The Larkinson Clan's delegation became completely stumped. Aside from Minister Shederin Purnesse who currently looked as if he appreciated President Yenames Clive's masterstroke, Ves and the other Larkinsons looked gobsmacked! They already received intelligence beforehand that the representatives of Davute had approached various parties within the network of the Larkinson Clan. It had been difficult to determine what the different parties talked about. At most, Ves only thought that the discussions went no further than exchanging information or making a few minor deals at most. This was because the visits did not happen frequently. The talks also did not seem to last that long or produce any major ripple effects. However, Ves had underestimated the power of diplomacy. Yenames Clive was a businessman by nature, and he had invested much of his political capital into gaining the full-blown support of the likes of Patriarch Reginald Cross and Venerable Ark Larkinson! The future ruler of Davute showcased an excellent understanding of the relevant parties and individuals. Yenames Clive understood that he did not necessarily need to convince the organizations as a whole. He just had to be meticulous about targeting the weak spots of the most powerful and influential personalities among their groups! In the case of Reginald, it was too easy to lure him into a war by promising to set up as many duels against other Saints as possible. The self-absorbed ace pilot did not really spend any time thinking about morality, causes or other nonsense. He just wanted to get stronger and become famous in the process! In that sense, fighting in a major war and getting involved in epic duels against other prominent human heroes was the best way to get what he wanted! This was a much more attractive prospect to him than pounding alien warships or spending months at a time on traveling through empty star systems or sitting around to explore an abandoned alien ruin. "Damn Reginald and his one-track mind." Ves cursed. It would have been much better if Master Benedict Cortez led the Cross Clan. At least the jaded and highly intelligent mech designer possessed enough wits to avoid getting baited into a war that had nothing to do with the Cross Clan as a whole. As for his dearest uncle, Ves could guess the motivations of Ark Larkinson easily enough. A good old-fashioned war between two different states sounded right up his alley. Ark had trained to fight in wars for his entire life. It was where he attained his greatest victories, earned all of his glory and pushed him to advance to expert candidate and expert pilot in quick succession. Just like many other trueblood Larkinsons, Venerable Ark only truly felt at home when he was part of a much greater mech military. The disciplined structure, the camaraderie, the esprit de corps and the awareness that they were all fighting for a common cause truly appealed to a consummate soldier like Ark. Aside from that, fighting in a war on behalf of Davute also facilitated the integration of the Larkinson Clan's Davute Branch into the local community and power structure. If Ark and the Larkinsons under his command made enough notable accomplishments in the war against Karlach, then the side branch he was a part of would definitely be pushed to the forefront among all of the stakeholders of the so-called Davute Project! Although Ves disagreed with this path to power, he did not deny that it was a viable way to grow an organization. A state possessed an immense amount of territory, wealth and other resources. Pledging one's loyalty and troops in exchange for a share of those goodies might not sound like a bad deal as long as the price was right. Ves narrowed his eyes. Though it became clear that Davute managed to convince both Patriarch Reginald Cross and Venerable Ark Larkinson to play along, the two weren't complete fools. They would not have agreed to throw themselves into an impending war that would most assuredly produce a lot of casualties if the compensation wasn't good enough! "What did you promise to Patriarch Reginald Cross and Venerable Ark Larkinson, exactly?" Ves straightforwardly asked. "A similar arrangement that I am about to extend to you." Yenames Clive smoothly answered as if he already expected this question. "Our colonial state is willing to reward every group that adds to the strength of our armed forces with a comprehensive compensation package. There are multiple components to the rewards, and everyone is allowed to pick and choose what they desire the most. Think of it as a different version of a merit exchange." The man gestured to his chief of staff, who projected a list of rewards and added a bit of clarification. "The most popular and practical reward that we are willing to offer are starships." Reina Kernsk explained. "For every standard-sized mech regiment that you contribute to our defense, we will immediately transfer a single fleet carrier along with enough combat carriers under their control. These starships will remain on loan, but as long as your mech regiment has made reasonable contributions during a war, our state is willing to surrender the ownership of the surviving carriers to the units that have utilized them for years." "That sounds a little vague." Ves complained. Madame Kernsk nodded in acknowledgement. "What I have described is our general policy toweds military contributors. In actuality, we apply it differently on a case-by-case basis. Every mech regiment is different. The size, cost, features and other parameters of the starships loaned to a mech regiment will depend on the quality, training, strength and presence of high-ranking mech pilots. The stronger the mech unit, the better the fleet carrier and combat carriers we are willing to provide." "Can you give us an idea of what that looks like?" "Certainly, patriarch. The Cross Clan has readily agreed to commit an ace mech to our cause. This is one of the greatest forms of help that we can receive from a pioneering organization. As such, we are preparing to hand over one of our best military-grade fleet carriers