BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

Echoing through what remained of the forest were cries and roars. The jagged edges of earthen pillars and the charred trunks of trees bounced back the sounds.

Through the undergrowth, thousands of thaids advanced, fast ones running on four legs, while larger ones plowed forward on more than just four limbs.

They came in different shapes: quick runners, massive brutes, and snake-like creatures weaving through the trees.

The ground shook, and dust clouds rose into the air. Big thaids smashed through the forest, while smaller ones rushed through any open spaces.

The first creatures to reach the fog trembled. It must have been painful to reach it. It was a wolf-like thaid. It didn't stay alive for long. Patches of its fur broke right away, exposing raw skin beneath. Trying to get out, it whined and growled, but the creatures behind it pushed ahead.

A hulking, bear-like thaid staggered into the fog, its body covered in many eyes. The corrosive mist sizzled upon contact with the beast.

One of its eyes' flesh popped, and a milky fluid spilled down its face. It screamed in agony, swiping haplessly with its giant paws, but the fog kept chewing at it, and the thaids behind pushed forward. Soon, all its eyes were melting, and the beast was writhing in agony on the ground.

Another thaid slithered into the cloud, a snake-like beast. The corrosive ate away at its scales after seconds of its entrance, leaving blackened flesh trails on the ground.

Its body contracted as it writhed, trying to get as far as possible but unable to realize that the best thing would have been to turn and get out of it from where it came.

Instead, it kept going forward, with the mist swallowing it from the outside in. As more and more thaids sank at the brink of the fatal fog, the howls and roars got louder.

While many thaids died, there were some who had enough mana to resist the corrosive fog, at least up to a certain extent.

One by one, some of the thaids pierced Amber's fog in several places. The larger thaids drove through the fog.

Layers of their thick hide bubbled and peeled off in wet chunks as the acidic mist came into contact with their bodies, revealing the muscle tissue underneath.

Still, propelled by inexorable momentum, they kept going. Their brain crystal pumped mana into their bodies, pumpings that grew more intense with every step, giving them the strength needed to cross the fatal barrier.

From the fog sprang a huge thaid. Tears in its flesh revealed muscle and bone underneath. It charged towards a group of clones engaged in combat with the Blackguards. Emily, Mira, and Amber couldn't be everywhere, and some of the monsters reached the battlefield.

Though those close to them met their ends.

The monster charged forward, its exposed muscles rippling with each movement. It swung its massive claws at both Blackguards and clones, crushing bones and tearing flesh.

The beast showed no discrimination or tactical thinking—it simply attacked anything that moved, driven by pure aggression and the primal urge to destroy. The pain just made it more aggressive.

The yells and howls got louder. Drawn by the enormous energy and the anarchy of the battlefield, the thaids were getting closer.

Through a fog-thinning section, a pack of wolf-like thaids slipped. One jumped onto the rear of a clone, her teeth closing on its neck. Another targeted an injured Blackguard and quickly tore him apart.

From his aerial view, Erik saw the breach. The ground became a three-way war that was going to be won by the thaids.

Those that went past the fog were the powerful ones. Amber was pouring almost 17,000 mana points into the fog per second. It meant the fog was strong, but if something could get past it, it was way beyond what Amber and the clones could resist.

Gwen and the others turned their concentration from Blackguards to thaids. They prioritized the most dangerous threats.

Amber was still pouring mana from where the thaids were coming from, flanked by Mira and Emily. The sniper set herself on higher ground, her rifle pointed toward the approaching monsters near their position.

Using all that mana provided by Essence Flow, Mira made multiple mana arrows. She blocked a path of charging thaids, so forcing them to reroute and making them stay longer in the fog and inevitably die.

A flying thaid shot above the haze. Its leathery wings sliced the air as it dove for Amber. Emily shot the beast down mid-flight. It wasn't hard thanks to her powers, and essence flow made up for any kind of disparity the two had.

There was a reason ranged powers were so coveted. They allowed their holder to kill such unreachable beasts.

Once the mana flow into its body ceased, it succumbed to the corrosive fog and vanished without a trace.

The clones did what they could to stop the thaids from massacring them. Protecting one another's flanks, they arranged themselves into defensive formations. The blackguards did the same. Everyone on that battlefield was too weak to survive those monsters, even if they were injured. Though that didn't mean they couldn't kill them at all.

Erik was still making more clones, but it wasn't easy for them to stay alive long enough to mature, which meant they usually got killed before five minutes went by.

The clones who survived sprang from their eggs straight into battle, but those were the lucky ones.

Vania turned the anarchy to her benefit. Knowing Erik's focus was split, she increased the viciousness of her bestial attacks.

Her ghostly chains drove him to concentrate on his survival instead of military control, which affected the battlefield since the pressure on the clones increased now that there were no fresh batches.

Gathering mana for another attack, she combined several powers into a terrible mix and attacked.

The blackguards were looking at the scene with fear. They were getting killed one by one, despite them trying to keep discipline.

But the thaids through their formations, decimated their ranks, and slowly they started to collapse.

Less than half of their troops were left. Among them, some fought with desperation, knowing retreat or fighting would both guarantee death.

But their pride prevented them from fleeing. If they had to die, they would die fighting. More and more bodies piled up in the area.

More mana was being used, more blood got spilled, and more thaids came as a result. The Chimaeric Demons with essence flow were still there, untouched and undisturbed, hidden by the multiple barriers they cast. They focused on survival and on recharging the others.

The battlefield sank into anarchy. Mana and blood soaked the wrecked scene.

Amber's corrosive fog persisted in the east, separating the battlefield from the approaching monsters.

Erik understood the fight had gotten to a turning point. He had to kill Vania fast before the battle below spiraled totally out of hand.

Vania was strong, but there were thaids that could kill both her and him together easily if he didn't take care of them now that they were focused on the easy prey.