Chapter 64: Yunxia’s——

“Step.”

“Wait.”

Footsteps came from behind—Jiang Yao’s.

Among them, she was the only proper melee fighter (did the stone cutter count?), so she knew her role well.

She wanted to move forward first to test the waters but was stopped by an outstretched arm ahead.

“…1…”

Jiang Lingwei felt her heart skip a beat.

She quickly calculated her remaining mana and said seriously:

“?”

“Save your strength. I’ll handle this myself.”

“Huh? Aurora? Didn’t we agree not to get all chivalrous and rush in together?”

Jiang Yao looked puzzled.

Lin Yu and Stone Cutter next to her also spoke up:

“We can help too.”

“Same here.”

“No.”

Jiang Lingwei glanced back slightly, catching sight of the little white ball perched silently on Jiang Yao’s shoulder, completely speechless and scared stiff.

Her arm still blocked them.

“See? Even your fairy senses it.”

“This enemy is different from anyone you’ve met before.”

The dark humanoid figure still stood motionless in place.

But just by standing there, it felt like an ancient black mountain that no one dared to gaze upon directly.

“So trust me. From here on, observe the enemy’s movements carefully.”

“I’ll handle this.”

Kicking aside the black mist, Jiang Lingwei stepped forward.

She walked slowly and steadily.

The faint pink light from her split the black fog on the ground.

The dark magic was thoroughly repelled.

(Alright, the flashy part’s over. Sweetheart, your mom’s actually a little unsure too.)

During the time since awakening, Jiang Lingwei had noticed many changes.

Magic girls had changed, and so had the enemies.

They’d all become… too weak.

Not in terms of the destruction they could cause or their actual combat strength, but magic from two different eras seemed to have evolved in completely different ways.

Later, Jiang Lingwei roughly understood the current notions of “talent” or “ability” and could roughly see why these guys had grown so weak.

Take the earliest bug-raiser, for example.

Its ability was to raise bugs.

Well, just bypass the bugs and kill it directly, problem solved.

When clearing dark enemies in the city, she and Stone Cutter encountered some strange foes, like a demon who could suddenly increase the gravity in an area and yank them both from midair.

But it was still useless—after all, it didn’t stop Jiang Lingwei from firing her spells on the ground.

That demon had almost no defense and was pretty dumb, standing right out in the open.

The light bullets didn’t really care about gravity and killed it instantly.

With differing abilities came weaknesses.

In the past, her companions each had their own “talent” leanings, but those mainly highlighted personalized magic types without such harsh limitations.

Someone like Jiang Lingwei had relatively weaker offensive power compared to others because her talent was “light.”

In terms of “personality,” she was inferior to her teammates.

But precisely because of this, she could assist and amplify the magic of others.

If Jiang Lingwei had to judge who was stronger in certain situations, past or present, she couldn’t say for sure.

The so-called “weakness” was just her perception from actual combat experience.

For example, if in a zero-gravity environment suited to the enemy’s style, suffering from that demon’s “modern magic,” wouldn’t that be terrible?

Moreover, modern magic, unlike the old magic where the flow of mana was mostly consistent despite differences in appearance, was harder to defend against.

When she and Stone Cutter were yanked to the ground, she hadn’t expected the enemy to have such magic.

So, if you understood the opponent’s “talent,” or if their abilities hadn’t taken effect yet, the enemy was weaker.

Otherwise, they were stronger.

With many thoughts racing through her mind, Jiang Lingwei was already within three meters of the dark humanoid.

In the darkness, her pink silhouette gave everyone a sense of steady confidence.

But if someone could read her mind, they would know Jiang Lingwei was far from relaxed.

Her heart pounded wildly.

A few drops of sweat appeared on her forehead, soaked by an indescribable tension.

This was different.

No need for words, eyes, or any perception—Jiang Lingwei already felt the call from a “kindred.”

(He and I come from the same era.)

Compared to those weak modern enemies, the terror of a being from her own time was something Jiang Lingwei understood all too well.

Among everyone present, the little white ball must have sensed something too.

