BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM-Chapter 1294: The bugs (20)

The bugs had repurposed the human ruins, integrating them into their hive. But despite this, the cavern appeared mostly unoccupied.

A few worker bugs scuttled around, maintaining the nests, but the warrior presence was minimal. They must have suffered the most casualties, or simply, they were the ones more affected because of their huge numbers, but they were also the ones who would recover from the battle quicker.

"So what's the plan?" Mira asked. "How do we approach killing the queen?"

Erik halted, turning to face the group.

"I'll engage the queen," Erik said. "Alone."

"Alone?" Amber's eyes widened. "That's suicide."

Erik shook his head. "I'm the only one with enough raw power to take her on. The rest of you need to focus on keeping the other bugs off my back."

June nodded, but he didn't like the proposal. "You want us to create a perimeter?"

"More or less," Erik said. "For starters, I don't think I will be on the ground often, but the bugs have ranged attacks, so it doesn't make a difference given the cave's height. The queen will summon every available defender when she feels threatened. If you can intercept them before they target me, I can focus entirely on her."

Emily checked her rifle. She did it hundreds of times already, but she did it to ease her worries. "What about the eggs?"

"Destroy any you find, and if you can," Erik said. "But the priority is keeping the active defenders occupied. If the queen coordinates her forces against us all at once, I don't know if I will be able to fight without blowing the cave."

Mira studied Erik's face, noting the tension in his jaw. "You're worried about this fight."

Erik didn't deny it. "At the Law Gate, I faced the second division commander and his troops. I handled them." He paused as the memories of that battle flashed behind his eyes.

"But the situation here is different. For starters, I need to pay attention not to destroy the surroundings. Second, the queen is physically stronger than the second division commander, and not by a few points. Besides, she must have some strong powers if she was able to survive for centuries. Plus, she won't hesitate or monologue since she is a thaid. She'll just kill."

"Can you beat her?" June asked bluntly.

"Yes," Erik said without hesitation, though the hard set of his shoulders told a different story. "But not if I'm distracted by her minions, not if I have to blow this place up. I need to use specific powers, in specific ways, while leading the queen to make specific attacks and avoid staying too close to specific places, or the cave will collapse."

"So we trash her nursery and keep the babysitters busy while you handle mommy dearest?"

"Put simply, yes." Erik smiled.

"But how? What if she is faster than you?" Mira asked.

"Well, even if I don't have Uncle Benjamin's same number of neural links, I have enough mana to use his power in a similar way. I will simply fly and use the surrounding debris to keep me from being trashed by whatever she throws at me."

"The only question is if your defenses are going to hold," Amber said.

"There shouldn't be problems… If that doesn't work, I have other powers as a second and third line of defense."

"What about attack?" June was starting to get extremely worried, and so did the Chimaeric demons. "I have enough mana to make my attacks strong enough to injure her. Again, not a lot of neural links, but I'm an X-ranked fighter."

"X-ranked? Since when?"

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"Since the battle against the three-headed void ravagers. I got enough experience points to pump my energy stat to 2000 points."

Erik explained how the system worked and told them how it ranked people based on the amount of attribute points, especially energy. So they knew where they stood based on energy points. Erik having this much was monstrous and never heard of in all humanity.

Emily gestured toward the hanging egg sacs. "With these close to hatching, we need to move. I don't want them to hatch early because the queen is in danger. I don't know if that's possible, but it can be."

"The clones will help you," Erik said. "Split them between your teams—five with each of you. That should give you enough firepower to hold the line."

Mira nocked an arrow, her fingers tightening around the bow. "How will we know where to find you if things go wrong?"

"You won't have to care. Just regroup and use Amber to get the hell out of here. However, if you manage the other bugs, you can try helping me. Aside from Amber, you can all attack from a distance. Amber will keep you safe, though," Erik said. He looked at the woman. "But only use your warping as a last resort."

Amber nodded. "I'll do my best."

Erik gave a look at his companions, these people who had followed him into the depths of this nightmare called Mur continent.

"You said the queen is in that building?" Erik asked, pointing at the building where the clones found the queen the first time they came here.

"She is, or at least she was, the last time we had been here," a clone said. "Good, then at least I know where to go."

"When do we move?"

"Now," Erik said, his voice hardening with resolve.

The group checked their weapons one last time. Emily made sure her rifle was fully charged with mana. Mira counted her arrows.

Amber checked her daggers. June turned into an amalgamation of thaids. He wasn't going to fight the warriors, but the workers could be managed.

Erik looked at each of them in turn. "Be careful. Once the alarm is raised, you'll have swarms converging on your position from every direction."

At least there weren't as many thaids as there were when they got here the first time. That was the only reason this entire plan was possible.

"We've faced worse."

"Maybe," Erik acknowledged.

The Chimaeric Demons formed up, dividing themselves among the four companions, as Erik had instructed.

The group split. Erik moved deeper into the ruins, heading toward the center of the underground city where the queen likely lived. The others fanned out, targeting the vulnerable egg clusters that hung throughout the cavern.

The battle for the underground city was going to begin, and with it, perhaps the answers Erik had sought for so long were within reach—if they survived.