Ever since the four Guard Masters along with a regular rotation of biomechs were stationed at Gentle Lotus Base, the Larkinsons became a lot more relieved of their situation.

They had already noticed that the amount of observers and strangers stationed in the remote district had decreased. While plenty of people and bots were still staring at the base, the Larkinsons purchased a large-scale interference field generator and activated it to block most sensors from getting a good look inside the base.

That stopped most watchers from getting anything useful. While it was still possible to overcome the wide-area interference field, the hardware required to do so would have to be very large, powerful and obvious.

Conducting deep scans on someone else's property was not only highly suspicious, but also a crime in Prosperous Hill!

Still, Ves wasn't satisfied with the security precautions. This was why he held a brief talk with Colonel Amos Pendulum of the Infinity Guards.

The latter's projection looked apologetic at Ves. "We have continually tried to lobby the Planetary Guard to allow us to dispatch additional mechs to the surface, but the officials we talked to are far less accommodating than we expected. It is clear to us they are merely obeying instructions from high up. The good news is that no one else should be able to influence the Planetary Guard either."

"I see."

Ves felt as if he had inadvertently stepped into a cage for reason. He hated losing control of the situation. A part of him felt that he shouldn't have descended from orbit to begin with! If he had insisted on staying aboard the Spirit of Bentheim, he would have never ended up in such a precarious situation!

Even though no one jumped out and attempted to launch an attack on him, Ves did not make the mistake of assuming that there was no threat. If he was wrong, then no harm was done. If he was right, then at least he'd be prepared!

Due to all of the limitations imposed by the local authorities, the Larkinson Clan only possessed a limited number of means to bolster Ves' security detail.

One of those ways happened to be deploying more guards on foot.

A lot more armored guards were patrolling around Ves these days!

"We already formed plans to expand our infantry forces, but we've allocated more resources and personnel to accelerate the timeline." General Verle reported. "Don't worry, sir. All of the guards that are assigned to your upgraded protection detail are all old-timers who have been with us from the early days. We have used the influx of recruits to cover other security assignments in order to free up the guards we can rely on the most."

Ves looked around and swept his gaze over the different guards. Each of them wore formidable suits of armor that were coated in the colors of the Battle Criers, The Avatars of Myth and so on. He noticed that his guards made use of brand new equipment.

"I see you've upgraded their arsenal as well."

"Correct. We face greater threats these days. We have invested a considerable sum of money to procure premium weapons and armor from the local markets. While there is a lot of bioequipment for sale on this planet, there are still plenty of foreign offerings that are easier to work with. Our hackers and armorers have already performed extensive examinations on each of the gear we purchased before we issued them to the guards assigned to your detail. None of them are tampered with. We even pulled out some components that are responsible for automating certain functions in order to rule out the possibility of any of the weapons acting out on their own."

Ves looked satisfied. "That's a prudent precaution. I would have suggested the same. Out of curiosity, how many infantry soldiers can we field before the Planetary Guard gets pissed?"

"Unlimited."

"Really?"

The general smiled ruefully at him. "It doesn't matter if someone fields 100 foot soldiers or 100,000 foot soldiers. A couple of mechs can easily slaughter them en masse."

That was a bit of an exaggeration, but it was mostly true. In an open field, an argument could be made that 100,000 foot soldiers could easily down any mech by firing all of their rifles at the same time.

However, as long as the terrain was a bit more complex and if the mechs were already distant or behind cover, the huge machines possessed a decisive advantage!

There were good reasons why the Planetary Guard showed an abundance of caution against mechs but completely disregarded infantry-sized threats.

As long as they themselves were able to deploy as many mechs as they wished, not even a million foot soldiers would be able to destabilize a city!

"Of course, we're not going to recruit, equip and field so many soldiers." General Verle shook his head. "We don't need that many and we can't exert effective control over so many new recruits. What we intend to do is to bolster our guard infantry ranks by at least several thousands heads. We are also looking into hiring specialized elites such as boarding specialists, aerial assault troops, urban combat troops and so on, but this is not the ideal star system to recruit these kinds of operators."

"It sounds like you are intended to implement a large overhaul of our infantry troops."

General Verle nodded. "To be honest, I am thinking about decoupling our infantry soldiers from our mech forces. While there are many benefits to lumping them together, the former will always be subordinate to the latter. If we want our infantry troops to feel valued, they need to be given the opportunity to stand on their own. What do you think, sir?"

This was a rather difficult question. There were pros and cons to both.

