"Lord Grim, we’ve temporarily hacked into the system. The message has been sent, but we’ll never have access to hack into the system’s AI ever again."
"Why not?" Grim asked.
"The AI is self-learning and has somehow become independent. As soon as we sent the message, it kicked us out. It’ll take us a while to figure out how to get back in, but by then, it will have improved its defences."
"No need to worry," Grim reassured as he, Huntress, and Murdock donned ancient types of body armor. Like their bodies, the armor sets were made of scales from extra terrestrial creatures. Grim’s armor was red, Huntress’ was blue, and Murdock’s was a mix of red and orange. "As long as we have the jammer on, those two blood mutants won’t be able to use their powers effectively. Send out the lower troops to scout the city and kill as many people as possible. Let me know if any of them spot the targets."
"And what of the girl who took your eye out?" Huntress asked but Grim remained silent, seething with calm rage.
"Oh my God, what is that ship?" ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝘯𝘦𝘵
"Is that the army? Are they here for something?"
"That’s no human-made craft. It’s the aliens! THE ALIENS ARE ATTACKING!"
The city’s inhabitants feared for their lives as the majority ran away and took cover. The remaining inhabitants, mostly hunters and brave men and women wielding beast weapons and crystals, stood ready to fight back. However, everyone was acting on impulse, without a plan, leader, or clear objective. They were there to fight and defend aimlessly.
As Grim’s ship advanced deeper into the city, it suddenly came to a halt, and silence enveloped it for about thirty minutes. This strange behavior heightened the tension among the hunters and civilians, leaving them wondering, "Why aren’t they attacking?"
"Are they waiting for us to make the first move?" Lance, a short man with whom Sky had spoken earlier, was positioned on top of an empty building with around fifty hunters by his side. "Could they be waiting for backup? I’m so confused. What should we do now?"
"Lance, sir," a female hunter with dual swords tightly gripped in her hands spoke while keeping her eyes fixed on the alien ship. "What do you think they’re doing? Are they waiting for backup, or is this some scheme to catch us off guard?"
"I don’t know, but judging by their halted advance," he said, pointing his swords at the bottom of the ship, "they must be preparing to deploy troops." And he was right, as the front bottom half of the large ship began to slowly open. "Get ready. They’re coming out."
About a thousand Granians charged out of the ship, wielding blades, maces, hammers, and other weapons with their reptilian arms. They wore pieces of armor on their chests, heads, and shins that appeared nearly indestructible to the human eye. Their overwhelming numbers and loud screams paralysed a few hunters, leaving them unable to move.
To make matters worse, the number of hunters was significantly smaller compared to the citizens wielding beast weapons, meaning there were only a few people with combat experience. Lance looked on in horror as the Granians leaped through buildings, emerging with torn bodies and bloodstains all over them.
"They’re killing innocent people," Lance mumbled, his grip on his swords tightening. "Hunters, advance!" he ordered, leaping from the building with his hunters and attacking with full force. "Don’t hold back. Use your weapons and crystals to their fullest. If you hesitate, they will kill you."
Lance’s swords transformed, developing flesh and attaching themselves to his entire arm. The flesh turned dark green as the crystals in the sheaths activated to their fullest potential. Soon, Lance’s arms were as as large as his midsection. They had a green, leathery texture with razor sharp claws at the end while being covered entirely in scales. His palms morphed into blades as he slashed at any Granians that dared to approach him and his forces.
*SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH*
Due to his smaller stature, Lance managed to evade most attacks and deliver powerful strikes of his own. With one hand gripping body parts and the others slashing, gouging, and ripping apart, the diminutive man became a threat to the Granians, eliminating them one by one.
"If Lance can do it, so can we," the woman who had stood next to him declared, pointing her swords at the Granians. "Let’s go and kick some ass!"
The hunters agreed in unison, activating the true beast power within their crystals. Some transformed into strong, beast-like individuals, while others became energy blasters, ancient-shaped weapons, or even took on beast-like forms themselves. These forms were known as Soul Weapons, representing the ability of a weapon to enhance the user’s abilities, create a unique bond, foster growth and development, and in rare cases, become sentient or conscious. The soul skill of a beast weapon was the one trump card beat weapon yielders had for they’d increase their strengths twenty plus fold. Every weapon, as long as it had a crystal in it, was able to fuse its soul with its yielder’s body and transform them, depending on the tier.
Each wielder of a beast weapon activated their Soul Weapon skill, undergoing supernatural changes that made them powerful enough to fight the Granians. As soon as they did, the Granian forces began to be pushed back by the advancing humans.
The hunters swooped in, delivering powerful blows, while the civilians struck the final blows. This not only allowed the humans to fight effectively, but also helped them conserve their strength for the remaining Granian troops.
"We’re winning!" some people cheered. "We’re winning! The Granians are falling back. We can do this, HAHAHAHA!!!"
"ONWARD!" Lance single-handedly ended the lives of fifty Granians and continued moving forward. His Soul Weapon, body enhancement, granted him beast-like strength and characteristics, which grew stronger with each kill. It also made him six times more resilient than ordinary humans, enabling him to strike hard and endure severe blows.
"I can see the city up ahead. It looks like the Granians are already attacking. Let’s join them, shall we?"