Chapter 481: Meters Away

Iris didn’t argue, and she slid into the gap Pete left without a wasted motion. One hand going firm to Sarah’s shoulder, the other reaching for Catalina’s trembling wrist.

This act wouldn’t save Catalina, but it could buy her minutes to hours, depending on the situation.

Pete straightened fully and turned his face to the dark garden. He took in the situation, assessing exactly how bad the situation had become.

It was good to see that the situation had improved rather than worsened, making Pete breathe a sigh of relief.

Which was his first mistake.

Because at the far edge of the grounds, where Colonel Vane stood alone and stubbornly kept the centaur-bodied zerg that carried Ethan and the unconscious Neville—

Pete’s eyes widened and trembled. His eyes refused to miss anything that would happen right there and then.

Because he saw the barrier flicker.

Not all of it, just one part.

However, that part stuttered unusually at that one hit.

And Pete saw a small, thin shard of light come off the barrier like a fallen leaf.

A shard.

The first shard.

Pete trembled in horror.

The barrier had begun to chip.

And Pete stood there, unable to decide where he would go first to share this information.

Because if the first shard had already come off, another would come off any time soon. And if that zerg hit it relentlessly, it was only a matter of minutes before the barrier broke down.

And Ethan wouldn’t even need that large of a hole to get out first before the surge of zergs outside invaded inside the barrier.

.

.

.

After Ciel had entrusted Catalina to Pete when he arrived. The relief that flooded through him, comforting that he nearly felt like crying.

But he still had things to do, and he couldn’t rest just yet. His whole body pivoted toward Grayson to assist him in fighting Keres.

Ciel was in such a hurry that he didn’t see the barrier getting chipped. He had no reason to look that way. After all, he needed to cover for Grayson so Grayson could finally save Neville.

Even mid-strike with Keres’s mandibles snapping a hand’s width from his throat, Grayson also felt Ciel’s presence approaching. In a fraction of a second, he had bought himself a window.

Grayson drove a plasma blade into the seam where Keres’s chest plate met the joint, and he twisted it. Carapace split with a wet crack, which made Keres reel back.

A two-toned green blood sheeting down its torso. Its long, jointed legs scissoring for balance.

Grayson used the half-second the wound bought him to check the situation in the field.

Chronos and Julius had Salia cornered, so Grayson didn’t have to worry about that zerg.

His gaze swept over the others and briefly saw Thiago, kneeling over Helena. It was safe to say that the main building was already cleared of the zergs.

Pete, Iris, and Sarah were already helping with Catalina’s situation. Even though he didn’t know what was going on, it should be fine now.

Every place Grayson looked, someone was holding the line. Not to mention, Ciel had already come back and helped deal with Keres.

But when his gaze reached Colonel Vane, his heart dropped to the ground.

Riley Vane was nowhere to be seen.

Where did he go?!

Grayson panicked, which wavered on one of his attacks. Good thing, Ciel got him covered and gave more time to observe in Colonel Vane’s situation.

He tried to search for Colonel Vane, but the only thing that he could see was the huge zerg and Ethan riding it. Ethan was holding Neville, who had a weird circlet fitter on his head.

Just as Grayson was about to move a little closer, hoping that Colonel Vane was just hiding somewhere below that huge zerg, he saw something horrifying.

He saw the second shard of the barrier flake away from the cracking section, Ethan.

It was a small, glittering shard, but Grayson knew that it wasn’t the first one.

If Colonel Vane was not there to distract the huge zerg from chipping away the already chipped barrier, it was only a matter of time before a hole would be made.

He had to go there now.

Grayson didn’t say anything to Ciel, or rather, he didn’t have enough time to say anything. He quickly abandoned Ciel mid-stride and ran as fast as he could towards the huge zerg.

I’m not fast enough.

Grayson could feel it. Even if he was already faster than any normal human, he was still slow. He wouldn’t be able to make it in time.

Fifty meters.

He could see the crack was chipping away faster than his feet could run. Every meter he closed, the shielding shed another shard. It was in various sizes that, when he got close, a hole was already formed.

It was wide enough to fit a hand.

Forty meters.

Grayson was already forty meters away from the huge zerg when he realized that the hole was already wide enough for a human child to pass through.

He looked at Ethan, who was also staring at the hole.

If that guy decided to abandon that huge zerg and just escape with Neville, Grayson dreaded, he wouldn’t be able to make it in time.

As if on cue, Ethan shifted Neville’s weight, gathered him close, and slid down off the carapace. He was really planning to abandon that huge zerg and get away with Neville.

As Grayson looked around while running to find something that could help him, he saw Colonel Vane not too far below.

He got knocked out cold.

Based on the injuries of Colonel Vane, he has already done his best in this situation. He knew that he couldn’t defeat this monstrosity. So he only did the next best thing, which was to keep Ethan and Neville inside the barrier.

Thirty meters.

Grayson painfully knew that thirty meters was still too far. It was enough time for Ethan to cross the threshold with Neville. Not to mention, there was something on the back of his mind that seemed to be screaming.