Chapter : 657

Laxmi threw a gigantic fireball. The bright orange flames sailed across the room. The fire hit a group of infected aristocrats. The flames washed over their expensive silk clothes. The clothes burned. But the nobles did not scream. They did not stop running. Their skin turned a dark, charred color. The blood magic protected their muscles. They marched straight through the roaring fire.

Laxmi dropped her jaw. The fire user looked frustrated. "My fire is not working! They just walked right through it!"

Zinia stomped her boots onto the marble floor. She crossed her muscular arms. "Stone Barricade!" Zinia roared deeply.

Thick slabs of solid rock ripped out of the ground. The rock formed a tall wall in front of Princess Iris. Three infected guards charged at the stone wall. They did not use their spears. They just used their bare hands. They punched the solid rock.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The rock wall exploded into a million pieces of gray gravel. The guards smashed the stone with pure, enhanced physical power. They walked through the falling dust. They marched directly toward the 13th Unit.

Zinia gritted her teeth. She stepped backward. "Their muscle density is insane! They break solid stone with bare fists! We cannot block them!"

Sayma pushed her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose. She thrust her hands forward. "Absolute Hexagon!" she called out.

A bright golden honeycomb barrier snapped into place. It formed a glowing dome over the girls. The infected mob slammed into the solid light. The golden shield vibrated wildly. Sayma groaned loudly. Sweat dripped down her chin.

"I cannot hold this shield for long," Sayma stated politely but urgently. "The kinetic force is too massive. They are cracking the hexagon structure. My mana is draining very fast."

Ira stood perfectly still. Her pale face showed zero emotion. She summoned two long water whips. She lashed the whips out. The high-pressure water wrapped around an infected noble's waist. Ira pulled backward. The noble did not fall over. He grabbed the water whip. He pulled back. The noble's enhanced strength overpowered the water mage. Ira stumbled forward. The water whip splashed onto the floor.

Luna rubbed her sleepy eyes. She pointed two fingers at the mob. "Zap," she mumbled lazily. A yellow lightning bolt struck a guard. The guard twitched slightly. He shook off the electricity and kept walking. Luna let out a massive yawn. "My lightning just tickled him. This is too much work."

Risa hid behind Princess Iris. The sweet pink-haired healer hugged her stuffed teddy bear tightly. She looked terrified. "The people look very scary. Their eyes are so red."

Princess Iris gripped her silver rapier. Her violet eyes searched the chaotic ballroom. She felt deeply worried. The blood magic was overwhelming her elite vanguard. The infected victims were ten times stronger than normal humans. They were indestructible.

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Underneath a large, overturned serving table, Ken Eliot watched the entire battle.

He sat comfortably on the floor. He wore his navy blue suit pants. His white dress shirt hung untucked. He did not wear a tie. His black hair stuck up in wild, messy spikes. He held a small silver plate in his hands. The plate was filled with tiny, fancy cheese cubes.

He popped a cheese cube into his mouth. He chewed it slowly. He looked bored.

"These cheese cubes are very dry," Ken complained lazily to himself. He picked up another piece of cheese. "Rich people do not know how to buy good snacks. This cheese tastes like old cardboard. I really miss the spicy noodles from the outer district."

Naomi crouched down next to the table for a split second. She smiled a very warm, bright smile. She playfully tapped his shoe. "Stay under there, Ken. Do not come out. The guards are going crazy."

Ken gave her a big, goofy grin. "I am not moving, Naomi. This table is a fantastic hiding spot. It has excellent legroom."

Naomi nodded and dashed back into the fight. She wanted to protect him. She wanted to keep him safe.

Ken swallowed his food. He leaned back against the table leg. He slumped his shoulders. His sleepy dark eyes stared at the chaotic ballroom. He watched the infected guards smash through the stone walls. He watched the infected nobles ignore the blazing fire.

He looked at General Vespera. He looked at the glowing glass flask in her hand. He watched the red mist swirling inside the glass.

Ken’s eyes narrowed just a tiny fraction of an inch. He stopped complaining about the cheese. He observed the battlefield with pure, flawless anime logic. His analytical brain processed the visual data instantly.

"This is a very annoying boss mechanic," Ken analyzed casually in his mind. He popped another cheese cube into his mouth. "The main villain applied a massive buff to the low-level mobs. The buff multiplied their physical stats by ten. That is why Laxmi's fire is not working. The bad guys have super armor now."

Ken looked closer at the red magic. He looked at the glowing red eyes of the infected citizens. He looked at the red mist flowing from Vespera's flask.

He noticed a very specific, highly unusual pattern.

"The magic is not coming from inside the victims," Ken realized lazily. He stared at the red veins bulging on a guard's neck. "The red magic is flowing externally. It looks like an invisible, wireless connection. The magic flows continuously from the glass flask directly into the puppets. It is a constant stream of dark energy."

Ken understood the situation perfectly. He knew how video game buffs worked.

"Vespera is acting like a massive router," Ken deduced in his head. He drooped his posture even more. "She is broadcasting a constant signal to her minions. The signal keeps their stats maxed out. As long as she holds that glowing flask, the minions will stay indestructible. They will never get tired. They will never stop fighting."

Ken let out a long, dramatic sigh. He stared at the ceiling.

"This is like that one sci-fi anime," Ken thought to himself. "The evil alien queen controls the drone swarm with a telepathic network. If you want to stop the drones, you do not shoot the drones. You just blow up the giant broadcast tower. It is a very basic strategy."

Ken knew the 13th Unit was struggling. He knew Sayma’s golden barrier was cracking. He knew Naomi was getting exhausted from dodging the massive, enhanced punches.

The girls were focusing all their attacks on the infected guards. They were wasting their mana on the indestructible puppets. They needed to ignore the puppets . They needed to target the glass flask. They needed to destroy the router.

"If they just smash that glowing bottle, the red magic will disconnect," Ken reasoned silently. "The buff will drop . The guards will turn back into normal, squishy humans. The boss fight will be over."