The tragedy that took place at the Sydney Superior System stunned everyone in the Bright Republic!

After the sandmen managed to break through the defenses of Sydney Superior VI, the planet became flooded with animated sand!

While the citizens on the ground tried to fend off the sandmen with their newly-erected defenses, their firepower was simply too insufficient to resist the tides of sand that swept over entire cities!

Over 400 million people died in the following week! Without reinforcements from elsewhere, the stranded citizens were unable to prevent the sandmen from engulfing each and every populated settlement on the surface of the once-great planet!

The fall of Sydney Superior had far-reaching effects. No matter how much the Bright Republic attempted to plug the gap, it did not change the fact that the sandmen gained a much more solid route to the interior of the Bright Republic, including Bentheim!

The mood in the Bentheim System had grown much more severe as the entire port system shifted into an even greater state of war readiness. Martial law had come into effect and even more production facilities ceased producing consumer goods in favor of producing critical supplies.

Many people who had the ability to leave Bentheim had already done so recently. Hardly anyone thought it was a good idea to settle there when it was highly likely that it would come under heavy assault by the sandmen!

Ketis was not an average visitor.

Unlike most people, she did not fear the threat of the sandmen. Having lived in constant danger in the frontier for most of her life, the danger looming over Bentheim was like a walk in the park for a Swordmaiden.

Besides, if the situation at Bentheim really deteriorated, she was confident that Ves would find a way to pull her out. She wasn't blind to how powerful her latest mentor had become.

His support gave her the capital to face the challenges at Bentheim head-on!

As she emerged from the spaceport at Dorum with a floating luggage coffer hovering behind her, she looked around for her new host.

"Ketis! Over here!"

A woman with a strong military-esque bearing strode forward and embraced Ketis in a tight hug!

"Ooph! You're stronger than I thought!" The newcomer noted with surprise. "Did Ves lie to me or something? You're built like a warrior!"

"I'm just a mech designer." Ketis replied coyly. "Can you bring me to my new home? I'm a bit uncomfortable standing here in public."

"Sure! Follow me! I've already prepared your new digs! You'll love it! As long as you don't mind living among the Blood Claws, I'm sure we'll be getting along well!"

"That's great."

"By the way, are you sure you want to stick with us? We're about to be deployed in space in order to meet our obligations to defend this star system from the planet. There's going to be a lot of fighting in the future."

"This isn't the first time I've participated in a war, Raella. I've learned a lot from Ves. One of the reasons he sent me here was to gain more practical experience with working with mechs. I need this to push my comprehension of mechs to the next level."

"I see. I'll take care of you as much as I can. I owe it to Ves to see you through this war. By the way, how is he doing back on Cloudy Curtain?"

While Raella Larkinson welcomed Ketis with open arms at Bentheim, a heavy shadow cast over Cloudy Curtain.

Since Cloudy Curtain was right next door to Bentheim, there was a small but very possible chance that some of the sandman fleets might wander into the rustic star system!

The cloudy weather depressed the locals even more as they tried their best to resume their lives.

Fortunately, the locals did not have any reasons to panic. Their home planet was already home to two powerful forces. Along with Ves and his organizations, the Cloud Whalers weren't weak either despite having lost a lot of mechs and men in their failed attempt to wrestle away some turf on Bentheim.

The recent settlement of billions of refugees and the building spree that followed from that also raised Cloudy Curtain's importance. Various other powers hired a decent number of mercenaries to protect their investment.

The Mech Corps also stationed some forces in the star system to coordinate the defense effort.

Cloudy Curtain was anything but defenseless!

Commander Magdalena Larkinson of the Living Sentinels greeted Ves as he arrived at a training facility. A lot of Sentinels along with a couple of Avatars were exercising their bodies or training their skills.

While it wasn't entirely necessary for mech pilots to train their bodies, it undeniably helped for various reasons. Subjecting mech pilots to simulated combat and live practice sessions all the time would eventually lead to disjointment and other detrimental outcomes.

"Are the Living Sentinels ready to defend what we've built here?" Ves asked.

"As I've already mentioned, sir, just because my Sentinels aren't eager to deploy to the front doesn't mean they'll run when the war has reached their homes. I've surveyed each and every Sentinel in my employ and already filtered out those who are unwilling to do their part when they are truly needed."

"How many people have you fired?"

"Not as much as you think. Many of the Sentinels have already embraced their new lives here. Don't forget that many Larkinsons are a part of the Sentinels. The prosperity you've provided to the family is a key reason why they are determined to protect its source!"

Ves smiled. "I'm gratified to hear that. How are the Avatars who have stayed behind fared in Commander Melkor's absence?"

"They're doing well. Melkor has mostly left behind the younger Avatars and the recent recruits. While we haven't been able to facilitate their training as much as we want, they're all highly motivated to prepare themselves for the tough battles ahead."

Both of them directed their attention to a small sparring ring where a couple of young Avatars in training outfits jumped at each other under the watchful eyes of older Avatars.

Ves expected more from the Avatars. They knew that, so they readily embraced the their higher-intensity training regime!

