BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM-Chapter 1241: Dark Tunnels, Darker Threats (3)

"Emily," June turned to the woman with a serious expression. "Can you use your powers now? We need to know what might happen if we engage these thaids, or what dangers could be further inside the nest. Even a glimpse would help us prepare better."

Emily's expression tightened. "I already tried. The moment we entered the cave, I started looking into the future. I tried again after you mentioned finding human signs in the cave. I wanted to confirm whether there was a Silver Line Corporation base here."

She rubbed her temples, a gesture all of them knew meant she was frustrated.

"But I can barely see anything useful. When I try to look into the future, all I get are fragmented images of the cave walls and the fungi growing on them. The visions are hazy and incomplete, like looking through murky water."

"Nothing at all? Not even a glimpse of a creature or a building?" Amber asked, her voice tense as she glanced back and forward between Emily and the tunnel ahead.

"Nothing concrete. It's like..." Emily paused, searching for the right words. "Like something's interfering with my vision. The deeper we go into these caves, the harder it becomes to see."

The feeling reminded Emily of when she had a few neural links, when her visions were fragmented and unclear. But this was worse than that time.

Back then, she could at least piece together some coherent images from the fragments she received, even if they were incomplete, and the visions were much clearer when they were forced on her. Here, it felt like something was blocking her, distorting everything she tried to see.

"Interfering with the visions?" Amber asked. She was the one who knew the most of it since she and Emily were childhood friends, so she understood what Emily meant.

In truth, Amber had a theory about why this was happening, but until she figured out her thoughts were not baseless, she refrained from speaking.

"Could be the mountain itself," a clone said. "All this ambient mana might be affecting your abilities."

That was exactly what Amber was thinking.

"Or whatever's deeper in the caves," Mira said.

"Since we don't know the effects of mana on brain crystal powers, we can't make bold assumptions, but anyway, the ambient mana might be the reason." The clone turned to Amber.

"I know that thinking about everything makes sure we regret nothing later, but have you seen a Thaid that could interfere with powers? More precisely, have you seen a thaid messing up with future sight? I bet you do, because there is no known thaid able to do this."

The others nodded. Losing Emily's foresight was another reason to be cautious, another unknown variable in an already dangerous situation.

"You would be right if we actually knew something about Mur's thaids, but we don't have any reliable information about them. These creatures could have evolved differently from regular thaids, developing abilities we've never seen before. Without proper documentation or prior encounters, we can't rule out the possibility that they might have such brain crystal powers."

The group retreated forty meters down the tunnel to a wider section, where they could discuss their strategy without risking being heard by the enemy.

The Chimaeric Demons formed a protective circle around June, Mira, Emily, and Amber. Their backs to the group, watching both directions of the tunnel for any threats.

"Here's what we know," a clone said. "The workers are individually weak but dangerous in large groups. Their main role appears to be gathering resources and maintaining the hive. The guards are stronger than them. Thick carapaces and powerful mandibles are just the last of our problems, yet they have limited intelligence. The most concerning are the eight leaders, who both have the guards' physical prowess but much more advanced problem-solving abilities and tactical coordination. These leaders can and will direct both workers and guards, making them our primary target."

"So, we need to take care of them first," Mira said.

"We need to isolate, or at least kill them first. If we can stop them from coordinating with the others, the group will fall into chaos."

Mira drew a rough map in the dirt using her fingers. "The cave has three main sections—the entrance where we are, the central chamber, and what appears to be the working area, which is connected to the other tunnels. What we must make sure won't happen is the thaids retreating and alerting the others."

She pointed at one of the tunnels, from which they saw creatures come and go from time to time.

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"The Chimaeric Demons should take care of this task. If possible, you also have to lure the leaders and deal with them."

"Ok then," a clone said.

"Are we sure the tunnels lead to the nest?" Emily asked.

"No, but we can't rule the chance out. We must make sure no more thaids get here while we fight against the fuckers."

The others nodded.

"What about the workers and guards?"

Mira turned to Amber, who had asked the question. "We'll handle them while the Chimaeric Demons take out the leaders," June said. Mira had reached the same conclusion, but June voiced it first.

"We may not be as strong individually as most of Mur's thaids, but we sure are capable of killing bug thaids."

"It's worth a try," a Chimaeric Demon said. They had the power to do that.

"So we have a plan," June said. "Mira and I take the left flank, Amber and Emily the right," he turned to a Chimaeric Demon. "You focus on the leaders."

"Remember," he added, "if things go wrong, fall back immediately. Amber will need a few seconds to generate enough corrosive gas to cover our retreat or to warp us out."

…

…

…

Hidden in the tunnel's shadows, the group waited. Each member of the team remained still, waiting for their chance to strike.

Mira's eyes never left the cave entrance, studying the movements of each thaid. Unfortunately, she couldn't use her rifle. The noise would be huge and would attract whatever creature was lurking in the cave or the tunnels.

June's grip tightened on his weapon while Mira and Amber held their positions, using hand signals to communicate silently.

Once they got ready, they acted.

The battle erupted with sudden ferocity.

The clones attacked first, their glowing magic swords shining in the light from the cave's fungi. The cave got filled with battle sounds—the cracking of insect shells being broken by mana weapons, the dying screams of the insect creatures, and the loud crashes of bodies slamming into each other.

"Strike on the left!"

June and Mira acted. Though June wasn't as physically strong, his role was to lure the thaids—which weren't powerful enough to pose a serious threat to him.

The first worker barely had time to register them coming before June's blade found a gap in its carapace. Mira followed through, her weapon piercing its thorax.

Two thaids, as big as large dogs, rushed at June and Mira. The insect-like creatures snapped their mandibles.

June pivoted, letting the creatures' momentum carry them past, avoiding the strike. Mira did the same, but she also severed one of the creatures' legs. The insects crashed into the wall, momentarily stunned.

"Damn! That was close!" June got incredibly close to being injured.

On the right flank, Amber and Emily moved. Emily's future sight brain crystal power might have been dampened, but her second one, time freeze, was still kicking.

Not that she needed to use it. Emily was a godly sniper, but she knew how to fight in close quarters since she trained in it for many years.

Her combat instincts were razor sharp from years of training, and while the thaids were dangerous creatures, they weren't nearly as lethal or well-equipped as the Vindicators she had faced at the Law Gate. Their movements were more predictable, their attacks less coordinated, their defenses not as sophisticated, and their powers much weaker.

She spotted a weakness in one of the guards' carapaces, calling it out to Amber, who exploited the opening, plunging her fire dagger into it, and killing the creature.

The chamber descended into controlled chaos. The Chimaeric Demons were dealing with the leaders, but they were a tougher nut to crack compared to their underlings. Yet the clones had been able to not only keep the leaders at bay but also to prevent the other bugs from retreating deeper into the tunnels.

"How many did you kill?" Amber asked the Chimaeric Demons. "Three!"

One of the leaders made some clicks, and suddenly the workers moved. It differed a lot from before, though.

"Watch out!" June said. "They're trying to flank us!" He saw the worker bugs moving in a half-circle around them, trying to block their way out and corner them in a dangerous spot.

The clones acted soon and killed the leader. Amber and the others moved to avoid being surrounded. She also warped June, since he was rather slow.

Three workers then converged on Emily. But it brought them where Amber wanted them. She spun through their attacks, each strike finding vulnerable joints in their armored bodies.