Living with a magical girl, but a weirdo cadre

　Interestingly, Etzel's charge wasn't motivated by a desire to defeat the "giant serpent"... it was simply out of curiosity and a thirst for battle.

　This curiosity and belligerence permeated her entire life.

　From being born in Orion, from the "beginning" of a planet, to arriving on Earth, to meeting Congyu and everyone else, to this very moment...

　She is still Etzel.

　This may be the end for her.

　"..." Magic power has been fully charged.

　Everything around me seemed to slow down...

　Etzel's wounds had stopped bleeding, but this was not a good sign... because instead, they were covered in blackish-gray ashes.

　Only later did Etzel realize this.

　This strike of his was the embodiment of his entire resolve...

　[Determined to Burn, Apocalypse]

　……

　"boom!!!"

　Quick! The beam of light shooting out of the Etzel gun wasn't particularly loud, but it was incredibly fast.

　Almost instantly, the eerie sky, a mix of pitch black and pure white, rippled like layers of overlapping clouds under the impact of this attack.

　The world seemed to have dropped a frame just now; there were almost no intermediate frames between "launch" and "arrival".

　"..." So...did it hit?"

　Did that attack hit the giant serpent? Did it cause any damage? Does it prove that the person named Etzel is indeed powerful?

　Etzel has no way of knowing these things now.

　In an instant, Etzel, having emptied herself of all resolve and emotion, even magic and life force, fell from the sky.

　The warhorse transformed into pure magic, gradually disappearing into the air.

　The crystal-clear magic twinkled around Etzel, like the morning stars that had sacrificed themselves for her.

　Looking up at the beautiful, bright white Etzel sky, my eyes vacantly began to gaze downwards, forming a sense of emptiness.

　Dark scales fell.

　Finally, Etzel closed her eyes.

　Next, it's up to Cong Yu and the others.

　Etzel thought to herself...

　Her story, the story of a homeless person, the story of a "war maniac".

　That's probably the end of it.

　……

　*call--*

　But then the wind picked up.

　Chapter 1143 A Dignified Resurrection!

　A gentle breeze gradually swept through.

　What a familiar and comforting breeze this is...

　"..." Accompanied by the sound of the wind, Etzel could feel herself falling into a warm embrace...

　At the same time, her vitality began to recover rapidly. Both her life and her resolve were constantly being revived under the power of faith.

　“Cong Yu…”

　Etzel didn't have the strength to open her eyes; she could only manage to utter the question with difficulty: "Did I win? No... was my attack effective?"

　Even Etzel knew perfectly well that his opponent wouldn't be defeated outright by his attack...

　So, does it work?

　Regarding Etzel's question, Congyu's gaze shifted from Yaochuan Guang and the others who were fighting against the tide of snake scales to the giant snake.

　"..." Cong Yu remained silent because he couldn't even see any injuries on the giant snake.

　Even so, the giant snake remained motionless.

　Cong Yu glanced down at Etzel, who seemed on the verge of falling into a coma... and struggled to find the right words.

　Perhaps he should have told Etzel a lie to comfort her before she fell into a coma, but...

　Cong Yu loves to tell the truth.

　"Absolutely not."

　As he said this, Cong Yu sighed slightly, because he had also seen the attack that Etzel unleashed after entering the state of resolute burning.

　Even if Cong Yu were to face that attack, he couldn't guarantee that he could react quickly enough and block it with the power of faith.

　There's a chance of getting hurt...

　It wasn't something that could be easily ignored or blocked... but the giant serpent did it.

　That giant snake's "existence" was beyond everyone's comprehension. Even whether this attack had hit it, Cong Yu couldn't be sure.

　Upon hearing Cong Yu's words, Etzel's breath hitched slightly, and then he sighed, "As expected... I feel a little defeated."

　However, Etzel wasn't too disappointed.

　Even with her all-out attack, which concentrated all her determination and power, and even her willingness to burn her own life, she couldn't even budge a single scale of the giant snake.

　However, she didn't attack in order to "win," at least... she has now satisfied her curiosity.

　"From now on, it's up to you, Cong Yu..."

　As she spoke, Etzel's voice grew weaker and weaker, then her head tilted to the side, her tongue lolled out, as if... cough cough, she had fallen asleep.

　Cong Yu then turned her gaze back to the open space that had been abruptly created beneath the dense torrent of snake scales.

　That was the defensive line built by everyone who was fighting at that moment.

　Azure flames, a swallowing black cavity, countless little sprites, all kinds of swords, spears, and halberds, crimson crystals, and light guns falling from the sky.

