Chapter 2451: Outrageous Proposal

The Design Department already added 50 assistant mech designers less than a year ago. Not enough time had passed to complete their integration into the Larkinson Clan and their new positions.

Ves didn't want to wait too long before expanding the design capacity of the LMC another time. Even if his assistants were still adjusting to their new lives, they were already capable enough to mentor any new additions.

The help of the existing Braves and Erudites should make it much easier to get them up to speed. Ves and Gloriana wouldn't have to spend as much time and effort into hand-holding them into their new jobs.

When Ves made his proposal, his fiancé did not immediately agree.

undefined"Let's talk about it when you return." She said. "Just hiring more assistants isn't necessarily good. Without more high-ranking mech designers to supervise them all, they're bound to go astray. Don't forget that we're just Journeymen at the moment. There are Seniors who have employed less assistants than us, you know!"

She had a point. Doubling the number of assistants under their control sounded a bit extravagant now that Ves reflected on his proposal. While he still supported it, it might be better if they took some time and stretched out their recruitment effort.

"Okay. We can discuss this topic and many other topics when we finally get together again."

Ves looked even more forward to reuniting with the other half of the Larkinson Clan.

As time continued to pass, the combined fleet of Wodin Warriors and Larkinsons uneventfully passed through Wreckage Paradise. The border to civilized space was only days away. Every survivor of Task Force Predator was practically waiting to cross over before they were finally willing to relax their nerves!

During the quiet return journey, Ves and the Larkinsons did not have much contact with their Hexer protectors.

The Hexers were reluctant to approach the Larkinsons. They also treated the captured pirate warships with great suspicion despite all of the work being done to take over their remaining systems.

If there was anything worth noting about the Wodin Warriors, it was that they always activated a lot of sensor systems whenever the expert pilots and the expert candidates deployed into space.

Of course, they tried to be somewhat sneaky about it, but Calabast had been watching her fellow Hexers like a hawk.

"The Wodins really want to know what you've done to enable so many breakthroughs." She told him during a regular meeting. "That spiel you gave to the public about the MTA restricting anything related to your innovations may have succeeded in giving you some room, but your future in-laws aren't fooled. They have been tracking your career and accomplishments very closely. I think they have a lot of confidence that you can actually induce breakthroughs."

Ves frowned when he heard that. He petted Lucky as he processed her words, only for his cat to 'lightly' bite his finger.

"Ouch! You naughty bastard!"

"Meow!"

Lucky still resented Ves for force-feeding him with B-stone. Trying to push out two spiky gems was not a pleasant sensation to say the least!

"Meow meow meow!"

"I'm sorry, okay?"

"Meow meow!"

"You're wrong! Who says that I'm not capable of feeling remorse? I reflect on myself all the time!"

"Meow!"

As Ves argued with Lucky, Calabast watched on with amusement. She leaned her backside towards the edge of his desk as usual as she tapped her fingers against the surface of her leg.

"Ahem, as much as I enjoy this sideshow, let's get back on topic. I've studied the Wodin Warriors for weeks. Several times, Colonel Alexandria Wodin was close to inviting you to visit her aboard the Parma Imago. She eventually decided not to after listening to some smart advice."

This sounded disconcerting to Ves. "Did they have any nefarious intentions in mind?"

"Not that. The Wodins would be fools to lay their hands on you. They're just greedy for what you can offer to them. I believe that once we return to the Cinach System, you'll be invited to talk with either Minister Constance or Matriarch Xiaphna. Whoever you talk to, the discussion will doubtlessly turn to greater cooperation between the Wodin Dynasty and the Larkinson Clan."

Ves found that hard to accept. "Our values are completely different. The Wodins are female supremacists while our clan values equality."

"You're too naive, Ves." Calabast smirked and huffed. "Differences of opinion haven't stopped anyone from forming alliances of convenience. If you leave ideology aside, there are many grounds for greater cooperation. With a bond of marriage tying us together, the Wodins will gain greater confidence that any alliance we may form will stick."

"We're close to departing the Komodo Star Sector. There is little meaning to forming an alliance if that's the case. The widening geographic distance between our main fleet and the base of the Wodin Dynasty will make it increasingly difficult to offer aid in emergencies and conduct physical trade. The growing distance will also increase our psychological separation."

"You're correct, Ves. You're quite smart, for once."

"You agree?"

"I do, but that doesn't mean you have grasped the main point, Ves. Now try and think this situation through. From what I have observed, there are indications that the Wodins are eager to establish a closer alliance with the Larkinsons. You have just remarked that such an act only makes sense if the Wodins remain physically close to our expeditionary fleet. What does that mean?"

It only took a few seconds for Ves to grasp her point. His eyes widened as a horrible guess came to mind!

"You mean.. the Wodins want to travel with us? They're readying a fleet as well?!"

"That is the most logical possibility. If the Wodins join forces with us, they believe they can derive continuous benefits from such an alliance. This will not only benefit them at home, but also offer them an opportunity to branch out and spread their lineage to another galaxy."

This was a very big move! Unlike the Larkinsons, the Wodins were rooted to the Komodo Star Sector. Sure, they were very cozy here, but the dynasty would have to make a lot of sacrifices in order to follow the Larkinson Clan into the Red Ocean!

"This doesn't make sense." He grew confused. "To pass through the beyonder gate, they need to muster up 100 million MTA merits. How can they possibly do that?"

"As long as the Wodins are willing to suffer some pain, it's not impossible for them to achieve this goal. For example, they can solicit the help of a Hexer Master Mech Designer who is capable of earning a lot of merits on her own. They can also earn the merits themselves if they fully commit to completing the missions that are open to non-mech designers. Finally, they can partner up with other ambitious dynasties and organizations in order to split the bill."

All of those sounded viable to Ves. Though gathering 100 million MTA was a tall order for just a couple of individuals, when massive organizations were involved, the story was different!

Even though certain restrictions such as the rule that only up to ten people could pool their merits together, it merely prevented a large number of weaklings from entering the Red Ocean.

"There is an even cheaper way for them to enter the Red Ocean." She smirked. "They can request to join your fleet. They just want some of the slots of the 20-ship quota of your beyonder ticket. I expect they will offer huge concessions in order to gain your favor."

Ves slammed his fist against his desk!

"ABSOLUTELY NOT! Do you know how much blood, sweat and tears we shed to work towards this goal? We almost got done in by warships and gods in the last battle! There is no way that I'll share the fruits of our labor to some arrogant women who think they are entitled to leech off the Larkinson Clan just because I married one of their daughters!"

This possibly sounded too outrageous! If the Wodins truly wanted to enter the Red Ocean, then they should do the hard work themselves!

Calabast looked as if she had already expected his outburst. "I believe the Wodins don't have the correct read on you. They're underestimating your dislike towards Hexers."

"I loathe them! Whether they're moderate or extreme, it's a fact that they look down on men. If that's the case, I don't want any more of them around me than necessary. Letting the Glory Seekers accompany us is already the limit."

After Ves clearly expressed his thoughts, he issued an instruction.

"I don't want to deal with this crap. Just convey them a message that they should forget about getting a free ride from us. In fact, even if they're reading an expeditionary fleet of their own, I don't want it to be anywhere close to us. I have many ways to make their lives miserable if they insist on testing my patience."

"Gloriana won't like that."

"Too bad!" Ves shouted. "I'm putting my foot down for once! I don't want any more Hexers around us than what we have previously agreed to! I'm just aching to get as far away from the Hegemony as possible. I don't need the Wodin Dynasty to bring a piece of their own state with us. That would negate my purpose of leaving much of my baggage behind."

Calabast looked at Ves with approval. "I hope you'll be able to show the same amount of resolve when Gloriana issues her request to you in person."

"If she truly loves me, she won't force the issue." Ves snorted. "I have always made it clear from the start that I don't want to get entangled with Hexers. That hasn't changed no matter how chummy I've become with their state."

"Well, I'll be sure to communicate your message discreetly to the Wodins. They're very stubborn, though. It might be that they'll mistake your tough posture as an attempt to drive a hard bargain. It will take multiple messages to get your meaning across."

Ves let out a deep breath and pressed his palm against his face. "What do they possibly think they can offer that will get me to agree to this ridiculous demand? We don't need their capital, ships, mechs, people or anything for that matter."

"I don't know. You'll have to find out when you speak with the senior Wodins."

"What do you think, Calabast? Are you in favor of letting your Hexers keep us company?"

She sneered. "Don't paint every Hexer with the same brush. Besides, I don't consider myself a Hexer anymore. I'm a proud, card-carrying member of the Larkinson Clan. I look out for your interests, not the Hegemony's. As far as this issue goes, I agree with you. One of the biggest flaws of my former people is that we aren't good at diplomacy. This is fatal when you enter into an entirely new region of space that is filled with strong and very different powers. If the Hexers inadvertently cause offense to a powerful faction, then we'll likely suffer as well!"

Ves felt relieved that Calabast was on his side. With her support, he was very sure that the Wodins would never succeed in clawing their way into the Larkinson Clan.

"Continue to keep an eye on the Wodins and do your best to dissuade them from getting their hopes up. I'm not interested in anything they can offer to us. Perhaps in a decade, our Larkinson Clan may have already surpassed the Wodin Dynasty in terms of wealth and power. There is little reason for me to respect them when that happens."

Ves and the Larkinsons received a lot of help from the Wodins, but that did not mean he considered it anything but a fair transaction. They only rescued his task force in order to safeguard the benefits he provided to Gloriana, the Wodins and their state. Nothing more.

Chapter 2452: Standard LMC Mech Template

The combined fleet almost reached the border of the civilized space. In the past week, the engineers and other spacers focused entirely on making their ships FTL-worthy.

The surviving Larkinson ships that all sustained damage over the course of the campaign should still be sound enough to travel faster-than-light.

It was the pirate ships that generated a lot of concern. The FTL drives that the pirates smuggled out of civilized space should all be sound, but there was no telling what kind of traps or safeguards they contained.

From the start, a dedicated team of chief engineers had disassembled these large but delicate devices to inspect each and every single subcomponent.

undefinedThe team detected a handful of traps, proving that the Allidus Alliance indeed buried some nasty surprises in their own FTL drives.

If the Wodin Warriors hadn't dispatched a massive quantity of superior engineers to assist in the process, the Larkinson engineers would have gone crazy by now. The complexity of FTL drives, especially larger ones, outright exceeded what they could understand.

Only engineers who spent decades serving aboard capital or very large subcapital ships were qualified to work with the heavy-duty FTL drives. Those military engineers usually served for life in the military or large trading companies. Due to their vital expertise, the Larkinson Clan failed to attract them during the previous recruitment round.

Fortunately, it was different now. The Larkinson Clan earned an immense amount of prestige, and the LMC became more famous by the day. The most desirable professionals no longer turned up their noses at what they previously thought to be a flash in the pan. A growing number of high-skilled job seekers converged at Cinach in order to be part of the rising stars.

Ves already received word that the MTA dispatched a small investigation fleet to perform extensive studies on the Gravad Knarlax and the surviving escort warships.

To be honest, the warships weren't all that interesting once their novelty had passed. Their power solely came from the fact that they were able to scale their crude weapon systems to immense degrees. When one of the Gravada Knarlax's main cannons exceeded the mass and volume of multiple mechs, they did not need to be sophisticated in order to demolish other ships!

There must be other reasons why the MTA was so eager to examine them. Perhaps the mechers wanted to gather some clues about the Nyxian Gap's production capabilities. Maybe they wanted to ascertain the capabilities of Nyxian shipwrights.

Whatever the case, if not for the preliminary agreement between Ves and Master Willix, the MTA would have nabbed the prize ships the instant they returned to civilized space!

Ves knew that his next talk with Master Willix was crucial. Its outcome not only affected his future, but also the future of the Larkinson Clan.

He grew more apprehensive about his chances. Master Willix had to go out of her way to accommodate his demands. He had to offer some very compelling arguments to make it worth her time.

"If I fail, the consequences are unimaginable…"

Despite his concerns, he still made sure to make the best use of the time he had left. He not only wanted to wrap up the remaining two design projects, but also create the wedding bands of his dreams.

When Ves called up an overview of the Cat's Paw and Ferocious Piranha designs, he was quite pleased at what he saw. In the last few weeks, both projects had made large strides. The latter one was already complete barring its spiritual components.

"Well, I might as well take care of that immediately."

He delved into the schematics of the Ferocious Piranha in order to familiarize himself with the final iteration of the third-class design.

Originally, the Ferocious Piranha was supposed to be a light skirmisher derivative of the Doom Guard.

Fast, light and premium, the Ferocious Piranha basically utilized the Doom Guard's glow in an offensive capacity. Putting this powerful glow on a very mobile package opened up many more opportunities to debilitate opponents.

The only complication that stalled the project was that the Doom Guard's glow had changed.

It shifted from striking terror into people's hearts to generating a rapidly-fluctuating field of contrasting emotions.

Suffice to say, such a drastic change significantly changed the usage of the Ferocious Piranha.

The greatest advantage of the old glow was that its ability to induce fear was great at clearing crowds. Even when enemies close to an active Doom Guard managed to flee its range, their fighting spirit had already collapsed, causing them to keep running!

This was not the case with the new glow. Once Lufa replaced the position vacated by Nyxie, the glow produced by the Doom Guard mentally disabled those who failed to maintain their focus.

The mechs piloted by people affected by this condition either drifted away or convulsed. This turned them into sitting ducks which could be shot at will. However, once the mechs exited the range of the new glow, their pilots usually regained control pretty quickly.

Overall, Ves believed that most customers preferred the old glow over the new one, but that did not mean the latter was impractical.

"In the right circumstances, a single Ferocious Piranha should be able to annihilate an entire mech company by itself!"

This was unlikely to happen. Spaceborn mechs rarely fought in tight formations, so there should always be a lot of enemies that were able to remain outside of the range of a Ferocious Piranha's glow.

In addition, tests of the Doom Guard also showed that as long as the mech pilots by its glow were not total garbage, they eventually wrestled back some control as they became accustomed to the cycling emotions.

"What if there are multiple Ferocious Piranha's, then?"

Ves tried to imagine how a squad of his new mech model fared against a typical mech company. The odds should be substantially better, but their overlapping glows barely grew stronger.

"Wait a minute."

He suddenly recalled that he developed a little trick that increased the effectiveness of overlapping glows. While the improvement was rather modest, he already received early indications that it worked!

Ves easily tweaked the Ferocious Piranha design so that the glow of each individual mech varied just a little bit. By inducing these minor differences, stacking multiple of them together should produce a noticeably stronger effect.

"In fact, I should apply this trick to all of my mechs."

He called up a special document in his implant and added it as a standard rule.

This was something he had recently been working upon. He wanted each mech design to conform to a standard template. This leveled the playing field between his products as much as possible.

Right now, the template already contained a lot of requirements. A proper LMC mech should be alive, possess the potential to grow, carry his signature look, reach a high standard of reliability, be capable of conjuring up a phantom projection, be able to enhance itself up to a hard cap of 25 Ves, limit the effectiveness of its glow and more.

These were the standard requirements that every LMC mech designed by Ves and Gloriana had to meet. He might apply another template if he collaborated with other mech designers such as Ketis or Master Willix, but he would still try his best to implement his standard.

Once Ves applied every requirement dictated by his standard LMC mech template, the Ferocious Piranha design became significantly more useful in his eyes.

The addition of the retraction dial provided the mech design with a lot more flexibility in utilizing its disorienting glow.

The phantom projection the mech was able to project consisted of a large and rapidly-moving school of piranhas.

This cosmetic addition was the successor to the particle generators that he had previously used. He became inspired by the giant silhouettes that appeared whenever his forces engaged their battle formations.

In order to camouflage the future usage of battle formations by his mech forces, Ves simply decided to add the ability to project giant 'totems' to all of his mechs!

By themselves, the phantom projections were just illusions. Enemy mechs could easily see through them or filter them out. However, when used in conjunction with other properties such as glows, the phantom projections might be useful.

In the case of the Ferocious Piranha, projecting a rapidly-moving school of piranhas in the presence of enemies that were already affected by a debilitating glow might tip them over!

"Phantom projections not only look great in footage, but also compliments our psychological warfare doctrine."

That it was able to provide cover for the effects of authentic battle formations was still the most important reason why he implemented this requirement. The power of the network derived from Master Huron's work was so potent that Ves wanted to turn it into one of the Larkinson Clan's exclusive strengths!

As Ves turned his attention back to the Ferocious Piranha design, he thought about what kind of triggered ability he should add to it. The Doom Guard already came with a pulse ability, though it wasn't very strong.

"Hmm. I'm actually a bit afraid of adding any extra functionality."

The Ferocious Piranha was already strong. While it lacked the Valkyrie Redeemer's ability to affect enemies at a distance, up close its Doom Guard-like glow was very fatal to weaker opponents!

Of course, the biggest advantage to the Ferocious Piranha was that its glow did not harm the mech pilot and any friendlies!

By adding a part of Qilanxo, her influence successfully prevented Zeigra and Lufa from harming the people who were supposed to fight alongside the Ferocious Piranha.

This made the spaceborn light skirmisher a lot more practical to use! Together with the retraction dial, its suppressive glow shouldn't be able to harm anyone unless its current owners willed it. It became a lot easier for the Ferocious Piranha to fight as part of a larger unit or formation!

These compelling advantages put the Ferocious Piranha far ahead of its competition in the same price class. While the premium light skirmishers designed by other mech designers might perform better in some aspects, hardly any of them came with the ability to directly cause nearby enemy mech pilots to lose their minds in battle!

That said, the performance of the mech was still fairly good. Much of that was due to its generous budget, which was extravagant even by the standards of other expensive light skirmishers.

Costing 1.5 times more than a Doom Guard, the LMC made it abundantly clear that the potent advantages of the Ferocious Piranha came at a price.

It took a lot of courage to design an expensive light mech. No matter how much Ves invested in its armor system, the fact that it was limited to thin layers meant that it could never resist as much damage as a medium mech.

If the enemy managed to land a heavy blow onto the mech, then 3 million hex credits would pretty much go down the drain!

This was one of the main reasons why customers were very reluctant to spend money on expensive light mechs. No matter how much they excelled at evasion, just one lucky hit or a blanket of fire was all it took to ruin them! Most customers would rather purchase cheaper mechs and throw some unimportant mech pilots in their cockpits.

"Light mechs are often synonymous to expendable mechs." Ves grimaced.

Since he knew that, he wanted to make sure that the buyers of the Ferocious Piranha did not treat the mech model the same way. Inflating its price was a good way to make sure that his customers truly cared for them. After all, no one wanted to waste an expensive investment!

"Well, that's all I can do for you, Ferocious Piranha. The rest is up to you. I hope you will revolutionize the mech market even further."

The commercial potential of the Ferocious Piranha exceeded that of the Crystal Lord Mark II!

Chapter 2453: Impoverished Charlatan

After adding the Ferocious Piranha design to the pile of completed projects, Ves studied the final remaining project.

The Cat's Paw design was the last one to be completed for a good reason. The heavy artillery mech was so big that it simply demanded a lot more work to take shape.

Designing it was a great endeavor. It did not help that Ves and Gloriana were the only mech designers who effectively worked on it. As a second-class mech, the machine codenamed Cat's Paw contained a wealth of advanced components with very advanced features.

The powerful weapon loadout consisted of a pair of heavy Xcordon gauss cannons, a pair of heavy positron beam cannons and a pair of light pulse cannons all needed to rely on a host of supporting systems to function correctly.

undefinedVes and Gloriana had to cram a lot of different systems into the Cat's Paw. While a heavy mech possessed a lot of capacity, it carried a lot of weapons, each of which imposed additional demands.

The internal volume of the design quickly filled up with power systems, damage control systems, heat management systems, targeting systems, sensor systems, communication systems and other necessities such as armor and ammunition bays.

Even though Ves had already reached the standard of a second-class mech designer, he still needed to strain his mind in order to fit the pieces of the puzzle together.

Fortunately, this was something that Gloriana excelled at. Previously, she prioritized the Valkyrie Redeemer Project due to its importance to the Hegemony.

Ves did not begrudge her obvious favoritism, but he was a little disappointed that her priorities were skewed.

If she was a proper member of the Larkinson Clan, she should have devoted her efforts to finishing the Cat's Paw Project first. The Valkyrie Redeemer exclusively benefited a client while the Cat's Paw directly strengthened the Larkinson Clan.

"Well, it's okay." He shrugged.

Producing the Cat's Paw was difficult. Compared to the other mech models that were exclusive to the clan, the Cat's Paw far exceeded them in cost, scope and complexity.

In fact, Ves wasn't confident that the LMC was able to fabricate the second-class artillery mechs in its current state. He would have to outsource its productions to the Hexers or wait until his clan finally received its factory ship in order to commence production!

"Even then, I'll have to prepare all of the advanced materials needed to produce this difficult mech!"

The Cat's Paw was an expensive and difficult-to-produce machine. Even if Ves and his crew managed to establish a working production line, the production rate was bound to disappoint.

Was it worth it? Definitely!

Once the factory ship produced enough Cat's Paw mechs to fill up her bunkers, the Larkinson Clan gained a very powerful mobile bulwark!

Its budget was at least 50 percent higher than that of the Valkyrie Redeemer.

While comparing heavy artillery mechs to light skirmishers was like comparing apples to oranges, looking at cost was a good way to judge the power of a machine.

"It costs 600 million hex credits to fabricate one of these big bastards, and that only accounts for the cost of materials and licensing fees."

The actual cost was higher because Ves had to account for the cost of running the factory ship, the wages he needed to pay for the production crews and many other factors.

Rather than see it as a downside, Ves instead considered it a boon. The power of the Cat's Paw was so impressive that it should serve his clan well for at least a decade. Its usefulness could even stretch on longer if he committed to implementing incremental updates.

In comparison, the Bright Warrior was already on its way out. Its current performance could no longer keep up with the demands of the growing Larkinson Clan.

The troublesome aspect about the modular mech platform was that it was a third-class mech that incorporated a couple second-class elements, most notably its armor system.

This meant that elevating its performance was not as simple as replacing a few outdated components here and there. Ves would have to rip out most of the internals of the Bright Warrior and design something completely different in their place.

To put it simply, if Ves wanted to improve the Cat's Paw, he could simply make enough changes to produce version 1.01 or even 1.1. For the Bright Warrior, nothing less than a Mark II version sufficed.

"Ugh. That's going to be a major project at least. Should I start on it right after the wedding or should I wait a few more years?"

Once Ves finished looking over the expansive technical design schematics of the Cat's Paw, he was very satisfied at how it turned out. While it still required more time to test and optimize even further, its foundation was sound and its performance parameters were already up to standard.

The only issue was that Ves was still unsure about its spiritual characteristics.

Of all of his design spirits, only a handful directly enhanced the performance of ranged mechs.

The newly-upgraded Illustrious One provided a noticeable boost to crystals and components based on luminar technology, but the Cat's Paw utilized conventional weapon systems.

The Solemn Guardian played an indispensable role in popularizing the Soldier product line, but that was solely due to its duty-based glow.

"My clansmen already have the Golden Cat."

This left him with Ylvaine. Not James, but the spiritual fragment version of the prophet.

"Is there even a difference between the two these days?"

Whatever the case, of his entire collection of design spirits, Ylvaine was the only one that was capable of providing active targeting assistance to mech pilots. Unlike the predictive targeting systems sold by dedicated equipment developers, the assistance provided by the design spirit worked on entirely different principles.

As long as Ylvaine assisted the mech pilots to the fullest extent, they were capable of hitting critical targets with unerring accuracy!

Of course, Ves already noticed that this help did not come for free. During the Sand War, Ylvaine carefully rationed the ability to the most dedicated Kronon marksman mech specialists.

These days, Ylvaine was forced to ration its existing spiritual energy reserves even more!

When the Friday Coalition turned the Ylvaine Protectorate into its puppet state, the Kronon Dynasty was forced to scrap all of its Holy Soldier and Deliverer mechs.

The loss of hundreds of thousands of Ylvainan mechs directly crippled Ylvaine's spiritual feedback. These days, it was only able to harvest the spiritual feedback of a small number of exiled Ylvaining mech pilots.

That was enough to sustain its existence, but it was not enough fuel any further growth.

"I guess you'll have to rely on quality rather than quantity." Ves surmised.

The Cat's Paw mech should help a bit, but Ylvaine's still wasn't optimistic. He needed the help of an expert pilot in order to gain a singular powerful source of spiritual feedback.

"Maybe I can do something about that as well."

With his current capabilities, producing expert pilots was no longer an impossibility. While Ves didn't think he could produce expert pilots on command, he could probably invest in a batch of 100 promising mech pilots and produce a yield of 1 or 2 expert pilots after a couple of years.

The yield would be drastically higher if he subjected the pilots to a lot of intensive combat!

The only reason why he hadn't done so already was because his clan already attracted too much heat.

"This will have to wait. For now, I should be happy with Cat's Paw mechs piloted by regular Ylvainans."

Ves ultimately did not add too much to the Cat's Paw spiritual design. Its Ylvainan mech pilots already received a huge morale boost when they piloted a mech blessed by the prophet.

The only triggered ability he added to the design was a more refined and reliable version of the Deliverer's Guided Aim ability.

The concept was the same. Ves expanded upon it by adapting it to the different weapon systems of the Cat's Paw. He also tried to optimize and ease any possible input from Ylvaine in order to reduce the cost of activating the Guided Aim ability.

Ves contemplated on adding another triggered ability, but nothing came up. The heavy mechs were so cumbersome that they would likely spend most of their time slotted in a bunker. There was a limit to what they could do in their positions.

"This is enough, I suppose. Aside from the requirements mandated by the standard template, I don't need to add anything else. The mech is already strong enough."

In the end, he tweaked and finalized his contribution to the mech design. He sent it back to Gloriana so that she could bring it to completion by herself.

"Well, that's it. I'm free now."

He felt liberated now that he effectively completed six mech design projects. As this was the first time the LMC adopted such a hefty schedule, Ves wanted to make some changes for the next round of projects.

Enough time had passed for the combined fleet to reach the border of the Nyxian Gap. As this was a special moment to everyone, Ves headed to the bridge in order to witness the crossing.

"We're almost out." Calabast noted.

She had already arrived to bridge by the time that Ves entered through the blast doors.

"I guess everyone is sick and tired of staying one more day in the Nyxian Gap."

"That's an understatement."

The two chatted a little as the fleet came nearer and nearer to the border.

Once the fleet finally passed through the invisible barrier, the Larkinsons and Hexers finally got rid of their persistent unease.

Ves noticed the difference even more. When he peeked into the imaginary realm, he no longer witnessed the mighty vortex that held the Nyxian Gap together. He only saw a huge mass of darkness in its place.

A lot of Larkinsons turned emotional for a moment. Some had tears in their eyes while others spontaneously hugged each other. Even the Kinners manning the bridge cheered and celebrated the occasion!

"We're safe again!"

"No more pirates!"

"I need a vacation!"

Once the Larkinons regained their composure, they quickly readied themselves for the critical moment.

Right now, the combined fleet exited into the middle of nowhere. It was too difficult for the MTA investigation fleet to travel to these precise coordinates, so Ves had agreed to bring his fleet to a star system in the vicinity.

"Commence FTL travel."

With bated breath, many Larkinsons and Wodins observed the captured warships as every other ship and mech distanced themselves from the potential hazards.

Though the engineers had worked hard on the Gravada Knarlax, the Ailing Frey, the Cartin Motiva, the Livid Seven, the Artis Fly and the Sundown, no one was able to ensure that they worked normally.

After some final checks, the first pirate warship initiated her FTL drive.

The armed frigate called the Sundown easily slipped into FTL.

When the captain of the warship successfully communicated back to the fleet with a borrowed quantum communication node, a lot of people slowly let out their breaths.

"The Sundown reports that all of her essential systems are running normally!"

The Artis Fly followed suit. Then came the destroyers. The Livid Seven and the Cartin Motiva exhibited no problems, but Ves grew a little worried when the Ailing Frey came next.

The ship suffered a lot of damage during the previous battle. Fortunately, the emergency repairs held up as the ship reluctantly zipped away.

Then came the largest and riskiest ship of all. The Gravada Knarlax lost huge chunks of her structure. She even lost one of her primary turrets.

With all of this damage, no one was sure whether she was able to reach another star system.

Yet with all of the effort put into inspecting, repairing and tuning up her FTL drive, the damaged warship eventually disappeared as well.

"Success!"

Chapter 2454: Relaxed

As the remnants of Task Force Predator and the Wodin Warrior fleet both entered FTL travel, Ves constantly kept himself appraised of the condition of the travelling warships.

While the Larkinsons had lost all of their quantum communication nodes, the Wodins had plenty to spare. It did not burden them too much to lend some to the Larkinsons so that they could be mounted on pirate-built vessels.

With the help of these nodes, the prize crews who ran the captured vessels constantly transmitted their status to the rest, thereby reassuring everyone of their continued existence.

No accidents took place during the first traverse. The Gravada Knarlax remained stable despite missing large chunks of her hull. The state of the smaller warships remained stable as well.

undefinedIn less than a single day, a large number of ships emerged at the edge of a nameless star system.

From the large Parma Imago to the smaller Scarlet Rose, every single vessel successfully reached true civilized space without any accidents!

While many of the Larkinsons celebrated their successful departure from the Nyxian Gap yet again, Ves was one of the few who did not join in the celebrations.

As he studied the projection of the local plot, he noted the presence of a handful of very powerful vessels.

Though the frigate and destroyer-sized ships didn't look impressive, their quality far surpassed anything the Larkinsons or Hexers owned!

Ves gulped. A heavy weight fell on his shoulders. He recognized Master Willix's Ubiquitious Force.

This time, she brought company.

Even without communicating with the recent arrivals, the ships already activated their powerful propulsion drives and quickly approached the sides of the Gravada Knarlax and other pirate warships.

"Don't panic and don't do anything stupid!" Ves quickly broadcasted to all of his clansmen. "We already have an appointment with the MTA. Just stay put and don't make any aggressive moves."

No sane person would ever launch an attack on the MTA, but who knew how trigger-happy his men might be. The rapid and alarming approach of the Association's ships might bring up bad memories.

Fortunately, no incidents took place. Most of this was because the Larkinsons and Wodin Warriors only deployed a minimal amount of mechs after exiting FTL travel.

Normally, this was not enough to protect so many ships, but the presence of MTA vessels already guaranteed that no one would stir any trouble.

Ves received a short message from the Ubiquitous Force. It stated that he should be making his way to the advanced frigate.

His face grew ugly. He really did not want to talk to Master Willix on her home ground. With all of the technology packed inside one of the most modern vessels of human civilization, it was far too easy for him to expose himself.

Nonetheless, the commands of the MTA were absolute and Ves saw no way out of this predicament.

He exited the bridge and returned to his stateroom. He changed his clothes and left some sensitive articles behind.

"Meow."

Lucky woke up and looked at Ves while swishing his tail.

"I'll be going out for a short time. Don't stir up any trouble. Hold yourself in, okay?"

"Meow meow."

"You could offer me some sympathy, you know!"

"Meow!"

Was his cat looking forward to seeing him get screwed?

"Whatever!"

Once he checked himself over for the final time, he addressed his bodyguard.

"You can't come with me this time, Nitaa. Just stay on this ship and guard the vault."

"Understood."

He had grown so used to her silent presence that he felt disconcerted that she was no longer covering his back.

Even though he had never ended up in a situation where he needed her protection lately, he still knew that many people were out for his head.

"Well, it's not like any of foes are lurking around the corner here. I only have one that is staring straight at me right now." He muttered.

He entered his shuttle in a fatalistic mood. The vehicle boosted out of the Scarlet Rose's hangar bay and steadily approached the Ubiquitous Force.

Ves noted from the local plot that a number of other shuttles launched from the ships controlled by the Larkinson Clan. He already received word that one of the other MTA vessels issued an invitation to the expert pilots.

Venerable Joshua, Venerable Jannzi, Venerable Orfan, Venerable Dise, and Venerable Tusa all made their pilgrimage to the MTA. Doubtlessly, the mechers wanted to interrogate them in private while checking whether they legitimately broke through to their current ranks.

Perhaps the MTA suspected that the Larkinsons had resorted to dangerous and improper means to force out the potential of the expert pilots.

Ves wasn't worried about that. Ranya and the other doctors already verified that they were as healthy as they could be. At most, Tusa still suffered a few sores.

Hopefully, the expert pilots knew what they should say. While the Larkinson Network was not effective at ensuring their loyalty anymore, they had already been influenced by it prior to their advancement.

In order to make sure they didn't say anything incriminating, Ves had already told them the consequences of doing so. No matter what, he doubted that any of them wanted to see the Larkinson Clan breakup or forcibly absorbed by the MTA.

What happened next was out of his hands.

It only took a short time before his shuttle docked inside the Ubiquitous Force. After encountering this small but powerful frigate several times, this was the first time he had the privilege of stepping aboard an MTA starship.

As soon as his feet touched the deck, he beheld the hangar bay.

Modern. Advanced. White. A couple of large and heavy multipurpose mechs stood dormant. Almost no one was present to service them or perform any other chores.

Their presence was redundant. A typical first-class multipurpose mech already possessed a suite of self-maintenance and self-repair capabilities. Mech technicians only needed to inspect them occasionally unless they incurred serious damage.

"Mr. Larkinson! Ves!" A familiar voice called out.

"Mr. Armalon!"

"Just call me Jovy, haha!"

The proud but capable MTA Journeyman floated over to Ves with an eager expression. Once he reached Ves, he offered his hand.

Ves tentatively shook hands with Jovy. He hadn't expected to meet him again so soon.

"Uhm, I was expecting to meet with Master Willix."

"She's occupied right now." Jovy answered as he gestured to Ves to move forward. "While she is very interested in your case, she can't abandon her current obligations. She carries a lot of responsibilities on her shoulders."

"How long until she's free to talk."

"I can't say, but it will only take a few hours by my reckoning. Let me keep you company in the meantime. I've heard all about your adventures and I'm dying to hear what you've encountered!"

"Oh, it's not as exciting as you think. We only fought against a couple of shabby pirate gangs. Just look at the ships we managed to haul back. They're shambling rafts compared to your Association's sleek and powerful vessels."

Jovy chuckled. "That's why they're so interesting! The Gravada Knarlax looks so quaint. How the Allidus Alliance believes they could deter our Association with this primitive toy is beyond me. Oh, no offense to you. I heard it was a tough fight for you. How did you manage to defeat the pirates in the end?"

Ves nonchalantly shrugged. "I'm not so sure myself. We had some lucky breakthroughs and a friendly alien dropped by as well."

"Can you describe the alien who helped you? I haven't read any descriptions."

"She looks like a giant humanoid alien. There are scales over her form and she also wears something similar to a robe…"

As Ves continued to answer Jovy's seemingly-casual questions, he knew that the interrogation had already begun.

He had to admit that the MTA was quite shrewd. Ves had entered the Ubiquitous Force filled with tension. Yet just a single minute of talking to Jovy, he no longer felt much apprehension.

Compared to his first meeting with Jovy, the talented Journeyman was much easier to talk to. Either the mech designer had gone through special training or he simply regarded Ves with more respect.

Perhaps both were the case. As they reached some sort of lounge and entertainment compartment, Ves sensed that his MTA counterpart genuinely admired him for going on such an exciting adventure.

Jovy sighed in admiration. "I really envy you, Ves! The life you live is exciting and fit for a drama. With everything that you have gone through, it's no wonder you're making so much progress."

"Why don't you enter the Nyxian Gap yourself, then?"

"There are too many rules limiting what I can do. Besides, the Nyxian Gap is special hazard zone to us. Not even Master Willix is allowed to enter!"

"Really?!"

Jovy offered Ves a wry smile. "Our Association already lost too many talents to this abyss."

"So the MTA is powerful enough to keep the first-rate superstates in check, but it isn't even capable of overcoming a single anomalous region of space?"

"Oh, if we wanted to crush the Nyxian Gap, we would have. It's just that it takes too much effort to do so. Anomalous space regions such as the Nyxian Gap are uncommon but not rare in the galaxy. There are so much of them and the resources we need to mobilize to crush all of them are so much that it isn't worth the trouble. It's a thankless job and we'll only drain ourselves in the end, allowing the CFA to get ahead."

"I see."

To Ves, it sounded as if the MTA was a cleaning bot with a limited charge. Instead of doing its job of cleaning up the messes that people left on the floor, it would rather do nothing so that it had energy to butt heads against another bot that was supposed to tidy up the exterior.

The two mech designers continued to chat casually about various topics. They didn't talk about anything important. Instead, they were merely querying each other what they did in their daily lives or which mech types they liked best.

While Ves let himself be lulled by the discussion, a portion of him still remained alert. He felt that Jovy was deliberately trying to relax him and make him feel at ease.

The decor of the lounge only reinforced his urge to release all of his tension. The warm interior and tasteful ornaments along with the impressive artwork made him feel as if he was Jovy's honored guest.

While Ves expected Jovy to steer the conversation back to the Battle against the Abyss or something, the MTA mech designer instead brought up something completely different.

"You know, the Ubiquitous Force is quite an impressive little ship, but she doesn't offer much in the way of excitement. Would you like me to bring you to Design World?"

Ves grew confused. "Design World?"

"It's the virtual portal where mechers like me have fun! There's lots to do there! We can challenge others into design duels, we can test our mech designs by letting the mech pilots there pilot our virtual mechs, we can watch some high-tier mech duels and even bet on them if you'd like. I hope you still have some of the MTA credits you won from me. It's not the same if you put some money on the line!"

Of course, the Reality Trickster would say that. While it was unlikely that Jovy was capable of swaying the outcome of these mech duels, perhaps his probability-manipulating specialty might give him some hunches every now and then. Betting against him was never a good idea!

"I'll pass." Ves gently rejected the offer.

"Why?"

"It sounds like doing anything in Design World is expensive. Besides, I'm not a mecher. Bringing me there is like taking a space peasant into the Galactic Mech Council. Attracting scorn or receiving looks of disdain from your fellow mechers doesn't sound like fun to me. Is that enough?"

Jovy did not look deterred. "Every mech designer who heard of Design World wants to enter it, you know! Do you realize what kind of opportunity you are rejecting?!"

"Oh? What's so special about it? Is it more than a virtual theme park?"

Chapter 2455: Gravitic Threat

The Ubiquitous Force was a ship of understated luxury. Just like her owner, the frigate was modest and relatively unassuming.

Certainly, the logo of the MTA, her personal emblem and some exceptional-looking ornaments made it clear that the Ubiquitous Force was an extension of one of the most powerful organizations of humanity.

However, much of the actual guts of the ship was buried beneath closed hatches, classic tiled decks and white-coated bulkheads. Ves encountered hardly any bots or crewmen when Jovy guided him to the lounge compartment.

As for the space he was currently in, the wood-paneled walls and the rich red carpeting made him feel as if he entered someone's home.

undefinedWhat drew his attention were the oddly playful gravity traps.

For example, a green-and-purple exoflower hovered above the coffee table.

The plant radiated a pleasant aroma that could only be smelled between 1.1 and 1.2 meters above the deck. Gravity firmly kept a grip on the scent molecules so that they did not spill outside this very specific band.

To water and feed this plant, streams of sparkling nutrient water emerged out nowhere and threaded a morphing, sophisticated route before enveloping the roots of the exoplant.

The threaded water changed shape every ten seconds, morphing into aesthetically-pleasing forms such as a sunflower, a roaring lion, the face of Master Willix when she was younger and so on. All of these transformations took place without spilling a single drop of water.

And this was just one of the decorative gravity traps!

A moving chandelier made out of crystals and crystal dust glittered above his head. From the hand-sized crystals to the tiniest mote of dust, each and every single one of them moved with remarkable precision as they adopted various shapes. The light they emitted caused the lounge to cast different shadows that somehow soothed his eyes.

Together with Jovy's amiable approach, Ves felt increasingly more at ease. Even if he knew that Master Willix engaged in some clever manipulation, it was simply too hard for him to keep his guard up when his body just wanted to sink into the ultra-comfortable couch that was already starting to massage his back as if it was an actual masseuse.

Yet beneath this friendly facade hid extreme danger.

While he wasn't able to observe any threats with his regular vision, he had a trick up his sleeve.

After contemplating the risks, he decided to take a risk. He concentrated his mind and rapidly created a spiritual augment based on a template stored in his implant.

Once he was finished, he gained access to a small and discrete spiritual eye. He was unsure whether the ship contained any means of detecting and tracking spiritual energy, so sending out a little spiritual eye also served as a test to probe Willix's capabilities.

When Ves cautiously sent the spiritual eye through the decks, bulkheads, ceilings and other solid objects, his blood began to freeze.

Underneath the warm decorations, he detected a large amount of dangerous and unknown machinery.

While at least three-quarters of the components he observed were too advanced for him to decipher their functions, he was still able to identify the remainder.

More than a dozen dormant plasma turrets rested in the ceiling above his head. Ves estimated that each of these turrets were so powerful that they could burn holes straight through his Bright Warrior mechs!

A handful of powerful positron beam cannon mounts were buried behind the bulkheads.

Ves almost jumped from his comfy massage couch when he noticed that an antimatter bomb was buried underneath his butt!

Yet no matter how scary all of these weapons appeared, it was still possible to resist them as long as he wore proper armor.

What truly destabilized his mood was the sophisticated gravitic modules taking up a lot of space beneath the deck.

The modules that were responsible for sustaining the gravity traps only channeled a fraction of their power. If they truly came online, Ves loosely estimated that they might be able to ramp up the artificial gravity to at least 10,000 g!

This alone was enough to unbalance his heart. What was the concept of generating 10,000 g? It meant that anything in the area of effect would suddenly become 10,000 heavier than normal!

Someone who weighed 100 kilograms would suddenly weigh 1 million kilograms instead!

Forget about being able to walk to walk or crawl, when someone's body was subjected to so much gravity, their bodies would instantly collapse in itself! With so much force, the hyper-advanced gravitic modules should easily be capable of squashing his augmented body into a cube the size of his thumb!

What was worse was that these powerful gravitic modules were everywhere. Their degree of miniaturization was incredible, so Master Willix was easily able to integrate them between the decks, behind the bulkheads and even in the furniture!

He suddenly understood why the ship was called the Ubiquitous Force. The moment someone stepped aboard the ship, there was no way to hide from her lethal gravity!

Throughout his examination, Ves gained a deeper respect for Master Willix's design philosophy. He thought that specializing in gravity systems mainly entailed designing highly-mobile mechs.

While that may be true, her specialty also enabled her to develop horrible weapons!

Of all of the possible ways to attack a mech, most of them had to overcome its armor system before dealing any serious damage.

Gravity happened to be one of the few forces that directly affected the mech pilot and the internals of mech.

Usually, modern mechs integrated numerous gravitic modules or inertial stabilizers to prevent excessive gravity or g-forces from crushing anything delicate. They were a necessity in spaceborn mechs, because otherwise a sharp turning maneuver might be enough to flatten a mech pilot against the side of the cockpit into a pancake!

What happened when mechs attempted to weaponize gravity?

If a gravitic weapon was powerful enough, they had the potential to bypass the armor of a mech and directly crush the mech pilot and delicate internal components. This was an incredibly powerful effect that was very difficult to defend against!

It wasn't entirely hopeless to fight against gravitic weapons. There were still ways to defend against it. Certain special armor systems were capable of blocking or weakening external gravitic attacks.

One of the troublesome aspects of gravitic weapons was that they weren't that effective at range. The fact that the mechs that employed these weapons had to get close also exposed a vulnerability.

However, as long as these weapons were powerful enough, it was easy for them to overwhelm the defenses of most mechs. Even mechs that were specifically designed to counter Master Willix's works would have a hard time defending against powerful gravitic weapons.

She was one of the top authorities in this field!

Few mech designers were capable of developing defensive measures that exceeded what she could already do! Contesting her on her home ground was a losing prospect.

Opponents were better off trying to counter her mechs at range, but even then Master Willix probably had answers for that as well.

Perhaps her mechs were capable of deploying pylons that created a strong gravitic cage.

Perhaps they were capable of launching missiles that generated powerful implosions akin to black holes on impact.

Perhaps her machines were able to exert gravity onto themselves in such a way that allowed to accelerate a hundred times greater than a regular mech!

While Ves had studied some of Willix's publicly-known works, the MTA was remarkably opaque when it came to their main machines. Releasing their specs made it easier for enemies to counter them. What little he knew about her mechs did not encompass any offensive applications of gravitic technology, but he would be a fool to think that they didn't exist.

When he realized the magnitude of his discoveries, he could no longer take comfort in his surroundings.

The warm interior, the plush carpet, the pleasant scents were all camouflage in his eyes. Without any way to control or defend against the weapons hidden beneath the surface, how could someone as paranoid as him ever feel secure?

His conversation with Jovy quickly grew stilted. Ves paid more attention to the many methods the ship could kill him. There were distressingly few options to defend against these threats.

"Are you really sure you don't want to enter Design World with me?" Jovy asked again. "For mech designers such as us, it's one of the steadiest ways to earn MTA merits. As long as you obtain a pass, you can enter whenever you want. Isn't that great?"

"It's all fake." Ves shook his head.

"Pardon?"

"Will our mechs be able to showcase their full strength in Design World?"

"Not entirely. The tech that supports it is incredibly advanced. It's capable of simulating reality to near-perfection. It's even able to simulate our design philosophies by at least half their potency, if not more. Don't look down on that, Ves. This is a remarkable achievement considering that many ordinary virtual simulations can't even reach 5 percent. What's even better is the location of the mech designer doesn't matter."

While Ves had to admit this accomplishment sounded incredible, he became more wary of it by the second.

The main reason he didn't want to enter Design World was because it would certainly entail interfacing with his implant.

Even though his implant came with various security measures to prevent unauthorized intrusions, he did not believe they stood a chance against the MTA's state-of-the-art hacking measures.

No matter what, establishing a connection between his mind and any virtual interface that was not under his control sounded like a bad idea!

Of course, he couldn't say his suspicions out loud, so he resorted to another excuse to decline the other Journeyman's invitation.

"Look, Jovy, I've dabbled with virtual mechs for a time. They're easy to design and easy for others to access. Piloting virtual mechs is a boon because they provide mech pilots with abundant training opportunities that they can't get in reality. Yet despite these conveniences, most professional mech pilots still value training in a real mech."

"Design World offers opportunities for you to design mechs that you can never design in reality. If you are willing to exchange some of your merits or credits, you can easily unlock the ability to design a first-class mech or even an expert mech if you can find some help."

"While all of that sounds attractive, it's all fake." Ves sighed. "How much time have you spent in Design World?"

"A lot. I've logged in plenty of times in the past few years. It's one of the main ways for me to earn more merits."

Ves crossed his arms. "I see. While you have been playing with virtual mechs, I have fought the Friday Coalition, wiped out numerous pirate gangs, razed Ulimo Citadel and defeated actual warships. I led my men in battle, losing thousands of them in the process, and came close to losing my life several times. I accomplished all of this with just a fraction of the strength that you are able to muster!"

"That.. Design World is.."

"No matter how close Design World is able to mimic reality, there is no chance that people there will actually die!" Ves burst out. "Do you know why? Because it doesn't matter! Nothing in a virtual reality ultimately matters! Take my last battle for example. Do you think you could have won against the Allidus Alliance if you were in my shoes? The odds were so low that I had to squeeze my design philosophy to the limit in order to come up with various means to eke out a victory. With my mechs, almost twenty of my mech pilots managed to break through in battle, thereby achieving their lifelong wishes, if only for a moment! Is that what you can do in a virtual reality?!"

"No…"

While it wasn't unheard of for mech pilots to break through while piloting a virtual mech, these were outliers. The fact that every mech pilot knew that there wasn't any skin in the game meant that they were never desperate enough to reach their full potential!

Chapter 2456: No Nonsense

Though Jovy firmly grasped the initiative in the first half hour, he no longer held it after Ves launched his counterattack!

"I wasn't born in the MTA." Ves started. "I didn't go to the best schools. While I gained some opportunities that boosted my career, I had to work harder and take more risks than you in order to catch up with the likes of you. While I acknowledge that you are likely far ahead of me in terms of knowledge and ability to design more advanced mechs, I believe I am ahead of you in at least one important criteria."

"And what is that?" Jovy frowned.

"Impact. My mechs are piloted by millions of people. In fact, my actual impact is far greater. The contributions I've made in the Sand War and the Komodo War have affected the lives of trillions of people. Even now, my mechs are so desirable that my mech company is starting to sell them in adjacent star sectors. Have you ever helped so many people with your mechs?"

undefined"You can't compare something like that with me, Ves." Jovy grew even more severe. "Mechers such as myself aren't allowed to interact with the native population. If we did, native mech designers such as you would have been crowded out of the market. While I cannot come close to matching your sales, my mechs did make a difference. Due to the limitations of my specialty, I work best with small batches of mechs. Venues such as Design World offer me an opportunity to practice and polish my craft more often."

Ves shrugged. "I'm sorry to hear that MTA mech designers like you are confined within your golden cages. That doesn't change my point. Instead of getting comfortable with a false reality like Design World, you should head to the limits of your cage and seek to translate the knowledge you've learned and the skills you've developed into products that actually matter. When real mech pilots entrust their lives to your work, then you don't have much margin for error. This is especially the case when you put your life on the line as well!"

As Jovy took in the words, he became less and less staunch about Design World. It was clear that he was a very big fan of the virtual setting. This made it more difficult for him to see it in a negative light.

Yet when Jovy reflected on what he did during the time when Ves and his clansmen ventured into a hazardous region like the Nyxian Gap, he realized he hadn't done anything exceptional.

Aside from studying, designing practice mechs, hanging out with his fellow peers and so on, his life as a mech designer was much more bland.

A part of him began to yearn to live a life as exciting as Ves. It was worth it to take a few risks in order to experience what lay beyond the peaceful and ultra-secure Centerpoint System.

It was just that he wasn't allowed to. Mech designers with valuable and strategic specialties like him needed to ask for permission whenever they wanted to go out. This time he only managed to get out because Master Willix personally requested him to accompany her on a quick journey.

When Jovy processed his feelings, he slumped a bit. "I never imagined that a native mech designer from a poor little star sector would make me feel inadequate. I shouldn't feel this way."

"Why not?"

"I have designed several mechs that are strong enough to defeat your entire Larkinson Clan by themselves. In the future, I will definitely become one of the mainstays of the MTA and design mechs that affect the very course of human history. While you have made amazing gains, there is no guarantee that you will be able to sustain your success. Without reaching Master, your work will always be confined."

Ves confidently maintained his smile. "Even if that's the case, my work still has meaning. A good mech designer doesn't necessarily have to be a Master Mech Designer or Star Designer. The mechs I've designed up until now have already changed many people's lives for the better. Even if I can reach a thousand times more people in virtual reality, I would still not change my mind."

An uneasy silence fell over the lounge as Jovy became too deflated to respond. He was no longer able to feel proud of his accomplishments. Winning prizes, meeting the expectations of his teachers and engaging in thrilling design duels all sounded trivial to the very real impact that Ves managed to accomplish as a Journeyman.

Was Jovy truly better off in the MTA? Certainly, but that did not stop him from wondering how he would fare if he was free to do what he wanted.

Perhaps he should spend less time in Design World and more time on pursuing missions that would allow him to see the galaxy more. While he wasn't allowed to accept missions that would take him to dangerous regions such as the Nyxian Gap, there were plenty of other assignments that would expose him to the galaxy outside MTA-controlled star systems.

As Ves reveled in his little verbal victory, a third voice spoke up without warning.

"Mr. Armalon, don't compare yourself to Mr. Larkinson. Both of you are excellent mech designers for your age. Both of you have the potential to design mechs that can impact humanity as a whole. The Journeyman stage is just the first step of becoming an actual mech designer. Wait until you reach Master before you judge yourself."

"Master Willix!"

Ves didn't expect her to show up at this time!

Jovy on the other hand regained some of optimism. "Ah, thank you, ma'am. I understand my position. My time has not yet come."

With just a couple of sentences, Master Willix managed to straighten Jovy out again. She possessed so much authority that her words were much more compelling than that of Ves.

The Master did not look pleased when she turned to her guest.

"Mr. Larkinson, please head to my lab. I am ready to meet you now."

"I thought you were preoccupied with your duties." Ves questioned.

"I freed up my schedule. Please make your way to my lab."

Her projection disappeared. Instead, a faint line came into view that led out of the lounge compartment. That must be his route.

"You've heard her, Ves. You shouldn't keep her waiting."

Damn. Ves didn't really look forward to talking to Master Willix. Perhaps he shot himself in the foot when he argued with Jovy.

"Very well. I'll be leaving now. It was nice meeting you. I hope you'll have some accomplishments under your belt the next time we meet."

"I'll definitely complete some missions!"

When Ves left the compartment, he continued to follow the line as it reached deeper into the bowels of the ship. He refrained from activating his spiritual eye to spy into the other parts of the vessel. He didn't understand most of the technology and it would only scare him further when he observed all of the hidden ways the Ubiquitous Force took care of hostile intruders.

After descending a few decks, Ves eventually reached a guarded hatch. Two heavily-armed guards inspected him thoroughly before allowing him entry.

As he did so, he entered a brightly-lit lab that was filled with numerous advanced lab equipment.

Though each of them looked sleek and advanced beyond his wildest dreams, he wasn't actually able to distinguish their functions. So much of it was far beyond him that the white machines might as well belong to the gods!

When Ves entered the bright and sterile compartment, Master Willix turned around on her chair and gestured to him to sit next to her. "Come. We are long overdue for a talk."

Like a war criminal who was about to meet his execution, Ves reluctantly stepped forward until he sat down on the chair facing the MTA Master.

She peered down on him as if he was a naughty boy. "I do not approve of your handling of Jovy. He is an excellent mech designer, just like you. There is no need to put him down."

Ves shrugged. "I thought the MTA advocated that mech designers should be tough and shrewd enough to achieve success in the galaxy. Since the MTA is so great, why is Jovy so inexperienced? The mech industry will eat him alive if he tries to compete with them without your Association's backing!"

"The two of you are suited for different roles. Mr. Armalon possesses a unique insight in probabilities. This is useful in many ways that I will not go into today."

"What will we be addressing today, then?"

"Don't play ignorant. You know why you are here." Master Willix waved her hand, causing a strong interference field to envelop the two of them. "It's safe for you to talk now. I can guarantee that no one else is listening in. All forms of spying, monitoring and eavesdropping should no longer work either."

Ves didn't buy into her explanation. He was sure the MTA developed a lot of ways to defeat interference fields.

Noticing his doubts, Master Willix expressed a bit of annoyance. "You are not making a good impression, Mr Larkinson. Are you still interested in gaining my cooperation?"

"I am! I just want to be sure that I'm only speaking to you. I don't want to talk to people who don't understand me that well."

"I built this ship. I personally fabricated every single nut, plate, component that keeps my Ubiquitous Force together. I have precise control over the vessel."

"Very well…"

Master Willix let out an exasperated sigh. "Let us move on to where we previously left off. If I recall, you wish to enter into an agreement with me that calls for collaborating on some expert mech design projects. Is that correct?"

"Yes." Ves nodded.

The intensity that was buried within her mind blazed a little further as she sharpened his eyes at him. "It sounds as if you will gain most of the benefits. Having a Master such as myself facilitate the development of your expert mech is worth millions of merits. Perhaps I should deduct some of the rewards that you are due. Does this sound fair to you, Mr. Larkinson?"

"No!" Ves strongly pushed back. "I earned those merits fair and square. What impression would your organization leave behind when you unilaterally deprive me of the reward that I deserve? I'm afraid less people in the galaxy reduce their trust in the Association."

"We are talking about a separate matter."

"Then let us keep it separate! Don't touch my merits!"

She smiled a bit. "Let's leave this discussion for later, then. Now, don't stall any further. I want a straight answer out of you. Are you able to help mech pilots advance in rank?"

The fateful question had come. Ves had come up with multiple ways on how to answer this direct query, but he wasn't sure which one he should choose.

"Before you begin to blabber about faith and proto-gods, please don't insult my intelligence. Miss Wodin may be sincere in her beliefs, but you are different. I have met politicians and diplomats who have mastered the art of deception to a much greater degree than you ever will."

Ves couldn't help but grow sour. He hoped that she would continue to abide by the unspoken accord between them, but evidently she ran out of patience. He could no longer slip away from this predicament by putting on his crazy hat.

"Okay. I admit it. I have been engaging in some highly experimental research that may or may not improve a mech pilot's chances of advancing to a higher rank. Now, let me tell you that my results are anything but certain. During the battle we fought against the Allidus Alliance, there were many factors in play that could have led to so many of my men breaking through. I cannot determine at this time that my work played a decisive role."

Master Willix stared at him with calm and measuring eyes.

"You lie."

Damn!

Chapter 2457: Ves the God Progenitor

Since Plan A, Plan B and Plan C no longer kept Master Willix at bay, Ves decided to enact Plan D.

He wasn't out of options yet! Even though he was forced to step aboard the Ubiquitous Force and enter Master Willix's lab, he did not believe he had reached a dead end.

Certainly, the easiest option he could take was to confess almost everything. While speaking about the System and his involvement with the Five Scrolls Compact was out of the question, he still had to explain how his task force produced so many high-ranking mech pilots.

Yet Ves still did not want to tell everything to her. He wanted to keep as many cards to himself as possible, but he also couldn't get away with substituting the truth with nonsense like before.

undefinedThe solution he came up with was to mix a little more truth with falsehood.

When Ves looked back on his previous conversations with Master Willix, one topic stood out to him. One of the lies he uttered to her might have played a substantial role in how she treated him.

Even to him, she acted unusually generous to him. While she treated Gloriana in the same way, Ves was suspicious about that. If not for him, a mech designer like Gloriana wasn't remarkable enough to justify how much time Master Willix was willing to spend on them. Masters weren't known for being idle. Every decision they made furthered their goals in some fashion.

What could make Master Willix pay so much attention to him? He could think of only one reason.

"Master Willix." He began. "It's not that I don't want to tell you, but you will put me in a different position if you force me to reveal certain matters. I am not entirely in control of what I know. I originally set out on this path after receiving the guidance of someone wise, old and benevolent. I cannot betray the trust of someone who has meant so much much to me. He literally transformed my life for the better."

"You are referring to Mr. S."

Ves inwardly smirked. "Yes."

He didn't say anything else, leaving Master Willix to wonder how much he was actually allowed to say. This uncertainty made it difficult for her to judge how far she could actually push him without turning him hostile.

"Mr. Larkinson, what do you know about Mr. S?"

"Not much. He taught me a bit and conveyed some unique concepts to me. After that, he fell silent and remained out of contact for long stretches of time. I'm pretty much doing fine by myself."

Ves had grown less dependent on the System. Ever since it cut off his easy supply of DP, the System hadn't really interacted much with him either. It was as if it was patiently waiting for him to complete its Supply Missions before doing anything further.

"I see. Can you tell me anything else about Mr. S. as an individual?" She carefully asked. "Our Association has only observed scant traces of his presence. We know precious little about him. His origins, ideology and goals remain unknown. You are the first 'disciple' of sorts that can design a mech that echoes his work. You must know more about him, surely."

"I'm afraid I truly can't tell you much. He only contacts me through electronic interfaces and projected screens."

The System wasn't user-friendly enough to adopt some sort of avatar. It would have made a much better impression on people if it adopted the guise of a human or animal.

After asking a few more questions, she became dissatisfied with what little she learned. Ves mixed truth and deception by describing Mr. S. as he truly was instead of the mysterious mech designer that Willix constructed in her mind.

Seeing that she expressed so much interest in the fake mech designer that Ves invented to explain his rapid rise, he couldn't hold his curiosity.

