Chapter 7076: Fire Sale A period of haggling ensued. Both sides had strong needs and limited resources at their disposal. There was no way thy were willing to sacrifice a fortune only to receive a pittance. The problem that both sides faced was the difficulty of appraising the value of the goods on barter. What was the worth of a kilogram of weapon-grade superdimensional matter? A billion MTA credits? A trillion MTA credits? Nobody knew. Nobody ever paid money to acquire superdimensional matter. They only ever paid in goods, in knowledge and in costly favors. Those concessions were also difficult to price because their value fluctuated greatly depending on the changes in the environment, the economic conditions of human space and how well humans fared in the Red War. In short, there was so much uncertainty surrounding the value of different goods and services that people naturally tried to pin the value of their own concessions at the higher end while doing the opposite for the offerings of other parties. That was how the bartering session basically unfolded. The Rubarthan mech general tried his best to emphasize the historic significance and material excellence of the imperial banner. It may have been associated with a disgraced Star Emperor, but it was still a genuine imperial relic. Only one of its kind existed in the Red Ocean. Once it was gone, a piece of human history would disappear forever. Even if Ves did not care about the historical context, he could not ignore the material properties of the fibers that remained intact. Without relying on hyper materials, phasewater or superdimensional matter, the fibers made out of the fur of an absurdly strong exobeast could already rank in the top 100 strongest substances known to red humanity. The cloth was like a thick wall that took the form of slightly thick fabric like one would use on a typical coat. Ves could think of many possible uses for such a remarkable fabric. Yet the fact of the matter was that the imperial banner was not the only item he needed to fulfill one of his objectives. He made that very clear to the good general. "I am sorry, general, but we truly cannot agree on exchanging any of our high-grade superdimensional matter for this banner." Ves calmly said as he maintained an impassive expression. "The only reason why I am interested in your item is because I need to acquire a modest quantity of high-quality fabric to create a special birthday gift for my eldest daughter. I have no interest in the story behind the banner. I just want to unravel the threads and weave them into a different form. I also intend to dye them into a different color so nothing of its previous incarnation will be left intact." The two continued to negotiate with each other. Ves constantly downplayed the uniqueness of the banner while the general did the opposite. In the end, Ves managed to shift the balance in his favor. His negotiating strategy worked because it was based on the truth. Superdimensional matter and especially the high-grade ones possessed undeniable value. Even smaller quantities could be incredibly useful as they could be used to make virtually impenetrable piloting suits, combat armor or a protective external cockpit shell. Given the many valuable uses for armor-grade and weapon-grade superdimensional matter, it was difficult to argue that Ves should fork over a lot of it in order to acquire what most people would probably regard as a luxury product in this day and age. Ves eventually managed to bargain down the price to ’just’ 4700 kilograms of hull-grade superdimensional matter. As far as mid-grade superdimensional matter was concerned, this was not a particularly large quantity, but it was not trivial either. Even if the mid-grade stuff could not match the performance of the high-grade stuff, it vastly outperformed the best transphasic alloys in most areas, which meant that it still held a large amount of intrinsic value. It could easily be used to upgrade the personal protection of dozens of ace mech pilots, thereby increasing their survival chances in the event that their ace mechs fell in battle. After all, most ace pilots that met their end in recent times usually found their ace mechs impaled by Saint Piercer arms. The alien-grade superdimensional weapons cut straight through true resonance and pierced through transphasic hyper armor plating as easily as cutting through a thick layer of butter. Facing such threats, ace pilots often had to face sudden lethal peril that they could not effectively resist with the tools that they normally had at their disposal. In these cases, being able to add a thin layer of hull-grade superdimensional armor to the exterior of the cockpit of the front of the torso was enough to impede the tip of a Saint Piercer just enough to stall or at least impede its forward momentum. This was enough. As long as the ace pilot was able to react fast enough, he or she should be able to withdraw to safety so long as the ace mech still remained functional enough. That should drastically improve the survival rates of the ace pilots in question! This was a matter of great strategic importance to the Rubarthan Pact, whose declaration of independence had left it bereft of the protection previously offered by the mechers and the fleeters. Sure, the Rubarthans had already negotiated a deal with the Cybernetic Empire for military assistance, but at what cost? It was not cheap for the Cybers to construct so many mechs and warships. Activating the Translocation Gate to rapidly deploy their warfleets to the Rubarthan Pact also came with a price. The Polymath would never let the Rubarthans freeload at her expense. The less the Rubarthans were able to defend their own borders, the more they had to surrender their wealth and resources to the hungry Cybernetic Empire. If beleaguered Rubarthans did not shape up quickly, they would soon find themselves hollowing out their foundation while also contributing to the ascension of the Cybernetic Empire as the premier human power in the Red Ocean! This had to be prevented at all costs, so the Rubarthan had become truly desperate to expand and strengthen their armed forces in every way possible. Ves understood their position and the heavy pressure they endured, so he did not hesitate to exploit their unfavorable circumstance and come away with a deal that he found more than acceptable. The Larkinson Clan might not necessarily think that way, though. To him, the imperial banner possessed great value because he was confident he could convert it into added protection for his daughter. However, this was a personal desire. The Larkinson Clan had greater needs. Exchanging almost 5 tons of mid-grade superdimensional matter for an upgrade that had no bearing on the modern battlefield was not necessarily a favorable deal! The Larkinson Clan’s remaining reserves of hull-grade superdimensional matter dwindled even further. