Chapter 7450  Countering Woodsap Mechs

Ves normally did not like to put down his roots in any fixed location. He also did not wish to break any boundaries and meddle into the affairs of other parties.

Yet Calabast presented him with opportunities that sounded so compelling that he felt tempted to intervene anyway.

The proper way to deal with the internal conflict brewing within the Terran Alliance would be to maintain a healthy distance.

Yet that seemed like a cowardly and overly risk-averse course of action.

That did not mean it was the wrong decision to make, but if Ves wanted to advance his interests and lay claim to a greater share of resources, R&D assistance and industrial capacity, meddling into the affairs of the Terrans sounded like a rewarding if risky venture.

The key was to strike a balance between risk and reward.

If he attempted to grab too much, then he would likely overreach and end up in a worse position than before.

Fortunately, Calabast presented a plan that leveraged several of his accumulated advantages.

From his well-earned reputation for being trustworthy to his prior record of respecting the agency and principles of his allies, Ves had purposefully built an image of a reliable business partner.

Few people would expect that he would scheme to seize power over another sovereign nation.

Of course, this was a bit of an exaggerated description. Ves had no interest in taking over planets or territory.

He merely wanted to continue to exploit a significant fraction of the Terran Alliance's highly developed R&D sector.

Ves had witnessed first-hand how he effectively managed to get 50 times more work done with an abundance of external design and research assistance!

If he had to design his Woodsap mechs by himself, he could work non-stop for a whole decade and still not be able to complete a work as good as his present gains!

Though Ves did not want to develop a dependence on the Terrans, if he had an opportunity to get their help in exchange for relatively minor concessions, then he would be a fool to miss this opportunity!

"Please explain your plan in full." He requested.

"I have yet to devise a full step-by-step plan, but I can present my outline of one to you." The confident woman responded. "Manipulating the Terran Alliance requires a deft touch. You will need to continue to present the image of a proud mech designer in the public sphere. Even if everyone knows you are far more than that, doing this will lower the guard of most Terrans. The Green Coalition is in the ascendancy at the moment. You have already satisfied them enough for the time being, so it is better to prioritize the needs of the Steel Coalition next. You can do that by designing a mech that just so happens to counter your Woodsap mechs. You will need to complete it within a year at the very least in order to achieve the maximum impact."

11:41

"I have yet to devise a full step-by-step plan, but I can present my outline of one to you." The confident woman responded. "Manipulating the Terran Alliance requires a deft touch. You will need to continue to present the image of a proud mech designer in the public sphere. Even if everyone knows you are far more than that, doing this will lower the guard of most Terrans. The Green Coalition is in the ascendancy at the moment. You have already satisfied them enough for the time being, so it is better to prioritize the needs of the Steel Coalition next. You can do that by designing a mech that just so happens to counter your Woodsap mechs. You will need to complete it within a year at the very least in order to achieve the maximum impact."

As Ves studied the outline with an interested expression, his chief of staff provided her own advice.

"Designing a fire-based mech for the so-called Steel Coalition is too blatant of a move." Eliza Mo Ragadan said from the side. "Also, you are already short on time, Ves. While I am not too familiar with your workload, I know that it is difficult if not impossible to add one more design project to your existing schedule. There should be a way to satisfy this requirement without delaying your existing projects or compromising their quality."

Ves looked interested. "What is your suggestion, then?"

Eliza raised her palm and activated a familiar-looking projection.

It depicted the 5 classical elements.

"Sir, you are currently treating your elemental Carmine mechs as self-contained products. Woodsap mechs are Woodsap mechs. Polymetal mechs are Polymetal mechs. That is understandable, but from the perspective of the Red Collective, they are not isolated from each other. Since each of them are based on what some describe as the Five Phases, then your products will definitely share the same meanings and associations."

Ves widened his eyes in realization.

She was right!

She had pointed out a blind spot that Ves had overlooked due to his fixation on the mech-side of the equation!

"I see what you mean now." He said as he began to breathe faster. "I completely missed this dynamic, but now that you have pointed out, it is so obvious to me now. Every elemental Carmine mech that is based on the 5 classical elements have intricate relationships with each other."

There was a lot of esoteric theory behind it all. Ves was fairly familiar with it, but he hadn't dived too deeply into all of the complicated relationships.

However, all of it would become incredibly relevant in the future.

This was because these elemental relationships determined which elemental Carmine mechs fared better against other elemental Carmine mechs!

"According to theory, metal chops wood." Ves thoughtfully said. "This happens to work out nicely for me. I already intended to prioritize the development of Polymetal mechs after completing the Arboreal Project. The Red Association was one of my earlier backers, after all, and I am still relying heavily on the mechers for protection and conveniences. It would not do to leave them waiting for so long, especially now that I have tentatively proven the strength of my elemental Carmine mech concept."

