Chapter 188
Chapter 188
There are many intriguing strong individuals outside of Akbaran.
In the Accretia Empire, especially in Akbaran, most people enhance themselves with cybernetic prosthetics. To outsiders and other species, it might seem extreme.
However, beyond the Empire, prosthetics are merely one of many means of augmentation. Some fight using only advanced equipment, others enhance their flesh and blood through biotechnology, and a rare few wield supernatural abilities called Force.
Just as I have an enhanced nervous system and cybernetic implants, most powerful individuals elevate their abilities through at least two different methods.
Some might wonder—why don’t rulers and those in power enhance themselves? The answer is simple. Any kind of combat augmentation inevitably comes with risks and side effects.
Nervous system enhancements drastically increase the likelihood of various neuroses and mental illnesses. Regeneration or biological enhancements are akin to implanting a time bomb in the body, with unpredictable side effects that could manifest at any time.
The risks are borne by the lower ranks. Those in power—rulers and leaders—can move armies of enhanced soldiers like me with nothing more than a word or a gesture.
At our core, ’that guy’ and I are the same. Expendable tools that take on all the risks in place of those above us.
’That guy’ refers to the ’Menoan Guard Commander.’
Kiing, kiiing.
The Guard Commander’s body emitted a deafening mechanical whine. More precisely, the sound came from his enhanced exoskeletal combat suit.