A single day after the Larkinson n announced that their patriarch had advanced to Senior, it held avish banquet to celebrate this historic asion!


    It couldn''t be helped. So many important people and organizations wanted to talk to Ves all of a sudden for one reason or another.


    The Larkinson n and its various rted subsidiaries became inundated with cooperation agreements and business proposals.


    Such a reaction was highly umon. This was the first time that a mech designer''s promotion to the rank of Senior Mech Designer produced an enormous change in attitude and treatment.


    Ves initially thought that all of those people had gone crazy, but after thinking it through, he understood why they acted this way.


    It was truly worthwhile for them to establish a closer rtionship with Ves, or if that was not possible, the Larkinson n as a whole.


    There was a difference between possessing the potential to be a bigshot and being a bigshot outright.


    There were far too many talented and well-endowed individuals who fell into the former category. Not every shy and presumptuous punk could withstand the test of time and mature into a leader that could easily affect the lives of trillions of people.


    Though Ves had not yet grown to this height, he had already taken a substantial step forward!


    A lot of clever analysts had studied his record and examined all of the information avable to the public. They even studied any intelligence collected by their respective organizations.


    With all of his recent gains, it became clear that even if Ves ultimately failed to reach his potential, he shouldn''t be much worse!


    Investing in him was no longer considered a high-risk investment!


    In an environment that attracted a lot of profit-seeking pioneers, it made a lot of sense to make overtures to the Larkinson n.


    However, the Larkinsons did not particrly wee their overtures.


    The n prized loyalty and friendship above all. It did not disdain pure transactional rtionships, but it was wary of partners who possessed a lot of green but not a lot of principles.


    Ves had a long history of getting betrayed and stabbed in the back by fair-weather friends.


    In his eyes, most of the opportunists who wanted to start up a rtionship with him because he showed enough value.


    If that was the only reason that motivated them, then Ves did not want to have anything to do with them. This was because if his enemies ever offered greater value, his ''friends'' and ''allies'' would quickly turn their faces in an instant!


    It was the buddies who had stuck with him when he was weaker and not that impressive that Ves valued the most.


    The Hexers, Glory Seekers, Crossers and certain mechers had all earned his trust to an extent. They had either fought alongside his n in battle or helped him ovee various other difficulties that he could never resolve on his own.


    Even if he had increased his status to the point where he could easily exchange all of his weaker partners for stronger ones, he did not think about it for a second.


    Perhaps not all of his buddies were capable of keeping up with his growth rate in the long run, but that was okay. He was not an ungrateful mech designer. He would definitely be able to give them a hand in the future.


    At this time, arge number of invited guests converged at a floating restaurant and club in the Austere District.


    It cost thousands of MTA credits to rent the prestigious venue for a single evening, but the Larkinsons could easily cover the expense.


    Hundreds of Larkinson mechs had taken up guard positions all around the entire floating structure. The local government did not even bother to lodge a protest or do anything to stop the Larkinson Army from viting a whole host of rules and fielding so many private mechs in one of the most expensive and sensitive districts of Kotor City!


    In any case, if the government wasn''t willing to y ball, then the Larkinson n would just host its celebratory banquet elsewhere.


    This would definitely turn into an embarrassing scandal for Davute as it would show that the Larkinsons simply did not trust the security arrangements of the colonial federation!


    As the guests started to pour into arge reception room, they soon became enthralled by the various sights.


    The Larkinsons converted the resplendent room into an exhibition hall that portrayed their patriarch''s brilliant aplishments over the past decade.


    Frompeting in the Young Tigers Exhibition to earning first ce in the Twin Weapons Tournament.


    From getting drafted in thest Bright-Vesia War to ying a critical role in rescuing the trapped VIPs in the Davute VII Pocket Space.


    From journeying into the forbidden Nyxian Gap topleting several sessful expeditions into the new frontier.


    The mechs stole the show. Numerous projected dioramas disyed the full catalog of the Larkinson Patriarch. From showcasing his earliest third-ss variants to presenting brief snapshots of his most exquisite masterwork expert mechs, the range of his works along with their meteoric rise inbat effectiveness astounded many guests!<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Each exhibit made it abundantly clear that Ves was not like any other mech designer. He lived a much more active life and took much more risks than usual.


    The greater the risk, the greater the reward!


    It was exactly because Ves had a penchant of making reckless decisions that made other groups reluctant to invest in him. It was only now that he managed get past his weakest period that he became a lot more worthwhile to befriend!


    Every guest invited to the celebratory banquet reacted in two different ways.


    The Glory Seekers, the Crossers, the Aducs, the Murphies and other familiar partners all felt lucky that they had entered into a close rtionship with such an impressive rising star.


