Chapter 7347: Hunter Rules Compared to the Rubarthans and the Cybers, everyone else could only make due with lesser shares. This included the Larkinsons, whose contributions in the Battle of Philaster Crestia were great, but whose impact in the greater Voribug War was minor. Ves had a sense of proportion. He fought for slight advantages based on this position but made sure not to cross any red lines. This way, he was able to secure himself and a bunch of Larkinsons stationed in the Bluejay Fleet extensive access to the research specimen. Their numbers may be small, but they received expanded permissions in return. Ves and the others had the right to collect significant quantities of research samples from the Goliath in stasis and borrow high-end lab instruments to conduct their studies. This deal only lasted until the escort fleet arrived in Yernstall, so the others did not have much reason to fight to the death for the same benefits. That did not mean the mechers and the fleeters had already given up this struggle. Their eminent positions in Yernstall meant that they would ultimately claim the greatest shares of the spoils. Of course, this would happen weeks later. The small delay granted enough time for the early movers to satisfy their own curiosity towards the mysterious properties of the Ixith Goliath. "When it comes to research in AIs and distributed intelligence, no one can claim first place aside from the Red Fleet." Commodore Zonrad Reze strongly argued. "I happen to specialize in AI systems and other related fields. Just take a look at my credentials if you do not believe me. Give me expansive access to the Ixith Goliath and I can promise you that I will do my best to construct a distributed intelligence model that has a chance of replicating the stolen resonance phenomenon." Ves nodded in agreement. "I have worked together with him in the past. His qualifications are undeniable. He might not know much about biotechnology, but you can hardly find anyone better when it comes to developing or optimizing AI systems." With Ves endorsing his secret AI friend, Commodore Zonrad Reze became satisfied with his benefits. The others could only make due with less. The mechers particularly had to give up personnel slots and other benefits such as access to the most crucial Mentalist Crystal. In any case, the Red Association would definitely be able to gain the upper hand in the main negotiations, so this small setback would only be temporary. The Hunting Association was in a weird position. To be honest, the Hunters did not make any direct contributions in the Voribug War, yet no one could ignore their importance on this matter. This was because the Hunting Association was the only organized group that could consistently meet the insanely high demand for Mentalist Crystals. Even if the other powers took control of the untamed planets in their territory, their expertise and specializations made them less suitable at managing exobeast populations and controlling dangerous mutations. They would have to tie down valuable soldiers and mechs to hunting down and suppressing powerful calamity beasts. The Hunters had proven themselves to be the best at controlling dangerous ecosystems with relatively small investments. They required a lot less personnel and large combat assets to keep the wild beasts contained. They also happened to invest a lot of research into the origin, nature and mutation patterns of all kinds of exobeast species. In short, the Hunting Association occupied an undeniable place in human society when it came to maintaining a stable and solid output of Mentalist Crystals. "Mentalist Crystals have always been scarce since day 1." Eric Manot said in his gruff voice. "You fellows keep knocking on our doors for more of those magical crystals, but we can’t get any more of them. There are only so many untamed planets, and there are only a small number of circumstances where random exobeasts develop the special mutation that leads them to growing their minds at a rapid pace." "Is there nothing that the Hunting Association can do?" Commodore Reze asked with a frown. The supply of Mentalist Crystal had the greatest impact on the fleeters, who were most desperate to build as many stolen resonance-capable warships as possible! Their newfound dreams and ambitions might lead to a resurgence of the Red Fleet, but all of it would turn into nothing if they failed to acquire the core resource that played an essential role in their armament program! "Territory." The seasoned Hunter responded. "We need more territory, unspoiled if possible. If you can conquer more star systems, our Hunters will be able to set up shop at any untamed or life-bearing planets that we can gain access to. Be aware that if you manage to double the size of human-occupied territory, we will likely be able to control more than double the amount of planets with ecosystems that are conducive to producing Mentalist Crystals. This is because the density of stars and planets is the least in the galactic rim, but much thicker when we move closer to the center of the dwarf galaxy." That was true. The Red Ocean might not be as big as the Milky Way, but their structures were somewhat similar. There were many more planets and star systems closer to the center of both galaxies. Those locations were also relatively more endowed with high-grade resources, which meant that the quality of exobeasts that evolved and mutated on those planets were generally stronger! All of this meant that the output of Mentalist Crystals was definitely higher in the more desirable parts of the dwarf galaxy! "If this is true, then the native aliens theoretically possess a much greater supply of Mentalist Crystals." Ves remarked with a frown. "Have they begun to harvest and make use of this strategy already?" "Yes." Eric Manot replied. "The native aliens started out later than our Hunters. They are generally slower to act, but once they do, they move at a much larger scale. Mentalist Crystals have universal value. It is not only humans that can use them to make amazing stuff. The