Chapter 2301 - Bringer of Bad Luck
While the Larkinsons outside the pirate stronghold began to resist some of the darkness, the interior of Ulimo Citadel began to grow bleaker and bleaker!
The darkness slowly bred some strange grey apparitions. Driven by cruel instructions, these ghosts that took on the form of deceased pirates hunted down every human inside the public marketplace.
The grey ghosts easily managed to fell the many shopkeepers, technicians, administrators and other ordinary workers that called Ulimo Citadel home. While a portion of these native Nyxian residents were armed, their lack of combat training and poor equipment failed to keep them alive for long.
Only the Nyxian residents who banded together or sought shelter from a friendly gang managed to remain alive for some time longer.
However, each person that grouped together also brought their enemies along. The pirates who sheltered the lightly-armored residents out of friendship discovered that their group needed to fend off a lot more grey ghosts than before!
Though there were some odd pirates at Ulimo who possessed uncorrupted hearts, many other pirates straightforwardly ditched their useless baggage.
Anyone who wasn't strong enough to repel the grey ghosts wasn't worth bringing along!
The streets and structures of the public marketplace became filled with dried and lifeless husks. The deaths of thousands of Nyxian residents and pirates underscored the great price that needed to be paid to sustain this dreadful anomaly.
In fact, even the Dry Snakes and other pirates faced attacks as well! The grey ghosts did not possess the ability to discern their opponents. They attacked innocent bystanders, hidden enemies and friendly pirates alike!
Fortunately for the latter, Grand Protector Roshaw always insisted that all of his subordinates be equipped for battle as frequently as possible.
The half-prepared pirates easily fended off the sporadic ghost assaults, though the same could not be said for the subordinate forces of the Dry Snakes.
Much of the Xona Stalkers, Farmund's Own, Rapid Qlinters and the outfits that comprised the Ulimo Militia had been completely caught off-guard!
Though many of these pirates wore armor and carried weapons regardless, much of their support personnel did not, causing them to die unjustly!
In order to keep this powerful move as hidden as possible, Grand Protector Roshaw told no one about the deal he made with the Watchers of the Hallowed Abyss Temple.
Though many allies of the Dry Snakes and the Grand Protector grew furious, the constant attacks by the grey ghosts and the communications blackout prevented them from conveying their discontent.
At the heavily-defended security checkpoint that barred most people on Ulimo from accessing the restricted center area, an intangible cat quietly phased through a wall.
Lucky, clad in his Misfortune Harness, carefully stalked forward. He kept most of his body phased through a solid object, taking care only to peek out his head in order to observe his surroundings.
A lot of large machinery filled the interior of walls. Large power generators, capacitors, regulators and other equipment all made sure that the large turrets placed outside remained in working condition.
What discomforted Lucky somewhat was the large amount of pirates on guard. Armed and armored pirate infantry vigilantly patrolled the interior while technicians and experts constantly kept their eyes on the integrity of the various weapon systems.
Sabotaging these systems without triggering some sort of alarm was impossible. All of the previous targeted sabotage were planned ahead of time. The Black Cats prepared custom hacks and specific suggestions on which components to break or tamper with in order to deactivate a system without exposing to the pirates that anything was amiss.
Since the Black Cats never intended to sabotage these checkpoint defenses, Lucky had to resort to blunter ways to deactivate the deadly turrets.
There was one condition that made it a bit easier for Lucky to do his work without interruption.
The ghosts that assaulted everyone inside the pirate base also plagued the pirates here as well!
The Dry Snake guards were well prepared though. Each technician wore combat armor or at least a protective hazard suit and the abundant number of guards prevented the few ghosts who spawned inside to do any serious harm.
"Careful with where you are shooting!" A foreman warned a couple of guards who just shot a ghost. "I told you time and time again to watch the direction where you are shooting your guns. You almost shot one of our power connectors!"
"Sorry, boss."
Between the occasional noises of weapon discharges, Lucky silently phased through the floor until he reached underneath an important power generator.
Having sabotaged many similar models of power generators, the stealthy cat did not need to know the actual design of this device to destroy it from within. His claws briefly phased back into the material realm, allowing them to destroy several important processors!
Alarms immediately began to ring. The power generator kept working as normal as its backup processors and other systems provided some crucial redundancy.
"Meow!"
If destroying one part was not enough, then Lucky would just have to take out the backups as well! He briefly searched around until he finally eliminated the other three critical processors!
Without the processors keeping every system under control, the power generator automatically initiated its emergency shutdown procedure. Unless the pirate technicians replaced one of the broken processors, the device would stay shut!
Though it wouldn't take that much time to get the power generator back to work, Lucky hastily moved on the next important machine. He needed to sabotage as many defenses as possible in a very short amount of time! It didn't matter if the pirates were able to repair some of the damage within an hour, because Ketis and the Mirror Raiders didn't intend to stall so long!
As the last major defensive system went down, some of the pirate guards who shot down yet another annoying grey ghost still remained on high alert!
The ghosts only cared about killing people. They never targeted any machines!
"Wait, what's that?"
"MEOW!"
"Ack!"
An armored pirate officer clenched his neck as a swift energy claw had cut straight through the gorget of his combat armor that shielded his neck! Blood poured from the horizontal cut as the man quickly collapsed.
"We're under attack!"
"What just killed him?! I didn't see anything?"
"My suit sensors detected some sort of black cat!"
The pirate guards quickly became disarrayed as they tried their best shoot and guard against the black cat that relentlessly launched guerilla attacks against them. Sometimes, laser beams or ballistic rounds passed through his phased body, which made it increasingly harder for him to maintain his current form.
Eventually, Lucky momentary couldn't hold it any longer as he endured too many laser attacks than he could bear. Once his body fully phased back into the material realm, half-dozen attacks struck the surface of his armor!
Due to the thin Breyer alloy plating of his Misfortune Harness, the cat suffered no meaningful damage. Even so, the repeated physical rounds impacting his frame kept interrupting his course and constantly pushed him back!
"Meow! Meow!"
As dozens of pirates all focused their firepower on bullying the black cat, most of the defenders failed to discover the approach of a squad of pirate soldiers.
The squad approached vigilantly, but kept their weapons expressly pointed away from the defenders. The alloy armbands and other markings on their armor signified that the newcomers were members of the Ulimo Militia.
The pirates on guard against the grey ghosts pointed their weapons at the approaching group.
"Halt! This checkpoint is off-limits to anyone except authorized personnel! Unless you have orders or the right permits to pass through, get out of here!"
"Wait, don't shoot!" Ketis's armored form stepped forward. She even slid her helmet open in order to expose her face. "Ever since these dark clouds appeared around us, the streets have become dangerous! All of us had to fight past hundreds of ghosts in order to reach here. Can't you let us in? We're part of your militia! We can still fight!"
The patrol leader expressly pointed his rifle into Ketis' face. "Stop right there! Don't get any closer! You militiamen don't belong here! There are hostiles in our midst and we don't need trash like you getting in our way!"
"Can't you make an exception for us? We're the Mirror Raiders! Our mechs helped fend off the Larkinson Clan earlier!"
As Ketis kept stepping forward despite the urgings of the pirate leader, a couple of ghost pirates emerged out of the dark fog. Armed with cheap rifles, the ghosts shot at both the Mirror Raiders and the pirate guards on patrol.
Without receiving any orders, the pirate guards all shifted their aim towards the attacking ghosts and took them out within seconds.
Even though some of the ghosts that appeared attacked the Mirror Raider soldiers in the rear, none of the disguised Larkinsons turned around to wipe out the apparitions.
Instead, the Mirror Raiders immediately took advantage of the distraction afforded by the ghosts! They pointed their rifles at the pirate guards they had already marked and fired their rifles without hesitation!
"Ahh! Traitors!"
"Have you gone crazy?!"
Though the pirate leader reacted the fastest and brought his rifle back to bear on Ketis, his target had already closed her helmet!
Instead of shooting her opponent with her laser pistol, Ketis instead charged forward! Her upgraded Red Rising Dragon fearlessly withstood every attack as it rapidly allowed its wearer to reach within knife-fighting distance to the pirate leader!
A sharp cutlass swung and cut off one of the pirate leader's arms!
"Ahhh!"
The combat armor worn by the victim hardly offered any resistance against Ketis' attack. With just a single swing, she managed to disarm and cripple the pirate who refused to allow the Mirror Raiders to step forward!
Her momentum didn't halt. An instant after cutting off the arm, her armored bulk collided against the pirate leader's lighter suit of combat armor. The unfortunate collision victim immediately bounced backwards and slammed against a wall!
"Die!"
Ketis fearlessly chopped the closest pirates around her. With each swing of her cutlass, she always managed to cut through the armor of her opposition. While the Dry Snakes equipped their foot soldiers with better gear than usual when it came to pirates, none of them offered any meaningful resistance against a woman with vastly superior gear and combat training!
Blood splattered in every direction as Ketis single-handedly spread panic throughout the ranks of the pirates. Her fellow Mirror Raiders managed to shoot down their targets with greater ease as a consequence!
In just thirty minutes, the Larkinsons wiped out the entire pirate patrol!
"Don't slow down, men!" Ketis called as she swung her cutlass at the side. "Lucky is still keeping them busy. Let's go and wipe out the rest!"
She didn't wait for her fellow Mirror Raiders to move forward. Instead, she utilized the full capabilities of her upgraded combat armor and charged forward with indomitable might!
Though no pirates were near, she snapped up her other arm and fired the compact laser pistol that Ves had gifted her beforehand.
A bright red laser beam blasted out of the muzzle of her modestly-sized pistol and burned straight through the armored forms of three pirates in the way!
"Wow! No wonder Ves wanted to give me this gun!"
Ketis fired a couple of more shots but stopped when she neared another group of pirates. She preferred to cut her opponents down.
The more she killed, the closer she came to understanding the essence of swordsmanship.
The closer she understood her own relationship with swords, the more ideas she formed about possible designs!
To her, killing was the best way to gain inspiration! Each blood splattered seemed to contain a different design idea and each corpse that fell in front of her way seemed to light her path forward!
With all of the heavy turrets that could have posed a threat to her being taken out of commission, Ketis exhibited no fear against the remaining pirates!
Chapter 2302 - Worthy Opponent
Two heavy laser repeaters mounted inside a bunker spat out a continuous rain of powerful laser beams at an approaching red armored form!
Continuous cracks sounded out in the air as both pirate guards and fixed defenses fired at the approaching enemies.
In the meantime, unheard screams echoed through the battlefield as the ghosts of dead pirates emerged out of the darkness and besieged every human no matter their allegiance!
"Lucky!" Ketis shouted as her armored form braved the storm of lasers despite the extreme threat they posed to infantry personnel. Large portions of her armor no longer appeared red due to its coating. Repeated battles had already worn it away.
Instead, her armor glowed due to the increasing amount of heat it absorbed!
If not for the isolating layers protecting the wearer, Ketis would have been cooked alive by now! Even then, the active cooling systems of her equipment had to work overtime in order to siphon away the heat. Powerful flows of air entered and exited through the back of her combat armor. Anyone following from behind would instantly get burned!
Ketis didn't care. She whipped out her laser pistol, only for the little weapon to beep an alarm. All of the shots she fired caused it to overheat!
It didn't matter. She still had her cutlass and plenty of power left to swing it around!
"Watch out, ma'am! They're launching grenades!"
A heavily-armored Dry Snake guard stepped out from a building and raised its huge grenade launcher. The weapon quickly fired five grenades that were bound to hit a small area before her current path.
Not only that, but two ballistic cannons mounted on the back and shoulders of the formidable pirate began to fire a slow staccato of explosive shells at the charging Mirror Raider.
"Damn!"
She quickly holstered her pistol in a protective slot in her armor before her position and the entire area around her exploded!
More weapons continued to fire in the raging area. With the help of powerful sensors and scanners, the smoke and heat could not hide Ketis' huge and distinctive energy signature!
Even so, Ketis still stormed forward despite the increasing amount of scars and heat accrued by her armor.
Just earlier, Lucky followed the same plan and sneaked into the interior of the defense complex. He encountered a strange sight once he peeked at his surroundings.
Instead of posting more guards, the pirate commander at this checkpoint drew them back. Only half as many guards and specialists were on patrol or manning the workstations. This caused Lucky to destroy the huge power generators and sensitive weapon components with greater ease at the beginning.
However, shortly after alarms started ringing, something drastic happened.
The entire interior exploded!
Over fifty pirates and a lot of costly defensive systems blew apart as hidden explosives planted throughout the entire defense complex automatically triggered!
What Lucky didn't know was that the pirate commander tasked a programmer to develop an automated routine that looked out for any intrusion.
The local pirate commander in charge of defending this gate was unlike his peers.
Usually, the pirate leaders attempted to counter any attempts at sabotage by assigning more pirates and system operators. Each of them were tasked with paying close attention to the vital machinery that kept the heavy turrets and other defensive systems in working condition.
Their presence exposed Lucky faster, but did little to stop him from completing his purpose! By keeping his phased body through the walls, ceiling or floor of any given site, the pirates failed to detect him, let alone prevent his destructive spree!
The first two pirate checkpoints fell easily due to this reason. Without the help of their powerful turrets and other defensive systems, Ketis and Lucky alone were enough to clean up the remaining pirate infantry.
From the moment the commando cat's initial sabotage became known, various sensors and AIs evaluated whether the malfunction originated from an ordinary mechanical failure or deliberately induced.
Once the AIs judged that deliberate sabotage had taken place, they mercilessly followed their programming and commanded the planted explosives to detonate!
If these explosives were ordinary, then that was still somewhat manageable to Lucky.
The problem was that some of those bombs contained small, enriched nuclear payloads!
Radiation sensors momentarily went wild as the protective armor of the surviving guards and attackers resisted the deadly particles and energy rays that spread as a result of these detonations!
"Meow!"
Despite the violent explosions, Lucky managed to cling to life, but not without a cost! His Misfortune Harness bore far too many holes as entire chunks had been blasted away. The thin layer of Breyer alloy and B-stone hadn't been able to hold together after withstanding so many simultaneous blasts!
Even his hardy tiger-striped body began to show cracks and tears. Bright blue light shone from his wounds. Though the bone-metal-like plating already began to show signs of regenerating, the rate was far too slow to restore the gem cat back to peak condition.
What was worse was that the damage he suffered prevented him from activating his phasing abilities or flying away. In desperation, Lucky could only press the button on his collar, which somehow managed to survive earlier blasts. His form turned invisible, causing the pirates who arrived from elsewhere to lose sight of their primary target.
However, these pirate soldiers were different from the decoys who died unjustly by the explosives planted by their own sides.
The Dry Snakes cultivated their own groups of elites. The multi-headed lizard pattern painted over their chests signified that these pirates belonged to the Hydra Battalion!
The Hydra Battalion was one of the best commando units. Answering directly to Grand Protector Roshaw, the Hydras received orders to defend this critical gate which barred the way to the innermost area where the crucial shrine resided.
As an elite pirate unit, the Hydra Battalion was meant to raid large pirate sh.i.p.s or assassinate powerful pirate lords. For this reason, the Dry Snakes invested heavily in their selection, training and outfitting.
With each individual Hydra soldier armed and armored with gear that cost as much as a mid-range mech, the Grand Protector often treated these heavily-armored troops as his sharpest knife.
Now, these elite pirates had received orders to kill the saboteur that was responsible for the downfall of many pirate groups!
Since the Hydras received orders to defeat an elusive opponent who likely possessed powerful stealth capabilities, how could they be stumped when their target disappeared from view?
"Deploy our first countermeasure!"
A handful of Hydras carrying fluid projectors strode forward and began to spray large volumes of semi-transparent slime around Lucky's last known position. The special, viscous slime quickly piled up and soon managed to catch an invisible cat that attempted to sneak out of the envelopment.
"Hostile detected!"
"Cage his position and shoot him down!"
"Meow!"
The slime not exposed his position due to the unavoidable displacement his presence caused, but also hampered his mobility. It was as if he was swimming through a pool of glue!
With Lucky in so much distress, how could Ketis ever stand by? While the other Mirror Raiders were still trying to catch up while firing their rifles at every pirate in sight, she smashed her way through the ranks of regular pirate guards in her path and was about to crash straight into the ranks of the Hydras if not for the appearance of an obstacle!
A well-armored Hydra captain dropped his rifle and withdrew a large scimitar. Energy quickly lined its edge, showing that it was more than a simple metal weapon!
The challenging posture of the Hydra captain caused Ketis to slow down her charge until she came at a stop in front of her opponent.
Though she could have continued to storm forward, she recognized that she might regret her choice. From the prepared stance adopted by the pirate standing in her way, she recognized that she faced a true blademaster!
"I am Captain Wenter of the Hydra Battalion. Are you a Larkinson?"
"It doesn't matter who I am." Ketis spat as her hot armor constantly released excess heat into the air. "Get on with it already!"
"Very well." The armored pirate grinned underneath his dome-like helmet as his gauntlet began to flourish his heavy sabber. "I respect your swordsmanship. It has been too long since I have dueled a worthy opponent. Take care though, girl, as I have slain over fifty challengers. I have no problem adding one more head to my pile."
"Dispense with the jabbering and fight!" Ketis replied as her damaged armored bulk began to advance.
With Lucky in dire straits, she didn't want to bother with all of the etiquette surrounding duels to the death. She simply wanted to overpower and defeat this blademaster as fast as possible!
Though she was tempted to borrow the momentum of her forward movement to add additional power to her attack, she knew that this wasn't the best option at the moment. Such attacks were very predictable, and against a trained swordsman or bladesman, this was a big taboo!
Her caution turned out to be justified when her opponent read the simple feint she used to fool most of her opponents.
Clang!
Surprisingly, Captain Wenter's blade managed to block her attack!
Through this simple exchange, Ketis rapidly discovered several aspects about her opponent that caused her to feel even more pressure.
First, the flat of the blade of Captain Wenter's energized scimitar managed to block the edge of her cutlass without incurring any significant damage.
Second, the power she leveraged from her Rising Red Dragon suit was very considerable. The fact that Captain Wenter managed to maintain the block without getting pushed back meant that the power exerted by his combat armor was actually on par with her own!
This hadn't happened since she used her cutlass to slay every pirate in her way. The strength and sharpness of her weapon allowed her to overpower any typical pirate equipment.
"Are you surprised, lass?" Captain Wenter chuckled. "I'm not the same as the trash you previously cut apart. The best armorer of Ulimo Citadel built my gear using all of the medium and high-grade exotics that I have earned in the service of the Dry Snakes. We pirates can make quality gear of our own if we want to! Underestimating me is the last mistake that you will make!"
The powerful Hydra captain launched his counterattacks. With continuous slashes, his energized scimitar crashed into Ketis over and over.
The sudden momentum exhibited by the pirate captain continually forced Ketis to step back as she failed to regain the initiative.
Forced into the defensive, she tried her best to block the scimitar, but Captain Wenter was considerably older and more experienced than the Swordmaiden mech designer.
After his attack was parried for the twelth time, a hidden single-use cannon built into his armor suddenly fired a powerful kinetic projectile!
Though the sneak attack failed to penetrate her armor, Ketis unavoidably tilted backwards due to the force acting on her bulk.
Though Captain Wenter had been pushed back as well due to firing the round, he braced himself for the recoil beforehand. He recovered a moment faster than Ketis, activated a command that caused the edge of his scimitar to brighten before slashing it across Ketis' weapon arm!
The Hydra captain deviously aimed at a scar that a number of earlier attacks had already landed on the Rising Red Dragon suit. The middle layer of the suit had been cut by the energized blade!
With only one more layer of armor in the way, Wenter only had to attack this vulnerability one or two more times to cut off Ketis' arm!
Instead of halting, Ketis continued to step back in order to open up some distance. Through her helmet HUD, she studied the damage reports of her combat armor with considerable alarm.
Not even Breyer alloy could withstand Captain Wenter's attack!
This blademaster posed a true threat to Ketis! She couldn't rely on her superior gear to overcome this challenge. She needed to employ true skill to win this duel!
Chapter 2303 - Superior Technique
While Ketis became embroiled in a duel against Captain Wenter of the Hydra Battalion, the situation outside Ulimo Citadel became more dire for the Larkinson Clan!
The situation seemed hopeful at first. Through channeling Lufa's glow, Ves managed to save a lot of stranded and isolated Living Sentinel mechs.
It wasn't easy to maintain such a powerful field that caused the surrounding darkness to recede. Ves went through his partially-charged P-stone so quickly that he had to order Nitaa to stop by the vault and bring out all of the other P-stones that contained some of his spare energy.
He was draining months of diligent energy savings in a matter of minutes! Projecting and amplifying a design spirit's glow so that it could encompass a large volume of space demanded a huge amount of energy.
This was the price of using an ability that was beyond his and Lufa's strength. Unlike the cultists of the Hallowed Abyss Temple, Ves didn't know how to fuel his abilities through human sacrifice.
Perhaps this was for the better, though a part of him still felt a bit jealous at the Grey Watcher in Ulimo for being taught such a useful trick.
When he and his escorts managed to retrieve hundreds of surviving Living Sentinel mech pilots from their damaged and depleted mechs, the situation in the dark sphere abruptly changed.
The entire anomaly began to convulse before channeling more power than before! It was as if it had surpassed some kind of threshold that caused it to take on a greater form!
The darkness exhibited even more activity as the pressure on everyone's minds increased even further. The glows of every LMC mech went from faint to nonexistent as the spiritual suppression from the dark sphere received a substantial boost.
"Ah! Tighten the formation of our mechs! Quickly!" Ves warned.
The tranquility field he channeled contracted by at least a third! The active mechs that protected the Scarlet Rose lost a lot of room for maneuver as a consequence.
"We have to leave, sir!" A bridge officer advised.
"Not yet!" Ves gritted his teeth. "We still have enough energy to collect more mech pilots. Head to the last-known position to the Battle Criers. They shouldn't be able to last much longer than the Living Sentinels!"
The change in circ. did not just increase the oppressive power of the surrounding darkness.
The ghost mechs that mindlessly assaulted the Larkinson mechs also changed!
The greyish mechs bred by the dark fog looked more substantial than before. When these mechs began to confront the escorts of the Scarlet Rose, the defending Larkinson mech pilots discovered to their astonishment that the ghost mechs were just as threatening as actual mechs!
"Careful! These ghost mechs are a lot more powerful than before!"
Their forms became a lot more tangible than before. Everyone recognized the increased danger of this adverse change.
"Hurry up! Our comrades won't be able to last if they're assaulted by too many of these new ghost mechs!"
Fortunately, the Battle Criers stranded in the dark sphere numbered much less and maintained a tighter formation.
Many of the Battle Crier mechs that had fallen already succ. much earlier. The ones who managed to cling on until now possessed rich battle experience.
Even so, the Larkinsons only managed to retrieve half of the Battle Criers that took part in the attack against Ulimo Citadel!
The Living Sentinels also lost half of their numbers. This was the most painful loss the clan had suffered since the Battle of Kesseling VIII. Pain and frustration marred Ves' face, but he knew that the crisis wasn't over yet. He still hadn't rescued the Avatars, Vandals and Swordmaidens.
Though he wanted to retrieve them as well, time was running out. He had expended so much energy that he was down to his last P-stone. Once this rock ran out of spiritual energy, Ves would be forced to drain his mind until he completely ran dry.
While the intensified crisis increased the pressure on everyone trapped in the anomaly, Ketis still hadn't managed to get past the pirate blademaster blocking her way!
Only a short time had passed as they only exchanged a couple of blows. Nonetheless, Ketis already learned the hard way that Captain Wenter was stronger than her in almost every way!
His combat armor was bigger and taller than hers. Though that ordinarily should have made his movements slower, the servos and artificial musculature of his powered limbs were actually able to leverage more power than her Rising Red Dragon suit!
It couldn't be helped. Her high-quality combat armor was designed to accommodate heavy rifles and other ranged weapons.
Enhancing its ability to wield melee weapons was only a secondary priority to its original designer! Though the Rising Red Dragon suit was considerably better off in this area due to its expensive price tag, it was still inferior to Captain Wenter's custom-designed combat armor that was precisely tailored for his physique and fighting style!
With an energised scimitar that could cut through Breyer alloy and a battle-tested fighting style that mixed superior technique with dirty tricks, Ketis found no opportunity to counterattack!
She was forced to hold her cutlass with two arms in order to withstand the force of Captain Wenter's more powerful blows. Sometimes he fainted, putting considerably less power in his attacks.
Caught off-guard, Ketis responded a bit too slowly as Captain Wenter sliced the brightened edge of his scimitar across her already-damaged arm section!
At the last instant, she forced her Rising Red Dragon to turn, causing the empowered scimitar to tear through the upper layer of her plating!
Due to her move, her footing became unstable, which Captain Wenter eagerly took advantage of. His combat armor design featured considerably more range of movement for his legs, which he eagerly used to snap another kick against her foe!
Fortunately, Ketis possessed just enough experience to accept the kick. She used the force to perform an ungainly roll before regaining her footing just in time to block another heavy scimitar blow!
"I've taken your measure, lass!" Captain Wenter's helmeted form voiced. "Your technique is not half-bad, but mine is better!"
Both of them recognized the disparity in skill as they exchanged a couple more blows. The Hydra captain that insisted on dueling Ketis had training to fight with a scimitar for decades!
As for Ketis, her preferred weapon was a two-handed greatsword. This was because the Swordmaidens mainly oriented their swordsmanship towards slaying huge and tough adversaries such as exobeasts.
The fighting style of the Swordmaidens not only allowed them to duel powerful exobeasts who massed twenty times their own bodies, but also remained relevant in mech combat.
The Swordmaidens excelled in cutting weaker mechs in half with a single blow! Their killing efficiency against weaker mechs was unparalleled, while tougher opponents also experienced a lot of threat!
However, the downsides of the Swordmaiden fighting style became evident through this duel. Compared to other swordsmanship traditions, the Swordmaidens placed much less emphasis on finesse.
While they often sparred against each other and honed their moves and countermoves against other sword-wielding opponents, the essence of their swordsmanship style always revolved around overpowering their enemies.
A part of the reason why the Swordmaidens chose this brutish way over sword fighting was due to their deficient training environment. Focusing on simple, powerful moves demanded less acute judgement, fine body control and advanced training methods.
This was not necessarily enough to put her on the backfoot. With a large and massive enough greatsword, Ketis still would have been able to overcome her opponent's superior technique through sheer force.
The problem now was that her cutlass did not conform to the sword type that she fought best with. It was shorter and considerably lighter and possessed many other characteristics that prevented her from employing the moves she needed to reverse the trend.
These differences might not be important against ordinary opponents, but were influential enough to put her at a heavy disadvantage!
Captain Wenter was able to utilize his more focused training and his other advantages to maintain superiority throughout the duel.
He resolutely gave no chance for Ketis to turn the tables against him! If not for the fact that Captain Wenter wasn't able to channel his scimitar at full power for a long time, her Rising Red Dragon suit would have been breached at this time!
It frustrated her enormously to be forced on the defensive. Time was running out and while her fellow Mirror Raiders were putting at least some pressure on the Hydra Battalion soldiers bent on killing Lucky, the elite pirates weren't easy foes!
If Ketis couldn't find a way to break this deadlock, then Lucky might actually die in this cursed pirate base!
She had no other choice. She needed to use her trump card. The only reason why she felt reluctant to do so was that she couldn't make this move too often and that Captain Wenter was skilled enough to circ. it if he knew what she was capable of doing.
"Clang!"
The energized scimitar hit the flat of her cutlass blade again, leaving behind another scar and diminishing the durability of the weapon even further.
After blocking three more attacks, the back of her armor suddenly collided against a wall.
Captain Wenter saw a chance and performed another feint before slashing his energised scimitar against the neck collar of her opponent! The brightness of his weapon's edge abruptly rose higher than ever before, signifying that his next attack might be powerful enough to cut through all of the layers of armor that protected Ketis' neck!
The break in pattern astonished Ketis for a moment. The Hydra captain constantly aimed to cut off her arm in his previous attacks. Targeting her neck all of a sudden genuinely caught her off-guard!
Even so, she did not stop from making her own move. She concentrated her mind and actively sought to lean on Sharpie.
"Please lend me your strength!"
Her sentient mind sword had always supported Ketis as she fought through the pirates. With each enemy she slayed, Sharpie grew more and more active. It was as if the act of killing with swords slowly evolved the living spiritual construct in a certain direction!
Sharpie answered her call. It resonated with her mind and began to boost her effort to augment her blade.
A different glow covered the edge of her cutlass. Captain Wenter only had moments to widen his eyes as Ketis used the sharp side of her sword to parry his supercharged scimitar!
"Foolish! When I overloaded my prized weapon, not even second-class armor plating can block it from cutting through!"
A bright line seemed to have cut through air and metal.
Captain Wenter only had moments to realize that the simple cutlass wielded by his opponent managed to slice straight through his fully energized scimitar with unnatural ease. Not only that, but the partially-glowing cutlass continued on to hack into the shoulder plating of his combat armor before slicing off his arm and shoulder, armor included!
The powerful attack enhanced by Sharpie took a lot out of Ketis. She became incredibly tired and momentarily lacked the strength to attack her dueling opponent again.
"Impossible!" The Hydra captain spoke with astonishment.
The catastrophic injury he suffered was beyond his combat armor's means to patch up. Blood spurted from the cut sections of his flesh as his damaged armor collapsed on the ground.
"How.. did I lose?"
Ketis wearily grinned as she caught her breath. "You are better than me in any way except for one area."
"And what.. is that?"
"You lacked a sword intent."
"I see…" Captain Wenter's eyes glazed over. "I did not die unjustly. As one duelist to another, I… I am proud to die under your blade. Take your trophy from me.. so that I will be remembered…"
This formidable pirate elite and one of the most powerful melee duelists in Ulimo Citadel perished.
Ketis soon managed to regain enough energy to proceed forward. Before she did so, she grabbed Captain Wenter's broken scimitar and gripped it with her other hand.
"I'm coming, Lucky!"
Chapter 2304 - Tiring Struggle
After a couple of hellish rounds of fighting, Ketis, Lucky and the remainder of her Mirror Raider squad managed to fight their way through three successive gates.
The cost was considerable.
Lucky's Misfortune Harness barely hung on his injured frame like a threat. Precious shards of Breyer alloy and B-stone littered the battlefield amidst the cut and broken pirate corpses.
The elite Hydra Battalion truly deserved their high regard. Their excellent gear, battle tactics and training was not worse than that of the Swordmaidens!
Ketis and the Mirror Raiders only managed to defeat them while outnumbered by taking advantage of their superior armor.
Aside from Captain Wenter who traded a lot of merits and wealth to order a powerful suit of combat armor, the rank-and-file Hydra Battalion soldiers were not as ludicrous when it came to their gear.
While their kit bridged the gap between third-class and second-class equipment, they ultimately fell short of the superior durability of Breyer alloy!
After an arduous struggle where Ketis had to resist a considerable number of unusual and heavy weapons, she managed to slice the broken scimitar she wielded with her offhand across the neck of the final Hydra soldier.
The pirates fought to the last man. Ketis genuinely respected their courage and commitment to their duties. In truth, the Hydra Battalion surpassed the Swordmaidens in many aspects. It was just that Ketis possessed some unique advantages of her own, such as an expensive suit of combat armor and a living 'pet' courtesy of her second mentor!
"How are you, Lucky?"
"Meoww…"
Lucky held on for a surprising amount of time after the pirates managed to box him in. The many holes in his Misfortune Harness clearly exhibited how much he suffered. The relentless attacks against his slim body had left many scars and even deeper wounds across his exposed body.
"Meow meow meow…"
Though his Rorach's Bone-derived regeneration ability would eventually allow him to be restored to new, it would take a very long time for him to heal all of the damage. For now, it seemed doubtful that he was able to contribute any further to the fight.
"Can you go invisible?"
"Meow." Lucky shook his damaged head.
One of his glowing green eyes had dimmed.
"Can you phase through walls?"
"Meow." He shook his head again.
"Can you do anything?"
"Meow…"
"It's okay, Lucky." Ketis gently responded. "We'll take care of the rest. Just stay close and stay safe. According to the map, this is the last checkpoint in our way. The shrine that Ves wanted us to smash should be just ahead. Our fight is almost at an end."
Before she advanced any further, she took stock of their situation.
Though her condition was better than Lucky, Ketis neared the end of her endurance. Her damaged armor bore several new vulnerabilities and weak points due to Captain Wenter's attacks.
His energised scimitar also cut through a handful of minor servos and other modules, thereby impairing the mobility of the Rising Red Dragon suit to an extent. Though Ketis was still powerful enough to bull through groups of ordinary pirates, she no longer possessed the agility required to keep up with another Captain Wenter.
She dearly hoped she wouldn't encounter another weapon master at the shrine.
After she ascertained her own combat ability, she turned to her squad of Mirror Raiders, or what was left of them. Their firefight against the Hydra Battalion went less than ideal, mainly because the latter possessed the advantage in numbers.
Only five of her squad still retained some combat ability. Their armor suits were not as damaged as the others, but they had obviously suffered several telling blows.
Ketis noticed that their rifles were running low on ammunition and energy.
"We can't salvage the pirate weapons, but we should be able to pilfer their spare batteries if they're the same format."
There was an incredible variety of energy battery models in use these days, but many of them still stuck to a format in order to ensure greater compatibility. Developing batteries that conformed to a proprietary format generally didn't sell very on the market.
Fortunately, the pirates didn't use anything fancy or obscure. Ketis looked relieved as she opened up the back compartment of the combat armor of the fallen Hydra Battalion soldiers.
Ketis and her Mirror Raiders hurried to replace their heavily-depleted batteries with those that contained more charge.
Once they finished this quick resupply, the six Mirror Raiders along with a heavily damaged cat proceeded forward, shooting down any ghost pirate with a barrage of lasers as soon as they emerged.
"Don't you think these ghosts are appearing more often than before?" One of the disguised Larkinsons voiced his doubts.
"The frequency is indeed higher now that I think about it. This proves we're heading in the right direction!"
Ketis diligently followed the route on the map until she stumbled on a bare metal plaza.
She halted, and so did the other survivors.
"Meow..?" Lucky looked puzzled as he faced the empty ground.
"Is the map inaccurate?" Ketis perplexingly guessed.
This might be the case! The Larkinsons ripped the map she currently used from the data banks of the Dry Snakes. There was little reason to suspect the pirates would intentionally falsify the maps for their own use, but this was an exceptional case.
If the shrine to the Hallowed Abyss was truly at the heart of the artificial anomaly, then how could the leaders of the Dry Snakes ever expose such a critical location to most of their own men?
The center of the public marketplace was a heavily-restricted area which housed many important offices and administrative centers. If not for the indiscriminate ghost attacks and communications blackout, Ketis and her band would have encountered a lot more resistance on the way!
Still, after fighting through three successive gates and barely overcoming the elite Hydra Battalion, how could their destination be wrong?
Had Lucky almost lost his life for nothing? Had Ketis dueled and traded a lot of combat strength in vain?
"WHAT THE HELL?! AFTER ALL THIS FIGHTING, THERE'S NOTHING HERE BUT GHOSTS AND EMPTY SPACE?!"
Every Larkinson looked completely bewildered. The situation looked completely unacceptable. Was their intelligence really wrong? Why wasn't there anything in this place?!
"You are not in the wrong location." An amplified female voice sounded out.
Amidst the mindless pirate ghosts, some of which took the form of the deceased Hydra Battalion soldiers, a more corporeal form appeared.
Ketis raised her laser pistol while some of the surviving Mirror Raiders brought their own rifles to bear.
"Halt!" Ketis called out. "Drop your weapon and don't take a single step further!"
"Ahem, forgive me for not complying to your demand." The armored pirate replied as her laser pistol fired a green beam at a ghost that was aiming an opaque grenade launcher in her direction. "I am not your enemy, miss. If you will allow me to approach, I am willing to surrender my weapons to you as long as you allow me to explain myself."
Though Ketis found the presence of this odd pirate to be very suspicious, She currently lacked clear directions.
"Step closer, but not too close. Stop. Quickly drop your weapons and kicked them in our direction. Don't leave anything out, understood!"
The pirate efficiently dropped her pistol and withdrew another pistol as well as some combat knives out of her slim suit of armor.
"Is that enough to earn a moment of your time?"
"Explain, and do it quickly!"
"Very well." The pirate smiled and tapped the side of her helmet. Her faceplate turned transparent, allowing Ketis and the rest to see the friendly smile on her face. "Let's begin with introductions. I am Lieutenant Qwasma Ineron. As you can see from the appearance of my armor, I am a Xona Stalker."
"We know that! Tell us why we shouldn't kill you!"
"I can tell you where the shrine you are looking for is actually located. The map you are using isn't wrong. It's just that this base is more complicated than you think. As soon as the Grey Watcher called down the abyss, the shrine descended to a secret and more guarded site."
"What?!"
It turned out that the Hallowed Abyss shrine rested on a platform that had descended downwards as soon as it became a critical site. A large amount of tunnels was built underneath the current floor that led to various destinations.
Without any clues, there was no way that Ketis would be able to find where the shrine had moved before the anomaly succeeded in killing every Larkinson mech pilot trapped outside!
"Can you bring us to the actual location of the shrine?" She urgently asked.
"I can. I am at your disposal, miss."
Ketis suddenly narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Why are you turning against your own side?"
"Not all of us are willing to continue to live and die as pirates." Lieutenant Ineron replied. "We used to be ordinary intelligence operates from Majestic Teal. The reason why we were forced into the Nyxian Gap and took up the mantle of pirates is because we fell victim to a scheme. This is a heavy blow to us because it is very difficult for us to get rid of our outlaw status and restore our innocence. Many of us have left many friends and families behind."
ZAP!
Ketis fired a warning shot with her compact laser pistol that just brushed past Lieutenant Ineron's helmet!
"I don't have the time to hear your entire backstory! Get on with it already before more of our mech pilots die!"
"I'm a defector!" Qwasma Ineron got straight to the point. "I am part of a faction within the Xona Stalkers who have made secret contact with one of the Black Cats among you Mirror Raiders. He goes by Lincoln, though that is certainly a pseudonym."
Ah. That was why Lieutenant Sodo Rodan always acted smug and sneaked out so often. The intelligence officer had actually made a secret deal with some of the members of the Xona Stalkers!
Ketis lowered her pistol, showing that she was inclined to believe Qwasma's explanation.
"What does this deal entail?"
"It's quite complicated, but the most important point is that your patriarch has promised to clear our names with the MTA by exchanging a considerable amount of merits. In exchange, we have provided his clan with a lot of insider knowledge and crucial intelligence. How could your infiltrators circ. most of our stealth detectors without our hidden assistance? My fellow defectors have also performed a bit of sabotage and are ready to stir some trouble against our fellow pirates, some of which include our own comrades."
All of this sounded too detailed to be a fabrication. While she wasn't an excellent judge of character, she sensed that the defecting pirate lieutenant hadn't lied.
"Do you think she's telling the truth, Lucky?"
"Meow." The gem cat hesitantly nodded.
Whether his judgement could be trusted or not, Ketis wasn't sure.
"Let's leave this deal aside." Ketis waved her cutlass. "I'm just responsible for killing some cultists. Where has it moved and why didn't defectors provide us with an accurate map in the first place?"
"We were in the dark as well, miss." Lieutenant Ineron helplessly shrugged. "Most of the Dry Snakes didn't know about this desperation move, let alone us Xona Stalkers! Grand Protector Roshaw kept his cards very close to his chest. The good news is that now that this measure is in the open, we managed to trace where the shrine has relocated. I have even prepared some transportation that will allow us to pass through the tunnels unobstructed until we reach the site. I have to admit that the Hallowed Abyss has moved to a very odd section of Ulimo Citadel."
"Send over a map."
"My pleasure."
The lieutenant obediently transmitted a data package which Ketis confirmed to be clean. A new map loaded in her HUD. A blinking section immediately attracted her attention.
"This.. are you joking?"
"We are absolutely sure the shrine has moved there."
The destination.. turned out to be the local nutrient processing plant! The one responsible for producing Ulimo Citadel's signature specialty food!
Chapter 2305 - Individuality
The situation outside Ulimo Citadel became more and more dire. The anomaly not only pressured the Larkinsons down to their souls, but also changed over time.
The danger had risen since Ves ventured into the darkness! After rescuing the Living Sentinels and the Battle Crier pilots who still managed to survive, the Scarlet Rose became stuffed with mech pilots who had just fought the battle of their lives.
Only a small number of Sentinel and Battle Crier mechs retained sufficient combat effectiveness to continue the fight. These bedragged, battle-scarred machines remained on standby while the fresher mechs that used to make up the reserves did all of the heavy lifting.
The ghost mechs had changed. Fewer of them emerged out of the darkness, but each of them possessed the strength of a real mech!
What was worrisome was that their numbers slowly increased. The fog spat out more and more solid grey mechs that mindlessly attacked the nearest mechs.
The non-existent intelligences driving these fake mechs remained as dimwitted and simplistic as ever. That made them easy to defeat, but that had never been the problem.
The true horror of the dark sphere was that its ghosts were endless!
A lot of Sand War veterans gradually experienced deja vu as they felt as if they had traveled back in time. The constant reformation of hostile ghost mechs reminded them of the relentless tide of sandman fleets breaking into human-occupied star systems.
Though no one wanted to relive those harrowing days, the experienced veterans who participated in the Sand War quickly began to direct their fellow comrades.
"Don't employ wasteful methods! Conserving your mech's energy, integrity and ammunition is your greatest priority!"
"Break up into groups of four mechs! Each group must rotate and handle every ghost mech as quickly as possible! Don't kill them from the front. Surround them and target their vulnerable rear. Real mechs can't withstand much damage at the back, and these fake mechs are no different!"
"Ranged mechs, don't intervene. Your firepower is finite. Only employ it when we truly need the help."
"We need to get out of here! Why aren't we out yet?!"
The Scarlet Rose attempted to exit the dark sphere some time ago. The problem was that the dark fog had intensified in a way that made it impossible to exit its confines!
The Scarlet Rose already traversed enough distance to reach the edge of the sphere, but for some reason the ship remained trapped!
The ship traveled in a straight line. It should have left the sphere or at least bump into other asteroids or something.
Instead, there was nothing but darkness, ghost mechs and the occasional debris or stray Larkinson mech.
This was bad news for everyone involved! Ves expended so much energy to rescue some of his mech pilots that he had consumed a huge amount of energy.
Just when his last P-stone drained its charge, another unexpected change took place.
An even larger bubble of protection overlapped with the tranquility field!
The surviving Sentinel and Battle Criers mechs brought their weapons to bear, only to drop them a bit when they welcomed the arrival of their remaining comrades!
"It's the Avatars!"
"Look, the Vandals and Swordmaidens are here as well!"
"Where are the Penitent Sisters?"
"I don't know, but they can take care of themselves."
The arrival of several hundred Larkinson mechs significantly boosted everyone's morale. What particularly emboldened everyone was that the other group was led by the expert candidates of the clan!
It turned out that Jannzi, Joshua, Tusa, Commander Orfan, Commander Dise had managed to collect the remainder of their fighting forces. They then sought each other out, causing them to bump into each other and pool their respective strengths!
Tusa Billingsley-Larkinson acted as the scout of this reformed unit. His fast mech was less bound by the boundaries imposed by the darkness than other mechs. In fact, he discovered the Scarlet Rose a few minutes earlier and returned to his comrades to guide them towards the ship.
Whatever the case, it was better to pool their strengths together than to resist the dangers of the artificial anomaly separately!
While Tusa bravely ventured away from the main group in order to watch out for any stranded Larkinson mechs, the other expert candidates each did their own part.
Commander Orfan's spearman mech heroically confronted the ghost mechs all by herself. With her elevated skill, she easily defeated every ghost mech within a couple of precise but powerful stabs.
Strangely enough, the ghost mechs she defeated took a much longer time to reform. It was as if the damage she inflicted was harder to repair than the mechs destroyed by other mechs and mech pilots!
It turned out that this was the case for the other expert candidates as well. Commander Dise's swordsman mech straightforwardly sliced the grey mechs regardless of what kind of moves they made. With her mech's unparalleled greatsword, no false mech could withstand more than a single attack!
Joshua's Quint was even more exaggerated. Though his masterwork mech currently came with a lancer mech loadout, he eschewed performing charges in order to conserve his energy.
Instead, Joshua fought similar to Commander Orfan, but his deadly lance seemed to possess even greater destructive might towards the grey ghost mechs!
It only took a single stab to pop the fake mechs. Joshua initially aimed at the weak points of his opposing mechs, but he eventually discovered that his Quint was somehow the natural enemy of these ghost machines.
Even if the Quint brushed the surface of its target with its weapon, the stricken ghost mech quickly dissolved!
As soon as he discovered this, Joshua ramped up his pace! The Quint flew back and forth and killed many ghost mechs in quick succession.
His aid turned out to be very necessary as the concentration of several hundred mechs attracted the ghost mechs like moths to a flame!
Apparently, there were no more outlying Larkinson mechs. This meant that the artificial anomaly concentrated all of its destructive efforts towards containing and destroying the Larkinsons trapped inside its belly.
The strength of anomaly constantly grew in strength. Strange cries continued to ring in the ears of every clansmen while other phenomena such as strange chills and grey hallucinations started to become increasingly more unsettling.
If the anomaly kept ramping like this, then Ves and the other Larkinsons trapped inside might buckle under the pressure!
In fact, Ves had already been forced to retract his efforts to channel Lufa's glow. Though powerful, he had completely drained every P-stone of the energy he acc. .
"HOLD TOGETHER, BROTHERS AND SISTERS! WE WILL MAKE IT THROUGH ALIVE!"
Fortunately, the only defensive expert candidate in the Larkinson Clan took over his burden at the crucial moment.
Jannzi Larkinson shone brighter than ever as her Shield of Samar took over sole responsibility of keeping the darkness at bay!
Her willpower almost became tangible to Ves as her customized Aurora Titan mech took up a central position over the Scarlet Rose and radiated an immense aura.
With every other mech losing its glow due to the powerful dampening effect of the artificial anomaly, Jannzi's mech stood out as an exceptional pillar of hope with its mere presence alone.
Out of all of the expert candidates, no one dazzled the frayed survivors more than her! Each and every Larkinson recognized that they would have remained isolated and under much greater pressure if Jannzi did not elect to take over this heavy burden.
As Ves recovered from his mentally strenuous act, he stared at the projection depicting the Shield of Samar with increasing wonder and puzzlement.
He designed the Aurora Titan. He modified Jannzi's personal mech until it turned into a formidable defensive bulwark.
However, he always designed the super-medium space knight to defend against material threats. Aside from instilling Qilanxo as its design spirit, the Aurora Titan model wasn't supposed to perform like his upcoming Sanctuary model!
The oddest part of all of this is that due to the strong spiritual dampening effect of the anomaly, Qilanxo wasn't able to extend her presence to the Shield of Samar.
Yet somehow, this mech outputted a protective field that encompassed enough space to give hundreds of friendly machines enough room to fight and exert their strength!
Having tried to fend off the dark fog with the help of Lufa, Ves personally experienced how much effort it took to maintain a safe zone under these circ. .
With the dark sphere increasing in strength, someone who was much more spiritually weak such as Jannzi shouldn't have been able to keep up this expenditure!
Yet somehow she was pulling a huge amount of energy from seemingly nowhere. It made no sense to him at all! No matter how freaky spirituality behaved, as far as he knew it still abided by the law of conservation of energy!
"Nothing comes for free! Not even energy!"
Planets remained livable and warm due to the stars shining over their surfaces.
Stars derived their energy from the immense thermonuclear reactions taking place in their cores.
The particles that enable these immensely powerful reactions originated from other processes.
The point was that energy did not just 'show up' from nowhere. Ves refused to believe that Jannzi had turned herself into a perpetual motion machine!
As he probed Jannzi and her mech further with his spiritual senses, he slowly discovered where the energy came from. The source surprised Ves quite a lot, because it turned out that the Shield of Samar itself actively supperted its mech pilot and supplied it with an abundant amount of energy!
Where did this energy come from? Why hadn't he noticed that the Shield of Samar acc. so much spiritual juice? How come Jannzi's personal mech felt more alive than ever despite the absence of its design spirit?
Ves thought he understood mechs quite a lot. Now, it turned out that he missed a hidden aspect!
The Shield of Samar started off as the first production model of the Aurora Titan. He gifted it to Jannzi after she unexpectedly broke through to expert candidate at the space knight's reveal event.
Years passed as Jannzi piloted the mech through the Sand War and many of the battles involving the Larkinson Clan.
Each time, Jannzi bonded with her mech to a degree that exceeded the love and attention that other Larkinson mech pilots invested in their own machines.
Not even Joshua had vowed to dedicate his remaining piloting career to the Quint! He still held to a more conventional philosophy where switching to piloting other mechs was inevitable.
For some reason, Jannzi's extreme dedication towards her Shield of Samar caused the two to form a special bond with each other. The Shield of Samar became more than just a personal mech to her. It became her main weapon and her lifelong partner.
This must have caused the Shield of Samar to develop differently from every other Aurora Titan mech in existence. It gained individuality as it tailored itself more and more to its sole mech pilot.
This wasn't enough to explain where all of its energy came from, but it explained some of its unusual traits, such as the high degree of resonance that Jannzi achieved with her chosen mech!
The protective field that Jannzi projection was just as strong if not stronger than the tranquility field that Ves had maintained at great cost.
The difference was that while Ves amplified Lufa's glow by force through expending huge amounts of energy, Jannzi was able to achieve a similar result at a much lower cost!
"Is this the benefit of merging willpower with mechs?"
Ves sensed something special between the synergy that Jannzi and the Shield of Samar achieved. He also gained a much greater appreciation of spiritually-infused willpower.
It was no wonder that high-ranking mech pilots were regarded as gods in the making. Their ability to warp reality with the power of their wills was much stronger than Ves could ever accomplish!
Above all else, Ves finally recognized what his design philosophy could have achieved if he didn't obsess over utilizing design spirits.
For all these years, he unintentionally lost sight of one of the original purposes of his design philosophy.
"Individuality!"
Every mech was different! Every mech was unique! Even if they were derived from the same set of designs, each of them followed a different trajectory once they were made.
The Shield of Samar was one of the best examples of a mech that successfully diverged from the mold of its original design.
The mech that suited their pilots the best were those that achieved the highest fit with their partners!
This was one of Gloriana's original principles. Ves had long assumed that customization was primarily her territory, but it turned out that he was mistaken.
"I've been chasing the wrong goal all along! Instead of imposing greater uniformity in my products, I should have been aiming to expand their individuality!"
Each mech should be unique, just as each life form was different from each other!
Chapter 2306 - Abomination
Though the power of individuality was strong, it was not unlimited. Jannzi and her Shield of Samar may have managed to shield the Larkinsons trapped inside the anomaly from a lot of dangers, but it wasn't enough to bring them out!
"The abyss is hungry." James quietly remarked to Ves as the latter was still preoccupied with his latest realization. "When you cross past the event horizon of a black hole, you have reached the point of no return. No matter how much you try to travel out of the hungry maw at the center, the extreme gravitational curving has grown to such a point that not even light can make it out. Unless we can surpass this light, there is no possibility of escaping this trap!"
Ves threw a skeptical look at him. "Since you opted to stay on my ship, does that mean you have foreseen our eventual victory?"
"Not at all." James shook his head. "I am blinded, remember? I merely believe in your ability and the ability of our clan. No specific proof or prediction has guided my decision to bet on you. I'm not alone in this. Many other Larkinsons are also willing to put complete trust in you. This is the true meaning of faith, patriarch."
Faith! Ves hated that word! To him, it described an awful pattern of behavior where people switched off the logical parts of their brain, thereby causing them to develop a irrational belief in something no matter if it was right or wrong!
While Ves personally thought that it was always a good choice for people to put their trust in him, he preferred to do so honestly.
As far as he was concerned, the Larkinsons followed him and supported him as the leader of their clan due to the unspoken contract he formed with them. Through the mutual exchange of interests, both Ves and his clansmen benefited considerably from their cooperation.
This was one of the underlying motivations behind venturing into the Nyxian Gap. It was in his best interests to train his mech forces through the crucible of combat. The clansmen themselves were attracted by gains as well. Not only would they be able to strengthen themselves, Ves had also promised them a massive reward once they returned to civilized space!
The problem was that suffering too many losses might destabilize his contract with his clansmen. How could the latter possibly benefit from having Ves as their leader when he just drove the majority of their mech pilots to their deaths?
No Larkinson would harvest any benefits when they died!
This was why he constantly worried about the outcome of this battle. Roughly half of the Larkinson mech pilots that took part in the attack had already died or disappeared. This was the maximum amount of losses that the clan was able to tolerate. If he lost a hundred more Larkinson mech pilots, then it became questionable whether he would be allowed to cling to his current authority!
Yet with faith, those rules went out the window. Ves noticed from the behavior of many fanatics that they were more than willing to die in order to advance some abstract cause!
Even when the cult leaders openly exploited their sheep, the latter gladly gave up everything due to the faith instilled into them. Such behavior seemed completely stupid to Ves!
While Ves was mulling over faith, the battle outside became more and more strenuous. Despite the efforts of Joshua, Orfan and Dise, the powerful grey mechs still appeared at a faster rate.
Despite the huge amount of effort required to sustain the anomaly, it showed no signs of receding at all. Instead, it continued to strengthen up until the point another mutation occurred.
The grey mechs were merging together!
Instead of mindlessly charging at the Larkinson mechs as soon as the darkness spawned them into existence, they instead crashed against each other. The grey fog that made up their corporeal forms seamlessly blended into each other.
When more than a dozen ghost mechs fused into each other, the resulting mass of grey boiled and convulsed. This process went on for a decent amount of time.
Worried at what might result from this new process, some of the ranged mechs started shooting it, only for all of their laser beams and projectiles to go through the boiling grey mass as if it was nothing but fog!
"Something is coming out!"
The fusion process finally ended, and every Larkinson observing the result shook in fear.
A huge supermech came into existence! Adhering to no proper design principle, the huge grey abomination combined the mass as well as the limbs and weapons of all of the grey mechs that had sacrificed themselves to produce this abomination.
Ves visibly winced at the sight of such an awful mech!
Nonetheless, no matter how ugly it looked, the moment this abominable mech began to fight, it immediately demonstrated its strength by smashing apart a group of four unsuspecting mechs!
"Damnit, its strength has increased! Don't let your mech get hit!"
Each limb was capable of outputting the combined force of multiple mechs!
As attacks landed on its grey surface, many laser beams and projectiles bounced off as if they struck a second-class mech.
"This mech's durability is as strong as multiple mechs as well!"
What was even more frightening was the warped ranged weapons wielded by one of the abomination's multiple limbs. Each shot either tore apart a Larkinson mech or inflicted heavy damage to them. Even the Bright Warriors began to exhibit some damage as their Breyer alloy armor plating no longer turned them impervious.
"It's heading to the Scarlet Rose!"
"Stop it! Don't let it reach our ship! Our clan patriarch and hundreds of rescued mech pilots are inside!"
"Watch out! Another bunch of grey mechs are merging together! Shoot them down before they collide against each other!"
As the crisis facing the Scarlet Rose and every functional Larkinson mech left inside slowly began to overwhelm the surviving Larkinsons, the situation inside Ulimo Citadel had momentarily entered a period of calm.
After Qwasma Ineron introduced herself to Ketis and her band, the pirate defector brought the Larkinsons to a large passenger shuttle.
Around sixty Xona Stalkers armed and armored with a variety of gear greeted the newcomers.
The sight of so many fighting forces that were ostensibly on the side of the Larkinsons relieved Ketis.
At this moment, she had largely expended her strength. The integrity of her Rising Red Dragon suit had dropped and she hardly had any energy left to employ her superpower again.
Lucky was in an even worse state. His heavily-damaged Misfortune Harness hardly offered any advantages and his heavily-damaged surface prevented him from using all of the abilities that made him so tricky and elusive.
As for the remaining Mirror Raiders, they were still in reasonable shape to fight, but only because those who failed to measure up had already died in the firefight against the Hydra Battalion!
If the two could rely on the Xona Stalkers to fight the remaining battles, then that would be best!
As soon as the large passenger shuttle took in the Larkinsons, one of the Xona Stalker specialists transmitted a secret code that caused the floor that was supposed to hold the shrine to retract to the sides.
A large, square tunnel that led straight below came into view. The passenger shuttle briskly flew through the opening and began to navigate the surprisingly expansive tunnel complex built underneath the public marketplace.
In the meantime, grey ghosts continued to form around them, but because the shuttle was constantly moving, those ghosts were immediately left far behind.
"We'll soon be arriving at the site of the nutrient processing plant." Lieutenant Ineron told Ketis. "The shrine had dropped into the heart of the plant. There are signs of some defenses, but not as heavily as we feared. With the troops we have currently gathered, we should be able to overrun the plant."
"Meow.."
Lucky squirmed on Ketis' armored lap as she gently tore off some of the useless parts of the Misfortune Harness from his body.
"Will you Xona Stalkers really go against the Dry Snakes?"
"Only a part of us will, but that is enough." Qwasma ruefully smiled. "We never wanted to live a damned and forsaken life. While it is possible for us to fake our identities and return to civilized space with our expertise, we cannot accept abandoning our original identities. Each of us want to return to the families we have left behind in Majestic Teal and reunite with them without fear of bringing dishonor to them. We are willing to do much to gain this chance."
"I see."
Personally, Ketis possessed a different view of pirate life. While there were many pirates who lived awful lives, civilized space wasn't so different in that regard.
What she truly valued was the freedom she enjoyed in the frontier. Venturing through the Nyxian Gap reminded her of the freedoms she surrendered when she gained a new identity.
When the shuttle arrived at the perimeter of the nutrient processing plant, other groups of Xona Stalkers were already engaged in fighting the Dry Snakes assigned to defend it. The sudden arrival of reinforcements emboldened the attackers!
"Traitors!" A Dry Snake captain yelled over the sounds weapon discharges. "We'll gut you all once we have gotten rid of the Larkinsons. The Grand Protector will never let you live!"
The defecting Xona Stalker fighters didn't respond. They had already made their choice.
Ketis and Lucky stayed out the fighting. They saw how the Xona Stalkers proficiently dismantled the defenses by employing stealthed saboteurs. The defectors also sabotaged some of the large machines around them in order to prevent the shrine from moving away.
The Xona Stalker defectors knew that if they wished to make it out and return to civilized space, they needed to end the crisis besetting the Larkinson Clan!
After losing a third of their lives, the defecting fighting troops finally managed to overwhelm the defenders. While the remainder of the Dry Snake soldiers retreated inwards, their disorganization allowed the Xona Stalkers to easily hunt down the stragglers.
"Let's head inside." Lieutenant Qwasma told Ketis. "This plant was never built to repel an assault. The Dry Snakes haven't posted a lot of guards here either. It is just supposed to be a place to produce some food, after all. With the communications blockade, the rest of our enemy probably isn't aware of the true importance of this site."
Under the lead of the lieutenant, they slowly strode through the main entrance. They passed by some administrative departments before entering the industrial chemical and nutrient processing areas.
Large tubes and small tubes sn.a.k.e.d over everyone's heads. Water, ingredients and waste material continued to flow through them as the largely-automated plant still ran by itself. The pirates had already shoved the plant workers into a room and locked them all inside.
Occasional sounds of fighting echoed through the tunnel-filled halls and corridors as internal defenses as well as the remnants of their opponents put up a last stand.
Strangely enough, the ghost pirates no longer appeared. The darkness and all of the strange phenomena that accompanied it may have intensified a bit as the attackers drew closer, but no more hostile apparitions emerged after passing a certain point.
"Don't let down your guard. The cultists might be gathering them all up before unleashing them at once."
Eventually, the small group reached a center hall where a large, high-vaulted shrine rested in the center of the processing plant.
Pipes disgorged water and brown sludge into large large tanks. Dry powder dropped from a pipe in the ceiling and spread into one of the tanks. Some waste material got separated from another process and flowed away.
Large packaging machines took in portions of dried nutrient matter and enveloped them in disposable wrapping before shoveling them inside containers to be taken elsewhere!
A growing group of Xona Stalkers gathered to make their final assault.
Yet before they managed to do so, the gates of the shrine suddenly slid open on their own. The entrance resembled a hungry maw.
Chapter 2307 - The Dark Shrine
In the distance, the opening of the gates of the shrine seemingly served as an invitation for the attackers to step inside.
