Chapter 2387: Dark Clouds

When Ves figured out some suitable energy sources to sustain the growth process, he did not immediately implement the entire plan.

He had a feeling that once he completed his mother's spiritual construct, something drastic would happen.

He didn't know whether his mother intended him to create it before the battle or during the battle. If it was some kind of means to allow the Oblivion Hand to reach his position, then it was best to make it straight away.

However, if it was some kind of superweapon that could disable the Gravada Knarlax in an instant, then Ves was better off holding off its completion until the pirate warship finally came within engagement range.

Considering all of the possibilities, Ves opted to make the safest choice and hold off until battle commenced.

Until then, Ves only started the growth process but did not feed the huge amount of energy needed to complete the growth.

This was good, because it took a fair amount of time for the seed to bloom and grow into something more sophisticated.

After the growing product used up all of the available spiritual energy within reach, its evolution stalled. As long as Ves periodically fed it with a modest amount, he was able to keep the incomplete product in a healthy and stable condition.

This allowed Ves to keep it on standby until he was ready to resume the growth process. Until then, Ves put the P-stone in his B-stone lockbox before passing the square object to Nitaa for safekeeping.

"Watch over it carefully. Don't let anyone touch the box or the stone that's inside." Ves seriously commanded his bodyguard.

"I will make sure it will stay secure." His tall bodyguard stoically replied.

Ves looked at her second-hand Fridayman gear and figured he might as well build a customized Unending combat armor suit to increase his security and reward Nitaa for her loyalty.

He had already used up most of the B-stone that comprised Grand Protector Roshaw's bed frame. What scraps he had left was not enough to cover Nitaa's entire body.

"I'll just have to build a suit without this protection, then."

While that meant she would have to forgo protection against spiritual threats, she would still be extremely formidable against material opponents.

A day quickly went by. While Task Force Predator had begun to enter into its highest state of alert, Ves had squirred himself away in his mech workshop to frantically produce a few pieces of exceptional gear for himself and Nitaa.

He not only built her a brand-new suit of heavy combat armor, he also fashioned a few strengthened gadgets for himself and his bodyguard. For example, he stripped the external structure of her heavy assault rifle and covered it with both Unending alloy and Breyer alloy.

The same went for other gear such as his jammer and Nitaa's foldable sword. He used small pieces of Unending alloy as the principal material before covering up its unevenness with a smooth layer of Breyer alloy.

During this time, Ves continually received status reports from Calabast, Major Verle and other important figures in the fleet. He was peripherally aware of the final preparations made by the various mech forces. He also gained enough information to keep track of the movements of the pirate scouts.

Over time, the pirate scouts acted bolder. They attempted to move closer in order to gain accurate and detailed scans and observation data on the condition of the task force.

The Larkinsons had to prevent this at all costs. Every hour, hundreds of Larkinson and Penitent Sister mechs sortied into space in order to beat back the brazen pirate scout mechs.

The patrols managed to take down dozens of carelessly-piloted pirate light mechs, but the damage inflicted on the pirates was trivial. There were many more scouts that were still determined enough to sneak closer!

On the day when Ves had just upgraded the last pieces of personal gear, the announcement that he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

The forward scouts dispatched by their own side finally detected huge energy emissions in the distance. The energy signatures were barely perceptible, but they were growing stronger at a strong but steady rate.

Several Larkinsons had very little doubt that the signatures belonged to the infamous Gravada Knarlax and her escorts.

The battle that Ves and the Larkinsons Clan were most afraid of was finally dawning upon them. In around twelve to twenty-four hours, Task Force Predator would have no choice but to fight against the overwhelming might of the Allidus Alliance!

Ves and Major Verle convened one final command meeting. Every important commander and officer personally shuttled over to the Scarlet Rose and met up in the conference room.

While it would have been more convenient to hold this meeting by remote, Ves did not want to give the pirate scouts any chance of eavesdropping on the transmissions.

Everyone who entered the conference room looked grim but ready. It was as if they were all staring at their impending deaths. Even if they knew that there was a large chance that some or all of them wouldn't make it at the end of the day, they still retained their fighting spirit.

Warships or not, the Larkinson Clan would not go down without a fight!

Ves threw a look at Major Verle, who promptly commenced the final meeting.

"Hello, everyone. We have all worked extensively to put the final pieces in place. I won't reiterate them all because we are all extensively familiar with these elements. Right now, this meeting is about analyzing the enemy disposition. Our forward scouts have just returned a large amount of fuzzy long-ranged scanning data. While our analysts are still trying to process this data, we can already answer some questions. First, the largest energy signature indeed matches what we expect of a 800-meter heavy cruiser. The Gravada Knarlax or another comparable warship is definitely a part of the enemy punitive fleet."

Everyone's expressions darkened a bit, but not too much. They already expected this outcome, though many hoped the intelligence was wrong. Battling a pirate fleet centered around a heavy cruiser was much different from battling one without such a powerful ship!