He coughed. "I actually don't know much about Mr. S. either. In fact, he barely counts as a teacher. Can you tell me why he's so special? I doubt he would matter to you if he was not exceptional in some way."

"You don't know?"

"Do I look like I know something like that? I barely know what's going on outside this star sector!" Ves genuinely told the truth this time.

She peered very closely at Ves and seemed to judge that he was being sincere. "It's surprising that you don't know the importance of Mr. S. I just told you the main reason why he has become a person of interest to our Association."

"You mean.. the Ouroboros? I've heard how powerful the mech has become, but shouldn't you be able to design something just as capable?"

"You don't understand!" Master Willix raised her voice this time! "The MTA is not impressed by the power of the Ouroboros. As an ace mech, it is truly a pinnacle of Terran mech design, but that does not mean our own ace mechs are inferior. There is something else about the Ouroboros that is very unique and incredibly valuable. In fact, if the Ouroboros is not an iconic Terran mech, we would have taken possession of it. The Terrans are unworthy to own this great work!"

Ves looked stunned. He really couldn't imagine how the sloppy competition mech he designed with the help of an auto designer could attract so much praise from an MTA Master. Even though the first-class hero mech received continuous upgrades from a string of mech designers, its base was just a mech with a comparatively weak X-Factor compared to his modern products.

Back when he entered Axelar Streon's mind, he didn't have any access to any design spirits. He resorted to using images to breathe life into the Ouroboros.

"Why is it a great work if the mech isn't exceptionally powerful?"

"It's true value to the galactic mech community has never rested on its power." She spoke with a steady voice. "Rather, it is how it is able to grow its characteristics that are of interest to us. You are doubtlessly aware that General Axelar Streon is currently an ace pilot, correct?"

Ves nodded.

"Ace pilots are exceedingly rare in the galaxy, Mr. Larkinson. No matter whether you are looking at the galactic rim or the galactic center, the amount of ace pilots emerging from a given number of expert pilots is disappointingly small."

"Are you saying that someone like the general only managed to advance to expert pilot and ace pilot because he received help from the Ouroboros?"

Damn. Was it his fault that this former drug addict and wastrel turned into one of the most influential Terran heroes of today? Maybe he shouldn't have pushed Axelar into the Trial of Tears training program!

"You're on the right track. This is indeed what we have speculated." She told him. "It is a great pity that the mech is too attuned to General Streon. Any other mech pilot who attempts to pilot it will.. not meet a good end."

"Is it.. the explosive kind of end?" Ves cautiously asked.

Her gaze grew sharper. "How did you know?!"

"Ah, I was just guessing, haha!"

"In our previous discussion, you mentioned that your experiments on pirates yielded some fatal results, did you not?" She raised.

"Now that you tell me, it's truly a coincidence that the results are identical, haha! I think that should prove that my innovations are extremely dangerous. Some of my mechs pose a serious threat to their own mech pilots!"

If the Ouroboros was anything like the Quint, then the former must have grown and enhanced its spiritual foundation to a scary degree. Ves wondered how much Ves its enhancement had reached. How much spiritual feedback was an ace mech pilot capable of supplying to a mech? 500 Ves? 1,000 Ves? 10,000 Ves?

It should be far higher than the 150 Ves of the Quint! The first-class hero mech was around a century old by now. The mech and its pilot already experienced a lifetime of growth!

Rather than eliciting disapproval, his admission instead caused Master Willix to nod!

"The connection between you and Mr. S. is undeniable, then. It is understandable that progress as great as this is not without its own risks. The two of you are tampering with aspects that are beyond our comprehension."

"Uhmm.. what are you talking about, ma'am?"

While Ves enjoyed being flattered by a Master Mech Designer of all people, the praise she was showering on mechs like the Ouroboros was a little excessive!

"It seems you still don't know. Perhaps I should refrain from telling you. If Mr. S. did not see fit to inform you of this crucial aspect, then I don't want to encroach on his decision."

What?! How could she do that to him! She teased him so much that Ves simply couldn't let go at this point!

"Mr. S. doesn't care! He's never around and I barely know anything! Can't you do me a favor?"

Seeing that he was pleading so much, Master Willix decided to relent.

"Very well. What I am about to tell you is very delicate. For your own good, you should not speak to anyone about this, not even your future wife. Do you understand?"

"I get it! I'm already keeping her in the dark about plenty of matters."

"Good, because what I am about to tell you can change your life drastically, and not necessarily for the better. The truth is that.. when I had the opportunity to observe the Ouroboros and meet with General Streon, I did so in the company of a Star Designer."

WHAT?!

"A Star Designer." Ves gasped with utter reverence. "Which one?"

While he didn't believe in gods, the closest ones he was willing to worship were definitely the mech designers who stood at the top of the mech industry!

"That's not important." She brushed aside his query. "The point is that once the Star Designer took a good look at the ace mech and ace pilot, she made an astonishing remark. Do you know what she said? General Streon's growth as an ace pilot hasn't stagnated. Despite reaching the latter stages of senior ace pilot, he is still making progress. This may mean that our civilization may welcome another god pilot in the future."

Ves completely froze. He never imagined that the sloppy hero mech he designed with the help of an auto designer program could have grown to the point where it was able to nurture a god pilot!

A god pilot!

Only 100 known god pilots existed throughout human space, and each of them were so powerful that they could have probably slapped the Unending One to death!

As the ultimate mech pilots, these immensely powerful individuals completely transcended their humanity. James even described them as manifestations of pure willpower!

"This.. I can't believe.."

"You see now why this is a matter of great interest to the MTA and to a select few people who know more." She told him. "The Star Designer concluded that the mech has definitely played a key role in General Streon's development. If he is forced to pilot another mech, then we may be depriving the galaxy of a god pilot. This is the actual reason why we haven't taken it away."

"Has this Star Designer ever attempted to replicate the Ouroboros?"

"Oh, she tried, more times than you can count. Sadly, the properties of the Ouroboros are so unique, strong and unfathomable that it cannot be copied. While it is not the strongest mech by far, it is truly a work that deserves to be considered as one of the greatest mechs that humanity has ever produced."

That was incredibly high praise! Ves grew numb at the fact that Master Willix thought that his sloppy little hero mech that he designed in a couple of days with the help of an auto designer outranked some of the best mechs in the galaxy.

The entire situation was surreal!

"Wow." He shakingly uttered. "Mr. S. must be the best, most handsome, and greatest mech designer of all time if that's the case."

"He might.. even be a Star Designer." Master Willix whispered.

Ves couldn't take any more surprises. His entire mind crashed.

Chapter 2458: Dark Child

The news was too much for Ves to take!

His mind completely blanked for a time. Master Willix seemed to expect such a reaction. Instead of shaking Ves out of his daze, she turned on her chair and fiddled with one of her lab machines.

A slot in the machine slid open, exposing a glowing liquid substance held in a stasis cage. A small bot flew down to pick it up and take it away.

Another bot appeared to deposit a similar material in the slot. Soon, the lab machine began to perform some unknown procedures.

undefinedIt was only then that Ves pulled himself out of his shock. He looked at Master Willix with a lot of doubt.

"Is Mr. S. truly a Star Designer?" He whispered.

He knew that this wasn't true. The Ouroboros wasn't an impressive mech at all compared to other Terran mechs. How could the MTA possibly mistake the former dueling mech as the work of a Star Designer?

Ves needed to know the answer! If he knew what the MTA watched out for, he might be able to impersonate a Star Designer again in order to reinforce the lie that Mr. S. truly existed!

By building up Mr. S. as his secret unfathomable mentor, Ves gained an exceptional identity. While he had little ways to prove that he was apprenticed to a legendary Star Designer, it didn't matter as long as at least Master Willix bought into this story.

He had no desire to push his luck. Announcing to the galaxy that he enjoyed the tutelage of one of the pinnacle mech designers in the galaxy would only attract a ton of heat on him. With so many powerful people investigating his background, there was no way for him to maintain his lies!

Still, with how much attention Star Designers attracted, would he still be able to avoid this outcome at this point?

He grew concerned. "Master Willix, how sure are you about this conclusion?"

"It is a guess." She replied. "The Star Designer who examined the Ouroboros did not detect enough traces from Mr. S. to issue a definite judgement. Yet designing a mech that is capable of nurturing ace pilots into god pilots has never been done before. This is a completely unprecedented development, one that the MTA would gladly embrace if only Mr. S. came to us. It is a pity that he remains elusive and wanders the galaxy incognito to this day."

"Why would a Star Designer avoid the limelight?" Ves asked.

He knew why Mr. S. never went public. He didn't exist! He just wanted to hear what the MTA thought about it so that he could tell better lies.

Master Willix looked a bit more hesitant. "There are several possible reasons why Mr. S. is avoiding the MTA. The uncomfortable truth is that as much as our Association opens its doors to every mech designer, not everyone from our profession agrees with us. There are.. dissidents who reject some of our core tenets. There are also war criminals who have committed heinous crimes and even individuals who have colluded with aliens. They're more common than you think. You just haven't been exposed to them very much due to the relative isolation of the Komodo Star Sector."

Ves looked shocked! While he knew that there were always a couple of bad apples in a crowd, according to Master Willix, the number of deviants were quite concerning!

"And these people are allowed to exist?"

"The galaxy is big, Mr. Larkinson. There are too many ways to hide from us. There are sizable communities of dissident human organizations hiding outside human space. It is not realistic to root them all out. That said, don't overestimate their importance either. They are vermin who can only eke out an existence by remaining in the dark. They resist human order and have no value in today's society."

There must be quite some stories behind these so-called dissidents. Master Willix probably lumped in the Five Scrolls Compact in this group of people as well.

"So you think Mr. S. is one of these dissidents as well?"

"Likely so." Willix nodded with a bit more certainty than before. "There are aspects of the Ouroboros that are radically different from conventional mech design. The paradigms are so different that there is nothing comparable to them except from what I've seen in your own work. In any case, to the few people who are aware of the depth of the Ouroboros, Mr. S. may or may not be a Star Designer, but he is likely to be a dissident."

"I see. What does that mean for me? Am I in trouble because Mr. S. might be an irredeemable monster?"

"You do not need to be concerned." Master Willix reassuringly smiled. "Masters shall not be put to death for their disciples, and nor shall disciples be put to death for their Masters. Everyone shall be judged according to their own sin. There is no definite proof that Mr. S. is opposed to humanity. Besides, his great accomplishment is of such great importance to the future of mech design that many problems can be overlooked as long as he cooperates. It is unfortunate that he has never deigned to approach us. He must have his reasons."

From the yearning in her words, Ves had the illusion that even if Mr. S. broke some taboos such as blowing up a planet or two, the MTA would still be willing to cooperate with him! Anything that could increase the likelihood of ace pilots breaking through to the ultimate rank was of great value!

It turned out that the MTA had more in common with Ves than he thought. It didn't matter how many rules they violated. As long as they designed mechs that were good enough, anything could be forgiven!

"So what does this all mean for me, exactly? How many people know about Mr. S. and my possible ties with this possible Star Designer?"

"Let me ask you something first. What do you want, Mr. Larkinson?"

"I just want to get back on track and design mechs while leading my clan to prosperity. No offense, Master Willix, but I don't want to limit myself by becoming a part of your Association. I would suffocate if I have to live like Jovy Armalon."

Master Willix did not exhibit any disapproval, which reassured Ves somewhat.

"I think you have made your stance very clear. To be honest, I believe this is for the best. You are indeed a mech designer who gains the most out of stimulating experiences. Bringing you into our fold not only restricts that, but also attracts too much attention from too many factions and groups within the MTA."

"If Mr. S. is skeptical towards the MTA, he probably won't like that either."

"That too." She acknowledged. "The will of every Master or Star Designer must be respected. Since he has evidently selected an ordinary mech designer such as you towards a design philosophy related to his field of research, he must have his reasons. Maybe an excessive degree of interference on our Association's part will ruin his arrangements and prevent you from developing the applications he seeks from you. There is too much at stake to gamble on a possible solution to a problem that has plagued Mr. S. for at least a century."

Ves inwardly chuckled. Master Willix grossly overanalyzed his circumstances. He hardly needed to say anything as she had already constructed an elaborate story that explained everything!

Still, he grew curious at the problem that Master Willix was referring to. Was there a flaw in his work?

Master Willix noticed his confusion. She generously explained what she thought.

"According to the judgement of the Star Designer who examined the Ouroboros, the mech is indeed capable of nurturing a god pilot. It is just that the process is very gradual. At his current rate of progress, General Streon will have a chance of making the ultimate transformation after at least 200 years have passed."

"200 years! That's way too long!"

That was half of the current duration of the Age of Mechs. 200 years might be half the lifetime of the most powerful people in the galaxy, but it was an eternity to everyone else. Since Axelar Streon obtained the Ouroboros a century ago, his total growth period actually amounted to 300 years, which was even more excessive!

"This is still an important achievement, Mr. Larkinson. On one hand, Mr. S. has achieved something brilliant by opening up a more reliable pathway to god pilot. On the other hand, his solution is considerably flawed. It may be because of this reason why Mr. S. has not come forward yet. Masters and Star Designers are exceedingly careful about their innovations. If they do not believe it is mature enough to propagate, they will continue to work on them until they reach the necessary standard. Anything less is an insult to their reputation."

"Okay..?"

"This is where mech designers such as you come in. You're not constrained by the rules and customs of high-ranking mech designers. It is more permissible for you to experiment freely and play fast and loose with the rules. Your youth and different perspective might yield surprising results that your hidden mentor, for all of his brilliance, could have never developed by himself. Perhaps you may be one of his hopes of solving this time issue."

Ves blinked. "Just one of his hopes? Are there more like me in the galaxy?"

"Did he pass on his design philosophy to someone during one of his time travel jaunts?

"As far as we are aware of, you are the only dark child we've discovered so far. However, from how Mr. S. travels, it is likely that he has guided multiple dark childs into following a research direction that is related to his own. This is how powerful mech designers usually operate when faced with a difficult and unsolvable problem. Only one of you need to succeed, but the more people he has taught, the greater the chance that he will obtain his desired result."

Well, if that was what Master Willix and the MTA thought, then Ves would certainly try to reinforce this impression in the future! This false story provided a lot of convenience to him. He would be a fool if he didn't take advantage of this misunderstanding!

"Well, I would have loved to meet some fellow like-minded colleagues. I've been groping in the dark for years. I haven't received any actual guidance."

"There is little point to that if Mr. S. seeks a solution that is out of the box. While we do not know how Mr. S. selects his disciples, it is fairly clear that his research direction is very difficult to get into. Similar to how Mr. Armalon is one of the rare mech designers who is suited to specialized in probability manipulation, you must possess a vital trait as well. That alongside the creativity and ingenuity that you have demonstrated means that your value is not small."

If Mr. S. was truly the Star Designer that Master Willix described, then Ves would feel very proud of himself.

As it was, he felt it was a bit redundant to pat himself on the back. Besides, he still didn't know why the Ouroboros caused other powerful mech designers to mistake it as the work of a pinnacle mech designer!

"This is a lot to take in." Ves truthfully admitted. "I hardly know what to think about the possibility that I might be of use to a Star Designer."

"We don't know for certain whether that is the case. The best solution is if you can get me into touch with Mr. S. We can clear many ambiguities as long as I can speak with him directly."

"That's not possible."

"A pity." Master Willix regretfully shook her head. "We will have to proceed with assumptions if that is the case. I will try my best to deal with you in a manner that is in the best interest of all of the parties involved."

Ves straightened his back. This was the critical moment.

Chapter 2459: MTA Cover

"First, let me reiterate to you that everything I have said to you should not be spread." Master Willix stated to Ves. "After the Star Designer I was travelling with completed her examination of the Ouroboros, she declared the mech to be of special interest to her, thereby discouraging the MTA from looking too closely in the mech. This is her way of safeguarding Mr. S.'s interests."

"So the rest of the MTA doesn't know all of this?" Ves asked.

"The Mech Trade Association is an enormous organization. There are different branches, arms and factions within the Association that each hold their own secrets. I cannot tell you how many people are aware of the truth hidden within the Ouroboros, but even if there are more, they have all chosen to stay mum. This means that it is unlikely that our Association as a whole will immediately tie you to a possible Star Designer."

Ves let out a sigh in relief. He was quite afraid that he had inadvertently pushed himself into a corner. He never expected that fooling around during a single Mastery experience would have so many serious implications to his actual life!

undefinedAll of the complications and paradoxes surrounding time travel still gave him headaches. He still wasn't sure whether the Ouroboros already 'existed' before the System shoved his consciousness into Axelar's mind.

Had all of his current and future Mastery experiences already affected the past? Was this why Master Willix already constructed an elaborate backstory for Mr. S.?

Whatever the case, Ves knew he had to act in accordance with her suspicions. If he no longer fit in her narrative, then the truth might come out. That would be devastating for him! Without her support, Ves couldn't fend off the MTA by himself.

Though he hated to admit it, he needed Master Willix's protection. She was his only ally within the MTA. Even if he didn't slip up during the Battle against the Abyss, he would have entered the Association's crosshairs eventually.

In his opinion, the best way to get an authority like the MTA off his back was to bribe and subvert one of its members!

"What do you propose, then?"

"Irrespective of your connections to Mr. S., your research is of great interest to the MTA." Master Willix declared. "Your work has already attracted enough attention to make MTA scrutiny inevitable. What I can do is to take responsibility for your case and limit the involvement of others. If your innovations truly pose a risk to mech pilots, then that is sufficient to justify this step. You are not the first mech designer to seek out a way to encourage breakthroughs. The few success cases are so heavily flawed that our Association does not allow them to be publicized."

Ves grew interested in what she said. "There are truly others who have already succeeded in this goal?"

"It's not an actual success in our point of view. Would you be willing to obtain an expert pilot if it means the deaths of thousands of mech pilots?"

"That sounds gruesome!"

Master Willix looked grim. "There are those within the MTA who consider this price to be acceptable. I do not, and so do many of my other colleagues. The Association is governed by cooler minds. Do not forget that the MTA has emerged as a response to the abuses that took place during the Age of Conquest. One of the founding principles that our predecessors have set is that mech designers must always serve mech pilots. In no manner are we allowed to abuse, exploit or endanger those we serve."

He actually agreed with her. Though he hadn't always stuck to his principles, on a fundamental level he approved of this mindset.

When mech designers lost their restraint, they turned into reprehensible monsters who would sacrifice as many lives as possible in order to obtain their desired results. Ves was disgusted by this approach because these mech designers were just as unhinged as the fanatics of the Compact!

"Our work must always better the lives of our customers." He voiced his support. "The mech industry has no place for sadists and murderers who masquerade as scientists. I can promise you that I will never sink to their level."

Master Willix gave him an encouraging smile. "I am relieved to hear that from you, Mr. Larkinson. Too many mech designers who have pursued this goal have slammed into walls. Unable to accept their own inadequacies, they go through extreme lengths, not realizing that they have lost their humanity."

The way she spoke and the changes in her expression hinted to Ves that she might have encountered these unhinged individuals in person. The horror of meeting a monster must have left a strong impression in her mind.

Ves grasped the angle she was going for. There was a reason why she brought up these extreme mech designers.

"So if I understand you correctly, the existence of these corrupted mech designers gives you an excuse to supervise my work. With someone like you around, the rest of the MTA will feel assured that one of their own is on the case."

"Not entirely, but close enough. In truth, I cannot accompany you in person. I can only put an administrative block on your name so that those who do not outrank me are unable to study your complete record or contact you through official channels. I am also not allowed to show obvious favoritism to you. While I can bend the rules, I will never break them unless a superior intervenes. The protection I can offer to you is limited."

"It's better than nothing, ma'am. I truly appreciate everything you can do for me. I need enough space to develop myself."

Master Willix leaned forward. Despite being over 170 years old, she looked as old as a mother. "Do not mistake my actions for charity. I expect some sincerity from you. The research you are engaging in is of great importance. It would be a pity to lose your gains because of an untimely death. Unless Mr. S. steps forward himself, it is best if you confide in me so that I can properly back up your research."

Though she sounded noble, to Ves she sounded just as selfish as any other bastard. While he wasn't pleased with her demand, he already accepted this outcome. The only way he could trust her to cover for him was if she had a vested interest in doing so. Divulging some secrets to her was an acceptable price to pay as long as she did not divulge what she learned.

"I am.. reluctantly willing to share some of my research results with you." He carefully replied. "However, I have already made my own demands clear. I want your promise that you will not divulge my research to anyone else. Can you do that, ma'am?"

He hated this situation. He was all alone in the territory of someone else. While he managed to secure some bargaining power for himself, it was all based on smoke and mirrors. He did not dare to leverage Mr. S. too much in this negotiation for fear that Master Willix might suspect the truth!

Master Willix slowly shook her head. "I cannot entirely promise you that. As I've already said, a Star Designer that I am acquainted with is involved. In the process of running interference for you, I may need to borrow her influence. It is only right to inform her as well."

Ves froze. Getting a Star Designer of all people to pay attention to him sounded awful. Star Designers were probably intricately involved at the highest levels of the Association. That meant that they were surely aware of the Five Scrolls Compact.

If Ves ever exposed the System or his relation to the Compact, that Star Designer would probably be the first person to deal with him! With the immense amount of power and influence these inhumanly brilliant visionaries possessed, there was no way for him to resist!

Master Willix misunderstood his reaction. "You do not need to be concerned. Star Designers are preoccupied with affairs far beyond your imagination. You are just a tiny Journeyman who hasn't realized his design philosophy yet. Until you reach Master, all of your gains are temporal. Besides, Star Designers do not have the habit of interfering with the disciples of their fellow peers."

Ves relaxed a bit. "So she won't do anything?"

"Let me just say that she shall remain apprised. What she chooses to do with the information I supply to her is not something I can influence."

His regard for Master Willix shot up tremendously. She spent time with a Star Designer, but was also in speaking terms with one! This was an amazing connection and partially explained why her influence at the Komodo Branch was so great!

He was both fortunate and unfortunate to be in contact with someone who had access to the top level of the MTA. If he played his cards poorly, he could kiss his life and freedom goodbye!

"As long as it's just a single Star Designer, I can live with that." He spoke with resignation.

"Good. We have an agreement, then?"

"Hey! Don't forget about helping me develop some expert mechs." He reminded her. "My clan needs at least 5 of them and more in the future."

"I haven't forgotten that, Mr. Larkinson. While I am intrigued at the prospect of collaborating with you on a mech design that incorporates your innovations, it has been much more difficult than I thought to obtain an exemption from the neutrality rules. Do you recall Master Colin Drexel? He and several other recalcitrant Masters within the branch are preventing me from abiding by this term."

Ves sunk a bit. "Does that mean you won't be able to help?"

"You do not need to be worried. This is why I told you that I might need to involve a Star Designer. Once she makes a move, there will be no problem anymore."

This was what the authority of a Star Designer was capable of! The onerous rules and regulations of the MTA no longer formed a hindrance to such an individual!

The two talked a bit more about what they expected from each other. Ves promised to be sincere about teaching her his trade secrets, while Master Willix would do everything in her power to keep the MTA off his back.

"Mind you, there are limits to what I can do." She warned him. "Unless you join the MTA, I cannot offer you our protection. I can suggest to the public that you are of interest to me, but not everyone will respect this signal. I have enemies as well, and certain powers such as the Terrans and the Rubarthans will not be deterred. Keep your behavior in check and do not go on any wild adventures such as your most recent trip. Is that clear?"

"I understand. I'll be on my best behavior, ma'am."

She looked suspicious at him. It was as if she didn't believe a word he said!

"I'm serious! The Nyxian Gap has already traumatized me plenty enough to haunt the rest of my life."

"It is for that reason that I really do insist that you share your findings with me. Your risk profile is so alarming that archiving your current progress is one of my highest priorities. I cannot let your entire work be forgotten because you failed to control yourself."

What a cynical viewpoint. She sounded as if Ves was ready to throw himself to his death at any moment!

His face grew ugly, but he did not deny her request.

"What do you want to know?"

She smiled and leaned back on her chair. "For a start, tell me the premise of your design philosophy. Please speak in plain terms, and do not bring up any irrelevant distractions such as 'faith' or 'the power of love'. I believe we have moved past these childish tricks."

Ves wasn't sure. He would have liked to stay there instead of moving on. He dreaded telling the truth!

Chapter 2460: Schooling Master Willix

Inside the lab of the Ubiquitous Force, two mech designers faced each other.

Despite the immense disparity in age, knowledge and accomplishments, the older of the two listened attentively to the younger mech designer.

In a complete flip of normality, the Journeyman Mech Designer was in the process of schooling the Master Mech Designer!

"The basic premise of my work is symbiosis." Ves began. "As you certainly know, I categorize my design philosophy as Metaphysical Man-Machine Symbiosis. Each and every word has meaning."

undefinedMaster Willix looked intrigued. "I believe I understand the meaning of three of the four words in this description. However, the exact meaning of the first eludes me. Metaphysics encompasses many different fields. You need to be more specific."

"Ah, I don't disagree. To be honest, another word is supposed to stand in its place. Am I allowed to say the P-word here?" Ves cautiously asked.

Master Willix dismissively waved her hand. "Only the two of us are in this discussion. The rule prohibiting you from mentioning psionic power is mostly to prevent its dissemination. Too many people are unaware of how little privacy they truly possess. Our Association does not believe that spreading awareness of psionic power to the public will benefit the current order. However, this is a different situation. You are exempted from this rule."

"That's good to know. As you may have already guessed, the symbiosis that I have been trying to develop functions on a psionic level." He revealed, using the MTA's own terminology for spirituality. "I can enable my mechs to form bonds with their mech pilots that transcend physical reality. The neural interface doesn't even play a role as this bond is intangible and exists on an entirely different level."

"How do you form this bond?"

"By making my mechs alive."

She frowned again. "I thought I told you to leave your deceptive practices behind."

"I'm telling the truth! Why don't you believe me?!"

"Don't raise your voice, Mr. Larkinson. Be serious. Now, what are the essential conditions that allow you to form this symbiotic bond?"

Ves threw up his hands. "I make my mechs alive first. Wait! Before you think I'm messing with you, let me elaborate. Symbiosis describes a mutually-beneficial relationship between two living entities. This means that both sides have to be able to reciprocate to each other. Do you think that symbiosis can be achieved with something that has no life?"

"Cooperation between living organisms and lifeless objects is not unheard of, Mr. Larkinson. In fact, the classic relationship between mech and mech pilot is already a good example of that. I believe this is a definition problem. You are not providing me with a clear explanation of what it actually means for a mech to be 'alive'. Please clarify."

"A living mech is.. can you pull up one of my mech designs?"

She did so. She sent some commands to her implant. Just a second later, the lab projected his Valkyrie Redeemer design.

The MTA wasn't supposed to get their hands on it. Ves did not ask how she managed to get her hands on a privately-commissioned design.

"Can you feel it, ma'am?"

"I do 'feel' a faint external stimuli that reminds me of your Blessed Squire design."

"That's the proto-god. It's one of the two living elements inside my mech."

The Master frowned at the mention of the word proto-god. "There is another life in your mech?"

"It's complicated. Can you let me manipulate this design? It's easier if I strip it down."

"Be my guest."

Ves copied the design in order to develop a variant that wouldn't affect the original. Once he made sure that the copy would not affect the regular functioning of the Valkyrie Redeemer mechs, he straightforwardly stripped the Superior Mother from the design.

The feel of the modified schematics immediately dimmed. The presence of the Superior Mother was overpowering. It covered any other living activity for the most part. Only those who piloted the mech or were blessed with a lot of spiritual sensitivity could sense the full range of life within a machine.

From how Master Willix became more attentive, she must have sensed the difference as well. Ves paid a lot of attention to her reaction. He knew that Master Mech Designers were powerful in many ways. He wondered how her spiritual sensitivity matched up against his own. Were Masters really capable of matching him in this area?

She looked studious at the changed design. "I sense something missing. I cannot feel anything else."

"You can't? It's right there! The Valkyrie Redeemer is a harbinger of death. It is a design that channels the death phase of existence in hexism belief. While the intrinsic life of the design doesn't have a powerful glow, it is still perceivable to me. Let me try and alter it. You might be able to sense the fluctuations."

He grew quite interested in her ability to sense the spiritual foundation of his mech designs. If a Master like her was blind and deaf towards it, then Ves would have much greater assurance that he would be able to keep his spiritual component monopoly!

Since the variant of the Valkyrie Redeemer design was separate from the base model, Ves did not hesitate to do something that he would never do in his normal work.

He deliberately messed up the spiritual foundation. He began to make some meaningless changes to the design schematics. At the same time, he did the opposite of concentrating his mind. He began to fill it up with all kinds of junk to distract him from his core purpose.

He thought about whether Venerable Ghanso Larkinson was still alive.

He thought about how many days it had been since Gloriana demonstrated the real value of physical projections.

He thought about how he would miss experimenting on pirates. Once he left the Nyxian Gap, he needed to curb his habit of performing dangerous experiments. With Master Willix paying closer attention to him than ever, he might not be able to satisfy his cravings as often as he wanted.

His chaotic wanderings quickly messed up the surprisingly-fragile spiritual foundation. The neat order and unified direction it previously held quickly turned into a discordant mess.

It was as if Ves took a very elaborate wedding cake and put it into a blender until everything was mixed together.

While the end product was still sweet and edible, the blended cake completely lost its original identity!

Master Willix looked closely at the design schematics. She saw that Ves did not mean to do anything by shifting the physical design. She tried her best to peer underneath the surface.

"I believe I sensed something. It is.. difficult, however. If you hadn't pointed this out to me, I would have never realized that this aspect exists in your mech."

Ves turned to Master Willix. "Every mech possesses this distinct element. It's just that they are much more chaotic than mine. It's the foundation upon which all mech designs derive their psionic power."

That got a reaction out of the Master! "Tell me more about this foundation."

"As I just said, it's how high-ranking mech designers like you and me impart our specialty into our mech designs. Did you think they would just get stuck in the lines of the schematic? The.. psionic foundation of a mech design is what truly makes it special! As far as I know, it can only be formed by sentient mech designers. AIs do not count. Every design philosophy shapes it in a different way. Mine basically makes it alive and gives it conscious direction."

He just revealed a lot of information of great import! Ves was surprised that Master Willix wasn't aware of the existence of a mech's spiritual foundation. Had the MTA developed another theory?

Master Willix slowly took in the revelation. She frowned and fell silent for a minute before she called up a projection of another mech design.

It was a very simple third-class mech, yet it was clean and optimized beyond any level that Ves had ever seen!

"This is one of my casual works. Does it possess a psionic foundation as well?"

"Definitely." Ves nodded. He could sense it clearly and matched its character to what he felt from her. "This mech probably reacts to gravity and gravitic systems differently if I read its psionic foundation correctly."

"Is it 'alive' as well, then?"

"Nope."

"Why?"

"It's malformed, stillborn and defective. You didn't employ the right method to give it a chance of life."

"Is this what Mr. S. has taught you?"

Ves replied with a half-truth. "He taught me some basic concepts and left me to fend for myself."

"How difficult is it to learn your special method?"

"It's easy. You just need to concentrate your mind and design your mech with purpose. Let me show how."

He began to instruct her how to do so. He already taught this method to Ketis and Gloriana in full. He also gave some instructions to his assistants, but not enough to reveal anything sensitive.

Given that she was one of the best mech designers in the star sector, Master Willix only needed a minute to understand his simple method.

"Let me see whether your method works."

Master Willix called up a design interface and began to design a third-class mech at an insanely fast speed!

Ves couldn't even keep up with her work as she designed so quickly that she would probably be able to complete her design in less than twenty minutes!

There wasn't any point in studying her design work. The design was irrelevant and she didn't add anything strange that would make the mech special.

He decided to do what was expected of him and observe the spiritual foundation that formed under her ministry.

Once she finished her casual design, grew inquisitive. "Is this design alive?"

The results surprised Ves. He hadn't expected this outcome.

"No."

"Why?"

"I.. you did a good job. Its spiritual foundation is remarkably smooth and largely conforms to the vision of the mech. It's just.. still without any inkling of life."

"What am I missing?"

"Did you design this mech while believing that it is alive?" Ves guessed. "I think that's pretty important. If you approach it as an ordinary machine, then it shouldn't be of any surprise that the mech will ultimately match your expectations. You need to regard the design process as bringing a mech to life. Anything less will not allow you to accomplish what I do on a daily basis. Without designing a living mech, you will lack the basis that is needed to implement my other solutions."

"I shall try again with your advice in mind."

She proceeded to make several more attempts. Due to her rapid design speed, the spiritual foundations of her mechs were much weaker than usual. Even so, they should still be capable of coming to life if Ves was performing the work.

Instead, no matter how Master Willix approached the design process, her mechs remained cold and sterile.

Certainly, this was already better than what many other mech designers accomplished. Their mechs were pretty much lifeless pools of mud due to all of the mech designers imprinting their muddy thoughts onto the designs.

"I seem unable to replicate your ability to design these so-called living mechs." She concluded without much emotion. "I believe that mech designers must abide by several stringent prerequisites in order to accomplish this feat. Perhaps this is why Mr. S. selected you to carry on a part of his legacy. You must be one of the few individuals in the galaxy who happen to possess the right qualities."

Okay. Let's go with that as well.

"I guess so." Ves nonchalantly shrugged. "I can't tell you why I can do this while you can't. I'm still figuring out this stuff myself. It's a pity that you can't get this far. I'll have a very hard time finding disciples of my own to expand my design philosophy."

In truth, he was ecstatic! His mind had practically turned into a party as he celebrated Master Willix's inability to copy his design philosophy!

If even a Master Mech Designer who excelled at simulating other design philosophies couldn't do something as basic as designing a living mech, then his secrets still remained safe!

Chapter 2461: Untransferable

Several hours went by as Ves frankly attempted to teach Master Willix how to design a living mech.

His student failed every time.

Her ability to concentrate her mind was exceptional. Not even Gloriana could keep her mind as clear and free of distractions as a Master Mech Designer who was used to imitating other design philosophies.

As a rational mech designer, her ability to impose a precise and specific order on her mind was key to emulating the perspectives of other mech designers.

undefinedYet no matter how much Ves deconstructed his passions and beliefs, Willix continually missed the mark.

In his eyes, she was far too clinical in her work. She approached her work as if life consisted of building blocks that she just needed to piece together.

While that was partially true, Ves felt she wasn't appreciating the mystery and wonder of life. A part of him always accepted that life was too special to be understood by rational means. While his design philosophy centered around it, he never delved any deeper.

He instinctively felt there was no point. Comprehension would come when he was ready for it. What he learned by doing was much more practical and relatable to him than forcing him ahead.

Yet this organic learning approach that was devoid of structure and proper theory happened to be Willix's biggest stumbling block.

The values and beliefs that Ves always took for granted sounded utterly alien and conflicting to Master Willix.

He might as well be spouting religion!

She grimaced at him as her latest attempt failed to yield the desired result.

"Class IX design philosophy indeed. Your approach is just as unique and beyond the boundaries of known paradigms as Mr. Armalon's specialty of probability manipulation."

Ves was pleased by her conclusion. The harder it was for her to replicate his design philosophy, the greater his ability to retain his competitive advantage.

It also meant that he was irreplaceable! Anyone who wanted to obtain a living mech had a vested interest in keeping him alive.

Of course, there would doubtlessly be others who wanted to get rid of living mechs at all cost, but that was why he invested so much in the mech forces of his clan. The new expert pilots and battle-hardened mech pilots he obtained from battling through the Nyxian Gap formed a significant deterrent against his enemies.

Master Willix seemed to know what he was thinking. She had gotten better and better at reading his true thoughts.

"Don't be so satisfied so soon, Mr. Larkinson. While the benefits of adopting an abnormal design philosophy are lucrative, so is the difficulty of propagating it. This isn't a concern for you now, but once you reach Senior or Master, you will find that this condition will form a significant hindrance in your subsequent progress. The ease of which you can pass on your teachings will not only affect your relationship with MTA, but also determine the speed at which you progress beyond Senior."

"What? Is this truly the case?"

This was new to Ves! While he already knew that unconventional and irrational design philosophies were harder to pass on, he never really considered this to be a downside.

"Everything has a tradeoff, Mr. Larkinson. While you are not ready to know what is up ahead, you should know that becoming a Master Mech Designer or even Star Designer does not revolve around designing the strongest or most unique mechs. What truly matters is how applicable and universal your innovations are. The easier you can spread your design philosophy, the easier it is for you to progress in the latter stages of your career. One of the original reasons for setting up the Mech Trade Association is to facilitate this essential process."

Yeah right. Ves was truly skeptical about the MTA's intentions. While the MTA may very well provide mech designers some help with spreading their design philosophies, the Association gained most of all out of these transactions!

As the gatekeeper and keeper of so much exceptional knowledge, the MTA obtained unrestricted access to every possible way to design and empower a mech.

Since knowledge was power, the MTA continually strengthened its stranglehold over human society!

Even so, if Master Willix was correct, then Ves might truly experience some difficulties once he reached Senior.

The only consolation was that he was far from reaching that point. Despite designing a lot of fantastic mechs, his design seed had barely changed.

"Is this the case for every mech designer with a difficult design philosophy?" Ves asked.

"High-grade design philosophies such as yours are considerably more exotic and potent. In turn, they are also significantly harder to progress at every stage." She taught. "In fact, most mech designers who have chosen to specialize in difficult design philosophies mostly fail to realize their design philosophies."

"Even within the MTA?"

She nodded. "Our Association offers substantial assistance to mech designers such as Mr. Armalon. The success rate of our mech designers is substantially higher for that reason, but it is not that high in absolute terms. We cannot do all of the work on their behalf. The mech designers must still rely on their own efforts to realize something that could not be previously done."

This fell in line with his own theories on how the MTA nurtured it's mech designers. Aside from investing in rational mech designers, the Association also raised mech designers with extremely valuable design philosophies that likely wouldn't go anywhere if they were left in the hands of native mech designers.

"Do you think it is hopeless for me to progress in the later stages?"

Master Willix gave him a reassuring smile. "While the odds are small, they are not miniscule. I truly can't estimate your chances because each mech designer faces unique circumstances. What I can say is that as long as mech designers work hard enough, their chances are always greater. Those who are most deserving of advancement will grasp it with their own power. Never forget that."

That was all he needed to hear. He no longer felt as apprehensive as before.

From the moment he designed his first virtual mech, Ves was already accustomed to working hard. While the System provided him with an enormous amount of help, it mainly accelerated his progress. It never substituted his work.

Only Superpublishing his mech designs came close, but its limitations were so onerous that it was impossible for him to rely on it. In fact, many mech designers who enjoyed the tutelage of a Senior or Master were able to obtain comparable assistance, so it wasn't as if Ves enjoyed a unique advantage in this aspect.

He regained his composure. "I am confident that I'll be able to reach Master. It may take a while, but I have never stopped moving forward since I stepped on this path. There is too much at stake for me to stop at this point. If I have to face danger comparable to what I faced in the Nyxian Gap, then I will gladly do so a hundred times if that is what it takes to realize my mech design!"

His conviction resonated with his declaration! There was no doubt he was sincere!

His words did not sit well with Master Willix. She raised her palm in a gesture to calm him down. "Let's not be so dramatic, shall we? We are mech designers, not mech pilots. Our progress is not correlated to the degree of danger we face. As your mechs become more valued by the mech market, it becomes increasingly more important to safeguard your life. Taking risks, especially the life-threatening kind, is completely redundant. There are other ways to stimulate yourself than confronting illegal warships in person."

He clearly noted her overt and implied criticism of his conduct. While he agreed with her, she just stated earlier that mech designers who pursued more difficult dreams had to work harder than anyone else. How was he supposed to make any substantial progress without having his skin in the game?

Without any institutions like the MTA facilitating his progress, he had to climb his way up through his own means!

The two eventually returned to the main topic. With Master Willix continually unable to spark any life in her mech designs, there was little point for Ves to pass on his other teachings.

"You don't have an affinity for life." He concluded. "Based on my own experiences, psionic power is not monolithic. It comes in many flavors. Mine just happens to be weird and unusual enough that it is difficult for others to replicate or substitute."

Willix looked displeased. This setback severely impacted her plans.

"I see. Then we have no choice but to conclude this session for now. You must try hard to advance to Master and realize your design philosophy. Once you have made this attainment, we can revisit this session. The results will be different as Masters such as myself are much more capable of spreading our philosophies."

That was something else that Ves hadn't known until now. It seemed that realizing a design philosophy was a much bigger deal than he previously thought.

Though he eagerly wanted to know more, Master Willix remained mum of what he needed to face. According to her, he was not ready to receive this knowledge. He needed to reach the rank of Senior first and go on another pilgrimage to the MTA in order to receive enlightenment.

"As a Journeyman, you have become a qualified mech designer, but only just." She stated as she waved her hand and removed all of the projections. "You have just found your research direction but have not yet developed enough applications to elevate your mech designs sufficiently."

"How many applications do I need to develop before I reach Senior?"

She shook her head at him. "Don't be too anxious. You will become a Senior when you have made enough progress. It is different for everyone. Those with higher-grade design philosophies such as you must work harder. The magnitude of your applications matter as well. Don't let your prior rate of progress fool you. Advancing to Journeyman is a completely different process than advancing to Senior. You are in a marathon, not a sprint. Pace yourself appropriately."

He already expected that it would take at least a couple of decades for him to reach Senior. It was just that he didn't exactly know why it took so long. Now that he received some clarification, he no longer remained as ignorant.

"So what now, ma'am?"

Master Willix sighed. "While it is regrettable that I cannot follow your steps, that merely means that I will have to wait longer before our Association can benefit from your gains. I will not lie, Mr. Larkinson. I have a keen interest in designing a mech that is comparable to the legendary Ouroboros. Even if my attempts do not measure up to its level, any mech that can facilitate the growth of a mech pilot is commendable. Tell me the truth. How certain are you able to turn mech pilots into expert pilots?"

Ves hesitated. He didn't like to answer such a direct question, but considering that he had already extended so much trust to her, there was no reason for him to obfuscate his answer like usual.

"This is not a straightforward process. Just like how most Apprentices are unable to advance to Journeyman for their entire lives, most mech pilots lack the 'psionic potential' to transcend their mortality. However, to the mech pilots that do possess this potential, I have 80 percent confidence that I can turn them into expert pilots in the span of a couple of years!"

That was quite a high degree of certainty! Unfortunately, this only applied to a tiny proportion of mech pilots.

Master Willix seemed to know what he was referring to. "Your success rate, while questionable, is vastly higher than the other methods than I know of. It is a pity that it does not apply to more mech pilots. Do you have any solutions for this underserviced group?"

"I'm still working on that. I haven't given up on the majority of mech pilots who lack potential. In my opinion, potential isn't innate. There has to be ways to acquire it. I've already seen at least one instance of that after our previous battle. My research in this area is very preliminary, though. Don't expect any quick answers."

She smiled. "It is already revolutionary to achieve this much progress. Don't belittle your advancements, but don't underestimate the difficulty either. The fact that you are able to make any progress in this area at all is exceptional. The more I learn about you, the more I admire Mr. S. His master plan is so deep that just a glimpse of it is enough to impress me. Your mentor's ambition is boundless!"

"Uhmm.. yeah.. he's pretty good.."

Ves wanted to scratch his head. What was this supposed master plan?

Chapter 2462: Private Alliance

After spending half a day aboard the Ubiquitous Force, a familiar shuttle launched from her hangar bay.

Ves sat in his seat as he contemplated how much changed as a result of his pivotal meeting with Master Willix.

For the first time in his life, he had laid bare much of the core tenets of his design philosophy. He never exposed so many of his self-developed mechanics to anyone else, including his soon-to-be wife!

He even explained how he worked without adding any misleading elements. It took a lot for him to be so forthcoming about his design philosophy. He was so used to hiding his secrets that he had to force himself to teach Master Willix earnestly.

undefinedIt turned out that he shouldn't have been so worried. His life domain played such a great role in his design philosophy that other mech designers simply couldn't get their foot in their door if they attempted to copy his methods.

While Ves passed on his teachings, he paid close attention to Master Willix while she worked.

It was challenging for him to observe her. Looking straight at her mind with his spiritual vision only blinded him. He had to resort to indirect means of observations in order to track what she was doing.

Apparently, while Master Willix was quite good at emulating other domains by leveraging the power of her mind, she never managed to come close to reconstructing his life domain.

To imitate a domain, she needed to understand its principles. In fact, she needed to understand life at a much deeper level than Ves! This was one of the essential conditions that rational mech designers had to meet in order to make use of multiple design philosophies.

No wonder the requirements of rational mech designers were so high. In order for them to reach their full potential, they couldn't lean on their passion like ordinary mech designers. They needed to draw on the power of their rational thoughts to a much greater degree just to reach parity with passionate mech designers.

However, once rational mech designers reached this level, they were able to call up and channel any design philosophy they deciphered. With the passing of time, these individuals accrued more and more design philosophies. They could draw upon each of them by switching some mental gears.

This meant that at the later stages, a rational mech designer was able to design much more comprehensive mech than any passionate mech designer!

Though Ves felt jealous that rational mech designers gained so much capability, he respected them as well. They had to work incredibly hard to grasp the essence of other people's design philosophies. That was something that he would never be able to accomplish. He might be brilliant when it came to his own specialty, but he completely lost his advantage with the design philosophies of other people such as Gloriana or Ketis.

He didn't mind too much. He was already content with his own specialty. To believe in his work meant having the confidence that his mechs were already good enough by themselves.

Certainly, his mechs may be even better if he was able to collaborate with other mech designers, but it didn't mean his solo products were defective.

The Devil Tiger and evidently the Ouroboros proved that Ves could already rely on himself to design great mechs.

In fact, the intrinsic value of his design philosophy was so great that Master Willix saw fit to cooperate with him on the matters that they previously discussed. Of course, her misconceptions of Mr. S. also played a great role in her willingness to accommodate his demands.

As promised, Master Willix would do her best to keep the MTA at bay. She may have to ask a favor from a Star Designer in order to accomplish this, but once that happened, the outcome was absolute. There were few people within the MTA who dared to make light of a Star Designer's prerogative!

Though Ves felt very uncomfortable about coming in touch with one of the top authorities of the MTA so soon, the chance was small that a Star Designer would even pay attention to a small figure like him. He was just a Journeyman in her eyes.

"The story might be different once I reach Master, but I'll worry about that in the future." He whispered.

Aside from that, Master Willix also promised to collaborate with him to design his expert mechs. She readily agreed to let Gloriana and him take the lead in the projects so that they retained as much ownership in the designs as possible.

She even approved of this approach. Her time was precious and she needed to take on a lot more responsibilities in order to repay the favors she owed. Ves and Gloriana also gained more from their design projects if they did most of the work.

This was the extent of what she promised. As Ves was not a part of the MTA, anything that Master Willix to assist him attracted more scrutiny and pushback. In order to avoid ruffling too many feathers within the Association, she needed to make sure to keep an appropriate amount of distance.

This meant that Ves was pretty much on his own most of the time. He couldn't count on the MTA to bail him out. That was fine. He never asked for its protection in the first place.

Overall, his meeting with Master Willix was a success in his book. He successfully established an alliance of sorts with a powerful authority figure within the MTA. With the cover she was able to provide, Ves no longer had to worry about the rest of the Association looking over his shoulder all of the time.

The only price he had to pay was to occasionally keep Master Willix apprised of his latest advancements. He had to offer her detailed explanations of all of his innovations so that she could archive his valuable knowledge for safe keeping.

Ves didn't quite understand why she insisted on this when she had no hope of replicating his methods.

"Knowledge is valuable regardless of its applicability." She replied to him back then. "Just because I am unable to apply your methods does not mean I can leverage them in other ways. One of the best ways a mech designer is able to advance is by studying different approaches."

He agreed with her. Ves owed much to Master Huron's work on neural networks. While he couldn't steal the Fridayman Master's methods, he became inspired by them to put his own spin on networks.

Ves realized that 'borrowing' the work of other mech designers was a pretty good way of developing new applications!

He just had to be careful not to develop a dependence for relying on other people's work.

In any case, Master Willix did not demand anything further from him. She did not foist him with a difficult mission or prohibit him from traveling to the Red Ocean or anything.

She didn't want to encroach on the supposed master plan set by Mr. S. In her eyes, since this mysterious Star Designer provided no structure to Ves, she had no right to impose any demands on him. There must be a reason behind every decision.

Ves simply rolled with the punches. He never thought that one of his casual lies would balloon so much. The Ouroboros that Ves had casually designed in the past had become his strongest dependency in keeping him safe from the MTA's clutches!

This was a precarious situation. Once someone managed to pop this bubble, there was nothing stopping the MTA from bringing him into custody!

He needed to remedy this fragile circumstance as much as possible!

"It's been a long time since I last went on 'vacation'..."

While it cost a lot of merits to obtain another Mastery from the System, too much was at stake.

"The only problem is that I can't disappear right now. I can't shirk my responsibilities!"

It used to be simpler in the past. Now, with the wedding and many other important developments taking place, there was no way he could excuse taking a week-long leave of absence.

"Ultimately, not a lot has changed." He concluded as he recalled the entire meeting.

He may have been forced to cough up the secrets of his design philosophy, but this was an acceptable price to pay for what he obtained in return.

What truly reassured him was that Master Willix never strayed close to the System or his ties with the Five Scrolls Compact. He knew that she would have been much less generous about her treatment of him if she discovered that he held the Metal Scroll.

As far as Ves knew, of the Five Sacred Scrolls, the MTA and the CFA only managed to obtain the Fire Scroll!

The chance of doubling the amount of Sacred Scrolls in the Big Two's possession was such a big temptation that Master Willix would not hesitate to spit Mr. S. in the face!

Therefore, despite feeling cross that he had to reveal so many secrets, Ves never felt ungrateful about the entire ordeal.

"From now on, I don't have to be so careful about design philosophy anymore." He muttered. "As long as my work isn't too outrageous, I can continue to benefit from Master Willix's cover."

Securing such an important ally within the MTA was his most important gain! Ves definitely planned to leverage it. The MTA no longer loomed so tall over him now that its threat to him was no longer as acute.

As his shuttle returned to the Scarlet Rose, he acted as if nothing special had happened. His clansmen weren't suspicious at all. They all thought that Master Willix summoned him to debrief her about the captured warships and the recent battles he fought.

When Ves entered his stateroom, Calabast was already waiting for him. She idly laid on a couch while holding Lucky between her bosom.

"Meow~"

The cat glinted his eyes with pleasure as the woman comfortably massaged his darkening metallic exterior.

Ever since Lucky digested a bunch of Unending alloy and B-stone with great difficulty, his appearance had morphed even further. His exterior became a bit more defined as some strange reliefs appeared on his face. His appearance also darkened to an extent as the high-grade Rorach's Bone he ate so long ago no longer dominated his material composition.

"How did you fare up there?" Calabast asked.

"I survived. I'm pretty happy with that. While I've made some concessions, they're not a big deal. All I care about is that our plan succeeded."

"That's good to hear." She smiled. "With the burden you carry, managing your relationship with the MTA is of utmost importance."

"At least the CFA isn't at our doorsteps." Ves joked. "Right?"

"Don't worry. While the CFA definitely wants to confiscate the captured pirate warships, the MTA already called dibs. Maintaining internal order is the MTA's mandate. The only problem is that the CFA is also responsible for regulating warships. How the Big Two will resolve their turf is none of our business."

The combined fleet moved on after the ships cycled their FTL drives. As the Larkinsons and the Wodin Warriors traveled back to the Cinach System, the Ubiquitous Force and her companion vessels accompanied them as well.

This was a welcome surprise to Ves. The MTA delegation would stay until he concluded his wedding. Once the Larkinsons no longer needed to show off their battle prizes, the mechers would bring the pirate warships to Centerpoint.

Until then, the MTA would continue to maintain an active presence. Master Willix even promised to attend his wedding in person!

This not only enhanced the prestige of the Larkinson Clan, but also served as a powerful form of deterrence against any potential troublemakers.

"There is no way that someone will crash my wedding!"

As far as Ves was concerned, Master Willix alone provided much more security to his wedding than an entire mech division of Wodin Warriors!

Chapter 2463: The Grand Sum

Once Ves concluded his meeting with Master Willix, he also received the MTA merits that he had long been waiting for. The Larkinson Clan risked much to defeat the Allidus Alliance. If the MTA wanted to encourage others to fight the Nyxian pirates, it had to be generous in its rewards.

As Ves settled back on his ship, he eagerly studied the detailed breakdown of merits he managed to earn. There were a lot of individual items.

Ves was already aware of the outstanding bounties on the Pirate Lord and the flagship of the Allidus Alliance. While the process of defeating them was a little murky, his clan managed to bring back both the warship and the remains of Lord Hivex's corpse. The nitpicking MTA inspectors couldn't argue against that, so they had no choice but to award the full amount!

Lord Hivex's bounty amounted to 1,500,000 MTA merits while the Gravada Knarlax was worth 4,500,000 MTA merits.

undefined"That's 6,000,000 MTA merits in the bag."

The only sour point for Ves was that the latter bounty included everything associated with the heavy cruiser. This meant that Ves was not allowed to claim the individual bounties of the Gravada Knarlax's captain, senior officers and illegal superweapons. Not even the Hallowed Abyss Temple presence aboard the ship warranted any special treatment.

Fortunately, Ves was able to derive additional merits from other sources.

The pirate armada consisted of much more ships than just the flagship. The Larkinson Clan successfully blew up the Mortis Greyson, though Ves didn't exactly explain the exact process. How was he supposed to explain that he launched a torpedo at the pirate destroyer that unleashed a very angry dark god from within?

While the Larkinsons couldn't preserve the Mortis Greyson, they did manage to bring back the Ailing Frey, Cartin Motiva, Livid Seven, Artis Fly and the Sundown.

The bounties on each warship was quite disappointing to Ves. The stingy MTA only awarded him with 750,000 MTA merits for destroying or capturing an armed destroyer and just 250,000 MTA merits for doing the same to an armed frigate.

These bounties were all-inclusive as well so it didn't matter how many nuclear missiles, warship-grade armaments and other violations the warships carried.

"Well, at least the pirates brought more destroyers than frigates to the fight." Ves resentfully muttered.

He didn't agree that a pirate destroyer was worth only 750,000 MTA merits. Sure, they weren't comparable to a behemoth like the Gravada Knarlax, but they were still strong enough to chew apart his mechs and ships!

Since the Larkinson Clan defeated 4 destroyers and 2 frigates, the total amount of merits he obtained from defeating the escort warships amounted to 3,500,000 MTA merits.

That wasn't as much as he hoped, but the MTA's judgement was final.

Aside from these large bounties, the Larkinsons also earned a host of smaller bounties. The MTA worked hard to analyze the footage and logs provided by the Larkinson Clan. Even if they stopped making sense in the second half of the battle, there was still a wealth of data on the other pirate assets for them to examine.

It helped that the Larkinsons also provided them with an abundant amount of proof. In addition to providing detailed footage of the aftermath of the battle, the Larkinsons also captured numerous pirate carriers in order to serve as their temporary cargo transports.

Even though the pirate armada was largely made up of these vessels, the pirate carriers weren't worth any bounties by themselves. The MTA only awarded him merits for the various violations of the rules such as mounting cannons onto the ship or carrying nuclear missiles.

What especially disappointed Ves was that he obtained no rewards for defeating 8000 pirate mechs!

He only gained a handful of individual bounties by defeating some notorious war criminals and fugitives, but this was also commensurate to the effort it took to defeat such a massive force.

The miscellaneous pirate gangs the Allidus Alliance recruited were generally too small and inconsequential to draw any higher bounties. It didn't matter to the MTA that they all grouped up and formed a huge deathball of mechs. Since these mechs were technically legal, the MTA didn't pay a single merit for destroying thousands of machines that the pirates could have used to terrorize innocent people!

In fact, Ves shouldn't complain so much. A lot of pirate mechs and ships easily fell into the hands of his forces after defeating the dark gods.

The presence of so many extraordinary entities was too much for mortals to bear. Pretty much every pirate and Larkinson lost consciousness once the powerful spiritual entities arrived onto the battlefield. The Larkinsons only managed to obtain a cheap victory because Ves woke them up first.

"Luckily, the pirates brought a lot of ships, many of which contain at least some trump card." He muttered.

The Allidus Alliance were some of the best shipbuilders of the Nyxian Gap. Their pirate carriers incorporated some of the same secondary armaments that made their dedicated warships so deadly.

As for the smaller pirate outfits that tagged along with the big boys, their strengths were weak but their numbers were large. Each little violation added up to a considerable sum.

In total, the MTA awarded him with 3,243,652 MTA merits. Despite defeating more than double the amount of mechs, this was about a third of what he obtained from conquering Ulimo Citadel.

Ves hoped that Master Willix would put in a good word for him and secure additional merits on his behalf.

After all, defeating the pirate armada directly precipitated the end of the Allidus Alliance. The Larknson Clan ought to receive a reward for that as well, right?

"It's too bad the MTA doesn't agree."

The MTA did not award merits for nebulous contributions. Perhaps sick of all of the merits that Ves already obtained, it did not listen to any further arguments and put an end to any further considerations.

This meant that Ves earned a total of 12,743,652 MTA Merits for the Battle against the Abyss!

"And this is not the end of the story!"

The MTA promised to double the merits it awarded for any actions taken against the pirates of the Nyxian Gap.

Since this promise still applied when the Battle against the Abyss took place, the MTA had no choice but to honor it despite the enormous cost!

Ves lowered his gaze until his eyes fell on the final sum.

25,487,304 MTA merits.

"Twenty-five million merits." Ves whispered.

His spine tingled and his entire body shivered. He became increasingly more excited as he took in the astronomical amount of merits he gained after making so many sacrifices.

"TWENTY-FIVE MILLION MERITS!"

He was rich!

Combined with his previous earnings, his account currently held 36,910,402 MTA Merits!

That was already more than a third of what he needed to redeem a second-class beyonder ticket!

His excitement quickly died down a bit. Though he earned an astronomical sum, he also lost a lot to secure his hard-fought victories.

Aside from losing hundreds of valuable mech pilots and thousands of support personnel, he also lost Nyxie, the high-grade life-prolonging treatment serum and the Grand Dynamo.

The value of these three assets was immense. If Ves was able to exploit these resources in full, he would have been able to obtain much more rewards than 25 million MTA merits.

Yet the circumstances didn't let him. Perhaps the only reason he didn't blow up about their loss was that he gained much more than a lot of merits from winning the Battle against the Abyss.

Defeating a great enemy from the Ruined Temple, obtaining enough Unending Alloy to build three to five expert mechs, empowering his mother, adding a lot of expert pilots and expert candidates to his clan, accomplishing several new innovations and so on couldn't be expressed in simple numbers.

"Overall, I've made a handsome profit." He smiled.

He could live on after losing Nyxie, the high-grade serum and the Grand Dynamo.

Truthfully, losing the last one hurt the most. In the long run, the vast quantities of spiritual energy it generated could have provided him with an immense amount of value. Losing this renewable source of energy when he only enjoyed it for a couple of years was really frustrating!

"Maybe I can regain what I lost."

He already formed some plans to recreate the Grand Dynamo. While he still needed to puzzle out the mechanics behind deriving usable energy from a spinning galaxy, he had hope that he might be able to crack some of the puzzles.

"It doesn't have to be as good as the original one. Even if it's just 1 percent as productive, that's already a win in my book."

The downside of making use of the Grand Dynamo was that it was a finished product that didn't offer any room for improvement.

In contrast, once Ves successfully developed a homegrown version, he would be able to iterate on it whenever his spiritual engineering ability improved. By building up and improving his shabby dynamo from the ground up, he might be able to create something that surpassed the original some day!

