<h4>Chapter 1612 High-minded</h4>


    Ves had no clue what his girlfriend was plotting behind his back.


    He mainly concerned himself with finalizing the Militant Soldier and Peaceful Soldier designs.


    However, the release of the Breaker product line resulted in an enormous shock in the mech market. Ves had to divert some time to address the changes taking ce in his organizations.


    "Why do you want us to spend fifteen billion credits on advertising and public rtions?" Ves frowned as he read through a data pad at his office. "Even if this sum is inted, this is still a ludicrous sum of money!"


    "Our Marketing Department has submitted a n to hinder the rise of the Dawnbreaker and Duskbreaker." Gavin reported. "Due to Ansel''s extensive influence, we won''t achieve much results if we publish a couple of critical ads on those mech models. We have to resort to a full-fledged media offensive to shift public opinion."


    "I personally tasked the Marketing Department to flesh out a strategy to hinder our rivals." Raymond Billingsley-Larkinson added. "The Dawnbreaker is already guaranteed to sell by virtue of its quality, so we can''t affect its growth too much. It''s the Duskbreaker that is our true concern. While it''s only around ten percent more expensive than our Deste Soldier, the two mechs are upying the same position in the market. We can''t allow the Duskbreaker to "


    Ves did not look pleased. "It''s a waste of money. I would much prefer to spend this money on something useful, like building more production facilities or expanding the Living Sentinels."


    "We can''t let Ansel poprize their new mechs without hitting back, boss. Don''t you remember how those Ansel guys tried to badmouth our Deste Soldiers when it initially came out? Even before that, they constantly tarnished the LMC by painting our mechs as brainwashing machines. If not for securing early support from theary Guard, we wouldn''t have been able to ovee the opposition against our mechs!"


    All of them recalled how extensively the bacsh against the LMC used to be during the time when Ves toured the star sector. His absence at home gave his critics the opportunity to fund a protest movement against his mechs.


    More and more people started to believe that the ckbeak, Crystal Lord and Aurora Titan brainwashed their mech pilots into bing loyal fans of the LMC.


    Fortunately, the widespread adoption of the Deste Soldier by many powerful organizations and outfits negated this trend.


    Just as Ves predicted, as long as the Deste Soldier became indispensable, the ruling powers would not allow anyone to stigmatize his products!


    However, the Deste Soldier was old news now. While people epted its existence, they no longer paid too much attention to it unless they directly came under the influence of its glow.


    The Dawnbreaker, Duskbreaker and Novabreaker were all novel creations, and the hungry news portals instantly pounced on them to provide new content to their subscribers!


    Hearing the resentment from Gavin and Raymond, Ves frowned at them both. "Are you out of your mind?"


    "You.. don''t agree, boss?"


    "Think about what we''re doing. Instead of investing resources into developing ourpany and increasing our security, you want us to waste money on smacking thepetition."


    "What''s wrong with that? Didn''t Ansel already do that to us? We could at least return the favor!"


    Ves wanted to palm his face. "We survived their attacks and grew stronger from it. My products were always vulnerable to the points they''ve raised. This was a problem that we had to address sooner thanter, so I''m d we already got it over with. The eptance we''ve obtained from the public and the rulers at the top will serve as our shield in any future endeavors."


    "You''re still letting off Ansel lightly for what they''ve done." Gavin grumbled.


    Raymond sided with him as well. "I don''t see the point in sticking to your high-minded ideals, Ves. I know enough about doing business that it''s vital for the LMC to portray strength. By doing nothing or appearing to do nothing, we will appear weak. Ourpany''s standing in the mech industry will suffer a hit as a result. Less third-party manufacturers will agree to fabricate mechs for us. Somepanies might cease to ship our products or offer favorable terms."


    "I don''t care about these petty losses." Ves stated. "Our brand will remain strong regardless if we y this game or not. Ansel''s position in the mech market is so strong that I don''t think that a couple of billion credits will affect the sales of theirtest products. Besides, there is one more reason why I''m disinclined to engage in this pointless venture."


    "Do tell, Ves."


    "I want the Dawnbreaker and its variants to seed."


    That took Raymond and Gavin aback. Even Nitaa, who stood quietly on guard, reacted with some shock!


    ??Are you still the boss we know, or did someone rece you with a clone?"


    Ves smiled at them. "I''m not joking. I mean what I say. The Dawnbreaker is a genuinely good midrange rifleman mech. I''ve studied the public documents about the new design extensively and I fully believe in its value. Its ability to guarantee the life of a mech pilot in event of getting hit by a heavyser strike is something that no mech at its price range can match!"


    Both Raymond and Gavin shared an uncertain look. Had Ves gone mad? Why was he praising thepetition all of a sudden?


    Of course, this obvious gesture didn''t escape Ves. Seeing as his two subordinates didn''t get it, he growled in frustration.


    "You''re treating this like some zero-sum game. It''s not! Think of our circumstances right now. If we were at peacetime, then I would have considered your suggestion more, but this time it''s different! While I don''t like those stuck-up Ansel mech designers, they are not our opponents! Our real enemy is the sandman race! Whenever we make an important decision, we should consider whether it benefits the LMC and helps the war effort! In my eyes, casting shade on the Dawnbreaker aplishes neither!"


