The Mech Touch

Chapter 6448 The Huntsman Problem

Fortunately, the cosmopolitans never really succeeded in making any progress in the Milky Way.

Human civilization had experienced multiple high tides and low tides, yet the human supremacists who inherited the spirit of Supreme Marshal Caramond Perle had always prevailed over their alien adversaries.

The aliens of the Milky Way still numbered a lot, but they were already defeated dogs as far as most leading humans were concerned.

The armed forces of the Big Two had grown far too powerful for the aliens to resist. The technological advantages of human civilization had also accumulated way too much to the point where the aliens lacked the scientists and engineers to grasp and effectively make use of all of the new theories.

Above all, the continued division and mutual suspicion between the surviving alien empires continued to inhibit any attempts at forming a true anti-human coalition.

The historical baggage between the alien races was far too much to overcome. It did not help that the alien races that got displaced by human conquests fled to the territories of other species before ruthlessly carving out their own territories!

To this day, tension and animosity still existed between the two groups of aliens!

Perhaps the cosmopolitans were constantly trying to encourage the two sides to reconcile with each other, but how could the aliens possibly place their trust on envoys of the same human race that tore the old order in the Milky Way asunder?

Besides, the Big Two did not remain by the sidelines. The mechers and the fleeters sent plenty of covert agents into alien space in order to stoke division and ruin any hope of reconciliation.

In short, the Milky Way Galaxy had turned into the Big Two's playground. Not even the aliens were fully in control of their own destiny anymore as their life and death had always remained under the control of the mechers and the fleeters.

Even the Cosmopolitan Movement fell under the Big Two's control to an extent. The cosmopolitans may assume that they were rebels of the current human order, but even they could not escape the fate of being used to maintain the validity of human supremacy!

Careful management by the mechers and the fleeters ensured that they continued to tarnish anyone who advocated for peace with alien species!

Secret Keeper Closier-17 painted a disturbing picture where the Mech Trade AssociationNôv(el)B\\jnn

and the Common Fleet Alliance possessed such a tight grasp on the Milky Way that no enemy could threaten their dominance anymore!

At that point, the Big Two only feared themselves and their fellow humans. Maintaining a certain degree of human unity was essential to maintaining the superiority of their race, This was why the mechers and the fleeters strategically manipulated the cosmopolitans and the aliens to exert a tolerable degree of external pressure onto their society.

"This strategy obviously does not work in the Red Ocean, not after the Great Severing!" The Secret Keeper stated. "Before the Red Cabal displaced our dwarf galaxy through the purposeful instigation of a large number of desperate cosmopolitans, our branch of humanity was no different from the humans who remained behind in the Milky Way. We were united as one, so our collective power was far beyond the point where the native aliens of the Red Ocean could pose a credible threat."

Ves nodded in understanding. "After the Great Severing, red humanity has transitioned from a condition of absolute superiority to a state of heavy disadvantages. The transition is too abrupt. What used to be a mild nuisance turned into an existential threat."

"Just so, chief councilor. We were all aware that many cosmopolitan cells have managed to infiltrate our ranks. However, their ability to exert change was minimal because our institutions used to be unshakable. The tier 1 and tier 2 galactic citizens who are responsible for leading our civilization have let their guard down against the cosmopolitans to the point where infrequent collusion with them not only took place, but became a tolerated practice."

Toleration.

The word stood for knowing that people were committing wrongful acts, but letting them get away with it because it was not worth it to intervene.

The situation had clearly changed by now. People's tolerance for the cosmopolitans had already run out. The alien lovers had done nothing to improve red humanity's dire state, and committed far too many wrongful deeds that only worsened the status quo!

The strong retaliation by the leaders of red humanity therefore turned into a logical and expected counterreaction. It was the most sensible choice to make. The fact that kinship networks had proven to be able to expose and cripple the operations of the cosmopolitan cells most certainly played a major role!

"Old habits die hard." Ves crossed his arms. "Let me guess. When we changed our policy towards the Cosmopolitan Movement from tacit toleration to absolute rejection, some bigshots are a little slow to change."

The Secret Keeper's expression remained neutral as always, giving away no hint of his feelings.

"That is an understatement, chief councilor. There are tier 1, 2 and 3 galactic citizens that have deciphered our actual situation several years ago and immediately changed

their attitudes towards the Cosmopolitan Movement. There are also high officials who are slower to change, either because they are compromised by the human traitors, are still under the assumption that the cosmopolitans can do little harm or because they are unable to adjust to our new reality."

"Are they stupid?"

"It is not correct to characterize them in this fashion." Closier-17 shook his head. "No high tier galactic citizen is incompetent or deficient in rational reasoning. Their behavior is a product of existing biases, faulty or incomplete information, fear of losing their existing benefits and most importantly an overestimation of their capabilities. This group of humans are misguided, but they can still be redeemed."

"They are not our true concern. What actually concerns us, the true members of the Secret Department, are the few leaders that have colluded far more extensively with the Cosmopolitan Movement than average. Whether out of pragmatism or a genuine belief in coexistence with the aliens, I am sad to say that there are leaders who have betrayed the covenant made by Supreme Marshal Caramond Perle. No one but themselves have a complete understanding on how extensively they have cooperated over the years, but it is not a mischaracterization to describe them as secret allies."

