The day of the design duel drew closer.

An air of excitement had dawned over the Prosperous Hill System.

What should have been a private design duel between two Journeyman Mech Designers suddenly took on a greater meaning!

For several weeks, unknown agitators fanned the flames throughout the Life Research Association.

[Whose living mechs are stronger?]

[Has the LRA gone astray all this time by designing the wrong living mechs?]

[The great test has come! Let the ultimate clash between biomechs and classical mechs begin!]

Through a combination of word of mouth and untraceable posts on the galactic net, a lot of Lifers began to pay attention to this event.

As more and more Lifers began to pay attention, their odd behavior caused more people to pay attention as well. A positive feedback loop formed until billions of people connected to the biomech industry and beyond began to pay special attention to what appeared to be a direct challenge against the current regime!

The Larkinsons immediately noticed the consequences of all of the eyes pointed in their direction. Ves didn't even dare to take a step outside Gentle Lotus Base. Anyone who wanted to eliminate any risk of Dr. Navarro losing would have a lot of incentives to assassinate the challenger!

Although the chance was unlikely that some sort of sniper secretly squatted a distance away, Ves did not dare to show himself in the open at all in order to minimize the risk.

That didn't stop attackers from bombarding the base with a mech-grade weapon, but the Larkinson Clan quickly solved that problem by shipping and setting up a couple of starship-grade shield generators.

The authorities did not prohibit guests from bringing in defensive equipment as long as they controlled their usage. Unlike mechs, shield generators and the like did not have the potential to inflict mass casualties.

Even though these shield generators were expensive to operate on a constant basis due to their high energy consumption, Ves and the other Larkinsons didn't mind the cost.

Once several opaque bubbles formed over Gentle Lotus Base, its occupants felt much more secure. While the large shields could be overwhelmed by mass attacks, it could easily buy valuable time for help to arrive.

In any case, out here in an empty region, the approach of any large armored force would be incredibly obvious. There was no way a group of dangerous mechs would be able to advance unnoticed by the Larkinsons and the authorities!

The Larkinsons even brought in a lot of underground detection equipment in order to guard against tunneling actions.

Naturally, they weren't alone in this. The Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan also occupied the expansive base compound. They did not hesitate to erect their own defensive measures in order to decrease the chance they might get affected as well!

Yet this wasn't enough.

If the occupants of the base truly wanted to deter attackers from launching an attack on them, then they had to show some teeth.

It was too difficult for the Larkinsons to truly guard their patriarch if they weren't allowed to field their own mechs. Ves had personally applied for an exemption from the local administration, but he had been rebuffed at every point.

The Infinity Guards achieved a bit more success. Through their local connections, they managed to obtain permission to dispatch two more mechs to the ground, thereby increasing the amount of escort mechs they could field to four machines in total!

Suffice to say, Ves was very underwhelmed by this concession.

Fortunately, the Planetary Guard of Prosperous Hill VI didn't sit around. The local authorities evidently wanted to take care of security themselves.

An entire mech company of aerial biomechs showed up in the vicinity of Gentle Lotus Base one day. All of them were covered biomechs whose bone-like plating was coated in reassuring green colors. The mech company boasted a mix of mech types in order to be able to respond to any situation.

Since it wasn't suitable for Ves to step out and greet the guard detachment, General Verle walked up to the main entrance of Gentle Lotus Base while wearing his new uniform.

A mech officer exited from one of the formidable-looking lancer biomechs. The officer wore some sort of biosuit that contained an organic antigrav module, allowing him to descend to the ground with ease.

"I am General Verle of the Larkinson Clan. I speak on behalf of Patriarch Larkinson."

The man standing opposite to the general did not display any additional respect. The local mech officer merely nodded.

"Captain Jin Saron. Another colleague and I have been assigned to lead the guard detachment tasked with guarding your patriarch. We will ensure there will always be forty mechs on patrol around your leader. My assistant will dispatch some documents to you that will outline a number of important details that you must take into account."

"Forty mechs to protect a mech designer who is responsible for leading a mech company that spans the entire star cluster sounds rather… insufficient." General Verle carefully stated. "We have thousands of trustworthy and reliable mech pilots at our disposal. It would be optimal if we can draw on our own forces to bolster our security detail."

"Unacceptable." Captain Saron immediately shook his head. "Security is our responsibility on this planet. We do not allow any outside influence to bring in any elements that pose a substantial risk to our population."

"Then at least expand your security detachment. With more and more eyes directed towards Patriarch Larkinson, forty mechs cannot stop a determined attack."

"You may issue your request to our headquarters, but as long as we receive no new orders, we will strictly adhere to our current mission."

It became clear that Captain Saron was quite unyielding. He remained stiff and formal throughout the conversation and did not bend at all to any request.

