BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

Chapter 1199: Friend or Foe No More (1)



The dead blackguards rose, mana making their bodies move. Their limbs snapped into place before they became able again to stand and to stare with their creepy, glowing eyes.

They picked up what remained of their weapons and moved; they marched in creepy, synchronized movements, though their motions were stiff and unnatural. Then, with no sign of recognition, they attacked their former allies.

The blackguards backed away as they saw their fallen comrades rise from their metaphorical grave. Their shouts went unanswered as the undead marched toward them with a single purpose.

The blackguards were a tight-knit group that rarely formed connections outside their own ranks.

They lived together in the barracks, trained together, and shared meals in their own mess halls. Now, these close bonds made the battle even more horrific, as soldiers were forced to fight against their bunkmates, training partners, and closest companions who had been turned into undead.

Besides, each death dealt a double blow to the blackguards' ranks—not only did they lose a trained soldier and trusted companion from their side, but that same fallen comrade would immediately rise to join the growing forces opposing them.

The psychological impact was crushing, as the blackguards watched their numbers dwindle while the enemy's strength multiplied with each dead warrior.

"Do you like my trick?" Erik asked, laughing at his opponent.

"The trick of a thief, which I guess you are..." Bill said.

"I guess you are not wrong." Erik looked at the man with contempt. "You're not wrong. But this thief will be the one to kill you!"

Bill's invisible hands lashed out with increasing desperation, trying to maintain a semblance of control over the deteriorating situation, yet aside from trying to kill Erik, there wasn't much he could do.

Even the Vindicators struggled to contain the ever-growing army of undead, and the other two were nowhere to be seen.

The elementalist tried to intervene as best as he could, burning the bodies and the undead alike. Completely disregarding Erik, but that increased the pressure on the second division commander.

This proved to be a fatal error as Erik seized the opportunity. Tendrils burst from the ground, ensnaring the man, swiftly impaling him through the heart before he could mount any kind of resistance.

[Human enemy killed: mana-absorbing process starting.]

[0%...1%... 5%... 30%... 70%... 100%]

[Mana successfully absorbed, starting converting procedure.]

[3...2...1...0]

[Mana successfully converted into experience. 15,576,349.13 experience points and 155,763.5 DNA points awarded to the host.]

[LEVEL UP.]

Bill grimaced because he understood the battle was truly lost.

***

Explosions rocked the Law Gate's concrete walls as Amber and the others ran to the hangar. "This looks like it's out of an apocalypse movie!"

The battle grew direr with each step they took-powers crashed together, wounded soldiers screamed in terror, and undead thaids let out inhuman howls all around them.

"What the hell is happening there?"

Another explosion rang. The battle wasn't on the same scale as the one Erik had with Levium, but that was just because the madman used entire buildings to attack their lover. However, the undead, the inhuman screams, they made it look much creepier than the one against Levium.

"That doesn't sound like a normal fight," Mira said.

Given the situation, the group never strayed too far from the six undead barrier masters who moved behind them.

The Chimaeric Demons flanked the group, particularly protecting Emily. Amber was in front of her, while Mira and June were slightly ahead, scouting.

"Erik must have engaged the second division commander," Emily said. Through her scope, she caught glimpses of the battle through breaks in the buildings. "The situation there is ugly."

They rounded a corner to find a squad of blackguards locked in combat with undead thaids. The soldiers' tore through rotting flesh, but for each thaid they destroyed, two more took its place under the Chimaeric Demons' control.

The thaids got killed, but they also brought down many opponents. The smaller and weaker thaids were used as a diversion, while the strongest and biggest one tore down at their

opponents.

It was a simple tactic: tear the blackguards down with sheer numbers, and when the undead got destroyed, raise a new one from their dead opponents.

This way, the Chimaeric Demons were not only limiting their losses, but they were even getting more powerful fighters.

"The other Vindicators must be there too," Amber said as they went past the fight. "That's why the battle is lasting this long."

"How many do you think there are?" June asked.

"Two died by our hands," a clone said. "This means there could be four remaining, unless we've overlooked someone."

Another explosion shook the ground. This time, it was bigger than the others, and many buildings collapsed because of it.

Through gaps in the buildings, they saw Erik's plants clash with something, but soon after, the same plants withered, died, and turned to ashes, as if that something destroyed them. At the same time, the many elemental forces Erik could use swirled around. There was fire, wind,

and water.

