BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

Chapter 1176: The Last Plane



"Why not? I can easily kill them," Emily said. "I just need a well-planted shot."

"There is no need. The missing patrols will already raise some alarms. If we also kill the barrier masters' guards, things will become messier. Let's give them the illusion the barrier masters are safe..."

A Chimaeric Demon nodded. "They will realize only after we destroy the barriers' generators."

That was what Amber was thinking. If they killed the guards, they would need to hide them, which meant increasing the chances they could be found out. There were already too many bodies around left by Emily. Adding some more would just be detrimental.

Besides, each person they killed was a person less that answered to the radio.

The group pressed forward until they arrived a couple of buildings from the target. More bodies marked their path, which they then hid. However, Amber's unease increased. "In position," she said.

The Chimaeric Demons turned into mosquitoes and went to the window. Aside from the barrier masters, there was no one in the room, which was quite strange considering how important these six guys were.

Then they circled around the building, trying to find entry points. The last thing they needed was to find themselves trapped there, with blackguards chasing them, and without knowing from where the reinforcements might come.

In truth, aside from the service doors, there were also maintenance hatches and ventilation systems-the structure offered multiple options for those who knew where to look.

"Maybe we can avoid using warp," a Chimaeric Demon said.

"Maybe, but since I can't shapeshift, I have no way to enter unseen. The best thing would be to simply teleport. We go in, kill, and go out."

Amber didn't like how it sounded. The plan made them seem like cold-blooded murderers. Yes, they killed people, but only because they were fighting a war-one where their country, their lives, and their families faced annihilation.

June kept looking around. A glorified lookout, but a lookout nonetheless.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Em," he said. "There is a patrol heading here. You might want to take care of them."

She turned and saw five people coming toward her building.

"I definitely want."

Contrary to Amber, Emily had fewer reservations about killing people, especially because, as a sniper, she wasn't forced to get close to the brutality of the fight.

That was also one of the reasons that brought her to ask Erik to get the time-controlling brain crystal power he got from Vex. It wasn't only to get stronger, but also to avoid the ugly side of fighting.

It didn't take much before she really took care of the newcomers. The sounds of the battle near the walls covered that of her rifle, but if one was close, they might have heard her. Five new bodies were littering the ground. It was just that there would be no one to hide them from sight.

"June, can you take care of it?"

"Yes." The clone flew, unaware that someone else was getting to Emily's position.

Erik raced through the Law Gate's streets, his Phantom Veil brain crystal power keeping him hidden. He made little more than a disturbance in the air, and even that could not be noticed easily.

The closer he got to the hangar, the denser the military presence became. Soldiers ran towards it, not because of the hangar itself, which certainly grabbed everyone's attention, but even because the hangar was close to the walls, where the real battle, from their point of view, was happening.

<The Chimaeric Demons must be making a show.>

The sounds of battle grew louder, meaning both that he was getting closer to the walls and that the fight was getting heated. Luckily for the Chimaeric Demons, Erik gave them Monica's power; otherwise, it would have been them on the other side of those brain crystal-powered

cannons.

<Anyway, what's important is that the sounds of the battle are covering my steps.>

Guards stood watch at regular intervals-two at each intersection, three at each building entrance, and small patrols of four moving between checkpoints. They formed a tight security grid across the area.

Despite the tight security grid, most of the soldiers were still rushing towards the walls, drawn by the sounds of explosions and battle cries. The diversion created by the Chimaeric Demons was working perfectly. They believed the real threat was at the walls, not inside their perimeter.

<The internal defense is as bad as that on the walls.>

Of course, it was bad for Erik. For everyone else, walking through these streets without being spotted would have been impossible.

The blackguards kept monitoring the area.

<This makes me wonder if they are expecting me...>

At that point, it was the most reasonable assumption. The blackguards would not have left the fortress-like city without protections, but something so big was weird. The only explanation was that they expected him to infiltrate the place.

After all, it was clear he was behind this attack, and the only way for him to turn this into a success was to neutralize the barrier. Yet they didn't know Erik was already inside.

<For sure they acted quickly...>

Erik entered the city less than 10 minutes earlier, after all.

In the distance, there was an orange light brightening the night sky. Smoke rose, smelling of burning fuel and metal. It was the glow of the burning hangar.

<Shit...>

The fire was enormous, and that prompted Erik to move faster.

When Erik got to the hangar, he almost screamed. The building was already half destroyed by

the fire. The fire was ravaging the insides, destroying the planes.

Around the burning building, the Blackguards stood in a line. Some looking at the hangar,

some looking at the surroundings.

Through the massive holes in the walls and ceiling, Erik surveyed the hangar's interior. Planes littered the floor-some reduced to fragments, others consumed by flames.

But as he looked through the fire and smoke, he noticed one plane was still mostly undamaged. However, the flames were getting closer to it.

"Damn it."

The enemy soldiers had done a good job by destroying their own planes to stop Erik from using them. But Erik was not going to let the last remaining aircraft be destroyed. Drawing on his Elemental Lord brain crystal power, Erik gathered moisture from the air. The surrounding temperature plummeted as he pulled water from the atmosphere, condensing it into a massive wave. He directed the water toward the burning hangar.

The wave crashed through the building's entrance, flooding the interior. Steam hissed and roared as water met fire, creating a thick fog that filled the space, mingling with the smoke.

There was simply too much water, and the flames died under the deluge, leaving behind smoking ruins and one salvageable aircraft.

Erik knew that would become the blackguards' next target soon after. At least if he did

nothing to prevent that.

Erik's use of powers raised shouts of alarm.

"Intruder!"

Their formations tightened.

"That had to be the work of Erik Romano! Find him!"

The soldiers spread out to cover the hangar. Their brain crystal powers were ready to be used.

Then a man stepped forward from the ranks.

<That's him.>

That was the Second Division Commander. The insignias said it clearly, and the way everyone

stood at attention as he went to a less crowded area, and the soldiers parted around him,

further enhanced Erik's assumption.

"Erik Romano, I know you're here. Why hide? Face me." Then he made subtle gestures, as if

he was talking to someone.

Erik kept his invisibility up and started reading the commander's thoughts.

<The fucker is trying to gain time. He just said to his men to destroy the last plane.>

The commander raised his voice. "Are you afraid? The stories paint you as a warrior, yet you

skulk about like a thief."

Behind him, soldiers began moving toward the partially flooded hangar.

Erik had no alternatives. If he attacked the others, the Second Division commander would

protect his soldiers.

He had to fight him, knowing that he would try to give soldiers time to destroy the plane, their best way to reach Mur.

But letting the soldiers get to the plane first meant losing their goal completely. Erik had to

kill everyone while fighting against the commander; otherwise, this whole attack would have

been pointless.

The commander took another step forward, his stance casual but ready. "Come now, Erik. We

both know how this ends. Face me honorably."

<Mother fucker...>

More troops reached the hangar, drawn by the commotion.

<This is not good...>

More soldiers joined the blackguards. The commander's idea was clever he was making Erik

choose between saving the plane and fighting him directly. Of course, Erik had an idea on how

to address all of that.

As the steam cleared, the young man saw inside the hangar better. The last plane was now visible. Water around its wheels kept it safe from the water and the remaining fire, for now, but it couldn't protect the plane from soldiers trying to destroy it.