BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

Erik and his clones pressed on through the building's corridors, moving towards the exit gate that connected Caelora city to the outside world.

However, the journey wasn't without problems. As they navigated the maze-like interior, they encountered ten more groups of guards, each comprising about ten members, strategically positioned to thwart their escape.

Battling those guys wasn't easy at all, due to those damned brain crystal powered laser rifles, and those guards seemed to be stronger than usual, making easier for them to aim due to their enhanced reflexes.

These weapons leveled the playing field, making each skirmish a time-consuming and dangerous endeavor that Erik and the clones could get past only thanks to his ability to affect their minds.

Erik, tapping into his instability brain crystal power, manipulated the guards' minds, inducing overwhelming fear to create openings for his clones to strike. Exactly as he did the first time.

The process, however, was taxing. It drained a considerable amount of mana and demanded intense concentration, especially when dealing with so many people.

Those guys were smart, and it wasn't simple for him to breach their minds. Yet it was Erik's most effective strategy to neutralize the guards without sustaining casualties.

The guards had around 25 neural links each and were almost as strong as Erik's clone.

There was, of course, still a difference in pure statistics between them, but, again, the laser rifles made everything complex.

Having seen what these weapons could do, Erik surmised that brain crystal powers were going to be outshined.

It was weird to think that the only thing that allowed humans to survive until now was going to be replaced as this technology spread.

Despite facing armed opponents, the clones capitalized on the brief moments of vulnerability Erik created.

Each skirmish followed a similar pattern: Erik would incapacitate the guards, and the clones would then rush in to eliminate the threat. Erik even leveled up.

However, the continuous battles against armed groups took a toll on their progress. Time was slipping away with each confrontation, and Erik grew increasingly aware of the urgency of their situation.

As they cleared each group of guards, Erik and the clones moved closer to their goal.

The building's complex layout, combined with the continuous engagements, made their journey feel endless.

The corridors seemed to stretch on, each turn leading to another guarded checkpoint.

After what seemed like hours of relentless fighting and navigation, they approached the last stretch leading to the exit gate.

"We made it!" Alexander said.

Erik glanced back at his group, a mix of satisfaction and exhaustion on his face.

However, he noticed someone behind them, and he realized the time they had lost to face those guards had been enough for those guys to reach them.

It was at that moment that Dreadnought rushed in, followed by the other Blackguards.

"INCOMING!"

The other clones turned to see what was happening, though they were too late.

Dreadnought used her power. Based on what Erik learned, her power allowed her to change her density.

Though the same ability could have different outcomes. In Dreadnought's case, she could either increase her resistance to attacks, or increase her strength.

The woman used a mix of both. She hardened her fist so much, and gained so much strength, that Alexander had no means to resist the attack.

In a second, his head exploded to bits under the woman's demonic force.

"ALEX!"

But that wasn't all. Dreadnought wasn't the only one that jumped into the fray and took advantage of the situation to wreak havoc. The other blackguards did the same.

Phantom came out of a wall phasing through it and grabbing the heart of another clone and squishing it into her palm. The clone died without having a chance to retaliate.

Inkblade channeled his mana. A structure materialized. It was an iron maiden, but unlike any other—it was formed from ink, a creation of Inkblade's powerful brain crystal power.

The iron maiden, dark and foreboding, seemed to flow and solidify. A clone found himself in its path. Before he could react, the iron maiden enveloped him in a swift motion.

As the iron maiden sealed shut, the clone was left in darkness, ensnared in a prison not of metal, but of ink and mana.

Then, Inkblade clenched his fist, and then the clone screamed. Blood poured out of the ink construct.

Nine more clones had a similar fate. They were killed by the other Blackguards, taking advantage of the situation.

"Fuck! GET OUT, YOU ALL GET OUT!"

Erik was determined to reduce his losses. The physical strength of his clones was on par with that of the Blackguards, yet their overall capabilities fell short in comparison.

Unlike the Blackguards, whose powers were mana-based, the clones' abilities stemmed from the biological attributes they gained when Erik merged the cloning ability with all the other various brain crystal powers.

