The Mech Touch novel Chapter 2098

Chapter 2098 Continuous Shock

Ves didn't hide his reactions at the mention of the Devil Tiger. He couldn't. How could he remain calm when this mech was tied to both of his parents?

There was no way Ves could disregard any news that could tell him more about his missing father and his inscrutable mother!

What were they up to? Was his father piloting the dangerous mech in person? What kind of battles had he fought while he was trying to do his best to avoid getting caught by the Five Scrolls Compact?

Calabast watched him very carefully. She confirmed a number of theories, disproved some others and formed some additional conclusions.

All of this happened in the span of a few seconds!

"Ves.." She opened her mouth. "Don't tell me.. the Devil Tiger that is striking fear in the hearts of pirates.."

"It's mine." He confirmed. "I designed and built the Devil Tiger."

Fortunately, the office had already been jammed and secured. Uttering something explosive as this in public would instantly land Ves in hot water!

Backed by Hexers or not, the Sentinel Kingdom would universally condemn him if he had made any dealings with Nyxian scum!

Calabast looked incredibly serious all of a sudden. "I should have known! Even if the Devil Tiger in the rumors doesn't possess any glows, I couldn't get rid of the hunch that you had a hand in its creation! Ever since it emerged, this mech has exacerbated the chaos that has been brewing in this region."

"What did you say?" Ves reacted in shock yet again.

Was it a coincidence she used the word 'chaos'?

"Let me start from the beginning." She said. "There are several unusual aspects about the mech and the faction it belongs to. From what information I've gathered, the Oblivion Hand existed for quite some time as a notable but relatively unremarkable band of dark mercenaries. That was until the emergence of their new leader. Someone who goes by the name of the Dark Cleaver has triggered a mutiny against Commander Arnold Dafoe, the prior leader of the Oblivion Hand."

The Dark Cleaver? The Oblivion Hand? Ves couldn't imagine his relatively upright father mixing in a cesspool where these lurid names were common!

"Who is the Dark Cleaver?"

"No one knows." Calabast shrugged. "There are countless rumors surrounding his abrupt rise, but the Nyxian Gap isn't exactly a place where keeping accurate records is common. At least in civilized space you can always find reliable traces in the records of various government institutions. That's not the case here. The stories vary so wildly that I don't dare to mention any of you lest you develop an incorrect bias."

She had been looking at him very intently when she talked about the Dark Cleaver. With her powerful deductive abilities, she constantly became more certain about her guess.

"The Dark Cleaver.. is your father, isn't he?"

"...I don't know. I need to hear more."

Ves knew there was no way he could hide his thoughts on the matter from Calabast. She knew too much!

"If Ryncol is your father.. it would explain much." She slowly said as she parsed her thoughts. "There are too many uncertainties, though. As far as I'm aware of, ever since the Dark Cleaver took control of the Oblivion Hand, the dark mercenary corps has grown explosively."

"How?"

"Conquest." Calabast replied. "Ever since the Oblivion Hand had a change in leadership, it no longer performed illicit missions on behalf of clients who don't want to besmirch its reputation. Instead, the Hand has turned its entire attention to attacking certain pirate factions."

"That.. isn't very unusual." Ves spoke. "Everyone in the Nyxian Gap fights against each other. True peace doesn't exist in a place like that. It's much easier to rob the people next to you than to travel all the way to the Sentinel Kingdom in order to raid some trade convoy."

"This is different." She shook her head. "The Oblivion Hand isn't just engaging in opportunistic robbery. It has been ending entire pirate organizations that have existed for decades, if not centuries! The Hand has razed over a dozen fortified pirate bases, which has disrupted all of the existing patterns that have taken shape in the surrounding regions!"

Ves couldn't help but drop his jaw at that news! How could his father ever accomplish such a feat? Was the Oblivion Hand that strong when he took it over? That was impossible!

Back in the Bright Republic, Ryncol Larkinson was the younger and much less talented brother of Ark Larkinson.

Ves knew very well that as much as he loved and respected his father, he had never performed better than the average Larkinson mech pilot. He didn't possess that much ability for command either.

It was way too much to equate his father as this notorious Nyxian pirate killer!

Yet Ves couldn't ignore the fact that the Dark Cleaver piloted the Devil Tiger. His mother stole the masterwork mech herself. She recognized its exceptional value. She would never drop this treasure in the hands of a random Nyxian!

"Have you obtained any battle footage of the Oblivion Hand?"

She shook her head. "Footage is always hard to obtain. The Sentinel Kingdom always cracks down whenever someone tries to spread anything that takes place in the Nyxian Gap. From what I can gather, the Oblivion Hand fight so viciously that they rarely leave anything behind."

Was this truly the organization that his father led? How could he have grown so ruthless?!

"Why is the Oblivion Hand so aggressive? Has anyone figured out its goals?"

"I'm not sure. From the information I've gathered up until now, I believe the Dark Cleaver wants to expand his organization."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It has become clear that the Oblivion Hand is clearly targeting pirate organizations with lots of assets." Calabast spoke with admiration. "Not only that, but after every battle, the Hand grows stronger. Despite the casualties, the dark mercenary corps is able to field more mechs and ships. It doesn't have any problems attracting new recruits either. Everyone loves a winner, the Nyxians most of all. What is remarkable about the Oblivion Hand is that it has never lost a battle ever since the Dark Cleaver became its new commander."

"Are you sure?!"

It was impossible to win everytime. Too many factors affected the outcome of a battle. Unless someone controlled every variable, setbacks and losses would happen sooner or later.

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