Chapter 126: Defending the Civilians [Bonus - ]
Chuck was the first to move. With a smile on his face, he quickly reached into his pockets and pulled out several of his knives.
"Let’s see how tough they are."
He threw them one after another.
The knives tore through the dust at incredible speed, striking the first creatures that approached.
One of them fell backward.
Another was struck in the shoulder and sent flying to the side.
But the others kept running.
There were too many.
Liam raised his pistol.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The bullets flew toward the group of monsters.
A moment later...
BOOM!
The explosions shook the ground.
Several of the creatures were sent flying.
Some rolled across the dirt, while others lay motionless.
But even after that, more shadows appeared through the dust.
Liam frowned.
"They just keep coming."
[Lydia: Liam.]
Lydia’s message appeared before him.
[Lydia: Do you need me to do something?]
Liam quickly scanned his surroundings.
’Take care of the civilians.’
Liam pointed toward the different flanks.
’Split up and cover every direction they could attack us from.’
Lydia nodded.
[Lydia: Understood.]
Her body began to split.
PLOP.
A copy of Lydia appeared beside Liam.
Within seconds, several copies of Lydia had spread across the battlefield.
Each one took up a different position around the civilians.
Liam smiled.
"Perfect."
But at that moment...
"AAAAH!"
Jordan charged forward.
"HAAAAA!"
The massive hunter accelerated straight toward the creatures.
Then he jumped.
For an instant, his enormous body hung in the air.
Jordan burned some of his own fat to increase the power behind his movement.
And landed belly-first.
BOOOOOOM!
The impact shook the ground.
Several creatures were crushed beneath his body.
Jordan slowly got back to his feet.
"That was good."
However, some of the beasts leaped at him.
"Jordan!"
Before they could reach him...
A flash of electricity tore across the battlefield.
Emily appeared in front of Jordan.
"Don’t even think about it!"
She spun around and launched a flying kick.
BAM!
A creature was sent flying.
Emily disappeared again in a flash.
ZAAAP!
And appeared behind another.
Another kick.
BAM!
"There are too many!"
Emily disappeared again.
Meanwhile, Carol was fighting another group.
Her arms were completely covered in metal.
"Take this!"
She punched a creature directly in the face.
The monster fell, but another appeared behind it.
Carol punched it.
Another.
And another.
"How many of them are there!?"
The waves of creatures seemed endless.
Liam continued firing.
Chuck threw his knives.
Jordan crushed the beasts.
Emily moved between flashes of electricity.
Carol used her metal-covered fists.
And Lydia protected the civilians from different positions.
However...
There was someone who remained completely still.
Carl.
The hunter was sitting beside the civilians, calmly watching the battle.
One of the injured women looked at him in confusion.
"Aren’t you going to do anything?"
Carl shook his head.
"I’m taking a break."
The woman looked even more confused.
"A break?"
"Yeah."
Carl sighed.
"I haven’t fully recovered yet."
He shrugged.
"And it’s not like I can do much anyway."
Liam heard him while firing.
"Don’t you have a weapon?"
Carl shook his head.
"No."
Liam looked at Chuck.
Then he quickly approached him.
"Chuck."
"What?"
Liam reached into one of Chuck’s pockets.
"Hey!"
He pulled out one of his knives.
"Hey, that’s mine!"
Liam threw it.
The knife flew over Carl’s shoulder and landed on the ground.
CLANG!
Carl looked at the weapon by his feet.
Then slowly raised his head.
"Are you crazy?"
Liam fired again.
BANG!
An explosion sent a monster stumbling backward.
Carl pointed at the knife.
"You could’ve hurt me!"
"But I didn’t."
"That’s not the point!"
One of Lydia’s copies approached Carl.
"Stop being a slacker."
Carl looked at her.
"What?"
"You need to contribute."
Carl raised an eyebrow.
"And what are you doing that’s so useful?"
The slime woman froze.
Another copy of Lydia turned her head.
Then another.
They all seemed to be watching him.
Carl smiled.
"Come on. I want to know."
Liam heard that and sighed.
"Carl."
"Yes?"
"Lydia is our trump card."
Carl looked at him.
"There’s no need for her to waste her energy right now."
Liam pointed toward the copies protecting the civilians.
"That’s why she’s covering the civilians."
Carl looked at the slime women.
"She’s the trump card?"
Liam nodded.
"Yes."
Carl burst out laughing.
"Her?"
Then the copies of Lydia turned toward him.
All at the same time, they raised their arms.
Their hands took the shape of pistols.
Carl stopped laughing.
"What...?"
Their index fingers began to glow.
[Laser Shot.]
Red energy beams shot from the tips of their fingers.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The creatures attacking Emily, Carol, and Jordan were pierced by the beams.
Some fell immediately.
Others simply disappeared into the dust.
Carl’s eyes widened.
"What the hell?"
He looked between Liam and the Lydias.
"Why doesn’t she just take out all these monsters at once if she’s that powerful?"
Liam remained silent for a moment.
"Lydia..."
All the copies turned toward him.
"You didn’t have to do that."
The small slimes responded simultaneously.
"I had to show this guy what we’re capable of!"
Carl blinked.
But then...
All the Lydias suddenly went still.
Their small bodies seemed to lose their strength.
One of them stumbled.
"Ugh..."
Another sat down on the ground.
"I’m a little tired..."
Liam frowned.
’She still hasn’t fully recovered from the second test.’
"Lydia!"
All the copies looked at him.
"Don’t waste any more energy."
Liam looked at the monsters again.
There was something he didn’t like.
He didn’t know what they would find later.
He didn’t know what kind of situation awaited them.
And precisely because of that...
"I don’t want my wife wasting her energy right now."
Lydia remained silent.
Liam gritted his teeth.
"I have a feeling we’re going to have to get through this without using too much of your power."
He looked toward the horizon.
"Maybe we’ll need that energy for something much more important."
Carl continued staring at Lydia in surprise.
Finally, he sighed.
"I guess I owe you an apology."
He extended both hands, and a cloud of sparkling dust began to emerge from them.
The dust drifted toward Lydia’s copies.
The slime women seemed to regain some of their strength.
Carl smiled.
"Sorry for what I said earlier."
Then he bent down and picked up the knife Liam had thrown at him.
He held it in front of his face.
"I didn’t know you could do something like that."
Liam smiled.
"Thanks, Carl."
Carl shook his head.
"You don’t have to thank me."
He stood up, stretched his arms, and rolled his shoulders slightly.
"I’ve rested enough."
He looked toward the creatures that continued approaching.
"Now I’m ready to go to the front lines."
Liam raised his pistol.
"I’ve got your back."
Carl smiled.
"Perfect."
Chuck, who had just retrieved one of his knives, let out a laugh.
"Hey, Carl!"
The man turned around.
"What?"
Chuck pointed at the knife in his hand.
"Take good care of my knife."
Carl looked at the weapon and smiled.
"I will."
And he took off running, straight toward the beasts.
Liam raised his pistol and aimed over him.
The creatures continued advancing.
More and more.
But now Carl was there too.
And the battle continued...