As Alex climbed back into the helm of his ship, he couldn't shake the anger that simmered within him.
Colonel Margit's dismissive attitude had lit a fire within him.
He had no intention of being side lined in some minor skirmish; he was there to make a real difference, not to be just another statistic.
He quickly ran a scan of the planet's surface with his eyes, looking for the hottest spot for conflicts.
His eyes were drawn to a large chaotic region, which he quickly learned was called 'Any Man's land' when he glanced at the map provided to him.
'Perfect.' He thought.
Any Man's land was infamous already after just a few days since the war had begun.
It was a place where the rules of engagement were blurred, and survival often depended on willpower and strength alone.
It was exactly where Alex wanted to be.
Somewhere he wouldn't be disturbed by the bureaucracy of the federation.
He powered his ship, and set a course for the coordinates.
As his vessel descended through the atmosphere, the visuals from his scanners painted a grim picture.
The land below was scarred with craters and burning wreckage, with flashes of light and explosions lighting up the sky.
The closer he got, the more intense the sounds of battle became.
His ship's systems registered multiple combatants, both Red Demons and Federation forces, locked in a deadly battle.
He landed his ship in a relatively secure location on the outskirts of the battlefield, and stored it away in his storage ring right away.
As he disembarked, he was immediately met with the acrid smell of smoke and the deafening noise of warfare.
'It's finally time to put you to use!' Alex thought, as he pulled out Virtue's Edge.
This thing had been stuck at F- rank ever since he first received it, since he didn't really have the chance to use it in a real fight yet.
'This was the best opportunity I could have asked for in terms of my growth.'
Alex was ecstatic that the Red Demons had taken the initiative to start the war so early, not considering the fact that they had slaughtered billions of innocent humans already.
This only made him more motivated to return the favour back to them tenfold.
Just as Alex was admiring Virtue's edge though, an energy beam was headed straight for him.
Alex streaked across the landscape like a line and barely avoided being dismembered by the energy beam.
The band of brothers would never have expected Alex's attack to be so terrifying.
Only with Alex's aura unleashed did they realise the kind of foe they were up against.
'A prodigy!'
"Damn it, this dumb human actually concealed his aura. He's a prodigy!"
One of them spoke their realisation out loud.
But rather than cowardice like Alex expected them to reveal when he completely obliterated their brother's head, they only looked even more bloodthirsty instead.
'Are they really that cold hearted of a race? Ignoring the fact I killed one of their brothers just like that...'
Alex didn't feel guilty at all.
A faint grey light lit up around one of the Red Demon's fists, as he charged up another energy beam.
And he swung his fists towards Alex, launching another beam of energy, only more concentrated this time.
Booom!
The energy beam and sword collided, and after a moment of silence, a loud collision resounded.
Following that, an energy shockwave swept over the nearby vicinity.
Everyone, not excluding Alex or the three remaining brothers, was swept away by this shockwave.
Alex spat out a heap of blood as he landed back on his feet hundreds of metres away.
'They're stronger than I thought!'
He was surprised by the power of that energy beam attack.
It clearly reached the level of a Variant class attack, which only made Alex more excited for when he killed the three remaining!
He hadn't received a soul orb from the first guy he killed, but there were still three chances left!
Alex disappeared on the spot and appeared back in front of the three Red Demons, this time with his Phoenix Flames surrounding Virtue's edge.
He could feel an external feeling in his hands, one of deep, desperate hunger.
It came from Virtue's edge.
It wanted more.
It wanted to grow.