"My life is a gift from you, my master. I will serve you, devise strategies for you, and dedicate everything to you." Mefilas bowed to Rhodes and spoke.
The other three companions looked at this newly arrived figure with shock, and they began to form an initial impression of his cunning intellect and the underhanded methods he had demonstrated.
"This guy seems smart! But why does he always lose to Ultraman?"
When Mefilas faced the original Ultraman, his plans failed, and he immediately retreated decisively, avoiding being eliminated by the Ultraman.
Rhodes nodded with a smile and opened Mefilas' system interface. Besides being extraordinarily intelligent, Mefilas also possessed incredibly strong combat abilities, which set him apart from the three scientists.
In his first appearance, Mefilas had a back-and-forth battle with the original Ultraman, even engaging in intense aerial combat. Rhodes planned to examine his potential upgrades, and what he found was truly surprising!
Mefilas had only one upgrade option! Or rather, subsequent upgrade options would only unlock after this one was enhanced. The upgrade was [Giantification: Super Lifeform Enhancement.]
Rhodes could spend 200,000 system coins to upgrade Mefilas into a giant, transforming him into a 60-meter tall, 20,000-ton super lifeform.
With a weight of 20,000 tons, Mefilas would be considered lightweight compared to some other monsters. However, Mefilas' strength didn't lie in close combat. His various superpowers and beam skills were his true areas of expertise.
Additionally, after giantification, Rhodes could further enhance his physical attributes. However, it was unclear how much potential Mefilas would have after becoming a giant.
In the original Ultraman series, Mefilas had a very unique ability: the power to enlarge ordinary humans. When Akiko was enlarged, her actions were somewhat comedic, but she could still smash a building with her bare fists effortlessly.
If this ability were used properly, it could be incredibly useful. Mefilas also possessed other abilities, such as telekinesis, flight, beam attacks, and hypnosis, all of which were highly practical.
Unfortunately, Rhodes currently had only a little over 20,000 system coins left. Summoning Mefilas had already drained him completely. He would need to save up another wave of system coins to enhance Mefilas with giantification.
"Mefilas, do you want the ability to become a giant?" Rhodes asked.
"Master, if possible, I would certainly desire the ability to become a giant and transform into a powerful transcendent lifeform," Mefilas replied with a nod.
On their home planet, only those with exceptionally noble lineage or those who demonstrated unparalleled intelligence during their growth could undergo giantification modifications, granting them an extremely long lifespan and immense power.
Although Mefilas was confident in his intellect, he had not been granted the qualification for giantification on his home planet. Small-sized Mefilas individuals didn't have any special abilities, and their physical fitness was only slightly superior to that of ordinary humans.
Rhodes nodded thoughtfully in response, saying, "Serve me well! I will grant you giantification soon. Of course, Zett and Salome, the same goes for you two. Serve me well, and I will not treat you poorly in the future."
He then turned to the other two and spoke.
These two couldn't currently be enhanced through the system, but Rhodes planned to continue developing giantification processes in the future. Mefilas' ability to enlarge others might also be used in these two.
Spending 200,000 system coins to grant small-sized aliens the ability to become giants was essentially a highly advantageous feature. Many alien species in the Ultraman universe had small-sized forms. If Rhodes could summon these small-sized aliens and then upgrade them into giants, it would undoubtedly be the most cost-effective approach.
The intermediate-level system shop's 10,000-coin lottery was too expensive. It would be better to save up for upgrading mechanical monsters and other boss-level new kaiju.
Moving forward, Rhodes decided that for any small-sized alien species purchasable in the beginner-level shop, he would spend 100,000 coins to summon them and an additional 200,000 coins for giantification, making it the ideal plan.
Next on his agenda was summoning Zarab, a small-sized alien species, which could be brought in through this approach. As for the Barbarue aliens, while they could shrink into small forms, their species was still inherently giant. Summoning one would require using the intermediate-level system shop.
"Thank you so much for your generosity, Master! I have nothing else to offer but my loyalty." Mefilas bowed happily to Rhodes as he spoke.
"Thank you for your generosity, Master. I also look forward to the day I can grow into a giant form." Both Salome and Zett nodded and bowed to Rhodes as they spoke.
