Ves became quite shocked when Shederin Purnesse issued a depressingly poor verdict on the chances that the Larkinson Clan would succeed in its grand expedition.

He deeply wanted to reject the low odds. He bet so much on his journey to the Red Ocean and thought he was making good progress in building up his clan and network of allies.

However, Ves could not dismiss the authority of someone who possessed a greater vision on these kinds of matters. As much as he had grown into his role and tried his best to steer the Larkinson Clan in the right direction, he was well aware that he wasn't cut out for these matters.

It was why he always desired to acquire the experts who could do the thinking on his behalf.

Now that the Avatars and Vandals sacrificed a significant amount of hardware and numerous lives to save the Purnesse Family, he finally accomplished one of his major goals!

He just didn't expect the former head of the Purnesse Family to start off with a grave prediction.

"Well, you certainly have guts." Ves lightly said.

"You seek my counsel, not my flattery." Shederin Purnesse calmly replied. "From what I have observed about your Larkinsons, you prefer to be direct. That is quite in line with your straightforward military heritage. When in Rubarth, do as the Rubarthans do. I can adjust myself to multiple personality types. It is my vocation, after all."

The pair had moved to a private lounge on the upper decks. Ves wanted to speak frankly with Shederin Purnesse. All of the showmanship that he displayed at the hangar bay was mostly meant to guide the sheep.

The head of the Purnessers was no sheep, though. He was a herder, and many of the usual tricks that Ves employed to dazzle and manipulate people didn't work on such wise and farsighted individuals.

As Ves looked at Shederin Purnesse sitting casually on a divan, the former ambassador of the Grand Loxic Republic exuded a distinctive mix of dignity and authority that only senior statesmen possessed.

It made the old man come across as authoritative and someone who absolutely knew what he was talking about.

Whether this was actually true remained to be seen, but so far Ves did not doubt Mr. Shederin's competence or sincerity.

The man used to lead a foreign diplomatic mission on behalf of one of the most powerful second-rate states of Winged Serenade. There was no way that anyone assigned to such a position was a dummy!

In addition, the Larkinsons almost completely grasped the surviving members of the Purnesse Family. Other than the careerists who had been assigned to work at foreign embassies and so on, the main body of the Purnesse Family had effectively fallen in the hands of the Larkinsons.

Since the Purnessers were stuck aboard several ships in a vast and powerful fleet, there was no way for them to escape!

Rather than resisting this reality, Shederin Purnesse instead chose to acknowledge it. In any case, they no longer had any future in the Grand Loxic Republic anyway, and the Larkinsons had shown enough intention to make use of the talents of their family members.

After the remnants of the Diyast Family almost came close to wiping out the Purnesse Family, the former ambassador had lost most of his objections to abandoning his original heritage.

What did it matter if he and his family members forgot about their ties to Old Earth? Their illustrious family legacy did not offer any protection when the black mechs assaulted the Violet Estates for weeks!

After receiving this much-needed reality check, Shederin Purnesse no longer viewed the cosmos with rose-tinted glasses.

He began to treat potential risks and dangers more seriously. This was also why he answered with such low odds. He felt that the Larkinson Clan was just as naive and unguarded as the Purnesse Family at the start of the Crown Uprising.

Shederin saw that his audience had a lot of trouble accepting his judgement, so he stood up and began to pace around the spacious lounge. He curiously studied the decorations in the room.

The strange cat emblems, martial banners and glorious projections of great battle moments reinforced his impression that the Larkinsons were both militaristic and eccentric. Though Shederin silently bemoaned the lack of culture and refinement in the clan, he had to admit that the clan could at least provide him with the comfort of strength.

Yet that alone was not enough for them to survive the perilous Red Ocean.

"To explain my views, let me start from the beginning." The old man said as he subtly gained the initiative in this conversation. "Patriarch Ves, what do you think about the Red Ocean?"

"It is humanity's latest frontier." Ves answered from his heart. "It is a great expanse of space that is devoid of any existing human powers. It is a paradise for pioneers and adventurers. Many seek to become rich or elevate themselves above their stations by taking advantage of the opportunities that the Red Ocean can bring. It is also a region of death where many dangerous humans and aliens can possibly annihilate an entire fleet."

The old man slowly nodded towards Ves. "All of those descriptions are true, but they do not stray close to what I am truly trying to convey. To understand the Red Ocean, we must shift our perspective to the organizations responsible for opening up to colonization."

"You mean the Big Two?"

"Just so. Now let us ask some critical questions. Do you truly think the Big Two is too lazy or incapable of keeping the Red Ocean and its rich bounty of phasewater to themselves?"

Ves frowned. "The MTA and CFA aren't that incompetent. I think if they truly wanted to occupy the dwarf galaxy to themselves, they could have done so. We no longer live in an ancient period where we turned to feudalism in order to govern realms that are too vast to rule from a centralized position."

The issue was actually more complex than that, but neither of the two questioned this assumption at the moment.

