The Mech Touch

That didn't mean the humans and fish-whales had stopped competing against each other.

In fact, it was the opposite!

Much to Ves' surprise, the space above the Lab Continent had turned into a giant practice yard.

Over a hundred mechs were sparring against numerous different fish-whales!

It was incredibly jarring to see how much the relations between the two forces had changed.

Before Ves entered the underground compound, his troops treated the Evolver fish-whales with a great degree of vigilance.

The expeditionary forces knew so little about the alien creatures that any action could be interpreted as a faux pas to the fish-whales. Such an accident could easily trigger a conflict that could easily escalate into a full-blown war!

Yet instead of remaining cautious and conservative, the mech pilots of Task Force Fisherman completely gave in to their urge to test their strength against the Evolver fish-whales!

Ves let out an exasperated breath. During his tentative negotiations with the fish-whales, he had to exercise all of his wits in order to get the risk-averse Cerebral King to play along. He put so much effort into his persuasion effort that he completely withdrew his attention from what was happening outside.

Hence why the current sight completely took him by surprise.

He did not panic or act rashly when confronted by the sight of so many mechs engaging in duels against different fish-whales.

First, Commander Casella or another mech officer would have transmitted an emergency alert to the Everchanger if the situation became untenable.

Second, the degree of combat between the combatants was much more controlled. The Evolver fish-whales did not unleash their most destructive attacks while the mechs did not employ their most lethal tactics and attack methods.

The lack of killing intent caused the individual spars to proceed at a lower and more placid pace than the initial duel between Patriarch Reginald and the bladed fish-whale.

If Ves had to summarize the current atmosphere above the Lab Continent with a single word, he would have to describe it as festive!

"These people have begun to party without me!" Ves complained.

The cross-species carnival might look chaotic, but it was actually well-controlled.

Mechs and fish-whales remained on standby not too far away. All of them looked ready to intervene if the combatants became too eager and lost control over their strength exertion.

The matching of mechs and fish-whales were also carefully chosen. There was no instance where weaker mechs had to fight against stronger fish-whales by themselves.

After a bit of exploration, both sides estimated the overall strength of every individual combatant.

While the task force included a lot of standard mechs that weren't too exceptional as individual combatants, they became a lot more challenging to defeat once they teamed up with each other!

This led to asymmetrical group matches where squads of four, five or six mechs sparred against single fish-whales.

The Evolver fish-whales acquitted themselves well despite having to split their focus on multiple opponents. Whether they possessed phasewater or not, the powerful organs and modifications applied by the Cerebral King had elevated their strengths to new heights!

Ves rapidly gained a deeper understanding of the combat strength of the Evolver fish-whales. Even though these casual sparring sessions did not show them at their best, the way they managed to hold their ground even when fighting against multiple different mechs demonstrated their fantastic combat acumen!

The Cerebral King gazed deeply at its subjects and the mechs they were facing. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ KIN ARE STRONG BUT PRECIOUS. THEY MUST NOT DIE.

"We will make sure that won't happen." Ves replied to the Cerebral King. "Once I go back, my men and I will work on preparing the goods for shipment. We will provide you with more than enough high-quality materials and power reactors to amplify your total combat power. Just make sure that you are ready to integrate our human products in your body and the bodies of your fellow fish-whales. They take up a lot of space and generate a lot of heat when they are fully active. Don't forget to prepare powerful but demanding organs that can best make use of the output of our power reactors."

UNDERSTAND. ONLY NEED SMALL CHANGES TO IMPROVEMENT PLANS. MY BODY WILL COME CLOSER TO PERFECTION.

"Also, make sure you prepare the payment for our goods. We will not hand over the power reactors and other goods until you have prepared the synthesized organs and other items that we want to obtain. If this trade goes well, we can conduct similar trades in the future. I advise you not to think about reneging on your promises. The key to a good trading relationship is to forgo short-term advantages to secure long-term benefits."

NO NEED TO REMIND. SURVIVAL AND DEFEAT OF TRAITORS MUST BE ATTAINED. TRADE MUST MAKE THIS POSSIBLE.

"I agree. Both of us will be able to attain our goals as long as we trade with each other. My men and I will be making our way back now. We will come again to complete the trade. The clock that we have left behind will tell you how long you must wait until we come again."

BE CAREFUL. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE TRAITORS. IF TRAITORS LEARN ABOUT OUTSIDERS, THEY WILL ATTACK AT ANY COST.

"I understand. We are always on guard against attacks and we try not to expose ourselves. I must warn you that if the Swarm Kingdom or the other kingdoms ever find where we came from and launch an all-out attack, my troops and I have no choice but to retreat in order to defend our home base."

SAME APPLIES TO US. TRAITORS MUST NOT OBTAIN INHERITANCE OF GOD.

The two leaders continued to chat for a few minutes before they finally said goodbye in their own ways.

The Everchanger flew back up and joined its fellow mechs.

