[Location: The Void of Space] [Ethisian Ship fleet hovering above a colony cluster.] About twelve mid-sized ships, all led by one larger ship, found themselves at a standstill when the leading ship cut off all communications with them. The sudden silence caused an intense feeling of unease, brought about by the presence of a smaller scout ship. As soon as the smaller ship docked with the larger, all communication between it and the others was completely shut off, leaving them confused and worried, but not scared, as they did not expect something horrible to happen. Judging from the interactions with the Ethisian in charge of the larger ship, those in the other fleets understood him to be an uneasy person to deal with, so they concluded that this sudden silence was one of his impulsive thoughts manifesting. "What’s going on?" The arrogant Elite Ethisian’s eyes widened with fear, surprise, and paralyzing anxiety throbbing in his chest. Standing before him was someone they assumed to be dead, given that her partner couldn’t stop proclaiming it throughout their ranks. Now here she was, her skin looking almost "painted" on with a mud-like texture similar to their scale color, accompanied by two Blood Mutants who lacked... "WHERE ARE THEIR BLOCKERS?" He cried, but it was already too late. By the time he started to connect the dots, the enemy he unknowingly brought into his ship was already on the attack. Sure, it all started to make sense: the sudden disappearance of Enoris, then her reappearance with Blood Mutants, and the fact that they didn’t have Blood Mutant Blockers all made sense. It was an ambush, not just on his ship but on the entire fleet. "KILL THEM..." By the time the Elite barked orders, their numbers were already reduced by three, with the fourth about to be his. In those mere moments, his eyes turned to the male Blood Mutant emanating a malevolent presence. His hair, eyes, and body all looked as though they were painted red. "What is this horrible feeling..." The Ethisian’s eyes darted to Enoris, her axe now only inches away from his head. Time seemed to come to a complete standstill, but the speed at which his enemies were moving was too fast for him to comprehend, let alone dodge. Looking back at Ace, he witnessed a thick and eerie flash flood of blood appearing from nowhere, followed by him saying, "Blood Essence, Manifest." "It was an ambush... we were being ambushed and... she’s helping them..." At that moment, the Elite’s head was only milliseconds away from being completely sliced off. Enoris’ battle axe was already almost through his neck while her hand was latched onto another. There was nothing else for the Elite to do except accept his fate. Complaining wouldn’t help, fighting was out of the window, and regretting would be unnecessary. It was all over for him, and the others were next. "Well executed, Humans," he sighed as his head rolled on the ground. The amount of air in his brain allowed him to witness a massacre unfold. The flash flood of blood manifested into blood-red Ethisians bursting in every corner, killing every other regular Ethisian on sight. The Blood Mutants remained still, their bodies healing quickly while they drew blood to their bodies like metal to magnets. "You truly are menacing... and at this rate, you might just beat our own..." [Congratulations: Your Blood Warriors have slain three hundred Ethisians.] [Your Blood Warriors grow stronger. Their resilience and durability have increased by thirteen points.] [Level 131: 372/1080 >>>> Level 135: 372/2020] [All Stats have been increased by four points] [Mana Extraction: Activated] [Blood Mana Lv5: 39,764/64,000 >>>> 40,832/64,000] [Hemo-Conjuring Skill: Activated] "Blood Essence, manifest" [Congratulations: You have Conjured three hundred Ethisian Blood Warriors. Your Blood Army grows] [Conjured Warriors: 689 >>>> 989 — Only a few Conjured Warriors left to earn a New Title] "Excellent work, human," Lord Grim, Huntress, and One Horn exited the ship while the Blood Mutant’s Blood Warriors piled the shriveled bodies, "Ace, you may commence with your strategy." Given the green light, Ace summoned his newly conjured Elite Blood Warrior and later manipulated it to communicate with the Ethisians onboard the remaining twelve ships. Carefully crafting its words, the Blood Mutant was able to send twelve smaller "escape-pod-like" aircraft to each ship, each carrying a fleet of Blood Warriors. In a few mere minutes, his Blood Warriors killed the remaining Ethisians without having to do more than give a simple command. This, of course, wouldn’t have happened without his sister’s involvement; after all, it was her who brought the idea. [Congratulations: Under your command, your Blood Army has completed its first raid.] [Level 135: 372/2020 >>>> Level 140: 372/2060] Follow current novᴇls on 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍 [All Stats have been increased by five points] As quickly as they came, the Blood Mutants and Granians had successfully retrieved their colonies and added a bonus of Ethisian ships to their arsenal. As the hours went by, Granian ships with soldiers and workers settled in quickly before they commenced with hours of increased forced labor. It had been weeks since Planet Grania and its inhabitants had experienced some of their military and civilian luxuries, so it was going to take hundreds of thousands of Granians to force it back into its old state. Of course, all of this action did not go unnoticed. The Ethisians anticipated a move . In fact, they planned and intentionally baited the Granians to take action... which they did. If one were to assess the situation, it would resemble a newbie army with immense weaponry fighting against a band of experienced Veterans playing mind games. What transpired today was the catalyst the Ethisians were purposely fishing for. If the Granians would fall for elaborate traps , then surely, this war was already theirs for the win. All they needed to do was stall a little longer before finally hitting their enemy once and for all. "It’s also important to note," one Ethisian mumbled to himself, his body positioned on a high tower that gave him a view of millions of soldiers moving about, "we’re not looking to end this war in our victory but rather, to bring extinction to the Granian race."