New Game+

The waves were huge and the wind was strong. Yet despite these very trying conditions, the team was actually enjoying themselves.

"I can't believe I'm doing this!" Stanley shouted excitedly.

"Running on top of the ocean in the middle of a storm. I want this on my next resume!" Danny laughed too.

"Yohohohoho!" Gardo laughed as he started to run using a strange stance of using his feet to sprint so fast.

Even Cliff couldn't help but laugh too.

The group was sprinting on top of the water and while the resistance of the wind and the terrifying waves were things that would make it impossible for humans, the impossible later became possible as the group slowly got used to standing and walking. A few minutes passed and some were already doing tricks like jumping, running, and somersaulting.

All of them would at times fall down on the ocean, and those nearby would help them get up. But as their running continued, they got used to it and even started to play around.

"So this is what we are capable of? The advantage of perception, strength, speed, and control…" Gardo tried experimenting with his movements as they continued to run.

"You got it. I was amazed at this. I easily became an expert at any sports I was playing! Be it in video games or physical sport, muscle memory plays a crucial role in skill. And our learning abilities have increased exponentially. How else can we get used to this crazy thing!" Tyler laughed.

"The battle ahead of us will also give us this advantage. So learn from it! The fear you felt on the high sky… Remember it! Use it! When you face an enemy that will start to scare you, remember how you got over the fear!" Cliff reminded.

Dara clenched her teeth at Cliff's reminder and vowed to never fall into the fear that she just felt. Her confidence was shattered when they were falling as she needed to get saved twice and even groped.

The speed of their sprint only got faster and faster. Soon the bright lights that flew on the air got brighter and brighter.

"Drop your temperatures now! Assume the formation."

Earl and Scribs started collecting the pieces of cylinders that everyone had and connected them. They started to lock the pieces they have together so that it was tight and secure.

"You sure you guys can do this underwater? What if you drop it?"

"The real connection doesn't happen when we complete all the first halves of it. It still will take time for it to create energy. Right now, we're just locking the two pieces together. The lock was designed so that no energy would leak out right before the meeting of two forces. Don't worry." Tyler was the one who did the explaining.

"Ok then. Let's do it!" Cliff announced.

Earl and Scribs immediately ran forward and dove forward towards the ocean.

Cliff and Zidane, caught Earl by the feet before his feet sank and Tyler and Danny caught Scribs.

And the pair started to run quickly, dragging the pair of soldiers with only their legs above the water.

Several lights could be seen flying up on the sky. They knew that the Exoskeletons or Armors were patrolling above them.

The group didn't slow down but actually started to move faster.

Titan Tristle who is known as StrawberrySitups in the Covenant was one of the fastest gamers in Piercing. The only person faster than him was those who had millisecond reactions such as Cronus of Git Godlike. And what was even more amazing, ever since the team had returned from Australia, both the Covenant and Warfreakz had undergone certain training sessions as planned by their leaders.

For Titan, the training he received was focused on perception and timing. Most of his training was placed on controlling his equilibrium, improving his reaction and agility, and cellular developmental program that made the reach of his sight and hearing further than the usual pace. Utilizing the data that they received from the files of the three scientists of Harker, they were able to create a modified version of the ultimate hearing techs used by the Australians.

His training focused on seeing through his ears which allowed him to sense and see things immediately within a radius of meters. But utilizing his Unlocking by selective hearing, he can redirect the range of his hearing to hear only on a specific location. This allowed him to hear up to 150 meters on a specific direction.

His physical training was dedicated to improved motor skills to minimize the lag times that happen when thought has yet to dictate the action. He was faster than an average unlocked, had more endurance and greater senses for detecting.

He was trained to be a perfect scout.

His movements pierced through the waves and it looked like he was stepping on each wave to propel him further and further.

The Kraken came into full view as the lights of the fortress gave the team the ability to see more clearly.

The Kraken was a large diamond-shaped floating fortress. The entire fortress was made of several blocks, each of different shapes and sizes, and had several buildings and structures on top of it. The entire fortress was about twenty meters above sea level. The tall hull of the fort was the first challenge that they had to scale.

Titan went ahead and looked for the best place for their entry.

