Chapter 188: Stan's power!
In this civilized society built by humans, in addition to humans, there is also a kind of noble creature living in it.
They are a lonely and proud group that has overlooked the evolution of human civilization over thousands of years.
They have a cute appearance and are very popular with humans, but they are not creatures that can be easily touched.
The name of this ethnic group... is cats.
Cats, as another kind of intelligent creature in this world, understand the world in their own unique way. Although they have lived with humans for thousands of years, they have always remained mysterious and independent and have not been domesticated by humans.
Of course, the power possessed by most cats cannot be compared with that of humans, but among them, there are always some outstanding ones with outstanding talents.
This is the case with the kitten that came to the town of Wanaka.
It has experienced the baptism of war, friendship, and affection with humans, and separation from life and death. The cat's life of wandering has made it deeply understand that in this world, only power is the truth.
And with such belief, it finally encountered a serpent one day who tempted it with the forbidden fruit.
Opportunities only come to cats that are prepared. In order to gain power, it stepped into the forbidden area without hesitation and was no longer an ordinary cat.
It put in more effort than an ordinary cat, eliminated countless of its own kind in the fierce competition, and finally became the only winner, gaining power beyond everything from the serpent.
——Its name is Stan.
At this moment, this pure white kitten, with only brown and gray marks on its limbs and face, is wandering on the street.
Unlike its fellow creatures who are just lazing around, it has its own mission here.
The ring placed around its neck is both a limiter of its liberated power and a device it uses to communicate with its current owner.
After finding an empty area, Stan jumped onto a wooden box and murmured in dissatisfaction:
"Meow." (Is it really necessary for me to wander around here aimlessly?)
Rather than doing nothing here, it prefers to return to the base to continue training and allow its body to better adapt to the Honkai energy.
Become stronger and keep getting stronger, this is its cat's life creed.
So, in its opinion, strolling around the town like this is a huge waste of time and cat life.
Soon, the ring on its neck flashed, and someone on the other side responded:
"Don't worry, your work is not in vain. Schicksal has noticed the traces of Honkai energy you left behind and sent two people to investigate you. They have arrived today."
This is a strategy to lure the enemy.
Use the faint traces of Honkai energy to attract the attention of the Oceania branch and ask them to send a Valkyrie to investigate.
Then, Stan can take action.
The town of Wanaka is some distance away from the branch base in New Zealand, and they were unable to provide timely support.
"It's a pity that the person who came was not Theresa Apocalypse. Otherwise, I really want to capture the granddaughter of the Bishop of Schicksal and study her carefully. By then, the blond guy will definitely be very happy."
"Meow." (So we just need to capture them and bring them back to the base here?)
——The hidden bases of the World Serpent are spread all over the world. Whether it is the areas managed by Anti-Entropy or Schicksal, their bases are hidden.
"Well, be careful, catch them alive."
The voice on the other end ordered.
Although they are not Theresa's top target, the two guys who came back to investigate can also be good experimental materials.
"Meow meow meow." (I can just decide when to take action myself, right? They've already started looking for me today.)
"I will arrange someone to pick you up when the time comes, don't worry."
"Meow." (Got it. Bye.)
(TL: Is stan really like this in canon?)
After the call ended, Stan continued to wander the streets with his small body.
In the World Serpent Headquarters base far away in South Africa, a masked woman looked at the screen in front of her and the various data displayed on it, and said to herself:
"Hmph... Let me see what kind of fighting power my outstanding creation, Stan, can exert."
She is the Jackal, a scientist and high-ranking official of the World Serpent.
She is quite confident in the combat capability of Stan, the synthetic creature. Even if the S-class Valkyrie of Schicksal comes, Stan will be able to fight against it.
It is precisely because of its powerful strength that the Jackal arranged it to carry out this bait operation alone.
"Schicksal has destroyed many of our strongholds recently. It's time to teach them a lesson."
The Jackal narrowed her eyes and looked at the portraits of the two people on the screen.
The data about Kirataka and Anna are displayed here.