"Then what possible motives do the Big Two have in mind by giving up such a fruitful piece of the pie?" Shederin Purnesse continued to ask. "You have to be aware that they are effectively giving up a huge quantity of phasewater to 'indigenous people' like us. All of that phasewater won't be used on powerful mechs and warships that can be employed against hostile alien empires, but will instead be put into mechs that are subsequently sent to fight against rival human polities! Do you actually think that makes sense?"

"Well, when you put it that way, that does sound stupid." Ves lamely said. "The only other explanation is that the Big Two have a greater plan in mind."

The former ambassador smiled. "The Big Two are not stupid, Patriarch Ves, so let us assume that the latter is true. Now what possible reasons did they have in mind when they deliberately chose to open the Red Ocean to every ambitious desperado that is seeking a greater future?"

Ves paused in order to formulate his answers.

"Well, the main reason why the MTA and CFA are able to maintain their hegemony over human space is because our population is divided into many different states that constantly squabble with each other. Lately, the first-rate superstates slowly show signs of consolidating and returning to their former glory. That is bad news to the Big Two. Opening up the Red Ocean might give them a chance to break this dynamic by empowering other human groups that do not fall into the camp of the Terrans or the Rubarthans."

Shederin chuckled. "That sounds plausible, but have you heard about the rise of alliances in the Red Ocean? The Terran Alliance and the Rubarthan Pact have caused many pioneers to fall under the sway of the first-rate superstates. If the Big Two wanted to weaken the first-rate superstates, then they completely failed!"

Ves frowned at this statement. "You just said the Big Two aren't stupid. They should have been able to predict this would happen somehow. Yet they still allowed the Terrans and Rubarthans to play their games in the Red Ocean. What do the MTA and the CFA actually have in mind?"

"Ah, that is the real question." Shederin's eyes grew hazy. "Discussing possible answers was a favorite pastime of mine and my old colleagues. Would you like to hear my personal guess?"

"Please do."

"My voices in the media constantly refer to the tension and contradictions between the Big Two and the first-rate superstates. Many pundits and news personalities love to exaggerate the rivalry between the current protagonists of this age and the empires of the past. Yet when we look deeper into their sources, we find that there is very little substantive evidence of their claims."

"Are you saying that this rivalry is a fabrication?"

"Not necessarily." The former ambassador shook his head. "You can assume that the Big Two will definitely not shed a tear of the Terran Confederation and the Rubarth Empire collapse one day. The Terrans and Rubarthans also wouldn't mourn the fall of the Big Two. The conflicts of interest between these two pairings are very real, but that does not mean that it is a serious concern. At the very least, the Big Two does not act as if it feels threatened by the relics of the past. From what I can analyze of their movements, the Big Two are worried about greater concerns."

"You mean greater threats." Ves supplied.

Threats like the Five Scrolls Compact, maybe.

Shederin Purnesse nodded slowly. "This is the basis upon which I model the Big Two's behavior. If you assume that the Big Two are preparing for a grand conflict against a great enemy that not only matches their collective strength, but actually surpasses it, then much of their actions start to appear more logical. For example, now that you have heard my little theory, what do you think about the opening of the Red Ocean?"

A brief moment of silence followed as Ves entertained all kinds of ideas.

"It sounds.. as if the Big Two has turned the Red Ocean into a giant crucible. The high barrier of entry ensures the best and most ambitious members of humanity can lead their forces into this region. However, that is just the beginning. By locking us into a cage and letting us duke it out, they will know that whoever survives at the end will be the strongest of the bunch!"

"The blood of the weak will feed the strong." Shederin uttered as he admired a projection of the Larkinsons pummeling the Gravada Knarlax during the Battle against the Abyss. "The losses resulting from the infighting will be horrendous and doubtlessly lead to an enormous amount of waste, but if you look at this development at a timescale that stretches across centuries, the gains outweigh the losses. Ships and mechs can always be rebuilt and the growth rate of our race is so high that any population of humans will explode after it attains stability."

The people who plotted this possible plan must possess extraordinary vision in order to implement such a great plan!

"Why though?" Ves asked. "Why does the Big Two seek to foster stronger groups in the Red Ocean?"

"I cannot determine their exact reason, but I speculate that they may have become desperate enough to seek a comprehensive strengthening of humanity beyond their own ranks. The unknown threat in their sights might be so formidable that the Big Two cannot achieve victory without the support of the rest of humanity. Perhaps the old model of diving humanity into states and keeping us preoccupied with fighting against each other has become outdated. Only by activating the entire potential of every human may human civilization stand a chance against the danger that looms over the horizon."

Though Ves continually reminded himself that Shederin Purnesse could not back up his guesses, he felt that this story made a lot of sense.

One clue that supported Shederin's frightful theory was that Master Willix always alluded to the need to rise above local conflicts and fight against the common enemies of humanity.

She never treated external enemies lightly. Ves suspected she might have other great enemies in mind than the Five Scrolls Compact!