A horrifying display of engineering mixed with a twinge of madness showcased the Mechs running and slamming their bodies into the walls of the Citadel’s Fortress. At first, one Mech at a time got the opportunity to run and hit the wall until fifty began running simultaneously. The walls, under much strain, were slowly starting to crumble, with thick cracks forming from the bottom to the top. The aim of the twenty-one Ethisians was to bring the walls down and then destroy the Colonial ships until the Humans arrived. This was all just a simple protest to lure out the Humans and see how strong they were and how far they’d go. Of course, their plan did not go one hundred percent as intended, for the Granians, though hiding within their walls, still attacked from the tops with turrets and cannons mounted along them. The rıghtful source is 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡⁂𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⁂𝙣𝙚𝙩 These turrets were powerful enough to destroy a Mech upon impact but had a cooldown period of thirty seconds after three heavy shots. Seeing this, the Ethisians commanded the pilots to activate some form of force field each Mech had. They weren’t strong enough to provide complete protection, but they were capable of deflecting a shot or two before deactivation. With this added option, the Mechs began running in zigzag motions all at once, none remaining still. This confusion worked and, for a moment, bewildered the Granians as well. The Granians, however, did not let simple uncoordinated movements stop them. Instead of focusing on one shot, the Granians concentrated their attacks on specific areas, which took out quite a few enemies at a go. Now both sides were attacking each other, with one side losing Mechs while the other lost the integrity of their wall. The longer the battle lasted, the more losses each side suffered, with the Granians losing more than the Ethisians and mercenaries. Just when the Granians and Grand Master started growing impatient, Granian ships swarmed in from the other Citadels. In them were Gravax and one thousand units, Lord Grim and another thousand units, and lastly Ace with another thousand units. Gravax and Grim leaped from their ships before they landed, making their way to the fortress. Seeing Mechs running into the wall, turret fire raining down on the enemy, and dozens of wrecked Mechs burning with twenty-one Ethisians and mercenary clones waiting to march in came as a surprise to them. With the fortress’ force field active and the gates sealed, Grim, Gravax, and the others weren’t able to meet with the others, but they were able to hold off the attacking enemy forces. "Ethisians this early?" Gravax walked to Grim while their ships landed. In the meantime, Ace and his fleets landed next to Grim’s and Gravax’s, totaling three thousand Granian foot soldiers. "Only twenty-one of them," Grim mumbled, taking note of the enemy who had yet to sense their presence, giving them a chance to sneak up on them. "Do you sense its energy? The Upper Legendary one?" "I do," Gravax replied, taking note of the Ethisian currently in the middle of evolving. "I suppose it’s on its last conquest before evolving to a High Grade. Do you expect any of the Humans to handle it well?" "The Blood Mutant killed one and spared another," Grim answered. "I’m sure it and the others can handle these Elites perfectly fine." "Or," Gravax turned to Ace, who joined them. With a smile on his face, the Granian placed his hand on Ace and said, "he could summon the dead to help this time." Ace, completely unaware of the conversation, remained focused on the battle ahead. Just like Grim and Gravax, he was surprised to see Ethisians deployed this early despite what he had been told by the Granians. Aside from that, there were only twenty-one, with one emitting an energy similar to Enoris’. ’An Ethisian nearly as strong as Grim,’ Ace thought, unaware that the two Granians next to him had drafted an attack plan. "So it’s decided," Grim spoke loud enough for the Blood Mutant to step out of his daze, bringing him back to reality. "We’ll focus our numbers on the Mechs for now while the Blood Mutant keeps the clones occupied for a while with the dead. Sha..." "I won’t be doing that," Ace quickly spoke before Grim and Gravax dispersed. The Blood Bishop had already lost a great deal of his health points, and given the way the battle had played out so far, it was going to take time for him to regain all of his health points. "I can’t do that move two times in a day. It’ll take a toll on my health." "Then summon your army," Grim spoke, but Gravax had no knowledge of what the Granian meant. "An army?" Gravax questioned. "One thousand units won’t be enough for that, Grim. We can’t send our own to..." "He knows what I’m talking about." Grim, Gravax, and three thousand Granians quickly ran into the battlefield with ships following them. As the foot soldiers approached the enemy, their ships aimed and fired at the Mechs, providing support to those manning the turrets and cannons on the walls. First contact was made with Grim and Gravax throwing themselves at the Mechs, which were now facing them. Immediately, the mercenary clones turned their attention to the Granians, who, thanks to those on the wall and their pilots piloting their ships, were spared from immediate destruction. All of this unfolded and, at that moment, Cherry, Skyler, Anya, and Jim arrived on the Citadel alone with no additional troops escorting them. The other three Humans were ready for battle after being warned of the possibility of a more severe attack on the First Citadel. The fourth, Anya, had arrived looking for either Grim or Ace due to the wound she had suffered. A considerable amount of time had passed, and the Blood Knight’s wound had refused to heal but instead got worse with the appearance of black, bulging, sore veins growing around the wound. With the progression of the poison moving at a worrisome rate, the Blood Knight feared that her wounds would cause irreversible damage or, worse, become fatal.