The Mech Touch novel Chapter 6897

Chapter 6897 Ves the Influencer

There was a lot of depth in curses.

Ves should know. He swallowed a few enlightenment fruits that taught him about the subject.

Although his actual ability to cast a curse remained shallow, he still gained enough of a foundation to roughly understand the curse master profession.

He even used his own understanding to form an exclusive qi cultivation method that enabled the Larkinson Clan to raise its own curse masters.

Still, his own efforts paled in comparison to that of the Red Collective!

The collies had taken greater risks by actively contaminating the spiritualities of their curse masters with negative energies!

Ves could not believe the RC valued curse masters so much that they resorted to this extreme measure.

Such rituals permanently changed the lives of prospective curse masters. Their closer affinities to specific negative concepts should enable them to cast much more powerful curses than normal.

Was the tradeoff worth it? Ves did not know.

"Our curse masters have already discovered that they can strengthen their results if they are able to sacrifice a sample of organic tissue taken from the target." Eliza continued to explain. "The curse masters theorize that with a solid piece of organic sample, they may be able to cast a curse that is strong enough to debilitate phase leaders."

Ves' eyes lit up. "It would be great if this is the case! While the requirements are difficult to meet, the results will definitely be worth it if we are met by particularly powerful or tricky enemies. When combined with our superdimensional ace mech, our ability to decapitate the most powerful enemy leaders can become even stronger."

That said, it was not strictly necessary for the Larkinson Clan to accommodate the foreign curse masters.

Not only did the Larkinson Clan possess the capacity to train watered-down versions of their own curse masters, but they already had several means of their own to take down enemy leaders.

Still, taking along the curse masters of the Red Collective would help Ves get in touch with a much greater and more complete heritage on this profession.

He and his clan would be able to learn more about curse masters and how to get better at casting curses.

More importantly, the Larkinsons would also learn how to defend against curses cast by third parties, which was arguably even more important.

Ves knew that since the capacity to cast curses existed, there were bound to be groups that would abuse their power for their own selfish purposes. It was practically an inevitability.

Instead of burying his head in the sand, it was better to be proactive and learn everything he could about curses so that he could formulate proper defenses.

After Ves became satisfied with what he learned about the batch of curse masters offered by the Enforcement Department, Ves wondered if the collies had developed other interesting cultivator professions.

"Are there any other groups that I should take note of?" He asked.

"No more, I believe." His chief of staff replied. "The remainder are less developed and speak for themselves. You should have enough of an understanding of what you can obtain if you choose the Enforcement Department's offer. Have you learned enough information to proceed with your selection, or would you like to ask more questions?"

"I want to address one more issue, Eliza. I find it rather strange and suspicious that you collies present two competing offers to me. There is more to this internal rivalry between the different departments. Tell me the significance of my upcoming choice. What am I getting into? I have a strong feeling that my selection will generate ripple effects within the Red Collective."

The physical projection of Eliza studied Ves carefully before nodding in approval.

"Your political instincts are accurate. There is a greater dispute surrounding the decision of where the Red Collective should allocate its limited research capacity and resources. The Phase Lord Department is arguing that it deserves greater investment because it has already developed a mature if expensive pipeline to convert ordinary humans into powerful phase lords. The strength of an individual human phase lord is not particularly strong, but if deployed in a squad and bestowed with excellent equipment, our phase lords can pose a credible threat against many native gods. This is a good way to address the shortfall in ace pilots."

The proponents of human phase lords had good reasons to be confident. While Ves had not been paying much attention to the initial deployments of the Ur-Titan Phalanx, he had heard that the human phase lords were able to defeat a superior team of alien phase lords.

Just as expected, human phase lords that used to be elite infantry soldiers were able to rely on impeccable teamwork and mech-derived weapons and equipment to gain an advantage over their individualistic alien counterparts.

If Ves agreed to host a squad of Flesh Choppers, then he would have his own troupe of human phase lords at his disposal.

The increase in hard power sounded reassuring. The Flesh Choppers would not only be able to help with countering alien champions, but also help with wiping out enemy warships and fortifications, both of which fell in line with the Premier Fleet's objectives for the upcoming campaign.

However, Ves also had to consider the merits of the alternative offer.

"The Enforcement Department does not just represent its own interests, but also the interests of multiple other departments within the Red Collective." Eliza revealed. "This coalition of departments have balked at the excessive requests made by the Phase Lord Department. Their goal is to steer the RC away from making an overcommitment on human phase lords. They prefer a more balanced development where human cultivators seek to master as many different paths as possible."

Ves narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "I can see how this dispute can affect a lot of people's projects, but I don't think that my choice alone affects the entire direction of the Red Collective. This is a political matter that should be debated upon in the Lower Council."

"Different factions are already preparing to hold this debate, sir. What they need is proof that their stance is superior to the alternatives. Everyone is paying close attention to your decision for this reason. If you accept the offer made by the Phase Lord Department, then the supporters of human phase lords will interpret this as your endorsement of their position."

Ves grew upset. "That is not my intention."

Ves could not imagine how much more powerful they could become if they wielded the power of true resonance!

Yet… as attractive as this sounded, was it truly essential for him to receive more muscle?

When Ves thought about the formation masters, priests and curse masters offered by the Enforcement Department, he could think of many ways that these experts could benefit his Premier Fleet.

While their knowledge and cultivation strength were still too shallow for them to display much power, this was an acceptable shortcoming.

Rather than strengthen the hard power of his Premier Fleet, Ves saw greater value in expanding its versatility and soft power.

The Premier Fleet lacked the support structure of a large state or superorganization. It relied too heavily on external sources for intelligence, technology, repairs and resupply.

While the cultivators aligned with the Enforcement Department could not address all of these shortcomings, they could still provide a lot of help in their own ways.

From being able to divine the locations of key leaders and supply depots to multiplying the combat effectiveness of his mech forces by 10 to 20 percent with a powerful blessing, Ves believed his clan would ultimately benefit more if it tapped into the greater potential qi cultivation!

Perhaps his personal bias may be getting in the way, but Ves did not have a good opinion towards phase lord cultivation.

Body cultivation was expensive and was lacking in depth. It relied on enormous accumulation of phasewater as well as the implantation of rare and difficult phasewater organs to bestow greater power to its practitioners.

If red humanity continued to lose territory, then its supply of phasewater would continue to decrease.

Ves did not think it was a good idea to bet heavily on proliferation of human phase lords when there was a good chance that phasewater was about to become a lot more scarce in the future.

Even if the war turned around, the argument still remained valid. It was simply too expensive to raise an army of human phase lords.

At least regular qi cultivators maintained their human proportions. It was much cheaper to outfit them with quality gear and feed them with modest doses of elixirs.

"I have made my choice. Please convey my gratitude to the Phase Lord Department for their thoughtfulness, but I have decided to accept the offer made by the Enforcement Department."

Eliza nodded with a serious expression. "If that is what you have decided, then I shall make the arrangements."