The rest of the groups ran towards the hull and rested by clinging to the side of the hull. The places that they could cling to at the bottom of the hull were large enough for them to hold on to. For any normal humans, staying there would be suicide. But with the Unlocked, it was a moment for them to recover their strengths. Even those who were holding the EMP bombs resurfaced while keeping most of their bodies underwater

"Will that Titan kid be alright?" Gardo asked.

"Titan's a scout. His endurance and stamina were trained to surpass us. Trust me, even if we manage to rest, we are still more tired than he is at this point." Danny chuckled.

"I see. I sensed that there was something different among you. So I was right. Care to explain your builds?"

"You'll find out later." Cliff interrupted.

"Rest for now. And unless you can talk at a different speed or frequency, I suggest you keep quiet. We don't know if they have techs that can hear us." Cliff ordered.

Gardo gave an embarrassed smile and nodded. Of course, everyone knew that Cliff did that because he hasn't trusted Gardo yet. Everyone was reminded of Seeker's cryptic warnings of Gardo being a possible enemy.

Titan soon returned and jumped next to them.

"The compass shows that we are on the side closest to our weapons. We don't have to circle the Kraken anymore further than we should."

"Good. Have you found a good entrance?"

"Yes. The closest entry point is the best. Maybe because of the storm the enemy patrols have lessened greatly. Any active Armors are sent to hover around the base. Only Exoskeletons are patrolling around the area. I detected three Exoskeletons near our entry point. We need to take care of all three of them."

"Three's a perfect number. Let's go as planned."

The group resumed to run across the Kraken and soon reached the point where Titan found.

Titan was the first to move and ran up the wall utilizing impressive parkour moves that would have been otherwise impossible given the conditions they were in.

Titan ran up the hull and soon reached the many cannons and turrets that were protruding out. Soon, Titan reached the top, but held on to the edge and listened.

The Exoskeletons that were on patrol did not use lights but relied on their sophisticated technology to detect enemies. From night vision to heat detection, they were all employed.

So apart from the lights coming from other buildings, and the lights for the airport, most parts of this fortes was still covered by the darkness. With his improved hearing, the rain allowed him to map the direction of the enemies nearby and Titan could even tell where they were looking.

While hanging, Titan he gave several hand signals towards the group that was assuming another formation to help then stand. Each signal he made lasted barely a second but it was enough for everyone to understand what he meant.

"Go!" Cliff ordered his three men to rise.

Asterisxxx was the first to move and Zidane, Hank, and Counter quickly followed behind. Roselyn and Stanley then followed after them.

The moment Asterisxxx reached up, he looked. For others, it would have been pitch black. But for Asterisxxx, he could tell which Exoskeleton to deal with first.

And so, with a quick flick of his fingers, he threw a rolled-up rubber strip which he tore from his outfit.

John Octavion III is the son of a prominent sniper. John Octavion Jr. was a respected soldier in the field but sadly, during one of the skirmishes against the SPU, he injured his eyes, and even with the technology of their time, they were unable to fix it.

John Octavion III took matters on his own hands as their mission was largely blamed on his father's reckless attitude that basically caused him to lose all prestige and received an infamous reputation.

But then Asterisxxx was born. Pangea's best sniper user in Piercing. And compared to the realism of Generals, Piercing required greater and more precise sniping skills.

The Unlocking of Asterisxxx focused on sight. His eyes were now able to see invisible lights and had the basic anatomy that Meryl had. His sight could zoom in on command and has a higher tolerance of seeing through the dark.

But even more amazing, was the math. With the Unlocking, Asterisxxx was finally able to acquire a portion of what his teacher tried to teach him but failed.

All he needed was one look and he knew where to shoot.

Instant Calculation.

The flicks flew along with the blowing wind and struck the small mounted port that allowed the Exoskeletons to detect heat, techs, and metal. The composition of their rubber suit was made to distort these things to a certain extent. And so, the Exoskeleton was blinded for a second. The moment he flicked the rubber cloth on the first Exoskeleton, Zidane and Roselyn immediately rushed towards the direction of his throw.

Asterisxxx moved towards the next one and when the Exoskeleton would turn to their direction, he would immediately flick another piece of the rubber strips torn from his suit. Hank and Stanley rushed towards the second Exoskeleton and Counter rushed off towards where Asterisxxx threw his rubber stips.

And so, the three Exoskeleton guarding that wide-area all received a strip of rubber cloth which halted their scans for a quick second.

