Chapter 1069: To Sleb Harbour (1)
Chapter 1069: To Sleb Harbour (1)
Two months flew by as everyone worked hard to get stronger and ready for the upcoming war. Erik gave Mira, Emily, Amber, and June the job of finding and gathering brain crystal powers that, once merged, would work well to create another invisibility brain crystal power.
Over time, their hard work paid off. They found more and more brain crystals that, in June's opinion, would work well if together.
But they focused on that only. Erik wanted for them to get powers that would give the clones an edge in the upcoming fights, but they basically had no time to find them.
There was an abundance of brain crystal powers that, if merged, would turn powerful, but it would also increase Erik's DNA point expenditure, and since they wouldn't be on par with Lightning Lord and other similar powers Erik had, they focused on finding the best brain crystals to make the invisibility.
Besides, giving too many powers wasn't exactly a good idea, especially in the Chimaeric Demons' situation, since they had a much harder time making neural links. In the end, they found everything they needed, and when they brought the brain crystals to Erik, he merged them and gave the ability to the clones, but thanks to Mira, Emily, June, and Amber, Erik spent little DNA points.
It was going to take some time before the first batch of Chimaeric Demons with the invisibility power hatched, but as soon as they were ready, they were going to leave to complete their quest, aided by the clones who had already left for the other countries.
As for the clones with them, Erik sent them out to search for the tools and materials needed to craft the brain and body-stimulating serums.
The group had to go to cities and villages, which took some time, during which more Chimaeric Demons matured. Their efforts, too, were rewarded. Because they returned not only with the tools they needed, but even some of the materials required to make the stimulating serums.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Erik and the clones then worked on the serums, creating the powerful stimulants. Once they were ready, they were distributed among the group; the effects were as astonishing as everyone expected.
Even the clones took advantage of them and trained whenever they could. Everyone got new neural links, but Erik was the one who got the most.
The system worked hard to make the new neural link training technique Erik requested. He had to invest massive amounts of DNA points for the system to do something decent in a quick amount of time, and the result was, despite everything, astonishing.
The new technique was an improved version of the one Erik already got, but not only did it make the process of creating neural links easier and faster, but it also allowed Erik to train eight different brain crystal powers at the same time.
He also taught the technique to Emily, Mira, and Amber, but they still had problems understanding it. Mana, Neural Links, were, after all, something that the human mind couldn't quite comprehend yet.
Somehow, Erik thought that whoever made the system did, but before he reached the Mur continent, there was no way for him to know. Though it was also clear based on what the mysterious AI could do.
Thanks to the new technique and the stimulating serums, Erik made a ton-45, to be precise. However, before leaving for Mur, Erik wanted to get the greatest and fastest power boost he could, so he tried to bring up to par all the brain crystal powers with few neural links, knowing that the early stages of development would yield the fastest gains.
He said he would focus on a few ones, and that was what he was doing since he wasn't getting more brain crystal powers, but he still trained more of them. In truth, the reason was also that Erik got a lot high in the number of Neural Links for the Chimaeric Demons' brain crystal powers, and progress slackened.
As for the Chimaeric Demons' eggs, since they started hatching months ago, the initial batches matured during this time.
That allowed him to send a group of Chimaeric Demons to Sleb Harbour. As June suggested, they were going to make entering the city easier for him and the others when they went there.
The team did well in Sleb Harbour. They found a safe place to stay in the city and learned important information about who was in charge of the entrance guards and how the city was protected. But Erik couldn't get more information from this point of view.
It looked like the situation in Sleb Harbour wasn't the best, and during their last conversation, the Chimaeric Demons group had to cut contact.
The journey to Sleb Harbour was underway, with Erik leading his small group through the forest. Amber, Emily, and Mira followed close behind, each mounted on a clone.
The forest's sounds seemed to match the serious mood of the group.
But while Amber and Emily couldn't help being rigid, Mira was used to such things. It resulted from the countless battles she had already gone through before joining Erik. For years, she roamed every kind of landscape in search of thaids to hunt with his team. Lila, Aiden, and Kael.
It had been a while since Erik and Mira saw them. Of course, the woman was feeling their absence more than anyone else. They had been her comrades for years, after all, and they shared a great deal of harrowing experiences together.
Mira thought about how things might be different if she and her friends hadn't joined Erik's group or if she hadn't started dating Erik. She wondered if her old team would still be together and if their lives would have taken a different path. If she would have remained in Etrium and joined the country in their war effort against Erik.
But regardless, the choice to join Erik had been the correct one, if not for the fact he was right and the blackguards wrong, at least because everyone benefited in terms of power gained. Mira was an obvious example of how joining Erik's group was beneficial. She gained a lot of power by learning Erik's techniques. While she couldn't share these techniques with others without Erik's permission, what she learned would still help everyone, including her friends, in the long run.
The woman then approached her lover.
"Erik," she said, "what exactly do you plan to do when we reach Sleb Harbour?"
Erik turned to face her as June galloped. "The first step is to meet up with the Chimaeric Demons who have already infiltrated the city," he said. "I don't know what they learned, but I need to find out. Besides, they said they found a way for us to enter unseen and without much trouble, so meeting them is paramount."
"Once we've established a foothold on Sleb Harbour, I'll make more Chimaeric Demons. We'll need a force large enough to not only conquer Sleb Harbour but also to launch a full-scale assault on the blackguards themselves."
He paused for a moment. "Once we're established, we will find a way onto Maynard Island,"
he said.
Mira nodded. "And how long do you think that will take? The Chimaeric Demons take time to hatch and mature."
"Realistically, I think we'll need at least two months before we're ready to take on the blackguards directly," he said.
"But that time won't be wasted. While we're building our forces, we'll also be working to replace key figures in the human-controlled countries, including Hin."
Erik looked at his friends. "I need the blackguards isolated, because otherwise, they might simply ask for help if we are not fast or strong enough to swiftly deal with them."
"It's just that." Mira said. "Everything is a little surreal. I mean... The blackguards had been the symbol of peace and justice for... who knows how long, and learning they were the ones behind kidnappings, deaths, and criminal activities... Well, I still can't believe it..."
"You have seen it yourself. Mira, the only reason these guys are so hell-bent on capturing me is because they want the biological supercomputer; they want power, for god knows what reason. Appearing as justice's paladins was just a pretense they used to make people inclined to cooperate with them."
"Yeah... I know... that much is clear. But there are still things I find weird."
"For example?" Erik asked.
"For example, the blackguards knew about the biological supercomputer, but how?"
"I don't know. This thing had been found on the Mur continent, and since they frequently went there, it might be possible they found some information there..."
"Yes," Mira said. "This is very possible, but whatever information they must have gotten, it shouldn't have been that precise. The biological supercomputer is basically an almighty being, capable of turning people into gods. Whoever or whatever made it should have kept all information about it a secret. This means that even if they found information on Mur, they shouldn't have known what the AI could do, at least in theory, and they shouldn't have been aware of the fact it had been completed."