The Mech Touch

Ves and the Larkinsons agreed to allow General Axelar Streon to pilot the Ouroboros during this formal meeting.

This incurred considerable risks, as they would place themselves at the mercy of the Streons.

Nonetheless, Ves pushed through with this because he trusted the Streon Ancient Clan not to abuse its power.

This was not a customary decision to him, but he had near-absolute confidence that he would never be in danger.

The Ouroboros was his own creation! Even if its growth had been stunted, the powerful second order living mech would rather fight against its own pilot than to cause any harm towards its progenitor!

With this circumstance as a guarantee, Ves would rather allow General Axelar to make use of his formidable Saint Kingdom to wipe out any bugs and prevent any means for other parties to listen in on their conversation.

Ves did not underestimate the formidable spying capabilities of the Red Association. It was worth it for him to put his trust in the Streons in this case.

Besides, General Axelar Streon had already made a solemn promise to treat the Larkinsons properly. The man who strongly yearned to become a god pilot would never joke around when it came to this kind of stuff!

The entire hall seemed to shake and vibrate in cadence to the footsteps of the Ouroboros.

The few staffers of the general maintained an impassive expression, but they all conveyed the pride of serving one of the foremost champions and leaders of the Terran Alliance!

Their attitudes weren't anything special. They had gone through similar routines many times.

It was the reactions and attitudes of the Larkinsons that drew a lot of admiration from the Streons.

Although Gavin Neumann and his much more limited staff did not look that impressive, the years they spent among the Larkinsons had subjected them to many dangerous tests.

There was an edge and a core of strength to the Larkinson staffers that were more common among battle-tested troops.

Each of these Larkinson staffers possessed at least a decent amount of bravery, which was not a quality that was common among civilian Terrans!

While it was difficult to resist the strong mental influence of the Saint Kingdom of the Ouroboros, this was not the first time that the Larkinsons became subjected to this kind of pressure!

Although General Axelar Streon was far more powerful than any other monstrosity they faced in the past, the ace pilot clearly did not have any aggressive intentions in mind.

Besides, even if Axelar deliberately increased his suppression, the Golden Cat that quietly guarded over the Larkinsons would not remain impassive!

The Ouroboros strode forward until it had reached the other side of the hall.

Another set of double doors was situated on this side. It led to a more private and secure chamber where the principals of both sides could hold a proper discussion.

Once the powerful ace mech settled into place, the Senechai stepped forward and shouted so loudly that the entire chamber echoed with his thundering voice!

"I hereby announce the arrival of the Renewer of Terra, the senior ace pilot, the High Marshal of the Terran Alliance, the General of the 1st Streon Mech Army, the Acting Patriarch of the Red Branch of the Streon Ancient Clan, the Founder and President of the New Terran Federation Movement, the honorary member of the Red Association, the vice leader of the Terran Faction, the vanquisher of Rubarthans, the crusher of alien lifeforms of both the Milky Way and the Red Ocean, the threefold solo mech champion of the Terran Confederation Games, the victor of the Twenty-sixth Battle of Tau Ceti and tier 2 galactic citizen! Axelar of the Streon Ancient Clan has chosen to welcome our honored guests from afar with the Ouroboros, his chosen steed!"

Trumpets sounded in the air as lights shone on the impressive living masterwork mech.

The Larkinson staffers had already collected quite a lot of information on the Ouroboros, but now that they were able to witness its majesty in person, they couldn't help but speculate how it was related to their patriarch.

Not even the most technologically illiterate Larkinson could be blind to the obvious connection between the Terran's obvious living traits and their patriarch's unique design style!

This cast a special light onto this meeting. It became a lot clearer now why their patriarch acquiesced so easily to some of the Streon Ancient Clan's proposals.

Another change occurred.

A subtle light shone on the entrance, causing a metal clad figure to shine a lighter brighter as he passed through the enormous double doors.

In fact, two metal figures had chosen to enter at this time.

Since General Axelar Streon entered this venue while riding his 'steed', Ves felt it was appropriate for him to wear his Unending Regalia rather than his dress uniform.

"Meow."

Lucky also accompanied him at this time, both as a mascot and as an extra pair of eyes.

Both of them actually made a profound impression to the Streons present in the central hall.

The gem cat was utterly unique. Lucky might not look that big, but those with discerning eyes understood how impressive it was to adapt a notoriously complicated archetech and utilize it to create a small and lifelike mechanical cat!

Such a technological marvel could only be asked for in first-class space. Only a few top figures possessed the competence and expertise to develop a cat made out of archemetal!

Ves himself did not look too shabby either. Much of the tech of the Unending alloy was only second-class, but the materials and design were clearly exceptional!

The combination of Unending alloy, which acted as a special form of hyper material, and Ves' distinctive design style resulted in a powerful form of synergy that caused the suit of combat armor to radiate the power of life!

If that was not enough, Ves also chose to loosen his restraint and radiate his own glow, thereby making it seem as if he was a deity that could create life out of nothing!

An ordinary audience might look at Ves and become impressed without any complicated thoughts. Few people understood the significance or the possibilities that Ves had at his disposal.

The Streons were different in this regard. From the staffers to the general himself, all of them had become incredibly familiar with the creation aspect of the Ouroboros.

They inferred a strange connection between this mech designer and the Ouroboros!

