Chapter 33 Welcome Back
"The ability to 'separate' once unleashed, and after the white fog had been dispersed, the situation in the battlefield changed further in an unpredictable direction.
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The most obvious change was that Emerald Sparrow shifted from defense to offense. However, this 'attack' wasn't a straightforward physical assault but an assault on information.
Having the ability to separate meant that, as long as Emerald Sparrow was aware of and understood a certain ability of Yuan's, it would instantly be eliminated from the battle.
Keeping a close watch on Yuan's movements, Emerald Sparrow changed the form of her masterpiece to counter-attack while continuously observing every action of her opponent, thinking about the next ability to target.
She knew precisely what she had to do and what the real goal was. It was impossible to severely injure or even kill the opponent in such a short time; the only thing she could do was diminish Yuan's abilities.
Under normal conditions, Weave of Fate could not permanently deprive the opponent of abilities, but once 'separation' was successful, the opponent would, at least for a short time, be unable to use those abilities again.
The first time she activated Weave of Fate, she separated Yuan's breath. If she could remove another key concept the second time, then Yuan's combat power would be greatly weakened. At that point, it would be time for Hong Siyu to defeat the opponent.
Considering Hong Siyu's fighting style, what was the biggest obstacle to defeating Yuan?
Emerald Sparrow began to contemplate this question.
One of the obstacles was undoubtedly the breath that had already been separated; the opponent had significantly reduced the lethality of Hong Siyu's Spell Techniques by relying on her own breath, undeniably a troublesome ability.
Another obstruction seemed to be the inky weapon she held.
Yuan called this weapon 'Bai Wu,' and from its use and performance, it demonstrated the ability to transform and penetrate with extreme strength.
Whether it was Magical Barriers created by Spell Techniques or even Emerald Sparrow's own masterpiece, once they came into contact with Yuan's weapon, they seemed to lose their magical properties and were physically severed by 'Bai Wu.'
Although the true power of the weapon was unclear, just from appearances, it was already a significant threat to Hong Siyu.
Since Hong Siyu clearly lacked close-combat capabilities, being mockingly called a 'cannon' Magical Girl, her fight depended on Spell Techniques and magical equipment for long-range fire suppression. This was why, if Yuan chose to use her weapon for long-range combat, engaging in a long-distance battle with Hong Siyu, who lacked defensive methods, might turn Hong Siyu into a target.
With this in mind, if she could separate Yuan's only long-range attack method, then the battle would surely turn in Hong Siyu's favor.
However, the idea was nice, but reality was regrettable: Emerald Sparrow could not separate the opponent's 'magical equipment' directly.
Because the nature of magical equipment is actually a part of a Magical Girl's true form, separating the magical equipment meant directly taking away a part of the opponent's essence. The concept of 'true form' was not something she could handle at her current level.
The stronger the concept separated, the more Magic Power she had to consume and maintain. Even at her peak, it was extremely difficult for Emerald Sparrow to separate a part of a named card's true form.
Therefore, to solve the problem of the opponent's magical equipment, the concept she had to cut could not be 'magical equipment' but something else.
So, what exactly should that be?
Accompanied by such thoughts, Emerald Sparrow's attacks grew more forceful, she started to abandon some of her defenses, and even began to actively accept some injuries to force Yuan to make riskier responses.
It wasn't just because she was running out of time, but also because she wanted to force her opponent to reveal more of her abilities.
Naturally, this line of thinking was not something Hong Siyu and Semi watching from the sidelines could understand; from their perspective, the tide of the battle was beginning to turn in favor of Emerald Sparrow suppressing Yuan. The dispersion of the white fog directly altered Yuan's fighting style. Although her movements remained swift and skilled, they were evidently more awkward.
The white fog, composed of 'breath' and snipped away by Emerald Sparrow, was a natural defense against magic. In past battles, whether against humans or Remnant Beasts, this method of defense had been unbeatable. It was for this reason that Yuan had become accustomed to neglecting magical attacks in close combat.
While this did not mean she had lost her ability to normally defend against magic, such a sudden shift in battle habits indeed impacted her. And precisely because of this, Emerald Sparrow had the opportunity to attack.
There wasn't much time left for the replicated magical equipment, and to secure victory in the remaining time, Emerald Sparrow had to resort to more aggressive tactics.
Yuan couldn't use her breath for defense, and Emerald Sparrow, aiming for success, had given up her defense. The fight thus became perilously dangerous, with both combatants continuing to fight in spite of the growing number of small wounds appearing on their bodies.
There was only one minute left for the magical equipment.
Both Emerald Sparrow and Yuan were utterly consumed by the battle, closely monitoring each other's movements to react as swiftly as possible.
The scissors in her hand gradually became ethereal, their once solid outline now blurred, but the fight between them was still at a deadlock. Even though Emerald Sparrow was gradually overpowering her opponent's offense, she still hadn't found the opportunity for a decisive victory.