Hey Guys, Aidka's Here!
I have been very productive this week, posting a total of 23 chapters and almost 27000 words between Fourth Prince and Science/Magic. Thanks to that, currently I only owe 1 chapter of Science/Magic but still eight of Fourth Prince...
From tomorrow, I'll focus on posting the chapters I owe of Fourth Prince. According to my calculations, if I post two chapters of fourth prince daily, I'll finish paying the chapters I owe in two weeks... That is... No so hard.
So, wish me luck, and enjoy... Aidka :p
....
Ten minutes later, the twenty-seven remaining candidates stood in their positions, ready to start the attack.
Three groups of five people and two groups of six people. Each group had already decided on the enemy they were going to attack.
Bloed's voice was transmitted through the dragonflies.
"Is everybody ready?"
[Group one ready.]
[Group two ready too.]
[Group three is waiting for the signal.]
[Group four here. Let's do it~]
Bloed nodded and looked at the faces of his team. When he saw them nod back, he spoke up again.
"We are ready here too."
[Great. Then, when are we going to start?] A female asked.
"Wait for my signal," Bloed replied. "I will cut the communication now. When you see the ray of light, you will know it's time to act."
[… Are you sure you can't leave the dragonflies with us? Having the ability to communicate during the battle will help us to coordinate better.]
Bloed smiled wryly and shook his head.
"It's impossible. As I told you yesterday, I can't keep them out for a long time."
That was a lie. Bloed could sustain communication using the dragonflies for as long as he wanted.
But unfortunately, when the dragonflies were active, Bloed needed to use his entire brain to coordinate and control them. Thus, he was unable to do any complicated action practically defenseless.
Of course, there was no way Bloed was going to tell a group of strangers about such a weakness, so he lied to them and told them instead that the dragonflies could not be kept out for a long time.
After confirming with the dragonflies that everything was in order, he ordered them to reform into Oculus once more.
Then, he sent the eye to observe the situation around the tower.
"You ready guys?" Bloed asked Liu Ying, Aya, and the others.
"Of course~"
"Mm."
"Ready here~!"
"…"
Liu Ying, Aya, Rana, and Atai answered (Atai just nodded).
With the confirmation of his companions, Bloed took a deep breath. Then, he ordered Oculus to ready its stronger attack.
After three seconds, a ray of burning plasma descended on the tower.
The sudden attack stunned the six A-Ranks, but at the same time, the five groups around the tower moved.
That burning ray of plasma was the signal they had agreed to.
Bloed did not try to aim the attack at any of the A-Rank. With Oculus's long charging time, they would be able to feel the danger and evade it beforehand, moreover, it would tell them that something was wrong one or two seconds before.
And that one or two seconds were crucial for Bloed and the others.
"Let's go!" Bloed shouted. He then climbed on the back of Leto and charged towards the tower.
The others followed behind him. Liu Ying, Aya, and Atai were running in their feet, and Rana, who was a mage (and hence slower than the rest of the group) was riding a duplicate of Leto.
The group moved quickly. In less than ten seconds, they had already appeared before their target.
Each group had chosen one of the A-Ranks as their target. As for Bloed's group, they had chosen the spear-wielding bearkin.
According to Bloed's observations, he focused on physical strength, so it should be easier for Bloed's group to pass through him.
The bearkin was slightly stunned when he saw Bloed's group charging towards him, but he did not panic.
Instead, he opened his mouth in a grin and readied his spear.
"Good! You are finally here!"
Taking a step forward, he thrust his spear in the direction of Bloed's group.
The group's expressions changed. For an instant, they felt an overwhelming pressure changing towards them!
But just a little bit of pressure was not enough to intimidate Bloed's and the others. As soon as the bearkin attacked, Bloed's group responded.
"You know what to do!"
Bloed's words were the signal.
In answer, Rana waved a small wand in her hand, and the spell she had readied beforehand was cast.
"[Pressure]!"
The effect of the spell was instantaneous. With a grunt, the bearkin felt his body turning heavy, and his movements became slower.
That was everything Bloed needed. With a thought, Leto turned into a wave of metallic sand that engulfed the bearkin!
The bearkin snorted. With a roar, his spear was swung against the ground, creating a shockwave that sent Leto's sand flying away.
But during that time, Atai had readied an arrow.
And–
*Swoosh!*
The arrow hit the bearkin's leg.
"Ugh." The bearkin grunted in pain, but he did not seem to bother with the arrow. Instead, he swung his spear again.
To Bloed and the others' surprise, the arrow failed to pierce his leg.
Instead, it was stopped when it reached his bone.
Bloed's group had already anticipated something like that, though. In the sky, Oculus lit up, unleashing a torrent of energy bullets that forced the bearkin to stop his attack and evade.
At the same time, Rana cast a second spell.
"[Subduing]!"
A black sphere appeared around the bearkin, creating a strong suctioning force that constricted his movements.
Moreover, Leto's move again, arriving at the bearkin's leg and unleashing a powerful electric current that zipped the bearkin.
Affected by the Bloed and Rana's techniques, the bearkin's movements were momentarily stopped.
And that was everything Bloed's group needed.
Using that opening, they rushed towards the tower.
Aya, one of the fastest of the group, carried Rana on her back and rushed toward the tower. Meanwhile, Bloed and the others followed behind her.
But the bearkin was not planning to let them go so easily! Even when his movements were severely restricted, he bellowed and raised his spear, filling it with mana.
"BRAAAAATTTTTSSSS!!!"
With a shout, the spear erupted in blinding light and flew in Bloed and the others' direction!
The spear was so fast and the distance was so short that it was unavoidable.
But at that moment, Liu Ying turned around, tensed up her muscles, and took a defensive stance.
She unleashed her aspect and gritted her teeth. Then, she threw a punch and bellowed!
"STOP!!!"
The spear and the punch clashed, creating a powerful shockwave that blew several nearby rocks away.
But even Liu Ying's godly strength was not enough to remain uninjured from the attack of an A-Rank!
However, a ray of light fell on her at the last moment, increasing her defenses for a brief instant.
It was one of Rana's spell, [Guarding Light]!
With the help of the spell, Liu Ying managed to barely resist the spear.
And when she had dissipated most of the spear's strength, she took a small jump backward.
Borrowing the remaining strength in the spear, Liu Ying launched herself towards the tower!
But suddenly, Bloed's expression changed.
Using Oculus, Bloed saw to see an attack flying towards them at great speed.
The attack would reach them in an instant!
Bloed did not hesitate. With one of his hands, he grabbed Liu Ying's body and hugged her; and with a thought, he ordered Leto to form a barrier around the five of them.
The next second–
*BOOOMMM!*
A sword slash impacted Leto.
Bloed expression turned grave. The worst situation had happened.
Through Oculus, he could see the grinning face of a beastman wielding a greatsword.
A second A-Rank had appeared.