CH98: RANK UP

**BOOM!**

A loud and powerful explosion ruptured the city, causing weak buildings to break off their foundations. The explosion was a result of a powerful beast blast directed at Grim's ship, blowing off one-seventh of it.

Just when the humans thought they were winning, three elite Granian warriors emerged from the ship, gripping their weapons tightly.

Murdock, a buff male Granian with a thick tail and a heavily built body, stood tall at seven feet as he approached the battlefield. He was equipped with a double-bladed cup-tipped sword larger than the average human. Beside him was Huntress, the only female Granian who came out to battle. Slightly shorter than Murdock, she had a voluptuous body that distracted the perverted human soldiers. Her weapon of choice was a ring blade with a large dragon head at the front, designed like that of a Granian.

The third elite Granian fighter was Lord Grim himself, wielding a mighty sword. The sword had a bright, shiny red color with a blue crystal on the top of its hilt, and the tip of the blade emitted a red energy.

"This... this is the same sword I used to kill the last blood mutant king," he said, pointing it at Ace. "You're lucky I want you alive."

Huntress swiftly threw her ring blade at Cherry, aiming for her arm's joints. The blade cleanly cut and dislocated Cherry's arm. Fortunately, Cherry's arm regenerated at an incredible rate, which only seemed to amuse Huntress even more.

"Aawww, how I've waited for this moment," Huntress moaned seductively, flushed and twitching, as she licked Cherry's blood off her ring blade. "Ready for the rematch?"

"BRING IT ON!" Cherry roared, preparing to run straight for the female Granian. However, Ace quickly stopped her, preventing her from making a foolish decision.

"They're trying to separate us. If you go for her alone, you'll get killed," Ace warned as Huntress approached calmly. They had about sixty seconds before Huntress would get close enough if she maintained her current pace. "Stay level-headed, Cherry. Think before you act."

"FINE!" Cherry gnarled, her eyes fixed on Huntress, who was laughing and giggling provocatively.

As the two blood mutants stood still, the Granians started to ignore them, knowing their superiors wanted to fight them alone without any interruptions. The same couldn't be said for the humans, as they wouldn't allow the aliens to lay a finger on Ace or Cherry.

"FIRE AWAY!" Three blasts, each aimed at Grim, Huntress, and Murdock, were fired from the ArkVille Ship. Upon contact, the blasts created a loud explosion, followed by the energy blast imploding from the inside.

"GET DOWN, IT'S GONNA RELEASE A SHOCKWAVE!" The blast shrank to a tiny white speck before finally exploding outward with great force.

Those who were ignorant and too close were instantly killed, giving the humans a false sense of hope. However, as they turned their attention back, the three Granians the blast was intended for were getting back up from the ground. They were injured and in pain, but it seemed to fuel their determination rather than deter them.

"I've had enough of this," Grim said as he struck his sword into the ground. A powerful blast of red lightning dispersed from the sword, severely injuring the humans within range and killing all the cloned Granians. "Murdock, Huntress, move now."

The two Granians slowly walked, then jogged, and finally ran with their weapons tightly gripped. Not wanting them to get any closer, Cherry started swinging her arms, collecting all the blood from the humans and Granians that were killed. The volume of blood collected was too great for her to carry alone, so Ace joined in. Together, they turned the blood into thousands of spikes, pointing them directly at Murdock and Huntress.

"GET UNDER ME!" Murdock cried out to Huntress as he lifted his double-blade sword over his body. Cherry and Ace immediately dropped the blood on them. To their dismay, Murdock started spinning his blade, causing the spikes to crush into tiny particles.

"I WAS EXPECTING YOU TO DO THAT," Cherry smiled, revealing her teeth. She tensed her fists, turning the tiny blood particles into even smaller spikes. "DO THE SAME, ACE, AND FOLLOW MY LEAD."

*ROOOAAARRR*

The two siblings charged in, using the spikes to encircle their bodies. The multitude of particles accumulated into what looked like green and red blood, concealing the two siblings in a dome made out of it. While Ace made sure to keep the particles circulating around him and his sister, Cherry used her tendrils to surprise attack the Granians, catching them unaware and dragging them into their dome. When the bodies emerged from the dome, they were shriveled up, devoid of any life and blood.

Looking up, the dome grew larger as it became harder and shinier.

