Though Ves and Gloriana had fallen into their low periods for a time, that did not make them useless.

The biggest downside to their current states was that they weren't able to design mechs with their usual passion.

That was not a serious problem.

They just had to devote their attention to something else that did not require as much creativity and imagination.

Aside from studying, tutoring their assistants and managing their subordinates, the newlyweds also laid the groundwork of their second round of projects.

They had already made the first decision when they met aboard the Stellar Chaser.

"We should devote all of our time to designing second-class mechs for this round of projects." Ves declared to his wife. "We are way too slow in fulfilling our obligations to the Hegemony and meeting the demand for second-class mechs to our own clan. We need to deliver at least diverse mechs for each target audience within half a year to alleviate the pressure."

Gloriana nodded in agreement. "I approve. The Hegemony truly needs more mechs. As for the needs of the clan, I don't think the pressure is too great. The mech forces have recently ordered large batches of second-class mechs from the mech market, right? Our mech pilots will be fine with piloting commercial mechs. We should devote all of our time on designing as many Hexer mechs as possible!"

"Denied!"

Ves flatly shot down her proposal. He would go crazy if he spent months on doing nothing else but work on Hexer mech design projects. This was a form of torture than no man should go through!

Naturally, Gloriana did not agree with him, but he put his foot down on this issue. For his sanity and confidence in his manhood, he needed to work on some non-Hexer mech designs as well.

Once he managed to get his way, he relaxed. He held Lucky in his lap and tickled his head.

"Meow."

Clixie was present as well. She rested on top of the Larkinson Mandate that was placed on a nearby desk as if she was brooding an egg.

"Miaow."

The Golden Cat hasn't come out at this time. Ever since the LMC started to churn out Chirons, Goldie had become fascinated by the latest mech model that allowed her to form a deeper connection to some of the Larkinsons.

She especially enjoyed exploring her bond with younger Larkinsons!

As Clixie became confused why her 'daughter' didn't show up, Ves and Gloriana shared their thoughts on what their next projects should address.

"I've been thinking about whether to design a successor to the Bright Warrior model." Ves began. "The way my clansmen are using the modular mech platform is now how I originally envisioned. While there is still value in designing a mech that possesses an adaptable configuration, I'm not sure whether it is better than designing a bunch of specialized mechs instead."

Gloriana snorted at him. "You don't have to bother with explaining any further. You've already decided to design a Mark II version of the Bright Warrior, right? It not only solved the urgent need for second-class mechs for our clan, but also provides a comprehensive upgrade framework for the Quint."

She knew him too well.

"You're right. I care too much about the Quint. While we can treat it as a unique mech and upgrade it on an individual basis, that is not what the original Bright Warrior model is all about. At its heart, the Quint is supposed to be the prime example of what a Bright Warrior mech should be. If we want to stay true to our masterwork mech, then we should develop a second-class version of the Bright Warrior and use that as a baseline for the Quint's upgrades instead."

Gloriana did not have too many objections to this plan. The Bright Warrior's modular nature had provided her with a lot of intellectual stimulation during its design process. She looked forward to solving the issues that came up when they attempted to translate the same concept to a higher tech level.

There was one question, though.

"Will you still keep making use of Breyer alloy for this mech model?"

"Probably. I haven't decided yet. I am willing to resort to a more accessible armor system as long as it's resilient enough. The only issue is whether we can afford the alternate materials."

Ves was actually a bit dissatisfied with needing to continue keeping the Bright Warrior model in development. If not for the extreme value of the Quint, he would have felt more inclined to devote his design resources to more specialized mechs.

Against other second-class mechs, the Bright Warrior model's shortcomings became more relevant. A dedicated swordsman mech, lancer mech, rifleman mech or space knight would always be able to deliver a better performance given the same cost and material usage.

This difference in performance might be as big as 20 percent!

Even if Ves did not prioritize performance too much, he couldn't afford to ignore such a big gap.

The Larkinson Clan in its current state could not make full use of the possibilities the Bright Warrior model offered.

The only way to solve this problem was if he raised a large number of mech pilots that were just as multi-talented as Venerable Joshua. If all of these mech pilots were capable of piloting multiple mech types with greater efficiency, then the modular nature of the Bright Warrior line would truly be able to provide a lot of value!

Ves sighed inwardly. This was too much to ask from his mech pilots. They were already working hard to master the basics of piloting second-class mechs. Adding these burdens on top of their current goals would only cause them to collapse.

His mech pilots simply weren't good enough. He might have to wait a very long time before he obtained a batch of versatile elites.

After putting the Bright Warrior Mark II on the list of projects, Gloriana issued her own request.

"If you have been following the Komodo War lately, the Fridayman counterattack is pushing back our side. Our Valkyrie mechs have succeeded in giving the enemy some difficulties, but the overall trend hasn't changed."

Though Ves did not want the Hegemony to lose the war, he couldn't help but feel a bit smug.

"Are you realizing now that the Fridaymen aren't pushovers?"

