Su Tianqing gazed forward.
This was the ninth item Inari had left behind that she had collected.
She had already sent her familiar to retrieve the one from this morning, and had also reviewed the memory that came with it. There was nothing special, just Inari detailing the barrier arrangements in Hong Kong City.
It was far less significant than the memory attached to this amulet from the afternoon.
"There are still people in the ruins over there! Hurry up and go! I'll hold them off!"
The Red Fox Girl flew in the air, her magic wand maintaining a powerful binding spell, firmly pinning three Monsters in mid-air.
"...Then I'll leave it to you, Lady Inari."
The Association Hero behind her nodded and said, immediately rushing towards the building Inari had indicated. Activating his psychic ability, he rescued several residents buried in the ruins and quickly moved them away from the battlefield.
The girl pushed up the fox mask on her face and looked back at the Monsters held by the binding magic.
"Why? Three Monsters appearing at the same time is unprecedented! This doesn't conform to the characteristics of Star Realm Magic!"
Inari's internal monologue echoed in Su Tianqing's mind.
But the situation on the battlefield didn't allow her to be distracted—a Monster bird broke free and soared into the air. Inari quickly dispelled the binding magic on the remaining two Monsters, dodging the Monster bird's attacks while thinking of a countermeasure.
Her dodging, maneuvering, precise spellcasting, and the excellent effects of each spell left Su Tianqing marveling at Inari's magical prowess:
Her magic missiles could form and launch far from her body, even appearing directly behind the Monsters, and their flight speed was astonishingly fast.
Just this ability to freely cast magic missiles was enough to be shocking, not to mention her other diverse offensive and defensive spells. It was no exaggeration to call her a genius.
The Monster bird's struggle put Inari in a brief tough fight, but she quickly suppressed the three Monsters again with a barrage of magic.
While admiring Inari's dazzling magic show, Su Tianqing also focused on observing the situation of the three Monsters.
But the more closely she observed, the more suspicious Su Tianqing became, even frowning deeply.
...Why was their cooperation so excellent?
The Monster bird's pounces were exceptionally precise, and the python and Black Wolf Monster would attack collaboratively, trying to seize and narrow Inari's position in the ruins, intending to interrupt Inari's spellcasting.
Their coordination was perfect, and the pressure was immense. If their opponent hadn't been Inari, they would have likely been taken down by this perfect coordinated attack long ago.
"Something's not quite right."
Su Tianqing murmured, as if talking to the Red Fox Girl beside her, yet also as if talking to herself.
"If wild Monsters happened to appear in one place, they should be fighting each other due to their beastly instincts."
"Not engaging in such a well-coordinated battle."
After speaking, Su Tianqing originally intended to turn and see Inari's reaction beside her, but Inari seemed to have not heard her words at all, smiling as she looked ahead.
"The Law of Time, this is a fundamental rule that my magic cannot transcend."
"Lady Xin Yuehu, I couldn't hear what you just said. Those words must have contained some information that I, at this point in time, shouldn't have received."
"But judging from your expression, you must have noticed the strangeness of this battle, haven't you?"
Su Tianqing remained silent, saying no more, only nodding gently in response.
Indeed, powerful BUG-level magic like foreseeing the future also had its limitations. At least, she couldn't use this method to convey crucial information to Inari.
But from her perspective, there was only one possibility for why these three Monsters performed so well:
"Someone is manipulating them from behind." The Golden-haired Fox Girl said softly.
This was the only possibility.
Summoning and commanding other Monsters, besides her Xin Yue Magic Wand, Su Tianqing had only seen this level of ability in one other entity:
That was the giant beast Leviathan from the Sui City Star Realm Rift incident not long ago.
"Currently, the most likely situation is that the giant beast Jörmungandr is the mastermind behind these Monsters."
"But why would it control Monsters to attack Jiulong Walled City? This is just a lawless slum, and the leyline magic is quite scarce. What exactly is its purpose?"
She pondered.
Due to the constraints of the Law of Time, Inari couldn't hear her monologue. She was responding with a wry smile.
Su Tianqing decided to continue watching.
Since the existing information couldn't lead to a conclusion, she might as well see what happened next. Perhaps the key information for solving the mystery was hidden further on.
After watching for a while, Su Tianqing suddenly raised her hand and said to Inari beside her:
"Can this memory be paused? I'd like to see the situation from a moment ago again."
"Of course."
The girl waved her hand, and the memory scene rewound, stopping at the moment Inari's magic struck the Monster bird.
"Right here," Su Tianqing said.
"Look, the Monster bird clearly wasn't fully focused on you, otherwise, with its mobility, it couldn't have failed to dodge this magic ray."
"Hmm... but what does that prove?"
"Then rewind a bit more and see what it was doing just now."
A brief rewind.
The image froze on the Monster bird's action of scanning its surroundings.
Su Tianqing pointed to the Monster bird in the sky, scanning the ground as if searching for something. She said nothing, yet it was as if she had spoken everything she knew.
Inari was no fool either. She stared intently at the Monster bird's movements and thought for a while, then immediately realized:
"The Monster bird is looking for something," Inari murmured to herself.
"But Jiulong Walled City is just a lawless zone. What exactly does its controller want it to find?"
"Think carefully, Inari, as a lawless zone, what can Jiulong Walled City hide best?"
Their eyes met, and they both spoke the same answer in unison:
""People.""
"Whether residents or criminals, gang members or casino gamblers, as long as they enter this lawless zone, they disappear and cannot be detected by others."
"So, Jörmungandr is controlling the Monsters to search for a certain person?"
"This is just my speculation. I can't say what its true purpose is."
Su Tianqing murmured.
But if it's searching for a person, what about that person could possibly attract the attention of a mighty Star Realm Giant Beast?
What was so special about him or her?
Just as Su Tianqing was struggling to understand the logic and about to abandon this line of thought, a figure suddenly appeared in the corner of the memory scene,
It was a beast-girl crying and fleeing through a gap in the buildings.
Her gray wolf ears and tail, and her tattered clothes, all spoke of her background and plight.
However, the three Monsters' gazes, all simultaneously fixed on the Gray Wolf Girl, made both Fox Girls freeze at the same time.
"Stop!"
"It's already paused."
They both stared intently at the frantically fleeing girl.
While the three Monsters' attention was diverted, Inari used a fatal charged magic cannon to pierce the Monster bird's head. The python and Black Wolf were forced to refocus their attention on Inari, and the Gray Wolf Girl was able to escape.
However, the Monsters' synchronized movements left a deep impression on the Fox Girls' minds.
"...Do you believe in fate, Lady Inari."
"Sometimes I do, but I never thought fate would be so ironic."
Inari took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
Su Tianqing's expression was as surprised as Inari's.
If she hadn't seen wrong, that fleeing Gray Wolf Girl... bore at least a ninety percent resemblance to someone she knew.
"Gray Wolf, oh Gray Wolf..."
"Who exactly are you?"