Darkness swirled behind the entrance, though the specks of grey hinted at danger. After fighting back against so many grey ghosts, no one associated this shade with anything good!
For a moment, the officers of the defecting pirates conferred amongst themselves. Their original plan wasn't to enter the shrine at all. Instead, a number of them already brought some small cargo platforms that carried a large payload of explosives.
Ketis widened her eyes behind her helmet as she spotted some distinctive warning signs to some of the big bombs.
"Are those nuclear mines?! Are you crazy?!"
Lieutenant Qwasma Ineron grinned behind her transparent faceplate. "Yes. While we truly have no idea what is taking place inside, nothing can survive the detonation of an enriched nuclear explosion at close range. There is no need for us to follow the arrangements of our enemy."
She was right. Why enter the homeground of an enemy powerful enough to strand and grind down thousands of mechs in space? They should just bombard the shrine from a safe distance and be done with it instead of foolishly accepting the Hallowed Abyss Temple's unkind invitation!
However, just as the demolitionists and combat engineers brought their explosive payloads forward under heavy escort, the occupants of the shrine seemingly lost patience.
"Watch out! Something is coming out of the gates!"
"Damnit, forget about the bombs, just shoot the shrine!"
Everyone who held a rifle immediately followed orders and shot at the ornate building that looked completely incongruous with the industrial setting of the nutrient processing plant.
Some fired their weapons at the walls of the shrine. Others shot straight into the gates.
A variety of pistols, rifles and even heavier weapons fired straight at the shrine! No matter how sturdy its construction, the sheer weight of firepower the Xona Stalker soldiers brought to bear should have been enough to chip away at the surface of their target!
Yet frighteningly enough, none of their weapons managed to chip at the walls of the shrine! Made of unknown obsidian material, the structure of the shrine incurred no visible damage!
As for the shots that went straight through the gates, the abyss swallowed them all up without providing any feedback on whether the attacks accomplished anything.
The Xona Stalkers became dismayed as they failed to achieve the results they wanted. In the meantime, strange flows of grey and darkness began to seep from the gates and spread throughout the area. The pressure exerted onto everyone's minds increased.
"Ahh! Shoot the deck instead! No matter how strong the shrine is made of, the deck is made out of ordinary alloy!"
The defectors did so, only to discover that some kind of dark shield negated all of their attacks!
No matter how much they fired their weapons, the surprisingly fragile-looking layer of darkness absorbed everything as if it was shunting the incoming fire to another dimension!
While such a means of defense was by no means unknown to human civilization, it was an unattainable product of high technology! Something as fancy like this shouldn't be present in the Nyxian Gap.
What was worse was that this powerful shielding effect didn't appear to be driven by technology. Instead, the same sorcery that called down an anomaly over Ulimo Citadel seemed to manipulate it in a way that allowed the shrine to remain completely undamaged!
"Throw in the bombs and detonate as quickly as possible!"
"It's too late!"
Before the attackers could enact any other plan, the boiling darkness began to produce a large number of shadowy spikes. Within seconds, these spikes rapidly pierced everyone's chests, causing them to completely freeze and lose most of their motion!
Even Ketis and Lucky became impaled!
Aside from instinctual body movements such as breathing, none of them were able to move their limbs.
The fear in everyone's minds multiplied as they were rendered completely helpless against anyone who wanted to finish them off. No matter how much the frozen attackers tried to resist this highly-unusual restraint effect, the dark tentacles kept them imprisoned in a way that robbed the captives of all autonomy!
Enough time passed for everyone to realize their new predicament before a gravitic force acted on all of their bodies and brought them straight through the gates of the shrine.
Everyone's panic intensified as the darkness swallowed them all up. Even Ketis and Lucky were unceremoniously dragged inside.
It didn't matter if most of them still carried their weapons and other equipment. Without the ability to move, they could do nothing to resist what was happening!
The interior of the main hall of the shrine was hollow, but the entry of more than a hundred Xona Stalkers and other people made it a bit more crowded.
The unknown gravitic force deposited the frozen attackers onto a stone-tiled floor without regard for their posture of facing. Plenty of frozen bodies collapsed onto the ground or piled on top of each other as if they were just planks.
Ketis fortunately happened to drop with enough of a view to see the center of the hall.
A large ritual circle had been painted onto the floor with what looked to be blooded. Strange, alien runes whose meaning completely escaped her were painted next to the lines.
Nothing about this seemed to be based on technology! The horrifying sight looked as if it came straight out of a fantasy drama!
Ketis managed to exert just enough control over her vision to observe other elements.
Robed bodies rested on the stone floor. She spotted the tell-tale signs of cut throats. Having cut a fair amount of throats herself, she expertly noticed that whoever had slashed the neck of these cultists did so from behind and likely with a knife.
The unfortunate cultists hadn't died too long ago as blood still poured from their wounds. The red liquid seemed to gain a life of their own and did not spill randomly over the floor. Instead, they actively sought to fuse with the ritual circle, strengthening it and causing it to glow redder!
Only two figures remained alive and fully in control.
First was the grey-bearded person known as Grey Watcher Xarnus. The old figure carried a blood-stained ritual dagger but didn't face the newcomers.
Instead, mysterious alien whispers escaped from his mouth as he knelt in front of a large statue that was as tall as a mech.
Made out of some mysterious dark metal, the statue bore the marks of age in a way that made it seem as if it had existed for eons. Corrosion, pitted surfaces and other marks marred its surface, but despite these flaws there was evidently more to this statue than met the eye.
The appearance of this statue was a significant source of distress to the immobilized captives! The statue depicted some sort of sort of aquatic menace. Depicted in an upright form, the clearly alien creature resembled a whale due to its streamlined body shape and enormous maw.
What caused it to looked far more ominous than other alien depictions was the tentacles extending throughout the alien's body! These tentacles seemed to cast the alien in a terrifying light as they seemed numerous enough to envelop any prey in range!
In fact, the dark, opaque spikes that impaled and immobilized every captive actually extended from the statue's stone tentacles!
Not only that, but darkness continually spewed from the orifices of the aquatic alien statue. The newly-generated darkness supplemented the surrounding dark fog, causing the anomaly to grow stronger and become an even greater threat to those who aimed to take Ulimo Citadel down.
Hardly anyone inside and outside Ulimo ever expected that it held such a powerful form of defense. This unscientific alien ritual completely broke many people's conceptions of what was possible!
Even Ketis had difficulty trying to process what she saw. The statue seemed alive in a way that reminded her of LMC mechs, but this was clearly different!
While the grey-robed priest ignored the presence of the captives and continued to sustain the ritual with his heretical-sounding whispers.
The other person was different. Ketis became shocked as she recognized the familiar form of Grand Protector Roshaw!
Depictions of this old, grand leader were everywhere in Ulimo Citadel. Usually, the visuals depicted the head of the Dry Snakes in his resplendent pirate lord uniform.
Now, the man appeared in the form of blood-splattered combat armor. Trophies, gems and markings decorated his armor in a resplendent way. Combined with the green-and-yellow cape dr.a. across the back, the Grand Protector made an imposing impression on the captives!
Many Xona Stalkers were wondering why Roshaw was here of all places. Shouldn't he be in the command center situated in the most defensible section of the pirate stronghold?
"Welcome to our shrine." The old man spoke as his faceplate turned transparent. "While I did not wish for the Larkinson Clan to attack my fine citadel, I am pleasantly surprised that traitors like you have exposed yourselves."
The pirate lord stepped forward, his armored boots clanking across the floor. The man stepped in front of the nearest frozen body.
"Since you have decided to approach this shrine, your bodies shall make for a fine supplement."
The pirate lord bent down to grab onto the armor and began to do something that seemed completely incongruous.
Roshaw began to tear pieces of armor off the frozen Xona Stalker's body! Whether it was his own body or the powerful servos of his combat armor, the pirate lord demonstrated enough strength to rip metal with his bare hands!
Due to the automated safety features of his victim's suit, the torn combat armor eventually detached various modules that had sustained significant damage. This hastened Roshaw's attempt at stripping the Xona Stalker's body from his c. protection.
"Ah, that's better. There is no life in your armor. It's completely useless to us. We only want your body. More precisely, we want life that is intrinsically locked inside your biological tissue!"
To Ketis and everyone else's horror, the powerful pirate lord held the body with one arm and punched through his captive's chest with his other hand!
After ripping out the heart, the pirate lord grinned and began to throw it towards the ritual circle.
The still-beating heart did not land on the floor in a bloody mess. Instead, the statue projected some dark fog that enveloped the bloody organ, causing it to turn into a sphere of blood that seamlessly merged with the ritual circle shortly afterwards!
""The Unending One is pleased with your sacrifice!" Roshaw grinned as he swept his bloodied arm at the tentacles alien statue. "Though the heart is the strongest life-bearing organ, the remainder of your body has some value as well. Let me sacrifice what life you have left in order to please our greatest patron! Know that your body shall serve a great cause!"
The tentacle that kept the dying Xona Stalker immobilized suddenly pulsed. The body suddenly began to deflate as the dark tentacle drained moisture and some other energies.
It took only seconds for the Grand Protector to hold a mummified corpse!
The pirate lord then proceeded to recycle the waste. He tossed the dried and lifeless over his head. Some gravitic modules caught the falling mummy and automatically moved it to a hole in the floor.
The dry body dropped through the hole. It plunged straight into a tank that contained semi-processed ingredients!
Everyone who witnessed the pirate lord's actions increased their resistance against the strange restraints that kept them immobilized!
No one wanted to die in such a horrifying way!
No one wanted to turn into a mummy!
No one wanted their remains to be used as ingredients for nutrient packs!
Unfortunately, no matter how hard the captive defectors and Larkinsons tried to resist their unnatural bonds, they could not stop the cruel pirate lord from killing them one by one in order to fuel a completely incomprehensible and unscientific ritual!
Chapter 2308 - Higher-Order Life
"Every human is made of matter. The same goes for many animals and aliens." Grand Protector Roshaw voiced as he picked up another immobilized Xona Stalker. His strong armored form quickly ripped his next victim's armor apart. "Each of us are made of atoms and molecules, the building blocks of the material dimensions."
What the hell was this madman talking about? Over a hundred frightened Xona Stalkers tried their best to fight against the bonds that held them captive.
None of their efforts yielded any results!
It was one thing if they were locked into place after being bound by alloy collars or gravitic manipulation. However, the only reason why they weren't able to move was because of the strange dark transparent tentacles extending from the statue of the 'The Unending One'!
Ketis had no idea how the Hallowed Abyss Temple managed to get this alien statue to come to life and use it as a crowd control tool. All she wanted was to shake herself loose from this unnatural restriction so she could fight for her life!
"I will not be bound!" She roared in her mind!
Yet no matter how much she willed herself to be free, the mechanism which stopped her from moving was considerably stronger. The dark tentacle that stabbed her through the stomach looked like a projection, something that was fake and insubstantial.
Yet this tentacle was more than a clever technological manipulation of light. This seemingly-fake appendage extended from the tentacled whale statue exerted real influence that left them completely at the mercy of the Grand Protector!
As Roshaw became accustomed to peeling off the armor of the immobilized Xona Stalkers, he accelerated his pace. It only took a dozen seconds for him to peel off all of the armor of a victim. After that, it only took moments to pull out the heart to empower the ritual and let the statue of the Unending One drain the rest of the body!
This was an awful way to die. It was one thing to die in an honorable battle. It was another thing to allow your death to further the enemy's scheme!
If that wasn't enough, the Grand Protector tossed every drained body through the hole in the floor. The nutrient processing plant made no distinctions in biological matter. No matter whether they came from plants, animals, humans or through artificial synthesis, as long as they were nutritious, the automated plant wasted none of it and stuffed them all into the next batch of nutrient packs!
More and more helpless Xona Stalkers fell victim to the Grand Protector's cruel handling of their bodies. It was as if the pirate lord solely regarded them as cattle to be butchered.
"Have you ever wondered what makes us living beings different from lifeless objects such as rocks?"
A terrified immobilized defector quickly lost consciousness as the massive hole in his chest leaked out huge spurts of blood. The pirate lord's gauntlet gripped a beating heart, its torn veins still dripping some scarlet liquid.
"Why can't rocks live like organic life?" Roshaw asked. "What does this heart possess that a synthetically-grown organ lacks? Have you ever asked yourselves this question?"
Who the hell would wonder about the meaning of life at this dangerous junction?! Ketis was more than glad to debate the meaning of life in a calmer setting. In fact, she occasionally discussed this very topic with Ves, who possessed very strong opinions on this subject!
"Did you know that the typical baseline human body consists almost entirely of six elements? From most to least abundant, 99 percent of our bodies consists of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus. Doesn't that list sound awfully short? Even though nature has shaped these elements in many wondrous combinations to produce functional molecules and cells, at the heart of our existence, we are not so different from ordinary rocks."
As Roshaw continued to sacrifice Xona Stalker after Xona Stalker, every captive experienced more and more despair at their eventual fate. They were unwilling to have their hopes and dropes end in such a cruel and horrifying manner.
Yet as the sacrifices grew, the darkness grew a little bit stronger. It became even more difficult to shake themselves loose over time!
As Roshaw came to his twentieth body, he still continued to talk about something that no one ever expected to hear from a pirate lord..
"There is something different about organisms like us that makes us more than animated objects." He rambled on. "In my younger years, I was ignorant to this fact. I thought that reality worked exactly as I perceive it with my senses. If something can't be seen, felt or heard, it wasn't worth thinking about. How wrong I was. This universe is so much greater than what we are able to perceive with our shallow senses. After becoming exposed to just an inkling to the mysteries of life, I understood how small and limited we are. Our flesh and bodies are weak, unimaginably so! Even in the hierarchy of alien races in our galaxy, the human physique ranks at the bottom!"
Though his mechanical butchery fed large amounts of lifeblood to the ritual circle and the idol of the Unending One, his green-and-yellow snake-patterned armor became more and more dyed with red.
Some of the remaining captives had the mistaken impression that Roshaw was actually a monster who fed off the fright and suffered his words and actions induced!
In truth, this guess wasn't far off the truth. Those who were more distressed tended to make for greater sacrifices than those whose hearts were numbed. The degree of life they exhibited differed as much as an order of magnitude!
The Grand Protector became more enthused as he processed a third of the captures! "My benefactors enlightened me to several important truths that have changed my life. The first truth is that life is special, immaterial and incomparably precious! Possessing this single quality separates us from objects that have no life. Not even artificially-cultivated clones of ourselves can come close to matching our potential due to lacking this essential quality."
Just like Ketis, Lucky struggled vigorously against the tentacle impaled through his metallic body. His damaged and depleted state had weakened him enormously. If his body and his Misfortune Harness weren't in such an awful state, the gem cat may have been able to resist the bonds!
As it was, he fell in a similar predicament as Ketis and the rest. While Lucky didn't know yet whether this insane pirate leader could even sacrifice a mechanical lifeform to a dark god, the injured cat did his utmost to regain his phasing abilities!
"The second truth I've learned is that this unique quality of life is not fixed!" Roshaw grinned behind his transparent faceplate as he ran through half of the bodies of the traitorous Xona Stalkers. "Everyone is born unequal. We humans are exceptionally weak in flesh, and cannot bear much life. However, exceptions always exist, and there are a few lucky ones among you who possess the opportunity to bear more of this exceptional quality."
Ketis strained herself even more as she continued to try and figure out ways to shake herself loose.
"Life is special. Life is exceptional. Do you know the third truth I've learned? Life doesn't have to stay fixed. It can be cultivated!"
The pirate lord tossed another drained and mummified body through the hole in the floor. This was the sixtieth body he threw in the nutrient processing plant!
"Our flesh is weak, but we can make it stronger. Through manipulating the code of life that is locked within each of our cells, we can upgrade our bodies into something greater than our baseline DNA is capable of producing. Since we have spread to the stars, we have taken evolution in our own hands!"
The buffer of Xona Stalker captives grew less and less. Since Ketis and Lucky did not take part in the attempted assault on the shrine, their bodies along with the body of Lieutenant Ineron happened to be dropped in the rear of the pile.
Their turns came last, but that was not that much of a consolation as none of the Larkinsons in the pile managed to overcome the restraint imposed by the tentacles!
"Many of you ignorant people believe that the latter days of the Age of Conquest was a time of unprecedented disaster. Fools! Don't you realize how great it was to live in that time? The pursuit of greater life is always accompanied with sacrifice! How I sorely wish to be among the enlightened who understood this profound truth. One of my greatest regrets is to be born in the Age of Mechs. Worshipping lifeless machines like mechs is an exercise in futility! Life is the true miracle that we should be chasing after!"
The Grand Protector became increasingly more unhinged. His movements became rougher as he always damaged the captive he held as he crudely ripped off their armor.
The major downside of Roshaw's growing intensity was that he was working his way through the crowd of captives even faster!
"Do you know that life comes in different qualities? Low-order life such as you are inferior to those that have actively taken steps to control their evolution. Yet even I am inferior to the dark gods that reign over the Nyxian Gap! Their order of life is so magnificent that we are but specks of dust to these ancient, immortal deities! They have outlived the extinction of their races!"
Less than twenty bodies were left between the pirate captain and Ketis.
"And do you know what makes them stronger than us?" The Grand Protector tapped the side of his helmet with his armored finger. "The power of sentient thought. This is the source of life! Life is thought, and thought is life. The mysteries behind these truths are so unfathomable to me that I barely know why this is so. Yet that does not stop me from understanding that to evolve into a higher order, we must develop our minds! We cannot lose our ability to think as we transform ourselves."
Ketis, who only paid cursory attention to Roshaw's ramblings, suddenly paused in thought.
"This is my ultimate goal. Evolving my flesh is a means to an end. No matter how much I change my body, it is all for the purpose of enhancing the quality of life I bear. My ultimate goal is to transcend the mortal limitations of my body! Only then will I be able to live forever!"
Lieutenant Qwasma Ineron died an ignoble death. She had already resigned herself to her fate as the pirate lord used up her life and recycled her dry remains.
Roshaw paused a bit as he stepped in front of Ketis and the handful of paralyzed Mirror Raiders.
"Ah, so you must be the Larkinsons who thought to sneak into my castle. Foolish."
The artificial gravity underneath Ketis switched off, allowing the pirate lord to easily pick up her armored bulk!
Her heart beat faster and faster as Ketis' barely controllable eyes stared straight into Roshaw's eyes!
"You Larkinsons almost ruined my mission." The Grand Protector hissed. "I shall take great pleasure in sacrificing each and every one of you to the Unending One, starting with you!"
The pirate lord tried to rip apart the Rising Red Dragon suit. However, the tough Breyer alloy resisted his efforts!
"Oh? You Larkinsons are surely rich, but if you think this will stop me, then think again!"
Before Grand Protector Roshaw could grasp a weapon, Ketis finally made her move!
Inspired by Ves' theories on life as well as Roshaw's ramblings on the power of thought, she ignored her fears and every other distraction in order to concentrate her mind!
She thought of nothing else than her greatest obsession and poured all of it into her sword intent!
Her living mind sword exulted in her efforts. In this intense moment of imminent death, she burst out a greater degree of potential, all of which she used to feed her closest partner!
"SHARPIE, CUT!"
For the first time in its short existence, Sharpie escaped the confines of her mind!
It emerged in her head and flowed down to her stomach. The intangible sword cut the immaterial tentacle that had embedded itself in her body!
The tentacle was no match for Sharpie's cutting power!
Before Roshaw could react, Sharpie had already exited Ketis' body and quickly cut the tentacles attached to the remaining Mirror Raiders!
An instant later, all hell broke loose!
Chapter 2309 - Plop
None of the captives should have been able to move.
The only exception was Sharpie. As an intangible living sword that possessed no material body, its existence completely fell out of the scope of the restriction effect.
No matter how Roshaw or Grey Watcher Xarnus instructed the statue of the Unending One to lock the bodies of their enemies, neither of the two could have imagined that Ketis actually bore an extra form of life!
As soon as she realized that the pet gifted to her by Ves remained unbound, Ketis secretly plotted to extricate herself from this predicament.
Though Ves probably never intended to make Sharpie exit her body, she thought differently.
Since Sharpie was a sword, why should it remain sheathed in her mind?
Swords were made to be used! A sword that never cut something had no meaning in her
eyes!
Therefore, Ketis mustered all of her concentration and forcefully tried to infuse Sharpie with the capacity to exit her body in order to cut the strange tentacles that kept her and the surviving locked in place!
Fortunately, Sharpie didn't disappoint!
The moment the surviving Mirror Raider soldiers regained their ability, they began to fire their weapons at the Grand Protector, the Grey Watcher, the ritual circle and the giant tentacled whale statue!
The attacks failed to make an impact!
The same grey shield that prevented the Xona Stalkers from damaging the shrine also protected the vulnerable blood red ritual circle painted on the floor.
Grey Watcher Xarnus also enjoyed the same protection. The dark shield that flickered into vision blocked every attack that attempted to pierce his aged and frail body.
The old man didn't even interrupt his alien mantra or raise his head from the floor. He continually prostrated before the idol of his dark god no matter how much chaos spread to the rest of the shrine!
As for the statue of the Unending One, its aged metallic construction had survived for eons against environmental decay while incurring only superficial surface damage. How could a bunch of laser beams and projectiles possibly destroy the source of the darkness that engulfed Ulimo Citadel and its surroundings?
The only target that sustained actual damage was Grand Protector Roshaw! Though his armor was extremely well-made, its armor plating was not as impervious as Breyer alloy.
"Impossible! How could you escape the grip of the Unending One!?"
"I'll tell you after you die!"
The pirate lord still held Ketis in the air, but that meant that he was within striking distance!
Ketis didn't hesitate and slashed her cutlass against Roshaw's faceplate! A shallow crack and other marks of damage appeared after she had vigorously attacked!
"Ahhh! You insolent wench!"
Roshaw withdrew a large hand cannon from his holster and fired into the abdomen portion of her Rising Red Dragon!
BOOM!
A surprisingly powerful impact struck her armor, causing her body to be flung from the pirate lord's grip! As her armored bulk soared backwards, artificial gravity reasserted itself, causing her damaged armor to bounce and drag across the floor.
"Watch out for that hand cannon! It's more powerful than you think!" She shouted.
It was too late! Though Grand Protector Roshaw looked surprised that Ketis survived the attack, the experienced pirate leader immediately brought his weapon to bear against the head of a Mirror Raider soldier.
BOOM!
The powerful round that Roshaw fired was no regular projectile! This extremely potent round exploded against the helmet of the Mirror Raider. As the unfortunate fellow's combat armor wasn't as resilient as the Rising Red Dragon suit, the helmet failed to withstand the incredible power of the shot and broke apart.
Roshaw whipped out a laser pistol with his other hand and quickly fired at the exposed head of his target.
The beam instantly burned the Mirror Raider's exposed head!
"No!"
"Come on, keep attacking!"
The frenetic battle continued as both sides incurred damage. Roshaw carefully fired his hand cannon at the helmets of his remaining attackers. Though his excellent armor acc. a steady amount of damage, as protection that was fit for a pirate lord, its quality and resilience ranked among the top in Ulimo Citadel.
"This isn't working!"
Everyone knew this, but their loadout was limited. Ketis knew that if she didn't join the fight, all of her comrades would die without achieving any result!
However, her armor sustained severe damage after being hit by Roshaw's hand cannon at close range. Cracked armor plating and failing components marred her Rising Red Dragon's abdomen. Combined with all of the other damage her suit had already incurred, her mobility and protection was no longer as good as before.
"I have no choice but to fight!"
Though she eagerly wanted to charge forward to assail the Grand Protector with her sword, she eventually settled for pulling out her compact laser pistol and firing it at the pirate lord at its highest power setting!
The second-class laser pistol immediately attracted Roshaw's attention as a powerful laser beam vaporized a portion of his chest armor!
"Insolent!" He roared and ignored the remaining survivors in order to take out Ketis!
BOOM!
Before he fired, Ketis turned her damaged bulk to the side in order to let her side armor take the brunt of the blow. Plating shattered and delicate components blew up under the force of the attack!
"Ahh!" Ketis shrieked in pain. Though the inner layer of her armor managed to protect her arm, the impact still pushed her backwards.
She fired back with another full-powered shot. This time, she managed to hit the pirate lord's already-damaged faceplate.
The attack was so alarming to Roshaw that he quickly aborted his attack and switched his helmet to full-combat mode. Only a vague snake-headed visage faced the Mirror Raiders which looked ready to sink its fangs into their flesh!
The gear owned by the pirate leader of a great pirate group was not comparable to the Mirror Raiders! As the now-exposed Larkinson clansmen spread around Roshaw and tried to attack him from multiple angles, the great enemy ignored their attacks and focused solely on killing the greatest threat, which was Ketis!
BOOM!
Ketis knew that she couldn't afford to let any section of her combat armor get hit twice! The incredible power of Roshaw's hand cannon would certainly inflict serious bodily damage to her as long as there wasn't enough Breyer alloy in the way to absorb the damage in her stead.
For this reason, she continued to fling and roll her armored bulk around the floor so that Roshaw continually hit the remaining armored portions.
"Annoying woman! Stand still so that I can end you already!"
In the meantime, Ketis tried her best to shoot at Roshaw with her laser pistol, only to inflict moderate to superficial damage to the power leader's armor.
As a pirate who led an increasingly more wealthy pirate group, he had to survive against all sorts of enemies. For this reason, the Grand Protector invested heavily in his own protection.
However, the powerful laser pistol Ketis made sure to protect from any attacks packed a very powerful punch for its size. Though her aim wasn't the best, the integrity of Roshaw's armor quickly worsened as it endured a lot of laser attacks.
Unfortunately, the constant impacts kept spoiling her aim, causing her to delay too much in firing her pistol!
BOOM!
Her chest plating finally succ. . As the most crucial component of her combat armor, its loss and the loss of a lot of essential systems immediately shut down many of the other systems of her Rising Red Dragon! The heavy armor plating and structural components that covered her head and limbs turned into a hindrance that severely weighed her down and exposed her to Roshaw's next attack.
Ketis had run out of options! Sharpie had already exhausted itself and she really didn't have any mental energy to empower it again.
Though she hastily tried to remove herself from her broken gear, it only took a single pull of the trigger for the Grand Protector to take her life!
However, just as Roshaw ended her life, the darkness and pressure in the hall abruptly destabilized!
Ketis, Roshaw, the Mirror Raiders and even Grey Watcher Xarnus were being pressed to the ground by huge and mind-numbing pressure that had suddenly spread from the hall!
"What.. our idol! What have you done?!"
The statue of the Unending One began to sway and topple as it somehow incurred a lot of damage!
To everyone's surprise, the bottom half of the statue that supported it had been chewed through. The culprit turned out to be a cat whose presence the pirate lord had overlooked!
"Meow.."
The increasing pressure along with the indigestion he felt from consuming the incredibly hardy metal caused Lucky to feel incredibly bad!
"This cat!"
Not even the prostrating Grey Watcher had noticed anything amiss as he constantly kept his eyes facing the ground. Never in his life could he have imagined that a mechanical cat of all things could have chewed through the incredibly tough metal structure of the statue!
The lack of support eventually caused the statue to topple over and collapse onto the blood-red ritual circle!
A powerful pulse of destabilized energy exploded from the damaged ritual circle. At the same time, the Grey Watcher's body became squished as well, removing any control over the ritual!
A large amount of black fog exploded from the toppled statue. The ritual circle dimmed, but the pressure on everyone's minds grew exponentially greater!
It was as if the broken statue's floodgates had opened! What used to be a smooth, controlled flow transformed into a raging tide that affected both sides.
Roshaw wasn't able to fire his last shot!
Lucky wasn't able to lift his body from the floor!
The Mirror Raiders weren't able to move, let alone think!
"You.. you ruined everything! Ahhh!" Roshaw screamed as his damaged armor form strained to resist the incredible amount of suppression released by the destabilized ritual.
There was one exception.
With great effort, Ketis managed to resist the suppression and strip herself from her broken armor. She stripped herself down to her underlayer vacsuit and the helmet that was key to her ability to resist the suppression!
"How can you move?" Roshaw asked with astonishment.
His greater strength may have allowed him to speak, but he was barely able to do anything else!
Ketis picked up her cutlass and laser pistol and strenuously walked over to the pirate lord's prone body.
"My gear is better than yours." She grinned. "Now die!"
She fired her laser pistol at Roshaw's damaged helmet at full power. She had no idea how long this suppression would last, so she didn't want to delay in taking out the greatest threat in the shrine.
It was incredibly easy for her to fire her weapon at a prone target. It only took a couple of shots for Roshaw's helmet melt!
Ahhh!
The protection lasted just long enough to spare the pirate lord's face from being melted! Unfortunately, the residual heat burned his face and inflicted an immense amount of pain to the leader of the Dry Snakes.
"Next time, don't talk so much."
Ketis stabbed the tip of her cutlass straight through Roshaw's exposed skull. The powerful pirate lord and one of the principal people responsible for killing a lot of Larkinsons died.
She felt no pride or accomplishment for this kill. If not for Lucky's help, she would have died along with the rest of the Xona Stalker defectors!
Her cutlass hacked at the neck of the pirate lord. After separating the head, Ketis lifted it up and tossed it into the hole on the ground.
The decapitated head of Grand Protector Roshaw plopped into the vat of ingredients. Without any fanfare.
"Here's your transcendence, bastard."
Something shifted underneath the fallen statue.
"You…" A different voice called. "Blasphemer!"
The Grey Watcher that should have been crushed by the weight of the giant statue amazingly managed to worm his way from underneath!
Not only that, but his convulsing body underneath his grey robe seemed to grow stronger and stronger.
A huge vortex emerged from the cultist's body. A substantial amount of darkness blasting from the broken statue began to enter into the vortex.
As this process continued, the pressure on everyone lightened up, but the Grey Watcher's body changed as certain abnormal growths grew larger!
Monstrous alien arms poked out of the Grey Watcher's robes! They grew larger and more vicious even as the cultist's body grew in volume as well!
Grey Watcher Xarnus was mutating!
"Shoot!"
Ketis fired her laser pistol at the Grey Watcher, and so did the two Mirror Raiders who managed to regain their ability to move.
Unfortunately, the Grey Watcher's increasingly monstrous form regenerated most of the damage!
Once the Grey Watcher's ballooned to the size of an elephant, an abnormally deep voice rang in everyone's ears!
"YOU SHALL PAY FOR YOUR BLASPHEMY!"
The Grey Watcher had turned into a quadruped lizard-like monstrosity with n.a.k.e.d flesh. Though it looked wrong and flawed, the strength the body contained was very real!
Chapter 2310 - Blessed Mutation
After absorbing a copious amount of dark fog released by the topped alien statue, Grey Watcher Xarnus completely lost his human form!
Somehow, his implanted organs and altered genes all mutated into a huge monster that massed many times more than his previous form.
Where did all of this mass come from?! How come this priest became so strong?!
"He's too fast!"
The just-recovered Mirror Raiders tried to shoot their sole remaining enemy down, but the fleshy monster didn't even flinch as his fleshy body incurred some damage.
The blackened and bleeding wounds regenerated in seconds, making it seem as if none of the damage was able to stick!
The monster let out a deep-throated roar as it barreled straight towards one of the surviving Mirror Raiders!
"YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR BLASPHEMY!"
With a huge, clawed hand, the monster grabbed hold of the Larkinson's armored form and lifted it up. The Grey Watcher lifted his captive even as the soldier kept firing his rifle in vain.
CRUNCH!
A sudden bite was all it took to crush the soldier's in half! The huge monster's sharp teeth crunched the upper body of the Larkinson apart, uncaring of the fact that he was chewing through a portion of armor as well. With a loud gulp, the Grey Watcher swallowed his crunchy meal!
With the remaining Mirror Raider firing lasers in the monster's back, the mutated Grey Watcher appeared disinterested in eating the lower body of his victim. The monster swiveled around and threw the bloodied remains at the other soldier!
Unprepared for such a move, the surviving Mirror Raider crashed onto his back from the force of the impact. Just as his armored form lifted himself up from his prone position, the thunderous stomping of the monster had already closed the distance.
A claw grabbed hold of the remaining soldier!
With a cruel grin, the monstrified Grey Watcher repeated his earlier act and bit off the upper half of the Larkinson's armored body!
With another series of crunching, the huge mutant swallowed the broken contents of his mouth. As for the bloody lower body, the monster turned to Ketis and immediately performed another throw.
This time, he missed!
"That trick won't work on me, buddy!"
Ketis had liberated herself from every piece of equipment that weighed herself down. Left with only a thin layer of advanced material, her underlayer vacsuit hardly afforded her any protection against attacks.
What was worse was that she had removed the helmet that had allowed her to ignore the suppression up to this point!
She no longer needed its protection. The broken statue of the Unending One had leaked out all of the darkness it previously held. The darkness still lingered, but was slowly starting to clear up. Ketis was able to maintain her focus a lot better now that the pressure that cloyed in her mind started to weaken.
Against a monster like this, Ketis needed all the mobility she could get. With her Rising Red Dragon shattered into pieces, the helmet that she retained would only do more harm than good.
In this crucial final struggle, the last thing she needed was a burden of several kilograms weighing down her head!
The only weapon she needed was a sword. She held her trusty cutlass, which held out remarkably well despite the battles she had lived through.
As for the laser pistol, she had already overheated it due to all of the full-powered shots she fired. Even if she was still able to fire a couple more laser beams, she had already seen that none of the damage stuck.
This monster's regeneration ability was too abnormal!
"YOU…" The mutated Grey Watcher uttered with his deep, beastly voice. His huge eyes looked down at Ketis with disdain. "PUNY GIRL. YOUR TOOTHPICK CAN DO NOTHING AGAINST ME. WHERE IS THE CAT? IT MUST PAY FOR BLASPHEMING THE DARK GOD!"
The monster looked around and soon managed to spot Lucky crawling away.
"Lucky! Run!"
"Meow!"
Though the mutant cultist was able to traverse a lot of distance very quickly with his four powerful limbs, Lucky ignored all of his injuries and managed to squeeze out just enough speed to jump through the hole in the floor!
"YOU DETESTABLE CAT!" The monster roared with anger as his huge forelimbs reached into the hole, only to come up with nothing!
"Meow meow!"
Lucky strenuously used his claws to grip against the surfaces of the tunnel to arrest his fall. He managed to reach the other side of the small tunnel and grip onto the ceiling of the industrial processing hall situated underneath the shrine.
He managed to escape!
The furious monster pounded the floor of the shrine, causing some of the tiles to crack and the surface to crater.
However, the obsidian structure of the shrine resisted his attacks! While his huge fleshy physique granted him incredible strength, he didn't gain the ability to fly!
"Heh." Ketis smirked as she held her cutlass with a two-handed grip. Despite its modest reach compared to her favored weapon, she knew that she needed to use both of her arms if she wanted to have any hopes of inflicting damage on this monster. "You're dead, freak. Lucky will call for backup. I admit that you're powerful enough to crush anyone on foot, but we have mechs! If that's not enough, there are still some nuclear mines outside that we can use to blow your new body up! I wonder, will you be able to piece yourself together after suffering so much damage."
The monster released a wordless roar that rang Ketis' ears like a bell!
It seemed the monster was not as impervious as she feared.
She grinned. As long as her opponent could be killed, she still stood a chance!
"Come then! Fight me to the end!"
The monster released another angry cry and stormed over to Ketis, who looked incredibly frail with just a single suit and sword to her person.
Yet the moment the monster came close enough to grab her body, she nimbly rolled away at the exact right timing!
Surprised at the fact he missed, the Grey Watcher froze.
A sharp cutlass sliced the monster's flank, inflicting a wide wound that cut as deep as a finger's length!
The mutated body rapidly regenerated the wound within seconds, but the pain that Xarnus felt was very real!
The Grey Watcher grew even more furious! The huge four-limbed monster began to thrash around as he chaotically attacked Ketis with successive swipes!
None of his attacks managed to harm Ketis!
Though the fleshy monster was much bigger than a puny human, the Grey Watcher's agility was not as good!
Even though the mutated cultist was able to sprint much faster, that was only when he needed to traverse a straight line.
In closer ranges, his huge bulk and enormous muscle mass limited his agility. As long as Ketis successfully predicted her opponents attacks, she was able to evade the monster's clumsy attacks, if only barely.
This was not the first time she fought a huge beast!
In her Swordmaiden graduation ceremony, she hunted down a huge exobeast under similar conditions!
No woman could call herself a qualified Swordmaiden if she didn't slay an exobeast while armed with just a single sword!
Ketis continually brushed with death as she cleverly evaded the Grey Watcher's attacks with ingenious, trained evasive movements.
Whenever the grey monster had overreached, she brilliantly took advantage of the opening that presented itself and cut into her opponent's fleshy body without mercy!
The monster released another pained cry as a portion of his wrist suffered a deep cut. Ketis had managed to inflict a wound that went straight to the bone!
Ketis scowled as she rapidly drew back. She had put considerable momentum behind the blow, but her cutlass abruptly stopped when it collided against the monster's bone.
The deep cut regenerated within a dozen seconds. All of her efforts had gone to nothing!
"YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT, WOMAN!"
The Grey Watcher lost his temper even more! His attacks accelerated! Even if he exposed more openings, Ketis found much less opportunities to inflict her return blows.
Even so, she continued to maintain her calm. The floor shook over and over again as the monster continually swiped and slammed his limbs.
"You stupid priest! Is this what your evolution has resulted in? You've degenerated into a beast!"
"SHUT UP!"
Though the monster exerted a huge amount of threat to Ketis, her confidence only grew as she sensed the rhythm of the battle was within her tolerance.
Her opponent was strong. There was no doubt about that. However, his sudden transformation hadn't increased his combat sense!
He was still the aged priest who spent most of his time in supplication to his dark gods. Just because he gained a body blessed by the Unending One didn't mean he became a trained warrior!
The mutated Grey Watcher fought worse than an actual exobeast.
The latter grew up step by step in a dangerous alien biosphere and climbed its way up to the top of an untamed planet's food chain after honing his natural battle skills!
As for the fleshy monster that continually tried but failed to kill her, his clumsy movements and his mindless rage lacked any semblance of strategy or tactics!
Even so, the old cultist's horribly transformed body was horribly durable!
While Ketis managed to exploit the monster's untrained movement, any deep cuts she inflicted never lasted for long!
"HAHAHA!" The monster roared even as his powerful strikes only managed to whip up some wind. "MY BLESSED BODY IS IMMORTAL, JUST LIKE THE DARK GOD THAT HAS GIFTED ME THIS STRENGTH! SO LONG AS MY HEART STILL BEATS, I SHALL NEVER FALTER!"
The powerful Grey Watcher's heart just happened to be protected by an abnormally large ribcage. The bone had grown to such an extent that it had turned into an internal b.r.e.a. !
Ketis missed her CFA greatsword. She believed her main weapon was sharp enough to cut through the bone!
The longer the battle dragged on, the more she began to experience the shortcomings of her weapon.
While her cutlass wasn't the shorted of bladed weapons, its lack of reach meant that she was forced to let many potential opportunities go. Her current weapon had never been designed to fight against opponents of this scale. How could she possibly know that she would end up fighting a transformed monster in the middle of a shrine of all places?
"GIVE UP, WOMAN." The monster roared as he continued, letting his rage fuel his impotent attacks. "I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HIT YOU ONCE, BUT HOW LONG CAN YOU KEEP JUMPING AROUND? MY BLESSED BODY IS INEXHAUSTIBLE!"
Even though Ketis had undergone a couple of CFA gene optimization treatments, her genetically-modified body could never match the endurance of her freakish opponent!
In a battle of attrition, Ketis knew that she would definitely grow tired first.
Already, her strained body began to slow at some points. Xarnus became more energetic as he sensed his adversary's weakness.
"YOUR END IS INEVITABLE!"
Ketis didn't give up! She continued to exert herself and she kept launching exhausting attacks despite their apparent futility.
She would not go down without a fight!
As the two opponents danced across the hall, they fought past the toppled statue as Ketis continually had to retreat against the monster's furious offensive.
At one point, her foot stepped onto a broken armor piece. Ketis widened her eyes as her footing slipped.
She started to trip!
"HAHAHA! YOU ARE NO MATCH AGAINST MY BLESSED BODY!"
The monster exultingly charged forward with both of his claws.
However, just as his limbs pierced through Ketis' body, she stopped trying to remain upright. Instead, she purposefully fell and rolled through the huge monster's limbs!
Though Xarnus missed, his cruel eyes glinted as he attempted to push himself around. With his prey this close, he might easily be able to slay his elusive enemy!
Yet to his surprise, his clawed limbs failed to push against the floor.
Without his notice, his duel against the woman had actually moved him all the way to the hole in the floor!
"YOU TRICKED ME!" The mutated monster roared as his remaining forward momentum had not yet abated.
Crash!
The monster's clumsy forward attack had caused the front half of his body to land right over the edge of the large square hole!
Ketis wasn't done yet. After barely managing to roll from beneath the Grey Watcher's bulk, she rapidly turned and climbed to her footing before launching one final attack with all of her remaining strength.
She stabbed her cutlass forward in the most vulnerable rear end of her monstrous opponent!
One of the lessons her fellow Swordmaidens had taught was that no matter how strong of an exobeast she faced, targeting their orifices was always effective!
As she sung her cutlass deep into the soft flesh of her formidable foe, the mutated Grey Watcher released a pained cry unlike another!
At the same time, a reflex caused the monster to kick his hind limbs, causing him to inadvertently push the rest of his body through the hole!
"NOOOOOOOO!" The mutated monstrosity roared as the artificial gravity dragged his immense bulk through the tunnel!
The transformed cultist fell all the way down until he landed in a sea of half-processed nutrients!
He fell into the same huge vat that had already welcomed all of the other bodies that had fallen through the hole.
The monster may be strong, but he was not a swimmer! Soon enough, the Grey Watcher's mutated body became submerged under a complicated soup of ingredients.
Ketis pulled her head from the hole after confirming that the monster wasn't able to climb or fly his way out.
Even if the nutrient processing plant failed to kill the Grey Watcher, at least he was no longer able to threaten her life!
"Blessed body, huh?" She muttered as she distanced herself from the hole. "How many nutrient packs can you fill?"
Chapter 2311 - Monster Slayer
The source of the disaster had succ. !
In the middle of the nutrient processing plant, a shrine of the Hallowed Abyss Temple rested on a large platform.
The dark fog that burst out of the shrine receded bit by bit. Soon enough, the shrine produced no more darkness, giving everyone the hope that the anomaly that had engulfed Ulimo Citadel and its surroundings no longer threatened the Larkinsons, pirates and everyone trapped inside its dark embrace.
Ketis, who had managed to defeat a mutated monstrosity that was powerful enough to rampage through several infantry companies, had become absolutely drained.
Wary of the large hole in the floor that led straight down into one of the dangerous vats of the plant, she summoned up the last of her strength to drag her body a healthy distance away.
Eventually, her overstrained muscles could no longer keep her upright. She fell onto her butt and became dazed.
The successive battles took everything she had to achieve victory. She fought her way to the core section of the marketplace, barely managed to turn the insane leader of the Dry Snakes himself and fought on a knife's edge when she confronted the transformed Grey Watcher!
The last battle especially pushed her to her limits!
Even though she was a mech designer, and a pretty good one for her age at that, she was also a Swordmaiden.
It didn't matter that she was supposed to dedicate herself to an intellectual pursuit. She lived her life around swordsmanship, and it made no sense for her to specialize in designing sword-wielding mechs if she didn't possess the proficiency to handle them with as much skill as the mech pilots who were supposed to depend on her products!
Her greatest desire was to design the best and most suited swordsman mechs for her fellow Swordmaidens. This was why she diligently tried to pursue greater swordsmanship and mech design at the same time.
The burden on her shoulders was huge. The two disciplines demanded two completely different skill sets. Having learned the value of time from Ves, Ketis knew that she had to make many sacrifices in order to pursue her chosen path to the fullest.
This was why she decided to specialize in designing mechs that primarily fought by wielding swords. Other mechs simply didn't interest her. She felt no passion at the prospect of designing a rifleman mech or even a lancer mech.
Though there were many kinds of mechs that each possessed their own charm, she didn't love every mech equally like Ves.
While her current mentor possessed a broader love and curiosity for mechs that constantly urged him to design different mechs, Ketis lacked this common impulse.
What she loved wasn't mechs. What she truly loved was making the Swordmaidens stronger.
In fact, her desires and ambitions centered so much around the Swordmaidens that she wouldn't know what to do if they no longer existed! It was very likely that she would suffer a complete mental collapse if every Swordmaiden died.
Her survival wasn't important compared to the survival of her fellow sisters! As long as one qualified Swordmaiden remained alive to carry the torch, Ketis would gladly sacrifice her life to further this cause!
This was why she unreservedly chose to confront the source of the anomaly. Mech designer or not, the dark ritual of the Hallowed Abyss Temple threatened the entirety of the Swordmaidens! How could she stand by and watch her sisters get swallowed by this artificial abyss?
Fortunately, she succeeded.
Her extreme desire to save the Swordmaidens helped her draw out all of her fighting potential. Though the mutated Grey Watcher clearly lacked hand-to-hand combat training, his clumsy moves possessed so much lethality that a single glancing blow from his claws would have shredded her unarmored body!
Armed with just a single cutlass, it took every bit of training and pushing her body to the extreme to evade the monster's powerful attacks while retaliating everytime she spotted a good opening. If not for taking advantage of the maddened monster's lack of situational awareness, who knew how the battle might have ended.
Ketis knew very well how frail her scheme truly was! While she could have lasted longer and lower her chances of getting hit if she focused purely on evasion, that was not how a Swordmaiden fought!
Swords were made to be used!
Besides, the constant attacks and the wounds she dealt were very crucial despite the fact that the mutated monster regenerated himself almost instantly.
She noticed that the Grey Watcher wasn't used to the rigors of combat. A real warrior would have endured the pain and kept his cool, but Grey Watcher Xarnus kept growing angrier and angrier with every painful wound he suffered!
Whether the Grey Watcher was too inexperienced to manage his pain response or whether his altered physiology decreased his capacity for rational thought, the monster had turned almost rabid at the very end. The monstrosity became so fixated at the thought of killing the source of his pain that he had almost completely tunnel visioned on her, which was a deadly mistake in combat!
To Ketis, the transformed monster's defeat served as a very poignant lesson to her. "Power without control is wasted power."
As she ran her mind back through the battle, she began to feel unprecedentedly inspired.
The lopsided battle between her and the transformed cultist melded with her desire to design mechs to produce a preliminary mech concept that came straight from her heart!
Immense satisfaction suffused her entire mind as she imagined a mech that embodied all of the principles she used to defeat her opponent.
She wanted to design a supreme swordsman mech that excelled at dueling stronger or better opponents.
She wanted to enact her philosophy of combining power with precise control in a swordsman mech that possessed great potential as long as its mech pilot was skilled enough to make use of its strengths.
She already had a name in mind for this immature but promising mech design.
"Monster Slayer."
Minutes passed as Ketis became immersed in her ideas. Despite the blood, debris and body parts spread across the hall of the shrine, she calmly recovered from her exertion while fleshing out the Monster Slayer design in her mind.
The mech not only had to match her performance against the mutated Grey Watcher, it had to do even better!
Its sword had to be even better than the cutlass she wielded!
"I need to pair it with the best greatsword that I can design!"
This was the only way she could channel her frustration at resorting to trickery to defeat her formidable foe.
The manner in which she defeated the Grey Watcher left her without any way to obtain a trophy from his corpse.
"Maybe I should grab some freshly-produced nutrient packs on the way out. Ves will love them." She muttered.
After another minute of rest, she picked herself up from the ground and approached the decapitated corpse of Grand Protector Roshaw.
With the death of the pirate lord of Ulimo Citadel, the rest of the defenders were no longer much of a concern. The Larkinson Clan could easily defeat the remnants of the pirates as long as the anomaly receded.
Though the darkness still lingered, it already started to weaken. It wouldn't take long for the dark fog to dissipate.
In the meantime, Ketis harvested her trophies.
She filched the pirate lord's hand cannon for her own. Though its security system locked her out of using the weapon, she wasn't really interested in using it. She just wanted to display the formidable weapon in a trophy case.
After searching the deceased Grand Protector's corpse, she managed to obtain something even better. After removing the man's gauntlets, she pulled out an ornate ring from a finger.
The ring was shaped like a snake in the process of molting. Ketis appreciated its multi-layered design and took a fancy of using it to represented her contribution in the Battle of Ulimo Citadel.
Not quite satisfied with her gains, she looked around and approached the toppled statue of the so-called Unending One.
"Meow."
Lucky had climbed back up to the hole he fled into earlier. He still bore a lot of damage and needed a lot of time to recover. The cat padded over to Ketis and nuzzled his nose against her leg.
"Meoww…"
She gently brushed his back, taking care not to hit the damaged portions of his body.
"Well that was a big fight, wasn't it? I'm amazed you managed to chew through the underside of the statue!"
Lucky hadn't actually eaten through all of the material. He only swallowed a portion of what he managed to bite with his exceptional teeth. A large amount of bite-sized chunks of old metals were strewn across the base of the statue.
Even so, Lucky ingested more than enough metal to develop some indigestion! This was the other reason why he came across as tired. He ate way too many dense metals in a very short amount of time.
Though his stomach capacity was so abnormally large that it must be some dimensional pocket of sorts, even it had limits!
Ketis grabbed one of the chunks that Lucky had bitten off and discarded and decided to take it as another trophy.
Together with the damaged energised scimitar from Captain Wenter of the Hydra Battalion, she gained at least four new trophies to show off to her fellow sisters!
"It's too bad there's no one else left alive." She sighed.
Just as she thought that the outcome of the Battle of Ulimo Citadel, the floor suddenly shook! Immediately afterwards, the darkness that cloyed around her suddenly intensified!
"What!?" Ketis urgently lifted herself to her feet while holding her cutlass. "It's not over yet?!"
The darkness seemed to have come alive, and much of it started to flow out of the shrine. Just to be sure, Ketis turned around and studied the toppled statue and the ruined ritual circle underneath.
Both of them were inert! Neither of them should have any power left, so why did she feel more and more pressure from above?
"Something must be happening in space!" She quickly concluded.
"Meow!"
Both woman and cat looked at the ceiling, trying to imagine what kind of development had occurred that caused them to feel so much threat.
Ketis grew more and more nervous as she felt some primordial part of her brain shiver in terror at something many kilometers away.
The threat that had emerged must be particularly powerful for her to feel so terrified from a great distance!
Outside into space, the grey ghost mechs that continually assaulted the Larkinsons trapped inside the anomaly had only grown more and more threatening.
Ever since the ghosts merged together to form supermechs, the pressure onto the Larkinson mechs increased!
Their insane durability combined with their abnormally strong offensive power rendered them deathly against any regular third-class mech!
Not even the Bright Warrior mechs were able to last against the giant abomination mechs! Their Breyer alloy visibly crunched when struck by one of the many limbs of the giant grey mechs!
The only mech that could possibly inflict meaningful damage to it was Joshua's Quint. Every other Larkinson mech was forced to play a supporting role in order to give as much space as possible for the expert candidate to play to his strengths.
Slowly but surely, the Larkinsons managed to stem their losses and contain their great threat.
Yet just when they all thought that they had the situation under control, the darkness abruptly intensified all of a sudden!
An unexpected adverse development took place. The dark fog seemingly grew exponentially stronger while at the same time becoming less stable! Much of the order it previously exhibited was gone.
Ves winced and held his head as his heightened spiritual sensensitivy couldn't take the sheer influx of confusing stimuli.
"Something is happening! The darkness is trying to get inside!"
Chapter 2312 - The Unending One
The huge grey abomination that bore several piercing wounds after getting struck by the Quint suddenly froze.
The dark fog rapidly grew more intense and hammered the protective field that Jannzi Larkinson and her Shield of Samar strenuously kept up. Her mind and will couldn't take it any longer!
"I can't hold! I'm sorry!" She shrieked with anguish!
Her amazing field that kept the darkness at bay finally shattered under the pressure! Instead of engulfing everyone in isolating cages that kept them apart from each other, the darkness that managed to overwhelm the barrier all flowed into the grey abomination mech that had frozen in space.
Its dimensions started to swell as a huge influx of darkness poured into its almost-solid body. The shape of the abomination blurred as it slowly began to lose some of the traits that made it look like a messy amalgamation of mechs.
Almost every bit of darkness in their surroundings poured into abomination, thereby weakening the isolation effect of the anomaly to a significant degree.
Suddenly, a lot more space opened up. Portions of Ulimo Citadel, the surrounding asteroids and amazingly the Penitent Sisters became visible again!
It turned out that the anomaly exerted a lot of strength in trying to take down the Hexer exiles. Ves quickly spotted at least two-hundred downed mechs as they had just confronted another giant ghostly abomination!
Right now, that huge grey abomination began to blur and move towards the one that was absorbing all of the darkness. The two soon began to merge, producing a powerful entity whose shape became more and more defined!
The pressure exuded by the grey abomination abruptly increased, suppressing almost every Larkinson and Penitent Sister in the anomalous region!
Ves felt as if a great threat had emerged, one that was so powerful that it began to influence him and some of the spiritual objects around him in an adverse way!
The Unstable Chaos Essence gem that Ves carried in his pocket began to glow without his notice.
The Ancient Sarcophagus became a bit less capable of containing its tyrannically strong prisoner.
Both of them reacted in a mysterious manner against the towering entity that was slowly taking shape in front the surviving combatants of the Larkinson Clan!
"Is that… a whale with tentacles?"
A god had emerged from the abyss! Extreme bestial fury radiated from the aquatic-looking grey monster as its tentacles angrily whipped through empty space, leaving strange afterimages after their passing!
A powerful spiritual roar emanated from this living terror of the Nyxian Gap! The power exuded by the grey whale was immense!
As every other Larkinson tried to suppress their fears and ready themselves for one more battle, Ves tried to figure out what the hell the huge influx of darkness had spawned.
"Is this the final counterattack of the Hallowed Abyss Temple?"
The grey manifestation differed from the grey ghost mechs and grey abomination mechs in one very important aspect.
Whereas the former apparitions came across as mindless automatons driven by basic instructions, this huge tentacled whale felt alive!
Yes, alive!
Up until now, Ves only sensed death from the dark sphere. The anomaly's capacity to generate combat-capable ghosts from mechs that had fallen into the past was clearly a result of messing with death.
Even the huge and powerful abomination mechs didn't carry any life despite their ludicrously-strong combat capabilities. They were merely composites of multiple ghost mechs.
However, this time was different!
After absorbing all of the grey ghosts and abomination within the weakening dark sphere, the entity that had emerged from it all exuded a very different spiritual signature than before!
It was alive, and not just a little bit! This was no newborn spiritual abomination who was just trying to get a grip on its powers.
This was a mature spiritual entity! In fact, the sheer age it exuded made it clear that it had lived since antiquity. Before humans invented anything more complicated than fire, this aquatic-looking exobeast was already in existence!
Ves suddenly realized that the huge tentacled whale that grew to the size of a light carrier was actually an avatar!
If he tried his best to see through the sheer blinding might of this forming entity, he could sense that some of the strength pouring into it came from the imaginary realm.
Through some unknown means, this ancient entity managed to extend its influence across the Nyxian Gap and forcefully occupy a grey vessel as an additional body!
It must be similar to how his mother Cynthia managed to transform the Superior Mother into an extension of herself.
However, compared to the subtlety of her technique, this living alien relic relied on overwhelming might and strange alien methods to extend its presence. It was both fascinating and horrifying to Ves.
The transformation taking place had opened his eyes, yet the downside was that the price for this lesson might very well be his life and the life of every Larkinson trapped inside this anomaly!
James looked incredibly solemn as he stood by his side in the bridge of the Scarlet Rose.
"The Unending One has arrived. His rage is boundless. He desires to crush us for affronting his dreadful majesty."
"What? The Unending One?" Ves turned to the Living Prophet. "Is this monster tied to the Hallowed Abyss Temple?"
James nodded. "The Unending One is a god, make no mistake. It seems that the Mirror Raiders inside the citadel has succeeded in interrupting the ritual. The earlier outburst of darkness must have been a result of stopping it. Yet ending the ritual doesn't mean the darkness that has already been generated has disappeared."
The anomaly weakened, but that was because the avatar of the Unending One absorbed most of its power!
Once the grey tentacled whale completed his formation, it released a second roar before launching an attack!
Several dark tentacles placed around his body abruptly extended to some of the closest mechs. The Unending One quickly grabbed a handful of Avatar, Sentinel and Vandal mechs before pulling them back.
"Ahhh! I can't get loose!"
"Help!"
"Maintain your distance!" Major Verle ordered over the command net. "Ranged mechs, fire at this monster! Don't conserve your energy or ammunition. Take down this beast as fast as possible!"
Unfortunately for the Larkinsons, most of the lasers and projectiles simply bounced off the thick grey surface of the monstrously-huge whale. The Unending One's frightening tentacles casually whipped some of the incoming firepower away without showing any signs of damage.
Once the beast brought back the mechs, the cruel and bloodthirsty beast cruelly opened his enormous maw in order to engulf the mechs!
A huge void closed with an enormous snap as the unlucky Larkinson mech pilots were crushed along with their mechs!
The mech pilots didn't even have the chance to eject from their machines as the tentacles tightly wrapped their torsos. It was as if the Unending One delighted in killing humans!
Ves' face grew ugly. How could they possibly fight against this grey avatar? Its might was overwhelming. If he had a couple of warsh.i.p.s armed with cruiser-grade weapons, he might have stood a chance of damaging it, but all he had was several hundred exhausted and depleted mechs!
The mechs that Ves brought into the anomaly had all fought through many horrors. As for the mechs that managed to survive from the beginning of the Battle of Ulimo Citadel, their depletion was much more severe!
The Swordmaiden mechs that had fought so effectively against the grey ghosts barely retained enough energy to swing their Breyer alloy greatswords.
Many of the Bright Warrior mechs that served as the mainstay of the Avatars of Myth were also running on fumes.
As an emergency measure, a shuttle quickly emerged from the Scarlet Rose and approached the Quint. A number of mech technicians in hazard suits emerged from the vehicle and quickly began to open up the mech to replace some of the depleted energy cells.
So far, the Quint exhibited the greatest battle effectiveness against the grey spiritual apparitions. If the Unending One's avatar operated along the same principles, then Joshua's designated mech should be their only solution against this powerful threat!
"The monster is approaching! Watch out!"
Not content with fishing for mechs with some of his tentacles, the powerful horror flew forward. Just as the Unending One's tentacles began to reach out to capture more Larkinson mechs, a thunderous volley of positron beams, gauss rounds and missiles impacted the grey whale's flank!
The surviving Penitent Sister mechs were coming to their aid!
"Assault this beast!" Commander Valerie Chancy ordered. "Do not rest until this evil beast is slain!"
Though the Penitent Sisters endured the same difficulties as the Larkinson mechs, their greater strength allowed them to retain much more battle effectiveness.
The only reason why they suffered at all was because they didn't have any expert candidates to break their shadowy cages. The absence of a masterwork mech such as the Quint also left them unable to defeat the abomination mechs that emerged later.
Despite their powerful weapons, the Penitent Sisters lost hundreds of machines as the abomination mechs ruthlessly crushed them without encountering any serious threat.
The results this time were not much different. Despite the enormous firepower their ranged mechs unleashed, the the Unending One only briefly paused before he resumed his angry flight towards the main concentration of Larkinsons!
In desperation, the melee mechs of the Penitent SIsters closed in and attempted to attack the tentacles surrounding the alien whale's body.
Nothing happened! Every sword strike and every spear stab bounced off the surprisingly-solid tentacles.
The Unending One became angry at these attacks! His tentacles grasped the Penitent Sister mechs and squeezed. The forces exerted by the tentacles were so strong that the advanced second-class armor systems of the trapped mechs only briefly held before succ. !
More than a dozen melee mechs were crushed in half, with many of their former Hexer mech pilots dying on the spot!
"How can we possibly stop this menace?!"
"The beast is heading straight for the Scarlet Rose!"
The ship had already turned on her axis in order to distance herself from the avatar. Unfortunately, the angry god was determined to chase after the ship.
"The Unending One wishes to vent his fury on you." James spoke and frowned. "There is another reason why he wants to chase after you. There is something about you that is attracting him. I'm having difficulty determining why. The mechs around us are mere annoyances to this dark god."
