BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

1143  The battle for Maynard Island (20)

Mira and Emily crouched behind a partially burned tree trunk, watching the battle between Erik and the blackguards' leader unfold above them. The smoke from the black wyvern's flames still burned the vegetation on top of the small hill, making their eyes water, but they didn't dare move from their position.

Eight Chimaeric Demons surrounded them, while two were being used as mounts. Mira suggested they did that so that, in case they got spotted, they could run away quickly from their position. But it wasn't like there were other places they could go. Emily could either use the small hill to try to kill Monica or nothing.

"The forest is becoming a death trap," a clone said. More trees were catching fire by the minute.

"We're running out of cover."

The flames were consuming their remaining hiding spots, and she knew better than anyone there how important a hiding place for a sniper was.

The young woman adjusted her rifle scope, tracking Monica's movements based on the lights produced by Erik and the wyvern. Erik darted around the undead thaid, his attacks apparently wild. <He is playing it well,> Mira said. Erik was trying to make it look like he was filled with rage and desperation for their supposed death because he needed Monica to think the sniper was dead. He maneuvered closer to the hill, aiming to give Emily an easier shot. However, Monica was a cautious woman, and she kept her distance from the area.

Yet, it didn't mean she wasn't keeping the hill monitored. In fact, she sent her undead searching for any survivor, so it was clear she didn't fully believe the sniper was dead.

"He is good at acting," Emily said, "but she's not taking the bait."

Erik's attacks grew more frenzied, and the openings he left more common, yet Monica kept her distance, forcing him to chase her across the sky.

<Emily, are you in position?> Erik's voice echoed in her mind.

<We found a spot,> she said, <but she's too far. Even if I predict where she'll be, at this distance, I can't guarantee a killing shot.>

Emily looked through her rifle scope. She saw Erik avoiding another burst of fire. Erik moved carefully, despite making it look like he was fighting with reckless abandon. Monica, though, seemed happy to stay far away and tire Erik out.

She still had a lot of mana despite her having raised an undead army and controlling a wyvern.

<I'll try something,> Erik's said. <Be ready to act.>

<What are you going to do?> Emily asked. She knew that if Erik's usual tactics didn't work; he was prone to taking unnecessary danger. What he was going to do now, though, was unknown. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

<I'm going to give you a chance. Do not waste it.>

Emily then started seriously worrying. Mira went to her. "Did you talk to him?"

"Yes."

"So?"

"He is planning something," the woman said. "But he didn't tell me what—" Emily nodded, keeping her rifle trained on Monica's distant form. .-.

Erik weaved through the air, trying to understand the wyvern's attack patterns. Monica didn't make it easy. She was controlling the wyvern in a way that even he had trouble understanding what the purpose of it was. Monica proved to be a very nasty opponent, and that especially in the smartness compartment. Yet Erik never fell into the woman's ploys.

The only thing he understood at some point was when the woman was going to order the wyvern to shoot its flames. There were too many things he didn't figure out yet. This made every attack he received dangerous. He wasn't invincible, after all, especially not against something so powerful as a wyvern, albeit an undead one.

Regardless, these attacks also gave Erik a chance to act. Though one thing was obvious. The blackguards had chosen their leader well. The woman, Monica, was not only powerful but also smart, at least based on what she showed during this battle.

Throughout the battle, Monica showed she was a smart and skilled fighter. She kept her distance from Erik when she had, while she got close when he just received a blast from the wyvern's flames. Monica was also careful not to use too much of her energy and never wasted mana on healing the black wyvern when the wound was insignificant. Many did that kind of error.

Monica used the burning forest to her advantage. The smoke and flames made it difficult for Erik to see and move around, and it was also night already. She kept changing her fighting tactics, and for some time, she even attacked with a gun from the black wyvern's back. All of this made it tough for Erik to guess what she would do next, and she was too fast; Erik couldn't even lock her on with his Instability brain crystal power. What surely made her reach the level of power she had today, though, was her brain crystal power. When the blackguards didn't have multiple abilities, one allowing the user to create undead, as powerful as when they were alive, or at least as close to it as possible, meant that she was a one-woman army. There was no thaid she couldn't kill, no place she couldn't conquer, and the more she killed, the more powerful she grew. She could take advantage of the brain crystal powers from creatures or people she killed, effectively giving her the ability to wield multiple brain crystal powers well before everyone else could.

Yet, for some reason, she didn't do it with the Chimaeric Demons or the blackguards below. Erik often glanced below, and it was clear that the only side using brain crystal power was that of the Chimaeric Demons.

<There must be a reason for that…>

Erik suspected it was because of the black wyvern. Monica was powerful, but her brain crystal was still limited, like everyone's else. Most likely, she had to use a huge chunk of her mana to allow the creature to use its brain crystal. Despite how convincing his theory was, it remained just that—a theory. The woman was cunning, meaning she might be doing this to deceive Erik. She didn't leave many signs of her real intentions, and even those she left were usually deceptions.

Erik had no other alternative other than to bait the woman to the hill.

Monica noticed his apparent fatigue. "Tired already?" she said, moving her undead mount closer.

Erik waited for the right moment. The wyvern reared back, flames building in its throat. This time, instead of dodging, Erik shifted just enough to ensure the blast wouldn't kill him instantly and pumped as much mana as he could into his Force Bastion Brain Crystal power. He couldn't teleport nor avoid the attack because he needed to make Monica believe she had won.

He glanced below from time to time. The battle was still bad, but Erik saw Amber's fog spreading through the undead. It wasn't killing all of them, and the pressure on the Chimaeric Demons' front line didn't decrease, but at least the fight had been shortened, and the number of targets the Chimaeric Demons had to kill decreased.

If his plan didn't work, he might be able to do something about Monica by sacrificing some of the Chimaeric Demons, albeit he didn't like that solution.

However, his army had been decimated already. A couple more deaths would not make a difference at that point. Erik had no intention of dying here. If the whole attack on Maynard Island failed, he was going to teleport where Monica couldn't see him and flee, of course, after having given time for his clones and friends to escape.

Though all the blackguards died, meaning that, even if he failed to kill Monica, he would have still won the general battle.

He also thought about making the Chimaeric Demons shapeshift to help him, but if he did, Monica would either flee or kill the clones.

Erik was barely holding on against the black wyvern. The difference in stats wasn't that much, but the amount of mana it had was astronomical.

He couldn't win in terms of both pure power and resistance. The number of enemies who could give him mana had also been reduced to zero. Only the Chimaeric Demons' deaths would help him from this point of view, but they were few now.

The flames engulfed him. Pain seared through his body as he plummeted toward the hill because of the blast. He used his self-healing power sparingly, just enough to prevent death but leaving visible wounds.

Erik crashed into the hillside, his impact sending up a cloud of dust and ash. He lay there, seemingly struggling to stand up, while monitoring Monica's approach through his Hydra's head.

"Look how far the mighty have fallen," Monica said, guiding her mount lower. "First your friends, and now you."

The wyvern hovered nearby. Monica's voice dripped with satisfaction as she approached.

"Any last words?" she stood over him.

Erik's lips curled into a subtle grin, hidden from Monica's view by his bowed head. At that moment, a sharp crack split the air.