The group couldn't understand what was happening, but the elemental forces kept flickering, as if something was suppressing them, only for Erik to recreate them from scratch.

"Is that a barrier?" a Chimaeric Demon asked. "Damn, there is another barrier, master!"

Mira nodded. She quickly realized they needed to find Erik and assess the situation. If possible, they had to help him.

"The undead are keeping most of the blackguards' forces occupied. We can use that chaos to sneak our way in."

Then the fires flickered and died. The group didn't know what was happening. Erik could use them, but either stopped because he didn't need them anymore or because he died. Since the plants were still there, it was unlikely Erik died, meaning Erik must have thought they were

not useful anymore.

In truth, the flames died because the elementalist Vindicator died, impaled by Erik's tendrils. "Two more Vindicators are coming from the walls," June said. "They're moving fast."

"How do you know that?"

"I see them!"

The clone was currently flying overhead, partially shapeshifted, so that he could fly and talk at

the same time.

"I need to get a shapeshifting brain crystal power too," Emily said.

The other two Vindicators were currently engaged with the undead, but were currently

making their way toward the hangar.

However, the group could only concentrate on the surrounding battle. In particular, Amber's expression hardened as she saw what was really happening and how big and deadly the battle

was.

This time, the group was not in a building, sheltered by the fight. They were in the middle of it, where people died in droves.

Thousands of blackguards fought against waves of undead while Erik duelled with Bill high above. The hangar's remains smoldered behind them.

The stench of rotten bodies, piss, blood, and feces could be smelled even from their

peripheral position.

The battlefield had transformed into distinct layers of combat-air and ground, living and

dead.

High in the air, Erik and Bill fought against each other. While no one could see Bill's invisible hands attacking, they could watch as Erik's plant-like tendrils were being destroyed when

they got too close.

"Whatever that power is, the second division commander has a nasty ability. We need to stay

hidden, or we're dead meat."

Neither of the two seemed to gain a clear advantage, not because that wasn't happening, but because Amber and the others didn't have enough dexterity to be able to see the two fight. They were missing a lot, simply because they couldn't see it. However, Erik looked confident.

Of course, they knew Erik well enough to understand when he was lying or when he was at

least worried.

Below them, a barrier master Vindicator coordinated the ground defense. Her shields protected clusters of soldiers, but they also looked somehow empowered.

"Do you think it is because of one of her brain crystal powers?" Mira asked a Chimaeric

Demon.

"It can be," the clone said. "These guys are full of surprises."

However, the woman's face showed strain.

"Maybe we should focus on taking care of her. She is clearly keeping most of the undead out

of the battle."

"We can," a Chimaeric Demon said. "The problem is, who should do it, and how?"

"What do you mean, who?" Amber asked.

"Who among us?" The clone paused. "Based on what I'm seeing, the undead need protection.

It would be better to rush to their side."

"We have six barrier masters," Mira said. "We can use them to protect the undead while we take down the barrier master Vindicator."

"Or," Mira said. "We first kill the barrier master, then we protect the undead."

The dead soldiers kept coming back to life during the battle, attacking their former friends.

When soldiers saw the faces of their old teammates among the undead, many couldn't bring themselves to fight back. This proved deadly, since these walking corpses had no problem

attacking their former allies.

Through the smoke and chaos, Amber spotted movement at the edge of the battle. The Vindicators were almost there. Their arrival would complicate things.

"And now we have to consider the other two guys," June said.

Amber paused to think. She understood the battle had been in a stalemate until now, with Erik

facing the barrier master and the second division commander, but if two more Vindicators arrived, she didn't know how things could change.

"We fight the barrier master," she said. "The woman is only focused on protecting the other blackguards. We should target the approaching Vindicators instead, before they could create too many problems for Erik-we've already proven we can handle them." "Then the barrier masters will be used for our protection?" A Chimaeric demon said.

"It's the best option if we want to prevent the scale of the battle from tilting in the blackguards' favor. I don't know what powers they have," Amber said. "But with the undead barrier masters, I doubt they can do much to us."

Mira nodded. "Yeah, and if they join the fight now, they might target Erik. We must prevent

that."

The Chimaeric Demons nodded.

"All right."

"Everyone knows their roles?" Amber asked, preparing to warp. The others nodded, weapons

ready and powers activated.

They would only get one chance to turn this fight's tide.