The Mech Touch

Chapter 6678 Investing in Melkor

While the human mech forces tried to delay the advance of the native aliens as much as possible, they ultimately only produced moderate results.

Many alien phasefighters went down, but the defending side also lost a higher amount of mechs than expected.

It became abundantly clear that the latest wave of reinforcements from the front consisted of phasefighters of a better generation than the ones that had been widely used in the recent past.

The technological progression of phasefighters was much faster than with mechs due to how little the native aliens initially cared about small craft.

While that caused the aliens to begin at a lower starting point, it was very easy for them to catch up to mechs and quickly implement all kinds of nifty technological solutions.

The other mech forces that had been sent to scout enemy phasefighters and skirmish them whenever possible suffered badly whenever they came across the most modern phasefighters!

People began to voice a lot of concerns when the mech forces gradually returned to the main stronghold planet.

They shared their observations and discussed the extent to which the aliens were making use of the more modern and advanced phasefighters.

The mech pilots started to suspect that the native aliens may have more surprises in store. If their elite phasefighters had already improved to this extent, then what about their warships?

The mech pilots couldn't forget about the phase lords either. Ever since the Red Tide Offensive began in earnest, many phase lords engaged in direct confrontations against human expert mechs and ace mechs.

They rarely gained an advantage as ace mechs proved to be too good in many areas. The biggest discrepancy between the two was the use of equipment.

Ace pilots always relied on the best and most cutting-edge materials and tech to amplify their combat power.

Their ace mechs were among the best and most powerful individual machines that were active in the Red War!

The phase lords on the other hand usually only wore giant garments and basic weapons and raiments that were merely adequate for their exaggerated physiques. However, that also made it easy for the native aliens to improve the gear of phase

but they could still get their hands on much better designed equipment that was not so difficult to develop and produce.

It was for these reasons and more that most of the defenders became convinced that the native aliens were probably planning to win the fight by leveraging their

technologies.

The rapid technological progression of the Red Cabal and the major alien races was making everyone feel uncomfortable.

Melkor knew his history lessons and so did most people. The history of humans during the Age of Conquest was a universal teaching subject in practically any school. It was important for people to understand where they came from and why they had grown so great.

They all knew that one of the principal reasons why humans managed to grow so quickly and surprise their complacent and arrogant alien opponents time and time again was due to their rapid technological adaptation and innovation.

Humans first started to imitate super alien technology. They learned more and more about how stuff worked, and used those insights to apply their own technological ideas and paradigms onto alien solutions.

This usually produced a lot of new results that the alien scientists and engineers had never thought about before. Humanity took advantage of this gap to push familiar alien technologies into new ground, thereby attaining a form of superiority that they weren't supposed to possess!

The explosive rise of humans in the Milky Way Galaxy was the archetypical example of how weak and technologically inferior race could ultimately vanquish over its much more powerful and developed peers.

Right now, most people began to feel as if they were in the position of the Seven Apex Races during the Age of Conquest.

Though their situations were not entirely the same, the sense of discomfort of being overtaken by aliens they used to consider technological primitives was deeply disturbing.

"Damn cosmopolitans."

Everyone blamed the human traitors for giving the native aliens so much

technological support.

A lot of red humans would have been alive today if the native aliens did not manage to upgrade their tech so quickly and in such great leaps.

While the expeditionary fleet licked its wounds and prepared for the decisive battle that was due to start tomorrow at the latest, the Avatar Commander held a talk with the patriarch of the Larkinson Clan over a secure communication channel.

to the T Institute.

The T Institute subsequently passed it on to Ves, who immediately decided to call Melkor after he became impressed by what he saw.

"I admit that I am frequently guilty of looking down on qi cultivation." Ves admitted. "High-ranking mech pilots are simply more impressive on the battlefield. It is also well-known that they are very resistant to the attacks of qi cultivators. However, that doesn't mean that people like you are ineffective against our current opponents. The ability to manipulate the battlefield to such a great extent is an amazing power and one that is well worth investing in. I have already told my personal assistant to draft a plan to set up a separate division under the T Institute that is dedicated to raising a group of formation masters. You can be a part of this division as well, Melkor." The legion commander politely smiled at Ves' projection. "I think it is a good idea for you to do that, but you should mind the cost of raising a formation master and the amount of effort it takes to become one the normal way. I would be glad to contribute to the new division once it is set up, but I can't do this on a full-time basis as I am still responsible for leading the Avatars of Myth."

