[Granian Mining Barracks.] The sounds of alarms and footsteps echoed in the Granian Mining Barracks as the Granian soldiers equipped themselves for battle. Having been caught off-guard, the soldiers rallied themselves out as the one in charge sent a distress signal asking for help. "We’re not going to receive help anytime soon," the leading Granian briefed his soldiers, each wearing heavy armor that was reinforced by Xenothium. The element’s component which allowed it to draw energy from any source created a perfect component that enabled their armor sets to provide them with sudden bursts of energy. "In fact, I doubt if any of us will still be alive by the time reinforcements arrive." "Then what will you have us to?" one of the soldiers asked as the others murmured with fear. "Do you plan on sending us to our deaths?" Updates are released by 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩•𝗳𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝕟𝕖𝕥 "No, I do not," the leader answered. "We have to get those shipments of Xenothium out of here to Planet Grania, they are what’s left of the Planet’s supply. We’ve managed to completely run it dry and if the enemy gets a hold of that metal, we have no knowledge of what it could do for them. Other than reinforce their weapons the same way it has done for us." "So, what do you want us to do?" "Distract them," he answered. "We shall hold off the Ethisian forces for as long as we can until those ships are out of here. Once that is done, scatter and hide within the planet’s inhabitants to save your lives." "How long will that take?" all the Granians looked at the pilots in charge of flying the ships to Planet Grania. After a quick estimation, it was discovered that it would take roughly ten minutes to get the ships out of the planet. "Ten minutes," the leader finalized. "That’s how long it will take for us. Ten minutes. We must withstand the Ethisians for ten minutes." Once the debriefing was over, the Granian soldiers, totaling three hundred in number, marched out of the barracks with a few remaining within the walls where they’d man the mounted cannons. Upon marching outside, the Granians discovered that there weren’t as many forces as they expected. In fact, there was only a single Ethisian outside ready to face them all. ’It cannot be,’ the Granian in charge sighed heavily as his eyes looked at the Ethisian called the ’Commander’ by its comrades. A great sense of fear overwhelmed him to the point where he nearly opted to run back. "TELL THOSE PILOTS TO HURRY UP," he shouted. "MOUNTED UNITS, FIRE IMMEDIATELY NOW!!!" As soon as his command was given, those manning the mounted cannons opened heavy fire at the ’Commander’. The Ethisian, bombarded by heavy cannon blasts, shielded its body by turning around and allowing the thick scales on its back to absorb every blast. For about three whole minutes, heavy shots were fired at the Ethisian until the cannons began to overheat, causing the Mounted Units to stop for a moment. "Is it dead?" a Granian standing next to the leader questioned as he tried looking through the thick dust cloud caused by the constant cannon blasts. "N-no," the leader responded with a shudder under his breath. "That’s a high-level Ethisian. One that’s at the same strength level as Lord Grim. We stand no chance against it." "Then this is a death wish for us," the Granian started to shake in fear as well. "Lord Grim can take on half an entire army on his own. That thing is bigger and as strong as him. Imagine what it will do to us. We have to get away from...." "Shhh, I see movements." Shortly after, the dust cloud started to clear out, giving the Granians a chance to see whether their enemy was killed or not. To their shock, no bodily remains were left behind, not even a trace of the Ethisian’s weapon. At first, the Granian soldiers thought that their weapons had vaporized their enemy completely. However..... The eerie screams of Granian soldiers, followed by the sudden splashes of green blood filled the atmosphere as the ’Commander’ slashed away at the soldiers. Moving at an incredible speed that would most certainly rival the Blood Mutants, the Ethisian stomped, slaughtered, ripped apart, slammed, and sliced the Granians quickly and swiftly without having any challenges. Those with weapons fired recklessly, hoping that their shots would deal some damage. To their dismay, their weapons had no effect on the Ethisian’s hardened body and as a result, they paid for their lack of knowledge with their lives. "FIRE THOSE CANNONS, NOW!!!!" The leader shouted with tears of despair forming in his eyes. Their only hope, the Manned Units, were slowly dealt with one at a time by the ’Commander’ who was running through the cannons with his large body breaking them apart. The few surviving Granians ran within the walls of the Barracks and changed their attention from stopping the Ethisian to getting the shipments of Xenothium out of the planet. "MOVE, MOVE, MOVE, QUICKLY," The leader shouted once more as the few hundred soldiers carried every last box/crate into the ships that were ready to go. "I’LL HOLD HIM OFF FOR AS LONG AS I CAN. JUST HURRY." With his hands shaking, the Granian dropped his gun and picked up a dual-bladed sword similar to the Ethisians. Then, after mastering all the courage in his body, the Granian approached the Ethisian who had just finished killing the last of the Mounted Units and their cannon. "Put the weapon down, Granian." The ’Commander’ grunted with an amused smirk on its scaly face. With green blood splattered on its body, the eight-foot-tall giant stood over the Granian, making it even more frightened than it already was. "Surrender now, give us the Xenothium and we shall spare your lives." "L-lies," the Granian shouted back with a little squeak in its voice. "We know you, Ethisians. You do not...k-keep your word. You lie. You lie, steal, and destroy everything in your path just to get what you want." With its chest puffed up and its body overcome by a new sense of bravery, the Granian stood its ground and said, "You will not lay a finger on that shipment." Amused but at the same time irritated by the Granian’s speech, the Ethisian picked up its sword and pointed it at the Granian saying, "When this enters your body, do not say I never gave you a chance." In an instant, the Ethisian ran towards the Granian with its sword aimed at its head. The Granian bent its knees at the last moment and ducked, narrowly missing the opportunity for it to lose its head. With a swing of its tail, the Granian catapulted its body upwards and got on the same level as the Ethisian’s head. Immediately, the Granian swung its sword at the Granian’s neck but barely left anything more than a scratch. Still, the Granian wasn’t going to give up just yet. Given its smaller body, the Granian had an agility advantage that enabled it to move around swiftly. With its sword still grasped in its hands, the Granian ran and slid under the Ethisian’s feet, stood up, and faced its front side. In an instant, the Granian shoved its sword as hard as it could and watched it slide across the Ethisian’s chest as if it were a toothpick trying to pierce a boulder. The Granian, overshadowed by the Ethisian, watched as the behemoth slowly picked up the Granian’s sword and bent it with its fingers. Then, it slowly raised its hand and grabbed the Granian by its head, slowly raising it to the same level as its eyes. "Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance," the ’Commander’ grunted as he quickly pierced the tip of his sword into the Granian’s chest. Green blood flowed out of the Granian’s mouth as its eyes locked with the ’Commander’s’. The longer it looked, the deeper the ’Commander’ thrust his blade into its body. Suddenly, the Ethisian’s body started to glow a faint white color with its eyes turning completely white. The energy within its body dispersed into the Granians’ and slowly sucked every essence out of it, killing it slower and more painful. "You should have surrendered when you had the chance." With one last push, the ’Commander’ thrust the rest of its blade through the Granian’s body and sucked it dry of all its energy, leaving behind a wounded husk devoid of life energy. Meanwhile, the ships carrying the Xenothium began to depart with the rest of the Granian soldiers on board. The ’Commander’, having noticed this, simply raised his sword as a signal to his soldiers in the Ethisian Mothership. Once the signal was given, a single canyon dropped from the Ethisian ship and destroyed the Granian shipments of Xenothium. This final action rendered the Planet under Ethisian control and also initiated the very first conflict that sparked a war between the Ethisians and the Granians. "Our goal here is done," ’Commander’ mumbled. "We move to the next planet."