The Drug Dealers were amongst the hardest to train. They underwent the most inhumane training programs because they weren't very skilled at controlling the growth of their bodies. Unlike the Covenant and Warfreaks, who had high imagination, and how their normal state had already surpassed the average human in their own set of skills, Cliff's team was unable to forcibly dictate the growth and development of their body.

They didn't have this sixth sense as the rest did. In fact, they were the experimental batch who skipped the safer experimentation procedures and immediately used the dangerous experiments that Seeker recalled on his future.

And so, after being subject to various electrical shocks that would force the brain to feel it, they managed to understand it as they grasped the essence of Realm Somatotopy. And there it was, the fruits of their labor.

A different bone structure that was denser and stronger even when compared to an Unlocked.

Their muscle was also heightened. The science to develop a Ranked Heroes body was largely aided by Seeker's memory. But now, they also had technology that became a solid base for creating stronger muscles, bones, and organs.

Zidane, Hank, and Counter of the Small Time Drug Dealers were basically miniature or simplified versions of the physique that the Dawn Soldiers of Australia had.

As the three Exoskeletons had yet to recover from their blindness, the Zidane, Hand, and Counter rushed and employed a certain technique of attacking an Exoskeleton that they have practices again and again.

The three grappled the Exoskeletons, and using throwing techniques, the Exoskeletons were smashed on the ground.

SLAM!

The strength of the three was clearly portrayed as they could easily carry the heavy weight of the Exoskeletons was a burden. But it was a light burden.

Before the pilot could even recover, another toss was made. And this time Roselyn, Stanley, and Asterisxxx aided the respective three in delivering powerful kicks on the head regions of the Exoskeleton. Their strikes were designed to cause great vibrations on the head or through the jaw.

SLAM!

The heavy rain and winds silenced the loud slams and the position of how these exoskeletons were smashed prohibited the pilots from screaming.

SMASH!

The pilots became unconscious at the series of attacks. But since he was alive, and the Exoskeleton had not received critical damage because of the careful execution of the three, the respective alerts were not transmitted indicating an attack. the Pilots themselves were thrown in a way that made them stunned and as it all happened to fast, they weren't given the chance to do anything.

"Good. It looks like the plan worked. We're off to a good start." Cliff and his group arrived. The EMP bombs were immediately brought next to one of Exoskeleton that they attacked. The bombs carried by Earl and Scribs were starting to emit heat and could be detected by various tech scanners if caught so they planted it next to an Exoskeleton.

The group moved the Exoskeleton to the alleys of a nearby building.

"Woah. What techniques did you use? Is the guy inside that Exoskeleton unconscious?" Gardo was stunned.

Cliff simply made a gesture to make Gardo shut up.

Gardo gave an apologetic bow.

"Titan. How far from here?"

"According to the compass, we should go deeper towards the north-eastern part of the base."

"Would we be far off from the center?" Cliff asked Tyler.

"We will be a bit off. So we should deploy the EMP bomb a bit further from the location of our weapons."

"Titan. Scout ahead. Be careful. Assume that the enemy already has a plan to counter our ambush." Cliff warned.

Titan nodded immediately dashed towards the deeper regions of the base.

Hovering at the very center of the Kraken, were two invisible objects. The stealth of these two objects was so precise that it even created illusions that made it look like the rainwater would pass by them. The Kraken itself had no capability to detect this with all of their techs. This was in accordance with the laws set by the Emperors. All weapons by Emperors would be masked with all WGP techs.

This was to ensure that the WGP's technology may not be used against them. Every nation had tried to hack the WGP's technology to control this since the WGP rose to power. None have succeeded.

The two were the strongest weapons made by the WGP and it was only given to those who were Emperors by bloodline or rank.

It was the same device that the Tyrant Empress rode and used against Seeker. 

It was called the Emperors Rule. A throne of power for the strongest and mightiest men and women of Earth.

These Rules were larger than what the Tyrant Empress rode. The entire Rule assumed the form of a large pod that covered their riders and the two emperors were constantly scanning the entire Kraken. And while doing so, it employed several cloaking technologies that hid it perfectly even when it floated during a powerful storm.

"Do we defend this Kraken? Or blow it up together with everyone else here?" The Empress continued to mumble which was making the other Emperor feel uncomfortable.