BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM-Chapter 1279: The bugs (5)

Erik noticed the skittering behind them was growing louder. There must have been thousands of legs scratching against stone, which meant the number of bugs was astronomical.

Then the queen's screech reached them like a banshee's wail through a megaphone.

"Fuck, it looks like the fire had nothing else to burn!" That meant oxygen quickly returned, and even the gargantuan body of the queen could go through the cave.

His fire was strong and large enough to burn anything, but the caves and tunnels were large, and air passed much faster than he wanted. Not as much as it would have been outside, but still faster than in any other cave.

However, the group was now at the exit. The outside lights were piercing the tunnel's darkness, and the clones were almost there to leave the cursed cave.

Then they did. The light blinded them, but they had not even a single second of time available to get accustomed to it. They emerged in the rocky outcrop between the forest and the beach, where the main entrance was, the same way Erik came through.

They were close enough to the ocean that they could hear its sounds and smell the salt in it. While that meant they were too close to sea thaids, and in the open for flying thaids, the smell wasn't so bad.

<At least the smell of charred flesh is no longer there…>

[Oh yes, because being chased by thousands of bloodthirsty bugs and flying thaids is such an improvement over a bit of barbecue smell. Truly, we're living the dream here.]

<Is it really the right time to be a jerk?>

[Oh my! It's always the right time!]

"The forest," Erik pointed. "We need cover."

They sprinted across the open ground, Amber still carried by one of the clones. The thunderous sound of the swarm grew closer, echoing from the cave mouth behind them.

A clone turned to Erik. He was clearly concerned; his face told it, and his voice reinforced the thought. "Master, the noise—it will draw other thaids."

Erik knew that.

<Fuck!>

He knew the noise would attract every thaid within a five-kilometer radius at least, from the smallest to the largest. The queen must have been really enraged because of the intrusion and was screeching like a hawk.

However, that was not the main problem. Erik glanced at the sky, sweeping from corner to corner, as if one could say the sky had corners. He was searching for the silhouettes of those abominations in the bright sky, the flying thaids.

He then looked at the forest. It wasn't close. Between the mouth of the cave and the safety of the forest stretched at least a kilometer of open ground.

They would cross it fast, despite the chasing monsters, but that would only happen if no beast attacked them.

Land thaids would take some time to reach the place, and even if they did, the trees would not make it easy for them to spot Erik and the clones, but flying thaids would see them easily.

Until they reached the forest, they were exposed to attacks.

"Shapeshift," Erik said to the clones. "Something inconspicuous. If thaids attack, protect Amber and the others. Use Starlight Fireball if we encounter only a few—we have the numbers to kill anything fast if we focus our fire on them, and if you change your appearance, we can ambush whatever tries to get us."

The clones did as instructed. Knowing that so many of them would surely attract more thaids.

June kept close to Erik. He could not do much with his power, and this trip to Mur made him realize there was no place for him on these battlefields. Yet he was here now, and he could at least help by keeping an eye on the sky.

Emily helped Mira walk. She wouldn't let go of her bow even though she could barely keep it in her hands; she drew it too many times.

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Ahead of them, one of Erik's clones was carrying Amber while they ran for the trees. However, at that point, a mass of armored bodies poured from the cave's mouth.

"They are here!"

The bug-like thaids were finally there, but the queen was nowhere to be seen. At least not yet.

<At least some good news.>

Yet all those eyes and clicking mandibles made him shiver.

Erik spotted movement in his peripheral vision—dark shapes were approaching their position. <The fuckers made too much noise.>

The flying thaids had been attracted by the bug-like thaids and the queen's ungodly shrieks.

"Company above," Erik said, not breaking his stride. The forest's edge was still distant, and the flying thaids were getting closer and closer.

"WHAT DO WE DO, MASTER?!"

"You keep running. I will take care of the rest!"

The bugs advanced quickly across the rocky ground, their legs clicking against the stone in a horrifying symphony.

[What are you planning to do?] The biological supercomputer asked. There was concern in its weird voice.

Erik glanced at the sky again, tracking the movement of the flying thaids. They were less than 200 meters away now and were going to cross that distance in seconds.

<Just to give something easy to feast upon to those flying motherfuckers.