"The Super-class Danger Beast—Tyrant was one of the materials personally chosen by the First Emperor for the creation of Teigu..."
As he spoke, Dr. Stylish paused his animated gestures and quickly rummaged through the messy drawers of his desk, pulling out a stack of aged, coverless books.
He skillfully flipped through several heavily worn pages before handing them to Selene one by one. "Great General, these are records I recovered from the Imperial Science Bureau's central archive in the capital."
"Though the documentation on the Teigu is fragmented, it's better than nothing. These pages detail their usage and material sources—including the Demon Armor · Incursio."
This Demon Armor was an armor-type Teigu forged from the dragon-shaped Danger Beast known as Tyrant. When summoned, the sturdy armor would automatically form around the user, greatly enhancing their physical capabilities.
Renowned for its near-impenetrable defense, it came equipped with a secondary weapon known as Neuntote.
Its hidden ability was to temporarily activate the biological traits of its source material, granting the user brief invisibility. With mastery, the user could even suppress their presence entirely.
Due to the unique nature of its material, this Teigu possessed an extraordinary trait—it could continuously evolve, adapting to extreme conditions such as the freezing north or the scorching western deserts.
Its vitality was so immense that even a millennium later, the Tyrant cells within the Teigu remained alive.
As Selene quickly skimmed through the documents Dr. Stylish handed over, her crimson eyes narrowed slightly. Tyrant's traits—adaptability and survival under extreme stress—were exactly what the Honkai Energy Stabilized Soldier Project required.
"Dr. Stylish, how far has your research progressed?" she asked while flipping through more pages.
"There's been some progress, but... I've run out of experimental material. The Bureau's stock of Super-class Danger Beast resources is extremely limited—especially rare dragon-types like Tyrant. After several trials, all the remaining samples have been consumed."
"And those were the results of centuries of accumulation by the Science Bureau..."
Selene continued turning through his experiment logs.
Experiment 401: Utilizing the Super-class Danger Beast—Tyrant—as the modification base.
Fortunately, Subject 401 showed no signs of mutation. The body remained humanoid until death. Though its height increased to nearly five meters, that was acceptable—maintaining a humanoid form proved the concept's validity.
Continue using Tyrant material for further experiments!
...
Experiment 404:
Ah, I got carried away. I used all remaining Tyrant material on this one. What was I thinking...? Still, the results weren't without merit.
The subject died, yes, and partial draconic transformation occurred upon death—but this time, the corpse retained a height of around three meters. The physique was magnificent—powerful, proportionate... truly beautiful!
While performing disposal, I unexpectedly discovered a cluster of fused Tyrant cells near the chest cavity. These cells had absorbed Honkai energy and were actively evolving in response!
I have a strong feeling this could be the breakthrough we've been searching for in the Honkai Energy Stabilized Soldier Project!
However... the Tyrant material is completely depleted. Damn it! The Team Stylish is far too weak—they can't even capture a single Super-class Danger Beast!
It seems... I'll have to request aid from the Great General herself...
...
Reading up to that point, Selene couldn't help twitching slightly at the mention of the unlucky number "404." She looked up sharply. "The cluster of adaptive cells you extracted from the 404th specimen—where is it?"
"Oh, right here," Dr. Stylish said, pulling a small glass vial from the pocket of his lab coat. Inside, a blackish-purple mass floated within a neon-green nutrient solution. He handed it over reverently with both hands.
"You've been carrying this with you?"
"Of course. I need to observe its evolution up close, constantly."
Selene's eye twitched slightly. For all his eccentricities—and perversions—she had to admit, Dr. Stylish's dedication to science was unmatched.
Examining the pulsating black-purple mass within the vial, Selene asked, "Once you acquire more Tyrant material... what do you intend to do next?"
"Great General, according to my plan, Tyrant's adaptive capabilities can be surgically transplanted into the human body."
"Afterward, under my surgical modifications, once the experimental subject stabilizes and acquires Tyrant's traits, I believe that, through continuous adjustment, the subject should eventually be able to undergo Honkai energy enhancement successfully."
"And even if it fails, we can dissect the subject and study the cellular fusion between Tyrant material, human tissue, and Honkai energy. After refinement, these hybrid cells can then be transplanted into a new test subject."
Pointing at the glass vial in Selene's hand, Dr. Stylish said confidently, "By repeating this process, success is only a matter of time."
Selene nodded approvingly. "A genius concept... So, what kind of support do you require?"
"As I'm sure the Great General has noticed from my experiment logs," Dr. Stylish replied, "the Tyrant materials have been completely exhausted."
"To continue this project, we'll need more Tyrant samples—ideally a living one. But... the Great General knows as well as I do how dangerous Super-class Danger Beasts are."
He gave an awkward chuckle. "Although I'd hate to trouble you, my Team Stylish simply lacks the ability to hunt such creatures."
"I understand. Leave Tyrant to me."
Selene turned, her tone decisive. "Sebas, Arisa—cease your current work. Take the Complete Book of the World and begin searching beyond the borders for any traces of Tyrant or other Super-class Danger Beasts. Capture them alive if possible."
"Liver, inform Kinshasa and Hak Foo to prepare for war against the northern tribes! Since they've already crossed the border, we may as well strike first. Move up the battle plan—we'll end this once and for all."
Most existing Super-class Danger Beasts resided beyond the Great Northern Wall. Originally, Selene had planned to leave the conquest of those territories to Esdeath at her request...
But now, waiting was no longer an option. Her plans took precedence.
"Oh, and send word to Esdeath," Selene added coldly. "Tell her to finish off the Western Kingdom's invasion quickly. If she still wants personal revenge, she'd better hurry—I'm going to war with the northern tribes."
"Yes, Milady!"
...
Meanwhile, in the southern provinces of the Empire—at General Najenda's encampment.
Since her army had been reassigned and separated from Esdeath's forces by Honest's direct orders, Najenda had been leading her troops in a sluggish campaign of "bandit suppression."
So far, she had destroyed only two or three small bandit camps—moving slowly, with suspiciously low efficiency, yet constantly demanding funds and supplies from the local territories.
It was only because she was one of Honest's protégés that no formal accusations had reached the Imperial Court. Otherwise, she would have long since faced impeachment.
Nevertheless, Najenda continued to act at her own pace—fortifying camps, drilling soldiers, and stockpiling resources—leaving Imperial authorities completely baffled as to her true intentions.
"So, you're saying the Oarburgh Assassination Syndicate was completely annihilated at the White Wolf River region?"