Chapter 5920 Despicable Dreadnought

Chapter 5920 Despicable Dreadnought

Ves and the dread captain did not teleport directly over to the most secure and sensitive vault of the Dominion of Man.

Instead, they took the scenic route and traversed across all of the hallways and spaces that led to their destination.

Fortunately, they did not walk all the way through. Both of them stepped onto floater platforms that quickly ferried them across the large and wide corridors at a moderate speed.

The lengthy journey gave the two plenty of time to talk about all kinds of topics. While they refrained from bringing up any sensitive topics, they spoke with much less restraint towards each other.

Bonds forged on the battlefield were much more powerful than many other kinds of relationships.

In addition to that, Ves was the great benefactor of the Dominion of Man.

It did not matter anymore that Ves was a mech designer who had always aligned himself with the Red Association.

Though the fleeters were certainly aware that Ves had literally been playing with fire, a successful outcome possessed the capacity to forgive many misdeeds.

"You have changed, professor." The man who wore an upgraded version of an Officer Dread Armor spoke. "And I do not mean physically. Our state-of-the-art sensors have detected that your real body has certainly grown larger, but there is another change that is not as easy to measure with our technology. My subjective impression has shifted. It is... peculiar."

"The tribulation storm rewards everyone based on their merits. Aside from promoting my phase lord cultivation, the tribulation has also gifted me with brand-new insights on E energy manipulation." Ves spoke frankly. "I am still adjusting to my new state. It's not supposed to be obvious, though I think that the rewards you have been showered with has made you more sensitive to such matters than before."

As the captain of the Dominion of Man, he played a crucial role in the running of the mighty ship.

He deserved great credit for keeping up morale and providing direction to his entire crew.

Aside from that, he had also become the chosen representative of both Caramond and Furia.

This meant that he had gained a lot of strength compared to his original state!

His body became revitalized. The lethargy brought on by living for almost 3 centuries had disappeared. His spirituality had grown by several orders of magnitude!

Though the dread captain was not suited to become a spiritual sorcerer, his massively strengthened spirit allowed him to harmonize with the dreadnought and her associated True Gods a lot easier than before!

Ves even suspected that Dread Captain Argile gained the ability to invoke Caramond or Furia as well.

The captain probably gained many other benefits that Ves had yet to discern.

Ves personally disliked contract cultivation as it was completely dependent on the care and attention of external forces.

On the other hand, he did not want to put her ship at risk while she was still in a development stage. It would be ruinous if a bunch of ancient phase whales ganged up on the Dominion of Man and brought her down by relying on a numbers advantage!

Oh well.

The decision was out of Volkert Argile's hands. Only his father and the rest of the Red Admiralty had the authority to decide how to make use of the new and improved living dreadnought.

That said, the dread captain along with everyone who forged a Bloodfire Pact with the Dominion of Man no longer held as much reverence towards the Red Fleet as before.

Whether they were aware of it or not, their loyalty to their mighty ship surpassed all of their existing loyalties!

This was the price they paid for bonding with the Carmine dreadnought.

As the pair entered a high-security section and came close to reaching the entrance of the vault, Ves decided to ask a different question.

"You possess a bit of insight on how the other 7 dreadnoughts work, correct? Can you tell me more about the Heart of Darkness?"

That surprised the old captain. "Why the interest in that particular dreadnought? Did you not mention in a previous discussion that if you were willing to upgrade another ship, that you would choose the Indignation of Righteousness?"

"The variables have changed, captain." Ves smoothly replied. "The original plan did not call for the emergence of Furia. Now that we have gained a fire god that metaphorically feeds off human anger, I do not think that I can apply a similar transformation to the Indignation of Righteousness. It is still possible to turn her into a living dreadnought, but we have to figure out a different way to do so. In the meantime, it is best to prepare for the upgrade and conversion of a different hull."

"I agree with your logic, but there should be other choices that can better satisfy your requirements, professor. There is great interest in upgrading the Doom of Xenos. Out of all of our dreadnoughts, she has by far the great offensive power. Transforming her into a god ship will give us a much more powerful weapon against the ancient phase whales and possibly other deity-level threats."

Ves was not quite sure about that. The Doom of Xenos most definitely possessed the largest caliber gun in the entire Red Ocean, but her spinal cannon was so slow and unwieldy that any decent ancient phase whale would be able to get out of the line of fire.

"I can understand the attraction for greater firepower, but the Heart of Darkness is much more valuable in a strategic sense. The ship has the potential to debilitate or maybe brainwash entire populations of aliens. She can play a much better role in the conquest and possible conversion of captured alien territories. I also think it will be a lot easier for me to upgrade into a living dreadnought than the other hulls."

It became quite clear that Ves developed a strong interest for this particular vessel for whatever reason. The dread captain remained silent for a few seconds before he shared a bit of information.

"The Heart of Darkness is... unsettling. Her signature tech is much more unorthodox than the tech that allows the Reign of Frost to freeze her targets. I do not have proof of this, but I personally suspect that the Heart of Darkness employs more taboo tech derived from the infamous Compact than any other vessel. Her name is truly apt. The ship is largely dedicated to fighting our enemies through the most despicable means imaginable."

"How bad?"

"Let me put it this way, professor. Back when dreadnoughts were designed to fight against god mechs, the Heart of Darkness was never meant to be employed directly against a god mech. What she was actually built to do was to evade god mechs whenever possible and attack their support base. She is meant to drive god pilots crazy by attacking the population under their protection. So long as their entire organization, state or society collapses due to the madness spread by the Heart of Darkness, the entire pillar of faith and logistical support surrounding these god pilots will collapse. Does that answer your question?"

That was crazy!

Yet... the more Ves thought about it, the more he realized that it was a brilliant way to kneecap an undefeatable opponent!

"It's... a brilliant strategy!"