[Ethisian Command Post.] Within the Ethisian battle fronts were hundreds of thousands of soldiers preparing themselves for battle. The specific troop consisted of Grand Warrior Ethisian Warriors who were the majority. The last time the Mutants fought them was difficult, being more challenging than a walk in the park. However, when they last fought those in that grade, they weren’t as strong and experienced as they are now. Still, the same could not be said for the Granian troops who had a large number of young soldiers, most not having the experience of War, to begin with. Following the Grand Warrior Class was another rank of Ethisian, one that neither of the Mutants had encountered before. This new class varied in terms of body size and appearance, having a slightly wider frame with ashen gray scales, unlike regular Ethisians with brown scales. Aside from that, these Ethisians had clear white eyes. It was almost as though they were blind. Dwelling among the New Ranking Ethisians was another one who was several ranks above them. Like Lord Grim compared to the ordinary Granian, this one Ethisian stood out in terms of appearance, strength, and rank, not just in terms of its biological makeup but also its rank of leadership. Commander, the Ethisian that singlehandedly retrieved a planet by itself, was present on the same planet Ace and the others were. His name, matching with his rank, commanded respect and blind obedience from his subordinate soldiers. If neither saw it right to follow his commands, they would end up executed on the spot or face even harsher consequences. "One of the colony planets has been retrieved by the Granians," a report was given to the commander from a surviving Ethisian who miraculously managed to escape from the Planet Jim and Anya were leaving at the moment. Wounded and in terrible condition, the Ethisian knelt before the Commander and the other higher-ranked Ethisians, obediently giving an update while fearing for its life. "It is unfortunate we cannot make communication in this area since we haven’t established any of our satellites around but if there was a way, I would have informed all of you sooner...." "Silence, soldier," the Commander spoke and the Ethisians listened. For a moment, there was silence in the room, no one daring to speak at this moment. "So the rumors are true...the Granians went and retrieved more Humans to create Blood Mutants. They went against the Council’s orders and did such a heinous act. How interesting." Dwelling in his thoughts again, the Commander pondered long and hard on what next to do. He could send more troops to guard the Planet, or he could inform those on the Ethisian Planet about the incoming threat of Humans turned Blood Mutants. "Did anything happen to the Blood Mutant Clone that escorted your team?" "I do not know," the Ethisian replied, feeling as though it would lose its life for giving the wrong answer. "I left too quickly to notice it in action but I saw the Granian ships leave a few moments later...so it must imply that...." "They killed the Clone...saddening yet expected." One of the gray-scaled Ethisians spoke, "it seems their Mutants are quite strong. Not stronger than ours but if they’re able to take out our clones then they must be strong to a certain degree." "You are right," the Commander snapped his fingers and then sat in a meditative position. Legs crossed and hands arched on his thighs with his elbows pointing upwards, the Ethisian remained in deep thought again, still slightly disturbed but interested in the Granian Blood Mutants. "What shall we do if we encounter them? Kill them or let our Mutants do that for us?" "It’s in the best interest we let our Mutants kill them," another gray-scaled Ethisian advised, thinking on a more logical side with a bit of empathy, "we have deprived them of Human contact for many years. It would be best that they encounter more species of their kind." "Who knows," another pitched in, "they might be able to convince them to join us. Humans are impressionable and the stronger ones influence the weaker ones easily." "True," a deep sigh left the Commander’s mouth and then he subsided into another episode of deep thinking, a trait he was known for. "but...we could let the two Mutants deal with the Granian’s trash but there’s still the issue about them killing our troops. We cannot let the Granians run around with those Mutants killing our people. I would say we let our Mutants fight them now but we haven’t gotten any information on whether they would fight or not..." "It is quite confusing," another Ethisian, similar to the Commander in terms of biological makeup and ranks appeared but it was female. "the Mutants are too strong for us to