"What is even better is that it won't be scarce anymore!"

Depending on the difficulty of obtaining the necessary ingredients, Ves might be able to build a second dynamo or a third one.

"Maybe stuffing my mind with a hundred dynamos is a bit overboard, but there shouldn't be a problem if I carry a couple of them, right?"

An even greater advantage of being able to build his own dynamos was that he could also supply them to other people!

Once Ves inserted some of his dynamos into Gloriana, he no longer needed to wait for months for her to recover whenever they created a new design spirit.

Perhaps he might gift Ketis some of his dynamos as well since her 'superpower' was very overbearing.

"It's not just the mech designers who benefit. What if I hand them out to expert pilots?"

While his expert pilots primarily cultivated their will, spiritual energy played an indispensable role in empowering them. Ves was just a bit unsure how increasing the regeneration of the latter affected them in battle.

Still, achieving all of this remained a fantasy so long he couldn't solve the two main mechanisms of a spiritual dynamo.

How was it able to derive energy from the galaxy? How did the dynamo convert this energy into usable spiritual energy?

These two steps continued to frustrate him. He scratched his head and frowned as he tried to wrap his mind around it. Since spiritual energy normally didn't interact with the material realm, he didn't see how the dynamo was able to interact with the spinning galaxy on a physical level.

"Perhaps it does so on a spiritual level instead."

Yet whenever he cast his awareness into the spiritual realm, he encountered nothing but emptiness and a lot of corrosive winds.

Unlike back when he was travelling through the Nyxian Gap, the imaginary realm in ordinary space wasn't dominated by a vortex.

Ves failed to observe anything massive.

"Maybe I need to look deeper, or maybe it just doesn't exist."

He became so wrapped up by the question on how he was supposed to derive energy from the galaxy that he suddenly jerked when he made a very basic realization.

"Who says I need to use the galaxy as my power source? I can make use of a more accessible source of energy instead!"

Ves palmed his face. He should have thought about it earlier! Why go to the moon right away when he couldn't even climb a shallow hill? He needed to start with the basics before aiming higher!

He commenced his first true spiritual engineering project at that point. Numerous ideas flowed into his mind as he contemplated his initial energy source for his homemade dynamo. It had to be both accessible and easy to convert in order to work.

Chapter 2464: Developing Specialties

The Wodin Warriors, the remnants of Task Force Predator and a small MTA delegation led by Master Willix traveled deeper into the Sentinel Kingdom in unison.

Though the MTA vessels could have reached the Cinach System in a single jump, they chose to accompany the fleet that emerged out of the Nyxian Gap in order to stay close to the dangerous captured warships.

Word had already spread. Every time the combined fleet transitioned out of FTL, the locals in the star systems eagerly gawked at the might on display!

The powerful Hexer second-class mechs, the rugged and damaged vessels of the Larkinson Clan, the small but incredibly authoritative presence of the Ubiquitous Force and of course the crude but enormous Gravada Knarlax captured everyone's attention.

undefinedA large number of sensors and scanners directed their arrays at the heavily-damaged heavy cruiser. The buzz surrounding the pirate warships turned contentious as the local Sentinels regarded them with a mix of dread and excitement.

Though the Big Two did their best to paint warships as threats to human civilization, their allure could not be denied. Though damaged and tarnished, the sheer size of the former pirate flagship exuded a brutish charm that captivated the imagination of anyone who desired power.

What would it be like to control this destructive warship?

How many ships would they be able to demolish with her guns?

The sight of the captured warships inspired plenty of deviants! The problem got so bad that the MTA felt compelled to set up a simple interference field. Many long-ranged sensors and scanners failed to gain a detailed glimpse once this field enveloped the fleet.

As the reunion between the task force and the Larkinson Clan approached, Ves split his time on several priorities.

Now that the Design Department completed all of its ongoing projects, Ves gained some time to evaluate the performance of his Braves and provide them with some useful guidance.

He also made sure to check up on Maikel and Zanthar's studies.

With all of the Attribute Candies they ingested, their learning capabilities were only modestly behind that of Ketis. They devoured textbooks quite quickly. While their 1.6 Intelligence provided them with a substantial boost, the real reason why they were able to persist in their study sessions was their 1.8 Concentration.

As far as Ves was concerned, Concentration mattered more than Intelligence. Human geneticists developed a large amount of gene mod templates that directly improved the latter. The former did not receive as much attention. Any genetic augmentations that purported to improve this attribute were considerably less refined.

Yet the benefits of high Concentration were evident. Not only did it make his mech designers more dedicated to their studies, it also ensured they remained focused and free from distractions when they were working on a mech design.

It was with the help of their high Concentration that the two Larkinson seeds made good strides in their studies.

That said, they hadn't rushed ahead of the curriculum that Ves had set. Since he was determined to turn them into second-class mech designers from the start, he insisted on instilling them with a deep foundation.

They had to be just as knowledgeable and competent as Gloriana when she graduated from Kelma University!

As Ves finished going over the latest exam results, he smiled as he turned to his students.

"I am satisfied with your progress. Your grasp on mechanics, electromagnetism, calculus, data analytics and so on is quite extensive."

"Thank you, teacher!" Maikel smiled at the praise. "We both worked hard to catch up to your level."

Zanthar also showed a lot of eagerness.

"With all of the action going on, I want to be able to contribute as well. I would love nothing more than to see my clansmen pilot my mechs!"

Ves responded with a good-natured chuckle. "You are far from reaching that level. It's good to set a lofty goal for yourselves, but don't delude yourself that you'll be able to design a good mech right away upon graduation. The standards of the Larkinson Clan keep getting higher, so the two of you will need to study a lot more to design a worthy mech for our mech pilots. Properly speaking, Novice-grade mechs don't cut it. The Larkinson Clan will only pilot Journeyman-grade mechs at a minimum."

The two students immediately lost their cheer. They were working hard to become Novice Mech Designers. They had to work some more in order to reach the rank of Apprentice. Then, they faced the biggest test of all. Only a small proportion of Apprentices were able to move forward, and there was no guarantee that Maikel and Zanthar would be a part of this group!

They only had to look at the Braves to see how difficult it was to become a Journeyman. The two Larkinson seeds had befriended many of the mech designers aboard the Scarlet Rose. Each of them were smart, talented and capable in many ways.

Yet out of all of the Braves, only Ketis possessed the confidence that she was getting close to achieving this transformation.

"Don't be so depressed." Ves said. "Back when I was a Novice, I wasn't nearly as good as now, but I managed to practice my craft and earn a profit anyway. There is a place in the market for Novices as well. Just because your design ability isn't up to par yet for the clan doesn't mean that every other customer is as strict."

That caused them to regain a bit of optimism. Ves was right. A proper independent mech designer always started off from the bottom. While the performance of mechs designed by Novices and Apprentices weren't that impressive, they were much more affordable than the products designed by the likes of Ves and Gloriana!

"Do you have a better idea on how you will specialize in the future? While we haven't reached the juncture where you must declare your future direction in your studies, you have already gained a good overview of the varieties of mechs that can be made."

"I want to design living mechs like yours, teachers!" Maikel answered without hesitation.

"I'm more interested in arming my mechs with powerful guns." Zanthar spoke.

The two of them hadn't changed their minds about their orientation. Ves wasn't entirely comfortable with their choices.

While Ves did not object to Maikel's choice, the young mech design student might not have the right aptitude to design a living mech.

What determined a mech designer's spiritual attributes?

Were they born with them, or did they develop them over the course of their life by taking after their environment?

Ves believed the latter was definitely the case. It explained how Venerable Joshua managed to develop a very rare life domain.

In fact, as LMC became more prevalent, Ves predicted that more mech pilots like Joshua might emerge. Millions of LMC mechs were already put to use in the star sector. Many mech pilots had already become devoted fans of his products, just like Joshua!

Ves held the highest hopes for his Larkinson Clan. His mech pilots excelled at piloting LMC mechs. Once he rounded out the mech roster, his clansmen would be surrounded by so many living mechs that they should definitely embrace life!

Perhaps the only uncertainty was the age of the mech pilot. Ves noticed that younger people were more malleable to change. They possessed impressionable minds and were still in the process of forming their principles.

In contrast, the old dogs who had gone through hell and back were remarkably stable and static. Their strong core was unassailable by most external influences. At best, their constant proximity to living mechs may make them slightly more compatible with them, but only to an extent.

Ves wondered how other mech designers managed this problem. Was it as easy as surrounding their students with a specific kind of mechs? Somehow, he didn't think it was that simple.

Perhaps the rarer and more exotic spiritual attributes were harder to acquire than others. The trueblood members of his clan had spent years around LMC mechs, but Ves hadn't seen anyone developing a life attribute yet. None of them came close to following Joshua's footsteps.

From what he knew, the mentality of the person in question mattered as well. Passive exposure wasn't enough. The individual in question had to believe in the concept represented by the attribute.

"Maikel."

"Yes, teacher?" The young Larkinson seed looked attentive.

"Let me warn you that following footsteps is not for everyone. Many mech designers are completely unsuited to designing a mech that is comparable to mine. You may not have the right 'talent'. Do you know what that means? No matter how much you force yourself, you won't be able to inherit some of my legacy."

"Do I have the right talent?"

"I don't know. It's not something that is easy to acquire, but I believe there is still a chance. Don't worry. Since I accepted the responsibility to become your teacher, I will do my best to set you up. I can't do it without you, though. Whenever you are free, you should spend more time with my mechs. It doesn't matter which. Bright Warrior, Aurora Titan, Doom Guard or whatever. Just go ahead and work alongside a crew of mech technicians as they service the machines. Don't go through the motions. Be earnest about it. As long as you are sincere, I believe you'll be ready to design a living mech!"

Maikel regained some of hope. "I'll do my best! It's just that my studies already eat up my time. I barely enjoyed a day off in the last year."

Ves tapped the kid on his head. "I won't tell you that breaks aren't allowed. I'm pushing you hard, too hard maybe. However, achieving greatness can't be done by settling for mediocrity. I set my expectations high because I'm setting you up to become the best. If you don't think you can keep up, then you can choose to lighten your workload. Just know that investing less in yourself will decrease the chances of achieving the success you desire. That is something that every student must grapple with over the course of their adolescence."

In truth, he did not expect his two students to have any problems in this regard. Their artificially high Concentration always ensured that their motivation remained high.

"What about me, teacher?" Zanthar. "Is my choice as difficult as well?"

"Not quite." Ves shook his head. "There are many mech designers who excel in increasing the damage output of their mechs. It's quite easy to get into, but that isn't an excuse to take it easy."

"How so?"

"Maikel's problem is that he needs to work hard to get his foot in the door. You're different, Zanthar. It's easy for you to step through the door. Your real problem is that you'll be entering a crowded room. The crowd will do its best to push you to the back of the room. What you need to do is push forward and make it to the front. Do you understand what I am saying?"

"You mean I'll be struggling with a lot of competitors?"

Ves nodded. "Precisely. The ease of which you'll be able to reach the front of the room depends on how you approach your specialty. It needs to be both strong and distinct from the rest in order to stand out from the crowd. Therefore, don't think you have to work any less than Maikel."

Though Zanthar looked troubled by this, Ves didn't worry as much about him. Even if Zanthar failed to live up to expectations, he would still be able to become a decent mech designer. That was the benefit of choosing a more accessible design philosophy.

For the remainder of the session, Ves provided them with some advice on how to prepare themselves. While they were a bit too early in their studies to lock in their choices, Ves believed the two had already made their considerations.

The earlier they devoted themselves to their specialties, the faster they were able to start with developing their future domains!

Chapter 2465: Remote Domain Fragment

Whether Maikel or Zanthar achieved success largely depended on their own efforts as well as a bit of luck.

The main variable was whether they would be able to develop spiritual potential. Ves still didn't understand how it came about, though he developed a couple of theories. He did not believe it was impossible for someone who was spiritually weak to break through this shackle. It was just that the requirements were so harsh that few people managed to bridge this gap.

Most leaders surrendered to these circumstances. It was impossible for them to even sense whether people possessed spiritual potential, so there was no way for them to pick and choose potential talents.

Ves was different. He met a lot of different people over the course of his career. No one was able to match his exceptional spiritual perception. Even Master Willix was like a child in front of him when it came to this area!

undefinedThe only exceptions were those who possessed some relation to the Five Scrolls Compact. Both his mother and that weird freak Tektak from the frontier both showed that Ves was not unique.

"I can't expose what I can do. Who knows whether people will lump me in the same group as those insane cultists." He muttered.

Despite possessing some of their heritage, Ves was nothing alike those crazies! He was an orthodox mech designer who purely dedicated himself towards mechs!

After reflecting himself, he turned back to what he needed to do before he reunited with Gloriana.

"Time is running out. I need to work on my wedding rings."

This was a project he had been stalling for quite some time because he wasn't sure how to approach it. He collected a lot of interesting materials from the pirates he defeated. Some of them weren't safe to touch, but there were plenty of materials that he could use. Each of them came with interesting effects that might or might not be helpful.

"If I just want to make some pretty rings, then I don't need to think that much."

The problem was that he knew that Gloriana wouldn't settle for that. She was just as knowledgeable of materials as him. If she saw that he misused high-grade exotics just to make something pretty, she would chew his head off! To her, a precious material must be used well.

"What do you think, Lucky? What kind of ring does Gloriana like to wear?"

Lucky idly swished his tail.

"Meow."

"What?"

"Meow meow?"

"That's a stupid idea. No offense, Lucky, but using a cat theme for our wedding rings is a little overboard. People wear those rings for fun, not represent their bond with someone."

"Meow!"

What could Ves expect from a cat? It seemed he needed to fall about on his own ideas, then. He activated his desk terminal and summoned up over fifteen different sketches.

Over the past few months, he occasionally developed several interesting ideas. He noted them all down and stored them into his archive. Now that he was ready to make his rings, he pulled them all up again.

"Hmm.. they're all serviceable, but they are lacking in creativity."

He pulled out the blank black rings from his pocket. His mother had gifted to him a few years ago. According to her, the material the ring was made out of was not only a high-grade exotic, but also spiritually reactive!

Though he possessed them for some time, he was unable to decipher the exact effect. Ves probed them many times without obtaining any results. If his mother hadn't told him that the rings were special, he would have vented them in space a long time ago like any piece of trash!

"I can only trust her, I guess." He shrugged.

Now that he looked at them, the rings did look as if they were made out of a material similar to Unending alloy. Perhaps they were related to each other in some way.

Ves studied his ring designs and became unsatisfied with what he had devised. They did the job, but didn't earn any exceptional marks.

If he truly wanted to delight his future wife, he had to do better.

"Let's approach this from a different angle. Instead of starting with the appearance, maybe I should consider its function first."

Aside from the effect inherent in the base of the rings, Ves intended to add at least another function. This largely depended on the material he chose to plate the ring.

For example, if he opted to use B-stone, then the ring became slightly more repellent towards spiritual phenomena.

"B-stone isn't a suitable material." Ves shook his head. "It's too breakable and too low-class to Gloriana's sensibilities. Perhaps keeping it too close to her might affect her work as well."

Ves had already settled on using Unending alloy. The material was not only incredibly hard, but also able to store spiritual energy.

Granted, the capacity of a ring made out of Unending alloy was rather small, but having some of it was better than nothing.

The main issue that held him back from making this choice was that his fleet did not possess the tools or production equipment to manipulate such insanely hard material.

He briefly turned to Lucky. His cat stared with a vigilant expression.

"Meow."

It was too impractical to use Lucky's teeth as precision tools. Ves wasn't confident he could shape Unending alloy into the precise shapes needed to plate his ring.

"Relax, Lucky. I don't need to rely on your teeth anymore. I'm sure I can ask Master Willix to borrow her tools."

When he visited the Ubiquitous Force, he spent some time in the lab. While Ves didn't recognize many of the machines, there were bound to be at least one that was capable of processing first-class materials.

It would be weird if something like that wasn't present aboard an MTA Master's ship!

The question was how Ves intended to employ the properties of Unending alloy.

Its insane resistance against damage merely made the ring more durable. While that was definitely good, he could do more.

Ves first contemplated stuffing them with a pair of small design spirits.

"No. That's just wrong."

The rings didn't possess much capacity, which meant that they would basically be tiny cages. Any life that Ves stuffed inside would quickly run out of room to grow. Staying in the rings would become increasingly more uncomfortable.

He settled for spiritual constructs instead. Even if he made them alive, he was confident that he could restrict their growth so that they wouldn't strain against their boundaries.

Since spiritual constructs were more machines than living entities, Ves had many options.

"What kind of spiritual construct is both helpful and comes with a small footprint?"

If Ves just wanted to empower Gloriana in some way, then he didn't have to limit himself to rings. He could just create a medallion instead.

"It has to be related to our relationship somehow." He whispered.

The rings needed to be special. They were symbols of love, not tools.

What if.. he could impart Gloriana with a small portion of his specialty?

Ves recalled how Master Willix failed many times in replicating his design philosophy. No matter how close she got, each of her designs were similar to clones. They resembled his work, but were devoid of actual life.

He knew that Gloriana was no better in this regard. She tried many times to accomplish what he could do, but her spiritual attributes didn't contain any life.

To be honest, Ves thought that it might be different. Some time ago, he had deposited his spiritual fragment in her mind. He hoped that Gloriana might be able to draw on its power, but other than keeping her warm and fuzzy, it didn't really do anything.

"Maybe I can change that!"

His eyes lit up as an idea came to mind.

He wanted to pair the ring with the spiritual fragment. Doing this solved the capacity problem, as the latter was considerably more powerful than anything that he could stuff inside the ring.

Ves began to draft another sketch. This time, he wanted to make two spiritual constructs.

The main one pertained to his spiritual fragment. He wanted to mold it into a form that allowed Gloriana to borrow from its traits.

Of course, he didn't want to make himself redundant by granting her the same capabilities as his own. He just wanted to make life a bit easier for her by allowing her to borrow some of his life attributes.

Due to the limited strength of his spiritual fragment, its domain was very weak. Gloriana wouldn't be able to do much with it except infuse her designs with a little life. Yet this should already be sufficient enough to keep her happy!

The problem was channeling it. Gloriana lacked the sensitivity and control needed to manipulate it. That was where her ring came in. By implanting it with a simple control mechanism, she would be able to transmit commands to his spiritual fragment that was trapped in her mind.

"The wedding ring controls the remote domain fragment. It's useless in someone else's hands."

While the ring itself wouldn't be impressive by itself, it would serve as the key to accessing some of his abilities.

Ves had to extend a lot of trust to Gloriana if he wanted to go through with this idea. However, he knew that Gloriana wanted this for a very long time. Ever since she forcibly shifted her design philosophy to take spiritual components into account, she had become incredibly dependent on him to design what she considered to be a proper mech.

Giving her the ability to infuse some life in her solo designs meant that she still had options even if Ves wasn't there to help.

"This is especially useful in design competitions where mech designers are often forced to work by themselves." He considered.

Not only that, but gaining better control over her remote domain fragment might also improve their collaborative work. Ves might be able to connect with her better if she became more attuned to his design philosophy. He expected their synergy to increase as a response, which would translate into higher-performing mech designs!

Of course, as Ves intended to make a pair of rings, he didn't want to be left out either. As long as he carved a spiritual fragment from her mind and implanted it in his head, he might be able to borrow from her domain as well!

His face grew a little difficult. "Do I even want to do that?"

To be honest, it didn't sound as appealing to him. While Gloriana adored his specialty, Ves was a lot more lukewarm towards her own abilities.

Certainly, it would help if he could borrow her ability to spot flaws and gain a better sense on how to polish his designs. Yet if these benefits came paired with her obsession for perfection and her inability to tolerate sloppy work, then it might be better if he left this option aside!

"I can't do that, though." He shook his head. "The rings have to be similar. If I design asymmetrical rings with different capabilities, Gloriana will probably explode!"

He wasn't too worried, though. He was confident he could keep her remote domain fragment contained if he didn't want to make use of it. To be honest, he didn't need to instill his ring with a control interface, but it would make it a bit more convenient if he did. Besides, there might be some benefits if his own ring mirrored that of his beloved.

"There's one more element to consider."

Ves pulled out the pair of Unstable Chaos Essence gems that Lucky produced some time ago. He had his eye on them for quite some time, and it wasn't just because they looked pretty.

Though their names sounded dangerous, Ves read something different in them. Chaos may be dangerous in most people's hands, but he was different.

"Some people thrive in chaos…"

Chapter 2466: Converter

[Unstable Chaos Essence]

A terrible essence of chaos is locked within this gem. The essence is stolen from a great and ancient horror that would dearly wish to regain it. Carry this gem at your own risk.

Anyone who read this description might shy away from using this gem. Yet where others saw trouble, Ves spotted opportunity.

Lucky had produced them while he was in the Nyxian Gap. Something about the environment caused the gem cat to form these abnormal gems.

undefinedIf Ves took the description seriously, then these gems might contain either spiritual energy or some other vital energy related to the indigenous 'dark gods'.

Having encountered the dark gods up close, Ves was quite impressed by their power. While each of them were different, he noted that they all possessed the same origin.

They were entities rooted in chaos.

The Unending One, the Inexorable One, the Blinding One and even Nyxie were distinct from other spiritual entities such as Qilanxo.

Ves considered the former exobeast to be a more classical spiritual lifeform. While she was quite powerful in her own right, she mainly existed beyond the material realm. That meant it was difficult for her to affect reality.

The dark gods were different. Something about them caused them to be able to channel their powers in the material realm more easily. Of course, the unique environment may have something to do with it, but that did not detract too much from this powerful advantage.

Ves wondered whether he could borrow this trait.

While exposing himself to some of this so-called chaos might have negative repercussions, a part of him was excited at the prospect.

"There has to be a use for these gems!"

Otherwise, why would Lucky make them? None of his gems lacked a purpose. Ves just had to find the correct application for each of them. Since each of the gems revolved around containing energy, he needed to find some way of accessing it. That was difficult as the gems were very hardy shells.

"Still, these gems can be broken if enough force is applied!"

The Highly Unstable Chaos Essence gems exploded and unleashed a lot of energy during the Battle against the Abyss. While the damage of the explosion failed to deal as much damage to the Gravada Knarlax as he wished, he was still impressed by the eruption of chaotic energy.

Ves guessed that exciting this chaos energy might be a way of closing the gap between the imaginary realm and the material realm.

The way the realms were separated represented a kind of order. Chaos was something that could cause them to loosen their strict boundaries. It would explain why the realms were considerably closer to each other in the Nyxian Gap.

"Hmmm, this is pure speculation, though. I don't have enough proof to back up my assertions."

Ves didn't care, though. His intuition didn't send him any warning signals and he had a feeling that he might be on the right track. Even if his aim was off, at least he was looking in the right direction.

What mattered was that he was convinced that the Unstable Chaos Essence gems would be very helpful in some way. That was his judgement as someone who dabbled more than once with forces outside of his control.

In the next few hours, Ves designed a simple but elegant pair of wedding rings that incorporated the gems in various ways.

He wasn't sure whether it was possible to split the gems up without breaking their effect. Depending on the outcome, he could either incorporate a whole gem in the ring or split them up into smaller pieces and spread them out. This might also help with making the energy inside more accessible.

Once he completed the design, he stored it in his implant.

Before he went ahead and translated the design into reality, he needed to figure out the properties of the Unstable Chaos Essence gem.

"It's a good thing I have several of them. I can afford to break a few."

He carried five grey gems and one purple gem. He reserved the latter for Gloriana's ring and intended to use a grey one for his own one. This meant that he could play with four grey gems at most.

As Ves studied the grey gems, he grew a little suspicious. When the three dark gods showed up, their energies came in different colors.

The Unending One released black energy. The Blinding One radiated white energy. The Inexorable One released grey energy.

"Is this gem related to the Inexorable One?"

Ves didn't know. While he possessed her spiritual remnant, he wasn't sure whether they came from the same source.

"Well, it shouldn't matter too much. The Inexorable One excels in speed and manipulation."

He didn't care about the first trait, but he was quite interested about the second one. Out of all of the three dark gods that his mother beat up, Ves was most impressed by the Inexorable One's ability to conjure up area attacks. This signified that the big bird was quite good at manipulating her own energy.

Ves visited the vault to take out the P-stone holding the Inexorable One's spiritual remnant. He moved to the lab compartment and entered an enclosed testing chamber in order to keep out the curious Braves.

He took out one of the grey gems and placed it on a table.

"Now how should I go about this experiment?"

He decided to split it up in half. He needed to know whether damaging the gem would cause the energy to release and how violently this reaction took place.

However, just as he was about to take out a cutting tool, he froze.

"Wait a minute. Am I taking all of the risks into account?"

It might not be the best idea to conduct this experiment on his own ship travelling through FTL. The eruption of an uncontrolled amount of energy might very well interfere with the operation of the FTL drives.

If this disruption caused the Scarlet Rose to go astray, enter into dangerous and unknown dimensions or outright blow her to pieces, then Ves would certainly meet a good end!

Properly speaking, he should wait until the Scarlet Rose transitioned out of FTL travel. Once the fleet emerged into realspace, Ves could easily transfer to a less important and conduct his experiment here. He didn't even need to be aboard the same vessel, so if the gem inadvertently blew up with the force of a nuclear bomb, he wouldn't lose anything important!

"Damn. I could have potentially killed myself, and for the stupidest reason imaginable!"

His ability to assess risks could use some work. Everytime he became excited for one reason or another, he tended to go overboard.

"Ugh. Let's leave this for later."

He took back the gem and put away the tools. He took back the occupied P-stone and moved back to the vault in order to stow it away.

Before he did so, he briefly pulled out the P-stones containing the remnants of the Unending One.

Each of them were very valuable. Ves already used the remnant of the Blinding One to upgrade one of his existing design spirits into the Illustrious One.

The new design spirit for the Crystal Lord line was settling in well. His power and intelligence was fully up to standard. Ves expected a lot of growth out of the entity that possessed a portion of the power of a dark god.

"How should I use the two of you? Should I use you to upgrade one of my other design spirits?"

Ves didn't see the value in that. The Blinding One stood out because he belonged to the same race as the crystal golem. Merging them together made a lot of sense.

That didn't apply to the remaining two dark gods. Certainly, an argument could be made to fuse the Black Phoenix, the design spirit of the Blackbeak, with the Inexorable One, but Ves considered that to be a waste.

"The Blackbeak is a landbound offensive knight mech. Even if I design a successor with aerial or space maneuvering capabilities, it's not a mech that excels at speed."

The concept of the Blackbeak merely demanded that the mech was fast enough to take part in offensive maneuvers. It was similar to the Blessed Squire in that regard.

What truly made sense was to use the Inexorable One to create a speed-oriented spiritual product. By creating a new entity that took full advantage of the dark god's excellence in speed, Ves would finally obtain a design spirit that was perfectly suited for the light mechs he intended to design.

"Venerable Tusa will be happy, I'm sure!"

He overlooked the fact that Tusa bitterly struggled against the Inexorable One and almost died as the avian dark god completely smashed his mech apart.

As for the Blackbeak design… Ves didn't feel very passionate about updating it. Its concept was exceedingly simple and it didn't really possess any special properties.

Also, without spending resources to upgrade the Black Phoenix, the product line would always pale in comparison to his more modern mechs.

"I think.. it's not worth it to design a Blackbeak Mark II."

The Blackbeak's core concept was too limited in his eyes. He would rather design a new landbound knight mech from scratch with a more unique vision and concept.

Having decided to end one of his product lines permanently, Ves turned to the most powerful spiritual remnant.

He could sense the hunger of the Unending One's spiritual remnant. While definitely intended to use it up to create another spiritual product, he had something greater in store than obtaining just another design spirit.

His eyes sharpened as he studied its current state. "These devouring and digesting attributes are special."

In order to prove that, he created a small spiritual projection and pushed it towards the remnant.

As expected, the remnant automatically swallowed the projection!

A tiny amount of energy entered into its depths. Ves lost contact with his projection. He watched keenly as he observed the remnant of the Unending One trying to digest his own energy.

Apparently, his energy was quite nutritious, as the Unending One quickly completed the digestion process within a single minute!

Though Ves didn't sense an obvious increase in strength, he felt it was slightly more content.

"I see!"

Even though the Unending One was 'dead', the spiritual fragment that his mother managed to preserve from his dead existence still possessed some of his abilities.

His eyes lit up! This was exactly what he sought!

"I can use it as a universal energy recycler!"

No matter what kind of spiritual energy he fed it, as long as the Unending One was able to digest it, it was quickly able to break down and transform the energy into its own strength!

In the simplest terms, this meant that Ves might be able to use it as a renewable source of spiritual fragments.

He could just feed it with any undesirable or unusual spiritual energy he came across, thereby causing it to grow. Once it grew big enough, Ves could carve out fragments which he could use in many other applications!

"Not only that, but I might be able to leverage its energy absorption properties more directly!"

It sounded like a great base for a possible spiritual energy converter that could replace his Grand Dynamo!

If he was able to induce a change which caused the digestion process to generate spiritual energy that matched his spiritual makeup instead of that of the Unending One, he might be able to solve his energy problems!

Before Ves obtained a remnant of the Unending One, he always thought that he wouldn't be able to convert one form of spiritual energy to another form of spiritual energy.

It was different now. While Ves didn't understand how the Unending One was able to accomplish this feat, he felt confident in his ability to take advantage of it somehow!

"Using the dead remains of my enemies to make new applications, how wonderful!"

Chapter 2467: Cultivating Helpers

The spiritual remnant of the Unending One was one of the most valuable gains of the Nyxian Gap.

The dark god's strange ability to convert heterogeneous spiritual energy into a form more suitable for himself held a lot of attraction to Ves. How could he not be greedy of this ability himself?

"Energy is a resource! The more energy I possess, the more I can do with it. I can't let myself be slowed down because of my restraints!"

He even thought about merging himself with the spiritual remnant in some way. Since he managed to merge the spiritual remnant of the Blinding One with the crystal golem, it should be theoretically possible to apply this same technique to himself!

undefinedVes slapped his face.

"What am I thinking! This is crazy!"

Altering his Spirituality in this fashion would completely transform him as a person. Sure, he might be able to gain the ability to absorb spiritual energy to a much greater extent than his mother, but there were bound to be repercussions!

Right now, his domain mainly centered around life and mechs. If he added another major attribute to the mix, Ves wasn't sure how it would affect his ability to design mechs.

Since he always considered himself to be a mech designer first and a spiritual engineer second, he could never allow the latter to threaten the former.

If Ves really went through with this insane procedure, he feared he might cross a line he might never be able to walk back from. Perhaps he would be no different from the insane cultists of the Five Scrolls Compact!

"I need to pull myself back and cool my mind. I'm letting my excitement get ahead of myself too much."

His eagerness fueled his passion, causing his heart to burn hot and bright. It was too easy for him to tunnel vision on his goals and disregard every potential danger.

Ves recognized that he wouldn't have attracted so much trouble in the Nyxian Gap if not for his lack of self-control.

He fell into a moment of introspection.

"The biggest problem is that I can't share my considerations with anyone. Having a second opinion at hand would definitely be able to keep me sober."

He already had access to a bunch of advisors who fulfilled this role.

Gloriana collaborated with him on everything related to mechs.

Major Verle provided him with deep insights on military and occasionally political matters.

Calabast mainly served as his spymaster, though she also advised him on matters of diplomacy.

James was the closest to a spiritual advisor that Ves could get. Even so, the former cult leader was an obnoxious bastard that didn't inspire much trust.

Ves viewed anyone who leaned on faith and unquestioning belief with deep suspicion. Religious nuts simply didn't inspire any confidence in him. The so-called Living Prophet's motives also remained something of a mystery.

"If not for this, I could actually confide in him more." Ves regretfully muttered.

Despite founding a clan that largely centered around his ambitions, he found that he still couldn't completely trust the people around him very much.

Sure, the Larkinson Network ensured that everyone connected to it became aligned to the Larkinson Clan, but that did not immediately entail unquestioning loyalty to himself.

It wasn't that he was tempted to do so, but Ves knew that performing such overt brainwashing would definitely trigger some alarms from the Big Two. Developing rapid loyalty to his clan could still be explained, but developing a cult of personality that was so unflinching would definitely invite a lot of unwanted scrutiny!

Perhaps the only people he could truly trust were the bonded Kinners. Yet people like Nitaa were simply mass-produced human products with limited imagination and talent. It was okay for them to serve as his footsoldiers, but he shouldn't expect much more from them unless he got his hands on some high-class Kinners.

The point was that Ves felt more and more frustrated that he was still unable to share all of his burdens to someone without reserve.

Perhaps in time, Gloriana might become that person to him, but for now his instincts warned him against doing so. He loved her, yes, but that didn't mean he had to trust her to such an extent.

He didn't forget that she possessed her own motives and ambitions, some of which weren't aligned with his own. There was no way he was willing to embrace her entire agency!

Ves crossed his arms and frowned. He really couldn't go on like this. He knew that whenever he spent his time alone for an extended period, he always came up with increasingly more radical ideas.

With no one grounding him to reality, he might have very well went on to perform the stupid stunts he just considered. After living through all sorts of crisis, it would have been incredibly stupid if he finally met his end by his own hands.

"Still, the problem is that I really don't have anyone I can trust without reserve."

From his future to his strategic partner, everyone around him supported him because he was useful to them in some way. Even Gloriana wouldn't be as enthused about marrying him if he didn't benefit her mech designs so much.

The moment he stopped being of use, much of that support would probably evaporate. That made him very nervous. While this wasn't a unique problem to anyone with valuable capabilities, he felt he couldn't go on like this for much longer.

"I need to cultivate a group that is truly dedicated to me." He concluded. "The Larkinson Clan doesn't qualify. It has grown into its own existence."

Since the Larkinson Clan was initially made up of his trueblood relatives, he refrained from being too overbearing. Back then, he possessed a lot less power, wealth and prestige. In order to attract a part of the Larkinson Family into following him, he had to make sure to offer them concessions.

Overall, Ves was still pleased with the Larkinson Clan. While his control over it was slipping a bit due to its rapid expansion and rise of capable leaders, its strength was undeniable.

"It's too bad that my clansmen can't help me with my current problems."

When it came to mechs and combat, the Larkinsons were like fish in water. Yet when it came to spiritual sorcery and spiritual engineering, almost all of his clansmen were pretty much dunces in those fields.

Outside of capturing and brainwashing some Compact cultists, Ves needed to cultivate this kind of group from scratch.

"This will definitely be a very long-term project. The requirements are too harsh."

His confidantes had to meet some very harsh requirements.

First, they needed to be spiritually capable enough to become a spiritual engineer. Obtaining a certain amount of sensitivity was vital.

This alone ruled out the vast majority of candidates.

Second, they had to be unflinchingly loyal to him from the beginning. As long as anyone leaked anything sensitive, Ves would definitely be in trouble.

If the leaks were bad enough, the MTA, CFA and the Five Scrolls Compact might all be after him! There was no way he could live a normal life if he entered their crosshairs!

The only way Ves could be certain of someone's loyalty was if he started to indoctrinate them when they were still young.

There were other requirements as well, but the first two were critical. No one else around him met this requirement so far, and he didn't think that this would change in the future.

If he wanted to raise a number of trusted confidantes, he needed to do it himself.

"I think.. the best way for me to do so is by training some of the children of the Larkinson Clan."

The clan had grown very big and many of the talents the Larkinsons recruited also brought their own families. There were already plenty of children who became Larkinsons.

With his power, it was no problem for him to set up a special institute that secretly raised these children into diehard loyalists.

The only issue was that this only addressed the loyalty issue. While Ves would be able to raise an army of capable subordinates, Ves doubted that he was able to turn them all into capable spiritual engineers.

Most people simply lacked the ability to manipulate spiritual energy like himself and his mother.

The only way for him to produce both loyal and capable confidantes was to… start with his own bloodline.

His eyes grew grave. "In other words, my children."

Though he felt very uncomfortable about it, he truly saw no better alternative than to choose one of his offspring.

As long as he raised them the right way, his children would definitely be trustworthy enough to inherit his legacy. And as long as they inherited his mother's side of his bloodline, their spiritual perception and manipulation should also be decent.

Only his own children were qualified to keep up with him! While Ves did not expect all of his six future children to inherit his talents, he would be happy if at least one of them was suitable.

"Compared to my own offspring, others simply can't come close."

Those who wanted to imitate him such as Maikel Larkinson could only follow him up to a point. While Ves believed that Maikel might very well be capable of designing mechs if he kept up his efforts, the younger mech designer's path was destined to follow a different direction.

"Still, cultivating just one or a couple of my children isn't enough. I need more helpers." He furrowed his brows.

If he wanted to raise an entire organization of loyal spiritual adepts, he needed to look towards mass production.

He briefly became inspired by the Kinner way of producing manpower. Should he follow their method of producing large batches of offspring by utilizing a host of artificial wombs?

"This idea has merit, but… I don't think it will work out. Children who are raised this way are always spiritually deficient."

He only had to look at his Kinner bondsmen. While they were definitely human, their upbringing was too monotonous and devoid of love. None of the Battle Crier mech pilots managed to break through to expert candidate. They were much worse than trueblood Larkinsons in this regard.

"This isn't the right way. If I want to produce suitable children, they need to be raised normally."

In order to do this, he needed to insert his genes in the wombs of a large number of women. The more, the better. That way, even if only a fraction of his offspring inherited the right talents, he would still have plenty to choose from. Over time, he might even be able to raise an entire army of spiritual engineers!

His face suddenly cracked as he made a very important realization.

"Gloriana will kill me if I do this…"

There was no way his possessive girlfriend would tolerate such an act! Even if he was doing it for the right reasons, his girlfriend simply wouldn't be able to accept any of his logic!

"Damn!" He cursed. "Marriage is no different from a shackle!"

He wouldn't have as much scruples about enacting this plan if he was still single. He wouldn't feel much guilt with spreading around his seed. Yet because he valued loyalty so much, he couldn't bring himself to betray Gloriana's trust.

Still, he felt frustrated at losing this option. It sounded so good! While it would have taken a lot of time for his plan to come to fruition, once it did, Ves wouldn't be short of any spiritual assistance at that point!

"How else will I be able to obtain a large amount of spiritual assistants?"

Maybe he could enact his plan behind Gloriana's back. If he implemented his plan on a group that was unrelated to the Larkinson Clan, then the chances of keeping his wife in the dark should be much more optimistic.

"As long as the genes I pass on are sufficiently altered, the children who emerge from them won't exactly be my offspring anymore. That should be okay, right?"

Chapter 2468: The Coalition Strikes Back

As Ves worked on his radical ventures during the journey back to the Cinach System, the center of the star sector underwent another huge upheaval.

After toppling the Crestfallen Stars ahead of time, the Hex Army rampaged through the space of the Carnegie Group!

Hundreds of star systems fell in the grasp of the Hexers as the Fortune Legion struggled to put up a defense against the motivated Hexers!

After losing a large chunk of territory, the eager Hexer mech army groups finally reached the limits of what they could bear. It was untenable for them to push further when they had essentially exhausted much of their pushing capabilities.

undefinedThe downside of capturing so much territory in one fell swoop was that much of it still hadn't been pacified!

Though the cities and settlements fell into the grasp of the Hexers, some local Fridaymen weren't resigned to living under a matriarchal society!

The well-prepared resistance movements that rose up gave the occupation forces a lot of headaches! Unaccustomed to forcibly taking over any star systems, the Hexer garrison troops had to resort to increasingly more brutal methods to repress the rebels.

This only inflamed the Fridaymen partisans even further!

Having long anticipated a possible invasion and occupation from their hated rivals, the Carnegie Group and the Vermeer Group had long set up and buried a large number of well-hidden weapon depots.

This ensured that each organized group of rebels gained access to a plentiful supply of firearms, combat armor, infiltration equipment, explosives and even mechs!

Even if the equipment mostly consisted of outdated military surplus goods, in the right hands they could still frustrate occupiers.

Across hundreds of planets, city halls burned, ammunition stores blew up, manufacturing complexes collapsed and middle rank officers were being assassinated!

"The Coalition shall prevail!"

"Down with the matriarchy!"

"We will die like men, not boys!"

Though the Fridaymen normally weren't as patriotic to their own state as the Hexers, the Komodo War had enflamed everyone's passions!

The strict and heavy-handed rules set by Hexers immediately rubbed the Fridaymen in the wrong way. Everywhere, men were stripped of much of their rights, causing them to feel especially threatened!

Though the growing resistance effort didn't threaten the Hegemony's hold on the occupied systems, it generated enough trouble to burden the Hexers. Troops and supplies allocated the frontlines had to be diverted to many different planets in order to suppress the recalcitrant Fridaymen.

Combined with the increasingly more stretched lines, the forward positions of the Hex Army became increasingly more tenuous!

It was at this moment the Friday Coalition finally launched its counterattack!

With the Carnegie Group and the Vermeer Group under existential threat, the other Coalition partners couldn't hold back any longer. If they still insisted on holding back and keeping most of their troops in the rear, then the trust that held all of the partners together would no longer have much meaning!

Large quantities of ships and mechs crashed against the overextended Hexer frontline units and beat the women back with overwhelming might!

Though many Hexer spies had noticed the massive troop movements of the Friday Coalition in advance, the Hex Army had been too reluctant to pull back its forces.

The decision makers were too confident in their inherent superiority! After collapsing the defenses of their foes and continually pushing them back, the Hexers increasingly looked down even further on the Fridaymen.

This was why the initial counterattack achieved so much success. The Hexers weren't fighting against the Carnegie Group's Fortune Legion or the Vermeer Group's Blue Cavalry anymore.

The two strongest Coalition partners, the Gauge Dynasty and the Konsu Clan, finally committed many of their premier frontline units to this counteroffensive!

Across many different occupied star systems, Hexer mechs were falling left and right while Hexer vessels tried to beat a hasty retreat. Showers of positron beams, stupendous volleys of missiles and entire mech regiments worth of melee mechs soared forward against their Hexer counterparts.

Entire star systems became filled with debris. Each battle generated large amounts of broken mechs and ships from both sides.

With all of these recyclable materials floating in space, controlling the star systems became more important than ever. The side that won the most battles were always able to stave off their resource shortages a little longer. This would become very relevant in the later stages of the war.

In the Leemar System, the resplendent universities existed no more. The vindictive Hexers razed every single education institution to the ground. Even if the value of the structures and monuments weren't high, the Leemar Institute of Technology and other renowned schools had lost all of their pride!

Yet not long after Leemar fell into the hands of the Wrathful Doves, the Fridaymen hit back with unprecedented ferocity!

"Kill these witches!"

"Take back our land!"

"Our heroes are with us today! Don't flinch!"

Two distinct mech militaries acted in unison. The orange-and-black mechs of the Sundered Phalanx of the Gauge Dynasty spearheaded the assault.

In space, the Phalanx's famed lancer mechs charged forth with blazing force. They closed in on the Hexers with so much momentum that the glows of the Blessed Squire didn't even have a chance to disrupt the Fridayman mech pilots!

Subsequently, large formations of spearman mechs soared forward in unison. They moved as one whenever needed and split up into smaller squads whenever the Hexer mechs dispersed.

The Sunderers displayed such impeccable teamwork and discipline that the Hexers were no longer able to rely on their fervor and aggression to overcome their foes.

The elite troops of the Gauge Dynasty were so firm in mind that the glows of the space-adapted Blessed Squires simply couldn't shake their resolve!

Though not every unit of the Sundered Phalanx consisted of highly-trained elites, they comprised much of the vanguard in the Leemar System.

By opening their counterattack with some of their best mech pilots, the Sundered Phalanx successfully managed to breach the Hexer lines in a single thrust!

The rapid collapse of the initial Hexer defenders initiated a chain reaction. This time, it was their turn to try and organize their defenses as their enemies continually thrust forward!

When the Sundered Phalanx succeeded in pushing the Hexer spaceborn forces back, the Oni Guard of the Konsu Clan showed off their prowess as well!

Heavily-armored combat carriers landed on Leemar II and the other occupied planets of the Leemar System by the thousands.

Even when the Hexers did their best to shoot them down, the well-prepared Oni Guardsmen managed to intercept or block most of the incoming fire.

Once the battered but functional vessels made landfall, a large amount of landbound, aerial and aquatic mechs contested for supremacy against the occupiers!

Though the Hexers had set up a considerable amount of defenses, not enough time had passed for them to strengthen their fortifications!

The partially-exhausted and recovering troops of the Wrathful Doves tried their best to fend off the liberators, but the purple-and-blue mechs of the Oni Guard exhibited much greater resilience than the Fortune Legion!

"Damn, why aren't the glows of our Blessed Squires doing anything? These boys should have been pissing in their piloting suits by now!"

Of all of the mech militaries of the Friday Coalition, many people considered the Sundered Phalanx to be the strongest.

The Gauge Dynasty was the wealthiest and largest Coalition partner. This allowed it to invest considerably more funds in its military assets. The Sunderer mechs were higher in quality and therefore tougher to defeat.

Although the Konsu Clan was not as wealthy, its mech military of the Konsu Clan still earned a lot of respect.

While the mechs of the Oni Guard weren't actually higher in quality than that of the Fortune Legion or Blue Cavalry, the Konsu mech pilots were consummate warriors!

The soldiers of the Konsu Clan enjoyed noble positions in their society. Many mech pilots and soldiers were descended from the same class. The training intensity of the Oni Guard was the highest among all of the Fridayman mech militaries. The Konsu Clan instilled so much discipline to the troops that they unflinchingly obeyed any orders even if it led to their deaths!

The Hexer defenders on land discovered to their consternation that the Blessed Squires were even less effective against the Oni Guard.

Even if the Konsu mech pilots respected their mothers, their dedication towards the Konsu Clan trumped everything!

What made the Oni Guard harder to deal with was that unlike the Sundered Phalanx, even the most ordinary Konsu mech pilot possessed a disciplined mind and will!

The elites of the Oni Guards were completely unassailable while the regular troops hardly showed any indication of slowing down.

If not for the fact that the Blessed Squires were very useful in helping the Hexers maintain their morale under pressure, the glow-oriented mechs would have lost their value on this battlefield!

Of course, this was not enough for the Fridaymen to win the day. In order to reverse the trend of the entire war theater, the Sundered Phalanx and the Oni Guard launched many different offensives at once!

This caused Fridaymen to spread their troops rather thin just like their archenemies.

If the Hexers finally managed to overcome their shock and rally their troops, they might be able to force their enemies into a stalemate!

However, the Friday Coalition had another card to play.

"Our entire star sector is on our side!"

Across many different battlefields, the Sunderer and the Oni Guard mechs fought alongside dazzling, radiant machines! These powerful machines performed far in excess of any other regular mech!

The Fridaymen attached a considerable number of expert mechs to the assault units. With the protection and cover of these powerful machines, many ordinary Hexer formations collapsed ahead of time.

Though the Wrathful Doves dispatched their own expert mechs to stem the tide, the Hexers found to their horror that the Fridaymen sent out a second wave of expert mechs!

"Are these Fridaymen crazy?!"

"This is impossible!"

The Hexers were shocked by the number of expert mechs their Fridayman counterparts committed to the battlefield.

They briefly wondered whether the units invading the Leemar System borrowed a lot of expert mechs from other units.

Yet soon enough, the truth came out.

The Sundered Phalanx and the Konsu Clan were able to field up to 20 percent more expert mechs because they were piloted by foreigners!

The Friday Coalition quietly pressured the surrounding third-rate states to loan their expert pilots some time ago. After many months of preparation, the Fridaymen were finally capable of fielding their hired help on a wider scale!

While the expert mechs assigned to the foreigners were not as powerful or rigorously-designed as proper Fridayman expert mechs, they still exerted enough raw power to make a difference!

The Wrathful Doves found itself hard pressed to hold the line in space and on the surface. The disparity in numbers was considerable, especially when the Sundered Phalanx and the Oni Guard concentrated the foreign expert mechs.

When Hexer expert mechs were forced to fight three times as many enemy expert mechs, the results could easily be imagined!

"Damn, we can't hold anymore!"

"Don't give up! Expert mechs aren't invincible, and these new expert mechs aren't as tough as the older ones!"

The Hexers barely managed to counteract the additional enemy expert mechs by resorting to costly tactics.

Even so, the Fridaymen attackers continued to maintain the upper hand! Not only the Leemar System, but many other occupied star systems threatened to fall back into the hands of their original owners.

Once the direction of the Komodo War turned around, it would be hard for the Hex Army to retain its momentum!

Uncomfortable and unaccustomed to being on the defensive, the Hexers might not be able to hold their ground as well as the Fridaymen.

"We can't let the Sundered Phalanx and the Oni Guard rescue the Carnegie Group!"

It was under these rapidly-changing circumstances that a peculiar new mech model emerged onto the battlefield.

Chapter 2469: Bringers of Death

"The Superior Mother is with us." Mech Captain Dorsa Avinx prayed.

"The Superior mother is with us." Her subordinates echoed.

The Hexer mech pilots weren't praying in front of an idol or statue or anything. They weren't praying in a church.

Instead, the Hexer mech pilots of the Wrathful Doves Mech Army Group were kneeling in the middle of a mech hangar. In front of them rested a large number of brand-new aerial mechs.

undefinedNo other mechs with wings resembled these new machines. While the machines took on the contours of a woman, the design style of the mech diverged from the Hexer standard in many ways.

However, one look at the heads of the mechs was enough to realize why the mechs looked different from the norm.

The dark third eyes placed in the forehead of the mechs resembled the third eyes of the Blessed Squires. The black hexagon surrounding the third eye exemplified the Hexer nature of the mech, not that Captain Avinx and her subordinates needed the visual cues.

This close to the mechs, every single Hexer kneeling in front of them felt the glows of the machines. With so many glows overlapping with each other, the slight differences between them caused the mech pilots to be doused in their majesty.

Compared to the Blessed Squire, the new mechs projected a different air.

The Blessed Squire was mainly a supportive mech. It projected six different glows depending on the situation. Most of the time, the glow encouraged the Hexers and inspired them to fight more ferociously.

The new mech was a bit different. It only projected a single type of glow, and it happened to be a bleak one. The Hexers who were praying in front of the aerial mechs did not feel as if their blood was pumping.

Instead, the newly-introduced Valkyrie Redeemers carried an air of doom and inevitability towards its enemies.

Every mech pilot who had secretly tested and trained with the new machines for a couple of weeks had to get accustomed to the different mindset the mechs inspired.

Ordinarily, aerial mech pilots tended to be hotheated and excited. At the same time, they needed to keep their heads cool in order to maintain situational awareness.

Combat in the air was very precarious. Cover was very scarce in the air. Any mech that recklessly flew over the battlefield easily attracted fire from many different places.

Even so, the advantages of flying meant that no one wanted to give up contesting in the air.

When Captain Avinx initially piloted the Valkyrie Redeemer, she thought that the marauder mech was mainly suited for harassment.

It wasn't until later that she discovered that it could be so much more.

As the praying session ended, the mech pilots rose up to their feet. Captain Avinx turned to her mech pilots. Each of them looked quiet but eager.

Almost all of her mech pilots consisted of women. Only a handful of boys stood at the back. Due to their inferior height, their heads did not peek out over the shoulders of the female mech pilots at all. It would have been easy to discount their presence from the front.

In the Hexadric Hegemony, the superiority of women had to be maintained in as many ways as possible. How could their boys possibly be taller than the superior gender?

For this reason, the matriarchs mandated that boys were not allowed to grow taller than 1.66 meters.

Only a small number 'good boys' were allowed to grow taller, but only under exceptional circumstances. This was also a good way to distinguish them from other boys.

At the same time, every adult woman had to be at least 1.70 meters tall, though most were far taller.

If not for the fact that being too tall was a hindrance to mech pilots, the Hexers would have all chosen to be at least 2 meters tall!

The Hexers invested considerably in biomedical technology in order to impose this standard across their space.

By creating a distinct disparity between height, the women felt much more assured in their own superiority. After all, it was hard to respect boys when they were physically shorter and weaker.

"You all know what is at stake." Captain Avinx addressed her women. "Our grasp on the Leemar System is rapidly weakening. With the Sundered Phalanx pushing us back in space and the Konsu Clan beating us back on land, our sisters are rapidly losing ground. The additional expert pilots the Fridaymen scraped from the lesser states are also pressing us hard. Are any of you afraid?"

"No!" Her women immediately replied.

"Good." The mech officer smiled. "We have all familiarized ourselves with the power of the Valkyrie Redeemer. This new mech model is blessed by the Superior Mother. Not only that, it's a female mech, which means we can finally borrow the Supreme's power more directly."

She had fought hard for her unit to be one of the first to pilot the new mechs! While the Wrathful Doves were trying to produce more Valkyrie Redeemers at a rapid pace, not every aerial mech company had the fortune of receiving a batch of the new machines.

Although their training should have taken longer, the rapid reversal meant that they couldn't wait any longer.

Despite the hasty change in orders, Captain Avinx wasn't afraid. She and her women all believed in the Valkyrie Redeemer. Though the mechs might not be able to fight an expert mech, the Hexers were still confident in their ability to defeat every other foe!

"Our time is up. Let's move out and hunt some Fridaymen!"

Soon enough, thirty-six Valkyrie Redeemers and four support mechs flew out from the massive hanger.

The aerial mech company flew in a moderately tight formation as it flew across friendly territory.

Down below, numerous mechs and vehicles moved back and forth. Several transports were already being loaded up with valuable supplies and expensive production equipment.

The Wrathful Doves knew they couldn't hold onto this territory anymore. In order to stand a chance at stalling the attacking Oni Guard, the Hexers had to pull back and tighten their defensive lines.

The role of Captain Avinx's mech company was to fly into the vicinity of the battlefield and pick off any targets of opportunity.

The Fridaymen had to be slowed down in every way possible. Even delaying their advance by one hour was enough to evacuate billions of hex credits worth of war materiel!

As the mech company began to observe distant explosions and weapon discharges, it was no longer safe to fly in an open manner.

"You know your orders. Split up and choose your targets carefully."

"Yes, captain!"

The mech company split up into four separate squads consisting of nine Valkyrie Redeemers and one support mech.

The Valkyrie Redeemer piloted by Captain Avinx herself led the other nine remaining mechs closer to where the main battle took place.

They approached a small but ruined city. Though there weren't many tall buildings to provide them cover, the aerial squad was not deterred.

"Pilot Anders, activate the stalking field."

"Yes, ma'am!"

The lightly-armed male mech flying in the center of the squad began to activate its backpack module.

A strong energy field suddenly wrapped around the Valkyrie Redeemers. Different from glows, this technological field did not have a strong effect on humans.

Instead, the stalker field caused the mechs to become harder to see. While the squad hadn't become outright invisible, most long-ranged sensors would definitely fail to pick up their energy signatures!

This was enough for the aerial mechs.

Aware that the stalker field drained a lot of energy from the support mech, Captain Avinx became more hurried in her search.

Though her mechs were straying dangerously close to the sites where active fighting took place, she quickly stumbled upon a suitable target.

"Enemy supply train up ahead! Distance, 8 kilometers."

"Detecting three supply transports and sixteen Oni Guard mechs up ahead! Eight of them are melee mechs while the other eight are ranged mechs."

Captain Avinx immediately became more focused. Her squad of mechs ascended higher in order to gain a steeper angle on the detected enemy mechs.

"Target the melee mechs. I will designate individual targets for each of you." She commanded. "Ignore the ranged mechs for now. While these Konsu mech pilots are notoriously difficult to shake, we have faith in our Valkyrie Redeemers. We're women, not boys. The glows of our mechs are stronger!"

As the squad of mechs gained enough altitude, the Valkyrie Redeemers began to dive towards the enemy supply train.

A short time passed by as the Oni Guard mechs remained oblivious of what loomed overhead. It wasn't until the sensors of some of their mechs started to detect something unusual in the air that they finally noticed the incoming threat.

"Enemy raid!"

The mechs of the Konsu Clan reacted quickly! The melee mechs all formed protectively in front of the ranged mechs.

Numerous positron beams hit the Valkyrie Redeemers as they approached. Though the hits all caused the mechs to lose some chunks of their armor, none of them sustain any fatal damage.

The diving Valkyrie Redeemers did not bother to retaliate. Their pulse submachine guns were too weak and inaccurate to deal any meaningful damage under these conditions.

Instead, the mechs gripped their spears and shields tightly as they descended from above.

"Mark your targets!" Captain Avinx ordered. "Let us show them a taste of death!"

Each female mech pilot transmitted a mental command to their mechs.

Soon, the third eyes of the Valkyrie Redeemers suddenly brightened up. Though the mech pilots had the option to hide this effect, the Hexers didn't mean to do so this time.

Strong, narrow beams of light shot out from the third eyes and instantly landed on the melee mechs that were positioning to meet the incoming charge.

As soon as the light beams landed on the Oni Guard mechs, their mech pilots suddenly experienced a sense of doom and discomfort.

Though each of the Konsu Clan's mech pilots had gone through special training in order to firm up their minds, the glow of the Valkyrie Redeemer was something different.

It reached much further ahead. In addition, it was also new and relatively unfamiliar. Due to the narrowing of the glow, much of the intensity was directed towards a specific target.

Though the Konsu mech pilots did their best to maintain their grip on their emotions, they couldn't help but begin to sweat and feel uncomfortable.

It was too difficult to resist this new glow!

"This glow.. wait! This is a new mech!"

As the Valkyrie Redeemers came closer, the targeted glows became more intense. The defending mech pilots not only had to resist this effect, but also fight against the psychological fear of trying to resist a diving attack.

The famed discipline of the Oni Guard began to fray a bit as the mech pilots of the melee mechs lost focus. The creeping sense of doom disordered all of their hearts.

They didn't have much time! As soon as the Valkyrie Redeemers came close enough to unleash their targeted glows, it didn't take long for them to reach the surface!

"Death to the Fridaymen!"

With thunder and might, the Valkyrie Redeemers slammed their spears through all of the melee mechs!

Even the thickest knight mech failed to come out unscatched as its shield only managed to block the thrust of a single Valkyrie Redeemer.

Another Valkyrie Redeemer piloted by Captain Avinx herself managed to impale the mech from another angle!

Loud impacts sounded as the shock-absorbing systems of the Valkyrie Redeemers tried their best to keep the mechs together as they landed. Their feet sank deep and various other systems came online to prevent the mechs from collapsing.

As for their targets, their inability to brace themselves resulted in devastating damage!

Five of the Oni Guard mechs were downed entirely. The spears either ran straight through the cockpits or hit something vital enough to disable the machines.

Three other mechs weren't better off. Even though they still showed signs of life, they received so much damage that they weren't able to put up a resistance when the Valkyrie Redeemers impaled them a second time!

"Hahahaha! These mechs were sitting ducks! So much for the discipline of the Konsu Clan!"

With the simultaneous takedowns of the melee mechs, the ranged mechs were sitting ducks! Though each of them possessed at least some close combat capabilities, they stood no chance against the might of superior mechs!

It was a complete crush!

Chapter 2470: Shock

The Friday Coalition's counterattack hit the invading Hexers hard!

Many occupied star systems turned into contested territory after the Fridaymen launched their offensives. The battered Fortune Legion took a backseat in this operation. Instead, the Sundered Phalanx and the Oni Guard led the charge and broke upon the fragile Hexer lines with great fanfare!

With the assistance of foreign expert pilots, the Fridaymen combat troops frequently managed to overwhelm their Hexer counterparts.

For most mech pilots, one of the most terrible outcomes that could happen was losing the support of an expert pilot!

undefinedThese supreme warriors often acted as guardian angels for their respective mech regiments.

Up until recently, both sides adopted the same approach towards expert pilots. Each mech regiment had to be watched over by at least one Venerable.

