While Ves processed his doubts, Task Force Predator continued to gear up for their biggest battle to date.

The Black Cats under the lead of Calabast had become extraordinarily active. Each and every black-uniformed Larkinson became preoccupied with figuring out Ulimo Citadel's in order to undermine its defenses.

From both without and within, the spies of the Larkinson Clan gradually gained a better understanding of the pirate base.

Much of what they learned only added to the pressure subjected to the task force!

The 4200 pirate mechs that defended the pirate stronghold was the least of the clan's worries.

The hundreds of superweapons that were stored in the vaults or installed in various hidden sites were easily capable of destroying the task force at least twenty times over if the pirates unleashed all of them at once!

Therefore, the key to conquering Ulimo Citadel always centered around neutralizing as many secret weapons as possible. There was no way that the task force was able to avoid suffering massive casualties if the pirates were still able to access just a dozen of their secret weapons!

As could be imagined, sabotaging so many destructive weapon systems at once was an immense endeavor! The difficulty rose even further due to the need to keep every act of sabotage secret while the pirates were on high alert!

Even with the various advantages of the Larkinson Clan, Ves seriously doubted whether the Black Cats had what it took to dismantle Ulimo Citadel to such an extent.

Yet the results surprised him. Reports continued to arrive that spoke of rigging warship-grade cannons to blow and other forms of sabotage.

Lucky had become incredibly busy this past week. With the Misfortune Harness, he slowly penetrated deeper and deeper into Ulimo's security perimeter.

At the same time, the Black Cats intensified their coordination with the men inside Ulimo Base. The Mirror Raiders, who managed to earn a measure of trust and responsibility from the pirates, kept stirring the pot while doing their best to appear completely committed to defending the pirate stronghold.

The massive operation to attack Ulimo Citadel seemed to stimulate the potential of tens of thousands of Larkinsons. Almost each and every clansman in the fleet invested their full effort in improving their chances of winning the upcoming battle!

With just a day to go until Major Verle wanted to commence the grand assault, Ves shook the hands of Master Willix's projection. His face looked pained as he just concluded another deal.

"I hope the MTA will abide by the promises you've made." He said.

"There won't be a problem, Mr. Larkinson." The projection let go of his hand. "While we are fairly rigid when it comes to rules, we are willing to grant exceptions when the need is great. Naturally, we don't do this for free."

"I understand."

"For what it's worth, I will cheer you on. You and your Larkinsons are doing a great service by removing one of the tumors of the Nyxian Gap. Without Ulimo Citadel, many smaller pirate outfits will lose the channel where they can obtain more prohibited weapons."

Ves couldn't help but voice one of his doubts. "The amount of superweapons at Ulimo is very exaggerated, and I doubt it's the only pirate stronghold that boasts so much destructive power. The rest of the Nyxian Gap is probably just as bad. Will the MTA really stand back and let the pirates acc.u.mulate enough forbidden hardware to threaten an entire state?"

"This is not an easy subject matter, Mr. Larkinson. While I cannot reveal our internal deliberations about this subject to you, know that the MTA has not gained its position of strength in the galaxy by remaining passive. Our incursion into the Red Ocean Dwarf Galaxy is only one of our more public endeavors."

Obviously, she wasn't going to say anything more than this. Ves half suspected that she was utterly serious about handling the Nyxian Gap. Whatever the MTA had in store, Ves wouldn't be a part of it. He just wanted to smash one more pirate base before getting out as fast as possible.

Before Ves ended the call, he decided to take advantage of Master Willix's good mood. After all, Ves paid a very great price to obtain some concessions from the MTA. This was the best opportunity to gain some answers to some of his mech design-related questions!

"If you don't mind, can you explain what a Journeyman needs to do to advance to Senior? What exactly is the latter and why are they better?"

Master Willix looked intrigued. "Those are some very big questions, Mr. Larkinson. You are still a very young Journeyman. The process to advance to Senior is difficult and lengthy. While it is technically easier to advance to Senior because any Journeyman has the potential to do so, in practice you need to work hard and remain persistent in exploring what you are capable of. To become a Journeyman means you are qualified to explore the breadth and depth of your design philosophy."

"So what does that actually mean?" Ves looked confused. "Other mech designers often tell me that I need to explore and expand the applications of my specialty. What I am struggling with is that I don't know how much I need to branch out and how much depth I should aim for. Why should Journeymen be doing all of this? How will this enable me to become a Senior?"

"You are too impatient, Mr. Larkinson. The road to becoming a Senior is long and time-consuming. I highly recommend you not to become fixated with advancing to the next rank. No matter how much of a genius you are, it will typically take at least a couple of decades for even the most prodigious Journeymen to make this jump. As for how they know they are ready, the sublimation process will happen naturally after making sufficient gains."