"It's almost about time for Melkor and the detachment of Avatars and Sentinels to rotate back from the front." He remarked. "Do you think the second detachment of Avatars and Sentinels are ready to confront the sandmen?"

"We'll be fighting the sandmen regardless of whether we are deployed to the front or remain at home here. No one here is exempt from fighting, sir."

The Sentinel Commander had a point.

As Ves and Commander Magdalena discussed the security arrangements, they strode forward until they reached the sparring ring where the Avatars demonstrated their martial prowess.

Ves sensed a lot of determination and fighting spirit from the Avatars. Each of them heard of the arduous circumstances at the front. Several Avatars had already lost their lives in the noble fight against the sandmen and plenty more would lay down their lives in the future.

Despite the risks, none of the Avatars showed any signs of shirking their responsibilities.

As soon as Ves made himself known, the Avatars paused and saluted their boss!

"Resume your training, Avatars."

Though none of the Avatars could dismiss his presence, they did their best to get back to their own activities.

Ves swept the entire crowd and spotted plenty of new faces. Evidently, the Avatars welcomed a considerable amount of new recruits.

Fortunately, the cadre who had been with the Avatars for years maintained control over the rest.

After reassuring himself that the Avatars were firmly in his grip, he approached a specific Avatar resting at the side.

The young man immediately stood up. "Mr. Larkinson!"

"Joshua King. How are you doing? Are the Avatars of Myth to your liking?"

"I love it here! Piloting your mechs all day has always been my dream!"

"That's good to hear." Ves smiled, though inwardly he felt a little disturbed by Joshua's excessive enthusiasm. "I recall that you wanted to pilot a custom mech, right?"

Joshua nodded. "I'm familiar with all of your mech designs. I've even piloted all of the models the Avatars and Sentinels have on hand. They all have their own unique strengths. I became a fan of your glows before the LMC started calling it that. In my heart, I've always longed to pilot a mech that possesses a glow that belongs to me. That's why I've joined the Avatars without any hesitation!"

"That's remarkably honest of you." Ves blinked. He patted Joshua's shoulder. "Keep up the good work. As long as you perform well in the Sand War, your future with the Avatars will doubtlessly be bright. I'm more than willing to design a custom mech for you if you have the strength to make it worthwhile for me to do so. I don't design custom mechs without a reason."

"I'll definitely prove myself worthy, sir!"

"Haha! You're good, kid."

He sensed the strong and vibrant spiritual potential within Joshua. While it was still in an undeveloped state, it could bloom at any moment if he received enough stimulation.

With how the Sand War was intensifying, Ves was very confident that Joshua would unearth his potential. As one of the few mech pilots with spiritual potential in his crew, Ves depended on this young Avatar to shoulder greater responsibilities in the future.

After checking up with some other promising Avatars, Ves parted ways with Commander Magdalena and left the training facility.

He tilted his head upwards and beheld the clouds covering the entire planet. "The weather will grow worse in the future."

According to the information he obtained about the war situation, the Bright Republic's situation had deteriorated a lot with the fall of Sydney Superior.

While the military planners always expected the border systems to succumb, they hadn't anticipated that the sandmen would have evolved so quickly.

Fortunately, it wasn't all bad news. The Starfighter Corps recently announced the release of the second generation of starfighters. Tougher and more resilient than before, the starfighters were designed to last much longer against the deadly shower of lasers the sandmen deployed increasingly more against their opposition.

The Sandbreaker rifle which has fared well against the aliens had also been adopted at a very wide scale. The extra firepower and other optimizations eased the disparity in numbers somewhat.

When Ves returned to his office, Gavin walked up and updated him on the latest developments.

"Remember the charity you founded? It's doing better than expected. I don't know, but Director Clinton Larkinson managed to hire some excellent doctors and specialists from the refugees. The Ves Larkinson Foundation for Wounded Veterans has already begun to treat hundreds of patients at a time!"

Ves grimaced when he heard that. "That's way too fast. What is Clinton thinking?"

"Your Foundation has even attracted some positive media attention. The press think you are being generous on account of your prior service."

"Whatever." Ves waved his hand in dismissal. "As long as Clinton doesn't bite off more than he can chew, he can do what he wants as long as it is within his budget. Is there anything else going on that I should know?"

"Well, the Vesia Kingdom and the Reinald Republic are both faring increasingly poorly against the sandmen. We only had to deal with the collapse of Sydney Superior, while the Vesians and Reinaldans are both trying to plug multiple gaps in their defensive lines."

"What do you think about their chances?"

"The Vesians are strong." Gavin immediately replied. "I don't think they showed their full strength yet. We know they are capable of more since we've fought them so much in the past. It's the Reinaldans that is really concerning. They haven't been battle-hardened at all, and much of their internal situation has become a mess from all of the leaders and business magnates that have abandoned their responsibilities and fled."

"Are you saying.."

"I don't see much hope that the Reinald Republic will last. Everyone believes it's only a matter of time before this state will succumb. Once that happens, the Vesia Kingdom will have to fight on two fronts. If the Vesians can't handle the pressure…"

"The Bright Republic will doubtlessly be next." Ves finished the sentence.

Both of them looked grim at this possibility.