command anymore. They said to our leaders that they will only join the War when they see it fit." "Do they know about the Granians and their Mutants?" the Commander inquired, hoping for a satisfying answer to ease his overthinking mind. Sadly, he didn’t get what he hoped for, bringing him back into his overthinking episodes once more. "While Commander thinks, I will take charge for a moment," the Female Ethisian continued. "I, Eronis, will be second in command to Commander. As we speak, a larger troop of Granians approaches us. They killed the raiding troops so they’re hoping to wipe us out too." "Do they know of your presence?" just as one of the gray-scaled Ethisians asked, Commander interrupted with a warning, pointing out a disturbing occurrence. Follow current novels on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾※𝙣𝙚𝙩 "An Eneraflux user is with them," he mumbled, eyes closed with his body consumed in Eneraflux. "I can feel them. They’re quite strong, even though their power is quite thin. They could be a learner but their energy is both raw and incredible...." With the way the Commander cut his sentence, Eronis figured he felt something else and wondered what exactly it was. Waiting patiently, she and the others remained quiet until Commander spoke once more. "There’s another presence with them...a...a...malevolent one..." a deep scowl developed on his scaly face with the flow of his energy growing violent. "I cannot tell what species it is but I feel a malevolent force moving with them...." "The Granians are giving their troops Eneraflux knowledge?" Eronis wondered. Throughout the Akrina Galaxy and beyond, Eneraflux was a skill only a certain demographic fell under. That included the incredibly wealthy planet-owning individuals, powerful rulers of nations, colonies, and stars, and strong warriors belonging to strong races/groups. It was quite strange for the Ethisians to learn of a low-grade Granian possessing Eneraflux even though it was a gate-kept skill. "It doesn’t feel Granian," the Commander refuted and then his scowl grew thicker. In as much as he wanted to know what he was going to fight, he couldn’t sense it perfectly given the malevolent energy following. In the end, he decided to take a look himself instead of just sitting and crossing his legs. "Send the troops now. They’re strong enough to handle the Granians on their own," as soon as the command was given, the Ethisians separated into their respective groups and prepared for an attack against their enemies. "For a group of simple clones, they certainly have managed to increase and evolve," Eronis admitted before leading the Ethisians to battle. The other gray-scaled Granians, totaling eighty, remained behind with a few other Ethisians and Commander, guarding the precious loot and minerals they managed to steal and mine. "I sense movement...." "Me too," Ace and Skyler, the two individuals on the Granian’s side with the ability to feel their enemies move without looking at them warned the Granians who had also set up an attack command post. At this point in time, the other Granian troops called to provide help arrived in large numbers, increasing their ratio to 5:3. With almost twice the number of the Ethisian troops, the Granians hoped and prayed that they would win. "They’re quite some strong Ethisians present," Skyler continued to provide as much insight as she possibly could to help prepare the Granians properly. "there’s also an Eneraflux user and.....and...." "And what?" Cherry asked but got no response. Shaking Skyler’s head, she kept asking until she got a response like a little child. "And what?" "They’re nearly as strong as Grim...maybe even stronger..." Skyler’s eyes widened in horror. The Commander’s Eneraflux energy was far greater than her own, surpassing her by wide milestones. For her to catch up would take lengthy amounts of time which she didn’t have. "...we’ll have to send as many troops to deal with them before we intervene. Maybe create a diversion that’ll waste as much of their energy as possible..." "Don’t worry about that," Chris reassured the Mutants, acting oddly calm and collected in a situation such as this one. Behind him were five pairs of turrets, each having over twenty-foot-long barrels. Shaped like tanks, the turrets acted as armor-piercing tools designed to take down anything they were targeted on. "This will deal with those Ethisians." "And so will we," one of the Commanding Granians approached the Mutants, bowed gently, and then led the others to battle. The Ethisian’s Command Post gates opened and out came their enemy, ready to fight until the very end. [Quest: Attempt to defeat the Ethisian with your current strength by any means possible.]