Aside from testing the initial prototypes of the clan-exclusive mechs, the Larkinson Clan also began to field its new and unusual prime mechs.

Every time the prime mechs deployed into space, the clan made sure to hide its performance by erecting enormous sensor-blocking screens around their practice zones.

It took hundreds of mechs to erect these cumbersome energy screens. They drained a lot of energy and forced many mech pilots to spend at least an hour of doing nothing while maintaining a constant position.

A lot of Larkinsons actually asked whether it was worth it to go through all of that effort to perform tests on individual custom mechs.

However, once the clansmen heard that the so-called prime mechs were meant to be piloted by the expert pilots of the clan, most of the complaints disappeared.

The expert pilots enjoyed a high status among the Larkinsons. Now that they had received better mechs, it was a given that they were entitled to practice with their new machines!

Along with the Valkyrie Prime, the expeditionary fleet quickly expanded its lineup of prime mechs with the Bright Sword Prime, the Bright Spear Prime, the Bright Beam Prime, the Piranha Prime and the newly-overhauled Shield of Samar!

Each of the mechs barring the Bright Beam Prime boasted considerable amounts of Unending alloy. While this incredibly tough material did not attract much attention at the start, seeing them withstand the full blows of Transcendent Punishers and Giant Killers with ease astonished the Larkinsons who were permitted to witness the capabilities of the new prime mechs!

"Not even expert mechs can withstand as much damage as your new prime mechs!" Major Verle noted with surprise.

"That's not exactly true." Ves shook his head. "While Unending alloy is practically indestructible in second-class battles, the prime mechs aren't necessarily impervious. For example, their shock-absorbing properties are relatively mundane, which means that the prime mechs cannot negate heavy impacts."

He called up the footage of an earlier test. It featured the Bright Sword Prime being bombarded by a handful of Transcendent Punishers.

The gauss rounds impacting the mechs continually pushed it back. The positron beams scorching across the chest plating of the mech slowly heated up the entire machine. The staccato of energy pulses continually degraded the sensors and other vulnerable surface modules of Venerable Dise's new machine.

"As you can see, Unending alloy is not a panacea." Ves explained. "Our prime mechs can still be beaten by overloading them with heat, mobbing it with lots of mechs, physically pushing them away from the battlefield or disabling all of their surface components. Enemies can even launch a single, overpowering physical attack that can kill the mech pilot through lethal concussion!"

All of these limitations dampened the hype surrounding the prime mechs. Their indestructible armor hardly ensured they could guarantee victory in every battle, especially when the enemy fielded lots of mechs with powerful attacks.

Major Verle was clever enough to realize the implications.

"It's not possible for expert mechs to defeat hundreds or thousands of mechs by themselves. The best way to maximize the value of exceptional mechs is to field them alongside other elements. Expert mechs are best able to show their value when there are friendly units keeping the enemy occupied. We'll have to adopt a similar approach for our new prime mechs."

"That's what I think as well. Two of our expert pilots, namely Venerable Joshua and Venerable Dise, can be integrated into battle formations."

The earlier tests had already proven that this was the case. The Penitent Sister and Swordmaiden battle formations performed so well with the Valkyrie Prime and the Bright Sword Prime that Ves did not even dare to repeat the tests any longer.

The battle formations were too cumbersome!

Anytime they expended a huge amount of energy, the mech pilots that took part in the tests were basically done for the day. The intensity of repeated, daily attempts was so high that the mech pilots risked suffering chronic problems if this went on. Out of concern of their safety, it was best not to employ them too often.

Perhaps the story might be different if the mech pilots trained their mental resilience and could bear a greater burden, but that was not going to happen anytime soon.

The Larkinson Clan had long recognized the importance of training the mental resilience of its mech pilots. Every mech pilot regularly had to exercise their minds by subjecting them to the glow of the Doom Guard.

Ves already knew from his time on Aeon Corona VII that such training programs provided a lot of benefits. Being able to bear the burden of a battle formation was just one of them. A more vital benefit was that mentally-strong mech pilots always persisted in battle. They never lost heart or gave up when they faced a powerful opponent!

As Ves briefly reviewed the performance of the Valkyrie Prime and the Bright Sword Prime, he regretted the fact that his other expert pilots weren't able to exhibit this kind of strength.

The Larkinson Clan only had three battle networks to begin with. Absolute strength did not determine whether a mech pilot was eligible to take part in a battle formation.

This meant that the Bright Spear Prime, the Bright Beam Prime, the Piranha Prime and the Shield of Samar had to rely on their individual strengths in order to impact the battlefield.

Fortunately, none of the remaining prime mechs were weak. The Bright Spear Prime was a relatively normal spearman mech. If not for its Unending alloy armor system and its ability to induce prime resonance, it was easy to overlook its presence among other second-class mechs!

The Piranha Prime was a bit more notable. Venerable Tusa did not like its glow. When Ves initially introduced him to his prime mech, the expert pilot immediately grimaced.

"I don't need to rely on any gimmicks to overpower my enemies. This glow is just a distraction."