They did not necessarily have to make a move. Their main purpose was to stay in reserve and act as a deterrent against enemy expert pilots.

As a result, expert pilots actually did not clash against each other that often. Only under special circumstances such as when the expert pilot enjoyed an absolute advantage would they make a move.

Of course, there were plenty of other scenarios where expert pilots sought out battles.

For example, the now-famous Venerable Ghanso Larkinson eagerly utilitized the numerical advantage bestowed by his Scarra to hunt down as many Hexer expert pilots as possible!

In a battle on another planet, several dozen glowing positron beams weaved a precise net at some rapidly-retreating Hexer mechs.

By now, no Hexer mech pilot underestimated the notorious Unit L anymore!

With a mech company of quasi-expert rifleman mechs backing up the Charlemagne, not even several Hexer expert mechs stood a chance!

"Damn cowards!" Venerable Ghanso snarled as his shots only inflicted severe damage against the evacuating expert mechs. "These Hexers are all talk!"

An expert swordsman mech flew alongside the Charlemagne. Different from the Charlemagne, the Jeanne D'Arc was almost purely geared towards melee combat. With the firepower at Venerable Ghanso's disposal, the feminine expert mech had no chance to show off its prowess.

"Your aim is getting worse." Venerable Foster noted in a bored tone. "This is the sixth time you've let the Hexer expert mechs go. Is the strain getting to you or are you just getting soft?"

"Shut up, Vesian! I can't help it if the Hexers run at the first sight of our mechs!"

Though the two were forced to fight alongside each other, their animosity hadn't lessened much. Just because they were fighting for what they thought was right did not mean they had to like their comrades.

With foreigners such as Venerable Ghanso Larkinson and Venerable Relia Foster taking part in the offensive, the war continued to tilt in the favor of the Fridaymen!

While the Hexers were scrambling to defend their hard-fought gains, a new mech sprung onto the scene.

On more and more contested planets, the brand-new Valkyrie Redeemer model emerged with high expectations!

The Blessed Squire had immediately showcased its value in battle. The Hexers hoped that the Valkyrie Redeemer might do even better!

After all, compared to a modest supportive knight mech, the aerial marauder mech was much more offensive-oriented. Its manufacturing cost was fairly high, but it was a machine that was completely geared towards women.

A lot of Hexers looked forward to piloting such a unique machine!

The effectiveness of the Valkyrie Redeemer did not disappoint. Against ordinary mech pilots such as Fortune Legionnaires, the narrow death beams were usually capable of disrupting their focus.

Sometimes, the marked mech pilots even froze, causing their mechs to turn into vulnerable targets!

The Valkyrie Redeemer pilots all learned to take advantage of this state by driving their spears through the cockpits of their targets!

Against more disciplined opponents such as the Oni Guard, the Valkyrie Redeemer still retained a degree of effectiveness.

Now that the Konsu mech pilots knew what to expect, they no longer allowed the Market For Death ability to consume their minds. Yet even so, each human was vulnerable to an extent.

Once the Valkyrie Redeemers shifted to putting multiple Marks on a single target, even the most disciplined mech pilots lost their concentration!

As time went by, the Valkyrie Redeemer quickly generated a lot of notoriety. It couldn't be helped as the aerial mechs proved to be wondrously effective at conducting small and sudden raids!

The Fridaymen mech forces on the ground reacted by grouping their mechs into larger units. While this slowed down their counterattack, the Valkyrie Redeemers could no longer use their inherent advantages to annihilate individual squads!

This defense reaction frustrated many Valkyrie Redeemer mech pilots. They loved swooping down from the air in order to demolish individual squads. Now, the stubborn Fridaymen no longer moved out unless they could gather at a mech company.

When at least forty mechs traveled together, their ability to defend against aerial attacks increased remarkably.

The mech pilots of most dive-oriented aerial mechs no longer wanted to tangle against these targets. Even if they brought twice as many mechs, it was impossible to disable the entire mech formation. In fact, due to the fears of colliding against each other, entering into a dive with too many mechs was quite detrimental!

The Valkyrie Redeemer mech pilots weren't reconciled to this outcome. They had tasted the power of their new mechs and became more attuned to their capabilities.

While they could still play a useful role by hovering at a distance while taking potshots with their pulse submachine guns, the results were not comparable.

"This isn't working! The Oni Guard will overrun Leemar II entirely if this keeps up!" Captain Avinx growled.

"Then what do we do, ma'am?" A trusted lieutenant asked.

"We throw the rulebook out of the window. Who says we can't dive in greater numbers? Follow me and stay together!"

In the span of a single week, her mech company sustained numerous losses. Though her mech regiment attempted to replenish her mechs and mech pilots, she was left with 28 Valkyrie Redeemers including her own along with just three auxiliary mechs.

Not every attack run resulted in a one-sided crush! Even with the various advantages of their Valkyrie Redeemers, the Oni Guard were still capable of shooting them down at a distance.

In fact, the increased amount of ranged mechs accompanying each unit was one of the biggest reasons why the Valkyrie Redeemers felt restrained!

After scouring the edges of the frontline for a time, Captain Avinx's mech company encountered several enemies on the ground and in the air.

None of them were suitable targets. Their numbers were either too much to handle or enemy support was too close at hand.

It wasn't until several hours later that the Valkyrie Redeemers sniffed out a retreating element of Oni Guard mechs.

Though around seventy Fridaymen machines were retreating in good order, their condition varied considerably. Some only bore some dust marks while others had lost entire limbs.

Many mechs bore terrible scars or exposed fragile internals. The ammunition and energy reserves of the ranged mechs must dipped below a certain point as well.

The problem was that the quantity still posed a threat to Captain Avinx's unit. The melee mechs each had the potential to surround and mob the Valkyrie Redeemers at the end of their dive.

Even so, the Hexers did not feel deterred!

"This is a golden opportunity! Let us move and teach these beaten dogs the might of the Superior Mother!"

"For the Mother!"

The Valkyrie Redeemers soared forth while gaining a bit of altitude. The retreating Oni Guard mechs did not take much notice at first. It wasn't until later the Fridaymen realized that the Hexer aerial mechs were actually about to commit to an attack run.

Fearful of what might happen, the Oni Guard machines no longer ran away but instead stopped in place in order to meet the incoming attack.

Defeated or not, seventy mechs still posed a considerable threat! With the melee mechs standing by, a large number of ranged mechs began to fire volleys at the diving Valkyrie Redeemers.

"Mark the ranged mechs!" Captain Avinx gritted her teeth. "Two on one!"

Each mech automatically received a targeting instruction from Captain Avinx's mech. This allowed the Valkyrie Redeemers to target their Marked For Death abilities onto a specific mech in the best possible distribution.

Over half of the ranged mechs suddenly began to slow and miss. It was already a challenge for their mech pilots to maintain their focus when Marked a single time. With two Marks on them, it was no longer possible for them to keep their aim straight!

The affected ranged mech pilots had little choice but to leave the targeting entirely to AIs.

This hardly helped! The stalker fields projected by the Hexer auxiliary mechs continually confounded detailed scans and targeting calculations.

By effectively incapacitating half of the enemy formation's ranged mechs, the Valkyrie Redeemers managed to close in without losing any of their numbers!

"Rotate!"

The Valkyrie Redeemers at the front of the diving formation flew back, allowing the mechs in the second line to take the brunt of the damage.

The Hexer mech pilots adopted a specific formation that exposed only some of their mechs to enemy fire.

Ordinarily, the formation wasn't practical, but the Valkyrie Redeemer model just happened to be equipped with a modest shield and a high-quality armor system. It was no problem for them to endure enemy fire for a short time!

"Rotate!"

Though the damage to the mechs wasn't easy to repair, none of the Hexer mech pilots cared at the moment. It only took a short time for their Valkyrie Redeemers to dive within a kilometer of their targets!

As the ground rapidly came closer, Captain Avinx issued a quick command!

"Widen glows by thirty degrees!"

The Hexer mech pilots obeyed in an instant. The dark third eyes of their mechs that previously shone narrow beams of light at their Marks suddenly widened.

Each third eye shone like torches! The directional light they emitted no longer affected a number of specific targets, but attacked the entire formation of Oni Guard mechs at once!

Seventy Fridaymen mech pilots suddenly felt disturbed! It was as if the diving mechs turned into a giant hammer of doom that was about to slam right on top of their heads!

With so many glows overlapping on top of each other, it didn't matter if they were all dispersed. The strength of facing so many of them at the same time was not much different from being targeted by a narrow beam!

"DEATH TO THE FRIDAYMEN!"

The ground thundered with force as the Valkyrie Redeemers successfully drove their spears into the chests and other parts of their targets!

The Valkyrie Redeemers may have targeted their Marks towards the enemy ranged mechs at first, but their spears mostly punctured through the enemy melee mechs!

Though not every target struck succumbed from the dive attack, at least twenty of them were no longer a factor!

Unfortunately, that left around fifty Oni Guard mechs. As their mech pilots were slowly trying to recover from being subjected by the Valkyrie Redeemer's glow, Captain Avinx already made her next move.

"Shock and Awe, five second intervals!"

A module on the Valkyrie Redeemers suddenly launched a grenade into the ranks of the Oni Guard. An instant later, the Starburst grenades exploded, unleashing a strong but very localized burst of ECM and other disruptive measures!

As the closest mechs became affected by the detonation, the Valkyrie Redeemers spread out and surged forward while at the same time unleashing a strong pulse that shocked the minds of the closest enemy mech pilots!

The combination of technological and mental disruption generated a brief but very crucial window of opportunity.

At least twenty more mechs were struck by the Valkyrie Redeemers! The Hexers mechs easily inflicted either crippling or fatal attacks as the disoriented Oni Guard mechs failed to put up an adequate defense!

Before the remaining Konsu mech pilots were able to regain their composure, they received yet another shock as a second volley of Starburst grenades detonated in their midst!

Together with the release of yet another shock pulse, the Valkyrie Redeemers managed to down even more mechs!

Five more seconds passed in no time. Following a third dual pulse attack, the Valkyrie Redeemers completely went on the offensive.

Just a minute later, every single Oni Guard mech had fallen. Captain Avinx grinned as she took stock of her own unit. She hadn't lost a single Valkyrie Redeemer!

Though many of her mechs were not in good shape anymore, the damage could always be fixed. The dead could not be revived!

"This is the true purpose of the Valkyrie Redeemer!"

Chapter 2471: Death Has Come

While it wasn't unheard of to deploy aerial mechs in larger numbers at the same time, it was not conventional.

Aerial mechs were more fragile than landbound mechs, and flying high easily exposed them to enemy fire. The greater their numbers, the more enemy fire they attracted.

This was why they generally tended to shy away from the areas where the heaviest fighting took place.

With potentially hundreds of not thousands of rifleman mechs and artillery mechs on the field, a significant proportion of aerial mechs would get chewed up before they managed to deal any damage.

undefinedEven if the aerial mech units outnumbered the enemy, enough of them would still get shot down to make any victory bittersweet!

However, at this stage of the Komodo War, neither sides wanted to back off. The emotions of the Hexers had always run high, and the fervor they drew from the Blessed Squires only exacerbated their aggressive tendencies!

The Fridaymen also fought back harder. The constant defeats in the initial stages of the Komodo War seriously damaged their morale. If the Fridaymen kept fighting cautiously, public confidence in the soldiers of the Coalition might drop to a precarious level!

Not only that, many of the Fridaymen mech pilots had begun to lose confidence as well. If they developed an impression that the Hexers were truly superior in battle, then it would only be a matter of time before the Hegemony won the war!

For these reasons, even if it cost the Fridaymen dearly, they decided to ramp up their aggression.

The confrontations between the two sides became more heated. The Konsu Clan's mech forces no longer tried to cover as much terrain. Instead, they grouped their mechs more and more until clashes involving thousands of mechs at a time became a regular occurrence!

At the scale of these kinds of battles, expert mechs always showed up. Due to the slight numbers advantage of the Fridaymen, the Hexers always suffered a disadvantage!

During one engagement, a mech regiment of the Hex Army came under assault of the Oni Guard!

The Fridaymen prepared well. They not only brought at least 1000 more mechs, but also gained the assistance of a foreign expert pilot.

As the Hexer mech pilots on the ground desperately fought to fend off the enemy mechs, in the air three mechs were tangling against each other!

The Hexer expert mech desperately fended off the Konsu Clan's two mechs through various means. The outnumbered mech managed to hang on by relying on its resonance shield and energy shield to block the enemy attacks, but both of them were already reaching their limits.

Once the Hexer expert pilot lost the protection of those shields, her opponents would make quick work of her mech!

Though the regular Hexer mech pilots deeply wanted to help one of their heroes, the 3000 Oni Guard mechs advancing on their positions didn't give them any room!

"Hold, sisters!" A Hexer commander shouted. "Reinforcements are on the way! Don't let these Konsu boys break through our lines!"

Artillery shells exploded in mid-air as they were intercepted. Laser beams and positron beams raked the shields of the defensive mechs up front. Auxiliary mechs threw off the aim of the enemy ranged mechs. Blessed Squires all endured focused attacks as their glows infused friendly mech pilots with determination. An increasing amount of craters and downed machines complicated the terrain.

As the losses on the Hexer side mounted, a large cloud rapidly approached the battlefield.

"Help has come!"

"Take heart, sisters! Command has not abandoned us! Fight on and keep these Fridaymen in place!"

Over 500 Hexer mechs approached. As they neared the battlefield, the Oni Guard commanders became confused.

According to the observations of their scout mechs, the approaching aerial mechs consisted almost entirely of Valkyrie Redeemers!

No one had ever seen so many copies of the new mech model in one place!

"Where did they get all of these Valkyrie Redeemers?"

"That's not important! We must shift our ranged attacks against the incoming threat. The Hexers in front of us are already flagging. It's this new threat we need to guard against!"

Many Oni Guard ranged mechs no longer assaulted the beleaguered Hexer mech regiment. The damage they managed to inflict on the landbound Hexer mechs was already significant.

Instead, the Fridaymen mechs began to turn their guns towards the approaching cloud and fired!

A large number of Valkyrie Redeemers came under attack. Owing to their shields and armor, they initially managed to hold on. The small number of auxiliary mechs in their midst also helped foil the enemy attacks, but with so many mechs, their effectiveness was limited!

"Focus fire! These aerial mechs are tougher than the other ones!"

The Fridaymen ranged mechs each received specific targeting instructions. With ten ranged mechs aiming their weapons at one Valkyrie Redeemer each, a small number of aerial mechs quickly became overwhelmed!

Individual mechs fell out of the sky. Many times, their mech pilots managed to eject without problem, but there were some cases where the cockpit had already been breached!

With the sheer amount of firepower the Oni Guard had at its disposal, the rate of losses for the Hexer reinforcements quickly mounted.

Aerial mechs were aerial mechs after all. In order to make them fly, all sorts of compromises had to be made. Aside from imposing limitations on their mass, much of their capacity was taken up by their flight systems and numerous other auxiliary components such as energy cells and heatsinks.

Yet despite this fact, the Valkyrie Redeemers still did not drop as fast as the Oni Guard liked. After losing a hundred mechs, at least 400 of them had arrived close enough to begin their attack run!

"Watch out! Those witches will dive on us! Disperse and prepare to meet their charge!"

Even though the Oni Guard ranged mechs intensified their fire, the Valkyrie Redeemer mechs did not relent!

As the swarm of aerial mechs swooped downwards, their third eyes each emitted a narrow beam at the ranged mechs!

Several hundred Fridaymen mech pilots became discomfited.

Ordinarily, they should have been able to continue their attacks somewhat, but the rapid descent of so many aerial mechs cast a growing shadow on their hearts. Their fire slowed as they felt personally targeted by the diving Hexer mechs.

Shells burst in the middle of the diving swarm. Several Hexer mechs spun out of control, yet the remaining ones showed no sign of relenting. As the diving machines were just about to reach ground level, each of them simultaneously launched all of their Starburst grenades throughout the enemy formation at once!

"Teach them humility!"

In the final descent, the Valkyrie Redeemers each broadened their glows until they encompassed almost the entire enemy formation!

Each Oni Guard mech pilot paused for a moment. Just an instant later, the Starburst grenades exploded!

At the same time, the Valkyrie Redeemers simultaneously unleashed their shock pulses!

The combination of three different disruptive effects finally overwhelmed the famed determination of the Konsu Clan. Almost every affected Fridayman mech pilots blanked out for a couple of seconds.

Such a pause was fatal!

"DEATH HAS COME!"

Over three-hundred spears ran through three-hundred Oni Guard mechs!

Whether it was melee mechs or ranged mechs, hardly any of them were able to resist the force of a diving mech. If the struck mechs weren't downed in a single hit, then the follow-up attacks quickly took care of them permanently!

As the combined effects of the broadened glows, Starburst grenades and shock pulse slowly wore off, the Valkyrie Redeemer mechs rapidly lifted up into the air, thereby preventing the recovering Fridaymen mechs from mobbing them from every direction!

"Damn!" A Konsu mech commander cursed. "Our lines are disrupted!"

The dive attack dealt a devastating blow to the order of the Oni Guard mechs. Many of the mech pilots were still trying to regain their wits, all the while the besieged Hexer regiment gained some valuable room to breathe!

What was worse was that many of the Valkyrie Redeemer mechs were still intact! Even though hundreds of aerial mechs had already fallen, the remainder still posed a considerable threat, especially when they were already diving in for another charge!

The Valkyrie Redeemers didn't give the Oni Guard enough time to reorganize their defenses. While they hadn't climbed high enough, their dive still came across as threatening.

Having seen numerous friendly mechs getting impaled without being able to muster up a resistance, the Konsu mech pilots became more and more apprehensive.

As the glows of the Valkyrie Redeemers enveloped the entire formation again, the shadow in their hearts grew even more!

"Shock them again!"

Just before the aerial mechs struck their opponents, they released yet another pulse. With so many mechs releasing all of these pulses, not even the most prepared Konsu mech pilots were able to hold themselves together.

The shock attacks were too strong!

Due to the reduced force of this second dive attack, only around 200 Oni Guard mechs suffered a fatal hit. The Valkyrie Redeemers did not linger a second longer and immediately pulled out their spears and launched into the air.

The Konsu Clan mech pilots became incredibly frustrated by this hit-and-run attack.

This time, the Hexers specifically targeted the enemy ranged mechs, thereby reducing the Oni Guard's ability to shoot down any aerial targets!

"Protect our ranged mechs! Don't let us lose our means to shoot them down!"

It was hardly any use. When so many Valkyrie Redeemers swooped down in unison, there was no way to avoid any damage!

Spears continually impaled into hapless mechs whose mech pilots couldn't fully concentrate.

Though the Valkyrie Redeemers eventually exhausted their capacity to release their Shock And Awe Pulses, their glows were already sufficient to disrupt their enemies.

More than a thousand mechs had fallen in rapid succession! This was a devastating loss to the Oni Guards!

Not only that, the Hexer mech regiment that used to be under siege had suddenly surged forward again.

Despite their battered and exhausted state, the Hexer landbound mechs ferociously assaulted the ragged Oni Guard mechs!

More casualties fell among both sides, but the Fridaymen were by far the worse off as they constantly needed to watch for attacks from above!

Though only 200 Valkyrie Redeemers were left by the time the Oni Guard sounded the retreat, not a single Hexer among them believed that they had lost!

The only tragedy that caused them to pause was that their side had lost their expert pilot. Another Hexer had sacrificed her life in order to stall the enemy expert pilots.

Though the two victorious Fridaymen expert mechs could have unleashed a slaughter, it was a bit precarious for the two of them to attack so many intact mechs.

The Valkyrie Redeemers had made too much of an impact for them to feel any confidence in taking down the Hexers entirely!

This was not the only engagement where the Valkyrie Redeemers were deployed in greater numbers. Across multiple planets, many Hexer commanders experimented with grouping them together in larger and larger numbers.

To their utter surprise, it was considerably more effective than they thought.

The suppressive glows they emanated was not only versatile, but also extremely effective when employed in large numbers. Though there were some instances where the Fridaymen mech pilots managed to resist the heavy suppression, these cases were too few and far in between.

As long as the Valkyrie Redeemers combined their glows with their Starburst grenades and their pulse ability, hardly any prepared defense managed to hold together!

The Hexers became more accustomed to the Valkyrie Redeemer's capabilities. After using them in many different scenarios, the Hexer commanders eventually concluded that they were much more useful in the thick of battle!

When large groups of Valkyrie Redeemers were paired together with other units, the combination often resulted in overwhelming victories!

The Friday Coalition's momentum slowly stalled again. Despite the help of so many foreign expert pilots, the Hexadric Hegemony finally regained their optimism!

Chapter 2472: Third-Party Variants

In just a short span of time, the Komodo War experienced a number of rapid shifts.

The Friday Coalition's expert mech advantage along with the full commitment of the Gauge Dynasty and the Konsu Clan continually drove the Hexers back from their conquered territories.

However, the Hexadric Hegemony managed to slow down the enemy assault and stave off a rapid collapse on the battlefield by employing the Valkyrie Redeemer in increasingly more dramatic ways.

The Hexers no longer employed them as traditional harassers anymore. Several properties unique to the Valkyrie Redeemer allowed it to affect the course of larger battles when employed in larger numbers.

undefinedAs long as enough Valkyrie Redeemers attacked an enemy unit, their combined disruptive abilities were bound to disorient their targets!

What frustrated the Fridaymen who faced this new mech model was that they couldn't muster up an adequate defense against the Valkyrie Redeemer's infamous shock abilities.

The Starburst grenades were not strange to both sides. The Oni Guard were already adjusting their mechs to shield them better against EMP attacks. They also began to deploy more auxiliary mechs that were capable of mitigating the effects of such attacks.

Yet when it came to countering the Valkyrie Redeemer's glow and related pulse ability, the Konsu Clan was largely helpless!

Neither the Glow Crusher or any other first-generation mech was useful. Even if the Glow Crushers were capable of breaking the glow of the Valkyrie Redeemer, when the latter began to show up by the hundreds, it was impossible for the Fridaymen to prepare hundreds of counters as well!

If the Oni Guard truly dared to deploy hundreds of Glow Crushers, then the conventional mechs dispatched by the Hex Army could make quick work of them. Due to various constraints, none of the counter mechs excelled against fighting normal mechs!

Many Fridaymen generals and officials grew concerned. Some were even ready to tear their hair out due to this new complication!

"These Valkyrie Redeemers are disrupting our ground operations!"

"They're beginning to affect our operations in space as well."

Though the Valkyrie Redeemers were primarily designed to fight under atmospheric conditions, they were also spaceworthy. It was just that their effectiveness in space battles was a bit less dramatic at the moment.

Despite its various shortcomings, the Valkyrie Redeemer successfully captured the hearts of the Hexers. Many of them clamored to pilot the new model in order to take advantage of its unique abilities.

Even if the casualty rate among the reassigned mech pilots was high, the enthusiasm surrounding the Valkyrie Redeemer had not abated!

It was a bit unfortunate that the introduction of a single new mech model failed to affect the overall trend of the war. Unlike the Blessed Squire, the Valkyrie Redeemer did not lead to many major paradigm shifts.

Still, the war would have turned for the worse if not for the Valkyrie Redeemer mechs sowing fear and uncertainty among the Fridaymen.

As the original designers of the Valkyrie Redeemer, Ves and Gloriana received detailed reports about the mech's performance. They called each other to discuss the various developments.

"How long until you've arrived?" Gloriana asked.

Ves rolled his eyes. "I'll be back in a day. You don't need to ask that question all the time."

"I just want to make sure that you're not delayed! The wedding is scheduled to take place next week and I don't want to see any further mishaps."

"It will be okay. Don't forget that I'm travelling with the MTA. there's absolutely no chance that anything will go wrong with Master Willix watching me like a hawk."

They discussed a few routine matters before turning to the main topic of discussion.

"Our Valkyrie Redeemer is a success. The Hex Army loves it and intends to utilize it on a wider scale. It's just…"

"The Hex Army is too inexperienced at war." Ves did not mince words. "I don't know what all of those 'wise' Hexer generals and matriarchs are thinking, but even I know that taking over so much territory at once is hubris. It's not that easy to maintain your grasp on occupied territory."

Gloriana sighed. "I feel as if we failed, Ves. The Blessed Squire quickly allowed our side to gain a considerable advantage. I thought our Valkyrie Redeemer would have an even bigger impact, since it's a female mech. It's just that the Gauge Dynasty and the Konsu Clan committed their forces at the worst time!"

The Valkyrie Redeemer's suppressive glow was very effective against most opponents, but the caliber of the two strongest Coalition partners were not for show!

The Oni Guard mech pilots may not be immune to the new glow, but they had amply proven that they stood a far better chance.

If the Fortune Legionnaires fought in their place, then the Valkyrie Redeemers would have swept their foes away at an unprecedented scale!

Even the Sundered Phalanx mech pilots managed to cope with this new development. While their mental fortitude was a bit laxer, the Valkyrie Redeemers simply weren't as effective in space.

Overall, the Miracle Couple's second Hexer mech design failed to surpass the one that came before! This caused Gloriana to feel upset!

Ves felt she was being melodramatic. "Hey, there are always hits and misses in mech design, and it's not settled whether our Valkyrie Redeemer is a loss in my book."

"WE FAILED!"

"We succeeded." Ves insisted. "Just not as much as you hoped. There's a difference. We still have 6 more Hexer mechs to go, so there are plenty of opportunities to do better."

She was being unreasonable. Ves really couldn't understand why she thought the Valkyrie Redeemer's current level of success was inadequate.

It took some time for Gloriana to stop whining about her disappointment for the Valkyrie Redeemer. She truly thought that it would have led to a sea of change.

"The biggest factors to the Friday Coalition's success is not contingent on their mech models. The movements of the Gauge Dynasty and Konsu Clan play a far greater role. Before, the Hex Army only fought against the Fortune Legion and the Blue Cavalry. I thought that the mech militaries of every coalition partner was very close, but it turns out the differences are massive. Carnegie and Vermeer don't know how to raise proper soldiers."

The Friday Coalition never fought a large-scale war until recently. Though the Fridaymen were very clever and accounted for a lot of variables, no amount of preparation covered every aspect.

The Fortune Legion and the Blue Cavalry partially suffered from their lack of experience.

In contrast, the Gauge Dynasty and the Konsu Clan seemed to be better prepared. Of course, this was also because they sat on the sidelines for more than a year. This gave them enough time to update their strategy books, adjust the training of their mech pilots and alter their mechs.

As far as Ves was concerned, the Hex Army hadn't really fought against proper Coalition forces. Now that they faced the strongest Coalition partners, the war should not be going smoothly anymore!

It was too bad that Gloriana failed to comprehend this point. She continued to look down on the Coalition, but at the same time she was afraid of the threat the Fridaymen posed to the Valkyrie Redeemer.

"By the way, the Hex Army recently issued a request to us. High command want us to help design some variants."

"The Hexers aren't satisfied with the base model?"

"It's not that, Ves. The Valkyrie Redeemer is still being used. It's just that it's design isn't suited for every scenario. For example, Some Hexer leaders want to obtain a variant with better mobility that is suited for battles in space. Others want a variant that boasts considerably better frontal armor in order to facilitate large-scale dive attacks."

She continued to list out a couple more variants. Ves grew confused at the requests.

"The Hex Army doesn't have a strong habit of fielding a lot of variants."

"This is different. The Valkyrie Redeemer is not suited to be a one-size-fits-all solution. Since the mech is so popular and unique, the Hex Army can't just commission another aerial marauder mech since they won't have glows."

In other words, the Hex Army had to turn to Ves and Gloriana again.

"I don't know, Gloriana. We don't have the time to spend on so many variants."

"We don't have to do anything, Ves. The Masters of the Hegemony have already poured over our design. Some of them have already completed some variants. They just want us to give them a passover in order to make sure they're up to standard when it comes to their glows."

Ves blinked. He hadn't expected the Hexers to be so eager. Their Master Mech Designers were already making a move!

To be honest, Ves felt as if they encroached on his territory yet again. It wasn't enough to optimize the base model of the Valkyrie Redeemer. Now they were developing variants without bothering to ask his opinion first!

He knew he didn't have much room for complaint, though. Though the credit of the design remained with the Miracle Couple, the ownership and all of the rights towards its usage had fallen into the hands of the Hegemony.

This meant that the Hexers were able to decide for themselves whether to design variants.

In this case, they opted to do so and handed over responsibility to some of their Masters.

Before Ves made any further conclusions, he first wanted to study the variants.

"They look better than expected."

The variants actually confirmed quite closely to the original design. Ves could immediately tell that the Masters worked exceedingly carefully in order to avoid breaking their variant's glow. They rationed their alterations carefully and found many clever ways to transform the performance of the Valkyrie Redeemer without overhauling the design entirely.

The problem was that each and every action of a Master Mech Designer inevitably introduced massive changes to a design. Since these changes went far beyond optimizing the Valkyrie Redeemer, Ves could clearly tell that the Masters unavoidably left their marks behinds.

"These variants may be cleverly-designed, but their glows can't be restored to full." Ves concluded.

"Why not?"

"It's not entirely our mech design anymore. These Masters are too overbearing."

This was one of the downsides of having two mech designers of different ranks taking part in the same design. While the disruption wasn't too big if the collaboration involved a Journeyman and a Senior, it was a different story when a Master got involved.

They were too strong!

"Can you still correct these variants?"

Ves tentatively nodded. "I can. It's just that I can't get rid of the strength of the Master without changing the design back. Since that's impossible, you just have to accept that the variants will be a bit worse off in terms of glow. Its Marked For Death and Shock And Awe Pulse abilities won't be as good."

"How much will their effectiveness drop?"

"Not much, but that is mostly due to the restraint the Masters have shown. While I still have to work on these variants, the drop in effectiveness will probably be around 10 to 20 percent."

"That can make a substantial difference on the battlefield." Gloriana frowned even deeper.

"Well, I can't help it. My design philosophy doesn't interact that well with third-party variants. This is something that I can't change."

There weren't many ways to make it better without spending a lot of time on the designs. Though Gloriana wanted Ves to spend his time on designing some proper variants, he rejected her request yet again.

"I am not working for the Hegemony!" He pushed back. "I merely agreed to design 8 different mechs for them, and that is what I'll do. I'm only agreeing to do a pass on these variants because it doesn't take much time, but that's it. I have many other plans in store and I can't dedicate my time entirely on this single pursuit!"

Chapter 2473: Different Concepts

Just a few months ago, Ves never thought he would work alongside actual Master Mech Designers.

Journeymen generally weren't supposed to be able to work with them. Masters were so powerful that their design philosophies radiated like beacons. It was too easy for them to spiritually contaminate any mech design they worked on. Weaker mech designers simply didn't stand a chance of leaving their own mark under the shadow of their betters.

This was why collaborations between the two ranks were very rare. At most, Journeymen were only able to assist Masters, thereby earning no real sense of ownership in the final product.

The only exception was if the Master in question deliberately adopted a minimal footprint in order to give as much play to the Journeyman as possible.

undefinedAs Ves familiarized himself with the variant designs developed by the Hexers, he understood that the Masters truly tried to 'respect' his vision.

"It must have frustrated them so much to restrain their own tendencies in order to appease the work of a boy."

The grin on his face indicated that he held no sympathy to those Masters at all. The lack of any names or mention of credit on any of the design schematics suggested that those accomplished Hexers still considered it to be a shame to be involved at all. The Hex Army must have employed a lot of persuasion in order to get these Masters to cooperate.

"Well, the war isn't going so well now for the Hegemony that the Friday Coalition has finally gotten serious."

Ves had discovered that while the Hexers could be quite dogmatic about their principles, they were surprisingly capable of bending to reality if they faced adversity.

When they had to choose between letting the Hexadric Hegemony fall or collaborating with a boy, the latter choice sounded much less severe!

There was no way the Hexers would allow their state to fall! Once they lost all of their territories and most of their people, their proud Hexer culture would no longer possess a foundation!

If Ves hadn't tied his mother's existence to the continued existence of Hexers, he wouldn't have cared about this outcome.

Yet because this was the case, Ves had to make sure his choices didn't negatively impact the Hegemony.

"Well, let's get this over with then." He grumbled.

Though he still felt somewhat affronted that a bunch of stuck-up female Masters developed a number of variants without his input, he could not help but admire their work.

"Even if they're Hexers, they're still bona-fide Masters. Their skill is the real deal!"

Once Ves put down his hard feelings and put on his professional hat, he quickly became engrossed by the transformations of his base model.

Each of them seemed to give him a glimpse of what he could do with his design in the future.

The Masters may have tried to minimize their footprint as they modified the original design, but they tried to make the best out of it. Every single change, no matter how small, induced significant changes in the performance and handling of the mech.

If Ves had to achieve these changes by himself, he wouldn't have been able to do so at his current level of ability. He lacked the profound knowledge and experience to come up with these kinds of solutions.

Yet if other mech designers had already paved the way, Ves could simply study the solutions and slowly deduce the underlying principles.

"So it turns out I could have done this instead…"

Each and every profound change enriched his understanding. Not only did he gain a deeper grasp on the Valkyrie Redeemer design, he also filled up his toolbox with additional solutions that he could apply to his future mech designs.

While he still lacked the high-level foundation to develop these advanced solutions by himself, Ves knew that he could probably increase the performance of his future mech designs by at least 1 percent!

"This is an unexpectedly welcome gain!" He grinned.

Of course, Ves also made sure to not get overly caught up in trying to learn the solutions of other mech designers.

A true mech designer and engineer excelled in solving problems. There was hardly any meaning to their jobs if they did not continually develop their capacity to compose original solutions to novel problems.

The only reason why Ves did not restrain himself this time was because the amount of solutions he could derive from the variant designs was limited.

It couldn't be helped. Many Masters thought on a completely different level than him. Though he could understand the end result of their design choices, he couldn't figure out the process.

"Well, now that I had my fun, I should get on with my job."

Ves received five variant designs in total. That would mean the Hex Army would soon have access to six versions of the Valkyrie Redeemer in total.

[Valkyrie Avenger - VR-AA-01]

The Valkyrie Avenger was quite simply the elite variant of the base model. The overall design of the mech hadn't changed aside from one major element.

"The armor system is a lot better."

The Valkyrie Redeemer already boasted a high-quality armor system, but the Hexers wanted a mech that was even more resistant against damage. Whoever worked on the Valkyrie Avenger design did not hesitate to switch to more expensive materials that weren't as easy to obtain.

The result was that the Valkyrie Redeemer effectively became 35 percent more resistant against damage at the cost of doubling its production cost!

"It costs 800 million hex credits to fabricate a single copy!" Ves widened his eyes.

This was a prohibitive price tag even for Ves! Even for elite mechs, it did not make sense to fabricate the Valkyrie Avenger at a moderate scale.

Sure, being able to field a couple of hundred Valkyrie Avengers would likely lead to considerably better results in battle, but the effect of deploying twice as many Valkyrie Redeemers was much more dramatic!

There were two reasons why resorting to the Valkyrie Avenger variant made sense.

"First, the Hexers probably stockpiled a huge amount of the materials needed to produce this mech."

The Hexers had centuries to prepare for the Komodo War. It was impossible for them to launch an attack on the Fridaymen without accumulating enough reserves.

"Second, the mech pilots assigned to the Valkyrie Avengers are worth the investment."

Ves believed the Hex Army might have reserved the Valkyrie Avengers for one of their top elite mech regiments.

"Well, it's their choice."

He tried his best to smooth out the altered and partially-contaminated spiritual foundation of the variant. During the process, he failed to remove some of the stains that the Master had left.

In the end, the glow of the Avenger weakened by a factor of around 17 percent.

This was a rather steep drop in efficiency. If Ves had been involved in the development of the Valkyrie Avenger from the start, he would have been able to minimize the contamination so that its glow only lost half as much efficiency.

"Not that I'm going to tell anyone that." He muttered. "I have too much work in store to waste my time on these variants."

He stopped considering this matter entirely and moved on to the next variant.

[Valkyrie Brunhild - VR-B-01]

If the Valkyrie Avenger was the luxury version of the base model, then the Valkyrie Brunhild was the limited edition version!

It was clad with an armor system that Ves found extravagant in a standard mech design. If his estimates were correct, then the production cost of the Valkyrie Brunhild amounted to around 1.6 billion hex credits!

"That's half the price of a serviceable second-class combat carrier!"

Not only that, the Brunhild's armor system also incorporated a modest amount of Rorach's Bone!

It had been quite some time since Ves found traces of this strategic material again. It had been a long time ago since Ves took part in the Glowing Planet Campaign. Back then, he was just a trivial low-ranking mech designer.

He remembered that the Fridaymen and Hexers fought quite vigorously to break open the Glowing Planet and claim as many chunks for themselves as possible.

It was impossible for both sides to forget about all of the Rorach's Bone and other valuable exotic minerals they harvested. This was the first time he directly came in touch with a design that explicitly drew on the bounty of the Glowing Planet.

"This means the Hex Army is already becoming a lot more serious."

The Hex Army specifically ordered the development of the Valkyrie Brunhild for a single purpose. They wanted to use it to nurture compatible expert candidates.

"Are the Hexers trying to take advantage with this extravagant variant?" Ves frowned.

This was a very real possibility in his opinion. A month ago, he held a bombastic press conference where he published the breakthroughs of numerous mech pilots.

How could the public not be interested in the means in which so many of them advanced at once?

One of the consequences was that the Larkinson Clan received an insane amount of applications from mech pilots eager to become a hero.

Ves suspected that the Hegemony was trying to see if they could benefit from whatever he did to produce so many expert pilots. After all, the Friday Coalition performed a brilliant diplomatic move by borrowing a lot of expert pilots from the surrounding lesser states. For various reasons, the Hexadric Hegemony wasn't capable of keeping up, so the Hexers had to obtain additional expert pilots from another source.

"Tough luck. I'm not doing anything special to this design."

There was no way he was going to play along!

First, recklessly releasing a variant that was guaranteed to help mech pilots surpass their limits would only paint a bigger target on his back.

Second, there was no way to enhance the spiritual foundation of each copy of the Valkyrie Brunhild without the active cooperation of the design spirit.

The Superior Mother was still in slumber, so even if Ves wanted to give the Hexer mech pilots some opportunities, his hands were tied.

In the end, Ves only did the minimum of what was expected of him. He cleaned up the spiritual design of the Valkyrie Brunhild. Due to the fairly radical changes to its armor system, its glow efficiency had dropped by 20 percent.

"This time the tradeoff is worth it. Losing a bit of glow intensity is not a big deal if the survival rate of the expert candidate is doubled."

Ves envied the treatment the Hex Army provided to its expert candidates. Perhaps the Larkinson Clan should begin to issue upgraded mechs to its own expert candidates as well.

After dealing with these expensive variants, Ves moved on to working on the next three variants.

[Valkyrie Interceptor - VR-I-01]

The Intercepter variant excelled a lot more in space combat than the multi-environmental base model. It lost the capability to fly and fight efficiently in gravity wells in order to gain a substantial boost in mobility. It accelerated considerably faster and it was also a bit more maneuverable to boot.

Ves could have easily imagined designing this kind of variant himself if he wasn't so swamped with work. Of course, since a Master Mech Designer who excelled at mobility had developed this variant, the Interceptor's speed boost was much more considerable than if it came from his own hands.

Since the scope of the changes was relatively smaller, its glow efficiency dropped by only 12 percent when Ves had done what he could. This was very acceptable to him. Hardly anyone would notice the difference.

[Valkyrie Huntress - VR-H-01]

The Huntress variant altered the fighting style of the base model. It eschewed melee combat entirely and completely dedicated itself towards ranged combat. Armed with a powerful rifle, it was designed to leverage its Marked For Death Ability to debilitate an enemy at range.

As long as it worked, the mech pilot of the Valkyrie Huntress could easily shoot down its target and gain an advantage in ranged duels!

"What a clever application!"

Ves was very inspired by this variant. He even felt he should borrow this concept so that his Larkinson mech pilots enjoyed the same advantage.

Chapter 2474: Changing Stance

Ves appreciated the Valkyrie Huntress variant quite a lot. Whoever developed it provided him with a ready-made concept. If the Hex Army succeeded in leveraging its potential, then he would have all the information he needed to design something better for the Larkinson Clan.

The potential power of the Valkyrie Huntress was quite considerable. While the Valkyrie Redeemer was a lot more flashy, swooping straight down into a large formation of Fridayman mechs was bound to cause some attrition! The Huntress variant was a lot safer because the lethality of ranged combat was not as high.

The potential value of the Valkyrie Huntress made him reconsider his stance towards variants.

Designing an original mech was incomparable to designing a variant. Mech designers gained much more out of doing the former than the latter.

undefinedYet that did not mean that variants were worthless. On the contrary. Sometimes they might even surpass the original mech model.

When it came to mech designs with fairly common traits, it was common for competitors to copy the works. Sometimes, they were worse, but the ones that mattered either represented sidegrades or upgrades.

Sidegrades weren't necessarily better than the original design, but they were still worth developing due to the different options it presented.

The Valkyrie Huntress was an excellent example of one. By changing the offensive capabilities of the Valkyrie Redeemer, the ranged variant presented Hexer mech pilots with a very useful alternative.

"Now, even a ranged specialist can pilot a Valkyrie mech!"

Best of all, Ves didn't have to spend more than a small portion of his day to stabilize the spiritual foundation of the mech.

This was a very cost-effective transaction in his book.

"My design time is limited. If I want to keep progressing, I can't waste too much of my time on reinterpreting the same mechs over and over again."

He considered designing variants and designing successors of his existing models to be too time-consuming. Yet they were too valuable for him to give up on entirely.

It would be great if he could completely off-load their development to other mech designers, not just his assistants but also external mech designers!

Perhaps in the future, he could start some kind of program whereby third-party mech designers were allowed to present their variants to the LMC. As long as their variants were useful enough, Ves would spend his time on them to restore their spiritual foundation to the best possible condition so that they would still retain much of their glow!

"If the drop in glow efficiency doesn't exceed 20 percent, hardly anyone will notice I think."

This way, he could benefit from more situations like the one he was in right now. The modern mech industry was fairly open and largely revolved around sharing knowledge, know-how and designs.

By adopting a possessive and overly-insular stance towards his own designs, Ves missed out on this interaction. Now that he started to interact with both Fridayman and Hexer Master Mech Designers through his designs, he realized he may need to open himself up to the wisdom of other mech designers.

Of course, Ves knew that he was in a rather exceptional circumstance right now. It wasn't every day that a Journeymen got schooled by a bunch of Masters!

What was even more important was that his interaction with these high-ranking mech designers was both cooperative and competitive.

Hostile mech designers such as Master Olson and Master Katzenberg drove him to remedy the flaws of his design philosophy.

Friendly mech designers were able to point out several areas of improvements while simultaneously taking over the burden of developing variants.

In either case, Ves derived numerous benefits that he wouldn't be able to obtain so easily by himself.

As his thoughts on this matter shifted, he directed his attention to the final variant developed by the Hexers.

[Valkyrie Hurricane - VR-HU-01]

The final variant gave up space combat capabilities in order to improve its fighting performance in the air. While the base model was already decent at tussling against enemy aerial mechs, the Valkyrie Hurricane excelled at dogfighting.

Ves admired the way the designer of the Valkyrie Hurricane vastly improved its aerial maneuvering capabilities. The mech also gained some minor tweaks that considerably improved its ability to fight up close against other aerial mechs.

The drop in glow efficiency for this variant was 15 percent, which was rather moderate.

In total, each of the 5 variants the Hexers came up with were impressive in their own right.

He found it interesting that the Hex Army demanded variants that excelled at fighting in a single environment. The Valkyrie Interceptor and the Valkyrie Hurricane straightforwardly gave up their versatility in order to obtain a moderate boost when fighting in a single environment.

"It makes sense for the huge Hex Army to pursue this degree of specialization."

The performance gains from specialization trumped the logistical advantages of relying on flexible mech designs.

Only smaller forces with limited manpower and carrier capacity preferred to adopt the latter approach. Ves always found it rather annoying that he had to split his own mech forces up into landbound and spaceborn forces. In most cases, this meant that the Larkinson Clan could only effectively deploy half of its total combat strength in any given battle!

Therefore, Ves still hadn't given up on his goal to provide his clan with multi-environmental mechs.

"Our circumstances are different."

That said, he still recognized the value of mono-environmental mechs. They were cheaper, less complex, offered more capacity and were easier to pilot. Customers obtained substantially more value for their money if they employed the mechs correctly.

Once he reviewed the work he performed for a final time, he transmitted them back to Gloriana.

Hopefully, the Hex Army would begin to field the new variants soon. Ves genuinely looked forward to seeing whether the reduction in glow efficiency materially impacted the performance of the new mechs. He also wanted to see whether any of the variants lived up to their promise.

"They should, since they're clearly developed by the best." Ves guessed.

Witnessing the work of Master Mech Designers fueled his yearning to reach their level. He knew he still had a long way to go before he was able to realize his design philosophy, but that day would certainly come.

His eyes burned hot with ambition.

"I can't slow down!"

In the final moment before the combined fleet reached the Cinach System, Ves quickly checked whether he had missed anything.

Ves took out the finished wedding rings he prepared a few days ago. He smiled as he admired his craftsmanship.

The rings no longer looked as bare and plain as before. Ves weaved in some layers of Unending Alloy and other exotics. The elegant curves and the distinguishable metals gave the rings a sophisticated look. It looked pleasing without making it seem it was trying too hard.

Three small jewels were recessed in each ring. These were the portions of the Unstable Chaos Essence gems he successfully split up some time ago. He made sure to perform this experiment remotely on another ship.

It turned out that the gems didn't necessarily explode when they were parted. At the very least, the Unstable Chaos Essence gems were actually a bit more stable than he thought.

This was good, as Ves did not believe they would blow up anytime soon.

It was also bad because it was harder than he thought to draw out the energy locked within the pieces. So far, the gems only served an ornamental purpose.

While Ves was fine with this outcome, he was greedy for more. Fortunately, he developed a possible plan to make the gems useful. He just had to reunite with Gloriana first so that he could proceed to harvest a small portion of her spiritual energy.

His only regret was that he failed to turn his rings into masterworks. While the base quality level of the wedding bands were already high after he borrowed some of Master Willix's production equipment, he was not a professional ring-maker.

"Well, I hope Gloriana won't mind that much." Ves hoped.

Once he completed his check, he was satisfied that he hadn't missed anything.

As long as no further problems emerged, Ves expected his wedding to proceed smoothly.

Since Gloriana told him that a large number of guests had traveled to Cinach, Ves decided to meet with Calabast in order to get any insight on them. He knew that many of the foreign visitors probably wanted something from him. Perhaps he might be able to make some new deals.

"So what do I need to know first?" He asked after summoning Calabast to his stateroom.

His spymaster sat down on his coach. "Ever since you conducted your last press conference, you've gained the attention of a lot more powerful forces. I'm sure you know why. What's important is that we have received numerous offers to form an alliance or cooperative relationship."

"Our clan is independent." He said. "I have no intentions of forging too many lasting bonds in this part of the galaxy. We'll be leaving in the near future anyway."

"I know. I'm not talking about that. These offers are different from the ones that only aim to take advantage of you. They come from powers or organizations that are also aiming to travel to the Red Ocean."

Now that caught his attention!

"Tell me more."

"It's no secret that you have earned an astronomical amount of merits through your recent exploits. Just bringing back the Gravada Knarlax and her escort warships is enough to signal that you're tens of millions merits richer. This means that you have become a very attractive choice to those who also desire to travel to the Red Ocean."

Ves somewhat expected this to happen, but not so quickly and to this extent. "Are these potential partners worth our time?"

"Some of them are, or I wouldn't have brought up this topic. There are different family clans, companies and even noble houses who are all accomplished in their own right. For different reasons, they also wish to climb up the ladder by scrambling for gains in the Red Ocean. It's just that earning 100 million MTA merits is a tall order for any second-class organization."

"Even the Wodin Dynasty?"

She grinned. "Yes. Some of these powerful individuals or organizations propose to bring in additional partners. By splitting the burden at least five ways, every partner only has to contribute 20 million MTA credits at most. Of course, if you can contribute more, you'll get more say in the partnership."

"This.. doesn't sound very attractive to me. You know I don't like to surrender control."

"How else do you plan to earn more merits, Ves? Will you take on another high-risk mission like now? Our clan won't easily jump into the abyss the next time. Not after suffering such traumatic losses."

"This…" Ves grimaced. "I'll find a way. There are peaceful means of earning a lot of merits, you know."

Calabast obviously didn't have faith in this course of action. "It doesn't hurt to try, but the clock is ticking. I believe it is worth reaching the Red Ocean sooner by joining forces with other powerful partners. You won't have to work yourself to bone to earn a huge amount of merits.

He could see the logic in her suggestion. With almost 40 million MTA merits under his belt, it was already viable for him to partner up with at least two roughly-equal partners. Not only would he be able to skip a lot of effort, he might also obtain other benefits from cooperating with a strong ally.

When it came to trying to explore a completely unknown frontier like the Red Ocean, traveling together with others might be better!

Of course, Ves had to be able to trust his potential partners. This was always a big hurdle to him. He didn't want to expose himself and his clan to betrayal.

"Tell me about the most interesting offers."

Chapter 2475: Cross Clan

"So far, quite a few powers have made offers to us, but only one of them is truly worth your consideration at the moment." Calabast explained.

She waved her hand. A projection appeared that displayed a broad map of the Yeina Star Cluster.

Ves was very familiar with this map, though he never really paid too much attention to what lay beyond Komodo, Vicious Mountain and Majestic Tael.

A single point shone somewhere in Vicious Mountain.

undefined"First up is the Cross Clan. As you know, the massive Garlen Empire is not very cohesive. Warlords in the form of ace pilots carve out their own territories and occasionally fight against each other in order to earn glory. You can consider the tribes of Garlen to be the actual states of this star sector."

"I know that. I think it's stupid. People who spend all of their lives trying to improve their fighting skills are in no way qualified statesmen. Even if these warlords usually delegate the decision-making to competent officials, they're still prone to irrational decision-making."

Ace pilots could be just as bad as expert pilots when it came to sticking to their guns. The thought of letting extreme personalities such as Venerable Ghanso be in charge of a territory sounded awful!

It was too bad that Vicious Mountainers worshipped martial strength. While scholars and intellectuals still had their place in this star sector, their status and regard were considerably more muted.

Calabast poked at the projection, causing it to zoom in on a group of stars that appeared to be governed by the Becker Tribe.

"The Cross Clan used to hold a prominent position in the Becker Tribe. In fact, the warlord who led this tribe was actually a Cross clansman."

That sounded quite impressive! Ves had never come in touch with an ace pilot before. To think that the Cross Clan managed to nurture one while the old Larkinson Family never succeeded.

"It sounds like the situation of the Cross Clan isn't as optimistic as before."

She nodded. "Lord Hemmington Cross led the Becker Tribe to prosperity by picking fights against neighboring tribes. For a long time, the Becker Tribe continually grew as Lord Cross proved himself to be an excellent duelist. Hardly any other ace pilot wished to faced him in battle."

"Do you know what kind of mech he piloted?"

"A versatile lancer mech. It carries multiple weapons, but most of the time it's capable of winning challenges after performing a single charge."

Ves looked quite impressed. "I can't imagine anyone wanting to stare down a lancer mech empowered by an ace pilot."

"The good times didn't last for the Cross Clan. Lord Cross achieved so many wins that he grew arrogant. After initiating one aggressive expansion too many, two neighboring tribes decided to band together and attack the Becker Tribe in unison. The conflict not only resulted in heavy losses for the Beckers, but also caused Lord Cross to lose his life when he had to fend off against two enemy ace pilots at once."

This sounded quite alarming to Ves!

"The Garlen Empire actually allows their ace pilots to die like this? Such a death is too cheap for mech pilots of their stature!"

Calabast didn't hide her contempt for this practice either. "I don't disagree with you, but the ace pilots of the Garlen Empire aren't content with peace. Since Vicious Mountain doesn't have any state that can contend against the Empire, the warlords mostly turn against each other. While fatalities are actually rare, they can't be avoided."

How barbaric! Ace pilots were extremely difficult to come by, and the loss of each and every single one of them presented a massive loss to the state in question.

"Since Lord Hemmington Cross abruptly died, the Becker Tribe and the Cross Clan must have lost a lot of strength, right?"

Correct." Calabast nodded. "The fall of Lord Cross immediately allowed the enemy tribes to conquer large swathes of the Becker Tribe's territory. Eventually, the Becker Tribe is only a shadow of its former self. The clans and other groups that make up the tribe have suffered enormous losses."

"Let me guess, the Cross Clan attracted a lot of animosity from them, right?"

"Hehe. You are getting better at politics. You're right. Though the Cross Clan under the leadership of Lord Hemmington enriched the entire Becker Tribe, the clans only remember all of the losses they suffered after their warlord sparked a disaster. After suffering heavy losses, the Cross Clan eventually decided to abandon all of its territory and most of its people and depart."

A hasty evacuation under these circumstances doubtlessly caused the Cross Clan to suffer stupendous losses. What was left of the rag-tag refugee fleet probably amounted to less than 1 percent of the clan's original strength!

Even so, the remnant of a second-class ruling power was still considerable! As long as the Cross Clan successfully brought out some of their most valuable possessions, this homeless and exiled clan probably held onto some very fancy toys!

"What is the current state of the Cross Clan?"

"Their strength is better than ours. The Cross fleet is considerably powerful. The exiles are also able to field tens of thousands of mechs piloted by veterans."

"How are they able to fund such a massive fleet when they have lost all of their territories? Do they have a mech designer that is keeping them afloat?"

:"No." She shook his head. "The Crossers used to employ some talented mech designers. They even enjoyed the services of a Master Mech Designer. All of this ended at the death of Lord Hemmington. The high-ranking mech designers affiliated with the clan were some of the first to jump ship."

Ves sneered. "What gutless cowards."

"They made a smart decision. They would have suffered considerably if they stayed. This is not the first time this has happened."

The immense brain drain that took place as soon as one of the tribe fell into decline exacerbated rise and fall of many tribes.

"This Cross Clan took the initiative to propose a partnership with us, right? What do they have then that makes you think they are worthy partners? Do they even have enough MTA merits to enter our sights?"

"They do, Ves. In the heyday of the Cross Clan, several prominent clan members took the initiative to earn a large amount of merits. Patriarch Reginald Cross, the son of Lord Hemmington Cross, is willing to commit at least 25 million MTA merits to a potential partnership."

That was quite a sizable amount of merits. While that wasn't enough to allow the Larkinson Clan and Cross Clan to enter the Red Ocean by themselves, they only needed to find at least one more partner.

Of course, Ves could also follow his original plan and work hard to accumulate more merits by himself.

"Okay. They have enough merits to enter our sights. What do we get by joining hands with these foreigners, then?"

"The Cross Clan has retained at least some of the foundation of a complete state. It is much more developed than the Larkinson Clan in almost every area. The Cross Clan's military, governance, diplomacy and intelligence gathering are much further ahead."

"We can learn that as well. We're doing fine on our own so far. I don't see the need to look at other clans."

Calabast shook her head. "I don't agree. The way we run our clan is still very much rough. It would do us a lot of good to study the model of the Cross Clan up close."

"No thanks. Is there anything else?"

"Yes. Another reason why you should contemplate partnering up with the Crossers is because they are quite accomplished in raising expert pilots. Just the fact that they once succeeded in producing an ace pilot is certainly of great value to us. The Cross Clan can teach our expert pilots what they should focus on in order to take the next step."

While Ves was a little more convinced of this argument, he didn't consider it a necessity.

"Our clan is in no hurry to produce ace pilots. We haven't even begun to equip our expert pilots with proper expert mechs."

"You need to learn this sooner or later. Look, even if the Cross Clan isn't able to hand over any useful information to you, there is still another benefit. You can be a little more open about your ability to facilitate the breakthroughs of mech pilots if you pretend that the insights of the Cross Clan played a pivotal role in any success. Isn't this good?"

Now he was beginning to see why Calabast pushed the Cross Clan forward. It was because she was eying its ace pilot heritage!

Ves seriously doubted whether he would be able to partner up with another power that once produced an ace pilot. This opportunity was exceedingly rare and exceptional as organizations associated with ace pilots rarely ever left!

He began to consider the matter more seriously.

"How are they holding out in terms of funding? They lost most if not all of their revenue sources."

"They still have access to various income streams such as stocks and other miscellaneous investments. It's not enough, even if only a fraction of the Cross Clan is left. From what I can gather, the clan mostly subsides off a very sizable cash reserves. In the short time, they aren't at risk of running out of funds."

This was an unsustainable strategy that would eventually deplete the remnants of the Cross Clan.

"They don't have any mech designers who can stem the bleeding?" Ves asked.

"Nope. Well, I suppose there are still a few loyal Apprentices and maybe Journeymen, but competition is very fierce. They can't come close to earning money."

This was one of the main benefits the Larkinson Clan could provide to its possible partner. It was terrible for any major power of this scale to lose so many capable mech designers.

Money was the root modern society. Everything cost money. This meant that even if the Larkinson Clan was inferior to the Cross Clan in many aspects, Ves could still dominate this partnership by virtue of his earning capabilities!

Ves saw an opportunity to absorb the Cross Clan in its entirety. Forget about partnering up. He wanted to annex these defeated Garlaners! Not only would he be able to obtain a large number of powerful second-class mech pilots, he might also gain effective control over the 25 million MTA merits held by Reginald Cross!

As he shared his ambitious idea with Calabast, she did not immediately react.

"This… is quite greedy, Ves. While it is possible to pull this off, we will have to convince the Cross clansmen that their current identity and heritage is not worth keeping. Do you think that is likely to happen? The Cross Clan is much older, much more established and immensely proud for producing an ace pilot. The Larkinson Clan simply can't compare."

"I don't know. We have some points of pride as well, though I admit that the clan's short existence will likely work against us. While I think the Cross Clan is worth looking into, I'm not entirely willing to partner up with these beaten dogs. They don't bring anything truly beneficial aside from their martial strength and traditions. This is something the Larkinson Clan is already cultivating on its own. I would rather partner up with a power that excels in some other area. Teaming up makes more sense in that case since there are more reasons to cooperate than to compete."

Calabast acknowledged his point. "This is why partnering up with the Cross Clan is just an option. We will receive more offers in the future. Depending on the development of our clan, those offers might be better. If we do even better than now, we'll attract the attention of stronger and more useful organizations. It's possible that some of them are already at Cinach, but are taking a wait and see approach."

"I see. As long as we prove ourselves, we'll attract much better offers, is that right?"

She nodded. "Correct. Just remember that they may not be as good as you think. If we partner up with stronger organizations, we risk becoming subordinate to them. They may be eying to take us over just like you are thinking about absorbing the Cross Clan."

Chapter 2476: Return to Cinach

A large fleet of ships transitioned back into realspace.

"We're back!"

After a month of travel, the remnants of Task Force Predator finally returned to the Cinach System!

In just half a year, the star system changed immensely. As the ships that arrived at the edge of the star system stabilized, their sensors detected several thousand active energy emissions!

undefinedWhile the Cinach System was no stranger to trade and commerce, the traffic in space had multiplied explosively.

Perhaps the most impressive single object floating in place was the wedding venue. A giant, hexagonal-shaped space platform measuring several kilometers long floated in high orbit of Cinach VI.

It was by no means a simple platform. With a transparent 'roof' that was covered with thick transparent alloys and an extravagant amount of energy shields, anyone who stepped on it would have a magnificent view of open space above their heads.

