made it easier for Yang Xia to handle. An increase in the frequency of the Badma’s attacks meant more openings, and the rapier in Yang Xia’s hand was exceptionally light, allowing her to counter even the smallest mistake.
After two or three rounds of exchanges, the Badma was covered in wounds from the rapier, its earlier ferocity completely gone. Lingling, perched atop a nearby streetlight, watched the entire scene. She had just finished settling the girl she had rescued from the site and had rushed back to support Yang Xia. However, looking at the situation, it seemed Yang Xia could easily win even without her help.
‘After spending so many days with Yang Xia, I finally saw it—the magic of Armamentization,’ Lingling thought with a sense of wonder.
This was a magic unique to Magical Girl Liuhuo. Its effect was to transform any touched object into a temporary weapon highly similar to her Heart Weapon. These armaments often possessed special abilities related to the materials used for the conversion. Her true Heart Weapon, meanwhile, was the pair of White Gloves on her hands.
Of course, a magic with such versatile effects came with corresponding limitations:
First, there was the range of use. It could only be used on ordinary objects that possessed no Magic Power and could not be used on living things. This was very similar to Lingling’s Absolute Command.
Second, there was a limit on quantity. Only one weapon generated by this magic could exist at a time.
Third, and most troublesome of all, these weapons had a very short lifespan. It wouldn’t be long before she had to find a new one. They were, after all, “temporary” weapons.
Now, that trouble had come for Yang Xia. The rapier in her hand seemed to be shortening with every use. Although she felt anxious about it, she still noticed someone watching the show from the streetlight during the battle.
“Lingling! What are you doing over there! If you’re idle, help me find some materials for a weapon!”
Lingling’s train of thought was interrupted by Yang Xia’s shout, and she finally sprang into action. Looking around, she spotted an object on the road that was perfect for a weapon—a road sign that had been knocked down by the Badma. She lifted it using her Iron Thorn and hurled it toward Yang Xia with all her strength, shouting, “Here! Catch!”
Yang Xia caught sight of the sign’s trajectory out of the corner of her eye. “Talk about perfect timing!” she said.
The rapier in her hand had already shortened to the point where it was practically a dagger. She tossed it aside and caught the road sign, using the momentum of Lingling’s throw to deliver a powerful swing. Just before it struck the Badma, the sign was transformed into a long-handled battle axe, which cleanly sliced off the creature’s leopard head.
Lingling then joined the fray from behind. As the Badma tried to pounce again, she pointed at the ground and gave a Command: “Ground, bulge up.”
The Badma’s steps immediately faltered as the terrain shifted, throwing it off balance. Lingling and Yang Xia charged forward in unison. One swung her Iron Thorn while the other raised the battle axe high for a heavy downward chop. After two flashes of silver light, the Badma’s remaining two heads were gone. Its body went limp almost instantly.
When they turned back to face the remains of the Badma, the wreckage was already beginning to dissipate into the wind. Lingling and Yang Xia looked at each other and shared a victorious smile.