"Queen!"
Seeing Selene appear at the entrance of the palace corridor, clad in her ceremonial regalia, Arisa cried out happily. She tossed aside her rice bowl and rushed straight over.
But the instant the words left her mouth, Arisa felt a surge of regret. Wuu... why is it that every time I remember, I still instinctively call her wrong...
By the time her brain caught up, her body had already moved ahead of her thoughts. She threw herself forward, hugging Selene's arm and rubbing against it affectionately.
Rarely, Selene did not correct Arisa's mistake in address. In a notably light mood, she patted Arisa—who was shaking her arm in front of her, trying to act cute and muddle through—and gave a slight nod.
"You may rise."
With a faint smile on her face, Selene then allowed the Royal Guard and attendants who were kneeling on one knee to stand up.
Only then did Arisa finally let out a sigh of relief. Catching sight of Sebas walking out slowly from beside the dining table in the corner of her vision, she immediately began to complain.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty... the task you gave me—Sebas directly cut off more than ninety percent of the first batch of 'Sisters of Battle' candidate soldiers I selected."
Now that her mind had finally caught up with her body's reflexes, Arisa hurriedly corrected her form of address as she spoke.
"What? More than ninety percent were eliminated?"
Hearing this, Selene raised her brows slightly. This was not the selection of Royal Guards or Astartes Legion warriors. It should only have required standards stronger than the Imperial Auxilia.
Judging by the standards of the 'Cursed Children', whose physical abilities had greatly increased due to DNA infection with the Gastrea virus, although unstable, those who passed the basic selection should have been numerous.
How could there be only a few?
"How many candidates were there in the first batch of 'Cursed Children'? What were the selection criteria? How many passed the specially designed testing stages?" Selene continued to ask.
"The testing of the first batch of 'Cursed Children' isn't finished yet, but it's almost done. At present, only these few passed in one go. As for the standards, they were set by Sebas," Arisa replied.
As she spoke, her gaze swept in turn over Sebas and the few girls outside the palace who were bowing their heads in salute.
"Tsk..."
Hearing this, Selene immediately understood. If it was Sebas, then it was not strange at all.
With the Royal Guard Commander Kinshasa also present, if she guessed correctly, the selection standards had been pulled up by Sebas to those for Astartes candidate warriors.
"Sebas, that's enough. Stop overprotecting Arisa. This matter can be left entirely to Arisa herself. The task of the Inquisition is what you should prioritize right now!"
The Empire had now entered yet another rapid developmental transformation phase.
First, the massive changes in the Empire's internal military forces, including but not limited to the integration of the Imperial Auxilia, the large-scale expansion of the Astartes Legions, and the upgrading and replacement of the Imperial Navy fleets.
Second, the formation of new Imperial departments: the Inquisition led by Sebas; the Imperial Assassination Unit and the Jaegers, awaiting Esdeath's awakening to take over and integrate; and Dr. Stylish' Imperial Science Bureau.
Third, the launch of a new wave of frenzied outward expansion. Alex' conquest of the Black Bullet world with the First Astartes Legion was only the beginning.
Budo's Second Astartes Legion had already set out in accordance with Selene's orders, advancing along the super-spacetime network routes of the Honkai Dimension toward a certain world. The vanguard forces had already begun wars of conquest along the way.
Following closely behind, the Third Astartes Legion—whose framework had been completed by Liver—was also impatiently setting off in another direction, departing from the Honkai Dimension and beginning its own legionary conquest war.
Stimulated by Alex' achievements, and with the two seniors also having begun their actions, the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Astartes Legions all began to stir restlessly.
If not for the fact that the basic frameworks of the legions had yet to be fully established, and even the supporting Imperial Auxilia were not yet in place, those legion commanders—who rejoiced at the scent of war—would have already departed, even if it meant dragging the Imperial Auxilia along with them.
It could be foreseen that, as time accumulated, the scale of each Astartes Legion would continue to expand, and the speed at which manpower was replenished would only grow faster and faster.
All things are difficult at the beginning. The Science Bureau apprentices who had once followed behind Dr. Stylish had already begun to be dispatched on a large scale. Technical personnel capable of independently performing Honkai energy human enhancement surgeries would steadily increase in number.
