BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

Chapter 949: The decoy battle (2)



The deafening roar of explosions and gunfire echoed through the streets as the decoy battle erupted into full-scale chaos.

Erik was not having a wonderful time since he was killing rebels left and right.

He did his best to not kill too many, but it wasn't like he could kill no one.

So, reluctantly, here and there, he decapitated a rebel, so that at least that person wouldn't suffer more than he should.

<Fuck...>

Around him, the blackguards and Volkov's soldiers were doing the same, but it wasn't only the rebels who were dying.

Casualties among the blackguards were rare and scarce, but Volkovs' men died in droves.

But Erik didn't care about that. He wasn't here to make a race about who killed more of who. While he wasn't saddened by the death of those who, even if unwillingly followed Volkov, it wasn't like he liked so many people die.

It was weird for Erik to think this despite the personal grudge he had with New Alexandria and the blackguards, but the real enemy were the thaids.

All these people would have made a huge difference against them, and considering how technology improved during these years, humanity now had a very consistent chance of killing them all, and to free the continent from their presence.

It was a pity, really.

"Forgive me," he said again and again as he killed rebels, his voice lost in the battle's din.

Shatterfist moved beside him. "Keep up this pace, Savage Blood! We need to kill them all! We need to make a good impression."

"Yeah... yeah... don't worry."

Erik saw the rebels being mowed down by the blackguards' superior firepower and advanced weaponry.

The sight twisted his stomach, but he forced himself to stay focused.

The battle continued, and despite the tremendous differences in firepower, the situation wasn't exactly in the blackguards' favor.

That was because the rebels used a sizeable chunk of their forces to make this attack. Mostly because soon more of Erik's clones were going to join the rebels' ranks.

As much as Fischer and Van Dyke didn't like using people as cannon fodder, it wasn't like they had another alternative.

Diverting Volkov's and the Blackguards' attention from the enlistment center was paramount. The information held there was going to give the rebels an unprecedented advantage.

A burst of energy exploded close to Erik, sending him sprawling to the ground.

He rolled to his feet.

"Fuck..."

A blackguard with ranged brain crystal powers stood over him, offering a hand.

"Are you injured?"

Judging by the insignia on the man's armor, this guy must have been a warden; hence, he was three ranks over him. "Yes, sir! Thanks for having asked!"

Erik took the man's hands. Luckily, the blackguard couldn't see his face, since Erik was masked. Because if he would, he would have seen the contempt, no, the hatred burning in Erik's eyes.

"Get back in the fight, Savage Blood!" Shatterfist said before turning to attack the rebels. Erik didn't see what was happening on the other side of the battlefield. There were too many buildings and explosions rocking around, but judging by the situation, the rebels were making a fierce attack.

What surprised Erik, though, was that the rebels were playing all of this well.

Already, half the convoy had been stopped. For a moment, it seemed the rebels were going to succeed. It would have been fantastic if there really was something to steal in those trucks. Sadly, all of this was a ruse.

<A ruse within the ruse... Pretty ironic.>

The blackguards must have taken this rebels' advantage really badly, because they started making more decisive attacks.

Erik's gaze, in fact, was drawn to a flurry of motion on the periphery of the battle.

Turning his head, he spotted five blackguards rushing towards a dense cluster of rebels. Something about their movements seemed off-too efficient, too coordinated.

As he observed them engage the rebels, Erik noticed a curious detail.

Four of the blackguards were using their brain crystal powers, unleashing devastating attacks. But in the fifth, his movements were distinct. This blackguard fought solely with his fists, yet each strike felled a rebel with brutal efficiency.

Erik wondered why the guy was so focused on not using his or her brain crystal power. That was a life or death battle. Not using it was simply stupid.

His eyes narrowed behind the mask, because some details didn't escape him.

The team had a lot of power and the discipline they were showing was clearly beyond those of the average blackguards' members.

As the group dispatched rebel after rebel, the man, most likely the team's leader, was suddenly jumped by twenty rebels.

They were desperate, but for sure, that desperate move was going to make the man regret not having used his brain crystal powers. Or so Erik thought.

Yes, a thought, because as soon as the rebels moved, four black tendrils erupted from the mysterious blackguard's back, whipping through the air with a serpentine grace.

Erik's eyes widened behind his mask as he saw the man ripping to shred the rebels. It wasn't that he had never seen that much gore, or that he hadn't seen comrades dying during these

months.

No, the reason he was shocked was because he had seen those tendrils before-it happened years ago, during the school tournament.

Besides, wasn't he searchi for a group led by a guy called Dark Tendrils?

<Dark Tendrils, why didn't I think about it?>

Because it was unlikely. How many chances were there that someone from his school would

become a blackguard?

How many chances there could be that said student was the very same one giving most of the problems to the rebels?

Almost none, and yet. Those tendrils made it clear who this Dark Tendrils was.

<Zakir Nguyen.> A mix of shock and disbelief coursed through Erik as he realized this simple fact as he watched the scene unfold.

<Should I go kill him?>

That was a proper chance. Finding Zakir had been an exhausting affair. Maybe Erik wouldn't have a chance like this anymore in the future.

But Erik turned to look around. He couldn't, unless he wanted to throw away his chance at peacefully gathering information for the rebels.

It was true that Fischer and Van Dyke asked him to find and kill Dark Tendrils' group.

But doing so at the cost of losing this enormous advantage he gained made little sense.

"Savage Blood! Get back in the fight!"

Erik hesitated for a moment; his gaze was still fixed on Zakir and his team.

<Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! >

Despite the reluctance, Erik turned and rejoined the battle, his mind racing with questions

about the group.

As he reentered the fray, Erik's thoughts drifted to the information he had gleaned from the

Blackguards.

The mention of Momentum, an enforcer of exceptional prestige, and how he was related to

Dark Tendrils.

<It makes sense. Momentum had once tried to capture me. I killed many of his team members

in the process. But how curious is it they made him work with someone who came from my

same school and with whom I fought once.?>

Maybe that wasn't curious at all, maybe that was intentional.

Zakir had never been happy about his defeat at the school tournament. That was common

knowledge inside the school.

Many times, he vowed to get his revenge. Too bad both he and Erik left the school that same

year, and Erik was often outside the walls hunting thaids.

<He must have been really frustrated...>

Since he was a crazy psycho, it was no wonder he had been assigned, or maybe volunteered, to

get him.

This also meant something else; the blackguards suspected Erik worked with the rebels.

It was unclear they thought he was here now, or sent him here just to get him when Erik

arrived.

That also explained Zakir's presence. Why would they send him and Momentum here if it wasn't to get him?

Momentum would be wasted here. Besides, it was too much of a coincidence that two people who fought against him and likely knew a lot about him were here in the city, and fighting the

rebels at that.

The rebels were strong, but not to the point of being a problem so big for the blackguards.

In fact, when Erik left the city after having freed Fischer and the others, the rebels's situation worsened. This showed how the blackguards could crush the rebels if they wanted.

Only with his new intervention did things change. In truth, this sparked even more questions within Erik, because if that was true, then why was the rebellion still going on?

But there was an obvious answer to that. It was because they wanted him. The rebels were nothing more than a lure to get Erik in New Alexandria.

Regardless, Erik wondered how a psycho kid like Zakir had turned after having joined the

blackguards.

For a second, he hoped they would have fixed him somehow. But he didn't count on that a lot, since the blackguards were even crazier psychos than Zakir was.

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