The Mech Touch novel Chapter 3327

Chapter 3327: The Statue War

Though Venerable Jannzi gave him a lot of grief, she could do little else but rant in front of his face.

She lacked the power and authority to hinder his plans. Her influence was not small, but her weight in the clan was not heavy enough to make him think twice.

Of course, it was a mistake to dismiss her so easily. Even though Venerable Jannzi didn’t have any meaningful way to stop Ves from triggering a civil war within the Vulcan Empire, more and more Larkinsons learned about her principled stance and her noble opposition against an immoral and uncaring patriarch.

She not only managed to take the high ground, but also blackened her opponent’s reputation in the process. As long as several more incidents like these took place, Ves would see his reputation sink to the point where he had no credibility left!

“I can’t let that happen.” He frowned.

The problem was that the only way for Ves to keep Venerable Jannzi from gaining more influence was to maintain the respect and support of his clansmen.

Ordinarily, that wasn’t so difficult as he frequently made sure that their needs were taken care of in the clan.

What truly put him at risk was when his decisions got Larkinsons killed or when he engaged in ‘dishonorable’ acts.

Most clansmen didn’t want to die. They also didn’t want to degenerate into butchers. Ves knew it was wrong at some level to implicate the entire civilian population of the Vulcan Empire, but he didn’t let his conscience get in the way of his goals.

“The next phase will start soon.” He whispered.

Though he no longer looked up any specific news articles about the infighting between the dwarves, he was still aware of how the crisis was unfolding from a macro perspective.

More and more planets and provinces were becoming engulfed in war. Though there were plenty of reasons for the extremists on both sides to back off, the militant dwarves had suffered too much and sacrificed too many lives to stop at this point.

Victory was all that mattered to the radicals and traditionalists! The immaturity and lack of perspective that Minister Shederin had spoken about caused the dwarves to lack a crucial quality that could have let the calmer heads among them negotiate a compromise.

As a result, a lot of mechs and war assets that were initially meant to fight against the tall folk were instead employed to kill shorties just like themselves!

Neither side of the conflict was capable of showing any respect for their adversaries. They completely forgot about their true opponents and regarded their former neighbors and friends as their archenemies!

The dwarves were too prideful to back out. The bravest Vulcanites were those who fought for their beliefs just like the rebels of old. Many believed that if the heretical beliefs of their enemies became dominant, then the true Vulcan god would forsake the dwarven state and turn its back on its own people!

In the words of many fervent priests, this struggle was not just about setting the record straight whether Vulcan was a human or a dwarf. It was an existential crisis where the truth could save the entire state and where embracing the wrong version of Vulcan could literally cause their god to forsake his flock!

With stakes this high, it was no surprise that the infighting unfolded into an outright civil war!

A new rebellion had erupted as the massive state split into two different camps!

Many provinces mostly fell into one or the other camp, but there were plenty of places where both sides were equally as strong! These battleground provinces turned into the hotspots of the sector-wide civil war as the traditional believers and the radical cultists sought to expand their territory and obtain enough superiority to suppress their opponents!

When Minister Shederin stopped by in order to explain what was going on, he called up a map of the Vulcan Empire.

“The dwarven state is not a monolithic entity, as I have explained before. There are strong regional identities that are based around provinces. Each province is the equivalent of a small-to-medium state in any other star sector. Capturing them and keeping them is key to winning this civil war.”

Ves nodded in understanding as he inspected the map. “I see that the rebel cultists have more provinces in their hands than the central authority.”

“That is correct, sir, but don’t let this map fool you.” Shederin said as he switched the view to one that showed the GDP of every province. “The Dwarven God Cult initially gained influence in the lesser provinces and planets of the Vulcan Empire. The majority of these provinces are less densely populated and are not as developed as the more central provinces. The Uriburn Province that is firmly in the grip of the Vulcan Faith is worth at least five times more than the Ferril Province.”

Indeed, the provinces held by the central authority were much more developed in almost every criteria.

The question was whether this was enough to keep the fight even.

“Who has the advantage?” Ves asked.

“That is not an easy question to answer. The central authority that officially supports the Vulcan Faith is still in charge of most of the military. While there are mech regiments and even entire mech divisions that have defected to the extremist dwarves, there is no denying that the rebels do not grasp as many military units.”

“Doesn’t that mean the central authority can crush the cultists?”

Shederin shook his head. “There are many more factors that could even up this struggle. The Dwarven God Cult effectively controls the majority of the provinces. They can draw a large amount of mercenary or private forces under their banner to bolster their numbers. The combat effectiveness of these irregular troops might not be as good as their professional military counterparts, but the advantage of numbers is a powerful boon.”

Ves also figured out another difference. “If my guess is right, there should also be an enthusiasm gap between the two sides. The Dwarven God Cult has always been good at poaching worshippers from the Vulcan Faith, and that is not without reason. The cultists have a better story and they are much more enthusiastic about worshipping their dwarven god.”

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