After all, Selene's Astartes warriors were not limited to just two gene-seeds. The most basic raw material for enhancement surgery was Honkai Energy itself—something Selene could produce endlessly.
Previously, there had been concerns that the Super-class Danger Beast Tyrant cells—used in large quantities to increase the success rate of Honkai energy human enhancement surgeries—might be insufficient.
But after Selene fully mastered everything in the Akame ga Kill world, including unique products such as orichalcum and even various Super-class Danger Beasts that had already gone extinct, she used the laws themselves to regenerate them endlessly across the Honkai Dimension.
The cells of the Super-class Danger Beast Tyrant could integrate the corrosiveness of Honkai energy while enhancing the compatibility and fusion adaptability between the recipient and the energy. They were another crucial factor in the success of Honkai energy human enhancement surgery.
If surgery was performed directly without implanting Tyrant cells beforehand, the vast majority of subjects, upon coming into direct contact with Honkai energy, would most likely be unable to withstand it—their bodies would collapse and they would die.
Not everyone was called Kaslana.
Thus, the two major bottlenecks in the mass production of Astartes warriors had already been resolved. What remained was simply for the number of physicians familiar with the surgical procedures created by Dr. Stylish to continue increasing.
Of course, Selene maintained very strict control over the technical physicians of the Imperial Science Bureau. Recruitment was limited to the Empire's native population. For the time being, those from conquered worlds should not even think about it.
"Sebas, the expansion of the Grand Imperial Palace, the construction of the aerial gardens, the manufacturing of the Honkai Legion... there are so many things to do, yet you are fixated on this trivial matter involving Arisa," Selene said helplessly, letting out a soft breath.
She pushed the adorable Arisa at her side slightly away, wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders, and gently combed through her gray-white hair as she spoke.
"Uh..." Facing Selene's indescribable tone and the faint, uncontrollable amusement in her teasing, even Sebas could not help but feel his old face heat up.
His actions and attitude had indeed been a case of concern clouding judgment.
"Ahem. Your Majesty, since that is the case, you should attend to your duties first. This old servant shall take his leave for now. After finishing today's matters, I will return at dinner time to offer my apology," Sebas said seriously, coughing lightly and reining in that special unease an elder felt toward a junior.
Knowing what he should be doing at present, Sebas respectfully withdrew after receiving Selene's nod of approval.
"Your Majesty, Grandpa Sebas wasn't really wrong either. The 'Sisters of Battle' truly should be held to high standards..." Arisa said softly.
Believing that Selene had stood up for her, Arisa tucked her face into Selene's arm, gently rubbing her perky nose against the fair skin not covered by armor as she spoke in a low voice.
"Stop, stop, that's enough. Don't get carried away. Your little head works fast—so fast that you've already started speaking up for Sebas. You make it sound like I'm the villain," Selene said with a light laugh.
Entering the dining hall, she sat down on the chair of gold and crimson beside the table and lightly flicked Arisa's nose tip.
"That's not true..." Arisa lifted her eyes, shimmering as if with moved excitement, blinking as she looked at Selene.
Leaning back, Selene pulled Arisa in front of her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Looking into the girl's soft, hopeful sky-blue eyes, she spoke in a low voice.
"The battlefield positioning of the 'Sisters of Battle' isn't that high. For a military unit that sits between Astartes warriors and the Imperial Auxilia, using Astartes candidate standards for evaluation simply isn't cost-effective."
"I reject Sebas' standards because what I need is for them to rapidly form a large-scale force—one that can become an army and be deployed in battle."
"The Empire's new phase of expansion has already begun. Soon, every legion will be marching outward to conquer. The 'Sisters of Battle' are no exception. They must complete training quickly and be sent to the battlefield."
"And you, who will command these 'Cursed Children' from conquered worlds—both the carrot and the stick are indispensable..."
Thus, Selene sat in the dining hall, savoring the meal specially customized for her by Susanoo, while imparting her experience in commanding armies to Arisa.
"Your Majesty, if the assessment standards are lowered, what if traitors appear among the 'Sisters of Battle'?" Arisa asked.
"Collective punishment and eradication," Selene answered directly.
From time to time, Arisa would also ask Selene about her views regarding the 'Cursed Children', sharing some of her own thoughts. As for Arisa's personal ideas, Selene agreed with them one by one.
