Though the proposals put forward by both Venerable Stark and Venerable Brutus foisted a lot of obligations onto Ves and his clan, the payoff was considerable.

Even when the Larkinson Clan suffered from the rare problem of having too many expert pilots, obtaining the strength of two additional demigods was still an attractive prospect.

When Ves considered his upcoming grand expedition, he knew that no matter how much he prepared for the Red Ocean, the other pioneers who had already arrived would certainly be stronger than him. The requirements of accessing the dwarf galaxy were so onerous that only those with strength with ability were able to take part in the scramble for phasewater and virgin territory.

Perhaps Ves might be confident in the strength of his forces when he only had to fight compete against other powers from the galactic rim. The pioneers from the local star cluster such as Hexers, Fridaymen, Vicious Mountainers and Majestic Tealers were pretty much on the same level as him. At most, they might be able to bring more manpower, ships and resources, but their foundation shouldn't differ as much.

Of course, those who emerged from the more prosperous parts of the galactic rim such as the Winged Serenade Star Sector enjoyed some advantages in tech, talent and capital. Ves didn't believe the gap was insurmountable, though.

It was a different story when it came to the pioneers who originated from the galactic heartland or the galactic center.

The second-class powers who emerged from the more developed parts of the galaxy possessed much better foundations. Their mechs were stronger. Their mech pilots were better trained. Their vessels were more numerous and more resistant against damage. Their tech was simply unheard of in the galactic rim.

When both sides brought an equal number of mechs, ships and other support, Ves did not expect the Larkinson Clan to gain the upper hand.

The disparity was too big!

"Maybe every hopeful pioneer from the galactic rim will endure a lot of bullying once they enter the Red Ocean.

Ordinarily, this wasn't a problem. The immense geographic separation between powers coming from the different galactic regions meant that it was difficult for one of them to bully the others.

All of that was changing now that the Gate Consortium was building up a far-reaching network of beyonder gates.

In the Red Ocean, people from every part of human space would converge in a tiny galaxy that was only a fraction the size of the Milky Way. However, once the old galaxy got used to the gates, Ves guessed that neglected regions such as the Yeina Star Cluster might receive a considerable number of distant visitors in the coming decades!

As long as people were able and willing to pay the price, humans from the galactic rim could instantly reach the galactic center and vica versa. It no longer took entire generations to cross hundreds of thousands of light-years. The instance where the Temple Protector of the Five Scrolls Compact reached the Komodo Star Sector a decade ahead of time was just the start of a new era!

In any case, once the Larkinson Clan entered the Red Ocean, it would certainly start off as one of the weakest second-class powers among the crowd!

Of course, by harvesting the riches of the Red Ocean and trading with powerful groups, his clan should quickly be able to catch up. This was what Ves was really after. The Red Ocean was a melting pot filled with weaker and stronger pioneers. By designing mechs with advantages that appealed to these wealthy organizations, his clan would be able to uplift itself at a much more rapid pace than if it remained in a relatively barren and underdeveloped place like the galactic rim!

This was his central plan. Though it was fraught with danger, Ves was confident he could navigate the challenges!

"It's not enough to become a Master Mech Designer within a century. There are many Masters in the galaxy, but they aren't necessarily powerful. Only a small subset of Masters are ahead of their other colleagues."

At a minimum, he should reach the same stature as Master Willix before he could even think about contending against the Five Scrolls Compact!

She was 170 years old according to her public record. Ves couldn't wait that long. He and his parents would always live under the shadow of the Compact until he finally became strong enough to survive the exposure of the Mech Designer System.

"Not that I intend that to happen." He muttered.

That would take a lot of time. Until then, Ves needed to build up as many advantages as possible before his fleet passed through the inter-galactic beyonder gate.

Aside from leveraging his living mechs to grant unique advantages to his Larkinson mech pilots, he intended to lean on his expert pilots to make up the difference.

It was unheard of for a spaceborn fleet of the Larkinson Clan's current scale to enjoy the protection of seven expert pilots!

That was an insane proportion considering that the Larkinson Clan only had a couple of thousands of mech pilots at its disposal. Most of them also consisted of newly-recruited talents who still needed to be integrated in their respective mech forces.

As long as a handful of expert candidates broke through, he might very well be able to command up to ten or twelve transcendent mech pilots!

With so many expert pilots at his disposal, most people would never think about attacking the Larkinson Clan!

"I guess I'll need to put a much greater emphasis on designing expert mechs in the next few years."

This was not ideal for Ves. Both he and Gloriana were still Journeymen who were unable to design expert mechs by themselves. They needed to reach out to third-party Seniors or Masters in order to deliver proper expert mechs.

"Well, if I need immediate access to a Master Mech Designer, I can always knock on the doors of the Wodin Dynasty."

Venerable Brutus Wodin readily arranged the services of a Master. That told Ves that he could probably ask the dynasty to find a cooperative high-ranking mech designer whenever he wanted.

