The Human-turned-beast charged at the army of mercenary clones, its body coated and powered by a flush of energy known as Eneraflux. This energy combined with her innate feral nature inherited from the distinct beast DNA gave Skyler the ability to fight like a ferocious, untamable beast with a powerful mind and an understanding of battle—a combination that suited her perfectly for war. Without hesitation, Skyler charged into the mercenary front lines, her beastly body ramming and crushing her enemies underfoot. With great aggression, she ripped, tore apart, bit, ate, and destroyed hundreds of bodies without taking severe damage. Though strong, her body was still vulnerable to powerful attacks. Thankfully, none of the enemy’s blows were strong enough to even dent her skin. Skyler led the first attack, and soon, the thousand soldiers she came with followed, each killing as many mercenary clones as they could. "The numbers have reduced," came the announcement, giving the Granians in the fortress the signal to join the attack. The Citadel Fortress gates opened, and out came thousands of Granian soldiers and Mechs who decimated the mercenary clone numbers in record time. The longer the gates stayed open, the more Granians and war machines ran out to the battlefield, killing the clones much faster than they had hoped for. In about thirty minutes, twenty thousand mercenary clones fell, with a few Granians falling as well. Still, their losses were minimal—a miracle to the Granians, an occurrence many had only heard of as children. In the days of their fathers, their enemies were slaughtered by the hundreds of thousands in a few short minutes with the help of only two Humans-turned-Blood Mutants. With these five Humans, four being Blood Mutants, the new generation of Granian Warriors hoped to relive the battles their fathers bragged so much about. "Our enemies, though many, have been defeated," a report was given to Skyler, despite her not being officially entitled to receive such. Her duty was to fight and kill, not to lead or be reported to. The Granians, however, did not care. She had led them to battle and victory, thus earning their respect. "We have looted whatever armor and weaponry can still be used." "I’m not the one you should be reporting to," Skyler answered as her body reverted to normal. "Tell one of the tribal leaders or Lord Grim..." "You’re the only one here with a direct connection to the higher-ups," came the response. "Also, without your help, we would not have gotten this far. It is because of you that we were able to save our fortress and Citadel. You have our thanks and respect." Skyler wasn’t the only one earning the respect and praise of the Granians she fought for. In the sixth Citadel, another female Human was in the middle of a furious battle involving her and the mercenaries, without the involvement of her thousand Granian soldiers. With pride, the Blood Mutant ran speedily into the mercenary soldiers with her arms stretched out. Immediately, shots were fired, forcing her to create a shield of solid blood. Under Ace’s guidance, Anya and the other Blood Mutants were able to create nearly unbreakable Blood Shields thanks to their enhanced Blood Hardening abilities. Because the Mutants were the primary targets during the war, they quickly adapted by increasing their defenses tenfold, creating thicker, stronger, and more durable shields that could also transform into long-range weapons when needed. Getting closer, Anya lunged off the ground, dispersing her Blood Shield into thousands of Blood Spikes which thrust deep into the clones. The Blood Spikes pierced through headgear, killing many instantly. Still in the air, the Blood Knight drew her arms closer to her chest in a motion resembling pulling a heavy object. Gallons of discolored blood collected around her body, forming a thick layer of body armor made of hardened blood. One hand remained a sharp claw, while the other turned into a long Blood Projectile with sharpened edges. The mercenaries turned their attention to her and opened heavy fire. Their attacks didn’t harm Anya, but they did slow her movements just enough for... ’Crap. Mech cannons!’ The Blood Knight’s eyes widened at the streaks of energy rushing at her from the Mech battle machines’ cannons. If she moved, she risked losing her armor, but if she stayed still, the blasts would certainly destroy her armor and body if they were lucky enough to hit the right spots. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, the Blood Knight created an opening around her mouth, took a deep breath, and... *SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH* A sound wave so powerful that its ripples could be seen in the air traveling out of her mouth, countering the force of the rushing energy streaks. Upon contact, the sound waves destroyed the energy blasts with ease and dismantled the Mech that fired at her. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹•𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒•𝙣𝙚𝙩 The mercenaries closest to her experienced permanent hearing loss, along with painful throbbing headaches and bleeding from every orifice. Her screams, loud and terrifying, fatally injured many of the clones, most losing the ability to hear permanently. Now that the Mech was dealt with, Anya raised her hand and folded her fist towards her face, drawing all the blood back to her. Thousands of droplets coalesced into thick spikes with sharp barbs. Those who survived the first attack regrouped, their weapons aimed mainly at her head. All at once, thousands of energy blasts from handheld weapons were unleashed. Thankfully, the Blood Knight manipulated her collected blood into a thick wall, protecting her from most of the attacks. "TELL THE OTHERS TO JOIN IN!!" she commanded the thousand Granians, who quickly briefed those taking shelter behind the fortress walls. In the process, the gates of the fortress opened, drawing the mercenaries’ attention away from Anya towards the gates. This distraction was the perfect counter Anya needed, and she took it. The blood in her Blood Wall dismantled into two long curved blades spanning thirty feet. The blades were heavy to wield, so she made quick work by spreading her arms apart, moving both blades in opposite directions. Hundreds of bodies, mainly heads, were severed and crushed under the weight of the blades. The longer they moved, the more speed they gained, and the more bodies they killed. This happened in the same time frame it took for Skyler and the Granians of the Fifth Citadel to kill the mercenary clones. Although Anya didn’t kill them all, she certainly killed the most in excruciatingly brutal ways. "GRANIANS, ADVANCE!!" The order was given once the clone numbers were reduced to less than half. Thanks to the Blood Knight, the Granians were now more than capable of killing their enemies, their numbers falling on them like a flash flood, drowning them in blood and the roars of war.