Whatever the case, the unarmed Scarlet Rose was no match against this grey whale that was significantly larger than the mobile supply frigate!
"Joshua!"
After replenishing some of its spent energy cells, the Quint had gained a second wind. In its current lancer mech configuration, the Quint charged forth and attempted to drive its lance deep into the monstrous entity's flank!
Just as everyone put their hopes on Joshua, the Quint managed to drive its lance against the grey whale's skin, only to break an instant later!
The Unending One was too strong! The Quint sustained substantial damage as its charge caused it to crash and bounce away from the beast's slightly-flexible surface.
"Noo!"
The only mech that had shown the ability to harm the stronger grey apparitions had failed to inflict a single meaningful wound against this powerful beast.
"Damnit, what will it take to stop this monster?!"
"Is this the terror of the Nyxian Gap?"
"Keep fighting! Maybe it's only faking! Fire everything!"
The Bright Warriors launched their missiles from their miniature shoulder launchers in desperation. The Avatar mech pilots always saved up these surprisingly compact missiles as a last resort when they encountered strong second-class mechs.
Now, there was no longer any meaning for holding them back. Hundreds of small missiles detonated with enough destruction to wipe out a second-class mech company, yet as the smoke dissipated, the grey alien whale's momentum hadn't stopped!
The Unending One moved quickly. His tentacles slapped aside any mech in his way as if they were toys. Just as the grey whale opened his wide maw in order to engulf the entire hull of the Scarlet Rose, one single Larkinson rose up to save the ship!
A huge burst of willpower-infused energy formed into a glowing barrier that interrupted the enormous grey whale's attack!
Even though the barrier shattered immediately afterwards, the Unending One wailed in silent pain as some of its teeth had shattered!
A single mech that began to output a greater and greater amount of strength flew between the ship and the dark god's avatar.
"The Shield of Samar!"
The mech appeared much different than before. Ves widened his eyes as the mech began to glow brighter and brighter as Jannzi's intense desire to protect her fellow clanmates had surpassed a critical point!
"She's.. She's breaking through!"
The resonance meters of the Scarlet Rose began to chirp as they detected more and more resonance strength from the Shield of Samar.
Jannzi Larkinson was undergoing apotheosis! She was taking her first true step towards godhood!
"I AM THE SHIELD OF MY CLAN!"
The projection of an immense exobeast began to form behind her mech! A very different but uplifting roar emanated from this newly-emerged entity!
Chapter 2313 - Roar!
Every expert candidate needed to find out the reasons why they fought.
No expert pilot exhibited any uncertainty about their purpose because each of them had gone through this crucial cycle.
Without a reason to fight and without an ideal to uphold, why should they wield the extraordinary power that came with becoming a demigod?
Every expert pilot stood for something!
Every expert pilot excelled at something!
Every expert pilot was willing to die for something!
Until every expert candidate resolved their doubts and inner struggles in order to define these qualities, their half-formed force of will would never achieve the purity required to trigger a breakthrough.
These challenges had stopped every expert candidate in the Larkinson Clan from transitioning into actual expert pilots.
In fact, their conditions weren't unusual. There were plenty of expert candidates who enjoyed much better conditions who never gained this life-changing opportunity.
No matter how much advice they received, not even other high-ranking mech pilots could help these candidates shape their own wills.
This was because they ultimately had to solve their doubts by themselves. If expert candidates let others think on their behalf, then they lacked the will to fight on their own. Such weak mech pilots would never be able to channel the force of will of an actual expert pilot.
It didn't matter what kind of principles or ideals an expert pilot eventually adopted. Good or evil, broad or narrow, personal or aspirational, as long as they made their choices and dedicated their entire wills to them, they became worthy to transcend into a higher state of life!
In this important junction where the avatar of the terrifying spiritual entity known as the Unending One threatened Ves and every Larkinson that Jannzi cared about, she resolved her last remaining doubt.
The issue she struggled with was one related to morality. As a space knight specialist who tried to embody the knightly ideals, Jannzi's ideals weren't completely compatible with the interests of the clan.
The Larkinson Clan may present itself as honorable, but in practice it still took after its founder and leader in some aspects.
In addition, the clan also didn't pursue a noble mission, unlike the Larkinson Family.
In the past, Jannzi was proud to be a Larkinson. Their family rightfully earned a lot of honor due to the selfless sacrifices of its mech pilots. The Larkinson Family had always fought for the Bright Republic! That was one of the core pillars of its identity!
The clan lacked this purpose, and that showed. The Larkinsons, unmoored by any notions of serving a state, began to look after their own interests. Starting from Ves, the clansmen began to adopt a considerably more selfish mindset.
Sometimes, they worked to better the entire clan. Other times, they only wanted to channel more benefits to their own clique or faction.
What was even more egregious to Jannzi was when her clansmen exhibited pure selfishness and solely sought to strengthen themselves even if it came at the detriment of other clansmen!
How could Jannzi feel proud of herself for standing up for these bastards who didn't deserve her protection?
It was not easy to be someone's shield!
Space knights had to sacrifice much to dedicate themselves to their roles. Their mechs may be armed with swords or other weapons, but their offensive power was dreadfully weak. Their machines moved slower than any other mech and their main strength did nothing to solve their lack of agency in battles.
When it came down to it, knight mechs mostly served as movable cover. The truth about instilling knightly ideals to mech pilots who specialized in piloting defensive mechs was just to indoctrinate them into accepting their role.
Knight mech specialists like Jannzi not only had to pilot mechs that mainly spent their time in battles by absorbing hits, they also had to like it! Without a lot of patience and tolerance, knight mech pilots wouldn't be able to accept their role in earnest.
This was also what she struggled with. It was one thing to be patient and tolerant if her efforts benefited the people who lived in a state. It was another thing to do the same when she solely fought for some self-serving clansmen!
Of course, not everyone in the Larkinson Clan was bad. Whether they were trueblood or adopted, she developed a favorable impression of many fellow clansmen.
Each of them adopted the Larkinson ideals and fought for their new comrades. The Avatars of Myth developed a strong brotherhood culture where every Avatar mech pilot watched out for each other.
She always felt warmth in her heart when she was with her fellow Avatars.
However, that did not mean she was eager to protect the more self-serving members of the clan. Chief among them was Ves. She spent enough time around him to know that while he had offered a lot of opportunities for the clan, he mainly sought to cultivate his own army.
Was she willing to dedicate herself to serve this selfish cause?
Was she willing to condone the more questionable decisions of Ves and the clan?
A leader who truly cared about his people would never choose to go on an excursion into the Nyxian Gap. The dangers were unimaginable here and every gain came at the cost of human lives.
This entire trip was an exercise in selfishness as far as she was concerned!
The main reason why she agreed to join the task force was because she worried about her fellow Larkinsons.
Now, in this incredibly dangerous moment where an overpowering whale monster threatened to kill off most if not all of the Larkinsons in the Nyxian Gap, she had finally discovered a truth about herself.
She loved her fellow Larkinsons! She wanted to protect them and shield them against the threats they weren't capable of facing by themselves.
Every Larkinson was kin to her. No matter their origins or motivations, once they called themselves a Larkinson, they were part of her family as far as she was concerned!
With the powerful grey monster crushing mechs with ease and moving to engulf the Scarlet Rose, Jannzi didn't care about whether her fellow Larkinsons deserved her protection.
It didn't matter. Whether they were worthy or not, whether she liked them or not, whether she supported their cause or not, family was family.
Just like in the Larkinson Family in the past, Jannzi would never forgive herself if she stood by and let the Larkinsons face a threat by themselves.
After resolving these final doubts in the midst of a crisis that had forced her to confront this issue, she had overcome the final remaining hurdle that held her back from transforming her force of will!
Now that her conviction grew was no longer burdened by doubts, her mind and will merged to a greater degree, encountering too little resistance to stop the immensely important process known to the mech community as apotheosis.
The transformation from mortal to divine was one of the most magical processes that people could experience.
Jannzi felt as if her will grew exponentially more powerful, breaking past the confines of her mind and expanding into the rest of her mech and beyond!
"I dedicate myself to protect my fellow Larkinsons! No matter how much we change, no matter what path we take, as long as they are my family, I shall carry my shield and put myself in the path of any enemy who wishes us ill! This is my creed!"
As soon as she announced those words, she gained an even greater burst of strength!
For the second time in her life, she was able to resonate with her own mech. That was very much apparent from how her Shield of Samar began to glow in a very characteristic manner!
Unlike her previous breakthrough, this was not a sign of forced resonance. Her promotion to a higher rank did not lend her strength that she was not able to retain at the end.
This time, her heavily-customized Aurora Titan mech glowed with the warmth and stability of true resonance!
As long as she survived this battle and settled down, she would be able to evoke this kind of resonance at will whenever she piloted a mech!
Of course, she needed to learn how to channel this new power, and it was very important that her mech was built to resonate as much as possible with her unique resonance signature.
However, as her first resonance-empowered barrier broke from a single collision against the giant tentacled whale, Jannzi knew that her newfound level of strength was not enough to resist this horrifyingly powerful enemy!
There was only one other source of strength that she could draw upon.
Her mech.
She invested more and more of her will into her Shield of Samar, causing it to resonate with her to an even greater degree than before!
Even though the customized super-medium space knight wasn't designed with resonance in mind, Jannzi bonded so much with the Shield of Samar that the life it contained responded in kind!
Through their combined efforts, they managed to break some of the suppression on the mech. A window opened up where a very familiar design spirit finally gained an entry into the anomaly that surrounded Ulimo Citadel!
Another burst of strength flowed through Jannzi's mind and will as she and her mech regained their connections to Qilanxo.
Noticing the incredibly powerful dark god arrayed against the Larkinsons, Qilanxo did not spare anything as she donated additional power to Jannzi and her mech.
Another phenomenon took shape with the help of Jannzi's fantastic intimacy towards her personal mech.
The Shield of Samar was her closest partner in battle! Qilanxo suddenly amplified the exceptional resonance the pair achieved, thereby achieving the very rare condition of complete resonance!
"Unity of Man and Machine!" Ves gasped!
Every other Larkinson and Penitent Sister watched with amazement as a large energy projection that matched the size of the evil grey creature began to form behind the glowing Shield of Samar.
Enough of them recognized what a legendary moment they were witnessing. Every instance where the Unity of Man and Machine dawned upon the battlefield were unforgettably important moments in the history of mechs.
No one wanted to blink for fear of missing even a single instance of this unique and life-changing event!
The glowing golden manifestation in the shape of a giant reptilian exobeast came to life and roared in challenge at the avatar of the dark god!
Though the dark god looked surprised, his fury at the Larkinsons drove him to roar a challenge of his own!
As one of the spiritual overlords of the Nyxian Gap, the Unending One was not about to back down in front of this intruder!
"QILANXO!" Jannzi roared as her glowing eyes overflowed with resonance. "HELP ME SAVE MY FAMILY!"
With her will completely aligned with the energy projection, Qilanxo acted accordingly and moved to charge into the avatar of the dark god!
The two titanic creatures collided with each other and began to brawl against each other!
They unleashed immense forces against each other as the dark god's tentacles rained hundreds of painful blows against the sacred god's body.
In turn, Qilanxo bit and clawed at the tentacles, breaking them and ripping them apart at a steady pace!
Seeing that he was losing more and more tentacles, the Unending One's fury peaked! He opened his maw, which began to acc. most of the energy in his avatar.
"The grey beast is charging some sort of super attack!"
The pressure emanating from the depths of the Unending One's maw was horrible! Everyone instinctively felt that nothing could survive if the dark god was allowed to unleash his attack!
Qilanxo immediately became aware of the threat and stopped her attempts to tear the hardy avatar apart in order to form the most powerful barrier that she could muster!
The Unending One did not take long to charge his ultimate attack. Accompanied by a silent but powerful roar that shook the entire dark sphere, a beam of pure concentrated darkness shot out from his gaping maw!
The beam collided against the glowing barrier that Qilanxo erected!
Far from incurring any damage, the barrier remained absolutely stable even as the immense energies of the dark beam attack continued to pour in the direction of Qilanxo and the Larkinsons she shielded!
The Unending One eventually exhausted his ultimate attack. His avatar grew opaque and less substantial as it no longer held the energy to maintain its existence.
The dark god's monstrous eyes looked perplexed as his incredibly powerful attack failed to achieve the outcome he expected.
Qilanxo managed to block the powerful attack! To be more precise, the space barrier she erected had siphoned the entire dark beam into a very different region of space!
Though this extremely potent barrier took a lot of out her energy projection, the sacred god possessed enough strength to charge forth in order to chomp the weakened avatar!
A large spiritual explosion occurred as the Unending One's form completely shattered!
The anomaly finally receded and the light of Jannzi's resonance finally drove the darkness away.
The Larkinson Clan had won against the eldritch entity!
"JAANNNZIIII!" Someone roared in the open channel.
Victorious and exulting cries flooded the communication channels as the energy projection of the sacred god finally faded away.
The explosive Battle of Ulimo Citadel had finally come to an end!
Chapter 2314 - Bitter
The Larkinson Clan finally achieved victory!
After disabling as many superweapons as possible, forcing thousands of pirate mechs to retreat and overcoming an artificially-induced anomaly with all of the horrors that followed, the attackers finally won the long and exhausting day.
Certainly, around 3000 pirate mechs had retreated into the secure mech hangars at Ulimo. The mechs of the Dry Snakes, Xona Stalkers, Farmund's Own, Hapid Qlinters and the Ulimo Militia successfully rode the artificial anomaly out in their protective hideouts.
Yet compared to an inexplicably powerful god-like apparition, these palty pirate mechs seemed completely inconsequential to the Larkinson Clan.
They aimed to wipe out the remainder of the pirate mech forces with as little losses as possible. Speed was of the essence.
"Don't let these pirates group up again!"
Reacting quickly, Major Verle ordered the hundreds of Penitent Sister mechs to storm the mech hangars and wipe out everything inside before the pirate mechs had time to emerge back into space.
Stuck in their hangars, the third-class mechs of the various pirate groups were not only highly concentrated, but also boxed in by their environment! The ranged Hexer mechs of the Penitent Sisters easily slew them without incurring any meaningful damage!
Of course, there weren't enough Penitent Sister mechs to cover every mech hangar, but the surviving pirate combatants experienced several hindrances due to several reasons.
First, the pirates lacked critical direction at the top. The unexplained absence of Grand Protector Roshaw took out a critical authority who possessed a complete overview of every pirate asset. Due to the strict hierarchical structure of the pirate command authority, none of the surviving pirate commanders possessed enough authority to issue orders to everyone.
What was particularly detrimental to the pirates was that the missing pirate lord closely grasped every secret and trump card at Ulimo Citadel! Due to a perennial lack of trust, the Grand Protector never shared many of these secrets to his subordinates. Now that he was gone, every secret measure that hadn't fallen victim yet to the Larkinson Clan remained completely unused because no one learned of their existence!
Of course, with sufficient communication, the pirates might be able to overcome these issues in time.
It was too bad that their enemies did not intend to give the remaining pirates the time to reorganize their ranks!
"The Grand Protector is dead and every major threat to the Larkinson Clan is taken care of. This is our best opportunity to redeem ourselves!"
Even if the pirates were still capable of fielding 3000 mechs, now that they were dispersed and stowed in many different mech hangars strewn across Ulimo, it became critical to stop them from consolidating together.
Though the Xona Stalker defectors that accompanied Ketis and Lucky to the shrine had perished, there were many hundreds more compatriots spread throughout the core sections of the pirate stronghold! Stationed in critical positions, they surreptitiously or overtly sabotaged many critical power or communication nodes!
With many mech hangars cut off from communications or losing power entirely, it became more and more difficult for the pirate officers to understand what they needed to do or understand what was happening elsewhere.
The Mirror Raiders also stirred some trouble. They turned their weapons against the other pirate outfits in the Ulimo Militia and rapidly wiped them out at close range while their victims were completely caught off-guard!
"Ahh! What the hell?! What are you doing!?"
"Damnit, these black-and-white mechs are on the enemy's side!"
It had become clear that while the artificial anomaly had not inflicted significant harm to the core pirate forces, almost every pirate was left in the dark about this measure. Perhaps the Grand Protector himself never really thought that any opponent of the Hallowed Abyss Temple was able to overcome its ritual!
Through this backdrop of chaos and uncertainty, the Larkinson Clan vigorously crushed the disorganized pirate forces. Thousands of pirate mechs never had the chance to showcase their might after being taken out while they were still attempting to deploy into space!
Even the elite mechs of the Dry Snakes tragically missed the opportunity to make their last stand. The Penitent Sisters were grief-stricken after the anomaly caused them to lose hundreds of their mechs and sisters. They vented all of their rage at their inability to defeat the grey apparitions at the pirates!
Even if many of their mechs were running a bit low on energy and ammunition, the endurance and energy capacity of their second-class machines was not comparable to lesser products.
Against unusual threats such as the grey abominations or the avatar of the Unending One, the Penitent Sisters might not have any effective answers.
That did not mean that they were weak! When facing purely conventional products of technology, their Hexer heritage gave them a decisive edge! Not even the rare bridge mechs fielded by the pirate elites posed a significant hindrance!
"Wipe out these filth as much as possible! We must avenge our fallen sisters!"
Within just two hours, the pirates lost all of their mechs. Even so, the pacification of Ulimo Citadel had just begun.
Spanning multiple underground levels and complexes, Ulimo Citadel encompassed a lot of territory. The ordinary pirates who were in charge of managing many critical systems such as power generators, life support systems and more slowly learned that their side had lost the battle in space!
Without the crucial support of mechs and with all of their remaining fixed defenses taken out of commission, these pirates reacted in different ways.
Some despaired and collapsed in place.
A few pirates tried to offer their surrender, hoping that they might receive some mercy.
Others went crazy and tried to tamper with every important device within reach!
A lot of chaos ensued for at least an entire day. Though the Larkinsons could have sent in their mechs to pacify the situation faster, the sheer amount of destruction they unleashed would only leave the victors with nothing but ruins.
Therefore, only some Larkinsons mechs entered the various underground caverns. Their presence mainly served as a form of deterrent and backup.
Just seeing them was enough to uplift the Larkinson infantry soldiers and discourage their pirate counterparts!
Though plenty of wily pirates managed to hinder the invaders by luring them into various devious traps, in the end their final last gasp did not accomplish much. The Larkinson soldiers coordinated extensively with the defectors of the Xona Stalkers to root out and preempt many of these desperation moves.
Ulimo Citadel fell in earnest at that point.
In the meantime, the task force's fleet had closed in to retrieve the spent and exhausted Larkinson mechs. Search and rescue parties were already scouring across the debris field to retrieve the usable wrecks and see if there were any mech pilots left alive.
The various mech forces were already tallying their losses. While the Larkinson Clan performed very admirably in the previous rounds of combat, the coming of the dark sphere changed everything.
Major Verle waited for half a day after the end of the mech battle to present the numbers to Ves at his stateroom.
"How bad?" Ves asked with a grim expression.
"It's bad, sir." The older man replied. "The losses we've suffered would have broken many outfits and mech regiments. It's a testament to our discipline, cohesion and culture that our clansmen are still holding together. If not for the immense jubilation that erupted after Jannzi Larkinson's dramatic breakthrough and display of might, many of our mech pilots would have started to voice their discontent right now. As it is, achieving a bitter victory is hardly something to celebrate about."
"Will we need to worry about any protests?"
The major shook his head. "No. The propagandists under my charge are at work as we speak. While we cannot hide the truth of our substantial casualties, we can still steer the overall sentiment of our task force in a direction that is more favorable to us. Simply emphasizing our great accomplishments while downplaying all of the ugly news should be sufficient in keeping our combat troops under control. I do have to warn you that this will only tide us over in the short term. We need to act more extensively to make sure that discontent within the clan doesn't rise past a certain level."
"Tell me the numbers." Ves ordered.
"Let's begin with the Avatars of Myth. Owing due to their higher-quality mechs and superior training, the Avatars have acquitted themselves fairly well. So far, we estimate that around 150 Avatar mech pilots have died."
Ves winced at that figure. "You make it sound like it is good."
"It could have been worse, sir." Verle shrugged. "A disproportionate amount of them were either rookies or weaker-performing pilots. While it's unfortunate that so many individuals with high potential have perished, the remaining Avatars have each survived the gauntlet of the dark sphere. Not only have the survivors proven to be strong, the intense pressure of fending off the grey ghost mechs on their own has pushed them beyond their existing limits."
This was what Ves had intended from the start, though there was little for him to be happy about. While the survivors of this battle would surely emerge from this excursion stronger and more battle-tested than ever, the price the clan had paid was too bloody.
When Major Verle handed over a data pad, Ves scoured the list of names. Admittedly, he hardly knew any of these people. The Larkinson Clan adopted too many outsiders, and Ves never bothered to acquaint himself with any of them. Now that read through the list of 150 or so deaths, the anguish he felt was muted due to the abstract way that Verle presented the information.
That was probably deliberate on his part. By keeping the deaths as distant and impersonal as possible, Ves was spared from feeling too much guilt for the decisions that led the clan to this battle.
"What about the Sentinels, major?"
"As you can already guess, the Living Sentinels suffered most of all. They are not only the most numerous, but also the weakest of our mech troops. Conservatively, we are looking at 250 or so deaths, though this figure might rise. Combined with the losses the Sentinels have suffered in previous battles, less than half of the Sentinel mech pilots we have brought into the Nyxian Gap have survived. Their morale has dropped the most and it will take a lot of effort to comfort the survivors."
"Understood. Please pay close attention to them. The Sentinels were never meant to take part in proactive battles. It's a bit of an injustice to drag them along this excursion. Commander Magdalena must be pissed at me for driving so many of her men to their deaths." Ves sighed.
The major moved on to listing out the remaining losses. "The other mech forces have lost fewer mech pilots, but that is mainly due to their smaller numbers and higher combat strength. The Battle Criers have lost around 60 mech pilots, the Vandals have lost around 30 mech pilots and the Swordmaidens have lost just 4 mech pilots."
Proportionately, the Battle Criers suffered the most as they only fielded 160 mechs and mech pilots to begin with. As for the exceptional performance of the Swordmaidens, Ves wasn't surprised.
"What about the Penitent Sisters?"
"Their situation is difficult to gauge as our communications with them aren't entirely smooth. As far as we have ascertained, they have lost around 200 mech pilots. Despite their stronger mechs, they suffered substantially worse in the artificial anomaly. Our expert candidates managed to rescue many of our Larkinsons mechs in time. The same could not be said for the Hexers. An additional factor that contributed to their losses was that the anomaly actually invested most its energy in taking them down. Whatever intelligence was guiding the anomaly prioritized taking down the second-class mechs first."
That made a lot of sense. The subsequent performance of the Penitent Sisters after surviving the anomaly proved how overwhelming they could be despite being outnumbered by an order of magnitude!
All in all, while the numbers were still being adjusted, Task Force Predator lost a huge chunk of mech pilots. What was worse that the Larkinsons lost even more mechs. This left them dangerously understrength against any threats until the mech technicians rapidly managed to restore some the fallen mechs back to working condition!
Chapter 2315 - Deterrence Factor
Ves deeply hoped that there weren't any strong pirate fleets traveling towards Ulimo Citadel.
It would be quite inconvenient to confront another Allidus Alliance trade convoy or something similar.
In order to obtain a better picture of the days and weeks ahead, Ves met with Calabast shortly after he ended his briefing with Major Verle.
She entered his office with an impatient expression on her face. "I'm busy with managing our takeover of Ulimo Citadel. A lot of machines and equipment needs to be locked down and we are trying to preserve as much data and valuables as possible. There are many stubborn pirate holdouts who need to be cleaned up and we are just beginning to disarm all of the boobytraps the pirates have left behind."
"This won't take long, Calabast. How is our cooperation with the pirate defectors proceeding?"
"Quite well, actually." She smirked. "The Xona Stalkers are invaluable. Without their insider access and knowledge of Ulimo Citadel, it would have taken at least five to ten times longer to pacify the pirate stronghold. If everything proceeds as expected, we will likely be able to secure every strategically-important section of the pirate base within a day. It will take a few more days to sweep the remaining areas, but the chances that someone manages to detonate a nuclear bomb or something is minimal. That said, I highly advise you not to step foot inside Ulimo until we have ruled out every potential threat."
Ves nodded. "I'm not in a hurry. Our spoils don't have anywhere they can run to. Speaking of that, have we secured any valuable gains?"
"It's too early to tell. While we have taken over many vaults and warehouses, we can only tell what goods they hold from the logs and database entries. While I believe these records are fairly accurate, there are already signs the pirates have taken away some high-value goods. In addition, there are several secret storage places that not even the Xona Stalkers know about. The Dry Snakes store some of their most valuable hauls from their mining activities in these secret vaults. It will take a lot of searching to find these secret vaults and retrieve the small but incredibly valuable high-grade exotics the pirates have mined from the local asteroid field."
All of this took time, which was something that Ves already understood. This wasn't the first pirate base the Larkinson Clan took over, but it was definitely the largest one to date. The scale of their latest conquest was incomparable, so it took a lot more work to process the aftermath of their victory.
"It looks like we will have to spend at least a week to process our gains and restore many of our damage mechs to fighting conditions." Ves concluded as he crossed his arms. "Our situation is rather precarious at the moment. Even though we can still count on our intact Larkinson and Penitent Sister mechs to guard us, the last thing I want to see is another group of pirates showing up to attack us when we are in our recovery phase."
"While I can't state with absolute certainty whether a large pirate force is on the way to retake Ulimo Citadel, so far I believe this is unlikely to happen." She stated as she began to lean against his desk. "The news has already spread. Defeating one of the entrenched powers of Maynard Fields is a major shock to everyone. The various friends and allies of the Dry Snakes will think twice before approaching us. In fact, it's more likely that they are plotting to take the pirate base for themselves. Everyone knows that our clan has no intentions of staying. Once we depart, the pirates will most likely compete against each other to take over this attractive territory."
"I see. The best way to avoid any further confrontation with other pirates is to avoid making any moves that encroach on their interests."
"It seems you get it. There is hardly any benefit to attacking us. Our remaining combat strength isn't easy to deal with despite our losses. Unless the other pirate groups are willing to commit a lot of superweapons or employ arcane rituals, their chances of winning are miserable. The gains won't outweigh their losses even if they squeeze out a victory. It makes much more sense for them to hold back and wait until we leave on our own accord. We just have to make sure that our task force isn't traveling in the direction of any of the other local pirate factions."
"Don't worry, Calabast. I have no intention of breaking open any more pirate bases." He stated, much to the spymaster's relief. "I don't think our mech pilots can tolerate much more, and so do I for that matter. We all want to end this excursion and return to civilized space."
As for his other goals such as trying to track down and rescue Solok Reyva, Ves didn't care about this mission. He would rather return empty-handed and keep the remainder of his task force than the other way around! It wasn't as if he needed to pay a large penalty for failing a mission that many other Rim Guardian associates failed to accomplish.
The woman smiled in relief after hearing that. She was genuinely afraid that Ves still didn't have his fill for excitement!
"I'm glad you think so. So far, my Black Cats are constantly monitoring the pirate movements in Maynard Fields. We have sent some hints over the galactic net that already suggests that we will soon be on our way out of the Nyxian Gap. Perhaps due to this signalling effort, the major pirate alliances haven't sent any punitive fleets to Ulimo as far as we are aware of. Even if many movements are difficult to track throughout the Nyxian Gap, the passage of a large pirate fleet that poses a substantial threat to us can't be hidden. I will inform you if we notice any news of this nature."
There was still a chance that an enemy like the Allidus Alliance dispatched a fleet to retaliate against the Larkinson Clan despite all of this. Ves did not intend to stay long at Ulimo for this reason. The sooner they left, the better!
Their discussion moved on to the Xona Stalkers.
"So, let's talk about the defecting pirates. This is your brainchild, Calabast. Can you finally tell me what the fuss is all about and why you wanted to absorb them so eagerly?"
She smiled coyly at Ves. "Even if the Xona Stalkers have degenerated to pirates, they still possess much of the foundation of an intelligence unit. Our Black Cats need professionals like them. Do you know how hard it is to hire trustworthy spies who aren't beholden to their old states anymore? Aside from the valuable manpower that we can obtain, they also have some interesting tech, ranging from stealth technology to secure communication methods."
"That sounds interesting, but why do I feel like this isn't the extent of your gains?" Ves looked suspiciously at her. "You're usually averse to risks, but you were one of the biggest supporters of attacking Ulimo Citadel. Don't think I've forgotten about that. From what I know about you, there has to be something bigger at stake."
"You're right, Ves." Calabast sighed. "I admit that I have been acting selfish lately, but there is a good reason for that. Let me handle the current situation for a few days. Without controlling Ulimo Citadel, it's hard to say whether my objectives have been met. Wait for the good news."
Well, whatever she was aiming for, it was not as if Ves would chosen another course if she didn't have ulterior motives. He would have ordered his task force to attack Ulimo Citadel regardless.
It was just that the crisis they faced and the losses they suffered exceeded everyone's expectations. No one discovered the threat of the Hallowed Abyss Temple until it was too late and the cultists already called down the dark sphere.
Ves became a lot warier towards Nyxian pirates after this battle. It was already bad enough they developed a growing penchant for arming themselves with prohibited superweapons. It was even worse when they partnered up with whacky cults that were clearly related to the Five Scrolls Compact!
"What do you think about the.. unusual phenomena we lived through?" Ves curiously asked.
"I don't claim to understand any of it." She simply replied. She narrowed her eyes at him. "I take it you know more."
"It's complicated. Suffice to say, don't underestimate any religious cult that claims to worship dark gods or eldritch horrors. While it might sound a bit ridiculous, not all of those frightening entities are fake!"
"Do gods actually exist?" She skeptically asked.
"Of course not." Ves immediately answered back. "That giant tentacled whale got beaten up by Jannzi, don't you remember? That beast is not a god. He's just a highly-evolved life form that has grown very powerful. Despite that, his powers aren't miracles. They are subject to many of the same limitations as everything else. They can be beaten as long as we have the right means."
"From what we have observed from the battle, it appears that expert candidates and expert pilots are crucial to defending against these energy-based threats. I guess we are very fortunate to have talents such as Mr. Joshua and Venerable Jannzi. We only need to look at the disproportionate losses suffered by the Penitent Sisters to know how worse off we would be without our heroes."
Venerable Jannzi Larkinson. Ves still wasn't used to regarding her with that title. After so many struggles, the Larkinson Clan finally gained its first true expert pilot. Though she was still recovering from her previous overexertion, there was no doubt to every Larkinson that the future prospects of their clan had definitely shot up due to this fantastic development!
"Not a lot of independent organizations can boast having an expert pilot in their ranks." He smirked. He had reason to feel smug! "Since we aren't bound by any states such as the Bright Republic, no one will take Venerable Jannzi away this time, even if she has attained complete resonance after completing her apotheosis."
The sight of Jannzi evoking Qilanxo's energy projection after attaining the mythical Unity of Man and Machine was unforgettable! The clan was already in the process of collecting as much footage from as many mechs and sh.i.p.s as possible to archive this legendary feat in the annals of the Larkinson Clan!
Calabast smiled as well. "Venerable Jannzi is a great asset to our clan. She's even more impressive than a regular expert pilot. Her dramatic feat has elevated her above many expert pilots such as Venerable Ghanso Larkinson. Her presence in our clan is actually one of the other reasons why the other pirate groups are reluctant to attack us. The mere mention of an expert pilot is enough to deter and discourage many pirates from thinking about attacking us! Just look at the Oblivion Hand and how it has aggressively swelled under the leadership of the Dark Cleaver."
She already knew that the Dark Cleaver was his father. She mentioned the Oblivion Hand on purpose, though the comparison was very apt. If Ves was a pirate commander, he would never think about getting close to any expert pilot!
Even if their actual combat power was not as fearsome as everyone thought, the insane amount of hero worship that expert pilots enjoyed elevated their stature and deterrence factor to meteoric levels!
Still, those who were clever enough such as Ves knew that Venerable Jannzi wasn't as powerful as her stellar debut performance made her out to be. Just like expert candidates, expert pilots always gained an enormous boost of strength just after they accomplished their breakthroughs.
What many people tended to overlook was that this boost was temporary!
The breakthrough process was partially like building up pressure in a container. As long as the mech pilot in question managed to create an opening, all of that pent-up pressure released all at once, producing an exaggerated effect.
Yet once the pressure was relieved, the degree of resonance strength that Jannzi could actually exert was much less impressive.
In fact, without an actual expert mech, Venerable Jannzi couldn't even properly channel her powerful new abilities!
Chapter 2316 - Salted Coffee
As the newest hope of the Larkinson Clan, Venerable Jannzi attracted a lot of attention.
The clan suffered heavily during the Battle of Ulimo Citadel. Over 500 valuable Larkinson mech pilots lost their lives, and this was a heavy blow to a clan that valued kinship and family very highly.
No matter the origins of those who joined the clan, once they became a Larkinson, they quickly began to view each other as kin as well.
Losing battle companions hurt. Losing family hurt even more!
Therefore, the leaders of the clan eagerly welcomed the arrival of any good news and sources of hope.
Of all of the props the clan could use to uplift the moods of every Larkinson, the emergence of a new expert pilot was like rain in the desert.
Nothing excited mech pilots more than to enjoy the protection and company of an actual expert pilot!
The Larkinsons already had a taste of what it was like to enjoy the patronage of an expert pilot when Venerable Brutus was still around.
Unfortunately, just because he was Gloriana's brother didn't mean he was willing to become a part of the clan. As long as this was the case, it was the Wodins who enjoyed the protection of an expert pilot, not the Larkinsons!
Jannzi's breakthrough finally changed this equation. As long as she was allowed to come into power and gained a matching expert mech, she could serve as a proper deterrent against many potential enemies.
Her substantially elevated piloting skill and powerful strengths also turned her into a fantastic teacher and mentor to other mech pilots. Therefore, as long as she was willing to guide her fellow comrades, the Larkinson Clan's combat foundation would definitely rise to a higher level. This was one of the reasons why the old Larkinson Family always remained strong across many generations.
Expert pilots like Venerable Jannzi brought huge benefits to organizations such as the Larkinson Clan! At the very least, its prestige would double as long as the news started to spread.
Those in power who didn't take the Larkinson Clan seriously up to this point would definitely reconsider their opinions once they learned of Venerable Jannzi's existence!
While Ves wasn't sure whether this was enough to make everyone of importance recognize the Larkinson Clan as an independent, sovereign spaceborn clan, at the very least the Larkinsons had made a lot of progress.
The result of all of this was that Ves possessed much greater confidence in the clan's ability to roam through space. While the patronage of a single expert pilot might not be impressive to the organizations that had the capital to enter the Red Oceans, it was different closer to home.
Many private organizations simply didn't even consider messing with expert pilots! Though states weren't as deterred, their government officials were much more likely to take the Larkinson Clan seriously. As long as Ves and his clansmen didn't provoke any neutral states, there shouldn't be a reason for them to aim at the Larkinsons.
Yet for all of the amazing benefits that Venerable Jannzi brought, the burden of employing an expert pilot was not trivial.
"She needs an expert mech!"
Though Ves studied a bit about how to design an expert mech, he wasn't even close to doing so. Expert mechs were so complex and unique that designing them was pretty much a separate discipline!
On top of that, even if Ves was capable of designing such a powerful machine, how could he possibly fabricate one in the Nyxian Gap?
The limited production facilities of the Scarlet Rose and the other sh.i.p.s of the task force were too inadequate to produce all of the powerful high-quality parts that expert mechs demanded.
Aside from that, even if Task Force Predator plundered a lot of exotic materials from Ulimo Citadel and other pirate bases, their properties were very heterogeneous and mixed.
Expert mechs demanded at least two different types of rare and expensive materials. First, to build their strong and damage-resistant frames, Ves needed to obtain large quantities of expensive exotics.
Second, he had to get his hands on a sufficient quantity of suitable resonating exotics. Not every resonating exotic was compatible to a specific expert pilot.
Only a small proportion of resonating exotics allowed Jannzi to exert her strength to the fullest when piloting a mech, and it was extremely unlikely that Ves would find any of them in Ulimo Citadel's vaults!
"Coffee doesn't go well with salt!"
Only after returning to civilized space would Ves be able to obtain the obscure materials that Jannzi needed through the open market.
Of course, some exotics couldn't be bought so easily. Ves would have to bargain with the states or organizations that produced these rare and strategically-important materials, but that was a concern for later.
For now, Ves had no choice but to accept that he and his task force was in no condition to equip Jannzi with a proper expert mech. The most he could do was spend some time on tweaking and upgrading the Shield of Samar to account for her elevated skill.
"Such a modest upgrade will hardly do an expert pilot like her justice." Ves grimaced.
Even if the task force successfully returned to civized space, what then? How was the Larkinson Clan supposed to supply Venerable Jannzi with a proper expert mech?
The LMC did not possess the capability to design and fabricate expert mechs. Out of every mech designer in the clan and mech company, only Gloriana participated in the design of expert mechs.
That wasn't as impressive as it sounded. She worked alongside scores of other younger mech designers to assist the efforts of the Seniors and Masters who were truly in charge.
Expecting Ves and Gloriana to design an expert mech was like expecting Ketis to design the next LMC mech.
No matter how talented she was, Ketis was still an Apprentice Mech Designer. The mechs she was capable of designing with her current knowledge base and level of experience were too immature at this point.
The issue weighed down on him so much that he figured he might as well discuss it with Gloriana.
He left his stateroom and entered the isolated chamber with the Darkbreak module.
He had already called Gloriana when the final mech battle had just ended. He still had plenty of duties to attend to at the time so he kept that discussion short.
Now that the Larkinson Clan was beginning to get a handle of everything, Ves was much less in a hurry this time. He calmly called his fiancé, who answered within seconds.
Her physical projection quickly appeared, and with it a pleasant lavender perfume. As soon as its scent wafted to his nose, he already felt some of his stress going away.
"Hello again, Gloriana." He greeted her as he hugged her soft and warm physical projection.
"Ves!" She smiled brilliantly at him as they separated. "I'm so happy for you. Our clan will surely rise to a new height with Venerable Jannzi watching over us. I haven't heard a lot of details about the battle yet. Could you tell me what exactly took place? You didn't tell me much other than that the pirates trapped you in some kind of anomaly and that Jannzi's breakthrough helped turned the tables."
He coughed. "We are still taking stock of the battle ourselves. I'll tell you more after we make sense of all of the abnormal stuff that took place. Let me tell you that getting caught in an anomaly, even if it's just a pale human-made imitation of the real thing, is not pleasant!"
"Are you okay, Ves?" She asked with genuine concern.
"It could have been worse, but we won in the end. While it's regrettable that many of our mech pilots have fallen, it's better then getting wiped out entirely."
While Ves wanted to say much more to his lover, he didn't want to expose any sensitive secrets to the MTA. As far as he was concerned, Master Willix was probably listening in on their private conversation at this very moment!
Therefore, Ves resolutely kept his mouth shut about anything related to spirituality and the Five Scrolls Compact.
That didn't mean that he could keep all of the details under wraps. Too many Larkinsons witnessed and lived through the extraordinary phenomena that accompanied the anomaly. Their mechs and sh.i.p.s also took plenty of battle footage. Even if the interference made everything past a certain distance a little fuzzy, there were plenty of revealing elements in the recordings!
However, just because the Larkinsons encountered a lot of weirdness didn't mean they understood any of it. For now, Ves believed that pretending to be ignorant of the truth was the way to go. It wasn't even difficult for him to do so because the rest of Task Force Predator didn't know anything either!
After explaining some less important details about the battle, their discussion soon turned to the problem of outfitting Jannzi with a new expert mech.
"To be honest, I did not expect one of your expert candidates to break through so soon." She replied as her physical projection sat down on the deck next to Ves. "Neither of us are qualified to design a true expert mech. I know more than you, but that just helps me understand how lacking we are compared to mech designers who are truly capable of designing expert mechs."
"Then what will we do? I don't want to deprive Jannzi of a proper expert mech."
"We can collaborate with a Senior or Master who is willing to take charge of such a project. With our growing fame and prestige, I'm sure that we can find at least someone who is willing enough to partner up with the Miracle Couple!"
"No!" Ves vigorously shook his head. "Expert mechs are one of the trump cards of any force. The issue of confidentiality is extremely important. Involving a third-party in the design of such a crucial mech is too risky. We need to keep the design completely in-house."
She frowned. "The Wodin Dynasty has partnered with several excellent mech designers. As long as we ask, I'm sure they are willing to help! You can trust them, Ves. They're not only Hexers, but also our allies!"
"No thank you." Ves pressed his lips into a thin line. "I know you think they are trustworthy, but I'm not willing to involve any external party."
There was no way he was going to partner up with any Hexer mech designers! Gloriana was the only one he could tolerate working with, and that was only because she was willing to accommodate his preferences.
"The expert mech doesn't have to be Venerable Jannzi's main option!" Gloriana suggested. "We just need to supply her with an expert mech so that she can begin to exert and practice her new abilities. We can just treat it as a stopgap solution that can buy time for us to come up with something better."
"Unacceptable! My earlier objections still apply. Aside from that, Venerable Jannzi is only willing to pilot the Shield of Samar unless there is no other choice. She won't pilot a better machine just because it's an expert mech. As for transforming the Shield of Samar into a stopgap expert mech, this is completely a non-starter. We need to preserve the original character and identity of Jannzi's personal mech as much as possible, and introducing a powerful Senior or Master with a different style and philosophy will ruin everything!"
Gloriana slapped his chest and let out an exasperated sigh. "Then what are we supposed to do!? I already told you that we truly can't design a proper expert mech for Venerable Jannzi at our current state! It will take years or decades before we are truly qualified to design such a powerful machine!"
"You're right." Ves admitted, though perhaps the System might be able to shorten that. "To be honest, I was thinking that we don't have to design something so complicated at the start. What if we design something more.. modest and gradually work our way up from there? Instead of designing a complete expert pilot right away, we could take an incremental approach and slowly improve the Shield of Samar step by step. What do you think?"
"Are. You. Serious?" Gloriana glared at him. "Are you trying to suggest that we should design a quasi-expert mech?!"
"What's wrong with that?!"
"It's a crippled expert mech! It's a mech that tries to be an expert mech but fails! I can't stand designing such an imperfect mech!"
Chapter 2317 - The Importance of Expert Mechs
Ves felt a headache coming on because of Gloriana's obstinate stance.
Unlike previously, this time she firmly stood her ground!
"This is serious, Ves!" She angrily stated as her physical projection poked him in the chest! "I let you have your way when it came to most of the mech designs that came before. I'm aware that I'm not suited to design mass produced mechs. This is different! Custom mechs have to be designed according to different principles, and between you and me, I know more about personalising mech designs to individual mech pilots than you will ever achieve!"
Though she sounded incredibly arrogant when she made this claim, Ves could only lower his head in response.
The two had collaborated on enough mech design projects to become familiar with each other's strengths and weaknesses. Projects such as the Adonis Colossus design fully let him see the disparity between him and her when it came to designing and tuning a mech until it almost completely fit an individual mech pilot like a glove.
This was not a difference that could be overcome with studying and working hard. Gloriana excelled in designing custom mechs because she centered her entire design philosophy around it. By dedicating herself completely to this discipline, she gained a frightening degree of intuition and feel towards these designs.
This was something that Ves could never surpass unless he too dedicated himself entirely to designing custom mechs!
Obviously, he could never make such a decision. Ves wanted his designs to be used by as many people as possible who appreciated mechs as more than disposable tools. The Larkinson Clan also depended on his clan-exclusive mech designs such as the Bright Warrior and the upcoming Chiron to gain a competitive edge over its rivals.
He was different from Gloriana. While he adhered to his own principles, from a general standpoint, he was a bit of a generalist. He wanted to design many different kinds of mechs and refused to exclude any of them. His curiosity and yearning for new experiences constantly drove him to explore new ground.
Mech designers such as Gloriana and Ketis were different. They purposefully concentrated all of their passion into a chosen pursuit, thereby attempting to reach greater heights in their field of specialty. As a consequence, their competence in matters outside of their specialty did not progress as fast.
This must be what Master Willix meant by growing trees. Gloriana was committed to growing a tall and narrow tree while Ves was the opposite. His tree grew considerably more branches than hers, but the price for directing his growth in this fashion was that its vertical growth wasn't as impressive!
"I'll take charge of this matter." Gloriana bossily said. "I can still contact my old teachers to obtain some guidance. A project as important as this has to be done as correctly as possible right from the start. Don't talk any further about adopting an incremental approach or any of that nonsense. An expert pilot deserves better! Expert mechs not only enable them to channel their full power, but are also vital to their growth!"
"This is why I think we should provide her with a quick stopgap solution."
"You're not getting it, Ves! Expert mechs directly shape the future growth and development of their exclusive pilots. Why do you think it is so important for Seniors or ideally Masters to develop their expert mechs? It is because the better the mech designers, the better the expert mech! The better the expert mech, the faster the growth of the expert pilot in question!"
"What?! Is this true?!" Ves gasped.
"It's not as strong as you think, but it is a definite factor in the development of an expert pilot." She stated. "Masters are simply able to design expert mechs that accommodate the needs of expert pilots to a much greater extent. That is the simple truth. Therefore, if we want the best for Venerable Jannzi, it's not enough to involve a Senior Mech Designer. We need to invite an honored Master to collaborate with us! Only then will we be able to do right by her. Don't you want the best for your cousin?"
He did want that. However, he did not wish to let other mech designers take over one of his cherished designs.
The argument put forward by Gloriana put him in a very difficult bind. It wasn't easy to invite a Master Mech Designer to design an expert mech for Jannzi. Such august personalities would definitely want to take charge of the design project. With their superior methods and strong design philosophies, neither Ves nor Gloriana would have much room to contribute to the expert mech design.
At best, the pair might be able to get enough work in to qualify as contributing designers. At worst, the Master in question took care of so many aspects of the mech design that Ves and Gloriana could barely squeeze in any work, thereby relegating them to assistant designers!
This possibility was absolutely unacceptable to Ves, and Gloriana knew that. She patted him on the cheek. "Don't worry, Ves. I know how much you care about your Aurora Titan design. I'll make sure to find a Master who is amenable to some of your conditions. Just wait! With the help of a great Master, the expert mech version of the Shield of Samar will fully unleash Venerable Jannzi's potential! This is what she deserves!"
After a bit of discussion, Ves finally ended the call. He felt conflicted. Though he deeply wanted to maintain total control over the development of Jannzi's future expert mech, he simply wasn't capable enough to accept this responsibility.
There were multiple reasons why mech designers had to attain the rank of Senior before they were ready to design expert mechs. Even then, resorting to Seniors turned out to be the inferior options. For machines that were destined to become the future partners of expert pilots, it was a lot better if a Master took charge!
It was this last condition that caused Ves to be stuck in a dilemma.
On one hand, he wanted to maintain as much control as possible. As long as either Gloriana or him became the lead designer of the expert mech project, Ves was confident that they could preserve the original essence of the Shield of Samar.
On the other hand, Ves wanted the best for Venerable Jannzi. The clan also benefited if their first expert pilot received an expert mech that was just as good as the expert mechs fielded by the Friday Coalition and Hexadric Hegemony!
What mattered the most to Ves and the clan wasn't elevating her immediate battle power. Instead, the true long-term benefit they needed to prioritize is accelerating Jannzi's progression!
By pairing Venerable Jannzi up with a high-quality expert mech, she could make considerably more progress in developing and increasing the utilization of her resonance abilities. Not only that, a well-designed mech also accelerated the growth of her resonance strength.
Resonance strength was the foundation of an expert pilot! Greater resonance strength not only allowed expert pilots to perform stronger resonance abilities in battle, but also increased their endurance in battle.
Having witnessed several expert pilots in action such as Venerable O'Callahan, Ves already knew the importance of fostering their fundamental growth.
If their growth rate was fast enough, then they might have a decent opportunity to advance to ace pilot!
This was a completely different level of strength, and one that was almost exclusive to second-rate states!
"Perhaps this is why the emergence of ace pilots is almost non-existent in third-rate states." Ves hummed. "Third-class expert mechs are not only weaker than second-class mechs, but they are also designed by Seniors for the most part."
Such a gulf could not easily be overcome with talent and other endowments.
In other words, the degree of investment in an expert mech directly affected an expert pilot's growth prospects!
These realizations only made Ves feel more frustrated.
"When it comes down to it, I'm not ready yet." He sighed.
While Ves always wanted his expert candidates such as Jannzi and Joshua to undergo apotheosis as soon as possible, now that it actually happened, a part of him actually regretted this desire.
If Jannzi advanced to expert pilot a decade later or so, Ves would have been much better equipped to design a worthy expert mech for her! Even if he hadn't advanced to Senior yet at that time, he could still offer her something that was not that much worse!
"Maybe it's not a bad idea to let Gloriana take charge this time." He muttered. "She has always tolerated my design choices despite her own thoughts. Maybe it's time for me to learn how to tolerate her decisions. This is her specialty, after all. She truly knows better."
Ves knew he was being selfish when he revealed his desire to maintain his ownership over the Shield of Samar's design. Now that he reflected back on his stance, he felt as if he acted a bit too childish.
Properly speaking, mech designers existed to serve mech pilots. When Ves stubbornly put his foot down and insisted on designing a quasi-expert mech, he prioritized his own interests rather than his client's interests.
As long as the Shield of Samar did not change to the point of alienating her, Venerable Jannzi shouldn't have much of a problem getting used to a slightly different style of mech.
He remained indecisive as he exited the isolated chamber. Though he understood it was in the best interests of Venerable Jannzi to equip her with a proper, high-quality expert mech designed by a Master, he still felt unwilling to commit to such a decision.
"Maybe Gloriana can obtain something better." He muttered.
For now, he decided to wait and see how his partner dealt with this problem. She obviously wanted to advance her ideas, but Ves hoped she also took his own priorities into account.
In the meantime, Ves decided to visit the clan's first expert pilot in person. Enough time had passed for Venerable Jannzi to recover from her previous exertion.
Accompanied by Nitaa, Ves boarded a shuttle and traveled to the Redfeather. Once his shuttle docked at the light carrier, Ves stepped and greeted Commander Melkor.
"Hello, Ves." Melkor greeted him with a subdued voice. "I've been expecting your visit. Venerable Jannzi is ready to meet you in the medical bay."
They began to walk to the sick bay while they discussed the state of the Avatars.
"The Battle of Ulimo Citadel has been hard on us." Melkor remarked. "We can handle fighting regular pirates. It's the enemies we faced when we became trapped in the anomaly that is difficult for us to stomach. You can't imagine how many Avatars and other clansmen are confused by what we have lived through. What we witnessed and what we had to fight against aren't normal. None of us have ever imagined the Nyxian Gap is capable of producing such terrors."
Ves glanced at his cousin. Even if he covered most of his upper face with his new visor, Melkor's discomfort was evident in his body language.
Conventional science couldn't explain the ghost mechs and the abomination mechs. None of the scientists or engineers in the task force could wrap their heads around powerful spiritual manifestations such as the giant avatar of the Unending One.
It was completely alien to them! Only Ves and a crackpot like James were able to understand the nature of the foes the Larkinsons had fought against!
He found it a bit depressing that not even the best intellectuals in the clan were stumped by the artificial anomaly.
"I can't really explain what we have witnessed either." Ves said. "However, we don't have to understand everything we see. Enemies are enemies. We just need to beat them. There is no need to think too deep about the methods of our enemy, especially when they are so abnormal. No matter what power they possess, we just have to rely on our own strength to gain the upper hand. This applies to every battle."
Melkor mulled over his words. "I suppose you're right. I'll do my best to help the Avatars get over this battle, but it will take some time before my men get back to normal."
Chapter 2318 - Great Cause
The Avatars of Myth weren't the only ones who struggled with the unexplainable enemies they fought against. The sights they had seen were beyond alien. If anything, the ghost mechs and the giant tentacled whale made them feel as if they had become stuck in a fantasy drama!
When talking to Melkor, Ves found out that ascribing all of the weirdness to the Nyxian Gap was the best way to go. This strange and perilous region already acquired a reputation for abnormal phenomena. Blaming the Gap for everything was a convenient way to handle most people's doubts.
"I'm not sure, Ves." Commander Melkor frowned. "The final enemy we've faced reminds us a lot of your glows. Is that a coincidence, or do they have something common with each other? Somehow, I don't think it's a coincidence that Venerable Jannzi's impressive energy projection just so happens to match the glow of her mech. Is that giant lizard the true source of your glows? Is this exobeast the same kind of existence as the tentacled whale?"
Ves stopped in his tracks. He turned to his cousin with a serious expression. "I know you have questions. I know that many others are in the same boat. I can't provide you with the answers you want to hear. Some knowledge is too dangerous to spread. Knowing too much not only turns you into a security risk, but will also insert too many unnecessary thoughts in your mind."
"What are we supposed to do, then? Continue on with all these doubts lingering in our minds?!"
"Just deal with it." Ves bluntly replied. "There are many things that people like us don't understand. For example, I can tell you all about designing mechs but I don't have much of a clue about biotechnology. The same goes for mech pilots such as your Avatars. I am sure that they are good at what they do, but I don't think that any of them know how to put together a mech. That doesn't stop them from piloting mechs with incredible skill!"
The examples provided by Ves put the problems into perspective. No one was capable of knowing everything. That didn't stop society from working.
Specialization was the key to humanity's rise as a race. Starting from their caveman days, humans learned that trying to do everything was worse than dividing specific tasks to specific individuals.
By allowing some humans to become hunters, a tribe became capable of filling more bellies.
Compared to generalists, specialized professions such as lawyers, artists and accountants became capable of outputting much better work.
It didn't matter if a lawyer wasn't able to pilot a mech. He could let professional mech pilots do this job in his stead. In turn, mech pilots were always able to turn to lawyers for legal assistance.
This was how modern society worked.
Therefore, once Melkor began to view the problem from this lens, much of his unease began to clear up. "You're right, Ves. Maybe it's better if I don't think too much about this stuff. Still, it would help if we could obtain more guidance."
"Talk to James Ylvaine."
"The Living Prophet? Are you kidding? Have you converted into a believer all of a sudden?"
"I'm still a Brighter, Melkor. Don't worry about that. It's just that James is probably the best person to talk about your doubts. He.. isn't entirely delusional. Don't give me that face! Talk to him first before you rule out this option!"
Melkor clearly thought dubiously of this suggestion. Whether he followed it or not was his own business. Ves merely offered him another option.
Once they reached the sick bay, they moved to a recovery room. Several Avatar infantry soldiers in full combat gear stood guard. The importance of Venerable Jannzi was very clear to the Larkinsons. Safeguarding her life was one of the clan's highest priorities!
As Ves stepped through the hatch, he immediately felt the difference.
A faint sense of protection and warmth dominated the compartment. It was as if Ves instinctively felt he could rely on someone.
That someone happened to be Jannzi Larkinson, the first true expert pilot of the Larkinson Clan.
Right now, she was sitting on her bed while talking to Joshua, her boyfriend. Both of them turned to the newcomers.
"Patriarch. Commander." Joshua greeted.
Ves studied Jannzi for a moment. Though she looked fatigued, Ves could clearly sense the rock-solid force of will emanating from her mind.
It felt as if she was always ready to solidify her force of will into a shield whenever necessary. Every Larkinson could count on her to step up and shield them from danger.
Of course, this wasn't entirely literal. Force of will was something intangible and only capable of affecting minds. In order for Jannzi to stop physical rounds and laser beams, she needed to merge her force of will with a suitable expert mech in order to change reality.
What Ves found curious was how Jannzi's force of will differed from that of Brutus.
Both of them possessed similar convictions. Yet they had differences as well. For example, Brutus was much more selective and judgemental in whom he should fight for. As for Jannzi, Ves felt that she was willing to fight for every Larkinson without making any greater distinctions.
Venerable Brutus clearly developed a protective force of will, yet he opted to specialize in piloting rifleman mechs. To him, his best way to protect his loved ones such as Gloriana was to destroy her enemies!
As for Venerable Jannzi, Ves had the impression that she was more inclined to adopt a more supportive role. That didn't mean she eschewed attacking her opponents. After all, Qilanxo proactively attacked the Unending One at the end of the previous battle.
"Ves." She finally spoke after staring at him for a time.
Her eyes conveyed much greater depth than before. This was something that Ves had seen in many expert pilots. It was as if they were much more capable of seeing the truth of matters.
Part of this was because of the force of will they developed. This empowered will was no longer locked within their minds, but could spread around them like glows. This force of will was able to inspect anyone who came within its range.
Even now, Ves felt her force of will brushing against his mind, allowing Jannzi to subconsciously judge him by his spirit rather than his outward facade.
Ves tried his best to ignore the uncomfortable subliminal inspection. No one liked to expose their true selves to people.
"I am glad to see you are awake and unharmed. I hope you'll recover as quickly as possible. Our clan is still in the inner periphery of the Nyxian Gap. With all of the losses we suffered, we need you to inspire our remaining mech pilots."
Jannzi frowned a bit. "Do you intend to stay in the Nyxian Gap?"
"Oh, no! Not at all!" Ves raised his palms. "Once we are done here at Ulimo Citadel, I immediately intend our task force to leave the Gap. We have met most of the objectives after this battle. Our clan has already paid a heavy price and we truly can't afford any further losses."
Both Jannzi and Joshua looked relieved after hearing that. Just like many other clansmen, the pair no longer looked forward to any further adventures in the Nyxian Gap. If they had to face something like a dark god again, the task force would probably be wiped out to the last man.
Ves began to sit on a chair next to the bed and asked some basic questions. He checked to see if there was anything amiss with her physical, mental and spiritual state.
Though he couldn't say much about her physical state, spiritually she was already stronger and more vigorous than ever. Though she couldn't match the intensity of stronger and more established expert pilots such as Venerable Brutus, Ves knew that she had a lot of room for growth.
She flicked her eyes at Melkor, Nitaa and Joshua. "Could you leave for a moment? I need to discuss something with Ves in private."
Ves had an inkling of what she wanted to talk about. "Joshua, Melkor, you go ahead. Nitaa can stay. She can be trusted."
The two male Larkinsons suppressed their curiosity and reluctantly left the recovery room. Even if they wanted to stay, the will of an expert pilot had to be respected.
Rank didn't always matter. While Melkor technically commanded the Avatars, of which Jannzi was a part of, the Larkinsons always revered expert pilots from their own midst.
They weren't unique in this. The Mech Corps was very similar.
Ves couldn't ignore Jannzi's status either. Even though he stood equal to her as a Journeyman, the greater honor and renown of expert pilots meant that they always enjoyed a much better reception.
"I spoke to Qilanxo." Jannzi began. "Though we haven't talked for long, I learned some of the truth of who she is and where she came from. I.. I never imagined my Shield of Samar and every other Aurora Titan mech is being watched by a giant lizard who transcended death."
"..."
Well, this was awkward. It turns out that Qilanxo wasn't shy in letting Jannzi get to know her better.
This shouldn't have come as a surprise. Qilanxo invested considerably in Jannzi's development. At this stage in their relationship, Jannzi deserved to know who supported her whenever she piloted her personal mech.
Ves activated his signal jammer.
"Well, since you know this much, I might as well stop holding back. Qilanxo isn't human. Despite this, she is a friend and ally to us. She is even a part of the clan." He stated and stretched his hand to Nitaa. His bodyguard handed him the Larkinson Mandate. "During the founding of our clan, she was with us and invested a part of her essence in this book."
After opening the large and heavy book, he rapidly flipped the pages until he reached the third-to-last page. He then transferred the tome over to Jannzi.
She could feel the familiar spiritual signature in the page. This reassured her for some reason.
Nyaaaa?
Goldie looked curiously at Jannzi and began to nuzzle her cheek against the hand holding the book.
Due to her increased spiritual sensitivity, she actually felt the warmth and love emanating from the ancestral spirit!
Jannzi's eyes grew fuzzy as pleasant thoughts and emotions popped in her mind. Her will to defend the Larkinson Clan resonated with her current feelings.
A sense of peace and acceptance flowed from her body. She carefully closed the Larkinson Mandate and handed it back to Ves, who passed it on to his bodyguard.
"Thank you for letting me touch your book. It was.. an enlightening experience." She softly said. "I can understand why you don't talk about this. Don't worry. I won't tell anyone about Qilanxo and where your glows come from. Just make sure to lead the Larkinson Clan better."
