Bo Hai kept his eyes fixed on the demon. A drop of sweat rolled down his cheek, and with a crooked smile, he muttered,
"Well, damn it… didn't work."
The demon across from him looked furious. From his mouth came a low growl,
"A strong opponent. Out of everyone here… you're the strongest," he said, glaring menacingly at Bo Hai.
"The strongest? I'm not even close… not compared to him," Bo Hai thought, remembering Xing.
His mind drifted back three years — to the outskirts of a dangerous zone where his twenty-man squad had faced a horde of demons. He had single-handedly wiped out more than a hundred low-ranked ones using only his physical strength. Only once — against a mid-tier demon — had he resorted to using his technique.
"Come at me, bastard," Bo Hai spat.
Upon hearing this, the demon dashed toward the school walls and shattered them with a single, energy-charged blow.
Bo Hai and Sai quickly retreated, joining the others who had already rushed inside the crumbling school, fleeing through the inner halls.
The demon no longer played around — he was serious now. As he gave chase, everything in his path turned to rubble.
Lao Wei spun around and unleashed his technique, "Soul-Chasing Arrows."
In two seconds, over twenty arrows burst from his hands, flying chaotically toward the demon.
Bo Hai raised his arm and commanded,
"Divine Spear — to me!"
The spear, still embedded deep in the ground, trembled and shot into the air, soaring toward its master.
Aiming at the demon, Bo Hai locked on. The spear glowed — then launched itself forward like a bolt of lightning.
Meanwhile, Noy waited for the right moment — the instant the demon dropped his guard.
And then, the storm of attacks hit. The right wall collapsed, arrows sliced through the air, the spear pierced the demon's body — and behind him, Noy appeared. From his soul space, he drew his dagger, ready to sever the demon's head.
But in that moment, the demon whispered,
"Demonic Explosion Technique."
His body flared with golden light. Noy's eyes widened.
"Dude… you've got to be kidding me…" he muttered under his breath.
Li Kun reacted instantly, rushing forward and transforming his body into a massive protective dome. The others dove inside for cover.
"Damn it, Noy!" Leo shouted.
A deafening explosion tore through the old school, reducing half of it to ashes. Li Kun's robotic shell, which had saved the others, began to crack and fall apart.
In another part of the forest stood Li Kun himself — a tall young man with light blue hair. He sighed irritably,
"Damn… broke again. At least I got the others out. Unit 05, move out."
Behind the trees, two glowing eyes flickered — and vanished.
Meanwhile, Leo spoke,
"We've already lost two people… Where's Lady Emma? And that girl — where is she?"
Lao Wei replied,
"If Li Kun were here, he'd tell us."
From the destroyed robot's head came Li Kun's voice,
"Guys, another unit is heading your way. As for Emma and Zhao Lao — they're fighting in another part of the forest. And by the way, the girl from the American Academy won her match."
"I see… so that's where she was," Sai muttered.
"My robot will retrieve her and bring her to the safe zone. I'll reach you in ten minutes," Li Kun added.
"Alright then — let's start round two," Bo Hai said firmly.
At the same time, Noy — gravely injured in the stomach — was lying on the ground, bleeding heavily. The demon's blow had thrown him far.
Suddenly, he heard movement. Too weak to move, he thought bitterly,
"Man… I'm too young to die… damn it…"
He closed his eyes, ready for the end. Ten seconds passed — but nothing happened.
When he opened them again, Emma was standing above him.
"Oh… Emma…" he whispered faintly.
"What happened to you?" she asked.
"As you can see, I'm hurt… can't move. Feels bad, man," Noy managed a weak grin.
"I see," Emma said coldly, inspecting his wound.
"You can't fight anymore. I'll hide you from the demon. The barrier keeping us trapped has been up for seven minutes — and the teachers still aren't doing anything."
"Seven minutes? Felt like forever… damn. That demon's mid-high rank," Noy groaned.
"Mid-high? How could something that strong even be here?" Emma frowned.
"Alright. I'll patch you up quickly — then I'm going after him."
After treating his wound, she carefully hid Noy behind the debris, then turned toward the battlefield — her expression calm but deadly.
And in the next heartbeat, Emma charged straight toward the demon.