Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

Moreover, from our observations of the Thunder Beast's physique and posture, it does not seem... nor is it suited to carry more types of symbiotic weapons. It likely won't have too many variant functions. At present, we believe the best tactic to counter the Thunder Beast is to have our armed mechas engage in close-quarters combat, as the Thunder Beast lacks methods to deal with high-armored units up close."

"But can each of your mechas match the close-combat strength of that mecha?"

Helen pointed at the screen where the final image was frozen. The mecha holding a blade was facing away from the Thunder Beast as the massive corpse of the Bug Race slowly toppled over.@@novelbin@@

Although the video was brief, the performance of the other mechas on screen differed greatly from the one that killed the Thunder Beast, convincing Helen that it could be an instructor leading a training battle with students.

"This..."

Weslin had neither the time nor the inclination to attend to such matters; as a marshal overseeing the big picture, he did not need to worry about the combat capabilities of each individual in his command structure.

Not capable enough? Then train!

There are tens of thousands in the camp, millions in the entire city. If the camp lacks manpower, they can draft more troops. If that's still not enough, the artificial human production lines can mass-produce soldiers. They can be selected one by one to find the talent he needs.

It's not as if they need a unique existence like the "War God of the Empire." Ordinary geniuses are just a matter of probability.

...And so, at this moment, he too was at a loss for words in response to Helen's question.

But Helen was similarly unconcerned about these differences in individual combat capability. She just needed more relevant data.

"What about the other kind of beast?"

"Here."

The screen flashed, and the image flickered again.

The crimson beast, from its entrance run to the brief hold by the mecha squad until its retreat after the death of the Thunder Beast, was fully displayed in a brief timeframe, with scarce observable content.

"We tentatively name this beast the Ripper. Its normally concealed massive claws can easily tear through our armed mecha's strongest defenses. And its numbers..."

Are probably not small.

If the Thunder Beast is an absolute weapon for long-range bombardment, then the Ripper is the invincible king of close-combat.

A pair of claws easily tearing through an armed mecha's armor, in a matter of seconds, three Rippers completely shredded one and a half mechas, and if it weren't for the mecha squad captain promptly coming to the rescue after dealing with the Thunder Beast, the half-destroyed mecha would also have faced inevitable ruin.

Even though the power of those claws may not appear as fearsome as the sheer cutting force of the "Dominant" that could slice clean through like a mirror, they are still among the top bioweapons of the Bug Race that humanity has encountered.

Coupled with a terrifying strength that could overwhelm a mecha in direct confrontation, and a full-body bone armor that renders all of the mecha's armed weaponry nearly useless against it, the threat posed by the Ripper is not far behind that of the Thunder Beast.

Not to mention that whenever Rippers appear, they do so in threes, hardly resembling a form of cherished military asset.

If on a future battlefield against the Bug Race, one were to see a large swarm of these creatures charging in formation...

The thought alone is enough to send chills down the spine of every officer.

In front of the people from their scientific research department, the Military Department's summaries tend to be conservative as can be expected.

Helen never expected to rely on them to classify newly emerged species of the Bug Race; she was simply pointing at the last frozen scene on the screen.

The blue and white captain's mecha was gazing into the distance at the direction of the retreat of the three crimson beasts, looking like an absolute War God protecting the entire army.

"Who is piloting this mecha?"

The Thunder Beast didn't have a long appearance, providing few chances to show itself.

Even though the battlefield drones followed the entire event, due to distance and pixel limitations, many details remained unclear.

The same goes for the Rippers, with the entire fight not lasting more than a minute. Except for the brief entanglement with the captain's mecha at the end, the combat was almost a one-sided crush when they faced the other mechas.

Perhaps only the Mech Pilot operating the captain's mecha could provide more details, which were inaccessible to others.

Helen didn't care about the differences in combat ability between individual soldiers, but she understood that to defeat one's enemy, a warrior first needs to know their enemy.

Direct confrontation and slaying of the Thunder Beast, and even engaging the Ripper on equal terms—the Mech Pilot, at this moment, held the greatest authority to speak.