"The battle we fought is painful, but our clan has never shied away from taking sacrifices." He said. He couldn't very well tell her that he made a mistake! "Our clan will grow stronger because of this battle. Larkinsons died, but their sacrifices are not in vain. We will recover and become greater after we return. As long as we are stronger, we are much more capable of surviving the challenges to come."
Jannzi frowned a bit. "You constantly talk about growing stronger, but are we getting happier because of it? How many clansmen have lost their families? How many Larkinsons have lost their fathers, mothers, brothers or sisters? How many of us have lost our lifelong friends and comrades?"
"This is the greater hardship that our clan must learn to endure." Ves glibly replied. "It was no different when we used to be part of the old Larkinson Family. Many of our mech pilots fought against the Vesians, and not everyone makes it out alive. Despite that, our family kept sending our mech pilots to the Mech Corps, because we knew that we were fighting for a greater cause."
"Are we fighting for a greater cause or are we fighting to advance your personal ambitions?"
Ves pressed his lips.
Chapter 2319 - Conflicting Principles
Talking to expert pilots always made Ves feel uncomfortable.
They were uncommonly perceptive and difficult to fool. They were very stubborn about their convictions and never budged their principles.
This was the source of their strength. Their strong will and unflinching beliefs was not normal and the reason why they distinguished themselves from mortals.
Regular humans possessed complex thoughts and personalities. It wasn't strange for normal people to be hypocritical or hold contradictory thoughts. It was this very flexibility and malleability that made them humans.
Expert pilots were different. They came across as stiff, rigid and stubborn. The disposition of expert pilots towards other people depended on how well the latter aligned with the former.
It was that simple, and that was why expert pilots were so trouble.
In a real society, plenty of people who hated or disliked each other got along cordially. Typical relations between teachers and students, bosses and subordinates, partner to partner and more often worked more often than not even if the people involved would rather want to stab each other in the back.
This was because humans were more flexible than many credited them. Some would say that people detestable for holding duplicitous or deceptive thoughts.
Ves just thought that this kind of behavior was essential to allow human society to function.
Just talking to someone as principled and rigid as Venerable Jannzi reinforced this notion. She didn't like him very much, and she had no problem expressing her true feelings.
"While you are the reason the Larkinson Clan came into existence, I haven't forgotten that it came as a result of a drama that broke our old family." She stated to Ves. "Even if you aren't entirely responsible, you are still the primary reason why the Larkinson Family split apart."
"What are you trying to say, Jannzi?" He frowned.
Just because she was an expert pilot didn't mean he had to take her hits. He had his own principles! Besides, unlike many other people, Ves already got rid of most of his instinctive urge to worship expert pilots.
She looked at him with suspicion. "You're a troublemaker, Ves. You're a rulebreaker. I suppose that is good when it comes to your job. I can see why you have been so successful in your career. It's just that I don't want you to pass on your recklessness to the clan. You are in charge of the lives of tens of thousands of Larkinsons. It's one thing for them to make a choice that they'll eventually regret. It's another thing if they are forced to suffer because you have been driving them to take a lot of risks."
Her concern for the Larkinson Clan was evident. Her will centered around protecting her fellow Larkinsons, and this trait compelled her to voice her opinions to Ves. Patriarch or not, Jannzi cared too much for her fellow comrades to remain silent!
"I don't claim to be perfect, or make the right choices." Ves replied. He felt increasingly more tired at fending off her accusations. "The nature of taking risks means that sometimes my plans blow up. Certainly, I never expected to encounter so much opposition when attacking Ulimo Citadel. That is my responsibility. However, I can't promise I won't make decisions like this again, because we can't coast along if we want to survive and thrive."
He didn't make any excuses and just went on to justify his decisions according to his own thoughts. He believed this was the best way to deal with expert pilots. Even if she disagreed with him, as long as he stood his ground, she couldn't do all that much.
"You're the leader, Ves. Since my clansmen still see fit to keep you in charge, I won't stand in your way." She eventually spoke. "That doesn't mean I'm on your side. I fight on behalf of every Larkinson, not just you. I hope you will never do something one day that will force me to oppose you. Have I made myself clear?"
Ves nodded. "I will try my best to avoid these situations. Just take into account that politics is very murky and that many decisions can be good and bad depending on your perspective. You may think of me as a latent danger to our clansmen, but as far as I'm concerned I have never done something that won't better the clan in some way."
Their discussion on this matter came to an end. Venerable Jannzi made her stance known and has not shied away from giving him a warning.
If an ordinary Larkinson talked like this, Ves would have smacked the presumptuous individual in the face.
However, an expert pilot's weight was incomparable to a random person. Ves had no choice but to tolerate her conditions. No matter what kind of demands she issues, Ves was more than willing to abide by them as long as the Larkinson Clan gained her patronage.
The protection of a genuine expert pilot brought immense advantages to Ves and his Clan! It was due to this that Jannzi gained a much greater say in matters than before.
This was the benefit of strength!
After discussing some other minor issues, the conversation eventually veered towards her future expert mech.
"Right now, Gloriana and I aren't sure how to provide you with a good expert mech."
"Just convert the Shield of Samar to an expert mech."
Ves ruefully smiled at her. "It's not that simple. The technical challenges of designing an expert mech are very steep. If we make any missteps, you will suffer greatly due to your high dependence on such a machine. While I too want to elevate the Shield of Samar to a height that corresponds to your newfound strength, it's very difficult to do so on our own. Right now, we are exploring various options. I can't rule out the possibility that we'll be inviting a guest designer who will take charge of redesigning your Shield of Samar. If that happens, you should expect significant changes to the mech."
Jannzi silently stared at Ves for a few seconds. "While I don't think you're the best leader of our clan, I trust you when it comes to designing mechs. I know that expert mechs always differ from regular mechs. It's fine if my upgraded Shield of Samar is a little different from before. Just make sure that the mech still recognizes me at the end."
"I will make sure to take this into account."
He was pleasantly surprised by her tolerance. If she insisted on keeping the entire form and functionality of the Shield of Samar, then it would have been much more difficult to involve an external mech designer!
"When can I expect an improved machine?" She asked.
"It will take time. Please be patient. We are not like the Mech Corps who can partner up with many Seniors who are eager to design the highest-performing mechs in their careers. I estimate it will take at least a year if we insist on designing something as soon as possible."
That was a long time for an expert pilot to spend without a corresponding expert mech. This was a bit of a pity, since Jannzi had just broken through. This should be the best time for her to experience rapid growth. Time was precious for her as well.
Still, designing something as important as an expert mechs really couldn't be rushed. Ves had partially come around to Gloriana's opinions.
During the conversation, he also reminded himself of the need to take the wishes of the mech pilots into account. Her input was vital in shaping her future expert mech.
"If you have a choice on how your future expert mech would be, what do you want to change or add?" He asked.
"I don't mind it if my mech is slow." She said. "I have learned to accept this limitation. In my mind, it shouldn't be much of a difference if you turn it into a heavy space knight. The greatest strength of the Aurora Titan model is how it never compromises on defense. I want that to be the same for my expert mech."
Ves nodded in understanding. "We'll have to replace the polarizing module with a proper mech-grade shield generator. The former simply can't keep up with the elevated performance of your mech. I might also add additional defensive modules to your mech. The budget for expert mechs allows us to incorporate vastly more powerful but also significantly more compact mech parts into your expert mech. This frees up a lot of room for additional weapons and features. As long as you want, we can upgrade the mobility of your mech with all of the extra capacity."
She shook her head. "I understand the appeal of it, but that's not how the Shield of Samar and Aurora Titan is meant to fight. Just put everything in defense."
"That.. is not entirely appropriate. If you don't want to increase the mobility of your mech, then it should at least be more threatening. Otherwise, what makes your mech different from deployable walls? You can't just take hits all the time. Sometimes, defending the clan is best accomplished by fighting back. This is especially the case for hostile expert mechs. Instead of trying to crack your resilient mech, they can easily bypass you and slaughter our vulnerable sh.i.p.s."
"That.. does sound bad." She admitted.
There was plenty of time to develop a new vision for her expert mech. Ves wasn't in a hurry to offer alternatives.
"Your expert mech will be a second-class one." He added. "While it's significantly cheaper and more practical to design a third-class mech, the enemies we face in the present and future are already greater. We need to keep up, and only a second-class expert mech will ensure you will remain relevant."
"I look forward to piloting such a powerful machine. The Shield of Samar truly deserves better."
Though the quality and performance of second-class expert mechs varied a lot, the best of them could be just as powerful if not more than a first-class multipurpose mech!
Of course, Ves simply couldn't afford to spend that much in his current state. The expert mech for Jannzi would likely be substantially weaker than a first-class multipurpose mech, and that was fine. They could always upgrade her expert mech later.
They two eventually ended their personal discussion. Ves deactivated his signal jammer while Melkor and Joshua reentered the compartment.
"Did the two of you have a good talk?" Melkor curiously asked.
"We came to an accord." Ves curtly replied. "Venerable Jannzi agreed to act as the shield of the Larkinson Clan. The only snag is that she will have to wait to receive her expert mech. We can't design and build it on our own. Don't expect her to throw up barriers that can block nukes."
"That's.. regrettable. I hope you don't take too long."
"How will you assign Jannzi, sir?" Joshua asked. "Will she remain with the Avatars or will she be transferred to a new unit?"
That was an interesting question. Ves and Commander Melkor looked at each other.
Strictly speaking, there were pros and cons to both options.
Ves made a quick decision. "For now, I think it is best to keep her in the Avatars. This might change in the future depending on the development of our clan. I'll discuss this with Major Verle."
Jannzi was just the first expert pilot of the clan. In the future, Ves hoped to welcome additional expert pilots such as Joshua, Commander Dise and Commander Orfan.
Though Ves had a lot of guesses about what it took for expert candidates to advance, witnessing Jannzi's breakthrough when it happened gave him a lot of clues.
He felt much more confident in his theories now that he found some supporting evidence. Perhaps he could find ways to induce the remaining expert candidates in the clan to advance without throwing them in a life-or-death battle!
Chapter 2320 - Plucking Strings
Ulimo Citadel. After several days of pacification and sweeping, the Larkinsons managed to tame the previously-wild pirate fortification.
Ves along with his students and his assistant mech designers stepped into the empty and damaged public marketplace section of the base.
The entire place had lost all of its liveliness. The previous catastrophe wiped out the vast majority of civilian Nyxians. The grey ghosts the anomaly spawned ruthlessly hunted every form of life without caring whether they were Larkinsons, pirates or innocent bystanders.
Speaking of the assistant mech designers, Ves had treated them rather unfairly in the Battle of Ulimo Citadel. When the artificial anomaly came into being, Ves eventually decided to go inside to rescue some of his trapped mech pilots.
He overlooked the fact that his Braves resided on the Scarlet Rose as well.
Entering the abyss and witnessing the hard struggle against the ghost mechs and abomination mechs frightened all of them. Witnessing the giant avatar of the Unending One barreling down on the Scarlet Rose in order to swallow the ship whole was far more terrifying than being subjected to the Doom Guard's glow!
Fortunately, the trauma they endured had lessened because of the rise of Jannzi Larkinson. The clan's first expert pilot not only blocked the tentacled whale's offensive, but also beat the horrifying creature with a magnificent and inspiring energy projection of Qilanxo!
The impact of the latter was extremely crucial in restoring everyone's hope. The Battle of Ulimo Citadel revealed that there were monsters in the Nyxian Gap. Yet no matter how formidable they appeared, these evil creatures would never be able to topple Task Force Predator as long as Venerable Jannzi was their shield!
None of his Braves broke down in the end. Many of them possessed a high tolerance for stress to begin with, and the remainder tried their best to pretend they were fine if only because they didn't let Ves down.
"It's so cruel." Maikel spoke with a hollow voice. "I know they're all pirates, but.. these folk didn't do too many awful things in their lives. They were just born in the wrong place at the wrong place."
"They are pirates. They are our enemies." Catherine Evenson spoke. As a former noble from the Sentinel Kingdom, she was never soft when it came to the pirates of the Nyxian Gap. "It's all well and good to feel pity on the ordinary people who live in places like these, but everything they do facilitates the activities of pirates. Without their existence, it would have been a lot harder for pirates to repair their sh.i.p.s, build new mechs, feed their people and process their ill-gotten gains."
"That doesn't mean they are guilty!"
The squabble erupting from his assistants heated up. Everyone had a different view on the guilt of the non-pirate natives of the Nyxian Gap. Some took a harder line and wanted to give them the same treatment as actual pirates. Others sympathized with these 'innocents' and wanted to let them off. Most remained indecisive.
"What do you think, teacher?" Zanthar asked.
The assistants all fell silent as they became curious at what Ves had to say about this issue. How would he solve this dilemma?
Ves turned around and smiled at them. He looked particularly dashing today due to the cape he wore over his patriarch uniform.
"Before I give you my answer, let me remind you who we are. We are the Larkinson Clan. We are the offshoot and continuation of an honorable military family. Though we have decided to chart our own course, we still hold true to many of our original values. As an upright organization, we must act according to the prevailing laws."
Rina Orion raised her hand. "Sir, this is the Nyxian Gap. There aren't any laws. Didn't we steal a lot of pirate superweapons and used them against their former owners in the previous battle? Clearly the rules don't apply here!"
"Not quite so." Ves shook his head. "The Big Two's mandate doesn't merely extend to all of the territories that fall under civilized space. It also governs our behavior outside of it. If our clan randomly employed nuclear missiles and warship-grade laser cannons in the Nyxian Gap, the MTA would have arrested us as soon as we returned to civilized space. I had to obtain a special exemption to allow our clan to use those taboo weapons without repercussions."
That sounded rather unfair, but the Big Two didn't really care about that. They just wanted to minimize the use and proliferation of these weapons as much as possible.
"It is in our clan's best interests to remain on the good side of the Big Two. We don't want to become outlaws and separate ourselves from human society. Trying to remain aloof from human states doesn't mean we intend to reject our humanity."
Every assistant nodded.
"Aside from that, our behavior should match our ideals. Even if the Big Two's laws aren't hanging over our head, we should still treat the average residents of the Nyxian Gap with dignity. We aren't killers. We aren't pirates. More importantly, we aren't responsible for enforcing law and order inside and outside the Nyxian Gap. Even if these residents go on to join a pirate gang or something, that's not under our purview. All these what ifs and future threats are immaterial to us. We should just act according to our prevailing policies and principles."
The Braves all looked thoughtful at his answer. It partially sounded like a copout, but Ves didn't care. He just wanted to prevent the Larkinson Clan from degenerating into immorality.
After all, what sounded better, leading a clan of cruel and bloodthirsty butchers or leading a clan of noble and honorable warriors?
As Ves observed the Larkinson mechs and infantry soldiers standing guard and searching through the structures, he nodded in satisfaction.
He was pleased with the professionalism displayed by his troops. The Larkinson Clan may consist of many outsiders who came from many different states, but the Larkinsons had successfully molded them into disciplined soldiers.
Even if discipline in the ranks wasn't as strict as in the Mech Corps, they didn't slack off or abused their privileges.
As the tour continued, they entered a large holding facility where the Larkinsons stowed away a lot of average residents, at least what was left of them. According to latest estimates, the ritual devoured at least eighty percent of the total population of Ulimo Citadel.
That was a lot of people!
The few who clung to their lives had reason to escape the calamity that befell the rest.
A portion of them were lucky enough to enjoy the protection of the authorities when the darkness spewed out ghosts.
Some were relatives of the Dry Snakes or other important pirate outfits.
Others managed to fend off the ghosts on their own with their personal weapons.
Regardless, the Larkinsons preliminarily deemed these captives to be fairly free of guilt.
As Ves and his group of Braves approached the block of holding cells, the barriers turned transparent, allowing both sides to get a good look at each other.
Some Nyxian residents looked hollow. Others had curled up and cried. A few went berserk and banged against the energy screen that kept them captive.
"YOU FILTHY CIVILIZED FOLK! YOU KILLED MY JOHNNY!"
"Why did you Larkinsons attack our home?! We never did anything wrong! Now look what you've done! Our lives are ruined!"
"You there! You with the cape! Are you the big boss? Come over here so I can kick you between the legs! You deserve it for wiping out all of my comrades!"
The jeers, threats and insults impacted the Braves quite a bit. For all of their courage, they were still too young and tender to endure public indignation at such a close and personal level.
Ves remained impassive as he observed both the captives and his assistants.
Many of the latter weren't taking the insults well. Only a small number of socially-adept people such as Catherine Evenson managed to brush off the death threats and other pejorative remarks.
The rest didn't really know how to deal with this situation. Should these prisoners be killed? Should they be punished? Or were these captives all justified in voicing out the cruel and destructive consequences of the Larkinson Clan's decision to attack Ulimo?
"Why do you look confused?" Ves asked his assistants. "There is no reason for you to feel sorry for these people. We have our reasons for conquering Ulimo Citadel. This won't be the last time we take offensive action. As is the case in every battle that takes place where people live, collateral damage is inevitable. This time, the pirates are the primary culprits responsible for killing off their own people. These unfortunate people are blaming the wrong side."
"Aren't we at least partially responsible, sir?" Moltar Ringer asked. "I mean, it is true that these people wouldn't have lost their friends and family if our task force chose to bypass Ulimo Citadel."
Ves shook his head. "Ulimo Citadel is a critically important pirate base. It not only facilitates the running of a lot of smaller pirate outfits, but also sells crucial exotics to an even greater and more threatening pirate alliance. Taking it out of commission, if at least temporarily, is a great service to the Sentinel Kingdom and other states that suffer from frequent pirate raids."
"Are we supposed to endure their insults, then? They are saying really awful stuff."
"Of course not." Ves grinned. "While we should do our best to act in an honorable fashion, that doesn't mean we are white knights. If these sc.u.m are stupid enough to provoke us, then feel free to give them the punishment they deserve."
He pulled out a laser pistol from his holster and fired at the nearest Nyxian resident who was hurling insults in his direction.
"I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN TO THE ENDS OF THE GALAXY! I WILL REPAY YOU A THOUSAND TIMES OVER FOR KILLING MY SONS! I WON'T REST UNTIL—"
A bright laser beam passed through the energy screen and blasted the woman's head apart.
Many other captives stopped yelling at the Larkinsons. They all backed off and shook in fear as their boldness had left them. None of them thought that their captors would kill one of their own on the spot!
The Braves all looked astonished at this turn of events. Seeing Ves kill someone without hesitation did not conform with the image of a talented and capable Journeyman Mech Designer!
"This is the true nature of Nyxian people." Ves stated to his Braves. "Don't pity them. Certainly, many of them had not been dealt a fair hand in life, but that is no reason for our Larkinson Clan to be soft on them. As Larkinsons, we should first look to ourselves. In the future, all of us will definitely encounter more situations where furthering the interests of our clan means harming the interests of other people. Make the right choice."
He wasn't just speaking to his Braves. What he said would doubtlessly spread to the rest of the rest of the Larkinson Clan. As a newly-founded organization, much of its customs were still in flux. The influence of leaders such as Ves on the overall culture of the clan was very significant.
This was why Ves purposefully held this demonstration. He wanted to instill some honorable but also practical norms onto his clansmen through vivid acts like these.
Compared to writing a dry and boring essay and forcing every Larkinson to read it, Ves believed it was much better to go out and ill.u. his point in a more direct fashion.
Though he felt like a greasy politician for doing so, there was a reason that many of them eagerly employed this method. Theatrics worked! As Ves had already witnessed many times during his mech design presentations, people were much more driven by their emotions than their logic.
As long as Ves mastered the art of tugging the strings of their emotions, he could do whatever he wanted!
Chapter 2321 - Life ResearChapter Assocation
The tour continued without Ves. Unlike his Braves, he did not have the time to explore the entire breadth and depth of Ulimo Citadel.
No matter what great and impressive sights this fallen pirate base offered, the Larkinson Clan was not on a sightseeing tour. The Larkinsons needed to tally and take away as many valuables as possible within a week.
After that, the task force finally began its long journey back to civilized space.
Though it would have been better if the fleet lingered at Ulimo for another week, Ves did not wish to take too many chances. Even if Calabast was correct that most existing pirate groups just wanted to wait until the Larkinson Clan left on its own, who knew if the Allidus Alliance secretly dispatched a punitive fleet to take revenge for Lord Drogen death.
In the few months that Ves and his clansmen spent in the Nyxian Gap, they recklessly killed many groups while provoking many more!
Ves wasn't ignorant to the cycle of hatred he perpetuated. Aside from provoking the mighty Allidus Alliance, he probably attracted the undying hatred of other powerful pirate organizations who supported some of the Larkinson Clan's victims in the shadows.
He was very much aware that his task force couldn't act as unscrupulously as before. With the loss of hundreds of mech pilots and the even larger amount of mechs taken out of commission, the clan and the Penitent Sisters no longer possessed the strength to conquer another Ulimo Citadel.
As Ves spent more and more time in the Nyxian Gap, he realized that its poor population density and industrial development did not mean that the local pirates were pushovers.
Anyone brave enough to hunt down Task Force Predator would certainly bring enough firepower to wipe it out when it was still in its prime!
Ves quickly wanted to process every matter that required his attention at Ulimo Citadel.
He met with various Larkinson officers and managers to discuss various issues.
He inspected various warehouses and secret vaults in order to judge which valuable materials to plunder and which ones to leave behind.
He visited the holding facilities which held the surviving members of the Dry Snakes and its allies to pick out the pirates with spiritual potential.
Even though he hadn't spent any time on his experiments lately, he still kept them in mind. Witnessing Jannzi's breakthrough and exaggerated demonstration of power gave him a couple of new ideas, all of which required testing. Ves therefore spent a considerable amount of time on inspecting every pirate captive with his spiritual senses in order to obtain more test subjects.
While a lot of pirates had died during the Battle of Ulimo Citadel, many thousands of them still remained alive. Ves found it rather fortunate that he picked up more than a couple of dozen useful test subjects from their ranks.
As for the rest, Ves couldn't care less. A quick execution was the best they could hope for. After losing a lot of mech pilots and surviving an artificial anomaly, many clansmen weren't in the mood to grant any leniency towards the Dry Snakes and the other pirates.
During his visit, Ves also met with the Xona Stalker defectors. Before and during the battle, they provided invaluable aid to the Larkinson Clan. The traitors not only supplied a lot of information, but also risked their lives to sabotage a lot of essential systems and even turned their weapons against their own comrades.
The defectors sacrificed a lot of their men and women as a consequence. Even so, when Ves met Captain Reina Ember, she did not look particularly depressed.
"We all knew the risks when we turned against our own side." The surviving highest-ranking leader of the defector spoke. "My fellow conspirators and I are all members of the original Xona Stalkers when we were exiled from Majestic Teal over two decades ago. We did not choose to become pirates. We were forced to do so. That has always troubled us inside, but…"
"Not everyone insisted on staying true to their original selves." Ves guessed.
The old woman nodded. "Life is harsh in the Nyxian Gap. I don't deny that we had to resort to desperate measures in order to survive. Years of living under these circ. has converted more and more of us to the pirate way of life. The problem became more and more severe when we started to recruit local Nyxian pirates in order to replace our losses and expand our strength."
That sounded like a surefire way to transform a former civilized intelligence outfit into a ruthless pirate organization. As long as a couple more decades past, most of the original old guard would likely die and make way for the new generation of pirates who were crooked from birth.
The captain's explanation helped Ves understand the defector mindset. No matter how much time they spent in the Nyxian Gap, they still remained true to their original values. He admired them for that. He wasn't sure if he would make the same choice if he was in their shoes.
Of course, the Xona Stalker defectors paid a heavy price for their decision. The defectors willing to join the side of the Larkinsons only consisted of a minority within the ranks of their group. The ensuing battle caused many of them to perish, thereby dwindling their numbers to a shadow of their original strength.
Even so, the survivors all consisted of older but very competent second-class intelligence operatives! It was no wonder that Calabast l.u. over them like Lucky l.u. after valuable exotics.
"You know the deal, right?" Ves posed. "Aside from those of you who are too old or injured to be of use, the rest of you will become a part of the Larkinson Clan."
"We know. Many of us have studied your clan and like what we see. We can find no better home for us once we have obtained our pardons." Captain Ember replied.
"Don't worry. We haven't forgotten about our promise to stop by the Life Research Association in Majestic Teal. I'm not sure how long our fleet will linger there, but you'll have plenty of time to reunite with your families and possibly invite them to become a part of the clan as well."
The defector leader smiled in relief. "That is all we want. We are not ungrateful. We are willing to commit to you and the clan. Anything is better than to see ourselves and our fellow comrades degenerate more and more. The Nyxian Gap is a great corrupting influence. You can't imagine what it is like to be confronted with harsh choices over and over again. Each time, there is a voice on your shoulders that urge you to opt for expediency rather than maintain your conscience."
"That truly does sound difficult." Ves lied. "Anyway, one of the reasons I agreed to bring you to our former state is because I already considered putting it on my list of future destinations. Our clan is very lacking when it comes to biotech-related services and it sounds like visiting a second-rate state that specializes in this area is a good way to remedy this shortcoming. Can you tell me more about the place you used to call home?"
"We have been gone for over two decades, sir. While we have tried to keep up with the latest machinations and developments, I'm sure the political situation has changed. Don't underestimate the importance of that. The way the LRA is run means that the policies and interests of its highest leaders can lead to significant swings."
"You Majestic Tealers try to complicate everything related to politics."
Reina Ember apologetically shrugged. "It's not that puzzling once you realize that everyone is constantly pushing their own interests. As long as you figure out their agenda, you can already figure out whether you can work with them or whether they'll betray you at the first opportunity."
"Considering your history, it seems you Xona Stalkers haven't been vigilant enough."
"That's.. fair. Don't follow our example. When you enter Majestic Teal, please keep in mind to remain on guard against anyone you meet. No matter who they are, as long as they are powerful or wealthy enough, they are inevitably masters of deception."
"Is the stereotype really true?"
"For people at our level? Not necessarily." The Xona Stalker ruefully smiled. "However, it seems that there is a universal rule that anyone at a senior position is inevitably selfish. That doesn't necessarily mean that they will betray you, but you can't afford to expose any vulnerabilities to them. Don't think that being a foreigner will protect you. In fact, that might make them even more unscrupulous."
"It must be pleasant to live in this star sector." Ves mildly said.
"We all took it for granted. It wasn't until we were forced into the Nyxian Gap that we started to see Majestic Teal from an outsider's perspective."
If scheming was one of the most prevailing customs at Majestic Teal, perhaps Ves might be able to find an excellent diplomat to partner with or absorb into the clan. He could use such a person to help him navigate the complex web of interests in the Red Ocean Dwarf Galaxy.
The Xona Stalker Captain began to reveal more about her former state.
"The Life Research Association started off as a genuine research organization." She began. "Back then, it was merely called the Life Research Institute. Due to its valuable research and commercial success, it constantly earned more money. The Institute invested most of its earnings on acquiring more and more territory and power. With more territory and production facilities, it began to earn even more money, which fueled even greater expansion."
"At some point, it began to buy planets, right?"
"Correct. Planets, star systems and entire space regions gradually fell under its sway. When the Supreme Sage of the time suggested the Life Research Institute to change its name to the Life Research Association, its transformation into an actual state was set in stone. The LRA is much more than a biotech research institution these days, though it is still the market leader in many related fields to this day."
The LRA was a technocracy. Its highest leaders and government officials consisted almost entirely of researchers and scientists. Not only that, but many of them actually specialized in genetics, exobiology and many other biotech-related disciplines!
With so many researchers obsessed with biotech in charge, it was a given that the LRA was set up to facilitate their research as much as possible!
While there were many defects associated with this system of government, to outsiders the LRA was a regional holy land for biotech goods and services.
There were multiple reasons why Ves wanted to bring his fleet to the LRA.
Considering his promise to provide every survivor of the excursion into the Nyxian Gap a basic set of second-class implants and gene mod templates, Ranya Wodin needed a lot of reinforcements to tackle this enormous workload. Bolstering the Larkinson Biotech Institute was one of his highest priorities.
Aside from that, Ves also had a more personal reason to stop by the LRA.
The state literally had the word 'life' in its name. How could he refuse to explore the research-oriented state and debate the philosophy of life with its famed biotech researchers?
Ves had a feeling that he might be able to advance his design philosophy considerably as long as he explored the meaning of life with some of the foremost experts on this subject!
In addition, he also had a professional reason to visit the LRA. The state was one of the few in the Yeina Star Cl.u. that utilized biomechs on a large scale.
Their mechs were alive in a very different way. Whereas his LMC mechs were merely conceptually alive, the famous and sometimes horrifying biomechs of the LRA were literally living organisms!
How could he not explore this fascinating subset of mechs? Ves couldn't wait to visit the Life Research Assocation!
Chapter 2322 - Xona Crystals
After chatting with Captain Reina Ember, Ves grew more comfortable with the Xona Stalker defectors.
Certainly, he had no doubt that the former intelligence officer of the Life Research Association presented a very deliberate image to him. His experience with spooks like Calabast and Leland taught him that each of them were very adept at social engineering. They consciously molded their behavior to appeal to whoever they spoke to and employed several techniques to increase their favorability.
That said, Ves didn't need to worry about the former Xona Stalkers doing anything detrimental to the clan. First, they needed to pass Goldie's loyalty test. Afterwards, their connection to the Larkinson Network made sure they developed a sense of belonging in the clan.
If that wasn't enough, he was pretty sure that Calabast would monitor them as well once they became a part of her Black Cats.
After hearing what the Life Research Association was like from the perspective of a former citizen, he asked the defector leader to show him to one of its most valuable assets.
"Please follow me, sir."
They moved to a guarded vault. When they stepped inside, Ves immediately noticed the two large objects placed in the center.
Two large, irregularly-cut crystals loomed over him. Both of them were half the size of mechs and carved with mysterious alien swirling patterns.
They reminded him of luminar race technology, though the style was considerably different. The luminar aliens were diminutive and most of their crystal creations were small.
The alien crystals the Xona Stalkers possessed were opposite.
"These are our Xona Communication Crystals." Captain Ember announced with a touch of pride in her voice. "We own five of them in total. Three are spread in outposts and other pirate bases spread throughout the inner and outer periphery. It's a bit unfortunate that the Xona Stalkers in charge of managing those crystals are loyalists. They wouldn't have been sent to other places if they were more inclined to support our cause."
"That's.. a pity. Is there any way to retrieve those additional crystal?" Ves asked with a touch of hope in his voice.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, sir, but unless you are willing to take large detours and attack several more pirate bases, it's not possible to get our hands on them again. When the people in charge of the other crystals hear about Ulimo Citadel's fall, they must have already applied to join another pirate group."
His face fell. This was a massive pity to Ves! Oh, to be sure, getting his hands on two of these so-called Xona Communication Crystals was already nice. He didn't feel disappointed at all. It was just that this unexpected prize would have been much more helpful if he got his hands on additional crystals.
As it was, his task force truly couldn't afford to attack those other pirate bases. Aside from the risks involved, his fleet would have to stay in the Nyxian Gap for several years to collect all three crystals.
And that was assuming they would stay in place! If someone secretly took the Xona Communication Crystals away, it was extremely difficult for the Larkinsons to track them down.
How was he supposed to return to his wedding in time if he wanted to chase after those additional crystals?
"Can we try them out?"
"Yes, sir." Captain Ember nodded and began to pass on some quick instructions to some Xona Stalkers manning some instruments. "The loyalists originally attempted to activate them during the battle, but we made sure to take out their men here first."
Ves observed the technicians preparing to activate the crystals. The setup looked pretty crude to him. The Xona Stalkers mounted a lot of data transmission connections to the surface of the crystals. Not only that, but whoever developed this setup also saw the need to supply a lot of power in the form of several ship-grade power reactors!
"This is a very energy-consuming process." He noted. "These power reactors can supply enough energy to satisfy a combat carrier!"
"This isn't the only restriction." His guide shrugged.
Once the preparation phase finally passed, the crystals were ready to transfer information. Ves supplied the operators with a simple but fairly large electronic doc. .
Though the crystals didn't pulse or glow any interesting lights or anything, Ves faintly felt the huge amount of power being pumped into them. This went on for several minutes until the power flow suddenly cut off on its own.
Ves approached the consoles connected to the crystal that was supposed to receive the transmission and inspected the received file.
"The doc. isn't complete. It got cut off at the end." He remarked with a bit of disappointment.
Captain Ember did not look ashamed. "The limitations are severe, but the benefits are still undeniable. We have owned these crystals for a long time. It's really a coincidence we managed to stumble upon some alien ruins in the Nyxian Gap and uncovered these large crystals. It took years for us to decipher how to operate them, and as far as we know we are only scratching the surface of what they are capable of. While I can't say whether they pose a threat to us, nothing bad has happened with the Xona Crystals over the years."
Any piece of alien technology came with this caveat. You never knew what aliens stuffed in seemingly normal objects. Applying human common sense to alien inventions was a big mistake.
Even so, Ves still felt reassured to hear that the Xona Crystals hadn't exploded or anything after two decades of regular use.
"Don't judge the operation of these crystals by their close proximity. In fact, as far as we know, the range of this crystal is unlimited."
"Truly?" Ves raised his eyebrow.
"Well.. theoretically." Captain Ember said. "Our resident expert on these crystals theorized that their principle of operation is completely unaffected by distance. Even if you bring a crystal to the ends of this universe, you can still transmit the same doc. to it with no time lag!"
That was truly amazing.. if it was true. Though quantum communication nodes also operated in this fashion, Ves was not ready to bet all of his ch.i.p.s on this assumption.
"Does it work through heavy spatial warping and other interference."
"Ordinary jamming and interference is completely useless." The Xona Stalker confidently stated. "We have tried to employ as much jamming as we could squeeze in a single space, and the crystals shrugged it off. These crystals are also quite tough. Even if they fall or suffer a few bumps, they'll still work as normal."
"That sounds good. What about the limitations? Tell me the most important parameters."
"Well, each Xona Crystal can connect to another Xona Crystal for a maximum duration of 2 minutes and 34 seconds. While active, the bandwidth is extremely limited, so we advise against transmitting any projections or huge files. It's best to stick to text or simple data files. After that, whether the active crystals are sending or receiving data, they will turn inert for 86 hours, 29 minutes and 11 seconds before they can be activated again."
This was the reason why the Xona Stalkers stored two crystals at Ulimo instead of one. In case two different detachments wanted to send an urgent message to the main group, at least an additional crystal would still be available to receive a message if the primary one had already entered its lengthy cooldown cycle.
Ves studied the setup around the crystals in greater detail. To him, it didn't seem as if the Xona Stalkers mastered these alien crystals at all. They were like children using rifles as clubs.
"Can the bandwidth, duration or cooldown time be improved?"
"We haven't managed to do so up to this point. Our head scientist can tell you more, but.. we killed him when we took over this facility."
"A pity." Ves grimaced.
He knew how painful it was to lose such a key figure. The head scientist must possess a wealth of knowledge surrounding the properties, operation and additional secrets of the Xona Crystals.
Now that he and his team were gone, the remaining Xona Stalkers only had some encrypted notes to go on! The worst part about it was that the encryption was so good that it was extremely unlikely for the clan's resident hackers to unlock them in a reasonable amount of time.
If the Larkinson Clan wanted to utilize these Xona Crystals to a greater degree, then Ves needed to start up a separate research team and get them to study these alien relics from the beginning.
"Well, even if we can't improve them, they are still incredibly helpful to the clan in their current state." Ves concluded.
The Xona Stalker nodded. "There are many more effective methods of communication in existence. However, there are few that can work regardless of distance and resist an incredible amount of jamming."
"Have you ever figured out if these crystals work in the core region of the Nyxian Gap?"
"No. We don't dare to step foot there." Ember quickly replied. "We aren't sure whether these crystals will still be able to transmit any data under such abnormal circ. ."
The clan would have to test that, Ves supposed.
"Final question, have you tested how secure the data transmissions are. Has anyone intercepted them or accessed them in any way?"
"While we can't say for sure, we have tried our best to do so. We failed. As you have seen, despite the huge amount of power they expend when they are active, they don't actually grow hotter or flash any interesting lights. They don't transmit any radio signals or release any gravitic ripples. The only possible way to eavesdrop a transmission is to bug or keep the auxiliary equipment under heavy observation."
In other words, while the crystals themselves couldn't be hacked, the setup surrounding them were not as robust!
"Okay. Carefully dismantle this setup and move the gear along with the Crystals to our fleet as carefully as possible."
"We will make sure the transfer will proceed as smoothly as possible."
Ves left the vault with a satisfied expression on his face.
The Xona Crystals reminded him of the Tzianti Crystals he once used in the frontier. Those were different crystals from the super-sized ones he had just witnessed.
Even so, Ves faintly suspected that both of them might share some relations from each other.
Just like the Xona Crystals, the Tzianti Crystals were forgotten pieces of alien technology that the pirates had dug up from some dusty alien ruins and repurposed them for their own use. Compared to communicating over the galactic net, resorting these strange crystals at least ensured the Big Two and every other powerful authority wouldn't be able to snoop in their conversations!
After spending a few months with the Darkbreak module on his ship, Ves was beginning to get a little paranoid about its continued presence.
When he finally obtained his factory ship, he didn't plan to install the Darkbreak module there at all. The same went for those alien Xona Crystals. No matter how many assurances the Xona Stalker defectors provided, as long as his clan failed to master the working principles behind these alien crystals, there was still a chance that something might go wrong!
After boarding a small shuttle, Ves traveled to his next destination. After descending downwards for a time, his vehicle finally arrived at a site where a critical battle supposedly took place.
When he stepped out, he immediately smelled the nutrient processing plant at work. He looked up at the large, automated structure and its dizzying amount of pipes.
"Yo." Ketis greeted as she pushed herself off one of the pipes at ground level. "You're finally here. You sure took your time."
Ves smiled and hugged her. "You look better than I thought. You didn't get hurt, did you?"
She shook her head. Her poofy beret shook with her movements. "Nah, but I can't say the same for Lucky. He.. doesn't look so good."
His smile dropped. "Bring me to him. Let me see what he ate as well. Anything that can give him a stomach ache must be exceptional!"
Chapter 2323 - Digestible
Ves stood in the center of the shrine hall as he viewed a recording of Ketis' battle against the Grand Protector and the Grey Watcher.
In order to vividly observe the battle and capture the most details, he overlaid the actual terrain with projections taken from every surviving footage of the hectic battle.
Ketis had already taken the time to rip every scrap of data from broken armor pieces. Even when Grand Protector Roshaw ripped apart the combat armor of every paralyzed victim, some of them still possessed intact sensors that faithfully recorded what they observed and stored them in backup data ch.i.p.s.
The fidelity and quality of the footage varied wildly, especially due to the large amount of interference thrown up by the dark fog. Ketis only managed to obtain decent results by combining many sources of footage.
Tentacles piercing through bodies. Helpless victims laying paralyzed on the ground. The Grand Protector sacrificing their bodies while ranting about life of all topics. The huge idol of a dark god falling over.
Unfortunately, what happened next got cut off when the fallen statue of the tentacled whale suddenly spewed out all of the darkness without restraint!
The interference thrown from such a huge movement of energy at close ranges overwhelmed many sensors.
That was a pity. Ketis described a vivid, desperate struggle while she was eating lunch.
"Lucky and I never expected the Grey Watcher to survive having a statue fall on him. The way he managed to absorb some of the dark fog is quite abnormal." She spoke while eating the contents of a freshly-produced nutrient pack.
"So this fellow turned into a quadruped flesh monster as big as an elephant, but failed to land an attack on you even after several minutes of high-intensity fighting?" Ves raised his eyebrow as he watched the intact footage for the third time while he chewed.
He held a spoon with one hand and an opened nutrient pack with his other hand. He already added some hot water in the opened packet to hydrate and heat up the contents. He scooped up another spoonful of nutrient slurry and shoveled it into his mouth. A spicy, subtle taste spread through his tongue.
"I already told you, Ves. I'm a Swordmaiden. Just because I'm not a mech pilot doesn't mean I'm any less deadly up close. To be honest, the Grey Watcher would have been better off shooting me with a gun than transforming into a giant mutant. The Grand Protector wrecked my armor. If that Xarnus fellow just bided his time and shot me with a pistol without my notice, he would have been able to take me down."
"Cultists. They never make the most logical decisions. What can you expect?" Ves shrugged while he swallowed his latest mouthful. "I hope you don't follow in that stupid guy's footsteps. I know you prefer to fight with swords, but I gave you that compact laser pistol for a reason."
"That gun is quite useful, if a bit on the small size. It overheated during the battle, though."
The two continued to chat about her battles while they quickly finished the contents of their nutrient packs. They couldn't help it. While the flavor wasn't the best, Ves never tasted anything so spicy, savory and with some unique notes that he had never experienced before.
Due to his altered physique and metabolism, his taste buds were quite dulled. It took a lot of flavor for him to taste something enjoyable. The products of the nutrient processing plant just happened to exceed a certain threshold that made him feel as if he was eating something meaty.
"This is surprisingly good." Ves looked appreciatively at the empty wrapper. "Are all the nutrient packs from this plant as packed with flavor?"
Ketis shook her head. "Not exactly. The output is rather.. variable. Quality control here isn't too strict, especially when it comes to the selection of ingredients. The input changes day by day, which means that each nutrient pack comes out just a bit differently every time. That's one of the appeals of pirate-produced food. For many local Nyxian residents, nutrient packs are all they will ever eat in their lives. Tasting different flavors from the same brand helps keep their meals more varied."
That made sense to Ves. In a barren region like the Nyxian Gap, it wasn't as if there were large, fertile planets and landmasses lit by suns. Cultivating natural foodstuffs required a lot of space, so cultivating plants or cattle in indoor farms was fairly trouble.
While the Larkinsons already encountered a fair amount of sophisticated vertical farms at Ulimo, the energy, resources and manpower put into them was fairly onerous. In the skewed economy of the Nyxian Gap, regular people could never afford to eat organic food on a daily basis.
For this reason, most people simply grew up eating nutrient packs instead. All it took to produce them was to process and mix a large amount of organic matter together. This could be anything from sewage, compost or even industrially-synthesized compounds.
There was nothing wrong with eating such food. It was simply a way to produce food that was nutritious enough for humans to live on at the highest possible efficiency and the least amount of waste.
In the most ideal circ. , food produced and consumed in an isolated settlement or space station could be maintained in a closed loop.
The meals that the local residents ate were eventually discharged into sewage. That sewage flowed back to a treatment plant which broke it all down. The resulting output would then be brought to a nutrient processing plant much like this one and be made into freshly-produced nutrient packs.
This was simply a human method to shorten the natural cycle of consumption. A more natural cycle involved tedious, wasteful and time-consuming steps such as cultivating crops, feeding some of them to cattle, butchering them for meat and so on. With space and resources in places like the Nyxian Gap at a premium, how could the pirates ever have the patience to go through all of that trouble?
Even so, pirates could be quite creative when it came to varying the flavor profiles of their nutrient packs. Since they depended so much on them for sustenance in their daily lives, Ves discovered that they had become quite skilled at providing them with interesting flavors!
"I made sure to reserve a couple of crates of nutrient packs from this plant that you might find interesting." Ketis smiled knowingly at Ves. "I know you'd love them. They're quite unique."
"Mmmhmm. It's too bad that Lucky isn't doing so well. The local cuisine seems to trouble him quite a bit."
They turned their attention to a mechanical cat that was splayed flat on the floor.
"Meoww…" Lucky weakly meowed.
His cat looked like he had eaten something abominable and suffered the consequences of it. When Ves initially heard about Lucky's digestion problems, he reacted with worry.
However, now that he saw his cat, he felt his cat deserved what he had brought on himself. Who told him it was a good idea to eat portions of an ancient alien statue?
Ves couldn't actually tell whether Lucky would recover from inspecting his mechanical body. Examining his damaged and repairing body was pointless due to the sheer complexity of his construction. Scans couldn't even penetrate into his internals!
The true reason why Ves put down his worries was because he observed that Lucky was fine from a spiritual angle. Sure, it was showing signs of instability due to the great amount of discomfort Lucky experienced. Yet it was also growing stronger, signifying that the gem cat ultimately benefited considerably from what he had eaten!
In other words, the problem wasn't that Lucky had eaten something bad. In fact, the chunks of metal he ingested were both potent but very difficult to digest, thereby forcing him to direct most of his energy towards processing his difficult meal!
"Meow.. meow.."
Ves bent down to pet Lucky's exterior plating. He closely looked at the glowing rents that were growing smaller day by day. Even without his stomach ache, Lucky wasn't in a shape to play commando cat for at least several weeks.
"So the Misfortune Harness broke?"
"Yes." Ketis said. "The Rising Red Dragon suit you upgraded for me broke as well."
"Did you preserve your helmet?"
"I did. Our clansmen already picked up all of the debris and set them aside."
"That's good. I used very special material to line the Misfortune Harness and your helmet. I don't want to waste any of it. I'll build you a new suit of combat armor when I have time."
"You don't have to worry about that. I know you're busy. I can build my own or settle for one of the standard suits." Ketis brushed the issue aside.
Though she had a point, this battle proved that normal protection didn't cut it anymore for someone as important as her. Not every problem could be solved with mechs.
The Batle of Ulimo Citadel revealed the importance of a strong infantry force to him. Right now, they were something of an afterthought to him, though Major Verle and the various officers under his command already covered this necessity.
As a mech designer, Ves often exhibited a blind spot for combat forces that weren't mechs. Back in the Sand War, he adopted a dismissive attitude towards starfighters, even though they contributed significantly in the defense of the Bright Republic and other states.
In many wars, the confrontations between mechs decided the outcome of a campaign. The infantry battles that ensued mostly consisted of cleanup operations.
That said, the Larkinson Clan was different from a state. Infantry played an elevated role to them. Ves increasingly felt the need to invest specifically in a strong and distinct infantry force. He even felt tempted to design some exclusive infantry gear for his clansmen.
The reason for that was due to another shortcoming exposed by the previous battle.
The Larkinson Clan and especially the Penitent Sisters both possessed a lot of strength against material foes. Yet as soon as his enemies resorted to more esoteric methods such as calling down an artificial anomaly, much of the tech couldn't cope with the spiritual attacks that ensued!
The ghosts the dark sphere summoned were definitely manifestations of spirituality, at least partially. It took his own spiritual efforts as well as the help of the transcendent mech pilots of the Larkinson Clan to defeat the Hallowed Abyss Temple's efforts at Ulimo Citadel!
The rather heavy losses suffered by the Penitent Sisters ill.u. the dangerous result of ignoring threats from this angle.
For this reason, Ves contemplated whether he should set up an additional mech troop dedicated to fighting spiritual threats. With the birth of Lufa, the Angel of Tranquility, Ves had the perfect design spirit to pair with the mechs fielded by this new mech force!
Still, setting up yet another new mech force from scratch wasn't easy. The Larkinson Clan already had its hands full with trying to integrate the Avatars, Sentinels, Battle Criers, Vandals and Swordmaidens.
He also doubted the utility of such a force. Most enemies weren't like the Nyxian pirates, who eagerly consorted with strange cultists who possessed shadowy ties with the Five Scrolls Compact.
Once he returned to civilized space, Ves shouldn't encounter too many weirdos, though he couldn't rule out the possibility entirely.
He decided to set this matter aside and revisit it when he returned to civilized space. Many matters couldn't be done when he was still in the Nyxian Gap.
Ves turned his attention back to the present. After caressing Lucky's tired head one last time, he turned around and approached the fallen statue.
The Larkinsons that came to clean up the site refused to disturb it. The fact that it looked awfully close to the giant alien monster that had almost threatened to wipe everyone out was the biggest reason why no one wanted to touch it. They didn't even have the guts to poke it with a bot!
"Hmm. So this is the source." Ves spoke with an interested expression. "I wonder what it's made of. If it is potent enough to give stomach indigestion, then it's probably valuable!"
Chapter 2324 - Unending Alloy
The statue was tall but quite narrow. It depicted the Unending One in an upright posture with its maw opening up as if to swallow the heavens. Its numerous tentacles stretched out from across his length and curled up in random directions in a chaotic pattern.
The only exception was the base of the statue. Due to the awkward nature of making a statue of a whale-like creature in a vertical posture, the bottom needed some support.
The solution chosen by its original crafters was to cleverly curl some of the tentacles of the dark god into a somewhat flat base. Enough tentacles pooled downwards to provide sufficient support for the statue in any environment subjected to gravity.
Of course, a more elegant way to keep the dark metal statue upright was to cancel gravity entirely in its presence. In fact, the aliens could have integrated such tech in the statue itself.
There must be a reason why it was built in such a primitive fashion. Though he knew nothing about the alien race who originally spawned this work, Ves was sure that they had access to a considerable amount of tech, enough for them to cross the stars.
Yet despite their suspected mastery of advanced technology, they built a statue dedicated to a dark but incredible spiritual entity using nothing but some unknown alloy.
The exact material quickly attracted his attention. Ves studied the scanning results produced when the Larkinsons came and inspected the shrine. Though there was only so much the scanners could figure out at a distance, he already became impressed by some of its physical properties.
The alloy was very dense but also very hard.
"If these scans are correct, we might be looking at a material that rivals first-class alloys!"
First-class! Ves truly wasn't kidding about the material's remarkable defensive properties. Whatever the statue was made of, it could probably shrug off attacks from the Penitent Sister mechs with ease! Not even the Judgement Lasers made by the Allidus Alliance should be able to cause it to melt unless they fired at it for an extended period of time!
Ves became so fascinated by the exceptional properties of this great material that he approached the fallen statue and touched the surface of one of its tentacles.
"Hey, wait, Ves!" Ketis cried in alarm. "That thing is dangerous! It's the source of everything that went wrong during the battle!"
"It's fine. This statue is completely devoid of energy." He spoke without any hint of concern in his voice. "Whatever energy or entity it used to contain is no longer there. Didn't you describe it releasing a lot of darkness at once? There shouldn't be any trace of the so-called Unending One left."
While Ketis and other people found the statue to be spooky and developed a taboo around it, Ves was different.
With his spiritual senses, he already confirmed that there weren't any traces of darkness or dark gods left inside the statue. Aside from matching the appearance of the giant avatar of the Unending One, there was nothing lurking within its depths anymore.
It was completely inert!
"Hmmm.. since it used to store a lot of energy responsible for producing the artificial anomaly, then…"
He decided to act on a hunch and inserted a small amount of his spiritual energy inside.
It worked!
The energy smoothly entered the statue as if Ves had thrown a drop of water in a bathtub. The fallen statue was not only a repository for spiritual energy, but apparently its capacity is far greater than he had imagined!
"This!" Ves became so shocked that he pressed his hand against the cold and dense metal even harder. "It has the same properties as a P-stone!"
Unlike the varied rocks he collected over a couple of years, the statue of the Unending One was different! It was made out of a single, uniform metallic alloy.
One of the biggest shortcomings of P-stones was that it was just as easy to damage and break as regular rocks. This was why he never thought about incorporating them into any mechs or other gear.
This was different. As long as he could repurpose the material of this alien statue into other shapes, he could build all kinds of powerful machines and devices with it! Breyer alloy was simply trash compared to this Unending alloy!
He completely ignored the taboo of affronting a dark god as he lovingly caressed the disturbingly-cold surface of the dark tentacles of the statue.
To him, this despoiled statue was not a frightening representation of an ancient eldritch horror that lurked in the depths of the Nyxian Gap. Instead, he viewed it as an exceptionally valuable block of materials that he could use to create some of the gear and machines of his dreams!
If he could cut off a few of the dark tentacles and shape them into armor plating, he could build some exceptional suits of combat armor for Nitaa, Ketis and himself. He could even use some of the scraps to build a tougher and more versatile version of the Misfortune Harness for Lucky!
Ves took a few steps back and observed the grand size of the statue. Its size was similar to that of the statue of the Superior Mother. However, due to its aquatic shape, its thickness and overall volume was actually larger.
According to the data derived from the scans, the statue was completely solid from top to bottom. This meant that the whale and all of its tentacles actually provided enough material to build an entire mech as well as plenty of infantry gear to spare!
The utility of all this Unending alloy was two-fold. It resisted a lot of damage, and it was capable of storing an enormous amount of spiritual energy.
If a material possessed just one of these properties, Ves would already be pleased. Yet to stumble upon so much Unending alloy that carried both properties at once was a massive, unexpected windfall to Ves!
Gaining this enormous statue was worth every single loss the Larkinson Clan sustained during the Battle of Ulimo Citadel!
As long as he processed the Unending alloy into powerful new works, the clan had the potential to rise to greater heights with greater ease than before.
"This is the perfect material to build an expert mech with!" He grinned!
What if he used the bulk of the Unending alloy in the expert mech revision of the Shield of Samar? Such a mech would turn into a true defensive bulwark!
Though Ves wasn't quite sure yet how to integrate the spiritual energy storage property with the resonance abilities of expert mechs, he had a hunch that it might be able to amplify Venerable Jannzi's barrier generation abilities.
One of the strengths of Jannzi's abilities that the defensive barriers she could project could cover more than just her mech. During her breakthrough, she already displayed the potential to project a barrier that was large enough to cover the Scarlet Rose and several mech companies!
Yet the downside to covering such a vast area was that the energy expenditure was immense! No matter how potent force of will could be, it was still finite!
If Jannzi piloted a Shield of Samar that incorporated a lot of Unending alloy, then she might be able to store a lot of energy into it. It was similar to how Ves dumped the excess spiritual energy produced by his Grand Dynamo into his P-stones.
An even better possibility would be if Qilanxo could store her spiritual energy into the mech!
Since a mech made out of Unending alloy was basically a giant, damage-resistant P-stone, either Jannzi or Qilanxo or both could slowly insert their energy into it. The longer they deposited their energy savings into the Shield of Samar, the greater the protection it could offer in any battle!
With these formidable capabilities, such an expert mech would definitely rival or exceed the top expert mechs developed by the Masters of the Friday Coalition and the Hexadric Hegemony!
In fact, this was just one of the potential uses that Ves had cooked up in his mind.
Another option that sounded just as compelling was to reserve the Unending alloy to build Joshua's future expert mech!
Though Ves had made no choices at all on the vision and design concept of Joshua's expert mech, the importance of this machine was greater than any other expert mech, the Shield of Samar included.
This was because Joshua's force of will centered around life, and happened to match his own spiritual attributes with perfect compatibility!
Joshua was perhaps the most ideal mech pilot that could ever pilot his mechs. With such exceptional compatibility and synergy between the mech pilot and the mech designer, how could Ves not exploit this favorable condition to the fullest?
Whatever resonance abilities Joshua eventually developed, Ves was pretty sure that he could design and fabricate an expert mech that contained much more life than any of the mechs he designed before. Not even his Devil Tiger, which was arguably his greatest design to date, would be able to equal the machine he eventually intended to pair with his most compatible mech pilot!
Ves heaved more and more as a lot of great and promising design ideas flitted through his mind. The Unending alloy was practically made to realize his expert mech design ambitions!
For a moment, he became exceptionally greedy for more of these ancient statues. How many of them did the Hallowed Abyss Temple excavate from the alien ruins of the Nyxian Gap?
Considering that this exceptionally valuable statue was casually placed in a mere shrine in the inner periphery of the Nyxian Gap, it shouldn't be rare or valuable to the cultists.
What if the Hallowed Abyss Temple possessed hundreds of statues? What if they were spread in numerous other pirate bases?
Ves felt tempted to cancel all of his current plans and keep hitting pirate bases that hosted similar shrines. Even if he lost a couple of hundred more mech pilots, obtaining yet another statue of a dark god was worth the tradeoff!
"I can't!" He suddenly reminded himself.
His logic asserted itself. It was all well and good to make such a tradeoff, but Task Force Predator couldn't sustain so many losses. Their current strength had already dipped below a level he felt comfortable with. Attacking formidable pirate bases such as Frostbite Fortress would likely doom the entire task force entirely, especially when the Grey Watchers stationed at those shrines conducted destructive rituals!
Aside from this risk, Ves had an even greater reason why he couldn't afford to chase after more statues of the dark gods.
He needed to return in time to catch his own wedding!
This reason alone was enough for him to shelve his ambitious plans to collect enough Unending alloy to build a mech company's worth of expert mechs.
"I'm being too greedy." He shook his head.
It pained him quite a bit to let go of this opportunity to obtain more of this fantastic material. With its two vital properties, Unending alloy was perhaps the best and most suitable material for him to build his mechs with. The mech designer within him raged at the enormous opportunity he was missing, but the other parts of him feared how badly Gloriana would react if he casually asked to postpone their wedding for a couple of years.
To Ves, pissing off Gloriana was a far more frightening outcome than pissing off all of the dark gods in the Nyxian Gap!
"Okay, forget about it. I should be happy with what I've gotten."
After he calmed himself down, he ordered the statue to be taken away. Its size and density made it rather difficult to take it away. The extensive problems the transportation crew experienced reminded Ves of a very important detail.
"Wait, if all of this Unending alloy is so resistant to damage, how can I extract it from the statue?"
He doubted that any of the industrial machines in his fleet could process such a hardy material. Perhaps not even the formidable production equipment of his upcoming factory ship was capable of working with such a powerful first-class alloy!
"Do I have to get Lucky to bite the statue into pieces in order to work with the material?"
"Meoww…."
Chapter 2325 - Shortcomings
The jubilation he felt at obtaining a huge amount of newly-discovered Unending alloy didn't last long. After he picked up Lucky and left the shrine, Ves visited a vault that presumably stored the Grand Protector's most valuable possessions.
The old man collected a lot of trophies and interesting materials over the years. Much of the random scraps of medium and high-grade exotics could be used to build higher-performing mechs, though their low individual quantities made it difficult to do so. If nothing else, Ves could trade them for other strategic materials that weren't easily available.
Yet of all of the valuables contained in the small vault, Ves hadn't seen hide or hair of any B-stones!
"Where did the Grand Protector store all of his B-stone?! I thought that Ulimo Citadel was supposed to sit on top of an entire deposit of this material!"
"Uhm, sir, we found the material you were looking for in the Grand Protector's personal estate. The properties match the parameters that you have specified."
"Take me there!"
They moved to a small palace built closer to the center of Ulimo Citadel. A lot of effort had been put into planting gardens and adding opulent decorations.
Ves wasn't interested in these useless aesthetics. He stormed through the front gates and followed his guide to the master bedroom of the mansion.
He soon came face to face with the biggest concentration of B-stone he had ever seen.
"It's.. a bed?"
The king-sized bed certainly looked comfortable. The thick, soft pillows and smooth, gentle fabric didn't appear to be made in a rotten place like the Nyxian Gap. Ves was sure that the Grand Protector managed to import it from civilized space.
"Tear it all out."
Some of his bodyguards stepped forward to rip away the soft pillows, the exquisitely bouncy mattress and other useless frills. Only the structure remained after a few seconds.
Ves approached and touched the surface of the bare bed frame. He experimentally channeled some of his spiritual energy, only to encounter strong resistance.
"Finally!"
Though his men hadn't found any B-stone mines or containers filled with the spiritually-reactive material, at least he still obtained some.
He felt a bit disappointed at the quantity. Though he should ordinarily celebrate obtaining this much B-stone, after encountering the mech-sized statue of the Unending One, a mere bed frame's worth of B-stone looked inconsequential.
"Then again, I didn't necessarily set out to build a mech out of B-stone." He reminded himself.
Unending alloy was as hard and tough as the materials used to build first-class mechs. It might not rank among the top, but it was definitely within that range.
As for B-stone.. Ketis could probably chop the bed in half swing a single swing of her cutlass.
The sorry remains of Lucky's Misfortune Harness was a clear example of how little physical protection B-stone offered.
Therefore, B-stone could never be used as the main material for a mech or protective gear. He needed to layer it with another material with stronger protective properties.
Fortunately, he had just gotten his hands on a material that was even better than Breyer alloy!
Yet.. Ves didn't think it was so simple to layer B-stone and Unending alloy together. Each of them provided him with different advantages, but the problem was that their effects might not be compatible with each other!
B-stone blocked and interfered with the operation of spiritual energy. Ves was forced to apply a very thin layer of this material to the Misfortune Harness because Lucky wouldn't be able to turn intangible with too much interference.
Unending alloy possessed different properties. It was not only capable of storing spiritual energy, but was also able to channel it! As long as Ves experimented further with this material, he might be able to create more sophisticated applications with this wondrous alloy.
