Inside a grand and shadowy throne room, the King of the Martian Bats sat upon his throne.
His massive body, covered in crimson-red skin, gleamed under the flickering torchlight.
He wore a blood-colored royal cloak, adorned with the symbol of bat fangs that glowed faintly.
The heavy doors swung open.
A young alien woman entered.
She resembled a human — if not for her bat-like ears and dark wings sprouting from her back.
Her body was lightly covered in fine black fur, enhancing her exotic beauty.
She moved gracefully, her curvaceous figure impossible to ignore.
"Father," she said respectfully, bowing low. "Why did you send my eldest brother to face that khodam?"
The King sighed, his gaze distant.
"Your brother needs to grow," he replied.
"Our people have conquered many planets... but to be honest, the humans' khodams are extremely troublesome."
The young woman frowned slightly.
"Why is that, Father?"
The King growled lowly.
"Humans bonded with khodams... are extremely hard to kill.
If their khodam is destroyed, their bodies transform into blue light — untouchable, invulnerable.
That light can escape... or bond with another khodam to keep fighting."
He clenched his fist. "The worst part is... khodams that have been slain can revive after some time!"
The princess's face hardened.
"Then why send my brother against such dangerous foes?"
The King gave a cold, knowing smile — the smile of a ruler who had made countless ruthless decisions.
"Because it's only one khodam.
This is his training.
Eventually, one of your brothers will inherit Mars.
They must understand that fighting humanity is part of their destiny."
The King rose, his heavy cloak rippling behind him.
On a large crystal screen before him, he watched the prince's army:
Eight thousand bat soldiers, heavily armed and armored, moving like a black tide toward the village Angel had attacked.
However...
Earth was watching too.
---
At Earth's monitoring station, Angel shivered as she stared at the satellite feed.
"Heavy troops..." she whispered.
"Their numbers are... terrifying."
Nadine chuckled behind her.
> "Relax. Their distance from your village is about two days' march," Nadine said casually.
Angel turned to her, anxious.
"So... what's the plan?"
Nadine tapped her chin, a sinister grin spreading across her face.
"Simple," she said.
"We'll set traps."
"Your mission, Angel, is to carry explosives to the path they'll take."
"When they march through... boom — the bombs will wipe them out."
Angel swallowed hard, imagining the massive explosion.
Nadine's eyes gleamed as she continued:
"After that, you'll lead the cleansing operation with one thousand combat robots.
Leave no survivors."
Her wicked smile sent a chill down Angel's spine.
Angel followed Nadine and a few researchers into the storage warehouse.
Inside, the place was packed with bombs of various shapes and sizes, lined up like a deadly arsenal.
> "So... what kind of bomb should we use?" Angel asked, glancing nervously at the rows of explosives.
> "Are we... thinking about using nuclear bombs?" she added hesitantly.
Nadine smirked.
> "Well, nukes are definitely deadly," she said, tapping a crate.
"But they're also extremely dangerous — even for us."
Angel frowned.
> "Wait... do we even have a plan for Mars after this?"
One of the researchers chimed in.
> "Actually... we're working on it. The blueprints for a spacecraft are under development.
Maybe soon, we'll be able to launch a mission directly to Mars."
Angel's eyes widened in amazement, but she quickly returned to the issue at hand.
"Okay, back to the bombs... which one should we pick?"
A young researcher suddenly spoke up, looking thoughtful.
"How about... Mushroom Toxin Bombs?"
The room fell silent for a moment.
Everyone turned to him in surprise.
"Wait, what? Mushroom toxin?"
The researcher nodded quickly.
"Yeah.
One of the Martian Batlings... accidentally ate a bite of an Earth-grown oyster mushroom."
"Within seconds, his body seized up and he died instantly.
After studying it, I found out — the mushroom's chemical compounds are extremely lethal to their biology."
Nadine's eyes lit up with glee.
"Brilliant!" she said.
"Prepare 100 air bombs filled with mushroom toxin particles.
And... just to be safe... place 10 nuclear bombs around the village as backup."
Angel shivered at the casual cruelty of Nadine's plan.
---
Later, Angel carefully transported all 110 bombs to the abandoned Martian village.
She worked swiftly, planting the mushroom bombs at strategic points and hiding the nukes in deep underground pits.
After all the traps were set, Angel teleported back to Earth, her heart pounding.
Now...
She could only wait for the Martian Bat Army to walk right into the trap.
After two nerve-wracking days, Angel finally spotted the marching army entering the deserted village.
Her heart was pounding — this plan could wipe out a massive force of trained Martian Bat soldiers.
And because she had been the one to set the bombs, the experience points (EXP) would flow directly into her khodam and her main body.
Defeating 8,000 trained warriors would massively boost her power — and everyone involved in the operation would receive a smaller share of the EXP as well.
As soon as the entire enemy force entered the village, Angel pressed the detonation button.
With a sharp hiss, white air bombs exploded, releasing a cloud of deadly mushroom toxin into the atmosphere, catching the Martian Bats completely by surprise.
One by one, several Bat soldiers collapsed to the ground, clutching their chests in agony.
> "Hold your breath, everyone!" the Bat Prince roared in panic.
He had underestimated the humans' willingness to fight dirty.
"Quick! Open the village gates!" he barked desperately.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, Angel saw the success of the first stage.
Without wasting time, she teleported to Mars, bringing with her over a thousand combat robots.
Angel appeared hovering in the air, her figure glowing softly.
With a wave of her hand, 1,000 battle robots deployed, surrounding the poisoned and confused Martian Bat soldiers trapped in the toxic cloud.
"Damn it!" the Bat Prince cursed loudly, drawing his massive sword.
His body trembled; the mushroom poison was already weakening him, making his every move sluggish and painful.
He tried to hurl his sword at Angel in a desperate attack —
but before the weapon could reach her, a swarm of glowing fireflies materialized around her.
The fireflies formed a luminous shield, blocking the attack —
and then they fired intense beams of heat, capable of melting and piercing through the thick armor of the Martian Bats.
With Nadine's brilliantly devious plan, the battle ended in mere minutes.
The Martian Bats were horribly vulnerable to the mushroom toxin —
their bodies began to swell, rupture, and collapse as the poison coursed through them.
Most of the army couldn't even stand after inhaling the lethal air.
Then...
> Ding!
Level 10 achieved! — Second Khodam Summon Unlocked.
Angel's Level: 54
Synchronization Rate: 15%
New Skill Acquired: Wind Sword
Creates an invisible, razor-sharp sword made of pure wind.
Can be shaped and controlled freely.