Chapter 6034 Stark’s Ulterior Motive

Chapter 6034 Stark's Ulterior Motive

6034 Stark's Ulterior Motive

Ves adored Gloriana's vision for the Amaranto.

He also felt conflicted by her decision to double down on turning the expert marksman mech into a machine that existed for no other purpose than to launch powerful attacks from the rear.

If Venerable Davia Stark successfully managed to advance to the rank of ace pilot, the Amaranto at that time would amplify all of her strengths and only modestly increased her ability to cope against powerful enemy champions.

This was a very risky choice. Ace mechs in people's imagination were machines that were prototypical god mechs. They had already gained so much power that they completely transcended the existence of ordinary mechs.

Ace mechs were rare and often deployed alongside a large troop of mechs on an individual basis.

This meant that ace mechs were always designed to be self- sufficient. They at least needed to possess the ability to fight against other ace mechs.

It would be great if ace mechs possessed pronounced strengths based on the specializations of the ace pilot, but it would be devastating if their weaknesses were severe enough to cause them to be defeated with ease!

As long as they confronted the wrong sort of enemy, a state might lose an incredibly valuable asset!

This was why ace mechs increasingly tended to evolve into multipurpose mechs as their pilots continued to grow in strength. It didn't matter if the ace mechs no longer excelled in any area as long as their weaknesses no longer became as glaring.

The more valuable the ace pilot, the less their employers were willing to lose their precious investment!

States and organizations would rather see their ace pilots get defeated to the point where they had to flee the battlefield in tatters than to see their most valuable strategic assets get countered and killed with ease!

Of course, not every ace mech evolved in this direction. The personality and stubbornness of many ace pilots sometimes made their employers helpless.

For example, Saint Jeremiah Gauge insisted on sticking to the swordsman mech archetype. This somewhat worked out as the powerful Fridayman ace pilot was able to launch very powerful sword energy attacks that could easily strike targets at a distance.

However, there was no way his Neo Amadeus could beat a true ranged ace mech in terms of ranged firepower back when the ace pilot was alive.

The Amaranto Mark III envisioned by Gloriana would suffer from a similar shortcoming. No matter whether she became a high-tier expert mech or an ace mech, the high-end marksman mech would always be able to dominate any enemy from afar, but instantly become incredibly vulnerable up close!

Venerable Stark's persistent offensive focus caused her to neglect the development of her defensive skills and abilities. Even if the Amaranto was able to wield a few backup knives or swords, there was no way the relatively fragile mech could overpower an equivalent enemy up close!

As Ves continued to feel conflicted over the glaring shortcomings of Gloriana's draft design, his wife leaned forward and placed her palm onto his hand.

"You are still thinking about an ace mech like a member of the Larkinson Family from the Age of Mechs. Haven't you realized that its role has changed? The Red War is a very different sort of conflict from the wars of the past. Unlike the human mech armies that our clan fought against in the past, the alien fleets are made up of completely different enemy types that all possess very different traits."

This told Ves that the Amaranto Mark III probably wouldn't have much to fear if she resumed her place in the expeditionary fleet.

The trouble came when it was time for the Premier Branch to participate in the first wave of deep strike operations.

Unless the Jedda Sandivar got upgraded into a first-class ace mech and joined his first-class fleet as a hired retainer, it would be difficult for the Amaranto Mark III to remain safe while she was deployed deep behind enemy lines.

The probability of encountering phase whales and phase lords was much greater when attacking the heartland of alien space!

Perhaps another ace pilot or two might emerge among the current candidates of the Larkinson Clan in the next few years, but what if they took longer to trigger their second apotheosis?

Ves found it far too risky to embark on a deep strike expedition with just the Dark Zephyr Mark III and the Amaranto Mark III in tow!

He quietly cursed the high-tier expert pilots who apparently took their sweet time to breakthrough before he turned his attention back to Gloriana's proposal.

Although Ves was tempted to pull back on her extreme design concept, that would be detrimental to the Larkinson Clan in the long run. The fit between Venerable Stark and her battle partner would also drop.

"Okay." He eventually said. "I am fine with this proposal as long as Venerable Davia Stark is aware of all of the pros and cons of your proposal."

"Venerable Stark already approves of my design choices. I consulted her first before I drafted the Amaranto Mark III. She is very cognizant of the vulnerabilities of this mech concept, but she prizes the ability to snipe targets at long range far too much to accept any compromises in this aspect. In fact, she sounded absolutely obsessed with preserving this key strength."

Though Ves did not think about it, hearing how Venerable Stark not only accepted this design direction, but absolutely embraced it, reminded him of the reason why she managed to regain her strength when she was at her lowest point in her career.

His expression turned to stone when he made a very frightening guess about Venerable Stark's plan.

What if she aspired to become the most powerful sniper in the Red Ocean so that she could assassinate everyone she perceived to be at fault for the original tragedy that had befallen the people of the Komodo Star Sector that got engulfed by the sandmen?

Although hardly anyone today remembered the Sand War, Venerable Davia Stark was one of the few people who still remained traumatized by the genocide that swept up entire third-rate states!

Though she managed to do a good job of hiding it, Ves could not forget that she harbored a grudge against the mechers and fleeters for being so neglectful to the lives and wellbeing of ordinary space peasants!

Still, even if she wanted to tear down the foundation of the offshoots of the MTA and CFA in the Red Ocean, it would be far too easy for her to get wiped out if she went on a one woman crusade.

The only way she could make the Red Two pay for the sins of the past was by engaging in guerilla warfare.

The most effective way to do this was to become so good at sniping targets at range that not a single defensive measure could stop her attacks!

As long as her Amaranto became strong enough to pierce through the defenses of phase leaders, Davia Stark should also be able to assassinate important officers and dignitaries of the Red Two!