BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

The woman started running nonstop toward the SUV; they still couldn't take floating cars, lest they be killed by flying thaids, especially wyverns. Once she arrived, she boarded the car with a jump, and the driver gave the vehicle gas.

WROOOOOOOOOOM

However, the beasts didn't stop, and they started chasing them. Lain wasn't the only one who made their team retreat, as countless vehicles could be seen speeding beside them. Each ranged soldier shot from the top of the car at the monsters, but now the number of monsters they killed was significantly reduced.

"Emma, for how long can you keep firing at them?" Lain asked. Emma was a 25 years-old-ranger; she had the power to control water, which was very strong. She fired highly pressurized water jets at the creatures, which basically killed them on the spot, but her mana reserves were dangerously depleting since she was basically the only one with ranged powers inside her team.

"I'm not sure..." Emma answered. "Fifteen minutes at best..."

Lain was not sure they would be able to escape the monsters, especially if Emma wasn't able to kill the ones who got too close to the car and tried ramming it. The problem was also that they couldn't go that fast since they were in a forest, and if they didn't drive safely, they could risk destroying the car, spelling their doom.

Luckily, they weren't the only ones fleeing the horde; many people kept shooting at the thaids. One thing was sure: no matter what happened, every team member's life depended on her. However, Lain didn't stay idle; she picked up the radio and called for help using the dedicated channel.

"Here is Captain Mary Lain of team Bravo. We are fleeing from the horde thaid and need immediate assistance. Over!" the woman said.

The other side didn't let her wait a lot.

"This is New Alexandria Defense Force Command Center; this is Commander Black speaking." A tall, blond-haired man spoke into the microphone. "We prepared multiple squadrons to take your place; you just need to reach the river five kilometers from your position. Over."

<Shit...>

Five kilometers were not much on a car typically, but in the forest, surrounded by thaids and with an uneven road, it wasn't a short distance either.

"Roger, we will do what we can..."

With that, the conversation ended.

"You heard him, right?" Lain asked her team members.

"Yes, sir!" they replied in unison. The group kept traveling for five more minutes when an explosion rang on their right side.

BOOOOOOM

Flames engulfed a car close to them in a raging inferno, burning everything within its radius. The soldiers inside the vehicle died as soon as it exploded.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID JUST HAPPEN?" The driver asked.

"A CAR EXPLODED!" Emma replied. "They got rammed by an Erendu!"

This was a bull-like thaid with two short horns above its eyes and a bottlenose dolphin-like snout. It had a thick neck, four long and heavy legs, a slim waist, and powerful muscles.

Its body was brown colored, and it ended in a long tail with fur on the tip. The Erendu's head, neck, and front shoulders were also covered in bone armor plating.

This beast had a brain crystal power that increased their strength several folds, and coupled with their massive size; since they were no shorter than two meters, they were basically killing machines.

"Do you think you can kill them if they get closer?" Captain Lain asked.

"I have never fought one before!" Emma exclaimed. "But don't worry; my mana reserves aren't empty yet..."

As if on cue, the Erendu started aiming at their car. It channeled mana through its brain crystal, and his strength and speed suddenly increased.

"FUCK. EMMA, DO SOMETHING!" One of the team members said as he saw the beast chasing them, and all the others started shooting at the beast.

Quickly, the young woman started concentrating and moving massive amounts of mana. She began firing her concentrated water jets, which hit the creature with full force. Unfortunately, despite being powerful, the attack was enough to kill the creature, but only to steer it away from the car, sending it crashing to a nearby tree which got destroyed instantly.

"Fuck! That was dangerous!" Another member said.

Emma didn't stop; instead, she focused even harder and shot again and then another time. This time, she used much more mana and finally killed the creature.

However, after doing so, she could be visibly seen panting. That attack required a lot of mana, and she was basically left without.

"Are you ok?" Captain Lain asked the girl.

"Yes, somehow..." Emma replied. "I still have some mana remaining..." she said with tired eyes.

"There is no need; if you collapse now, it will be a problem," We will take care of the thaids with our rifles. We also have a couple of grenades, so we should be able to kill the few still chasing us.

Luckily, the group was close enough to the river, the thaids were still pursuing them, but the team gained a fair bit of distance from the monsters. They made it to the river bank shortly after, where they saw a column of people waiting for them.

"Reinforcements!" the driver shouted.

From one side of the river, multiple cars went at full speed toward the bank, leaving a huge dust cloud behind. On the other side, countless soldiers, vehicles, and weapons were waiting for the right moment to use their powers and weapons to kill the thaids.

"Sir, the horde has been spotted."

"Good, just wait thirty seconds. After that, start attacking them with all we have..." Commander Black said.

The army could bring a couple of cannons and laser cannons by mounting them on the cars. They were able to kill more thaids compared to the standard rifles. However, they could do nothing to stop the strongest ones, so they were not effective overall.

It was just a matter of moments now. The reinforcements just had to wait for the fleeing soldiers to get to the river and abandon the cars.

Lain and her team were almost there with the horde behind them.

"We will swim through the river, ok?" the captain said with a worried look. "Emma, can you do it?"

"Yes, sir..." the woman replied. She had regained a little bit of strength, but her lack of mana debilitated her.

As soon as they arrived at the river, Lain's team and all the others fleeing the horde jumped out of the cars and started swimming through the water.

The canal wasn't that big, just 50 or 60 meters wide, but it was very deep. Legends said it had been created by a slash of Solomon Judd's word when battling a powerful thaid.

"SWIM!"

The soldiers immediately jumped into the water, and the ones waiting from the other side of the river started shooting at the horde. Most used their brain crystal powers, but soldiers were also dedicated to manning the cannons.

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

Explosions rang throughout the forest, fire attacks, ice attacks, and many others. One by one, the thaids met an untimely demise. Limbs were blown off, heads exploded, bodies burned, and blood sprayed everywhere. However, that wasn't nearly enough to stop the creatures. Despite this, the commanding officer had a smug look on his face.

"Well done, everyone!" the officer said.

At that moment, the soldiers arrived on the other side of the river, including captain Lain and her team. "Are you all ok?" she said once she reached the shore.

"Yes."

"Yes, sir..."

"I'm alive..."

"I'm fine too, sir!"

============================================

A.N: Sorry for the late chapter, guys! Also, from now on, the analysis will show a different stat than "Level," which will be "Power Level." I had to do this to make you better understand the other's strength compared to Erik's since the system level wasn't exactly good at doing that based on how I computed them. Also, the system will show the same voice. I corrected all the previous chapters to show these new voices, I worked till 04:00 AM to do this, so praise me a little bit by giving me power stones, will ya?

However, jokes aside, its important you read this message since these new changes might confuse you.