[Level 100: 617/780>>>>Level 102:617/790] [All Stats have been increased by two points] With the help of his Blood Warriors, Ace took down two of the remaining seven Elite Ethisians, leaving him with only five more to go. However, sixteen more Ethisians, who were previously after Cherry, added on to the other five which put pressure on the Blood Bishop. He had to watch for himself while at the same time making sure not to get injured, not let his energy run too low, and keep his eye on his Blood Mana Levels which were decreasing at a worrisome pace. [Blood Mana: 16,029/32,000] Ace got overwhelmed. All around him were other Ethisians who were in the Grand Warrior class, meaning that they too were giving the Granians a harder time to deal with. In addition to that, there was a lingering eerie feeling that he couldn’t help shake off. It felt as though something much stronger was waiting for him to grow weaker before it struck, making him overthink while he fought which resulted in; [Your arms have been fractured.] At that moment, the Blood Bishop used his strength to absorb an incoming attack from an Ethisian which swung its weapon at his head. As soon as he saw the attack coming, he raised his hands and met the weapon in the middle, stopping it before it got to his head. [Your Blood Harvest Gauntlets are getting damaged: To fix them, deposit ten liters of your own blood] ’Ten liters?’ under the weight of the Ethisian’s weapon, the Blood Bishop argued, upset that it required so much to fix the weapons even though all they had gotten was a little crack. If the system told him it would take ten liters to fix a simple crack, he wondered how much it would take to fix a larger chip, or worse, an entire gauntlet. There was the option of buying another set, but his system hadn’t been giving him anymore ever since the one hundred Blood Coins he received a while ago. "Screw this," Ace complained, using all his might to push away the hammer. As soon as he did so, another came from behind and stomped on his leg, breaking it so badly that his femur penetrated through his flesh. [You’re suffering a Compound Fracture. Your body will begin healing.] "AAARGHH!!" Grinding his teeth through the pain, Ace glared at the other attacking Elite and engulfed its body with a gush of blood, pushing it a few steps away from him. The former returned with another swing to his head and was met by the same gush of blood which sent its body a few steps away as well. With his leg steal healing, Ace was exposed and weakened, and that was seen clearly by the Elites who made sure to exploit it to their advantage. One Elite kicked the Mutant, another slammed its body with its fists, and another came from the back, thrusting Ace’s body a few feet high in the air, slamming him with great force that it fractured his ribs and spine. This torture on his body resulted in a tremendous reduction of his health points which consumed a lot of energy to heal. [You have suffered many broken bones.] [-105 Energy Points to heal] [Energy: 251/590] Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✶𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✶𝕟𝕖𝕥 Beaten, Ace was left motionless on the icy surface, the harsh, cold winds making his bones ache while his body healed. It had been a while since he was beaten to that extent so he needed some time to readjust and get used to it. After all, he was used to beatings slightly similar to these ever since he was a child, except they never resulted in so many bones being broken at once. [Your body has recuperated] [Your Energy is running low.] [Your Health is running low.] [Blood Mana: 16,029/32,000<<<<15,456/32,000] *HUFF* ’Looks like I still need to train these damned clones,’ Ace complained, disappointed in the way his Warriors were fighting. All they had were powerful strikes and tough bodies but that was it. No fighting styles, no specific techniques in the way they used their weapons, and no defensive measures to use whenever in battle. Even at that very moment, he witnessed one of them take a hit to its skull head-on, not bothering to at least dodge or raise its weapon to deflect. [Blood Mana:15,390/32,000] ’No survival instinct whatsoever.’ "Return." The Blood Warriors returned to his wrist in the form of a tiny blood spec, leaving only Ace on the battlefield. He didn’t know where his sister was, he didn’t know where Skyler was since her beastly self wasn’t in the air anymore, and he didn’t know any Granian strong enough to help him. He was on his own and if he wanted to leave and live, he needed to get rid of the Elites, all twenty-one of them that surrounded him. "All you’re good at is controlling blood, but you lack vision in the way you fight," one taunted, grabbing the Blood Bishop by his hair. It brought him closer to its face, its warm, rancid breath burning his nostril hairs, nearly making him hurl. "You’re like a new soldier given a large set of armor and the strongest weapon on all planets and yet you lack the knowledge and experience on how to use them." In agreement with what the Ethisian taunted, Ace’s system brought an interesting offer, one it knew he wouldn’t be able to refuse. This was one of those Chapters in his life where his system would act like it was sentient, exhibiting signs of consciousness that sometimes made Ace wonder just how much coding the Granians put into it and what sort of Artificial Intelligence Algorithm it used. [The System senses a Host and has provided a solution.] [The Host {Vorathrax} wishes to have dual control with you over your body. This is one of the rewards for surpassing the One Hundredth level.] ’Well, would you look at that,’ a sense of relief, accented by a wry smile, etched its way on the young man’s battered and exhausted face. The words of the Elite Ethisian, and the first one he killed with the Pulse Breaker Skill reverberated in his mind, reminding him of how weak he was compared to the other two Mutants the Ethisians possessed, ’allegedly’. Ever since he learned of that, he had been pushing himself to grow stronger but he clearly wasn’t growing fast enough. With each new challenge came a new reward and character development for him even though it didn’t amount to anything that significant when faced with a life-or-death situation. When the Blood Mutant was still in the early stages of having the system, he thought that by the time he’d get to the one-hundredth level, he’d be next to invincible, having the strength to take down kingdoms and colonies. Sadly, it had been proven that he could only do that against enemies that were no match for him and yet that wasn’t what he desired. He wished to be stronger than those who considered themselves to be on his level; strong enough that his system wouldn’t give him quests with conditions anymore. He wanted to become the absolute Blood Mutant, the strongest and most feared of them all. Well, luckily since he wasn’t, he had made a deal with the person that held that title, and even more lucky for him, that person wished to take control. {Wise Choice} The menacing words of Vorathrax, the Blood Mutant God, knocked Ace out in an instant, robbing him of the opportunity to view what was going to happen but that didn’t mean others weren’t going to see it. "What’s wrong with it? Has it died already? Try shaking it." "Enough of that nonsense," twenty-one Elite Ethisians surrounding the Mutant eventually grew bored, one already carrying him by his hair. They had expected more of a fight but to their avail, there was nothing that resulted from their battle other than having lost three of their own. Shaking Ace violently in hopes of waking him up didn’t work either so the Elites carried him, and their weapons, and returned to their Command Post Base. Well in actuality, a few decided to return with Ace in their possession while the rest remained behind, assisting their comrades in battle. The fight had changed its tide. One of the few entities capable of ensuring Granian victory was now under Ethisian possession. Those who grew fond of Ace watched in horror, fearing that if he was kept alive, they would one day meet him again but not as an ally. "We’ve lost another one!!" Chris, watching from a safe distance, started to cry for he knew the punishment his superiors would bestow on him. Aside from that, they, the Granians, had lost yet another Blood Mutant, more specifically the strongest that they had. Even worse, he had the system, another set of Granian technology that would destroy them if the Ethisians learned how to control it. "Fall...fall back..." the orders were given, defeat was accepted, and death for most was evaded. They lost this short and it had barely begun. "FALL BACK, NOW!!" All soldiers, male and female, belonging to the Granian Army retreated, giving the Ethisians a sense of victory. Seeing their enemies run in fear boosted their pride and ego, creating a cause for celebration. Among those who heard of Ace’s capture was Skyler who desperately tried to get him back. She ran after the Elites, and fought furiously with all her might but just like the Blood Bishop, she was overwhelmed, outnumbered, and eventually knocked down. The difference was that she wasn’t captured but rather saved by Chris who couldn’t risk losing another Human soldier. "Let’s go. We’ve lost this battle," he cried while Skyler fought, desperately desiring to save the Blood Bishop. "if his sister was well, we would stand a chance. None of us can win and you know that!!" "Let me go!!" Skyler cried as well. Unlike Chris who cried out of fear, she cried because she watched the one friend she made on Earth get taken by their enemies. "I have to save him...I have to save him. Pleeeaase....." "I’m sorry. And I’m sorry for this as well." Chris apologized and manhandled the Human, having had other Granians hold her down and carry her to the ships.