"Crap, why are there so many people?!"

Cleyna was truly miserable. Using her ability to push through the crowd required precise control—too much force would injure ordinary citizens. After all, they were just fighting to survive. In life-or-death situations, who wouldn’t scramble for safety?

"Ughhh! This is so annoying!"

Cleyna’s short temper flared. How long would it take to shove aside every single person blocking her way?! And where had Lixin vanished to? With everything piling up, she almost wanted to blast a path through.

"...Sigh."

Qin Fan exhaled sharply.

Cleyna snapped her head back, irritation flashing across her face.

"What now?"

But the next second, panic flooded her expression.

"Eeek—!"

Qin Fan had scooped her up and launched them both into the sky with his ability.

"You pervert! What are you doing?!"

Cleyna squirmed in his arms, her face flushed red.

"Whoa, easy! Easy! I’m not exactly a pro at this maneuver—if you wiggle too much, we’ll both plummet and end up as splattered pancakes!"

"............"

She instantly froze.

"So... is this the full scale of it...?"

Calm now, Cleyna scanned the frontline below.

She was utterly stunned.

True, this force wouldn’t impress on a major battlefield. But for the soldiers and civilians here? This enemy army meant annihilation. They could only delay defeat—not win. The sheer disparity in strength was utterly hopeless.

"I think..." Qin Fan grimaced. "If reinforcements don’t arrive soon... we’re all done for here."

"Running away now might still be an option, y’know..."

"How could I run? We have a duty." Cleyna’s voice hardened. "I’m no saint, but responsibility is responsibility. I’ll face it." She’d seen enough chaos today to steel her resolve.

"Huh... guess I should be ashamed," Qin Fan muttered with another bitter chuckle, regretting his question.

"Hey. Do you think Lixin ran off?"

"No way."

Qin Fan shot down Cleyna’s doubt without hesitation.

"Lixin might slack off when things get tedious... but she’d never abandon a fight."

"Why so sure?"

"Because she’s reliable. I’ve known her long enough to bet my life on it."

"Is that so...?"

Cleyna’s opinion of Lixin shifted, just a fraction.

........................................................................

As for Lixin herself...

"Huh. Why’d they fly so high...?"

Whatever. She was still fuming. Let them be. She’d roughly guessed they’d request combat duty anyway. She’d handle her own business first, then find them later.

But how to slip out now?

The perimeter was locked down tight. She’d be spotted the moment she stepped outside...

But who was Lixin? Would she back down from this?

*Snap!*

No hesitation. She spread her wings right in the middle of the street and shot skyward.

*Whoosh—!*

Keeping clear of Qin Fan and Cleyna’s sightlines, she veered toward the edge of the blockade.

"What was that?!"

"Too fast!"

"Can’t lock on!"

Good. The soldiers only saw a black blur streaking past. Worth the sting of wind tearing at her face.

She didn’t slow as she reached the enemy’s main force. Just before their weapons could target her, she summoned a massive, razor-thin blade from her ability. Darting past their formation, she sliced cleanly through every enemy fighter in her path.

*Thank goodness they didn’t deploy battleships first. That’d have been a total waste...*

"What’s happening?!"

The defenders on the frontlines saw something else entirely: fighter jets along the flank exploding mid-air like fireworks.

Even Qin Fan and Cleyna, about to land, stared in shock.

*Mass malfunction?*

It was the only explanation that made sense—no one could imagine a single person causing this.

"Alright... touchdown."

Lixin descended between the enemy’s main force and their reserves. Time to cut straight to the heart. Why land now?

Well. Serious action required a proper warm-up.

*Heh.*

Ahead lay Preyas’s reserve troops: elite combatants, squads of black-tech infantry vehicles, and a giant—Pulent.

A surge of heat flooded Lixin’s chest, burning away the frustration she’d carried all day.

Truth was, she hadn’t truly *fought*—not like this—in years. Not during the experimental fortress raid, not during the academy crisis. Those were just chores to clear before they bothered her.

But this battlefield... it reminded her of that twilight seven years ago.

Even this chronic lazybones craved that feeling again.

Of course...

Her dead-fish eyes softened slightly.

She wasn’t heartless. Part of her just wanted... to atone.

"............"

Noise erupted behind her.

Reinforcements doubling back to hunt her down?

"............"

Ahead, the rhythmic thud of marching troops grew louder. And beneath it—a deep, earth-shaking *stomp... stomp...*

"Hmph."

"Normally, I avoid trouble... but when I *want* a fight?" She murmured, almost to herself. "Trouble doesn’t scare me."

Void Essence began swirling around her body.

"Since my mood’s foul today... and you conveniently showed up..."

Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"...you’ll make perfect punching bags for my rage."

*(Mood’s trash today, but hell—I’m causing chaos! Gao shi! Gao shi!)*