Being able to transform into a giant form represents a leap in the level of life and its hierarchy.
Lifeforms capable of growing into giants have lifespans measured in tens of thousands of years, while those in their smaller forms are limited to lifespans of mere centuries. The two are fundamentally on different tiers.
Moreover, beings capable of becoming giants can generally survive in the vacuum of space, and their combat abilities increase exponentially.
Rhodes smiled and nodded.
He then immediately informed Seth, instructing him to stop searching for planets invaded by the Tyranid swarm for now. Instead, they were to locate planets plagued by daemons as quickly as possible to provide a training ground for the Chaos Daemon Slayer. The Chaos Daemon Slayer, still needed to roam the galaxy hunting daemons—a task he was uniquely suited for thanks to his highly effective abilities against them.
In addition, Rhodes commanded Mefilas to take Red King, Golza, and Melba to the ruins of the Empire's Hive World, which had been thoroughly cleared of threats. Their mission was to start cultivating orks in that world.
Rhodes' supply of ork flesh was limited, so the first round of cultivation would not yield many ork spawns. The area covered would be just a few acres, producing merely dozens of ork boyz at best—a modest harvest.
Once these ork boyz matured, Mefilas would immediately eliminate them, chop their bodies into pieces, and scatter the remains across the planet to seed more orks.
With three mechanical monsters, four giant biological beasts, and Mefilas on the planet, the orks could be safely farmed and harvested, continually providing Rhodes with system gold coins.
Meanwhile, Gomora and Miclas were left in the arena to host mechanized combat tournaments, harvesting Dark Eldar as rewards.
...
As Rhodes returned from the arena, he received a notification from Seth.
["Sorry to keep you waiting, Lord Loki. As per your orders, we've located a planet that has been completely overrun by Chaos Daemons."]
"You promised it would only take a week, but it took almost 10 days. That's pretty slow," Rhodes couldn't help but complain.
Over in the Hive World, where Mefilas was managing the ork mushroom seeds, they had already sprouted, and yet the Harlequin Troupe had only just found a Chaos Daemon-infested planet.
["Ahem! Please forgive us, Lord Loki. We've done our best to locate one for you.
You may not know this, but humanity has a very special force of Space Marines that specialize in hunting daemons. Sometimes, just as we discover a suitable planet, this team of Space Marines arrives and wipes out the daemons before we can act.
You must understand, these individuals are all powerful psykers, and each of them is nearly as strong as our Harlequin Troupe members,"] Seth explained helplessly.
This mysterious group of Space Marines wore the most advanced Terminator Power Armor humanity had to offer, enchanted with special wards that granted them high resistance and lethality against demonic entities. They were essentially a task force dedicated to combating Chaos within the human empire.
"You're talking about the Grey Knights, aren't you?" Rhodes asked.
The special Space Marine force dedicated to fighting daemons could only be the Grey Knights.
The Grey Knights were known for their rapid response. Whenever a Chaos incursion occurred within the Empire, they would be among the first to arrive. Their operations were shrouded in secrecy, to the extent that only the High Lords of Terra and a few Space Marine Chapter Masters were aware of their existence.
Other Imperial forces, including even Astartes, were not permitted to know of the Grey Knights. If ordinary Imperial soldiers or citizens encountered them, they would be executed afterward to maintain secrecy. Even Astartes who unintentionally witnessed Grey Knights in action would have their memories erased.
It was rumored that the gene-seed of the Grey Knights did not originate from the 20 Primarchs but directly from the Emperor himself, granting them unparalleled resistance to Chaos corruption. Since their founding, not a single Grey Knight had ever fallen to Chaos.
["You know about them? And even their official designation! The Grey Knights' secrecy is incredibly well-maintained. Since you know about this special team of Space Marines, Lord Loki, you must understand how difficult it was for us to find a Chaos Demon-infested planet.
You'd better move quickly and get your forces to join us. If we're lucky, we might avoid running into them. If we're unlucky, your demon-hunting monster might cross paths with them,"] Seth member warned.
"I understand. I'm on my way," Rhodes replied with a nod.
Ending the communication, Rhodes immediately set out with the Chaos Daemon Slayer to rendezvous with the Harlequin Troupe.
He could only hope they wouldn't run into the Grey Knights this time.