Chapter 155

The jet bike squad flew between the buildings.

The altitude of Vittorio Arcade was at least several hundred meters, and this device, designed for low-altitude infiltration operations in urban areas, managed to reach the target zone smoothly.

Down below, an elegant woman, clearly marked as the target, stood in front of a group of young students. According to the pulsing flow of magical power, it must be her.

The woman was engaged in conversation with a new group on the street.

“Are we dealing with them too?”

“Of course.”

The four people riding on the backseat of the bike jumped down into the air first. With a thud as they landed, all eyes turned towards them.

After the followers quietly settled on the rooftop of a nearby building, they prepared to snipe.

“…Who are you?”

The moment they raised their hands, a girl in a black combat uniform ran in shock.

“Step back!”

A flash erupted.

The situation was a mess. The moment the team members met Adela and the students, those Magnavis bastards ambushed us!

“Aaah! Hurry up! We’re all gonna die!”

The situation wasn’t fully grasped. What the heck was going on? The students were fleeing backward while we were fighting. Attacks were raining down from all directions.

“Lucian is down!”

Ugh, I remembered. He was the first among us to try and block their magic. After several attempts to withstand the barrage, he was knocked out by an attack that broke through his shield.

While I hurriedly dragged him back, attacks kept coming from all sides.

“It’s dangerous!”

“Kiyaaah!”

A lightning whip came flying toward us. The pale green shield was deployed but shattered immediately. The moment the shield broke, magic bombardments came flying right at us.

“Gyaaah!”

“Ugh! Daphne! Are you okay?”

Horrifyingly, their firepower exceeded our expectations. They had shattered our shield. I quickly looked at my friend’s condition.

Nightmarish memories came flooding back.

“I’m fine! Thanks to the relic Violet gave me. But the others…”

Fortunately, it seemed Daphne was unharmed, perhaps thanks to the rocket I had given her.

But the other team members were not so lucky. Several had already collapsed in the bombardment.

Except for Irene, no one was standing properly. While Daphne was hurriedly trying to heal the team, I rushed toward those magicians.

“Buy some time! We’ll be there soon!”

“Gaaaah!”

The Violet squad charged ahead, firing their crossbows. While retreating to buy time, it seemed their speed in taking us down was faster than our retreat.

Fortunately, not long after, our main unit arrived.

“Hey, there are people over there! Run over there! Irene too!”

The team members hastily retreated.

“Get out of here quickly!”

I urged Irene. There was no way to win this situation. We were in a severely disadvantageous position, caught in the open.

“Will you be okay?”

“You know! We’re immortal! Hurry and fallback!”

After sending the team members back, I surveyed the surroundings. Adela was also pushing the students and professors back. They had quite a few minor injuries. Was it from the earlier bombardment?

“We can’t! The young ones must survive!”

“No, Professor! You’re hurt, aren’t you? Whatever those guys are, they definitely came for this. I’ll buy time.”

Saying this, Adela prepared to fight as she moved her party backward.

“Adela, it’s me, Violet!”

“Violet? Why are you here… how…?”

“If I explain, it’ll take too long, just step back for now!”

I seized the student council president and pushed her back. In the interval when Adela hesitated, we charged forward.

We had to buy time first.

One squad of Violets advanced into the hail of fire.

“Who are you?!”

“We are the Ariel Group!”

We rushed in with our swords.

To cut to the chase, we were melting away.

The mages of Magnavis were monsters.

Is that really human? It feels more appropriate to call them tanks.

“Gaaah!”

None of our attacks reached them. Our bites couldn’t even penetrate!

“Clone 45 is dead! Clone 124 is going to die too! I’m dying! Aaaah!”

The Violet Network was overflowing with pain and screams. With every gesture of the Vanguard bastards, squads dissolved and units vanished.

One or two shots of magic would obliterate a squad.

“First squad disbanded! Second squad vanishing! Third squad collapsing!”

“Ugh! I can’t see! My eyes! Aaaaah!”

Every time an electric whip swung, Violets fragment and ignite. The battered squad was now on the verge of collapse.

With dozens dying all at once, even dispersing the pain didn’t help since the subordinate count wasn’t small.

“Ugh! Don’t bother with shields. We can’t block anything anyway!”

“Fire! Fire!”

Crossbow volleys and magic attacks intertwined.

The annoying part was that more than half of our launching attacks were intercepted mid-flight. What kind of principle is that?

The Violets froze and burned. They were ripped apart again.

“Damn it, are they clone users?”

In such a hurry, they were instantly creating clones, and I could clearly hear the muttering from over there.

There was no retreat.

Daphne almost died. That was an aimed shot. The firepower was enough to break shields, so if it weren’t for the artifact I gave her, it would have been dangerous.

And Adela was also injured. She got wounded while fighting to protect people.

Our team also had several injuries. If we were chased in this situation, it would truly be dangerous.

We can die and come back but our teammates die for real.

“Squad disbanded! Aaaah!”

In the blink of an eye, our forces crumbled again. We managed to evacuate the team members somehow, but it was useless.

Slowly retreating while firing crossbows, they kept closing in on us from a distance.

“What the hell did we do wrong to deserve this?”

“Aaaah!”

I hurriedly summoned clones again using magical power. I could feel them hesitate.

“…Damn it, they just keep popping up no matter how many we kill. What the hell are you?!”

A mechanical voice with a tone of disbelief rang clear. This gave me a moment to think, as those guys retreated.

“They’re not retreating! More are coming!”

From the darkness, a group of vehicles approached in the distance. I could see the jet bikes that seemed to have backed away now flying back again. It looked like new people were riding them.