How could he make any half-mechanical, half-spiritual device he created with Unending alloy retain its power in the presence of B-stone?
Ves feared the two conflicting materials might cancel each other out! This was anti-synergy and something he least wanted to see!
"Maybe I can't have my cake and eat it too." He thoughtfully muttered.
On one hand, Ves wanted to build a suit of armor for himself that could protect him against spiritual attacks and other shenanigans of this nature.
On the other hand, Ves wanted to build a suit of armor that protected him from lots of physical damage and allowed him to channel his spiritual tricks and abilities with greater effectiveness!
It would have been great if he could combine both desires into a single piece of equipment. He didn't think it would work, though. He intuitively guessed that combining both materials in a single piece of equipment couldn't be done unless he processed the materials to a much more extensive degree.
Ves didn't specialize in materials science and metallurgy, but he possessed a lot of knowledge about it. Yet despite obtaining all of that System-exchanged know-how, he was completely stumped when it came to figuring the essence of spiritually-reactive materials.
Whether it was P-stones, B-stones or the newly-discovered Unending alloy, Ves didn't have a single clue why these materials interacted with spirituality. They didn't seem to share anything in common.
"There has to be an underlying reason why they are different."
He realized that his understanding of spiritually-reactive materials was quite shallow compared to his knowledge of regular exotics.
It couldn't be helped. He was a mech designer first and foremost. Without any prior instruction, he was only able to blunder his way through spiritual sorcery.
While it was easy for him to figure out some simple properties, he was unable to go any deeper due to his insufficient theoretical foundation.
This was not something he was good at or particularly interested in studying. It would have been best if he could set up a materials research group that solely put all of its energy into researching P-stones, B-stones and so on. Ves shouldn't do anything but reap the fruits of its accomplishments.
Still, setting up such a remarkable research group was very difficult. The main reason for that was that at least some of the researchers had to be spiritually adept!
Where was he supposed to hire such people? Of course, he could do it, but that would take away valuable time he could have spent on designing mechs.
Perhaps the only people who were eligible to join this research group were the members of the Five Scrolls Compact!
As far as he knew, many powerful members of the Compact were passionate researchers, and many of them dabbled in spirituality.
The thought of poaching some of the Compact's researchers instantly caused his heart to freeze.
Those mad scientists were dangerous! Each and every Compact researcher he had met were completely obsessed with their work to the point where they disregarded every ethical boundary!
There was no way Ves could hire or work alongside those extremists!
"Why can't these people be more normal like me?" He lamented.
Considering the extreme danger of hiring those kinds of people to staff a potential materials research group, Ves firmly shelved this plan in the depths of his mind. It joined the pile of thousands of other abandoned and neglected ideas.
"Why am I forming so many expansion ideas lately?" He frowned.
While some bots entered to carefully box in and transport the B-stone bed frame back to the Scarlet Rose, Ves began to take stock of himself.
He thought back on all of his recent thoughts. Aside from feeling happy about his material gains, he also experienced several significant shortcomings that hampered his ability to achieve his goals.
Whether it was lacking a mech force that was equipped to fight against spiritual threats or being unable to make better use of spiritually-reactive materials, Ves was awfully short in help in many areas.
"The Larkinson Clan is too small." He sighed.
In truth, it had grown astronomically in just a year. It was just that most of its growth was biased towards the mech forces and other essential services. Not even the Larkinson Biotech Institute was sufficiently staffed. He wouldn't have been so eager to travel to the Life Research Association if that wasn't the case.
It used to be that Ves was already happy if his clan was able to field mechs and keep the LMC profitable.
Over time, Ves gradually desired more. He wanted to acquire more biotech researchers. He wanted to hire more materials scientists. What was next? Ship builders? Mech component developers?
It felt as if he gradually wanted to expand the scope of the Larkinson Clan.
In the beginning, it made sense to focus solely on selling mechs and piloting mechs. The original Larkinsons were good at piloting mechs, while Ves took care of the clan's main source of revenue by designing mechs that the LMC could sell for a tidy profit.
The justification to set up the branches wasn't as clear. The Larkinsons didn't possess a foundation in anything else. While adopting talented outsiders into the clan partially addressed this shortcoming, it still didn't change the fact that his clan wasn't set up to undergo so many activities.
Ves believed in the strength of specialization. It was why the Life Research Association could grow into a formidable second-rate state in Majestic Teal. Its research and applications into biotech conveyed the institute-turned-state a powerful competitive advantage which it leveraged to trade for other essentials.
He faintly felt that his Larkinson Clan might be following the growth trajectory of the LRA.
"Are we evolving into a state?"
He felt a bit mixed about this direction. While he wanted his clan to become self-sufficient, he didn't want his clan to get bogged down by too many responsibilities. The problem was that adding more responsibilities was inevitable if he wanted to grow stronger.
"Well, this is not an immediate issue." He shrugged.
Ves checked his itinerary and found that he had seen all there was to see at Ulimo. He quietly departed the pirate base and returned to Scarlet Rose.
Once he reached his ship, he headed straight to the isolated chamber and activated the Darkbreak module. He decided to call Master Willix.
"Hello, Ves." The Master Mech Designer's physical projection appeared as soon as she accepted the call. "I have been waiting to hear more details about your successful assault."
"Ah, my people have just finished sorting out what happened during the near-disaster. A lot of confusing stuff happened and much of our logs and data don't make any sense. Forgive us for not providing you with clear recordings and telemetry during the latter half of the battle."
He waved his hand, transferring one of the files he had just obtained from Major Verle.
The Darkbreak module almost instantly transferred the large data package to Master Willix at Centerpoint. She rapidly opened the package and rapidly skimmed over some of the doc. and footage with her implant.
She quickly frowned and threw a disapproving stare at him. "I see what you mean."
Ves spread his hands. "These Nyxian pirates have become more and more outrageous with each passing day. Not only did the Dry Snakes employ a lot of taboo weapons, they also manipulated the unstable fabric of spacetime of the Nyxian Gap."
He expressly avoided any mention of gods, spirituality, psionic power or anything else outside the norm. He even brushed aside Venerable Jannzi's amazing breakthrough.
The sanitized footage, reports and logs he sent to Master Willix and the MTA shouldn't possess any incriminating material!
He didn't even want to put on his stupid hat to rant about gods. Talking about the Unending One was very dangerous due to the dark god's apparent connection to the Five Scrolls Compact.
There was something very dangerous about the Hallowed Abyss Temple! How were the Grey Watchers able to evoke great rituals and even absorb some of the dark energy themselves?
Random people could never accomplish these mind-boggling feats! The Five Scrolls Compact definitely had a hand in these developments.
Ves didn't want to get involved in this huge conspiracy at this time!
Chapter 2326 - The Power of Love
The data you have sent is quite.. illuminating." Master Willix slowly drawled as half of her concentration was probably focused on reviewing the footage and doc. through her high-performance cranial implant. "It is frustratingly incomplete. The footage of the most interesting parts of the battle are quite conspicuously absent. The interviews and written after-action reports of the mech pilots involved in the battle provide no actual clarity either."
Ves innocently shrugged. "I'm just a mech designer, and our task force is occupied entirely by mech pilots, ship crew and other related personnel. What do you expect from us? Our chief engineers barely know how FTL drives. We can't even begin to decipher how pirates messed with strange higher-dimensional physics. We searched the pirate base extensively after it has fallen and none of the pirate tech we've stumbled upon possesses the capability to warp the material dimensions to this extent."
Master Willix did not look amused. Her white lab coat shifted as she tapped her forearm while staring at him as if she wanted to peer into his soul.
It was too bad that Ves truly told her truth. Nothing he said was a lie.
"Can you explain in your own words your interpretation of the events that ensued after Ulimo Citadel became surrounded by this artificially-induced anomaly?"
"Well, we all felt really bad. Everyone could sense that there was something fundamentally wrong about it. The dark fog has a strong isolating effect so none of us knew what was going on. It took a lot of trouble to beat it back."
"Hmmm… there is an interesting detail in your data. You and your Larkinsons state that you have eventually beaten back these abnormal phenomena by relying on your expert candidates and newly-gained expert pilot. While your Larkinson Clan is blessed with the presence of exceptional mech pilots, I note that your ship, the Scarlet Rose, did not carry any of the sort when venturing into the anomaly. What gave you the confidence that your ship and the mechs you have brought with you would resist the anomaly?"
Oh, damn. Master Willix wasn't willing to let this interesting detail pass without further comment. It seemed that Ves couldn't avoid putting on his crazy hat after all. Here goes another session of spewing nonsense.
"Faith."
"..Pardon?"
"Faith." Ves offered Willix's physical projection a mild but confident smile. "As you are no doubt aware of, our clan has adopted many interesting people with remarkable abilities. James Ylvaine, the Living Prophet, has been my guide and counselor in all matters regarding faith. As the founder of a faith and a reborn prophet, he is intimately more qualified to tackle the unknowable and unfathomable. He has been of remarkable assistance in advising us how to rely on our faith to shield us from the horrors of the Nyxian Gap. Though we are small in comparison to the anomaly, we managed to hold it off for a time."
"That sounds.. remarkable."
"If you wish, I can request the Living Prophet to detail his own experiences." Ves magnanimous offered. "I highly advise you to hear him out via a recording, though I'm sure he can write down his thoughts if you prefer that instead. If you would rather interview him directly, I can call him over to the Scarlet Rose immediately. It will probably take thirty minutes or so for him to arrive."
"That won't be necessary, Mr. Larkinson. We prefer to work with solid data rather than subjective interpretation. It is a pity that your sh.i.p.s aren't better equipped."
"We are in the process of obtaining some better sh.i.p.s, but even if we had some, it isn't a good idea to bring capital sh.i.p.s into the Nyxian Gaps. Navigating around the asteroids is hellish and such a huge ship is too slow and c. to get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time."
The Master lifted a finger, causing some projections of some very strange-looking sh.i.p.s to appear into view. Ves immediately noticed that many of these starsh.i.p.s were medium-sized but boasted a lot of advanced sensor arrays across their hulls.
"I am aware that you are in the process of building up your fleet." She spoke. "I highly advise you to invest in a serious science or exploration vessel. These types of sh.i.p.s are specialized in studying unknown phenomena and unknown satellites. If you had such a vessel in your fleet, you wouldn't have ended up with so little usable data."
"These sh.i.p.s don't seem to fit my budget, ma'am. We are looking to acquire other important vessels first. Buying a fleet carrier and an ark ship doesn't come cheap, especially if they have to be robust and durable enough to survive the Red Ocean. Aside from that, our clan must invest in the design and production of one or several expert mechs."
The Master Mech Designer shook her head at him in disappointment.
"A good science vessel can save your life in a way a fleet carrier can never achieve. Don't underestimate the importance of investing in good sensors and scanners and the hardware required to interpret their data. There are spatial anomalies and other natural or induced phenomena in space. Being able to peer through the fog and comprehend the truth of what is taking place will allow you to save your entire fleet one day. If that is not enough, the powerful scanners of a dedicated science ship are also extremely effective at detecting hostile stealth units."
Ves perked up a bit when he heard that last sentence. Guarding against stealthed vehicles and mechs had always been one of his persistent fears. He had suffered several times at the hands of undetectable enemies.
Even so, that still didn't cause him to change his list of priorities. The chances of encountering stealthed opponents and strange phenomena in space were fairly low, especially if his expeditionary fleet kept a low profile and solely traveled along normal trade routes.
What happened during the previous battle was an exception because Ves wouldn't normally bring a fleet to a place as dangerous as the Nyxian Gap.
This was definitely going to be his last adventure for a while. He witnessed so much excitement and collected so many new insights that he was ready to return to a calmer, more regular life. The inspiration he gained was so much that he could spend years on applying it all on his upcoming mech designs.
"Our clan will consider acquiring such a ship when our more immediate necessities have been met." Ves vaguely promised.
"Be sure to obtain it before or shortly after you enter the Red Ocean." She advised him. "You have not traveled to a lot of areas where there are high concentrations of energetic exotics. Some of what you have experienced in the Nyxian Gap also applies to normal space. I can tell you that the Red Ocean is not entirely safe, especially when it comes to FTL travel. Phasewater is a material that intrinsically affects FTL drives, so when a star system has a large quantity of deposits, you can encounter some very abnormal conditions."
She had a good point. While it would doubtlessly take a lot of time to reach the Red Ocean, he did not want to be caught with his pants down later on. Ves knew that the Red Ocean not only contained a lot of phasewater, but plenty of other high-grade exotics.
The two continued their discussion on some other matters. Master Willix eventually mentioned the other topic that Ves was least willing to talk about.
"Venerable Jannzi Larkinson's breakthrough is by all accounts exceptional. As you are someone who has grown up in a military family, you are doubtlessly aware of what happens when expert candidates exceed their limits."
Ves reluctantly nodded. "Compared to how Venerable Ghanso and Venerable Ark of my family has advanced to their current rank, Venerable Jannzi's breakthrough was a lot more dramatic."
"Unity of Man and Machine." Master Willix sighed as her eyes softened up a little. "Do you know how rare it is to witness such a grand spectacle related to mechs? I truly wished I would have been there with you when it happened. The footage and dreadful descriptions of your mech pilots do not do justice of the majesty of perfect resonance. In fact, it should have been incredibly unlikely for this to occur. Much better mech designers and mech pilots have tried to reach this legendary state, but failed."
If Master Willix wanted to expose a flaw in his story, then sorry, Ves had already prepared his response.
"Those mech designers and mech pilots are different from us." He stated. "My mechs are alive. They are not soulless machines that act as tools or extensions of their mech pilots. They are living partners to mech pilots, and they can make their own choices! From the moment Jannzi first advanced to expert candidate, she has completely dedicated herself to piloting the Shield of Samar. She has forged a bond with her with her personal mech, and her mech is completely tuned to her presence. Don't forget that the Shield of Samar is still the same mech she piloted when she broke through the first time. By remaining loyal to her mech, her mech has progressed as well!"
Though Ves mainly spoke all of this in order to get Master Willix off his back, he truly believed what he said. The experiences that mech pilots shared with their mechs did not enrich just one of them. Instead, Ves boldly believed that mechs could advance as well!
The Ouroboros piloted by General Axelar Streon already provided him with a hint of what Venerable Jannzi might attain in the future. She followed the same path as the Terran ace pilot!
Master Willix asked some more questions, and Ves did his best to answer with his true views while at the same time coming across as obtuse as possible.
Even though a Master Mech Designer possessed a much greater understanding of mechs than Ves, there were areas where even she became stumped!
By bringing up vague concepts such as emotional bonds, intangible progression and mechs with life, Ves ensured that he conveyed the least amount of usable information!
Ves grinned inwardly as he eagerly relegated his eclectic views on mech pilots and mechs.
"The definition of perfect resonance is when a mech pilot achieves total alignment with their mechs. Doesn't that mean it is a given that Jannzi was able to achieve this state? Even if it was just a moment, her incredible accomplishment proves that my design philosophy has a compelling advantage in this area! Mechs are alive, and they have feelings. They are able to love and hate their mech pilots as well as any other life."
"Are you being literal?"
"Of course!" Ves spread his arms. "Don't you realize it? Unity between Man and Machine isn't as mysterious as you think. As long as you consider the 'Machine' portion as alive, sentient and capable of feeling emotions, then the relationship becomes much more simpler. The two of them are in love! Love is one of the strongest emotions in existence, and it is through the power of love that Venerable Jannzi and the Shield of Samar has achieved the greatest possible resonance!"
"The power of love." Master Willix flat repeated. "This is not an action drama, Ves. We are talking about real events."
"You don't get it, Master! The power of love is real, and it is one of the greatest ways to empower mechs. How can mech designers possibly design the strongest mechs when they never impart the capacity to feel love to their work? It's a travesty! They are crippling their products, depriving both the mechs and their mech pilots the opportunity to develop a power that transcends what is possible!"
It was safe to say that Master Willix did not pursue this topic much further. Love was very subjective and couldn't be quantified at all!
Chapter 2327 - Happy Gains
Ves felt as if he was becoming more and more adept at misdirection.
Each time he had to explain himself to Master Willix, he resorted to increasingly more foolproof methods of distorting the truth.
Before, he might have resorted a lot more to outright lying. However, doing so always exposed some loopholes. Perhaps the known facts might contradict his statements. Perhaps other people claimed the opposite. Whatever the case, Ves gradually realized that lying about the truth was actually the worst form of misdirection.
Ves was fairly confident that he could cheat most forms of lie detection by donning a mask. However, he always felt that Master Willix never quite bought his bold-faced lies. No matter how much he controlled his intonation, passion and micro-expressions, he couldn't close all of the loopholes by adjusting his own behavior.
Lying through omission was the next level of misdirection. By simply avoiding mention of what he didn't want to say, he conveniently escaped the need to say anything sensitive that he would rather keep under wraps.
Of course, the challenge with this more effective method was that he had to distract his audience.
In this, Ves discovered that emulating James was the best way to confound the likes of Master Willix!
There was an art to saying the truth but avoiding anything relevant. Ves gradually realized that the key to pulling it off was by presenting certain statements that inevitably led to a dead end!
No matter how much his audience wanted to follow through, the topic that Ves had steered towards ended straight into a wall!
Ves shamelessly copied the Living Prophet's verbal methods. He hoped that Master Willix experienced the same kind of frustration and lack of clarity that he often felt when he talked to the clone!
It worked.
He laughed himself stupid inside his mind as he confounded the incredibly intelligent and experienced Master Mech Designer.
The best part of it all was that Ves truly spoke from his heart! Though he deliberately exaggerated his views, he really did believe in the power of love!
As a passionate mech designer, Ves deeply valued emotion. Philosophically, he believed that sentient life distinguished itself from non-sentient life by feeling emotions.
Could AIs feel love? Everyone agreed that they did not, because no authority figure in this field believed that AIs could 'feel' anything.
Sure, they were able to simulate the behavior of someone who felt emotions. Yet no matter how closely these AIs passed themselves off as the genuine products, in the end they lacked the most essential quality that turned falsehood into reality.
This was what made his design philosophy so perplexing and infuriating to rational mech designers such as Master Willix.
Ves very much explicitly designed his mechs with the premise that they were alive. Not only that, they were also sentient.
As a result, they could feel emotions.
A few months ago, he actually possessed slightly different views on this topic. He emphasized his design spirits so much in his latter mech designs that he unconsciously began to equate them as the 'life' of his mech designs!
This was the wrong interpretation. What happened during the Battle of Ulimo Citadel opened his eyes to the factors he had gradually neglected.
When the artificial anomaly dampened the presence of Qilanxo, Jannzi and the Shield of Samar were able to break through on their own. The former expert candidate did not rely on any external help other than her mech to undergo apotheosis!
Her breakthrough revealed to him that the most important life in mechs was not their design spirit, but their intrinsic individuality!
This was a quality that could not be taken from mechs unless they died. Though it wasn't as strong and flashy as a design spirit, the intrinsic life of mechs bonded to their mech pilots to a much more personal degree.
Aside from a few noticeable exceptions, most of his design spirits were connected to many mech pilots. How could the Solemn Guardian ever develop an intimate personal relationship with any mech pilot when there were millions of Desolate Soldiers in use? Any design spirit that ended up in such a situation would inevitably adopt a more uniform approach.
This was what made his design spirit-empowered mechs so potent. Their strong and identical auras were perfect for aligning the thoughts of many mech pilots. The glows effectively forced other mech pilots in their influence to become more aligned.
Such an effect was of great value in large conflicts.
In the Sand War, his Desolate Soldier encouraged many mech pilots and starfighter pilots to do their duty.
He never put that much emphasis on developing the customers of his Soldier product line. Who cared about maximizing the potential of individual mech pilots when the sandmen were slaughtering trillions of innocent people?
In those dark and desperate days, many states already experienced a lot of trouble in keeping as many of their mech pilots involved as possible. Though his Soldier product line robbed many mech pilots of their own thoughts, they at least persisted longer in battle!
As for the Komodo War, the Blessed Squire already showed amazing potential at energizing the Hex Army.
One of the traits that most mech militaries emphasized was esprit de corps. The Hex Army heavily emphasized uniformity in the mechs and gear its soldiers utilized. That same focus also extended to its martial culture.
Therefore, the introduction of a mech that effectively strengthened the esprit de corps fell exactly in line with what the Hexers wanted! The greater their unity, the higher their morale in battle!
Arguably, uniformity was also a boon to the Larkinson Clan. The existence of the Golden Cat played a central role in uniting tens of thousands of adopted Larkinsons to a common cause. Brighters, Ylvainans, Reinaldans, Sentinel commoners and many more people all united under the influence of the Larkinson Network and the Bright Warriors.
This was why he did not believe he had made a mistake in venturing too much in this direction. The innovations he realized and the applications he developed would remain relevant and useful throughout the remainder of his career.
He just thought that the essence of his design philosophy lay in a different direction.
It was never his intention to design a mech that forced everyone to think and feel the same way. That was a distortion of life, not a celebration of life. It did not entirely fall in line with his dreams and ambitions.
Even though the Bright Warrior was superior to the Shield of Samar in almost any way, Ves viewed the latter as a greater success.
The Shield of Samar caused him to move closer to accomplishing his goals.
Recognizing this essential truth was the key to breaking his obsession with design spirits. No matter how much he tried to develop them, they did not actually bring more life to his mechs. This must also be the reason why the System never gave him any higher marks on the X-Factor of his mechs.
In any case, Ves felt more and more impatient to return to his ongoing mech projects. He wanted to correct his mistake and reorient his ongoing mech designs as much as possible!
He became increasingly more impatient to end his discussion with Master Willix. While many other mech designers in his shoes would have scolded him for disrespecting a great authority in mech design, Ves was a firm believer in himself.
"Let's move to the reward that you are entitled to receive from us." Master Willix eventually spoke, immediately causing Ves to snap to full attention. "During this time, we have extensively analyzed and processed all of the evidence you have supplied about the prohibited weapons you have encountered at Ulimo Citadel. We have confirmed that all of it is authentic, though lacking in detail in many cases. You need to invest in better sensors, Mr. Larkinsons."
"It's on the list."
Willix eyed him with a stern expression. "Regardless, we have already calculated the bounties for destroying these reprehensible weapons and applied a multiplier to the final figure as promised. Your final reward amounts to 9,431,564 MTA merits."
9,431,564 MTA merits.
Not credits. Merits.
Ves let out a deep breath.
A huge amount of elation burst from his body!
"Thank you, ma'am! It is a pleasure to be of service to the great Mech Trade Association! Though we have made a painful sacrifice to remove a blight from existence, our mech pilots have not died in vain!"
His excitement only dropped a bit when he realized he still needed to subtract 2,250,000 MTA merits from his gains. He paid 2 million MTA merits to receive a temporary dispensation to make use of taboo weapons and he also gave up 250,000 MTA merits to provide amnesty to the Xona Stalkers.
In ordinary times, giving away so much merits was unthinkable! If Ves wasn't so confident that he would be able to gain a lot more merits after paying this hefty price, he wouldn't have resorted to such extremes!
Ves was very much aware that this was just a one-time deal. The latest developments in the Nyxian Gap truly infuriated the MTA, and Ves just happened to be in a position to enact the Association's will.
There was no way that Ves would be able to gain permission to use superweapons in subsequent battles! Let alone 2 million MTA merits, not even 100 million MTA merits was worth it for the Association to look the other way! This was because making such weapons in ordinary conflicts would definitely impact the stability of human space!
In any case, now that the MTA finally lived up to its promise and awarded him a spectacular amount of merits, Ves let down all of his worries.
"Is there anything else, ma'am?" He impatiently asked.
"Before you go, I would like to address one more topic with you. Now that your Larkinson Clan has welcomed its first expert pilot, you will have to obtain an expert mech. This is a machine that neither you nor Miss Wodin can deliver by yourselves. Have you considered how to solve this problem?"
"My partner should be in the process of soliciting others to collaborate on an expert mech design project." Ves perfunctory answered.
"I am aware of her efforts. It is not so easy to gain the cooperation of a Master, especially with the conditions that she has raised."
Ves narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Are you…"
"Don't think about it. I am not at your beck and call." She immediately replied. "That said, it may be possible to invite other Masters to help the two of you design a proper expert mech. Your new gains can play a major role in attracting their attention."
"This.. I'm not sure. The merits we've earned are very precious."
"Different Masters demand different remuneration." She said. "Their time and expertise are very precious. It is up to you and your partner to determine how much or how little assistance you require. I advise you not to cling too tightly to your merits. Their worth is great and hardly any Master Mech Designer will say no to an opportunity to earn them in exchange for being open for consultation. The best benefit is that you don't have to restrict yourself to Hexers. Masters throughout the entire galaxy are willing to assist or mentor you as long as you pay the right price."
Ves widened his eyes. She was right! He had forgotten the fact that while many lesser mech designers were limited to operating in a limited galactic region, Masters did not suffer from this limitation.
There was no real reason from stopping them getting involved in design projects on the other side of the galaxy or in a different one entirely!
While the number of Masters in the Komodo Star Sector was rather respectable, how many of them were compatible with the Shield of Samar?
If he expanded his search to every Master Mech Designer in the galaxy, he would surely be able to find someone with a fantastic complimentary design philosophy that was willing to contribute to the next evolution of the Shield of Samar!
Chapter 2328 - Growth or Legacy
MTA merits were incredibly valuable. Just because Ves earned around 7 million MTA merits after extracting his costs did not mean they were easy to earn.
In fact, Ulimo Citadel possessed the power to wipe out much stronger fleets. The main reason why the Larkinson Clan escaped calamity was because of two reasons.
First, the Larkinsons that infiltrated Ulimo Citadel interrupted the ritual from within.
Second, Jannzi broke through to expert pilot to such a violent degree that she was able to punch vastly above her weight!
How many other forces could replicate these exceptional circ. ? Almost none! Perhaps only a fleet presided over by an ace pilot might have a decent shot, but why would anyone venture into a forbidden place like the Nyxian Gap?
Therefore, even if the Big Two promised to double the merit rewards for certain actions in the Nyxian Gap, anyone who thought they could replicate the Larkinson Clan's feats would be in for a rude surprise!
Well, it was none of his business what other people hungry for merits chose to do. Ves wouldn't go out of his way to publicize all of the dangers of these doom seekers might encounter.
After ending his call with Master Willix, Ves returned to his office and thought about whether he should do as she suggested.
It wasn't unusual for mech designers to request the assistance of someone more experienced or capable. Sometimes, they needed to design a mech but lacked the capabilities to do it on their own. There was nothing shameful about asking for help, and there were even ways to keep that a secret.
Even so, neither Ves nor Gloriana possessed sufficient good relations with any Masters to get them to move out of friendship or generosity. Only cold, hard benefits would convince them to set aside a portion of their very busy schedules to assist some young and inexperienced juniors.
"How many merits does it cost?" He wondered.
He activated his desk terminal and performed some quick searches through the galactic net. It turned out that the price heavily depended on the extent of help and the reputation of the specific Master.
The old monsters who were born in the first centuries of the Age of Mechs rarely paid attention to this activity. It was usually the younger and fresher Masters who engaged in this kind of trade.
Apparently, when mech designers broke through to Master, they needed to expand their scope and knowledge quickly. Acquiring all of this was very costly, especially when they wanted to learn from their fellow Masters.
Spending a portion of their time on helping some younger mech designers in their design projects was a very convenient way to earn a lot of merits. These Masters hardly needed to spend much time and effort to line their pockets.
"What a great deal!" Ves sighed with envy.
A good Master could easily earn millions of MTA merits in just a month by spending just one hour a week on consulting!
The reason why they were able to command such ridiculous prices was because their depth of knowledge and design ability was truly precious. Even if they refused to invest their full attention on any project, their vision was so high that just a couple of casual remarks was enough to increase the quality of a mech design by as much as ten percent!
This was the first time that Ves realized that teaching or guiding other mech designers could actually be profitable!
"When will I reach the point where cute young mech designers are willing to throw a million MTA merits at me for an hour of my time?"
Not soon, that was for sure! Even if he was the creator of glows and the male half of the Miracle Couple, the benefits he provided weren't worth an extreme amount of merits.
He set aside his unrealistic fantasies of earning his beyonder ticket by offering his glows to other mech designers.
His quick searches gave him a general idea on what he could obtain for a given amount of merits. The biggest problem he encountered was that Masters charged substantially higher prices when it came to any projects related to expert mechs!
"Damnit!"
It made sense. Expert mechs not only incorporated very advanced materials and tech, but also had to be molded to specific expert pilots. Making sure that the mech played to the expert pilot's strength demanded a bit more involvement.
"Consultants are all scammers!"
After insulting a group of people he deeply envied and wished to join, he turned his attention to other matters.
For example, his listless cat.
Usually, Lucky was filled with boundless energy and curiosity. He never remained in a single place for long. Many times, the cat wandered off to explore other locations.
None of that was the case this time.
"How are you, Lucky?"
"Meowww…."
Lucky sprawled his dull, damaged body on his desk. He possessed so little energy that his tail didn't flick or curl!
"When will you get back to normal?"
"Meo. Meowww…"
"Don't take too long. We're still in the Nyxian Gap, so who knows whether you need to reprise your role as commando cat."
"Meeoww…"
Ves paid no more attention to Lucky. At his current state, the gem cat could only rely on himself to get back to normal.
He spent some time on reading some reports and exercising some of his responsibilities. After almost a week at Ulimo, the Larkinson Clan were already beginning to pack up their loot and leave.
Due to all of the valuables his clan wanted to bring back, his clan planned to convert a couple of captured pirate vessels as cargo sh.i.p.s.
There weren't as many sh.i.p.s as the Larkinsons would have liked. One of the most important requirements was the presence of FTL drives.
How could Task Force Predator bring all of its plunder to the Sentinel Kingdom if a couple of cargo vessels stopped right outside the Nyxian Gap?
It was incredibly excruciating to bring so much riches away, only to abandon some of it halfway!
Combined with the fact that pirates were rarely able to take good care of their starsh.i.p.s, the amount of sh.i.p.s that were intact enough to be of use was limited.
One of the complications was that the value of the loot wasn't exceptional. Sure, some of them were quite unique and difficult to obtain, but the market price for them wasn't so hot, especially for the bulkier exotics.
What interested him more was some of the more unusual loot, such as the statue of the Unending One.
So far, his people dumped the alien relic in the mech workshop of the Scarlet Rose. Ves didn't want to store it on another ship due to its extremely high value. Keeping it on his own ship meant that it was extremely unlikely that Ves would lose access to so much Unending alloy!
He wasn't close to making use of the Unending alloy, and there wasn't much he could glean from it by studying it. Right now, he could only set the statue aside and allow it to take space in his mech workshop.
"What else can I do?"
He decided to explore one of his highest design priorities.
"I need to rediscover how to introduce individuality to my mech designs."
Ves thought for a while before calling up his Chiron design from his desk terminal. He studied the incomplete design.
On the surface, there was hardly any individuality to be seen. The mech frame was rather generic in that it didn't possess any pronounced strengths in any areas.
Of course, that was just the Chiron in its neutral state. When configured for melee or ranged combat, the training mech was able to perform considerably more effectively.
In fact, there was more to the Chiron than being able to switch to different mech types. Its limbs, torso and finer structures were all adjustable.
Gloriana had done a very fine job designing the mechanisms to make this possible. She had to include a wide range of variability while at the same time keeping the Chiron design as robust as possible. This wasn't easy and she had to make many compromises in order to maintain a high degree of reliability while still offering plenty of changing.
The transformability of the Chiron was key to its identity as a training mech. The premise of this exclusive Larkinson Clan machine was that it could grow and adjust to the mech cadet over the years.
The Chiron already expressed his growth ideals!
This was what made the mech design so suitable to implement his new ideas.
The Valkyrie Redeemer was a much more powerful mech design, but it was a mech that would likely be used en masse by the Hex Army. Individuality had to make way for more important priorities such as attaining higher technical performance and making sure that its offensive glow was able to act upon distant enemy mech pilots.
"Can uniformity be achieved at the same time as individuality?" Ves wondered.
In his perspective, it should have been possible to reach an optimal balance. Ideally, the glow of a mech put the mech pilot in question into the correct mindset.
However, Ves wanted the mech to adapt to the growth of its mech cadet over time. This meant that he had to ask himself whether he needed to preserve the original glow of a design.
"I don't need to worry about this for the Chiron."
The mech was made to alter its shape. Why not alter its character as well? While it was easy to change its physical proportions and configuration, Ves was a bit less clear about altering its spiritual aspects.
"The key to this is life. If I can draw out the life that is inherent in any mech, I can turn it into a machine that actively develops a relationship with its pilot!"
There was an important requirement to make this work.
The mech cadet had to be assigned to the same Chiron mech for the duration of his academy days. Once the mech cadet graduated, the Chiron he paired up with essentially became irrelevant.
While it was possible to assign the used Chiron mech to a fresh cadet, Ves wasn't sure whether this was a good idea.
On one hand, the more cadets the mech grew up with, the greater its wisdom and ability to offer help.
On the other hand, a mech that was molded to other mech cadets would never develop a close intimacy with a mech cadet. The first time was always special.
"This is a difficult choice. Both have their pros and cons." Ves furrowed his brows.
One option emphasized maximum compatibility. The other option prioritized building a legacy.
Which one would benefit the clan's future mech pilots the best?
"Maybe we can do.. both?"
Regardless of what he and his clan eventually chose, the Chiron needed to have the capability to grow with their mech cadets.
He didn't have any solid ways to facilitate this phenomenon. Creating images and blending it with the spiritual foundation of his mech was only somewhat effective. He needed a more drastic way to accomplish these changes.
Spiritual constructs weren't helpful in this case. They were most useful in affecting a broad change in the character of the spiritual foundation. They were also vehicles which Ves could use to impart triggered abilities to his mech designs.
However, doing something as detailed and sophisticated as making the mech more alive, more proactive and more responsible to the mech designer was different.
He needed to develop a different spiritual technique to effect such a huge change.
"How am I supposed to do this?" Ves pressed his fingers against his brow.
Wait. The Shield of Samar and probably some other Larkinson mechs had already developed a close bond with their mechs. Why not study them to figure out how they developed and became more aligned with their mech pilots?
Chapter 2329 - Shiny Badge
Calabast overlooked a small mining operation.
While most of the Larkinsons busied themselves with sweeping the settled parts of Ulimo Citadel, a team of Black Cats spent their time elsewhere.
After inconspicuously taking away a mining vehicle, the Black Cats began to dig deep into the moon-sized asteroid.
Ulimo Citadel was built on a very large asteroid that largely consisted of hardy rock material. The cylindrical mining vehicle slowly drilled through the hardy core until it finally emerged in a cavern.
After inspecting the large, cold airless space for any threats, a handful of Black Cats in reinforced infiltrator suits and hazard suits emerged from the mining vehicle. Lights switched on from their suits, causing their immediate surroundings to light up and allow the people to observe their surroundings in greater detail.
This was no natural cavern. The smooth surfaces, straight angles and other signs proved that someone clearly excavated this space.
The Black Cats flew around. Due to the low gravity of the asteroid, their suits did not have to expend too much energy to keep them aloft.
A couple of the personnel held large handheld scanners and meticulously searched the cavern's surface grid by grid. Calabast hovered in the center while waiting patiently for her mind to find something unusual.
"We have detected an unknown metal cube buried beneath these coordinates!"
"Dig it out." Calabast ordered. "Take it slow and be careful. Watch out for boobytraps or other triggers."
Nothing went wrong as the Black Cats slowly dug their way half a meter downwards. Once they encountered a black metal box, they carefully expanded the space around it. Some other Black Cats meticulously scanned and studied the box.
"It's a standard small container that was in popular use over three-and-half centuries ago." A tech concluded. "It's not a product of the galactic rim."
"Is it made of first-class alloys?"
"Yes." The man in a hazard suit replied. "The alloy formula is outdated by modern standards, but it is still incredibly strong to us. The container should be locked and very secure against forceful breaches. We would have to employ a mech to crack it open, but applying so much force to a container of this size is ill-advised."
"The container can be unlocked via an electronic code, correct?"
"Yes, ma'am. I do have to warn you that this model of container only allows for three attempts to input the code before it locks out forever. While it is unlikely for this box to contain a self-destruct module, we will have to resort to improper means to crack it open."
That risked damaging the contents, which was exactly what Calabast didn't want to see.
"We don't have to go through so much trouble. Step back and secure the mining vehicle and keep an eye on the perimeter. Make sure that no one has planted any traps."
"Yes, ma'am."
The other Black Cats knew that Calabast wanted them gone. They immediately moved out of the hole and began to fly further away.
Calabast patiently waited for the rest to go. When she perceived that no one was in the vicinity, she activated a command on her infiltrator suit that caused it to deploy a powerful interference field.
Not content with this measure, she activated another command that caused a compartment in her backpack module to open up. A small bot flew higher and deployed a large sensor-blocking canvas that covered everything below in a sensor-dampening tent.
Once Calabast was satisfied with the security measures she deployed, she began to pull out another device belt pocket.
This time, she retrieved a comm, one with a special nature.
Unlike the comm she used in her daily life, this one looked a bit plainer but packed a lot more technology inside.
This was one of the souvenirs she kept from the Starlight Megalodon.
She smiled inside her helmet and she inputted the command to hack the container's locking mechanism.
Less than a millisecond later, a small light indicator on the box shone green, indicating that the box's security system disengaged the lock!
This outcome had fallen within her expectation. The container may have been made out of very expensive materials, but it was merely used to store some general items at the time. A true lockbox would have included at least one non-electric locking mechanism to deter easy hacks like she had just performed.
She carefully deactivated her CFA officer-grade comm and stowed it away before carefully opening the box.
A shiny chrome-like badge rested on a soft velvet cushion. Its surface depicted a blazing battleship soaring through space like a comet!
Calabast carefully studied the badge. Her eyes lit up in glee behind her helmet as she studied every unique marking and confirmed the badge was genuine!
The depiction of a blazing battleship used to convey supreme honor in the past. It was only after the Age of Conquest that battlesh.i.p.s turned from symbols of strength to symbols of terror.
Badges like these weren't made anymore. The emblem it depicted had turned into a taboo.
Even so, the value of this badge was inestimable. Of all the gains she made from the Battle of Ulimo Citadel, none of them exceeded the value of this relic!
She was happy with absorbing the defectors of the Xona Stalkers. Acquiring their remarkable if unwieldy Xona Communication Crystals also pleased her a lot. Yet obtaining them both wasn't worth the threats that she and the rest of the clan faced in the previous battle.
The pirates could have easily wiped out Task Force Predator if Venerable Jannzi hadn't broken through! At the very least, the Larkinson Clan would have suffered much heavier losses!
Was it worth it to encourage Ves to attack Ulimo Citadel? She didn't know. Though the outcome of the battle ultimately meant she won her bet, she didn't think she would make such a gamble again.
"I'm not Ves. I don't like to live by putting my life on the line." She muttered.
The badge l.u. from the light of her infiltrator suit. After picking it up and turning it around, she read the series of codes and letters engraved on the back.
Her concerns faded once she interpreted the codes. "This time, it was worth it. I still can't believe that someone took something so valuable all the way to the Nyxian Gap."
The early history of the Komodo Star Sector was filled with excitement and endless struggle. When the Big Two opened it up for colonization, a large number of refugees, outcasts and exiles fled from the more populated parts of the galaxy.
It wasn't easy for these people to travel all the way out here. They had to spend decades to travel this far, and various perils slowed or stalled their progress during their lengthy journey.
In truth, not a lot of fleets sought to flee all the way out to the frontier. Many of them simply sought safe harbor and wanted to leave the troubles of their home star sector behind. As long as they flew far enough, they could settle down in any foreign state or star sector.
There were generally two reasons why refugee and settler fleets traversed all the way to the outer border of human space.
The first reason was because the colonizers wanted a new start. Many older star sectors were already dominated by old, established states that exerted a heavy influence to the rest of their star sectors.
It wasn't easy for newcomers to develop and grow into a large and accomplished power. There simply wasn't enough room for development, and with their strength they were incapable of dislodging existing states.
Therefore, even if the journey was long, settling a newly-opened star sector conveyed many benefits. Though the competition was intense, those who succeeded were destined to form foundations that eventually led to the formation of powerful second-rate states such as the Hexadric Hegemony.
Those that lost out had options as well. With so much unclaimed real estate, even the losers and weaklings were able to found states such as the Bright Republic and the Sentinel Kingdom.
All of these colonizers voluntarily chose to take part in this game. While a frontier star sector was situated in the most remote parts of human space, the chance to make a new start and mold a state in their own image attracted many people such as the Hexers.
There were also those who traveled to the edge of human civilization on a less-than-voluntary basis.
This was the second reason why someone traveled all the way out here. Perhaps they made some very powerful enemies. Fleeing across a couple of star cl.u. didn't cut as long as the enemies were powerful enough. The only way to escape their extensive reach was to flee much further away, thereby making it impractical for anyone to take revenge!
In the more central and developed parts of human space, punishment through exile actually happened quite a lot. Those who lost in power plays and those whose identities became awkward because they were rivals to a throne had to be removed from the picture.
Killing these threatening individuals was the most convenient way to get rid of them. Yet slaughtering the losers of a political struggle was not always proper.
Hence, exiling people was the next preferred people. Even if the galactic net allowed humans to communicate instantly across the galaxy, sheer geographic distance made it impossible to realize any substantial plots!
Whenever a ruler or other powerful figure issued a decree to exile their enemies, they often specified that their victims had to be driven to the edge of the galaxy or the furthest reaches of human space.
This was why the Komodo Star Sector used to be visited by some powerful figures. Of course, by the time they reached this place, most of their wealth, power and influence had evaporated.
"That doesn't mean they lost everything. Some possessions still hold value after many centuries of neglect." Calabast grinned.
This badge still held an immense amount of value. This wasn't due to its materials, or its subtle but exquisite craftsmanship.
Instead, the badge was merely a proxy to something greater. Calabast carefully stowed in an inside pocket of her infiltrator suit. She resolved to store it more securely so that no one, not even a curious mechanical cat with a penchant for snooping could discover what she gained!
She eventually deactivated her security measures and flew out of the hole. She recalled all of her Black Cats and returned to the mining vehicle, which slowly reversed through the tunnel it had dug.
Ten minutes later, a large explosion engulfed the cavern, destroying and collapsing much of the interior!
The Black Cats hadn't noticed a thing. All of them sat silently in their assigned seats as they waited to return to the surface.
Various plans flitted through Calabast's mind. Several new options opened up after she obtained the badge. While it was largely useless in the Komodo Star Sector, the relic could still play a very large role if she brought it to the issuer.
Normally, she needed to travel all the way to the galactic center to reach one of the most powerful states in human space.
However, times were changing and humanity had begun to conquer another galaxy, if only a satellite to their native galaxy.
The Red Ocean was a melting pot of human cultures. People who emerged throughout the Milky Way all entered a dwarf galaxy that was just a fraction of the size.
The representatives of every first-rate state had already entered the Red Ocean. Calabast just had to approach one of their new colonies and bring the badge to the right institution in order to change everything.
However, as soon as she began to think certain thoughts, a faint pressure weighed on her mind. She grimaced.
"I'm.. a Larkinson now."
This incident reminded her that she had already committed herself to the Larkinson Clan. No matter how valuable the badge appeared, it couldn't beat partnering up with Ves. That said, the badge was still immensely useful in the right circ. .
"I'll see what I can do with it once I reach the Red Ocean."
Chapter 2330 - Unique Identity
The Larkinson Clan wrapped up its business at Ulimo Citadel. After pacifying it, executing their pirate captives, repairing some of their damaged mechs and searching the entire place for loot, the Larkinsons no longer needed to linger.
A week after the Battle of Ulimo Citadel, Ves commanded his task force to travel to the edge of the Nyxian Gap.
They were finally ready to end this excursion.
A lot of cheers rang throughout the fleet as Ves made this announcement. Though everyone already expected this result, they fully put down most of their fears now that the clan patriarch made it official.
No one wanted to fight pirates anymore! The smaller pirate gangs were so weak that the Larkinsons hardly gained any meaningful lessons from crushing them. The larger pirate groups on the other hand always employed forbidden or unusual means of retaliation which dealt a disproportionate amount of damage.
The Larkinsons were tired of fighting against those that played dirty!
The old war veterans within the clan already longed to return to civilized space. At least the enemies there fought with normal mechs armed with normal weapons.
Joining the large fleet as it slowly left was the addition of ten captured pirate sh.i.p.s. Each of them were still being swept by various crews, but that did not stop the Larkinsons from employing them as makeshift transport sh.i.p.s to bring home all of the loot from Ulimo.
In addition to that, a lot of carriers boasted a lot of free space after the conclusion of the battle. Some of their spaces were occupied with broken mechs that could still be restored. Other spaces held broken parts or packed containers.
During this quiet journey, Ves brought his students and assistant mech designers to the Redfeather. The crowd of mech designers attracted a lot of attention as they approached the Shield of Samar.
The heavily-customized Aurora Titan mech conveyed a powerful impression on everybody. Its gold-coated Breyer alloy exterior conveyed a sense of mass and density. The sheer thickness of its armor plating and tower shield made any human standing next to it feel small!
"Wow!" Maikel gasped. "Even though we're surrounded by the glows of different Bright Warriors, this one still manages to retain its own presence!"
The Shield of Samar's glow was stronger and more enduring than any other Aurora Titan. Ves sensed considerably more life from the mech. He eagerly studied its feel and carefully observed its spiritual foundation.
Visiting Jannzi's personal mech was the right choice. Now that he was looking for it, he observed several developments that already caused the mech to stand out from other LMC mechs!
While Ves studied the mech in his own way, his assistants admired the mech from their own perspectives. Even if they knew little about the spiritual aspects of mech design, they still sensed something unique from the Shield of Samar.
"Just look at this mech." Rina Orion uttered with an uncharacteristically gentle tone of voice. "This is more than a machine. There is a beating heart that is in tune with its mech pilot."
"What are you talking about?" Someone else scratched her head. "I admit the mech is fantastic, but it is a stretch to say it has a beating heart."
"You wouldn't understand."
If Ves heard Rina's words, he would have paid a lot more attention to her. If the former citizen of the Coman Federation managed to sense more from one of his works, then that meant she might be more compatible with his design philosophy than others!
She already chose her own path, though. She was still committed to specializing in targeting systems.
"This mech should have been heavier." Catherine Evenson thoughtfully remarked. "Its mobility is almost as bad as a heavy mech while its defensive properties could have been significantly stronger. The super-medium weight class is hardly ever used for good reason."
Dukan French nodded in agreement. "It's slow and unwieldy. It's a de-facto heavy mech. It just lacks the mass and some distinctive elements. It's a bit of a pity that its attack capabilities are limited. There is still a lot of extra room for a rifle or a cannon module."
The Shield of Samar may be the famed mech of an honorable expert pilot, but the people who approached the mech were mech designers. It was in their nature to study different mechs and decipher their distinctive strengths and weaknesses. Hardly any mechs were sacred in their eyes!
Overall, the Braves did not have much good to say about the mech. Certainly, its defensive capabilities were formidable, especially after its latest overhaul replaced its older armor plating with Breyer alloy.
However, this upgrade pretty much negated the utility of its weak polarizing module. The defense it offers was very paltry compared to the sheer resilience offered by its armor plating!
The Aurora Titan design was one of Ves' more radical mech designs. It pursued extreme defense and sacrificed almost everything to achieve this goal.
That didn't make it a popular seller. If not for the discovery that its glow was somewhat effective in shielding against other glows, it would have been relegated to the LMC's archives.
The Aurora Titan's utility hardly increased even with this discovery. While more and more battlefields featured LMC mechs, they were still far from ubiquitous. The smaller outfits were especially leery of buying an oversized space knight with hardly any mobility or flexibility.
"Hm." Ves rubbed his smooth-shaven chin. "The Aurora Titan design sorely needs an update."
He wasn't in a hurry to do so, though. He already had a lot of projects on his plate. Right now, he didn't believe he could design a substantially better iteration of the Aurora Titan with the same budget and other constraints.
The Shield of Samar was different. As a custom mech, its budget vastly exceeded that of its regular counterparts. Now that Jannzi advanced to expert pilot, Ves had to raise the limits of the mech even further.
The budget of an expert mech was huge! A typical second-class expert mech could cost between several billion hex credits to a hundred billion hex credits!
Since Ves wasn't short on money or resources these days, he wanted to aim a bit higher for the first expert mech iteration of the Shield of Samar. Even if he decided not to use Unending alloy to strengthen its structure, he was still willing to spend up to 50 billion hex credits to supplement or replace its Breyer alloy exterior!
"Breyer alloy is good, but it's far from the most resilient second-class material out there. The best Fridayman and Hexer mechs actually enjoy considerably better protection."
It was a bit premature for him now to consider these design choices. Gloriana and him hadn't even decided who they wanted to pull in to assist their expert mech design project!
He focused on his primary goal for this visit, which was to figure out a means to instill more individuality in his future works.
As Ves spent more time on observing the Shield of Samar with his spiritual senses, he finally realized how it expressed its individuality.
His eyes widened as he realized that the Shield of Samar's spiritual foundation wasn't as bland as he was used to! It had actually changed as a whole!
"This.."
It was as if Jannzi's extensive use of the Shield of Samar slowly altered its spiritual foundation.
Compared to regular Aurora Titans, the Shield of Samar not only possessed a stronger spiritual foundation, but also showed greater signs of identity!
What Ves previously likened to an empty plot of land on which he could build a house was actually more animated than he thought.
It was the soul of a mech!
While every properly-fabricated mech derived its spiritual foundation from the design, once it took shape, it was able to develop further into a unique direction.
This growth and development mainly affected the spiritual foundation. Therefore, the key to increasing the individual expression of a mech lay in facilitating this natural process!
"Why is the Shield of Samar so much further along this transformation than my other mechs?" He frowned.
There were many LMC mechs in his clan. Just this hangar alone was filled with Bright Warriors!
Due to one of his policies, the Avatars of Myth tried to reassign as little mech pilots as possible. Ves hoped that every mech pilot developed a close and personal bond with their mech just like Jannzi had accomplished with her Shield of Samar.
Yet despite piloting their mechs for many months, Ves hardly observed any meaningful changes yet to the Bright Warriors around him. Their individual character remained largely uniform, which showcased how difficult it was for a mech pilot to truly grow their mechs.
"It will probably take years of dedicated use for anyone to notice a substantial difference!"
That was too long! Not every mech pilot was like Venerable Jannzi or General Axelar Streon. Both of them possessed the willingness and means to stick to a single mech for the rest of their lives.
That did not mean that his other customers were able to adopt this model. Developing a strong dependence on a single mech was good as long as the mech existed. Yet a lot could change over the years.
It could end up destroyed in battle.
It could turn into an obsolete mech design as its original designer no longer published any revisions.
Another possible problem was that most mech pilots did not own the mechs they piloted. They could be reassigned or kicked out of their outfits at any time.
Finally, it was very costly to customize and upgrade a mech. No ordinary outfit would waste money on such an expensive and inefficient endeavor.
All of these reasons meant that Ves shouldn't view Venerable Jannzi's development trajectory as an example. What he truly needed to do was to come up with a different development trajectory that was much more suitable for the mass market.
He felt like he was missing something. He turned his attention back to the Shield of Samar.
"What makes you different?"
Out of all of his mechs, the Shield of Samar was the only mech that had experienced two consecutive breakthroughs of its pilot. This was probably the reason why it had advanced so much.
Ves knew that every breakthrough released a lot of spirituality in the form of force of will. The mech pilot in question burst through a bottleneck, causing their force of will to temporarily reach a very high level of strength.
It couldn't last, though. Over time, the mech pilot in question lost control of the excess energy.
What happened to this excess energy?
Most of it should have dissipated and drifted off into the imaginary realm.
But.. what if some of that stuck around? What if the mech, which possessed an intimate and active bond with the mech pilot through the man-machine connection, absorbed some of these byproducts?
"Does the Shield of Samar.. possess Jannzi's essence?"
A radical theory popped up in his mind. What if the Shield of Samar 'advanced' to a higher state by absorbing Jannzi's spiritual emissions?
Though it was just a guess, it made a lot of sense! Force of will was alive. If the Shield of Samar absorbed some of it, then not only would it become more in tune with the source, but also gain the vigor to develop a more unique character!
This was the key he sought to increase the individuality of his mechs!
On its own, his mechs weren't able to grow on their own. They needed to be used for a long time by their mech pilots to diverge from their original molds.
The main downside to this gradual process was that the change didn't happen fast enough. Mechs weren't humans, after all. The life they possessed was too deficient.
"If the mech is lacking something, why not take it from the mech pilot?"
As long as he was able to incorporate this process in his mech designs, then they would be able to acquire an individual character a lot faster than before!
"Still, such a process can be extremely dangerous!"
In order to increase the life of a mech, the mech pilot had to make a sacrifice.
"Nothing comes for free!"
Chapter 2331 - Finding A Direction
Visiting the Redfeather in order to observe the Shield of Samar up close bore fruit. Ves not only learned how it expressed its individuality, but also developed a strong guess how it came about!
At the heart of it, the Shield of Samar grew alongside its mech pilot. The mech experienced Jannzi's every victory or loss, every boring patrol and every live practice session.
Each time they bonded together, Jannzi gained something from her mech. At the same time, the Shield of Samar gained something from its mech pilot.
Ves believed that this exchange was a slow and gradual process in ordinary cases.
The spiritual foundation of his products started off weak. Giving too much of it away to the mech pilot risked damaging its root!
Normal mech pilots also couldn't give too much of themselves away. The spirituality of the majority of mech pilots was so small that they were almost invisible in his spiritual vision!
Only those with spiritual potential were able to donate more, but what they could contribute was very paltry compared to expert candidates and expert pilots.
In fact, now that Jannzi advanced to expert pilot, her force of will had grown by leaps and bounds!
Not only that, but as long as she continued to grow, her resonance strength and other spiritual parameters would likely grow exponentially stronger!
If she could only feed the Shield of Samar with a single biscuit with every piloting session when she was an expert candidate, now she was capable of serving an entire meal!
In the future, this would become even more exaggerated. Perhaps she was capable of feeding an entire container's worth of food when she reached the limit of an expert pilot!
"The problem is that her case is an exception. Most of my mech pilots don't have any hope of becoming expert candidates or expert pilots!"
Ves returned to his stateroom. He didn't look much better than Lucky, who was still splayed on his table while slowly waiting for his mechanical body to recover.
"Meoow…"
Now that he thought about it, Lucky might have absorbed some life as well. According to Ketis, the gem cat bit the statue of the Unending One when it was actively releasing darkness.
Perhaps one of the reasons why Lucky's spirituality felt so weak was because it was having trouble 'digesting' the darkness he inadvertently absorbed!
Ves sharpened his eyes as he observed his cat for signs of abnormality. However, aside from intensifying the definition of his black tiger stripes, Lucky hardly looked any different.
There weren't any signs of contamination. Ves closely probed Lucky's spirituality, much to the cat's annoyance, and found no remnant influence or parasitic existence.
Of course, Ves wasn't arrogant enough to believe he was able to detect any signs of impropriety, but he intuitively knew that Lucky remained pure.
Lucky ate exotics all the time. His ability to phase wasn't his greatest strength. Aside from his ability to produce gems, Ves most admired his absorption ability.
He became whatever he ate!
Yet the downside of this was that it cost a lot of valuable resources to keep Lucky sated. Whatever entered his stomach disappeared from reality.
"It's a zero-sum game."
Adding something meant removing something else. Ves couldn't cheat this process. Either he gave up some valuable exotics, or he kept Lucky deprived of his food. There was no way he could avoid both outcomes at the same time.
"The same should apply to growing mechs."
Growth was a costly transformation.
Babies needed care and nutrition in order to grow up into healthy a.d.u. .
Seeds required soil and a source of energy to grow into vigorous plants.
Ves had to expend a lot of materials to build a mech.
In short, almost every process in reality consisted of some sort of exchange.
The same should apply to life.
To grow the life of a mech, a price needed to be paid.
So far, Ves couldn't think of anything a mech pilot could pay except for his own presence and the life he bore in his mind.
The man-machine connection forged a convenient channel to facilitate this transaction. Yet the reason why most LMC mechs weren't able to grow that much was because most mech pilots were too weak!
Certainly, it was not as if they were completely incapable. Ves sensed at least some progress in every LMC mech in the Larkinson Clan. It was just that the rate of progress was too slow.
Only Venerable Jannzi and the expert candidates jumped out of this pattern. Their stronger force of wills provided much more 'nutrition' to their mechs.
"If this is true, then individuality is basically a luxury. Only stronger mech pilots are able to develop their mechs!"
This was not what Ves wanted!
Sure, it was definitely good if high-ranking mech pilots gained significantly more from his mechs. Ves did not object to the advantages they gained due to the merit of their strength.
Yet Ves was not like Gloriana, who would likely be content with designing expert mechs for the rest of her life.
While he hadn't explicitly thought about it, Ves wanted his products to be available to everyone. It was fine if expert pilots gained more out of his products. What Ves didn't enjoy was if the main benefit of piloting his mechs was largely deprived from his general audience!
Some mech designers believed that they benefited the most if they designed the strongest mechs. These passionate people were readily willing to give up on providing mechs to the masses.
Such an outcome did not sit well with Ves. While he didn't develop an obsession to push his mechs onto every mech pilot in existence, he still wanted to offer those who were willing an opportunity to grow alongside a living mech.
Ves could forget about progressing his mech designer if he didn't solve this problem.
"How can I facilitate the growth of a mech when their mech pilots don't have much to offer?"
He scratched his head. "Maybe both of them have to work together. As long as they achieve greater synergy, perhaps a remarkable transformation can take place."
He developed a few preliminary ideas how he could accomplish this. The problem was that he wasn't sure about any of them without testing them for real.
"This is risky, though."
Unlike most of his spiritual experiments, his latest ideas involved both mechs and mech pilots in combination. How could he create a method to accelerate the individual growth of his mechs if he didn't test it out with actual mechs?
Not just any mech would do. Ves had to conduct his experiments with LMC mechs. This was very troublesome.
"Do I have any other choice than pairing up my test subjects with my products?
The Battle of Ulimo Citadel delivered a lot of fresh test subjects to his holding cells. At least several of them were surviving mech pilots. Each of them possessed spiritual potential, but due to their chaotic lifestyles they were no close to advancing to expert candidates.
Regardless, their spiritual potential provided them with a greater degree of tolerance towards losses than other mech pilots.
This was good. It meant the chance his experiments killed his mech pilots was low. Yet Ves still had to test his experiments on mech pilots without spiritual potential as well.
Ves frowned a bit. Every pirate captive the Larkinsons picked up so far consisted entirely of people with spiritual potential.
Those who didn't possess this quality were deemed useless! The Larkinsons outright executed the hardened pirates. Those who were innocents were spared from this fate. The clan merely left them behind at Ulimo and told them to do whatever they wanted.
It didn't matter. In time, some other powerful pirate group would come to the half-broken pirate base and rebuild it anew.
"I should have grabbed some of them on the way out!"
Perhaps the Larkinson Clan would be lucky enough to stumble on a weak pirate outfit along the way out. If that happened, Ves could easily get his hands on some suitable test subjects.
In the meantime, Ves spent a few hours on theorizing. He wanted to flesh out every idea as much as possible before he resorted to actual experiments.
"I need to make some progress quickly. The Chiron and many of my other ongoing design projects can benefit from this innovation."
Individuality, not uniformity, was the key to progressing his mech design. Ves had already noticed that his design seed had become more active than ever during the last few hours.
Ves believed he was on the right track!
As long as he discovered the right method and developed it further, he believed that he could make it all the way to Senior. It might take a couple of decades, but once his mechs started to develop their own individual characters after days of use, then glows should no longer be the primary selling points of his mechs!
"Wait. I forgot about the third player in the game!"
Glows! Glows came from design spirits, which were very powerful spiritual entities!
Their power was immense. They constantly grew stronger due to the sheer volume is spiritual feedback they derived from mech pilots.
His most popular model, the Desolate Soldier, was being piloted by millions of mech pilots spread throughout the Komodo Star Sector and beyond!
However, not all of it was useful. When Ves inspected the state of the Solemn Guardian, he already noted that the design spirit was already saturated with spiritual energy.
Even if tens of millions of mech pilots were added to the equation, the Solemn Guardian didn't actually benefit.
The spiritual feedback that all of those ordinary mech pilots provided was too low in quality!
