Chapter 6099 Isobel's Return 6099 Isobel's Return Numerous transport shuttles and transport vessels descended from the orbit of Reticula Corein V. The transport craft all flew under the escort of plenty of Larkinson mechs. The airspace of the untamed planet was not safe. There were times when flocks of avian exobeasts attempted to assault the flying metal vehicles. According to the information published by the Hunting Association, one of the reasons why exobeasts always took the initiative to attack human mechs and craft was because they were greedy for high-quality metals. Many human mechs were made out of excellent exotics and hyper materials that had been carefully selected or developed for specialized purposes. All of this development unintentionally turned mechs into delicacies to the primitive senses of many powerful exobeasts. So long as they managed to absorb the best alloys that made these human mechs so powerful, the exobeasts would definitely be able to grow stronger and tougher bodies! Fortunately, the airspace remained clear for the time being. The region surrounding the Emperor Tree had long been emptied of most native wildlife. The escort mechs ended up doing nothing aside from looking intimidating. There was one mech that stood out from the remaining escorts. This was the only expert mech among the new arrivals. The Promethea had returned to this untamed planet once again! As Chimera Base slowly came into view, the Larkinsons stationed on this hostile and inhospitable planet cheered when they saw the resplendent expert rifleman mech arrive with the rest of the reinforcements! A few minutes later, the Promethea stepped inside a hangar bay and took up a position next to the Everchanger before powering down her systems. The third order living mech had already begun to swap stories with the Everchanger over a private communication channel. Meanwhile, a female high-tier expert pilot exited the cockpit and floated down to the surface. A welcoming party consisting of Venerable Joshua and Venerable Dise greeted their returning colleague. "It is good to see you again, Isobel." Joshua greeted the woman. "We will need your fire to burn the tree down." Dise straightforwardly said. Venerable Isobel maintained a stoic expression. "I cannot guarantee that my fire will be enough to burn the Emperor Tree down." "I don't think it will be that bad." Joshua responded as the three moved towards the headquarters of Chimera Base. "Sure, the Emperor Tree is huge, but that just means there is more flammable material for you to burn. The tree is enormous and commands a huge amount of wood energy, but it is not good at concentrating all of its power. We truly think you have a good shot at burning it down. We only need to buy you enough time to start a fire and let it spread with as few interruptions as possible. The tree will definitely resist your purple flames with all of its might." "I see that Saint Tusa is not among the reinforcements. Although I do not like to admit it, the two of us are outmatched by the Emperor Tree. I cannot say for sure whether your participation is enough to tip the scales. We do not have much of a safety margin." Dise remarked. "The clan decided that it is not necessary to transfer Saint Tusa to this planet." Isobel replied. "There are more and more signs that the alien offensive has become imminent. If it starts in the next two weeks, then our expeditionary fleet must be ready to defend the vulnerable strongholds that will come under heavy attack. The risks are not small, but every linefighter will receive a massive amount of war merits if they hold back the aliens during the first critical days and weeks." Profit drove many of the forces fighting in the border regions. The Red Two understood that it was very scary to get in the way of so many invading aliens, so they already promised to triple or quadruple the rewards for defensive assignments. The cost was bound to be heavy, but the price of losing so much territory was far greater! In any case, so long as Saint Tusa was ready to move with the expeditionary fleet, the Larkinson Clan would doubtlessly be able to earn a huge amount of war merits and other rewards! Neither Joshua nor Dise disagreed with this decision, but they inevitably felt more burdened. They would not be able to count on a powerful ace pilot for backup for the upcoming assault. As the three expert pilots entered the headquarters, they moved to a planning room where a lot of analysts and officers had gathered to formulate a detailed attack plan. Many of them had studied and analyzed all sorts of data on the Emperor Tree. The previous sample retrieval mission had provided a wealth of data about their adversary. They were no longer as ignorant about the threat posed by the calamity plant as before. Of course, several weeks had already gone by. It was foolish to take too much stock in all of the estimates. The Emperor Tree most definitely grew stronger and more alert towards the invaders. When Isobel arrived, she listened to a few briefings and consulted the latest reports. Her Promethea formed the lynchpin of the upcoming assault. It was not impossible to attack and take down the Emperor Tree without her intervention, but Strike Force Solus would be forced to make a lot more noise in order to finish off the calamity plant! "Why are we not deploying as many Transcendent Punishers?" Isobel questioned when she studied the troop composition of the upcoming assault. "The Emperor Tree is a swarm-based calamity plant. Once we go on the attack, it will definitely launch hordes of exobeasts and wooden mechs at us. There is no better way to get rid of all of this cannon fodder by bombarding them with artillery." "The Transcendent Punishers are not suitable for this offensive mission." Venerable Dise responded. "The previous mission already showed that they will lose many of their advantages. Their range is drastically