"So many creepy-looking things," Cherry, Skyler, and Huntress made their way through the northern side toward the planet’s main Headquarters. At the moment, the three of them walked through a marketplace, similar to the ones back on Earth. The stalls varied in size, structure, shape, and had all sorts of merchants selling weird antiquities. Some of them looked similar to the materialistic items back on Earth, while the rest were completely new and bizarre. To keep themselves concealed, Huntress and Cherry covered themselves in large brown cloaks. Skyler, who was partially transformed, was able to blend in with the life forms they were moving past. "Whatever you do, do not speak with these beings," Huntress addressed the two humans following her. "Your chips can only translate the Granian language and allow you to communicate with us. They will not be able to help you speak with these beings, so do not bother trying." "What if they approach us?" Skyler asked. "What do we do then?" "Leave it to me, understood?" As the three advanced deeper into the marketplace, it started to become more crowded as the streets became narrower. The creatures’ numbers didn’t decrease as they advanced, causing them to wonder what it was that attracted them. Whether it was the trading or some tourist attraction, it still wasn’t clear to the two humans. Either way, they still had to advance forward with the mission while making sure to be as subtle as possible to maintain the element of surprise. "This is Huntress. We’re making our way into the Headquarters’ outskirts..." Huntress gave an update while they stood at the edge of the market. Before them was a large and wide stretch of a colossal metropolis that had a resemblance to an empire. The buildings were grand and built with materials similar to what wasps, bees, and hornets used. Outside were ships and hovercrafts, each designed to fit the specific needs of whoever they were purchased for. At the furthest point was the tallest building, which was going to be their final destination. "...do we have permission to approach quietly, my Lord?" She asked, awaiting confirmation from Grim. "Granted. Proceed with caution as well," Grim notified. "It seems some Ethisians are still around." Not wanting to risk any chances, the Granian warrior ordered his special fleets to remain on standby, for they deduced that anything could happen without warning. "Let’s move in. Stay quiet and just follow, understood?" Huntress asked and then moved forward, not waiting for the humans’ responses. Walking at a moderate pace, Huntress, Cherry, and Skyler were able to make their way into the metropolis and covered a great amount of distance between them and their destination. While making their way through, the two young women studied the diversity the metropolis had. Those who built it did so to make sure that almost everyone could have access to the basic necessities. "Did the Granians create this planet?" Cherry asked, seeing a couple of ingenuity that resembled what the Granians possessed. "Were you the original builders of this city?" "Yes, we were," Huntress answered, although this time, she wasn’t as giddy as she was in the ship. In fact, ever since they landed, she had been awfully quiet and terribly serious. As much as the two young women were pleased she wasn’t chattering about, they were also shocked about how quickly she was able to change her mood and focus. "That’s the reason we want it back. It took us a very long time to build. If we put it in your human time range, it would be about six hundred and fifty years." "Six hundred and fifty?" Skyler wondered, shocked by the time comparison. "Were Grim and that Grand Master guy a part of the committee that built this?" "No. Our Lord Grania spearheaded the building of this great city. It was a way of him showing the other species that we Granians are not as violent as some make it out to be. However, after the Ethisians stole it from us, things have been terribly challenging for us. The biggest reason we’re even here in the first place is so that we may retrieve it for Lord Grania. He put Grand Master and Lord Grim under a lot of pressure to do so." "If you don’t do it, what happens?" "We don’t go home," Huntress quickly answered as she motioned for Skyler and Cherry to go silent. "Lord Grim, we have a problem. There are Ethisians surrounding the building. A large number of them, to be exact." "Same thing here for us," One Horn, who was listening in on the communication, announced as he and Jim stood at a safe point. They too were concealed in long cloaks that prevented them from standing out. "I count ten in total, and it’s the high-tiered ones." "Understood. It is time to initiate the second Plan," Grim answered as he saw the same thing as the others. With Ace and Anya behind him, he had no choice but to initiate the other part of the plan. The plan he so desperately wished not to take part in but seeing he had no choice, it had to be done, whether he liked it or not. Turning over to Anya and Ace, Grim gave them the signal to go through with their part of the plan. [Transformation: Activated.] [Your Symbiote is at its peak. Use this moment to inflict as much damage as possible. This will also strengthen your overall energy and provide excellent results.] Google seaʀᴄh 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝔫𝔢𝔱 Ace and Anya transformed and slowly made their way to the Ethisians. While doing so, Ace’s heart started beating much faster for the Ethisians before him were completely different from the ones they used as practice dummies. The Ethisians were slightly larger than the clones, their bodies were more dense and heavily protected with thick scales. There were no soft parts on their bodies, meaning that the two blood mutants were going to have to become creative with their attacks if they wanted to inflict damage on their enemy. "There’s ten of them ahead of us," Ace said to Anya, who patiently listened. "We can either deal with them together at once, or we can separate them from each other and take them out, one at a time." "I’d rather go with the former," Anya responded. "Those things look like tanks. Where do you think is their weak point?" "Let me check," Ace answered as he used his system scan skill on the Ethisians. [System Scan Skill Level 2: Activated.] {Species Name: Ethisians.] {Strengths: Increased natural body protection. Immense strength.} {Weaknesses: Reduced mobility and agility due to their large mass. Short-ranged eyesight.} ’Just like the Haras. They can’t move as fast. Still, we have to be careful with them.’ "They’re massive, meaning they have a lot of strength in their attacks. However, that large size comes with a disadvantage..." "They’re slow," Anya answered. "So if we are fast enough, we’ll be able to keep up with them, right?" "Correct. Another thing I should add, they have short-range eyesight. They cannot see very far. It’s no use, though. Long-ranged attacks cannot do anything to their armor. If we want to destroy these things, we’ll have to get close and use moves that inflict internal damage. Do you know how to coagulate blood?" [Planet Modeefr Headquarters.] [Status: Quiet...for now.] Forty Ethisian soldiers, each equipped with massive cannon-like weapons in their hands, guarded the four sides of the massive building that acted as the Headquarters of the planet. According to the ’galactic law,’ if anyone wished to conquer a planet in the least brutal way possible, they would simply have to take control of the Headquarters within the planet. This law applied to every planet in the Akrina Galaxy. At the moment, the Ethisians were standing in a straight line on all four sides, each being as vigilant as possible. This was a routine they followed religiously and they dared not to defy it. "Contact," one Ethisian spoke while a scowl developed on its scaly face. "Granian ahead of us." As soon as the word Granian was mentioned, the Ethisians aimed their guns at it. The specific Granian was Lord Grim, who was approaching them with his sword gripped in his hand. The Granian’s presence, accompanied by his dramatic walk, made the Ethisians grow weary for they knew who Grim was. "Lord Grim of the Granians. Notify the..." the Ethisian that was speaking was silenced immediately by a blood spike that went through its mouth. Even though the spike didn’t cause any damage, it was enough to send a terrifying message. "A blood projectile?" Another wondered while the one that was attacked removed the projectile from its mouth. "There’s only one species that can create such a weapon." *ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAR* The loud, shrilling scream of blood mutants echoed in the ears of the Ethisians, causing all of them to grow faint. There was a great reason the Ethisians feared Blood Mutants, but there was also a reason they fought to have their own. Unfortunately, they weren’t there. "THE GRANIANS HAVE RETURNED WITH A BLOOD MUTANT OF THEIR OWN."