The Solemn Guardian was flooded with so much low-quality spiritual feedback that the design spirit was forced to discard most of it! It was like pouring water into a mug.
At some point, pouring additional water merely caused the liquid to spill over.
"Where does all of that excess water go?"
Basically, all of it went away! This was a pretty egregious waste of spiritual energy. Even if it was very heterogeneous, it was still a resource that could be spent!
What if Ves took this excess spiritual energy and instead fed it to the spiritual foundation of his mechs?
It would have gone to waste otherwise!
Though the spiritual feedback of a single mech pilot was miniscule, combining them all together resulted in a very considerable quantity.
Of course, it wasn't easy to accomplish his desired outcome. All of that mixed spiritual energy was very diverse and mixed with a lot of junk. Recklessly feeding them into a mech would probably warp the mechs.
This was where his design spirit came in. Directly feeding the spiritual junk from millions of mech pilots into a specific was wrong. It needed to be processed, and what better way to do so than through the design spirit?
Ves glanced at Lucky.
In a way, weren't design spirits similar to Lucky?
They ate all kinds of junk, and produced remarkably uniform output in return!
What Ves had to do was to establish a spiritual mechanism where the output of his design spirit was being put back into mechs!
He suddenly halted. "There's a problem with this method."
Feeding a mech with the spiritual energy of its own design spirit would only reinforce its uniformity. How could the mech pilot possibly develop a closer relation with his mech if it continued to align itself to its design spirit?
Ves needed to add another process!
He began to develop a headache as he tried to figure out a way to solve this new problem. He felt as if he needed to do more and more spiritual engineering to come up with increasingly more sophisticated solutions.
Despite these difficulties, Ves began to grin!
"At least I have found my direction! This is better than getting lost!"
Chapter 2332 - Legacy Mechs
New theories and ideas flowed into his mind. Ves faced a very challenging problem, and it took the utmost of his creativity and problem-solving skills to derive a viable solution.
His goal sounded simple. He wanted to increase the individual expression of his mechs.
Right now, it took either years of constant use or complete dedication for any mech pilot to mold a specific mech in a unique direction.
Individuality in mechs was rather subtle in the first place. Unless someone could match Jannzi's extreme devotion, the difference it could make in battle was rather marginal.
His ambition didn't really sound that impressive to be honest. Certainly, making a mech more responsive to the mech pilot sounded like a noble goal. However, a competing mech with twenty percent higher firepower could easily beat the inferior mech despite its excellent compatibility with its mech pilot!
The advantage of a mech that maximized performance was that they delivered a predictable level of performance to every mech pilot. In other words, a well-maintained standard mech wouldn't exhibit remarkably better or remarkably worse performance.
This was less so with his own products. Living mechs that possessed the capacity to love or hate their own mech pilots could influence its effective performance by adjusting their fit to their mech pilots.
In other words, by unlocking the capacity for mechs to judge their own mech pilots, Ves introduced a new variable that his customers needed to take into account.
This was not always good. As someone who presided over a thousand mechs himself, he knew that leaders such as him wanted his mechs to be as uniform as possible.
At this scale, mechs that performed unexpectedly worse or better threw off his calculations.
Certainly, if a mech performed better than usual, Ves would welcome this outcome. However, the nature of his design philosophy meant that his mechs could accept as well as reject their mech pilots.
If the latter occurred, then that was quite an unpleasant surprise!
As long as the mech buyer bought the most suitable LMC mech for a mech pilot, then the chances of rejection should be low. However, would every mech buyer be as attentive? What if funding and opportunity constraints prevented a buyer to perform proper matching between mechs and mech pilots?
"There is also the imprinting issue."
What happened when mechs that molded themselves to specific mech pilots received different users?
Would the individuality of a mech prompt it to reject mech pilots they weren't accustomed to accommodating?
That would be quite bad! A mech that had developed an individual character that effectively performed twenty or thirty percent worse was a disaster in an actual battle!
The desirability, practicality and longevity of his products would definitely drop if this became a reality!
However, mechs didn't necessarily have to develop in this fashion. What if he designed the individuality of mechs with successive users in mind from the very start?
As long as he configured the spiritual foundation of his mechs correctly, then they ought to be able to adjust to the next user.
"Perhaps this can even be touted as a benefit rather than a burden!"
The most fitting word that encapsulated this concept was 'legacy'.
Ves wasn't entirely unfamiliar with this concept. Inspired by natural spiritual entities such as Qilanxo, he designed all of his spiritual products with legacy in mind.
In fact, it was even a core feature for his two ancestral spirits! Both the Golden Cat and the Superior Mother were explicitly designed to come into greater power as they grew older. The wisdom and strength they derived from generations of Larkinsons and Hexers constantly allowed them to develop across generations.
Goldie would likely become a completely different spiritual entity a century from now! At that time, she might rival or exceed Qilanxo's current level of strength!
If his mechs developed in a similar fashion, then as they grew older, they would actually be able accrue value over time!
This was different from many other consumer mechs. As technology advanced and tactics evolved, older mechs became increasingly more irrelevant. Their technological constraints caused their performance to lag more and more in relation to more modern mechs.
"What if this is not the case anymore? What if my mechs are able to develop a unique quality over time? What if this quality is so valuable and unable to be replicated in any other way that plenty of people would love to use them on an ongoing basis?"
Such a mech would transcend the definition of commodity! A living, growing mech like this would cease to become interchangeable with comparable mechs.
Even if two living mechs were derived from the same design, fabricated from the same manufacturing complex and worked on by the same crew in the same week, they could become completely different beasts after several years of active use on the battlefield!
His passion for this new category of mechs flared up as his imagination went wild with this idea. His design seed loved the concept of legacy mechs.
"It's not enough to design living mechs. I have to make them desirable to their users in order to ensure they are properly cared for. Older mechs shouldn't be discarded like trash!"
Ves fully embraced this new concept! If possible, he wanted to turn this into one of the main characteristics of most of his mech designs from this point onwards.
Aside from mechs which demanded a high degree of uniformity or temporary mechs such as those designed for single duels, adding the possibility for mechs to grow richer in character would definitely bring him closer to bringing his ambition into fruition!
The whole point about designing living mechs was to make them more valued. Certainly, he hadn't forgotten that they were meant to be used in battle. They would always remain at least somewhat expendable.
That did not mean that his mechs should be treated as trash. Just like how he treated his own clansmen, those who were alive needed to be nurtured and properly taken care of. How else would he be able to send them off to fight a difficult opponent when it truly mattered?
Though there was an inherent contradiction between these two desires, but Ves was used to holding conflicting thoughts. Ves did not seek an absolute with regards to his products. It was fine if their owners valued them as much as their children, but he wouldn't shed a tear if their owners subsequently lost a bunch of LMC mechs in a difficult battle.
Every mech was built for combat. The nature of combat always entailed the prospect of suffering undesirable losses. Any mech designer who couldn't bear the thought of their products suffering ignoble ends weren't suitable for the profession!
His hands twitched. He ached to put his ideas in reality.
Now that Task Force Predator had left Ulimo Citadel and was slowly making its way out of the periphery of the Nyxian Gap, there should be plenty of time for him to develop a means to turn this fantastic concept into reality.
He returned to one of his earlier ideas. To develop the character of a mech, it needed to grow. To do so, the mech needed to be fed with a sufficient amount of spiritual nutrients.
A newly-produced LMC mech and an ordinary mech pilot did not possess much spiritual strength. Neither of the two were able to supply the spirituality needed to develop the character of the mech.
At best, an ordinary mech pilot was just able to keep his mech alive on a starvation diet!
Therefore, the only chance to feed the mech with the spiritual energy required to grow at a rate comparable to the evolution of the Shield of Samar was to tap another source.
This was where his design spirits came in. Most of them possessed too much spiritual energy and weren't able to make effective use of their excess. Instead of throwing their junk away, why not channel it to the hungry little mechs they watched over? One spirit's trash was another mech's treasure!
Ves called up the Chiron design on his desk terminal and studied it for a time.
As a minor design project, his assistants contributed the most to the training mech design. Due to its technical complexity, Gloriana still made sure to solve every difficult problem or give the assistants enough direction for them to come up with solutions themselves.
The entire mech design had already reached a fairly advanced stage. It only needed a month of refinement before it reached the prototype testing phase.
"The entire mech is infused with the essence of adaptability and development." He remarked as he studied the mech from a spiritual angle.
Though much of it was due to his deliberate manipulation, the efforts of Gloriana and the design teams assigned to develop the Chiron all added up as well. Each of them constantly thought about increasing the Chiron's fit to the young Larkinson mech cadets who were destined to pilot it in the future.
As he studied the Chiron design further, he suddenly realized a big issue.
Its current designated design spirit was the Golden Cat.
Since the Chiron was exclusive to the Larkinsons, this was a fitting choice. Ves hoped that every young mech cadet who piloted the Chiron would grow up into a skilled mech pilot that completely dedicated his or her life to the Larkinson Clan!
It helped that the Larkinsons explicitly specialized in piloting mechs. Goldie may not be able to match the likes of the Solemn Guardian in terms of quantity of bonds, but every mech pilot connected to her was much more skilled than average.
Over time, the mech pilots connected to Goldie should also develop a distinctive piloting style unique to the Larkinson Clan.
All of this meant that the Chiron under Goldie taught mech cadets how to pilot a mech the Larkinson way instead of the standard way.
The problem that Ves faced at the moment was that Goldie hadn't reached saturation yet. She was only connected to a modest amount of people compared to his other design spirits. She also had plenty of room to grow. Taking away her spiritual energy at this stage would only slow down her growth.
"Hmm, is that true, though?"
Ves didn't necessarily assume that compelling Goldie to expend her energy would affect her growth. It might be that such an exertion might 'exercise' her instead.
Right now, he lacked too much information. The only way to see what would happen was to implement it in reality, and to do that he needed to conduct some tests with some expendable mech pilots.
Knowing that time was of the essence, Ves began to draw up a quick experiment in his mind to test his ideas.
"I should use an existing mech instead of an incomplete one." He muttered.
The Chiron may have developed to an advanced stage, but it was far from ready to be fielded, especially outside of lab conditions.
He needed to perform his experiments on a different mech. It should be a mature design and one that wasn't too strong.
"The Desolate Soldier fits."
His fleet had plenty of them lying around. Even if they were fairly weak, their glows were still useful in motivating the mech forces that didn't possess the Bright Warrior. The Living Sentinels were especially fans of the classic.
Ves ordered the Living Sentinels to transfer a spare Desolate Soldier mech to the Scarlet Rose's hangar bay.
He wasn't ready to implement his experiments on the entire mech design. That would have been reckless to the extreme.
"I only need to try it out on a single mech first, just to see if my direction is viable."
His current goal was to try and find a way to transform a cheap and fairly disposable Desolate Soldier mech into something greater!
As long as he could do it with a cheap mech, he could do it with a more expensive mech.
Ves raised his fist. "In the future, all of my mechs will turn into legacy mechs!"
Chapter 2333 - Vacation Planning
When Ves entered the design lab, he immediately sensed the subdued mood among his mech designers.
After asking a few questions, he quickly found out why his Braves weren't so cheerful at the moment.
The design lab sat adjacent to the mech workshop. Normally, that wasn't much of a problem, but this time was different!
Ves recalled that he ordered the statue of the Unending One to be moved in the workshop. Even though the statue was completely inert, every assistant had taken a look at it and regretted their decision!
The frightfully life-like depiction of the tentacled whale caused everyone to recall the terror they felt at the appearance of the giant avatar of the dark god. Though the Black Cats made sure that none of the footage of the Battle of Ulimo Citadel at that stage survived, the memories still lived on. Glimpsing the unnerving black alloy statue was enough to trigger people's trauma!
As Ves stepped inside the mech workshop, he didn't really see what the fuss was all about. Certainly, the supposed dark god did look very intimidating, but to Ves it was merely a very powerful spirit that somehow managed to survive the death of its own species and the passage of time.
He walked up to its base and kicked the metal surface.
No divine punishment rained down on his head. He sneered.
"You're nothing but a broken statue. Whatever magic you possessed is gone. If my Braves are so afraid of you, then I'll just keep you here until my subordinates finally get over their fears."
If there was one benefit to the Battle of Ulimo Citadel, it was that Ves learned that more spiritual threats existed than he anticipated. The Five Scrolls Compact definitely loomed the largest, but the existence of these supposed dark gods opened his eyes from threats that originated outside humanity.
The galaxy was more complicated than he thought. In the distant past and long before humans evolved to create fire, many sentient alien races already roamed the stars.
The ubiquity of communication crystals among several alien races hinted that these aliens were all acquainted with each other. Perhaps the luminar race possessed the same tech base as whatever forsaken alien race the Unending One belonged to. They just used the same base technologies and designed them according to their individual needs.
For example, the Tzianti Crystals that Ves once used in the frontier should have been created by a normally-sized alien race. The new Xona Crystals that the Larkinson Clan looted from Ulimo Citadel ought to be the inventions of bigger alien races!
The luminar race definitely should have developed their own communication crystals as well. Theirs were probably small in order to accommodate the diminutive sizes of their users.
Since Ves lacked the equipment to process Unending alloy, he left the statue alone. There was no point in trying to melt it down or reshape the metal into something else such as a personal suit of armor.
While he deeply wanted to increase his personal protection, he really couldn't do anything if the only way to break the statue was by resorting to Lucky's special teeth!
A few days passed as Ves handled various design responsibilities at the time. Though he made sure to spend at least some hours on tinkering the Desolate Soldier mech that had been brought to the Scarlet Rose, He also had to work on his other design projects as well!
Ves grimaced a bit. The Battle of Ulimo Citadel and its aftermath distracted him for an entire week. During this time, he simply wasn't able to spend a sufficient amount of time on progressing his design projects, and it showed.
It didn't take much to see that Gloriana was quite annoyed with his absence. Without his help, their major design projects hadn't progressed as much as she wished. Both projects were running behind schedule!
During a joint design session, Ves sat together with Gloriana's physical projection as they observed the Valkyrie Redeemer design.
Though the mech still needed plenty of refinement, the overall direction of the mech had already been set. Ves was pleased with how the mech was geared towards channeling a suppressive glow to a target that was kilometers away. With his expanded spiritual understanding, he became even more confident that the Hexer mech would soon become known as a fearsome raider in the Komodo War!
While Ves wanted to implement the legacy mech concept to the Valkyrie Redeemer, this Hexer mech was arguably the one that least needed it out of all of his current projects.
In a high-intensity war where both sides sought immediate results, it didn't make that much sense to deliver mechs that still needed at least a year of regular use to come into power.
Additionally, the military reassigned its mech pilots to different machines fairly frequently, especially in wartime! Mechs fell all the time, and his Blessed Squires doubtlessly got destroyed by the thousands at this time.
In such a grueling conflict, the allure of legacy mechs paled in comparison to the strong and distinctive glows that imposed unmatched uniformity among many mech pilots.
Mechs used in wars also evolved frequently. The enemy constantly tried to counter successful mech models. In some cases, it made sense to drop ineffective mech models in favor of newer ones that weren't countered yet. Forcing soldiers to pilot outdated or easily-exploitable mechs was not a good way to win a massive war, especially when both sides were still flush with money and resources.
Ves knew that it wouldn't be good for his Hexer mech designs if the Komodo War dragged on for more than five years. This was a very long period of time that would doubtlessly evoke rapid evolution of all of the mechs used in the fighting.
Instead of spending time on designing new mechs, Ves and Gloriana would instead be compelled to spend at least some of their design time on updating the Blessed Squire, Valkyrie Redeemer and other existing mech models.
Even if he could pass at least some of this work to his assistants, it was still an unwanted burden.
The Komodo War had to end quickly! The best way for Ves to help the Hexers crush the Fridaymen was to make sure to supply mechs with strong glows to the Hex Army.
For this reason, Ves and Gloriana decided to allocate most of their available design time to completing the Valkyrie Redeemer.
Both decided to pause the Cat's Paw Project. While the heavy artillery mech was still important, its priority wasn't as high. Their factory ship wasn't ready to be delivered in around half a year. The clan's existing spaceborn mechs already offered sufficient protection.
"I'm so happy." Gloriana sighed contently as her physical projection leaned against his shoulder. "I missed this so much. Designing mechs isn't the same without you. When will you return?"
"Less than two months if there aren't any pirates in our task force's way. We're not looking for any confrontations anymore so we shouldn't be pulled in too many fights. We still have plenty of mechs to deter almost every pirate group in Maynard Fields and Wreckage Paradise."
Ves took a deep breath, smelling his fiancé flowery scent.
He had become used to the wonders of physical projection technology. The simulation of reality was so realistic that Ves was easily able to ignore the fact that Gloriana wasn't physically present at the moment.
"Ves?"
"Yes, honey?"
"Do you really intend to travel to Majestic Teal Star Sector once we are ready to leave the Komodo Star Sector?"
He nodded. "We need to make our way to the nearest beyonder gate. That will take a few years of travel. Along the way, we have to keep earning merits."
"There is plenty of work available in Vicious Mountain."
"That's true, but I have additional reasons to travel to Majestic Teal. Visiting the Life Research Association allows us to fulfill three objectives. First, many scientists in the LRA are obsessed with the study of life. Debating and exchanging knowledge with them will definitely allow me to progress my design philosophy. This is what I need, Gloriana."
"I understand." She replied. "I would pursue this opportunity as well if I were in your shoes."
"Aside from that, we need to hire a lot of excellent doctors, geneticists, implant surgeons, exobiologists and other biotech experts."
"We have already adopted plenty of talents in our clan. I haven't remained idle back on Cinach VI."
Ves shook his head. "That's different. All of them are third-class professionals. That won't cut it, especially since I've promised to provide every participant of this excursion a free set of implants and gene mod templates."
Delivering this promise was a huge burden. Third-class professionals weren't qualified to work with second-class augments. Aside from spending a lot of time and effort in raising their competences, it was much more convenient to hire professionals who were ready to work with advanced solutions right away.
In other words, he needed more people like Ranya Wodin.
"Okay, I'll give you that." She spoke. "It's not easy to acquire these skilled professionals. Now that the Komodo War has entered full swing, most of the people that I could have hired for you are preoccupied with assisting in the war effort."
That was a good thing in his eyes! The less Hexers in the clan, the better! As far as he was concerned, Gloriana had quietly given up her attempts to push her fellow Hexers into the clan. The culture and ideals of the Larkinsons explicitly emphasized equality, which was something that Hexer ideology fundamentally opposed!
"What's the third reason for traveling to the LRA?"
"I already told you that. The pirates that helped us conquer Ulimo Citadel want to be reunited with their families. I've graciously cleared their names, so they shouldn't be wanted by the authorities anymore."
"I don't think this reunion will go as smoothly as you think." She pressed her finger against his chest. "You only managed to convince the MTA to stop treating them as outlaws. That doesn't mean that they are welcome to return to the Life Research Association. What if their domestic enemies still remember them? What if certain high-ranked officials of the LRA begin to push our clan away due to this reason? Have you thought of these possibilities?"
Ves frowned. "I.. no. Goddammit, Gloriana, I'm not a politician!"
"That doesn't mean you should overlook these basic but very impactful consequences! Bringing the wrong people might be taken as a provocation to certain factions. While the LRA isn't as powerful as the Friday Coalition or the Hexadric Hegemony, it is still capable of crushing our entire fleet with its military!"
The need to hire a diplomat or someone adept at managing both politics and external relations became greater.
Though Calabast already somewhat fulfilled this role, she mainly engaged in intrigue. Though diplomacy and intrigue had much in common, they ultimately demanded different approaches and different competences.
Ves didn't have any immediate candidates, sadly. None of his Larkinsons were particularly adept at this job and hiring a third-rater was not the best idea. Only someone who grew up in a second-rate state possessed the innate bearing and ability to command respect from the powers that Ves would likely engage with in the future.
The two began to discuss other destinations that they wished to visit. Ves suggested they should visit the Heavensword Association as well.
"While I don't have an urgent need to visit this state, Ketis and the Swordmaidens would probably love it if we make a stop here. The people of the Heavensword Association are all obsessed with swords."
"I can see how that would benefit them, but we can't divert our entire schedule just to satisfy a small majority of our clansmen."
"We'll just find additional reasons to visit the Heavensword Association. There's bound to be opportunities to earn merits in this state as well."
Majestic Teal offered many more interesting destinations. Though neither Ves nor Gloriana were willing to stay too long, it shouldn't be a problem to see some of the local sights!
Chapter 2334 - Cracking the Secret
Joshua hesitantly pulled Jannzi into a hug. While she didn't push him away, her lack of reaction showed that she didn't care too much about his gesture.
Secretly, he felt quite frustrated! Just as he had made a bit of progress in earning her favor, she suddenly broke through to expert pilot.
Ever since she returned from that amazing battle, it was as if she went back to being aloof again.
Jannzi was still the same person for the most part. Compared to the past, Joshua noticed that she had become a lot more decisive. She never changed her mind either. Once she made a decision, she rarely doubted her choice.
He knew what expert pilots were supposed to be like. Many trueblood Larkinsons spent a lot of time with other expert pilots.
In fact, most Larkinson expert pilots were fairly approachable. They still possessed plenty of warmth and emotions towards their own families.
The problem was that Jannzi acted more distant towards him after she underwent apotheosis. Though he could still sense her love towards the Larkinson Clan, it became more and more difficult for Joshua to connect to her on an individual level.
Maybe.. Their relationship was not to be. Maybe he wasn't the right boyfriend for her. The main reason he hadn't given up yet was because he still possessed a chance to turn this situation around.
He just had to advance to expert pilot as well. Once he became her equal, he should be able to worm himself inside her heart again!
"I need to return to my duties, Joshua." She spoke as she finally shrugged off his arms and rose to her feet. "I have promised to tutor a large number of mech pilots. I can't stay away for long."
"You just tutored a batch of mech pilots earlier!"
"There are many mech pilots in our clan."
"You don't have to spend so much time on guiding them, Jannzi."
"I disagree. We are still in dangerous territory. Our task force's battle prowess has suffered quite a lot. Though my breakthrough allows me to exert greater strength, my Shield of Samar is still a standard mech. The amount of help I can provide in battle is limited. Since I can't exert my strength in piloting mechs, I can damn well make sure to help our other colleagues perform better!"
She didn't accept any further arguments. She left the compartment without another word. Joshua watched her go with a difficult expression on his face.
He gritted his teeth. "Just you wait, Jannzi! I'll catch up with you! I'll earn your acknowledgement. I did it before. I can do it again! My potential isn't any less than yours!"
The sooner he broke through, the better!
Elsewhere on the Redfeather, Commander Melkor processed the mech pilots who perished in the earlier battle.
It was always hard for him to accept the Avatars who died under his command. Sometimes, the responsibility was too much for him. How could he possibly return to the families of the fallen and tell them that their relatives died for a good cause?
The Larkinsons botched their attack on Ulimo Citadel. There was no doubt about that. Even if they won in the end and gained an expert pilot out of it, Melkor would have rather avoided the battle entirely.
He momentarily removed his visor on his face to rub his exhausted eyes. He personally knew some of the Avatars who died. Some of them were even trueblood Larkinsons. Their deaths hurt him even more.
While the clan could easily replenish the losses of adopted Larkinsons, the amount of trueblood relatives in his clan only grew less and less. Until the next generation of Larkinsons grew up, repeated battles only accelerated their fading presence in the clan.
It was not as if Melkor looked down on the adopted. It was just a pity to see the original Larkinsons who initially followed Ves become increasingly less relevant.
It was as if Ves had hoodwinked the trueblood Larkinsons. In the future, the clan would likely be led by Larkinsons who weren't part of the original family. While their bloodline would always persist, their say in matters wouldn't be as significant as before. It was hard for them to lead the entire clan when more than ninety percent of the clan consisted of adopted Larkinsons and their descendants!
His desk terminal chimed. Melkor quickly put his visor back on his face before accepting the call.
A projection of Commander Magdalena appeared in front of him. "Hello, Melkor. Hard day?"
He nodded. "It's not easy. It must be even harder for you. Out of all of our commands, yours suffered the most."
So far, the Living Sentinels have lost almost 300 mech pilots from the time they entered the Nyxian Gap. Considering that the Sentinels actually started off with 500 mech pilots, this was a devastating loss! Much of their carriers had grown much quiet as a result.
Though the Sentinels endured the greatest tragedy, Commander Magdalena kept her composure. "This is not the time to mourn. Not truly. It is fine to spare some thought to the fallen, but don't let it consume your attention. There are many dangers in the Nyxian Gap that can still waylay us as we try to make it out of this region. Even if my Sentinels have difficulty processing the losses, I cannot allow them to wallow in pity."
"I admire your resilience."
"You get used to it." She replied. "I have witnessed worse in the Mech Corps during the height of the Bright-Vesia War. Mech pilots must live with death if they want to retain the courage to step onto the battlefield. This is even more important for mech officers like us. We don't just have to take care of ourselves. We also have to do our best to keep our men and women alive. This is the burden of responsibility."
While the commanders of the Avatars of Myth and the Living Sentinels discussed how to cope with the responsibilities they bore, elsewhere in the fleet, Ketis sat behind a terminal in the design lab of the Scarlet Rose.
Ever since she fought to end the ritual that threatened the task force, she was filled with multiple great ideas.
She felt as if her understanding of mechs and swordsmanship had evolved. Coming up with the Monster Slayer concept was just one of her benefits.
Three different incomplete mech designs projected in front of her. Each of them weren't that good, as Ves already made clear, but they were hers. Just because they possessed faults didn't mean she should throw them away.
She had spent the last days refining them until she was happy with her changes. The mechs became a bit more responsive and a bit more capable of swinging their swords.
Still, it was the fourth projected design that attracted most of her attention.
It was just a sketch for now. Ketis stretched out a finger and added a new line to the collection of contours. The preliminary draft of her Monster Slayer design became a bit more visible.
Though Ketis opted to design a medium mech, the tight proportions of the draft design made it clear that it was oriented around mobility.
Her Monster Slayer was designed to fight against stronger and larger opponents. The design needed to possess a lot of skill expression, and the best way to do that was to increase their mobility.
The price for that was less armor. For a third-class mech, this was a very painful tradeoff.
It was not as bad with second-class designs. Thin and light armor systems still provided at least some effective defense, especially if the Monster Slayer enjoyed a generous budget.
She was sure that Ves would agree to give her the room to design an expensive mech. The Monster Slayer was targeted towards the Swordmaidens.
Ketis wanted to provide her fellow sisters with a mech that best matched their swordsmanship style!
She originally intended to make her Monster Slayer a third-class mech design. However, she changed her mind when she realized that her fellow sisters urgently needed stronger mechs in order to face the enemies of the future.
The problem was that despite her frantic study efforts, she was still too far off from becoming a qualified second-class mech designer.
"It helps that I don't have to study so many different subjects."
She didn't intend to study a lot of subjects related to ranged mechs and other mechs. If she ever needed to add ranged weapons to her mech, she could just ask for help from Ves or other colleagues.
There was no need for her to spread her time too much.
That said, even if she studied the bare minimum of topics, it would still take years for her to get anywhere close to designing a second-class mech!
"Maybe I should get an implant just like Ves." She muttered.
She was a bit reluctant to do so. While she didn't share Ves' paranoia, right now she wasn't satisfied with her current options. Ves managed to obtain a CFA implant. If Ketis wanted to keep up with him and not be left in the dust, she needed something that was just as good!
"How difficult can it be to obtain a first-class implant?"
The difficulty was immense! Decent first-class implants likely cost more than the entire net worth of the Larkinson Clan!
This was a huge gap that Ketis could never catch up in the short term. The only way for her to buy such an implant was to make a lot of money by designing commercially-successful mech designs.
Right now, she wasn't confident in her ability to earn so much money. Her mech designs simply weren't as compelling as the mechs designed by Ves. Unlike the designs projected in front of her face, every work from her mentor possessed a touch of life!
Though Ketis primarily obsessed about swords, she also appreciated what Ves was able to do. There were plenty of times where she felt envious at how much he could add to his mech designs despite not adding any special components.
"Somehow, he's adding something invisible to his mech designs. What is it? How does he do it? Can I do the same?"
She stared at her mech designs. She focused on her 'defensive' dual-wielding swordsman mech. Its two thick swords looked ready to slice apart a mech or hold its thick swords in a defensive posture to block incoming attacks.
She concentrated really hard and tried to emulate Ves.
Nothing happened.
"What am I missing?"
She puzzled over the problem before her eyes lit up. She suddenly had a good idea!
"Ves has his gods, but I have my swords!"
She grabbed her CFA greatsword and pulled it out of its sheath. She stood up from her desk and pointed its lengthy tip at her duel-wielding swordsman mech design.
"Sharpie! Bless this mech design with.. with.. with your sword energy! Sharpen its blades and help it cut through its enemies! Go!"
Much to her delight, Sharpie seemed to reacted to her request! The Grand Cutter grew more active and Ketis felt as if her mind sword drained a part of her concentration.
She suddenly blanked out for a moment as her mind sword released all of its energy!
When she recovered from her momentary blackout, she almost collapsed back onto her seat. She hastily placed her sword back onto her desk before she accidentally cut something.
"What was that?!"
It took half a minute for her to recover from her unexpected mental exertion. She still felt lethargic.
She turned her attention to her mech design and stared at it for a while. Had Sharpie blessed its swords?
"Why does it look the same?"
Maybe once was not enough.
"Can you do that trick again, Sharpie?"
Her sword intent reacted negatively.
"Oh… maybe tomorrow?"
A part of her was disappointed at the lack of results. Another part of her believed she accomplished something.
"I definitely did something! Maybe I've cracked the secret to how Ves makes his mechs alive!"
Chapter 2335 - Hexer Influence
Colonel Kellandra Wodin stood in her office. She gazed outside a heavily-reinforced window.
A large sprawl of buildings stretched out before her sight. Ever since thousands of Wodin Warriors arrived at Cinach VI, they all needed somewhere to stay and provide security to the nearby Larkinson Clan.
The Wodin Dynasty erected a heavily-fortified hexagram-sided base next to the compound rented by the Larkinsons.
The sheer breadth and depth of the new Hexer base significantly exceeded anything the Larkinsons witnessed. The Wodins spared no effort in fortifying it. Each base section gleamed with superior alloys. Powerful turrets and missile banks covered a very large envelope. Some of the weapons were so powerful in fact that they even threatened targets in orbit!
Best of all was that the construction elements were all modular. Once the Hexers no longer needed to stay in the Cinach System, the Wodin Warriors only needed days to pack up all of the building blocks and depart from this rustic star system.
She sneered. After staying in Cinach for several weeks, she was more than ready to return to the Hegemony.
Every Sentinel citizen or official she met always cowered in front of her presence. The misguided foreigners all behaved as if she and her fellow Hexers were aberrations.
Fools!
The Hexers were the only people who accepted the truth! Women were superior! The main reason why the rest of the galaxy rejected this truth was because the boys in charge perpetuated it for selfish reasons!
Still, as much as she wanted to malign every boy who had risen far above their station, she knew she needed to be patient. As long as the Komodo War followed the current trend, it was only a matter of time before the Hexadric Hegemony conquered the Friday Coalition. Taking over the Komodo Star Sector was just the beginning!
Still, she wasn't entirely blind to the competence of the Fridaymen. The resistance they put up so far showed that the boys in charge of their state were willing to commit everything to drag out the war. The more death and destruction that ensued, the more the Fridaymen reveled in the chaos.
Typical boys.
Speaking of that, Kellandra's mind was on another boy.
"As far as my observations tell me, Ves Larkinson is a typical example of a boy who has gained too much power." Melody Raft dutifully reported to the powerful Wodin. "He is greedy. He embraces violence. He has a penchant for taking risks, only to let his subordinates suffer the consequences of his bad decisions. He is very much a boy that poses the greatest threat to society."
Kellandra sneered. "Why hasn't Gloriana reined him in yet? She has been taught to corral boys as well as any other female Hexer."
"I.. do not exactly know, colonel."
"Give me your best guess."
"She… loves him. The current him. What I mean by that is that Miss Gloriana would much rather work with and live alongside Mr. Ves when he is at his most unrestrained. As creative professionals, Gloriana values passion and dedication, and Mr. Ves has those in spades. In our perspective, he may be a threat to society, but your sister doesn't really care about that. Even if Mr. Ves burns the entire galaxy, she won't mind if it helps them design better mechs. She might even participate in the arson if that helps her obtain better results!"
A tense silence followed as Kellandra digested those remarks. She did not doubt Melody's words at all. The Wodin dynasty thoroughly trained the personal assistant before assigning her to her current charge. Her loyalty was impeccable and she was trained to study all manner of human interaction.
What Kellandra just heard made her disappointed in her sister. Had they pampered Gloriana too much? Perhaps allowing her to travel to Centerpoint was a mistake.
"Can this be remedied?"
"No, ma'am." Melody immediately replied. "She will reject any attempts that she believes will harm her ambition. She harbors some very lofty goals. While I am not a mech designer, she has frequently described the immense difficulty of reaching them. She is willing to do almost anything to reach the rank of Master Mech Designer. Consorting with a boy and allowing him to retain his worst impulses is more than acceptable to Miss Gloriana. In fact, she sees it as a benefit."
"How so?" Kellandra raised an eyebrow.
"Just like other boys, Mr. Ves possesses a limited imagination. He can't design a good mech without gaining inspiration, and the way he gains it is through violence. He is addicted to danger because he can gain some very potent ideas for his next mech design. Take his current excursion to the Nyxian Gap for example. He has literally driven hundreds of clansmen and exiled Hexers to their deaths by ordering them to storm a heavily-fortified pirate base. To make it worse, the pirates have deployed hundreds of weapons of mass destruction."
"How have the Larkinsons managed to achieve victory?"
"The details of the battle are rather murky to us, ma'am." Melody said with regret. "All I can tell for now is that the Larkinsons hijacked some of the prohibited superweapons and turned them against their former owner. Mr. Ves personally had to request dispensation from the MTA to allow his people to do so without repercussion."
Neither of the two women thought well of this course of action.
"What a beast." Kellandra snarled. "The more I learn about Gloriana's boy, the more I see the worst of humanity in him. His affinity for death and destruction is among the worst that I have seen in some time!"
"The plan went well for a time until a deviation occurred. The pirates deployed some sort of emergency measure that had threatened to annihilate every Larkinson mech involved in the attack. Only a last-minute breakthrough by a Larkinson expert candidate caused them to turn the situation around."
Word of the Larkinson Clan's first expert pilot had already spread throughout their local base. The Wodins hadn't missed the news.
"A woman had to save the Larkinsons from defeat." Kellandra ironically smiled. "In the end, the superior gender always has to bail out boys whenever they overreach themselves. When will they ever learn?"
"The Larkinson Clan enjoys a high proportion of expert candidates for an organization of its size. This is partially due to its heritage and partially due to the ability of Mr. Ves to attract them. We have also received word from your brother Brutus that his charge has advanced to expert pilot as well. It is very possible that the clan will soon be blessed with multiple expert pilots."
"All women, I suppose?"
"All but one, colonel."
"Good." Kellandra nodded in satisfaction. "Those women will help rein in my sister's lover. No one can ignore the will of an expert pilot. We should try and reach out to these women. Have we done so already?"
Melody looked reluctant. "We.. tried. Sadly, every Larkinson expert candidate has rejected our entreaties. Our mere status and perceived reputation as Hexers has made it difficult to befriend them, let alone hold a cordial conversation with them. It is difficult to get through their unenlightened minds."
"Continue the effort. Don't give up. It will be too late to enlighten them to the truth when they reach the rank of expert pilot."
"We shall continue to try. Our best option is to approach an expert candidate of the so-called Swordmaidens. It is very clear that this mech troop has some very strong Hexer roots."
Kellandra perked up at that. "Then why haven't we managed to turn them to our side?"
"They are.. stubborn. Their history is also very murky. Many of our fellow Hexers look down on them as degenerates. They're not even as good as third-raters as most of them have emerged from the frontier. The Swordmaidens are former pirates. Even if they have scrubbed their names, they still can't hide the savagery that lies within their bones."
"That is no reason to look down on them, Melody. If every other expert candidate in the Larkinson Clan is unapproachable, then we need to exploit the only opening that we have left."
"It's too late, ma'am. Commander Dise and her Swordmaidens doesn't have the best impression of us when she first met the Glory Battalion. Their animosity towards us has solidified as they have slowly become more integrated in the Larkinson Clan."
Kellandra frowned. "Traitors. They are women, are they not? Why are these Swordmaidens embracing the Larkinsons when their values are more aligned with ours?"
"Much of it has to do with the characteristic glows emanated by their mechs. After spending an extensive amount of time alongside Gloriana, I have gradually realized that there are more to these glows than is apparent. The Superior Mother that has benefited the Hex Army so much is but one of multiple gods that Mr. Ves is able to channel in his works. There are other gods, including one that the Larkinsons call the Golden Cat."
"I thought the Larkinsons adopted their cat symbolism because Mr. Ves adores felines."
"That is true, but there is more to it than you think. The Golden Cat is real. She is a similar existence to the Superior Mother. Of course, our Supreme is much stronger and more majestic, but the Larkinsons have each developed an invisible connection to their own god. Gloriana has mentioned that something of a network exists between every Larkinson. It causes them to recognize each other and makes it easier to recognize each other as kin. It's actually quite distressing to witness the influence the Golden Cat has on everyone who becomes a Larkinson. She is also the primary reason why all of our Hexers have failed to join the clan. Their god does not allow our entry."
Kellandra grew grave when she heard that. "The Golden Cat changes those who join the clan? Including my sister?"
"Yes. The changes are already somewhat apparent on Miss Gloriana. It is as if she is affected by a permanent glow. Even if she still recognizes herself as a Hexer, she is becoming more open to misguided ideas."
"This sounds dangerous. Why are we allowing the Larkinsons to brainwash my sister?!"
"Please calm down, colonel. I have constantly kept Minister Constance in the loop. Her vision is broader than ours. She loves her daughter as much as you. She is aware of the risks, but believes the current trajectory will benefit her daughter, herself, the Wodin Dynasty and our great state the most."
"Why?!"
"First, the brainwashing you describe is not too strong. Gloriana is a woman raised in the right way. She has never given up her identity as a Hexer. While her changes are not desirable in our eyes, they will help her interact with the people she will be dealing with in the future once the Larkinson Clan embarks on its expedition."
"That doesn't give me much comfort."
"Second, the moniker of Miracle Couple is not an exaggeration." Melody continued. "Gloriana's design potential has truly lifted off once she has started to collaborate with Mr. Ves. There is an even greater mech than the Blessed Squire in development. Once the Hex Army receives this new model, some of our female military mech pilots will be able to gain a powerful new offensive option. Minister Constance believes that keeping her daughter in the Larkinson Clan may significantly benefit our war effort."
As much as she disliked it, Kellandra agreed with this argument. The Hegemony was in a tough battle. While the Hegemony would surely be able to vanquish the Coalition, she wouldn't reject an opportunity to end the war sooner and spare the lives of millions of valiant Hexers.
"If my mother has made this choice, then so be it." The mech colonel sighed. "Please tell me about the reorganization of the Glory Seekers. How can we ensure that they will remain loyal Hexers and loyal to the Wodin Dynasty even as they accompany the Larkinsons in their upcoming journey?"
"We have implemented multiple ways to…"
Chapter 2336 - Longevity Contradiction
Ves withdrew from the Desolate Soldier that he had moved to the workshop. In order to open up enough space to work on the mech, he had to move the statue of the Unending One to the Scarlet Rose's hangar bay.
The mech technicians stationed there did not appreciate their close proximity to the unnerving black statue. The objections only died down after someone dr.a. a huge curtain over the monstrous-looking ornament.
In any case, ever since the Desolate Soldier mech arrived, Ves had been tinkering with it without much aim or direction.
He studied the mech. He inspected its systems. He familiarized himself with its spiritual foundation.
The mech was in use for a while, but due to its relatively low performance, it was mostly used as either a backup mech or a training mech.
It hadn't been used in battle since the Larkinson Clan left the Ylvaine Protectorate. The machine basically took up space and that was why the Living Sentinels were glad to pass it over to Ves. It's silver coating looked almost as good as new, which further reinforced the notion that it was a neglected mech.
Ves didn't like to see that, but this was an inevitable outcome of the growing prosperity of the Larkinson Clan. The Desolate Soldier was solely designed to offer a cheap but effective option to resist the sandman invasion. Its relevance against powerful human opponents was not that great. If not for its glow, the LMC would have retired the model already.
Even then, the Larkinson Clan had better options. Many customers throughout the Komodo Star Sector still appreciated the Desolate Soldier's duty-based glow, but the Larkinson mech pilots had come to prefer the warmth of the Bright Warriors.
The Desolate Soldier encouraged mech pilots to fight for a noble cause.
The Bright Warrior encouraged Larkinsons to fight for their family.
Of course, it also helped that the Bright Warrior was a bridge mech that exceeded any third-class mech in the clan's lineup. Many mech pilots were jealous at the few lucky Avatars who were privileged to pilot these powerful machines.
Just their awesome defensive capabilities was enough to drool over. In the previous battle, hardly any Bright Warrior had succ. ! The survival rate of their mech pilots evoked a lot of jealousy and requests to supply these mechs to the Sentinels and every other mech troop.
"It's not that easy." He shook his head. "The supply of Breyer alloy is limited. I already have some better mechs in store for our clan. In time, all of our mech pilots will be paired with proper second-class mechs."
He had different plans in store, but they had to wait until he returned to civilized space. He turned his attention back to the mech he had just finished servicing.
Though the mech technicians assigned to perform maintenance on the mech had done a decent job in keeping it in good condition, their lack of care was apparent. Who wanted to invest a disproportionate effort to fix a tiny problem buried deep in the mech's internals?
While most mechs were designed with robustness and sudden failures in mind, Ves couldn't stand the neglect. He spent multiple days fixing every little problem he managed to detect and restore the mech to its peak condition.
It was an extremely wasteful use of his time. As a mech designer, just an hour's worth of his time was potentially worth billions of hex credits! This was because he could have spent his time on completing his mech design projects faster. Once some of them entered the market, Ves was sure to earn a lot of money.
"I don't feel I have wasted my time, though."
He enjoyed tinkering with the Desolate Soldier. The mech might not be flashy, but it was derived from his work. It felt good to revisit one of his soldier works and contemplate what he had accomplished, how much he had progressed since he completed its design and what he still lacked.
When he compared his Desolate Soldier to his current work, he recognized that not a lot had changed.
The Doom Guard was his latest commercial design project. Though it featured a rather innovative terror glow, its main innovation merely consisted of forcing two antagonistic two design spirits together.
The model held value to the market. Even now, its sales continued to increase despite its inherent weaknesses. The ability to intimidate mech pilots could truly save a lot of lives and prevent more losses when utilized correctly.
The problem was that his design philosophy was not as enthusiastic. Working with design spirits may be a possible way to realize his ambitions, but it wouldn't conform to his original vision.
Making mechs alive in a way that caused people to mistake them as gods was certainly a grand achievement. However, a part of him disliked the thought of making powerful living mechs, only for them to be carbon copies of each other.
The only individuality that the vast majority of his existing exhibited was the faint traces their users left on the mechs.
To mechs such as the Desolate, Doom Guard and the Blessed Guard, these deviations weren't intentional. They were accidents. It was similar to how someone used a tool. Long use caused the tool to acquire scratches, wear marks and other imperfections.
In many cases, tools had to be precise in order to provide the most value to their users. Any damage or deviation from the norm degraded the value of the mech.
This was not what Ves wanted in his products. Life should not be an accident, nor should its value diminish as it grew.
Life was something to be cherished. A mech like the Desolate Soldier mech in front of him deserved a better fate than being left in the dust.
He even felt tempted to upgrade its armament so that it would become relevant in battle again.
"I can't." He shook his head. "I'm better off selling this mech on the second-hand market. There are plenty of people looking for bargains."
This should be the most proper way to dispose of a working mech. Just because users such as the Larkinson Clan had outgrown the Desolate Soldier did not mean the rest of the mech market disdained these good machines.
He knew that many mercenary corps and other private outfits often had difficulty keeping their heads above the water. Buying discounted second-hand goods that delivered almost just as much performance as a brand-new product was a good way for them to stay in business.
Of course, buying second-hand mechs was not really proper due to their reduced longevity. Even the Desolate Soldier that Ves had just finished servicing still showed signs of age that weren't so easily to remedy.
"I haven't really designed this mech with extreme longevity and durability in mind." Ves murmured.
The mech was only supposed to work long enough to last the Sand War. He had made many compromises that allowed him to increase performance at the cost of longevity.
His future works didn't make so many tradeoffs. They were far more expensive than the Desolate Soldier and meant to last at least ten years of regular use. Gloriana also disliked this tradeoff. Mechs that were pushed to their limits were significantly more likely to malfunction over the course of their lifetime.
"Legacy mechs need to be able to live for a long time." He concluded after contemplating the fate of the Desolate Soldier mech in front of him. "My living mechs deserve to live longer than a couple of years. It would be quite sad if most of them are discarded or recycled after five years of battle. That's way too short for my liking. This kind of treatment is reserved for cattle!"
The reason why he preferred to design premium and more expensive mechs was because it fit best with his aim of making his mechs withstand the test of time. A good mech model could last for two whole mech generations before becoming obsolete. That was forty years at minimum, which ought to be plenty of time for living mechs to enjoy a fruitful life.
"Is that enough?"
Ves didn't know. He wanted his mechs to last even longer than that, but that was difficult to accomplish.
"There is a contradiction."
The spiritual components of his mechs always developed and grew stronger over time.
In contrast, the physical components of his mechs definitely weakened over time. Either they wore out or the progression of newer and better technologies turned them obsolete.
If Ves truly wanted to turn his products into legacy mechs that increased in value over time, then he had to reconcile these two opposing developments.
"One solution is to actively upgrade my products."
This was a costly and wasteful solution to many mech owners. Who wanted to waste at least half the price of an old mech to upgrade its parts, only to obtain a stronger that was still constrained by its original design?
The burden was too great. Existing owners had to hire mech designers or other specialists to upgrade an existing mech without crippling it. The other solution was for Ves and Gloriana to revise the design with upgradability in mind.
This was the most ideal solution to his customers. By designing a Mark II of the Desolate Soldier in a way that allowed owners of the Mark I edition to easily update their mechs with an LMC-supplied upgrade kit was the most practical solution to keep his older products relevant.
Yet the burden on Ves was massive. He would have to constrain his design choices with upgradeability in mind.
"This sounds like a nightmare!"
For now, Ves wasn't able to come up with an easy solution. Everyone he thought about were either prohibitively expensive or imposed too much of a burden on his design work.
It would have been great if he could design more mechs like the Devil Tiger. Out of all of his current, only his first masterwork embodied his aims to the greatest degree!
He found it rather funny that he only made this realization a short time ago. Before then, Ves always thought of the Devil Tiger to be an aberration. He originally regarded it as an experiment to explore some usual ideas.
"I was wrong." He shook his head.
The Desolate Soldier might be his greatest commercial success, but the Devil Tiger represented the peak of his current work!
This was because the tiger mech was one of his few products that inherently solved the contradiction.
Over time, both its spiritual character and its physical makeup grew stronger. The powerful ASMAS allowed the Devil Tiger to constantly strengthen its structure and many of its parts.
In hindsight, Ves realized that the Devil Tiger was the first he designed with physical growth in mind! By adding this core feature to his bestial mech, he ensured that the mech had the potential to remain relevant beyond two mech generations!
With proper care, the Devil Tiger might even live thousands of years, turning it into a true god in the form of a machine!
Though Ves felt immensely pleased at what he had accomplished with this design, his smile quickly dropped as he recalled the hefty price to enable such a mech.
"Legacy mechs are unaffordable to the bulk of my market."
ASMAS and other nanomachine-based systems were powerful and adaptable, but they were far too costly. Ves could forget about using them on any third-class mech designs. Even most of his second-class mech designs wouldn't be economical if they incorporated these kinds of solutions.
He hummed a bit. Was it impossible for him to design legacy mechs such as the Devil Tiger?
"Maybe the technology in the future will drive down the cost of nanomachine systems." He guessed.
It happened to many other technologies. As long as the demand was there, plenty of scientists and developers worked hard to increase the practicality of a given solution.
Another way to solve or mitigate the problems related to nanomachine systems was to partner up with a mech designer who specialized them. What would it be like if Ves, who specialized in the spiritual development of a mech, joined forces with a mech designer who specialized in the physical development of a mech?
Chapter 2337 - Not Again
"Ugh, I can't forget about my future wife."
Though it would be nice to partner with a mech designer who specialized in nanomachine systems, Gloriana might not be okay with this solution.
She already hogged most of the physical development of their collaborative mech designs. Adding a third partner in the mix who encroached on her territory might not end well for everyone involved.
He shook his head. Even without partnering up with a specialist, Ves still believed that solutions such as ASMAS would eventually become accessible to him over time.
Right now, the Larkinson Clan had already grown to the point where it was ready to make use of second-class sh.i.p.s, second-class mechs and other second-class tech. Options that he previously considered unattainable such as positron beam weapons or mech-grade shield generators suddenly came within reach now that the LMC sold more and more mechs.
Ves felt proud for achieving this level of commercial success. Even if he didn't consider his bestsellers such as the Desolate Soldier and the Doom Guard in the best light these days, they at least provided the Larkinson Clan with the resources to transcend its third-class origin.
The same evolution should also apply to nanomachine systems. As his clan grew more prosperous and his proficiency in second-class mech design increased, it should be viable for him to design nanotech-based mechs.
"It might take years. It might take decades. In fact, if I want to start right away, I don't have to beg Gloriana to obtain a batch of pure ASMAS."
While ASMAS was prohibitively expensive, Ves could easily obtain another batch with the LMC's current level of earnings. He could even obtain enough ASMAS to build another self-growing mech by selling some of the loot that Task Force Predator had plundered!
If Ves ever reached a time where he was able to design a first-class mech, then that would be even better. At the highest level of mech design, nanomachine systems became a lot more affordable!
Ves already experienced the power of a mech that was able to adjust its shape spontaneously in battle during one of his Mastery experiences. Though gimmicky, the first-class nanomachine mech he witnessed truly made a strong impression in his mind.
"Should I convert to designing nanomachine mechs exclusively in the future?"
This was a difficult question. Though he felt that designing more mechs such as the Devil Tiger fit well with his design philosophy, there were still a lot of inherent weaknesses to this tech.
Though he had implemented some countermeasures such as binding the pure ASMAS to the design spirit, Ves always feared the possibility that one of his father's enemies might succeed in hacking the nanomachines!
The inherent vulnerability to hacking and tampering was the main reason why nanomachine systems failed to become mainstream. Just because Ves could apply some metaphysical tricks to make it more difficult for someone to tamper with them did not mean that this weakness was gone!
"I guess I'm stuck with making my mechs out of old-fashioned solid components."
The classic mech was the most reliable mech. Though many people attempted to 'evolve' the concept of mechs by developing unconventional products such as biomechs and lithic mechs, the market mostly preferred solid metal mechs since the beginning of the Age of Mechs.
Just earlier, he contemplated whether he should design his first nanotech-based mech after the Devil Tiger for his own clan. The Bright Warrior was a pretty good candidate for revision because it was already designed to change aspects of itself.
Instead of mounting different add-ons on it to alter its configuration, the mech could instead rely on its nanomachine-based frame to alter itself on demand!
"It sounds like a pretty good idea, and cost shouldn't be much of a concern if it remains exclusive to the Larkinson Clan."
The thought of entrusting the lives of most of his Larkinson mech pilots to fallible nanomachines did not sit well with Ves. At the very least, he did not believe he possessed a sufficient understanding of this branch of technology to rule out any shenanigans.
"This is what a mech designer who specializes in nanotech is for. It would be great to partner up with someone who is on top of this game." He muttered.
After a while, Ves stopped his idle musings and focused back to his main priority. He did not waste so much time on tinkering on this Desolate Soldier mech to dream about designing more nanomechs.
Solving the physical aging problem of his mechs was a long-term issue that he wouldn't be able to solve for a very long time. In the meantime, it wasn't as if his mechs were suffering.
"No one lives forever. If humans aren't immortal, then mechs shouldn't be much different."
He turned to its spiritual foundation and tried to find a way to mold it in a way that made it more adaptable to its user. How could he turn the mech into a machine that slowly developed a distinct personality that complemented its mech pilot?
The key was to feed it with an abundant amount of spiritual energy. The mech pilot might not be able to satisfy the mech's hunger, but the Solemn Guardian was a different story!
Aside from Qilanxo and Nyxie, the Solemn Guardian had the least to worry about lacking spiritual energy. So many mech pilots used the Desolate Soldier and its variants every day that the spiritual product had long reached its current level of saturation.
All of this meant that inducing the Solemn Guardian to 'donate' a portion of its spiritual energy shouldn't cause any harm.
"I guess now is as good a time as any to try and see what happens."
The Desolate Soldier mech he serviced had already reached its best possible condition. To Ves, it was more than ready to be experimented upon.
Ves approached the mech and placed his hand on its surface. He closed his eyes and tried to connect with both the mech and the Solemn Guardian.
It wasn't difficult. Every Desolate Soldier was connected to the duty-oriented spiritual product. The Solemn Guardian immediately sensed the presence of Ves.
The two communicated on a spiritual level. Neither of them resorted to words or other human means of communication.
Instead, they conveyed their meaning to each other on a more abstract level. It was very difficult for Ves to describe what he was doing, but it was very effective in making the Solemn Guardian understand what he wanted.
As one of his personal creations, the Solemn Guardian was an obedient design spirit. Since its existence centered around duty, it was very committed to loyalty. The Solemn Guardian was one of the design spirits that Ves was least worried about rebelling or leaving.
Once the Solemn Guardian understood his intentions, Ves moved on to his next step.
He began to extend his influence to the individual spiritual foundation of the Desolate Soldier mech he was touching. He carefully attempted to alter it in order to make it more responsible for the changes to come.
After several minutes, the bond between the mech and its design spirit became active.
A relatively hefty amount of spiritual energy poured into the mech's spiritual foundation!
"Too fast! Slow down!" Ves alarmingly shouted!
The Desolate Soldier mech couldn't take so much energy at once! Once the Solemn Guardian reduced the flow, Ves noticed that the spiritual foundation no longer looked like it was about to crack.
The mech absorbed all of the energy without spilling it. This was good. The bad news was that Ves failed to discern any changes. Though the spiritual foundation of the mech grew deeper, he didn't feel as if its life was blooming from a sapling into a tree.
"It feels like I'm cultivating a clone. No matter how healthy it becomes, its still deficient when it comes to personality!"
This experiment at least proved that he couldn't artificially age his mechs just by pumping them with an excess of spiritual energy. Even if the Desolate Soldier mech was able to accept the input from the Solemn Guardian due to their close connection, the former did not actually undergo any evolution.
"It looks like life has to develop naturally." He concluded.
This was not entirely out of his expectations. Eventually, the Solemn Guardian seemed to hit some sort of limits and stopped pumping the mech with spiritual energy.
Compared to before, Ves sensed a degree of solidity and energy he hadn't sensed before. Even if the mech's character hadn't developed at all, its overall strength had grown somehow.
"Before, this mech was a mosquito. Now, it's a c.o. . Aside from getting bigger, it hasn't gotten any smarter. They're both stupid bugs."
Ves was curious at the result. All of that spiritual energy pumped into the spiritual foundation of this particular mech had to result in something, right?
The only way to find out was to stuff a mech pilot inside and turn it on to see what happened.
He activated his comm and ordered his security officers to bring a prisoner from the brig. He had already transferred some captured pirate mech pilots to the Scarlet Rose for just this occasion.
While the guards brought his next test subject, Ves prepared the mech for his upcoming experiment.
"I can't very well allow my test subject to take control of his mech and destroy my ship from the inside!"
He began to open up some parts of the mechs again to physically remove or deactivate some of the control mechanisms. He also entered the c.o. to modify the programming of the mech.
As an added precaution, he activated the workshop's heavy-duty clamps to forcefully keep the mech in place.
Once he was done, he retreated from the machine and greetest his next test subject.
"MMMFPHFMMFFM!" A muffled pirate raged at Ves. "MMFMMFM!"
The former Dry Snake turned captive did not exactly consent to participating in this experiment.
No matter. Pirates weren't entitled to human rights.
"Put him in the c.o. and make sure to restrain him to the piloting chair. You can leave after that." He commanded.
"Yes, sir."
The two security officers dragged the prisoner to a lifter platform which elevated them to the opening of the c.o. .
After slipping inside, the two guards reemerged without the prisoner. Ves approached a workstation connected to the Desolate Soldier mech and confirmed the prisoner was held firmly in place.
"Alright, let's see how our test subject fares." Ves grinned.
Ves activated the mech from remote. As the machine slowly booted up, the captive restrained to the piloting seat began to tug and hurl his entire body for some reason.
"There is no reason to worry." Ves transmitted to the c.o. . "Calm down and don't resist. Just interface the mech and everything will be over soon."
"MMHMMHPHMM!"
The mech pilot did not do as he said. Instead, the pirate captive thrashed more and more. Ves began to check the telemetry and noticed that the pilot's stress levels and other physiological signs kept rising without stop.
Not only that, but the spiritual activity inside the mech seemed to grow more volatile as well. Ever since the pirate mech pilot started interfacing with the altered Desolate Soldier, something very weird was happening.
"Wait a minute. This is heading into dangerous territory!"
Before Ves could interrupt the start-up procedure, the pirate let out an agonizing muffled cry!
"MMMFFWMEFWMEWOWW—"
Through his spiritual senses, Ves sensed the spiritual activity inside the mech had spiked!
Bang!
At the same time, the projection of the interior of the mech turned bloody as the head of the captive mech pilot exploded!
The mech abruptly interrupted its start-up procedure on its own. Without a mech pilot, here was no meaning for the mech to come online.
Its mech pilot was dead.
"..."
Ves stared at the bloody chunks of bone and brain matter splattered all over the consoles and interior of the c.o. .
"GODDAMMIT! NOT AGAIN!"
Chapter 2338 - Lethal Threshold
It took longer for Ves to figure out why the experiment failed than to clean the interior of the c.o. .
As Ves became more accustomed to the explosive results of some of his failures, his cleaning bots evolved as well. They had cleaned up so many bodies and sticky bodily remains that their AIs developed even better and better methods to get rid of all of the messes he made.
"Quite handy." Ves nodded as he witnessed the army of bots exiting the c.o. .
The interior had been thoroughly cleaned and sterilized until not a single speck of blood or dust was left.
In fact, Ves could lick his tongue all over the piloting chair and consoles without any worry!
Not that he would do it. He loved mechs, but not in that way.
He coughed. "Enough thinking about irrelevant stuff. Let's get back to business."
Why did his test subject's head explode?
From his experience, spiritual energy was wondrous and potent. Ves and many other people could literally warp reality by utilizing it in specific ways.
While Ves followed the path of a creator and chose to specialize in channeling this energy into empowering his mechs, others accomplished more direct outcomes.
Expert pilots such as Venerable Jannzi and ancient 'dark gods' like the Unending One directly channeled their powers to affect their enemies and allies!
That was something Ves couldn't do with his limited applications. He was largely limited to setting up his forces for success.
In any case, only a small number of people were capable of harnessing and manipulating spiritual energy.
Those without spiritual potential possessed the least sensitivity towards it. This protected them somewhat against spiritual attacks, but obviously this wasn't foolproof. The artificial anomaly the Grey Watcher had summoned warped the fabric of reality around people.
People with spiritual potential were a bit more special. They possessed greater sensitivity towards spiritual energy but also possessed a bit more strength to resist its negative influence.
The problem was that unless they tapped their potential, it was largely undeveloped. Potential did not necessarily equal strength. It merely paved the way for the future. The individual in question still had to make something out of this gift.
When Ves ran through his spiritual observations, he roughly guessed why the experiment went wrong.
"The mech has become too strong."
Ves overlooked something. Even though the empowered Desolate Soldier mech hadn't developed an individual personality, it still retained the character inherent in its design!
Desolate Soldiers stood for duty. They also represented both honor and sacrifice. The entire mech's purpose revolved around serving a greater cause because it was the right thing to do. Any mech pilot that was reasonably good in character easily gained the mech's acceptance.
It was the opposite towards ruffians.
During the Sand War, Ves developed a variant that was more acceptable to underground organizations. This was necessary because the base model was seen as too upright and proper by the more selfish, ferocious and immoral mech pilots.
