Smoke choked the battlefield. Vance moved through the grey haze. He did not run. He hunted. He was a phantom wrapped in orange fire. The enemy gunners fired blind into the dust. Their bullets hit the dirt.Vance found the second transport rover. He jumped onto the hood. The metal bent under his boots. The driver looked up in terror. Vance thrust his glowing katana through the thick glass of the windshield. The blade melted the reinforced pane. The driver slumped over the steering wheel.Two guards in the back of the rover raised their weapons. Vance did not give them time to aim. He channeled his chaotic purple energy. He unleashed a seismic punch onto the roof of the vehicle. The shockwave crushed the steel cabin inward. The two guards fell unconscious."Stop shooting at the ghosts!" Warlord Skarn roared from his iron fortress. "Circle the wagons. Trap him!"The remaining rovers shifted their gears. They moved to form a tight ring around Vance. They wanted to box him in. Vance smiled

Vance walked through the massive steel gates of Veridian City. The thick iron doors closed behind him with a heavy thud. The citizens lined the flooded streets. They threw scraps of colorful cloth and cheered his name loudly. The Faction Node hummed deep within his armored chest. He felt their absolute loyalty. The connection fed a steady stream of mental energy into his core. He nodded to the crowd but did not stop to celebrate. There was too much work left to do.Elias walked right beside him. The young captain looked at the salvage crews dragging the black iron fortress of Skarn through the gates. The giant machine left deep grooves in the wet asphalt."The mechanics are already stripping the heavy plasma cannons from the rig," Elias reported with excitement. "We can mount them on the northern watchtowers by nightfall. The rest of the scrap will reinforce the lower barricades against any future raids.""Good," Vance said. "Make sure the mechanics check the core of that machine for

Vance followed Corvus through the winding stone corridors of the combat compound. The dark walls pulsed with veins of blue energy. Two heavily armed corporate guards walked right behind them. They finally stopped in front of a heavy steel door. Corvus pressed his palm against a glowing green scanner. The heavy door hissed open."Your suite," Corvus announced. "Food and water are provided inside. Do not leave this room until we summon you tomorrow night. If you step out into the hall, the automated defense grid will incinerate you.""I will be waiting," Vance replied coldly.He stepped into the room. The steel door closed and locked behind him. The suite was luxurious but felt entirely like a prison. A massive king sized bed sat in the center. A wall of reinforced glass offered a spectacular view of the glowing neon metropolis below.Vance did not care about the view. He activated his Synthetic Perception immediately. He scanned the entire room. The thermal radar revealed three hidden

Vance walked through the quiet stone corridors. His shadow cloak kept him completely hidden from the automated defense turrets. He navigated the winding halls and returned to the west wing. He reached the heavy steel door of his suite. The two corporate guards were gone. The door stood wide open. Inside the room, a clean up crew in white protective suits scrubbed the bloody glass window. The broken body of the stealth assassin was already missing. Vance slipped past the busy workers in total silence. He moved into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. He deactivated his shadow cloak. He looked in the mirror. His cybernetic armor hummed with the massive power he stole from Grok. He turned on the shower and let the scalding hot water wash away the sweat and grime of the night. He stepped out and dressed in fresh dark combat clothes provided by the council. He sat on the edge of the massive bed. He rested his hands on the hilt of his thermal katana. He waited patiently for the su

Vance ripped the thermal katana from the stomach of the four armed giant. The massive warlord groaned one last time before toppling over onto the blood stained sand. The bright blue interface flared in his vision immediately.[Target Eliminated. Commencing Extraction Protocol.][Attribute Gained: Multi Limb Coordination.]Vance ignored the strange new sensation in his nervous system. He turned his cold gaze toward the final two opponents. The sonic cyborg stood trembling a few yards away. His mechanical chest plates expanded fully, revealing glowing blue speaker cones that vibrated with immense frequency.The cyborg unleashed a massive wall of sound. The concussive wave was so intense that it shattered the glass windows of the lowest luxury boxes. The sand in front of the cyborg blasted upward in a massive wall.Vance felt the pressure hit his ears. His vision blurred slightly. He remembered the trait he just stole from Kaelia. Crystal Resonance. He focused his mind on his internal bo