we have in reserve. On top of that, we have agreed to add a specific provision to the contract that awards his clan with other fleet carriers of similar value for every ace mech he defeats in battle. The Cross Clan is also entitled to receive other rewards and bonuses such as economic subsidies, ownership of territories, access to our full military technologies, phasewater bounties and more." What a deal! Davutans knew exactly what they were doing. It was incredibly clever for Yenames Clive and his team to tailor a customized incentive program for every individual group. The best way for the Larkinson Clan to contribute to the war effort was to design highly influential living mechs for the armed forces of Davute. This was why Yenames Clive was willing to trade entire fleet carriers to persuade Ves to collaborate on a number of mech design projects. The Cross Clan had Master Benedict Cortez, but his work and design philosophy weren't as capable of affecting the balance of an entire war. It made no sense for the colonial government to extend the same deal it had formulated for Ves to the Cross Clan. Instead, the Cross Clan had an asset that the Larkinson Clan did not possess, which was a genuine ace pilot and ace mech that may be relatively new, but had already proven themselves in actual combat! From the perspective of a colonial state that had scores of shipyards under its sway, it was more than worthwhile to give up one or several military-grade fleet carriers to reinforce Davute's unit roster with additional mech regiments as well as a genuine ace mech! "What about my uncle Ark?" Ves asked. "What did you do to get him to agree to fight in your war on behalf of your state, Madame Kernsk?" "He can share the full details of his preliminary agreement with us, but as a high-tier expert pilot with proven command skills, his value is only slightly less than that of a Saint. Given the high-quality mechs and well-trained mech pilots fielded by your clan, each of your mech regiments is worth one moderately valuable military-grade fleet carrier. One of the capital ships will be better in order to reflect the value of Venerable Ark Larkinson." "That is not all." Yenames Clive spoke up again. "Your uncle possesses an illustrious war record, and it is wasteful to treat him as an ordinary high-tier expert pilot. Venerable Ark Larkinson has responded positively to our proposal to commission him to the rank of mech general. This will enable us to appoint him as the head of a new mech division, where he will enjoy considerable autonomy to lead his troops as he sees fit. The composition of the mech division under his command will ideally be composed of members of the Golden Skull Alliance, though our colonial state is always ready to reinforce any shortfalls with our own mech units." The Davutans practically rolled out the red carpet for his uncle Ark! "And what does he and our side branch want in return for these services?" "Aside from the carrier vessels that we have previously mentioned, Venerable Ark is especially keen on expanding the political clout and the territory of the Davute Branch." Yenames Clive personally answered. "I approve of his ambition. It is always pleasant to work with earnest investors who wish to take greater ownership of a territorial development project. Depending on the war results of his mech division, we are willing to bestow real power to your branch." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂 "Can you give any concrete examples?" "Why certainly, patriarch. We may bestow your uncle with a permanent position in our highest military council. We may also transfer ownership and management rights of an entire planet or star system taken from Karlach to your Davute Branch. If Ark Larkinson happens to advance to ace pilot and makes much more significant contributions to our war effort, then we are even willing to award him with an entire province from our conquered territory. It goes without saying that this only applies if we attain a decisive and total victory in the upcoming war." The colonial government was willing to empower and entrust Ark with a lot of power and responsibility. This was a gutsy and extremely costly move! Of course, given that Ark was already an expert pilot with a strong reputation for integrity, it was not that difficult to trust his word. The territories promised by the prospective president also weren't worth as much considering that they would most definitely be taken from the Karlarchs first! These planets and star systems were essentially stolen plunder that Davute could easily divvy up to its many 'investors'. Ves could see a lot of upsides to these comprehensive arrangements. The mech regiments committed by the Davute Branch and the Cross Clan should ideally stick together as they had already cooperated many times before. It was also a bit difficult for them to trust their backs to complete strangers. Davute had managed to sign on a lot of opportunistic mercenary outfits whose battle readiness and ability to endure difficult situations may not be up to par. If anyone got to lead this crucial mech division, Ves would rather entrust command to one of his own clansmen rather than an idiot like Patriarch Reginald or an uncaring stranger such as a commanding officer from the Clive Consortium. "How many mech regiments has the Cross Clan and our Davute Branch committed so far?" Ves critically asked. "The final numbers are not finalized as the discussions are still ongoing." Reina Kernsk replied. "For now, it appears to be likely that your Davute Branch and the Cross Clan will put forward two mech regiments each. We already have a clear understanding of the unit composition of the Crosser mech regiments, but the same cannot be said for the mech regiments hailing from your side branch. Your uncle wishes to hold extensive discussions with you and your military leaders, as he believes that many mech pilots, expert candidates and expert pilots of your Larkinson Army may choose to fight in the war under his command if given the choice." That… actually sounded plausible to Ves.