　These things were cleaning up the scales at an extremely rapid pace, but unfortunately... in terms of quantity, the other side was still inexhaustible.

　"..." How do I win?

　Should I attack the giant snake directly, or prioritize helping everyone clean its scales...? Are the snake scales something the snake can produce without any cost?

　The lack of intelligence on the "enemy" made Cong Yu seem like a nagging little goldfish at this moment.

　After throwing Etzel back into the Li village, Cong Yu began to ponder...

　According to the information that Su Ge and Miss Lin obtained in their dreams and from Moirai's words, the opponent's snake scales are endless and cannot be cleaned up.

　Attacking the opponent's main body seems to be the only way.

　However, when Cong Yu is now truly facing the battle, he has come to a slightly different conclusion.

　It seems the giant snake did not create those scales without incurring any cost.

　Well, calling it "consumption" might not be the right word...

　Upon closer inspection, the powdery scales were formed from the splitting of large scales, which had detached from the giant snake's body.

　Like a black tide surging onto the battlefield, the scales, after being defeated... transformed into a single black object, lying quietly on the ground.

　Just like the scales that Cong Yu had seen before.

　"Congyu-chan! Ribbit! There are too many!"

　Yaochuan Guang's voice came from below. In the midst of the fierce battle, her voice barely made it through the surging sound of countless flying snake scales.

　"Brother Congyu, why are you just watching?"

　As Xiao Cui shouted, the sound of the little fairies flapping their wings gradually began to rival the sound of the snake scales cutting through the air, as the "Gate of Fairy Land" opened... Unfortunately, the individual strength of the little fairies was still far inferior.

　"Hang up."

　Lan Tianzhu gave a bland response.

　"..."

　I didn't leave the game running!

　Flying in the air

　Cong Yu silently complained in her heart, feeling that these people's complaints had greatly disrupted the serious atmosphere at the moment.

　but……

　As expected, they decided to join the war first.

　Since the giant snake is currently observing from the edge, it's better to clear its scales first rather than directly engaging it in battle.

　With this thought in mind, Cong Yu kept her gaze fixed on the giant snake, while in her hand she condensed a drop of water that was a mixture of faith and her inner emotions.

　The same pitch-black power of faith, like a single drop of rain, plunged straight into the torrent of serpent scales from the sky.

　In the next instant...

　*Buzz*

　Accompanied by a non-existent sound, it spreads in a realm where no more sound can be heard, a fleeting moment of grayness as if symbolizing the freezing of light and shadow...

　Moirai was all too familiar with this.

　Everyone understood why the snake scales within the area would freeze in mid-air in an instant.

　It's also clear that those snake scales that kept charging forward, yet seemed to have encountered something unseen, transparent, were something they had encountered.

　Time stopped.

　What Cong Yu created was a realm where time stood still...

　When combined with the power of emotions, maintaining such a realm requires far less faith power.

　But even so...

　The cessation of the snake scales still caused a slight change in Cong Yu's expression... because it was very taxing.

　While not to an outrageous degree, compared to the previous uses of the time-stopping ability...

　The power of faith is being consumed at a rate dozens of times faster than before.

　This forced Cong Yu to shout rapidly at Yao Chuanguang and the others: "Quick! Move towards the center of the barrier!"

　As the group, who were constantly cleaning the snake scales, stopped what they were doing and did as instructed, the nature of this "time-stop barrier" changed rapidly.

　Then, almost in an instant...

　The realm where time had stopped quickly transformed into a blazing fire, as transparent and beautiful as crystal, that burned continuously in the air.

　The moment they came into contact with the transparent flames, the activity on the snake scales began to disappear rapidly, causing them to fall to the ground and lose their ability to fight.

　Compared to time stop, Cong Yu's consumption of faith power was not reduced.

　However, compared to "control", if the cost of "damage" is the same as the former, Cong Yu would obviously choose the latter.

　Moreover, this fiery domain cleared the area around everyone, creating a barrier that facilitated their battle.

　Flames became the last resort for the serpent scales to resist when they broke through the defenses, replacing Yaochuan Guang and the others...

　Once everyone had a firm footing and began their attack methodically from behind the "trench," the casualties noticeably decreased.

　Next step……

　Cong Yu looked at the mutilated, still twitching corpses of magical girls and monsters hidden among the snake scales.

　The guy who fought alongside Etzel was "killed," but the parts connected to his heart or brain still retain some life.

　Life and death...

　In the face of Cong Yu, it was no longer such an absolute thing.

　"Resurrection! My warrior!"

　Cong Yu uttered lines that sounded like they came from an MMORPG. After a simple arm raise, the power of faith began to emanate.