The Mech Touch novel Chapter 2641

2641 /7079

Chapter 2641: Confidence of a Larkinson

The meeting descended into a shouting match.

It was a disgraceful sight.

Ves watched on as the projections of different commanders and military leaders exaggerated each other's positions and resorted to ad hominem attacks to drive their poin home.

"We are not cannon fodder! We are not cattle bred for the slaughter! Our meat is not tastier than yours!"

"We will not agree to this disadvantageous arrangement that solely serves to preserve the lives of as many Hexers as possible!"

"Why do you deny the truth? Our mechs are better than yours? We have been second-raters for centuries and our mech pilots are far more able to fight against our Fridayman counterparts than yours. I don't care how many pirate warships you've demolished, but if we were in your place, we would have defeated those pathetic Nyxian pirates without suffering any losses!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT, WITCH!"

The dispute boiled down to determining the role of the 'weakest' force of the expeditionary fleet.

Aside from the prime mechs, Valkyrie Redeemers and the Transcendent Punishers, the remainder of the Larkinson Clan's war machines lacked the strength to compete with the other participants of the battle on an equal level.

It would have been fine if the attackers consisted of pirates, mercenaries or some other private organization. The Princess Jeckas, Vima Suns and Tamris Stellars were serviceable second-class mechs that not only possessed crushing power against third-class machines, but could also give mechs that cost twice as much a run for their money.

Unfortunately, reality wasn't fair. There was no rule that stated that every opponent the Larkinson Clan bumped into had to be on the same level.

The Fridaymen who must have plotted this ambush weren't stupid! If they could only afford to dispatch 5 deep strike fleet carriers, then they would definitely stuff them with the most powerful elite mech units they could afford to assign. They must have certainly made the best use of the limited capacities of the capital ships.

The Praetor Clan and the Planat Clan should be less committed. Both of them were in decline after the events that led to the fall of the Cross Clan. Yet they should still have brought enough strength to give them confidence in beating their former allies.

"Meow."

"Yeah, I know."

Both Lucky and Ves seemed to have been relegated to bystanders as Colonel Ariadne Wodin tried and failed to maintain her authority. She underestimated the independent and proud nature of the Larkinsons!

Letting her take the lead had been a mistake in hindsight. Ves had put too much stock in Colonel Ariadne's official qualifications and overlooked her Hexer tendencies.

The Hexers put a lot of stock in their hierarchy. The matriarchs at the top had to be obeyed and respected at all costs while the Hexers at the bottom had no choice but to obey.

It was different for the Larkinsons. Everyone was a valued individual. None of the senior leaders could unilaterally force an ordinary clansman to sacrifice their lives or anything. Such an order had to be conveyed in the form of a request.

These differences caused Colonel Ariadne to slam her head into a wall. As competent as she might be among Hexers, her exposure to foreign cultures was probably very slim. If she actually took the trouble to understand the Larkinsons, she wouldn't have presented her intentions in such a commanding manner.

Ves loudly clapped his hands. At the same time, he transmitted a command through his implant that muted everyone's voices.

"Peace!"

The Larkinsons and Glory Seekers all drew back and slowly regained their composure.

Both sides had shouted at each other with real emotion. Even though they were all adults who knew how to behave, the stakes were too high. There were many lives on the line.

The Larkinson Clan did not wish to lose all of its mech pilots. Even if their mechs were weaker than the rest, they could still contribute to the battle in other ways.

The Glory Seekers tried their best to seek the most optimal path to victory. Their overarching priority was to avoid an outcome that might trigger the defeat of the Hexadric Hegemony. Everything else was dispensable in their eyes!

Ves did not see any way of reconciling the two. One way or another, something had to give. He just needed to adopt an approach that did not rub either of them the wrong way. It was vital for him to maintain the trust and support of both if he wished to see this battle through.

"Time is short." He reiterated. "We cannot afford to squander precious minutes on childish squabbles. Let us consider the overall situation first. The two approaches presented by Colonel Ariadne are merely starting premises. The actual battle does not take into account the differences in mechs, the role of starships and bunker mechs, the effect of glows and the impact of prime mechs. The scenarios also assume that the enemy expert mechs will all detach from the main enemy body and operate separately."

Colonel Ariadne raised her hand. Ves allowed her to speak.

"Expert mechs usually tend to avoid fighting too close to their regular comrades. Fights between multiple expert mechs produce considerable amounts of collateral damage."