"Captain Bai, it's your turn to answer Helen's questions now," Weslin said with a smile as he shifted the focus onto Bai E.

Seeing the warrior he personally promoted shine once again in this battle was indeed a feather in his cap.

"Yes! Marshal!" Bai E stood up straight, his face serious as he turned his head and nodded to Helen, "Academician Helen, please go ahead."

"..."

The focus returned to the corner where the warrior was standing, and the previously suppressed thoughts began to stir once again.

Helen squinted, "You've become a Mech Pilot? When did this happen?"

"Five days ago." That was the time he underwent assessment to become a regular Mech Pilot, a date Bai E would not forget.

Helen slightly tilted her head, "Marshal Weslin, if I remember correctly, the standard for your Mech Pilots' composition requires at least 14 points in physical fitness and reflex, 13 points in insight, right?"

The drivers of the Mecha were not a group of weaklings—they needed to have robust physiques and sufficient observational and reaction skills to ensure humanity's strongest weapons could be effectively utilized.

Even the reserve Mech Pilots in the Mech Armor Camp were elites, each having gone through several layers of selection and certain artificial enhancements to reach this point.

This was also a significant reason for their vehement rejection of artificially created people parachuting into their teams.

Your next chapter awaits on My Virtual Library Empire

Upon hearing Helen's question, Weslin was momentarily taken aback, glancing at the adjutant who was on standby and seeing his cautious nod, then confidently replied, "Correct!"

Helen murmured softly, "These attribute requirements..."

This was much more astonishing than when she first met him.

Initially, one could attribute it to the potential of his awakened exotic genes not being fully released, leading to an explosive development at lower attributes. However, the current rapid enhancement across all attributes...

Not to mention breaking conventions to become the only artificially created person to join the regular Mech Pilot team, and even in this incredibly short training period, he became the captain of a combat squad surpassing all Mech Pilots of the Mech Armor Camp.

What exactly had he done in this period?

The thoughts that had been extinguished were stirring once again.

However, as this was related to her private plans, Helen knew the importance of protocol. After a brief inquiry, she went straight to the topic at hand, "Did you personally slay the Thunder Beast?"

"Yes."

"Besides what Marshal Weslin just described, do you have anything to add regarding the Thunder Beast?"

"Academician, the Marshal has not left anything out. In my observation, the Thunder Beast's attack methods are limited to those two forms—its structure prevents it from executing any other combat strategies. It's worth noting that a group of small-sized worker and bee insects constantly accompany the Thunder Beast. If we hadn't initiated a missile barrage on the Thunder Beast beforehand, our beheading operation would have faced much more resistance. Additionally, from what I observed, the Thunder Beast seems to absorb the biomatter of the smaller insect guards to heal its wounds. It's a war machine designed for strategic strikes within battle formations. If deployed in regimental strength, with our current capabilities, we would be absolutely unable to confront it, and it shouldn't appear on a battlefield of this level," Bai E explained.

Regarding the Thunder Beast, the Beast Compendium had described it quite clearly—it was not something rare!

Given enough biomatter, this kind of insect could be mass-produced by the Bug Race.

If they appeared in swarms, they represented a formidable force that, as Bai E currently understood, humanity was absolutely incapable of confronting!

Why would a sentient Bug Race easily reveal such a trump card?

Ever since Bai E first set foot on the Bug Race's battlefield, he remained doubtful about the Bug Race's true objectives. He could only subtly interweave his personal inquiries during such occasions to see if he could hint at anyone influential currently in the city.

"...It absorbs the biomatter of other insects to repair itself?" Helen murmured softly, a piece of information that had not appeared in the video nor in Weslin's summary.

After nodding to show she understood, Helen continued, "And what about the Ripper?"

"I think this name might not be quite appropriate," Bai E replied calmly, looking directly at Helen.

A name can predispose people's subconscious impressions—an appropriate designation is crucial.

"In my view, the responsibility of this crimson beast is more about protection... We should perhaps call it—the Guardian," Bai E suggested.