Chapter 7601 Rectifying the Premier Fleet

"It is pretty clear that the First Sword Mark III has failed to live up to her potential in this battle." Ves said after he had watched enough of the archival footage. "This is not a failure on the part of Saint Dise. She did her best to do her job under adverse circumstances. Saint Commander Casella Ingvar had little choice but to use her to fill gaps that she and her battle partner are not suited to fulfill."

This was one of the less-than-ideal instances where a highly offensive ace mech was forced to play a defensive role. It would have been a surprise if the First Sword fared well under those conditions.

Combined with getting harassed by intelligent enemies who deliberately stayed away from melee range, the First Sword Mark III did not get to have a single moment where she could fight to her heart's content!

"I agree with your assessment." Gloriana said with a stoic voice. "If we managed to complete the Bastion Mark II, we would have been able to free up the First Sword and allow her to venture forth without getting weighed down by so many burdens. If we managed to complete the Promethea Mark II in time, then she would have been able to provide enough fire support to relieve Saint Dise much sooner."

The two unfinished mech design projects still loomed over their heads. After going through a hard battle, both Ves and Gloriana were more than tired of getting outnumbered and outgunned in battle!

They deeply wanted to expand and strengthen the forces under their command. They could not afford to stall the completion of the aforementioned mech design projects for too long.

"The gains we have made from the Battle of Hypeh-Tekas II will greatly benefit the upcoming Promethea Mark II and Bastion Mark II." Ves tried to lift her mood. "If we completed the designs according to their original specifications, then they would definitely have shortcomings when confronting the deathborn or particularly troublesome phase leaders. For example, we need to make sure that the Promethea Mark II can produce a large enough conflagration to burn large swathes of deathborn. We also need to help the Bastion II defend against particularly dangerous super-acid substances such as blackwater."

Ves harbored particularly strong concerns about the latter. He envisioned the Bastion Mark II as the ultimate defensive machine among the lineup of high-ranking Larkinson mechs. The upcoming version of the Bastion needed to be ready to block and repel any form of attack, even ones that could disintegrate other ace mechs!

His wife looked thoughtful for a moment. "I truly have no idea how to neutralize damage caused by blackwater exposure. Energy shields of all kinds have already proven useless. Material defenses are just as vulnerable given how easily the blackwater managed to melt a large hole through your high-grade superdimensional raiment."

"Nothing is invincible." Ves said with a hint of conviction. "I already managed to find a clue during my other self's duel against the Blackwater Summoner. No matter what strange and exotic properties blackwater might possess, it is still a variation of water. This means that it is at least partially subject to the rules and interactions of the Five Elements. I have found that blackwater can be interfered with by utilizing the earth element. My methods were crude and weak at the time, but at least they proved that I was on the right track. We can continue to follow this direction and work out a more sophisticated countermeasure."

"Hmmm… that indeed sounds promising, Ves. The Bastion Mark II already possesses a decent association with the earth element. I originally intended to focus on bolstering her connection to space and gravity. Now, I think we need to make sure to strengthen her foundation to a satisfactory standard before we can explore more exotic design applications."

The earth element was the quintessential defensive concept. It should pair extremely well with the Bastion Mark II. They just needed to make sure that Saint Jannzi spent enough time and effort into mastering this fundamental element.

Ves and Gloriana continued to examine and discuss the performance of other Larkinson ace mechs.

The Dark Zephyr Mark III and the Amaranto Mark III also failed to live up to their potential this time, both for the same reasons as the First Sword Mark III.

The combined fleet initiated this battle with inadequate numbers, assets and above all else intelligence.

"Even the best tools could dull their edge when utilized improperly." Ves roughly summarized the situation.

"Then we should endeavor to prevent future situations where we are forced to make use of tools that are not up to the task."

As they completed their overview of the battle, the married couple finally turned their attention to the spoils.

Gloriana smiled again. "Our personnel have not yet completed their tally of all of the spoils, but the interim updates have already revealed a great amount of promising materials. There is a particularly high demand for salvaged alien-grade superdimensional alloys. Even if they fall short of the true high-grade materials, they are still objectively stronger and tougher than our mid-grade materials."

"Those Saint Armors are quite large." Ves commented. "We managed to collect several of them, though not all are intact. While we still have to reward our allies with the shares that they have earned, that still leaves us with many tons of the alloy. We can allocate much of that surplus into converting the Promethea Mark II into a full superdimensional mech. We can also upgrade our older ace mechs by replacing non-superdimensional parts with their superdimensional equivalents."

His wife seriously considered this suggestion.

"I am not ready to issue a verdict on this matter. I am open to incorporating generous amounts of salvaged alien-grade superdimensional alloys into upcoming designs such as the Promethea Mark II and the Lionheart Mark II. I do not think it is necessary to go back and rework the Dark Zephyr Mark III or the Amaranto Mark II. Haven't we decided to wait for a number of years before we initiate a major revision and upgrade for our existing works? The urgency is not too great. The only ace mechs that are truly lacking in adequate superdimensional protection are the Amaranto Mark II and the Minerva Mark II. They can go without for a while longer."