Once the LMC released the Prideful Soldier, irregular mech pilots such as Raella Larkinson were finally able to pilot a Soldier mech without fighting against their own machines!
What Ves just noticed from this experiment was that the Desolate Soldier in front of him exhibited the same rejection reaction towards his test subject.
The Desolate Soldier abhorred the depravity and selfishness of typical pirates. Sticking one of them in its c.o. was a recipe for disaster!
"The difference here is that the disaster is at least an order of magnitude greater than usual!"
The answer was that simple. The intense rejection exhibited by the mech would have taken place even if Ves hadn't commanded the Solemn Guardian to saturate it with spiritual energy.
What usually happened in these situations was that the mech pilot would just barely be able to pilot his machine. The mech and design spirit actively disliked the mech pilot and tried their best to put up difficulties. These hindrances usually weren't too threatening, because what could the spirituality of a mech actually do? It's strength was very limited, especially when they hardly had any time to develop.
"I changed that." Ves realized. "It's as if I enlarged a tiny ant into a formidable monster who towers over me. The creature is still the same, but the scale is on another level!"
Simple actions such as biting his skin turned from a minor annoyance into a life-threatening scenario!
Since Ves attempted to pair up his empowered mech with a highly incompatible mech pilot, the life within the Desolate Soldier did not hold back in attempting to repel the unwanted visitor.
Mechs weren't human! They weren't raised as one and did not undergo the decades-long nurturing and indoctrination that taught them how to behave in certain situations.
They were killing machines. The most they could do was to assist any friendlies, disregard any neutrals and kill any enemies. Nothing else!
Though Ves genuinely made a mistake in overlooking the likelihood of provoking a rejection reaction, he could not be blamed for missing the fact it would produce a result as extreme as head explosions.
Lately, that only happened when he went too far in performing spiritual surgery on his test subjects.
He should have recalled the times when he experimented on the indigious folk of Aeon Corona VII.
Back then, he hadn't developed an elaborate repertoire of spiritual techniques. He mainly messed around with neural interfaces to achieve results.
"This is kind of similar." Ves hummed.
The mech had become too strong. The man-machine connection may be able to protect its own mech pilots from getting attacked by excessive neural input, but it wasn't programmed to modulate the spiritual input from the mech!
Without any safety limits, the mech was able to leverage its full strength against the mech pilot it hated without any reserve.
Ves grimaced and scratched his head. "This isn't something I can restrain."
He did not specialize in neural interface technology. While he learned a few scattered bits of knowledge about them, he didn't really know how to set up a gate that limited the maximum spiritual input of a mech to a range that was tolerable to humans.
Even if he did possess the capability, he wouldn't do it anyway. The MTA didn't give him the approval to tinker with neural interfaces. If he was caught doing so, his career would probably be over!
"Not even Master Willix can bail me out if that happens!"
Rules were rules. As much as Master Willix showed obvious interest in his work, she still held strong opinions against anyone who broke the MTA's taboos.
Ves looked at his mech and figured that it was too strong for its own good. Let alone sticking another test subject in its c.o. , Ves didn't even want to subject his own clansmen to such a dangerous mech!
Even if the empowered Desolate Soldier cooperated well with a Larkinson mech pilot, Ves didn't want to take the risk.
He needed to reverse what he had done. He needed to weaken the Desolate Soldier so that it wasn't able to kill its own mech pilot whenever it liked!
"Can you give back some of what you absorbed?" He mentally asked the mech.
It didn't respond.
"Figures."
Ves contacted the Solemn Guardian and asked the design spirit to forcefully take back half of the spiritual energy it donated to the mech.
To his surprise, the Solemn Guardian was able to do this, though the process wasn't smooth. Its connection to the Desolate Soldier mechs were very close.
Even if the machine in question was unwilling, it couldn't cut off the connection or prevent its energy from being taken away. The design spirit was too strong compared to the mech!
"This is rather useful!" He grinned.
The interaction showed that his design spirits could harvest the spiritual energy of any mech it chose, though Ves noticed it became harder over time.
It seemed that the spiritual energy that the Solemn Guardian recently donated was still under its control. The rest, which included the mech's original spiritual foundation, remained largely untouched.
Were his design spirits able to strip the spiritual foundations of his mechs? Ves wasn't sure. Due to the direct connection between the design spirit and mech, there weren't any barriers in the way. The only troublesome aspect was that it was harder to affect spiritual energy that didn't belong to the entity in question.
While it sounded unlikely for this to happen, Ves still needed to take the possibility into account. What if his design spirits betrayed him one day? What if they wanted to stab him in the back? Killing the life within every active mech in use was a dastardly way to harm his reputation!
He shook his head. "This isn't something that is likely to happen. I'll probably figure something out in the future."
Once the Solemn Guardian took away half of the energy it originally passed over, the presence of the Desolate Soldier mech had weakened by a huge margin. It didn't appear as filled with life as before.
"Bring in our next captive." He commanded his guards.
He repeated the initial experiment. Every condition remained the same. When Ves stepped in front of his workstation and activated the command to boot up the mech, he paid close attention to the interior of the c.o. and the life signs of the mech pilot.
Just like the previous prisoner, the guards stuffed his mouth with a gag.
"MMWMFWMMFM!"
Ves frowned. The increased anxiety, rising heart rate, increased brain activity, rising body temperature and violent physical moments were very familiar.
Was the mech still too strong?
"MMMOWWMWWOOWOWWWWWFF!"
Even when it looked as if the test subject's head was approaching its limits, Ves did not interrupt the experiment. He wanted to let the situation play out in order to record the complete result.
"I still have a couple of test subjects to spare." He muttered.
After a couple of minutes, the test subject abruptly collapsed in his piloting chair. The pirate no longer fought against his restraints.
Ves frowned. He studied the telemetry and noticed that while the mech pilot's physiological indicators remained active, much of his brain activity had dropped.
This conformed with what he had seen with his spiritual senses. The mech hammered the man's spiritual potential. While the force of the mech's spiritual resistance wasn't as overwhelming, it was still sufficient to break the spirit of its current mech pilot!
The final result was that his second test subject had died in spirit, if not in body.
Sure, the man's body was still intact. Sure, his head hadn't exploded. Yet the loss of his spirit made him indistinguishable from a clone.
The test subject wasn't strictly a human anymore. Instead, the body had devolved into a collection of flesh, bone and other body tissues. The structure was there, but the body no longer held the spark of life that granted it sentience.
Some bots entered the c.o. and removed the inanimate body. Ves had no interest in keeping a useless bag of flesh and bone, so he commanded the bots to chuck it out of the airlock.
Space was one of the biggest garbage dumps in reality. No matter how much junk people ejected into space, there was no way it would ever fill up to capacity!
"Hmm, let's try again, shall we? This time, I'll see what happens if the mech only has a quarter of its strength left."
The third attempt proceeded much better than the previous two times. The severely weakened Desolate Soldier mech still resisted its pirate mech pilot, but its attempts at lashing out only induced severe headaches and mental torture to its mech pilot.
"MMMEMFEMWFMMWWM! MWMEMFEMWEMFWM! MMEMFMWMMW!"
The muffled screams of the third test subject sounded like music to his ears. As long as the mech pilot was still thrashing and capable of expressing his discomfort, he was still alive!
"Finally, a success!"
He established a general impression of the lethal threshold of a mech towards mech pilots with spiritual potential.
This was not enough, though. If he wanted to understand this phenomenon to the fullest, then he had to obtain hostile mech pilots who lacked this potential.
The problem was that he didn't have any test subjects who met this criteria. He regretted his decision to allow the clan to execute them before leaving Ulimo Citadel.
Since Task Force Predator hadn't met any pirate groups lately, Ves would have to wait for a very long time until he gained the test subjects he required.
Was there a way to remedy this problem?
"Wait a minute. What if I make them myself?"
Was it possible for him to destroy or strip someone's spiritual potential?
That sounded rather difficult without killing them. Still, it was worth a try!
Chapter 2339 - Spiritual Tolerance
Directly affecting others through spiritual manipulation wasn't as easy as it sounded. From his earlier experiments, he learned that people with spiritual potential possessed a defense mechanism that caused their spirituality to turtle up and become almost untouchable.
While this largely cut the mech pilot off his own spirit, any external threat would have a very hard time abusing it any further.
What Ves sought this time was not to find a way to alter it. He wasn't trying to figure out how to create expert candidates and expert pilots on demand.
He wanted to achieve the opposite result. He wanted to downgrade a mech pilot with spiritual potential to someone who was still alive but spiritually dull.
"This will be a delicate operation."
Ves had moved to an enclosed test chamber elsewhere on his ship. He ordered his guards to bring in another captive pirate and strap the fellow down to an operation table.
Once the guards left, Ves approached the scared and thrashing pirate and contemplated his options.
What he wanted to do was very cruel. People who were lucky enough to develop spiritual potential possessed more chances at achieving greatness. Becoming an expert pilot or Journeyman was a dream to many people, but the strength of their spirit determined whether they could even open these doors.
To Ves, depriving someone of most of their spiritual potential was almost as bad as killing them. He felt as if there was something profoundly wrong and abhorrent about what he was about to do.
"Why do I feel this way?" He frowned.
In a way, the act went against everything he wanted to accomplish. As a creator and a service provider, he oriented his life around improving the lives of those who used his products.
The thought of millions of mech pilots happily using and entrusting their lives to their LMC mechs gave Ves an immense amount of satisfaction. His success fueled his motivation to continue with his work and develop even better ways to meet the demands of his customers.
According to this outlook, it was wrong for him to induce actual harm to his people. Developing ways to actively harm people sounded more like something the Five Scrolls Compact would do. What he wanted to do was exactly what the MTA least wanted to occur!
"Well, it's for a good reason." Ves shrugged and excused himself. "As long as I succeed in figuring out how to design a legacy mech, then everything will be fine!"
After solving his moral conundrum, he faced his frightened test subject without any measure of guilt. Scientific progression couldn't be stopped. If he wanted to make a few omelets, then he had to break some eggs.
Ves grinned at the thought of what he was about to do. "I've never done anything like this before. How exciting! Let's see how I can cripple you. Don't worry. You probably won't die!"
The test subject in question only fought harder against his restraints!
"MMMEMMFMWWMFMFW!"
"Calm down, man! Don't you know how hard it is to perform a surgical operation on you when you are lashing out all the time?"
Despite his advice, the man did not follow his advice despite the fact it was in his best interests to do so. Why were pirates so stupid?
"Oh well, don't blame me if anything goes wrong."
In order to affect someone's spiritual potential, he had to worm inside the person's mind. The key was to perform his operation quickly. If more than a second passed, his test subject's spirit would probably realize it was under attack and bury itself in a hole. By then, it was too late for Ves to do anything meaningful for a long time.
For this reason, he wasn't in a hurry to do something. He carefully acc. his energy and formed a strong and stable spiritual knife in his mind.
Though the pirate was unwilling to subject himself to a dangerous experiment, he could only thrash against his restraints for so long. The fellow slowly tired himself out. When the pirate gradually grew tense but less afraid, Ves finally struck!
He held his palm over the test subject's face to gain access and thrust his spiritual knife forward.
Cut!
With a single attack, Ves attempted to cut off around seventy percent of the pirate's spiritual potential!
Yet as soon as his 'knife' touched its target, he barely had any time to cut off a chunk of spirit before his attack became invalid.
The man's spirit had rapidly engaged its self-defense mechanism!
"MMFMMEW!"
The pirate's stress levels abruptly spiked as the man experienced unimaginable pain! Even so, the vast majority of his spiritual potential remained intact, if temporarily bottled up in order to protect it against external influence!
Vs frowned at this outcome. His test subject's spiritual potential was a lot more reactive towards active threats than against other forms of manipulation. Its reaction time was pretty insane!
No matter how much he thrust his spiritual knife, the man's spiritual potential had already entered a different phase. There was no way for Ves to proceed with his experiment.
"Damnit. Off you go, then. Bring in the next test subject!"
He thought about why he failed. Now that he looked back on what he had done, he realized that his test subject was still on guard against him when he performed his cutting procedure.
"I knew it wouldn't be so easy." He sighed.
Ves believed he might achieve better results if he lowered his test subject's guard. Naturally, he wouldn't be able to do so through persuasion. He could only resort to other means.
Once the next test subjects arrived, Ves took out a sedative and injected it into the body of the next pirate to endure his experiment.
"Go to sleep."
Once the pirate fell unconscious, Ves inspected his latest test subject and saw that the spirit was still somewhat active, but not as bad as before.
Just to be sure, Ves waited for an entire hour in order to calm the spirit even further. In the meantime, he spent his time supervising the work of his design teams and made some small tweaks to his ongoing mech designs.
After an hour had passed, his patience wore thin. He returned to the testing chamber and quietly approached his current test subject.
The man had calmed a lot, whether in body, mind or spirit. Though Ves could wait a couple more hours, he didn't think it would make that much of a difference.
He formed his knife and performed a cut without hesitation!
This time, he succeeded!
"MMWMWMWWEFF!"
The muffled man's body suddenly woke despite the sedatives trying to keep him under! Ves didn't care as he recognized he succeeded in cutting away at least eighty percent of the pirate's spiritual potential.
The test subject's self-defense mechanism hadn't been on guard! It activated too late!
Unfortunately, this was not enough to achieve the result. While the test subject's remaining spiritual potential had lost a huge amount of strength, it still remained intact!
"Damn! I should have cut off more!"
Perhaps it might be interesting to study what happened to people who heavily damaged their spiritual potential. Ves wasn't interested, though. He commanded the spiritually-injured test subject to be moved back to the brig while calling up yet another test subject.
"I'm running out of captives to experiment upon." He muttered. "I don't have that many of them in the first place."
It took two more cutting attempts before Ves successfully managed to cripple a test subject's spiritual potential!
Ves estimated that he had cut off 95 percent of his latest test subject's spiritual potential. What remained no longer possessed the strength to retain its distinctive characteristics. What remained retracted into a seed that was so weak and tiny that Ves could hardly sense it in the first place.
His eyes lit up as the poor pirate m.o. in pain.
"Hahahaha!" Ves laughed. "This is it! This is what I wanted to see!"
While he hadn't managed to develop a method to imbue spiritual potential into someone who lacked it, he at least came up with a means to do the reverse.
The actual application of this technique was a little dubious, though. He couldn't perform this cruel technique at a distance. He needed to touch his target's head or find some other way to gain direct access without tripping any alarms. Then he needed to estimate how much he could cut without mind-killing his patient.
The limitations effectively meant that there was little chance for him to employ it effectively in battle.
"That's fine. I'm not asking for much."
Now that he transformed an unsuitable test subject into one that fulfilled all of his original criteria, he moved quickly.
Ves commanded some bots to bring the crippled test subject out of the testing chamber and into the mech workshop.
Even though the test subject was still suffering a lot of soul-searing pain, Ves couldn't wait. Once the pirate was locked onto the piloting chair, Ves commanded the Desolate Soldier to boot up and interface with its unwilling mech pilot.
The outcome surprised him. Minutes passed as the mech successfully interfaced with its mech pilot.
"Mmwmmwef! Mfemwmfemfe!"
The current test subject still exhibited a lot of signs of pain, but the mech wasn't actually inducing that much stress against its own user. The test subject's lack of sensitivity towards further spiritual attacks limited what the mech could do against the pirate.
"Interesting!"
This meant that those without spiritual potential were actually a bit more capable of resisting dangerous spiritual pressure!
Ves found it rather ironic that the weakest mortals possessed an advantage in this aspect. The lucky ones who developed spiritual potential had to guard their spirits well.
He began to perform a follow-up experiment. As the mech was still in use, Ves requested the Solemn Guardian to feed back a portion of its energy to the Desolate Soldier mech.
He wanted to find out the spiritual tolerance of someone without spiritual potential. How much pressure could his current test subject withstand before reaching his limit?
Quite high, it turned out.
As the mech continued to inflate with spiritual energy, the tortured test subject still managed to hold on to his life, though there were various signs that he would suffer permanent brain damage if this process proceeded for more than an hour.
Ves did not halt the process but continued to monitor the situation in multiple ways as the Desolate Soldier mech grew stronger.
"MMFMEW!"
The mech pilot finally succ. when the mech had almost reached saturation! Ves looked closely at both the telemetry and spiritual activity and concluded that the test subject's small and crippled spirit finally succ. .
The man suffered a mind death, the same as the second test subject.
"At least there isn't a mess this time."
As the bots began to remove the mentally-dead pirate from the c.o. , Ves began to wrap up this round of experiments. He didn't want to waste his remaining test subjects without going over his current results.
This was a fruitful day to Ves. He developed several new concepts such as lethal threshold and spiritual tolerance. He also came up with three more spiritual techniques that he could add to his expanding toolbox.
Spiritual foundation enhancement was a method of empowering the spiritual foundation of individual mechs. It was also reversible if not too much time had passed.
As the experiments had already shown, spiritual foundation enhancement was very potent but dangerous. Most mech pilots couldn't withstand the consequences of interfacing with excessively powerful mechs if there was any hostility between the two. Mech pilots with spiritual potential had to be extra careful against threats from this direction!
So far, Ves had only seen the downsides of spiritual foundation enhancement. Yet he wasn't quite sure what happened if an empowered mech couldn't kill its own mech pilot.
Would such a mech truly be able to grow faster than if it hadn't been fed with a large amount of spiritual energy?
It was difficult to know for sure, especially if he kept pairing pirate mech pilots with an upright mech like the Desolate Soldier.
"Do I really need to turn one of my own Larkinsons into my test subjects?"
Chapter 2340 - Drooping Tree
Subjecting his own clansmen to his experiments was a step too far to Ves.
He struggled with his desire to extend his current study to his own clansmen. Even if he weakened the spiritual foundation of his test mech to a large degree, he still couldn't rule out the possibility that something detrimental might take place.
The last thing he wanted to do was to cripple a valuable Larkinson mech pilot!
Every single member of the clan was family to him. He was unwilling to expose any of his Larkinsons to this kind of danger so soon after leading hundreds of them to their deaths. The Battle of Ulimo Citadel had already killed enough brave mech pilots.
As Ves stared at the empowered Desolate Soldier, he began to develop some misgivings about the machine.
A sense of bloodiness emanated from the machine. The mech had killed its own mech pilots not just once, but thrice!
With this bloody track record, Ves was afraid the mech had acquired a taste for blood.
Two mech pilots with spiritual potential and one without had already fallen victim to this deadly machine. Sure, much of the reason why the mech resisted its own mech pilots was because the two were incompatible.
According to his current theories, it should be safe for any Larkinson to pilot this machine. The Desolate Soldier mech may have returned to its peak, but it was unlikely to exhibit any hostility towards compatible mech pilots.
Yet even if Ves weakened the mech, he wasn't sure whether it was a good idea to send it back to the Sentinels.
The more he looked at the mech, the more he felt he created a monster. His intuition didn't sense much good in keeping it around.
Though he wanted every mech of his to live a good life, some would only spread misery if kept in use. As much as he wanted to keep the mech around, Ves didn't want any of his mech pilots to inadvertently hop into its c.o. during an emergency.
"Sorry mech, but I can't keep you around anymore. You're a menace to society."
Ves reluctantly commanded the mech be brought away to one of the logistics sh.i.p.s of his fleet. The mech had to be scrapped.
Once a crew came to take the pilot-killing mech away, Ves contemplated his subsequent steps.
He still hadn't achieved his original goal. The entire point of these experiments was to figure out a way to accelerate the growth of his mechs. While he believed that performing a limited degree of spiritual foundation enhancement had great potential, he was troubled by the fact that he was unable to test it without potentially harming someone.
Considering the current circ. , it was not appropriate to stuff his captive pirates into mechs and hope that something happened.
"Wait a minute. Do I have to enact this change to someone within my reach?"
Not necessarily. The most important step was inducing a design spirit to perform spiritual foundation enhancement. If he wanted to do so, he could ask the Solemn Guardian to donate some of its spiritual energy to a couple of the many millions of Desolate Soldiers in active use!
No one would know the affected mechs had changed. Their mech pilots would probably utilize the machine the same as before. Ves would only have to wait a month or so before checking back on the results.
The only difficulty he had with this course of action was that it was rather difficult to keep track of an empowered mech by remote.
In order to obtain the most comprehensive results, Ves needed to access both the mechs and mech pilots in person to gather as much data as possible. He couldn't resort to any other option if he wanted to study the spiritual changes of the affected mechs and people.
Therefore, affecting random people throughout the star sector didn't happen. He needed to perform his experiment on someone closer to home.
How could he do so without attracting any suspicion?
Ves didn't have a habit of personally approaching the existing customers of his own works. He didn't really need to hear their praise when he could already obtain it from the galactic net.
"Wait a minute! There is at least one member of the clan who I don't care about!"
How could he forget about Vincent Ricklin? Ves never wanted him to join the clan in the first place. If not for Raella persuading the recruiters to make an exception, this former rebel and enemy would have never become a Larkinson!
Ves contacted Bravo and easily persuaded him to donate some of his spiritual energy to the Adonis Colossus. With Vincent's vanity, he was sure to pilot his personal mech on a regular basis.
The only issue was that Bravo was one of his weakest design spirits. Ever since Ves created him, Bravo only bonded with a single mech pilot. Ves hadn't seen fit to reuse him in his other mech designs.
Even so, the strength of a design spirit was still greater than that of a mech. They were inherently different existences and couldn't be compared at the start.
Performing this experiment on Vincent and the Adonis Colossus was a good idea for multiple reasons.
First, the Adonis Colossus was tailor-made for Vincent. The chances of rejection were some of the lowest possible out of all of the possible pairings between his products and his customers.
There was a high chance that Ves would see fantastic results once he returned to civilized space and observed Vincent and the Adonis Colossus in person. In the meantime, he could access the Larkinson Clan's own monitoring system at Cinach VI to observe Vincent and his mech without interruption.
If he wanted to, Ves could probably watch a feed of Vincent showering or washing his body!
He coughed. "Not that I want to. I am not curious at all. Nope."
Of course, Ves couldn't rule out that empowering the Adonis Colossus might produce an unexpected accident, but he wouldn't shed a tear if Vincent somehow ended up brain damaged or something.
Second, Vincent did not possess spiritual potential as far as Ves knew. This meant that his tolerance against any dangerous spiritual attacks should be fairly high.
For this reason, Ves commanded Bravo to bleed a significant amount of spiritual strength into the Adonis Colossus. He wanted the mech to reach fifty percent saturation, which was slightly dangerous to people with spiritual potential but still very tolerable to those who were weaker!
A spiritual dull mech pilot like Vincent would only experience some pressure, and that should only happen if he somehow pissed off his own mech!
It was these mech pilots that Ves wanted to empower with his mechs the most. Those who were spiritually gifted already possessed their own opportunities to grow stronger. It was the lowest and most abundant type of mech pilots that Ves wanted to give a leg up with his legacy mechs.
As long as even the stupidest and most incompetent mech pilot was able to grow the mech he piloted into a complimentary life, then the power of these weak mech pilots might surprise the galaxy one day!
After Ves doc. his actions and observations into his implant, he ended the long session and returned to his stateroom.
There, Lucky was moping about as always. This time, he moved to sofa, only to fall asleep while splayed over the armrest.
Ves approached his injured cat and carefully studied the wounds. They had grown a bit smaller before.
"Rest well, Lucky." He whispered.
At this time, the design lab had already emptied. His experiments took so long that it was already evening in standard time. Aside from the low humming that ran throughout his ship, his personal space was completely quiet.
Just as he thought about taking a bite of one of the new Ulimo nutrient packs that Ketis had gifted to him, he suddenly paused.
"This.."
Ves stood up from his desk chair and approached the display that held some of his sentimental possessions. He briefly grinned at the mug that depicted him in his Devil Tongue visage before turning towards a very small tree.
To be honest, Ves hadn't studied the little tree at all. For a very long time, the tree largely remained the same. If not for noticing how it grew a couple of millimeters by comparing its length against how it looked in the past, he would have thought his grandfather scammed him somehow!
"According to grandpa, it's supposed to be a prosperity tree that grows according to how much luck or success its owner enjoys."
He received it a very long time ago during his thirtieth birthday celebration at Cloudy Curtain. Back then, Ves was just a recently-advanced Journeyman. The Larkinson Clan didn't exist at that time.
Ever since then, Ves and his newly-founded clan went on to grow meteorically. At this time, Ves and his fellow clansmen wouldn't be able to recognize themselves a year ago! So much had changed for the better that the prosperity tree should have grown more drastically if it really did as advertised!
"Is my tree defective?!"
Ves tapped his finger against the tree's gnarly surface. It looked a lot more droopier than it should. In fact, if he didn't know any better, the tree looked like it was about to die!
"What the hell? Has it reached the end of its lifespan? That shouldn't be possible! This is supposed to be a young tree!"
While he couldn't be bothered with watering the prosperity tree and refreshing its soil, he had already obtained a gardener bot to perform this chore a lot better than he could have accomplished.
"Yesterday, this stupid tree looked the same as always."
Ves keenly remembered that the plant featured vigorously green leaves and strong branches. Now, those leaves had darkened and greyed a bit while its branches became as feeble as the arms of an old granny.
He scratched his head. He tried to inspect it through his spiritual vision, but the plant didn't really possess any. This was also one of the other reasons why Ves thought his grandfather had scammed him. How was the tree supposed to grow according to his level of 'prosperity' if not through the most obvious means?
Regardless, the fact that his tree suddenly looked like it was about to croak gave Ves a very bad feeling.
"This…"
As much as he wanted to dismiss the tree's strange behavior as a product defect, he couldn't help but fear that it might be an indicator of something more.
While Ves puzzled over what was actually going on, a chime sounded in the compartment.
He had a visitor.
As soon as Ves commanded the hatch to open, Calabast stormed in with an alarmed expression on his face.
She did not look calm and poised as usual!
"I have some very bad news, Ves!"
"Tell me. What is "
"The Allidus Alliance are hunting us down!"
What?!
"As far as I know, their main elements are all supposed to be in the core regions. Even if they set off to hunt us down right away, the chance they'll be able to catch up with us is low. Our task force isn't slow!"
"You're wrong, Ves. The Allidus Alliance isn't chasing after us from the core regions. One of their punitive fleets took some sort of secret space channel that instantly transported it to Wreckage Paradise. Don't you realize what this means? As long as the pirates can track our coordinations, the Allidus Alliance can preemptively cut off our escape route! The enemy pirate fleet can block every possible exit we want to take!"
This time, Ves did not dismiss the threat anymore. While he wasn't sure whether the prosperity tree's abrupt drooping was related to this development, this wasn't good!
"Is there anything else, Calabast?"
"The Allidus Alliance has also called upon its local pirate allies to harass or hinder us while keeping us under observation." She said. "While I doubt that any local pirate group is willing to sacrifice themselves against us, some of them might be stupid enough to try something. Expect plenty of traps to hinder our path forward."
This was truly bad news!
Chapter 2341 - Prideful Pirates
The news shook the periphery of the Nyxian Gap!
For several months, the Larkinson Clan's fleet rampaged through Wreckage Paradise and Maynard Fields as if the pirates were just moles to be whacked. Several pirate bases and many individual pirate groups all succ. against the might of this domineering new power from civilized space.
All of the pirates became both angry and afraid of the Larkinson Clan!
The local sc.u.m hated the clan for treating them as easy targets. Aside from the Battle of Ulimo Citadel, every other battle ended up with the Larkinsons wiping out their opposition with ease.
This kind of bullying went too far even for pirates!
"The amount of resentment that we have accrued is not something to be taken lightly." Calabast calmed down a bit after she announced the initial news. She chose to sit down on the side of Ves' bed this time. "The Nyxian pirates are normally selfish and prone to infighting. Even when the Peacekeeper outfits come in to threaten them, they usually celebrate any misfortune visited upon their fellow pirates."
"That is my understanding." Ves nodded. "Has that changed?"
Calabast let out a rueful smile. "The Nyxian pirates never unite under normal circ. . There are few common interests among them and no one wants to risk their lives and freedom to do someone else's dirty work. There are no greater authorities or states that can unite the pirates either. Even the Allidus Alliance and the other core powers don't quite have the clout to unite every pirate group in the Nyxian Gap."
"Pirates mainly fight for themselves. Some are loyal to their organization or their leader, but that's probably brainwashing at work."
"While that's true, don't underestimate the mindset of these degenerates. They have their own pride. Despite fending off Peacekeepers outfits, adventuring fleets like ours and even the warfleets of the Big Two, the Nyxian pirates have always managed to survive everything that civilized space has thrown at them. This has inflated their confidence and caused them to develop a reputation for impunity."
"What has changed, then?"
"We cracked this reputation." She told him. "It has been going on for a while, but the pirates were barely able to hold themselves in because we've only been bullying the weak mostly. That has changed after toppling Ulimo Citadel. Unlike the other pirate bases we have overrun, Ulimo is one of the central and most iconic bases of Maynard Fields."
"What happened next?"
"The pirates believe their reputation has taken a hit. If they allow us to leave unchallenged, they fear that other fleets like ours will replicate our rampage. In fact, word in certain circles has already spread of other powerful mech forces assembling at the border of the Sentinel Kingdom and other nearby states. Now that the Big Two have quietly announced that they are willing to pay double the merits to destroy the arsenal of superweapons in the possession of pirates, a fair amount of big players want to join in on the action!"
"Most of them will probably have a bad time if they think they can replicate our success."
The danger of facing nuclear missiles, warship-grade cannons and other dangerous superweapons in battle was not trivial. Task Force Predator only managed to come out on top against the stronger pirate groups by taking advantage of Lucky and the Penitent Sisters.
"You're not wrong, Ves. The power players who are aiming to harvest a lot of merits are already aware of the risks. That's why they won't take a single step into the Nyxian Gap. Do you think every leader is like you? The real style of a leader is to dispatch others to do your dirty work while you stay safe and comfortable in the comfort of your heavily-guarded mansion."
"Those kinds of people are better at scheming than doing something that will actually allow them to rise above their station." Ves scoffed. "Our clan doesn't have the heritage or connections of these old powers, but we have already accomplished more in a year than the Tovar Family has accomplished in a century!"
Perhaps that was an exaggeration, but Ves really did look down on the old fogeys that were typically in charge. At least Ves put his money where his mouth was and shared in the fortune and misfortune of his own soldiers.
Calabast did not agree. "I really don't know what goes on in your head sometimes. You're a mech designer. A Journeyman. You are most valuable in the rear where you can work on your designs in peace."
"That's not the Larkinson way! I know I'm a bit odd about this, but I believe that mech designers like my Braves and I are best suited to experience the vagaries of mech combat in person. Only when we put your life on the line will we be pushed into designing our best possible mechs!"
The spymaster looked at Ves as if he was crazy.
"You already know my thoughts on this matter, so let's not talk about that right now." She moved on. "Tensions in and around the Nyxian Gap had already risen before we began our excursion. Skirmishes between pirates and state-backed forces have become more and more frequent. There is a war going on, Ves. It's unannounced and not well-known, but the struggle is very real at the highest level of both societies."
"What does that have to do with our situation?"
"We are seen as a group of hired thugs from civilized space. To be more precise, people seem to believe that your good relations with Master Willix hint that you have become 'her' person. Why else would the Larkinson Clan take so many risks and attack so many heavily-defended pirate bases? Everyone suspects that you have turned into an unofficial agent of the MTA!"
Ves blinked at that statement. This couldn't be further from the truth.
Sure, he was on speaking terms with a prestigious MTA Master Mech Designer.
Sure, he made some special deals with Master Willix that enabled him to exchange special benefits with the MTA.
Sure, he gleefully attacked powerful pirate bases that had been acc. more and more taboo weapons such as Xiphard Base and Ulimo Citadel, earning an immense amount of merits in just a quarter of a year.
That did not mean that he had turned into a poster boy for the MTA!
He had broken so many rules and violated so many taboos that he would have put the Skull Architect to shame!
Even now, he constantly lied and withheld information from Master Willix. Partially, he wanted to protect his trade secrets, but mostly he just wanted to avoid exposing his numerous misdeeds!
Ves did not want to get too close to the MTA. That sounded as stupid as a career criminal moving into a house next to a police station. The two simply didn't get along!
"What are the consequences of being seen as agents of the MTA?" He asked with concern.
"Well, it's useful when we return to civilized space. Even if the MTA can't be bothered to confirm this rumor, it is very helpful to be associated with one of the Big Two in this way. Enemies will become even more reluctant to do anything against us. This will be especially helpful once we start to leave the Komodo Star Sector. We'll be strangers and foreigners in other star sectors. If there are rumors swirling around us that we are favored by the MTA, hardly anyone with malicious intent will want to take the chance."
"It's fake, though." Ves stated. "From what I understand the MTA, their sights are set so high that they don't care about individual people and organizations."
"That's true, but there are still benefits to keeping up the illusion. Perception can be as effective as truth under the right circ. . It would help if you keep being seen as performing actions on behalf of the MTA."
"I already plan to do that to an extent. Any mech designer can earn a couple of thousand merits. It's a different story if we're talking about earning millions of merits!"
What could he do when the Big Two controlled every beyonder gate through the Gate Consortium? Just like how no one could avoid using the galactic net, Ves was forced to play by the rules of the Big Two in order to obtain passage to the Red Ocean.
If not for this ambition, Ves would have never gone out of his way to bootlick the MTA in order to earn a huge amount of merits!
Calabast went back to the current crisis at hand. "While gaining this reputation is beneficial to us in civilized space, it's the opposite in the Nyxian Gap. The pirates here don't fear the Big Two. As long as it comes to their own turf, they are confident that they can defeat entire battlesh.i.p.s!"
Normally, those who made this claim would be seen as absolutely mad. Yet the pirates of the Nyxian Gap were one of the few people in the galaxy who could make this boast without being ridiculed!
Now, it appeared that the pirates have all turned their ire on the Larkinson Clan.
Since they didn't even fear the Big Two, why should they shake in their boots whenever the Larkinsons came up? Letting the clan go scott-free after cracking open a pirate stronghold as important as Ulimo Citadel was a great shame!
"The result is that a few pirate alliances that are normally neutral or slightly hostile have all agreed that we need to be wiped out. The Allidus Alliance is the biggest driver of this initiative, but I have found some mention that there are other powers that are pushing for our downfall."
"Let me guess. The Hallowed Abyss Temple is one of them, right?"
"Yes." Calabast sighed. "It seems that our actions at Ulimo Citadel have riled them all up. The White Watchers and Grey Watchers that preside over the shrines that are spread across the Nyxian Gap have all begun to move. They're hiring dark mercenaries and making deals with local pirate groups to hinder or advance. They don't need to defeat us. They just need to slow us down. The less progress we make, the greater the chance the Allidus Alliance's punitive fleet will intercept our task force."
This was terrible news. Perhaps the Allidus Alliance wouldn't have been able to mobilize every pirate outfit by themselves, but it was a different matter if others joined the fray. Now that it had become a matter of pride, the pirates really didn't want to see the Larkinsons swagger back into civilized space!
Calabast briefly spent some time on explaining the various ways the pirates in their way could slow them down. From planting mines deep into random asteroids to poking at them from multiple directions at long range, many of these measures were very difficult to deal with, especially in a complex space environment where there were lots of asteroids for pirates to obscure their presence!
"We can't sit still and do nothing. We need to convene and develop some plans and countermeasures." Ves concluded. "I'll call a meeting to discuss everyone's proposals. Defending ourselves against guerilla attacks is important, but we also have to make plans to overcome the Allidus Alliance's punitive fleet. Do you know whether the pirate fleet…"
"It's as you have feared. The pirates have brought out several homemade warsh.i.p.s. Among them is a heavy cruiser that may or may not be the Gravada Knarlax."
Ves almost had a heart attack when he heard this name. This was the infamous warship that allowed the Allidus Alliance to rise into power!
The pirate warship was so powerful that her bounty reached as high as 4,500,000 merits! In fact, her current bounty should be double now that the MTA awarded twice as much merits!
Even though Ves drooled at the prospect of earning 9 million MTA merits at once, he wasn't stupid. A ship that carried so much bounty would never be taken down so easily.
What was worse was that the Allidus Alliance dispatched additional warsh.i.p.s as escorts!
Chapter 2342 - Pirate Warsh.i.p.s
The news soon spread to the rest of Task Force Predator.
Neither Ves nor Calabast thought it was best to hide the news. Morale dropped immediately after everyone found out that the entire Nyxian Gap was out to get them. Not even Major Verle or Venerable Jannzi could do much to restore everyone's confidence.
"It's better this way, sir." Major Verle told Ves. "While we need to be careful not to exaggerate the threat of the pirates, we need to give each of our people some time to process the threat. Eventually, they'll conclude that the only way to overcome this challenge is to do their absolute best. I expect a lot of good results in a week."
Though the possible enthusiasm sounded great, many battles weren't solely won by that. When Ves thought of the possibility of facing the notorious Gravada Knarlax and her massive cruiser-grade cannons in battle, his heart almost stopped!
A warship, even a third-rate, bootleg pirate version of the genuine article, could easily demolish his entire task force under the right circ. !
"While the exact specifications of the Gravada Knarlax is not publicly known, she has revealed various properties the few times she engaged in battle." Major Verle explained while he activated a projection that depicted a wireframe model of the ship.
Compared to actual design schematics, the wireframe model of the Knarlax only exposed her exterior layout. Only the Allidus Alliance knew what lay beneath, and every pirate who served on the heavy cruiser never leaked any details.
"What is known about the Knarlax is that she is 800 meters long. She's a sub-capital ship, but don't underestimate her for this reason. She was built several decades ago when the Allidus Alliance wasn't as formidable as now. This means that much of her internal structure should be relatively weak. They're thick and heavy in order to prevent the ship from rattling herself to pieces. As a consequence, she should be very slow and quite vulnerable if any attacks make it through her exterior."
"I guess that punching through her hull plating is easier said than done." Ves remarked.
Verle poked his finger at the projection, highlighting the thick belt of armor wrapped around the ship. "It's a lot easier for relatively low-skilled shipbuilders to upgrade the armor plating and exterior modules. What we know is that over the years, the Allidus Alliance has continued to invest in upgrading the armor plating of its flagship. This allows them to exert more power, thereby increasing the Alliance's power. With greater power, the Lord Hivex is able to channel more resources into strengthening the heavy cruiser once again."
It was a virtuous cycle. In the Nyxian Gap, the ones with the biggest fist had the most say. The Allidus Alliance knew that growing wealthier without increasing their ability to defend their gains was counterproductive. Ves would have upgraded the Knarlax too in order to boost her deterrence factor.
"What about the other warsh.i.p.s?"
"The Allidus Alliance don't want to put all of their eggs in one basket, sir. While it is very difficult to build another heavy cruiser like the Gravada Knarlax, the pirates have instead opted to build numerous smaller sh.i.p.s. From what we have heard, at least half-dozen armored destroyers and frigates are accompanying the Knarlax. Any one of them are already capable of destroying entire mech companies."
"I'm aware."
The scale of their weapons and armor simply couldn't be compared to the loadout of mechs. Size mattered. Even if the tech base of those pirate warsh.i.p.s were low, their sheer size was enough for them to prove deadly against second-class mechs!
Major Verle spent some time outlining the different weapons on the Knarlax.
"The secondary armament of the Knarlax consists of over hundred smaller gun batteries. In this case, the word small is relative. Since the pirates aren't constrained by any taboos, they have been able to fit much more secondary guns onto the heavy cruiser's hull. Each of her gun batteries are centrally fed from the ship."
The c. requirements of the MTA imposed a lot of inefficiencies in normal starship design. For example, his own upcoming factory ship came with numerous empty bunkers to accommodate powerful heavy artillery mechs as a form of defense.
No matter how strong or impressive heavy mechs may be, forcing them to play the role as gun batteries on sh.i.p.s was incredibly inefficient!
Heavy mechs massed so much and took up so much space that they brought much less firepower than if the space was taken up by dedicated gun turrets.
It was for this reason that the Gravada Knarlax, despite being less than half as long as the Larkinson Clan's upcoming factory ship, already possessed substantially greater firepower by virtue of her secondary armaments alone!
"While the secondary guns are already enough to chew an entire mech regiment to pieces, it's the primary guns we need to watch out for. The Gravada Knarlax has nine main cannons in total."
Major Verle tapped the turrets. "The main cannons are grouped up in three turrets, which are placed in a triangular scheme around her hull. Two of them are placed close to the bow while the remaining one is located at the stern. While this turret layout means that the Knarlax is only capable of bringing all of her guns to bear against a single target positioned forward or to rear. Any enemies approaching from the side will only have to risk getting hit by two out of three of the triple-barreled turrets."
That was not much of a consolation. Just one of the cannons on those turrets already possessed enough power to hammer the Scarlet Rose into pieces!
"Do the main guns consist of laser or ballistic cannons?"
"The latter, sir. The Gravada Knarlax is designed to be a brawler. While she is rumored to possess numerous missile batteries to attack longer-ranged targets, her guns make her very suitable to advance forward with unstoppable might. The closer she gets to her target, the easier it is for her guns to hit their targets. With decades worth of upgrades to her hull plating, not even a nuclear missile can punch through her armor belt."
Obviously, the heavy cruiser was easily avoidable under the right circ. . Her acceleration was abysmal so it was not that difficult for mobile fleets to bypass the sluggish pirate warship.
To Ves, the Gravada Knarlax was the warship equivalent of a doom crawler. Both were slow, but stuffed with armor and weapons. They were mostly used as the centerpiece of a dedicated assault. Their indomitable advance couldn't be stopped. Any enemies who were cornered by them were surely doomed!
Before, Ves never really worried about the Gravada Knarlax coming after Task Force Predator because the mobility of the two weren't even on the same level.
It was different now that the Allidus Alliance somehow managed to shift the Knarlax and the rest of the pirate fleet to Wreckage Paradise all at once!
Ves had heard about the secret space lanes that were spread across the Nyxian Gap. These lanes effectively served as shortcuts that allowed anyone to instantly emerge at a completely different part of the Gap.
They were supposedly rare and rarely used. How could Ves ever anticipate that the Allidus Alliance would go crazy and send so many warsh.i.p.s through one in order to take revenge against the Larkinson Clan?
This was absolute madness!
"What about the escorts? Those destroyers and frigates?" Ves asked.
"Their main armaments are likely armed with laser cannons, sir. They aren't as massive or tough as the Knarlax, but they make up for it in speed and agility. The Allidus Alliance designed them to complement the Knarlax."
"These warsh.i.p.s are ideal ship killers." Ves concluded. "The Knarlax can be deadly to mechs up close, but strictly speaking the warsh.i.p.s don't need to go through all of that trouble. As long as their guns destroy all of our carriers and other sh.i.p.s, our mechs won't be able to last forever."
How were the mechs supposed to get back to civilized space without FTL drives? How were mechs supposed to last in space by themselves when they no longer had any opportunity to resupply? Hardly any of the mechs in the task force were designed to operate longer than a day!
"Don't forget about conventional carriers and mechs, sir. You can expect the punitive fleet to be accompanied by at least a couple of thousand mechs."
"Of course. These pirates don't want to give us any opportunity to overpower their warsh.i.p.s if our mechs ever manage to get close."
The cost of doing so was too ruinous for Ves to even think about it. The secondary armaments of the Knarlax and her escorts were already enough to repel any frontal assault!
The strength of the pirates was depressingly overwhelming. Neither Ves nor Major Verle could think of any way to defeat them in any sort of open battle.
It wasn't as if the warsh.i.p.s were invincible. No matter how tough they were built, enough concentrated firepower or getting any melee mechs up close ought to be sufficient in taking them down.
The problem was that none of those warsh.i.p.s were alone or content to let themselves get beat up without retaliating. While Ves was a child of the Age of Mechs, he learned enough about the Age of Conquest that the might of any fleet that consisted of genuine warsh.i.p.s simply couldn't be overcome by lighter forces.
The difference in scale was too oppressive!
Unless the Larkinson Clan could whip out some warsh.i.p.s of its own, there was no chance of victory. Ves doubted that even sneaking Lucky inside the Knarlax would accomplish anything.
The Allidus Alliance would surely be on guard against infiltration after the fall of Ulimo Citadel. In addition, Ves knew that his clan had pissed off the formidable Hallowed Abyss Temple, so performing any spiritual tricks against the pirates probably wouldn't work either!
The entire situation pushed him close to despair!
If not for the fact that it would take at least a month for his task force to clash against the punitive fleet, he would have considered bailing out.
There was one obvious way to save at least some of his people. If Ves commanded every ship to separate from each other and flee from the Nyxian Gap by themselves, then at least some sh.i.p.s would be able to make it back.
Sadly, individual carriers and mech companies were highly vulnerable to even the weakest pirate gangs. Hardly any pirate could resist such juicy prey, especially when the major pirate factions offered a lot of incentives to take down the Larkinsons!
"How will we solve this predicament?" Ves hopelessly asked. "Do you have any ideas?"
"I'm still working on them, sir. I will share some of them during the upcoming emergency meeting. We need to be creative in order to survive this crisis. Don't hold back. Grasp at any opportunity we can get. I'll be happy as long as we can get out alive."
"That's easier said than done." Ves sighed. "Wait, since the punitive fleet has emerged in Wreckage Paradise, doesn't that mean that we can ask the Wodin Warriors to destroy the pirate fleet?"
Verle shook his head. "The Allidus Alliance isn't that stupid. They emerged deep in Wreckage Paradise. It will take too long for the Wodin Warriors to venture inside the Nyxian Gap and chase after the pirate fleet. We don't know what countermeasures the pirates have prepared against third-party interference. I doubt the Wodins want to risk so much of their main combat forces on such a risky venture."
The conditions they would demand would also be prohibitive, and it might not even work. The pirates had a long track record of defeating stronger opponents. The Nyxian Gap wasn't regarded as a bottomless abyss for nothing!
"I hope to hear some very good ideas then, because we need them. I won't let the Allidus Alliance crush my forces!"
Chapter 2343 - No Good Solutions
A cloud hung over the task force as it flew past the endless asteroids. Already, the outlying patrols detected the presence of pirate scouts.
Though these weak and paltry mechs posed no threat to the Larkinsons, they were consistently stalking and keeping tabs on the task force.
The patrolling Larkinson mechs did their best to shoot at them in order to deter their actions, but so far that has accomplished little more than pushing the pirate scouts back.
More pirate outfits were on their way. With the major pirate powers of the core regions directing the smaller pirate groups, everyone knew what to do. With the Allidus Alliance's punitive fleet serving as the main means of taking down the task force, the other pirate outfits didn't have to take too many risks.
This doubtlessly increased their enthusiasm. Who didn't want to earn some easy rewards? The Allidus Alliance paid very generously this time!
"Meow…"
"C'mon, Lucky! Heal faster!" Ves begged his cat. "I need you to get back into tip-top shape as soon as possible. While I don't have much confidence in your ability to sabotage the Gravada Knarlax, at least we have a chance to make it out alive if you can reprise your role as a commando cat. I'm already prepared to build a new and improved Misfortune Harness for you. The pirates won't be able to harm you so easily next time!"
His tired and lethargic cat continued to lie on the surface of the bed without any movement.
"Meoowww…"
There was nothing Ves could do. Repairing a gem cat as complex as Lucky was out of the question.
"Will it help if I feed you with something? We've looted quite a variety of high and medium-grade exotics from Ulimo Citadel. Would you like to pay a visit to the vault?"
Lucky faintly shook his head. "Meooow…"
Ves looked glum. Of all the times to suffer a stomach ache, this was the worst!
With his cat unable to eat any exotics, there wasn't any way to speed up the regeneration process. Ves estimated that it might take at least a month for Lucky to repair his exterior wounds, but that did not address his digestion problems.
Ves truly didn't know how long it would take for the gem cat to handle all of the Unending alloy he had eaten. While Ves didn't know much about how Lucky digested minerals, something as resilient and difficult to work with as Unending alloy couldn't be broken down in a single day!
What was even more concerning was that Lucky had eaten the Unending alloy as it was actively pumping out darkness. His cat may have inadvertently eaten the negative spiritual energy contained in the metal, thereby potentially causing all sorts of issues!
"Well, I hope you don't turn into a dark god or something, Lucky." He petted his tired cat's back. "I'll do my best to find other solutions."
Ves turned away and moved back to his desk. With the losses the Larkinsons and Penitent Sisters suffered in the Battle of Ulimo Citadel, his fleet was not in a good shape to fight.
Even if the mech technicians finished repairing as many damaged mechs as possible, they still lacked the numbers to fight the Gravada Knarlax alone by herself, let alone the rest of the pirate fleet!
When the disparity in strength had become so big, conventional solutions no longer worked. The Larkinsons could never win a fair fight against the pirates.
The only viable means of overcoming this difficulty was if the Larkinsons played dirty. Just like the pirates who inhabited the Nyxian Gap, Task Force Predator had no choice but to take after the locals!
This happened to be the first suggestion that Major Verle proposed.
"Sir, is the special dispensation you received from the MTA still valid?"
Ves rapidly recalled the exact wording of the deal he made with the MTA. "Yes. It is valid until we leave the Nyxian Gap or until my wedding is about to take place."
There was no way that Ves would stay longer in the Nyxian Gap than the date of his wedding, so he didn't argue for any further extensions. Even now when the entire Nyxian Gap was ganging up on the Larkinson Clan, Ves still believed it was possible to make it back in time and avoid Gloriana's wrath!
Everyone looked around. None of the mech commanders looked comfortable with this suggestion, but they declined to speak against it. Against warsh.i.p.s and superweapons, it made sense to hit back as hard as possible.
"While the suggestion sounds reasonable, we don't have any superweapons in stock." Commander Melkor reminded everyone. "Unless one of us here has secretly squirreled some of them away, we shouldn't be in the possession of any weapons of mass destruction."
He was right. The Larkinson Clan explicitly cataloged and destroyed any prohibited weapon. This was needed in order to give the MTA confirmation that the dangerous weapons were truly gone.
Now, it seemed that the Larkinsons had been acting too hasty. Ves really could have used some of those potent armaments in order to give his task force more teeth against the Allidus Alliance!
Ves activated a small projection at his side of the conference table and began to look through the abundant resource stockpile his fleet had acc. .
"We can build new superweapons." He announced to everyone. "We have collected plenty of fissionable materials and energetic exotics to produce powerful explosives. Whether they are strong enough to crack through the hull plating of the Gravada Knarlax is questionable, but they should at least pose a greater threat against her escort sh.i.p.s."
"Can we build something else with the resources we have at hand?" Commander Magdalena asked.
"I'm not sure. We have collected a lot of materials, but I'm not familiar with much of them and none of them immediately stand out. We'll have to look into them further in order to figure out our options, but don't expect too much."
Soon enough, they moved on to entertaining other suggestions. Calabast proposed something very original.
"It may be possible to approach a pirate faction and collude with them to frustrate this attack."
"That shouldn't be possible." Major Verle frowned. "Stopping us has become a matter of pride to the local pirates. The interests involved are greater than any single pirate faction. Any group of pirates who dare go against the will of the majority will not be able to live long!"
"While I agree with you that the collective interests of the Nyxian pirates are best served by cooperating with the Allidus Alliance, do you really think that their animosity towards each other has stopped? No, their infighting has merely paused. As long as we find the right angle, we may be able to persuade a pirate faction to hinder the efforts of the other pirates. The Allidus Alliance may have grown powerful over the decades, but Lord Hivex has also made his fair share of enemies. The key is to approach some of these enemies and find ways to hinder their rival."
Though Ves found this idea to be a bit promising, he knew better than to get his hopes up. Even if some other pirate alliances wanted the Allidus Alliance to lose its warsh.i.p.s, the Nyxian pirate community would never tolerate any instances of colluding with civilized folk in order to harm their fellow pirates!
Though such dirty deals doubtlessly took place, they were all secret and never exposed to the public. Pirates were pirates and civilized folk were civilized folk. That was how the galaxy should be run!
Calabast wouldn't give up on the idea, though. "We don't have to waste any resources or expend much money to explore our options. I will continue to try and see if we can approach powerful factions such as the Krella Alliance for aid."
"It's unlikely to work." Ves shook his head. "First, there are more powers backing this revenge action. The Hallowed Abyss Temple is very influential and wants us dead really bad. Second, even if you can persuade the other pirate alliances to help us somehow, there is no way they can help us in the inevitable battle. They are too far away from Wreckage Paradise."
"They can use the space lanes."
"There aren't that many of them and the Allidus Alliance may be blocking them. Whatever the case, I doubt Lord Hivex is blind to this possibility."
While it didn't hurt for Calabast to try and find some locals to collude with, Ves wasn't getting his hopes up. No matter what kind of rewards they offered to any potential, nothing was more valuable than retaining their lives.
They discussed some other options. Commander Orfan raised the most ridiculous suggestion of the entire session.
"Hey! Don't get so glum. We haven't lost yet." She admonished everyone. "Didn't Venenerable Jannzi beat up that giant whale with tentacles at the end of the last battle? As far as I'm concerned, as long as me, Dise, Tusa and little Joshua all break through at once, there's no way the Gravada Knarlax will survive against our collective might."
Everyone, including Commander Dise, did not exhibit any confidence in her suggestion at all! Major Verle slammed his palm against the surface of the conference table.
"Don't joke around, Commander Orfan! This isn't an action drama where the heroes all magically break through at once at the nick of time! During the previous battle, only one out of five of our expert candidates underwent apotheosis."
"The odds are better for us this time!" Orphan defended herself. "While none of us has managed to get over the threshold, we've come a lot closer than before. Each of us just needs a tiny push to make it past our bottlenecks!"
"What then?" Verle asked.
"Uh, isn't that obvious? We take advantage of the boost of power we gain from breaking through and channel it all against the Gravada Knarlax. Even if we can't tear the big warsh.i.p.s apart, we can at least cripple her so that she won't be able to threaten us further!"
A heavy silence fell over the conference room.
Commander Magdalena sighed. "There are more warsh.i.p.s than just the Gravada Knarlax. Taking out the flagship is a powerful gesture, but it doesn't address the remaining threats. Besides, the only reason why Venerable Jannzi exhibited such might was because she achieved the legendary state of Unity of Man and Machine. The odds of breaking through are already so low. The odds that one of your breakthroughs can also attain this state is even lower!"
Ves nodded in agreement. "What happened with Jannzi can't easily be replicated. She possessed a special bond with her mech. The same can't be said for the rest of you. I think only Joshua has a small chance to follow in Jannzi's footsteps, but... "
"It's not enough." Major Verle spoke.
"Without any instance of perfect resonance, the chances of any one of you expert candidates being able to threaten the Gravada Knarlax and the other pirate warsh.i.p.s is minimal. A normal breakthrough simply doesn't produce enough power."
"Can't you do something, Ves?" Orfan pleaded. "You're the miracle man! You made the machine that caused Jannzi to turn from a regular Larkinson mech pilot into a brand-new expert pilot! Can't you perform your magic again and give us all a power up when we most need it? I won't disappoint your expectations!"
Everyone thought her suggestion was ridiculous. The odds were too low.
The discussion moved on after everyone decided to ignore Commander Orfan's ill-thought proposal.
Only Ves kept thinking about her suggestion. Maybe to the other Larkinsons, her suggestion sounded too stupid to take seriously.
Yet Ves fell silent for a time. His thoughts still lingered on the suggestion. Perhaps other people might not be able to do anything with it, but Ves was different.
Was it really impossible to induce the remaining expert candidates of his clan to break through at once?
Was it truly unthinkable to enable one or more of those breakthroughs to be accompanied by perfect resonance?
What if.. Ves could make that happen?
"That would be a true miracle." He muttered under his breath.
Chapter 2344 - Bold Ideas
The various commanders filed out of the room. None of them held any smiles. Though they swapped numerous ideas during the meeting, none of them sounded good enough to save them from their current predicament.
Any external help, even from the MTA, would come way too late. The Nyxian Gap's remarkable properties also made it insanely difficult to get anywhere quickly unless someone had access to the so-called secret spacelanes.
These shortcuts were very obscure. The Peacekeeper Association which knew the most about the Nyxian Gap had absolutely no clue where any of them were and how to access them! Not even the Big Two's warfleets with their sophisticated detection technologies managed to sniff out these unusual spatial channels.
Whatever the case, the Larkinson Fleet was in too deep and the Allidus Alliance's punitive fleet was already heading to the border between Wreckage Paradise and Maynard Fields.
Perhaps the one useful suggestion offered by the various officers was one given by Fleet Coordinator Ophelia Kronon.
"There is no reason why we should accelerate towards the enemy. Confronting the enemy warsh.i.p.s one day sooner is worse than one day later. At the very least, delaying for time will give us more opportunities to turn the situation around. Maybe the pirate factions break off from each other. Maybe a spatial anomaly has swallowed the Gravada Knarlax. Though the odds of these events taking place are low, who knows what will actually happen."
Her suggestion was a good one.
"We should stop moving to the border of the Nyxian Gap. Instead, we should be travelling deeper!" Orfan suggestion.
"No." Ves shook his head. "This is still enemy turf. The deeper we go, the greater the chance we'll encounter interference from the established pirate groups. Don't forget that the stronger pirates are all located closer to the center of the Gap. The Allidus Alliance's punitive fleet won't be the only enemy we need to be worried about."
"We can slow our pace, but we should not stop." Ophelia said. "Parking at the same coordinates will make it much easier for the pirates to surround us. Instead, we should make steady progress while varying our course. We have to prevent the enemy pirates from predicting our route. Otherwise, we'll encounter a lot of traps hidden in the asteroids."
There were a lot of complex considerations behind these decisions. Since Ves did not specialize in navigation or fleet maneuvers, he left it up to the experts to decide their route.
Aside from this, no other meaningful topic had been raised during the meeting.
When everyone except Major Verle left, he turned to Ves.
"We will do our best to bring the odds in our favor, but it is likely not enough. Even if the rumors are exaggerated, there is little doubt the opposition possesses overwhelming power."
"Do you have any suggestions?" Ves asked with a hint of hope.
"Activate your signal jammer first."
"Okay."
Ves instantly pressed the button. He was so practiced with doing so that he didn't even need to look down at his toolbelt.
The major spoke after the familiar field enveloped them both.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures, sir. I.. am aware of some of your proclivities. The way you run through the bodies of the captives makes that clear."
Ves instantly put up his guard. "What about it? They're pirates! They have forfeited their human rights!"
The senior mech officer coughed. "I pass no judgement on what is taking place on this ship. All I know is that I have witnessed a fair amount of strangeness ever since my fellow Vandals and I have joined your side. Although some of the implications are disturbing, I have little doubt of the effectiveness of your applications."
"You… approve?"
"I am a Vandal, Ves. Don't you remember?" Major Verle grinned. "I also used to be a part of the Firestarters Division of Flashlight. Even though I have long renounced my Brighter ties, I still possess the background. I have taken part in operations that I'm not proud of. Yet I did so without complaint because everything I did was necessary to keep the Bright Republic going. Every light casts a shadow."
Ah, that was right. Major Verle and the rest of the Flagrant Vandals weren't a part of the squeaky clean portion of the Bright Republic. Whereas most of the Larkinsons served honorably, the Vandals mucked about in the dirt. Their morals were considerably looser, which was very useful.
Ves thought for a moment. "I have some controversial ideas. The experiments that I perform are meant to test these ideas and see whether they can be implemented safely."
"Are they useful ideas?"
"Oh, certainly! If they work the way I think they do, then the effective battle performance of any of our mechs will jump! Still…" Ves looked a bit glum. "Even if I go all out, I don't think the results will be sufficient to change the outcome of the decisive battle. Don't tell anyone about this, but I think I have a way of helping our expert candidates break through. The problem is that warsh.i.p.s don't care about expert pilots. A few direct cannon impacts can make short work of a mech regardless of whether there's a resonance field or not. Pure power can overwhelm any trick."
Many humans in the galaxy still believed that warsh.i.p.s were the apex of human civilization's might. Ves happened to agree with them. Even if high-ranking mech pilots were capable of making reality their plaything, there were only so many of them, and their capacity was finite.
Warsh.i.p.s may be expensive to build and difficult to crew, but once they got up and running, their combat capabilities vastly exceeded that of an expert pilot depending on their ship class and quality.
"Do you have any interesting ideas you want to implement?"
"Uhmmm.."
