BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM - Chapter 882: Lucius rescue operation (11)
Caiden, Becker and Lucius decided to leave the area.
Erik’s clone had entered the prison to save Richard; the three didn’t know the outcome of the mission.
Have they been unsuccessful? Did they succeed? Following their departure, Becker assumed the duty of safeguarding Caiden and Lucius from a multitude of soldiers.
Therefore, they discarded the concept. It was easy for him to kill some of them; all it took was a swipe of his mana sword to end their lives.
However, some of them required Becker to use a significant amount of mana. While this was going on, Becker couldn’t help but grimace.
In all of his years serving as Frant’s general, he never once contemplated the idea that he would be responsible for the deaths of his own soldiers and citizens.
And yet, here he was, battling for his life as well as the lives of Lucius and Caiden.
Seeing Fasard under attack was weird. He had been there many times, at least before Volkov took control of the city.
Becker had been informed of how awful the situation was within the city because of the monster who ruled it.
The problem was that seeing it in person made his anger surge. It wasn’t just this war or this attack that destroyed it. The process started before Noah decided to attack.
The district around Fasard’s prison was half destroyed. It was clear they attacked in the middle of the city, and neither Noah nor the Blackguards went easy on their opponents.
Noah launched their assault in the middle of the city, and neither he nor the Blackguards spared their adversaries any mercy.
As he moved closer to the command center in Sector 1, the amount of destruction diminished, and the city became visible to its inhabitants.
It was a stark canvas of survival and decay that the city streets presented to Becker and Caiden.
The facades of the buildings were crumbling, and the windows were broken. These constructions had once been bustling with activity, but now stood in a state of disrepair.
The pavements were now cluttered with makeshift shelters that were cobbled together using a variety of materials.
There was a complex network of temporary homes that comprised blue tarps that were stretched over bent metal rods, cardboard walls that were taped or tied together, and plastic sheets that were draped over anything that could support them.
The signs of desperate creativity were visible in each shelter, a patchwork of items that had been discarded.
People were seen moving around or sitting quietly within these shelters, their faces etched with the weariness that comes from living a hard life.
The problem was that these people looked undisturbed by the fights that were taking place not even 500 meters away from them. As if their situation couldn’t worsen compared to what it already was.
Becker was mad. How could a single person reduce everyone to such a sorry state? How could he turn a splendid city, which he remembered was once bustling with activity and trade, into such a desolate wasteland?
The overpowering smell of decay and desperation in the air served as a stark reminder of the suffering that Volkov’s rule had inflicted on the city’s residents.
As he traveled through the streets, Becker’s focus became more resolute as he saw the repercussions of oppression and violence happening around him.
In the end, as Caiden and Becker approached the command center, the signs of battle grew less frequent, to the point where they disappeared, but the people’s faces didn’t improve. They were still full of sadness, resignation, and indifference.
“There’s another group of soldiers at 3,” Caiden said.
“Ah… fuck…”
Becker stepped forward to confront and battle the soldiers, leaving Caiden and Lucius behind.
Since there were no blackguards in the area, he was going to have a pretty simple time defeating them.
He needed to make this happen as quickly as possible, so he transformed into wind and swiftly eliminated all the soldiers in the vicinity.
After that, he returned to Caiden’s side.
“Are you done?”
“Yes. How is Lucius?”
“Weak,” Caiden said. “He lost consciousness an hour ago. He needs medical attention, Armand.”
“I know that. But it’s not like I can do something about it.”
Soon after, from a corner, a group of five people from Erik’s guild arrived. All of them looked a lot like their creator, with subtle differences that made them unique but unmistakably linked to his genetic makeup. Be it different hairstyles or beards.
However, all of them had serious faces, but they also had a fierce determination in their eyes that matched Erik’s own.
“Sir, we came here to escort you. Since the mission is complete, we are retreating. The command center is moving.”
“Are we retreating?” Caiden asked. “What about Richard Stone?”
“We don’t have any information about him. If you want answers, you must reach the command center.”
Caiden sighed, while Becker got nervous. “Lead the way,” he said. The mercenary nodded and led Becker to a moving vehicle. It was basically a van; it couldn’t house many people, but from what they understood, Noah was inside.
Not only did the vehicle come to a stop, but so did every other car that was behind the van.
The vehicle stopped, and so did all the other vehicles following the van.
A woman burst from one of the parked vehicles, her movements urgent. As she approached Caiden, her eyes quickly zeroed in on Lucius’ unconscious form. She was so concerned she closed the distance in mere seconds, her gaze never leaving the unconscious man.
“What’s his state?” e woman
“He is unconscious, with legs missing and many open wounds on the rest of his body. He likely lost a lot of blood and needs a transfusion and a healer.”
The problem was that all the healers from Erik’s guild left it when it started getting investigated. Healers were rare.
In addition to possessing highly prized brain crystal powers, healers had excellent
employment opportunities.
An organization that was accused of being run by a criminal was not something that anyone of
them was willing to join.
Of course, Erik had many recovery potions. That had to do.
Give him to me, the woman said. Then two other people came and took Lucius from Caiden’s
care.
They took him to a vehicle and put him on a stretcher.
Then Becker turned, and he saw Noah outside of another vehicle, looking at Erik’s father.
Noah was a clone, but based on what he learned about him, he had Erik’s memories.
This meant that Lucius was as much a father to Noah as he was to Erik.
The clone turned to look at Becker, slightly embarrassed about the situation.
“Come inside,” he said to Becker and Caiden.
The two sat in front of the clone. “Is there any news?” Caiden asked. He was referring to
Richard.
“Yes,” Noah said, but his tone promised nothing good.
“Did he die?” Becker understood the problem immediately.
“No, he didn’t. The clones I sent were those who died.”
Noah sighed. “My spies reported that the two blackguards had defeated Richard and taken
him to a cell.” Ironically, it was next to Lucius’s. ”
“So? When will we attack again? We can’t leave him there,” Caiden said.
“We must.”
Noah had a gloomy face. Not that they could see the worm-human hybrid’s face since he still
wore masks.
“We lost too many troops. If we send another batch to the prison, we would need at least a thousand to free Richard. All the enemy troops have reached the prison. There is nothing we
can do to save him.”
He paused. Noah didn’t take that decision lightly.
“There is another problem. If I send more troops, we won’t have enough to cover the retreat.”
Caiden and Richard were both unhappy with the situation.
Amber’s father was the angriest of the two, but Becker was a soldier.
He had been in Noah’s position more times than he could count.
He knew that if they tried to save Richard, the entire group would die.
This meant Caiden’s daughter, her friends, Noah, and Caiden himself. Maybe only he would
survive, but he wasn’t sure he could bet on it.
“I get it.”
There was a tense silence.
“What’s our next move?” Becker asked.
“We retreat,” Noah said. “And I need to inform Erik about what’s happened here.”
Noah’s tone was grave. “It’ll take Erik at least two weeks to reach Frant, so he won’t be able to
help us with the aftermath of this battle. At least not now.”
“Do you think Erik will do something drastic when he hears the news?”
Noah nodded without hesitation. “He likely will. He’s not one to sit back when his people
die.” With that, Noah pulled out a phone from his pocket, his fingers moving over the screen
as he searched for Rebecca’s contact.
Finding the number, he pressed the call button and held the phone to his ear, his expression
turning serious.