Kirataka, according to the information from Gray Serpent, they destroyed Cocolia's base not long ago and killed Cocolia, which also severed their cooperative relationship with that woman.
Although she didn't care much about Cocolia's life or death, the absence of Cocolia, a "good helper" who learned her technology to conduct experiments, still had some impact on her research.
——The various biotechnologies that the Anti-Entropy executive had previously demonstrated that surpassed others, such as "Herrscher" and "fusion warriors", were all provided to her by her with good intentions.
Of course, this is not the point, the most important thing is...
Once Cocolia died, the X-10 experiment she led and the authority of the Eye of the Abyss could no longer be used by the World Serpent.
And this will disrupt one of their plans to welcome back the Lord.
'My Lord...he is still sleeping in the quantum sea, waiting for the serpent's followers to welcome him back!'
Although the World Serpent has more than one plan to find the Lord, the Cocolia line is indeed a more important one.
All in all, it was for these reasons that the Jackal planned to take revenge on Schicksal.
In the past, they have always adhered to the creed of forbearance and have not excessively intervened in the struggle between Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, in order to preserve their strength and wait for the return of the Lord.
But in recent times, Schicksal seemed to have discovered their existence and had begun to deliberately target them, causing them considerable losses, which was completely unacceptable to the Jackal.
——Since the existence of the World Serpent can no longer be hidden, it will reveal its fangs and give Schicksal a hard bite.
By using the intelligence network throughout Schicksal, she obtained the news that Theresa and Kirataka had arrived at the Oceania branch, and thought that this was a very appropriate time to take action.
Among all the branches of Schicksal, the overall combat effectiveness of the Oceania branch is the weakest, so it is naturally a suitable place to be used to establish Schicksal's prestige.
Moreover, there is a Valkyrie named Wendy here, and the core of the Herrscher of Wind is implanted in her body... Haha, those useless scientists of Schicksal actually left such precious experimental materials aside for three years without caring about them. It's such a waste of resources.
It was also thanks to the fact that they didn't care about Wendy and abandoned her in a place so far away from the Schicksal Headquarters that it was convenient for her to take action.
If Wendy were handed over to her and she were to do some experiments... hehe, she would definitely be able to research more incredible technologies.
A Herrscher is a rare experimental material!
This was also one of the reasons why she chose the Oceania branch as the target of attack.
She had failed to capture the Herrscher of Thunder, and she was determined to capture the Herrscher of Wind.
Then, the Jackal's golden eyes fell on the chestnut-haired girl next to Kirataka, and he muttered to himself:
"[Anna Schariac]... Humph, although not as important as the Herrscher of Wind, she is indeed a good experimental subject."
Schariac's Stigmata and bloodline did make her a little concerned.
If this powerful Stigmata that mutated itself in this generation could be thoroughly studied and applied to other transformed creatures, it might greatly enhance the combat capability of the World Serpent.
"I heard that the strongest Valkyrie of Schicksal [Cecilia Schariac] was artificially transformed by the Bishop of Schicksal. Humph... If I also get Schariac's body, I will definitely be able to create a warrior who is much better than Cecilia."
As a scientist, she is quite proud, and she does have the talent and achievements to match, otherwise she would not have reached her current position.
"Hmph... just let me wait for the good news."
.........
Kirataka walked on the street and followed Judah's guidance to Stan's vicinity.
Because he could use [Time Rewind] to erase this future at any time, he did not hide himself, but walked in the alley with a swagger, and the crisp footsteps echoed throughout the alley.
This is another dark alley. Looking around, you can see many small figures everywhere in this alley.
Cats are creatures that really like to hang out in places where there are few people.
They all raised their heads and looked at him with cautious eyes.
Kirataka pondered for a moment, and a little lightning flashed on his body, which would make ordinary kittens feel disgusted and stay away from him.
After using the electromagnetic field to disperse the ordinary kittens, only one kitten was left crawling on a high place.
It looked down at itself from high above, as if spying on a puny mortal.
Looking at its arrogant appearance, Kirataka couldn't help but twitch his mouth slightly.
