Creating a Dragon Bone Soldier using a dragon’s tooth was a remarkably simple task. After having kidnapped and dissected a Dragon Bone Soldier, I had already figured out its entire structure.

It was akin to watching a master chef reverse-engineer a dish just by tasting it. What might seem impossible to a novice is entirely achievable for a seasoned expert. Just one bite and the ingredients and cooking methods become clear to the chef.

“You’ve found a new method?”
“Yes, boss.”
“I won’t ask why you didn’t discover it sooner… but good. If the specs you’re talking about are accurate, this could be worth a shot.”

And so, with the boss’s approval, the newly created Iblisloids were launched into the market. They had the exact same performance as Dragon Corp’s Dragon Bone Soldiers but at half the cost.

How was this possible? Most likely, it came down to the difference in production methods.

'Dragon Corp must be extracting actual teeth from dragons, right?'

If not that, they’re likely using some regeneration magic on fallen teeth to produce their Dragon Bone Soldiers. But my approach was different.

I had completely decoded the structure of the dragon's tooth down to the quark level, which meant I could replicate it indefinitely. With mass production in place, there was no way the handcrafted soldiers of Dragon Corp could compete with my factory-made units in terms of efficiency and cost.

Handcrafted products simply can’t beat mass-produced ones in terms of scale and price—this was something humanity proved centuries ago.

Of course, since my raw materials were replicas, the specs of my soldiers were slightly inferior to Dragon Corp’s originals... but this was easily fixed with science.

[Connecting to Iblis Network... Complete.]
[Synchronization Complete. Target acquisition in progress.]

Unlike the Dragon Bone Soldiers, Iblisloids were all connected through a single network. Part of their bodies were mechanical, allowing them to perform tasks that the Dragon Bone Soldiers, bound by magic, couldn’t.

Dragon Corp had achieved their soldiers' performance through magic, while I had matched it using only science.

“Well, the ones who’ll end up dying from this are the villains, anyway.”

I smirked as I imagined the suffering of the villains who had slithered into W City. They were mere casualties caught in the crossfire between two rival corporations.

For a moment, I almost felt pity for them—but what of it? They were villains, criminals who lived by causing harm to others.

If they committed crimes, they deserved punishment. That’s just how the world works.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!
A supply helicopter flew over the skies of W City, its cargo hold full of supplies. It dropped the supplies in mid-air without even landing, quickly disappearing into the distance to avoid an ambush from the lurking villains.

Whether this tactic kept the helicopter and its pilot safe was unclear, but it certainly didn’t ensure the safety of the supplies. The large parachutes attached to the crates announced their location to everyone in the city below.

Soon enough, villains began creeping out from the ruins, drawn by the sound or the sight of the parachutes, much like insects drawn to food.

“Alright, that’s ours.”
“What? Why’s it yours? That’s for our crew—”
“Hah—so, you wanna fight over it, huh?”

Villains from various factions, each staking their claim, bared their teeth at one another, vying for the falling supplies. Just then, the sound of sirens echoed from afar, causing them to scatter like roaches fleeing from the light.

A few moments later, a vehicle, the type typically reserved for police special forces, arrived, accompanied by a squad of Dragon Bone Soldiers. The soldiers quickly disembarked and pointed their weapons at the surrounding area while collecting the supplies.

The Dragon Bone Soldiers communicated via their unique telepathic magic, meaning they didn’t need to speak to coordinate their actions.

The only ones growing more and more anxious were the villains watching from the shadows.

“Shit… If they take all that, what the hell are we supposed to live on…?”
“Damn bastards… They’ve got all the backing they need, so why are they taking from people like us, who’ve got nothing...!”
“Fucking robot scum!”

One villain, unable to suppress his rage, leapt out and unleashed his superpower. A surge of electricity shot toward one of the Dragon Bone Soldiers, taking him down. But before the villain could celebrate, the rest of the soldiers responded with a coordinated barrage of gunfire.

Dozens of bullets riddled the villain’s body, killing him instantly without so much as a scream. The Dragon Bone Soldiers remained vigilant, scanning for any other threats, before loading the supplies into their vehicle and leaving the area.

The remaining villains, who had been hiding in the ruins, finally exhaled the breath they’d been holding.

“Randar’s dead...”
“Damn those monster bastards!”
“Heartless, soulless machines!”

They cursed the Dragon Bone Soldiers for a while, but their plans were interrupted again as the sound of another helicopter’s rotors reached their ears. They peeked out, faces twisting in frustration, thinking it was another supply drop.