Ves placed his palm on his cousin's shoulder. "Don't be that way. Expert pilot or not, you're still vulnerable without an expert mech. This prime mech is meant to tide you over. Compared to a regular Ferocious Piranha, this prime version boasts much better armor and allows you to negate even more attacks by inducing prime resonance. We've also upgraded a number of its other components so that it flies even faster and hits even harder than the standard equivalent."

Venerable Tusa looked a little more pleased when he heard that. "It's.. fine, I suppose. I'll take it, not that I have much choice in the first place."

"Don't underestimate its glow. Just because it's not effective against expert pilots such as you doesn't mean it is pointless against other enemies. The Ferocious Piranha's glow will ensure that you will always have a defense against getting mobbed."

"Buddy, a light mech never gets surrounded. As long as the mech pilot is good enough, it's impossible to end up in the situation that you've described!"

Well, at least Venerable Tusa did not lack confidence.

With the Piranha Prime in good hands, Ves directed his attention to the Bright Beam Prime and the Shield of Samar.

The two prime mechs were the odd ones out. Due to a shortage of Unending alloy, Ves and Gloriana simply couldn't afford to lavish them with Unending alloy.

That was a bit difficult to stomach for Venerable Jannzi and Venerable Stark. When Ves invited both of them to meet their new machines, they immediately expressed their doubts.

"Are you punishing me or something?" Venerable Jannzi confronted Ves. "The others get to fight with mechs that are fully protected by this new superalloy of yours. Joshua's Valkyrie Prime even boasts a strengthened internal frame! Why is my Shield of Samar only reinforced at the front?"

"We didn't have enough Unending alloy left, that's why! If you want to grab more, then we should enter the Nyxian Gap. That's where I got it from in the first place."

"Tch." Jannzi scowled. "So this new material is essentially tainted with the blood of our clansmen. No wonder you were so eager to fight all of those powerful pirate groups!"

"Hey! Don't misjudge me! I never knew that something like Unending alloy existed until recently. I just stumbled upon it after we defeated our opponents. Look, if you don't like this material, I can always strip it from the Shield of Samar and reprocess it so that I can put it onto the Bright Beam Prime."

The mention of the rifleman mech prompted Venerable Davia Stark to voice her own objections.

"When I pledge to serve you for a century, I clearly demanded to be treated as equals to your Larkinson mech pilots. Why is my mech the only one that is devoid of better protection?"

Ves awkwardly coughed. "As I have stated earlier, we don't have enough Unending alloy to go around. We have to employ this material as rationally as possible. Logically speaking, our melee offensive mechs need the protection the most considering they will be in the thick of battle. Your rifleman mech won't be doing all of that. It's more practical for your mech to hide behind cover. That is why we have focused on upgrading the offensive capabilities of the Bright Beam Prime. It's damage output is the only factor that matters."

"That does not conform to my fighting style." Venerable Stark frowned. "I prefer to be more active in battle."

"You can still do that, but just take into account that your mech is clad with Breyer alloy. While it is a good material, it doesn't make you invincible. I still recommend you to keep the Bright Beam Prime behind solid cover. If you don't mind sticking close to our starships, you can place your mech in a bunker or just stick it behind a starship. If you want to gain better firing angles, then I suggest you cooperate with Venerable Jannzi. In fact, Gloriana and I pretty much designed the Bright Beam Prime and the latest revision of the Shield of Samar on the assumption that they will be fighting as a cohesive unit."

Both female expert pilots eyed each other. Neither of them were familiar with each other. They were just passing acquaintances as far as they were concerned. This was not enough for them to judge whether they would work well together.

Still, as expert pilots, they had their own confidence. Their professionalism did not allow them to make any judgements before they even attempted to cooperate.

"Just try it out." Ves waved his hand.

They did so. The Bright Beam Prime huddled closely behind the Shield of Samar as the oversized space knight flew into space.

After performing a few routine maneuvers, the two prime mechs began to exhibit their strengths.

The Shield of Samar immediately tested its powerful new shield generator. A spherical energy shield formed around the mech. While the bubble wasn't large enough to encompass other mechs, its defensive capabilities were quite formidable!

What was even better was that the energy shield did not interfere with the prime resonance shield. Just like the Valkyrie Prime, the Shield of Samar was able to rely on multiple layers of protection to fend off attacks!

However, Ves didn't really pay attention to Jannzi's mech. The upgrades to the Shield of Samar were relatively simple and boring. Aside from increasing its defensive capabilities, it didn't gain any exceptional traits.

The Bright Beam Prime was different.

When Ves prepared this mech, he realized early on that its original design spirit wasn't suitable. Every other prime mech was piloted by a Larkinson. The Bright Beam Prime was the only exception!

Since this prime mech was originally derived from the rifleman mech configuration of the Bright Warrior Version B, the Golden Cat should have been its design spirit.

Obviously, that needed to be changed!

Ves had never switched out a design spirit of a mech that was practically designed to conform to it. He did not have a good idea of whether it was viable to pull out the Golden Cat and put another design spirit in its place. Would the Bright Beam Prime still be able to function normally?