Well, it was consistent with his guess. The kitten that left the cat claw mark was indeed... Stan.
——It was the cat that fought evenly with Rita, who was wearing [Argent Knight: Artemis] and giving her all in the original timeline, and then was killed instantly by a slap from the super stupid goose.
Let's not complain about the difference in combat power. This cat is the product of the Jackal's genetic modification technology. In other words, it is a creature from the World Serpent.
'Why is this cat here?'
Kirataka is not clear yet.
But no matter what, Stan's existence means that the World Serpent will take action in Oceania.
There are many possibilities.
Perhaps they were planning to retaliate against Schicksal's recent investigation and crackdown on them, or perhaps they wanted to take away Wendy, the Herrscher of the Wind's body, or perhaps they were targeting him, the culprit who had recently destroyed their cooperation with Cocolia.
In any case, now that Kevin is no longer in charge of World Serpent, we still need to be wary of this organization.
Because of his appearance, Stan, who was originally crawling, stood up and stretched:
"Meow." (I was planning to trouble you guys tomorrow, but I didn't expect you to come to my doorstep now.)
Well, although Kirataka couldn't understand cat language, he could tell that this guy was ready to fight.
Stan's figure fell from the sky, the ring on his neck flashed red, causing his body to continue to expand.
When it fell to the ground, it had transformed into a Honkai beast whose size far exceeded that of an ordinary human.
Completely different from his previous cute kitten appearance, Stan's body at this moment was covered with a pure white shell exactly the same as that of an ordinary Honkai beast, and his pupils had turned purple, filled with Honkai energy.
The combat body transformed by the Jackal not only possesses extremely strong combat performance, but its eyes can also detect the opponent's Honkai energy index and make a preliminary judgment on the opponent's strength.
"Nyan…" (Not bad, the Honkai energy in his body is quite substantial, he is the same type of existence as me.)
While Stan was observing him, Kirataka was also observing its shape. He calmly deployed the [Infinity] defense around himself, and then slowly walked towards the other party.
"Meow." (Hoho…you're coming towards me? You didn't run away from me but chose to approach me You're a brave human.)
Stan made an appreciative sound, then raised his own tail and pointed it at the other man.
Its modified tail can convert Honkai energy into light cannon and fire it out.
"…Nya?" (You're not going to dodge? You're such a human with no sense of danger.)
The time for accumulating Honkai energy was very short, and the next second, Stan fired the Honkai energy light cannon.
The dazzling light hit Kirataka, causing a large explosion in the narrow alley.
"Meow." (I could feel the tangible hit.)
After being hit like this, the opponent is at least half dead.
It deliberately controlled its power, so this time it shouldn't kill the human.
Now that we have already started, let's quickly notify the owner and ask someone to take this guy away…
Stan took a step forward, turned around, and was about to leave, but he heard a voice of praise behind him:
"It's really powerful, but unfortunately..."
Kirataka waved his hand and brushed away the smoke floating around.
Unfortunately, this trick is of no use to him.
No matter how high the power output or how strong the attack, as long as it does not involve the concept of [space], it will not cause any harm to him.
As his strength increases, the time he can maintain [Infinity] defense is getting longer and longer. If we ignore the consumption in other battles, he can maintain the defense state for about five minutes.
In actual combat, even a moment of absolute defense is enough to change the situation of the battle.
"Meow!" (...Impossible!)
Stan couldn't believe what he saw and heard.
'There was no wound on his body, how could it be possible? I clearly felt that I was hit just now.'
There was no time to think, it attacked at an extremely fast speed, and its claws that could easily tear apart rock-hard alloys swept over.
Since energy attacks don't work, use close combat to defeat the opponent!
Kirataka did not try to stop him but stood there, enduring Stan's attack motionlessly.
He was watching Stan's attack carefully, judging its combat effectiveness.
'Hmm... the attack performance is indeed very strong. It seems that the combat power comparable to that of an S-class Valkyrie is not an exaggeration.'
