Chapter 7308: Successful Treatment Time progressed. Now that the Rubarthans had gathered lots of data and completed their analysis, they began to make targeted adjustments in order to better meet the incoming enemies. The Rubarthan high command did not hide its terrible conclusions. Information began to spread among the ranks, causing numerous soldiers to develop a whole new level of fear towards the so-called Class I Voribug Organic Battle Moon! When Ves regained control over his true body, he tried to make the most of the remaining time. The Goliath Hive no longer hung back any longer. Now that the Rubarthan defenders exposed the true capabilities of the Incubator, the mutated voribugs had begun to advance towards the main planet that still remained in human hands. When Ves returned to the Tarrasque, Jovy Armalon immediately sought him out in order to hold a private meeting. "What is it now, Jovy? There is not much time before the decisive battle happens. I need to use every minute to upgrade my gear and figure out a way to undermine the Incubator. I can't let the mutated voribugs get away with killing two of my giants. We at least need to inflict a heavy blow onto the aliens. So what did you bring this time?" His friend gestured for Ves to calm down. "I have good news and bad news for you. What would you like to hear first?" "Let's get the bad news out of the way." "Very well, Ves. I can tell you that no more reinforcements are forthcoming. The frontlines of the Rubarthan Pact are already strained. All of the mercenaries and private forces that can be mobilized at this time are either committed, ruined or too far away to reach the Philaster Crestia System in time. High-ranking mech pilots are especially in short supply. Outside of the Bluejay Fleet which is operating under your purview, the RA and the RF have withdrawn all military assets from Rubarthan space. This is the price of freedom. Since the Rubarthans are so eager to forge an independent sun empire, they must have the ability to defend their territory against all aggressors." "What if... they aren't able to hold their borders?" Ves tentatively asked. The tension in the compartment grew. The consequences of failure were too great. While the fall of the Philaster Crestia System alone would not trigger a domino effect, its fall at this stage of the Voribug War definitely made it harder to hold onto the surrounding sun systems. The Red War already taught red humanity that every location needed to be fought over. A failure in one star system could easily compromise the defensive efforts of dozens of surrounding star systems. While Ves was not a grand strategist, he had spent enough time on this front to learn that the Rubarthans struggled to build up their defenses. They previously did not prioritize this front. It had also been a lot easier for them to resist past alien incursions by relying on the forces of the Red Association and the Red Fleet. Now that the voribugs sought to launch a full-scale offensive at the same time the mechers and the fleeters withdrew from the Rubarthan Pact, defenses that previously looked adequate had now turned into glaring holes! The timing of the Day of Pestilence was awful. If the mutated voribugs bided their time for a year, then the Rubarthans could have established multiple layers of defensive fortifications. At that time, even if the enemy managed to conquer the Philaster Crestia System, the mutated voribugs would not be able to take advantage of this victory to break into the Rubarthan Pact's core territories. In short, the longer the Rubarthans could hold onto this star system, the better. It was not necessary to fend off the voribugs entirely, just delay them long enough for subsequent arrangements to realize their gains. The Cybernetic Empire had little choice but to send a substantial amount of forces to the Rubarthan front. The nature of the mutated voribugs posed too much of a threat to red humanity. Letting them snowball by devouring one territory after another was an awful idea. The best way to win the Voribug War was to block their invasion right from the start. As much as Ves disliked the Polymath, he never questioned her logic and intelligence. A control freak like her would never allow an uncontrolled variable like the mutated voribugs run wild and escalate into a galactic exterminator! Ves and Jovy continued to chat about the threat posed by the Goliath Hive and the mutated voribugs. While the Goliaths attracted a lot of attention due to their size, the other hives were no pushovers. They relied on their own advantages to present new challenges to their enemies. However, Ves was already so preoccupied with figuring out how to counter the Goliaths that he had little energy to spare on other issues. He may have become a tier 2 galactic citizen, but even he couldn't figure out how to defeat a single hive, let alone all 6 of them. Their diversity and evolution speeds were too great. "The mutated voribugs are a young race, though it is also clear that they possess an extensive background. Their history remains unclear. We cannot take them too lightly." "I agree." Jovy responded. "In an ideal universe, both humans and native aliens would negotiate a cease fire just so that we could all attack and eradicate the mutated voribugs. We do not live in such a reality. We live in a universe where powerful alien civilizations can easily decide to wipe us all out if we just look at them wrong." Ves frowned. Enough time had passed for the voribug invasion to inflict serious damage, especially in the space occupied by the native aliens. Although red humans had difficulty keeping track of the latest developments of the voribug invasion in alien space, what rumors and intelligence that Ves managed to get his hands upon made it