The Mech Touch novel Chapter 3297

Chapter 3297: Streaming Celebrities

Once the people attending the meeting finished their discussion on the state of the Larkinson Clan, they moved on to their next priority, which was trying to make it out of the Vulcan Empire alive and intact!

"Tell me how we stand with regards to our flight from a dwarven country."

"The Vulcanites are in the middle of an upheaval." Calabast immediately spoke up. "Have you checked the galactic net lately?"

Ves shook his head. "No. I have my hands full with managing other affairs. Several of our expert mechs are in bad shape and need to be repaired as soon as possible to restore our top-level battle effectiveness. How can I spare any time to browse the galactic net?"

Calabast pressed her lips into a line. "Well, you might want to take a look at the regional news portals. Not just the Vulcan Empire, but the entire star cluster is buzzing about our battle!"

A sinking feeling overcame Ves. He tapped his fingers and called up a projection that displayed a selection of the current news in the star cluster.

[THE DWARVEN MENACE HAS RETURNED]

[LARKINSON CLAN - THE POWERHOUSE FROM THE KOMODO STAR SECTOR]

[REVIEW THE STUNNING FOOTAGE OF THE BATTLE OF FORDILLA ZENTRA WITH ANALYSIS FROM ESTEEMED TACTICIANS AND MECH DESIGNERS]

[MAGIC OR SCIENCE?! WITNESS THE DEBATE ON THE LARKINSON CLAN'S MASS ENERGY ATTACKS AT 20:00 STANDARD TIME]

[THE VULCAN EMPIRE MUST AVENGE THE EVIL DEEDS OF THESE INTRUDING HUMANS!]

[VES LARKINSON: BLASPHEMER AND LIAR. THIS EVIL HUMAN SORCERER MUST ANSWER FOR HIS CRIMES!]

Suffice to say, the headlines did not put Ves in a good mood. When he looked a little deeper, he realized that footage of the entire battle had ended up on the galactic net!

From start to finish, the entire progression of the engagement from the initial blows of the dwarven fleet to the eventual halt in hostilities was captured by several different long-ranged optical sensor feeds.

"How bad is it, Calabast?" Ves whispered as he saw a giant projection of himself talking nonsense to the dwarven fleet.

The spymaster smirked. "I wouldn't be so worried if I were you. We looked good during the battle. You can't say the same for the dwarves, who not only bear the fault of initiating hostilities, but also failed to achieve their objective. Sure, we exposed our trump cards to everyone who cares, but with how often we make use of them this outcome would have happened sooner or later. At least this is one of the best ways to insert fear into anyone who thinks they can employ massed mechs to tear us down."

"You call this 'the best way'?!" Ves angrily gestured at the footage.

"If you look closely at the footage, you'll see that they only consist of a few long-ranged optical sensor feeds from a relatively cheap third-class commercial vessel. The resolution of the footage isn't high and smaller details are difficult to distinguish due to distance and interference. The Dented Coin uploaded this footage to the galactic net live in order to discredit the Dwarven God Cult and strengthen the traditionalists in the Vulcan Empire. The ship did not transmit any other sensor readings."

Ves calmed down when he heard that. "Has it actually helped us in any way?"

Calabast looked pleased. "Director Olivier Persham succeeded in his goal. A lot of controversy has erupted in the Vulcan Empire. There are Vulcanites who are for or against this battle and there are a lot of angry leaders who don't want their worst nightmares to come true. This unprovoked attack will have repercussions on their entire state and the last thing they want is to worsen their case in front of the MTA. Although this news isn't public, a couple of my sources tell me that Grand Regent Habidas Aaden himself is in talks with the Association."

Shederin Purnesse smiled as well. "According to my own understanding of the local political situation, a large and intense opposition has broken out from the more traditional and dovish parts of the Vulcan Empire. There are still many Vulcanites who dread a war against the powerful tall folk and want nothing more than to enjoy their current level of power and prosperity in this star sector. The warmongers threaten to tear this all down. The fact that the Ferril Provincial Army provoked a battle with superior numbers only to lose badly has embarrassed and discredited the fanatical Dwarven God cultists."

"And that means…?"

"A follow-up action is highly unlikely to happen. The controversy is too big and the traditionalists within the Vulcan Empire will not allow their younger and rather short-sighted Vulcanites to make this problem worse."

That was good news to Ves. The Larkinsons, Glory Seekers and Crossers all lost a lot of battle effectiveness and could never win against a similar opponent in their current condition.

Of course, Shederin's judgement was not absolute. There was still a chance that the crazy dwarves organized another pursuit force and were on their way to intercept the escaping human fleet before it left the star sector!

Therefore, until the Larkinsons actually left the reach of the Vulcan Empire, Ves and the others did not intend to relax!

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