Chapter 412 - 412: Coordinated Carnage
Everyone nodded with determined expressions.
Michael was the first to act, followed closely by Robert.
With Riftstep, he teleported right into the middle of the Overlord group.
Devil, being of Mythic rank, had no problem killing the nearest alien with a single slice.
The beauty and terror of life was that a single well-timed attack could bring down even the most fearsome creatures.
Simultaneously, Heaven's Judgment fired from point-blank range, decapitating a second Overlord.
In a flash, the shotgun transformed into a shielded form, ready to defend.
The aliens turned to face Michael, turning their backs on Robert.
His violet eyes shone brightly. The air obeyed his will.
Forcefully concentrating the wind, he increased the pressure.
Then the Lord fired several thin, invisible slashes toward the aliens.
None of his attacks proved lethal. However, he successfully severed at least one of their limbs.
The others attacked swiftly.
Victoria's flames surged, creating a blinding wall of smoke, which Ava and Ruby made use of to flank an unsuspecting Overlord. Bryce and Leo provided cover fire to keep the aliens distanced.
Claire, controlling her mech, which protected her from being potentially infected by Hreh'tar's spawn, led the charge toward another Overlord.
Richard stayed slightly behind her, unwilling to test whether his thin protective layer would keep him safe from the alien's tentacles. As for Enzo and Amelia, they focused primarily on attacking from afar.
Fortunately, since the Hreh'tar had evolved far away from their natural habitat, they had not developed any advanced way to communicate with each other, leading them to become rather disorganized.
An Overlord struck Michael's shield, making him slide a few meters backward.
'That was nothing!' Heaven's Judgment proclaimed proudly.
Michael did not mirror her enthusiasm. Even if the crew was keeping a few enemies at bay, there were still six Overlords pouncing on him.
Lightning Surge allowed him to reposition nicely, killing one more Overlord in the process.
Focusing on a distracted foe, Robert managed to kill another.
The battle began to alter the nearby terrain. Each strike, whether from a human or an alien, carried an overwhelming force.
By all accounts, the crew had no business fighting so many Overlords. Yet the grueling practice and refined sense of coordination they had mastered became apparent when the last alien toppled to the ground.
During the entire exchange, two individuals had cowered at the back rather than joining the fray, Nyla and Colt. Not that anyone could blame them. Being Early Masters, they would have been a liability had they tried to help the crew.
"Oh. My. God."
The display of power had stunned them for a while, yet their shock doubled when they felt the spiritual energy in the air.
Given the limited capital of their camp, they had never managed to defeat a single General… Yet now several corpses of Overlords lay before them, emitting energy so potent it felt possible to be cut with a knife.
What would happen if they were to absorb this power into their bodies?
After all, the energy would be beneficial even to the Peak Grandmasters amidst Michael's crew. Sure, it wouldn't allow them to pass the threshold into becoming Lords, but it would lessen the enormous gap.
Michael chuckled softly.
"What are you staring at them for? Take them." He said, leaving them stunned.
Since the two appeared too shocked to utter a word, he elaborated.
"Did you think killing them was just to reduce the potential danger later on? It was to fuel you and the camp into becoming more formidable opponents. With the possibility of another ant attack, it is not a matter of if you are attacked but when."
Nyla and Colt exchanged glances, gulped audibly, and stared back at Michael.
"Are you sure—" Nyla began, only to be cut off by Richard.
"If the Boss told you to do something, you do it!" He roared in annoyance. "Stop wasting our time! Otherwise I will start cultivating these bodies myself!"
Unwilling to push their luck, the two feline scouts bowed deeply. Masking the energy the bodies were emitting to avoid any alien or ant obstructing their path, they bolted toward the camp at full force.
"To be honest, it feels better when they are not with us." Robert heaved a sigh. "It's shameful to admit, but they were… too weak to travel with us. And it's not like we are unable to act as scouts ourselves."
Ruby instead had a proud grin on her face.
"These are my people! It is only natural that they would be eager to prove themselves and adapt by following the strongest! I can't wait to see how powerful they will become once we are back!"
Faster than before, the crew moved toward the closest laboratory whose location they knew.
The building was multiple times larger than the others. It was clear it housed a much greater number of felines.
Keeping guard, thirty cultivators were stationed at the entrance, tasked with preventing any alien from endangering the function of the structure.
This wasn't like raiding an influential family, clan, or faction, where most members did not know what the higher-ups were doing.
These were cultists, fully aware of the inhumane experiments being conducted in the structure they protected. After all, they had been the ones who willingly joined the cult in the first place.
As such, mercy was not something Michael was willing to show them.
Using Psychokinesis, he hurled Devil forward faster than a bullet.
In less than a heartbeat, the soul weapon reached its first target, slitting the throat of a man.
Blood began to ooze from the incision in a fountain-like spray.
"!!!"
The guards felt the hair on their backs stand on end. An immense danger awaited ahead!
However, not one of them was able to react in time. The sword moved through the air as if it had a mind of its own.
In mere seconds, thirty bodies lay on the ground, leaving a clear path toward the laboratory.
Without delay or hesitation, the crew forced their way in, ready to wreak havoc.
This was not going to be a fair fight but a massacre, one which could only end in the cultists' demise.