clear that the war was not going well outside of human-occupied space! The native aliens that previously waged a righteous war against red humanity now fell victim to the same kind of mass invasion! The mutated voribugs proved to be just as unreasonable as the native aliens when they targeted the human race. Ves found it profoundly ironic that the intelligent races gathered under the banner of the Red Cabal suffered an unprovoked invasion that was already responsible for the deaths of trillions of sentient beings. This was not necessarily a good development. Even if the Rubarthans no longer sustained as many attacks from the native alien races, the rapidly expanding voribugs simply took their place and continued to press into the Rubarthan Pact's territories! "To be honest, we are afraid that the native aliens will continue to remain so divided and distracted by petty egos that they will fail to unite around a single threat." Jovy shared his opinions to Ves. "This is why negotiating an alliance with any native alien race is of paramount importance. I am aware that you have feelings about it, but the native aliens are in the same predicament as us. The sooner they wake up and realize the grave threat posed by the mutated voribugs, the better." The difficulty of bridging this gap was too high. Red humanity was still trapped in the throes of human supremacy, while the native aliens continued to hold so much territory that small-scale local events failed to produce a sense of urgency among the higher ups. Their concern towards Ves and his antics were far greater than the threat posed by his old name! "Has there been any progress that you can share with me?" Ves asked with the mentality of trying his luck. Jovy hummed in thought. "We have tried to communicate with the native aliens and mutated voribugs. None of these attempts bore fruit. The orvans and the nunsers are most empathetic towards the losses they have incurred. They care greatly about their lost brethren, but are still clinging to their mistaken pride and inhumanly stubborn planetary ruler. They are unable to reconcile these two inflicting emotions." "Ugh! Pride! Honor! I wish I could get rid of them. These native aliens need to learn that the mutated voribugs care little about their dealings." Ves complained. The pair of mech designers did not linger too long on this subject. Jovy had already conveyed enough news on the ongoing war effort. Even if they did not share too numerous details, Ves was pretty sure that the sources likely spoke the truth. Jovy soon brought up the second reason why he wanted to talk to Ves. "Let us to go the workshop. The experts that I have brought from Yernstall have recently reported a development in the recovery of Saint Rosa Orfan. We believe that we have... woken her from her slumber." That was good news! Ves had been waiting for Rosa Orfan to wake up from her botched breakthrough. Even though she had successfully become an ace pilot, she also happened to be the first one who had permanently merged into her own mech's structure! Suffice to say, the Red Association and most notably the Mech Supremacists as well as the Transhumanists developed a strong interest in the Riot Mark III. The mechers had been spending all of their time since their arrival to recover Saint Orfan without producing any additional complications. They could only use the gentlest of methods for fear of incurring Ves' disapproval. Their efforts worked. Ves was not too interested in the specifics. All he cared about was that Saint Orfan not only became awake and conscious enough to converse with other humans, but was also able to control her mech with a high degree of skill and proficiency! "Has Saint Orfan made any threatening actions since she woke up?" Ves eagerly asked. Jovy shook his head. "No, but we cannot rule out this possibility. According to the information sent by one of my contacts, Saint Orfan is in a daze most likely. We are not certain whether she is fully awake or still stuck in a half- sleep state. She cannot recognize us yet, but she occasionally calls for your name." "My name?" "Yes. Your name carries a great amount of weight in her mind. You have become the anchor of her fraying humanity. We believe it is also best for you to interact with Saint Orfan in person." They moved to the workshop in question. The area had already been closed off in order to prevent information from leaking. The Riot Mark III still looked as mutated and twisted as before. It also showed definite signs of movements that happened to be consistent with human body language! The mech did not behave as if its pilot was in pain. That was a relief. As Ves continued to study the Riot Mark III, he knew that Saint Orfan was studying him in turn. He had already entered the range of her Saint Kingdom. Ves slowly lifted his arm and waved. Silence ensued. It was only until half a minute passed by that the Riot Mark III reciprocated the wave. The machine only looked eerier when it performed this particular gesture. Ves and Jovy continued to step forward. They hoped that Sait Orfan would not suddenly grow mad and launch an attack on the mech designers. It was still hard to tell whether Saint Orfan would remain calm at this time. The closer the distance, the more Ves was able to peek into the curtain. He could feel the ace pilot's surging emotions. Even when Rosa Orfan was still in the process of waking up, Ves could already tell that she was absolutely eager to test her mettle on the battlefield. She had not lost her warrior's heart. So long as it remained intact, then Saint Orfan still had hope of growing stronger and overcoming her new affliction! Ves was not in a hurry to engage Saint Orfan in a conversation at this time. He was willing to wait until she had regained full lucidity.