[Arrival of the Ethisians]
A large fleet of mercenary ships landed at a safe distance from the Citadel’s fortress. Troops marched from the ships in groups of one hundred units strong, each armed head-to-toe in strong armor and wielding powerful weapons.
Larger ships landed shortly after, and out came Mech Units, totaling about five hundred. The Mechs, designed for firing, stomping, and colliding with thick, heavy obstacles, were deployed to bring down the Walls of the First Citadel’s fortress, which was four times the size of the other Citadel fortresses.
The reason for this was simple. The fortress currently docked the two Colonial Ships responsible for transporting Lord Grim and his troops into war. The Ethisians were well aware of how the Granians fought, so they opted to break and destroy the strong arm of their enemies before dealing with the rest one at a time.
Destroying Grim’s fleet would cause significant damage to the Granians, perhaps even making them lose the morale to fight any longer. If they pulled this off, wiping out the rest of the Granian fleets, colonies, and their planet would be a breeze—a task they were determined to complete.
Of course, the Ethisians were not too bent on destroying the fleet completely. If they were, a larger fleet of hundreds of thousands of units would have been deployed to overwhelm, overpower, and overcome the Granians. This display of units and military strength was all a ruse to distract the Granians from the real attack.
This attack was a trial run to test the strength and battle integrity of the Yrrejite clones while also testing the strength of the Humans. Destroying the Granian Colonial Ships was just a bonus, and even if they failed to accomplish it, not much would matter. All they needed to do was assess their strength and that of their enemy.
"And that is why there are only twenty-one of us sent on this mission." In a small Ethisian ship, twenty-one Elite Ethisian soldiers, led by an Upper Legendary Ethisian, landed on the First Citadel and watched as their Mechs marched toward the Citadel’s Walls. The one leading the attack was, as stated, an Upper Legendary Ethisian who was in the middle of his evolution. Winning this battle would allow him the opportunity to evolve from an Upper Legendary Warrior to a High Grade Ethisian, the same grade as Enoris and the Commander.
"All of you must move in groups of four, creating a cluster of five. If you encounter any of the Humans, regroup with the rest of us if possible. Test their strengths, see what they can do, and survive. We’re not here to kill them, not just yet. Is that understood?"
The Elites wondered for a moment, trying to understand more of what was required of them. At first, they all thought they were deployed to kill the Humans or at least wound them, but now they were told not to. This confusion made them contemplate whether they were fighting for their race or sent to early graves. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⟡𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⟡𝓷𝓮𝓽
"Why can we not fight them?" one Elite asked the question the other nineteen had lingering on their tongues. "I thought the purpose of us coming here was to kill the Blood Mutants since they’re the Granians’ strongest assets. Wouldn’t doing so make this war easier for us?"
The Upper Legendary Ethisian scoffed at the Elite’s question, perceiving it as a joke. However, when he noticed the stern look on its face, he realized that it and the others were genuinely confused and concerned.
"High Grade Commander informed us of his encounter with one of the Humans," the Ethisian explained. "The Human killed High Grade Enoris, slaughtered a great deal of Elites, and raised an army of our fallen comrades. If two High Grades failed to kill the Human, how well do you expect us to perform?"
The truth sunk in, bringing an unsettling feeling, similar to what one feels when sent to an early grave. It was already known that Enoris, a High Grade, was killed and raised from the dead to fight for the Human—a skill that their Blood Mutants never possessed. Hearing it coming from someone’s lips again made the Elites lose hope of winning, but it didn’t kill their spirit just yet.
"Take heart, soldiers," The Upper Legendary spoke again, seeking to cheer his male and female fighters. "We praise the gods that each one of us here is evolving to the next stage. After this battle, you will all become Legendary Warriors and gain the strength to crush more Granians than you ever have. For now, we are only going to assess their strengths to understand our enemy better."
"And if we’re faced with death?"
"Defend yourselves. Despite what happens, do not attack them. Defend yourselves and fall back if you are pushed to the wall. Is that understood?"
The cries of battle were silenced in minutes as the mercenary clones marched over the bodies of the dead Granians who, instead of taking refuge in the fortress, attempted to confront the enemy.
Having been warned several times, some of the "brave" and "strong" Granians remained outside the fortress walls with nothing but armor and weapons, both modern and traditional, in their possession.
However, all forms of bravery and courage drained in an instant when the Granians witnessed five hundred Mechs marching with the clones. Before they even had the chance to run back to the Walls, whose gates were sealed shut, the enemy Mechs brought down heavy fire on all the "brave" and "strong," killing them in minutes.
Now, the clones remained a few hundred feet away from the Walls as the Mechs marched to the frontline.
Five hundred machines organized in a horizontal line of fifty Mechs, with ten more standing behind the fifty, marched towards the Walls and stopped momentarily.
The Granians, standing at the top of the Walls with turrets and cannons ready to fire, waited for the orders to begin attacking. However, said orders were withheld, not until Lord Grim, Gravax, and a few Humans arrived. This was Grand Master’s decision, and many feared that the said decision would lead to their deaths if the ones they waited for did not arrive.
"GRANIANS!!" A great, powerful roar echoed just loud enough for everyone on the Walls to hear. The Granians looked down and witnessed twenty-one Ethisians standing tall while waiting to fight. Leading the twenty was one Granian in the Upper Legendary class who was in the middle of evolving into a High Grade, an evolution strong enough to rival the likes of Grim and the Tribal leaders.
"STAND, FIGHT US NOW, AND DIE WITH HONOR OR SURRENDER IMMEDIATELY WHILE YOU STILL CAN."
The Ethisian’s boastful claims disgusted the Granians, but there was nothing they could do yet, not until Grand Master gave the orders. And he wasn’t ready to give them out yet, not until Lord Grim arrived.
"VERY WELL THEN," the Ethisian took their silence as the response it wanted. "YOU SHALL DIE, HERE AND NOW." It shouted once more while motioning at the Mechs, who ran into the walls one at a time repeatedly until cracks started to form.