The Mech Touch

A complex expression appeared on Ulrika's face.

This showed that even a determined and strong-willed ace pilot like herself could still be stumped by complex matters!

She would rather not answer the question at all, but she understood that it was important for their future cooperation for her to issue a sincere response.

"I believe... that the Superior Mother has done much good to our people." She began in her strong and steady cadence. "The Hexadric Hegemony used to be a more polarized and divided state when the Superior Mother was but a passing symbol of motherhood in those times. It was not until you introduced your living mechs such as the Blessed Squire and more notably the Valkyrie Redeemer that we all experienced the changes that she has brought to our state."

The Superior Mother propagated a set of beliefs that espoused a less extreme and man-hating version of hexism. Ves had deliberately created her to make the Hexers less reprehensible, and the widespread shifts in their culture clearly showed that his efforts had succeeded!

From the way that Saintess Ulrika spoke about the Superior Mother, she clearly did not suspect that Ves was the mastermind behind the transformation of her entire people.

"The Superior Mother has indeed done your people a lot of good." He smiled for a brief moment. "Do you begrudge her for not being able to prevent the fall of the Hexadric Hegemony?"

"No." The ace pilot forcefully said. "That failure is ours and ours alone. The Komodo War was a test for our people, and we had been found wanting at this important junction. We were too arrogant and complacent to deserve victory. We needed to be humbled in order to recognize the inadequacies about ourselves that we have long ignored. Though our numbers have diminished, we have grown stronger and more united as a consequence. Losing the war has also caused the remnants of our people to fully relocate to the Red Ocean. If not for that, we might not have been in such a good position to take advantage of the Age of Dawn."

The turning of the age presented a lot of existential challenges to red humanity, but the strong and confident among the people all recognized that it was a fantastic new opportunity to ascend to greater heights!

"Is that why you don't actually worship the Superior Mother in your heart?" Ves queried. "Your ambition is to become a god pilot. At this height of power, you are fully qualified to treat other deities as your equals. Is that how you think?"

Ulrika looked a bit surprised that his guess was so close to the mark. "Ace pilots such as ourselves all have great confidence that we have the potential to become gods ourselves. We can't quite agree on what that exactly means, but most of us see no reason to surrender ourselves to deities who we can possibly outgrow."

Those who held the arrogance that they could become gods had little reason to devote themselves to existing ones!

At the very least, the act of surrendering themselves to a higher power was contradictory to their nature as warriors who pursued ultimate strength!

The word 'surrender1 already had strong connotations with the meaning of weakness and inability.

While there were exceptions among god pilots who regarded their ironclad faith in a higher and more unfathomable power as a source of strength rather than an admission of weakness, Saintess Ulrika Vraken clearly did not count herself as among these modern paladins!

"Okay, I think I get it." Ves said. "You don't worship her as a deity, but you don't object to her either."

The ace pilot smiled. "I do not have any issue with respecting the Superior Mother for offering a light in the darkness that surrounds my fellow Hexers. I can even look up to her for how extensively she has lent her strength to the servicewomen of the Hex Army. What makes me different from most Hexers is that I strongly believe I have a chance to ascend to god pilot and offer just as much help and protection to our people if not more. By that time, I can help uplift the Hex Federation to a first-class state and grant better lives for every Hexer. That is a benefit that even the Superior Mother cannot provide."

She was right. The god pilots and Star Designers were the only human 'gods' recognized by the mechers. The voice and authority of the True God-level transcendents had become even stronger due to their relative scarcity in the Red Ocean!

Ves collected enough information from the ace pilot to conclude that his idea of turning Saintess Ulrika into some kind of apostle for the Superior Mother had no chance of working.

That was a shame. Ves believed that Ulrika might have been able to leverage the power of the Superior Mother more directly in battle.

Perhaps he should wait until he met with an ace pilot from a more religious matriarchal dynasty to try out this proposal.

At this point, Ves had no point of ruling out his promising idea yet. He had very little options left that could possibly increase the combat effectiveness of the only ace mech aboard the Spirit of Bentheim.

Ves did not want to admit defeat. He still felt he could do more in this situation. He hated the thought of giving up too soon. It was against his nature as a mech designer to leave a problem unsolved!

He fell into thought as his gaze continued to shift between Ulrika and her ace mech.

His extensive expertise in spiritual engineering did not see any way to improve their synergy.

The Macharia Excelsia was not his work, and Ulrika possessed more similarities with Patriarch Reginald Cross when it came to her insistence on relying on herself.

These circumstances closed so many different ways to improve their performance that Ves had to grasp for straws.

As he recalled all of the information that she shared to him, he suddenly froze as an entirely new idea came to his mind.

