BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

Chapter 1018: Electric Siege (1)



The Colonel was up on the highest watchtower, keeping an eye out for the thaids. His communication device started crackling.

"Sir, long-range sensors have picked the thaids up. ETA 10 minutes."

Vance's jaw clenched. "Sound the alarm. All units to battle stations."

Sirens wailed across the outpost, jolting soldiers and civilians alike into frenzied action.

Vance watched as the M-290 Skybreaker batteries swiveled into position, their brain-crystal- power enhanced systems humming to life.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Shield status?" Vance barked into his comm.

"68% and holding, sir. But without those XR-5 cells... too many attacks might make the barrier crumble."

Vance cut him off. "I know. We'll have to make do."

The horizon darkened as the Thunderwing flock approached ten minutes later.

At first, they looked like distant storm clouds, but as they drew closer, individual shapes became visible.

Each Thunderwing was big... No, massive was the right word to describe a wingspan easily reaching 60 feet.

But the most terrifying aspect was the electricity surrounding them like the tongues of a demon.

"All batteries, prepare to fire on my mark," Vance said, his voice carrying over the comm to every gunnery position across the outpost.

The flock got closer, to the point Vance could see the gleam in the thaids' eyes.

There was a fierce, primal intelligence within them, and that sent a chill down his spine.

He raised his hand; the gunners waited with fingers hovering over triggers. He waited a second, then brought it down.

"Fire!"

The Skybreakers roared to life, their massive barrels glowing with a blue light as they unleashed their ammo.

They let loose energy bolts that made the outpost shake.

The air crackled with energy as dozens of bolts streaked towards the Thunderwing flock.

The sky lit up like in a deadly fireworks display, flashes of blue from the Skybreakers mixing with the lightning made by the Thunderwings illuminated it.

As the first volley approached, the lead Thunderwings reacted. Their bodies glowed; electrical energy powered by mana surrounded them. With ear-splitting shrieks, they released massive bolts of lightning from their mouths.

These natural lightning strikes collided with the incoming energy bolts in mid-air.

The resulting explosions were blinding, making it hard for everyone to look at the sky for more than a second, and even in such a short amount of time, everyone risked being blinded.

Some of the Skybreaker shots made it through this mana-powered defense, slamming into Thunderwings with devastating effect. Some of the creatures fell from the sky, their bodies smoking and twitching.

The attack didn't kill them all, but killed some. It wasn't enough, but at least they started chipping down at the monsters' numbers.

But for every Thaid that fell, three more were still there. The flock seemed endless, a rolling storm of wings and lightning that stretched to the horizon.

Thaids were driven by instinct rather than tactical thinking. In a similar situation, any other thaid would have continued their advance, and that was exactly what they did.

They didn't strategize or plan; they simply reacted to external stimuli and inner urges.

The air filled with the acrid smell of ozone and burnt flesh as the battle raged on.

The Skybreakers continued to fire, their operators working to maintain the barrage.

Thunderwings kept releasing their lightning strikes, sometimes shorting out a battery, sometimes missing wildly and striking the ground.

Vance watched as the sky became a weird dance of lights.

"Sir, they're approaching the shield perimeter!" a lieutenant said.

The colonel watched in contemplation as a Thunderwing slammed into the energy barrier.

Electricity arced across the shield's surface, the competing energies creating a light show that would have been beautiful if it weren't a prelude to death.

"Shield capacity down to 68%... 67%... 66%!"

"Deploy the mechs!" Vance said. "And get those civilians on the ground defenses now!" In the meantime, the Skybreakers started decimating more and more thaids.

Then, the massive humanoid machines stomped into view. They raised their arm-mounted cannons, adding their firepower to the fray.

But the Thunderwings were relentless. It looked like they were attracted by something, and that something must have been human meat.

They bombed the shield using their mana-powered discharges, weakening it with each attack they made.

Vance could only watch as sections of the barrier flickered as their energy waned.

The Skybreakers and mechs' firepower wore down the Thunderwings'.

Airborne energy bolts hit their targets, and brain crystal powers made many more fall down from the sky.

But it wasn't easy to kill them. These were powerful beasts, with very strong natural mana barriers.

Yet the Thunderwings were not invincible, and the added fire power made more of them fall from the sky, their bodies crashing with earth-shaking thuds.

Three years earlier, such an event would have been the signal for doom, and yet, Vance was managing the situation with very low casualties.

What Etrium did, by creating brain crystal weapons, had indeed been great for humanity. The problem was, that being colluded with the blackguards, they had a monopoly.

Sure, there were some crafters that left the country and sold the technology to others, but it wasn't enough to level the field. For years, Etrium would earn a ton of money, at least until the foreign nations didn't start mass producing them.

Two Skybreakers' attacks collided with a large Thunderwing, whose wingspan was easily over

70 feet.

They pierced its feathers and later its hide, making the beast convulse in midair.

In its last moments, a massive electricity surge arced and struck several of its brethren. Half a dozen Thunderwings crashed due to the chain reaction.

Mechs worked well too. Advanced targeting systems guided their arm-mounted cannons'

rapid fire.

A skilled mech pilot killed three Thunderwings with a single burst, sending the energy blast through each beast in a gruesome daisy chain.

As the battle continued, Thunderwing corpses burned on the ground.

Some of the dead creatures still twitched in their death throes.

"We can do this!"

Despite mounting casualties, the Thunderwings continued due to an instinct beyond human

comprehension.

They attacked the barriers, trying to break them. The shield weakened as their attacks

exploded on impact.

The Skybreakers targeted the Thunderwings closest to the shield. Energy bolts stopped the

creatures before they hit.

"We can do this!" People said again.

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