Even if none of them seriously thought that this 40-something year old mech designer had actually designed the original Ouroboros, they already began to entertain many possible ideas.

The most likely possibility was that Ves was the student of the man that secretly designed the Ouroboros.

Whatever the case, the Streons had met many mech designers in the past who could make a meaningful contribution to the Ouroboros, but Ves was definitely the closest one yet who could augment the creation side of the renowned ace mech!

The footsteps of the Unending Regalia did not produce nearly as much noise or shaking, but Ves built up his own form of momentum that made it difficult to ignore his approach.

Once Ves and Lucky stopped a healthy distance from the Ouroboros, there were a few entities who wanted him to come closer.

The eyes of the ace mech flashed a little brighter and spontaneously wanted to take a few steps closer, but under the iron-hard will of its pilot, the machine remained motionless and under control.

Gavin Neumann stepped forward and made his own announcement. His voice wasn't as loud or augmented as that of the Senechai, so he didn't even bother to imitate the older man. It was enough for him to do his job without stumbling over his syllables.

"I hereby announce the arrival of the Devil Tongue, the Senior Mech Designer, the eightfold masterwork mech designer, the founder and Patriarch of the Larkinson Clan, the founder and galactic pioneer of the Golden Skull Alliance, the founder of the Larkinson Mech Corporation, the founder of the Creation Association, the Founder of the Open Consortium, the honorary member of the Red Association, the voting delegate of the Survivalist Faction, the former associate of the Transhumanist Faction, the Supreme Son of the Hex Federation, the senior contributor of restricted technology, the vanquisher of Fridaymen, the destroyer of states, the punisher of dwarves, the crusher of native aliens, the breaker of alien battleships, the scourge of phase whales, the hunter of exobeasts and astral beasts, the defier of tyrants and tier 3 galactic citizen! Ves of the Larkinson Clan has chosen to enjoy the hospitality of our distinguished company with Lucky, his chosen mechanical companion!"

As Gavin struggled to recite the increasingly more silly-sounding titles with a firm and serious expression, Ves wanted to ask who the hell came up with this absurd ceremony!

While Ves had no problem with the first batch of titles, there was no need to embellish his record and pad his list of titles by inventing a dozen more!

He was already convinced that the Terrans invented this dumb protocol because too many of them never accomplished anything of actual significance in their lives. They needed a bit more support in order to retain their vanity.

Ves inwardly shook his head. The titles weren't important to him. Perhaps the Terrans might feel differently about this, which was why the Larkinsons played along.

Once the introductions had concluded, the double doors at the other side slowly slid open.

The Ouroboros slowly turned around first and steadily strode to the other chamber. The deck shook with every step, yet the powerful ace mech exuded total control and certainty with each and every movement.

Strangely enough, the Senechai separated from his staff and quietly followed after his liege.

Everyone else remained still until the ace mech exited the hall.

Only at this point did Ves step forward. Clad in armor, his pace was much slower, but no one expressed any impatience over his more human-like stride.

Lucky effortlessly kept up in the air. He even spiraled around in a playful fashion just so that he could break up the monotony.

As Ves passed by his personal assistant, the two exchanged glances with each other.

Outside of their expectations, Senechai Benny Smit had been allowed to enter the next chamber.

This showed that the loyal elder enjoyed the complete trust and confidence of General Axelar Streon.

Should Ves follow suit and extend his trust towards his own personal assistant?

If it was before, Ves would have never done such an unnecessary act. His upcoming talk had the potential to touch upon highly sensitive secrets, so it would be extremely irrational for him to bring Gavin along where he might learn explosive truths.

Yet... when Ves saw how his former Mastery host trusted his Benny on a complete and unconditional basis after all of these years, he felt ashamed for not following the same example.

Gavin had served Ves long enough to prove his loyalty and reliability. For years, he discharged his duties with diligence. He even accompanied Ves on all of the dangerous expeditions.

Aside from that, Gavin was also a part of the Larkinson Network since its inception. The Golden Cat was more than capable of monitoring the assistant and sounding the alarm if the man ever thought to leak any sensitive information.

Ves needed a real confidante by his side. It became more and more burdensome to keep so many secrets to himself.

It was at this point that despite calling his assistant Benny, he never actually treated Gavin like his namesake.

The obvious contrast in treatment and extension of trust shamed Ves to the point where he was forced to admit his mistakes.

No more.

From today onwards, Ves resolved to treat Gavin like an actual Benny!

"Come." Ves commanded as he jerked his head towards the other chamber. "You may listen."

That startled the other man. "Are you certain?"

"You deserve it after all of these years. If not now, then when? Just come with me already."

"Very well... boss."

Gavin couldn't help but sound grateful and even affectionate as he stepped behind Ves.

The distance between the two of them had only grown over the years as Ves kept more and more secrets from most of the Larkinsons.

While Ves showed a bit of willingness to share certain secrets with members of his inner circle, Gavin didn't appear to be a member of this very exclusive club.

That had always hurt him even though he understood the importance of minimizing leaks.

All of that had changed today. With this fateful decision, Gavin knew that he had bridged an important gap and earned a much greater degree of acknowledgement of his patriarch!

Gavin resolved to prove himself worthy of all of this trust. He did not entirely know how he could pull this off, but perhaps the famed Senechai of the Streon Ancient Clan could give him a few tips!