The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4711

Chapter 4711 Never Alone

The source of the strength of an expert pilot turned out to be a double-edged sword.

Ves already knew that expert pilots derived much of their strength by motivating themselves to an inhuman degree.

In order for them to draw out their potential and perform at levels beyond the reach of normal humans, they needed to find a grand and noble goal for themselves that could serve as their driving motivator.

From the moment they broke through by relying on a conviction, their entire life and purpose centered around fulfilling the important life goal that they had set.

Everything they did henceforth was ultimately tied to this singular goal.

Ves had long speculated that the reason why certain expert pilots such as Venerable Jannzi experienced such an extreme shift in personality was because they thought they had no choice but to do so in order to fulfill a much more difficult goal.

This phenomenon showed how the extraordinary willpower of a demigod was built on a singular foundation.

Everything was fine as long as this foundation remained strong and healthy.

However, even a single problem with this foundation could cause the extraordinary willpower to collapse!

This showed how high-ranking mech pilots pursued a path of extremity. They shook away all doubts and fears and did not hesitate to throw themselves onto a singular cause no matter the circumstances!

If they chose poorly or became affected by adverse circumstances outside of their control, then they lost everything all at once regardless of any extenuating circumstances.

It was brutal. It was extreme. It was unfair.

It was the life of a warrior who sought to traverse the path of godhood.

Out of all of the possible paths to transcendence, this was definitely one of the most dangerous and perilous that Ves knew of! It was no wonder that mech pilots must possess great courage and bravery in order to qualify to set foot.

"Do not feel sorry for myself, Ves." The older man said as his voice grew even feebler than before. "As an expert pilot that has broken his vow to defend the Bright Republic, I did not die when I suffered my defeat. Instead, I went on to live for many decades while seeing my family grow and flourish. In your eyes, I may seem like a cripple. In my eyes, I am a happy father, grandfather and great-grandfather. That is not a punishment at all. That is a second lease on life, and one that I have enjoyed to the best of my ability."

Ves understood his grandfather's sentiments better. Longevity did not matter at all to him. The Larkinson who belonged to an older generation had grown up in a much simpler time where life-prolonging treatment had never been attainable to the Larkinsons in the first place.

As such, his grandfather as well as many other Larkinsons never obsessed too much about enjoying an additional century of life.

This was much different from the likes of Senator For Life Camden Tovar. That bastard readily appropriated a military mech regiment in order to fulfill a private mission to retrieve a high-grade life-prolonging treatment serum for cheap. All of the earnest Flagrant Vandals who sacrificed their life to allow a greedy old bastard to gain another century's worth of lifespan mattered little to the statesman.

When Ves compared his own grandfather to Senator Tovar, he much preferred the former over the latter.

Benjamin thought the same. His perspective on life was much different from those decrepit old cowards who would readily betray their loyalties and sell out their own relatives to the highest bidder.

In that sense, Benjamin Larkinson still retained the integrity of a valiant and noble expert pilot.

"How long will you be able to last?"

"Not long." The old man said in a whisper. "My decline is inevitable, but I have been fighting to prolong this process for my entire post-war life. It is becoming a little harder to resist with each passing day, but it has become much worse since a year ago. I estimate that I can only keep this up for five months at most. After that..."

He did not need to finish that sentence. His grandson already got the message.

"I see..." Ves said. "Have you already decided where you want to get buried?"

The old Larkinson closed his eyes. "It has always been my earnest wish... to get buried next to other Larkinsons on Rittersberg."

"We can't go back to the Bright Republic anymore."

"I know... Since that is the case, you can bury me where many other of your clansmen are buried."

"Uhhh..."

"What is the matter, Ves?"

"My clan is housed in a fleet. It has always been customary for fleet-based organizations to conduct space burials. We usually shoot any bodies that we are able to retrieve into the direction of the nearest star. It's a cremation on a stellar scale."

His grandfather clearly did not like the thought of that. "I do not want to impose on you, but do not throw my corpse into space as if it is a piece of trash that needs to be discarded as soon as possible in order to free up space for your precious ship. Give me the dignity of an actual burial. I want my remains to rest alongside many other kin. The more, the better. It would bring me no greater joy to know that I am with my family in life and in death. I never want to be alone, whether I am buried on land or on a starship."

He had made his preferences clear. Ves understood that his grandfather was too old-fashioned to ever embrace the notion of a space burial.

"There will be no problems." Ves assured. "I will speak extensively with Ark to decide where exactly we shall bury you. Personally, I do not think it is suitable to bury you here in Davute. It may be an important planet now, but it will become a backwater a century or so later. It is much better if we can bury you on a ship that accompanies our fleet. In fact, we can bury all of our deceased on the same ship. That way, your coffin will be joined by an increasing number of relatives. What do you think?"

Benjamin made a slight gesture with his arm. "Do... what you want. I... trust you. You don't need to spend a lot of money... a simple burial in a graveyard on this planet is already enough..."

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