Chapter 85: The Battle Beast Clan, Born Warriors

The moment Yan Xia first laid eyes on these creatures, he had a profound realization and named them accordingly.

—The Battle Beast Clan.

Their appearance was truly savage and fierce.

If one had to describe them, they resembled a Magdeburg unicorn, covered in indigo thorns all over their body, with two heads, each storing different types of information—one for motor skills and the other for emotions, language, senses, and more—in separate neural centers.

Their heads had no eyes or faces, only a breathing hole that could close into a slit, a thick horn on top, and two ears on either side of the two heads.

Their ears were long, tubular, and branched, with white spots on the surface, forming a web-like structure to receive sound.

Upon closer inspection, one would notice that the ears were of different lengths, two shorter ones around 1 meter, and a longer one reaching 1.5 meters. The ears were covered in fine, sharp barbs, ending in bony tips that could pierce into organisms to suck out body fluids, essentially serving as their mouths, or more accurately, mouthparts.

Even more astonishingly, they had two supporting legs, or rather, supporting tentacles, which were incredibly thick and muscular, accounting for 75% of their body's muscle mass.

At the end of these tentacles were finger-like structures with gripping abilities, though there were four of them, and they were quite long with terrifying claws at the tips.

The lower half of their body resembled a short, fat snake tail, capable of briefly supporting their weight, with a transparent orb at the end that emitted a faint glow at night to attract prey.

These characteristics were nothing compared to the might of advanced technology. What truly led Yan Xia to name them the Battle Beast Clan was their size.

Male members of the Battle Beast Clan were around 13 meters in length, weighing 18 tons, with their two robust supporting tentacles each weighing 11 tons, accounting for 61% of their total body weight. The remaining parts made up 39% of their body weight, which was equivalent to a person's torso and legs combined. Just one of their tentacle fingers weighed 180 kilograms.

Females of the clan could reach 16 meters in length and weigh over 23 tons, breaking the record for intelligent species within the Galactic Federation.

Their bodies were covered in 16-centimeter thick keratinous skin with quill-like hair, resembling a porcupine. The quills on their abdomen were finer, shorter, softer, and lighter in color, while those on their back were longer, harder, and darker, capable of blocking 21st-century rifle bullets.

On land, they could run at speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour.

Furthermore, they were not solely land-based creatures. Their breathing holes had structures that could filter gases from water, allowing them to breathe underwater. Using their massive tentacles as paddles, they could swim at speeds exceeding 110 kilometers per hour and dive to depths of 670 meters.

On SC-8, this clan was a terrifying killing machine, preying on all other life forms, living up to their name as battle beasts.

Upon encountering this clan, all beings within the Galactic Federation instinctively felt a sense of oppression.

This had nothing to do with technology; it was a primal instinct rooted in the deepest genes of all life forms.

In simpler terms, it was a "bloodline suppression."

Even the cloned Tyrannosaurus Rex on Planet Tianwu would likely be no match for these battle beasts.

The already robust Kate Clan would probably admit, "We're just little babies compared to them; they're so scary."

However, nature is fair.

With such powerful bodies, the Battle Beast Clan had a lifespan of only 20 years, with a maximum lifespan of 38 years. They had low reproductive capabilities, giving birth to a single offspring at a time, and each individual could only have two offspring in their lifetime.

To ensure their survival, they had both male and female reproductive organs, allowing both genders to provide sperm and eggs and become pregnant.

Within 12 hours of birth, the young battle beasts already possessed formidable combat and hunting abilities. Their survival rate was nearly 100%, and due to their small population, the viruses on their planet rarely infected them, resulting in a life free of diseases.

After hundreds of thousands of years of development on SC-8F, the Battle Beast Clan numbered only 114,000, divided into two factions: the Land Faction and the Ocean Faction. Over 3.7 million years of conflict gradually led to the evolution of higher intelligence.

Yan Xia instructed Ella to increase the population of the Battle Beast Clan, intending to make them the primary combat force within the Galactic Federation.