This distinction made them effective in combat against regular opponents, but significantly less so against people on the Blackguards' level.

The main reason was the Blackguards' high levels of mana.

While the biological armor of Erik's clones could withstand attacks from most foes, it proved ineffective against adversaries wielding such immense mana reserves.

The situation was akin to pitting a metal wall against varying degrees of firepower: while it could hold up against standard bullets; it stood no chance against the overwhelming force of tank shells.

Similarly, the clones' armor could repel attacks up to a certain point, but was vulnerable to the powerful assaults launched by the mana-rich Blackguards.

"MASTER! WE CAN'T LEAVE YOU HERE!" June said.

"SHUT UP AND DO AS I SAY. I WILL NEED YOUR HELP IN THE FUTURE, STOP COMPLAINING."

In the meantime, Erik dashed toward Dreadnought. He created a Flyssa with his solid frost wind brain crystal power and conjured a wind blade.

Dreadnought was the first to notice. She swapped all her concentration in increasing the overall density of her body, increasing the resistance against attacks.

Not only she could use at least double Erik's mana, but the young man also depleted a lot of his reserves. That meant the attack had little power behind.

Dreadnought tanked the attack and protected the other Blackguards. At the same time, Phantom went past Dreadnought by going through her. She appeared before Erik, poised to strike.

"I WILL KILL YOU, MONSTER!"

Erik, despite being caught off guard, still had many tricks up his sleeves at his disposal.

He was only having trouble using them because of the enemy numbers.

His strength and speed were almost twice that of his opponents. He dodged Phantom's assault, but before he could launch a counterattack, Stickyfingers intervened.

She hurled spheres that opened, revealing a net which the woman turned sticky before the battle. It ensnared Erik, immobilizing him.

At that moment, Shadowstalker emerged from a shadow behind Erik. Trapped in the net, the young man found himself unable to dodge the impending onslaught he had anticipated.

Shadowstalker's ability, though limited to shadow jumping, came with a significant advantage: he could amplify his speed by jumping.

This meant that each of his punches would deliver a substantially more powerful impact.

Using this tactic, the man leaped through shadows, gaining momentum with each jump.

He emerged from his shadowy realm thirty times in rapid succession, striking Erik repeatedly in the face with enhanced force.

The speed and intensity of the attack left Erik reeling, each punch landing with increased ferocity due to Shadowstalker's clever use of his unique ability.

"Mother fucking Blackguards!"

Erik used his monstrous strength to get the sticky net out of the way, but as soon as he did, Dreadnought came crashing like a tsunami.

She summoned all her strength and used a lot of mana, ramming her shoulder into Erik's midsection.

The impact lifted him off his feet, sending him crashing onto the floor several meters behind.

"Bitch!"

"YOU ARE DEAD, ERIK ROMANO!"

The force of the blow left Erik struggling to catch his breath, but he knew he couldn't stay on the ground any longer.

<These motherfuckers found a way to fight me by using their numbers as an advantage. >

Erik quickly rebounded to his feet, executing a nimble somersault to regain his balance.

But the Blackguards were relentless, giving him no opportunity to counter.

In an instant, Techmagnet unleashed a massive electromagnetic pulse.

The force of it hit Erik with the might of a freight train, propelling him at an impressive distance of about 30 meters.

He was sent hurtling through the air until he collided with a wall; the impact echoing the sheer power of Techmagnet's attack.

"UGH!"

Erik started feeling apprehension. It looked like the Blackguards analyzed his fighting style, and albeit not having seen all his powers, they found a way to counter him.

That was by using their numbers and some of their members' powers to attack him without giving the young man a chance to retaliate.

That was a difficult situation, even for him. It was the first time in a lot of time that he was put on the defensive.

That showed how dangerous brain crystal powers were and how physical statistics could only help up to a certain point.

These guys had many more times his mana. This meant they could make their defenses strong enough to resist Erik's attacks, and strong enough to bypass any of Erik's ones.

Though Erik wasn't done. No, he didn't even start yet.