Although Selene did not agree with some of Arisa's command philosophies in her heart—finding them overly idealistic—cultivating a style and capability that belonged to Arisa herself was still necessary.
"This will be the legion you command. Aside from the overall direction, I will not interfere in any of the smaller details. Everything will be decided by you," Selene said.
Letting go meant letting go. She would see how far Arisa could go independently. If the 'Sisters of Battle' ultimately proved unfit for use, it would not matter. If it was a matter of ability, then they could be disbanded. The Grand Imperial Palace happened to be short of maids.
But if it was a matter of ideology, then all would be erased.
The formation of the 'Sisters of Battle' was more of a publicity effort and a pilot program, coupled with having Arisa—the most approachable among the Empire's upper ranks—placed in command.
Selene admitted that this included considerations of offering the people of conquered worlds a hope of upward mobility.
Success would be icing on the cake, providing guidance for future approaches. Failure would simply mean changing strategies—at most, a major purge. Selene felt no psychological pressure whatsoever.
In any case, there were already contingency plans prepared. Another new force built to the same specifications as the Palace Guard—the Sisters of Silence.
After the 'Sisters of Battle' were purged due to problems, the 'Sisters of Silence' would take part in training. Recruitment would also temporarily shift from conquered worlds to Imperial citizens. Once scale was achieved and a legion culture formed, it would then be opened again to conquered worlds.
There were many ways to handle it. It only depended on which plan would ultimately be used.
While casually placating Arisa, Selene's thoughts wandered as she pondered and evaluated the necessity of maintaining Arisa's unit.
Selene might be callous, but she was still self-aware. She did not wish for everyone to be exactly like herself.
Peers recognize peers, tears in their eyes—but there are also plenty who stab from behind.
"However, the 'Cursed Children' who passed Sebas' high-level tests are not without use. They must have exceptional qualities of their own. It would be a waste to make them mere infantry," Selene said thoughtfully, tapping Arisa's head.
"Those girls who passed the tests will not undergo secondary Honkai energy enhancement for now. I want to observe them first."
As she spoke, Selene stood up and looked toward the girls standing stiffly beside the Royal Guard, wearing small-sized iron-gray Imperial Army training uniforms.
"Ugh—"
In an instant, as Selene blocked the light and her shadow enveloped them, the girls felt an icy chill that penetrated straight to the bone.
This was not only because of Selene's lofty status—where a single word could determine the lives and deaths of billions—but also because of her fundamentally non-human nature.
Sensing the fear emanating from them, Selene said in an unchanging tone, "Raise your heads. Look at me."
"Y-Yes... Your Majesty..." With trembling voices, the girls endured the fear deep within their hearts and slowly raised their heads, their expressions anxious and uneasy.
The crimson diamond-shaped pupils contracted slightly as faint golden patterns flickered within them. Selene nodded.
Worthy of being elites who had passed the Astartes candidate warrior standards. Even though their bodies were far from fully developed, the faint signs of long-term malnutrition and damage only spoke of their potential.
"Relax. You are all my subjects. As long as you do not violate Imperial law, I will not kill you," Selene said calmly.
White radiance bloomed in her hand, enveloping the selected 'Cursed Children'.
Soon, bathed in this gentle light, the girls felt their eyeballs and eyelids become moist and smooth, while the tightly tensed muscles throughout their bodies relaxed involuntarily. Their bodies grew lighter and lighter.
The hidden injuries caused by years of hunger and cold in the outer districts were rapidly healed, bringing a comfort beyond words.
"Thus, we can begin."
Then, right before their eyes, Selene directly tore open Imaginary Space and took out several Tyrant cells wrapped in purple-red Honkai energy.
These items, personally custom-made by Selene, needed no explanation. Their effects were enough to make even Company Champions within the Astartes Legions take notice.
Aside from the pain of the process, they could enhance a person's physical potential without any side effects.
"Eat them. As long as you can endure the physical enhancement process, you will be selected into the 'Sisters of Battle'. Refusal is also fine—return home, and after passing successive tests, you can still be selected," she said.
She added, "Arisa, I leave everything to you."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Arisa replied, standing at attention.
As her words fell, Selene's figure vanished instantly, leaving behind only several purple-red crystalline spheres floating in midair.
...