Instead, he imposed several different demands such as allowing his guard mechs to patrol inside the perimeter of Gentle Lotus Base. The captain even stated that he wanted at least several of his biomechs within 100 meters or as close to Ves as possible!

This was not a request. There was no way for General Verle to refuse this reasonable-sounding request.

"Very well." The newly-promoted leader of the Larkinson Clan replied through gritted teeth. "We shall take the proximity of your guard mechs into consideration. However, do note that we have already employed the Infinity Guard in the same capacity. Please do not hinder our private guards from doing their duty."

Fortunately, Captain Saron did not object to this request. "We are already aware of their presence. The Star Strider Security Group enjoys an excellent reputation in the LRA, so we permit your hired help to have a slightly greater presence on this planet. We cannot promise you anything more."

This didn't sound very reassuring to General Verle. The greatest threat that Ves currently faced came from the Lifers themselves. Since the conservatives didn't want him to win, then there was a considerable chance that they might launch some sort of attack.

In fact, considering that the conservative faction was the most dominant one in the LRA, the Planetary Guard might be rife with their agents!

This was something that Captain Jin Saron was all too well aware of, so he took the rare initiative to provide some reassurance to the Larkinson.

"Our Planetary Guard forces are strictly neutral. They are all vetted and have vowed not to develop any ties to any individual or organization for the duration of their service. We have gone out of our way to select the most reliable and impartial mech pilots and supporting personnel as possible to guard your patriarch."

Though this was not an absolute guarantee, it was the closest that the Larkinsons would get out of the inflexible Planetary Guard.

General Verle nodded stiffly. "Thank you for the clarification, captain. We will place the safety of our patriarch in your care."

Yeah right. Even though Verle was not as paranoid as Ves, he did not feel comfortable with the current situation.

He only hoped that there were enough safeguards in place in the event that one of the Planetary Guard mechs attempted to launch a surprise attack.

As long as there were enough loyal mechs around, such an attack would likely be unable to get past all of the barriers!

As Verle returned to the building that housed the best mech workshop in the base, he threw an admiring glance towards the four heavyset knight mechs stationed at the corners.

The 14th Fleet dispatched four identical Guard Master 12X mechs to form a powerful defensive envelope around the mech workshop structure.

The Guard Master 12X was explicitly designed to protect VIPs. It possessed no armaments but instead possessed a large frame as well as interlocking shield plates that could be deployed in a variety of different configurations.

By default, the mech looked as if it carried a pair of foldable shields. This allowed it to block any attacks from a single direction.

Yet what happened if the person they were tasked to protect was being attacked from multiple sides?

Aside from banding together with other defensive mechs, the Guard Master was capable of shifting its configuration of shield plates in order to envelop a small group of humans.

Under ideal circumstances, a Guard Master was able to wrap Ves and anyone nearby into a sturdy, protective metal ball!

In order to prevent the person inside from getting jostled around, special padding and inertial compensators were present that made sure that the people inside remained alive even if a mech kicked the protective metal away for some reason!

In fact, this was one of the emergency measures the Infinity Guards could employ if any attackers were on the verge of breaking past the defenses!

Before that point, a Guard Master would most likely wrap its entire frame around the metal ball. The Guard Master's physical structure was designed in such a way that it could easily provide all-round protection to the ball in this manner!

General Verle was already reassured if just one of these Guard Master mechs was present. With four of them present at the same time, their ability to stall for time was amazing!

When Verle stepped deep inside the mech workshop and approached one of the sites where work was being done to a Ferocious Piranha, he dutifully reported to the clan patriarch.

Ves sighed as he turned away from the partially-disassembled arm of the mech.

"Well, we already expected the Planetary Guard to be stubborn. One of my cousins used to be a part of them so I know how difficult it is for law enforcement to restrain mechs that have gone crazy. It's already bad enough to limit the damage that a third-class mech can do. A second-class mech is at least several times more destructive!"

Granted, a city built to second-class standards usually wasn't fragile either. Many structures were built with superior materials. They had to in order to prevent any collateral damage from killing thousands of citizens at once!

Yet there was only so much that structures could do to prevent mass slaughter. This was why the Planetary Guard and other local security forces abhorred others from bringing in their own mechs!

"The good news is that the Planetary Guard have acquiesced to the presence of the Guard Masters."

Ves smiled. "That is indeed good news. I trust mechs made of metals a lot more than biomechs. I admire the Guard Master. Its mech concept is extremely useful to people like me. Our clan should have this kind of mech as well. Once we are done with designing our expert mechs, I'll think about designing a comparable mech."

"Isn't that stealing?"

"Mech concepts can't be stolen." Ves replied. "They're merely ideas. Only specific designs are protected by the MTA. If my design adheres too closely to the Guard Master, then I'll just license it. I don't care too much about originality. I just want a mech that can protect myself and other important people when we are out and about on foot."