Commander Casella had already received the order to stop the party and converge every mech.

Apparently, Ves had concluded a deal but needed Task Force Fisherman to return in order to escort the promised trade goods back to the Evolution Kingdom.

Although it was possible to load a bunch of shuttles and small transports with valuable goods before sending them off to the Evolution Kingdom, they were way too vulnerable without the protection of enough mechs.

Task Force Fisherman consisted of most of the mechs that the Golden Skull Alliance was willing to commit in Purgatory. While there were thousands more mechs on standby on the other side of the portal, they were already tasked with defending the fleet and the mining sites.

"Are we leaving so soon, already? I haven't finished my duel yet! I promised to teach this fish a lesson!"

"Stop complaining and get back into formation. Time is not on our side."

Both the mech pilots and the fish-whales reacted with disappointment after Ves had interrupted the entertaining and illuminating spars. The human and alien combatants had all developed a bit more closeness towards each other, but they were still a distance away from becoming reliable comrades-in-arms.

If Ves had a choice, he would have allowed this spontaneous circus to proceed for several more hours. . ᴄᴏᴍ

However, the timetable for this campaign was getting tighter and tighter. The Golden Skull Alliance needed to prepare its trade goods and figure out an effective method to lure the Swarmers into attacking the Phase Kingdom.

The Evolution Kingdom had to collect the unique resources demanded by the humans. A few of the goods were so special and valuable that the Cerebral King needed at least a few days to prepare them all. As long as the Evolvers weren't ready to complete this commitment, the humans would not take their cooperation any further.

Ves had made this abundantly clear to the Cerebral King. He did not want to test the sincerity of the creature.

Right now, he was fairly certain that the Cerebral King would uphold their end of the deal. While they had to sacrifice a decent amount of resources in order to conduct the upcoming swap, the goods that humanity was willing to hand over could easily be used to enhance the king fish's direct combat strength!

"Sir, our troops are ready to depart." Commander Casella reported.

"Good. Let us set off and return to Fort Fishblood. Make sure our route does not bring us too close to any Swarmers. At this stage, we truly cannot afford to attract the attention of any of the rival fish-whale kingdoms."

The large group of mechs finally made its way back to the Gate Continent.

The Cerebral King and all of the fish-whales in the vicinity saw them go. Their alien expressions were mixed and showed plenty of curiosity and desire.

Just like the Cerebral King, the Evolver fish-whales were much smarter than other ordinary fish-whales. It was surprising for them to develop a fascination for these mysterious outsiders.

Once the group of the mechs traveled far enough for the everpresent fog to obscure their forms, the Cerebral King turned back to its subordinates and commanded them to perform numerous chores.

The humans had not held back in their demands. The Cerebral King and the rest of the Evolution Kingdom had to put in a lot of work in order to please their new trading partners!

Time passed by as Task Force Fisherman uneventfully completed its trip back to Fort Fishblood.

Many of the soldiers guarding the ancient space gate were surprised to see the task force return so soon. They had set out into Purgatory in order to raid or conquer the Phase Kingdom. The dispatched mechs returned way too soon to complete such an ambitious attack!

It was only when the mechs of the task force came home and shared a few of their experiences that everyone became excited.

Even though the Evolver fish-whales were aliens that were doomed to stand on the opposite side of humanity, no one cared about that right now. The people had all grown fascinated by the first peaceful contact between the Golden Skull Alliance and an actual alien society.

As numerous mechs landed inside Fort Fishblood and switched off so that the mech technicians were able to service them, Ves and Venerable Joshua exited the cockpit of the Everchanger and walked together for a time.

Both of them discussed their observations of the Evolution Kingdom and the Cerebral King in particular.

As an expert pilot that was sensitive towards life, Joshua possessed a slightly different perspective towards the king fish!

"Sir, that Cerebral King or however you call it is not simple." Joshua said with a touch of concern. "I always get the feeling that the fish is holding back how smart he is. For example, it always understood your speech even as you began to string increasingly longer and more complicated sentences. Meanwhile, the fish-whale always stuck to short and simple phrases."

Ves nodded in acknowledgement. "This incongruity hasn't escaped my attention. It's just not worth raising this topic in front of the king fish. All of the analysts at our disposal are constantly pouring over the transcripts of my talk with the alien leader. The Cerebral King may be a secret in front of my eyes, but it is impossible for it to fool over a hundred different human professionals!"

"I see. That is reassuring to hear, sir. Will we truly trade away all of that stuff you mentioned?"

"Yes. We can't fight alongside each other unless we prove our sincerity to each other. It doesn't matter what goods we trade, but if we cannot even conclude a single deal, it is out of the question for us to raid the Phase Kingdom together."

What would happen next would serve as a test for both the humans and the fish-whales. Both of them had to bring out a portion of their more precious goods in order to satisfy each other's demands!

Ves already began to furrow his brows as he thought about his biggest concession.

"Do we have a spare starship-grade power reactor in our inventory?"