[Blythe POV]
She nibbled on a piece of bread, ignoring everyone around her. At some point, people got used to it and no longer paid her any heed.
As they flew, she slowed down a bit to better eat.
Right now, they were on a rescue mission to save an influential person with high status.
One of the so-called prodigies. The mission which the board deemed as green grade. Had turned into a higher ranked mission in a blink of an eye.
Reinforcements that arrived there lost contact and, except from a report from time to time, it seemed that they met with a problem.
To combat this rare change. Two awakened elders with a group of elite, unawakened elders got dispatched.
Blythe, while she didn't visit the Inn of Dreams. With her estimation, she should have long passed the billions and entered hundred millions in terms of pure power.
To enter the top tier unawakened power gave her quite some satisfaction.
A wind user breaking a small convention made her happy.
The large amount of wind and water mana, in fact, didn't impact the absolute best elites in other fields.
Over time, they adapted, and by the time they got to the apex of the unawakened realm.
It couldn't hinder them. Blythe shook off the piece of satisfaction as she berated herself.
What kind of rights does she have to be content? Her own goal depended on her strength and prestige.
If this level of power sufficed, then there wouldn't be thousands of families, including the declining ones, but millions or even billions.
And for her. Just a family title couldn't move those mountains she wished to change.
No, she had to blitz through like a lightning and take it all the way to the top.
Those that died whilst travelling with her. She remembered them as those that contributed to a glorious cause.
On the outside, a woman with no fears. To change everyone and everything.
She knew what had to be done. What's right for the future and the development of humanity.
Blythe adorned her signature smile and blasted off at a greater speed, joining back with her squad.
They flew at an incredible speed and soon arrived. Another place of devastation.
Blood created its own streams as the red mixed with different colours.
Those that she would one day erase or better. Use for the greater development of humanity.
One awakened elder took a group of the most elite unawakened elders and left the large group.
They had their family to find. The others began to collect samples and others scouted in different directions.
Over time, the aliens managed to build small and hidden bases in the islands where they hid and gathered strength.
So, a battlefield couldn't get taken over so simply. If they just settled in like their predecessors, then they would become a prime target for another ambush.
To even the ground. They had to be the attackers in order to gain a firm foothold.
They fished up their emergency flares and tools before they split up and became smaller groups of threes and fours.
Blythe met up with two random people, and they continued. To not garner attention and scout in more detail.
They descended and walked through thick forests. She didn't quite understand how the fauna could even exist in such an environment.
Their searched proved to be quite fruitless. They found some traces, but they turned out to be a distraction.
Aliens put a lot of fake traces and paths in order to put humans at a disadvantage.
To a point where it wouldn't be strange to find an abandoned settlement full of explosives just waiting for the right human.
Just then, a bright light flew into the sky, and they flew straight to it without hesitation.
An emergency flare. Someone encountered the enemy. They had a lot of colours and the red one indicated enemies at the same or higher level.
Except a grey one, which indicated retreat at all costs. No one would run away when they saw it.
The flare came from one of the outer areas of the island, and they soon arrived.
Explosions and various elements danced with each other. Dozens of alien ships with their laser cannons bombarded a group of elders.
Then, a mech descended and confronted an awakened elder after the barrage.
Everyone's eyes widened. Mech, a powerful tool with the nickname, awakened slayer.
To meet one would be like meeting Grim reaper. These mechs didn't exist during the beginning of the war.
Many considered them as a tool to counter awakened elders. Ships often turned into sitting ducks when fighting awakened elders.
While they could fly around. The speed and small size of the humans gave them an advantage against heavy weaponry like the laser cannons.
And smaller weapons couldn't do sufficient damage. Then these came into the picture.
When they made their first appearance in the dozens. Humanity got pushed by multiple checkpoints.
The great momentum almost caused them to lose the entire eastern frontlines.
Such a frightening monster now stood before them. The awakened elder didn't dally and shot out another flare.
A grey one. Total annihilation and a signal for everyone to retreat.
Blythe and others left as she noticed a group carrying a lot of dismembered unconscious people.
Among them, a very young one. His face disfigured with two fingers in both of his hands.
From time to time, he grimaced as if he was experiencing a nightmare.
Blythe clicked her tongue and knew that those must be their mission targets.
They met up with the other awakened elder and reported the situation.
The elder took everyone inside his winds and they accelerated beyond the speed of sounds.
With the other elder probably dead at this point. The board should refresh this mission.
Reinforcements might come. However, the distance between the headquarters and these islands proved too large.
At maximum speed, he would need eight hours to get here. Not to mention getting here after eight hours.
His stamina would get depleted, and he'd be incapable of fighting at all.
Suddenly, a huge explosion swept its surroundings, and a large shockwave almost caught up with them.
Everyone knew what happened, and some closed their eyes for a second to pray.
Not long after, dozens of ships with one large one appeared on the horizon.
Their flight technology, even a wind awakened elder, couldn't beat in a long distance race.
He gritted his teeth and took out his spirit. The spirit and he fused as they gained some more momentum.
On their way, they shook off all kinds of supplies to lighten the burden.
Now, they didn't have anything except some weapons and communication tools. The chase lasted an entire hour before the elder showed signs of exhaustion.
And like a predator patiently following from behind. The ships continued at the same pace the entire time.
"Disperse!" the elder said and threw everyone in random directions.
Now, they had to rely on themselves. The large ship opened up and the large mech showed itself again.
Compared to the time they met it. Only small scratches and a dented head remained.
Its imposing black and white body with two arms and legs the size of huge pillars brought terror.
An awakened elder sacrificed himself, and his damage resulted in a small dent.
The already tired elder brought up the last pieces of his energy and started a cat-and-mouse chase game.
The mech showed a surprising level of agility and speed as it followed with the other airships following everyone.
To Blythe's luck, the largest ship followed the group with the injured, leaving her to deal with five ships.
She landed inside an island and hid. Together, there were two more elders with her.
The ships didn't waste any time and began to bombard the entire island.
Destruction ate away at the newly grown fauna, killing it all over again.
One of the elders with her dug a hole as they hid inside. Another hour passed, and they didn't let out even a sound.
While the three of them could fight off five ships and maybe win. The damage would be so great.
That the reinforcements that could arrive at any moment would wipe them out without a problem.
Time, they had to use it to the best of their abilities. Deep inside the ground, they considered their future plans with sign language.
Oxygen became a problem, so they couldn't go down too deep. Otherwise, they might suffocate before the reinforcements arrived.
A few ideas came to the table. Blythe voted for the idea of splitting into further three groups.
She'd take up three with them, taking each one. If they managed to escape far enough.
Then, they would be able to kill it before rejoining with her. The second elder shook his head.
The blessing they received already weakened. If they did such a risky move, then they wouldn't be able to escape if caught.
Vexed, they continued on with different plans.
Until the aliens found them, they had no intention of leaving this place though, instead they huddled up together and prayed for the enemies to not find their locations.
Otherwise, it would be a game over.