The fated day had come.

Prosperous Hill VI turned into a vortex of anticipation and excitement.

While the biotech industry dreaded what might happen during the first phase of the design duel, most Lifer civilians didn't think so much.

They had grown up in an environment where they had been constantly told that biotechnology was unquestionably superior to other forms of technology. This was why many of them were practically assured that Dr. Navarro would trounce the foreigner!

"I'm so envious of you! How did you manage to snag a ticket to the duel?"

"Hehe, I was just lucky. Unfortunately, my ticket is only valid for the second phase. That's a couple of days later."

"Why did the mech designers split their duel into multiple days?"

"Because it gives them time to fix up their dueling mechs."

The unusual format of the design duel did much to fan everyone's interest in the duel. Even though it was annoying that the entire event was stretched out over several days, it also added to the tension of the competition.

Would a mech designer who did badly in the first phase be able to make a comeback in the second phase?

Nobody knew!

Still, no matter what complications might occur, most Lifers believed that Dr. Navarro would prevail in the end. He enjoyed too much of a homeground advantage to lose to some arrogant foreigner!

As Ves woke up and prepared to face a momentous day, he activated a projection that tuned in to one of the local news broadcasts.

The projection exhibited a giant stadium that had been fully set up to host a very impactful design duel.

Early fans had already arrived at the entrance. They were all chanting slogans while wearing green clothing.

Security was in force as well. Ves already spotted around two-hundred aerial and landbound mechs on patrol. At least the local Planetary Guard was being diligent this time.

"Are you ready?" Gloriana asked as she approached his side.

"Miaow?" Clixie echoed as she was being held in her owner's arms.

"It's not as if I can say no." Ves depreciating said. "The Lifers will drag me out of my bed if I claim I'm sick."

"They'll probably have a cure for just about anything." Gloriana joked.

"I don't think they have cured aging. Not completely, at least."

"The LRA would be a lot more successful if it did. I heard that optimizing life prolonging treatment is one of the Supreme Sage's biggest obsessions."

"Well, he's already more than four centuries old. His lifespan is getting smaller and smaller. It shouldn't be a surprise that he is invested in improving life prolonging treatment. His life is literally on the line!"

As Ves stepped out while chatting with his wife, he was quickly surrounded by a squad of very different looking bodyguards.

With the help of Gloriana, his assistant mech designers and some other technical personnel, he managed to provide twelve hand-picked guards with Breyer alloy-fortified combat armor.

There wasn't any time to equip them with other fancy gear, but the improved combat armor alone should definitely make a difference!

The twelve soldiers formed the start of his new honor guard. While Ves hadn't really fleshed out their identity as of yet, the honored soldiers already carried the air of trusted elites.

Even Gloriana looked impressed. "They look much more formidable in their new gear."

"That's the point. The stronger they look, the stronger their deterrence. I really don't want my day to be ruined by someone who thinks they can get past my guards."

His honor guard was much more suited to cover him than the guards he had before. Ves drew a bit of inspiration from the Guard Master mechs and equipped his chosen soldiers with heavy deployable Breyer alloy shields.

Hopefully, they wouldn't be needed, but if that wasn't the case, then the guards could erect a protective wall around Ves.

The deployable shields might not be able to resist heavy or sustained attacks, but they would give Ves plenty of time to equip his Unending Regalia.

The group moved to a hangar bay where a special vehicle had been prepared. The Planetary Guard prepared a monstrous-looking organic passenger transport to bring Ves and his people to the arena.

The large vehicle did not look like any animal or beast that Ves was familiar with. It was a squarish lengthy transportation vessel that could easily carry hundreds of passengers as well as a bunch of heavy gear.

Thick organic plating that was just as good as mech plating clad the entire transport. The plating was colored in earthen brown as if the vehicle went out of its way to look as boring as possible.

No markings or any other distinctive features marked the transport.

Many of the seats were already occupied by other Larkinson guard infantry troops. Aside from that, a few other familiar faces were invited to accompany Ves to the arena.

Both Venerable Joshua and Venerable Orfan decided to attend. Their different force of wills caused many clansmen aboard the shuttle to feel their influence. Even if they didn't do anything but sit, it was difficult to dismiss their presence!

There were two reasons why the expert pilots took part.

First, they showed a lot of interest in the design duel.

Second, Ves wanted to bring them along as protective talismans.

He didn't forget about the time when he was part of a Brighter diplomatic delegation sent to broker peace with the Vesians.

Back then, the Vesian diplomats brought along Venerable Foster for the sole purpose of denying any enemies from using indiscriminate bombardment to kill everyone with a single massed attack!

The MTA tended to frown heavily if expert pilots were killed outside of the context of a mech battle!

Although Ves could have made do with just one expert pilot, he didn't mind if he brought two. Both Joshua and Orfan certainly looked like they looked forward to seeing his new mechs in action.