Of course, this was not solely due to their muscular strength.

In the vastness of space, physical might is insignificant. The most crucial aspect was that the Battle Beast Clan had exceptionally high intelligence, only 2% lower than humans. With one brain dedicated solely to motor control, their physical abilities surpassed humans by 53 times, allowing them to precisely control every muscle in their bodies.

With enhanced motor skills, the Battle Beast Clan's sensitivity to danger on the battlefield was innately higher than that of other life forms, a highly valuable attribute in warfare.

Furthermore, as the other brain handled cognitive functions, the Battle Beast Clan could think more calmly, less affected by the physical debuffs their bodies might experience.

"They are born warriors."

This was Ella's first impression of the Battle Beast Clan, as conveyed by Yan Xia.

This assessment might seem biased, as the Battle Beast Clan was not lacking in intelligence and could excel in academic pursuits as well.

However, there was no hint of disparagement in Yan Xia's evaluation.

Among the ten races currently in the Galactic Federation, the Battle Beast Clan was indeed the most suited for the battlefield. It was likely that soldiers, officers, and even military commanders in the future would be replaced by members of this clan.

This race was incredibly versatile, excelling in both academics and combat.

...

In the depths of space, Yan Xia, who had left the SC-8 star system centuries ago, reminisced about the Battle Beast Clan.

"After entering the universe, one realizes that humans are not the perfect beings; there are countless other life forms that surpass us in perfection."

"Fortunately, technology is the great equalizer. Any disparity can be overcome with its mastery, and individual differences in combat power can be transformed into differences in consciousness."

Ella, by his side, added unromantically, "So, in terms of combat consciousness, the Battle Beast Clan still surpasses other races in the Galactic Federation."

Including humans.

Yan Xia remained noncommittal.

Even within the same race, there are those who excel in certain areas and those who don't. How much more so when there are hardware-level differences between species? All else being equal, a being with two brains will always outperform one with a single brain.

"The Battle Beast Clan has better environmental adaptability than other races. The Explorers may also develop strong land-based capabilities in the future."

Ella was surprised that Yan Xia continued the conversation.

"Yan Xia, aren't you worried that another race might replace humans as the dominant force within the Galactic Federation?"

Yan Xia recognized the lack of rigor in this question; it was indeed an attachment.

"My vision is not so narrow. The entry of more races with stronger innate abilities into the Galactic Federation is a good thing. At the very least, it ensures faster progress and greater strength for the Federation."

"Each race within the Galactic Federation can be viewed as a whole. Imagine a small team led by a student with a specialized degree, resulting in slow progress. Now, bring in a top-tier graduate from a prestigious university, and they can lead the team to greater success."

"I am the behind-the-scenes boss of this small team, and the specialized degree student is my child."

"Under my child's leadership, this small team earns 10,000 a month. If we bring in the prestigious university graduate, they can increase that to 100,000. Would you choose to let your child continue leading the team or invite the top graduate to join?"

"The stronger the Galactic Federation becomes, the more stable humanity will be. This is the primary concern, while the dominant position is secondary."

"Obsessing over the dominant position is the folly of fools. If I exist, my child can become the boss in the future. Why cling to the position of a team leader?"

Ella, the attachment by Yan Xia's side, pondered why she had unconsciously asked such a foolish question.

Could it be that the main body was moving its tentacles on the host planet?

Damn it!

With her computational power, she couldn't trace the location of the tentacle movement.

Would she have to stay by Yan Xia's side for the next few thousand years as a comedic sidekick?

Yan Xia sat in the observation deck of the spaceship, oblivious to Ella's deep contemplation beside him. Gazing out at the starry sky beyond the glass, he shook his tentacle while holding a glass of juice.

"By now, the Olive Branch Civilization should have received some news about the Holy Grail Project."

"I hope this net we've cast will be filled."

They had already traveled one-eighth of the journey, and the future remained unknown.

However, the ending had already been written.