The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4731

"Did I go overboard?"

Ves wondered whether he wasted the time he spent on modifying and upgrading his Unending Regalia.

He could have allocated his time on a lot of other productive pursuits.

For example, he could have visited the Larkinson Army and interviewed a few soldiers in order to get up to speed on their sentiments towards the upcoming war. _{freewebnovel.cσ๓}

He could have spent his time on designing his mechs so that they would become ready when he needed their capabilities.

He could have invested more time into setting his own stamp on the Larkinson Clan's participation in the upcoming founding ceremony.

Instead of doing all of that, he holed himself up in his private workshop in his Genesis Lab working on a suit of combat armor of all possibilities.

He could not recall any instance where the protection offered by his Unending Regalia made a substantial difference.

He had only made it after his clan had concluded the Nyxian Gap Campaign. The terrifying threats and crises he experienced during that harrowing expedition had caused him to overreact and develop the strongest form of personal protection that he could make at the time.

That also happened to be the last time he came under acute personal threat.

As more and more expert pilots broke through while his mech legions grew in size and strength, he no longer became subject to any personal threats any longer.

Hardly any enemy could get through his mechs and honor guards nowadays!

In fact, his protective detail became so numerous and overgeared that assassins did not even bother to make another attempt at his life anymore!

Given all of these measures, Ves felt increasingly more ridiculous for paying such unreasonable attention to an unreasonably expensive piece of gear that would never get the chance to fulfill its primary role.

The only use that Ves got out of the Unending Regalia nowadays was to shroud himself in a martial mantle and assume a more intimidating demeanor!

If Ves wanted to pretend he was a warlord instead of a nerdy mech designer, he could have stuck with the previous version of his combat armor. The spiritually charged Unending alloy armor plating significantly enhanced his stature during face-to-face meetings!

He frowned. "I need to share my thoughts with another person. I can't keep letting my messy thoughts dictate my actions."

A sense of unease and uncertainty welled in his stomach as he cleaned up his workshop and stowed away the parts that still held a lot of value.

He then moved to the underground complex underneath the Cat Nest and headed over to a highly secure section.

A lot of signal-dampening materials shielded this part of the base from observations and eavesdropping. Ves had to go through an extensive security check before he was able to enter the branch station of the Black Cats.

After navigating through a few corridors, he entered the office where Calabast awaited for his arrival.

"Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy today?"

"Squeak~"

A plump and dappled gray exobeast laid on her lap.

The eight-legged creature had grown a lot over the years, both physically and spiritually.

A plentiful diet that did not require Arnold to hunt inside dark and dangerous tunnels allowed his young body to grow without impediment.

This allowed him to grow a little larger and more massive than a well-fed cat.

Ves found the creature's spiritual growth a lot more remarkable. Through mechs such as the Dark Zephyr and the Devious, the octopod became more intelligent and more familiar with humans.

Though Arnold's relatively small and weak organic body still constrained his spiritual development, he nonetheless managed to make a lot of progress in catching up to the other design spirits!

"Hello, Arnold." Ves smiled as he stepped closer. "How are you doing these days? Are you growing well?"

"Squeak squeak squeak!"

"I know, I know. I will try and tie you in with more diverse mech models in the future. The Hexers still make plentiful use of the Devious mech line as far as I know, so you I know you aren't short of spiritual feedback."

"Squeak!"

Though Ves still did not agree with Ark's initiative, he did not want to force his clan to follow only a single vision. It had grown large enough to allow the Davute Branch to go its own way and see whether its bet on the colonial government would pay off in the end.

He sighed. "I am affording Ark the same treatment that I would have wanted back when I initially pleaded to take the Larkinson Family in a different direction. Back then, I tried so hard to persuade the stodgy elders that letting me in charge would reinvigorate the family and make it prosper at least ten times more than if it continued to follow the same direction. I only founded the clan out of helplessness. If I couldn't implement my plans with my existing family, then I thought I might as well create a new one, and you see how that went."

Calabast understood his message and softened her tone. "It is good of you to hold onto your principles. They are what keeps you together when everything starts to change around you. Besides, you haven't made the wrong choice in my opinion. Our clan's strategic shift has come in a timely manner. By letting the Davute Branch enact a different development strategy, many of the clansmen that have grown dissatisfied with spaceborn life have decisively transferred to the recently empowered side branch. This will have a positive influence on the main fleet."

She referred to the fact that those who chose to stay in the fleet overwhelmingly consisted of clansmen who believed in Ves and his vision. Dissent and hesitation were much less likely to occur because a lot of potential naysayers had already moved away.

Turning the Davute Branch into a viable alternative for the Larkinson Clan meant that Ves was able to tighten his control over the fleet he cared so much about!

"I'm not here to talk about how extensively Ark and the Davute Branch will pursue a different course from mine." He said. "I am here to talk about my concerns with the colonial government. I don't know about you, but I don't trust that constricting bastard at the top one bit. That guy is a snake. He is just good at hiding it under his guise as a businessman-turned-statesman."

The attractive spymaster directed a critical look at him. "I can see where you are getting at, but you do know that leaders at this level all have to be ruthless and pragmatic to a degree, correct? What President Clive has shown so far does not exceed the boundaries of an effective leader of a large and rapidly-changing state."

"That does not reassure me at all, Calabast. In fact, it is the opposite. I have met multiple statesmen and government leaders who ended up saying one thing, only to do the exact opposite! I swear it is baked into their professional DNA somehow."

"That... is completely illogical and a product of bias, Ves."

Ves frowned at the skepticism he received. Shouldn't Calabast be more supportive of his suspicions?

"I would rather be safe than sorry. I am more than happy to be proven wrong in my concerns, but if there is a nonzero chance that our good friend Yenames Clive has any nefarious designs on our clan, I want to know about it in advance instead of getting bushwhacked by it because I did not get any warning in advance."

Calabast raised her eyebrow. "Are you asking us to investigate the leadership of the colonial government?"

"I am not asking you. I am ordering you. I know it is difficult to penetrate their tight security perimeter, but I am not paying your Black Cats so much to develop a regular information network. Show what you are made of and find out what that snake truly thinks about our clan."

The spymaster looked upset. This was a huge request, and one that could easily backfire on the Larkinson Clan if the Black Cats got caught!

"...I need to borrow Lucky from you. He is still our best infiltration asset in our possession."

"You will have him. Lucky is still busy with digesting his latest meal, though, so it will take a bit more persuasion to put him into action.'