native aliens and particularly the puelmers have discovered a love for them. Not all of them make for good hunters who share comparable philosophies as ours, but there are enough of them that their own versions of our Hunting Association have begun to systematize the practice of hunting for the same crystals." His words had massive implications. The native aliens had known about the emerging threat of mutated beasts from an early period, but that did not necessarily mean they recognized how valuable it was to hunt them on a sustainable basis. It was only after finding out about Mentalist Crystals and what it took to produce them that the native aliens became a lot more enthused about controlling and preserving untamed planets that were capable of producing this strategic resource! Soon enough, the amount of crystals in the hands of the native alien races would definitely surpass the same amount in the hands of red humanity by at least two orders of magnitude! The mere thought of it was enough to drive people like Ves mad with jealousy. Territory was paramount, more than ever! Territory translated into resources. With the meager amount of star systems that red humanity controlled, there was no way to harvest nearly enough Mentalist Crystals to satisfy current and future demand. The native aliens were much better off in this regard! They held vast stretches of territory, many of which happened to be quite resource-rich. Even if all of those star systems were divided by numerous major races and thousands of minor races, the collective output of Mentalist Crystals would definitely be astounding! There had to be a way for red humanity to obtain a share of this vast wealth. Yet the most obvious solution was the most difficult one. Invading native alien space was unthinkable at this moment. The Red War heavily depleted the forces of red humanity. Even if the return of the Cybernetic Empire brought lots of reinforcements, that was not nearly enough to switch from defense to offense. People’s willingness to attack alien space and conquer more territory may become higher after learning about the extravagant value of Mentalist Crystals, but how could they possibly fulfill their desires without enough force? Even if they manage to claw back a few star systems, keeping them was an even greater problem. The border regions had been on fire since the first day of the Red War. Every human-occupied system came under regular attack. Those situated closer to alien space endured a lot more attacks, so the difficulty of holding recently conquered star systems was bound to be a bloody affair! How could any group take the risk of investing manpower and resources into fortifying those star systems when the aliens would do their utmost to smash it all apart? Ves pressed his fingers against his head in frustration. Conquering territory was completely unviable in the current period! How else would red humanity be able to gain more Mentalist Crystals? A forbidden idea came to mind. When Ves glanced at everyone else’s expressions, he could tell that he was not the only one to make this realization. It was because it was too obvious for them to ignore. The other answer was trade. By conducting an exchange of goods with the native aliens who controlled the vast majority of the Red Ocean, it was theoretically possible to acquire Mentalist Crystals at high cost. However, Ves immediately ruled out this option. Trade had several requirements. Perhaps the meteoric rise of the mutated voribugs as a common threat may cause red humanity and the native aliens aligned to the Red Cabal to cool their hostilities and engage in limited forms of cooperation, but Ves did not believe that this would happen. The hatred between the two sides had grown too much. At best, they might make an implicit agreement to prioritize the eradication of the third threat before refocusing their efforts on their original enemies, but even that required both humans and aliens to withdraw the hatred that had been seething in their hearts. Ves knew that this was too much to ask. The only ones who were rational enough to promote this subtle form of cooperation were the cosmopolitans, but their outrageous treachery made them far too detestable to listen to them, let alone accept their suggestions. Ves let out a sigh. "There has to be more ways to solve this problem than trying to do the impossible by expanding our territory. The fact of the matter is that red humanity will have to make do with our current meager territories for a long time, and that is only if we can hold back all of the alien threats. Isn’t there a way to increase the yield in the untamed planets that are under the Hunting Association’s control?" The Hunter frowned when he heard that. "We are Hunters. We are the disciples of the Huntsman. We honor and revere the struggle between hunters and the hunted. To make such a proposal means that you do not have a good understanding of our creed. We hunt because it is our passion, not because of profit, resources or trophies. Those are side benefits at best. We sell captured exobeasts and valuable beast organs to outsiders in order to cover the expenses of our organization. To us, the true treasure is not the spoils, but the experience." "Ah." Ves realized his mistake. He had been too focused on acquiring Mentalist Crystals to remember that the Hunting Association was an organization that closely followed the Hunter’s Code. This was not an ordinary text, but a creed written and empowered by the Huntsman, one of the few god pilots in the Red Ocean. "We are hunters, not farmers." Eric continued. "There is a big difference between the two. I cannot deny that selling Mentalist Crystals has been extremely profitable for us, but if we choose to deliberately tamper with the ecosystems of the planets for the purpose of increasing their yield, we have already deviated from the true meaning of hunting. Therefore, we cannot accept the practice of turning any of our existing hunting preserves into an overly artificial ’farm’ for the sole purpose of producing more Mentalist Crystals."