Work on the altars, gardens, kitchens and several halls had already been completed some time ago. Due to the Miracle Couple's rapidly-rising prominence, the Wodin Dynasty continually upgraded the venue in order to fully reflect the splendor of those involved.

The other half of the Wodin Warriors that initially arrived at Cinach hovered protectively around the giant platform. With all of the visitors arriving these days, the Hexers had to display enough deterrence to suppress any unfortunate incidents.

Nobody was allowed to get close to the wedding platform and the nearby Hexer fleet!

Fortunately, every visitor respected the Wodin Dynasty's house rules.

While the Cinach System was technically ruled by House Evenson, House Gin Tefa and House Dinta, the exceptional circumstances caused the Wodin Dynasty to take over direct control over security matters.

Everyone travelling to Cinach VI had to undergo very stringent checks. Since many people across the star sector wanted to join the Larkinson Clan, incoming traffic hardly abated despite these harsh conditions. Only by entering the recruitment offices set up by the Larkinsons would these ambitious talents be able to showcase their ability.

Of course, the most important visitors of the Cinach System did not consist of the hopefuls who wanted to join the Larkinson Clan, but the delegations from various local powers.

The leaders or envoys of many states, companies and other organizations gathered in the Cinach System to take part in one of the most noteworthy social events of the decade.

Many of them wanted to get close to the Larkinson Clan or the Miracle Couple! The spectacular accomplishments of the Larkinsons indicated that the soon-to-be-married couple were destined for greatness in the future. Being able to get close to them or establish some sort of cooperation with the Larkinson Clan when it was still relatively young could pay enormous dividends in a couple of decades!

There were hardly any downsides but many upsides to attending the wedding. Anyone clever enough would do their best to get on the guest list!

The Hexers who rejected the initial invitations sent by Gloriana regretted their short-sightedness. They lost the opportunity to socialize with powerful guests and get close to the designers of the famed Blessed Squire and Valkyrie Redeemer.

In contrast, the Hexers who had the foresight to accept the invitations and received generous treatments. Not only were they allowed to park their ships closer to Cinach VI, they also gained plenty of opportunities to meet and socialize with Gloriana in person!

Through these social events, Gloriana struck many favorable agreements on behalf of the Wodin Dynasty. As long as the Komodo War did not end in defeat for the Hexers, the Wodins stood to gain immensely!

Aside from the expansive and cohesive presence of Hexers around Cinach VI, several other noteworthy fleets had arrived.

The most eye-catching among them was the refugee fleet of the Cross Clan. Due to its considerable size and threat, the Wodins commanded the large and powerful fleet to orbit a planet far away from Cinach VI.

"Wow." Ves gasped as he observed the Cross Clan's fleet composition. "That's a huge fleet carrier!"

It was no wonder Calabast brought these people to his attention. Aside from boasting over 70 combat carriers and 200 other vessels, the Cross Clan also retained two fleet carriers.

One of them was 1.8 kilometers long. While this wasn't the longest vessel that Ves had ever seen, the Antonio Cross stood out for her thick armor and her tall hull. She boasted considerably more decks than other capital ships, which meant that she was able to hold more mechs.

According to the data gathered by the Wodin Warriors, the Antonio Cross was able to hold up to 240 mechs and enough supplies to service them for a considerable number of years!

"She's quite an impressive expedition vessel." Ves concluded.

Yet no matter how much the rugged Antonio Cross impressed him, the larger fleet carrier was even more imposing!

Stretching across 3 kilometers, the Hemmington Cross was not just a fleet carrier, but also an ark ship of sorts. She functioned as a city and a military base of the Cross Clan. Such a ship was impressive regardless how much the Crossers suffered in recent years.

"Still, naming their flagship after the leader who arguably led them straight into ruin is not a wise choice."

It seemed the Cross Clan still celebrated their deceased ace pilot.

Though the Hemmington Cross was an impressive capital ship, Ves didn't think it was a good idea for the Cross Clan to retain her. Sure, she was able to hold even more mechs than the Antonio Cross, but the vessel looked incredibly slow.

All of that size and volume came at the detriment of armor and mobility. Ves didn't believe the Hemmington Cross was suited for the Red Ocean due to her lackluster survival ability. There were so many potential threats in the dwarf galaxy that the ability to run away quickly was an essential requirement!

"This is a prestige project. Maybe it makes sense for the Cross Clan to commission such an extravagant vessel, but now that they have degenerated into homeless wanderers, she's more trouble than she's worth."

The cost of operating and maintaining such an immense vessel was not cheap! Larger ships exponentially cost more to build and maintain.

As far as Ves was concerned, numerous smaller vessels could easily perform the same functions of the Hemmington Cross.

Though he wanted to supplement his fleet with additional capital ships, he never thought about getting his hands on vessels longer than his upcoming factory ship.

At two kilometers or less, a decent capital ship still scored adequately in terms of acceleration and maneuvering. If Ves wasn't satisfied with that, he wouldn't settle for a larger ship. He would get multiple modestly-sized ships instead.

His journeys through the frontier and the Nyxian Gap taught him that nothing mattered more than the ability to move. A more mobile fleet allowed his clan to outrun many dangers and waste less time in transit.

Aside from the formidable Cross Clan, no other fleet came close to matching its might. There was absolutely no reason to do so. Bringing too many carriers would only make the wedding hosts more nervous.

Many guests either traveled to the Cinach System on commercial superliners or modestly-sized frigates or yachts. Some of the more powerful organizations may have dispatched larger vessels escorted by numerous combat carriers, but their presence was hardly threatening due to their lack of unity.

The Wodins forced many guests to park their vessels in the orbit of other planets and moons. Keeping them far away ensured that none of them would suffer an 'accident' that just happened to drive them straight into the hexagon-shaped wedding platform or something.

Just as Ves and the arriving Larkinsons studied his guests, the guests studied the incoming fleet as well.

From the meager number of surviving Larkinson vessels to the large but fearsome bulk of the Gravada Knarlax, there was much to observe!

Escorted by General Alexandria Wodin's force and accompanied by several MTA vessels, the returning Larkinsons and their prize ships practically paraded their way to the inner system.

"Look at the size of that warship's guns…"

"Where are their expert pilots?"

"Who are those other Hexers?"

Due to the slow speed of the Gravada Knarlax, it took several days for the combined fleet to reach the orbit of Cinach VI.

Once there, Task Force Predator had officially returned!

As the arriving vessels slowly halted in their designated places, a large wave of heavy-duty passenger shuttles picked up most of the Larkinsons serving aboard the vessels.

Aside from the personnel who were still needed to keep the ships stable, a large amount of mech pilots, mech technicians, ratings and officers eagerly boarded the passenger shuttles!

Once the shuttles filled up their seats, they smoothly separated from the starships and descended to the surface of Cinach VI.

After landing on a broad field next to the temporary base of the Larkinson Clan, a huge number of clansmen and mechs who remained home enthusiastically welcomed the survivors home!

Cheers filled the air as family and friends each hugged and celebrated the returns!

The jubilation didn't last. Once the living returnees finished pouring out their emotions, it was time for the dead to emerge.

A large amount of coffins, most of which were empty, were steadily carried out of the shuttles by bots. Each and every Larkinson grew silent and maintained their utmost respect as the coffins floated past.

"So many coffins…"

"It could have been worse. Be glad that I didn't end up in one of them. It was very close at the end."

Though the homecoming ceremony ended on a rather subdued note, there was no other choice. The dead deserved to be remembered. Showing their coffins also reminded the Larkinsons that each struggle was accompanied by sacrifice.

As all of these reunions took place, Ves finally returned to the embrace of his soon-to-be wife.

Though he regularly remained in contact with his fiancé, no projection could ever replace the real deal.

"Ves!"

Gloriana, who wore a deep blue dress that was bedecked with dark jewels, eagerly walked up to Ves and pulled him into a hug. The two shared a passionate kiss. Their love hadn't abated at all during their separation!

"I'm finally back." Ves grinned as his lips parted from her own. "I won't be leaving anytime soon."

"You better." She giggled.

Her flowery scent intoxicated his nose. Her perfumes were so much more poignant when he met her in person.

While the Darkbreak module produced an excellent facsimile of Gloriana, physical projections lacked souls.

When he was close to Gloriana, he could sense and feel her love and devotion towards him. With the help of the spiritual fragment in her mind, Ves gained a much better read on her emotions. This allowed him to place a lot more trust in her than other people.

While the two lovers enjoyed each other's presence, their cats greeted each other as well.

"Meow!"

Lucky ran up to Clixie and nuzzled his nose in her fur.

"Miaow?"

Clixie looked confused at Lucky's changed appearance. Her paw lightly padded his darker metallic exterior. It no longer felt like bone.

"Meow meow!"

While the two cats familiarized themselves with each other again, their owners started to move towards a Hexer shuttle.

"Before we go home, let's visit my family. My mother has been dying to see you!" Gloriana happily spoke.

Ves briefly paused. "Wait, what? I'm not ready to meet her yet! Can we wait until tomorrow or something?"

"Don't be silly, Ves. You hardly need to make an appointment to meet her. Just go and talk with her, okay?"

She did not leave him with any choice. Ves slumped his shoulders. "Fine."

It would be rude not to meet her relatives. That said, his lack of enthusiasm caused him to enter the Hexer shuttle and take a seat as if he was on his way to his execution.

Though Gloriana did her best to cheer him up, Ves hardly felt reassured. After so much time, he was finally going to meet the Wodins in earnest!

Chapter 2477: Meet the Wodins

The Wodins set up a much more elaborate base next to the plot rented by the Larkinsons.

The hexagonal-shaped base used to consist of prefab buildings, but the Hexers weren't satisfied with that. They slowly imported other materials to set up a sizable settlement that was a cross between a town and a military base.

As the shuttle that carried the Miracle Couple slowly flew over the base under heavy escort, Ves peered over the window to look at the mechs and structures below.

"How many of your relatives am I meeting today?"

undefined"All of them." Gloriana answered with a grin.

"What!?"

"Don't be silly. I'm just talking about my immediate family. You'll be meeting my mother and all of my direct brothers and sisters today!"

"They're all here?"

Gloriana happily nodded. "Yes! While they normally hold important positions back in the Hegemony, it's no problem for them to attend our wedding. Don't worry about any misunderstandings. I've told them plenty of stories about you. You've already met Brutus, but the rest think highly of you as well."

Ves hoped her relatives were in a pragmatic mood. He had no illusions about their dislike towards 'untamed' boys, but there was no way that he would bend to their customs.

If his meeting with Gloriana's mother and relatives turned into a disaster, then he wasn't going to apologize. He already told Gloriana plenty of times about his likes and dislikes. While he didn't want to act like a diva, he still had his limits.

It did not take long before the shuttle landed in a guarded enclosure. Security was so tight that Nitaa wasn't allowed to come along. He could only command his bodyguard to wait in the vehicle.

Fortunately, nobody said a word about Lucky. Despite his small and cute appearance, his most recent meals turned him into an even deadlier commando cat than before.

Ves did not expect any trouble from his in-laws, but he felt a bit more confident with Lucky by his side.

As they walked towards what could only be described as a palace, Ves grew increasingly more uneasy.

The Wodin Dynasty's ground base was completely Hexer in nature. The architecture, guard mechs and soldiers on foot all gave him the illusion that he had entered the territory of the Hexadric Hegemony.

Hexagons were everywhere, and many objects came in multiples of six. What Ves found notable was the religious iconography.

Ves never regarded hexism as a real religion. It was so obviously contrived, yet none of the Hexers around him thought so. Numerous Hexers prayed in front of the shrines. He had seen enough religious nuts to recognize that they were absolutely sincere in their beliefs!

The only consolation was that Ves spotted plenty of idols of the Superior Mother. The Supreme played such a prominent role in the Miracle Couple's work. How could the Wodins not take notice?

Inwardly, Ves was grinning. At least something had gone right with the Hexers. Hopefully, Gloriana's relatives mellowed out as well as they started to worship his mother.

The group eventually entered the palace. After passing through some halls and corridors, they entered a salon where Gloriana's closest family were already waiting.

Five adult Wodins were flanking a tall, regal-looking woman. The family resemblance to Gloriana was clear as day. Not only did they possess similar facial features, their hair was all black.

Curiously enough, just like Brutus, the other two male siblings were tall as well. Apparently, Constance Wodin had done an admirable job in their upbringing. Since Gloriana's brothers were all good boys, they shouldn't pose any threat to Hexer women.

Gloriana passed by Ves and moved until she took her place.

"Welcome to my abode. We have anticipated your arrival for quite some time." A matronly but stern voice spoke.

Ves grew a bit nervous. He attempted to smile. "I am eager to meet you as well."

Actually, he didn't want to be here at all! He would rather be back in the Nyxian Gap than spend another second in this Hexer stronghold!

Unfortunately, the Wodins wouldn't let him go so soon.

Constance Wodin beckoned him forward. "You may approach."

He did so. His footsteps echoed softly across the tiles. He moved forward until he reached a close but respectful distance to his future mother-in-law.

Though Constance Wodin hadn't done anything but stare at him, she possessed a bearing that was awfully similar to that of his mother.

In fact, it was more correct to say that Constance Wodin took after the Superior Mother!

His heart sank. He already had his hands full with his birth mother. He didn't need a second mother!

Of course, he did his best to keep his true thoughts and emotions in check. He bowed.

"I am honored to meet you, ma'am. I have long admired the family that managed to raise a woman as lovely and capable as Gloriana."

Constance smiled. At least she was open to flattery.

"Children, please introduce yourselves."

Gloriana's siblings approached Ves in a line.

The eldest walked up to him. She stretched her hand to shake his hand with a firm grip.

"Amarintha Wodin. I am the Director of Land Management of Scimitar II. If you ever decide to abort your expedition to the Red Ocean, there will always be a place for you in the Hegemony. I have already taken the liberty to reserve an entire islet for you and your clan."

Ves strained to maintain his smile. "Thank you for the offer. That is very kind of you. My ambitions lie elsewhere, so it is unlikely that I will travel to your home planet."

Gloriana's eldest sibling continued to maintain her polite demeanor.

"We will continue to reserve this territory for you. I hope you will remember the kindness we have shown to you. No matter where your travel leads you, please consider the family you have left behind."

What a calculating woman. Amarintha was a senior official in a planetary government. It shouldn't be a surprise that she was adept at politics. Though she hadn't spoken a lot of words, she was clearly trying to make him regard the Wodins as his second family.

This not only showcased her adaptability and tolerance, but also revealed a good understanding of his personality. Family was very dear to him. Amarintha wanted to take advantage of this character trait to harvest more benefits for the Wodin Dynasty.

Ves did not dare to reject her underlying meaning outright.

"The widening distance between us will make it difficult to share anything good with your dynasty. Still, if there is anything you need, I would be happy to extend a favor."

Amarintha nodded in satisfaction and returned to her mother's side.

Kellandra Wodin, the second-born, walked up next.

Her straight spine and rigid posture screamed military. She wore a uniform that greatly resembled that of Alexandria Wodin.

Both of them were mech colonels, yet there was a huge gap in age. Colonel Kellandra Wodin was only half as old!

Whether Kellandra gained her position due to nepotism or raw talent, Ves didn't know. He cared little about the Wodin Dynasty's internal affairs. All he knew was that it was best not to make enemies with Gloriana's siblings.

Though Gloriana's second sister didn't smile, she didn't come off as aggressive either.

"I am Mech Colonel Kellandra Wodin. I appreciate your contributions to the Hex Army. Many brave and noble Hexer soldiers are depending on your work to survive and win against the foul Fridaymen."

"I do my best."

She frowned. "That is not enough. You need to do more to strengthen our state. Please continue to do your duty by working with my sister to supply more mech designs to our military."

His duty?

"My commission with the Hegemony is far from ending. Gloriana and I still have many more mech designs in store for the Hex Army."

"We are waiting." Kellandra said with an expectant tone. "If you fail, our Wodin Dynasty shall be no more. Do not let Gloriana down."

Nothing like a little emotional blackmail to keep him motivated. After Kellandra said her piece, Gloriana's oldest brother finally stepped forward.

"Marcus Wodin." A smooth and gentle voice spoke. "I am a projection painter. I take after our father."

Ves always felt uncomfortable around Hexer males. Compared to the proud but friendly Larkinson men he interacted with on a daily basis, people like Marcus somehow come across as.. lesser.

The difference between Marcus and her two older sisters was like night and day. Ves felt that Marcus couldn't even hurt a fly.

"Pleased to meet you." Ves shook his hand. There was no force to Marcus' grip. "I have a considerable interest in art as well."

The older Wodin's eyes lit up. "The artistic style encapsulated by your mech designs is quite expressive. I am impressed with your ability to produce flamboyant works. The statue you have made is truly divine! I would love it if you could show me how you make your art so vivid."

"We can exchange with each other on another day." Ves responded.

Gloriana's second brother came next. Tarkus Wodin shook hands with Ves in the same feeble grip as the one that came before.

"My name is Tarkus Wodin. My passion lies in avian lifeforms. As an exo-ornithologist, I can provide you with many suggestions should you look to adopt some interesting birds as pets. It is regrettable that you and your clan favor cats instead."

"I've encountered quite some interesting birds recently." Ves casually said. "The Nyxian Gap has spawned some interesting lifeforms. One bird was so big and aggressive that some of us got hurt."

"How unfortunate! What happened to this fine avian specimen?"

"We… regrettably had to put it down."

"How tragic! Couldn't you have avoided conflict by staying away from this exobird's habitat?"

Ves coughed. "Preserving biodiversity did not rank high in our list of priorities back then. We were more concerned about staying alive ourselves."

There was no need for him to greet Venerable Brutus. The Hexer expert pilot merely nodded at Ves while keeping his hands folded behind his back.

At least Brutus resembled an actual man. His two older brothers were completely spineless in comparison.

Each Wodin became accomplished in their own jobs. However, Ves could not help but recognize that the women pursued impactful careers while the boys were relegated to much less impressive pursuits.

In fact, if Brutus hadn't coincidentally advanced to expert candidate and expert pilot, he would have been as meek and unassuming as his brothers.

Clearly, Constance Wodin didn't really care about what her sons would do when they grew up. As long as they didn't aim for any leadership roles or something, their jobs were largely inconsequential.

In contrast, she probably steered her daughters towards specific trajectories.

The eldest daughter went into government service. She might become a minister or take up an even higher position in the central government in the future.

The second daughter entered the military. Unlike Brutus, Kellandra was no common grunt. Becoming a colonel at around 40 meant that she was bound to become a general!

The youngest daughter became involved in industry and commerce. By becoming a high-ranking mech designer, Gloriana was probably expected to benefit the Wodin Dynasty in many ways once she matured.

Too bad Ves was about to take her away. While she could still contribute to the Wodin Dynasty in many ways, Constance might be peeved that he had ruined her best-laid plans.

Still, with how much Ves and Gloriana had already accomplished, Constance should not be too opposed to their union.

"Sit with us, Ves." Constance spoke in a slightly warmer tone. "We have much to talk about. I would have preferred to meet you sooner, but you were not available for the past six months. If you wish to become a proper spouse to my daughter, you must restrain your undesirable tendencies. I will not look favorably upon you if you wander off into hazardous regions again."

Oh boy.

Chapter 2478: Mother-In-Law

For a family meeting, Ves hardly felt comfortable. The salon he was in was so spacious that he felt like he was in a prison hall.

The seat that the Wodins offered to him was opulent but not very comfortable. Ves had to make sure to keep his back straight and keep his movements in check.

Though Constance offered Ves some refreshments, the light tea and biscuits he received was so light and airy that his altered taste buds received no stimulation at all. Clearly she didn't bother to look up or ask her daughter what he preferred to eat and drink.

Ves look to the sides. Constance's sons and daughters dutifully sat in their own seats while they lifted their saucers and drank their cups of tea at an agonizing pace.

undefinedWhile Amarintha, Kellandra and Gloriana acted restrained around their mother, they did not restrain any of their confidence in themselves.

In contrast, Marcus, Tarkus and Brutus turned invisible. They did not speak a word and did their best to blend into the background when none of the women addressed them directly.

They were no different from children who were told to behave!

Even Venerable Brutus bottled up most of his force of will!

Ves suspected that this was an automatic response.

Whenever the mech pilot was in the presence of his mother, he ceased to be Venerable Brutus Wodin, expert pilot of the Glory Seekers. He instead turned back into Constance's youngest boy.

This was one of the most pathetic displays that Ves had ever seen from an expert pilot.

While Brutus wasn't exactly one of the most masculine expert pilots that he had ever met, Ves did not think that it would be so bad.

Just because the expert pilot was in the presence of his mother didn't mean he should drop his pride! Couldn't he man up a bit? Show some spine!

"Ves." Constance spoke, addressing him by his first name as if he was already her son. "I have heard from my daughter that you do not have a high regard for our state."

"That is.. correct."

"Is that not contradictory? How can you love her when you do not take kindly to her home?"

Ves offered Constance a polite smile. "We do not need to have much in common to appreciate each other's presence. Please do not think that I am a Hexer or that I have embraced your culture. As a foreigner, it is.. challenging for me to accept your norms and values. I was born a Brighter and our Larkinson Clan still takes after my home state in many aspects."

Constance maintained a neutral expression as she weighed him with her eyes.

"The Hexadric Hegemony is not as hostile towards males as you think. We offer numerous opportunities for them to express themselves. You have met my sons. Each of them are content and accomplished in their own right."

Yeah right. It was probably fine if a boy wanted to become an artist, just like Constance's husband.

Ves wondered why Petrus Wodin wasn't here. Though Gloriana's father was probably another pushover, he must have possessed at least one redeeming feature to meet Constance's standards.

Several minutes passed by as Constance explained the many virtues of the Hexadric Hegemony. She clearly wanted to change his mind and bring him back to her home state.

It was too bad that Ves remained unmoved. While he didn't dare to express his annoyance at her misleading sales pitch, he made sure to adopt body language that stated that he was not being swayed.

To her credit, Constance Wodin didn't persist. She was a politician, after all. She recognized futility when she saw it. Ves guessed that she merely wanted to try her luck.

If she failed, then she could easily brush her attempt aside.

If she succeeded, then she would not only be able to bring back an asset to the Hegemony, but also empower the Wodin Dynasty more directly.

Mother-in-law or not, Constance Wodin was constantly seeking for advantages. If Ves wasn't backed by Master Willix or became so prominent, she might have resorted to tougher means!

This realization caused Ves to raise his vigilance even higher. Constance did not stray far from his expectation. Anyone who raised a hard-working daughter like Gloriana was not someone who ignored benefits out of feelings!

"My daughter has told you that you are blessed by the Superior Mother." Constance changed the topic. "She says you have a method to prove it. While I believe she is sincere, I would like to receive confirmation. Could you show me whether you have an undeniable connection to Hexers?"

What the hell? What did Gloriana say to her mother?

He directed his gaze towards his fiancé, only to be met by her happy and completely unapologetic smile. He did not find any indication that she was sorry!

"I do not consider myself to possess a special relationship with your state and people." Ves coughed again.

"How do you explain the glows of your works? No other Hexer is able to create something akin to your statue and your two Hexer mech designs. Your connection to the Superior Mother is undeniable."

Was this some underhanded way of convincing him that he was actually a Hexer? Whatever the case, Ves refused to play along. He knew she wanted to see him channel the Superior Mother's glow, but there was no way he was going to do so. He didn't want Constance to get any crazy ideas!

"I'm afraid I will have to disappoint you. I think you'll agree with me that the Superior Mother should not be disturbed."

"A pity. Tell me about your future plans instead. The Red Ocean is an exciting new frontier, but it is filled with threats. We may have succeeded in rescuing you from the Nyxian Gap, but the Red Ocean is too far away to allow us to bring you to safety again. What makes you think that you will be able to keep my daughter safe in this distant place?"

That was a more reasonable question to ask. Ves already anticipated such a query. Any mother would be worried if someone brought her daughter to a region devoid of order.

"My goal is to grow and develop my Larkinson Clan." He began. "At the same time, I am seeking new experiences to provide ample inspiration for my design philosophy. I am not satisfied with staying in the local star cluster. While there is plenty to do here, it's impossible to become a first-rate power with the resources available in the galactic rim."

"Why not travel to the galactic heartland or the galactic center then?" Constance retorted. "Before the Red Ocean became accessible, many ambitious people and organizations have chosen to travel closer to the center of the galaxy. Civilization is much more developed in the heart of human civilization."

"I never thought about traveling to the galactic center. The opportunities there are great, but there is hardly any room for development for newcomers. The local powers and states have already carved out everything that matters over there. I do not want to be crushed under their prodigious weight."

There was another reason why Ves did not want to travel to the galactic center. The Five Scrolls Compact doubtlessly maintained a much stronger presence over there! He did not forget that the Ruined Temple was likely located in that region as well!

In contrast, Ves believed he stood a much better chance of keeping his distance from the cult by entering an underdeveloped region. The Red Ocean may just be a fraction of the size of the Milky Way, but it was largely virgin space that just so happened to be in the focus of the Big Two.

While Ves was not delusional enough to think that the Five Scrolls Compact would ignore the Red Ocean entirely, the most they could do was to send out some spies and maybe splinter organizations. As long as Ves did not bump into a monstrously-powerful spiritual sorcerer such as Aramid Dista, he should enjoy plenty of years of peace!

"The Red Ocean does offer invaluable opportunities. I am concerned that your Larkinson Clan may not be up to the task."

"That is why I have been doing my best to prepare for the challenges that we might face. Our clan has received a lot of tempering during our recent voyage through the Nyxian Gap. We have identified a lot of shortcomings but also found some surprising sources of strength. With all of the lessons we have learned, we can increase our readiness so that we will be in a better position once we pass through the beyonder gate."

Constance nodded. Though she might not agree with him, she appeared to be satisfied with his thorough approach. As long as he remained aware of the potential perils and pitfalls, he wouldn't expose Gloriana to too much danger.

Even if he screwed up somehow, there was always the Glory Seekers. Ves did not doubt that Constance would pass some secret instructions to Gloriana's honor guard.

If worse came to worst, Venerable Brutus could always take Gloriana away from the Larkinson Clan!

"Have you considered allying yourself to other organizations that share the same purpose as you?" She asked. "There are numerous dynasties in the Hegemony that are interested in branching out to the Red Ocean. Ours is no different. It would be better to join forces and present a united front against the foreign threats you might face."

Please no. Ves didn't hide his displeasure this time.

"The Larkinson Clan must rise above the occasion on its own. We cannot rely on the strength of others. We won't be able to develop ourselves to the point where we can gain a solid footing in the Red Ocean if that happens. Our clan is also emphatically not a Hexer clan. Even if I forge a partnership with your dynasty today, our elders will just override my decision with 100 percent of the vote."

Ves never imagined that the power he shared to the Larkinson Clan came in handy this time. He did not believe that Constance was ignorant to his clansmen's intense dislike towards anything Hexer.

Though Constance looked disappointed, she did not push the matter any further.

"Is seeking alliances completely out of the question for you? I am not necessarily doubting your Larkinson Clan's capabilities, but it would reassure us if you travel in a larger fleet."

"I'm not opposed to it, but the premise must be that our Larkinson Clan is in a strong position. I have accumulated almost 40 million MTA merits. That is not a trivial sum. The fact that I have been able to earn so many merits in a very short amount of time is also proof of our strength. We deserve more."

"That is quite an ambition for a clan that has existed for only a couple of years. You Larkinsons are too eager for gains. This has almost led to the defeat of your entire task force in the Nyxian Gap."

"It is because I am not content with going with the flow that I have become capable of designing mechs such as the Doom Guard and the Valkyrie Redeemer."

Ves and Constance Wodin verbally sparred against each other for a couple more hours. They went over familiar territory to Ves. Each time she pointed out something problematic, Ves rebuffed her demands and stood by his decisions.

While that didn't exactly paint him in the best light, he managed to hold his ground against Gloriana's mother. He already considered it a victory if he ended this meeting without agreeing to become a Hexer or something!

Though Constance Wodin exerted a considerable degree of pressure towards him, she never went too far. Ves didn't develop any sense of hatred towards her. As far as he was aware of, she was just trying to look out for her daughter and her dynasty.

As his first meeting with Gloriana's mother came to an end, Ves actually thought his future mother-in-law wasn't that bad.

Chapter 2479: Physical Manifestation

Ves enjoyed Gloriana's warmth as she pressed against him. Both of them rested comfortably in the backyard of their mansion.

Further ahead, their cats curiously reacquainted with themselves.

The Larkinson Mandate rested on a quaint little garden table. As Lucky and Clixie sniffed and licked each other, the Golden Cat suddenly emerged out of the book.

"Nyaaa!"

undefinedThe radiant cat that appeared out of nowhere playfully pounced on Clixie and physically rubbed her head against the Rubarthan Sentinel Cat!

"Miaow?!"

Clixie jumped in shocked!

"Nyaaa nyaaa!" Goldie playfully swished her tail.

"Meow." Lucky vouched for Goldie.

"Miaow miaow?"

"Meow!"

"Miaow!"

It didn't take long for Clixie to recognize the Golden Cat. After all, as a pet who Ves had personally inducted into the Larkinson Clan, the organic feline possessed a strong connection to the Larkinson Network.

Soon enough, Clixie no longer questioned how it was possible for Goldie to manifest herself physically. Instead, she teamed up with Lucky and eagerly pounced on the spiritual cat in order to give her a thorough bath!

"Nyaaaa! Nyaaaaaaaa!"

Both Ves and Gloriana observed Goldie appearing and interacting with Lucky and Clixie in shock.

"That's new." Gloriana spoke. "Am I looking at a projection or is she really…?"

"She's the real deal."

"As expected of a female proto-god!"

While Gloriana easily accepted the new phenomenon, Ves was still mired in shock. He never expected that the Golden Cat developed the ability to manifest her spiritual body into a physical form!

He concentrated his mind and studied Goldie's form a little further. He sensed significant changes in her makeup.

A month ago, she sustained severe wounds from her battle against the dark gods. Joshua managed to channel her in a giant energy projection. While that allowed Goldie to manifest herself into reality to a degree, she also became exposed to damage.

Now, she not only recovered from her wounds, but also grew stronger!

There were several reasons why. First, she personally took part in a battle against a comparable spiritual entity. Even though she lost, she gained a lot from the confrontation.

She might have stolen the technique to manifest herself from battling the Unending One!

Yet that was not enough for her to be able to materialize herself into a physical form. The gulf between the imaginary realm and the material realm was considerable. The former was where spiritual entities like her were anchored. The material realm operated by different rules and did not support the existence of spiritual entities.

She needed a source of energy.

"The expert pilots." He whispered.

"What?" Gloriana asked.

"The strength of the Golden Cat is directly related to the strength of our clansmen. When we grow our numbers, Goldie gains more energy, but normal people don't really add that much. It's the expert pilots that are key to her evolution. The high-quality energy they produce is a great tonic to entities like her. Half a year ago, we didn't have any expert pilots. Now, we have five all of a sudden! This is a massive upgrade to Goldie and any other entity tied to those expert pilots!"

Ves briefly checked up on Qilanxo and could already sense that she had grown stronger as well!

The difference wasn't as dramatic. Goldie was young and only existed for over a year. Qilanxo was a seasoned sacred god who lived for several centuries. Due to the latter's greater strength, the addition of three expert pilots who formed a bond with the big lizard did not make much of a difference.

This would definitely change once Venerable Jannzi, Venerable Orfan and Venerable Dise progressed their force of wills.

Right now, Goldie happened to be the biggest beneficiary out of the design spirits. While her bonds with the expert pilots weren't all that strong, she had equal access to everyone. This meant she gained access to multiple sources of high-quality spiritual feedback that was also supplied in considerable quantities to boot!

Before the Nyxian Gap Campaign, Ves and Gloriana were the only members of the Larkinson Clan who were able to supply her with premium feedback.

The new sources of feedback differed because it did not just consist of spiritual energy. The expert pilots also supplied a small amount of their will!

The addition of will opened several new possibilities for the Golden Cat. While willpower was very hard to work with, being able to leverage it so that she was able to create something similar to an energy projection was very impressive!

Of course, that didn't mean that Goldie suddenly turned into an omnipotent commando cat like Lucky.

When Clixie attempted to bite Goldie in the scruff of her neck, the radiant cat's form couldn't handle the pressure. She exploded!

"Miaow!"

"Meow!"

Both Lucky and Clixie were frightened at the display!

"Nyaaaa."

Goldie emerged out of the Larkinson Mandate again without showing any discomfort. Nothing happened to her, causing everyone to feel relieved.

It turned out that her physical manifestation was still too weak. Once it sustained too much damage, it popped like a balloon. Goldie simply turned back into a pure spiritual entity and lost a bit of energy.

Even without sustaining damage, Goldie couldn't hold her form for long. Her physical manifestation fizzled out as she reached the limit of her endurance.

Nyaaaaa….

"Miaow…"

Clixie looked upset. Unlike Lucky, she possessed no remarkable spiritual potential at all, which meant she wasn't able to interact with Goldie.

"Meow meow."

Lucky tried his best to console his furry companion.

"They're so cute." Gloriana grinned. "Now that Goldie can appear like this, I can play with her! We can even display her during our wedding!"

"Uhm, I don't think that's a good idea. We can't reveal Goldie's true nature."

The two argued a bit about that. Ever since Ves returned, most of their discussions revolved around the planning for their upcoming wedding.

Both of them held different opinions on how it should go. Gloriana wanted to go all out and make the wedding into the most memorable occasion of their lives.

Ves just wanted it to proceed with as little complications as possible.

While their goals didn't necessarily contradict each other, Gloriana refused to settle for less. It gave him a lot of headaches.

However, Ves also took advantage of that by making a rather presumptuous request.

"Gloriana?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"I.. uhmm.. need to borrow something from you. Could you open your mind for a moment and allow me to grab some of your energy? It will hurt a bit and it will make you tired for a time. I planned something special for our wedding but I need to borrow your strength."

"Okay." She simply said.

That was what he liked about her. She trusted him to a large extent. She didn't even question him any further.

As Ves initiated the procedure he had in mind, he soon came across another surprise.

When he entered Gloriana's mind, he discovered that Gloriana exerted considerably greater control over her mind than before.

Ves sensed no sign of discomfort from her. Her mind did not exhibit any rejection to his presence at all. Before, her design seed always maintained its vigilance towards his spiritual projections, but that was not the case anymore.

"Do you remember the time when you brought the Superior Mother to life?"

"Yes.."

"Your mother taught me a few techniques! Look!"

To his surprise, Gloriana spontaneously formed a spiritual projection of her own! Though it was crude and rough, she was able to exert enough control over it to reach out of her mind and interact with other spiritual entities!

Ves grew a little upset. His mother hardly bothered to teach him anything while his fiancé gained a crash course in spiritual manipulation without doing anything.

This wasn't fair!

Maybe his mother was secretly a Hexer after all. How could she show so much favor to a woman while leaving her own son in the dust?

As Ves studied what Gloriana learned, he realized that her ability to control her spirituality was very rudimentary. The main stumbling block was her dim spiritual perception. She had to borrow the capabilities of his spiritual fragment in order to know what she was doing. This was a rather strenuous process.

Aside from that, Ves noticed that the defenses of her mind had grown more structured as well. This allowed her to resist spiritual pressure a bit better.

It wasn't as if his mother transformed Gloriana into a full-fledged spiritual sorceress.

Time was limited. Ves shrugged off his confusion and proceeded with his plan.

He needed to perform two procedures. Since one of them was bound to damage her mind a bit, he first turned to his spiritual fragment.

It originally came from a spiritual projection that he had sent into her mind in order to snoop on her thoughts and emotions. Once her mind cut it off from him, it eventually turned into a loose existence that was only tenuously tied to its source.

Ves did not inject more energy in it. Recklessly increasing his presence in her mind would only lead to distorting her domain.

Instead, he began to mold a very simple spiritual construct. He already formulated a design beforehand, so it did not take much time until the spiritual fragment changed shape.

The load-bearing capacity of this small spiritual fragment was very limited. Ves didn't want to change the entire fragment either, because that would cut off a lot of useful functions.

He ended up making a tiny visor of sorts. It took quite a bit of trial and error for him to make the visor permanent. He even had to donate a small portion of his spiritual energy in order to stabilize its shape.

Ves lost something in the process that he couldn't easily replace. He figured the tradeoff was worth it because he would be taking something important to her as well.

"Alright, this is going to hurt. Try and keep yourself as still as possible, okay?"

"I'm already used to it. Just do what you need to do, Ves."

Seeing that she had braced herself, Ves made his move. He reached deeper into her mind and scooped out a small but dense amount of her spiritual energy. Because this energy was close to her design seed, it was especially rich. Removing it from her would definitely impact her ability to design a mech until her mind slowly made up for the loss!

"Ouch! What are you doing?!"

Even though she tried her best to keep her mind under control, she wasn't able to restrain it for long!

Fortunately, Ves already deposited his prize into his mind, thereby avoiding any possible retaliation.

The consequences of his actions immediately became clear. Gloriana entered into her low state again. She had experienced it several times and knew how severe it was. She glowered at the culprit.

"What is the meaning of this? We're about to get married soon. I can't go to my wedding when I'm in this awful mood."

"I didn't take too much. As long as you don't miss your prayers, I think you'll recover in time."

Even if his estimates were off, no harm was done. Mellowing Gloriana out like this meant that she wouldn't be as frantic and demanding as before.

Ves disregarded her whining and studied his prize. Though he hadn't taken much, he could already sense the potential of her spiritual energy. Once he processed it into a spiritual fragment and shaped a portion of it into a spiritual construct, he would obtain a mirror of what Gloriana currently possessed.

That took care of one aspect of the wedding. He needed to do much more in order to placate Gloriana's existing demands.

"I want you to work on our wedding clothes."

"What? I'm a mech designer, not a tailor!"

"I don't care. I want you to create something similar to your Pride of Dusk. Our clothes have to be memorable and unique. I'm not settling for anything less."

Chapter 2480: Fall On Her Sword

Aside from helping Gloriana prepare for the wedding, Ves also had to stay on top of the major developments taking place in his clan.

One of the issues he urgently needed to address was the future of the Living Sentinels.

It was clear to anyone that the Nyxian Gap Campaign dealt a heavy blow to them. Their mechs weren't as good as the ones used by the Avatars of Myth. The quality of mech pilots and their lower training intensity also contributed to the losses they suffered.

The funerals proceeded quickly. Both Ves and Gloriana wanted it out of the way as quickly as possible so that it wouldn't cast a shadow over the upcoming wedding.

undefinedSoon after the funerals, Commander Magdalena met Ves in person. She entered his office in his mansion on Cinach VI and stepped forward with obvious gloom.

"We need to talk."

"Yes. Please have a seat."

Once the Sentinel Commander sat down, Ves saw how much the pressure on her shoulders was crushing her. She looked as if she aged at least a decade.

Ves gently spoke. "It's not your fault. Many of the circumstances that led to the deaths of your soldiers were out of our control. We couldn't have done anything to prevent this outcome."

"I could have pushed my mech pilots harder. I could have worked harder to acquire better mechs for them. I could have changed their tactics."

"Don't get caught up in your remorse. There are plenty of Sentinels who still need someone in charge."

"That someone shouldn't be me." Magdalena said. "I need to take responsibility for this disaster."

Ves grew serious. This was one of the outcomes he was worried about.

"You still have my confidence, commander. Nothing ever goes well during battle. The enemies we've faced could have killed us all. While we managed to avoid the worst, we still sustained damage after every battle. Due to the inherent traits of the Sentinels, your troops were always the first ones to suffer."

Magdalena shook her head. "You don't need to make excuses for me. I'm older than you. I know clearer than anyone who is at fault. The family, friends and colleagues of the men who we have just buried all deserve an explanation. When 500 hopeful Sentinel mech pilots enter the Nyxian Gap but only 120 of them manage to return, someone has to answer for this result."

"You want to fall on your sword."

The older woman smiled wryly at him. "The Sentinels have been traumatized. Morale is low and our recruitment from within the ranks of our clan has crashed. Some have even quit."

"You can fix this, commander."

"No. Not me. The Sentinels need venting. Not many dare to question you openly, but I am not held in high regard. While I tried my best to keep my Sentinels together, they still blame me for the losses we've suffered. I lost their trust."

This was an incredibly difficult situation. Once Commander Magdalena lost the trust of her men, she no longer exerted effective control over them. While she could resort to force and coercion to get things done, this was not a desirable way to lead an organization.

In his experience, truly great mech forces consisted of well-trained, motivated mech pilots. The men needed to feel they belonged there. Developing an esprit de corps was essential to unite the entire force.

From what Commander Magdalena described, there was too much negativity in the Living Sentinels to further this development. While Ves could force her to stay, the Sentinels would remain as dead as a random group of conscripts who were hastily thrown together and armed with weapons. There was no way the Sentinels could reach their potential with such a lethargic atmosphere.

Ves bowed his head. "I don't want to do this. As someone who also bears some responsibility, I don't think it's fair to dismiss you. Doing so would only vindicate the mistaken view that you are the primary person responsible for all of those deaths."

"Whether I am truly to blame is moot." She sighed. "What matters is preserving what I have built. I still care for the Living Sentinels despite most of my subordinates turning against me. Let them believe what they will. If that allows them to process the loss of their comrades, then they are welcome to think I'm incompetent. It is better than letting my soldiers wallow in self-pity or committing suicide."

It was actually quite difficult for anyone to commit suicide. Those who pressed their service pistols against their heads wouldn't even be able to pull the trigger. The operating systems of their guns would never allow their own wielders to harm themselves.

As for other means, that was what the monitoring systems were for. AIs constantly looked out for problematic behavior. Once they identified a risk factor, they automatically informed an officer or a mental health counselor to prevent the situation from becoming worse.

That said, the Living Sentinels had more problems than that. While Ves still believed that firing Commander Magdalena was as crude as using a hammer to untie a knot, it was one of the most effective ways to change perception.

This was what mattered the most.

"Are you really sure?" Ves asked with resignation in his voice.

"A change of leadership will allow the Sentinels to undergo a reset. This will especially be the case if my successor is very different."

"If you're leaving, we need someone who is capable enough to pull the Sentinels out of their rut."

"I have some candidates in store." Magdalena said. "I will send you their profiles so that you or Major Verle can make a decision. If you're not satisfied with them, you can expand your search."

"I'll look over them later. Do I need to make a decision soon?"

"Not necessarily, but the sooner, the better. I can use the time that I have left to implement some unpopular changes in order to pave the way for whoever you choose."

He didn't like the way she beat herself up. She didn't deserve all of the blame in his opinion. However, he didn't stop her from offering her resignation because he benefited from her actions.

Once she fell onto her sword, most of the resentment should stay with her. The Sentinels would probably direct a lot of blame towards him, which was good because he still needed them to assume their role in the coming years.

The main reason why the Living Sentinels suffered so many losses was because Ves forced them out of their elements. Their training and doctrine was almost entirely geared towards defending the Larkinson fleet.

In other words, they were glorified security guards.

As long as the Living Sentinels were allowed to fight around and fortify themselves in the fleet, they should be fine.

However, throwing them at the enemy was something different. When Ves and Major Verle discussed the Larkinson Clan's combat doctrines, they never accounted for the possibility that the Sentinels might have to perform so many offensive actions.

It was like pulling a fish out of an ocean and depositing it on a beach. There was no way the fish would feel comfortable!

"What will you do once you've put down your hat?" Ves asked.

"My days of piloting mechs and commanding troops are over. I will go back to being a civilian and swap old war stories with the other retired veterans of the clan. There are plenty of them to keep me company."

The habit of Larkinson veterans gathering together every day probably helped them through their traumas. It was not without reason why so many veterans of the family used to hang out at the Larkinson Compound at Rittersberg all day.

Aside from being able to commiserate with those who lived through similar experiences, the old dogs were also able to pass on their wisdom to the younger generation who lived there.

This not only gave the future mech pilots of the Larkinson Clan a head start, but also healed the hearts of those who had endured too much death in their lives.

Ves hoped that this tradition would continue in the Larkinson Clan.

"I think it's a waste for you to retreat altogether."

She looked confused. "Pardon?"

"No matter what people think of you, I think you have done a decent job. You could have made better decisions, but you have hardly run the Sentinels into the ground. Since you have set them up, you know how they work better than anyone. I still need that in order to run them effectively. Besides, the battles you've fought and lived through have given you a wealth of combat experience that is impossible to gain through any other means. This is valuable in itself, and I don't want to waste this asset."

"Are you saying…"

"I still want to keep you, commander." Ves emphatically said. "The Military Bureau under Major Verle is still short of senior staff officers. Your addition to the general staff will ease the major's burdens and allow him to get more work done. This is especially important as our mech forces replenish their losses and expand their numbers."

Commander Magdalena looked at the floor. "I did not expect to receive such an offer. I don't believe it is wise for you to recommend me to this function. The Sentinels might think you are rewarding me with a promotion."

"That's because it is. You know the realities of combat. You know how hard it is to command a large mech force."

"There are many other seasoned veterans in the Larkinson Clan who can fill the same shoes."

"Those old veterans of the Bright-Vesia Wars or other wars aren't as relevant to our clan. Their old wartime experiences are mostly in the context of battles between other states. The Larkinson Clan is nothing like that. The way we fight is very different, and you just happen to possess the deepest and most up to date impression of that. Not only that, I believe you care too much for our men to ever let the previous disaster happen again. You may not be able to make up for it as the Sentinel Commander, but you will still be able to exert some influence as a general staff officer, just like Ophelia Kronon."

She eventually succumbed to his request. "Very well. If you truly trust me to watch over our combat forces, then I will agree to join the Military Bureau. I hope you don't regret your decision."

The two shook hands. Commander Magdalena looked considerably better now that her career in the military hadn't come to an end.

"Thank you for this. You truly deserve to be the patriarch."

"No problem. I just think you've been dealt a bad hand."

As a trueblood Larkinson, Magdalena valued her honor. Resigning her command under these circumstances was a massive disgrace that would permanently tarnish her reputation.

By shifting her over to a staff position, Ves gave her a lifeline. While her position didn't allow her to exert as much influence as before, she would still be able to restore her honor over time.

This was also a way to assuage his own guilt. Ves knew very well that he was the principal culprit behind the horrendous losses of the Living Sentinels. He shouldn't have brought them to the Nyxian Gap.

On the flipside, he also couldn't have made so many gains if he hadn't brought enough sacrifices. The Sentinels may not have fought as well as the Avatars, but they performed their role as cannon fodder.

"Some critics within the clan think we should disband the Sentinels." Magdalena remarked. "What do you think?"

"I don't agree. The premise and concept of the Living Sentinels are sound. It's just that our execution has fallen short. As long as we learn from our errors and address our shortcomings, the Sentinels shall definitely rise again."

"I look forward to that day."

Ves wondered who Magdalena would put forward as the next commander of the Living Sentinels. The demoralized soldiers needed a strong personality in order to correct their course!

Chapter 2481: Generational Loyalty

An army of tailors were working in an expansive studio specifically set aside for them. Numerous different garments and fabrics were being worked with by hand rather than with machines.

Though there was nothing wrong with tailoring clothes with modern machinery, the products they produced lacked a personal touch.

For something as important as their wedding, Gloriana did not want to make this mistake!

In the studio, hundreds of different clothes were being made. The Wodin Dynasty expended quite some effort in hiring the top tailors, creative directors and other professionals from the Hegemony.

undefinedAt a work table separate from where most of the tailors were working, an eager Gloriana and a hapless-looking Ves were looking at the projections of their wedding outfits.

"Why am I here?" Ves tiredly asked.

"I told you, Ves. I need you to bless our clothes! My dress has to be as unique as possible and your suit must increase your stature to the maximum possible extent. I won't allow anyone to think you're an unworthy husband!"

Ves inwardly shook his head. He accomplished many more feats than her in the time they were together.

Without him, the Larkinson Clan wouldn't exist. Without him, the LMC wouldn't have been able to sell so many mechs. Without him, the clan wouldn't have welcomed 5 new expert pilots!

She slapped his arm. "Hey! Stop daydreaming! You need to help make our new clothes. I've taken the liberty of bringing out your Pride of Dusk. We can use it as the foundation of your suit!"

"Wait, what? That's mine!"

"It's too crude and barbaric. While the craftsmanship is decent, what can you expect from a third-class tailor working on a tourist planet?"

"Even if I don't wear it anymore doesn't mean I'm okay with tearing it apart! It's a part of my history, Gloriana!"

"How can we make a fitting suit for you if we can't make use of that outfit?"

"There are plenty of other options. I've progressed a lot since I was gone. I can empower our outfits to a much greater degree than before. I have much more control over the process as well. Whatever you want, I can deliver."

"Really?" Gloriana's eyes sparkled.

"Uhm, within reason."

"GREAT!"

While Ves didn't have a great understanding of fashion, he didn't have to go outside of his comfort zone. Gloriana and the tailors prepared the clothes. Ves just had to be involved in order to turn them into totems of sorts.

Fortunately, she only insisted on applying this treatment to their own outfits. If Ves had to empower the clothes of all of the Larkinsons attending the wedding, he would need at least a year to finish all of that work!

Once Gloriana let him go, he dragged his tired body out of the studio and returned to his office.

Lucky was gone. He probably sneaked off with Clixie again. Fortunately, Ves had another pet to keep him company.

"Benny. I'm not used to seeing you in the flesh. It feels strange for me to get back to this routine."

Gavin gestured to the woman standing next to him. "Do you remember offering me to become the president of the Living Star Club?"

"I do. You rejected it if I recall. Very curious."

"Calsie would like to become the president if you'll allow it. I think she is suited to manage the club on your behalf."

Ves raised his eyebrow.

Neither Gavin nor Calsie were students anymore. Their age was already beginning to show how mature they looked. Ves was well aware that they had made use of the resources of the Larkinson Clan to acquire more competences and develop more skills.

That was good. Both of them were ambitious and they did not want to be supplanted by the talented or experienced newcomers who were joining the clan in droves.

"I'm not too sure about this." Ves said. "Calsie, your experience so far has been rather mixed, but overall you have largely played a supervisory role. Even though you held my seat for some time, you don't have a lot of executive experience."

The woman in question did not look deterred. "I have done my best to catch up. I have never stopped taking classes and I have done a lot of learning by doing. In my current position, I have worked hard to make sure that all of the LMC branches abide by our directives and make good use of the loyalty medallions you've made. Now, even if no one is in charge, the branches will still pass on the medallions to the next directors."

While it was difficult to determine how much of a role she played, she wasn't wrong. So far, the various branches had never produced a problem that required him to intervene in person. He never wanted to pay attention to them because he wasn't interested in managing these tedious matters.

As long as the branches ensured that third-party manufacturers produced LMC mechs without impairing quality or embezzling money, Ves could care less what they did. The holders of the Larkinson Loyalty Medallions weren't really Larkinsons anyway. The only reason to connect them to the Larkinson Network was to ensure they stayed loyal.

Ves leaned back in his chair. "Tell me your vision for the Living Star Club. What do you think it is and where do you want to take it? While I originally set it up in haste in order to solve the Doom Guard Scandal, it can be so much more."

"I agree." Calsie grew a little more confident. Since Ves did not reject her out of hand, it meant she had a chance. "It's not unusual for mech companies to organize member clubs. It's an excellent means to increase retention. Customers are rewarded for their loyalty while companies can develop closer relationships with the people who buy most of their products."

"I know all of that. What I would like to know is what you plan to do to make the Living Star Club an asset to the LMC. It can easily become a burden if you're pursuing the wrong strategy."

"While I can't guarantee that my plan will succeed, I believe it best fits your vision."

"Okay then. Explain."

Calsie began to outline her plan. "No one has worked longer for you than Gavin and myself. We know what kind of mechs you design and what you aim to accomplish with them. We can use the Living Star Club as a means to ensure the longevity of our products. In my opinion, membership should not be tied to an individual. Instead, it should be a family."

Now this was new. Ves sat up straighter in his chair. "A family?"

"Yes. We can also implement other means for mech pilots and owners to pass on their rights to a chosen successor. The point is to make sure that the benefits of membership aren't lost upon death or retirement once it has upgraded its membership tier or accrued a lot of Star Points. If you're afraid that the club will be stacked with 10-Star members, we can impose a tax on transfers."

This sounded very intriguing to Ves. He had to admit that Calsie knew him well. He hadn't formally introduced the concept of legacy mechs to the LMC, but already Calsie was thinking about developing a mechanism of converting the successors of their existing customers!

"What is the purpose of establishing an inheritance mechanism?"

"Developing generational loyalty." Calsie forcefully stated. "The son should inherit his father's fascination towards LMC mechs. The daughter cannot bear to buy her mechs elsewhere when she can inherit her mother's hard-fought privilege to purchase LMC mechs at a discount."

"LMC mechs are already notable for their high customer retention. This is one of the aspects that I have always concentrated on. Even before the Living Star Club came into existence, we already built up a lot of repeat customers."

"This is different, sir. While it is true that our existing customers are likely to become lifelong fans of our products, it isn't necessarily the case that their successors will follow suit. While our mechs offer a lot of value, much of it is tied to individual user experience. It's very hard to translate that value into numbers. Not only that, our products are sold at a hefty premium. They're considered luxury products. Since not every customer is that well-off, we need to provide them with an additional incentive to enter our system."

She proceeded to elaborate on her development strategy. What stood out was that she wanted the LMC to invest heavily in the Living Star Club. It needed to build up a reputation and reinforce its prestigious image as aggressively as possible.

"Right now, sales are going well, and they're projected to get better in the future. Instead of turning the LSC into an additional revenue source, we should put more money into it in order to increase its desirability. Once others hear about the amazing benefits its members have access to, a lot more people will try to become a member."

"What should the criteria for membership be?" Ves questioned. "Right now, aside from the victims of the Doom Guard Scandal, only people who have bought more than a thousand of our mechs can enter."

"I think we should open up more opportunities to become a member. I want to lower the barrier to a more reasonable standard so that regular customers can become a Star Member if they work hard enough. I believe the Living Star Club should orient itself towards the smaller players rather than the major clients. The requirement to buy 1000 mechs may send the right message, but it attracts the wrong sort of buyers."

That was quite interesting. Calsie wanted to target the bottom end of the market. Ves had difficulty seeing why. Smaller customers may be a lot more numerous, but their buying power was a lot worse.

She smiled. "I'm not talking about the poorest consumers who can barely scrounge up the money to purchase an economy mech. The private sector is dominated by small-to-medium-sized outfits. In most states, mercenary corps and security companies comprise the biggest market segments. If we can engage them with the Living Star Club, we can establish continuity of sales when times are good and when times are bad. Even if the LMC falls into a slump for whatever reason, the considerable amount of Star Members that we have built up will not easily switch brands."

"And what about the major clients who are used to purchasing mechs by the hundreds?"

"We can adopt a separate approach to reel them in. You know as well as we do that major clients are less loyal by nature. They're used to mixing and matching mechs from multiple brands. There are some cases where they commit to a single brand to simplify logistics, but this is rare as it exposes them to specific counters. Unless you're willing to to provide them with permanent discounts for major orders, it won't be as easy to keep them in our pocket."

There were good reasons to charge a high price for his products. Frequently offering discounts or making them too accessible was no different from devaluing them. He might as well lower their base prices if he wanted to attract more customers.

As Calsie continued to outline her intentions, Ves eventually raised his palm. "I've heard enough. While I'm not entirely sure whether your vision is feasible, I'm inclined to give you a chance. Please work with Marketing to flesh out your plan. I need to know what others think about steering the LSC in this direction."

"Thank you, sir. I will get back to you after the wedding."

Ves smiled encouragingly at her. "Personally, I like the way you think. Developing generational loyalty is exactly what I want to achieve. The LMC is in it for the long run. I've always been interested in meeting the needs of average customers. They are in most need of good mechs."

He had never forgotten about his purpose. Mech designers existed to serve mech pilots. Of the latter, those who worked for the military or well-funded organizations were spoiled for choice.

Instead, it was mercenaries and company grunts who most needed a living mech!

Chapter 2482: Excess Expert Pilot

The Cinach System became more and more boisterous. As passenger ships carrying distinguished guests and tourists kept pouring in, the more and more eyes became captivated by the presence of the captured pirate warships.

Even with the MTA pouring all over the ship for some reason, the visitors couldn't get enough of viewing the Gravada Knarlax in all of her splendor. Not even the holes in her bow and starboard side detracted from the power of the heavy cruiser.

Humanity's fascination towards warships was hard to shake off. Though many local citizens were scared beyond belief that a huge warship orbited over their heads, plenty of other people gazed longingly in the Gravada Knarlax's direction.

What would have been like to live in humanity's most glorious era? From starting off in a small corner of the Orion Arm of the galaxy, human civilization expanded explosively. It was with ships such as the Gravada Knarlax that humanity succeeded in beating off the established alien races!

undefinedThough most considered the Age of Mechs to be their golden age, it was undeniably less grand than the past. The existence of the Big Two suppressed every state and limited their warmaking potential.

If the prohibition on warships and weapons of mass destruction didn't exist, the Komodo War could have easily led to at least a hundred times more deaths in the same span of time!

If such casualty figures became common in every corner of the galaxy, then the human race would soon wipe themselves out!

Many people understood this logic and supported the bans for this reason. Yet what made sense to their minds did not necessarily mean their hearts followed suit.

Locked inside the emotions of every human was a seed that craved for dominance. Humanity had done it once. The pressure to resume their civilization's glory's days and renew the conquests had grown worse over the centuries.

Perhaps this was why the Big Two opened up the Red Ocean with so much fanfare. The beyonder gates leading to the dwarf galaxy served as a release valve.

Once the most ambitious, adventurous and bloodthirsty powers of the galaxy left the Milky Way, everyone would be happy. Profiteers and warlords eagerly contested against each other to harvest the riches of the new dwarf galaxy while the calmer and steadier leaders held the fort.

As Ves mused about the future of human civilization while sitting behind his desk, he received a surprising set of visitors.

"You may enter." He spoke.

The doors opened up. Nitaa shifted in her heavy armor as she felt two distinct pressures acting on her mind.

One of them was familiar to her. An invisible protective blanket fell over her body.

The entire situation looked absurd to Ves. A highly-trained Kinner soldier and bodyguard did not need any protection. Nitaa was taller and much more heavily-armed than the expert pilot who thought it was his mission to defend every woman!

Another woman entered his office. Ves looked up in surprise as he saw someone he quite frankly forgot about.

With the emergence of five expert pilots, the Larkinson Clan was no longer short of them. In fact, as far as Ves was concerned, getting so many at once was too much!

For this reason and more, Davia Stark no longer fit in his plans. He could care less of what happened to her. If she wanted to enjoy her retirement and share her trauma with the other retired Larkinsons, then that was fine.

An aggressive and resentful force of will pressed onto his mind. Ves found it difficult to keep his emotions in check. A small part of him wanted to submit. Another part of him wanted to stand up and counterattack.

Ves kept himself in check. Venerable Davia Stark's force of will was one of the most oppressive he had ever felt. She could even give Venerable Foster a run for her money!

"Ves." The male Hexer began. "Venerable Davia has successfully regained her strength, though as you can see, she is… different."

"I can see that. She's no longer an empty shell. That's certainly an improvement, though she might temper herself a bit. I can't imagine she's a pleasant person to be around."

That was an understatement. Ves felt as if he was being pressed directly by someone similar to Venerable Foster! The noteworthy aspect of it all was that he did not sense that Davia held any specific malice towards him. This was just her passive state!

The older woman in question finally opened her mouth.

"Let me be frank. I have no love for the way you treated me. You should have left me to recover at the refugee settlement on Cloudy Curtain."

