The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4721

The Larkinson Clan's delegation became completely stumped.

Aside from Minister Shederin Purnesse who currently looked as if he appreciated President Yenames Clive's masterstroke, Ves and the other Larkinsons looked gobsmacked!

They already received intelligence beforehand that the representatives of Davute had approached various parties within the network of the Larkinson Clan.

It had been difficult to determine what the different parties talked about. At most, Ves only thought that the discussions went no further than exchanging information or making a few minor deals at most.

This was because the visits did not happen frequently. The talks also did not seem to last that long or produce any major ripple effects.

However, Ves had underestimated the power of diplomacy. Yenames Clive was a businessman by nature, and he had invested much of his political capital into gaining the full-blown support of the likes of Patriarch Reginald Cross and Venerable Ark Larkinson!

The future ruler of Davute showcased an excellent understanding of the relevant parties and individuals. Yenames Clive understood that he did not necessarily need to convince the organizations as a whole. He just had to be meticulous about targeting the weak spots of the most powerful and influential personalities among their groups!

In the case of Reginald, it was too easy to lure him into a war by promising to set up as many duels against other Saints as possible.

The self-absorbed ace pilot did not really spend any time thinking about morality, causes or other nonsense. He just wanted to get stronger and become famous in the process!

In that sense, fighting in a major war and getting involved in epic duels against other prominent human heroes was the best way to get what he wanted!

This was a much more attractive prospect to him than pounding alien warships or spending months at a time on traveling through empty star systems or sitting around to explore an abandoned alien ruin.

"Damn Reginald and his one-track mind." Ves cursed.

It would have been much better if Master Benedict Cortez led the Cross Clan. At least the jaded and highly intelligent mech designer possessed enough wits to avoid getting baited into a war that had nothing to do with the Cross Clan as a whole.

As for his dearest uncle, Ves could guess the motivations of Ark Larkinson easily enough.

A good old-fashioned war between two different states sounded right up his alley. Ark had trained to fight in wars for his entire life. It was where he attained his greatest victories, earned all of his glory and pushed him to advance to expert candidate and expert pilot in quick succession.

Just like many other trueblood Larkinsons, Venerable Ark only truly felt at home when he was part of a much greater mech military.

The disciplined structure, the camaraderie, the esprit de corps and the awareness that they were all fighting for a common cause truly appealed to a consummate soldier like Ark.

Aside from that, fighting in a war on behalf of Davute also facilitated the integration of the Larkinson Clan's Davute Branch into the local community and power structure.

If Ark and the Larkinsons under his command made enough notable accomplishments in the war against Karlach, then the side branch he was a part of would definitely be pushed to the forefront among all of the stakeholders of the so-called Davute Project!

Although Ves disagreed with this path to power, he did not deny that it was a viable way to grow an organization. A state possessed an immense amount of territory, wealth and other resources. Pledging one's loyalty and troops in exchange for a share of those goodies might not sound like a bad deal as long as the price was right.

Ves narrowed his eyes. Though it became clear that Davute managed to convince both Patriarch Reginald Cross and Venerable Ark Larkinson to play along, the two weren't complete fools.

They would not have agreed to throw themselves into an impending war that would most assuredly produce a lot of casualties if the compensation wasn't good enough!

"What did you promise to Patriarch Reginald Cross and Venerable Ark Larkinson, exactly?" Ves straightforwardly asked.

"A similar arrangement that I am about to extend to you." Yenames Clive smoothly answered as if he already expected this question. "Our colonial state is willing to reward every group that adds to the strength of our armed forces with a comprehensive compensation package. There are multiple components to the rewards, and everyone is allowed to pick and choose what they desire the most. Think of it as a different version of a merit exchange."

The man gestured to his chief of staff, who projected a list of rewards and added a bit of clarification.

"The most popular and practical reward that we are willing to offer are starships." Reina Kernsk explained. "For every standard-sized mech regiment that you contribute to our defense, we will immediately transfer a single fleet carrier along with enough combat carriers under their control. These starships will remain on loan, but as long as your mech regiment has made reasonable contributions during a war, our state is willing to surrender the ownership of the surviving carriers to the units that have utilized them for years."

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