Five Nodes (5)

*Boom!!!*

A powerful explosion shook the entire city after the pillar of light hit the barrier, followed by a blinding light that forced the group to close their eyes.

The next instant, the group was hit by a powerful shockwave.

"Ugh…" Liu Ying groaned and covered her eyes. She tried to see if the barrier had been destroyed, but the light created by the explosion was so blinding that she could see nothing.

Quickly, though, the light receded.

But then, her eyes and the eyes of the group opened wide.

"… No way," Isabella murmured in disbelief.

The barrier was still standing.

"… That spell was at the level of a demigod. It should have been enough to destroy the barrier." Isabella's face was pale. "Why is it still standing?"

Quickly, though, the group realized the reason.

A middle-aged woman was standing above the barrier. She was holding a shield in her right hand, which she used to stop Isabella's spell.

"Demigod…!" George muttered with gritted teeth.

These words made the expressions of many of the students turn pale.

"No way…!"

"There is a demigod protecting the barrier!?"

"How are we going to defeat her?"

Liu Ying and the others turned pale as well.

Among them, Isabella and George were known to have combat power compared to a demigod. But in front of a real demigod, they were greatly disadvantaged.

After all, one of the main features of a demigod was their ability to fly, putting them in an absolutely advantageous situation against anyone below demigod.

No matter how strong an A-Rank was, he was nothing if his attacks could not reach his enemy. Meanwhile, demigods could attack A-Ranks indiscriminately from the sky.

That was the reason why the chasm between demigod and A-Rank was so big.

Thus, the moment that a demigod appeared, the group was filled with despair.

But just then, Liu Ying saw the space behind the demigod distort.

"That is…!"

In the next instant, a black-haired girl suddenly appeared behind the demigod, brandishing her sword towards the demigod's back.

"Eres…!" Liu Ying's eyes opened wide.

The black-haired princess was attacking the demigod!

The demigod was caught by surprise. When she realized that Eres was behind her, Eres's sword was already about to cut her into two.

But the demigod didn't panic. Before the sword could touch her, her body flickered.

Then, the demigod disappeared and appeared several meters away.

"That was close…" She sighed in relief.

Eres frowned. She looked at the demigod and realized that her back was bleeding, however, the wound was not grave.

"Amazing…" The demigod woman said with genuine admiration. "To think that I would be injured by a student. Moreover, your attack pierced my barrier as though it was paper. Who are you?"

Eres did not reply. Instead, she put on a serious expression and stared at the demigod fixedly.

Even though she had killed demigods before, she did not dare to underestimate them. Every demigod was a genius among geniuses. None of them was easy to deal with.

Moreover, now that she had lost the factor surprise, she was not that confident that she could defeat the woman in front of her.

The demigod furrowed her brows and stared at Eres fixedly. Then, her eyes opened slightly wide.

"… Now that I think about it, I heard that the Princess of the Kingdom of Alterna was in Academy City. Is it you?"

Eres remained silent, but it was enough for the demigod to confirm her guess.

"I see." She nodded. "I had heard rumors about your talent, Princess. But it looks like you are much stronger than the rumors."

Eres still didn't reply. Instead, she spoke to Liu Ying through voice transmission.

[Miss Liu Ying, I will distract her. You must find a way to destroy the barrier.]

Liu Ying was worried, but she understood that Eres's suggestion was the only option now. [Take care. If you are in danger, ask for help.]

[I know.] Eres replied. Then, her figure disappeared.

In the next instant, she was in front of the demigod, swinging her sword fiercely!

However, the demigod just smiled and received her attack with her shield.

Just like that, a fierce battle between Eres and the demigod woman started.

In the meanwhile, the rest of the group again started to fight the monsters.

They had been surprised when Eres started to fight the demigod, but in their current situation, they did not have the leisure to pay attention to her. In fact, their current situation was much worse than before.

After all, some students had died while Isabella prepared her spell, and Eres had left to fight the demigod.

"Miss Isabella, can you use that spell again?" Liu Ying hurriedly asked.

But Isabella shook her head with a pale face.

"… I'm sorry. It consumes too much mana. I can't use it again."

"Damn it." Liu Ying cursed. "What about you, Mr. George? Do you have any way to destroy that barrier?"

"Unfortunately, I don't." George smiled bitterly. "My specialty is martial arts. None of my attacks has the destructive power of Miss Isabella's spells."

Liu Ying bit her lips and put on a grave expression.

'… Could it be that we are going to fail?'

But immediately, she gritted her teeth and put on a determined expression.

"Fuck it! No way I'm going to disappoint Bloed!"

She then shouted to the group.

"I have a way to destroy the barrier, but I need a bit of time!"

Isabella, Aya, George, and the others were startled. But soon, Isabella frowned.

"… How confident are you?"

"Fifty percent!" Liu Ying gritted her teeth. "But I have a feeling it will work."

Isabella furrowed her brows. She could feel that Liu Ying's mana was just at the B-Rank. To be honest, she did not believe that Liu Ying could destroy the barrier.

But then, she heard Aya's voice.

"I trust sister Liu Ying. Miss Isabella, trust her."

Isabella was startled.

"Are you sure?"

Aya nodded.

"Mm… Please, trust her."

Isabella fell silent and put on a hesitant expression.

Right now, the situation was very grave. Several students had died, and they were being overwhelmed by monsters.

The most prudent choice was to retreat before they were wiped out. Trusting that a B-Rank girl could destroy a barrier at the demigod level was foolish.

But then, she remembered a certain blue-haired young man.

He was at the B-Rank just like Liu Ying, however, his power was overwhelmingly strong.

It was so strong that she could not start to imagine how to face it.

When she remembered him, Isabella's eyes became determined.

"Very well! We will trust you! We will open a way for you to reach the barrier! But you have only thirty seconds to destroy it!"

Liu Ying smiled savagely.

"That is more than enough."

Then, crimson mana overflowed out of her body.

And a giant black knight appeared on her back.