Ves reluctantly nodded in agreement. Their arrangements heavily depended on the spoils allocated to the Larkinsons.

The Ascended Giants had actually done most of the heavy lifting. They also suffered heavy losses in the process.

That entitled them to a greater share of the spoils, but many of the survivors probably wanted to use up as much of their quota on redeeming high-quality phasewater organs.

If that was the case, then there should be enough room for maneuver for the Larkinson Clan.

"I am more interested in the debris collected from the deathborn temple complex." Ves spoke. "It doesn't look like we can make immediate use of the stone materials and the secrets that they may contain. However, the Red Collective will probably figure them out sooner or later. Once we learn how to harness some of the methods of the deathborn race, I think that we can implement a much more powerful upgrade to the Phobos Mark II."

The only high-ranking stealth mech of the Larkinson Clan was one of its most useful assets.

Although the sneaky machine's frontal combat effectiveness was not too high, the Phobos had delivered fantastic results in sabotage actions!

The combination of highly effective stealth systems and the ability to weaponize incorporeal fiends literally allowed the Phobos to terrorize the native aliens!

Their fleets and bases were at constant risk of falling victim to unstoppable surprise attacks!

If the combined fleet had taken on the Phobos during this campaign, then it would have definitely progressed a lot smoother!

Ves believed this to be the case despite the fact that Venerable Zimro Belson had yet to achieve a major breakthrough!

"We may be able to derive other useful applications from the deathborn race." Gloriana said. "It is clear that the deathborn have developed a deep and rich civilization that is completely unrelated to the traditions of the Milky Way and the Red Ocean. I have already heard that even a single rune-covered rock from their temple complex can fetch a price equivalent to a chunk of high-grade superdimensional matter. This is because the fragments of their strange spell arrays can give researchers a glimpse to a completely different power system. We can derive a whole host of brand-new theories and principles from studying the remnants of alien construction!"

At least the combined fleet gained more assurances that they managed to come away from this cursed star system with a profitable balance.

Even if the Terran Alliance and the Red Three were all entitled to a hefty share of these spoils, the Larkinson Clan would definitely be able to keep at least an entire cargo bay's worth of broken black stones and green crystal fragments!

Ves and the research institutions of the Larkinson Clan probably didn't need so much stuff to conduct their studies. They could sell or auction off the surplus to third parties with very deep pockets in order to fund the replenishment and expansion of the Premier Fleet.

That was another lesson that he had learned.

As much as the Larkinson Clan had invested in the establishment of a proper first-class fleet, it was clear that more needed to be done before the Larkinsons could stand up to the foremost powers of the Red Ocean.

At the very least, the Premier Fleet should not have to rely on the Bluejay Fleet to achieve good results on the battlefield.

While it was extremely difficult to add more warships and high-end machines to the roster, it was significantly easier to reinforce the Premier Fleet with first-class multipurpose mechs and combat carriers.

The completion of the Arboreal Project should definitely accelerate this expansion!

Woodsap mechs had definitely proven their worth during this campaign.

Despite the controversy generated by the Poison Willow Variant, that had nothing to do with the basic versions.

Ves was more than satisfied with the strength, endurance and adaptability of his Woodsap mechs. He had no qualms about adding them to the Premier Fleet's mech roster.

Due to the incorporation of the Terran Alliance's Hibiscus System, the Larkinson Clan could completely widen its recruitment standards.

There was no need to carefully select suitable recruits among a relatively small pool of graduates from the toughest and most demanding first-class mech academies.

Even ordinary footsoldiers could effectively pilot Woodsap mechs after a few months of high-intensity training!

Sure, proper first-class multipurpose mech pilots would still be able to perform better in almost every case, but the gap should not be enormous.

As long as the Woodsap mech pilots already possessed strong foundations as footsoldiers, they would definitely be able to fit in with other mech units in a short amount of time!

With that in mind, the Larkinsons did not even have to resort to external recruitment anymore.

They could easily tap into the existing mech soldiers or footsoldiers of the expeditionary fleet of the Golden Skull Alliance for manpower!

Ves knew that the Swordmaidens had always placed a high emphasis on swordsmanship training for both their mech pilots and other personnel.

The obsessed Swordmaidens maintained this tradition from the onset of their humble beginnings. They never relented on it despite the fact that they never anticipated that Ves would eventually be able to invent a control system that allowed norms to pilot mechs as well!

Now, all of these well-trained and highly disciplined Swordmaidens were probably the most ideal candidates to pilot Woodsap mechs configured for melee combat!

Ves would have been willing to raise his appreciation for the Swordmaidens even further if they were not so horrible at ranged combat.

They were not incapable of using firearms against enemies. However, their aversion to ranged weapons was ideological in nature. They simply refused to make use of them. That meant that they not only lacked a lot of practice with guns, but would completely waste their potential if they were paired with multipurpose mechs!

Oh well.

Nothing was perfect.