BXBX NOVEL Chapter 977: Illusions and Ice
Chapter 977: Illusions and Ice
<The area covers the entire floor, aside from the part you are in now. It is approximately 2000 meters in diameter. There are around 300 blackguards patrolling and setting up defensive positions. Everyone knows you are here now. I think they are trying to exhaust your mana. Their information about your strength is not up-to-date.>
Erik cursed under his breath. <Damn it, that's a small army. Is there a way to bypass them?>
<You could turn them invisible and bypass them easily,> the system said. <But Richard is a problem.>
Erik glanced at his friend's unconscious father. <Yeah, I can't just leave him behind. Any other suggestions?>
<You could create chaos using illusions to fool the blackguards, as you did earlier. Remember, you can generate up to 20 illusions at a time.>
Erik nodded. <True, but even with 20 illusions, that's a lot of ground to cover and a lot of enemies to fool.>
<You'll have to make do with what you have, Erik.>
The man sighed, shaking his head. <Right, I always knew I'd end up in a situation where I'd have to play hide and seek with a battalion of brain-crystal-powered murder maniacs.>
With a deep breath, he steeled himself, adjusting his grip on Richard. "Alright, let's give these guys a run for their money."
The heavy metal door was in front of him at that point. "Ready or not, here I come," he said with a smirk.
Then he created 20 illusions of himself carrying Richard and made them dash through the door. Then, the sound of a huge fight started.
<What the...? How many people were at that door?>
<50.>
"Crazy..."
<They were less than the ones in front of the previous door. Did you forget you killed 80? I can't say if you are being lucky or not today.>
Erik didn't reply, but pushed open the door and stepped into the administrative offices.
The area was a sprawling labyrinth of cubicles and meeting rooms, all bathed in the eerie glow of Aclaitrium lighting and the bright lamps above.
The Blackguards were basically unleashing hell, trying to kill the illusions, but being unable to. They couldn't even understand if their target was real or not.
The group of 50 was in front of Erik, trying to kill his fake selves. Erik grinned.
"Time for some fireworks," he said.
He channeled mana through his Frostwind Fire Tempest's neural links. Erik planned on making a colossal mess. Since the tactic had worked before, and he needed to ensure Richard's safety, he decided to make vapor again.
It would help him also hide from the blackguards, while at the same time killing a few and clearing the way, and of course, creating chaos.
The explosion blasted the entrance area.
The wave engulfed the blackguards. The temperature fluctuated wildly, freezing and burning everything in its path.
The blackguards at the entrance were killed immediately, burning and freezing, and then shattering for the extreme changes in temperature.
[ENEMY HUMANS KILLED: MANA ABSORBING PROCESS STARTING.]
[0%...1%... 5%, 30%, 70%, 100%]
[MANA SUCCESSFULLY ABSORBED, STARTING CONVERTING PROCEDURE.]
[3...2...1...0]
[MANA SUCCESSFULLY CONVERTED INTO EXPERIENCE. 750000 EXPERIENCE POINTS AND 7500 DNA POINTS AWARDED TO THE HOST.]
[LEVEL UP.]
Screams of agony echoed through the office, quickly drowned out by the sounds of brain crystal rifles and brain crystal powers within the area.
<Good. Where do I go now?>
<Move forward 30 meters, then turn right.>
Erik walked as the system instructed and reached the 30-meter mark. He turned right, only to find himself face-to-face with twenty blackguards chasing an illusion.
"Guess I can't avoid them," Erik said. Summoning his mana, he conjured up an ice flyssa, the blade shimmering with frost.
The blackguards noticed him and turned, but Erik would not give them a chance to react.
He lunged forward with Richard still on his shoulder.
The first blackguard swung a sword, spewing lightning, but Erik dove beneath the blow, slashing upward with his blade.
The weapon sliced through armor and flesh. The frost froze the man, turning him into a statue. He then fell, clutching his throat, and his body shattered into countless pieces.
Erik spun, blocking a swing from another attacker with the flat of his blade. He kicked out, catching the blackguard in the chest and sending him sprawling.
A third blackguard charged, his fists glowing with mana. The man unleashed a sort of shockwave.
Erik sidestepped, jumped on a wall and pushed himself toward the man, slicing through the blackguard's arm. The blade quickly froze the man, who shattered into countless pieces and
died.
A blackguard with fire abilities launched a barrage of flames at Erik. He created a wall of ice to block the attack, the flames hissing as they met the frost.
Erik stepped through the dissipating steam, his blade flashing.
Two blackguards tried to flank him. Erik dodged one blow, then another.
He feinted left, then struck right. Limbs flew, heads fell. Erik pivoted, decapitating another blackguard with an upward sweep.
What followed was a brutal scene. A hypnotic yet macabre dance of death.
Erik parried blows, his blade creating clangs and clinks, people dying in masked terror.
In the end, only he and Richard remained there, his breath steady. He shifted Richard's weight on his shoulder, making sure Emily's father was secure.
As much as the corridor was free of people, there were still at least 230 people in that area. So
Erik had to move.
<System, where to now?> Despite the increasingly dangerous situation, Erik was still calm.
<Move forward another 50 meters, then take the second left.>
Erik nodded, his grip on the Flyssa tightening. "This is going to take a lot, right?" Erik stepped over the bodies and started moving away.
<Did you forget the area is around 2000 meters wide? Of course, this is going to take some
time.>
<Right...>