Well, that was certainly a way to start a discussion. Ves knew that Venerable Davia probably didn't mean to provoke him. Expert pilots were generally straight shooters, and an aggression-oriented one like her was incapable of exercising much restraint!

"I think it's a waste to allow expert pilots like you to wallow in your own pity." He responded. The best way to handle expert pilots like her was to remain in control while holding his ground. "You weren't fully cognizant in your previous state. You were damaged. I decided to take it upon myself to bring you back. While that may have been a presumptuous decision, I only had good intentions in mind."

Good intentions for himself, actually. Ves had a feeling that Davia saw right through his intentions.

A sardonic smile appeared on her face.

"Well, your good intentions have led to this result. Are you happy?"

"Of course! You look much.. livelier than before. I don't think anyone wants to live like an emotionless husk. Now that you are better, what are your intentions?"

Venerable Stark briefly turned to Brutus before looking back at Ves. She did not hide her evaluating gaze. She acted as if she was shopping for groceries!

"I do not want to take up arms again. I have seen more than enough death and tragedy when I fought in the Sand War. However, human society is too decadent and corrupt. The smallest and weakest citizens all too frequently suffer the brunt of the mistakes of those at the top. They need a champion who can stand up on their behalf."

"And you hope to become that champion?"

"Yes." Stark's eyes grew intense. Her force of will heated up, causing the office to become more and more oppressive! "There are too few people in power who are willing to show any regard to the lowest members of our race. I detest this galaxy. Too many so-called 'space peasants' are left to fend for themselves whenever damnable alien races launch an attack on the periphery of human space."

Ves somewhat agreed with her. The Big Two painted themselves as the protectors of humanity, yet they were so locked in their ivory towers that they exhibited no sympathy at all when the sandmen slaughtered trillions of innocent people.

This kind of callous regard underscored the cruel reality that the major powers of human civilization were more concerned with their own machinations than dutifully fulfilling their noble mission.

To be honest, Ves understood the perspective of the Big Two. They were in charge of protecting humanity as a whole. That did not mean they were supposed to be everyone's nanny. If the humans who were sheltering under their umbrella became too dependent on the MTA and the CFA, then they wouldn't be able to stand up for themselves once they were left to fend for themselves.

Ves faintly guessed that the Big Two deliberately let the sandmen rampage through the border states of the Komodo Star Sector.

With the strength displayed by the alien invaders, there was no way they could threaten the Friday Coalition and the Hexadric Hegemony. As long as that was the case, the damage the sandmen were capable of inflicting would always be in a tolerable range.

At the cost of ruining numerous inconsequential border states and allowing trillions of worthless space peasants to be swept by sand, the surrounding states and star sectors received a dire warning.

They shouldn't count too much on others to protect themselves. If they wished to be safe, then they either need to show their worth or bolster their defenses!

Of course, a former space peasant like Venerable Davia didn't think this way. As one of the direct victims of the Big Two's disregard, she looked like she held a vendetta!

Ves grew a bit concerned about her volatile state. The last thing he needed was Venerable Davia entering into a fistfight with Master Willix!

Of course, the former stood no chance against the latter. An MTA Master Mech Designer was not only accompanied by a slew of visible and hidden bodyguards, but was also armed to the teeth with self-protection measures.

Shield generators, personal teleporters and maybe a few custom-made gravity modules all ensured that not even the Gravada Knarlax would be able to deprive the MTA of one of its top mech designers!

Ves spoke up again.

"While I sympathize with your cause, I am not sure why you are here."

"I want to join the Larkinson Clan." She came straight to the point.

He frowned. "The Larkinson Clan is.. not aligned with your goals. We are mostly interested in lifting ourselves up. We do not serve other people. We have not accepted any noble missions."

"I know. Your clan is not completely fit for my purposes, but you are the only viable choice for me. As self-serving as you are, your clan is made up of honorable soldiers and warriors. I trust them. I do not object to fighting alongside your Larkinsons as long as your cause is just."

"Why us? No offense, but we are rather stuffed with expert pilots for the moment. Welcoming you into the fold will mean we have less resources to spend on other priorities."

She snorted. "I do not believe that your wealthy clan is at risk of going bankrupt anytime soon. While I may not be willing to fight all of your battles, an additional expert pilot such as myself will provide added security to your fleet. I promise to defend your Larkinsons against any unprovoked attacks."

"That is.. a rather vague criteria. Not every attack is as clear cut as you think. What if the circumstances are more complex?"

"I will follow my conscience."

Her answer did not endear her to him. If the Larkinson Clan didn't have any expert pilot, then he would have embraced her in an instant.

As for now, Ves felt that dealing with Davia Stark's baggage wasn't worth adding another expert pilot.

He turned to his other visitor. "Venerable Brutus. What do you think?"

The male expert pilot looked a bit subdued. "Davia is ill-suited to join most states and organizations. While I have attempted to offer her a place in the Hegemony, she refused."

"The Friday Coalition and the Hexadric Hegemony are just as bad as the Big Two. I do not trust you and who you represent. I would rather take my luck with the Larkinson Clan. At least the Larkinsons started from the bottom as well. They understand our plight much better than you elitist Hexers."

Ves palmed his face. "You are not making it easier for me to accept you into our fold. If you merely want to join the Larkinson Clan because you want to use us as a vehicle to take revenge on the Big Two, then please go away. It's suicide to even think about that. I will not let the men and women of my clan suffer because I decided to let in an unguided warhead."

Though Davia Stark radiated with a stronger will than any of his newly-advanced expert pilots, it was largely moot if Ves couldn't exercise any control!

Not only that, the problem of providing her with a suitable expert mech was another headache. Master Willix only agreed to help with the development of 5 expert mechs.

Seeing that Ves remained unmoved, Venerable Stark did something that he didn't expect from an expert pilot.

She took a step back.

"Let us make a deal."

Chapter 2483: Atypical Expert Pilot

People often held a lot of desires. They wanted to get rich. They wanted to lead an army of millions of mechs. They wanted to become a Galactic Mech Councilor.

It was unfortunate that reality couldn't accommodate so many wants and needs. Scarcity of money, power, resources and opportunity forced many humans to settle for less. This was a universal rule that applied to everyone regardless whether they were humans, aliens or exobeasts.

Human society developed in a direction that wasn't able to fulfill every person's desire. However, in most corners of the galaxy, society offered them enough opportunities to work towards their goals.

Compromising with others was an essential mechanic that drove people forward. As long as they held something of value, they were able to trade that with someone who possessed what they needed.

undefinedRight now, Venerable Davia Stark exhibited a rare moment of restraint. Different from a number of other expert pilots, she appeared to be capable of recognizing her shortcomings.

Maybe spending some time at the lowest a human could possibly be had given a good dose of perspective. If she was like Venerable Jannzi who never suffered a serious setback, her head would have probably swollen from all of her arrogance.

"For the next century, I agree to serve the Larkinson Clan in good faith." Venerable Stark proposed. "I expect to receive the same treatment that you afford to the other expert pilots of your clan. This includes providing me with training resources, expert mechs and relevant support. As long as you and your clan do not neglect me, I will bear arms against any of your enemies unless you ask me to violate my conscience."

Her compromise sounded intriguing. She did not open up with an outrageous set of demands. In fact, Ves was quite surprised by how reasonable she sounded. Obviously, just because she was willing to take a step back didn't mean she had turned into a skilled negotiator!

Ves coughed a bit. "What do you mean by the last point?"

"I am willing to fight against any manner of evil." The female expert pilot elaborated. "If your fleet is waylaid by pirates, I will help you put them down. If an alien force bars your way, I will slaughter them all. However, if you are thinking about launching an unprovoked attack against a group that does not deserve it, I will not be a part of it. If you ever cross the line by engaging in piracy or slaughtering innocent people, then do not blame me for turning my arms against your forces."

His face grew grim as Venerable Stark set her terms. She did not avoid the worst outcome. By stating her willingness to become an enemy of the Larkinson Clan should it cross some sort of line, she was not doing herself any favors!

"You're not making it easy for me, Venerable Stark."

"I do not see why. My strength is at your disposal as long as you do not commit any evil."

"I understand that, but the line between good and evil isn't always clear. What might be okay in our book may be highly reprehensible to you. How can we know what is allowed and not allowed?"

"I will warn you first if I foresee any possible conflict." She stated. "So far, I do not believe this will be a grave concern. An honorable clan such as yours would never stoop so low."

"That is good to hear. We Larkinsons may have separated from our previous service, but we still aim to uphold the ideals of our predecessors. The problem is that not every conflict is a straightforward clash between good and evil."

"What are you talking about?"

"What if we are competing against a rival to harvest a deposit of phasewater in the Red Ocean? Both of us entered the Nyxian Gap in pursuit of riches. Backing off just because someone is eying the same treasure as us just because we don't want to harm anyone is not very practical. Would you allow us to fight against such people, or will you force us to miss this opportunity in order to avoid hurting your feelings?"

She frowned. This was indeed a troubling example.

"In neutral circumstances such as these, I will not afford your opponents any sympathy. If you can make them back off without a fight, then that would be best. If they persist despite knowing they will come to blows with us, then they can fault no one but themselves if they lose their lives. Just make sure you do not bear your arms against civilians whenever possible. It is enough to defeat the combatants. Show some mercy to those who do not pose a threat to you and your clan."

"That is.. acceptable." Ves conceded. "However, don't forget that many spaceborn powers have a tendency to live aboard the same ship they work. This means that there will be instances where we will encounter vessels that pose a threat to us but also carry the families of mech pilots and other combat personnel. Will we be forced to fight with our hands tied behind our back even if that will give our enemies a chance to wipe out the entire Larkinson Clan?"

Venerable Stark scowled at him. "Cease these incessant attempts! I will not allow you to muddle my mind, Devil Tongue. As I have stated before, I will listen to my conscience. If casualties cannot be avoided, I may exercise some flexibility. However, as long as the remaining enemies pose no further threat, then I hope you will be able to stop."

This was the most she was willing to go. She already made it clear that she was on guard against his Devil Tongue!

What a headache. Ves hated his moniker. If he wasn't called the Devil Tongue, then he was confident he could manipulate Venerable Stark in compromising even further!

Still, the terms she had already set were not that bad. At the very least, Ves gained a powerful asset that was bound to increase the security of his fleet.

The two talked a bit further about what they were willing to do in order to uphold their end of the deal.

The expert pilot did not gloss over what she sought from Ves and the Larkinson Clan.

"There is a reason why I agree to sign up with you for 100 years and no further. If I am still alive at that time, it is likely that I have reached a level of strength that allows me to begin with furthering my actual goals. Whatever I have experienced over the course of my service to your clan will also help me navigate through society by myself."

Oh boy. Venerable Stark was no different from a revolutionary in his eyes. She was bound to stir up a lot of trouble once she got loose!

While he and his clan might not have anything to do with her agenda, once she started making enemies, her past affiliation with the Larkinsons meant that the clan might attract a lot of heat as well!

If Ves wanted to avoid any possible negative repercussions, then he had to resolve this problem.

The first option was to find a way to hook her into the Larkinson Clan. As long as she earnestly turned into a Larkinson, she wouldn't jeopardize her fellow clansmen in order to pursue her vendetta.

This was very difficult. Expert pilots couldn't be manipulated like regular people. Their iron will and steely convictions meant that external influences such as the Larkinson Network simply had no effect!

In hindsight, Ves should have forced her into the Larkinson Clan when she was at her weakest. In her broken state, her mind should have been susceptible to indoctrination. Now, it was too late. Not only had she healed, but she even managed to temper mental fortitude in the process!

To be honest, if not for her unreasonable purpose, Ves actually favored an expert pilot like her. The extremes she went through turned her into an expert pilot that was both unflinching but also flexible.

In other words, she was a bit more human.

Maybe Ves should force recalcitrant expert pilots such as Venerable Jannzi through the same experience. Only by getting confronted by the consequences of failure would expert pilots like her truly understand that their power did not make them invincible.

Several more minutes passed as Ves and Venerable Stark slowly set the terms of their contract.

One of the stumbling blocks was the matter of providing her with an expert mech.

"I want an expert mech that comes from you." She stated. "I want to receive the same benefits that you intend to provide to your other expert pilots. I have heard the rumors. From what I have observed from your clan, they are likely true. If you are capable of designing a mech that can accelerate my growth, then do not withhold this benefit from me. I need to grow as much as possible while I am in your service."

Ah. This must be the primary reason why she applied to fight on behalf of the Larkinson Clan. She could have approached other organizations, but she specifically came to him because he offered her the best growth opportunities that she could get! No one else managed to facilitate as many breakthroughs as Ves! Even if the rumors were a bit exaggerated, she still appreciated his living mechs!

"Uhm, I can do that, but… right now it is very difficult to fulfill your needs. You may have to wait a number of years for us to prepare your expert mech."

He needed at least an entire year to design and fabricate his first expert mech in his estimation. An expert mech was such a complex machine that their optimization often continued after they were made!

His answer did not make her happy.

"That is too long. I cannot waste any time in improving myself. I need an expert mech as soon as possible in order to make the best use of my hundred years of servitude."

"You're not the only expert pilot on the waiting list. I have five other names and it is very hard to justify letting you go first."

"If I may interject, I may be able to offer a solution for that." Venerable Brutus butted into the negotiations. "You do not need to fund the project or provide the necessary materials to fabricate the expert mech. The Wodin Dynasty can cover these needs. We can even seek out a Master from the Hegemony to provide you with the necessary technical support."

"That's a generous offer. However, I can hardly imagine that you're doing this for free."

"You are quite astute, Ves." Brutus smiled. "The reason why we are willing to cover for the development of Davia Stark's expert mech is because this will be your payment for developing my next expert mech."

Ves sat up straighter in his chair. "Are you serious?! You already have an expert mech! Your Star Dancer is quite an impressive expert mech. I can easily imagine it serving you well for one or two decades."

Brutus shook his head. "The Star Dancer is an excellent mech, but it is not a living mech. If I continue to pilot it, I suspect your Larkinson expert pilots will gradually leave me far behind. I do not want to become irrelevant. In order to protect my sister to the greatest possible degree, I need greater strength just as my fellow expert pilot here. As long as you design my expert mech to the best of your ability, the Wodin Dynasty will take care of the cost."

This was quite a generous proposal. To be honest, this was exactly what he needed if he wanted to add two additional expert mechs to his fleet.

Though Venerable Stark wouldn't be sticking around forever, the Larkinsons needed as much help as possible when it was still in its infancy. A century from now, a single expert pilot like her probably wasn't as critical anymore.

As for Brutus, while he wasn't a Larkinson, his inclusion in the Glory Seekers effectively meant that he would be fighting alongside the Larkinson Clan for the long haul. Empowering him was no different from empowering his Larkinson Clan in that case.

As Ves thought about how he could take advantage of this deal, Brutus issued a warning.

"Oh, before you think of withholding some of your best inventions, Gloriana will be watching you like a hawk. Don't think about cutting any corners."

Damn.

Chapter 2484: Uplift Plan

Though the proposals put forward by both Venerable Stark and Venerable Brutus foisted a lot of obligations onto Ves and his clan, the payoff was considerable.

Even when the Larkinson Clan suffered from the rare problem of having too many expert pilots, obtaining the strength of two additional demigods was still an attractive prospect.

When Ves considered his upcoming grand expedition, he knew that no matter how much he prepared for the Red Ocean, the other pioneers who had already arrived would certainly be stronger than him. The requirements of accessing the dwarf galaxy were so onerous that only those with strength with ability were able to take part in the scramble for phasewater and virgin territory.

Perhaps Ves might be confident in the strength of his forces when he only had to fight compete against other powers from the galactic rim. The pioneers from the local star cluster such as Hexers, Fridaymen, Vicious Mountainers and Majestic Tealers were pretty much on the same level as him. At most, they might be able to bring more manpower, ships and resources, but their foundation shouldn't differ as much.

undefinedOf course, those who emerged from the more prosperous parts of the galactic rim such as the Winged Serenade Star Sector enjoyed some advantages in tech, talent and capital. Ves didn't believe the gap was insurmountable, though.

It was a different story when it came to the pioneers who originated from the galactic heartland or the galactic center.

The second-class powers who emerged from the more developed parts of the galaxy possessed much better foundations. Their mechs were stronger. Their mech pilots were better trained. Their vessels were more numerous and more resistant against damage. Their tech was simply unheard of in the galactic rim.

When both sides brought an equal number of mechs, ships and other support, Ves did not expect the Larkinson Clan to gain the upper hand.

The disparity was too big!

"Maybe every hopeful pioneer from the galactic rim will endure a lot of bullying once they enter the Red Ocean.

Ordinarily, this wasn't a problem. The immense geographic separation between powers coming from the different galactic regions meant that it was difficult for one of them to bully the others.

All of that was changing now that the Gate Consortium was building up a far-reaching network of beyonder gates.

In the Red Ocean, people from every part of human space would converge in a tiny galaxy that was only a fraction the size of the Milky Way. However, once the old galaxy got used to the gates, Ves guessed that neglected regions such as the Yeina Star Cluster might receive a considerable number of distant visitors in the coming decades!

As long as people were able and willing to pay the price, humans from the galactic rim could instantly reach the galactic center and vica versa. It no longer took entire generations to cross hundreds of thousands of light-years. The instance where the Temple Protector of the Five Scrolls Compact reached the Komodo Star Sector a decade ahead of time was just the start of a new era!

In any case, once the Larkinson Clan entered the Red Ocean, it would certainly start off as one of the weakest second-class powers among the crowd!

Of course, by harvesting the riches of the Red Ocean and trading with powerful groups, his clan should quickly be able to catch up. This was what Ves was really after. The Red Ocean was a melting pot filled with weaker and stronger pioneers. By designing mechs with advantages that appealed to these wealthy organizations, his clan would be able to uplift itself at a much more rapid pace than if it remained in a relatively barren and underdeveloped place like the galactic rim!

This was his central plan. Though it was fraught with danger, Ves was confident he could navigate the challenges!

"It's not enough to become a Master Mech Designer within a century. There are many Masters in the galaxy, but they aren't necessarily powerful. Only a small subset of Masters are ahead of their other colleagues."

At a minimum, he should reach the same stature as Master Willix before he could even think about contending against the Five Scrolls Compact!

She was 170 years old according to her public record. Ves couldn't wait that long. He and his parents would always live under the shadow of the Compact until he finally became strong enough to survive the exposure of the Mech Designer System.

"Not that I intend that to happen." He muttered.

That would take a lot of time. Until then, Ves needed to build up as many advantages as possible before his fleet passed through the inter-galactic beyonder gate.

Aside from leveraging his living mechs to grant unique advantages to his Larkinson mech pilots, he intended to lean on his expert pilots to make up the difference.

It was unheard of for a spaceborn fleet of the Larkinson Clan's current scale to enjoy the protection of seven expert pilots!

That was an insane proportion considering that the Larkinson Clan only had a couple of thousands of mech pilots at its disposal. Most of them also consisted of newly-recruited talents who still needed to be integrated in their respective mech forces.

As long as a handful of expert candidates broke through, he might very well be able to command up to ten or twelve transcendent mech pilots!

With so many expert pilots at his disposal, most people would never think about attacking the Larkinson Clan!

"I guess I'll need to put a much greater emphasis on designing expert mechs in the next few years."

This was not ideal for Ves. Both he and Gloriana were still Journeymen who were unable to design expert mechs by themselves. They needed to reach out to third-party Seniors or Masters in order to deliver proper expert mechs.

"Well, if I need immediate access to a Master Mech Designer, I can always knock on the doors of the Wodin Dynasty."

Venerable Brutus Wodin readily arranged the services of a Master. That told Ves that he could probably ask the dynasty to find a cooperative high-ranking mech designer whenever he wanted.

Normally, he would celebrate this opportunity. Yet the thought that he would have to collaborate with a Hexer mech designer who was far worse than Gloriana instantly spoiled his mood.

"Two times is enough. I don't think I can tolerate anything more."

For the sake of gaining two powerful helpers in the form of Brutus and Stark, Ves was willing to grit his teeth and suffer whatever a Hexer Master Mech Designer threw at him. It wasn't necessary for them to become friends to design an adequate mech.

There were other ways to expand his clan's ability to survive the Red Ocean.

"We can partner up with other powerful allies."

He couldn't help but stray his thoughts towards the Cross Clan. As ragged as they appeared, they should have at least something going for them. While he looked down on them to an extent, he knew that the Crosser mech pilots could probably beat his mech pilots in any even fight!

His men simply couldn't catch up to the impressive martial traditions of an established power that once ruled a portion of the mighty Garlen Empire. It took decades to accumulate a comparable degree of skill and experience.

Since the Cross Clan had entered the Cinach System in strength, the foreign exiles were clearly aiming to cooperate with the Larkinson Clan.

Ves wasn't in a hurry to meet with the Crossers. He didn't want to appear too eager. Against such a powerful clan, he needed every advantage that he could get in order to guarantee the rights of his clansmen.

Once he finished his musings, he decided to get some advice on the matter. He already sounded out Calabast, so he decided to stop by Major Verle.

As Ves exited his office with Lucky, he walked through the temporary base, greeting several passing Larkinsons as he approached the building taken up by the expanding Military Bureau.

Different from half a year ago, the Larkinson Clan adopted a lot of pets!

"Maw maw maw!"

"Wuuu.. wuuuu.. wuuuu."

"Chirp!"

"Hsss… hssss…"

Scores of well-behaved animals were making the base livelier. The cats, dogs, lizards, birds and other pets each showed signs of intelligence.

If they weren't sentient, they were liable to get in the way of a passing mech.

Ves slowed his steps and looked bemused at the row of cats looking at Ves, Lucky and the Larkinson Mandate with worship.

To his surprise, every single pet was connected to the Larkinson Network!

"That's not right! Goldie! Did you let them into the network?"

Nyaaa.

A grim expression appeared on his face. He only took humans into account when he designed the Larkinson Network. He envisioned the Golden Cat influencing the people connected to the network and vice versa. While the former was technically a cat, Goldie was such a formidable lifeform that she transcended her species!

The same was not the case for the pets that Ves encouraged his clansmen to adopt. What if the army of cats passed on their cattiness to his clansmen? Would they begin to go crazy as soon as they sniffed catnip? Would Ves have to worry about them developing a habit of licking each other?

As Ves peered at the pets some more, he became a bit less concerned. Connected they may be, their minds and spirits were very weak. They couldn't compare against actual humans. This meant that they shouldn't be able to exert any meaningful influence through the Larkinson Network.

In fact, rather than worrying about the animals influencing humans, he should instead worry about pets taking on human-like traits!

"Well, they're just a bunch of designer pets. Even if they grow smarter, at most they'll be able to count to ten. Goldie will keep an eye on them as well to ensure they won't pose a threat to the clan."

He tossed aside this problem and continued to walk until he entered Major Verle's office.

"Sir, what brings you here today?"

Ves threw Lucky in the air and sat down at a nearby chair. "Tell me about the Cross Clan."

"Meow!"

As he spun around in the air, Lucky quickly stabilized his flight. He grumpily landed on top of Ves' head and began to mess up any hair within reach.

Both Ves and Major Verle ignored Lucky's antics.

Once Major Verle pulled up some data about the Cross Clan, he began to share his thoughts.

"We don't know the actual state of the Crossers. While we can infer a lot of clues by observing their ships and mechs, the Vicious Mountainers have proven to be surprisingly good at hiding secrets. Some of my analysts think that this is an indication that the Cross Clan is hiding something valuable. This may be something that the foreigners intend to use as a bargaining chip in their negotiation with us. So far, we don't know what it is, and we don't dare to press too close. It is unseemingly to engage in subterfuge when there is a strong MTA presence in the star system. We can't explain ourselves if we get caught."

Ves dismissively waved his hand. "You made the right choice. Even without an active MTA presence, there are too many other visitors who are keeping an eye on us. We'd have to be stupid to do something to one of our guests. Let's get back to the Cross Clan. Aside from their combat strength, what makes them special?"

Major Verle did not answer instantly. Instead, he manipulated his desk terminal until he came across the right file.

A large projection appeared in front of Ves. It depicted a thick, physical book.

"What am I looking at, major?"

"The personal journal of Lord Hemmington Cross."

Ves widened his eyes. "What does it contain?!"

"Lord Hemmington left this journal behind so that the expert pilots of his clan can learn from his experiences. While the book doesn't contain a concrete formula on how to advance to ace pilot, the insights it contains are doubtlessly invaluable to anyone looking to reach this exalted rank."

The Cross Clan became a lot more interesting now that it had shown its willingness to share such a treasure!

Chapter 2485: Autonomous Expert Pilots

Several expert pilots came together.

Despite their commonalities, they rarely sought each other out. Expert pilots possessed their own convictions and weren't afraid to convey them. When two expert pilots with different perspectives gathered together, some level of friction always took place.

Though the Larkinson expert pilots weren't specifically opposed to each other, having their domains rub against each other was not entirely comfortable. This was one of the reasons why high-ranking mech pilots generally did not congregate in larger numbers.

Today was an exception. Every expert pilot of the Larkinson Clan entered a meeting room. They were quite familiar with each other, so they did not speak too much.

undefinedSome form of friction was immediately evident. The air became charged with competing domains. None wished to admit defeat. Eventually, a balance formed where each expert pilot claimed a small piece of territory.

Venerable Joshua stood furthest away from his former girlfriend. He looked towards his girlfriend with hope, only for her to turn around to chat with Venerable Rosa Orfan and Venerable Dise.

At least someone kept him company.

"Girl problems?"

"Don't start. What about you?"

"We're expert pilots, buddy. We don't need to hook any fish. They come swimming towards us as if we're made of bait. Once we get tired, we can throw our catch aside and grab another one from the water."

Joshua frowned. "That's not for me. I'm looking for a relationship that lasts. I thought I had something with Jannzi, but we've grown too far apart."

Venerable Tusa snorted. "I don't know why you want to shackle yourself to a woman so soon. We're still young enough to enjoy the pleasures of life. Family life can wait until we've grown older and overcome our initial years as expert pilots. Right now, we may be demigods, but we're the weakest ones around. Any seasoned expert pilot with the right mech can beat us into the ground."

"I think that's an even greater reason to commit to a relationship. If I ever go, at least a part of me lives on. The patriarch will take good care of my family."

"More like the patriarch will find every way possible to milk your kids like he is milking us. Sheesh, Joshua. It's fine if you drool all over our mechs, but don't let that blind you to the shady stuff that is taking place. The last battle…"

Joshua made a warning gesture. "Let's not talk about that."

"Haven't you ever wondered why Ves really entered the Nyxian Gap and almost drove us all to our deaths? Gaining experience, my butt. No amount of live combat is worth losing so many of our comrades. The way I see it, the so-called dark gods that showed up at the Battle of Ulimo Citadel and the Battle against the Abyss might be his actual mission. Defeating the Gravada Knarlax was just icing on the cake for him. Haven't you ever asked yourself why a random portal showed up? What is the patriarch's relationship with the Dark Cleaver? Why is he so friendly with that humanoid alien god?"

Though every expert pilot had been ordered to move on from the battles, Venerable Tusa hadn't been able to do so. Too many abnormalities had taken place ever since he joined the clan. It was completely opposite to the old Larkinson Family which had always been incredibly stable.

Before Tusa could spread his views further, the entrance to the room slid open. An old man along with a few young adjutants passed through.

The staff officers immediately felt as if they entered a room with elevated pressure. Different emotional fields crashed against their minds, causing them to slow their steps.

"Restrain yourselves, please. We are all Larkinsons here. Give my subordinates some reprieve."

The old man's voice did not have much force behind it, but something about it commanded respect.

The expert pilots no longer let their force of wills run around unabated. They actively retracted their presence.

The oppressiveness inside the room quickly dimmed. The staff officers quickly regained their breath.

Once the old man stood at the head of the stable, he gestured to every expert pilot to take their seats.

"I am Cristoph Larkinson. Patriarch Ves Larkinson and Major Quinlist Verle have invested me as the head of the newly-founded Hall of Heroes. As your commandant, I am not your boss. Few people within the clan have the right to issue commands to Venerables. You should see me and my office as your stewards. We handle the paperwork. We take charge of your logistics. We crew your ships and service your mechs. Are you clear about my role?"

Venerable Tusa raised his hand. "Sir, does that mean I can refuse any orders or suggestions you issue?"

The new commandant nodded. "Correct. My men and I do not presume to control you. We don't have the right. You have been granted a lot of autonomy for the clan because certain people believe that is the best way for you to develop your strength."

"Why take us away from our units?" Venerable Dise resentfully asked. "The Swordmaidens are mine. I belong there, not in this stupid hall."

"Ditto." Venerable Orfan uttered.

"Too much hand holding won't do the Swordmaidens and the Flagrant Vandals any favors. While we don't prohibit you from interacting with your former subordinates, we advise you to keep some distance. This will enable them to stand up for themselves. Requesting your aid should be a measure of last resort, not a routine choice whenever they are in trouble. Do you understand?"

The former commanders shook their heads. They had strong ties to their former units. They never imagined that the clan would pull them out and dump them into the 'Hall of Heroes'.

To say that they were pissed was an understatement!

Despite facing the ire of two expert pilots, Commandant Cristoph kept his composure. As a veteran of the Bright-Vesia Wars, he had experienced worse in battle. Facing down a pair of expert pilots hardly phased the war veteran.

"It's understandable that you are upset, but I think you will understand the merits of this approach in time. Just give it a few years. If you are still opposed, then you may bring your complaints to the clan patriarch."

That settled issue, for now at least.

Tusa asked another question.

"Sir, how does the Hall of Heroes fit within the force makeup of our clan? What is our role?"

The commandant smiled. "That is mostly up to you. While our Hall can issue requests or offer advice, we do not intend to force you to do something that you object to. Don't want to tutor any mech pilots? That's fine. You want to take every weekend off? You can skip your duties as long as your presence isn't required. As I've stated earlier, you can choose to go anywhere you like and spend time with any clansmen you want."

The expert pilots each looked mollified after hearing that. The Hall of Heroes truly did not intend to subject them to any rigid discipline. It was up to themselves to choose how they wanted to spend their time.

"Isn't this a bit too.. Loose?" Venerable Jannzi puzzlingly questioned. "How will the Hall of Heroes benefit the rest of the clan if we are not obliged to do anything?"

"We will reward you for every contribution you make." Commandant Cristoph answered. "One of our roles is to track your efforts and determine how many Larkinson merits you are owed."

"Larkinson merits?"

"They're still relevant to expert pilots such as you. We are not in the Mech Corps or the military anymore. Your mech regiments won't automatically take care of all of your needs. If you do nothing, you will still earn a salary and obtain some decent benefits, but if you want more, you will have to work for it. You can exchange any merits you earn for any of the regular rewards offered by the Larkinson Merit Exchange such as augments and such."

"Is that all?" Venerable Orfan frowned.

As expert pilots, they had already transcended their humanity to an extent. Even without possessing any implants or modified genes, their piloting skill had already exceeded the standard of elite second-class mech pilots who enjoyed all of the latest gene mod templates and implants.

While their minds and wills had experienced the greatest transformations, their bodies were no longer normal either, though their physical changes were fairly modest.

Some high-ranking expert pilots even eschewed modifications entirely! It was entirely possible for baseline humans to evolve all the way to god pilot!

Therefore, augments no longer held the same attraction to the expert pilots. What were they supposed to spend their merits on instead?

Cristoph already understood that regular rewards no longer attracted them. They needed something else to keep them motivated.

"Don't worry. We haven't neglected your wants and needs. The main reason why you want to earn Larkinson merits is because the Larkinson Merit Exchange will open a list of rewards exclusive to expert pilots."

He gestured his hand. A projection of a list appeared into view.

While the list didn't contain many items, many of them immediately aroused their interest!

"These are.. rewards relating to our expert mechs!"

"Exactly." Commandant Cristoph smirked. "One of the benefits of having a pair of excellent mech designers in our clan is that they can provide a wide latitude of services to you. While we are still in the process of preparing your initial expert mechs for you, once you have them, you'll want them to get better. As long as you are useful to the clan, you'll earn enough merits to make use of the services on the list."

The list already offered the expert pilots a number of desirable options. They ranged from modifying their expert mechs, upgrading their expert mechs, obtaining additional weapons or modules and so on. The most extravagant reward on the list was to obtain a second expert mech!

The expert pilots were pleased at this arrangement. While the Larkinson Clan didn't provide them with a lot of welfare, none of the expert pilots were lazy or self-entitled. They all intended to contribute to the clan regardless, but with this special merit structure in place, they knew exactly what they could get. They weren't subject to superiors who held the final say on when to upgrade their expert mechs and how many additional loadouts they should have.

As long as the expert pilots wanted more, they would never rest. Each of them were driven people. Just because they gained the opportunity to shed their mortality didn't mean that they had reached their end goal.

Becoming an expert pilot was just the start! The road to god pilot was unimaginably long, but each Venerable dreamed of reaching the end. Those who gave up easily never possessed the fortitude to undergo apotheosis in the first place!

Commandant Cristoph answered some additional questions. The expert pilots wanted to know what contributions earned them merits and what would be the best way to harvest them quickly.

"Aside from defending our clan in battle, training your fellow mech pilots is the next-best way to earn merits." The older Larkinson said. "You will be judged by how much the mech pilots you have tutored have improved beyond the norm. If any of them happen to break through to an expert candidate or expert pilot, then you'll be rewarded with a hefty amount of merits."

This made every expert pilot thoughtful. Perhaps they should spend more time with the existing expert candidates of the clan. If they managed to help any of them advance, then that would mean they could strengthen their expert mechs!

"One more thing. While it is true that we do not foist too many demands on you, we do insist that each of you obtain a retinue. Venerable Joshua, Venerable Jannzi, and Venerable Tusa already have one, so only Venerable Orfan and Venerable Dise must set this up. Just recruit some mech pilots you like. Allow them to stay close to you. Let them learn from you and keep you company. Once you let your attendants go, we hope they will grow into exceptional elites."

In fact, the Larkinson Clan hoped that some battle companions might break through as well in the future!

Chapter 2486: He's A Good Boy

"I'm telling you, Raella! Some good old-fashioned mech duels are indispensable to a good show!"

Director Raella Larkinson shoved Vincent aside. "Your suggestion is noted. I will make sure to consider your input carefully before I throw it in the trash."

"Come on! Why don't you agree? The mech athletes in our clan are jumping at the opportunity to impress the wedding guests!"

"I SAID NO, OKAY?! Many of our guests are Hexers or visitors from other second-rate states. They'll laugh at us when we try to entertain them with duels between third-class mechs."

undefined"Then why aren't we duelling with second-class mechs instead?"

"We're not good enough yet! Rather than embarrassing ourselves, we should impress the guests in other ways. Parading around the captured warships and showing off our expert pilots is enough to earn their respect. There is no need for us to paint ourselves as clowns by showing off our weak and pathetic mechs."

"The Adonis Colossus is not weak and pathetic! He's a masterpiece!"

Raella glared extra hard at Vincent. "My decision is final. Besides, even if you managed to convince me, you still have to go through Gloriana. Let me tell you that she thinks even less of our mech games circuit."

With all of the focus towards the military side of the Larkinson Clan, the leisure side received relatively little attention.

The more serious clansmen still saw Raella's efforts as trivial, but she knew her investment would eventually pay off in the future.

The main reason why the Larkinsons didn't yearn too much for in-house entertainment was because they had easy access to an entire planet. Off-duty Larkinsons frequently took a shuttle ride to the cities of Cinach VI. There, they could attend much grander arena matches or go out at some amazing venues.

Yet once the grand expedition truly started, every Larkinson needed to get used to living most of their lives aboard ships. The carriers, transports, logistical ships and so on provided much less venues for entertainment.

At that time, Raella believed the Larkinson Championship Series would become the primary form of group entertainment for her fellow clansmen. Compared to most forms of virtual entertainment, a competitive circuit that not only took place in realspace but was rooted in the clan should be able to capture the imagination of many Larkinsons!

"Am I right, Minxie?"

"Nyeow~"

The elegant white cat resting on her lap squinted her eyes and rubbed her furry head against Raella.

As Raella laid some plans for the future while ignoring Vincent's complaints, elsewhere another Larkinson contemplated his future.

After presiding over an exhaustive meeting that dealt with the reorganization and expansion of the Avatars of Myth, Melkor Larkinson wandered off to a large mech workshop. After passing through the mandatory security checks, he entered the enormous hall.

A large number of heavily-damaged mechs that Task Force Predator hadn't been able to restore were being reconstructed by hundreds of industrious mech technicians. A handful of low-ranking mech designers diligently planned out the repairs while the chief technicians made sure their men followed their instructions.

Off to the side, a team of Braves and Erudites were personally caring over a special mech.

While the Quint was still in fighting shape when it returned to Cinach, its condition had deteriorated. A lot of smaller issues and microcracks had formed that might not impact its performance now, but would lead to severe problems in the future.

In order to make sure the mech retained its masterwork quality, the clan had to provide it with excellent care.

Several teams of notable mech designers such as Rina Orion, Felicia Slenn and Oscar DiMartin reverentially disassembled the exceptional machine and serviced its parts.

"How is the work proceeding?"

"It's going well, sir, though we're running behind schedule." Merrill O'Brian answered. "The Quint is not a regular Bright Warrior mech. We would rather err on the side of caution than ruin one of the Miracle Couple's best works."

The majestic mech that was still assigned to Venerable Joshua deserved the best treatment that the Larkinson Clan could offer. Strictly speaking, Ves and Gloriana should have been working on the mech in person, but they were far too busy to perform this kind of work.

The lead designers entrusted the responsibility of maintaining the mechs assigned to the expert pilots to their assistants.

While Melkor wasn't able to judge the quality of their work, so far the Quint did not appear to have suffered. That was good.

"Excuse me, commander, but this is the third time you have come to inspect the Quint in the last three days."

"So?"

Melkor raised his eyebrow. It was too bad that his large visor hid this gesture.

"The Quint is no longer under the purview of the Avatars of Myth." Merrill flatly stated. "Venerable Joshua Larkinson and his Bright Companions have been transferred to the Hall of Heroes. Frankly speaking, the condition of the masterwork mech is none of your business anymore."

The Avatar Commander smiled wryly. "I am aware of that. I still can't stop myself from coming back. I'll be seeing this mech a lot less once Venerable Joshua settles on another berth. Hopefully, once he obtains his expert mech, the Quint will become free."

"Are you.. hoping to become its next mech pilot?"

"I can't hide it from anyone, huh? You're guess is right."

"It's not much of a guess when everyone here can see how much you yearn to pilot it. Even I get amazed at how this mech just comes together in a way that none of the other machines can match. You're not a mech designer, so you don't fully understand the brilliance of what we see. It's a privilege to work on such a sublime mech."

"I hope you will take good care of it, because I will fight to be its next mech pilot." Melkor spoke with determination. "I've saved up all of my merits and refrained from spending it anywhere else. I hope Ves will grant my request even if my Avatars haven't performed fantastically well during the Nyxian Gap Campaign."

After spending years on establishing the Avatars of Myth as the premier mech troop of the Larkinson Clan, his personal development as a mech pilot had suffered. It was impossible for him to match the training intensity of every other Avatar mech pilot when he had to be in charge all the time.

Yet in his heart, he still hadn't forgotten his identity as a mech pilot. Whenever he encountered Venerable Joshua or Venerable Tusa, he wanted to be like them. He would eagerly give up his position as Avatar Commander if he was able to become an expert pilot!

"You should wait before you make any hasty requests." Merrill advised. "The clan patriarch has made it clear to us that the Quint is no longer a mech to be piloted lightly. He is personally in charge of deciding who gets to pilot it, and he has already told us that only expert candidates are eligible."

Her words instantly collapsed half of Melkor's dreams!

"Why?"

"You would have to ask our patriarch about that. From what I see, the Quint and a number of other LMC mechs that have survived the Nyxian Gap Campaign are.. different. They are stronger and greater than the mechs that have always been in use here in Cinach. I think that these machines may have been the reason why our clan has welcomed the likes of Venerable Joshua."

Her views only fueled Melkor's desire to pilot the Quint! Wasn't it good that the masterwork mech facilitated Venerable Joshua's rise? What if he received the opportunity to pilot this great machine?

Though Melkor understood the logic of letting the expert candidates pilot the Quint instead, the selfish part of him wanted to seek out Ves right away!

"Hold your horses, commander." Merrill grasped his arm. "The Quint is a fine mech, but it's design doesn't completely fit a mech pilot such as you. It's better off in the hands of someone who is skilled in more aspects of mech combat. Our clan will soon have something better in store."

"Such as what?"

"The successor to the Crystal Lord."

Melkor frowned. "I've heard about that. I'm no longer interested in piloting third-class mechs."

"I think you'll find the second version of the Crystal Lord to be a lot more impressive than you think. Besides, just like the Quint and the other mechs of the expert pilots, you can ask the Miracle Couple to customize a mech that fits your needs."

That sounded a bit more interesting to Melkor. "Tell me more."

As the two discussed his potential options, some Wodins were gathering some distance away.

Constance Wodin greeted her oldest two daughters as she studied a projection of the hexagonal-shaped wedding platform.

Every single detail had to be as precise and flawless as possible to do her youngest's wedding justice!

"Mother." Amarintha Wodin spoke first. "We have studied the changes taking place in the Larkinson Clan ever since the boy returned."

"Report." The imperious woman spoke.

"The Larkinson Clan is accelerating its preparations to embark on a grand expedition. Their current focus lies in recruiting high-skilled mech pilots and other personnel as well as accumulating supplies suited for extended journeys."

The three Wodin women were disappointed at this development.

"So Ves Larkinson truly intends to leave." Constance wearily remarked.

"He's too rebellious for his own good." Kellandra gritted her teeth. "Gloriana hasn't done a good job at restraining him. In fact, she's letting him run free!"

Constance raised her hand, causing her second daughter to fall silent.

"We have talked about this. We cannot apply our standards to the boy and his clan. They are foreigners, not Hexers. It may be difficult to accept this truth, but for the sake of our daughter, let us not spoil our relationship with the Larkinsons."

Amarintha reluctantly nodded in agreement. "Mother is right. We're not used to this, but we aren't dealing with other Hexers anymore."

Dealing with foreigners on an equal basis was something new to the Hexers. To them, foreigners either meant Fridaymen or lessers. In both cases, the Hexers were used to issuing demands.

"Kellandra, what have you learned from the movements of their high-ranking mech pilots?"

"They're trying out something different. Rather than keeping their expert pilots attached to their units, the Larkinsons have set up a Hall of Heroes where they will preside from now on. Strangely enough, control over them is very loose. They can do as much or as little as they want, but if they want to obtain rewards such as upgrading their expert mechs, they have to earn merits like the rest of their clansmen."

"How.. Fridaymen of them." Her sister reacted with contempt. "This is straight out of the playbook of the Fortune Legion. Rather than keeping his expert pilots under control, the boy intends to incentivize them as if he were a merchant."

"He's a mech designer and a businessman. You can't expect anything better from such a greedy boy."

"His greed played an essential role in his success. While we Hexers are accustomed to taking orders from those who are older and wiser from us, the debased people of the rest of the galaxy can only be manipulated by acting on their material desires." Constance lightly rebuked her daughters. "Now, what is the state of our Glory Seekers?"

"They are fully ready to accompany the Larkinson Clan." Kellandra answered. "We have made sure to add plenty of civilian personnel to their ranks. Once they reach the Red Ocean, they can establish a Hexer colony in the new galaxy whenever they find the right opportunity. Gloriana will have her kingdom if she so desires."

"Gloriana has always been ambitious. If the Larkinson Clan cannot keep her safe, then the Glory Seekers cannot fail."

"We know, mother. While there are limits to what the Glory Seekers can bring, Brutus will make sure that Gloriana is well-cared for. He's a good boy."

"That he is." Constance smiled.

Chapter 2487: Dreaming About Ships

The vigorous preparations for the grand wedding continued apace. With the final days counting down, the last guests authorized to attend the wedding had just arrived in time.

Those who arrived after the deadline had passed were not allowed to go any further. There was too little time for them to reach the inner system and undergo a thorough background and security check.

While hardly anyone believed that someone would disrupt such an important wedding, it was better to be safe than sorry.

As more and more visitors converged from as far away as the Winged Serenade Star Sector, a lot of noteworthy people came as well.

undefinedMech designers, exobiologists, weapon developers, shipwrights, infantry commanders and other distinguished professionals arrived to attend the highly-anticipated social event.

Even if the wedding hadn't already started, it was already worth it for them to travel to the Cinach System.

Aside from admiring the brutal majesty of the Gravada Knarlax, the guests also socialized with each other. The wedding attracted such a wide and diverse crowd that the visitors eagerly took the opportunity to expand their networks.

In the meantime, the Larkinson Clan quietly approached some of the professionals it most desired. Lately, Ves decreed that they should increase their focus towards recruiting shipwrights.

Of course, he didn't want any casual ship designers. He needed qualified, senior professionals who possessed an abundant amount of experience in designing and building capital ships!

The Larkinson Clan didn't have much luck in attracting them. Shipwrights at this level were usually attached to their companies or states for life. It was extremely rare for any of them to get fired or voluntarily retire from their positions.

Even if it became untenable for them to remain with their established employer, they often received immediate offers from organizations they were already familiar with. There was no need for any of them to jump ship to a volatile clan that might very well crash and burn in a couple of years.

There were always exceptions, though. The Larkinson Clan persisted in its efforts. Finally, the recruiters managed to gain the interest of someone who did not immediately respond with a polite rejection.

The only snag was that the senior shipwright in question wanted to speak to the clan patriarch in person. He would not settle for anything less until he could talk to Ves in person.

So Ves took some time off his busy schedule to meet with the foreigner.

A man who appeared to be middle-aged entered Ves' office. The man did not step on the floor but hovered over it like many other elitist second-raters tended to do. This was a powerful man.

"Mr. Erander Tsai." Ves began as he shook the senior shipwright's hand. "My people tell me you requested a meeting with me. Are you interested in joining the Larkinson Clan or do you wish to make other arrangements?"

"I am here for the latter."

Ves couldn't help but feel disappointed. Tsai had been a bit ambiguous about his needs, probably so that he could meet with Ves. Now that he was here, he no longer needed to play coy.

"I see."

Mr. Tsai lowered himself to his seat and smiled gently. "You misunderstand my intentions. It has never been my purpose to lead you on. I am aware that your Larkinson Clan seeks a shipwright who is experienced in capital ship design and ship construction. I can already tell you that no one else than I will respond to your requests, at least from the local star sectors. Our circle is very tight and I know that everyone at my level is content with their current lot. None of us old bones have any desire to throw away everything we worked for to go on a dangerous adventure."

"If you are not considering our job offer, then what am I mistaken about?"

"I traveled here with my protégé, my daughter Vivian. I have taught and guided her ever since she earned her degree in naval engineering. While she does not have my experience presiding over the design and construction of over fifty unique capital ships like myself, I have imparted the nucleus of my wisdom to her. She may lack the necessary experience, but she is still capable of designing a capital ship from the ground up, provided she has both time and a complete team of assistants. Unlike mech design, capital ships cannot be developed by a single designer."

"As a fellow engineer, I understand." Ves respectfully replied. Deceiving bastard as he was, Erander Tsai was still an incredibly accomplished shipwright. "Tell me more about your daughter, then. Is this your idea or hers? Why haven't you brought her here if you intend to push her forward?"

Mr Tsai's demeanor dampened a bit. "To be honest, it is not her idea to apply to your clan. I am exploring options on her behalf."

"How old is she?"

"Thirty-five."

Ves frowned. "She's old enough to make her own decisions. We don't engage in slavery here. If you are trying to press her into employment with us, we can't accept her in good conscience."

"I am sure I can persuade her that joining you is the right choice." The older man confidently stated.

"Ugh…" Ves rubbed his face. "I don't quite understand. Why are you so eager to dump her onto my lap? While I am not opposed to recruiting a bright shipwright recommended by someone as capable as you, I feel there is a story behind your actions."

"It's not too complicated. Let me begin by explaining our background. As you may have doubtlessly learned, my daughter and I are citizens of the Harmony Association in Majestic Teal. The HA is equivalent to a small second-rate state."

"I am familiar with how Majestic Teal is ruled."

"Good, then that saves me some trouble. I won't waste your time by explaining what the Harmony Association does and what it excels at. It's difficult for us to explain our philosophy to outsiders. Let me state something clearer. I believe the Harmony Association is under threat. While there are few signs of this, the information that I have access to hints at something greater."

Okay, that was better. Ves returned to familiar ground. "I see. So you're afraid the Harmony Association might come under attack, so you want to send off your daughter so that she can avoid the coming storm. While I understand this rationale, surely you could have sent your daughter to a safer destination. I believe that many employers from Winged Serenade should be eager to take on a woman with her qualifications."

"That is true, but she would be joining an organization with few friends, many rivals and competitors, and no strong backers. She will not be able to develop herself as freely and quickly as she has under my wing."

Ves could understand that as well. Mech designers faced these situations all the time. Unless she became her own boss, Vivian Tsai would always have to devote her time on other people's projects.

He decided to play devil's advocate.

"Sometimes, structure isn't necessarily bad. I have heard that shipbuilding is an incredibly time-consuming profession. The amount of knowledge you must learn and the practical experience you need to build enormous ships is astounding. Most people who are capable of designing a capital ship tend to be older than 50 or 60 years old from what I've learned."

Mr. Tsai sighed. "You are well-informed. That is mostly correct. Talent, upbringing and augmentations can do much to shorten the time. While I am confident in my daughter's abilities, she cannot offer you proof. However, you have my word that she is fully up to the task. May I ask what you seek? Normally, most organizations do not engage in shipbuilding. It is too difficult to design ships in-house. It is much more convenient to approach a shipyard."

That was what Ves and the Larkinsons were used to, but he wasn't content with that anymore.

"As a mech designer and craftsman, I have more faith in the products we make ourselves than resorting to products made by others. Starships are one of the most vital assets of a spaceborn power. To entrust their design and construction to third parties is rather precarious. Any enemy can approach the shipyard and steal or buy the full schematics of our vessels."

Mr. Tsai became affronted. "You think too little of us. We have integrity, Mr. Larkinson. We would never betray the trust of our customers!"

"I believe in your integrity, but what of that of your managers? What of your company president, or the owners? Are they as committed to their principles as you are? Greed can sway many people."

The senior shipwright pressed his lips. "I cannot discount that possibility. However, let me tell you that I have not come across a situation where any of our people betrayed anyone's trust."

"Perhaps the company you are working for is honest, but you cannot say that about others. Look, even if the chance of foul play is low, I think it is better if we rely more on ourselves."

"I do not see how that is possible. Capital ships can only be built in capital-grade orbital shipyards. A moving fleet such as yours cannot provide the conditions necessary to build a ship larger than a frigate."

"I'm aware. I don't intend to expand into the shipbuilding industry. What I need are shipwrights who can design the ships our clan needs. Whether we need capital ships or smaller craft, our clan must have a department that is dedicated towards developing these vessels according to our own requirements. As for building the ships, I suppose we can rent out a shipyard from an existing shipbuilding company."

Mr. Tsai was not unfamiliar with this model. "I shall be honest. My daughter may not be entirely suited for such work, but she can grow into the role. The main difficulty is that she will not be able to preside over a shipyard in the long-term. However, I will make sure to be in frequent communication with her so that I can continue to guide her and pass on my wisdom."

"I have no objections to that so long as nothing sensitive is shared over the galactic net."

"You do not need to remind me about confidentiality, Mr. Larkinson. Both of us know what we can say over unsecure channels."

Both of them knew what they wanted from each other. The Larkinson Clan wanted to gain ship design capabilities. While Mr. Tsai had too many commitments and attachments to the Harmony Association to consider any offers, his daughter might be able to take his place.

Ves didn't entirely like this arrangement. He wanted someone who he could fully entrust with the matter of designing new ships for the clan. Rather than getting someone who was the equivalent of a Senior Mech Designer, he would be receiving a younger woman who was akin to an Apprentice Mech Designer.

The gulf between father and daughter was quite vast, and there was no guarantee that the latter might climb her way up anytime soon.

Still, unlike the supply of mech designers, the supply of competent and capable shipwrights was like water in a desert. Their profession was a lot harder to get into. At the same time, many science and engineering students would rather study something cool like mech design.

In the Age of Mechs, the amount of students who wanted to become mech designers was at least a thousand times more than those who wanted to become shipwrights!

This was unthinkable if they were living in the Age of Conquest. Everyone was mad about starships and warships at that time.

At the end of the meeting, Ves had not decided yet whether he should take Vivian on. He had to consider this matter further.

"I will need to meet Vivian before I'm ready to evaluate her. You need to talk to her as well and convince her to join us. If she isn't willing, then we won't take her. Am I clear?"

"You do not need to be worried about this." Tsai confidently stated. "My daughter will see the light soon enough."

Chapter 2488: Saint

With just one day left until the wedding commenced, the entire Cinach System grew tense.

The locals had long become engrossed in the mania surrounding the grand occasion. It didn't matter whether Ves was a former Brighter. The Sentinels even put down their disgust towards Hexers in order to take pride that their state had been chosen as the venue for this enormous event.

Many Sentinel nobles had arrived long ago. Even King Barameuth XXIV, the monarch of the Sentinel Kingdom, had arrived a few days ago in a slightly more noteworthy fashion.

Of course, forget about the counts and dukes, even the king couldn't secure a meeting with the Miracle Couple!

undefinedThough the Larkinson Clan still needed time to replace its third-class ships and mechs with second-class equivalents, everyone already knew it had effectively reached this level.

Ever since the survivors of the Nyxian Gap Campaign returned with the Gravada Knarlax in tow, only fools doubted the combat prowess of the Larkinson Clan! With at least five expert pilots serving under its wing, the upstart clan had already risen far above other attempts to gain independence!

If that wasn't enough, then the rising fortunes of the Living Mech Company greatly caught the imagination of those who valued the power of money. With an estimated revenue that surpassed that of many companies led by Seniors, the money pouring into the coffers of the Larkinson Clan was more than enough to make even Hexers green with envy!

All of these reasons and more aroused the interests of many distinguished guests from many different second-rate states.

Managing all of these guests was difficult. Rivals and enemies came in close contact with each other. Fortunately, the Hexers brought troops to give anyone second thoughts about starting up trouble.

Still, incidents did take place regardless, giving the security guards a lot of headaches. Ves thought that people at this level were supposed to be calm, thoughtful and rational like Senator Tovar.

In actuality, the wedding drew envoys ranging from hotheads, intellectuals, introverts, militarists, believers and more. Part of it was because many organizations and states dispatched representatives rather than their heads. Another part of it was that successful people tended to possess forceful personalities.

In order to climb the ranks, it wasn't enough to be quietly competent. Faced with brutal competition, those who wanted to rise above their station had to be proactive.

As Ves spent some time with meeting some of the more important guests, he gained a better sense of high society.

Personally, he did not particularly enjoy entertaining these snobs. They all wanted something from him. Of great importance was whether they could get their hands on his rumored expert pilot-producing mechs. No matter how much he denied their requests, the people who approached him always seemed to think they had a chance.

"Do they think they're special or something? Do they really think the rules don't apply to them? How dare they demand something as controversial as this under Master Willix's nose!"

Aside from this, the visitors also made other inquiries. Some wanted to invest in the LMC. Others wanted to obtain easy passage to the Red Oceans. A few sought to partner up with the Larkinson Clan.

Ves rejected all of them. The offers simply weren't sincere enough. While the benefits they promised might be interesting to the current Larkinson Clan, what about the future?

A decade from now, most of these local tyrants wouldn't be qualified anymore to approach him! Unless they put up something that would interest him in the future, Ves politely rebuffed the greedy bastards who thought they could take advantage of his supposed lack of awareness.

Just because he was an average third-rater a decade ago didn't mean he was easy to fool!

"The hardest person to scam is another scammer!"

One of the hidden advantages he possessed was his spiritual perception. Every prominent guest who met with him possessed strong personalities. This made it relatively easy for Ves to read their overall moods. Even if he couldn't get a precise read on their dim spiritualities, he could get a faint impression of their emotions.

Far too many of the distinguished men and women either felt smug or looked down on him. While they respected his accomplishments, they thought he had risen far too fast to fit into their circle.

Ves wasn't interested in partnering up with those who lacked sincerity. Trust was in short supply, so establishing mutual benefits was necessary to make any deal work. If the people who approached him ignored even that, why should he entertain their offers?

Only a handful of visitors were different.

The Cross Clan was willing to put in 25 million MTA merits to partner up with the Larkinson Clan. Not only that, they brought out the personal journal of an ace pilot as a bargaining chip.

This was enough to catch the Larkinson Clan's attention!

Talks had already begun some time ago. Before any of the leaders met, their underlings cautiously explored each other's stance. They slowly learned what they sought from each other and what they truly needed.

An hour before Ves was scheduled to meet with Patriarch Reginald Cross, Ves studied some documents as a pair of cats claimed a third of his desk.

"Meow~"

"Miaow~"

Lucky and Clixie hardly stayed apart these days. The two cats had taken their months-long separation hard. Now that they were able to keep each other company, they often sought each other out or snuck off to boss around the new pets!

"Nyaaaa!"

Of course, Goldie couldn't be left out either. Though she couldn't manifest herself for long, the spiritual cat eagerly played with Lucky and Clixie.

In some way, the ancestral spirit could be regarded as their offspring. Ves had created the Golden Cat by using the two older cats as her model.

It was a bit more complicated than that, though. He threw in several other ingredients as well.

Ves wasn't inclined to explore this topic any further.

A few minutes later, Calabast entered his office in order to bring him up to speed.

"What have you discovered?"

"Nothing much. The talks between our two clans haven't been too revealing, and our inability to snoop on them is rather vexing."

"Did you manage to accomplish anything, then?"

She grinned. "Just because we can't investigate the Crossers in this star system doesn't mean we are prohibited from looking elsewhere. I've been contacting some information brokers based in Majestic Teal. They offered me some juicy intel for a price. Don't worry. I didn't go over budget. Some of them had the gall to ask for your special mechs."

"Ugh. This is going to be a recurring phenomenon, right?"

"Yes, so get used to it." Calabast smirked as she leaned her hip against his desk. She casually brushed her hand in Clixie's fur while eying the Golden Cat. "That's new. You're lucky that I'm already used to all of the oddities that happen around you, but you should do a better job of hiding this golding cutie."

She cautiously ruffled the Golden Cat's body. The sensation was unlike anything she had ever felt. The warmth of the Larkinson Clan flowed directly through her touch!

"Nyaaaa." Goldie licked her fingers.

"It's fine. Anyone who glimpses her will merely mistake her as a physical projection. I'm not stupid enough to show her off in public."

They went back to the main topic. After handing over a data pad that contained her report, she began to explain the highlights.

"There's a problem with their former warlord and ace pilot."

"Every Vicious Mountainer has a problem in my opinion."

"It goes beyond their cultural obsession for war. While I don't have any insider knowledge, outside observers have studied Saint Hemmington extensively and noted some abnormal clues."

Ace pilots were no longer referred to as Venerable. Instead, they were called Saint, though Ves wasn't sure why the MTA would standardize a term that was normally tied to religion. Was the Association attempting to replace traditional faiths with mech pilot worship?

"Let's hear it, then."

"Before the Saint advanced to ace pilot, he was considerably more reserved. Maybe you can chalk this up to his lacking strength, but the Hemmington back then was much more restrained. He often abided by the recommendations of his council and his inner circle."

"And all of that changed one day?"

"Yes. While Hemmington had always been seen as one of the hopefuls who could make it to ace pilot, once he did, his entire personality had shifted. He became more aggressive, pushing for attacks on other tribes regardless of the state of his own forces. He also became harsher towards his own tribe and clan. He regularly berated them when they did not support his decisions. He no longer became open to compromise. He pushed his men hard so that they could keep up with his ambitions."

