"Blood Essence, manifest."
Exhaustion started to take hold of the two Granians. Their efforts to wipe out as many clones as possible didn’t go as well as they had hoped due to the overwhelming number of enemies. The two managed to kill about three thousand or more clones, but that didn’t do any significant amount of damage.
The three thousand Granian soldiers they came with were slaughtered as well, their efforts barely causing a dent in the enemy forces. Those manning the turrets above were overwhelmed just like Grim and Gravax, firing at the enemies constantly without ceasing, which eventually caused exhaustion among their numbers.
With this overwhelming feeling clawing at their necks, the Granians in the fortress felt pressured to act on behalf of Grand Master Gravax and Lord Grim in an effort to save their fortress and Citadel. However, their enemy’s numbers were twice as large as their own, and even though the enemy didn’t possess machinery anymore, they were still capable of dealing more damage due to their more durable bodies. Even Grim and Gravax found it harder to kill the clones than the Ethisians themselves.
Thankfully, when all the pressure and mounting anxiety seemed to grow, the Humans pitched in their efforts and came to the Granians’ aid—not because they wanted to do so willingly but simply because one of their own was in dire need of Granian help.
The Humans charged with an army of nine hundred Scarlet Warriors clad in Blood Red Armor, reinforcing their already partially impenetrable bodies. The Blood Warriors, dubbed the Scarlet Army, ran ahead of the Humans in a curved line, providing a shield that allowed the Army to fight and clear the way for the Humans.
Leading the Scarlet Army on behalf of the Blood Bishop was the Level 51 Blood Warrior Enoris, an Ethisian turned Blood Warrior gifted with brutal fighting skills and loyalty to her Master. Enoris stood at eight feet in an armor suit made from hardened Emberwyrm blood. The Blood Warrior wielded a sword that was a combination of a Montante and an Executioner’s sword. Its large and wide blade with a thick, pointy end, decorated with crimson and Emberwyrm blood, made it a formidable weapon fit for a warrior.
The sword was gifted with the Blood Drain Skill, which allowed Enoris to strike and drain blood from her victims, killing them instantly. Its ability allowed her to drain and store blood from her enemies, which would either act as a stimulant to her body or unleash a skill called Blood Wave, an ability that released a wave of blood from the sword in any direction with just one slice. The more blood stored, the larger, stronger, and more violent the wave.
As the Scarlet Army ran into battle, the mercenary clones turned their attention from the Granians toward them. The Army’s number was significantly smaller than what the Granians deployed, but their edge was the absence of death.
Unlike the Granians, the Scarlet Army, which was mostly made up of Ethisians, relied on Ace’s Blood Mana to thrive. As long as his Mana levels were high enough, they could fight for as long as he was willing to let them. This idea was why Grim had confidence in Ace’s army. He understood a certain extent of its functionality and makeup, which brought him relief once they were deployed.
"That’s no army," Gravax said skeptically as he looked at the army marching into battle. "I doubt they’re even one thousand. And they’re Ethisians? Where did the boy keep them? Did another ship land after they arrived?"
The Granian looked at the army once more and noticed the red pigmentation that made up their bodies and armor. He looked at his own body and theirs, which were smooth with no scales or blemishes. Their physique was more fluid but at the same time solid, impenetrable to the eye.
"Blood?" Gravax theorized what they were made of and recalled what Grim had said about the Blood Bishop. "His army’s made of blood? Is that why they’re red?"
Grim nodded, but Gravax wasn’t convinced yet. He did believe they were real and that they were an army, but the fact that they were made of blood didn’t sit well with him. Again, they looked fluid, and Gravax thought that was a design flaw that would make them easy to beat. That, however, changed the second the first Blood Warrior made contact with a clone.
A loud bang, similar to metal banging on metal, reverberated across the battlefield loud enough for Gravax to hear. His and Grim’s eyes widened at the sound of the Warrior’s durable body, which didn’t seem to have any dent.
They were shocked, yes, but that changed immediately as their eyes witnessed the Blood Warrior cut through the clone’s armor, pierce its sword through its body, and slice upward in only two moves in less than three seconds.
The attack was quick and well executed. So well that the clone wasn’t able to deflect, dodge, or counter. The battle now intensified with the involvement of the Scarlet Army and mercenary clones.
The Granians, who once thought the clones were too many, were marveling at how the small Blood Army flattened them. They worked quickly, clearing as many as they could while moving at the same pace without fail.
Their bodies were so durable that the clones’ attacks did little to no damage, resulting in Ace losing far less Blood Mana than he expected.
As the battle ensued, the present Ethisians were pleased at the sight of the five Humans, especially at the sight of the one female who looked to be in pain. All twenty-one Ethisians separated into groups of four while the evolving Upper Legendary led them to get as dangerously close as possible to the Humans and see what they could do, a simple demonstration of each of their strengths. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⁂𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖⁂𝕟𝕖𝕥
One could say that seeing their fallen comrades returning as Blood Warriors was enough, but for them, it was just seeing what was already known. They were on a mission to discover any other tricks that the Mutants were capable of, report back to their superiors, and design attacks tailored to destroying the Mutants first and the Granians second.