THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 6837 Psychic Storm Lethality

An important day had arrived.

Everyone in Diandi Base knew that today marked the last day of the Minerva Mark I.

Once the Larkinsons initiated the upgrade process, they would not stop until the renowned command mech had completed her long-awaited metamorphosis.

This was a big deal. The Larkinsons of the Premier Branch took extensive precautions by locking down the base and raising their security protocols.

The security personnel and mechs dispatched by the Bluejay Fleet also entered into a state of elevated readiness.

The native aliens had already begun to chip away at the border regions of the Agamemnon Upper Zone.

The probability that the Red Cabal intended to launch a deep strike operation at New Constantinople during a sensitive time where the Minerva was partially disassembled and in no state to enter the battlefield was not low!

Of course, Ves and the others did not think it was likely that the aliens would take so many risks and invest so many armed forces into overcoming the formidable defense of New Constantinople.

Yet as long as the possibility remained open, every relevant party had an obligation to guard against the worst case scenario.

This was why even the Devos Ancient Clan had imposed restrictions on traffic around New Constantinople VIII.

The potential threat was so serious that the Devosans actively chose to deploy their armed forces in advance. They wanted to be ready to respond to any surprise attack.

Even Ves had underestimated how many interests were tied to the upgrade project!

As he entered the underground workshop that had recently received a few upgrades, the entire place was already packed with personnel.

From mecher and collie guards on foot to mech designers from the Design Department, the upgrade project already turned into a spectacle.

Off to the side, Saint Commander Casella Ingvar had already pulled Admiral Gori Tensen and Commodore Zonrad Reze in an avid conversation.

Although they were purely talking about military matters, Ves could already tell that the shrewd woman had captivated her target audience.

Nobody disliked a friendly ace commander. This was especially the case if her Command Field was directly able to enhance the performance and defenses of mechs and starships!

Both sides therefore had a strong incentive for friendship and cooperation.

Even if the good admiral and commodore were suspicious of Casella's motivations, they had no choice but to play along in order to maintain good vibes.

That would give the Saint Commander enough room to operate. Through repeated interactions, she could slowly win them over, if not in mind, then in heart.

Ves thought about approaching their club, but he eventually decided against i professional soldier and simply did not fit in with their kind.

He instead sought out a fellow mech designer.

He was not a

"Master Laila!" He greeted the woman who had played a limited but integral role in developing the Minerva Mark II. "Thank you for accepting our invitation. Will you be participating in the fabrication and assembly work?"

The Terran Master calmly shook her head. "No. You and your fellow Larkinsons already have a strong tacit cooperation with each other. My participation will disrupt the harmony between cach of you. I have no need to put my personal touch onto your ace command mech. I have designed and produced so many mechs in the three centuries of my life that I am fully willing to leave this responsibility to the younger generation such as yourself."

Ves already expected such an answer. If Master Laila insisted on leading the upgrade process, then he would have tried to come up with arguments to push her away.

"We will not disappoint you." He confidently said. "What do you think of the complete package?" "The Minerva Mark II is an extravagant ace command mech. It is more than what a typical junior ace pilot is expected to pilot. More and more mech insiders are recognizing the benefits of 'archetech' that your wife has specialized in. You are putting us to shame. Do you know that ever since the latest iterations of your Dark Zephyr and the Amaranto began to show their strength on the frontlines, our own ace pilots are requesting us to commission Madame Gloriana Wodin to upgrade their own machines into archemechs?"

Ves smirked. 'My wife would probably reject those requests, though she would hate it while doing so. Our clan is already giving her more work than she can handle. She is in no state to address the demands of third parties. Besides, I am sure that you and pretty much every other major group has invested into mastering archetech yourselves."

"That is true! Master Devos acknowledged. "Too many of us have looked down on archetech solely because it is alien technology that is based on technological paradigms that are at odds with our own. Such tech is not rare in both the Milky Way and the Red Ocean. We have developed our own exclusive human mech architectures that can deliver close to the performance of archetech without needing to master alien scientific principles. That has worked out well for us until the Great Severing occurred.

"I see. We can't win by quantity anymore. The only way to win the Red War is to raise the quality of our mech designs instead. Every performance boost counts. Archetech has multiple downsides, but what it is really good at is making the most out of limited quantities of high-quality materials! Master Devos nodded in agreement. "Exactly. We are running short on multiple kinds of high-grade resources. We are more accustomed to designing mechs and raising mech armies in times where our manpower and capital was far more abundant. Those days have passed. We must quickly adapt to a more frugal approach to mech design, or else we will not be able to gain any advantages against the native aliens.

This problem became more and more acute with every zone that fell into the hands of the alien invaders.

"How close are you to putting out your own archemechs?"

