BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

1132  The battle for Maynard Island (9)

Erik delivered a punch that propelled Restro several meters into the air. He then used fire again, trying to cook the guy alive, but Vex teleported him away from danger. It looked like they understood what Erik wanted to do.

However, Erik did that solely to gain a few precious seconds.

<Did you find him?>

<Yes, master. He is currently on the rooftop of the Blackguards' main building, as you previously mentioned. What should we do?>

<Take 20 clones and kill him. Don't get spotted. He has likely flooded the rooftop with water, so he might be able to hear you coming. Find a way to avoid that at all costs, shapeshift or whatever you think is necessary. I will keep Restro and Vex occupied. How much time do you need?> Erik asked.

<One minute, master.>

Vex and Restro teleported away. They needed some time to recuperate. Vex was panting, eyes narrow. Sweat was trickling down every inch of his skin. Restro wasn't in a better condition.

"Are you ok?" Vex asked.

"Yes. That guy is trying to cook me alive, right?"

"He can't kill you until you wear that armor."

Restro paced back and forth, unable to contain his nervousness. His eyes were wide under the helmet, darting around as if expecting Erik to appear at any moment. He clenched and unclenched his fists, unable to stay still.

"I can't believe it," Restro said. "We're giving it our all, and he's still standing. How is that even possible? We are three against one!"

"What the fuck is that guy, Vex?!"

Vex put his hand on the man's armored shoulder to calm him down. But Vex's hand was shaking a little too much.

"A monster, indeed... I've never met someone so strong aside from the division commanders…"

"He might be stronger than them. We are three. Terra is no way inferior to Levium, who fought against him alone, yet we can't kill him!" Restro said. As the words came out, the absurdity of Erik's powers hit Restro like a tsunami. He struggled to comprehend how one man could possess such overwhelming might. It wasn't just that, but his ability to shrug off Vex's brain crystal powers as if they were nothing.

"Damn, you can slow down time! You can teleport! " How could you not kill him?"

Restro's voice shook. Vex sensed the fear in his voice, yet he refrained from passing judgment on the man. He himself was having trouble breathing. "He is too fast!" Vex said.

"What?!" Restro couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was too quick for someone who could slow time down.

"What do you mean by 'he is too fast'? You can slow time fucking down!"

"Exactly that. Typically, when I activate my brain crystal power, everything slows down for me, but I remain unaffected. I can move almost exactly as fast as if I'm without using my brain crystal powers. This means I should, in theory, be able to kill him. The problem is that he moves too fast even during those times. I can't reach him, and the fucker is even able to see me! To study me, even!"

"How can we win against someone like this?"

"I don't think we can," Vex said. "The third division commander must come help us; otherwise, I fear even she will die!"

Vex found himself struggling to keep up with Erik. His time freeze brain crystal power, while still effective, was becoming predictable. "He must have gotten Levium's powers... Aside from telekinesis, he also had a parallel will brain crystal power. Intel suggested that the kid was already smart. This enhanced his intelligence and likely boosted his cognitive abilities and reflexes. It is the only way Erik must be able to keep up with us despite how quickly and frequently we are attacking him."

However, the truth was that, despite his incredible powers and enhanced body, Erik started feeling the strain of fighting three high-level opponents simultaneously. His mana reserves, while substantial, were not infinite, and even if he leveled up and his mana got refilled, he still had to face the physical and mental burden of such a battle.

Having to avoid countless attacks time after time was putting a strain on him. A single moment of distraction or of tiredness might cause his death. That alone was extremely frustrating and tiring.

Erik knew he would face Vindicators here. He had been lucky to have to fight only against three, but this didn't make the actual fight easier. However, aside from his immediate worries about the battle, Erik was more concerned about a different issue: why there were only three Vindicators.

If the blackguards were so hell-bent on getting the biological supercomputer from him, they should have sent everyone to him. If that happened, Erik knew he would have lost. Erik might have escaped, but he would undoubtedly have faced defeat.

This meant the blackguards either didn't have enough Vindicators or that they thought they would not be enough to defeat him, meaning they were too weak compared to Levium, Vex, Terra, and Restro.

<If this is true, it means the others are on Mur, and if that is also true, in a couple of months, they might be stronger than they are now.>

However, the issue wasn't limited to the Vindicators alone. Although the Vindicators typically had lethal birth brain crystal powers, the true issue lay in the fact that their second power's neural links boosted their stats.

But other blackguards might reach the same level, while the Vindicators might end up with another brain crystal power, and even if they would not be able to make many neural links on the third one, having 20 more was already enough to make them much stronger than having 54 neural links in both their powers.

Regardless, that was going to be something he would have to address with the Chimaeric Demons; he had to find a way to make them strong enough to be able to fight against such kinds of fighters.

…

…

…

The fight continued, with Erik attacking Vex and Restro non-stop. Meanwhile, without the Vindicators knowing, a group of Chimaeric Demons moved towards the main building. This was where Terra was hiding.

Twenty invisible creatures moved across the battlefield. They were careful not to step in water or make any noise that could give them away. "Where is he?"

"On the other side of the rooftop."

Terra was kneeling behind the parapet. He was looking at the battle below with a grave look. The vibrations made during the clash between Erik and his two comrades were becoming stronger and stronger, closer and closer, and he didn't like that. He needed to make sure the battle moved from his position. Terra was concentrating hard, making rocks come out of the ground, sprouting walls to protect his comrades, making the terrain as hard for Erik to fight as possible, creating traps to slow down Erik, and even giving Restro some weapons to use or to hurl at Erik.

The problem was that nothing worked. Erik looked like a siege engine, a bulldozer squashing everything he threw at him as if it were a paper wall. The only thing he did was to prevent Erik from killing his comrades. The battle was getting more harrowing, but it was still in a stalemate. Here, the one to win would be the one with more mana, or the one with more stamina. The problem was, who would end up with either of the precious resources sooner?

The Chimaeric Demons climbed up the building's walls. They moved quietly, finding tiny spaces to hold on to as they went up. When they reached the roof, they stopped. The roof was flooded with water, exactly like Erik said. There was a particularly deep pool at Terra's feet. It was a simple yet effective defensive alarm. The clones traversed the roof after having turned into insects. The water was effecting alerting Terra if they stepped on the water, but flying wasn't a problem. The water would not stop them from killing Terra. But their wings' buzz could alert him. The clones had to be careful, flying up to a certain point and crawling whenever they could. <Team 2, you go on land. Walk over the parapet. Take your time. Team 1 will fly as close as possible, then proceed on foot up to the closest landing point.>

<Understood.>

Terra felt a faint sound. He frowned. Something wasn't right, but he couldn't pinpoint the source of the sound. There were too many sounds around, which made it hard for him to understand the source.

In the meantime, he focused on the battle, targeting Erik again. The clones moved into position. <Are you in position?>

<We are.>

<Good. Act now!>

The Chimaeric Demons turned into humans again and appeared above, in front, behind, and on each side of Terra.

The Vindicator reacted instantly, walls of stone erupting from the floor. But the Chimaeric Demons were strong enough to shatter his defenses, exactly like Erik could. Terra's eyes widened behind the mask. There was no way for him to escape. These guys were as fast as Erik himself, surprisingly, and Vex wasn't with him. He could not teleport, could not fly, and couldn't escape.

Terra created tendrils of earth and stone. He crushed two clones against the floor, making the roof crumble. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Another fell to a spike that shot up from the floor, impaling its mid-leap.

But there were too many, and Terra could not keep up with all of them. Soon after, the clones swarmed him and plunged their mana blades into his body.