But this time, the helicopter wasn’t carrying supplies.

“Shit, it’s Iblis!”
“Run—!”

As the helicopter roared overhead, two figures leaped out of it, free-falling without the aid of ropes. The two Iblisloids dropped hundreds of meters effortlessly and immediately dashed toward the villains' hideout.

Iblis Corp’s infrared goggles had long since pinpointed the villains' locations from thousands of feet in the air. The Iblisloids were already making a beeline for them.

“Screw it—Fire!”

The villains, realizing they had no chance of escaping, gave up and fired their guns and unleashed their powers. They had refused to fight against the squad of Dragon Bone Soldiers earlier, but this time there were only two opponents, right?

Surely, if they all worked together, they could overpower them. Or so they thought.

The Iblisloids, however, simply withstood the attacks without flinching.

“H-haha! Look at those tin cans! They’re just sitting ducks—”

Bang!

Before the villains could finish laughing, a bullet from the skies pierced through their leader’s head. The shot came from a support helicopter flying above.

With their leader dead, the rest of the villains began to fall, one by one, as bullets found their marks, drilling through their skulls. Once all the villains were down, the Iblisloids scanned the area to ensure there were no survivors.

Soon, detecting movement with their infrared vision, the Iblisloids headed straight for a nearby building. Smashing through the door, they found a group of terrified civilians, residents of W City.

“H-Help—!”
[Rest assured. We are here on behalf of W City.]
“A-a-androids…?”
[Iblisloids. Model 1107.]
“We’re saved!”

The Iblisloids had successfully rescued the civilians who had been taken hostage by the villains. This information was immediately shared through the Iblis Network.

At the headquarters, the operators relayed the news, and the presence of the Dragon Bone Soldiers at the scene was also noted. This was material ripe for exploitation.

The highly-paid PR team of Iblis Corp would never let such an opportunity slip by.

[Iblisloids save citizens in W City once again!]
[Villains thwarted, hostages freed—]
[Shocking! Dragon Corp’s Dragon Bone Soldiers were present but retreated without aiding the civilians...]

The news, a mix of truth, exaggeration, and outright lies, began to flood the world. The battle between Iblis Corp and Dragon Corp had only just begun.

[In other news from W City today…]

Every day, the news was full of stories about Iblisloids and Dragon Bone Soldiers. It was no wonder, really.

It had been shocking enough when a massive robot appeared in P City and leveled an entire city. But when that robot disappeared without a trace, and human-like AI androids began appearing en masse, people were left reeling.

For those who were glued to the news every day, it must have seemed like technology was advancing at an incomprehensible pace. Every day must have felt like a glimpse into a brand-new world.

“Wow… The scientist’s robots are really making a big splash, huh…”
“Well, it’s a bit misleading to call them robots…”
“Huh? Why?”

Ayla, who had been watching the news in awe beside me, asked, and I found myself at a loss for words. Should I explain to her that the Iblisloids weren’t pure machines, but rather a hybrid of magic and biotechnology?

Should I tell her that what we created could hardly be called “robots” at all?

For someone like Ayla, who only had a middle-school education, that would be difficult to understand. So, I simply kept quiet.

“But, Scientist, there’s one thing I’m curious about…”
“What is it?”
“Why don’t you just use Iblisloids for all of your organization’s fighters? I mean, wouldn’t that be safer than putting actual people in harm’s way?”

I explained to Ayla that our evil organization wasn’t just a private army—it had welfare functions, too. If we turned it into a private military force focused purely on strength, neither the government nor other corporations would stand by and let it grow unchecked.

The reason people tolerated the fact that the evil organization was linked to Iblis Corp was because it didn’t grow too large—it wasn’t because they were afraid of us.

“Of course, our executives are dangerous enough on their own… but that’s something the government believes they can handle. But if we were to fully equip our fighters with Iblisloids… neither the government nor the corporations would sit by idly.”

“Really?”
“Exactly. In essence, we’re like an army.”

We had to make it clear that we weren’t using this army for private purposes. The government would never tolerate a corporation maintaining a private military force. Even though Iblis Corp was a massive conglomerate that controlled E City, there were many cities, and the world was vast.

One city couldn’t take on all the others at once—it was a world full of hidden powers and factions.

Under no circumstances could the Iblisloids be used for private ends.

Beep beep beep—!

As I was explaining this, the watch on both mine and Ayla’s wrists started beeping urgently.

[Boss detained. Rescue required.]
[All executives, gather at Dragon Corp in D City.]

"...What now."

I thought, right before I received the distress signal from Vira.