[The Last Command Post] The last Command Post. Varying in size from the others, this Command Post was three times larger than the others combined with twice the number of Ethisians Cherry had fought. Like Cherry’s, it too was a shipping dock with ships and vehicles moving in and out. Due to the weather, however, there wasn’t any ongoing activity, only guards patrolling the walls in case any suspicious activity took place. The Command Post had one large building that overlooked a vast mine underneath it. The building’s underneath center hoisted large lights that lit the mine tunnels. The lights only lit diagonally, so the miners were forced to look for materials to light the inner corners of the hundreds of tunnels that they were forced to work in. Aside from having to look for materials for themselves to work with, the miners had to struggle with the elements that made work difficult for them. The rains made the miners’ work grounds slippery, cold, and wet but none of that mattered to the Ethisians. They were only interested in harvesting every resource to use for themselves, regardless of the welfare of the minors. Now the mines were a series of tunnels that overlapped each other. Some were old and abandoned while others were newly dug upon discovering the resources lying in wait for them. Miners worked these tunnels with their hand tools, torches, and carts designed to carry the resources found. Keeping an eye on them were Ethisian soldiers who made sure to keep all the miners working, whether they wanted to do so or not. Meanwhile, three Granians and two Humans stumbled upon an old mineshaft’s entrance that led them inside the mines. The shaft was boarded, showing that it hadn’t been used in quite a while. Quickly, the Granian team led by Grim made their way inside with Ace and Cherry providing light with their Blood Fire Skill. Once inside, the humans witnessed the old remains of the resources being mined. Blue, glowing shards of what looked like beast crystals were scattered on the floors and in the walls although they were far much less than before. "These are energy sources that we use to power our ships, factories, and cities," One Horn gave the Humans a little background information on what they were looking at. "These little gem-like rocks can power on ships for a space of four human months if used properly. A larger one the size of my head can power a Mothership for the same time period. They can also be used to power our weapons if used carefully." "So is that what makes this planet special? Because the Command Post I took out was over a mine as well." Ace asked. "Many planets in our Galaxy are filled with this resource," Grim answered, "this planet, however, is able to recreate these resources unlike the others. It’s some sort of renewable mechanism that we have yet to fully understand hence the reason we need it back." "Are the other planets similar to this one?" "The other two planets we passed earlier are," Huntress answered. "They’re the only ones in the known galaxy that can do so. Well apart from the ones the Parsians possess but we do not know much about theirs." "You rarely speak of the Parsians, Grim," Ace sparked an interesting topic, hoping that he’d get a little more information about the Granians and their history. "Are the Parsians also enemies of the Ethisians and Granians?" "The Parsians choose to remain uninvolved with this War," the black-scaled Granian elaborated. "They keep to their side of the Galaxy and we keep to ours. They’ve never stepped foot out of their colonies to trade or even co-exist with us for reasons best known to themselves. Unlike us, they managed to get a hold of many colonies and are sustaining themselves. They have no need for outsiders to come in and trade, live, and mate with their kind. In simpler words, they shut themselves out from external influence and refuse to come out of it." "Will you make them do so IF you defeat the Ethisians?" "It isn’t a matter of IF we’ll defeat the Ethisians, boy," Grim mumbled, "we will defeat them. As for the Parsians, we have no business with them. Provided they stay out of our way, we’ll stay out of theirs. We have no business nor need for them and I doubt if we ever will." "We’re here." the Blood Mutants canceled their Blood Fire abilities and used the cover of darkness to spy on the miners. Where they had arrived had about thirty or so miners with eight Ethisians keeping guard. The Blood Mutants wanted to attack quickly and move in but Lord Grim stepped forward and handled the situation himself. "Comrades." he spoke, calmly walking within the tunnel walls with his tail swaying from side to side. The miners knew who he was for he was the same person that conquered them many years ago. As for the Ethisians, they drew their weapons and aimed at Grim while spitting commands for him not to move. "I come in peace. Drop your weapons down you have no need for them." "Grim, stand down or we will be forced to use force," they threatened while slowly inching away from him. The Granian took note of that and grinned, his emotionless eyes turning black with a pair of blue irises glowing. Shortly after, an aqua blue aura coated his body, making his movements lighter and quicker. "We said stand down, NOW!!" "Do not make us repeat ourselves Grani...." It was too fast. It was too quick. It all just kind of happened. Neither the Mutants nor the miners had seen how he had done it but he did it. In one second, Grim was about eight feet away from the Ethisians and in the next, he stood over their bodies whose heads were missing. they weren’t decapitated, nor slammed into their bodies. They were just gone; no trace of them left behind. ’Such speed,’ Cherry and Ace marveled, the cruel reminder of the strength difference between them and the Granian so evident that it nearly frightened them. ’I thought I was fast, but compared to him...I’m like a hare compared to a cheetah.’ ’And here I thought Ace was fast.’ Cherry gulped. ’He moved so quickly that my eyes weren’t able to keep up.’ Content orıginally comes from 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⁂𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱 Grim’s quick movement reminded Cherry of Ace’s own when he was facing the Ethisians. Unknown to her, the Blood Bishop wasn’t in control of his body but even then, his speed wasn’t as terrible as Lord Grim’s. "You seemed shocked, both of you." Huntress chuckled at the sight of the Humans who were marveling at her mate’s speed. "That was nothing but a light jog for Lord Grim. His speed is much higher than that." "What about you two?" Cherry taunted. "Are you as fast as Grim?" "No, but we’re faster than you," Huntress laughed. While Ace acidified the Ethisian bodies, Cherry calmed the miners guided them back to work, and bought their silence. As they did so, the Granians covered each tunnel and killed every Ethisian in sight. They moved quickly and quietly, drawing no attention to themselves in the process. With a little more strength in their attacks, the Granians caused the Ethisian bodies to implode upon contact, leaving no trace of their bodies apart from their blood. The Blood Mutants followed shortly after and collected said blood which would be used later on. A few minutes passed and Lord Grim along with Huntress, One Horn, Ace, and Cherry cleared the tunnels of all Ethisians. The miners watched in silence as their liberators made their way above the mines and landed where the rest of the Ethisians were. "Calling for backup is futile for them," Lord Grim spoke to the others, "their communicators can only send messages to the other Command Posts so you Mutants are free to kill as recklessly as your hearts desire." "I’m not so sure about that yet," Ace scowled, his eyes jumping from place to place as he searched for any Ethisian that stood out from the rest. His system warned him of a new Ethisian type so he was a little skeptical of killing recklessly. What if he stumbled on it and died? What if his sister did the same and died? It was just too risky to jump in without a plan given that there was a strong enemy waiting for them. "There’s a strong Ethisian here," he declared. "one that’s stronger than the others I’ve faced." "So the rumors are true," Grim sighed, hoping to never say the words he was about to utter. "the boy has learned Eneraflux and can even detect an entity’s strong presence. Handle the rest. I shall deal with it on my own. No matter what, do not confront it. Leave it to me." [Quest: Test your own strength and see how you compare with the new ranked Ethisian. This is not a reward-based quest but rather an assessment of your current strength.]