"The Hegemony will still win this war in the end." Gloriana stated with conviction. She still held on to her delusions! "It's just.. The road to victory will be more painful than I thought. We can't allow the Hex Army to hollow itself out after beating the Coalition forces. We need to find a way to allow our side to regain the momentum it had before. I still miss those early days when our Blessed Squires helped our fellow Hexers run over the Fridaymen."

"It won't be that easy to take advantage of the Fridaymen anymore. They know about our glows and have developed numerous measures to mitigate this feature."

Both of them felt rather frustrated about that. The Friday Coalition took their mechs seriously, so of course they developed means to counter their effectiveness.

While there were some measures that Ves could counter with ease, the Fridaymen Masters weren't idiots. They were capable of developing a lot more solutions.

Right now, the addition of AIs to take over temporary control should a mech pilot become incapacitated was very effective. Though Gloriana informed Ves that DIVA and other Hexer organizations were already trying their best to hack or subvert these AIs, this was not something that would yield quick results. The Fridaymen were too thorough.

Gloriana hadn't given up with trying to help her state in any way she could. She mustered up her determination and shared a bold idea.

"Right now, the Fridaymen are relying on one crucial advantage to turn around the war. All of the guest expert pilots they've invited to fight on their behalf are taking a horrible toll on the Hex Army."

"I know. What do you want to do about it? Short of forcing the Hegemony-aligned states to hand over their expert pilots, I don't think there's an easy way for the Hex Army to address this disparity."

This was pretty much impossible. The Hegemony long treated the lesser states around it with disdain, and most citizens who lived there had no love for the Hexers.

Convincing those stubborn, strong-willed expert pilots to fight on behalf of female supremacy was probably a herculean task!

"From what I heard, our diplomats are still working on that." Gloriana vaguely said. "I think we might be able to pitch in as well. Expert pilots are powerful, but not unstoppable. I want us to design a mech that is specially geared to countering expert mechs."

"..."

Ves stared flatly at his wife. He might love her, but that didn't mean he was willing to entertain her delusions!

"Honey.. expert mechs are powerful. Really powerful. Not only are they made from better materials, their resonance abilities also make them extremely deadly to fight. Their resonance shields can block regular attacks with great efficiency while their offensive capabilities are enough to allow them to take down standard mechs as if they are target practice!"

"I'm being serious about this, Ves." She growled.

"Forgive me, but this is a problem that many mech designers have tried to solve, including Master Mech Designers and Star Designers. The most they came up with was designing some lancer mechs or ranged mechs that hit harder than usual. They're only effective when deployed in large numbers, and inevitably hundreds of them will fall in the process of taking down a single expert mech. I bet the Masters from the Hegemony are already at work in developing something similar, if they haven't already have some suitable in reserve."

Gloriana crossed her arms. "That's not good enough, and you know it. While these mechs may be effective at taking down expert mechs when there are many of them, the most troublesome aspect is that expert mechs are too good at avoiding or escaping envelopment. It's too hard to pin them down."

"Since you know that this is true, how do you think we're supposed to be able to do better?"

"With simple logic, Ves. We need to leverage your mother. She's a Supreme who is greater than any god. Mere proto-gods don't stand a chance against her. Now think about what will happen if she directly squares off against a demigod. Who is the greater divinity in this confrontation? Not the latter, that's for sure. Therefore, the more surefire way to counter an expert mech is by forcing its expert pilot into a direct confrontation with the Superior Mother. This is guaranteed to work!"

"..."

Ves had no words for her 'logical' plan. Was this what Gloriana was like when she was a little more rational than usual?

He coughed. "Wifey…"

"Don't call me that." She hissed.

"Uhm, sweetie, as much as you think highly of the Superior Mother and my design philosophy, we can't just snap our fingers and come up with a mech that just happens to succeed where every single mech designer in existence has failed. The willpower of an expert pilot is simply too strong to get affected by external glows. As for trying to force a direct confrontation.. I'm sorry, that will never happen unless you force a Fridayman mech pilot into the cockpit of one of our mechs."

There was no way something as absurd as that would ever happen.

She grew even more upset. Ves wasn't giving her the right answer. "How are we supposed to beat the Fridaymen and their loathsome guest expert pilots, then? We have to come up with something to alleviate this pressing crisis."

"Look, we might not be able to counter expert pilots in one go, but maybe we can develop some applications that can make battles against them a little less lopsided."

"Oh?" She began to look hopeful again. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"Not yet. Let me think about it. I have some ideas, but I need to explore them further before I am sure. Don't expect much from me, though. Expert pilots have reigned over many battlefields for centuries. Their strength is for real and it's very difficult to challenge them without bringing expert pilots as well."

Still, Ves believed it was very worthwhile for him to investigate this topic. Encountering enemy expert mech in battle was only a matter of time, and it would be nice to have an extra option in reserve!

He couldn't help but cast his mind back on the instance where an enemy expert mech was able to fight with impunity. Venerable Foster's Belisarius was so overpowering that the entire landbound contingents of Lydia's Swordmaidens and the Flagrant Vandals essentially collapsed in front of its invincible might!

Ves never wanted to live through such an awful tragedy again!