BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

1144  The battle for Maynard Island (21)

[MONICA VELAZQUEZ 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. 9484806.79 EXPERIENCE POINTS AND 94848.07 DNA POINTS AWARDED TO THE HOST.]

The crack of Emily's rifle echoed across the battlefield, and for a moment, everything fell silent. During those small seconds going between Erik raising his head and looking at the woman, he felt nervous. If there was something the battle today showed him, it was that the blackguards were as resourceful as everyone said. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The fight between Erik and the blackguard leader was tough and intense, even though it didn't last long. Erik had to use all his skills and power to keep up with her. The problem wasn't Monica's own strength, but the black wyvern. This beast was much stronger than Erik expected, and it could match everything he did by simply resisting it. What should have been a quick win turned into a long, hard battle, but it wasn't like Erik expected less. Monica had a really terrifying power, and Erik wondered what would have happened if, instead of the black Wyvern, she got the Leviathan Serpent.

Another surprise was the black wyvern's strength. It was close yet lower than that of the sea thaid. Sure, the undead beast was severely weakened compared to when it was alive, for yet unclear reasons, but it was still powerful. Of course, Erik didn't analyze the Leviathan Serpent. He didn't have the time to even think about it, but he felt how strong it was just based on the effects it had created when moving. Of course, it might have simply been because of its size, as it was many, many times bigger than the black wyvern.

In truth, the idea there were beings stronger than wyverns was a scary thought, but, of course, the black wyvern Monica used as a puppet might have been a juvenile one, meaning it didn't reach its full potential.

Regardless, either intentionally or not, Monica made the creature just strong enough for the beast to be a problem Erik couldn't take care of with his body alone.

<Not that all those brain crystal powers worked... Damn, I really need to make more neural links, especially for the new brain crystal powers.>

That was the only way Erik could fight against an enemy that found a way to power up faster than he currently was.

Mana was another problem. Erik didn't know what battles he was going to fight in the future, but on Mur, they were going to be hard. He had to pump it up fast. Sure, he needs to hunt, but the creatures on Mannard, humans included, didn't give him a lot of mana unless he killed thousands of them.

Killing thousands of Thaids wasn't a bad idea, but they didn't group up like humans did unless Erik made them do.

Erik finally raised his head; a grim smile played across his lips as he saw Monica. She was dead. The woman's body was upright on the wyvern's back, but where her head had been was now a display of destruction. The high-caliber mana-powered round from Emily's brain crystal sniper rifle had torn through her skull, leaving a spray of bone fragments, brain matter, and blood painting the wyvern's scales. What remained of her head hung by threads of flesh and sinew, her once-cold and cruel eyes reduced to pulp tissue scattered among a twisted jaw hanging from the neck.

Her body swayed, still held in place by her death grip on the wyvern's reins. Blood continued to pour from her neck, falling down her pitch black uniform in crimson rivulets.

<Perfect shot, Emily,> Erik thought.

Emily's shot ended the battle. Her perfect aim took out the enemy leader, saving lives on Erik's side. Without the young woman's intervention, the battle would have been a long affair. For a moment, the young man wondered why the undead wyvern hadn't collapsed with its master's death. It was twisting and jerking, but it was still reanimated, or whatever it was.

<Maybe there is still Monica's mana within it.>

The creature remained hovering for some seconds, then, as if someone had snuffed out a candle, the light shining in its eyes flickered and died.

<Phew…>

For a second, Erik thought that thing wouldn't die. With Monica's death, there was no one left to channel mana into her undead creations. The wyvern's wings ceased their beating, and gravity reclaimed it.

Erik's gaze shifted to the battlefield below. Like in a domino, all the undead started jerking and twitching, and then their bodies dropped like puppets with cut strings, returning to the true death they had been denied by Monica's sinister powers.

The undead army fell apart. All the dead bodies Monica had brought back to life stopped moving and collapsed. The battlefield went silent, and for a moment, only confusion remained. Then, when they realized what happened, the surviving Chimaeric Demons let out an enormous cheer. Their victory cry was so loud it echoed across the whole area. This marked the end of Monica's control over the dead.

"WE DID IT!"

"OOOOOOOH!"

"DEATH TO THE BLACKGUARDS!"

The Chimaeric Demons raised their weapons and started shooting in the air, as if celebrating a grand festival. The sky lit up with mana-infused attacks aimed at the stars, most of them starlight fireballs illuminating the sky and exploding like fireworks.

<That was an absolutely incredible shot, Emily!> Everyone heard that, as Erik established a mental link among the survivors.

He couldn't see her, but she was blushing. <Uh… Thanks…> <We're not done yet,> Mira said. <There might still be blackguards hiding around the island.>

Erik nodded. <You're right.> <Search every corner of this island. Kill any resistance, but keep a few alive for questioning. We need information,> he said to all his remaining Chimaeric Demons.

Despite their exhaustion, the clones spread around. There wasn't a second to lose.

Erik flew down to where Monica's body had fallen. The wyvern's corpse lay nearby, already beginning to decompose at a sped-up rate without the third division commander's mana sustaining it.

He glanced at the mess her lover made. "Though Emily certainly didn't make it easy to find the crystal. It might take a while to sort through... all this."

He began the grim task of searching through the remains, knowing that somewhere in the bloody debris lay the source of Monica's abilities. Her brain crystal would be an invaluable addition to his powers; with it, he could understand how she had managed to create and control such a massive undead army.

However, Erik wasn't sure if he was going to keep it. There were things he could do with it, but other things the Chimaeric Demons could do better than him.

He had 1600 energy points, but the clones, even if, for example, each had 500 energy points, were tens of thousands of times more than Erik. An army of 100 thousand Chimaeric demons, with 500 energy points each, would make it possible for them to raise an army Erik would never be able to raise alone.

<I need to think this through…>

As Erik searched for the brain crystal, he heard his army secure the area. There were still some fights happening nearby, and the hill where they fought was still smoking from the black wyvern's fire. Many bodies covered the ground below. Enemies, yes, but even Erik's own troops were among the dead, and they were not just two or three.

They had won, but at a high cost, as less than a third of his army remained. Still, they had achieved their main goal: they had killed Monica, the Third Division Commander. Now what Erik needed to do was find information. He had to search the blackguards' database to see what they knew and to find out if there was someone else worth killing. He also needed to know where exactly the blackguards were on Mur if he wanted to destroy them.

…

…

…

<Master,> a clone's voice reached him, <we've secured several prisoners. They're ready for interrogation whenever you are.>

<Good job,> Erik said. He then spotted Monica's brain crystal among the remains of her skull. <Keep them under guard. I'll deal with them once I'm done here.>

He held up the crystal, still slick with blood and other matter. This small object had given Monica the ability to raise and control the dead, to create an army that had nearly overwhelmed his forces.

Erik cleaned the brain crystal pocketed it, and smiled.

Then he surveyed the battlefield once more, his gaze settling on the smoldering ruins of the blackguards' main building. The blackguards' main building lay in ruins. Its walls had crumbled, and the collapsed roof left gaping holes, exposing the devastated interior. Smoke billowed from various parts of the wreckage, spiraling into the sky and creating fingers of smoke, reaching for the stars like the hand of a dead giant.

<Work never ends, uh?>