"Don't hold back, sir." Major Verle spoke in a soothing and encouraging tone. "We'll be dead if we don't do enough to get ourselves out of this predicament. Would you rather keep your honor and die or would you rather keep your life and live in disgrace?"
"The latter, of course. This is a no-brainer!"
"Then go loose. No matter how dangerous or ridiculous your proposals sound, just voice them to me. I won't judge you no matter how extreme you sound."
Ves believed him. No matter what, Verle was part of the Larkinson Clan. With the Golden Cat watching over every Larkinson, any intent to betray him would never stay hidden. This was something that he expressly added to the design of the ancestral spirit!
A few minutes passed as Ves calmly ran through his ideas, both recent and old. There were several controversial measures buried in the back of his mind that he never dared to entertain because of the immense risks involved.
Now that Task Force Predator was slowly being driven to a corner, Ves no longer cared that much. The desperation of the moment was already getting to him in a very bad way.
Ever since he entered the Nyxian Gap, Ves felt a lot more unconstrained in his actions. The lawlessness and degeneracy of the region made him feel both liberated and under constant threat.
For a long time, this was tolerable to Ves. With the strength of his task force and the protection of the Penitent Sisters, there were hardly any pirates who could withstand their might.
That feeling of superiority didn't last. Ves felt as if he had gone back to the days where he was serving alongside the Flagrant Vandals while travelling deep into unfriendly territories.
Ves let out a deep breath. He suddenly felt liberated after receiving Major Verle's encouragement. Keeping all of his controversial ideas to himself was stifling. He really needed a confidante who understood his difficulties. Sometimes, a helping hand and a second opinion could go a long way in helping him shape his solutions.
"The method that I have just alluded to might help our expert candidates out, but it isn't primarily targeted towards them. It's actually a way to empower our weaker mech pilots. By 'charging' up their mechs with an exotic form of energy, their mechs will become more 'alive'. It's difficult to describe the exact effects because I haven't really applied it to anything except for the Desolate Soldier mech I've tinkered with recently. Some of the mech pilots that I've stuck into its c.o. have died. That should give you an understanding how dangerous it can be to play around with this idea."
"I believe you, sir. You are not the sort of person who tortures people out of enjoyment. Have you made any progress?"
Ves shook his head. "Not quite. Experimenting with pirates only gets me so far. If I want to take the next step, I need to apply the method I'm developing to our own mechs and mech pilots. So far, I have secretly applied my method to just one of our clansmen, but it remains to be seen whether it works. I didn't dare to go too far, so I'm afraid the effect might not be strong enough and that it will take too long to see the results."
"Will it help if you apply your experiments to more mech pilots?"
"Definitely. The concept should be sound, but I don't know how certain variables can affect the outcome. Performing actual experiments is the key to determining whether my method is safe and effective. It's just.. if I have miscalculated, our fellow Larkinsons may actually die."
"Perform the experiment on the Vandals."
"What?"
"My Vandals soldiers." Verle said. "We are trained to take risks that no one else is willing to take. We have gone through hell and back several times. This is no different. If you aren't willing to perform this experiment on any other Larkinsons, then just use us. You can trust us to do our duty."
Ves felt touched by his offer, though he doubted whether the major actually spoke for the entirety of the Vandals.
"That sounds.. great, but the Vandals aren't suitable. Right now, they are mostly piloting their old Mech Corps machines. I can't apply the method that I'm developing to mechs that I haven't worked on. I can only empower mechs that are alive."
"Oh." The major frowned. "I did not know that. In that case, I suggest you turn to the Living Sentinels. While they are badly battered, there are still more than two-hundred mech pilots at your disposal. The Sentinels have performed the worst during this excursion and their battle strength is too low to play a meaningful role in the decisive battle. It's better to make a bet and find some way to strengthen the Sentinels no matter the cost."
"That's a reasonable argument." Ves nodded. "It would be even better if I apply my trick to the Avatars as well. The Bright Warrior mechs that are issued to a couple of mech companies are very suitable for empowerment. It also happens to die into my second possible idea."
"And that is?"
"There may be another way to enhance the battle strength of our mech pilots. It's.. inspired by the invisible network that ties our minds together. I'm sure you have noticed how some kind of invisible influence is affecting your perception and predisposition towards fellow clansmen. Right now, this network doesn't do much other than watch out for treacherous thoughts."
"I've noticed. It can do more?"
Ves reluctantly nodded. "The network I made was inspired by the neural network developed Master Huron. There are several parallels between them both, but they are being utilized for different purposes. My proposal is to replicate another feature of the neural network. I want.. to be able to connect the minds of every Larkinson mech pilot with each other in order to enable greater cooperation. There might even be other effects due to the nature of the network I want to create. If I combine this idea with the previous one we've discussed, the combination might even produce unexpectedly powerful results. What do you think?"
"You sure are bold." Major Verle responded mildly. "I understand why you have been reluctant to share them with someone."
Chapter 2345: Third Idea
The ideas that Ves shared with Major Verle sounded deceptively simple, but could easily produce a cascade of unintended consequences.
The truth was that Ves didn't know what would happen if he did anything related to the two ideas. His unwillingness to cross a line by experimenting on his fellow Larkinsons had long constrained some of his wilder impulses.
While Ves was pretty confident that both of his ideas could make a difference in the upcoming battle, he could not guarantee the safety of his test subjects.
Both of them were crazy!
As all of the exploded heads that Ves had witnessed could attest, messing with spirituality was anything but safe.
Human minds could only handle so much spiritual input. Messing with people in this fashion was a very good way to kill or harm them. How could Ves do that to his own clansmen?
It was too bad that his excursion had become a lot more dangerous. The looming crisis cast a very large shadow on the fleet, and Ves immediately understood that his Larkinsons were not up to par against one of the most powerful pirate forces in the Nyxian Gap.
He couldn't hold back anymore!
The more he spoke to Major Verle, the more he became certain of what he had to do. Dangerous or not, time was short and enemies were closing in. Resorting to other measures such as fabricating some weapons of mass destruction was not good enough.
Warships were built to take a beating. This was especially so for the Gravada Knarlax which boasted thick and heavy hull plating that had been constantly upgraded over the years.
Even if the pirate heavy cruiser didn't show up, the remainder of the Allidus Alliance's punitive fleet was more than what the Larkinson Clan could handle.
Several smaller warships supported by a swarm of pirate mechs were already capable of running over Task Force Predator!
"If only we had warships of our own." Ves sighed.
"The galaxy would be a very different place if that were so." Major Verle responded. "Combat would revolve around ships for the most part. The common people will have to live their lives in fear due to the constant threat of mass destruction. Even if the various warfleets agree to restrain their firepower around planets, it's inevitable for collateral damage to increase. Just the broken pieces of warships falling from orbit are enough to wipe out entire cities!"
There were good reasons why the Big Two took away the right to field warships from the majority of humans. They simply couldn't be trusted with the immense potential of destruction that they enabled.
Of course, the pirates didn't care. Death? Destruction? They thrived in chaos! They played by different rules. If Ves failed to adapt to them, his entire fleet would surely get overrun by the tide of warships that were moving closer with each passing day!
After receiving some surprisingly helpful support from Major Verle, they ended their little meeting. Ves still needed to explore and flesh out his ideas while Verle had many other duties to attend to. With so much at stake, neither of them could afford to take any breaks.
As Ves left the conference room and returned to his stateroom, he thought over what he said and what he didn't say.
What Major Verle didn't know was that Ves had come up with a third proposal. He didn't mention it to his confidante because it sounded incredibly dangerous. He also lacked a way to make his idea happen.
The premise was simple. Ves wanted to borrow the huge and swirling forces that were constantly at work in the imaginary realm!
Ves had witnessed the power and might of the huge spiritual vortex spinning around in the higher dimensions. If the vortex wasn't constrained in a different realm, the Nyxian Gap would have looked completely differently! No one would be able to live in a spinning disk where asteroids constantly slammed against each other.
Sure, causing the imaginary realm to overlap with the material realm was dangerous. The Nova Krakow's sudden disappearance was proof that this dangerous event could easily engulf his fleet as well.
However, doing something was better than doing nothing at all. Ever since the Battle of Ulimo Citadel took place, Ves discovered that there were people in the Nyxian Gap who were capable of summoning artificial anomalies.
If some cultists could do it, why shouldn't Ves be able to do the same?
As long as Ves could turn the environment hostile against his enemies, then it didn't matter how many cannons the Gravada Knarlax possessed or how many nuclear explosions her hull was able to withstand.
Against the huge forces that affected an entire region of space, not a single human creation could withstand such might!
"Although it sounds great to subject my enemies to a natural disaster, how can I open up a breach and cause the two realms to overlap? How can I create an anomaly that won't subsequently devour my entire fleet?"
Ves had never done anything like this in his life!
"I'm a mech designer, not a deranged priest!"
However, he was also a dabbler in spiritual engineering. He had visited the shrine where Grey Watcher Xarnus presided over the ritual that called down the dark sphere and sustained it. Though the sight he had seen was disturbing, Ves still observed some useful clues.
"If I break it down into chunks, then maybe I can tackle the problems one by one."
He composed a new document in his Archimedes Rubal implant. He began to record his theories and guesses about how to invoke an artificial disaster.
"I already know it's possible to merge the two realms. I have lived through two separate incidents where this took place. The naturally-occuring temporal anomaly came about because turbulence in the imaginary realm caused it to spill over to the material realm to an extent."
This meant that if Ves could replicate some of the conditions, he might be able to spark a similar disaster!
"As long as this disaster is just a fraction as strong as the temporal anomaly, I can really turn the tables around!"
However, Ves immediately recognized that evoking such a calamity was a double-edged sword. How could he possibly protect himself and his fellow Larkinsons against his own actions?
This was a very problematic issue and one that Ves couldn't answer right now. His understanding of spirituality and how it related to the imaginary realm was too deficient.
"That hasn't stopped me before." He muttered with a ruthless expression. "Even if my own people are affected as well, at least it's better than the alternative!"
Disrupting the battlefield and suffering the consequences at least gave Task Force Predator an opportunity to survive. If the battlefield remained completely normal, then his mechs and ships would never be able to avoid getting battered by the formidable primary and secondary weapons of the pirate warships!
"Even so, it's important to limit the damage inflicted on my own forces."
How would he be able to do so?
Back at the shrine, the Grey Watcher conducted a ritual with a ritual circle and everything. Ves was rather skeptical the latter meant anything. Perhaps it was merely a way to communicate with the ancient entity known as the Unending One.
Ves was very reluctant to draw someone's blood in order to paint a weird circle and meaningless alien symbols on the floor. He disdained the superstition and preferred to skip all of the useless steps.
"The ritual was either a way to control the anomaly or a set of instructions that told the Unending One how to channel his powers. Either way, I doubt I can replicate this step. Oh well. I'll just go without and protect my forces some other way."
He couldn't help but recall the fact that the dark sphere wasn't as dangerous inside Ulimo Citadel. While the Larkinson mechs trapped outside had to fight against ghostly mechs, the people inside the pirate stronghold only had to fend off weaker ghosts on foot.
That something like this took place hinted to Ves that the Watchers of the Hallowed Abyss Temple may be capable of mitigating or even eliminating any anomaly that affected them. This might even be the reason why many large pirate bases almost never became engulfed by any anomalies. The Grey Watchers secretly guarded their locations against anomalies!
Considering that the Larkinson Clan had dealt a severe blow to the Hallowed Abyss Temple, Ves was sure that several of its Watchers to the Gravada Knarlax and possibly other ships.
"Those guys will definitely try to stop my efforts!"
How was he supposed to beat people who might possibly be decades ahead in developing their spiritual prowess?
"Power! I need power!"
If a small spiritual storm failed to engulf the pirate fleet, then Ves had to call up an even bigger storm!
He did not believe the cultists that would surely be travelling on the Gravada Knarlax could fight against the massive vortex.
"How can I channel all of that power? Where will I be able to get all of the energy required to sustain such a disaster?"
These were questions that Ves wasn't able to answer right now. He had some ideas, but he was very far away from developing a complete method.
He would have to perform a lot more experiments in the coming days. The earlier two ideas he shared with Major Verle sounded nice, but the power of humans was limited.
Ves would much rather borrow from the power of anomalous hazards to equal the odds!
"I'm not really sure how to protect my entire fleet from such a calamity, but maybe Venerable Jannzi might come useful."
None of the rumors about the pirates stated that they had their own expert pilot. Ves thought it was unlikely that they had someone like that in reserve. The conditions for a mech pilot to advance to expert pilot were strict, and most pirates lacked the qualities needed to advance.
That said, even if the Allidus Alliance produced a freak, it should only be one at most, and the expert mech probably won't be on par with those built in civilized space.
If Ves could induce multiple clansmen to break through at once, then the Larkinsons would definitely gain an advantage in this aspect!
Ves did not believe that evoking an artificial anomaly would wipe out the pirates. It was just a means to avoid imminent defeat as far as he was concerned.
What he truly counted on was the might of his current and future expert pilots. Their strong will were very suited to resist strange phenomena. Their strong domains were centered around their willpower. Ves already learned that expert pilots were easily capable of resisting harmful effects that entered their domain. How else did Jannzi manage to shield so many friendly mechs at the time?
Protecting his own fleet against spiritual shenanigans was an important priority to Ves. Even if Ves didn't do anything, the enemy might do so. Now that he was aware of the existence of the Hallowed Abyss Temple and the unusual powers of their cultists, Ves had to develop some defense mechanisms.
"Maybe I can make use of all of the B-stone I've accumulated."
The Unending alloy that Ves obtained might be too difficult for him to work with, but the same didn't apply to B-stone. The material wasn't very strong, which meant that Ves could manipulate it in any way he liked.
Perhaps he could use it for something that would help facilitate his goals. He recalled that B-stone seemed to work well with Lufa, and perhaps the ancient imprisoned entities that were locked inside the vortex.
"Hmmm…"
Several ideas flowed in his mind. Ordinarily, he would have pushed them away for being too crazy, but this time he was fully unrestrained in his thinking.
"No matter what, getting out alive is my greatest priority!"
Chapter 2346: Agents of Order
"This design… what have you been doing with them?" Ves wondered.
"I asked Sharpie to help me." Ketis answered. "He's been really helpful, though I feel a bit drained whenever he does something to my design. Whatever it is, I think it's useful! Whenever I think about it, I feel as if I'm more in tune with it. It's a swordsman mech designed by a swordwoman. It doesn't get any more genuine than this! Don't you agree, Ves?"
Ves didn't necessarily subscribe to that theory, but he nodded because he didn't want to pop her bubble. "Your personal experiences are invaluable to your work. It's just that I still don't entirely think this mech concept can actually work. Using two broad-bladed swords as shields is still an awful idea no matter how you look at it. A proper shield is much thicker and covers a significantly larger surface area. Certain models of shields even come with sharp edges if you still want to add some cutting power."
"I already told you that I am not interested in designing something as boring as a knight mech. Even if this idea isn't practical, I still want to design it to completion, just to see how well it can defend against ranged attacks.
"Well, if you're sure. I like your commitment at least. Fail or succeed, at least you'll get something out of it. Just don't try to push faulty products down the throats of your target audience."
"I know, Ves. I think this mech could be very interesting to the Swordmaidens. Defending in this manner is something that every Swordmaiden mech pilot has trained in. My sisters don't like to pilot traditional knight mechs because they heavily constrain their ability to attack. Offering an alternative that suits their fighting style can go a long way into improving their tactical flexibility."
Ves continued to study her updated design. Compared to the original, it was a bit more developed. It also gained a lot of technical refinements based on his feedback.
Her strength as a mech designer had become a lot more impressive to him. Due to all of the candies he stuffed in her, the amount of knowledge she possessed was already sufficient.
The challenge she faced was utilizing what she learned. Ves suffered from the same problem sometimes and that was an unavoidable consequence of absorbing too much theory and know-how from the System at once.
He didn't expect much improvement in this aspect. He was wrong.
Not just this defensive swordsman mech design, but all of her other personal mech designs exhibited the same degree of maturity as well. It was as if she had transformed from an awkward, inexperienced Apprentice into a more seasoned mech designer who knew her craft well!
He saw the hint of an Apprentice that was ready to advance to Journeyman at any time.
What she did to the mech design might become her main direction.
He pointed at the sword wielded by the duel-wielding swordsman mech projected in front. "Although I'm not sure what Sharpie has done, my best guess is that it has imparted some of his strength to the mech design. Any mech derived from this design will probably be able to channel some of that into its swords."
"And therefore make it sharper, right?"
Ves reluctantly nodded. "That's my guess, but I'm not certain whether it will work. Though Sharpie is a part of you, it is not a good habit of using powers you don't understand. You need to know what you are doing in order to make true progress."
"I'll take that into account." Ketis grimaced. "I don't know whether I'll even be able to do so, though. From what I heard, we're facing some very powerful enemies soon. Without anyone to help us, will we be able to escape?"
"It's hard to say. We're not going down without a fight, though. We've plundered a lot of resources from Ulimo Citadel and we're already starting to make good use of them. In addition to that, I have some other surprises in store that may be able to level the playing field. Warships may be the ultimate weapon in the galaxy, but the ones built and operated by pirates are probably ramshackle and deficient in many ways. There is no way the shipbuilding infrastructure in this unstable region can sustain the production of better-quality ships."
It took a lot of people and some very expensive machinery to build a starship, and that only applied to the simplest ones such as transports and cargo haulers.
The bigger and more sophisticated a ship, the greater demand on expertise and infrastructure. Since the Nyxian Gap was not known to be an intellectual or industrial powerhouse, the Allidus Alliance must have wasted far more resources on building the Gravada Knarlax than the pirates should have.
It didn't really make sense to Ves at first. Then he began to recall the bottleneck on mech pilots.
Though there were always outcasts and criminals fleeing into the Nyxian Gap every day, the supply of mech pilots still remained limited.
In comparison, the amount of norms that entered this region was a lot higher. Even if non-mech pilots weren't treated as well, those with useful skills could still find a place in the pirate community.
Being able to crew a warship with norms was the biggest advantage to fielding them. Though truly skilled and knowledgeable people such as naval engineers and command officers were still in short supply, they didn't catch as much attention as mech pilots. It was therefore easier for any pirate faction to prioritize employing them. The Allidus Alliance only had to spend a couple of years to gather and train a full crew.
Ves continued to evaluate Ketis' recent design work. She even showed him an updated draft design of her so-called Monster Slayer mech.
Different from the rest, the Monster Slayer was a second-class mech design. Even though her draft was anything but complete, Ves spotted many more points that might have worked in lesser mech designs but would surely become a problem if Ketis wanted to design a higher-specced mech.
"You haven't designed any mechs yet, Ketis. While I understand your haste, it's better for you to take your time and focus on studying what makes a second-class mech different from a third-class one. What I'm seeing right now is that your depth of knowledge in this area is too shallow."
The woman looked glum. "It's still an early version. I'll keep working on it. I don't want to downgrade my design. My goal is to deliver something useful to the Swordmaidens, and I don't want to wait several years to do so. If we survive the coming crisis, then becoming a second-class mech designer is my second-highest priority after trying to advance to Journeyman!"
"How close are you to breaking through?"
Ketis shrugged. "Beats me. Did you know beforehand whether you would advance?"
"I did so right after I completed the design of the Aurora Titan and presented it to the market. You haven't designed or published a single complete mech design of your own making yet, so you don't know what you're missing out. Once you start serving customers, any customers, you will experience a degree of satisfaction that is unique to creators."
He stretched his hand and placed it on top of her own hand. "It is easier to destroy than to create. Just look back at the Age of Conquest. It takes centuries to turn a barren planet into a thriving population center. It takes a single battleship to bombard it all to oblivion."
"Aren't the products we make supposed to be used to destroy?"
"You're not wrong, but that's not the complete picture. Humanity is a race that thrives on order. Ever since our civilization has started, we have constantly expanded our territory and exploited more resources in order to make greater greations. Weapons, farming implements, houses, vehicles and more can't be made without people like us who develop the knowledge to create all of these essential products."
Ketis raised her hand to adjust her poofy beret. "What does that have to do with what I said?"
"Weapons are tools. Mechs are tools. Their immediate use may be related to violence, but they are actually the means which people use to impose order. Warfare is nothing but a struggle to gain supremacy. The galaxy may look a little bad with all of the petty wars taking place between states, but conflicts like these can't be prevented. Our place in this society is to supply the war machines that our customers need to further their own interests."
"And that leads to order?"
"Yes." Ves sincerely nodded. "As long as our mechs are the strongest, our customers will reign supreme in their respective domains."
"What if our customers consist of both sides of a conflict?"
"Then they have both made a good choice. Regardless of who wins or loses, the battle will solely play out by the rules that we have set. This is a different form of order."
Ketis narrowed her eyes at her. "I don't know. It all sounds like crap to me. Mechs are big, powerful machines that can kill thousands of people in a minute. Every battle fought by mechs has led to a lot of destruction. Just look at the pirate bases that we have overrun."
"They're pirates." Ves dismissively snorted. "Setting them back is a great way to increase the order in civilized space."
Ketis crossed her arms. She looked increasingly skeptical at him. "It all sounds like excuses to me. Why can't you just admit you just want to channel your urge to destroy something with your mechs? Isn't that why we have entered the Nyxian Gap?"
"That's different! We didn't enter the Nyxian Gap to satisfy this nonexistent craving! We set out to earn a lot of MTA merits in the fastest way possible!"
"Uh huh. Whatever you say."
Really. What was Ketis talking about? Did she think of Ves as a savage or something? That couldn't be further from the truth!
He coughed. "We've strayed from the original topic. Let's head back to my original point. Right now, you have become better at designing mechs, but that doesn't necessarily mean you are a good mech designer."
His student looked confused. "Isn't that the same?"
Ves shook his head. "Designing mechs is just one aspect of being a mech designer. There are steps preceding this act and steps following this act. Before you design a mech, you need to understand your target audience. What do they need? What do they prefer to use? What are they lacking?"
"I already did that with the Swordmaidens. None of my mech designs are irrelevant to them, even my dual-wielding design."
"You possess a unique advantage in that area, I'll give you that." He conceded. "It's what happens afterwards that you need to work on. Right now, you have little experience in this. While you have participated in several successful design projects, those works belong to Gloriana and I. As an assistant, your contribution is marginal, so you don't feel the same sense of pride and accomplishment that we do. Every creator craves validation. It is the reward that your inner mech designer sorely needs to lift you to greater heights."
She didn't understand him. How could she? Her uneven development had left her very stunted in this area. The reason why Ves placed so much importance in this aspect was because he predicted that she would definitely be able to step up once the addressing this shortcoming.
Ves truly hoped to see her turn into Journeyman soon. Still, it was hard for him to feel optimistic about her chances when his fleet was under an enormous crisis. What could Ketis possibly do if she ever manages to advance to Journeyman?
Unlike expert pilots, mech designers did not exhibit any flashy powers when they formed their design seeds. All of the excitement happened in their minds.
He sighed. "Just work at your own pace. You don't need to hurry. You're still young."
Chapter 2347: Pessimistic Sentiment
"Half of the Wodin Warriors sent to the Cinach System are being dispatched to the Nyxian Gap." Gloriana's physical projection told him. Her shape pressed against his own and her perfume intoxicated his nose. "We care about you, so we have sent the most we are able to afford. It's just that they won't be able to get to you fast enough."
"I'm aware. Regardless, your dynasty's gesture is helpful nonetheless. If some major change takes place that alters our strategic situation, our fleet might be able to evade the Allidus Alliance. Don't forget that while those warships are powerful, they're also slow."
"I know, but my sister Kellendra told me that your options are limited. She's not very optimistic about being able to catch up. She also can't go too deep into the Nyxian Gap. It would be a tragedy to lose her along with thousands of loyal, rigorously-trained Hexer mech pilots."
"Don't worry. Your dynasty's commitment is enough. I don't want to drag them all down with me if the worst comes to pass. If anything, maybe some of us might be able to evade the pirates by splitting up. As long as I'm on one of the few ships that manages to rendez-vous with your Wodin Warriors, I'll probably be in the clear."
"That's what we're hoping for as well." She looked up at him with an adoring expression. "Regardless of the fate of your forces in the Nyxian Gap, you are by far the most important person in your fleet. It doesn't matter if Venerable Jannzi, your relatives, your experienced mech pilots or anyone else will die. It doesn't matter if you lose all of your ships and possessions. Your life is the only thing that matters to me. Don't let yourself be dragged down by your counterproductive sentiments."
Ves frowned at that. "Our clan is all about family, Gloriana. I won't leave my people behind while there is still a chance."
"DON'T THROW AWAY YOUR LIFE, VES! I STILL NEED YOU!" She slapped her palm against his chest. "Look, if all hope is lost, and it appears to be that way, then just do everything you can to make it out. We can always start anew as long as you return, especially with the level of success we currently enjoy. You're a mech designer. Playing clan leader is all well and good, but if it becomes a hindrance to your career, then don't continue with it any longer. You can always rely on the Wodin Dynasty to manage your business and protect you from danger."
There was no way Ves was going to accept this solution! He would rather let the pirates kill him and the entire task force than to become a Hexer puppet!
"I appreciate the offer, but I don't think the outcome is set in stone. Let's just see how the situation develops."
Gloriana wasn't the only person who encouraged him to bail out of the task force. Doing so would definitely leave most of the members of the task force at the mercy of the pirates, but that didn't seem to bother a couple of other people.
In a later meeting with Calabast, she expressed a similar sentiment.
"I know that you and some of the people in the fleet are cooking up some drastic measures to resist the enemy punitive fleet."
"We are." Ves nodded. "Do you have something in mind as well?"
"I'm still working on it. It will take some time for me to get back to you on that. Still, we can't assume that all of our harebrained schemes will work out. We need to plan for failure as well."
"What are you talking about?"
"If worse comes to worst, we need to get out, preferably without getting chased by too many pirates." Calabast stated. "I have already developed some contingency plans on how to do so before or during a losing battle. Utilizing our stealth shuttle is key. While there is a possibility that the Gravada Knarlax possesses anti-stealth capabilities that are potent enough to power through our shuttle's means of stealth, such measures aren't effective past a certain range."
"You're suggesting that we abandon the Scarlet Rose and scurry away with the help of our stealth shuttle?"
She nodded. "You and I are some of the most high-value targets in our fleet. Capturing or killing us is very important to our opponents. We can't run away on the Scarlet Rose because our ship is too high-profile. Even if she is fast enough to outrun any pirate target, don't forget that we'll still be surrounded by many other pirate groups. There is little chance our smaller vessel can resist every hostile pirate outfit that attempts to bar our way."
He agreed with her on that. The Scarlet Rose was one of the best ships in the Larkinson Clan to this date, but she only held enough hangar room capacity for four mechs, maybe five if he tossed away the statue of the Unending One from the mech workshop.
How could an escort of five mechs possibly fend off all of the pirates who would come running as if they were sharks smelling blood?
"The plan therefore is to remain fluid. Depending on how the rout unfolds, we'll have to make a judgement call and decide on following the ship that has the best chance of getting away from the main pirate force. Ideally, we should be following a combat carrier of the Penitent Sisters. Their ships are faster and far more resistant to damage. If the carrier is able to retain a full mech company, then our chances of escaping enemy pursuit and fending off opportunistic pirate outfits are the highest. I've already contacted some of their officers in order to prepare for an eventual emergency withdrawal."
Though Ves was not seriously willing to consider bailing out, he had to admit that Calabast's arrangements sounded workable. Making it off with forty second-class mechs sounded like a decent prospect.
Still, he knew that Calabast hadn't cooked up this plan solely because she was worried for his life.
"This is your escape plan, isn't it?" Ves guessed. "If I refuse to go along with you, will this be how you get away?"
She smiled at him. She didn't hide her intentions. "You can't win every fight, Ves. Victory and defeat are part of life. The true test is not how often you can achieve a win, but how well you are able to pick yourself up after suffering a loss. Don't be stupid and die with the rest. Focus on preserving your life."
"I don't think I'll be able to live with myself if I take your option."
"Disgrace, guilt and shame are immaterial." Calabast lectured to him while crossing her arms. "So what if you disgrace yourself? So what if you are branded as a coward? You're a mech designer! No one expects you to put up a good fight, or any fight for that matter! What little guilt and shame you acquire will easily fade after a couple of decades of running a normal life. When you look back on this incident, you'll probably whack yourself on the head for entering the Nyxian Gap in the first place."
That last part sounded true, but most of what she said did not sit well in him. Certainly, disgrace, guilt and shame were not a big deal to some people. They were social or psychological concepts that largely existed in everyone's minds.
From a logical perspective, as long as Ves decided to ignore these emotions, he could go on about his life without too many repercussions.
Yet Ves instinctively resisted such thoughts.
"The battle isn't lost yet. It hasn't even begun. As Larkinsons, we should be giving it all. No enemy is infallible nor invincible. There are always ways to beat them. I believe that our task force still possesses the means to defeat the pirate fleet. We just need to utilize our assets to the greatest degree."
The spymaster began to look annoyed at his stubborn mindset. She tapped him on the forehead.
"Preserving your life in a hopeless situation isn't a sin, Ves. The remainder of the Larkinson Clan is better served with you returning alive and well rather than dying for a hopeless cause."
Ves shoved away her finger. "Enough! I understand your argument, and ordinarily you may be right, but our case isn't hopeless just yet! Let's all work on our own solutions and see where that will take us a month from now. If we truly haven't been able to come up with anything that helps, then I'll consider your suggestion more seriously."
She ended the meeting and left shortly after he made his stance clear.
Though he understood her logic, he didn't like her overall mindset. What was it with all of these people telling him the battle was already lost? Sure, Task Force Predator was horribly outgunned and outmatched by the pirate warfleet, but the enemy wasn't the only one who possessed trump cards!
"Since these Nyxian pirates like to go crazy, I'll do the same!" Ves spoke with an intense expression!
One of the measures he had chosen was to begin with empowering some of his mechs. He couldn't wait for his little experiment with Vincent's Adonis Colossus to yield some measurable results.
Even if he lacked way too much data to conclude this measure was safe, Ves had no choice but to set aside all of his safety concerns and trust in his unproven and unconfirmed theories.
For this reason, he moved to the Redfeather's hangar bay and addressed every mech pilot who piloted a Bright Warrior on the Avatar flagship.
"Avatars, Bright Companions, I am glad to see you today."
The Avatars as well as Joshua and his personal squad stood straight in their dashing bright uniforms.
Despite the pessimistic sentiment that had spread throughout the fleet, the Avatars remained fully confident in their ability to make it through. Their ability to keep up their morale was a testament to their elite training.
"While we are facing some formidable enemies, we aren't pushovers. Our clan is strong. We have faced many crises. We will make it through this time as well, but it won't be easy. I have developed a potential.. upgrade.. That might supercharge your ability to pilot your mech."
The Avatars all looked interested. That was good.
Ves hesitated a bit. "I can't exactly describe what I will do to your Bright Warrior mechs, but know that piloting them will become a lot more serious from now on. When you next pilot your mech, you will doubtlessly realize that it is more responsive to you. This is not an illusion. If my changes are successful, your mech will become more 'alive', in a way."
He looked sternly in every mech pilot's eyes. "However, the reason why I've withheld this measure from everyone is because it's very experimental. Death is a very real possibility. However, if you follow my instructions and sincerely respect the mech, nothing will go wrong. All I ask from you is to abide by your code of honor and to maintain your confidence. Are there any volunteers for this experimental procedure?"
It didn't take long before Joshua stepped forward. "I wish to volunteer, sir!"
"I want to volunteer as well, sir!"
"Please improve our mechs, sir!"
Not a single Avatar mech pilot refused this call. As far as they were concerned, it was their duty to do so. Their trust in Ves was very high. Anything that could improve their mechs and make them feel less useless was very welcome in their eyes.
The Avatars of Myth did not wish to be relegated to cannon fodder in the next battle!
Warmth spread through his veins as Ves received the response he wished. "Very well, then. Let's begin. I will be tinkering with each of your mechs for the remainder of the day. Due to experimental reasons, the changes will vary in intensity, but don't take any of the mechs lightly!"
Ves was about to experiment on his own clansmen, and some of his best mech pilots at that! If this experiment proceeded horribly, then the Avatars of Myth would surely suffer a massive blow!
Chapter 2348: Cat and Lizard
Ves quite enjoyed spending time with the Avatars on the Redfeather.
Unlike mopers like Calabast, the Avatars possessed a great sense of confidence and battle spirit. While the Avatars certainly suffered several blows throughout the excursion into the Nyxian Gap, they remained ready for battle even after losing almost 180 comrades in arms.
It was too bad that the mechs they piloted tended to be mixed. Not many of them actually piloted a mech produced by the LMC.
This couldn't be helped, as Ves hadn't designed a full range of suitable mechs for any mech force. If not for the fact that the Bright Warrior actually covered four different mech types, the Avatar's mech roster would have looked even drearier!
The lack of LMC mechs fielded by the Avatars meant that Ves wouldn't be able to boost all of their mechs.
In some way, that could be seen as a detriment, but it could also be regarded as a benefit.
For now, Ves was only able to upgrade the Bright Warriors, Aurora Titans, Doom Guards and Deliverers that were being actively used by his mech forces. Each of these spaceborn models covered a decent spread of mech types. If not for the fact that fabricating the Bright Warrior was very troublesome, the Avatars should have been able to field an LMC mech to more.
As it was, Ves wanted to start off with upgrading the Bright Warrior mechs utilized by both the First and Second Spaceborn Mech Companies.
The unflinching loyalty and battle spirit shown by the Avatars turned them into the ideal mech pilots to test whether empowering mechs would work as he hoped.
Ves originally designed the Bright Warrior as a mech to train and uplift the Larkinson Clan. Every mech pilot assigned to the machines would be able to experience what it was like to gain some second-class mech capabilities.
In addition, the Bright Warrior design was also supposed to represent the Larkinson Clan at its best at the time. Even though bridge mechs sat in an awkward place between third-class mechs and second-class mechs, the Bright Warrior was still far more powerful than any mech the Larkinson Clan fielded at the time.
Though the power of the Bright Warrior had been eclipsed by the presence of the Penitent Sisters, Ves still considered his design to be a great success.
He was definitely going to design a second-class revision that incorporated all of his latest innovations when he survived this crisis. Perhaps he might start work on them immediately after completing his current round of active projects!
After the brave Avatar mech pilots all agreed to take part in a dangerous experimental procedure they knew nothing about, they all boarded shuttles that brought them to one of the combat carriers of the Penitent Sisters.
In order to obtain more data and be sure that every mech pilot was capable of enduring substantial stress, Ves wanted them all to undergo extensive health checks.
When he had brought this demand to Ranya, she suggested conducting the health inspections aboard the Surly Cockatrice. The Penitent Sister flagship may be a bit aged, but she possessed a large infirmary that was suitable to perform fast but very detailed inspections in a short amount of time.
With the pilots departing from the ship and the mech technicians ordered to move out, Ves was left alone other than some bodyguards.
After deactivating the monitoring system and deploying some jammers, he finally felt secure enough to perform his routine.
In fact, he didn't need to do anything. It was the Golden Cat doing all of the work.
"C'mon, Goldie." He held out the Larkinson Mandate. "Pump some of your juice into these shiny Bright Warriors. Each of these mechs can be more than what they are right now if you contribute to their growth."
Goldie's glowing, intangible head poked out from the book. She looked at the Bright Warriors with a familiar but also curious expression. Her tail flicked back and forth, moving through both the book and his hand.
Nyaaaa?
"I know you don't have as much energy as the other spirits, but this will be a worthwhile sacrifice. I won't ask you to pump everything you have into the mechs. Just a portion is enough for most of them. Can you do it, or do you need help?"
Nyaa…
Compared to his other design spirits, the Golden Cat truly didn't have enough energy to spare. Being connected to just tens of thousands of Larkinsons was different from being connected to millions of mech pilots!
The ancestral spirit suddenly perked up for some reason.
Nya! Nyaa nyaaa!
"Huh? Qilanxo is willing to help you? Can she do that?"
Nya nya nya!
Ves recalled that when he created the Golden Cat, he made use of Qilanxo's spiritual fragment as one of her ingredients. Ves wasn't sure whether that was enough for Goldie to make use of Qilanxo's donated spiritual energy, but evidently their relations were good enough to make such a course of action viable.
The presence of Qilanxo soon approached both of them. Ves sensed great concern from the design spirit. As an entity that had been watching over Ves, the Larkinson Clan and her three chosen, the predicament facing Task Force Predator was of great concern to the sacred god.
A wave of willingness exuded from her spirit. Qilanxo conveyed a willingness to supply Goldie with energy in order to make this measure possible.
"Thank you, Qilanxo. This will make everything easier."
Ves trusted the former exobeast because it was in her best interest to help out the Larkinson Clan.
Venerable Jannzi had just broken through to expert pilot and would likely be able to supply her with the higher-quality spiritual feedback she sorely needed to evolve.
Commander Orfan and Commander Dise were close to breaking through as well. Keeping Ves alive was also in her best interest because he was the only one who was able to connect her to more mech pilots and thereby possibly keep sustaining her existence.
It was due to these mutual intertwined interests that Ves appreciated her. As Qilanxo and Goldie began to do something together, he noticed that the latter began to grow visibly more energetic.
Just like how Ves channeled his excess spiritual energy into Lufa during the previous battle, now Qilanxo was doing the same to Goldie.
The process was fairly delicate. Despite their mutual ties and close friendship, it was difficult for Goldie to properly absorb and internalize Qilanxo's higher-quality spiritual energy.
It was like dropping cold water in a hot pan! Goldie initially experienced a substantial amount of pain and discomfort.
Nyaaaa!
Ves couldn't do anything but watch as Goldie slowly tried to break down the donated energy into a form more suitable for her to work with. Fortunately, Qilanxo actively helped her gain control over what she gained.
With their continued cooperation, they finally managed to develop a rudimentary method where Qilanxo was able to drip feed Goldie with a small amount of her high-quality spiritual energy ever so often.
Though the rate of transfer was fairly low, it was stable. The biggest advantage to this process was that Qilanxo possessed an abundant amount of spiritual energy. She had plenty to spare for Goldie.
This little development inadvertently solved a significant future problem for Ves. Some spiritual entities weren't suited to become design spirits for mass market mechs.
The Golden Cat was the guardian of the Larkinson Clan. She worked best when she watched over the Larkinsons. Why would Ves ever assign her to a mech used by strangers? Doing so would only decrease her fit to the clan.
Nyaaa!
Once Goldie was stuffed with energy, she eagerly passed some of it on the mech in front of Ves.
He could see the rich flow of spiritual energy entering seamlessly into the mech. No compatibility issues emerged despite most of it belonging to a different spirit just some time ago.
The Bright Warrior mech, which was very familiar with the Golden Cat, openly embraced the injection of energy. Its spiritual foundation ballooned and soon reached saturation without any hindrance.
"Amazing." Ves uttered.
This was a rather fantastic development! As long as Qilanxo could keep passing some of her excess spiritual energy to Goldie, the Larkinson Clan's ancestral spirit could effectively do much more than what she was capable of doing alone.
His next experiment would go much smoother if this was the case!
"Okay, that's enough. This mech is completely filled up. Let's move on to the next one."
Several hours went by as Ves directed Goldie to enhance the Bright Warriors by varying degrees.
Only a couple reached 100 percent saturation. These mechs absorbed the maximum possible amount of spiritual energy their foundations could bear. That said, they were also the most dangerous mechs to pilot! If anything went wrong, the mech pilot in question would definitely die! The only uncertainty was whether the mech pilot would die by way of head explosion or merely heavy brain damage.
One special mech that made Ves pause was the Quint. The sole masterwork mech model was Joshua's partner in battle in the Nyxian Gap.
Of all of the mech pilots who utilized his products, Joshua was the only one who understood his design philosophy the deepest. That meant that the talented mech pilot should be able to adjust to the changes the best.
Considering Joshua's genuine love and respect for LMC mechs, Ves thought it was extremely unlikely for the Quint to turn against its current mech pilot.
"Pump it up to the brim, Goldie."
Nyaaaa?
Goldie looked hesitant. She was aware of the importance of the Quint through her connection with Joshua. She knew enough about this current experiment that playing around with so much spiritual energy could be very dangerous to people!
Still, Ves was undeterred. He had made his choice after weighing all of the risks and benefits.
"Please, do it. The Quint can be so much more if you give it a boost."
She did what he wanted. The Golden Cat took her time and tried to make the Quint's spiritual foundation to grow as smoothly as possible.
The masterwork mech seemed to gain much more life compared to the other mechs. Ves sensed the difference. Its masterwork qualities seem to become more vivid and the mech's personality began to be more pronounced.
What surprised Ves even more was that the Quint's spiritual foundation possessed a higher ceiling than other mechs!
It was stuffed with so much spiritual energy that Ves could scarcely predict what would happen if the mech fully harmonized with Joshua. Whatever the result, it was sure to be impressive.
"Well done, Goldie!"
Nyaaa!
After finishing up with the mechs at the Redfeather, he moved over to the Greenfeather to empower the mechs of the Second Spaceborn Mech Company of the Avatars of Myth.
He roughly applied the same even distribution he used on the previous carrier. The mechs were either fully saturated, 75 percent saturated, 50 percent saturated and 25 percent saturated.
With so many different degrees of enhancement, Ves wanted to keep a close eye on how these mech pilots behaved and whether they performed better in training.
Since only a quarter of the mechs fit into every category, Ves hoped to prevent every mech pilot of the Bright Warriors from dying at the same time due to some overlooked mistake or something!
Once Ves was finished with the round of experiments, he left the Greenfeather and returned to the Scarlet Rose.
Meanwhile, some of the Avatar mech pilots assigned to the empowered mechs had returned from their health inspections.
When they returned to their ships and approached their assigned machines, each of them felt the difference.
"The mech does seem more alive somehow."
"Are you sure? I don't feel anything. The mech seems a little different though."
Every mech pilot who returned to their machines expressed a lot of eagerness in taking them out on a spin!
Chapter 2349: Careful Tests
The Avatar mech pilots who had just returned from their health inspections weren't allowed to hop into their mechs immediately.
Due to all of the risks involved with this unprecedented experiment, Ves ordered the Avatars to stand by and wait their turns.
In the meantime, Ves gathered a bunch of his Braves and assigned them to watch over the telemetry of the mechs that he permitted to deploy.
Ves knew exactly how much saturation every individual Bright Warrior had reached.
Obviously, he was not going to begin with ordering the mechs that had reached full saturation to deploy.
If there was something fundamentally wrong with his theories, then he at least wanted his Avatar mech pilots to come away with a bad headache instead of chunks of their brains splattered all over the interior of their cockpits!
Joshua raised an immediate complaint, but Ves swiped his message away after taking a brief glance at it. There was no way that Ves would risk the mech pilot with the greatest value to him due to impatience!
"Alright, let's start." He told the Braves in the design lab.
Much more people were monitoring the mechs that were about to deploy. Various chief technicians and techs aboard the Redfeather and the Greenfeather were keeping a very close eye on the performance of the newly-empowered mechs.
No one knew what Ves had actually done with them. It didn't really take that much time and nothing about the mechs seemed different aside from performing some minor technical tweaks.
Yet somehow, the same mechs felt different when their mech pilots reunited with their machines.
Each of the Avatars had been taught to view their mechs as partners rather than tools. As Ves intended them to be the elites who utilized his mechs the best, how could they be ignorant of the life that existed in their machines?
As the Avatar mech pilots each recognized that their paired machines had become greater in some way, they hardly couldn't wait!
Ves viewed this enthusiasm as a good thing. Their love for their mechs and their eagerness to pilot them meant that the chances of rejection should be minimal. So long as all of the mech pilots in question did not hate their own mechs, they would likely be able to forge a greater and more intimate bond with them. He hoped that none of their enthusiasm faded as they waited their turns.
Since the Avatar mech pilots assigned to mechs with full saturation would be going last, it was very critical for them to remain positive and eager. Ves had already passed instructions to Commander Melkor to monitor this group closely and pull them out of the queue if there was anything wrong about their moods.
Ketis stepped to his side and peered at the projections that Ves had pulled up. The main one currently displayed a feed of the mech hangar of the Redfeather.
The first spiritually-enhanced mech was about to be deployed.
Though its foundation had only been boosted up to twenty-five percent saturation, that was still substantially greater than before.
A female mech pilot hopped inside the cockpit. As she sat down on the piloting chair and prepped for deployment, a sense of anticipation swept through the design lab.
Even if the assistants didn't know what Ves had done, they all looked forward to a show.
"Do you think what you have done will really strengthen us?" Ketis softly asked.
Ves tapped the side of his smooth-shaven chin. "I do, but don't expect immediate results. Right now, I just want to make sure that the changes I've made don't pose an imminent threat to the mech pilots. For this reason, I made sure to install a quick kill switch into every mech."
"You what?!"
"This is a dangerous experiment, Ketis. Do you think what I've done is something I was ready to roll out to our mech pilots straight away? Hell no! Originally, I planned to research this option further when we returned to civilized space. Now that the pirates are trying to lead us into a dead end, I have no choice but to throw caution to the wind. That said, the least I can do is to prepare as many precautions as possible."
He would rather want his pilots alive but disoriented than dead by gruesome means.
When the female Avatar finally completed her routine check, she activated the mech.
The Bright Warrior slowly began to light up as various systems came online. The gleaming gold-coated mech seemed to glow richer and more vividly as the life that was dormant inside began to connect with its familiar mech pilot.
Ves stared very closely. He studied the Avatar mech pilot's appearance very closely for any signs of pain, panic or discomfort. At the same time, he also paid attention to her life signs. Once any of the parameters reached a dangerous level, Ves was ready to press the button that immediately shut the mech down regardless of what it was doing.
"It looks good so far." Ketis remarked. "The mech pilot seems happy. Just look at her smile. It's as if she has found her own Sharpie."
Her analogy, though weird, seemed apt.
While Ves was too far away from the Redfeather to extend his spiritual senses so far away, right now the expression of the mech pilot said it all. Pure bliss seemed to emanate from the mech pilot as she merged her mind with a reciprocating machine.
The Bright Warrior mech completed its bootup process without any issue. Ves even suspected that this was the smoothest starting procedure the mech had ever been through!
Ves and many other people watched the complicated telemetry projected in front of their eyes. Every important parameter appeared normal, but this was just the start.
It still remained to be seen whether the mech posed a threat to its own pilot. It might be possible for the machine to inflict harm on its mech pilot even if the machine did not mean to do so. That was why the mech had to go through further testing.
"Please proceed to launch into space and initiate the routine that we have specified."
The mech in question slowly walked across the mech hangar until it reached the exit. Once the machine smoothly engaged its flight system and emerged into space, the machine began to perform some basic movements.
The Bright Warrior that Ves had chosen to deploy first was in its swordsman mech configuration. This gave the mech the greatest range of motion. As the mech performed more and more complex maneuvers in space, Ves continued to observe the condition of the mech pilot while keeping at least some of his attention on the performance of the mech.
Despite the mech pilot's brilliant smile, her machine did not appear to be any stronger. Its movements seemed more fluent perhaps, but the differences were very subtle.
To be honest, the Bright Warrior looked like any other of its kind. Some of the assistant mech designers tasked to pay attention to the performance of the mech grew disappointed.
What was all of this fuss about life-threatening danger and whatnot? Wasn't this just a regular mech deployment?
Others believed that the changes purely affected the glow or some other intangible elements that they were in the dark about.
The rest of the test proceeded without any noticeable differences. The mech pilot obediently followed the prescribed routine. The mech swung its swords against empty space for a time before an Aurora Titan appeared.
The two mechs began to hit each other with slow and controlled attacks. The power and frequency of the attacks slowly rose as the Bright Warrior showed no notable deviations. Once both mechs went at each other with serious attacks, Ves finally became sure that not even the rush of battle would lead to severe deviations.
"Alright. Pull her back. I've seen enough. Send out the next mech on the list."
This process went on for more than an hour as Bright Warrior after Bright Warrior exhibited no meaningful differences in their performance. Certainly, their mech pilots had become a lot more comfortable with interfacing with their mechs, but it was hard to see how this change would transform their battle strength.
Though Ves also began to feel bored now that he confirmed his guess, he still stuck to the original order. He wanted confirmation that every affected mech was still safe to pilot.
When every mech that had gained 25 percent saturation had their turn, the first mech with 50 percent saturation quietly deployed into space.
Compared to the previous mech pilots, the joy and happiness of the mech pilot was a bit more evident this time. Ves sensed some elevated life signs, but nothing had reached alarming levels.
"This fellow looks more excited than the previous ones." Ketis astutely remarks. "If I have to describe the difference, I would say that the ones who came before behaved as if they reunited with their childhood friends. This one looks like he's meeting his lover."
Though Ves wouldn't describe the differences in such a way, they roughly fit the circumstances. Obviously, the first Avatar mech pilot to deploy in a mech with 50 percent saturation had formed a stronger bond with his machine.
As the Bright Warrior in a rifleman mech configuration began to fire potshots at distant asteroids, Ves compared the mech pilot's current scores to his previous results.
The difference was small, but there was a definite difference. The mech pilot exhibited greater reaction speed and accuracy than before, and the improvement was just good enough to be statistically significant.
Unfortunately, hardly anyone else noticed the differences. The Bright Warrior still performed like a Bright Warrior. Even if its overall performance had grown by three percent, outwardly it was still the same mech!
"Alright. That's enough for this test. Send out the next on the list."
Ves did not underestimate this modest boost. He constantly reminded himself that this was just the start. The best was still to come.
As Bright Warriors continued to deploy from the Redfeather and the Greenfeather, Ves observed that the pattern was roughly consistent. Even if Ves had done nothing to improve the technical performance of the mechs with 50 percent saturation, their mech pilots were always able to make better use of their machines.
When it was time for the mechs with 75 percent saturation to show what they were capable of, an immediate deviation took place.
The heart rate of the mech pilot spiked along with other life signs!
Ves immediately hovered his finger right over the button. If the bootup process had truly gone awry, he wouldn't hesitate to shut off the mech!
"My mech!" The mech pilot eventually exulted. "I never imagined my mech could be so fantastic! I feel so great!"
Ves and many others let out a relieved breath. The reaction of the Avatar mech pilot almost frightened them. By now, many Braves noticed that the reactions of the mech pilots had grown successively more dramatic.
It stood to reason that the ones who were about to go last would definitely exhibit the most dramatic reaction!
As more and more mech pilots interfaced with their mechs, the same spectacle repeated over and over. Joy overflowed the lucky mech pilots as they fully embraced their newly-empowered mechs!
Finally, the final batch of mechs was about to go up. The Bright Warriors that had been stuffed with Goldie's spiritual energy until they reached saturation were the most special and dangerous of them all. Each of them possessed the capability to kill their mech pilots if anything went amiss.
Ves paid special attention to Imon Ingvar. He deliberately added 100 percent saturation to his assigned mech. As one of the few Avatars with spiritual potential, Imon's reaction would likely be more extreme than normal.
As for Joshua, he would go last. The Quint was far more special than the other Bright Warriors.
"Come. Show me your power." Ves whispered.
Chapter 2350: Fully Saturated Mechs
The spiritual foundation of a mech represented the machine's intrinsic life. The greater the foundation, the greater its strength in certain aspects.
Ves believed that strengthening the foundation in this way was a convenient way to quickly infuse a mech with more life.
Obviously, it was unrealistic to apply it to every copy of his mech designs, especially his mass produced models.
It took a decent amount of spiritual energy to empower a design to full saturation. The amount was far more than what a typical mech pilot could ever provide through spiritual feedback under normal conditions!
Although it sounded nice to empower an individual mech to the limit of what it could take at the beginning of its life cycle, the risks were very evident as well.
Imparting tools with life was not always a good idea.
How did a nutrient pack feel when it lay in some dusty crate for a couple of centuries?
What would a handgun think if its owner never bothered to perform maintenance on the weapon?
Not everyone treated their tools with care and reverence. Those who used them as disposable items and those who picked up bad habits never thought about changing their behavior.
Why should they?
Tools were lifeless objects.
It may be different if they were pets, but mechs were far from that. There was no particular reason to treat them any better.
To be sure, Ves did not want to usher forth a future where every single object, from nutrient packs to his shaving bot, gained sentience!
In the context of his current experiment, Ves believed that mechs were worthy to gain more life. They were much more expensive and much more impactful than something as trivial as nutrient packs. They were meant to last for years or possibly decades and their performance in battle directly affected the lives of millions or billions of people.
It was worth it to empower them. Ves loved anything that could increase the cooperation between his mechs and mech pilots!
However, his enthusiasm tempered a bit when he reminded himself that not every method was safe.
As the first mech with 100 percent saturation was about to go online, Ves began to grow a little worried.
He vividly recalled the instance where a pirate mech pilot's head exploded due to his inability to take in so much spiritual input. The mech back then was too strong. If the mech ever exerted any pressure, then the huge disparity in power gave no chance for any ordinary mech pilot to resist!
As Ves observed the projection of the mech pilot entering the cockpit, Ves quickly recalled the fellow's name. He had already inspected each and every Avatar mech pilot assigned to the Bright Warriors and noted down their spiritual strength.
The first one to come up possessed no spiritual potential. That paradoxically meant that this particular Avatar had a higher chance of surviving any accidents due to the difficulty of affecting his tiny but elusive spirit.
In contrast, someone with vivid spiritual potential such as Imon Ingvar had to endure greater risks. This was because his greater spiritual potential had to expose itself and thereby open itself up to external attacks.
All of this sounded rather strange and counterintuitive to Ves, but this was the way the rules were set. He had no choice but to work around these conditions.
"This mech is different from the others." Ketis stated as she continued to observe the same projections that he was watching. "Your posture has grown a lot tenser than usual when this machine has come up. You look as if a fight is about to start."
Ves did not hide the reason for his tension. "The last batch of Bright Warrior mechs are the most special ones of them all. If you imagine the previous ones as partially filled bottles, these ones are filled to the brim. The pressure within these mechs are the greatest, and if any of it spills to the mech pilot, then I need to be ready to shut the mech down."
She gazed at him with concern. "How can that be? You always make sure that your mechs are as comfortable to your mech pilots as possible. Well, your Doom Guard is an exception, but these are Bright Warriors. They are some of the best mechs for our Larkinson mech pilots."
"Let me explain this in a way you can understand. Take your big CFA greatsword." Ves gestured towards the giant sword sheathed in a floating scabbard following Ketis from behind. "When a Swordmaiden wields this weapon, will she ever cut herself?"
"Absolutely not!" Ketis shouted back. She looked insulted that someone would even entertain this thought! "Learning how to control our blade is one of the first lessons we learn. We are never allowed to hold a real blade until we can prove with our practice weapons that we never let our blades get the better of us. The Swordmaiden must wield the sword, not the other way around."
"That's a good lesson and outlook. The same applies to this situation. I fear what is about to take place is much like handing someone such as Maikel your sword. It's far too powerful for him. Even holding it is risky."
Then.. if it's so dangerous, why go through with this test?"
"Because we have no choice." Ves ruefully smiled as the mech pilot was about to activate his mech. "The danger of wielding your sword is great, but so is the power you can exert. In an emergency, we need to put as many swords in people's hands as possible. All I want to see now is whether our Avatars are strong enough to harness their empowered mechs."
The moment that Ves had been waiting for had come. The mech pilot booted up the mech.
It was as if a hibernating monster woke up. The mech pilot quickly sensed something profound through the man-machine connection that was just starting to go active.
"What is this..?"
Ves and Ketis both looked at the projection of the interior of the cockpit and the mech pilot's life signs.
The latter already began to fluctuate wilder. Evidently, the mech pilot was experiencing increased activity and stress right away.
Roughly a minute passed as more of the mech became active. With each additional system that came online, the man-machine connection became more intense.
Suddenly, just as the mech was ready to move, the mech pilot suddenly convulsed in his seat!
"AAAAHHH! IT'S TOO MUCH! MY MECH.. IS.. TOO STRONG!"
The Avatar contorted against his seat in an ugly fashion, so much so that the sight shocked everyone who witnessed the sudden turn of events!
Not only that, but the Avatar mech pilot's life signs also began to enter dangerous territory! The moment some of the indicators such as heart rate and brain activity spiked into the red zones, Ves immediately pressed the shutdown button.
"Abort the current test! Medics, enter the cockpit and stabilize his condition!"
A prepared crew of medics and doctors led by Ranya Wodin immediately moved into action once they received the command.
Though the bootup process had gone wrong, the Avatar mech pilot only suffered for less than ten seconds. Though his brain had come under enormous stress, it shouldn't have incurred too much damage. Hopefully none of it was permanent.
Ketis and the assistant mech designers in the design lab all looked horrified at what happened.
How could this session go so awry so quickly?
Before, the Avatars mech pilots that had come before all experienced varying degrees of euphoria. They achieved significantly better scores when they piloted their newly-enhanced mechs.
It was only now that the bestanders realized that this change wasn't as positive as everyone thought.
While the medics took the injured Avatar mech pilot away, nobody knew what to do at the moment.
"Resume the test." Ves spoke with a heavy voice. "I need more data. A single doesn't necessarily point to anything. I need at least a few more observations."
"Is that a good idea?" Ketis frowned.
"I.. don't know. This could have been a fluke. If I want to rule it out, I need to run this test multiple times. Out of consideration of the danger to our mech pilots, I'll lower my demands, but I need at least three more tries."
Ves contacted the mech pilot who was supposed to go next.
"I need you to be brave. You may refuse to participate in this test. I won't blame you if you turn away. However, if you think you have what it takes to control your mech, then I won't say no if you wish to proceed. What is your answer?"
The man looked a bit discomfited, but he put on a brave face. "I am an Avatar! I will do what is necessary!"
"Good man! Then head inside the cockpit of your mech and mentally ready yourself."
Ves briefly smirked as he closed the private channel. There was hardly any chance his Avatars would refuse his demand. As long as he phrased his request as an expectation, any Avatar would feel compelled to meet it! As the golden boys of the Larkinson Clan, how could they ever disappoint the clan patriarch's expectations?
As the second test with a different mech at full saturation commenced, Ves became extra alert.
Initially, the bootup process looked similar to the last one. The second Avatar mech pilot experienced the same profundity from his newly-empowered machine.
Yet just a minute later, the man's life signs immediately spiked into the red zones straight away!
"I CAN'T HANDLE IT! IT'S TOO STRONG!"
Ves had already slapped the shutdown button the instant the life signs went crazy. Due to his faster reaction, the mech shut down five seconds faster than the previous one. The mech pilot even managed to stay conscious this time!
That said, there wasn't much to celebrate about with this test. Two successive mech pilots evidently experienced much more spiritual input than they could handle.
Ves hadn't seen any signs the Bright Warrior mechs had turned against their own mech pilots. The beginning stages of the formation of the man-machine connection went smoothly in both cases. The Bright Warrior mechs obviously liked their familiar mech pilots, yet something went wrong anyway.
The most likely explanation for this detrimental outcome was the analogy he had just shared with Ketis. Maybe the fully saturated mechs were too powerful for their own good. Their mech pilots simply weren't capable enough to harness the most radically-altered mechs.
Hardly anyone thought the experiment should still proceed, but Ves wasn't satisfied yet. Currently, he only had two instances of mech pilots failing to endure the strain exerted by their fully saturated mechs. Both of the injured Avatar mech pilots just happened to possess no spiritual potential.
What if the mech pilot was stronger this time? What if he put someone Imon Ingvar up next?
Ves hesitated. Those with greater spiritual strength also became exposed to more damage whenever something went awry. Perhaps Imon's head would be the latest test subject to feel what it was like to have his head blown apart.
"That isn't supposed to happen." Ves bent his head and rubbed his smooth-shaven chin. "If my theories are right, then a stronger mech pilot should have better chances of harnessing a powerful mech."
Despite the bad outcomes that had just occurred, they concurred with his theoretical framework. "My predictions should still be accurate!"
Ves commanded Imon Ingvar to go next. The mech champion was different from the last two Avatar mech pilots. The former noble possesses a more robust piloting foundation and his spiritual potential might be able to provide him with enough strength to keep up with his empowered mech.
"Mr. Ingvar, I expect more from you. Will you go next?"
"I will!" Imon said with fiery eyes. "I don't know what you have done to our mechs, but I think they're all stronger. I don't want my mech to be weak. Please let me proceed!"
"Then go, Mr. Ingvar. Your mech is ready to receive you. When you are ready to interface with your mech, keep our motto in mind. Per angusta ad augusta!"
"For the clan!"