As far as Ves was concerned, the mechs and mech pilots of the Larkinson Clan were much more important than some simple guards. The most dangerous threats he faced always came from mechs. There was absolutely nothing that infantry soldiers could do during the Battle of Reckoning.

However, there were still situations where soldiers on foot played a key role. On restrictive planets such Prosperous Hill, aboard starships such as the Spirit of Bentheim and anywhere indoors such as this mech workshop, it was physically impossible to rely on mechs to provide security close to his body.

The guards that Ves had long been accustomed to played a vital role in keeping him safe. Even if they didn't do anything but walk around and scan for enemies that didn't exist, they still provided him assurance for the few times that enemies were sneaking up on him! They deserved more recognition for their service, but wouldn't get any because the mech pilots hogged all of the glory.

Yet there were also reasons to keep them as part of their existing mech forces. They adopted their unit's unique esprit de corps and they possessed similar characteristics to their mech pilots. The infantry troops could also be trusted to guard the people and assets of whatever force they belonged to. A different unit, even if it was also part of the Larkinson Clan, would still evoke some mistrust!

"You can decide this for yourself. I trust in your judgement." Ves eventually said.

He couldn't decide between either option. There were way too many implications and he didn't possess the expertise required to interpret them all. It was better to leave the matter in the hands of someone who actually knew what he was doing.

"Very well." Verle responded as if he already expected the answer. "We do not intend to implement any changes in the short term. Right now, we think it is best to absorb our new recruits into our existing system. While that makes it harder to change them down the line, we need to integrate them into our clan as soon as possible."

As Verle talked about some of the changes he intended to make to elevate the infantry into a respected force, Ves began to imagine what he could do to help.

As he scanned the new equipment utilized by his guards once again, he felt as if he could do better.

While it was impossible to outfit all of his foot soldiers with combat armor that was comparable to his Unending Regalia, he may be able to outfit them with something better than what was sold on the market.

As a mech designer, he was somewhat proficient in developing simpler items such as combat armor. He might have to borrow the expertise of those who specialized in their development, but Ves could do much to apply a portion of his advantages to an exclusive suit of combat armor for the Larkinson Clan!

He could turn every piece of handmade gear into totems that carried a touch of Goldie or another design spirit. It was much more tolerable to utilize his stock of Breyer alloy to equip his guards with better and more resilient protection.

While Ves doubted he could approach equipment design in the same way as mech design, there was enough overlap to make it worthwhile for him to branch out into infantry gear development.

Of course, he still had to prioritize his mech design projects over any other fancy toys he felt like making. The importance of mechs far exceeded that of infantry!

General Verle eventually departed in order to allow Ves to get back to work.

"Hmmm. Maybe I should invest extra effort into outfitting my honor guard."

He glanced at Nitaa, who was still wearing a custom suit of armor that was plated with Unending alloy. The combat armor worn by his other guards were far behind.

He should at least do something about that before he was scheduled to attend the first phase of his design duel.

"Well, I'll try and squeeze more time in the next couple of days."

With all of the security measures in place, there was practically no way for hostiles to penetrate the base defenses in order to take his life.

It was impossible for Ves to enjoy the same level of protection when he went out. He would be at his most vulnerable when he was traveling to the dueling site. The venue itself also imposed limitations, especially when hundreds of thousands of spectators already bought tickets to the event!

"Ugh. Since when am I a duelist?"

Allowing so many civilians to attend the design duel only complicated the entire situation further. Lots of innocent people were in danger if someone decided to go loud!

A strange thought entered his mind. "Maybe that's the point. Those civilians are hostages. Anyone who wants to employ heavy weapons to take me out will doubtlessly kill a lot of Lifer citizens. All of this blood will taint any group or faction responsible for the attack."

It was one thing to kill a foreigner. It was another thing to butcher fellow citizens! There was no way that a faction would have any credibility left in the eyes of the public.

These kinds of moves indicated that the people at the top were definitely paying attention to this spectacle. Their plans were quite thorough. It was too bad that Ves didn't entirely feel reassured.

One way or another, someone would get impatient. Not every person was able to make rational decisions under pressure. If it turned out that Ves was gaining the upper hand, then he bet that someone would definitely intervene regardless of the cost!

He needed to be ready to handle every possible situation. He still had time to prepare some additional security measures.

One of them just entered his mind.

"Hey, didn't I recently obtain the Odineye?"

The expensive System-bought object still acted as the third eye of the Valkyrie Prime. Ves hadn't bothered to take it out because he had no pressing need for its capabilities.

Until now.

Since Ves was unable to bring along his Valkyrie Prime, he might as well take back the Odineye and use it for himself!