The air in the heavily jammed office grew heavier after the spy spoke those words. The Secret Keeper essentially accused some of the leading figures of human civilization as outright traitors!

"Who... are these cosmopolitan-friendly leaders?"

Closier-17 directed a pointed gaze at Ves.

"You have suspicions."

"I do."

"Voice them. Tell me the names that weigh heavily on your mind."

"The Huntsman." Ves almost snarled.

"Your concerns are valid." Closier-17. "We have... clues that indicate that the Huntsman has cooperated extensively with several cosmopolitan cells that he has made contact with. However, His Divinity likely does not perceive his actions as collusions. He instead views his actions as using the cosmopolitans. This classifies him as a pragmatic collaborator."

Ves scoffed at that. "Pragmatic. Yeah right. Stupid logic is still stupid."

"If you are familiar with his ideology, then it is much easier to explain his behavior. He has long regarded the alien-occupied side of the Milky Way as his hunting preserve. However, the quality of the prey available in this vast space has long disappointed him. There are not enough aliens that can pose a serious threat to a god pilot. If he wants to grow stronger, then he must hunt prey that is equal or greater to him in strength. That is understandably difficult to find when the Seven Apex Races have been crushed, humiliated and defanged. They are broken. Their vaunted strength that enabled them to

dominate the Milky Way for eons before our rise has not entirely disappeared, but without the will to resist humankind, the aliens cannot muster up their full strength in battle. This is clearly not in line with the Huntsman's interests, so what do you think he

has done to remedy this situation?"

There was only one answer that made sense.

"The Huntsman used the cosmopolitans to prop up the surviving alien races and give

them hope." Ves said with a frown. "I think the others may have been content to keep the aliens in the Milky Way weak enough to avoid posing a serious threat, but the Huntsman is out of lockstep with that policy. He cannot do without challenging hunts. I fear his collusion with the cosmopolitans is much greater than I feared because he cannot help himself. From what it sounds like, the god pilot essentially turned the Cosmopolitan Movement into the groundskeeper of 'his' hunting preserve."

"That is an accurate description of what he has done during the Age of Mechs. We had hoped that he would curb this habit when red humanity unexpectedly entered the Age of Dawn, and he has done so to an extent. He is not incapable of adapting to changing situations. However... what has not changed is his ideology, his perspective and his ambitions. As long as those remain unchanged, he cannot entirely abandon his modus

operandi."

Ves frowned. This contradicted the information supplied by the Titled Hunter that Lucky encountered when he infiltrated a cosmopolitan starship during the Battle of Mazepan.

According to the Deep Wanderer, the Huntsman and by extension the Hunting Association had already begun the process of cutting ties with the Cosmopolitan

Movement.

However, the Secret Department of the Red Collective believed that the Huntsman would remain unrepentant. His compulsive desire to set up challenging hunts required him to continue his collusion with the cosmopolitans in order to set up the Red Ocean as the perfect hunting ground. At most, he would merely go even further underground so that it became more difficult to detect his treasonous activities.

Ves furrowed his brows. He did not know which explanation veered closer to the truth. Between the words from an indoctrinated minion of the Huntsman and an indoctrinated minion of the Evolution Witch, neither of them had proven to be more credible than the

other.

Even though Secret Keeper Closer-17 suggested that Ves was on the same side as the Evolution Witch, the chief councilor did not exactly see it this way.

Ves disliked the Huntsman a lot more, but that did not mean he tolerated the Evolution

Witch's antics towards him. They both meddled in his life and pushed him to his limit in different ways.

"Let me get this straight, Secret Keeper. The Huntsman has a history of colluding with the cosmopolitans in the past, and he will likely continue to do so despite the ongoing

crackdown. Even as the rest of us are trying to weaken the cosmopolitan cells hiding in our midst and eradicate them whenever possible, the Huntsman still has an interest in keeping them alive and useful so that they can continue to nurture more challenging hunting prey for him, is that correct? Doesn't he realize that there are already way too many ancient phase whales for him to defeat? How can he possibly want more!?"

"That is what we are unable to discern. We do not have enough intelligence to understand his complete layout. We know he has devised a grand scheme that is meant to shape the Red Ocean into his perfect hunting ground." "What the hell is his perfect hunting ground?!" Ves frustratingly asked.

"We do know that the Huntsman, as outrageous as it sounds, is disappointed with the

quality of the top prey of the Red Cabal. He never pays attention to quantity. He only pays attention to quality. It does not matter that we are heavily outnumbered by the native aliens. As long as the ancient phase whales remain weak enough that the Huntsman can defeat them in single combat without any serious chance of losing, the

fact of the matter is that they are not qualified prey from his perspective. The solution is therefore simple. He must alter the Red Ocean so that it can produce stronger prey. How exactly he intends to do that, we are not entirely clear as of yet. We are still in the process of gathering intelligence."

That sounded rather ominous to Ves. The Huntsman had truly turned into a maverick that placed his selfish goals above his duty to society. It was highly irresponsible for him to hatch these nefarious schemes when they could end up harming a lot of innocent.

humans!