Eliza did not entirely agree with his statement. "There is an enormous depth behind the study of the Five Phases. What you have described may be true, but it is not an absolute rule. A weak sword will break before a strong wooden trunk. However, if your Polymetal mechs are roughly equal in strength to your Woodsap mechs, then the former should enjoy a natural advantage due to their elemental relationships."

"What about fire?" Calabast suggested. "I am not a scholar in this field, but it seems to me that fire is a great way to turn Woodsap mechs into pyres."

"Wood generates fire, just as spring transitions into summer." Eliza responded. "Under certain circumstances, it is possible to deplete the former with the latter by using this relationship. However, I believe that relying on the power of metal is a more reliable approach."

Ves already began to imagine a suitable machine. "We can potentially use the power of both metal and fire in the same Polymetal mech. After all, the point of the latter is that its structure is incredibly malleable and flexible due to being made out of smart metal. Polymetal mechs might not be as solid as mechs made out of solid parts, but they are much more able to alter their structure and form specialized parts on the fly. It should be easy to program a set of energy weapons that rely heavily on the power of the fire element. This way, my Polymetal mechs can burn Woodsap mechs from a distance with the help of energy weapons or cut them in half with sharp metal blades up close."

This idea sounded a lot more viable than designing a brand new first-class mech that was solely designed to counter his Woodsap mechs.

"This idea may work, actually." Calabast already made her deductions in her mind. "The downside is that you have already signed an agreement with the Red Association that grants them exclusivity to your Polymetal mechs. However, this is politically convenient for you as this work should not be considered a blatant attempt to meddle into internal Terran politics. You can maintain your facade of neutrality much easier. After all, it is not your fault that the wood element is supposedly weak against attacks from the metal element. This is a fundamental rule."

She was right about that. Perhaps the Terrans had already thought about it and taken the appropriate countermeasures.

"It makes more sense why the two coalitions are named in this particular way." Eliza voiced her thoughts. "The Green Coalition is heavily invested in works based on the wood element. The Steel Coalition on the other hand has a strong interest in the metal element. This signals to me that the latter wants to keep the former in check. It is evident that there are many Terrans who fear that the elves and their green agenda may go out of control."

Ves nodded in agreement. That did make a lot of sense now that he understood the greater context.

"You two have given me a lot of food for thought. Eventually, I will complete an elemental Carmine mech for each of the 5 elements. They will all have different restraining and synergistic relationships with each other. They may even develop brand-new synergies through specialized teamwork. Unfortunately for their owners, since they are all bound to become exclusive toys to five different players, there will not be many instances of such teamwork. The only group that has the right to field all 5 elemental Carmine mechs in the same force is…"

"Us." Calabast grinned wider. "That is one of the key concessions that you have secured with your respective partners. You never let go of your works if you can help it. We are the only organization that can legally field Woodsap mechs alongside Polymetal mechs, Bloodfire mechs and etc. This means that we are the only ones that can produce synergies that can elevate their performance by 50 percent, 100 percent or higher."

Those numbers might sound exaggerated, but that was how the 5 classical elements worked.

Ves could easily see this happening in reality!

The only issue was that the Larkinson Clan was still at least several years away from realizing these amazing synergies.

He had only just reached the final phases of the Arboreal Project. He still needed to invest a lot of time in completing the four remaining elemental Carmine projects.

"If there aren't any major distractions in the near future, then I am confident that I can design both a Polymetal mech and a Bloodfire mech within 1.5 years at most." He said. "The latter is a bit complicated because my wife and I are already in the process of developing a very high-end version of one in the form of the Promethea Mark II Project. Depending on how much extra design and R&D assistance I can secure, I may be able to complete both projects faster, especially if there is a great amount of commonality with the Woodsap mechs of the Arboreal Project."

The faster he completed these projects, the better. Once he managed to publish 3 elemental Carmine mech designs, he would definitely be able to prove the superiority of this category of mechs!

With so many powerful Carmine mechs showcasing their strength on the frontlines, Ves should be able to negotiate better conditions with the remaining two partners.

Calabast had begun to adjust her outline based on new input. "If it turns out that your Polymetal mech and possibly your Bloodfire mech can consistently demolish a Woodsap mech under equal conditions, then the Steel Coalition will definitely rise in power. This is especially the case if you publish those two specific elemental Carmine mechs right after you have completed your current project. If you want to complete your hedging strategy, then you need to prop up the Green Coalition by developing a Woodsap mech that is strong enough to hold its own against those aforementioned machines."

Ves felt troubled by this suggestion. "That is easier said than done. That is like telling me to design a turtle that can fly faster than a bird. It is easier to follow the relationships of the 5 classical elements than to go against them. I may need to put in five times as much effort just to develop a Woodsap mech that can barely break even!"

"Does that not sound more interesting to you, Ves?" Calabast smiled back. "Every mech designer can design an easy mech. Only a handful can complete a counterintuitive design. Consider it a challenge. Only a true master can defy the rules."