"It should not take too long, Ves. Your spouse may have made considerable attainments in this field, but we also have mech designers who are able to persevere and master the technological principles of archetech. Under my supervision, we shall convert our own ace mechs into archemechs within the next quarter!"

That was fast!

"How many other groups will do the same?"

"It is difficult for us to determine. The Streon Ancient Clan is taking its time, as are many others.

Their prized ace mechs are highly optimized and perfected over a span of multiple decades at the minimum. It is highly disruptive to convert them into a completely new mech architecture during a time where they are expected to wage frequent battles. This is why these groups wish to monitor the performance of our first achemechs. As long as our conversions have yielded substantial improvements in effective performance, you can expect archetech to become much more common among high-ranking mechs. Congratulations to your wife for setting off another technological trend."

That sounded huge. Ves was not sure whether his wife would grow jealous at all of the extra competition or proud for sparking off this trend.

"It's too bad that this conversion comes a little late! Ves lamented. 'I think that a lot of ace pilots would have been able to perform a lot better against our enemies with the strength of archetech. "Not necessarily" Master Laia Devos shook her head. "Repairing archetech is disproportionate challenging and expensive. If the new archemechs incur damage, then they will remain out of action for an extended period of time. We are working hard to train mech technicians and engineers that can produce and repair archemetal components, but their progress is limited. takes a certain mindset for people to understand the knack of archetech"

Archetech was not omnipotent. This was why Gloriana was eager to develop her own take on it. Only by turning it into human tech would people be able to learn and master it on a wider scale.

"Is there anything else about the Minerva that has impressed you, Master?"

"The Victrix" The old woman said. "Your living fey are a fascinating blend between spurs and E-technology. When controlled by an ace commander, its potential is unlimited. Perhaps a future may arrive when the Victrix can become as powerful as the Minerva. You have taken a large risk by investing an entire Mentalist Crystal in this fey. There is currently not enough data to prove that it will produce the effect that you are hoping to produce."

Ves shrugged at that. "Even if the Mentalist Crystal doesn't help to extend the Saint Commander's Command Field, it shouldn't be completely useless. I am willing to accept other boosts such as speeding up the ace commander's thoughts or increasing the intensity of the Command Field. I refuse to believe that this strategic resource will play no role at all. If it turns out that is really useless, then I will pull it out of the Victrix, but I think this is highly unlikely!

Master Laila Devos glanced at the young Senior in mild surprise.

She found it rather perplexing that a mech designer was willing to use an extremely precious material for completely uncertain outcomes.

Nobody knew how the Mentalist Crystal would behave when put inside the Victrix. Master Laila would never make such a reckless and uncertain bet if she was in Ves' shoes.

However, it was clear that Ves' risk tolerance was much greater. He also seemed to enjoy the uncertainty behind it all. The less he knew about the outcome, the more he looked forward to trying

his luck!

"There is one aspect about the Minerva Mark II that appears incongruous with the rest of the ace command mech! Master Laila siad. "Why did you choose to favor Mindstorm Alloy over other key resonating materials? It is certainly strong if you want to provide the Saint Commander with the ability to intervene directly on the battlefield, but her Minerva is already armed with a rifle. She can also rely on her many Knights and Vassals to intervene in their own ways. The ability to generate psychic storms within the range of her Command Field sounds redundant."

Ves smiled back. 'I think that you should have already figured out the potential synergy between Mindstorm Alloy and a Mentalist Crystal. I think that this combination can yield great results.

"That may be true when it comes to ordinary ace pilots, but Casella Ingvar is an ace commander whose domain is more dispersed. The psychic storm generated by the Saint Commander should not be strong. Even if your claim is true, it will at most bring the power of these resonating attacks back

on par:

"What if it is possible to generate a psychic storm within the hull of an enemy warship?"

Master Laila immediately widened her eyes as her powerful mind rapidly considered the

implications.

"Is that possible?!"

Mindstorm Alloy was still a new product as it could not be made without blending mind-attributed

hyper materials.

That was why not a lot of people understood its full capabilities.

It was not until recently that Mindstorm Alloy gained even more value than before! "Other users of Mindstorm Alloy have discovered that it is possible to directly generate a storm inside the hulls of enemy warships." Ves grinned. "Ace mechs can even generate psychic storms inside massive organic bodies such as that of phase lords. Now before you make any misunderstandings, I have to mention that any form of energy defenses can rapidly weaken the power of these storms. Physical barriers also reduce its power, but not to the same extent!"

Master Laila Devos recognized the key point.

"It shouldn't take too much power to eliminate the fragile organic bodies of alien crew members!"

She realized. "If the lethality of Mindstorm Alloy on the crew serving on fully shielded warships is too low, then the amplification from a Mentalist Crystal may just increase just enough to kill weaker alien organisms!"

If this was the case, then the Minerva Mark I had the potential to become a fearsome combatant by

herself!

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