shortened due to the thick concentration of Solus Gas, and they will all lose their access to their design spirit. Mobility is a large constraint. We may be able to build floater platforms for them all, but they are vulnerable to attacks. Even if we make use of communication relays to transmit targeting data to heavy artillery mechs that are positioned further in the rear, nobody can say for certain whether they are susceptible to mental hijacking. What happened to Zeal serves as a careful warning that we keep ordinary troops away from the tree as much as possible." There was no way the Larkinsons wanted to give the Emperor Tree to replicate its mischief! "We are also afraid of further alarming the other calamity beasts on this planet." Venerable Joshua added. "The orbital bombardment that took place during the last mission has somehow provoked reactions from nearby calamity beasts. For now, they are staying put, but if we create too many disturbances, we are afraid of attracting these powerful beasts. All three of us will have to confront the Emperor Tree without any immediate backup or support by our sides." "Isobel was already aware of this intention, so she did not look surprised. That did not mean she was happy with the lack of abundant support. "Why take Fey Fiannas and other ranged mechs along, Joshua?" "They are all armed with luminar crystal weapons. We can use communication relays or scout mechs to coordinate their fire from a safe but elevated position. They can launch massive salvos of energy beams at the trunk of the Emperor Tree without producing loud and shaky explosions. The massed attacks may not be able to kill the calamity plant, but they will definitely consume its wood energy and other resources." There was a large chance that the upcoming assault would turn into a contest of attrition. If that is the case, then the side that got exhausted first would inevitably lose! It made a lot of sense to attack the Emperor Tree from a distance. "I hope that you have implemented enough safeguards to prevent the pilots from getting deceived by the Emperor Tree." Isobel stated. "Don't worry." Venerable Joshua said. "Our ranged mech units will be stationed far away enough to avoid the worst effects of Solus Gas exposure. The Flagrant Vandals have already scouted the areas and confirmed that their mechs can still maintain their connections to their design spirits. Part of the reinforcements consist of Sanctuary and Pacifier mechs. Both models are able to spread out Lufa's glow, which should prevent the Emperor Tree from tampering with the minds of our mech pilots." The Larkinsons took other precautions. This was not the first time that something like this happened. There were plenty of humans that developed a lot of safeguards against mental subversion. As Isobel examined the extensive list of precautions, she grew a little more reassured. Perhaps the Emperor Tree might be able to circumvent a single precaution, but it was doubtful that it could overcome all of them at once! The Larkinsons did not want to give the Emperor Tree another chance to survive. The upcoming assault had to succeed in order to reduce the danger to the Solus Gas harvesting operation. "If an emergency happens, will we be able to count on another round of orbital bombardment to bail us out?" Isobel critically asked. Joshua nodded. "The Transcendent Punisher Mark III's stationed on the Wild Torch will open fire at the Emperor Tree as soon as they receive the command. We don't want to resort to this option if we can help it. Doing it once has already alerted the calamity beasts located on the same hemisphere as the Emperor Tree. There are exobiologists that think that if we attack from orbit yet again, we will attract at least four different calamity beasts at once. We do not know why, but these powerful beasts are very sensitive towards such attacks." "This planet is their territory." Dise said. "If we limit ourselves to occupying a single site, the rulers of this globe will not care too much. If we reveal any intention of wiping out all of the calamity beasts in order to claim the entire planet, then they will not be stupid enough to let us beat them one by one." Task Force Solus needed to avoid this outcome at all cost because it did not possess the numbers and firepower to defeat so many calamity beasts at the same time! The story would have been different if the entire Larkinson Army launched an all-out offensive against the local exobeasts, but that was clearly excessive. There was no need to escalate the conflict and risk the destruction of the source of all of the Solus Gas. The upcoming assault also served as a test for this reason. The Larkinsons wanted to know if they could get away with killing the Emperor Tree. The Larkinsons were already prepared to pack up their most essential goods and evacuate Chimera Base in haste if they guessed wrong. After hearing that the planners took the possible reactions of other calamity beasts into account, Isobel no longer concerned herself with this risk factor and focused on other variables. "I see that the patriarch has requested for us to retrieve numerous intact samples if possible." "That is correct, Isobel. He badly wants us to capture an intact purple wooden mech and any other powerful imitations of our living mechs. Our mech technicians have already equipped our expert mechs with additional capture gear and other gadgets. The patriarch also wants us to capture the core of the beast." "The tree has a core?" "That is what the biotech researchers have guessed after studying the samples." Joshua replied. "The thinking is that since the wooden mechs are powered and controlled by a central tree heart, the Emperor Tree probably possesses one as well. If this is the case, we should make a serious attempt at digging it out intact. It has great value to our clan." "That is going to be difficult. We do not even know where it is located…"