His understanding of spiritual engineering, cultivation science and his personal insights on high-ranking mech pilots all formed a connection that led him to come up with a bold new theory!

"A moment ago, you said that you aspired to become a new guardian deity for the Hex Federation and its people, is that correct?"

Ulrika nodded. "That is correct."

"Would you be opposed to the idea of possibly posing as one during the upcoming battle?"

That sounded like an odd request.

"I am not quite sure I understand what you are asking of me. What is the purpose of doing so, Larkinson?"

Ves quickly started to think about the viability of this idea. The Superior Mother would definitely have to get involved in order to mobilize the Hexers on a massive scale, but this was fine as she wouldn't be helping Ulrika directly.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this latest idea could truly make a substantial difference in combat!

The best part about it was that it did not appear to clash with the principles and beliefs of a strong-willed ace pilot.

So long as this powerful halfgod went along with his proposal, he had a lot of confidence that his measures would provide her with a real boost in the upcoming battle!

"What do you think the Age of Dawn represents, Saintess Ulrika?"

"The Age of Dawn... is a new beginning. It is an age where new heroines may rise and where existing ones such as myself can rise to godhood with greater ease."

Ves smirked. "Your views align with my own, but my perspective is more elaborate than that. To me, the Age of Dawn presents new possibilities that were previously impossible to attain in an energy-poor environment like the Milky Way. One of the possibilities that I am thinking about is something that will sound impossible to you, but is actually not. What I want to propose is a way for all of the Hexers in the Hex Federation to lend what little support they can offer to you when our operation against the aliens finally begins."

The ace pilot fell into confusion, and that did not happen often!

"I do not follow."

"Let me explain this quickly to you. Ordinary people don't usually possess the power to affect reality with their minds. That used to be reserved for high-ranking mech pilots and mech designers. Do you follow me so far? Nowadays, all of red humanity is exposed to exotic radiation, which somehow causes each and every person to absorb a bit of it and grow a little stronger in their own ways. While they are still far from transcending their own mortality, their spirits have grown strong enough that their unified beliefs may actually be able to induce changes in reality as long as their numbers are high enough!"

The ace pilot finally began to understand what Ves was trying to convey.

"Are you saying that belief holds actual power in these new times? Can large populations truly help people ascend to brand-new gods?"

"I'm not so sure about the latter." Ves quickly responded. "However, I think that the power of collective belief can most assuredly induce material changes in reality. Our clan has already proven that to an extent with our battle formations. This is also where I base my current theories on. Just think of it as an attempt to rope in as many citizens of the Hex Federation to take part in a power ritual of an unheard of scale. This ritual is solely dedicated to boosting your strength and the strength of your ace mech as they watch your machine fight against the aliens."

This was a radical proposal, and one that might not even work!

Saintess Ulrika was not entirely comfortable with this new idea. "Broadcasting our fight to the Hex Federation will also expose our mechs and our fighting methods to the Fridaymen. It is not wise to reveal so much of our core details to our possible adversaries."

"The truly strong do not have anything to fear by demonstrating their might." Ves replied with a grin. "Besides, we can take this into account by limiting what we truly do not want to expose to the public. What is important is that you can give your fellow hope in this new and more dangerous age. There is a lot of uncertainty among people. You have the ability to rise up and lead your people to a new and more prosperous future as long as you are willing to carry their collective hopes."

"Forgive me for saying this, but that does not sound appropriate." Saintess Ulrika frowned.

"It is not about you. It is about the innocent Hexers who you have vowed to protect. Think about how my proposal can benefit them. Most of the Hexers under your protection will no longer be defenseless against the Fridaymen and the aliens. They will know that as long as they invest their beliefs in their new gods such as yourself, you will gain the capital to guard them against any foe, no matter how powerful they might be! The formidable puelmer heavy cruisers that we are about to target will be the least of their future enemies. If you cannot defeat these alien warships, then what qualifications do you have to aspire to godhood? Take responsibility!"

His words finally drilled through her stubborn and slightly stodgy mind. The ace pilot still looked conflicted, but it appeared that she was finally willing to embrace his crazy proposal!

"You cannot decide upon this alone." She stated.

He nodded. "I need to hold an emergency meeting with the other leaders of the Golden Skull Alliance in order to find out whether they are okay with my proposal." He informed her. "In order to produce the greatest possible results, we will need to expose at least a part of our methods and broadcast the battle to the Hex Federation as it unfolds. We will also need to obtain the buy-in of your council of matriarchs. Let me take care of all of this boring stuff. You should just sit back and think about how you will be able to wield the collective power of the entire Hexer population when the crucial time has come."