Aside from the pair, two additional Larkinsons wanted to attend the duel in person.

"Ves! Long time no see! How are you doing, pal?"

Raella Larkinson smacked her boyfriend in the face. "Hey! Have some respect! He's the patriarch now, and he has been for a while!"

"Ouch! Please don't do that. I'm a wounded warrior! Have some mercy, please!"

Ves distinctly lowered his gaze. Unlike everyone else, Vincent was stuck on a hover chair.

"When will the doctors fix his legs?"

"The first surgery starts within a week." Realla answered. "It's taking a bit longer to optimize the newly-cloned legs. Apparently, the new batch of doctors hired by our clan think they can do better."

"I'll soon become complete again!"

"Well, it looks like he's happy enough."

Raella smirked and patted her palm against the surface of the hover chair. "Vincent has been driving himself crazy. There isn't much a man can do if he's stuck in this contraption all the time."

As Ves sat down next to Raella, Lucky settled down on her lap and began to beg for attention.

"Meow~"

"Oh, you cutie." She grinned as she began to stroke his plated back. "You're much tougher than Vincent, aren't you? At least you aren't liable to lose your limbs as easily as him. Look at how pathetic he looks. He isn't even permanently disabled but he already acts as if he's on his deathbed."

"Hey! I resent that! You should try and see what it's like to be in my position. I can't even use a normal toilet. Instead, my hover chair automatically takes care of that. Do you know how embarrassing that is? Thank heavens my lower body is covered up! At least the designers of this hover chair have at least some humanity left in their brains!"

Ves didn't bring the two along for their meaningless banter. Both of them were avid duelists and could be considered authorities in this field, if only tentatively.

While he didn't have many ways to affect the outcome of the individual matches, it was still nice to hear their analyses of the situation. This way, he could prepare his dueling mechs better for the second phase of the design duel.

The transport didn't even shake or vibrate in any way as it lifted into the air. Ves called up a projection that showed an exterior view.

Over a hundred aerial biomechs surrounded the passenger transport in a bubble. Their very frames formed an impressive physical barrier against incoming long-ranged attacks.

No other vehicles accompanied this procession. Ves had already shipped out the dueling mechs he prepared yesterday.

Most notably, no other clansmen traveled to the arena. They were forbidden from doing so for safety reasons.

As the transport went on its way, Gloriana ran her fingers through Clixie's luxurious fur while she smiled at her husband.

"How confident are you in winning?"

"I feel quite good, but that's all I can say." He replied. "I have added something extra to each of my five dueling mechs that will hopefully give them an edge in the arena."

"I have faith in you. Have you added any new innovations to your mechs?"

"Several, in fact." Ves grinned. "You'll see some of them in action during the matches, I'm sure."

"Oh? Just some of them? What about the others, if there are any?"

"They're only there as a contingency. To be honest, I really don't want to activate them, but if the situation calls for it, I want the option to be there."

"Are you willing to say anything more about it, Ves?"

"No. I don't want to say anything incriminating."

Gloriana looked deeply into his eyes, but Ves kept his mouth shut no matter how much pressure she exerted on him. He had plenty of secrets that he never wanted to share with his wife, so what was one more?

If all went well, Ves would never have to resort to any desperate measures. However, things rarely went well in past events, so he had become accustomed to making excessive preparations.

Bringing the Unending Regalia along was just one of his measures. Ves also brought Lucky's Misfortune Harness should he have needed to make someone's life very miserable.

He filled up an entire floating crate with weapons, gadgets, ordnance and other useful supplies. There was no way he was going out in the open without a miniature arsenal if he could help it. If the arena guards didn't allow him to bring his goodies, then tough luck.

As Ves went over his security preparations for the umpteenth time, Vincent tried to catch his attention.

"Hey! Boss! I wanted to speak to you for a while, but Raella always stopped me. Since you're here, can you listen to my request?"

"What is it, Mr. Ricklin?"

"You owe me a new mech! I selflessly sacrificed my Adonis Colossus, and now it's dead? Don't you think you should give the newest and most handsome expert candidate of the Larkinson Clan a new partner? If not, can you pass me one of those juicy-looking prime mechs? Just make it manlier. I don't want to pilot a mech that doesn't have anything between its legs."

Ves looked flatly at the hover chair-bound expert candidate.

"I am a very busy mech designer. I don't design mechs for any random person. The needs of the clan goes first. Right now, that means that I should be focusing my energy on developing expert mechs for our expert pilots. After that, there are a number of other mechs I need to design. As for you… your request sits at the bottom of my list of priorities."

"Oh, c'mon! Don't be so mean! Have some sympathy for a fellow Brighter and an old friend. What do I have to do to get you to design my new alpha machine?"

"You should defer to the rules of the Larkinson Clan. There is a provision that allows you to request a custom mech from me. Come back to me when you have earned a thousand Larkinson merits or something."

"What?! How can I possibly earn so many merits?!"