"Rana!" Liu Ying exclaimed and looked at Bloed. "Something happened!"
Bloed nodded with a grave expression.
"Let's go!"
Without hesitating, the pair ran towards the direction of the scream.
Bloed frowned. At that moment, he seemed to think of something.
"Liu Ying, get ready to fight."
"Huh?"
"The situation is not simple. Rana is a B-Rank, plus she is with Greta and Rhone who are at B-Rank as well. With the three of them being B-Ranks, what kind of situation can make Rana scream like that? Moreover, tomorrow is the competition. Don't you find it suspicious?"
Liu Ying was startled. But she was smart. Just these words of Bloed were enough for her to understand his meaning.
"… Do you mean, someone wants to sabotage us?"
"Most likely. And if it's like that, then perhaps someone will come after us as well." Bloed affirmed and got ready for battle. With a thought, he got Tito, Leto, Oculus, and his saber out of his storage device.
At the same time, he used his link with Regina to tell her about the situation.
When Liu Ying saw that, she put on a complicated expression.
"… Sorry, I left Liu Liu and the gloves in the room."
"…. I understand. Just in case, keep close to me."
Liu Ying nodded.
At that moment, Bloed's expression changed.
"Careful!"
With a thought, he got Leto to form a barrier of metallic sand around them.
The next second, several arrows rained towards them!
*Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!*
Several arrows hit Leto's barrier, some of them even piercing it!
Bloed's expression turned ugly. He had realized that two of the enemies were A-Ranks.
"Bloed!" Liu Ying shouted in worry. But Bloed remained calm. The situation was still manageable.
With Regina's speed, she would arrive here in less than ten seconds. He was confident he could endure until then.
Thus, what he needed to do know is to gain time.
And he knew the perfect way to do it.
"Leto!"
Bloed shouted and threw something out of Leto's barrier. Leto's understood its owner's meaning and instantly covered Bloed and Liu Ying in the barrier again.
The next second–
*Bang!*
The grenade exploded, releasing a piercing flash of light and a loud shrill sound.
The effect was immediate. All the ten enemies fighting them were momentarily stunned.
Without waiting for them to recover, Bloed gave another order.
This time to Oculus!
The floating eye lit up in answer and aimed to the ground.
The next instant–
*Boom!*
Tens of bullets hit the assassins ruthlessly!
Five of the assassins, five C-Ranks, were shredded into pieces instantly. Three B-Ranks were also gravely injured, and they were probably going to die soon.
The problem was the two A-Ranks!
When Oculus fired, the two A-Ranks relied on their instincts to escape the attacks. At the same time, they rushed towards Bloed's again.
With a dagger in each hand, the two assassins charged towards Bloed and Liu Ying.
Bloed narrowed his eyes. Following his will, Leto surged like a wave towards the two A-Ranks.
The A-Ranks did not stop, though. Instead, they accelerated even more, planning to break through Leto's barrier using brute force.
But when they broke through it, both Bloed and Liu Ying had disappeared!
They had taken advantage of the instant when the A-Ranks' sights had been blocked by Leto's barrier to enter in stealth.
However, Bloed knew their stealth could not fool his enemies for long.
Thus, he decided to take this opportunity to take the initiative in the fight.
While the A-Ranks were still confused by Bloed and Liu Ying's disappearance, one of them suddenly felt an incredible sense of danger attacking him!
Instinctively, he twisted his body away.
Unfortunately, that was not enough to completely evade Bloed's next attack.
*Swish!*
Bloed's saber cut through the flesh and bone, severing one of the assassin's arms.
Recently, Bloed had been unable to use his saber properly due to the fact it was too lethal to use it during a friendly competition.
But against these A-Ranks, he did not need to have these reservations.
Once Bloed cut through one of the assassin's arms, he crouched down and stomped on the ground, swinging his saber towards the assassin's chest.
But to Bloed's surprise, the assassin did not seem to care about his safety.
Instead, he ignored his wound and attacked Bloed with his remaining arm.
Moreover, the second assassin also took advantage of this opportunity to attack.
Three daggers cut through the air in Bloed's direction.
Only now Bloed realized that there was something wrong.
The assassins did not seem to care about their lives!
It was as though they did not mind dying as long as they could hurt him.
Almost instantly, his eyes flashed and caught on something.
'Poison! In the daggers!'
Bloed's expression turned ugly.
Without hesitation, he canceled his attack and ordered Leto to create a barrier between him and the assassins.
Then, he kicked the ground and jumped away.
However, the assassins' did not give up so easily. They bellowed loudly, exploding with even stronger mana and breaking through Leto's defenses in less than one second.
"Oculus!" Bloed shouted to the eye in the sky.
And a new barrage of bullets rained from the sky, targeting the two A-Rank assassins.
But even Oculus's bullets were not enough to deter them. They coated their bodies with mana and broke through the rain of bullets, ignoring the energy bullets just to reach Bloed.
Several injuries appeared in their bodies, but the assassins' did not care. It was as though dying was alright if they could kill Bloed.
Bloed clicked his tongue. 'Damn crazy guys…! At this rate, I'll have to fight them at close range!'
But at that moment, he heard Liu Ying yell.
"Get lost!!!"
From the distance, an enormous rock flew towards the two A-Ranks.
The two A-Ranks were forced to avoid it, allowing Bloed to distance himself from them and Leto to return to Bloed's side, creating another barrier.
Meanwhile, Oculus continued firing more energy bullets.
The assassins clicked their tongues and rushed through the bullets, going after Bloed again.
However, Bloed smiled.
"Checkmate," He said to himself.
Bloed was confident he could keep the assassins at bay for at least three seconds.
And counting the time–
"Bastards!!!"
An ice-cold voice came from the sky.
Then, a giant sword of energy descended, bisecting the two A-Ranks cleanly.
One instant later, Regina appeared in front of Bloed.
"Are you alright, master?"
"I am, don't worry. More importantly, we should hurry up to help Rana and the others."
Regina nodded. "Allow me."
She then grabbed Bloed with a hand and Liu Ying with the other hand.
Kicking the ground, the Valkyrie rose on the air carrying her two companions before flying in Rana's direction.
...
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