Dark clouds seemed to cast over everyone's heads. Though their morale had sunk a bit, there was no way to avoid this blow.

"The sensor data we've obtained has also allowed us to confirm other observations. While there is a small chance the pirates are deliberately trying to mislead us, for now we are confident in our judgement. According to our analysts, the Gravada Knarlax is accompanied by 4 destroyers, 2 frigates and an unknown number of carriers."

"How about their mechs?" Commander Orfan asked. "I heard that the enemy armada forcefully tried to recruit every pirate in their way. How much cannon fodder do we have to go through?"

"8,000 mechs."

Several Larkinsons uttered shocking gasps.

"That's impossible."

The Larkinson Clan's mech troops could only field around 860 mechs at a time. That was how many healthy or lightly-injured mech pilots they retained after the costly Battle of Ulimo Citadel.

The Penitent Sisters were only able to field 200 second-class mechs after suffering badly in the final phases of that very same battle. While Ves expected much from the Hexers due to the quality of their mechs and the new battle network he created for them, they could not shoulder the entire weight of the battle.

Even if the 200 Penitent Sisters confronted the 8000 pirate mechs without any other enemies, it was hard to say who would win!

Each Penitent Sister mech would have to take out 40 pirate mechs to even the score. This was a tall order even if second-class mechs possessed a crushing advantage.

"If we look at the mechs alone, our Larkinson and Penitent Sister mechs are outnumbered by eight-to-one." Commander Melkor stated. "With our strength, it should be doable to defeat such a large force, but the coming battle isn't centered around the mechs."

Major Verle nodded. "The Gravada Knarlax and her escorts will dictate how the battle will unfold. There are many other factors that can complicate the battlefield. For example, we will definitely put our newly-produced superweapons to use, and I can imagine the pirates might be thinking the same. We also have to take.. more esoteric considerations into account. A repeat of the dark sphere might throw everything into chaos."

"We know what is possible now. We won't be caught flat-footed this time." Ves interjected. "While I can't go into the details, we have already prepared our own plans to complicate the battlefield. However, take into account that our measure is likely a double-edged sword. While we have implemented some precautions that should hopefully lessen the burden against us, we can't guarantee anything further."

A lot of commanders and officers expressed confusion at what he said, but he really couldn't afford to say anything more. It was enough to give them a heads-up on what to expect.

The meeting proceeded tensely. Major Verle outlined the probable enemy fleet disposition and began to call up a couple of simulated battles to give everyone an idea how the battle might proceed.

Many of the scenarios ended in an utter defeat for the Larkinson Clan. No matter what their side did, the pirates simply threw a mob of 8,000 pirates in their direction while letting their warships crush the vulnerable Larkinson and Penitent Sister carriers!

If any of the Larkinson mechs came closer, the enormous amount of secondary weapon batteries affixed to the Gravada Knarlax would surely chew them to pieces!

The only scenarios where the Larkinsons achieved a painful victory was when a lot of factors were in their favor.

"We still have a realistic chance of winning the upcoming battle." Major Verle attempted to boost everyone's confidence or at least stave off the onset of despair. "Leaving aside unknown and unpredictable factors, just our mechs and ships alone can still pressure the pirates to the point where they expose vulnerabilities. As long as at least a couple of converted Penitent Sister combat carriers manage to ram the Gravada Knarlax, our follow-up attacks may be able to take the pirate flagship down. If all of our expert candidates manage to advance to expert pilots at once, then the momentum of the battle will briefly but crucially swing in our favor."

Not everyone believed that the latter would happen. Ves hadn't actually gone around to advertising the wonderful effect his spiritually-enhanced mechs had on his expert candidates. He didn't want them to inadvertently blab that sensitive detail in an area that was monitored by the MTA.

While Ves knew it was hard to explain four simultaneous breakthroughs, he still possessed confidence in being able to Devil Tongue his way out of this predicament!

The discussion continued, but no one gained much useful information. Major Verle merely repeated some key messages in order to make sure that everyone was on the same page. The next battle would certainly push everyone to their limits. This made it harder to enact elaborate plans, especially if anomalies dropped over the entire battlefield.

In these kinds of situations, it was important to make sure that every commander and sub-commander knew their role and place on the battlefield.

Ves wanted them to be able to operate independently without waiting for orders from a superior they couldn't get ahold of. If this was not the case, one of the measures he planned to employ risked doing a lot of damage to his own troops!

"You should hold a final speech when we are close to moving into engagement range." Major Verle turned to Ves. "Each of us are here for several reasons. Some of us fight for ourselves. Some fight for the betterment of their children. Others are fighting for you and the ideals you espouse. No matter what, we are all bound and united by the same clan. As our patriarch, we need your voice to remind us what we are fighting for. Can you do that, sir?"

Ves smirked. "Consider it done."