The Mech Touch novel Chapter 6958

Chapter 6958 The Enterprise Faction

Needless to say, Ves did not like the Territory Faction.

The Saint General and his stances on many matters contradicted or shifted the original direction of the Larkinson Clan.

Ark always held very different ideas on what the Larkinsons should be doing instead.

Now, he finally had a serious chance to occupy the highest seat and wield all of the power and privileges that come with it. This was a legitimate route for him to reshape the Larkinson Clan into what the original Larkinson Family should have been.

As one of the stalwarts of the old family, Ark had always felt pained that it had disappeared.

While the Larkinson Clan could be considered its successor, in reality it had turned into an entirely different beast.

The two did not have all that much in common besides the name and a few other aspects.

Ves deliberately made the two as different as possible. He did not want the Larkinson Clan to make the same mistakes as the old family and end up falling short.

The Larkinson Family could have been one of the founding families of the Bright Republic if history had taken a different turn.

Yet because the Larkinsons obsessed so much about honor and military service, they almost completely neglected to build a thriving network of businesses and alliances, thereby setting up a strong foundation for growth and prosperity.

Ves would have remained stifled by the old and rigid rules if he stayed in the family.

He found that to be so intolerable that he made the daring decision to quit and found his own organization!

Although his clan was only a fraction as old as the original Larkinson Family, the former had already made far more contributions to human society than the latter over 4 entire centuries!

Ves clearly saw that as a validation that the Larkinsons were better off if they divested themselves from the original structure and interests of the old family.

However, Ark clearly thought differently about this topic. He had not fully adapted to the new and much more superior position that the Larkinson Clan had carved out for itself.

Now, he threatened to warp or outright repudiate Ves' core policy decisions and enact a very different vision for his clan!

All of it made sense for Ark, though.

Ves knew why Ark was so eager to carve out a territory for the Larkinson Clan.

Much of it had to do with his power as an 'ace commander'.

The Saint General was called this way because he could absorb the worship and admiration of his subordinates and use that to power himself up and exert combat power that was way higher than his normal level!

While that theoretically enabled him to inflict as much damage as a senior ace pilot at his current rank, the reality was that it took an astronomical amount of people or a good amount of strong followers in order to boost himself to such a ludicrous extent.

To that it, becoming the patriarch of the Larkinson Clan and having it form a large and prosperous state enabled him to amass billions of underlings within a decade!

So long as red humanity managed to survive the current alien onslaught, the huge amount of dispossessed refugees from ravaged and destroyed territories all sought new homes for themselves.

If Ark was in charge of the clan at that time, he could easily use the brand awareness of the Larkinson Clan to lure all of those homeless people into joining up and populating his new colonies! _{frёewebnoѵēl.com}

In the most ideal case, this should enable Ark to draw upon the power of so many Larkinsons that he could potentially borrow their power to embark upon the road to no return and make it out alive in the end!

Ves already figured out that the Saint General's development made it essential for him to have as many people looking up to him as possible.

There was no way for Ark to fulfill his ultimate dream and become a legendary god pilot if he did not have enough minions!

The members of the Davute Branch and the 77th Warborn Division were far from enough to fulfill his ambitions of transcendence!

While Ves did not necessarily begrudge his uncle for using the Larkinson Clan as a vehicle for his advancement, the problem was that Ark had demonstrated questionable judgment in the past.

Ves did not trust his dear uncle to serve as a good steward for his clan.

"This bastard can't get anything done without my help. It is not enough that he needs my mech. Now he is also targeting my clan! What a grateful relative." He grumbled under his breath.

Gavin obviously noticed his superior's discomfort.

Ves could understand this sentiment, even if he vehemently disagreed with it. "This Enterprise Faction sounds almost just as cowardly as the Territory Faction. At least the latter is willing to fight for territory before settling down. This Enterprise Faction is worse! Its members want to cease their struggle right away! Don't they know what time we are living in? Our civilization is falling apart around us. This is no time to pivot to civilian interests!"

"Not everyone is a soldier." Gavin said in an exasperated tone. "There are many civilian Larkinsons who do not believe we should invest so much manpower and resources into fielding expensive fleets. The Purnesses advocate for a vision where our clan has already fought all of the necessary battles. Our armed forces can still be preserved, but they must reorient to a strictly defensive posture. The only purpose for all of our mechs is to defend our industries and deter other business rivals from resorting to foul play."

Ves scowled. These ideas sounded worse than that of Ark!

At least his uncle still placed a strong emphasis on the military arm of the Larkinson Clan, if only so that his troops would be strong enough to conquer and hold a large amount of resource-rich territories.

"Why do these Enterprise guys think it is a good idea to weaken our military?"

"Because they think we can contribute far more to human civilization through innovation and production as opposed to martial pursuits." Gavin patiently answered. "The Enterprise Faction no longer wants to compete against other powers on a military front. The Purnesses and their like-minded associates instead wanted to strengthen the Larkinson Clan's placement as a commercial and industrial conglomerate. They think that as long as we become good enough at supplying other armed forces with mechs and armaments, they will be happy to cover for our share of combat. This way, much less Larkinsons will have to risk their lives on the battlefield."

Ves pressed his lips and shook his head. He strongly disapproved of this cowardly shift in focus.

It would not only undo much of the progress of turning the Larkinson Army into a veteran and battle-hardened force, but also cause the clan to retreat from the forefront of red humanity!

The emerging trend of human society was martial superiority. Any serious organization that wanted to get ahead needed to possess a strong and unyielding fist.

The New Elites Program and other incentives ensured that anyone who contributed to the Red War would earn rich rewards.

Combined with the prestige and spoils earned from every significant battle, the Larkinson Clan was on track to overtake many older but less courageous powers so long as it maintained its current course!

Of course, there was always a risk that the clan might get ruined if it lost a huge battle and lost the ability to protect its rich commercial interests, but nothing good came without risks.

These Purnesses and their like-minded cowards clearly did not have as big of an appetite for risks. All they cared about was to protect the gains that the clan had already made and go completely on the defensive!

"Will the Enterprise Faction be able to gain a lot of traction?" Ves asked.

"Chief Minister Novilon Purnesse is highly unlikely to win the leadership election." Gavin provided his own analysis. "He is a good administrator, but he is unable to outshine two different ace commanders, both of whom have performed dazzlingly on the battlefield. However, that does not render his actions meaningless. The Enterprise Faction is using this opportunity to make itself known and attract a cadre of committed followers who also want the Larkinson Clan to focus less on combat and more on production. Many employees of the Living Mech Corporation, the Larkinson Biotech Institute and other institutions will likely become attracted to the vision espoused by the Purnesses."

That made sense. These civilian workers were far removed from the glory of combat. They mainly cared about preserving the current wealth and status of the clan, so the Enterprise Faction presented them with a common platform where they could safely and more effectively promote their viewpoints.