You know, the lowest level of judgment for an S-class Valkyrie is to be able to subdue an Emperor-class Honkai Beast alone. In other words, if Stan is judged by the level of Honkai Beast, it has already surpassed the Emperor-class and may even be approaching the Judgment-class Honkai Beast, which is the upper limit of conventional Honkai Beasts.
And its original form was just an ordinary kitten...
Being able to artificially create a creature of S-class Valkyrie level and transform an ordinary kitten into such a creature, the Jackal's technology is indeed not to be underestimated.
That woman could indeed be called a genius when it came to the study of stigmata and Honkai.
'Um...'
Kirataka seemed to have an idea.
'Maybe Jackal, the genius scientist... has enough wisdom and methods to solve Wendy's problem?'
If he remembered correctly, the stigmata on the children that Raven had taken in Nagazora were treated with the medicine developed by the Jackal.
Kirataka himself is not an expert in this area, and even if he considers a feasible direction, he does not have enough knowledge to solve Wendy's problem.
But if we can use the genius of the Jackal...
'Well, maybe it's possible.'
'Anyway, there's nothing to lose by giving it a try.'
Kirataka made up his mind and just then he raised his head to look at the big guy in front of him.
Coincidentally, after completing a round of violent attacks, it stopped and landed not far away from him, looking at him vigilantly.
"… Nyan?" (What's going on? No matter how hard I attack him, I can't cause any damage?)
Stan couldn't comprehend what was happening.
"Are you done? It's my turn now."
Kirataka got into position and electric light suddenly appeared on his body.
The explosive skills that he had experimented with during the sparring with Theresa were now being used in actual combat.
He has already made up his mind to erase this future, and what he is preparing to do now is just an experiment.
The lightning continued to accumulate, and soon Kirataka's momentum rose to a level far beyond that when he was sparring with Theresa.
This time, there was no need to stop. He had already released the restrictions on himself and allowed his body to be exploited without limits.
"...Meow!"
Looking at the situation in front of him, Stan instinctively took two steps back.
As the ultimate creature, it not only possesses combat capabilities comparable to those of an S-class Valkyrie, but also possesses extremely keen perception abilities.
Its senses are much more sensitive than those of ordinary cats.
And now, its instinct was frantically warning it to be careful, beware of the monster in front of it.
'If he launches an attack, I may not be able to withstand it.'
'...retreat.'
This word appeared in Stan's mind.
There is nothing shameful in escaping. Conserve your energy, bide your time, and fight again in the future...!
Then, just as it took a step back, Kirataka moved.
A flash of lightning flashed in the dark night, and before Stan could react, his fist had already touched the weak part of his body.
[Inch power, open the sky]!
A sound like a high-powered explosive exploding rang out in the alley, and at the same time, a dazzling flash of lightning flashed by.
If an ordinary person saw this scene, he would probably be curious about what kind of accident had suddenly happened.
"It hurts, it hurts... Tsk, the side effects are a bit exaggerated."
Kirataka looked at Stan, who had been burned by electricity but had recovered.
At maximum output, it is not a problem to kill it instantly, but the price to pay is also a bit high.
"Huh... Anyway, let's go back first."
Kirataka let out a long sigh.
When he said go back, of course, he didn't mean walk back to the hotel.
The battle just now has already attracted the attention of the Jackal and Schicksal. If things develop according to the current timeline, it may not be his turn to intervene in what happens next.
He had already recorded the [Save Point] before leaving the hotel at night. What he had to do now was to erase this future and go back to the time when nothing had happened.
——If he wants to "borrow" the Jackal's wisdom to solve Wendy's problem, he must find a way to contact the other party.
And considering that World Serpent might be carrying out other actions in Oceania, at least he also needs to know where the World Serpent's secret base in New Zealand is.
Therefore, he had to find a way to expose his flaw and be caught by the other party.
While Kirataka was thinking, he activated [Time Rewind] and ended the search that night.
(TL: Hi everyone~ If you want to read advanced chapters, feel free to check out my Patreon!
Link : patreon.com/Elysia_Husband
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