Its whole sphere seemed to have shrunk a size, as if it didn’t dare to breathe.

If even the fairy was that scared, how could she not be nervous?

It sounded lively, but Jiang Lingwei had never once faced a demon one-on-one.

Enemies like this generally couldn’t be dealt with by simple beam magic.

Close combat was more effective.

She usually stayed on the sidelines as healer and backup attacker.

Taking care of the civilians, maintaining team morale, healing wounds and hearts—that was her main role in the team.

Our little Aurora was just support.

Who has a support run into 1v1 solo?

One step.

Two steps.

She was now within two meters of the dark humanoid.

The figure still didn’t move, like a statue standing straight in place.

But the dark magic swirling around its body forced Jiang Lingwei to draw mana to resist.

(Alright, misjudged.)

She muttered inside her mind.

“This isn’t an ordinary demon.

Judging by its aura, it’s at least an elite monster, maybe a boss.”

“Which dark fairy sacrificed to bring out a guy like this?”

“Forget it. Don’t think about that, just get it done.”

Nervous?

Of course she was.

Past or present, this was her first time soloing a boss raid.

Afraid?

No need to mention it.

Fear of darkness had disappeared from her years ago.

Besides, if she didn’t step up, her daughter and the Wen Yanquan family’s kids would have to face this.

She couldn’t back down.

Gripping her staff tightly, Jiang Lingwei closed the distance again.

“Step.”

Her foot stopped one meter in front of the dark humanoid.

Jiang Yao and the others behind her had their hearts in their throats.

Jiang Yao couldn’t hold back and wanted to step forward, but then heard the little white ball whisper softly:

“Crystal, this time, listen to Aurora.”

“Why?”

Jiang Yao gripped her sword and said without hesitation:

“You mean we just stand here and watch?”

“That’s not it…”

The little white ball still looked very scared but mustered courage and said:

“Leave it to Aurora.

She’s an ancient magic girl and knows what to do.

Remember? Trust her.

She wants us to observe the enemy’s movements for a reason.”

“…”

While Jiang Yao hesitated, the dark humanoid moved.

“Whoosh—”

(So fast!)

Jiang Lingwei’s body flashed.

She narrowly dodged a stabbing punch aimed at her chest.

A punch?

She wasn’t even sure.

The whole figure was wrapped in black mist, so she could only guess.

In response, Jiang Lingwei unleashed radiant magic around her body, resisting the spilling black fog.

Then, the light from her staff surged.

Swinging her magical weapon, Jiang Lingwei shouted loudly:

“Light’s Radiance—”

Everything happened in an instant.

As the humanoid retracted its fist to block, Jiang Lingwei suddenly pulled back her staff and jabbed its butt end into the enemy’s unguarded abdomen!

“—Actually a staff!”

Yes, she wasn’t a melee-type magic girl, but she still knew some tricks.

Like confusing enemies by talking about a “sloth kick” but actually using “black tiger heart grab” followed by “crow rides airplane” to trick them.

Being a non-melee magic user, if you had to fight with a weak spot, better to be sly than just get one-shot.

“Shing!”

“Cling…”

“!”

Jiang Lingwei’s eyes widened.

The black mist churned as the humanoid blocked her staff’s end with something.

No matter how hard she pushed, the staff wouldn’t budge.

Then, a faint glow dispersed some of the mist, revealing a kunai resting against her magical weapon.

Its colors looked like fiery clouds.

The hand holding it wore a gauntlet-like armored glove, strangely mismatched with the ninja weapon.

For some reason, that gauntlet briefly reminded Jiang Lingwei of Jiang Yao’s princess knight spirit armor.

But the thought vanished instantly because an even greater shock gripped her.

That kunai—the fiery cloud kunai!

(That belongs to Yunxia!)

“Who are you?!”

Jiang Lingwei shouted in surprise and anger, pushing the kunai aside with her staff:

“Why is the 【Bright】 in your hands?!”

The humanoid said nothing.

Instead, its other hand rapidly struck again.

The target was still her chest.