Melkor was not old or weak enough yet to hang up his cape and transfer to a desk job. He was still committed to fighting the Larkinson Clan's enemies on the battlefield! "That's okay. Our clan is not large enough to support a large division centered around qi formations. I have seen how expensive those material anchors can be. We can keep this division relatively small and only raise enough formation masters to develop a limited collection of spell arrays based on the unique advantages of the Larkinson Clan. You can buy third-party spell arrays from the Red Collective or other groups if you need a function that our formation masters cannot provide. Does that sound like a good arrangement to you, Melkor?"

The legion commander nodded. "I do not have a problem with this setup. It's your money after all, so you get to decide. I just hope you don't expect me to perform miracles anytime soon. I am just starting out as a formation master. I still have much to learn and I need to spend more time on 'cultivating"

"Neither of the two are problems as long as you have enough money and resources at your disposal." Ves' physical projection smirked back. "Always remember that as long as you are useful enough, our clan would be happy to support you. It is only fair. Spell arrays can do stuff that conventional technology cannot replicate. The same goes for battle formations. Our clan is not short on cash these days, so the burden of supporting you is not that great in my eyes."

Melkor felt a little uncomfortable about how his cousin placed so many expectations

on his shoulders.

The legion commander was afraid that he would ultimately disappoint Ves and everyone else who expected the Larkinson Clan's first combat spell array master to

"Qi formations aren't as strong as you think at the moment. Most of them cannot withstand the attacks of warship gun batteries. My usefulness is severely limited during larger engagements. It is only in the smaller fights that I can make a real difference."

Ves did not look too disappointed. "Qi formations are too new for us at the moment. While I don't understand how they work, I can make a few inferences. The best way to improve the power of a spell array is to design them better and build its formation anchors out of the best hyper materials. Just like how an expert pilot needs a good expert mech to realize his potential, you will need a set of strong and well-developed spell arrays in order to protect our clan to the best of your ability. As for the time it takes for you to grow your power, the Red Collective is gradually ramping up the sale of elixirs and artifacts that can speed up your growth. I want you to achieve your second major breakthrough as fast as possible. Can you do that, Melkor?" "That will take years even if you stuff me with elixirs, Ves. If I want to become a combat spell array master that is able to deploy a qi formation with his domain aline, I would have to study and practice for a decade if not longer, and that is when my ability to think has improved by a massive extent after my breakthrough!" Melkor may have become a qi cultivator that was capable of performing genuinely powerful feats, but he still hadn't gotten rid of his impostor syndrome. He began to question his own competence again after he thought of how much he needed to work in order to reach a breakthrough that would allow him to birth his

own domain.

Despite his cognitive boost, Melkor still had little confidence in studying the full theories related to qi formations.

The borrowed texts only made him dizzy and confused. Just because his cognitive capabilities had improved by a huge extent did not mean he obtained the qualifications to work with qi formations at a higher level.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Melkor needed to study a lot of textbooks and maybe even attend virtual tutoring

sessions just to make effective use of the more advanced spell arrays. Sure, he got a formidable boost in brain power, but that sounded a lot less impressive

when it was an improvement based on his previous level of intellect.

In other words, the smarter the person, the more suited he was to become a

formation master!

Mech designers who converted to formation masters would be able to progress much

faster and produce much better results than Melkor.

While Ves had shown great willingness to use clan resources to speed up his own progression, Melkor knew that the only reason he was able to receive this extravagant. benefit was due to sentiment and familiarity.

It was much less likely for Ves to be so generous to a random Larkinson.

In other words, Melkor could only establish himself as a combat spell array master in the short term by relying on nepotism rather than his own talents! "You don't need to spend so much if there are better ways for the clan to spend its money and resources. Those high-grade hyper materials are very rare, you know. We are talking about materials that are on the same level as Mentalist Crystals!" Ves briefly frowned. "That is indeed a problem, but that doesn't change my decision. It is easy enough to raise formation masters from a bunch of clever nerds, but they are too vulnerable to deploy in an active war zone. You are a veteran mech pilot and mech commander. You know how to handle yourself on the battlefield, as evidenced by your latest performance. Sure, you are not perfect, but I am not asking for that. Just focus on becoming good at deploying a set of useful spell arrays as quickly as possible. There are many wonderful uses for sealing-type spell arrays in and out of combat, and there are even more great uses for other types of qi formations. I can probably make you a lot more powerful by designing a mech that is especially designed to complement your new capabilities!"

"Really?" Melkor blinked, though his visor blocked his expression. "You are already piloting the right kind of mech. Don't you think it is interesting if

your living fey are replaced by spell array fey? Who says that formation masters can only work with static and lifeless formation anchors?" Ves grinned.