That sounded very problematic. From what Ves knew of ace pilots, it wasn't unusual for them to change after they attained this rank. In most cases, this was merely a consequence of reaching their goals and attaining a new level of power. They still retained much of their original personality.

This sounded entirely different. Did Lord Hemmington suffer a mishap when he advanced to ace pilot? Did he progress through improper means?

If this was so, then the value of his personal journal was not as great anymore. Who wanted to follow the footsteps of a Saint who basically destroyed himself? Ves did not want Joshua to lose his pleasant personality!

"Have you found the reason why Lord Hemmington deviated to this extent?"

Calabast shook her head. "No. It's something that the Cross Clan simply doesn't talk about at all. They have far too much respect for ace pilots in general and especially one that came from their own ranks. They're all too willing to overlook Saint Hemmington's flaws in order to feel good about themselves. You should be careful about that when you finally talk to Reginald Cross. He's the second son of Hemmington and worships his father immensely."

He grimaced at this news. It turned out the Cross Clan's problems were greater than he realized. Even though the Cross Clan was apparently secular, Ves suspected they were actually religious with how much they idolized their former ace pilot!

"Well, I'm feeling less and less enthusiastic about cooperating with the Cross Clan. Aside from what we already know, is there anything they can offer to us that is worth tolerating their flaws?"

"You'll have to ask Reginald Cross himself. I'm not sure whether they can make concessions. Their clan has lost almost all of its foundations upon fleeing Vicious Mountain. They may be sitting on an enormous pile of cash, but they aren't doing much to replacing their missing income streams."

This was unsustainable. Once their savings ran out, how would the Crossers be able to operate their enormous capital ships?

Perhaps they had a plan he didn't know about, but the lack of foresight was disconcerting. Ves wasn't eager to partner up with a clan that wasn't able to wipe it's own butt anymore. If his worst fears came true, then the Cross Clan might actually ask Ves to do the job!

Calabast imparted some more details to him. There weren't any signs the Cross Clan intended to settle anywhere in the local regions. The Crossers were quite eager to travel far away in order to start anew in a completely different environment.

"They're not interested in taking revenge. I'm not sure why."

"Maybe they just want to distance themselves from their greatest shame. Saint Hemmington's death must have dealt a devastating blow to the Crossers."

It was difficult to understand what the Crossers thought. They did not entirely behave as stereotypical Vicious Mountainers. Ves half-expected them to clamor to take revenge. Maybe they made too many enemies for them to believe they stood a chance.

Time quickly passed. Once Calabast finished her briefing, she ruffled Lucky's head one last time before departing. Ves stood up as well. He wouldn't be meeting with the Cross Patriarch in his office.

"Come on, cats. Let's go and see some Vicious Mountainers."

"Meow!"

"Miaow!"

"Nyaaa!"

Chapter 2489: A Good Mech

Was it appropriate for Ves to bring his pets to a diplomatic meeting? Probably not. Ves did so anyway. As a famed and extraordinarily successful Journeyman, he could get away with a lot. People like him were always abnormal.

Now that Master Willix saw through him, it was no longer necessary for him to cultivate an eccentric image. He still intended to do so because the MTA and other powerful organizations still posed a threat to him. His current patron within the Association couldn't block everything!

When the meeting was about to commence, Ves entered a hall specifically built to receive foreign dignitaries. He wore a more formal version of his regular outfit that enhanced his stature and made him look a bit older than he looked.

He idly rubbed his smooth-shaven chin as a pair of lovely cats padded behind him. "Maybe I should grow a beard."

undefinedOnce Ves reached the center of the hall, he awaited the arrival of the Crossers. Lucky and Clixie flanked him on each side while Goldie had dove back into the Larkinson Mandate which he currently held.

The clan heirloom held considerably more energy than before. Goldie had so much that even regular people could sense the Larkinson Mandate was special at a glance.

In fact, now that Goldie reached new heights, Ves wondered whether he should upgrade her with spiritual augments. Her spiritual essence had grown considerably in both quantity and quality. This effectively increased her capacity to bear spiritual constructs.

As Ves speculatively studied Goldie's form, he hesitated. A part of him felt that turning everything that was made of spiritual energy into spiritual constructs wasn't the right approach.

Life was chaotic and fluent. Living entities such as his mechs and his design spirits were more than capable of growing and acquiring new abilities organically.

Relying on growth over time was slower, less efficient and much more time-consuming than resorting to spiritual engineering.

Ves basically had to choose between natural growth and artificial creation. There were deep philosophical implications that he hadn't entirely explored yet. While he favored the control and precision of deliberate creation, life was all about spontaneous growth.

"Maybe I should combine the two instead." He mused. "By engaging indirected growth, I can enjoy the advantages of both."

He already did so once when he created a seed of his mother's construct. While the end product came out differently than he expected, it successfully generated a portal.

As long as Ves didn't mind a bit of variance, he could definitely create a lot of useful products. One of his most anticipated projects he had in mind was the replacement for his Grand Dynamo. Once the excitement of his wedding died down, he planned to work on it right away. Once he gained an additional supply of spiritual energy, he wouldn't have to be so frugal anymore.

The double doors leading into the hall slid open. Ves quickly cleared his head and straightened his back.

A number of powerful footsteps echoed across the space. The Crossers seemed to prefer taking their own steps instead of relying on antigrav clothes to move around.

That instantly increased his respect for the new arrivals. Ves couldn't get used to seeing people hovering around just above the ground all the time. Perhaps it made sense for people to do so when they lived in vertical cities, but it was pretentious behavior when it happened indoors.

Five Crossers entered the room. Two of them appeared to be lightly-armored bodyguards. Two more seemed to be important leaders within their clan. At the head, a broad-chested man with close-cropped silver hair stepped forward to shake Ves' hand.

The two gripped each other tightly. A small dominance game ensued as they tried to crush each other with their strength.

To their surprise, neither side succumbed at first. Patriarch Reginald Cross possessed enhanced strength. So did Ves.

As their hands employed more strength, Ves slowly discovered that he still had strength to spare. The accidents that caused his body to mutate to its current state had come in handy once again.

He tried his best not to smirk as he steadily increased the pressure exerted by his hand.

To his credit, Patriarch Reginald did not flinch. Instead, the leader of the Cross Clan mobilized his force of will and attempted to establish dominance on another level!

He failed. Ves may not be able to project such a strong force of will, but his mental defenses were more than up to the task. Having confronted reality-defying dark gods in battle, a mere expert pilot hardly posed a threat!

"Patriarch Cross. Let us proceed with our talk."

The pressure abruptly abated. The Vicious Mountainer grasped the opportunity to withdraw from this game without admitting defeat. "Certainly. Time is short."

The two sat at a formal table made out of the finest Hexer wood.

While a bunch of cats kept Ves company, Patriarch Reginald was flanked by his own clansmen.

The contrast was striking. The Crossers were caught off-guard. They thought that Ves would bring his own advisors, but evidently he was confident enough that he could hold his ground by himself.

What the visitors didn't know was that Lucky and Clixie were quite perceptive in their own right. Ves trusted their instincts.

"Patriarch Larkinson, it is a pleasure to meet you." Reginald began. "You are different from every other mech designer we have met. I have never met a Journeyman or Senior for that matter that has earned more glory, honor and prestige than you. You were born in the wrong star sector. If you rose up in Vicious Mountain, you would have received the respect that you are due. Instead, you are forced to entertain Hexers who constantly look down on men like us as boys."

"Thank you for the compliment." Ves vaguely replied.

He did not think it was fitting for him to badmouth the Hexers when he was relying on them so much right now. If Reginald was a bit more diplomatic, then he wouldn't have brought up such a sore point.

"You're a real man, Ves. You could easily fold any stuck-up Hexer in half with those arms. You have the heart of a true warrior. I'm not surprised you're eager to leave the Komodo Star Sector as soon as possible."

"There are multiple reasons why our Larkinson Clan seeks to enter the Red Ocean."

Ves grew a bit exasperated at this discussion. It had barely started and already the Patriarch of the Cross Clan was talking nonsense!

It couldn't be helped. The Cross Clan used to be rooted in the Garlen Empire. Every leader had to be a high-ranking mech pilot. Regardless of his actual leadership qualifications, the head of the Cross Clan had to be an expert pilot at a minimum.

Ves really wanted to crack open the head of a Vicious Mountainer in order to see what caused them to develop such crooked thoughts. Couldn't the Cross Clan dispatch someone normal for this important meeting?

Patriarch Cross looked more at home in the cockpit of an expert mech!

After some terse exchanges where Ves did his best not to insult anyone, the Cross leader finally addressed his actual business.

"We should join forces." Patriarch Reginald abruptly stated. "We are both in the possession of a substantial number of merits. As long as we seek out one or two groups, we can immediately head to the closest local gate to travel to a star system that holds one of those enormous inter-galactic beyonder gates."

Ves raised his palm. "Whoa there. Let's not put the cart before the horse. Sharing the cost of a beyonder ticket isn't enough. Without an actual grounds for cooperation, our partnership will likely end in ruins. We can't afford to suffer any discord between us when we reach the Red Ocean. Can you start with what exactly the Cross Clan seeks from the Larkinson Clan?"

"Certainly." Reginald forcefully nodded. "We have a list of demands that we would like your clan to fulfil. They're mere details, though. Just leave it up to our underlings to hash them out. I only have a few overriding demands. Aside from sharing the burden of exchanging a beyonder ticket, I would like your help in one critical matter."

"And that is?"

"Help me become an ace pilot."

"..."

The Crossers all looked absolutely serious when their leader made this request. To them, issuing this demand was already a given!

Of course, what made sense for them didn't necessarily make sense to Ves! How could Patriarch Reginald make such an absurd demand? Just because the Larkinson Clan coincidently gained a bunch of expert pilots didn't mean that Ves could perform magic!

He cleared his throat. "That is.. quite a request. I'm sorry. I don't think anyone in the galaxy can deliver what you ask. If I had the ability to help anyone advance to ace pilot, I would have spent my efforts on cultivating our own expert pilots."

"Ah, but do you know what trials and challenges an expert pilot must overcome to become an ace pilot?" Patriarch Reginald grinned. "Your Larkinson Clan and the family you came from has never come close to producing an ace pilot."

"There are sources. This is hardly an obscure phenomenon."

The Crossers all sneered in contempt.

"The galactic net is one of the least reliable sources in the galaxy. Do you truly think that expert pilots can transcend by following a ten-step plan?"

Ves frowned. "You're saying that we aren't capable of nurturing ace pilots. Then why are you approaching us in the first place?"

"We want your mechs." Patriarch Reginald plainly stated. "Let me fill you in on a secret to show our goodwill. A good mech is indispensable for any expert pilot looking to break through. An inadequate expert mech cannot sustain the powerful advancement process. At least a Master is required to design a suitable high-tier expert mech!"

Ves was shocked at the revelation! Though he appeared stoic on the surface, he was quite surprised at how much the expert pilot revealed.

Though there was a chance that Patriarch Reginald made a misleading statement, Ves did not think this was the case!

What the Cross Patriarch stated made so much sense to Ves. Third-rate states rarely if ever produced ace pilots. This was despite the fact that they easily retained a hundred or more expert pilots.

With so many demigods, how come none of them ever succeeded in taking a step forward?

The most likely explanation was that their mechs simply couldn't keep up with their growth!

A good mech pilot was unable to express his full strength when piloting a bad mech. This rule applied to everyone, whether it was regular mech pilots, expert candidates and apparently even expert pilots!

This revelation had many implications to Ves. It became even more important to supply powerful expert mechs to his expert pilots!

"Thank you for your guidance." Ves sincerely responded. "That said, it doesn't make sense to approach us. Perhaps we have lucked out in obtaining some expert pilots, but their advancement process is not comparable to that of an ace pilot. Since a good expert mech is indispensable, you should approach an excellent Master Mech Designer instead."

"We have done so already. It is.. difficult to secure the services of a Master we are confident in. While we have gathered the MTA merits needed to attract their services, I dare not spend it all when there is an alternative. You."

"I'm not a Senior, let alone a Master. I can't design expert mechs by myself. You would still need to secure the services of a better mech designer."

The Cross Patriarch nodded. "That is a given, but we have not let off our eye on you. No matter how great your contribution to my expert mech must be, I want you to add whatever is necessary to enable my breakthrough. The Cross Clan cannot be without an ace pilot! It is a disgrace for us to live without returning to our former splendor. Until I correct this injustice, I shall not rest until I inherit the mantle of my father!"

A strong and aggressive force of will swept over Ves and his cats!

"Meow!"

"Miaow!"

Chapter 2490: Worshipping Strength

Crazy!

The Cross Clan was crazy!

Ves finally discovered why he felt so ill at ease with the Crossers.

They were nutters! Though the Cross Clan appeared to be made up of militarists, it was actually a cult that worshipped powerful mech pilots!

undefinedThe strong conviction that Patriarch Reginald Cross showed when he stated his desire to become an ace pilot made it clear that this was the Cross Clan's overriding goal!

Partnering up with the Larkinson Clan and travelling to the Red Ocean were only incidental goals to the Vicious Mountainers. What they truly wanted was to regain the glory they lost when Saint Hemmington Cross died!

Ves wouldn't be surprised if only Patriarch Reginald held this obsession. Yet from the rapt expressions of his subordinates, the entire Cross Clan must be yearning for this goal!

Ves underestimated the importance of ace pilots to Vicious Mountainers. He also underestimated the pain that groups such as the Cross Clan felt when they lost one of their greatest heroes.

Just as Patriarch Reginald said, their overriding goal was to provide the Cross Clan with a new Saint.

Understanding this motivation gave Ves a much better sense of the Crossers.

They were fanatics.

Ves felt very mixed about that.

On one hand, he had many negative experiences with fanatics. They were bullheaded, irrational and devoid of common sense.

On the other hand, he also had a lot of experience in manipulating them. As long as he comprehended their beliefs, he would be able to devise ways to exploit them to his advantage.

It didn't matter if he lied to them. As long as he managed to hack their beliefs, he was confident he would be able to become their new truth!

His attitude towards the Cross Clan changed. Instead of seeing it as a former ruling power, he began to regard it as a collection of desperate and homeless cultists. They were rather pathetic in his eyes.

He completely disregarded the strong force of will spread by Patriarch Reginald.

This wasn't easy to most people. Venerable Reginald was more powerful than Venerable O'Callahan by a noticeable margin. He was not completely groundless in his ambition to become the next ace pilot of his clan.

Ves still managed to shrug off the expert pilot's powerful influence. His apparent ease earned him the respect of the Crossers.

Once Patriarch Reginald was done with his little show, he pulled back his force of will until it was no longer so oppressive.

"Patriarch Larkinson, please work with us. Both of us can help each other."

"I.. am not quite sure." Ves spoke as he furrowed his brows. He stroked Clixie's belly as he tried to parse this situation. "You have made assumptions about my ability to design mechs that may not be true."

"We are confident that you are who we need." Reginald replied. "We have studied your mechs in great detail. While they are not what we are used to, we love them. We appreciate your work and we believe they have potential. Besides, the results speak for themselves. Your clan has produced so many breakthroughs in a single campaign. It is impossible to ignore the role your mechs have played in this. Your Larkinson Clan is centered around your mechs, nothing else. Am I wrong?"

This fellow wasn't easy to fool. He may be the head of his cult, but he wasn't stupid, especially when it came to his core interests!

"The effects of our mechs are currently unconfirmed. We are currently working together with Master Willix to ascertain whether some of our mechs pose a threat to mech pilots. Until this investigation is over, I am not at liberty to say any further about this topic."

"Don't give us that crap. Your mechs are what we need. Work with us to design an expert mech for me, and we will help your clan get stronger. This is what we are good at. Once we join hands, we'll become unbeatable!"

"I'm not sure. I have two problems with your proposal. One, I am still uncertain whether I can meet your expectations. You are seriously overestimating what my mechs can do. Two, the benefits you are willing to provide in turn are vague. Assuming that you're correct about my ability, what makes you think I am willing to be of service to you and your clan?"

Patriarch Reginald grinned. "Aside from giving you tips on how to become an ace pilot, we can whip your men up into shape."

"We're doing fine."

"No you're not. You may have gotten a core of strong mech pilots by running roughshod over the Nyxian Gap, but I've heard the casualties you've suffered are horrendous. What will you do to toughen up your next batch of mech pilots, then? Will you find another high-risk region to traipse through in the hopes of tempering more battle-hardened soldiers? How many lives are you willing to throw away this time?"

"What is your point, Patriarch Cross?"

"Your training method is effective, but crude and unsustainable. You'll only pile up your losses and deprive a lot of families of their parents. It's stupid to go on like this when we are willing to provide you with an alternative."

"And that is?"

Reginald confidently pointed his thumb at himself. "Let us take charge of the training of your men. Our clan has existed for a long time, and we have fought more wars than you have shaved your cheeks. We know what works and what doesn't."

"Our Larkinson Clan may be young, but our heritage dates back to the start of the Age of Mechs."

"With respect, you were third-raters for the entire time. Even now, you still haven't gotten rid of your third-class mechs and starships. Do you truly think that your clan is ready to fight on the same level as our Cross Clan? I can guarantee you that even if your mechs are better, my men will run over your forces. If you don't believe me, you can be that Major Verle of yours. One of my men has already talked to him about this matter."

This was a troubling prospect to Ves. He thought that fighting their way through the Nyxian Gap was enough for his mech pilots to become strong. While he wanted reject Patriarch Reginald's prediction, fighting a bunch of pirates was different than fighting a trained, second-class mech force!

If Ves and the Larkinson Clan arrogantly entered the Red Ocean with the belief that defeating the Allidus Alliance gave them the grounds to push their weight around, then they would definitely be proven wrong!

"Not enough." Ves shook his head. "What you say may be true according to your professional judgement, but we do not necessarily have to turn to you to address this shortcoming. We can approach other second-class groups to bring our mech pilots up to standard. In fact, we can even spend big in order to hire the best second-class trainers so that we can grow stronger by relying on internal means."

"You have to help me become an ace pilot! I do not see why you are rejecting our proposal. Your Larkinson Clan is good at mechs. Our Cross Clan is even better at training powerful mech pilots. Putting the two of us together makes as much sense as pairing mechs with pilots!"

Wow. Patriarch Reginald was really banking on this deal. Didn't he realize that he was giving his hand away? The greater his desperation, the more leverage he provided to Ves!

Ves shook his head yet again. "The concessions you have made aren't compelling enough to enter into a risky partnership. Our Larkinson Clan has a history of being on the receiving end of betrayal. We do not easily trust others anymore, especially when it comes to covering our back."

"You have my word as the patriarch of the Cross Clan that we will view your Larkinsons as brothers and comrades when we strike a deal."

Verbal promises were worth fart to Ves. Expert pilot or not, he was not going to bank the future of his clan on a casual vow!

The talks between the two eventually fizzled out once they realized they were going in circles. The Cross Clan wanted something from the Larkinsons, but they hadn't brought enough benefits to the table to make it worthwhile for Ves to take their offer seriously.

They were sincere. Ves gave them that. It was just that the Cross Clan in its current form was different from the Cross Clan in its prime.

At its height, the Cross Clan's Becker Tribe was comparable to one one of the weakest partners of the Friday Coalition. While that didn't sound flattering, they effectively wielded the power of a state at the time!

It was too bad the Crossers lost too much in its rapid collapse and chaotic flight from the Vicious Mountain Star Sector. Enemy tribes invaded the territory of the Becker Tribe and took back all of its gains when Lord Hemmington came to power. Rival clans from within the tribe stabbed the Crossers in the back and wrenched away even more assets.

What little the Cross Clan had left was not enough for them to retain the power of a state. They also have much of the wealth and assets of one. Treachery from within the ranks of the Crossers resulted in the embezzlement of a lot of accounts and backup funds.

Seeing that their side wasn't able to sway Ves over, Patriarch Reginald and his men departed the meeting hall with disappointed huffs.

Once they were gone, Ves turned to his cats. "Well. They're certainly different from everyone else. What do you think about the Crossers, Lucky."

"Meow."

"Yeah. The Crossers are very desperate about regaining an ace pilot. It's not necessary if they don't intend to return to Vicious Mountain. We're certainly not in a hurry to obtain one either."

All of the expert pilots under his command had just broken through. It was far too soon to think about their next breakthroughs.

In some cases, it was possible for regular mech pilots to turn into expert pilots after a few years.

However, the road from expert pilot to ace pilot was long. Progress slowed down and expert pilots had to put in a lot of effort to increase their resonance strength. This was not a process that anyone could speed up except for the pilot in question.

"Miaow miaow miaow." Clixie nuzzled her head against his hand.

"They're hiding something? I can believe that. Even if it appears they're willing to do anything to secure my services, it can't be that easy. The Cross Clan used to be a lot more successful. Patriarch Reginald should possess at least some savvy."

Maybe this had something to do with Saint Hemmington's unusual breakthrough. Why had the ace pilot become more aggressive? Why had Reginald's father led the Becker Tribe in so many wars?"

Goldie jumped out of the Larkinson Mandate and pressed up against Lucky and Clixie.

"Nyaaaa."

"They remind you of our clansmen? I hope not. We Larkinsons are nothing alike the Crossers!"

From what Ves had seen, the Larkinsons may potentially develop in the same direction as the Crossers. In fact, if the Larkinson Clan hadn't set up the Hall of Heroes, perhaps the status of high-ranking expert pilots would have truly reached an astronomical height!

Ves detested this outcome. Expert pilots and ace pilots were destructive forces. They were good at defeating enemies, but not much else. If expert pilots such as Venerable Jannzi took charge, they would definitely run the Larkinson Clan into the ground!

"Only noble creators such as myself are worthy to lead our clan!" Ves self-righteously claimed. "A clan led by mech pilots is no different from a barbarian horde. A clan led by a mech designer is much more civilized!"

This was the end of the first meeting between Ves and Reginald. The two patriarchs had made their intentions known. Right now, the ball was in the Cross Clan's court. Would the Vicious Mountainers be able to bring up something compelling enough to justify a partnership?

Chapter 2491: Cat Hide

On the eve of the wedding, many Larkinsons departed from the base on the surface of Cinach VI and flew to orbit. There, they boarded various ships in order to prepare themselves for the greatest event in the history of the clan since its founding.

Ves decided to gather several of the most important Larkinsons for a relatively private and subdued dinner. His choice of venue? The resplendent and recently-repaired dining hall of the Gravada Knarlax!

Having met with many foreigners lately, Ves found it comforting to be surrounded by his own people this time. He hadn't even invited any actual Hexers this time in order to make himself and his fellow Larkinsons feel at home.

It didn't matter. Gloriana had invited her own circle over to one of the Wodin Dynasty's capital ships in order to hold her own soirée.

undefinedStill, he couldn't snub every woman with a Hexer background.

Seated further away, Ranya Wodin talked in low tones with Juliet Stameros of the Penitent Sisters. A number of other Penitent Sister officers kept to themselves. Their controversial history prevented them from smoothly integrating into the Larkinson Clan.

Ves remained unbothered by that. The conversion of Ranya Wodin proved that the Larkinson Network was able to mellow out any Hexer no matter how much they looked down on boys.

The only concern was that thousands of strong-minded Penitent Sisters joined the clan at once. Though they lost hundreds of mech pilots and many more support personnel during the Nyxian Gap Campaign, they still had plenty of women to constitute a faction within the Larkinson.

In fact, though the Larkinson Clan was already large, the addition of thousands of Hexers would definitely influence the Larkinson Network just as it changed their views. The Penitent Sisters became Larkinsons, but the Larkinsons also became a little more sympathetic towards Hexers.

Oh well. So long as the changes were mild, Ves did not believe the Larkinson Clan would suddenly put women ahead of men. That was too drastic of a change.

"Meow~"

Lucky squinted with pleasure as he ate from a bowl of medium-grade exotics. Ves specifically picked a bunch of energetic but relatively soft materials from the Strategic Materials Reserve.

Though Ves initially wanted to feed his cat with some Unending Alloy, the gem cat still had nightmares about this infernal exotic. Even when Ves made sure it was flushed from every trace of the dark gods, his cat still rejected it. The time it took for Lucky's digestion system to process the input was too excessive!

When Ves studied Lucky's properties, he felt his cat hadn't been making the best use of all of the Unending alloy he ingested. While Lucky's exterior form had become a lot more resistant to damage, it fell short of the actual material.

Perhaps Lucky was too underdeveloped to process first-class materials to the fullest extent.

That said, the gem cat still managed to retain some of the most powerful effects of every exceptional material that passed through his stomach.

Right now, his cat possessed a part of the regeneration factor of Rorach's Bone, the sensor-blocking properties of the Cadisis and other stealth materials, the hardiness of Breyer alloy and Unending alloy, the spiritual storage capabilities of P-stone and Unending alloy and a small degree of resistance against spiritual energy of B-stone.

The fact that Lucky managed to incorporate all of these properties, if in a diminished form, in a single composite metallic exterior was nothing less than miraculous!

Ves stared greedily at his own pet. As long as he was able to skin Lucky of some of his incredibly valuable exterior, he could use the composite material to take his Unending Regalia a step further! It would become the ultimate protective suit against both material and spiritual threats!

In fact, if Ves treated Lucky as the cat version of Cassandra Breyer, he could continually harvest a small but precious quantity of 'Lucky alloy'!

As long as this went on for a couple of years, Ves would eventually accumulate enough Lucky alloy to build an entire mech!

Should he utilize Lucky alloy to build Venerable Joshua's expert mech?

Maybe not. While Lucky alloy was a very good all-round material, Ves didn't quite feel it was appropriate to use it up in a humanoid mech.

"If only I still have access to my magnum opus." Ves muttered.

Out of all of the mechs he designed over the course of his career, he still considered the Devil Tiger to be his best work.

Though Ouroboros should technically hold the crown, Ves didn't actually feel any sense of ownership towards that accidental work. He never intended for the one-off hero mech designed for duelling purposes to mutate in its current incarnation as an ace mech. At best, he gave birth to the Terran mech before subsequently giving it up for adoption.

Instead, a material as remarkable as Lucky alloy should actually be used to uplift the Devil Tiger, or maybe even used to design an entirely different tiger mech!

As Ves began to entertain various interesting tiger mech concepts, Lucky paused his chewing and shuddered.

The unsuspecting mechanical cat turned around.

"Meow..?"

Ves drew his mind away from his ideas and gently stroked Lucky's tiger-striped exterior. Its smooth and hardy surface was pure value in his eyes.

"It's nothing. Just go back to enjoying your meal. Grow stronger. I don't mind if you use up your entire meal to strengthen yourself. Don't stop upgrading, okay?"

"Meow." Lucky shrugged and went back to crunching his teeth through the soft but delectable exotics.

As everyone slowly partook their sumptuous meals, they spoke with each other about the future of the Larkinson Clan.

People regularly came to talk to Ves to explore his views on the Red Ocean.

If the Larkinson Clan ever reached this exciting new frontier, what exactly were they supposed to do? Would they be roaming through the new galaxy without ever settling down? Would they depend entirely on selling mechs to go by, or should they be diversifying their income streams?

Previously, Ves simply brushed aside these topics because they were too distant. Let alone gathering a proper fleet, the Larkinson Clan was still extremely far away from earning passage through the inter-galactic beyonder gate!

It was different now. The Red Ocean had already become within reach. With almost 40 million MTA merits, the Larkinson Clan could easily join forces with other pioneers and enter the Red Ocean as soon as it traveled to the right system!

For better or worse, Ves had to show at least some semblance of a plan to his fellow Larkinsons. They didn't want to enter a completely new environment without any further directions!

"Prospecting for phasewater is too distant for us. Other pioneers will eat us alive as soon as we step foot out of the protected star systems." Ves replied to Raymond Billingsley-Larkinson. "We should instead take it slow and focus on setting up an industry while steadily acquiring the ships and mechs we need to resume our expedition."

"That is prudent. We are only allowed to bring up to twenty capital ships to the Red Ocean. Such a fleet is wholly inadequate to venture into dangerous territory. We will have to acquire a hundred if not more combat carriers to restore our fighting strength to its peak. It's a pity we'll have to discard most of the ships we're about to receive from the Hegemony."

Ves casually waved his hand in a brushing motion. "The second-hand Hexer combat carriers are only transitional vessels. They're good enough for the galactic rim but wholly inadequate for the Red Ocean. A few years from now, our financial might will grow to the point where we can acquire much better vessels. Rather than wasting time, effort and resources into upgrading those disposable ships, we might as well purchase newer ones that incorporate some of the tech and materials of better regions."

That was going to cost a lot. Raymond did not need to remind Ves that the LMC had to keep a lot of mechs in order to realize this plan!

"At least we won't be starting from nothing." Ves smirked. "Our capital ships will form the foundation of our main fleet. Starting from our factory ship, we'll be acquiring additional capital ships to expand and round out our capabilities. I'm already on track to hire a young but talented shipwright to assist us in these endeavors."

"I've heard. Vivian Tsai is not what I had in mind for our chief ship designer. Still, in the absence of any better, I suppose she will do. We still have to rent a drydock everytime we want to construct a ship, though. I do not think it is realistic for us to establish a shipbuilding industry. Our clan doesn't possess a foundation in this sector."

Ves frowned. "What are you trying to say?"

"Some of us Larkinsons, especially the older ones, think we should find a place to settle down. We're too old to take part in wild adventures. There are families with us who would doubtlessly enjoy their better life if they resided on an open planet rather than some floating coffins."

"The Red Ocean is too dangerous to think about settling down." Ves forcefully replied. "We have suffered not once, but twice from the consequences of betrayal. Founding a colony or living on someone else's planet will just tie a portion of us down. Any enemy of ours can easily prepare a devastating strike on us. Don't you agree?"

"Ves, some of us are willing to take that risk. None of us have gotten used to living on starships. Most of us grew up with enough space to run for hours. With soil underneath our feet and open skies above our heads, we grew up in the classical human fashion. Don't deprive us of this opportunity. Personally, I believe you are being overly paranoid about the risks. Not every planet is as prone to attacks as you claim. As long as we build a strong settlement and ally ourselves to a greater community or alliance, we'll enjoy plenty of cover."

"Feh. Allies are no better than fair-weather friends. They'll be glad to associate with us when times are good, but once we suffer a mishap, they'll be gone in no time."

Raymond let out an exasperated sigh. "You're too paranoid for your own good, you know that? The galaxy isn't out to get you, and we can't explore the Red Ocean without making friends."

"We'll see. Depending on the circumstances, we might be forced to change my plans. However, my stance is always clear. We should rely on ourselves as much as possible."

Seeing that this talk wasn't going very well, Raymond changed the topic.

"How is my grandson doing?"

"He's a fine expert pilot. As the only light mech specialist of his rank, Venerable Tusa will play an indispensable role."

"What of his expert mech? I have not received much word about it. How difficult is it for you to supply one to Tusa?"

We're still working on that. You should know how complex and demanding they are. We can't speed up this process because we don't have a foundation in expert mech design. Just tell him to be patient."

"That is rather difficult for him. He's not the most patient mech pilot."

"Don't worry about it. He will be the first of our expert pilots to receive an expert mech. He's at the top of our list."

"That's good to hear. Do you need any assistance in gathering the materials, licenses or other necessities to design his expert mech?"

"Ah, I don't have a good idea yet of what we need to begin this project. I'll have to discuss it with Master Willix."

Raymond was very excited about the fact that an MTA Master Mech Designer would work on his grandson's expert mech. Even though Master Willix wouldn't be contributing much beyond the minimum, her involvement still suggested that Tusa should be very happy with his upcoming expert mech.

As long as he received a high-quality mech, Tusa should be able to progress quickly!

Chapter 2492: Redeemed

The evening dinner continued in harmony. The Gravada Knarlax's dining hall was large enough to accommodate thousands of people. Bots and dishes continued to float above the heads of the Larkinsons as they enjoyed the night before the wedding.

Numerous Larkinsons approached Ves to talk about matters that they normally wouldn't be able to bring up. As the Larkinson Clan grew, so did the status of the patriarch. His time was too valuable to spend on addressing each and every Larkinson's personal concerns.

So meeting him to talk about something that wasn't on any agenda was quite difficult these days.

Today was an exception. As Ves looked forward to his wedding, he was in a good mood.

undefinedMelkor stepped up to him. "Hey, Ves."

"Hello. Are the Avatars doing okay?"

"We are already back to full strength. The new recruits are a little raw, of course, but the veterans of the Nyxian Gap Campaign have more than enough experience to cover for that. I'm proud of our cadre, though it's a shame you've pulled out all of my expert pilots."

"You know why we had to do that. Expert pilots need room to develop themselves. Your men also shouldn't look up to them all the time."

"I don't think you're here to talk about that, Melkor."

Ves sensed an anxious mind behind his cousin's visor.

"You're right. I have a rather presumptuous request. I heard from one of your assistants that you recently designed a second version of the Crystal Lord."

"Yes. The Crystal Lord Mark II is a modernized upgrade of the Mark I. It not only possesses a much more powerful glow, but it also incorporates restricted alien crystal tech, courtesy of the MTA. It's a fine machine that will be sure to dominate many battles on land."

"Can you design an improved, customized variant for me? I.. I want to pilot a mech you've personally made for me. I saved up all of my merits to get the best mech possible."

Ves grew serious when he heard that. This was a big request.

"It's not going to be easy. This is a time-consuming project. The Crystal Lord is a third-class rifleman mech. It's also completely landbound. Such a mech is not a great fit to our current clan. I'd have to spend months on your customised variant. This is not a cost-effective use of my time."

"So that's a no?" Melkor's heart sank.

"I didn't say that. You should let me finish. Instead of trying to adapt the Crystal Lord Mark II design to your needs, it is much more convenient for us to design a clan mech that will already be up to standard once it's finished. Granted, this clan-exclusive rifleman mech is meant to be piloted by any Larkinson, but it will serve as a much more convenient base for your custom mech. Do you understand what I am saying?"

The Avatar Commander relaxed. "I get it. You need to design a new base model first so that it won't take much work to develop a suitable custom mech."

"It's a much better use of my time. This way, every other ranged mech specialized in the Larkinson Clan will receive something new as well."

"Will you be upgrading the Bright Warrior design to serve as this base?"

"I'm not sure yet to be honest." Ves admitted as he fell into thought. "I think.. our implementation of the Bright Warrior model hasn't fit our circumstances. The modular mech platform exists to provide our mech pilots with choice. It is meant to make us adaptable against a variety of different threats. Instead, most mech pilots simply opt to choose one of the four configurations and stick to that for the remainder of their assignments."

"Part of that is due to the lack of resources. You didn't have enough materials to build the parts to give every Bright Warrior the opportunity to switch configurations."

"That's true, but your Avatars are also too accustomed to lacking choice that they don't quite know what to do now that they have options. I am quite aware that your Avatars has optimized their spare parts stockpile so that there is considerably more leeway to switch configurations than before."

After all, it was incredibly wasteful and completely unnecessary to prepare for sets of configurations for every individual Bright Warrior. Retaining just half of the parts was already enough to give every mech pilot enough choice.

Yet even then, the Avatar mech pilots simply didn't switch.

Melkor shrugged. "I can't force my men to pilot a different configuration. You are asking too much of them. Joshua can pilot all four configurations because he's a prodigy. Our Avatars, while good, cannot master multiple mech types. You can force them to do so, but nobody will be able to rely on them in battle."

That was very fatal in battle. One of the reasons why the Larkinsons always performed well in battle was due to the trust they held towards each other. The mech forces did not recruit incompetent mech pilots.

"It's due to that reason and more that I'm not quite certain whether the Bright Warrior model has a future. It served its purpose as a convenient, versatile mech model. A year ago, the Bright Warrior perfectly fit our needs due to its ability to overpower any third-class mech. This won't be the case today. It's unrealistic to design a second version of the Bright Warrior that can crush other second-class mechs. At best it will be on par with them, but due to the nature of modular mech platforms, its performance will always be 10 to 20 percent worse than specialized mechs."

While Ves hadn't entirely made up his mind yet, he was already leaning away from multi-purpose mechs. They might work well enough for first-class mechs, but he would rather spend his time on designing a roster of specialized mechs in order to maximize performance.

"What will you do with the Quint, then?"

"It has already diverged from a regular Bright Warrior. Most of the upgrades we've applied to it are still applied to the frame. Rather than reverting these changes, I might as well continue to iterate on it whenever needed. It is a mech that has already gained its own life."

"How is that different from upgrading the regular Bright Warrior model then?"

"Upgrading a single mech is considerably less demanding than upgrading a mech design. Normally, I wouldn't even bother with this, but the Quint is worth the investment. It's a mech that has lived through two consecutive breakthroughs, and therefore possesses more life than any other mech in the clan aside from the Shield of Samar."

All of these considerations were a bit over Melkor's head, so he excused himself a few minutes later.

He achieved his main purpose. Ves promised to look into designing a custom mech for Melkor once the right base model came along.

Ves spoke with some other people. Ketis and Dietrich stopped by to talk about mechs. Some older Larkinsons exchanged views with him as well.

The original members of the Larkinson Family were all proud of the clan. Though it evolved in a different direction than they originally planned, the Larkinson heritage had become stronger than ever before. The decision to adopt a lot of outsiders and induct them into the Larkinson way of life had borne a lot fruit. The integration of different people and cultures had proceeded a lot more smoothly than everyone expected!

Of course, Ves essentially cheated this process by relying on the Larkinson Network. If outsiders truly knew what was in store for them if they joined the clan, then they probably wouldn't be so eager to become a Larkinson!

Commander Valerie Chancy approached him next.

As a former Hexer, many Larkinsons unconsciously shied away from her. Ves was a bit disappointed at that. He hoped that every member of the Larkinson Clan would no longer be judged by their past, but rather by their current accomplishments.

No matter what sins she accrued in the past, all of that was over now that the Penitent Sisters formally became a part of the Larkinson Clan.

"Thank you for advocating for our redemption." The Penitent Sister Commander began. "In our hearts, we don't feel we have deserved the Superior Mother's mercy yet. We will endeavor to do our best to fight on the clan's behalf as recompense."

"It's no problem." Ves casually answered. "The Hexers are glad to get rid of you. Combined with my growing clout, it is easy to negotiate your release. The only condition the Hexers have set is that you and your sisters never return to the Hegemony again, but this is already a given."

Commander Chancy and the Penitent Sisters still had to get used to thinking of themselves as Larkinsons. At least the former Hexers appeared to be receptive to the idea.

"Will we be able stay together within the clan?"

This was a difficult matter. Ves sighed. It seemed he wouldn't be able to relax entirely this evening.

"If you ask me, I would prefer it if you Penitent Sisters split up and join one of the established mech forces. Those who have a preference for sword combat can join the Swordmaidens. Those who want to reduce their commitment can go to the Living Sentinels. I think the remainder of you will fit nicely in the Avatars of Myth."

Commander Chancy grimaced. "That is not what my sisters had in mind when we joined this clan. We agreed to become Larkinsons with the implicit assumption that you would allow us to retain our heritage and traditions. We can't do that if you force us to disband the Penitent Sisters."

"I understand your concerns, but I have to balance out your interests with the interests of the rest of the clan. We already possess an all-female mech force. It works for the Swordmaidens because their training standards are exceptionally strict, so they'll never grow too big. I don't want to add a broader all-female mech force. Your Penitent Sisters will just absorb most of the female mech pilots in our clan. Where will that leave the Avatars and Sentinels? The last thing I want to see is to turn them into a bro fest!"

Balancing the genders of most of his mech forces ensured they remained diverse and open-minded. It didn't make sense to be selective about men or women since either of them were equally good at piloting mechs and performing support functions.

However, there were still cultural and other reasons why some people preferred to serve in an all-male or all-female unit. Commander Chancy and the Penitent Sisters didn't appear to relish the prospect of mingling with the Avatars or Sentinels.

"Is there any way to convince you to give us a chance to stay together? Breaking us up will be seen as a betrayal to us. We won't feel any belonging to the Larkinson Clan if we cannot hold on to our most cherished traditions. If you are concerned about producing a disparity between men and women in the mech forces, why not form an all-male unit as a counterbalance?"

That sounded like a bad idea to Ves. The entire notion of separating genders was a horribly archaic practice.

"We'll talk about this later, commander. I won't make any promises. It will help if you can argue your case by providing me with compelling reasons why your existence benefits the clan."

"We are blessed by the Superior Mother. Of all of the mech forces, only we are fully capable of channeling her strength. If you split us apart, we won't be able to call upon her blessing in battle."

Well, that was a good point. The battle network connected to the Penitent Sisters only worked as long as the latter were identifiably Hexers.

Ves may be able to change that, but he was afraid he might ruin the battle network instead. He did not dare to tamper with it lightly considering it was built directly in an extension of his own mother.

"By the way, you don't have to refer to yourselves as Penitent Sisters anymore. As far as everyone is concerned, you have already done enough to repent your past crimes."

Commander Chancy shook her head and smiled. "I think we'll keep it. If anything, it reminds us of our hubris."

Chapter 2493: Sleep Well

After the quiet dinner party came to an end, every Larkinson returned to their own berths. The Gravada Knarlax was not a hotel, after all. Engineers and inspectors from the MTA constantly crawled through the huge vessel.

Ves decided to have some fun for his last night as a bachelor. He spontaneously decided to spend the night on the Gravada Knarlax.

Though this caused the clan a small amount of consternation, he eventually got his way.

In any case, the Gravada Knarlax was completely safe and devoid of pirates. With the MTA in firm control over the captured pirate vessel, Ves doubted that any boobytraps were left intact.

undefinedHe approached the grand and spacious stateroom of Lord Hivex.

Though the Larkinsons had taken some of the furniture and trophies away, enough was left to make Ves feel as if he was a pirate lord.

"My new stateroom aboard our upcoming factory ship will look just as impressive as this compartment!"

"Meow."

Lucky, who was content with the exotics filling up his belly, floated over to the new king-sized bed placed in the center.

"Yeah, you're right. I'll be sharing it with Gloriana, so I'll effectively control half the space."

"Meow meow!"

"Hey! That won't happen! She won't hog my space!"

Lucky opened his maw to yawn before settling himself for some rest.

Ves proceeded to enter the bathroom to change his clothes. Once he reached his bed, he sat on it and looked around.

The banners, weapons and broken armor pieces each had a story behind them. If he was interested, he could access the archives in order to study Lord Hivex's backstory.

There was little point in doing so. The leader of the Allidus Alliance had become yet another dead enemy of his. Now that he exited the Nyxian Gap, Ves had no reason to entangle himself with people like Lord Hivex any further.

His parents should be able to meet any further challenges. His father piloted the Devil Tiger while his mother had gained a boost in strength. Not even other dark gods could rival their current strength.

Only the Five Scrolls Compact remained a bit of a question mark. What would they do after losing contact with Temple Protector Dista? The fall of such a powerful and transcendental figure would definitely alarm the higher ups of the Compact.

"Whatever the case, I don't want to be here when their inevitable follow-up party arrives."

As Ves slipped underneath the covers and tried to go sleep, a nervous tension prevented him from doing so. He was too excited and apprehensive to rest.

Though his physical condition wouldn't suffer if he decided to stay up all night, his mind might not be as acute.

"I have to be in my best condition for the wedding."

Yet the more he tried, the harder it was for him to fall asleep.

With his enhanced physique, regular sleeping pills weren't enough to make him slumber.

"This is a bit of a problem."

He shifted in his bed.

Lucky floated up to his head and landed on the pillow.

"Meow."

"Cats are nocturnal. It's fine for you to stay awake."

The cat pressed his paw against Ves' nose. "Meow meow"

"You don't understand. Tomorrow is an important day. Nothing must go wrong."

Why was he talking to his cat? He should go to sleep instead!

Ves huffed and turned his body so he faced to the opposite side. Lucky did not entangle with him any further and began to curl up to rest.

As time went by, Ves grew a little hazy. He hoped that sleep would come soon. His heartbeat calmed and his mind increasingly became less cohesive.

Tomorrow, he was about to become a married man.

Tomorrow, he would become husband to a Hexer.

Tomorrow, his grandfather would finally see one of his wishes come true.

By marrying Gloriana, Ves foreswore any other woman. The prospect of spending the rest of his life with her made him feel quite mixed.

Though she had her flaws, he trusted all the more because of it. No matter what interests she possessed, she would never betray him, and that was enough for his paranoid self to give her a pass.

Once they tied the knot, Ves wondered how soon they would begin to have children.

His face grew a bit concerned as this prospect.

He was not afraid of raising children. In fact, he looked forward to the fatherhood experience. He had fond memories of his early childhood. His parents took good care of him. Though his mother left quite soon, his father had done his best to pick up the slack.

Ves was very thankful for the efforts of his father. It made him even more eager to pass on the same teaching to his sons and daughters.

There were two reasons why he was worried.

First, Gloriana had made it clear that she insisted on following Hexer traditions regarding the amount of children she wanted to bear. She didn't want to settle for anything except rearing six offspring!

That was quite a handful to Ves to take care of. Even though there was no financial strain for him to raise this many children, the amount of time he needed to invest in him ought to be very considerable.

The more time he spent with his children, the less time he had left to design his mechs. It was a given that he would have to make some compromises in order to spend a sufficient amount of time in both.

Even then, he would never be able to fully satisfy his responsibilities as a father and a mech designer.

His career would definitely be affected. The younger years of a mech designer were critical. If Ves slacked off in any way, his advancement to Senior might very well be delayed by 20 or even 50 years. That was an unacceptable delay!

Perhaps he should suggest to Gloriana to spread out the birth of their children. Some long-lived pairs preferred to sire a child every decade. In any case, with modern medical technology and life-prolonging treatment, a wealthy couple could easily live more than two centuries.

During much of that time, their bodies remained in a good enough condition that they were able to procreate. Instances where 200-year olds or even 300-year olds birthed new kids weren't rare in the more prosperous parts of the galaxy!

Of course, sometimes they needed some help.

This was the second concern of Ves. With how much his genes and physique had diverged from the baseline human norm, he was not strictly a human anymore.

To be sure, he still identified himself as a member of the human race. Human civilization also recognized him as a human even if a part of his chest was filled with alien-derived tissue.

It was different from a biological perspective. When Ves threw away all of these mental and social constructs, he was actually a unique half-human, half-alien specimen.

In some cases, the alterations to a human's genes and body still allowed them to sire children naturally.

If the changes surpassed a certain limit, then complications would begin to arise. Incidences of birth defects, stillbirth and other awful outcomes shot up very quickly the more someone diverged from the human norm.

If this wasn't bad enough, then if Ves wanted to have children with another half-alien, then the chance of failure was nearly 100 percent!

The CFA gene optimization treatments he enjoyed failed to solve this problem. In fact, it made the problem worse.

One of the defining goals of gene optimization treatments was to tailor them to enhance a single individual. This came at the cost of universality.

If the exact same changes were applied to a brother or sister, then the recipients wouldn't feel so good!

This was why most gene treatments weren't actually inheritable. Passing them on rarely worked. Even if a child managed to survive the gestation period, the poor kid needed frequent medical treatment in order to make it to adulthood.

This was one of the actual reasons why baseline humans still held an important place in human civilization.

Dr. Ranya had already studied his ability to procreate with baseline humans. Her verdict was not optimistic.

While Gloriana appeared to be a baseline human, many of her parameters were too high to be human. She was partially alien herself, though her genetic modifications were much more conservaive and refined than Dr. Jutland's work.

Natural birth was out of the question.

The only way for them to have kids was to resort to artificial processes. In order to conceive a healthy child, Ves and his wife would have to rear a designer baby that incorporates the older versions of their genes.

There was no problem in this regard. Both of them had access to the complete records of their baseline human genes. Though combining them to produce a fetus with the help of technology did not sound right, it was a fine substitute to the natural process.

There were even advantages through employing this method. As their name suggested, designer babies offered their parents a lot of choice.

Of course, there were many ethical and legal limits to how extensively the parents could demand a change. In addition, making too many changes to the genes of a child might give the parents the illusion that the offspring was not theirs!

Ves did not intend to go this far with Gloriana, but he did not want to waste this opportunity to design some fantastic children.

He hadn't given up on his intention to raise some children as qualified spiritual engineers. He wasn't sure which of his genes he needed to pass on to impart his offspring with heightened spiritual perception and spiritual control.

He had six chances in total to get it right.

Aside from this, Ves also wanted to bless his children in other ways. With all of the spiritual techniques he developed, surely he employed some of them to empower his sons and daughters.

Several interesting ideas came to mind.

He could implant his children with a small spiritual dynamo made from the Unending One's remains.

He could infuse their minds with doses of his own spiritual energy in order to enhance their spiritual growth.

He could create new spiritual entities that were specifically designed to form a symbiotic relationship with his children and would grow up alongside them over the course of their lives.

Each idea was more radical than the last. Though Ves knew they were risky, they were incredibly attractive to him. He didn't want to raise mediocre children!

Though it was a bit premature to think about his children, thinking about his future life as a happy father successfully caused him to fall asleep.

A quiet night passed. The entire compartment fell completely silent. Only Nitaa remained awake and alert. Even Lucky closed his eyes and grew dormant.

At some point in time, a large hand materialized into view. Despite the appearance of such an abnormal organ, no alarms went off as the sensors didn't detect anything amiss.

Nitaa, who should have been able to spot such a huge apparition, saw nothing at all. The space occupied by the giant hand might as well be empty space!

As for Ves and Lucky, neither of them were aware at all. They had both entered deep sleep and weren't cognizant of what happened around their sleeping forms.

The hand hovered over Ves' body for a moment. It lowered itself at a gentle pace. Once it hit the body, the hand phased right through.

Only the tip of the giant finger brushed against Ves' mind. Despite its passive and active defenses, his mind did not fight back against the foreign presence. Instead, it grew even calmer, as if the finger belonged to someone friendly.

The giant hand disappeared. No trace of it remained. No sensor captured anything. Ves and Lucky continued to sleep blissfully while Nitaa remained as ignorant as ever of what transpired.

Perhaps nothing happened at all.

Chapter 2494: A New Day

A bright new day arrived!

Though day and night strictly didn't have any meaning in place, according to the standard clock that was synced to time on Old Earth, the day of the wedding had arrived!

Many people woke up and followed a meticulous schedule. Ves and Gloriana each came under the care of a team of bots and attendants.

Ves had to leave the Gravada Knarlax and move to another ship in order to prepare for his big day.

undefinedHe underwent a cleaning so thorough that not even a speck of dust was left on his body. Bots then proceeded to cover him with a lotion synthesized specifically for his skin that made him appear at his best in broadcasts.

After that, some other attendants arrived to dress him up with the special clothes he made for the occasion.

His wedding outfit was only a fraction as elaborate as that of Gloriana. However, that did not mean it was simple.

Light and indestructible to small arms fire, the value of his attire exceeded that of a Hexer combat carrier!

The fabric of his suit was harvested from wild exobeasts from the frontier. After some light treatment and dying, the fabric acquired a rich red shade that appeared especially lustrous under changing light.

In the process of making the suit, the expert tailors incorporated various other fabrics and materials. His wedding attire not only had to make him stand out as a man, but also as the patriarch of a powerful clan.

The main colors of the Larkinson Clan as a whole were red, white and gold. The suit therefore incorporated various ornamental lines and bands made out of white fabric and a special golden alloy.

Ves even incorporated a limited amount of Unending alloy to increase its capacity to contain spiritual energy.

Throughout its entire creation process, it turned into a totem of sorts. Ves originally decided to infuse it with a spiritual fragment taken from Zeigra. The former Crown Cat might not be the strongest design spirit, but his glow exuded a sense of pride and aggression. This fit well with the image he wanted to project.

The only problem was that Zeigra was a bit too aggressive and hostile for a wedding occasion. In order to moderate the totem's glow, Ves blended in minor fragments taken from other design spirits.

The Golden Cat slanted the glow towards the Larkinson Clan.

Qilanxo reduced some of the hostility of the outfit.

The Solemn Guardian made Ves more regal.

Bravo amplified his masculinity.

The Illustrious One enhanced his resplendent nature even further.

Lufa took off the edge of the other influences and caused him to look a bit sacred.

The moment he donned his elaborate outfit, Ves no longer felt like a human.

His stature increased considerably! The dressers and makeup artists looked incredibly impressed at how much the outfit made him larger than life!

His groom attire was a lot more powerful than the Pride of Dusk. Ves had to dial down some of the glow in order to stop his attendants from getting distracted.

"Wow, boss. I'm so jealous right now, you know that?" Gavin told him as he stood by the side. "Can you let me borrow it for my own wedding?"

Ves grinned. "My outfit is completely unique, Benny. I'm never going to let anyone wear it. I can make a weaker suit for you if you're willing to hand in a thousand Larkinson merits."

"Forget it." Gavin immediately said.

A Larkinson could earn a single merit by performing a regular job for an entire year. It was impossible for a clansman to earn a thousand merits unless they were promoted to a higher rank and went above and beyond what was expected from them. Ves deliberately set up the merit system to encourage his clansmen to take more risks and find ways to make major contributions!

Gavin proceeded to report on various matters. No matter how well they planned the wedding, the sheer complexity of it made it difficult to get everything right. There were far too many people and moving parts involved to ensure they were all in place.

Of course, with the depth of preparations, these problems didn't affect the overall schedule. Gloriana and her mother had gone so crazy with contingencies that they were even prepared to hold the wedding aboard the Gravada Knarlax if someone blew up the original venue!

Not that anyone expected that to happen. The giant hexagonal platform that the Wodins spent months to build was incredibly secure. Nothing was allowed to go wrong.

In fact, only crazies would dare to launch an attack. There were so many important guests and envoys attending the wedding that killing was tantamount to offending many local powers in the Yeina Star Cluster!

Not even the Friday Coalition would be stupid enough to mess around. The Fridaymen depended so much on trade that an embargo would definitely cripple their warmaking potential in a matter of months. They might as well roll over and let the Hexers take over straight away in that event.

"So what's on the agenda first?"

"You'll be having breakfast with your closest clansmen. After that, you will take part in various rituals for the rest of the morning."

The rituals consisted of both public and private events that were mostly ceremonial and symbolic in nature. They ranged from honoring his ancestors, paying tribute to the Big Two, acknowledging the heritage of the human race, presenting a monument dedicated to his life in the Komodo Star Sector and so on. He would be doing each of these activities alone.

The Larkinson Clan and Wodin Dynasty both had different ideas on how the wedding should proceed. The Larkinsons wanted to hold a secular ceremony while the Wodins insisted on following hexism traditions.

Suffice to say, neither side agreed with each other.

After many rounds of contentious negotiations, the two sides eventually agreed to carry out their own plans in parallel. This meant that Ves wouldn't be meeting with Gloriana until the main ceremony began.

This was another contentious matter. Since the main ceremony couldn't be split up, the Larkinsons and the Wodins were forced to make numerous compromises. The result was a plan that wasn't quite Brighter or Hexer, but rather an unholy fusion of the two. It was a miracle that the two sides managed to come up with a decent solution.

There was just enough hexism to make Gloriana and the Wodins happy. Ves and the Larkinsons were happy as well because the ceremony was devoid of any man-hating or overt superstition.

Perhaps one of the most important reasons why Gloriana and the Hexers relented on this matter was because they wanted to avoid offending any of their foreign guests.

Though Hexers generally didn't care about the views of ignorant and misguided foreigners, this was different. The honor and pride of the Hexadric Hegemony was at stake. As the Hexers began to fare worse in the Komodo War, they increasingly acknowledged that it was very detrimental for them to turn up their noses at foreigners.

The Friday Coalition maintained a lot more friendly relations with foreign states compared to the Hegemony! This diplomatic edge allowed the Fridaymen to punch above its weight and catch up to the Hexers despite the latter's superior territorial advantages.

While the Hexers weren't delusional enough to make any new allies today, it was already a win in their book if they didn't encourage more foreigners to help the Fridaymen.

Of course, the Hexers had to be appeased as well, or the Wodin Dynasty's position in the Hegemony might become very precarious. No matter what benefits Ves brought to the table, the Wodins couldn't afford to give the impression that they were betraying their Hexer heritage.

Hence why Gloriana received a separate itinerary. Ves only took a single glance at it before he immediately turned away.

"Women." He grumbled.

"Meow."

"You look great!"

Lucky curiously floated over his head. Just like Ves, the cat also dressed up for the occasion. The mechanical cat wore a precisely-fitted tuxedo over the front half of his body, complete with a cute red bow tie to his neck.

An attendant also tied a silky red ribbon to his tail. Lucky hated it at first, but eventually got used to it. Overall, he looked both formal and cute!

Once the makeup bots and artists finished working on his face, he proceeded to step out and have breakfast.

This was a different breakfast than usual. Aside from the formality involved and the impressive-looking venue, half of the diners came in the form of projections.

For this occasion, the Larkinson Clan reached out to the new Larkinson Family. Despite the bad blood between them, they were still Larkinsons who cherished their relatives.

As a result, Ves and some of his clansmen sat on one side of a rectangular table while projections of Benjamin, Ark and many other trueblood Larkinsons sat on the opposite side.

Separated across light-years and star sectors, the two groups of Larkinsons weren't able to partake in the same dishes. However, they were able to hug and touch each other due to the physical projection devices provided by the Hexers.

"Ves!" Benjamin greeted with a warm smile. "You look exceptionally grand today!"

"Thank you." Ves lightly embraced his grandfather's physical projection.

The two groups of Larkinsons soon took their seats and sampled their first dishes.

"We are all proud of you, Ves." His uncle Ark said. "What was it like to take down an armed warship?"

"Defeating the Gravada Knarlax wasn't even the most difficult part about making it through the Nyxian Gap. It's unfortunate that I can't share too many details."

"We understand. A regular battle doesn't produce so many breakthroughs. We're quite jealous about how much welfare you're providing to the clan."

"It's the least that I can do." Ves shrugged as he took a bite off a sausage. "I've been pushing my men hard. I need to whip into shape in order to ready them for the trials to come."

"Maybe it was right that you went your own way." Benjamin sighed. "If you tried to subject all of us to so many dangers, we would have cast you out before you even stepped foot in the Nyxian Gap. It takes a special kind of person to exercise his men by going on a trip through this pirate-infested region."

"There were more reasons why I entered the Nyxian Gap. It's quite an exotic place and has its own charm. While it's filled black-hearted pirates, there are also heroes whose hearts are in the right place. We wouldn't have been able to survive the last battle if the Oblivion Hand hadn't intervened."

Both grandson and grandfather shared an unspoken message through his eyes. Ves minutely nodded, causing Benjamin to feel as if a weight lifted off shoulders.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"Right."

As breakfast progressed, they continued to discuss various matters. The Larkinson Family achieved some progress as well. After some twists and turns, they finally arrived at Vicious Mountain.

"How is it over there?"

"Different." Ark curtly answered. "It's not ideal, but it's a good place for us to develop. Soldiers and warriors are always valued over there, and my qualifications ensure that we will always be treated with dignity. It is just…"

"What is it, uncle?"

"Your reputation is beginning to overshadow ours. People are starting to treat us as an extension of the Larkinson Clan."

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's fine. To be honest, we have taken advantage of this association and secured better treatment for ourselves. While it isn't entirely proper, I want to secure the best treatment for our family members."

Ves smiled. "I don't mind what you're doing. In fact, I endorse your approach. You are still family to me. If you can use us to get ahead, then just do so. As long as you check up with us and keep us in the loop, we don't mind making some gestures to prove your backing."

Both Benjamin and Ark looked ashamed. Only a short time had passed and already the Larkinson Clan left the Larkinson Family in the dust!

