BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

1116  The flock (1)

Two days passed in a flash. During this time, Erik and the Chimaeric Demons spent most of the time immersed in combat. They had to rid Sleb Harbor of the remaining blackguards and their allies before leaving for Maynard Island, and that was what they focused on. Erik threw himself into every battle, driven by a hunger for experience points and power.

The Chimaeric Demons did the same, but starting from the second day, whenever Erik took charge of a sector, most of the Chimaeric Demons went to rest or to help their brothers elsewhere.

This way, Erik ensured not only that their fights got shorter but that they progressively had more time to rest.

The fighting was widespread, affecting every single area of the city, even outside the walls and under the city. By reading the enemies' minds, Erik found out how the blackguards came into the city. The same way he did, from holes in the walls, connected to underground tunnels and facilities.

How they did so without the Chimaeric Demons being unable to find that out was beyond him, but there was no time to cry over spilled milk.

The battle took the lives of many people; those who lost their lives outside the walls were left there, to be eaten by thaids.

It might have been considered ruthless, but Erik had no troops to spare to clean the battlefield.

As the city smelled more and more of smoke and blood and more people died around him, Erik gained experience points. The fights, as demanding as they were, made Erik get stronger, but left Erik with little time to rest. He didn't care, of course, because the numbers in his status interface grew fast.

By the end of those two days, Erik had gained 21 system levels. He felt a strange euphoria overtake him. The prospect of hitting level 300 consumed his thoughts these days, driving him to seek more conflicts and more opportunities to grow stronger. But time was something he didn't have anymore. He needed to leave Sleb Harbor and head toward Maynard Island and get rid of the blackguards once and for all.

While focused on getting levels and killing blackguards, Mira, Amber, Emily, June, and the other Chimaeric Demons, not busy with the purge, took care of the preparations for the journey to Maynard Island. Since the battle against Levium, Erik made it clear there was no more time to find planes to reach Maynard Island. The clone who took Salena Turke's place could do nothing either, because most of those vehicles had been repurposed for the war, and there were not enough planes to bring all the clones there. However, the Chimaeric Demon was working on recalling Hin's troops back to the island so that Frant would have a little respite from the war. The clone twisted what happened in Sleb Harbor, making it look like the blackguards attacked. There was no mention of Erik, and he would let no one find out.  There was only one way for Erik to reach Maynard Island, and that was by asking the clone to shapeshift. 15:34

This posed a great logistic problem, which Mira, Emily, June, and Amber had to solve.

After gathering the provisions and tools for the flight. They had to decide on what was really essential to bring. They not only had to fly across the sea, avoid thaids, and reach the island, but they also had to fight. This meant they needed stuff to settle on Maynard Island after they conquered it. Of course, if they conquered it. Being weighed down by excessive supplies, given the clones had to bring the supplies, was going to be problematic and would decrease the clone battle efficiency. But it wasn't like they could risk running short of food during their travel.

As for when they were on the island. Erik was going to make sure a farm was big enough to sustain everyone so everyone would be ready. He would make fruit trees, crops of many kinds, so they wouldn't starve. They would need to head to Hin again after they were done, after all, and just a small contingent of Chimaeric Demons would stay there after they returned. The journey to the smaller island would not last for long. If they left Sleb Harbor in the morning, they would arrive on Maynard Island during the night. The Chimaeric Demons had powerful bodies. When transformed into flying thaids, a single stroke of their wings could make them travel vast distances at incredible speeds. The only problem was that Emily, June, Mira, and Amber were not strong enough to stay safely on top of the clones. So, they couldn't go that fast, or the four would be thrown off by the intense speed and raging winds.

The second problem they tried to solve was what to do as soon as they got to the island.

Upon reaching the island's airspace, the army would likely be thrust into immediate combat. The blackguards were for sure expecting them. After such a battle and an enormous group of soldiers attacking him in Hin's capital, it was unlikely the blackguards didn't prepare for an invasion. The night before their departure, Erik stood on top of a partially destroyed building, looking out over the battered cityscape of Sleb Harbor. The signs of battles were everywhere—crumbling structures, scorched earth, and the eerie silence that followed in the wake of a fight.

This city had suffered a lot because of him, because of the war he was waging against the blackguards. But he pushed the feeling aside. There would be time for reflection and rebuilding later. For now, he had to focus on the task ahead.

…

…

…

Dawn broke, and Erik made his way to the takeoff area, where thousands upon thousands of Chimaeric Demons were already gathered. The takeoff area was busy. Some clones loaded food and supplies onto the backs of their transformed friends, tying them with ropes and various fastening methods.

Others handed out weapons and gear, courtesy of the blackguards they killed in these past two days, making sure each clone was ready to fight. A group of clones looked at maps together, planning how to fly fast and stay safe during the trip.

Thaids could still attack them, and these might even come from Mur. However, 35 thousand Chimaeric Demons could, in theory, kill everything in sight, at least if the Mur's thaids weren't all strong like the Leviathan Serpent. The problem was that the clones didn't have that many neural links. Their brain crystal powers consumed a lot of mana and weren't even that powerful.

The air was tense. Everyone was doing last checks on supplies, double-checking their gear, and making last-minute changes. It was impressive to see how well the Chimaeric Demons organized such a big trip.

Erik approached one of the clones. "Are we ready to leave?" The Chimaeric Demon nodded. "Yes, Master. All 35,000 clones are ready for the journey."

Erik nodded. Thirty-five thousand Chimaeric Demons—it was an impressive force, but he couldn't help but wonder if it would be enough. He had to leave a significant number behind in Sleb Harbor and throughout Hin to protect the group posing as the president and her entourage and to keep a hold of the country. It was a necessary precaution, but one that inevitably weakened their assault force, and the blackguards were playing the defense game here.

<A lot of the clones will die…>

Without knowing how strong the blackguards on Maynard were, Erik couldn't be certain if their numbers would be sufficient. However, he had to trust in the strength and abilities of his clones and in the preparations the others made. "Very well," Erik said, pushing his doubts aside. "Let's begin."

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