Chapter 908: Strategic meeting (1)
Chapter 908: Strategic meeting (1)
Chapter 908: Strategic meeting (1)
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Erik strode into the room, his expression dark and stern. Noah and the others were already assembled around a table, casting cautious glances in Erik's direction as he entered.
"Thank you all for coming on such short notice," Erik said in clipped tones. "I'm sure you can guess why I've called this meeting."
An uneasy silence settled over the group. They all knew about Lucius's death, and the weight of Erik's loss could be seen in his cold, calculating eyes.
Amber glanced toward Gwen with concern in her eyes while Benedict studied the floor, his brow furrowed.
Most of the others did the same thing, but for Becker and Caiden.
They were older, but most importantly, more experienced.
They lost many friends, comrades, and subordinates during the years, and even if Lucius' death hit them strong, they knew they had to keep their composure.
"I won't beat around the bush. Soon, I will attack New Alexandria. I've decided to leave Liberty Watch and head there. I will make an army of clones from within the city and kill everyone. We had to go rescue Richard, regardless; the sooner we move, the better it will be."
He leaned forward, bracing his hands on the table.
"Which is why I would like to ask you to focus your efforts on killing the Thaids around Liberty Watch. You must know I had to fight against a Hevadrin yesterday; this means you understand the kind of Thaids roaming the forest."
Aaron exchanged an alarmed look with Mikey. "That's extremely premature," he said. "Are you sure you really want to do this now?"
"We don't have time," Erik insisted. "With every day we delay, Richard might meet the same fate as my father. I also need to collect information on Richard's location, and naturally, on Volkov as well."
Becker looked Erik in the eyes, and the younger man did the same.
"Are you really going to do this?" The ex-general asked. He didn't like the words he used: 'kill everyone'.
"I am. Volkov must pay; Richard must be rescued."
Floyd shifted in discomfort. "You say we should stay here and focus on the thaids around, but how do you think we can do this if even you had trouble? We do not have the biological supercomputer like you do."
Erik opened his mouth to respond, but Noah broke in. "We can use the clones and the guild members, but this will slow down production. If it slows down too much, we won't be able to create enough defenses to resist the Blackguards if they find us. So we must be careful and plan things with care."
For a long moment, Erik glared at the table, his chest heaving. Then his shoulders slumped as anger bled from his features, leaving only fatigue and sadness in their wake.
"You're right," he said at last. "That's why I'm going to leave the following week, after I make some more clones."
"At this point, I don't think that more clones are going to be enough," Gwen said.
"They are strong, that is true, but the Blackguards, the thaids, are stronger. The only way for you to make this situation manageable is to make thousands of clones, and I doubt you can do it in a week."
Gwen was not wrong, but there was something she wasn't aware of: the Chimaeric Demons. Erik didn't have a chance to talk about this new power of his with anyone.
Only June knew it. The first thing he did when he arrived at Liberty Watch was to go to his father, then he went to talk to Noah, to whom he, of course, had to listen to learn what happened in Fasard.
Then he went to find his friends, and after all of this, he made the clones and went hunting. The rest of the time was spent unconscious in a hospital bed.
"Don't take me for a fool, Gwen, because I'm not." Gwen looked at Erik with a slightly offended look; she didn't like his tone.
The two always had a rocky relationship, and if in the past Erik had to hide secrets and couldn't afford to go against her, now there was a limit to what he was willing to ignore. "I've got a new brain crystal power," Erik said. Of course, that made everyone focus on him intently.
"To be honest, this is not a new one; rather, it is a modified old one."
At those words, everyone had confused faces. Erik sighed. "The biological supercomputer has more than one power. It can not only let me get new ones, but even merge and modify them. That's what I did. I modified the clone-making power with other ones, made some other tweaks, and ended up with something the biological supercomputer called Chimaeric Demons."
Everyone was surprised to hear this, especially Noah, who was a little hurt since Erik told him nothing about this power. Erik turned to him with a slightly apologetic look.
"How will these new clones help us in this situation? Even if you make more clones, I doubt they will be enough to kill something as strong as a Hevadrin if it starts roaming around these parts." Becker, of course, was already analyzing the situation.
"The Chimaeric Demons are stronger than the clones. They lost all the abilities they had in the past, such as making the biomantic armor or shapeshifting. Currently, only the old clones can use such abilities. That's why I want them to change their main purpose and train in espionage rather than fighting. Regardless, the new clones lost those abilities, but they earned a powerful one. My clones now have brain crystals; hence, they can have brain crystal powers, and currently, they have two."
Erik's clone's flaw was known to everyone.
They were strong, trained, and smart, but they couldn't contend with people at a certain level because the absence of brain crystal powers put them at a disadvantage.
But now... Now Erik said not only he solved this problem, but he also gave them two brain crystal powers? It was hard to believe it, yet, for Erik it was possible.
Becker started thinking that, with all this much power, if Erik went crazy, nothing could stop him from conquering the world.