A rift and breakage of the icy surface occurred with massive scaled Blood Spikes protruding from the ground upward. The Blood Spikes contained a mixture of Ethisian and Granian Blood, protruding and impaling Ethisian bodies on a much larger scale than any of the other Blood Mutants had ever done. A new fear befell the Ethisians, their eyes laying witness to the ravaged bodies of their fallen comrades. It was a painful sight to behold and what made it worse was that all of those that were impaled were still alive, breathing normally with winces of pain and grunts for help calling out so desperately. Their bodies surely were impaled, but no blood was being drained from them just yet. The Blood Bishop added some special component to the Blood Spikes which acted as a clotting agent to them. If they were to move their bodies forward or further, they would surely bleed to death. Eronis, Commander, and the remaining Ethisian soldiers watched as the Blood Bishop walked through the thick maze of Blood Spikes, moving as effortlessly and carefree as one could be. Its terrifying body, large size, and horrifying features silenced the faint of heart, and even those who considered themselves brave were humbled, choosing to keep their mouths shut and kill the bastard before it killed them. "Ethisians," Eronis called out again, breaking the formation they had taken earlier. It was of no use now. The enemy before them was too strong for them to ’collectively’ band together and defeat. If they wanted to kill it, they needed to strike together with the strongest moves they possessed. The question remained lingering in their minds. Did they have what it takes to defeat a Blood bishop exhibiting the powers of a premature Blood God? Or would they become his unfortunate victims, like the ones watching from the spikes above them? "Stand firm, hold your ground. This enemy will kill you first if you hesitate," she spoke while gripping her weapon. Commander stood next to her with a calculative expression on his face, judging the outcome of whatever move he’d attempt. As all of this happened, the Blood Bishop took one step at a time, moving slowly and calmly to build suspense. "Hit it with everything you possess. We mustn’t lose this planet to the Granians." The fight commenced with the Ethisians charging at the Blood Bishop, Commander, and Eronis taking the lead. The two higher-ranked Ethisians, followed by a few remaining Elite Ethisians, all moved in unison, charging at jaw-breaking speed. The Blood Bishop stopped walking, his eyes focused on the enemies approaching him. He watched, patiently waiting for them to approach. Meanwhile, the other Ethisians got to work, setting a trap for the Blood Mutant. Others quickly chopped some of the Blood Spikes and turned them into their own weapons while others set them down in the form of spikes, covering them with ice and snow as a booby trap. Once finished, they joined the fight, keeping their wits high, spirits higher, and fighting strength at their peak. A shockwave so grand shattered the weaker Blood Spikes, coming from the Blood Bishop’s body taking hits from the two higher-ranked Ethisians. The Elites inched closer, each thrusting their weapons. Some came from the front, others from the back and sides, and others came from the top, each with their weapons in front of their bodies with the intention of penetrating them through the Blood Bishop. Once more, all Ethisians hit the Blood Bishop, their weapons hitting its body even though it stood still. Eronis and Commander gave their all, both forcing as much as they could to pierce the Blood Bishop. Fists didn’t work, kicks didn’t work, and neither did random fighting styles. The others joined, moving at meticulous attack speeds. However, their efforts drained their energy slowly; the same could not be said about the Blood Bishop. Throughout the entire ordeal, he remained calm, his body standing stall among the towering Ethisians. Some who noticed this bailed. They knew what type of enemy he was. One that was hit but didn’t take them head-on. One that was hit but faced no damage. One that was hit but remained unphased. One that was hit but was yet to retaliate. How frightening. Could it get any worse? Fighting an enemy with everything you had and yet they weren’t showing any signs of taking damage? No, it wasn’t worth it but they had no choice. ’It’s not moving at all,’ Commander noticed as he transfigured his staff into a spear of sorts. Its sides were reinforced with teeth designed to damage flesh and crush bone. ’My weapon’s not making any contact with its body. How is this possible?’ Upon close inspection, Commander noticed the Blood Bishop’s body remaining still with weapons "piercing" its body. However, when he looked closer at the weapons, he noticed all of them hovering at only inches above the Blood Bishop. It was as if they were hitting nothing but a barrier of sorts. Commander attempted once more. Instead of stopping when his weapon made the banging noise, he kept pushing and that’s when he saw it or rather felt it. They didn’t hit any barrier of sorts. Instead, their bodies were the ones defying them. If the weapons got close enough, their arms and legs remained still, no longer capable of moving forward. This was the "barrier" the Blood Bishop created. If the Ethisians got within his range, he manipulated their blood to freeze in place, keeping their muscles from moving any further. ’So that’s how it has been doing it!’ he realized and fell back. Raising his hand, they all stepped away from the Blood Bishop who remained oddly quiet. Too quiet for comfort and too calm for one’s liking. "What do we?" one Elite questioned. Out of breath, its body core heating, and its scales partially frozen with ice molecules forming, it had to worry about its environment too. "Everyone, drop your weapons," it finally spoke, the five voices rocking their bodies. Some were brought to the ground with an overwhelming pressure consuming them. Others fell to their knees with their eyes rolling back. "You won’t be able to touch me with those things. Please, by all means, use your hands. I hear Ethisians are strong. Show me that strength!!" The Ethisians reluctantly obeyed the Blood Bishop and dropped their weapons. Together, they started to flex their bodies, moving their arms, legs, chests, fingers, and lower bodies to ’loosen them up’ for battle. Others made their scales stand fully erect and as for the Elites, their bodies grew swollen, immensely swollen. Swollen with muscles laying on muscles laying on muscles. Some of them had their scales fall off and got replaced with newer, tougher, and more durable ones that glinted under the planet’s dim sun. "Very good," the Blood Bishop smiled, its heart content that it was going to witness the Ethisians at their strongest. It got fed up with seeing them use weapons that weren’t effective but having the chance to fight fist-on-fist suited it much better. "I don’t ," Eronis’ body quivered with fear and caution. Out of all the Ethisians, she was the only one still holding onto her weapon. Commander took note of that and broke his staff into two, placing both of them in the compartments of the scales on his back. He felt he’d need them soon enough. "Me neither," Commander whispered, opting to go with the safest way forward. "Let us let the Elites tire it. Then we shall move in and kill it when it is exhausted." "But the Elites," she worried. "do you not care about them?" ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⚫𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖⚫𝕟𝕖𝕥 "Only the strong will survive. I only care about the strong and if they survive, we will escape with them. The weaker ones will be of no use to us." *ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOARRRR* *SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEECH* The Elites, Grand Warrior Class, and Blood Bishop roared together, followed by another shockwave of energy bursting forth. The Blood Bishop vanished. In a blink of an eye its body was no more, and so were over ten Ethisians. The others moved at a safer distance, Commander and Eronis being the only ones capable of keeping up with its speed. They looked around and saw the Blood Bishop in the air. Around it were the bodies of Ethisians fighting...in mid-air. Their bodies were thrust so quickly that they had no time to react. Just fighting was what was on their minds. *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* In mid-air, the Blood Bishop spun, kicked, and impaled the Ethisians with tendrils protruding through their bodies but it didn’t kill them just yet. It rather chose to keep them alive for now. In the glint of an eye, the ten Ethisian bodies crashed into the ground like meteors falling from the sky. Their bodies decimated with pink flames consuming them...but they weren’t killed yet. The Blood Bishop kept their delicate internal organs intact, padding them with a safety cushion of blood just to keep them alive long enough to witness its power. It then landed on the ground and sprinted for the next batch, its tendrils moving eerily as it. Immediately, one of the Elites stood before the Blood Bishop. One arm raised with the air supporting its body’s motion. "HYAHHHH!!" A cloud of ice and snow rose, an aftershock rocking the ground on which they stood. Everyone looked in shock, thinking the bulky hulk-like Ethisian did the job. To their dismay, it was the other way round. The Blood Bishop engulfed the Ethisian with a sticky web of blood surrounding its body. Its mouth, nose, and eyes were penetrated with tentacles of wiggling blood consuming its blood system, taking over every vein, artery, and capillary. "My soldier," the Blood Bishop spoke, church patting the Ethisian’s head. "Fight with me, shall we?" With an eerie smile that revealed all of its teeth, the Blood Bishop laughed and the others charged in all at once but nothing prepared them for what was going to happen next.