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚 If Ves conducted more exchanges like this, then there was a very real risk that the clan would run out of mid-grade superdimensional matter a lot sooner than the high-grade variety! After all, the clan had to wait until they were ready to upgrade the right mechs in order to use up its reserves of armor and weapon-grade superdimensional matter. These resources were far too valuable to be squandered on ordinary projects. It was a good thing that Casella was on his side. He only had to send a brief message detailing the exchange to her and wait a few minutes before receiving her assent. The deal went through. "You drive a hard bargain." Mech General Harman Rader-Kavaliauskas eventually said as he symbolically shook hands with Ves. "I cannot say that our princes will be happy when they learn about this result, but it is clear that you have done your homework. I am glad that we still managed to come to a consensus that my people can barely stomach. Under normal circumstances, we would never agree to part with a historical relic with strong imperial origins so easily, especially considering that you plan to dismantle it for parts." The message was clear. Despite the controversial story behind the imperial banner, the Rubarthans still hoped that Ves would treat it with respect. "I am not in the habit of paying a small fortune just to add a useless trophy to my display case." Ves calmly responded. "The imperial banner will not exist anymore once it comes into my possession. I have no obligation to preserve your history. You and your people should have already made peace with this reality after you offered it up for exchange. Raul Ottaviani eventually approached the pair and congratulated them both. "Gentlemen. Thank you for using the services of Ottaviani & Partners. We have already filed the necessary paperwork with the relevant administrations, we still need your signatures on a handful of documents. As per our agreement, our brokerage firm will be receiving a commission in phasewater instead of superdimensional matter." It would have been outrageous to pay Ottaviani & Partners even a single gram of superdimensional matter. The major players had all formed a tacit agreement not to let superdimensional matter fall into the hands of smaller players, especially those who were unable to defend their newly gained prizes. This was because even the smallest quantities of superdimensional matter could be used to cause significant harm. Those with ill intentions could use it to produce superdimensional rounds that could punch through nearly any form of energy and physical defenses! Ves had already fallen victim to that, so he knew more than most people how important figures including his loved ones could get killed by a well-equipped sniper. This reminded him that he should make sure to equip his wife and children with superdimensional defenses. Their personal azure energy shield generators no longer offered as much absolute protection as before. In any case, Ottaviani & Partners clearly was not worthy to obtain and make use of superdimensional matter. Raul was tactful enough to understand this truth, so he easily accepted phasewater as an alternative reward for his services. The trade broker showed no sign of discontent. Even if phasewater was nowhere near as precious as superdimensional matter, it was still a scarce resource that consistently rose in value over the course of the Red War. Demand for it remained skyhigh as everyone needed it to mass produce transphasic hyper armor plating, azure energy shield generators and superdrives. After handling a bit of paperwork, the air between the trading partners began to clear up. The Rubarthan general relaxed and spoke a little more comfortably in Ves’ presence. "You guys still haven’t solved your succession crisis?" Ves asked in a perplexed voice. "It is not that simple to choose a successor of a newly independent star empire that has yet to complete its reforms." The Rader-Kavaliauskas patriarch said. "For too long, we have been reliant on the centralized government of the New Rubarth Empire. The Pact was never meant to operate outside of active supervision and intervention from the old galaxy. We were almost done with deciding on our new form of governance when the voribugs invaded our space. That has caused multiple shocks and radically changed our circumstances." The general was careful not to express any opinion on the chances of which prince was likely to ascend to the throne. "Shouldn’t the latest crisis be an impetus for you Rubarthans to finally make up your mind?" Ves questioned. "As an outsider, the situation is relatively simple. You can choose to enthrone the Inferno Spear Prince if you want to shape your Pact into a militaristic empire. If you want to create a powerful industrial and logistical powerhouse, then the Smokestack Prince is more suitable. If you guys are too divided to pick a polarizing choice, then you can choose a weaker but more neutral candidate such as the Brownstone Prince or the Impresario Prince. Whatever the case, don’t keep us all in suspense." General Harman let out a breath. "I do not disagree with you, but you are not aware of how delicate our political landscape has become. The stakes are too high. Choosing the right leader can lead our Pact to greatness or damnation. We cannot afford to make the wrong choice."