The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4155

Compared to the hesitant and problematic Glory Seekers, Ves obtained a much better impression of the Cross Clan.

Though he decided to contact Professor Benedict as opposed to the Cross Patriarch, the mech designer was authoritative enough to speak on behalf of the clan.

The older man only paused for a brief moment before he nodded. "We will be ready to depart alongside your fleet when the time has come."

Ves blinked. He didn't think it would be that easy to gain a positive response from the Crossers.

"What does Patriarch Reginald think?"

The Senior scoffed and crossed his arms. "What do you think, Ves? There is no way he is going to miss out on all of the action that will be sure to haunt your tracks. Even if you did not decide to depart Davute in order to pursue greater opportunities, he would have taken his clan out for a different purpose. Patriarch Reginald… is incredibly eager to test his new strength against actual opponents."

It was hard to deny the powerful ace pilot's wishes. His authority and recognition was too great.

Ves already expected Reginald to be eager to flex his new muscles and that of his soon-to-be-upgraded Mars, but for the ace pilot to be so quick to disregard the safety of his fellow Crossers was concerning.

Oh well. Reginald's lust for glory and battle worked out well in this situation. With their leader in such a hurry to fight, the Crossers would definitely be willing to play along and become an enthusiastic participant of the Trailblazer Expedition.

"Do you guys have any special concerns or demands?" Ves asked.

"Hmm." Professor Benedict paused and thought for a moment. "We can take care of our own needs. We will be able to bring plenty of ships and mechs if that is what you are concerned about. The only pertinent issue that will bother us is what we should do for the people we are leaving behind in Davute."

"What are your clan's concerns, exactly?"

"We are both mech designers who have witnessed how low people can go when they think they can get away with their deeds." Benedict said in a lower tone. "Though the authorities and power blocs of Davute have made great strides in developing this planet and maintaining law and order, the society that they have built in this corner of space is like a house of cards. Any shock to the system can easily cause the cards to collapse, thereby exposing the people stationed in this star system to the coveting gazes of others."

"Hm, I see what you mean, professor."

"For now, everything is okay because we have concentrated our entire strength here. No one dares to do anything to our people because the bulk of our forces are close at hand. That will change once we depart. While we are still able to deter many parties from doing anything to our assets and people that we have left behind, what if something happens to us? What if we fall out of contact for an extended period of time? Both our Cross Production Center and your Cat Nest will become increasingly more attractive targets. You know how ruthless and cutthroat the people in the frontier have become."

Ves grimaced but nodded in agreement.

The rules of the game were different in the new frontier. Even a place as openly calm and peaceful as Davute was not as stable as it appeared on the surface.

It was like a masquerade. Due to every stakeholder's overarching need to present Davute as a safe and fair port system, no one wanted to cause chaos and trigger panic among the population.

However, that did not mean that all of the power plays and confrontations had disappeared.

The fighting merely took place in a different arena and form that was out of sight to the public.

The local news portals regularly reported about companies that suddenly went bankrupt and got taken over by other companies. They also reported on companies that suddenly reconciled with their former competitors and merged with them to form larger organizations.

These were the results of hidden struggles that might not be as violent as open battle but could be just as vicious as one. Whole lives were ruined every day in order to further the ambitions of more successful competitors.

Right now, the Larkinson Clan and the Cross Clan were in an overwhelmingly strong position, so much so that they were already moving to become one of the major power blocks of Davute.

However, their lack of eagerness to commit to Davute would probably come to haunt them sooner or later. Leaving for another major expedition essentially meant that they would have to leave their large and valuable landbound holdings behind.

Ves eventually shrugged. "We don't have any strong solutions that can guarantee that people won't mess around with our planetary branches. Aside from relying on deterrence, the only other viable way to guard them is through relying on mercenary contracts and allies. I think combining the two is the best way to go forward. As long as we befriend local mercenary organizations and pay them handsome rewards to guard our people and locations, I think the effect will not be much different from guarding these places with our own forces."

Though it sounded good, Professor Benedict still maintained a contemptuous expression.

"Mercenaries. No matter how reputable they become, the bottom line is that they only care about themselves. Hardly any mercs will fight and die in order to uphold a written contract. Every penalty is tolerable as long as they can run away from a powerful enemy with their lives intact. The only truly useful aspect about hiring mercenaries is that we can prevent them from acting against us and that they are still effective at scaring away weaker parties."

Ves let out a tired breath as he scratched his head. Professor Benedict was remarkably hard to please.

However, a part of Ves was glad that he was facing a skeptical and critical conversation partner as opposed to a dim-witted yes-man.

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