Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

The once vibrant city was burning, flames spreading from the mountain peaks under the night sky to the city walls and distant fields.

The harvested wheat fields were covered in dark red ashes, and the marching stinkbug-like mechanical insects on the city walls emitted strange noises, their spiral mouthparts extending and puncturing the closed thick wooden doors, then rushing inside.

Clashes of swords and furious roars echoed within the towers, followed by a mouse-eared knight in armor being pierced through the wall by a lance; the spiraled lance pierced through the chest, emerging from the back, before rotating again, splattering blood and flesh, and finally, the mouse-eared knight slipped off the lance, plummeting into the ashes and debris below.

Buzzing swarms of flying cockroaches formed patrolling formations, spewing flames to ignite wooden structures along the way, causing many burning houses to collapse slowly in the fiery glow, raising clouds of sparks and ash.

At the edge of this dark night, a troop arrived at the foot of the city, stepping in the pre-dawn moments.

Black steel knight armor, emblazoned with the emblem of the Snow Split Flower, hung with a longsword and shield on one side under their cloaks, and a long lance on the other; they were the Guard Knight Order of the Iron Rat Kingdom, directly serving the royal family, the kingdom's most elite soldiers.

When this group of several hundred elite cavalry arrived, they stood on the hilltop, not rushing into the city immediately; instead, they gazed afar at the city engulfed in the flames of war.

Half an hour later, groups of figures gradually appeared on the hilltop, dressed in thick coats, shouldering box-like backpacks, wearing helmets with openings for their ears, each holding standard-issue firearms of the Iron Rat Kingdom; such soldiers continuously formed a massive crescent arc outside the city, enclosing the already fallen city.

This was all that remained of the Iron Rat Kingdom's fighting force, summoned from various strongholds and villages, assembled here from all over.

"Everyone, check your ammo, prepare to load!"

From the cavalry came a mounted mouse-eared knight riding back and forth before the formation, spreading the command to each soldier on the ridge.

In silence, everyone began to act, a variety of rustling noises rose up, occasionally mixed with the sound of gun bolts being cocked.

As these mouse-eared warriors gathered, the mechanical bodies tasked with clearing and reaping in the city started to respond, ascending into the sky, overlooking the formations below, then rockets shot out from the chest and belly of the flying cockroaches, piercing the cool air as they charged towards the mouse-eared warriors below.

"Iron crossbows, fire!"

An urgent cry rang out from within the mouse-eared formation, followed by the sound of drawn strings and launched projectiles from behind the ranks.

Several large crossbow bolts shot forth with the power of lances, piercing the night sky and striking down flying cockroaches; the descending rockets were intercepted by barriers raised through the spells of a group of mouse-eared priests, exploding into countless sparks mid-air.

While engaging the airborne cockroaches, the formerly sealed city walls slowly fell, revealing a massive mechanical beetle that crawled out, as tall as the city walls, its body clad in layered ring-shaped armor, underbelly teeming with countless centipede-like claws incessantly crawling, propelling the entire body forward.

Upon the emergence of this large mechanical beetle, the hilltop formation, under the commander's orders, began focused shooting, dense bullets striking the armor, issuing a constant cascade of sparking flashes, while the twin-barreled guns in the center of the mechanical beetle flexed outward, flaring a deep blue light, powerful electromagnetic bullets shot out, penetrating the ranks of the mouse-ear warriors.

These electromagnetic bullets, with a single shot, pierced through seven mouse-ear warriors, leaving a mist of blood, and when gaps appeared in the line, reserves filled them as they resumed shooting.

"Prepare to throw stones!"

"Fire!"

Heavy black stones were hurled high into the air, smashing towards the mechanical beetle by the city gate and ferociously exploding, igniting silver powder within, bursting into incandescent violent sparks that melted its outer shell, allowing the molten metal to seep inside, sizzling and emitting white smoke.

"Fire!"

Several more black stones were launched, some burning through and corroding the beetle's back armor, some landing by the city gate, erupting into boiling white flames to block various mechanical bodies charging out from the city.

After several shots, the once-intimidating mechanical beetle ceased operation and fell to the ground, its body stood still upon shutdown, surrounded by other scuttling small mechanical units.

Though they were much smaller than the downed mechanical beetle, they were extremely numerous, swarming out with an incessant buzzing that made one's scalp tingle.

Intense shooting erupted among the mouse-eared warriors, flashes of gunfire almost forming a single line across the wilderness; the opposing mechanical units also paused some of their shooting, yet their firepower paled in comparison to the orderly density of the mouse-eared side.

Soon, the frontal mechanical units neared the mouse-eared front lines, forcing the recently firing mouse-eared warriors into melee, sowing chaos as many were unfamiliar with hand-to-hand combat, especially against the steel bodies of mechanical lifeforms.

To stabilize the soon-to-collapse lines, the Guard Knight Order emerged from divided formations on the hillside, all Transcendent beings of Sequence 3 or higher, wielding large lances specifically made for combating mechanical bodies, beginning to accelerate continuously.

The surface of the cone-shaped large lances shimmered with swirling engravings, cold light emanated from the tips, and as they accelerated to a certain speed, they glimmered like icy stars in the fiery light, plunging fiercely into the oncoming mechanical bodies, puncturing through the sturdy alloy shells, piercing the electronic components within, causing these mechanical bodies to disassemble in exploding sparks.