BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

Chapter 981: Two unexpected guests

They were almost at the exit, but the situation so far had been not simple at all.

The two had to avoid as many battles as they could, conserving their mana and stamina. Richard had an easier time compared to Erik, but also he had to use a ton of the precious resources to help Erik.

The difference was that compared to the younger man, he couldn\'t refill his mana through level ups. Of course, he didn\'t know Erik had this ability, and wondered how he was able to keep up with this pace, considering how much mana he was using.

Despite Erik\'s powers and the prowess he showed during his escape from prison, the continuous fighting was taking its toll on the young man. Not physically, and neither in terms of mana.

It was Erik\'s mind that was wearing thin. Though his self-healing powers mended his wounds, the continuous pain he had been subjected to was making it hard for him to think.

He pushed on, knowing that stopping meant Richard\'s death and, of course, him ending up on a research table.

Erik threw up another ice wall behind him and Richard. That was meant to slow down the blackguards chasing them.

But, of course, it wouldn\'t hold for long without a steady supply of mana repairing or reinforcing it.

In fact, despite the many attempts he made, the blackguards were giving steady chase. "Erik, how much further until the exit?" Richard was panting at that point, glancing over his shoulder to see if the blackguards were behind.

"Not far," Erik said. But in truth, he didn\'t exactly know how far they were. "Just a bit more. We need to keep going."

A thunderous crash resounded behind them as the blackguards shattered the ice wall. The blackguards destroyed another ice wall.

"Fuck! We have to move faster," Erik said, grabbing Richard\'s arm and pulling him forward. The two sprinted down the corridor. They rounded another corner and stopped to a halt as five blackguards blocked their way.

Erik didn\'t hesitate. He launched himself at them, his movements a blur.

His first strike shattered a blackguard\'s skull. He spun and drove his fist into another\'s chest; the force bastion\'s armor making the process much easier. Each attack resulted in death.

A third guard lunged with a blade, but Erik sidestepped and snapped the man\'s neck. The last two guards tried to flank him, but Erik was too quick for them to complete the manoeuvre. He grabbed one by the throat, lifting him off the ground and throwing him into his comrade. Both hit the ground hard, but Erik jumped on them the following second, shattering their heads with a cruel stomp.

Richard watched in awe and horror, unable to look away from Erik\'s ruthless efficiency.

When the last guard fell, he noticed the younger man\'s face; he was not okay. He didn\'t get wounded, but he was fighting a lot, and that must have put him under a lot of pressure. Maybe only adrenaline was keeping him going.

"Erik, are you alright?"

Erik wiped the sweat from his brow. "Yeah, yeah, I\'m fine. It\'s just all this fighting. It\'s getting to me."

Before Richard could respond, Erik addressed the biological supercomputer. <How far to the exit?>

<You need to pass through three more corridors.> The supercomputer\'s voice was calm. <However, be warned: from the camera feeds, I can tell there are approximately 200 blackguards ahead, and among them are Zakir and... Volkov.>

Erik\'s eyes widened in shock. "Volkov and Zakir? What the hell are they doing here?"

Richard\'s brow furrowed. "What?" Why Erik said that, Richard didn\'t know. Volkov, Richard knew. How couldn\'t he after the long torture sessions he had to endure under him?

But who Zakir was, Richard did not know.

"A high-ranking officer. Ruthless, just like Volkov," Erik said. The number of blackguards made it clear Volkov was there. From what Erik understood, the guy was arrogant with the weak and coward with the strong.

Now that he had the blackguards backing him, Erik could only imagine how arrogant he became. Likely, he felt untouchable.

"They were expecting us. The blackguards must have realized the city gate attack was a ruse. They knew the actual target was always to free you, Richard. This number of blackguards is too much, even for a place like the Grand Ducal Prison."

Richard swallowed hard. "Yeah... Volkov said he was expecting you here."

"Yeah, I kind of assumed he said something like this, but I also thought the preparations they made were not specifically for me. That he simply made your room a trap for whoever might have come in, not that the Blackguards understood our plan."

"Yeah... Volkov is a shrewd motherfucker. So, what do we do now?"

Erik\'s gaze hardened. "We must keep fighting our way through. There is no other way for us to get out of this place, and my troops are fighting at the northern gate. They can\'t come to help

us."

"Can you keep going?" Richard asked. That was the most pressing matter, the most important one, because if Erik couldn\'t, they were doomed.

"I can... but I\'m not at full mana capacity right now."

"I know that, after the blackguards you killed and the mana you used, I still can\'t understand how you endured so long."

Erik grinned. "That\'s a secret of mine. Regardless, the fight ahead is going to be problematic, and I\'m not sure I will be able to protect you. There are 200 blackguards there. Until now, aside from when we got out of the elevator, we never fought against this many people at once. They were less than now. This means I need you to lend me a hand. Keep as many blackguards as you can distracted, kill whoever you can."

Richard nodded, but then his face turned somber. "I know you are aware of this, Erik, but Volkov won\'t be your run-of-the-mill opponent. There is a reason the blackguards were eager to ally with him. His brain crystal power is as powerful as Becker\'s, and his mana is vast. He is stronger than most blackguards."

"Well... I mean, how strong can he be compared to me?"

"In terms of physical strength and speed? He is an ant based on what I\'ve seen. But his brain

has crystal power; it will make your speed useless against him."

"I\'m not that informed. What kind of brain crystal power does he have?" Erik asked.

"An elemental one, ranged at that. It allows him to make and control lightning."

That was problematic. Electricity and lightning were the fastest and among the most devastating powers one could have.

Erik had to find a solution to make Volkov\'s attacks useless. "Becker was said to be stronger than Volkov. How did he fight against him and win if he could control lightning?"

Richard thought about the last time the two fought.

"Well... Armand\'s power is peculiar. He controls wind, but he can also turn into it physically

and manifest it as if it were solid. What he did was use the wind, creating some small and controlled storms around him to channel the lightning. But it was hard even for him."

<System, can I do something similar?>

<You can... You too have wind powers and can achieve similar effects to Becker\'s brain crystal power, but you also have frost powers. You might be able to create something that will attract the lightning and waste much less mana.>

"All right... I\'ll see what I can do," Erik said to both Richard and the biological supercomputer.