[Blood Strength: 21 >>> 25]

[Strength: 19 >>> 23]

[Congratulations: Your constant increase in strength has caused you to move up one class.]

[Class: Pawn >>> Knight]

[Blood Knight]

[Description: Blood Knights are known for their agility, extensive blood control skills, and lethal creative mindset. This stage is the first to be good at controlling their blood mutant forms and can even tap into the Blood King's form.]

As soon as he read the notification, Ace's body started to change. His muscles tensed and tore apart, causing him to fall down along with the dome. Those watching were shocked to see Ace rolling on the ground, transforming from his blood mutant form to his human form.

Meanwhile, Cherry witnessed this transformation and understood. It was the same thing Grim had done to her, which explained her greater strength compared to her brother. 'Crap. He can't be advancing now. It's too risky.'

"He's advancing," Murdock gasped. "Quick, while he's still down..."

"MURDOCK, WAIT!" Huntress called out, but she couldn't warn him fast enough. As Murdock got closer, his body was immediately impaled by a large, red tendril. His body slowly rose into the air as the tendril cut deeper.

The tendril turned into a blade, cutting through the Granian's armor and emerging from his back. Green blood spewed all over as it slid down the blade. Looking at where the blade came from, one could see Ace standing on his feet, with only his arm transformed into its blood mutant form.

[Advancement in Progress. Your body is being attacked and will automatically go into defensive mode until you've completed the advancement.]

"MURDOCK!" Huntress screamed, tears rolling down her slim eyes. "NOOOO!" Murdock was still alive but heavily injured. His vision slowly faded as he struggled for dear life. His body squeezed the blade as hard as it could while trying desperately to heal itself.

"Damn... damn it..." Murdock laughed while staring into Ace's lifeless face. "I didn't... expect these humans... to get so... strong... so... so fast." More volumes of blood spewed out of his mouth as he talked, causing him to grow weaker and wince in pain.

"I commend you, boy," Murdock spoke one last time before preparing to let go of his life. "You've gotten too strong to ignore anymore... Grania will be pleased to meet you... Those Ethisians won't be ready for you..." Murdock breathed his last breath and gave up his life, letting all his blood leave his body.

Ace, or rather his body, dissolved all of it and tossed Murdock's lifeless body back to Huntress like a ragdoll. The female Granian quickly carried his body in her arms and cried a great deal. Her tears turned from watery to black, sticky stuff as she bitterly cursed and wept. "I'll make you know what it's like to lose a loved one," she said to Ace while grabbing her ring blade and focusing on Cherry. "You'll pay for taking his life."

"Take him away," Grim ordered, watching as Murdock's body was taken back to his ship. "Cry no more, Huntress. Let this be a lesson to you. These blood mutants are no joke."

With only one step, Grim covered the ground between him and Ace in a fraction of a second. He gripped his sword tightly and swung it at Ace's neck. However, the blood mutant's body swiftly ducked, transforming its other hand into its blood mutant form.

*BANG*

Grim's body, met by the tremendous power of Ace's overtaken body, was sent whooshing past the battlefield and onto his ship. The Granian warrior, conqueror of planets and enslaver of civilizations, had been hit extremely hard, something he hadn't experienced in a very long time.

"I'm not letting you take Grim too," Huntress screamed. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Huntress' body, only inches away from Ace's, was swatted away like a fly by one of Cherry's many tendrils. The female Granian skidded across the floor as her armor broke into pieces.

Cherry quickly pounced on her like a cat on a mouse, her arms transformed into blades. Luckily, Huntress managed to dodge the hit and decided to run back for Ace.

"GET BACK HERE!" Cherry wrapped a tendril around Huntress' leg, spun at neck-breaking speeds, and sent her smashing into Grim's ship right next to him.

"We're losing it," Huntress said, struggling not to cry. "Call for backup now. Look, over there..." The female Granian pointed at yet another fleet of human aircraft quickly approaching them. "Call for backup NOW!"

"Grand Master," Grim cried out into the communicator he carried around with him. "WE NEED REINFORCEMENTS. SEND THEM NOW!"

********************

"Nexille Military, this is Supreme Commander Duke, reporting. The cavalry has arrived. I repeat, the cavalry has arrived." Commander Duke of the Nexille Military announced with pride as his massive troops filled the skies.

"Iron Wings and Iron Hawks, the stage is all yours."

Elsewhere...

"Granians, into your pods. Assist Grim in any and every way you can."