    Compared to the past where the Larkinsons had to expend a lot of effort into forming a cooperation agreement with them, now the situation had reversed!


    Third parties had no chance of forming a partnership with the Larkinsons anymore!


    The Larkinson n only showed a willingness to sign modest business agreements with a select number of groups.


    This was just to ensure that the n would gain easier ess to starships, resources, supplies and other mundane goods and services.


    The representatives of thepanies who were willing to sign much more favorable contracts with the Larkinson n did not get to meet with the famous Larkinson Patriarch in person.


    There was nopelling reason to bother Ves with such trivial affairs. The Larkinson n''s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant departments had more than enough qualified personnel to manage the new rtions.


    Unless a group was willing to gift the Larkinson n an entire fleet carrier on the spot, there was no chance that any representative would be able to secure a meeting with Ves in person!


    Still, as much as Ves wanted to avoid dubious people in this time of celebration, he could notpletely say no to everyone.


    His responsibility as the leader of the Larkinson n obliged him to meet with a number of individuals he would rather avoid.


    "Congrattions for attaining the rank of Senior Mech Designer. Please ept this little token on behalf of President Yenames Clive." Reina Kernsk said as she passed on a decorative box to Ves. "I believe I can speak for all Davutans that we look forward to what you will be able to present to our military in theing months and years."


    Ves epted the gift box as if he was holding a gue locked within a vial. He quickly passed it over to his personal assistant without making it seem as if he wanted to toss it into the trash chute.


    "I am almost ready tomence work on fulfilling the first major mech designmission." He told the president''s chief of staff. "I have regrly met with Master Decimus Horst over thest couple of months. I learned a lot about the type of mechs that he excels at and brainstormed a lot of interesting ideas. It won''t take long before I will finish a mech design proposal that your people can evaluate. If they approve of my mech design concept, I can start our new design project right away. I think it is possible toplete it within a year with the earnest cooperation of an experienced Master and the full support of your state."


    Madame Kernsk looked satisfied with this answer. "Speed is important. The sooner youplete your design, the sooner we can retool our mech factories and produce your new mech model in sufficient quantities. If we can transfer enough copies of your new and promising heavy artillery mech to our strategics at the border region, we can stop or at the very least dy the offensives that the Kachs will undoubtedlyunch."


    Having gone through a Mastery experience that gave him an extensive first-hand experience of how wars were fought onnd, Ves gained a much greater understanding of the context and the importance ofary campaigns.


    A strong heavy artillery mech that could outperform the models fielded by the opposition could make a huge difference in any war!


    Ves grinned at the representative of President Clive. "Don''t worry. I was already a productive mech designer at the Journeyman stage. Now that I am a Senior, I can work even faster. You will get your new heavy artillery mech in time."


    Once Reina Kernsk got the promise she wanted, she left with a satisfied expression.


    More important guests came up. The Larkinsons had carefully screened and selected them so Ves did not grow too annoyed.


    "Congrattions on your promotion, Ves." General Herman Foraine spoke as he came up next. "We have yet to go on any expeditions, but it appears that our decision to join your alliance has already paid off. The Adide Mercenary Company is pleased to be your friend and ally."


    Ves raised his eyebrow. "Are you speaking on behalf of your Third Fleet or your parent organization as a whole?"


    "Thetter." General Foraine spoke. "If not for the fact that it is not possible for the other fleets to converge on our location in the short term, I am sure that more of us would have mored to join your expeditionary fleet."


    "I think we already have enough mechs for the time being." Ves gently replied. "With an effective strength of around three mech divisions, our fleet has already be incrediblyrge and clunky. It might be better for everyone if we think about splitting up. We can cover more locations and harvest more wealth this way. We just need to make sure that our splinter fleets are close enough to each other that any of them can quickly be reinforced if a major threat is on the way."


    Herman looked critical. "Dispersing our fleets and mechses with considerable risks, Ves. Even if our fleets are located in two different neighboring star systems, it still takes at least a day or two for reinforcements to arrive. This is not a problem if our scouts can detect major threats in advance, but if our enemies manage tounch a sneak attack, it bes extremely difficult to maintain an effective defense for such an extensive period of time!"


    "I am aware of these possibilities, my friend. I am just making a suggestion. We can discuss the details of our uing expedition at ater date."


    The two leaders talked a bit more about other subjects. Herman even talked about the possibility of procuring a number of Larkinson mechs.


    "While we are not looking to break our existing contracts and overhaul our entire mech setup, we are much more open about the possibility of introducing additional living mechs in our mech roster." Herman said. "Are you interested in designing a custom mech for our mercenarypany? You can treat it as a formalmission if you would like."


    "Hmmm…"