That only sounded vaguely helpful to Ves. Master Willix noticed his confusion.

"There is a very helpful analogy in the mech industry that might help you visualize the advancement process from Journeyman. First, imagine that you are trying to grow a tree."

"A tree?"

"Yes. This tree of yours represents your design philosophy. At your current stage, it should just be a sapling, though I suspect you have outgrown many of your peers due to all of your notable accomplishments. Regardless, your little tree still has much more room for growth. What is important is that you and every other Journeyman can direct the growth of your trees."

Was this how the MTA and other high-ranking mech designers viewed the design seeds of Journeymen? Ves found it surprisingly apt.

"Some of you want to widen the applications of your design philosophies." Willix continued. "This means that they aim to grow more branches on the trees in order to make them wider and broader. Others wish to strengthen their limited number of applications to an extreme. Their trees will grow taller but remain narrow. There are other Journeymen who wish to obtain the best of both worlds and seek to develop many applications while attempting to explore each and every one of them to their limits."

This was a very simple and understandable way to visualize the development of Journeymen! Ves easily understood what Master Willix was trying to convey. With just a simple explanation, she had managed to clear many of his doubts and uncertainties about the way forward!

"I take it that the Journeyman in question can choose for himself what kind of tree he wants to grow, correct?".

Master Willix nodded. "That is true, but some design philosophies are more conducive to specific tree shapes. There is no right answer."

"Oh? Isn't it best to go for the third option and try to grow a tall and wide tree?"

"Not necessarily. This is just an analogy. It doesn't completely reflect your actual development process. Nonetheless, it still ill.u.s.trates some of the approaches available for you. Do you want to fulfill a single goal as best as possible? Do you want to develop hundreds of different applications? Or do you wish to engage in both, knowing that you won't be able to achieve as much success in either?"

Ves couldn't answer this question right now

He wanted to reach and surpass the limits of his design philosophy.

He also wanted to develop a diverse set of solutions.

"Are the three approaches you mentioned the only ones that are valid?" He asked.

"No. Far from it. They encompass the majority of the approaches eventually adopted by Journeymen, but there are stranger mech designers in the galaxy who grew their trees in an abnormal fashion."

"Uhm, okay?"

"Don't force yourself to follow a specific approach." Master Willix warned. "Just follow your whims and do what you think can help you progress a step further. If you decide to grow a tall and narrow tree, don't think that it is less valuable. Mech designers who dedicated themselves to achieving a single goal have made incredible accomplishments. As for those who grew short and wide trees, their design philosophies have gone on to introduce entire paradigms in the field of mech design."

"What about the last kind of tree?"

"The mech designers who possess endless ambition and try to grow the widest and tallest of trees rarely make it to Master. They can become some of the most powerful Seniors in the mech industry, but they mostly run out of years before they can make the final step."

"Those who managed to advance to Master despite these challenges must be extremely powerful, right?"

Master Willix smiled. "No. Not necessarily. In this case, the work you put into your progression is not proportional to the results. No matter the profoundness of your design philosophy, every mech designer who advances to Master only gains a fixed amount of strength. Those who focused on a narrow pursuit can invest all of that strength on one application, thereby reaching even greater extremes. Those who have branched out wide must invest all of that added strength equally."

"That sounds rather bad."

"I disagree. If mech designers developed a design philosophy that is set up to enable a lot of possibilities with only a modest amount of effort, then they aren't necessarily weaker."

Ves thought for a bit. "I see now why growing tall and wide trees might not be a good idea. If you only gain a fixed amount of strength, then it's like attempting to water a huge tree with a single bucket. There is not enough water to keep the tree alive."

"You can say that. Mind you, there are mech designers who have accomplished this anyway, but their circ.u.mstances are unique and shouldn't be used as role models. What I would like to emphasize is that it is best to let your tree grow in a manner that fits your inclinations best. You can consider the implications of your tree once it matures at the Senior stage."

They talked a bit more before Master Willix finally ended the call.

As the Darkbreak module returned to standby, Ves stayed in place as he went over the implications of what Master Willix had revealed.

How did his young tree look like?

"It should look pretty wide, seeing how I've branched out so much. I'm worried that it's too short, though."

Of the two conventional options, Ves wasn't sure whether he should aim for growing a tall or narrow tree or a short and wide tree.

"It depends on the goals I'm trying to achieve."

So far, he was still inclined towards the latter. He liked to develop a lot of tricks and have multiple options at his disposal. As long as he achieved his ambition of making mechs alive, there was not that much point in making them more alive. He would rather develop multiple viable applications because he was very big on combining them in order to achieve synergy.

In contrast, someone like Ketis readily set aside everything in order to achieve the best possible sharpness. Ves didn't doubt that she would definitely grow a tall and narrow tree once she advanced to Journeyman.

"Hm. Interesting."