BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM-Chapter 1350: The last battle (13)

The Vindicator yelled in pain, but frustration was in no doubt in that yell, too. It was clear, in front of him, were kids barely in their twenties; most were slower than him and hence weaker, though there were some that could match his speed.

He couldn't accept that. He trained for years, while these younger fighters likely owed their skills to Erik Romano. He really was a cheat.

The ground beneath them groaned as he summoned his brain crystal power, trying to unbalance his attackers. He might be matched, but he still had his experience.

Wind swirled, pushing them back, while fire and water combined to create scalding steam that filled the surroundings.

"He's tough," Gwen said, while her armor hissed as the steam made contact, keeping Gwen safe.

"Keep him busy," Allan said.

Allan drove his spear forward, electricity blazing along its length. The weapon hummed as arcs of lightning danced all around it.

He jabbed at the Vindicator's uncovered flank; the electrified tip reached the man, who spasmed in pain, but only for a second.

"FUCK!"

One of his comrades jumped in to help, creating an earth barrier that separated the man from Gwen, Ben, and Allan.

"You OK, White Mask?"

"Do I look ok?!"

They looked at the young men and women in front of them with a look of… fear?

It would have been inconceivable for a blackguard to look at someone not part of their organization with this feeling, yet Erik Romano changed everything, and the blackguards started dying like flies.

"How can they do this?" White Mask asked.

It was clear he didn't take well that people so young could already be this strong. But that wasn't the main issue.

The kids weren't showing as many powers as them, so they must have had fewer neural links, yet the armored woman and the halberd dude matched their speed.

<Strengthening brain crystal powers.>

It made sense. That the others didn't move this fast also proved that. However, they were still fighting with reckless abandon, unleashing attacks that shouldn't be sustainable for fighters, at least in terms of mana.

With that mana consumption, they were using their powers for too long.

"I don't know." But then Splintered Wood, the Vindicator who helped White Mask, realized it.

"Essence Flow…" There was a look of pure shock on his masked face. freewёbnoνel.com

"It's not possible!"

Everyone knew about the barrier master in the second division having that absurdly powerful ability. The only problem was there weren't many people like her; otherwise, the blackguards would have suppressed all this war, Erik Romano, a long time ago.

That was how powerful that ability was in a group.

Of course, they knew that if Erik was on Mur, he must have gone to the Law Gate, and if that was true, the woman holding that power had to be dead. "To use so much mana, there should at least be th—" But then, it came to him.

"Thousands of people with that same ability powering up everyone's mana and stamina regeneration."

They trembled. The kids in front of them were undoubtedly weaker than them, but they had maybe thousands of people with Essence Flow supporting them.

That meant they had basically infinite mana. They could imbue their powers with whatever mana capacity their brain crystal allowed, because that amount would soon be replenished soon after.

"We have no chance to win…" White Mask said.

"We need to try."

…

…

…

Martha, Floyd, Amber, Mira, and Emily were currently holding back the other Vindicators.

Martha's plants erupted from the ground around the Vindicator, vines as thick as a man's arm wrapping around his limbs.

Thorns pierced his armor, injecting toxins directly into his bloodstream. The plants continued to grow, forming a cage that restricted his movement further.

Then, a bullet pierced the man's brain, which exploded in a spray of blood and brain matter.

"One down," Mira said. "Three to go."

The still-standing Vindicators noticed one of their comrades died and moved to engage. A woman wielding what appeared to be primarily water powers approached, her steps leaving frost on the ground.

The surrounding air was filled with moisture that turned into ice droplets as soon as she moved. It looked like she had this power for quite some time, meaning she had always been an elementalist all along.

However, fire danced at her fingertips, earth rumbled beneath her feet, and wind buffeted those who drew near. Even if she mostly used water, it was clear she was smart enough to know how to use the other elements.

"This one's mine," Amber said, stepping forward. She was surely not powerful enough to fight one-on-one with that woman, but that was without considering her brain crystal powers.

With Essence Flow, Amber could warp and use her corrosive fog as much as she wanted. She didn't until now because she needed to pay attention to the clones, and besides, the moves would not work twice on the blackguards.

The first time, she killed the guards at the entrance because they didn't expect her to be there, but now they did. It was unlikely someone as smart would fall for the same trick twice.

But warping would work regardless of what the blackguards knew or did. It was simply impossible to stop her.

However, before she could engage, a massive explosion rocked the battlefield. All eyes turned to the sky, where Erik and the now grotesque first division commander continued their duel.

The shockwave from their clash sent debris raining down, forcing everyone to seek cover. Amber had been too focused on the battle to notice, but the northern part of the forest disappeared.

Literally. There wasn't a single tree there anymore; the ground was scorched, frozen, and generally in shambles.

Tall stone and earth pillars rose from the ground, as if Erik and the first division commander used them to attack.

Erik once again owed his life to telekinesis. By keeping himself in the sky, he was able to at least compete with the insane speed of the first division commander.

That was also possible thanks to the hydra's head. Erik had ten now, each having a role in the battle.

But even with all of that, the first division commander was fast enough to avoid all his attacks, and when that didn't work, she used her powers.

Based on what Erik saw thanks to the biological supercomputer's analysis, the first division commander didn't earn many neural links per power, but she still had 15 of them for each of them. She got eight, meaning the woman got 120 neural links in the span of seconds.

It was easy to see why she mutated.

Erik didn't know how the blackguards found a way to give eight more powers and make it so they would immediately have 15 neural links, but they did and created a monster only he could kill.

The first division commander wasn't a human anymore; it was just another thaid, and an insanely powerful one, which could rival the Cerulean Bird.

Of course, that thing was much scarier than the woman in front of him. It had almost four thousand energy points, after all.

Regardless, since she now was a thaid, it was his duty to destroy it.