Chapter 2495: Honoring Ancestors

As breakfast came to an end, Ves had gained a lot more insight about the current state of the Larkinson Family.

Though it hadn't grown much after leaving the Cinach System, Ark managed to find some decent opportunities for the family. Banking on his strength and the stellar reputation of the Larkinson Family, many different groups were eager to cooperate with the Larkinson in various matters.

Unfortunately, these cushy deals did not provide much growth to the Larkinson Family. There simply wasn't enough to arouse anyone's interests. Who cared about a group of exiled third-raters? Even though Venerable Ark was a proven expert pilot and commanding officer, many states weren't short of either.

The Larkinson Family simply didn't matter.

undefinedIn the end, it was the rise of the Miracle Couple and the Larkinson Clan that increased their fortunes. Even second-rate powers began to pay attention to the Larkinson Family.

It was very hard for the family members to remain unmoved. The generous offers they received allowed them to develop far more rapidly than before.

"We tried to scrape by on our own merits, but… it's difficult to take care of all of our needs without a solid income." Ark helplessly explained to Ves. "Unlike you we're not good in business. The only way for us to earn enough money to expand our clan is to take high-risk mercenary contracts, but that will certainly lead to a lot of objections."

"Nothing comes for free. There is a lot of competition in the galaxy. No matter how much pride you possess, you aren't special. You'll have to work honestly if you want to develop the Larkinson Family beyond its current state."

Both Ark and Benjamin looked as if they had agonized over the issue for many months. It was much more difficult to manage the Larkinson Family now that it was divorced from the Bright Republic.

Not only did they lose their protection against many threats, they also lost most of their businesses.

Though neither of the older Larkinsons mentioned it, the actual reason why the family was able to remain afloat was their 1 percent ownership in the LMC!

In many aspects, the Larkinson Family had become dependent on the Larkinson Clan. This seriously affected the pride of the former. How could the members of the original Larkinson Family hold their heads high when they were essentially leeching off the efforts of an outcast?

This was an infuriating situation to many stubborn Larkinsons!

It was good that Ark and Benjamin weren't hardliners. They weren't opposed to making use of the Larkinson Clan to get ahead.

Ves discussed some more ways in which the clan and family could work together. Of course, they all amounted to the clan offering aid to the family in various ways.

He no longer had any hard feelings about the Larkinson Family. He achieved so much success and experienced so many wild events that his separation from the original family wasn't a big deal anymore.

"I've designed a couple of mechs that are exclusive to the Larkinson Clan." Ves spoke. "I have even more designs in store that will grant a unique edge to our fighting forces. If you want, we can grant you an exclusive license of our mechs. They're expensive and difficult to produce, but you will find that their advantages are unmatched by other products."

Both Ark and Benjamin looked at each other.

Ark turned back to Ves. "We won't lie. We're tempted. Very tempted. We have heard about your famed Bright Warrior."

"The Bright Warrior isn't a good mech for you to adopt. It's rather outdated by my standards. I intend to build up a mech roster that consists entirely of second-class mechs. I already completed some excellent designs a short time ago. If you want, we can talk about this after the wedding."

"This might be going too far." Ark frowned. "Your mechs are powerful, but.. we are not part of your clan. Our family has to retain its own identity. If we become overly dependent on your handouts, we'll never be able to get our own footing."

Grandfather Benjamin nodded in agreement. "I know you want to help your family, but your own clan advocates for hard work. We can make do without your mechs."

"Don't be so quick to refuse. I have some interesting mechs that will continue to strengthen your position once you acquire them. The mechs I design for my clan are useful for all Larkinsons, so don't worry about compatibility problems."

Breakfast came to an end. Ves separated from many Larkinsons in order to attend his next ritual.

This time, only Lucky and his grandfather's physical projection accompanied him to the next venue.

They boarded a shuttle that brought them to a small platform in space.

Ves stepped onto the platform. This time, he adopted a serious expression. Hidden recorders broadcasted what he was doing live to the Larkinsons, the wedding guests and the public.

Both Lucky and his grandfather flanked him from each side as he strode forwards.

The trio passed through a winding path through a serene-looking garden. Various commemorative statues of famous Larkinson expert pilots lined the path. Ves even shared some of their blood.

Each time Ves came close to a statue, he stood in front of it and bowed his head in respect.

There was nothing deep about this gesture. He was merely honoring his ancestors and paying tribute to their efforts in keeping the Larkinson heritage alive.

While not many people honored their ancestors in this fashion, Ves thought it was a nice way to reinforce the Larkinson brand.

In truth, the ritual was largely meaningless to him as the Larkinsons of the past were completely irrelevant. However, appearing to be filial and respectful of some long-dead heroes was an excellent public relations move.

His grandfather thought that Ves was being sincere, though. Whenever they passed by a noteworthy statue, Benjamin narrated the accomplishments of the hero in question."

"Venerable Gelber Larkinson was not an exceptional expert pilot. He advanced after the first war he took part in had ended. A generation passed before he was finally able to fight earnestly, but an ambush forced him into early retirement. Gelber didn't let that stop him from doing duty. He put his all into training the subsequent generations of Larkinsons. In the end, his tutoring efforts led to the rise of Venerable Irene Larkinson, Venerable Opal Larkinson and Venerable Emma Larkinson. The three of them brought great honor to the Larkinson Family."

"They're all women." Ves noted.

"Yes. It's a complete coincidence. Their aptitudes happen to be better than the rest, I suppose." Benjamin's physical projection stated.

They moved on and passed some other marble-like statues. Though Ves hadn't been involved in making any of it, he admired their craftsmanship. That made this tedious ritual a lot more tolerable.

At the end, they came to the very end. They walked around a fountain and climbed some steep steps until they reached an altar of sorts.

A large statue of an iconic Larkinson stood inside an open dome. The statue's features were kept deliberately vague out of respect for his identity.

"Here is where our lineage truly started." Benjamin reverentially spoke. "The Larkinson Ancestor is our common progenitor. His blood and genes flow through every original Larkinson. Without his heroics, our Larkinson Family would have never gotten off the ground. He started a tradition of honorable service that has lasted for four centuries."

Though Ves had been taught to respect the Larkinson Ancestor as the greatest member of the family in existence, his views had changed over the last few years.

Now that he became a leader and grew the Larkinson Clan to far greater height than the Larkinson Ancestor ever accomplished, Ves felt as if he was looking at a lesser.

For all of the Larkinson Ancestor's remarkable battle accomplishments, he failed to convert that into enduring gains. Once the Bright Republic came into existence, the founding families grasped most of the benefits while only throwing a couple of bones to the Larkinson Ancestor.

What an idiot.

Ves became even more certain that letting mech pilots run anything other than a combat unit was counterproductive.

Of course, he couldn't afford to reveal his contempt for the Larkinson Ancestor. That would tank his reputation and ruin Gloriana's perfect day.

He composed himself and knelt in front of the austere-looking statue. He adopted an expression that made it look as if he completely looked up to the legendary figure.

Lucky lowered himself to the ground as well while Benjamin sank to one knee.

"The Larkinson Ancestor lived in a special day and age. The end of the Age of Conquest was marked by large amounts of devastation in human space. The galactic center and the galactic heartland were especially marked by death and destruction. Too many star sectors were barely livable. Despite their power, the Greater Terran United Confederation and the New Rubarth Empire suffered most of all, because they built the most powerful and destructive battleships of the time."

The madness that had infected all of humanity led to more destruction than the alien races ever managed to deal.

In that age, the human race tragically discovered that it was its own worst enemy!

"The trauma of this time has marked every survivor. Many were sick and tired of falling victim to the games played by tyrants. A large exodus took place. Many Terrans, Rubarthans and other well-off citizens voluntarily gave up their lives in the heart of human civilization in order to seek a simpler, peaceful life in the far reaches of the galaxy."

Not many humans actually made it all the way through. The journey was simply too long for that. In most cases, the emigrating people only crossed a number of star sector or star clusters before they grew tired of endless travel. The galactic heartland's population grew considerably at that time.

"We do not know much about the Larkinson Ancestor's origin. The records are rather spotty in those chaotic times. We even suspect that he may have deliberately erased the records in order to cut a clean break with the past." Benjamin told Ves.

The quality of the Larkinson Ancestor's original genes suggested that he came from a line of professional soldiers from Rubarth.

"Mechs already existed during those times. They weren't as popular, ubiquitous and advanced as today, but they held a lot of potential. The Larkinson Ancestor happened to be among the pioneers who embraced them wholeheartedly. When the Big Two introduced a new order, our ancestor's foresight meant he was ahead of many other people when it came to piloting mechs."

That sounded fairly remarkable, but in truth he was just slightly ahead. The MTA already spread its influence and converted more and more people into using mechs instead of warships.

"The rest is history, as they say." Benjamin smiled. "With skill and valor, the Larkinson Ancestor helped the predecessors of the Bright Republic fend off the predecessors of the Vesia Kingdom. He was just one man, but his performance increasingly stood out from the rest. Back then, mechs were very primitive. The concepts of expert mechs and expert pilots did not exist. At most, there were just a few mech pilots who were uncommonly good in battle. Our ancestor happened to be one of them. Whether he was an expert pilot or even an ace pilot is shrouded in history."

Ves had his own suspicions. The strong X-Factor and weight of history of the Valiant suggested that the Larkinson Ancestor had at least reached demigod.

Whatever genetic advantage the ancestor possessed in this aspect, he partially passed it down to his descendants. Every generation of Larkinsons that followed always succeeded in producing at least one expert pilot.

In the end, Ves was still thankful to the Larkinson Ancestor.

Even though the early mech pilot or his parents made the incredibly stupid decision to forsake Rubarth, the Larkinson Ancestor set an example that many descendants followed to this day!

Chapter 2496: Child of Humanity

Once Ves finished honoring his ancestors, he departed the garden platform and returned to his shuttle.

He still had a lot of more rituals to go through. Whether they were relevant to him or not didn't matter. The point was to show off what a good man he was and what a good spouse he would be. With how much publicity this wedding attracted, Ves and the Larkinsons had to appear at their very best in order to leave a favorable impression to the public.

In fact, Ves had to go above and beyond what was necessary to emphasize his virtues. This was because he had to compensate for the negative influence brought by the Hexers.

To this day, many outsiders were scratching their heads at the wedding. Why in the hell was Ves marrying a Hexer of all people?

undefinedEven Ves asked this question sometimes.

If he was being absolutely honest, he didn't have to marry Gloriana. His life would have taken a different turn if he hadn't followed his grandfather's advice to seek a girlfriend. He may not have developed to this point, but he had little doubt that he would have achieved at least some level of success even if he hooked up with Aisling or some other woman.

It was just that events progressed in a way that ruled out every other option except for Gloriana.

Granted, he wasn't unwilling. Despite her shenanigans and excesses, she truly possessed qualities to his liking. Ignoring everything else, the trust they shared with each other was enough for him to accept the prospect of partnering up with her for the rest of his life.

Questions such as whether he could have snagged a 'better' wife did not bother him. Objectively, Ves could have certainly found a more pleasant and compatible lover than Gloriana, but life wasn't about seeking the perfect outcome.

Life was about grasping opportunities within reach.

Ves took part in some other rituals.

For example, in order to honor his human heritage, the Larkinsons prepared a different floating platform.

Smaller than the last one, this platform simply simulated the pristine landscape of Old Earth. Every single plant and material completely conformed to Terran standard.

When Ves stepped foot on it, even the air kept in place by energy shields gained a distinct tang.

"So this is how Old Earth smells."

There were no actual Terrans or humans who were born on Old Earth to preside over this ceremony. Though they had the option of hiring an authentic Terran to preside over the ceremony via physical projection, the requirements were too onerous.

Instead, Ves decided to do without one. In any case, many other ceremonies of this nature eschewed involving actual Terrans as well. Not only did it cost a lot of money to gain their cooperation, they were also incredibly picky and prone to picking faults.

He walked forward with Lucky until he reached a small stable. Several objects were placed on it. Ves picked up a simple sapling and a small hand shovel.

He moved to his left and carefully bent down. He did not worry about staining or dirtying his elaborate outfit. It naturally resisted dirt and was able to clean itself to an extent.

Ves bent down and began to dig up a random patch of soil from the grassy surface. The soil was already treated so that it was especially loose. Ves hardly had to employ any strength at all to dig up a serviceable hole.

After just a couple of scoops, Ves carefully inserted the sapling so that its roots fully entered the hole. He used the shovel to put back the soil as best as possible.

Ves didn't speak a word throughout this event. The simple act of planting an earth-derived sapling into soil that simulated Old Earth's environment was entirely symbolic.

It was a silent message that stated that no matter how far humans had spread, their roots still resided on the planet that birthed their race.

With hundreds of thousands of light-years separating some humans from other humans, it was far too easy to become distant to each other. The citizens of the galactic center looked down at people who lived in the galactic rim. Those who were born in the most impoverished regions of human space practically considered those who enjoyed better births as different species.

While it was difficult to counteract these differences, people still needed to remember that they all shared a common origin.

The human race must never split. This was the wisdom that humanity acquired after passing through many ups and downs.

In the Age of Stars, humanity was made up of different nations that constantly contested against each other.

Yet when they first expanded into space, they encountered many powerful and superior aliens. Even the weakest alien empire back then was more than capable of ending the human race!

Humanity back then learned to set aside most of their differences and work together for the common good. If they still engaged in infighting, they would have never been able to accomplish the great feats that were necessary to solidify humanity's place in the galaxy!

This was the origin of what would eventually become the Greater Terran United Confederation, the first truly unified interstellar human nation!

Planting the sapling not only acknowledged his fealty to his humanity, but also honored the early Terrans who allowed the human race to survive its initial steps into space.

Ves rose up and approached the table again. He picked up some seeds and returned to the saplings.

He used the small shovel to dig up some small holes to plant his seeds. It didn't matter where he dug, but just to be sure, he planted the seeds in a perfect circle around the sapling.

This was a gesture that signalled that he took pride in humanity's successful expansion. It also served as a message that stated that he acknowledged that he was part of humanity's enormous diaspora.

As much as Old Earth was considered to be the cradle of humanity, their race had already outgrown it. If everyone wanted to live on the ancestral planet, then it would have been choked of all life due to the sheer amount of people it was forced to accommodate!

In order to preserve the original environment of their birth planet, many humans had to go out and seek life elsewhere. The seeds represented the fact that while a huge amount of humans had set out to find their way, they had not traveled to the extent they lost contact with Old Earth.

During the Age of Conquest, the Terrans expanded their empire aggressively. They competed against the local alien powers and somehow managed to expand without getting snuffed midway.

Any of the dominant alien empires could have snuffed human civilization out. However, they were so wary of their established rivals that they overlooked the emergent threat of humanity for a very long time.

When most aliens finally took humanity seriously, it was already too late. Through a combination of subterfuge, manipulation, cheating and breaking promises, the humans at that time rapidly accumulated strength in the dark. They only revealed just enough to accomplish their goals and always held back something in reserve in case of accidents.

This was how humanity amazingly managed to supplant every other alien power in the first half of the Age of Conquest. Even the successful rebellion of the New Rubarth Empire and many other upstart colonies did not diminish humanity's ascendancy.

It was only later on that divisions between nations and individual citizens deepened.

The reduction of external pressure in the form of enemy alien threats meant that humans increasingly turned against each other.

Ves stepped back. Seconds later, the patch of ground where he planted the sapling and seeds spontaneously erupted in flames.

The fire burned for a few seconds before automatically snuffing out by itself.

The burning only lasted a couple of seconds, but the damage was considerable. Smoke burned from the branches. None of its young leaves were left as they had long turned into ashes. Much of the grass on the patch of ground was blackened beyond recognition.

The waning years of the Age of Conquest was one of the biggest stains in humanity's history. Due to a combination of factors such as runaway genetic modification and the development of bigger and more destructive battleships, humans began to slaughter each other to fuel their delusional ambitions.

Ves had always doubted a couple of aspects about this dark time. Now that he learned about the existence of the Five Scrolls Compact and its supposed role in orchestrating humanity's rise, he began to suspect that the truth of this period was not what it seemed.

The history books were probably wrong. Much of humanity remained in the dark of what took place behind the curtain. The Five Scrolls Compact invested millenia into a goal, only for two emergent factions to launch a rebellion that eventually succeeded as well.

Ves grabbed two rods from the table and began to plant them into the blackened ground.

The rods began to project a small energy screen then enveloped the blackened ground.

Inside, some unknown processes took place that caused the blackened grass to make way for newer growths. Through some kind of rapid growth treatment, the artificially-modified grass shot up until they reached twice the height of the original!

In the Age of Mechs, the protective umbrella of the Big Two shielded and sheltered the broken pieces of the human race until it finally recovered.

At this time, something unusual happened a short distance away. The hazy form of a human materialized into place.

Jovy Armalon teleported onto the platform!

The young Journeyman held a serious expression. Not an inkling of his friendship with Ves was apparent from his appearance.

He came to represent the MTA instead of himself. The MTA mech designer strode forward in a precise cadence until he stopped right in front of the protective field.

His participation in this little ritual was a very welcome surprise. In fact, it would have been even better if Master Willix performed this role, but that was way too much to ask of such an august figure.

In fact, the Larkinson Clan wasn't even qualified to invite Jovy. He only came because he wanted to and because Master Willix bent some rules.

Jovy peered through the energy screen and witnessed the growth taking place inside. After half a minute, he looked at Ves.

"What does it mean to be a human?"

"Humans are unique. Each individual holds limitless potential. It is through our circumstances and our choices that we grow into the people we are today. Yet no matter how much we diverge from each other, we will always be tied by our species."

Ves answered from the heart instead of reading out a prepared answer. He didn't know which questions Jovy would ask.

"What is your place in human society?"

"I am a creator. I make products that other humans desire. I am a leader. I guide a growing clan to prosperity. I am a pioneer. I venture out into new and unknown space to expand humanity's domain."

Ves identified himself with all three roles, though the first one would always be his primary focus.

"What role does the Mech Trade Association play in your life?"

"The Mech Trade Association is the guardian of all of humanity, including myself. Everything I am and everything I accomplish is thanks to the benevolence of your protection. I am deeply grateful that the Mech Trade Association has saved humanity from its own darkness. Since I have dedicated myself to designing mechs, I have always shown my gratitude to the protectors of the human race and the patrons of the mech industry."

Naturally, Ves resorted to the Devil Tongue this time. If he had to issue his complete, unvarnished opinion, Jovy would have probably been compelled to shoot him down!

As it was, his false opinion passed the test. Jovy nodded in satisfaction.

"As a child of humanity and a citizen of the galaxy, the Mech Trade Association wishes you well. Never forget your place in our civilization."

Jovy teleported away, thereby ending this serious ritual.

Ves turned his back and left the platform.

Chapter 2497: Growth and Decline

As morning went by, Ves finally completed all of the rituals.

All of the theater made him tired. If he had a choice, he would have been fine with conducting a shorter and more subdued wedding.

Regretfully, he was too big of a person to get away with a private ceremony. His clan benefited a lot from his celebrity persona. The attention his wedding attracted today was such an incredibly valuable public relations opportunity that it would be criminal to throw it away!

"Besides, Gloriana will kill me if she doesn't get her perfect wedding." He muttered.

undefinedHe was glad the bride wasn't by his side at the moment. While it might be strange for the groom to think this way, his soon-to-be-wife wasn't exactly the pleasant person to be around when she became invested in these kinds of matters.

Fortunately, she was engaged in her own ceremonies right now. As a devout follower of hexism, Gloriana insisted on paying tribute to the six phases of existence. Naturally, she also wanted to show her devotion to the Superior Mother.

When Ves glanced at her itinerary, he immediately became disgusted. The sheer amount of superstition involved made him crazy.

He was more than glad that she and her family went off to entertain the Hexers by themselves. If he took part in them, then he would just be forced to play the role of a 'good boy' whose only purpose was to stand still and let the women pat his head!

Though the rituals he had just completed were also spectacles, at the very least the symbolism wasn't rooted in baseless beliefs. The reason why he honored his ancestors and his human heritage was because these acts reinforced his image as an exemplary husband and a proper galactic citizen.

A good reputation was incredibly important to Ves. As long as people knew that he was a 'good' person, no one would believe he engaged in illegal activities!

"Ves, a war criminal? How could that be! He's such a good person! Just look at how close he is with the MTA. He's so successful already. Why would he possibly risk his career by breaking the rules?"

As long as Ves worked hard enough to cultivate a virtuous image, he could get away with a lot more improper acts when it truly mattered!

Naturally, he considered giving up on breaking the rules entirely. He couldn't really imagine becoming a goody two shoes though. If there was one lesson he learned about life, it was that everyone cheated whenever possible.

Rules only constrained people when they were too weak to avoid getting caught.

He was different. He had gotten away plenty of times already.

One of his ultimate ambitions was to become powerful enough to join the ranks of those who made the rules. Once he attained this goal, every rule became negotiable.

The Big Two served as a great example to Ves. They imposed several strict taboos to lower humanity's destructive potential, but they continued right along with performing mass human experimentation, fielding incredible weapons of mass destruction and building enormous battleships.

What amazed Ves was that the MTA and CFA actually got away with engaging in hypocrisy on a galactic scale!

Sometimes, Ves took pride in being called the Devil Tongue. He had to develop his social manipulation ability quickly in order to survive and thrive, yet he was a mere novice compared to Big Two. For centuries, the mechers and fleeters deceived and indoctrinated the entirety of human space that only they deserved to field all of the best weapons!

While Ves learned that the Big Two's hegemony over human space generated at least some opposition, by and large the vast majority of humans simply agreed to be stripped of their sovereignty!

How long did he have to develop himself until he reached this height? It would take a century at a minimum, but realistically he probably had to be patient for a couple of centuries more. Human civilization was so expansive that there were many more talented and capable people in front of him. Their backing was no less effective at boosting their careers than the Mech Designer System.

In fact, for the most privileged sons and daughters such as Axelar Streon, they received much more benefits!

If Ves only looked at mech designers, then the descendants of Star Designers were definitely in heaven as far as he was concerned.

When Ves recalled the sheer amount of wealth and luxury Axelar had access to in his younger years, he suddenly felt as if his wedding ceremony was not that much of a spectacle.

To local standards, his wedding was quite extravagant, yet in the galactic center, he would probably be seen as a boor!

He sighed and he petted Lucky's back. "We're still too weak."

Lucky arched his back to adjust how his miniature tuxedo outfit fit his upper body. "Meow."

"That's easy for you to say. Growing stronger by eating materials doesn't require any thinking at all!" Ves snorted.

"Meow meow."

"I have to go out of my way to gain inspiration and keep up a rapid pace of growth. Innovating is not something that you can do with your brain turned off. I don't even know how long it will take for me to reach Senior."

As someone who began to utilize the process of growth in his work, he was quite intrigued by his own growth trajectory. He constantly tried to figure out ways to accelerate his progress, but ever since he reached Journeyman, he found no easy solutions.

It wasn't unusual to hear about Apprentices breaking through to Journeyman in a couple of years, but the same was not the case for the next big leap.

Though Ves wasn't dissatisfied with his current status, he became more and more constrained by the fact that Senior was still too far away. Right now, his lack of qualifications posed a serious hindrance in his ambition to design his own expert mechs.

"I guess I have no choice but to turn to other people to make up for my shortcomings."

This was one of his goals today. The wedding attracted a lot of powerful people and groups. While most of them did not have anything to offer to him, some of them had a basis of cooperation. The Cross Clan was a decent example of this. There were bound to be more among the list of guests.

After Ves enjoyed a sumptuous lunch, he continued to take part in various public events.

He took part in a couple of interviews. He talked in detail about his mechs when interviewed by a mech publication and talked about general matters when questioned by the Rimward Star Herald. With the reach of these news portals, Ves knew for certain that his name would spread to star clusters beyond his native one. Perhaps his reputation might even spread all the way to the Smiling Samuel Star Sector!

"I can't forget about that." He muttered under his breath.

The System was probably staring at him with an intensity greater than that of Gloriana. After going through so much trouble to put him in a position to retrieve Timpala Steel, Ves had to travel to the location where he secretly stashed it during his most recent Mastery experience!

This would be his first main objective once his grand expedition commenced. Visiting the Life Research Association in Majestic Teal was just a convenient stop.

Hopefully, he'd be able to complete the System's remaining Supply Missions in the Red Ocean. Even if the other ultra-rare exotics such as Orphedian Glow Glass wasn't naturally available in the dwarf galaxy, there were bound to be Terrans or Rubarthans who had some lying in their vaults.

One of his favorite moments of the day was when the Larkinson Clan held its long-anticipated triumph. He impressed the audience by parading the savage Gravada Knarlax and her dangerous escorts over their heads.

Though the Larkinsons requested permission to fire the heavy cruiser's main guns, the MTA resolutely turned them down.

What a shame!

The Larkinsons could only make do with showing heavily-edited footage of the Battle against the Abyss. By showing some never-before-seen footage of the Gravada Knarlax blowing up a succession of resilient Hexer combat carriers, the wedding guests became suitably impressed by the effort the Larkinsons invested in defeating the Allidus Alliance!

Throughout the afternoon, Ves no longer spent time with his fellow Larkinsons. He began to mingle with some of the honored guests.

One of them approached. Several other prominent people who wanted to have a word with Ves suddenly felt uneasy and moved away.

"Patriarch Cross. How are you enjoying the show so far?"

"This triumph is definitely a unique experience. I have taken part in numerous parades, but none of them feature actual warships."

"We aim to please."

Just like Ves, the patriarch dressed up. The expert pilot's white and pale blue dress uniform exuded a much more militaristic vibe. His chest was bedecked by medals and ribbons while his velvety cape showed off the emblem of his clan, a prominent templar cross.

Together with his force of will, Reginald's presence did not lose out against that of Ves!

"You must feel proud for conquering the Gravada Knarlax." Patriarch Reginald Cross remarked.

Ves raised his eyebrow. "Should I feel differently?"

"No. The act of defeating the pirates who fielded this terrible weapon is a great accomplishment. I am merely trying to caution you not grow overconfident. I have fought many battles against enemies who have brought enough firepower to break the Gravada Knarlax in half. Although we never had to fight in an environment as abnormal as the Nyxian Gap, the enemies we have fought against are on an entirely different level."

The Cross Patriarch made a subtle jab at the Larkinson Clan's lack of depth. Ves and his clansmen were still upstarts compared to the established powers.

"We are still new at this." Ves conceded. "However, we're growing quickly. We were much smaller a year ago. Have you ever heard of third-raters turning into second-raters in so little time? We didn't even receive any help. We managed to climb our way up through our own efforts. Not only that, we are still continuing to grow. Our future is getting brighter and brighter."

He could be snarky as well. While Ves ostensibly defended his clan, he actually made an unfavorable comparison between the Larkinson Clan and the Cross Clan. The latter used to be much more powerful, but it had gone downhill ever since Lord Hemmington Cross fell in battle.

Now, the Cross Clan had been reduced to a remnant fleet. What was worse was that its decline hadn't stopped. Without territory, the Crossers weren't able to earn enough money to keep their expensive assets afloat.

The main question was how much cash reserves the Cross Clan had left. Patriarch Reginald and the Crossers did well in hiding this critical detail. Ves wasn't able to read how desperate the Crossers were. If their money was about to run out in a matter of months, then they would probably fold easily in subsequent negotiations!

The Cross Patriarch maintained a stone-cold expression. "The true basis of power in the galaxy is might, not wealth. Possessing the latter without the former leaves you vulnerable to predation."

"Wealth can be converted in many different forms." Ves lightly retorted. "Even now, we are investing in many different assets to strengthen our forces. It is only a matter of time before our fleet surpasses yours in might."

"Some things can't be bought with money."

"My men aren't wallet warriors. Good mechs are indispensable to us, but that doesn't mean we are neglecting the development of our mech pilots. In fact, it's the opposite. The mechs we design mainly exist to facilitate their growth. This one of the exclusive benefits that I provide to my men. If you wish to enjoy my attention, then I need to hear more than condescending remarks."

The Cross Clan may be powerful, but it was definitely in decline! There was no reason for Ves to show too much respect to a bleeding body!

Chapter 2498: Greater Concessions

Patriarch Reginald Cross looked more and more displeased. It was difficult for him to refute the suggestion that his clan was in decline.

Although he was an expert pilot, he was also a leader. He had been in power long enough to know that he needed to gain as much leverage as possible to secure a favorable deal with someone.

He initially thought that Ves was too young and inexperienced, but the more they talked, the more leverage he was giving up. If this continued on for a couple of weeks, the Cross Clan might have no choice but to sign a deeply lop-sided agreement if it wanted to cooperate with the Larkinson Clan!

Near the end of the triumph, Patriarch Reginald finally made a major concession.

undefinedHe revealed another bargaining chip. He leaned in to whisper in Ves' ear.

"Our clan may have lost many assets, but don't underestimate how many treasures we've gathered at our height. We defeated several powerful clans and tribes back in the Garlen Empire. Just as you've plundered pirates, we have been plundering much greater opponents."

"You lost most of those gains, right?" Ves replied.

"We do not deny that, but we have still managed to empty our most valuable vaults in the confusion. Among our gains are strategic reserves of incredibly rare exotics. These materials are only produced in our star sector at exceedingly limited quantities due to their scarcity. Some of the exotics can be classified as first-class materials. While our clan is reserving most of it for my eventual ace mech, we may be open to trading the excess to you in exchange for your services."

There was no way Ves could remain unmoved after hearing this. Even though he plundered large quantities of Unending alloy from the Nyxian Gap, the applicability of this material was very limited. Aside from expanding a mech's spiritual capacity, the main way to utilize this hard material was to incorporate it into the armor and structure of a machine.

In effect, this meant that any expert mech that Ves was able to design with Unending alloy would fall into a similar situation as the Bright Warrior. The armor and protection of the expert mech might reach first-class standards, but the power reactor, mech engine, flight system, inertial dampeners and so on lagged too far behind.

Granted, such a resilient mech would definitely be more powerful than regular second-class expert mechs, but Ves yearned for more.

If he followed his original plan and designed an expert mech with his current means, then Venerable Joshua and his other expert pilots would receive adequate machines.

However, there was a decent chance that his expert pilots could no longer go any further because their expert mechs failed to keep up. Once the expert pilots reached the limits of their machines, Ves would have to upgrade them at great cost and effort.

In fact, this was how state militaries such as the Sundered Phalanx and the Hex Army handled their expert mechs. While providing fresh expert pilots with high-tier expert mechs accelerated their development, the chance that they would fall was too great.

The Fridaymen and Hexers couldn't afford to waste so many strategic materials at once. Therefore, they kept their high-grade exotics and other valuable materials in reserve and developed more modest expert mechs to their expert pilots.

As long as the demigods proved their worth and grew in strength, then their expert mechs would definitely be upgraded or replaced with better ones sooner or later.

Although Ves could adopt this gradual growth model as well for his expert pilots, it was too slow and timid for his liking.

The Hex Army and so on had to meet the needs of many different expert pilots. The Hexers might have stockpiled a lot of strategic materials, but they had to ration them in order to keep their options open in the later stages of the Komodo War.

The Larkinson Clan was in a different situation. It wasn't locked in costly wars. While it possessed relatively many expert pilots and expert candidates for its size, they didn't suffer any attrition due to being forced to fight in destructive wars.

At most, his Larkinsons would have to fight sporadically against enemies they met over the course of his expedition. Having the strongest possible mechs at hand would go a long way in securing victory and preserving the lives of his precious expert pilots.

In short, the advantages of securing high-tier expert mechs early were too great for Ves to ignore!

The reason why strategic materials were called this way was because they rarely circulated on the open market.

Even if someone was stupid enough to get rid of them, they would only offer them up to buyers through exclusive auctions.

From mining to processing these high-value exotics, the states maintained a tight grip on the entire supply chain.

One of the downsides of turning his Larkinson Clan nomadic was that it was incredibly hard for Ves to obtain these strategic materials.

Currently, his most viable option was to exchange them from the MTA or Rim Guards with MTA merits. Suffice to say, Ves would have to give up at least several million MTA merits to obtain a relatively modest quantity of materials. The pricing was so ludicrously high that Ves might as well call it an outright scam!

That said, Ves wasn't sure whether working together with the Cross Clan was a viable alternative.

"Your description is too vague." Ves told the Cross Patriarch. "I need more data. Give me a list. I need to judge the value of the materials you are willing to put before deciding anything else."

Patriarch Reginald instantly sent a file to Ves through his implant.

The document did not contain a lot of information, but it was more than sufficient for Ves to make a preliminary judgement.

The materials he encountered were quite obscure. Ves had to look them up on the galactic net in order to identify their properties.

His eyes widened a bit. While Reginald Cross did not put up any armor materials on the list, he listed various high-grade exotics that would add considerable power to the components of a mech.

Two exotics stood out to Ves. They held very special meaning to him. Ves instantly thought back of the Groening Mission and how much of a disaster it turned out to be. It was his first brush with the Five Scrolls Compact!

"Is Vicious Mountain a producer of monoexurite?" He asked.

"To be honest, we don't know where it came from." Reginald replied. "We just raided a stockpile from one of our defeated enemies."

It likely came from the frontier. If a planet in the frontier such as Groening IV held monoexurite deposits, then it was plausible for other nearby star systems to contain some as well!

In fact, perhaps the monoexurite in the Cross Clan's hands originated from that very same planet where Ves gained his Jutland organ!

No matter the origin, monoexurite was critically important to Ves, but not because of its use in mechs. Monoexurite had the remarkable ability to increase the range and traversal speed of FTL drives.

His ships would be able to travel across space a lot faster!

The only downside was that the Cross Clan only put up enough monoexurite to enhance a handful of FTL drives. If Ves managed to get his hands on the material, he intended to use it to improve the FTL drives of his factory ship!

Aside from monoexurite, the Cross Clan offered another interesting material.

"How did you get your hands on a Worclaw Crystal? I thought those only showed up closer to the center of the galaxy."

"It is likely a souvenir that someone carried all the way to the galactic rim." Patriarch Reginald casually guessed. "We only have one of them. The only reason why we're putting it up for exchange is because we have no use for this exotic."

Though Ves hadn't paid much attention to his abnormal physique in recent years, he never forgot about its similarities to the once-powerful Alshyr race.

One of the key reasons why the avian aliens grew so formidable was because they derived their strength from the Worclaw Crystals that were naturally found on their home planet!

While Ves had no idea what Worclaw Crystals would do to his abnormal physique and weird internal energy cycle, he would at least be able advance his understanding of Dr. Jutland's work!

Ves continued to ask about the details of some of the other exotics. Unlike monoexurite and Worclaw Crystals, the remaining materials on the list were mainly relevant to mechs.

"I'm not satisfied with the quantities you are willing to provide to us. They're barely enough to strengthen a single expert mech."

The Cross Patriarch held the upper hand this time. "We have to reserve most of our stockpile for our own needs. Back when we were in charge of the Becker Tribe, we took possession of much greater stockpiles of strategic materials. My father wanted to keep fighting in order to preserve momentum. If he chose to halt and allowed his men to upgrade his expert mech, then he might have been able to survive the ambush that robbed us of our warlord."

This sounded like a sore point to Reginald Cross. However, Ves was not about to let a sob story hold him back from clawing more concessions from the Cross Clan!

"Be that as it may, your expert mech can probably make due with less. Pumping too much value into it will only lead to a lot of wasted strength."

The two sparred a bit about this matter, but Reginald remained obstinate about this point. In fact, the Cross Patriarch originally didn't intend to hand over any exotics at all! He was only driven to the point because his clan didn't have anything else to give that would interest the Larkinsons.

As the military parade finished, Ves had to move onto the next phase. He quickly bid goodbye Patriarch Reginald.

"We'll discuss this further after the wedding. Think about putting more strategic materials on the table. The more you give to us, the more effort I will put into strengthening the expert mech that might help you become an ace pilot. The benefits I provide are worth much more than the marginal performance gains you'll get when you keep the valuable exotics to yourself. Perhaps you'll be able to increase your performance by 5 to 10 percent or so, but if you secure your breakthrough to ace pilot with my help, your effective performance will probably increase by 1000 percent!"

The difference in strength between an ace pilot and an expert pilot was very substantial! The former could beat the latter with ease.

The only reason why ace pilots hadn't been able to terrorize the galaxy was because they were too few in number. States never employed them casually onto the battlefield because the loss of just one of them significantly damaged their national strength!

Now that the Cross Clan lost its foundation as a controller of a state, it no longer possessed the infrastructure to nurture ace pilots. This was why Ves still held a lot of leverage in the negotiations. As long as Patriarch Reginald believed that working together with Ves was the only way for him to become an ace pilot without becoming subordinate to another state, the Cross Clan would definitely be willing to make a lot of concessions.

No matter how much wealth and assets the Cross Clan traded away, Patriarch Reginald would be able to earn ten times more if he succeeded in breaking through to ace pilot!

As Ves distanced himself from Reginald Cross, he temporarily shoved this matter aside. The most important moment of the wedding was approaching.

More and more guests began to enter the central space of the giant hexagonal platform. Both Hexers and foreigners arrived and took their seats at the opposite halves.

Many looked forward to witnessing the much-awaited moment where Ves would exchange vows with Gloriana. After going through so many rituals and ceremonies, the guests were all impatient to see the lucky couple pledge their eternal love with each other!

Chapter 2499: Seating Arrangement

Almost a hundred-thousand people gathered on the enormous platform.

With an open view of space and the endless stars when anyone looked up, the huge platform seemed fit to preside over a union of gods!

The main venue where the audience would witness the lucky couple exchanging vows was bedecked with opulence.

From above, the venue looked like a garden in the middle of an ancient city. White marble-like monuments harmoniously blended in with exotic trees and plants. Arched bridges tastefully spanned over tranquil-looking ponds and canals. Exquisite fish ranging from authentic Terran koi to multi-limbed aquatic exobeasts swam beneath the surface.

undefinedThere were no seats or room for seats on the surface, but that was not a big issue.

The Wodins who built and installed all of the ornaments may have refrained from using too many hexagons, but their overall influence was still clear in many other touches.

Still, not many guests felt bothered by the setting. There was nothing about the venue that made men uncomfortable. That was as much as the Larkinsons could ask from Hexers.

Calming music sounded evenly throughout the open space. The Wodins hired and shipped in an entire orchestra from the Vraken Matriarchal Dynasty.

The reason why the Wodins didn't invite an equally-renowned orchestra from the Evern Matriarchal Dynasty was because all of the musicians down to the bots that cleaned the instruments were female!

While the Wodins were more than glad to employ them, the Larkinsons vehemently objected. Hiring an orchestra that imposed an unnatural gender distribution would send the wrong message to their guests!

After a lot of back and forth, the two sides eventually compromised by hiring the Vraken orchestra. The Vrakens were more progressive than the Everns. While the conductor, first violin and every other lead position were taken by women, a surprisingly large amount of seats were taken by male musicians.

Music and art were one of the few fields where Hexer boys were allowed to express themselves more freely. Of course, how far they were allowed to go varied quite a bit throughout the Hegemony.

In any case, the orchestra was placed off to the side, so hardly anyone should bother look at them. They weren't here to draw attention.

"Open the doors!"

The enormous double doors that loomed taller than a mech slowly slid open.

Tens of thousands of Larkinsons entered first. Every non-essential clansman was allowed to attend today. A horde of children, adults and elderly stepped forward and sat onto the chairs placed very close to the massive entrance.

Once these Larkinsons took their seats, the chairs gradually floated up and flew towards the front of the giant venue. Antigrav modules and other safety measures made sure that kids and grannies didn't randomly push themselves off and fall to their deaths.

The floating chairs positioned the Wodins and other Hexers who arrived at the same time on the other half of the venue.

The Larkinsons mainly rearranged the order of their seats by rank or closeness to Ves, but only generally. The exact seating arrangement became more mixed as the Larkinsons commanded their floating chairs to swap places with other ones in order for them to sit next to their friends and family.

The Hexers did not engage in this behavior. Their seating arrangement was much more strictly regulated. Women were seated at the front while the few boys who were allowed to attend were pushed to the very back.

The only exceptions were Gloriana's direct brothers. Marcus and Tarkus Wodin looked very nervous and out of place as their chairs settled at the front row of their group.

Only a couple of thousands of Hexers attended. It was too inconvenient for many Hexers to travel all the way out to the Sentinel Kingdom. The Komodo War consumed so much of their attention that it was rare to see Hexers who ranked as high as Constance Wodin.

The Hexers mainly kept to themselves. They weren't particularly interested in socializing with the Larkinsons. The two groups of people simply didn't have much in common.

Considering how much the Hex Army depended so much on Ves' work, perhaps the Hexers should have made more overtures to the Larkinsons while they resided in the Cinach System.

However, aside from a few exceptions, the Hexers preferred to remain in their own enclave.

As almost every Hexer and Larkinson took their places above the idyllic garden, the most notable members of both groups arrived.

The expert pilots attracted the most attention.

A luxurious lineup of seven demigods advanced in a row. Though most guests were too far away to come under the influence of their force of wills, the gravitas they exuded made it so that no one was able to ignore their entry!

Jannzi, Joshua, Tusa, Dise, Orfan formed a single united group. No matter how much Venerable Jannzi disagreed with Venerable Joshua, this was not the time to air their dirty laundry. On this great day, the Larkinson Clan needed to show unity and harmony.

Two additional expert pilots walked by the side.

Venerable Davia Stark was a new addition to the expert pilot lineup of the Larkinson Clan. Different from the other five, Davia distinctly did not wear a dress uniform of the Larkinson Clan.

Instead, she opted to wear a replica dress uniform of the mech military of the Vindmar Republic.

"You could loosen up, you know." Joshua whispered to the older woman. "Weddings are supposed to be happy occasions. Is it too much to ask for you to smile?"

"I don't like taking part in vain spectacles." She grumbled. "If not for your patriarch, I would have preferred to remain in my bunk."

"Why are you so pissed?"

"I loathe Hexers. If the Hexadric Hegemony ever loses the Komodo War, I will dance upon their graves. My only regret is that the Friday Coalition won't follow suit."

All of the expert pilots looked askance at Davia. Her vendetta against the local second-rate states ran very deep!

Perhaps it was good to bring her out of the Komodo Star Sector! No good would come from letting her stay!

"Hush now. Please pay attention to decorum. Ves will not be pleased if you cause an incident." Brutus attempted to calm the volatile expert pilot.

"You don't have to treat me like an infant. I know how to persevere." She growled.

Unlike the comfortable white seats of the other guests, the expert pilots sat on special chairs.

The chairs reserved for the Larkinson expert pilots were gold. Aside from bearing the emblem of the Golden Cat, their high backs also carried the stylized symbols that Ves had individually designed to serve as their personal emblems.

Venerable Jannzi's emblem depicted Qilanxo projecting a spatial barrier.

Venerable Joshua's emblem depicted a mech carrying a giant heart like how Atlas carried Old Earth.

Venerable Dise's emblem depicted the iconic greatsword of the Swordmaidens.

Venerable Orfan's emblem depicted a spearman mech triumphantly raising its weapon.

Venerable Tusa's emblem depicted a flying bird that shared a passing resemblance to the Inexorable One.

Tusa happened to be quite upset at that. "Is Ves mocking me or something?"

"He must have his reasons." Joshua remarked.

"Well, as soon as this wedding is over, I'm going to request a change. I don't want to be represented by the enemy who beat me down."

The seats prepared for Venerable Davia and Venerable Brutus looked less distinct. As Davia was officially guest expert pilot of the Larkinson Clan, it wasn't appropriate to draw too much attention to her. This was fine as far as she was concerned.

Meanwhile, Venerable Brutus was not allowed to outshine the most prominent Hexers. His grey, hexagonal-shaped chair possessed a shorter back that did not loom so tall.

Brutus cared little about how he was being perceived. His seat steadily rose and moved him to the Hexer half.

More notable people arrived. The members of the Larkinson Family who accepted the invitation appeared through remote projections. Benjamin, Ark, Melinda and many other familiar faces emerged on seats that were positioned right alongside the members of the Larkinson Clan.

Though the Larkinsons had split up into two very different directions, today they only paid attention to what they had in common.

"Raymond." Benjamin greeted his fellow elder Larkinson.

"Benjamin." The effective head of the LMC greeted back. "Have you reconsidered my proposal? The Larkinson Family stands to gain a lot of money and influence if it becomes the designated agent of the LMC in the local star cluster. We would rather entrust our business to blood kin than random hires."

Ves' grandfather sighed. "We've talked about this already. While it is tempting to obtain more power, influence and money through this method, it wouldn't be ours. We'll only become more dependent on Ves, the Larkinson Clan and the LMC. I already spoke to Ves about this. We will not accept any measure that will subordinate our family to your clan. Too many of our family members cannot bear the humiliation of such an outcome."

The two elder Larkinsons continued to argue with each other about this topic until another prominent figure arrived.

The Hexers grew very still. They straightened their backs and looked utterly respectful as a spotlight shone on a single arriving figure.

"All rise for Matriarch Xiaphna Wodin!"

The Hexers all stood up from their floating chairs. Though their feet rested on empty air, their antigrav clothes ensured that they continued to maintain altitude.

Matriarch Xiaphna was Constance's mother and Gloriana's grandmother. She effectively headed the Wodin Dynasty, though she didn't hold all of the power.

Just like many other women who earned the right to carry the title of matriarch, she was mainly respected for her age and wisdom.

Unlike Ves' grandfather who opted to sit in a plain white chair that was no different from that of the other ones, the chair reserved for Matriarch Xiaphna was by far the largest one available.

Made personally by Gloriana, the purple chair resembled a throne that incorporated as many hexagons as possible. From the armrest to the cushioning, the massive seat reflected the incredible amount of regard that Hexers held towards matriarchs.

Matriarch Xiaphna's throne floated in the air while leaving a purple trail in its wake. It drove straight through the group of seats occupied by other Hexers. Each and every seat automatically made way to grant passage to the throne.

Eventually, the seat reached the front. None of the Hexers filled the gap that had formed in the middle.

After that, the remainder of the invited guests arrived.

In order to forestall any arguments about who deserved to sit on better seats than their rivals, they each received the exact same plain white chair as the rest.

Not even an expert pilot and the head of a potential partner such as Reginald Cross received special treatment.

This was not their show today.

Tens of thousands of guests wearing their very best slowly filtered in. A large and strong detail of Hexer security guards ensured that no one stirred up any trouble.

Even if someone managed to bypass the guards, the mechs patrolling right outside the energy shield isolating the interior from the vacuum of space could immediately pass through and suppress any incidents!

If that wasn't enough, every expert pilot was secretly close to their assigned mechs. The machines were cleverly hidden right underneath the ground they were hovering over!

As long as a serious crisis took place, the chairs should immediately carry them to the ground, which would automatically open up a tunnel for them to pass through.

Once all of the visitors crowded the space above the garden, a final group of guests arrived to attend the wedding.

The MTA came in style. The Ubiquitous Force approached from afar and seamlessly passed through the giant energy shield.

A sense of weight and gravity surrounded the MTA frigate. Even from afar, it appeared to every single guest that they had fallen into the Ubiquitious Force's orbit!

Venerable Davia scoffed. "Pretentious bastards."

Chapter 2500: The Perfect Union

The Mech Trade Association certainly had a flair for the dramatic. The Ubiquitous Force exuded such a considerable presence that not even Patriarch Reginald Cross or Matriarch Xiaphna Wodin could maintain their dominant posture.

In front of the current hegemons of human civilization, every other power was but a mere speck of dust!

When Saint Hemmington Cross was still alive and kicking, the mighty Association only paid faint attention to him. While ace pilots enjoyed an exalted status in Vicious Mountain, he was anything but unique across the entire galaxy.

As for the Hexers, their pride and confidence deflated. The MTA effectively controlled most of human space while the Hexers only clung to a portion of a very inconsequential star sector. If the female supremacists did anything to displease the mechers, they could easily be removed!

undefinedLiving under this suppression, no matter how benevolent the MTA might seem, made everyone in the audience uncomfortable. While every single important wedding guest may be able to dictate the lives of billions or trillions of people back home, here they were reduced to bystanders!

Master Willix and Jovy Armalon appeared alone. Instead of exiting from a hatch like normal people, they teleported just beneath the Ubiquitous Force.

Several people among the crowd decried the waste of this move. Teleportation was a form of high technology and inaccessible to ordinary second-rate states. Not only was it difficult to build a teleportation device, it also expended an extravagant amount of energy!

Of course, the two MTA mech designers took no notice of this fact. They kept hovering above the heads of everyone without meaning to sit. They were like gods in heaven watching over the affairs of mortals.

Neither the Larkinsons nor the Wodins knew what to expect from the MTA when they planned the wedding. Fortunately, the Ubiquitous Force gradually rose up and passed through the energy shield without disturbing it. The MTA frigate halted just a short distance away, thereby continuing to exert a lot of deterrence.

How overbearing!

Yet no one dared to issue a complaint. Even though Master Willix was just one of many senior officials within the vast Association, this time she represented her organization in its entirety!

The last of the wedding guests had arrived. Almost a hundred-thousand floating chairs crowded above the idyllic garden. Despite the arrival of so many people, there was still plenty of space available due to the size of the hexagonal platform.

No one spoke. Everyone maintained a respectful silence as they waited for the next phase of the wedding ceremony to commence.

Not just the people sitting on the floating chairs, but also others paid rapt attention to this grand occasion. In the Komodo Star Sector and beyond, trillions of people who heard about the spectacle tuned in to the broadcast.

Loyal customers of LMC mechs, mech fanatics, industrialists and even the ruling powers of several states watched the proceedings. The uncharacteristic arrival of Master Willix attracted the attention of many people, some of whom were much more powerful or prominent than the Miracle Couple!

Wasn't the MTA supposed to be neutral? According to its own rules, its members had to remain detached from local affairs. How does someone as high as a Master Mech Designer show such obvious favoritism to a pair of natives?

There must be something very special about the young lovers!

As the wedding guests and audience from afar entertained various theories, a new development took place.

A swarm of animals poured out of the double doors. A veritable army of cats sedately passed through the entrance and fanned out into the garden. The playful animals expanded in each direction. Some of them bounded across the grass like cheetahs. Others used their sharp claws to climb on top of attractive trees and towering ornaments.

"Mew."

"Nyeow nyeow!"

"Mrew mrew mrew."

Other animals passed through the entrance as well. Dogs, lizards, turtles, birds and even more exotic-looking exobeasts all emerged and spread across the expansive garden.

Many of the animals wore collars embedded with sophisticated chips. Each of them were tame, and each of them were pets of the Larkinson Clan!

Due to their connection to the Larkinson Network, the animals possessed an extra quality. Though it wasn't apparent when they were alone, with tens of thousands of cats and other animals arriving all at once, they brought an aura that felt distinctly Larkinson!

The infusion of so much life in the garden seemed to make the entire platform alive. The grass appeared greener, the statues seemed to move and the trees gave the illusion as if they were reaching out into the stars!

A spotlight from nowhere shone into the middle of the horde of animals.

The music changed as the orchestra played a grand tune with a militaristic vibe.

The groom had arrived.

Ves, wearing his opulent red outfit, stepped forward with grace and confidence.

The animals surrounding him matched his paced, making it seem as if they were his honor guard.

At some point, he began to step into the air. Steps made of light and energy seemed to form before his path. His exquisite shoes pressed onto the illusionary surface at a steady pace. The brilliant, colorful stairs that formed in front of him and faded out of existence behind him appeared like an exclusive invitation to the groom.

It was as if he was stepping into a higher realm!

None of the animals except for one followed in his wake. Lucky, who still wore his tiny tuxedo and tail ribbon, attracted the admiration of animal lovers!

"Meow."

The gem cat proudly held his tail high as he hopped and floated up the steps.

Ves and Lucky soon reached high enough to pass through the aisle in the middle of the floating chairs.

The people closest to it felt the amalgamated glow of his unique attire. The pride of Zeigra tempered by the influences of other design spirits added so much weight to his presence that even people watching the broadcast felt as if Ves was special in some way!

The stairs leveled out into a seemingly-solid path made of light and fluorescent colors.

He passed by many familiar faces.

Dietrich looked enviously at Ves.

Maikel and Zanthar enthusiastically grinned at his passing.

Major Verle and many soldiers saluted him out of respect.

Vincent gave him a thumbs up while Raella raised her eyebrow in a suggestive manner.

The projections of Melinda, Benjamin and Ark genuinely wished him well.

Ranya Wodin and the other Hexer defectors showed their support in their own ways.

The older brother and sisters of Gloriana viewed him with mixed expressions.

Matriarch Xiaphna Wodin only gave him a passing glance before she returned to staring straight ahead.

So many Larkinsons and other people showed their admiration or support towards Ves. He didn't feel nervous at all. Instead, he seemed to feed off the huge amount of attention, swelling his confidence and boosting his stature to even greater heights!

Once Ves and Lucky passed by the audience the path stretched on for a bit until it reached a floating altar. They stopped and faced the crowd in silence.

Someone emerged from behind. Wearing an ornate, white Ylvainan robe, James Ylvaine floated forward with the Larkinson Mandate in his hands.

The Larkinsons and Wodins had argued a lot about who the officiant of the wedding should be. Suffice to say, a lot of shouting was involved!

The Wodins wanted the wedding to be officiated by a Priestess of the Temple of Hexism.

The Larkinsons wanted to put forward someone neutral and non-religious such as a Larkinson elder or a foreign dignitary such as King Barameuth XXIV.

Long story short, neither of them got their way. They eventually settled for a compromise in the form of the Living Prophet!

How the cult leader managed to get into consideration and snag the approval of both groups was a mystery even to Ves. At least the officiant wasn't a Hexer!

"Honored guests." James began to speak. His smooth voice passed through the ears of every person attending the wedding no matter how far they sat. "This is a happy day for everyone. The Larkinson Clan and the Wodin Dynasty shall be bound together in law and in their hearts exceptional Journeyman Mech Designers will be joining both their hearts and minds in front of witnesses."

In order to keep the ceremony as inoffensive as possible to certain groups of people, James did not speak too long. While his considerable charisma allowed him to lull even Hexers, nobody wanted the Living Prophet to steal the show.

Ves only spoke a brief remark after James welcomed the guests. While he had plenty to say, he wanted to wait until after he tied the knot in order to take advantage of the rising tide.

Right now, the wedding ceremony was still building up, so the timing wasn't right.

"Let us welcome the bride!" James announced and gestured up into the air!

The entire hexagonal platform seemed to dim. The light dimmed and cast people aside from the people at the altar into darkness.

Six light sources came online from six different corners of the hexagonal platform. The bright but not too overpowering beams shone at a shining white presence descending from above.

The same rainbow steps that brought Ves up to the altar had reappeared again. This time, the illusionary steps led the new arrival and her followers downwards from above.

It was as if a goddess descended from an unimaginably high realm.

As the bride came closer, those watching from below were able to see her in her full magnificence.

Her bridal dress was indescribable. White and bedecked with transparent hexagonal-shaped jewels, her grand dress accentuated her svelte upper body well before expanding drastically from the waist.

A humongous train of embroidered white fabric extended from the back of the dress. Its length was so stupendously long that it seemed to never end!

A procession of cherubic little girls lifted the exceptionally long train up so that it did not land on the steps.

The light beams shining on Gloriana from six directions caused the fabric of her dress to glow and the jewels embedded into it to sparkle in a brilliant manner.

A veil extended from her exquisitely-braided hair, shrouding her lovely face. Nonetheless, the audience could clearly see her proud and blissful smile.

Aside from the girls holding up her lengthy wedding dress train, Constance Wodin accompanied her as well. With her head lifted up high, she held her daughter's hand and seemed to lead her forward.

Of course, Clixie was present as well. The Rubarthan Sentinel Cat wore a beautiful red bow above her head. Just like Lucky, a ribbon had also been tied to her tail, which she held high with pride.

Just like before, the light stairs flattened out into a straight and level path through the floating chairs. Those who sat close felt an entirely different glow as the bride passed by. The unmistakingly motherly and Hexer aura radiating from her belonged to no one lese but the Superior Mother!

While the foreigners and Larkinsons merely admired Gloriana's beauty and dress, the Hexers each stood up in respect at her passage.

Since Gloriana carried the blessing of the Supreme, the Hexers had to show their due respect!

Constance eventually stopped and joined the side of Matriarch Xiaphna. Gloriana walked on until she reached the altar.

Clixie sat next to Lucky. Their tails intertwined as they looked up at their owners.

The light beams began to lessen in intensity and the overall light levels of the venue returned to normal.

At this time, something emerged from below.

The lightning-struck statue of the Superior Mother came into view and floated upward until it stopped right in front of the altar!

Though the Superior Mother's glow was strong, it did not dominate the wedding. The Larkinson Mandate held by James exuded a glow of its own. The two glows did not compete with each other but existed alongside each other in harmony.

James began to speak again.

"Welcome, everyone. We are gathered here today to celebrate a holy union between Miss Gloriana Wodin and Mr. Ves Larkinson. Under the light of the stars and the gaze of the most holiest mother, we are here to witness their vows and express our joy at the joining of two talented creators."

The Prophet continued to recite his prepared remarks with genuine pleasure. Even though the Larkinsons and Wodins carefully composed his speech to control what people heard, James did not show any sign that he was speaking someone else's words.

The critical moment had come. Once James got all of the introduction out of the way, he invited Ves and Gloriana to step closer.

"Please hold hands."

The groom reached out to hold the bride's slim and dainty fingers.

"Ves Larkinson, do you take Gloriana Wodin to be your beloved wife and partner?"

"I do." He proudly declared.

"Gloriana Larkinson, do you take Ves Larkinson to be your faithful husband and partner?"

"I do!" Gloriana happily responded!

Both lovers looked each other in the eyes with pure devotion. No matter what kind of disagreements they had, none of that mattered today. They only held love and trust towards each other.

"I promise to dedicate my love and life to you and our family." Ves spoke from memory and with emotion. "I will invest you with my trust, and cherish the trust you extend to me in return. I will enjoy our time together and promise to be honest, fair and open towards you. You have my heart and my devotion. I wish for us to raise a family that will deepen our love and strengthen our union. I wish to grow old with you and hold our together like this until we have reached the last of our days."

Pure devotion shone from Gloriana's face as she gazed at him with love.

It was her turn to speak.

"I promise to love you and respect you for who you are." She spoke. "I will trust you as I have always done and appreciate the trust you have extended to me with each passing day. I will never stop loving you or look at anyone else in the same way I do to you. I hope to stay together with you in life, death and beyond. I would be happy to start a family with you. Our children shall become the legacy of our love and the living proof of our faith towards each other. May the Superior Mother bless our union!"

It was time to exchange their rings.

With smiles on each other's faces, they brought out the rings made by Ves. The mysterious, highly-materials and strange gems embedded into the bands spoke of excellent craftsmanship. The maker not only drew on his skills, but also his love in the making of the wedding bands.

The two slipped the rings on each other's fingers with anticipatory smiles on their faces. As soon as the rings took their places, it was as if a switch had flipped in their minds!

As both bride and groom seemed to feel more connected with each other, the statue of the Superior Mother and the Larkinson Mandate seemed to swell in power. Their glows grew in strength and increased in reach.

"You may now kiss the bride!" James proclaimed.

Ves lifted Gloriana's veil. He admired her perfect face before kissing her passionately!

A festive eruption took place as the entire venue seemed to celebrate the marriage!

Fireworks exploded in the air!

The Vraken orchestra played an uplifting tune!

The entire audience clapped with unreserved admiration!

Every Larkinson pat meowed, woofed or chirped in happiness!

The statue of the Superior Mother and the Larkinson Mandate seemed to swell with life!

The passionate kiss triggered numerous changes which rippled all across the star sector and beyond!