    Ves raised a finger.


    "Our weaker media presence means that we''ll just waste a lot of money while gaining little in return. This does not benefit ourpany."


    He raised another finger.


    "The current situation at the front demands a mech that is more resilient and more powerful than the Deste Soldier. The Dawnbreaker perfectly meets this demand and has an added bonus of preserving the lives of skilled mech pilots. Hindering the adoption of such a good mech does not help the war effort!"


    A realization swept through the minds of Raymond and Gavin. The former looked especially hard-hit.


    "This is my mistake." Raymond admitted. "I was too caught up in thinking what is best for the LMC that I have forgotten to take the greater picture into ount."


    Such a mistake was understandable. Raymond had only recently be the COO of the LMC. Even if he made a lot of preparations, he still had to immerse himself in his new responsibilities.


    "The Deste Soldier, Dawnbreaker and their variants are allpeting mech models. That does not mean that the gains of one side is a loss to the other side." Ves exined. "In truth, we are all on the same side. A little bit of tension due to rivalry and factionalism is inevitable, but don''t let it go too far. Right now, I think the Dawnbreaker is a necessary mech to strengthen the Bright Republic."


    "That only counts for the Dawnbreaker, right?" Gavin interjected. "The Duskbreaker is the knockoff version of the Dawnbreaker. It doesn''t have thepressed armor system of the base model. As a budget mech model, the Duskbreakerpetes directly against our Deste Soldiers and therefore poses a direct threat to our bottom line. Shouldn''t we at least do something to prevent this variant from taking away our lunch?"


    Ves smiled. "That''s a much more reasonable argument. If you came up to me with this in the start, then I wouldn''t have to remind you two to take the overall war situation into ount."


    "So.. will you agree to a n to suppress the Duskbreaker?"


    "Nope." Ves replied. "Let Ansel sell as many Duskbreakers as they want. I have no intentions to put any obstacles in their way. Let the market and the customers decide which one they prefer. Both of them have different strengths. It''s better if outfits have more choice."


    "That''s.."


    "Let me be clear. I''m not necessarily being generous or charitable towards Ansel. I''m just confident in my Deste Soldiers. While it''s true that the Duskbreaker offers superior performance in almost every aspect, it''s a mech without a heart. I think that many mech pilots who have tried both mechs will prefer my product in the end."


    Neither Raymond nor Gavin believed in that assertion. However, Ves was the boss, so they had no choice but to ept his will.


    Under his instruction, the LMC did not allocate any money towards hindering the market''s enthusiastic adoption of the Dawnbreaker and Duskbreaker. Sales of bothmercial models went through the roof!


    In the meantime, some mech regiments already decided to procure or produce the first Novabreakers.


    The mech regiments stationed in the most hard-pressed fortified star systems became the first converts to this promising new military mech model. Due to frequentbat, these units suffered continuous casualties and lost a decent amount of very expensive mechs.


    The Novabreaker offered solutions to both problems. It was priced as a premium mech which was very affordable in the eyes of the military and also excelled in protecting mech pilots.


    In addition, the Novabreaker''s custom neural interface which heightened the responsiveness of the mech showed its full potential in the hands of well-trained military mech pilots.


    All of these qualities were highly prized by the hard-hit mech regiments!


    The Novabreaker turned out to be such a hit that when the LMC finally published the Militant Soldier, it hardly caused a ripple in the Mech Corps.


    "Well, I''m sure that the military will remember my work." Ves muttered as he observed the lukewarm reaction from the military.


    Fortunately, Ves and the LMC could at least console themselves with the much more sessfulunch of the Peaceful Soldier.


    Ves, Gloriana and the design team worked hard to design a viablendbound iteration of the Deste Soldier. While it was a shame that the Peaceful Soldier was exclusive to theary Guard, the mech at least turned out to be a smashing hit in those organizations!


    A lot of orders had already poured in, which convenientlypensated for the moderate drop in sales of the Deste Soldier. The LMC quickly recovered from the setback induced by thepetition.


    "There is no way that Ansel can design any mech that canpete against my Peaceful Soldier." Ves confidently stated to Gavin. "The main quality theary Guard is after is its glow. By now,w enforcement is very clear about its effects and how to make the most of it. No mech designed by others can top the Peaceful Soldier''s value proposition."


    Unfortunately, one more incident took ce that tested his principles.


    Commander Magdalena Larkinson visited his office one day to submit a proposal.


    "After an extensive cost-benefit analysis, we think it''s best for my Living Sentinels to field the Dawnbreakers. I think you are probably clear of the advantages of this mech model, so I won''t bother exining the reasons why we should adopt it. I just want to know whether you are okay with it. From what I''ve heard, you don''t exactly enjoy the best rtionship with its designers."


    Ves did not expect Magdalena to propose such a difficult question to him. It was one thing to tolerate the Dawnbreaker as worthypetition, it was another thing to allow his own forces to adopt it as their mainstay mechs!


    How could Ves feel proud about himself if his subordinates openly piloted the mechs designed by his rivals?


    For a moment, Ves glowered at Magdalena. He resented her for putting him on the spot today. Couldn''t she have opted for a different choice?