Could that be their main force?

I thought to myself. This was too outrageous.

If it were a general or strategist from ancient times, they would have provided some brilliant solution even in a situation like this.

They would have certainly found a breakthrough.

But Violet isn’t a brilliant commander. At this rate, we’re going to lose!

What to do? Think. I need to think.

My head was throbbing and my chest felt tight. Wasn’t there a good way?

While I agonized over the grim reality, beyond the hazy area of thought within the network like fog, strange-looking people began to emerge.

“Come here!”

I was startled and looked up. From the hazy fog, several people were rushing in.

“Who are you?!”

Violets in bizarre costumes emerged from beyond the mist. Their appearances were diverse.

A Violet riding an elephant and a nomad Violet riding a horse appeared first. Following them, a fan-bearing prime minister Violet sauntered along.

“We are Violets!”

Then came Violets dressed in various outfits from all eras and cultures. From ancient armor to modern military uniforms, their appearances were all kinds of unique.

As I watched them, I slowly realized.

These people are Violets but also not Violets.

“Right! For some reason, I feel like cosplaying.”

“If we perform like this, maybe we can borrow some wisdom!”

Those Violets were the outcome of my subconscious, born from our eclectic knowledge merging with me.

To put it coldly, they were just Violets doing method acting.

Yet, I still questioned. I felt like I could find an answer.

“What should we do?”

The nomadic-dressed Violet said firmly.

“Wipe them all out! Don’t leave a single one smaller than a truck!”

The general Violet with the brimmed hat pointed the command baton towards the outside world.

“Nothing is impossible in the Violet’s dictionary!”

The Violet on the elephant shouted.

“Strike at the enemy’s weaknesses. Just like we did, let’s cross the mountains!”

The general Violet solemnly declared.

“We still have 800 Violets left! So let’s not be afraid. We’ll kill those who wish to die and we’ll also kill those who wish to live!”

Right after hearing the general’s exhortation, I awoke from the network.

“Violet?”

Daphne and Irene were looking at me with worried eyes. Kalia was there. Team members who were searching for me were present.

And there were Violets remaining in the command center of the base. We were not alone.

Regaining my confidence, I steeled my resolve.

Maybe we can win. If we give it our all!

Moments after strengthening my determination, the Violets at home rushed out one after another.

“Open the warehouse! It’s an all-out war!”

They dashed to the various basements and warehouses, opening doors.

Violets waiting at the deserted island weapon manufacturing facility dug into the earth.

There were copious amounts of packaged hibernating bodies stacked on the shelves, along with dozens of sleeping Violets packed neatly in boxes.

The packaging felt joyfully crinkly as they met the outside wind after so long.

Seeing that, I gained even more confidence.

There’s potential, indeed.

The words of the great Admiral Violet rang true. Whether a hundred died or two hundred died, there’s nothing to worry about. Because we still had 800 Violets left!

The problem was how to bring them to the dungeon. The answer was clear.

“Revert them all to magical power!”

The piled-up bodies underwent reverse generation, converting into magical power one by one. Using that magical energy, Violets began to be produced once again inside the dungeon.

A Violet from the command center cautiously spoke up.

“The issue is information. We need a more vivid map than this! We need to track the enemy’s locations and movements!”

Our numbers might exceed theirs, but if we fought like before, we’d all just melt away. We needed to use the advantages of the terrain. For that, more battlefield information was necessary.

“I have a good plan!”

I recalled the Violet simulation. I remembered the time we did a mock drill. We had a virtual map and vividly implemented enemies for some fun.

What if we could visualize the current dungeon scene in our minds?

“Let’s give it a try!”

The Second Clone shouted impatiently.

“Command center reporting! Second squad. Sorry, but die for me! We need time for deployment!”

Time and magical power were needed to regroup the forces.

We also needed to implement a new concept. In the meantime, our hurriedly summoned Violets might die again just like before.

This was the second time I had experienced mass deaths like this after that duel.

Knowing for 100% certainty that we would die and still having to charge in, I could accept it, but if it were someone else, they would have bolted long ago.

However, now that I had gained confidence, sacrifices wouldn’t be meaningless.

If only I can get time to devise strategies and establish a plan, if there’s time, we can win!

Once again, a squad of Violets gathered.

“Let’s go! To die!”

“We die beautifully!”

The Violets charged once more at the mages of Magnavis. A hundred and one Violets deployed their formation and charged into the hail of enemy fire from all sides.

“Gaaah!”

Right after, the squad leader Violet was torn apart and scattered.

While the second squad was dying, buying time, various search teams scattered in all directions. Instead of engaging in fights, the Violets spread out and climbed onto building rooftops.

“From now on, we are the cameras!”

The camera Violets concentrated their magical power in their eyes and ears, observing their surroundings. All those amplified senses converged into the Violet Network.

Gradually, a form began to rise within the Violet Network.

Buildings erupted, roads and obstacles materialized. The scenery inside Vittorio Arcade was manifested through collective intelligence.

“We have to lift the fog of war! Move quickly!”

While stalling for as long as possible, it took about five minutes. Shortly after, a gigantic tactical map was constructed.

“…We did it!”

The command center was overwhelmed with admiration as it gazed upon the three-dimensional map before them.

On the network map, the vivid movements of enemies and ourselves appeared among roads and buildings. It was the power of collective intelligence.

“Okay, we will now devise a plan! Let’s find the tactics as best as we can during the reinforcement time!”

It was time to prepare for counter-attack. Because Violets are creatures that think!