BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

Erik dodged another spectral chain, feeling it graze his shoulder as it passed. Vania launched herself upward, her four-part mouth opening, followed by a screech that split the air and the ears of those hearing it.

"AAAHG! THIS FUCKER!"

[Don't get distracted!]

Despite his infinite mana through Essence Flow, landing a hit on her proved nearly impossible.

Even with his hydra heads enhancing his perception, Erik's natural reflexes couldn't match Vania's supernatural speed. Each of her movements blurred into the next, making it impossible for his brain to process and react in time. While Essence Flow gave him unlimited power, it couldn't speed up his basic human reaction time to match her mutated abilities.

The first division commander's clawed hands reached for him again, forcing Erik to create another barrier. He backed away, searching for an opening, but Vania gave him none. Her body twisted, restricting him from counterattacking.

<I can't keep this up forever,> Erik said to the biological supercomputer.

[You have infinite mana. She doesn't.]

<But she's too fast. Every attack I do gets either avoided or blocked by that fucking blood armor, and that is considering I can't even directly aim at her.>

Erik's hydra heads worked independently, handling his defense and offense simultaneously. One maintained his flight while another prepared an attack. Wind blades formed around his hands, distorting the air as they shot toward Vania.

She twisted her body midair, using her many powers, avoiding most of the blades. One struck her shoulder, slicing through her hardened blood armor and drawing dark fluid, but it didn't penetrate deep, and the attack landed on the edges of her body. Her blood then reformed the armor, sealing the wound.

Vania growled and sent more blood spikes toward Erik. He erected a barrier that crushed the attacks quickly. But Vania wasn't there anymore.

"Shit. Where is she?!"

[BEHIND YOU!]

Vania then appeared behind him. She punched the barrier, shattering it since it wasn't powered up by Erik's entire mana reserve, forcing Erik to dodge and to fly away to get as much distance as possible from the human abomination.

Erik spared a moment to check the battlefield below. The situation had deteriorated into chaos.

The Blackguards fought with discipline and skill, but they fell in greater numbers than the thaids they killed.

Their human bodies, even enhanced with brain crystal powers, were not enough against the monsters' natural strength and abilities on the Mur continent. It wasn't just that, but they had to fight against his troops until that point, troops that had infinite mana, so they were tired and with almost no mana left.

While the blackguards were stronger than the Dark Shapes, having to do with things that could attack and fight for as long as they wanted meant the blackguards had to use a lot of energy.

They got tired and injured, and this made their situation direr against the thaids.

Erik made sure the clones targeted the healers and the barrier masters when he ordered the ambush, meaning that the Blackguards didn't have many of them anymore.

For the first time, albeit he shouldn't, Erik felt a pang of guilt. Not all these people were… evil. There were some that were simply doing their job and some others who genuinely thought what they were doing was for the sake of humanity.

Besides, it was a pity. If there really was a threat that humanity could not defeat, then killing this many people was a waste. Not that it mattered. These guys wouldn't be alive, regardless of whether he killed them.

<Their descendants would, though.>

But there was the matter with the thaids. These were all forces that could have helped in killing the thaids on Mannard and freeing Mur.

<Not that it matters. I just need some time to make new Chimaeric Demons. It would just be a matter of time before I have clones in every corner of the world, and at that point reclaiming Mur would just be a matter of time.>

A wolf-like thaid pounced on a blackguard's team, tearing through their armor and flesh. Another group fired bolts of lightning, striking a bear-like creature, but three more thaids rushed them before they could prepare another attack.

Erik's Dark Shapes fared worse. They lacked the strength and power of the Blackguards or thaids, but compensated with numbers and mind control abilities.

Several Dark Shapes surrounded a massive thaid, their eyes glowing as they attempted to seize control of its mind.

The monster thrashed, fighting their influence, but eventually succumbed. The controlled thaid turned on its brethren, tearing into another monster with savage fury.

But for every kill, two Dark Shapes got ripped apart, forcing Erik to make more and more of them, which further consumed his mana. The problem was that if he didn't, his friends would die.

A snake-like thaid went through their ranks, its fangs dripping with venom as it tore through clone after clone. The newly hatched Dark Shapes entered battle, with many dying before doing anything useful.

The Chimaeric Demons, without the Essence Flow brain crystal powers but powered by their brothers with it, fought better, holding their own against the monsters.

They were naturally powerful and had many brain crystal powers, albeit not much mana, which limited the damage output.

Yet even they suffered horrific losses. A moment's distraction led to dismemberment, with claws ripping through flesh and bone while fangs punctured vital organs, leaving mangled corpses scattered across the battlefield.

The Chimaeric Demons with the Essence Flow brain crystal power just acted as batteries for the others. Theirs was the most critical role, since everyone would die, including Erik, if they stopped providing mana.

They also created multiple barriers around themselves, 5000 of them. It would be impossible to breach through them, so they were safe.

Erik created more clone eggs, dropping blood that transformed into eggs as it fell. The eggs fell to the ground, hatching minutes later. But it was just a drop in the bucket, as more thaids reached the area.

Though Amber's fog was still there. That wasn't the only problem, though. The thaids were getting stronger by the minute.

His attention shifted to Gwen and the others. They fought a seven-meter-tall beast with six limbs and multiple eyes. Its strength surpassed theirs, but they were alive thanks to the powers Erik gave them.

Under June's coordination, the group attacked strategically. Benedict's halberd created openings for Aaron's slime, while Martha's plants and Mickey's insects restrained the beast. Floyd's poison and Allan's electricity slowed its movements.

Despite their efforts, the thaid fought back with terrifying power. It unleashed waves of heat that scorched the ground and burned flesh. Martha created plant barriers that burst into flames seconds later. Rick's healing powers kept them fighting, mending broken bones and burned skin, but at that moment, Rick was on the ground, healing himself.