Normally, he would celebrate this opportunity. Yet the thought that he would have to collaborate with a Hexer mech designer who was far worse than Gloriana instantly spoiled his mood.

"Two times is enough. I don't think I can tolerate anything more."

For the sake of gaining two powerful helpers in the form of Brutus and Stark, Ves was willing to grit his teeth and suffer whatever a Hexer Master Mech Designer threw at him. It wasn't necessary for them to become friends to design an adequate mech.

There were other ways to expand his clan's ability to survive the Red Ocean.

"We can partner up with other powerful allies."

He couldn't help but stray his thoughts towards the Cross Clan. As ragged as they appeared, they should have at least something going for them. While he looked down on them to an extent, he knew that the Crosser mech pilots could probably beat his mech pilots in any even fight!

His men simply couldn't catch up to the impressive martial traditions of an established power that once ruled a portion of the mighty Garlen Empire. It took decades to accumulate a comparable degree of skill and experience.

Since the Cross Clan had entered the Cinach System in strength, the foreign exiles were clearly aiming to cooperate with the Larkinson Clan.

Ves wasn't in a hurry to meet with the Crossers. He didn't want to appear too eager. Against such a powerful clan, he needed every advantage that he could get in order to guarantee the rights of his clansmen.

Once he finished his musings, he decided to get some advice on the matter. He already sounded out Calabast, so he decided to stop by Major Verle.

As Ves exited his office with Lucky, he walked through the temporary base, greeting several passing Larkinsons as he approached the building taken up by the expanding Military Bureau.

Different from half a year ago, the Larkinson Clan adopted a lot of pets!

"Maw maw maw!"

"Wuuu.. wuuuu.. wuuuu."

"Chirp!"

"Hsss… hssss…"

Scores of well-behaved animals were making the base livelier. The cats, dogs, lizards, birds and other pets each showed signs of intelligence.

If they weren't sentient, they were liable to get in the way of a passing mech.

Ves slowed his steps and looked bemused at the row of cats looking at Ves, Lucky and the Larkinson Mandate with worship.

To his surprise, every single pet was connected to the Larkinson Network!

"That's not right! Goldie! Did you let them into the network?"

Nyaaa.

A grim expression appeared on his face. He only took humans into account when he designed the Larkinson Network. He envisioned the Golden Cat influencing the people connected to the network and vice versa. While the former was technically a cat, Goldie was such a formidable lifeform that she transcended her species!

The same was not the case for the pets that Ves encouraged his clansmen to adopt. What if the army of cats passed on their cattiness to his clansmen? Would they begin to go crazy as soon as they sniffed catnip? Would Ves have to worry about them developing a habit of licking each other?

As Ves peered at the pets some more, he became a bit less concerned. Connected they may be, their minds and spirits were very weak. They couldn't compare against actual humans. This meant that they shouldn't be able to exert any meaningful influence through the Larkinson Network.

In fact, rather than worrying about the animals influencing humans, he should instead worry about pets taking on human-like traits!

"Well, they're just a bunch of designer pets. Even if they grow smarter, at most they'll be able to count to ten. Goldie will keep an eye on them as well to ensure they won't pose a threat to the clan."

He tossed aside this problem and continued to walk until he entered Major Verle's office.

"Sir, what brings you here today?"

Ves threw Lucky in the air and sat down at a nearby chair. "Tell me about the Cross Clan."

"Meow!"

As he spun around in the air, Lucky quickly stabilized his flight. He grumpily landed on top of Ves' head and began to mess up any hair within reach.

Both Ves and Major Verle ignored Lucky's antics.

Once Major Verle pulled up some data about the Cross Clan, he began to share his thoughts.

"We don't know the actual state of the Crossers. While we can infer a lot of clues by observing their ships and mechs, the Vicious Mountainers have proven to be surprisingly good at hiding secrets. Some of my analysts think that this is an indication that the Cross Clan is hiding something valuable. This may be something that the foreigners intend to use as a bargaining chip in their negotiation with us. So far, we don't know what it is, and we don't dare to press too close. It is unseemingly to engage in subterfuge when there is a strong MTA presence in the star system. We can't explain ourselves if we get caught."

Ves dismissively waved his hand. "You made the right choice. Even without an active MTA presence, there are too many other visitors who are keeping an eye on us. We'd have to be stupid to do something to one of our guests. Let's get back to the Cross Clan. Aside from their combat strength, what makes them special?"

Major Verle did not answer instantly. Instead, he manipulated his desk terminal until he came across the right file.

A large projection appeared in front of Ves. It depicted a thick, physical book.

"What am I looking at, major?"

"The personal journal of Lord Hemmington Cross."

Ves widened his eyes. "What does it contain?!"

"Lord Hemmington left this journal behind so that the expert pilots of his clan can learn from his experiences. While the book doesn't contain a concrete formula on how to advance to ace pilot, the insights it contains are doubtlessly invaluable to anyone looking to reach this exalted rank."

The Cross Clan became a lot more interesting now that it had shown its willingness to share such a treasure!