Chapter 6075 A New Combat System

Chapter 6075 A New Combat System

"I had a system." Joshua claimed. "You are already aware that I am close with nearly every design spirit, right? I can even get along with Ylvaine and the Superior Mother. I always made use of my relationships with all of those spirits to borrow their power whenever it was convenient. My Everchanger is the only Larkinson mech that can switch design spirits on his own initiative. That has given me a lot of flexibility in past battles. My companion spirit Willy strengthens my combat system even further because he can independently call down another design spirit."

In other words, Willy and the Everchanger were able to work together to call down two different design spirits at the same time!

The huge number of possible combinations increased the versatility of the Everchanger even further, allowing him to swap out a seemingly endless variety of advantages whenever it was necessary.

Joshua had spent a lot of time on building up his relationships and familiarizing himself with the powers of all of those design spirits.

It was a pity that he was unable to employ any of those strengths during the last mission. T/his chapter is updated by

"I can't fight at my best when my Everchanger is surrounded by Solus Gas." He said with a grimace. "I don't know what exactly makes this gas so special, but the fact that it can completely cut me off from the design spirits that can help me out in combat is frustrating beyond words. I was fighting with at least one hand tied behind my back. If not for this, the Emperor Tree wouldn't have been able to contain my expert mech for so long."

Ketis listened to his complaints. She eventually shook her head.

"Everything you have said is true. That still does not change the fact that a calamity plant managed to put you and your Everchanger at a disadvantage. It is not fair to blame you for being put on the backfoot by an enemy that is comprehensively stronger, but the fact of the matter is that you fought far below your maximum potential in an adverse environment. That is not supposed to happen, you know."

Her husband grew more morose. His willpower dimmed as he thought back on everything that went wrong.

"Ves conceived of the Everchanger as a mech that is always effective and always reliable no matter the situation. He might not have designed your machine as a multipurpose mech, but the intentions are similar enough. It is a failure on the part of your battle partner that he is unable to make use of his strongest advantage, and it is a failure on your part to have no alternatives on hand that could make up for this gap." Venerable Joshua took this criticism hard. He should have been more prepared. He had already been stationed on Reticula Corein V for months. How could he have been negligent about preparing to fight in an environment with high Solus Gas concentrations?

It may have been excusable for him to be caught off-guard by the effects of Solus Gas when he first came into contact with this confounding gas, but this was not the case anymore!

"I need to do better." Joshua admitted. "As much as I like to fight together with different design spirits, I need to develop a new combat system that I can count on. It needs to be anchored around myself and my expert mech in order to ensure its reliability. I cannot allow my enemies or the environment to cripple us again by cutting us off from all of those powerful design spirits."

Ketis nodded in approval. "You are thinking in the right direction. There are expert pilots who are better off if they focus more on improving their strong points. That is not the best approach in your case, at least not all of the time. You are more useful to the Larkinson Clan if you address your newly discovered weakness and ensure it won't be a problem next time. Do you have an idea already?"

"Not entirely, dear. Mutated beasts are like a weaker version of expert mechs. They develop all kinds of magical abilities. They're not as strong as my Everchanger, but they are far more numerous. Think about what it would be like to field hundreds of mutated beasts at the same time? It would be unleashing a horde of discount expert mechs!"

"A horde with a total lack of coordination and cohesion. It won't work as well as you imagine."

"Okay, let's do this instead. What if I bring a few calamity beasts with me instead?"

"That won't work either, Joshua! It is impossible to control beasts! The Hunting Association is very clear about that! Look, you may be able to disprove this assumption if you somehow manage to steal the Emperor Tree's beast control ability, but you can only dominate weaker minds at most. Calamity beasts are far more powerful in general, and their intelligences are far more developed. You will not be able to bend them to your will."

"What if I befriend the calamity beasts instead of trying to enslave them?" Joshua proposed.

"I doubt that it is possible. Even if you manage to erase the natural hostility that exobeasts harbor towards civilized species, I very much doubt you will be able to keep them under total control. No one will accept your desire to add an unstable element alongside their own units."

"What if I borrow the power of the Everchanger to amplify my attempts to keep the calamity beasts under my control?"

"The power difference is still too great. You are an expert pilot. You are not on the same level as beasts that are at least as powerful as the Emperor Tree."

"Then what if I manage to break through to ace pilot and try again? I will definitely be able to succeed at that time! My Saint Kingdom will give me an enormous boost in keeping them friendly and pliant!"

Ketis hesitated for a bit. "I don't have enough data to know for certain whether your scheme will work. It is... plausible that you can effectively tame a handful of weaker calamity beasts, but have you thought that they can grow stronger and resist your control? There is always a risk that they will slip out of your leash and go on a rampage, thereby killing lots of Larkinsons in the process. Will you be able to bear this kind of risk?"

Her husband grew a lot less enthused about his idea. He could not deny that an accident like that might happen one day. He had already learned a painful lesson about accidents not too long ago. It would be a mistake to assume that the worst case scenario could never happen.

"I won't give up on this idea." Joshua stubbornly said. "It might not work out in the end, but I need to see it through. I think this may truly give the Everchanger wings. I don't need to tame calamity beasts and convince them to fight alongside me. I only need to assimilate their power, preferably willingly, but I am not opposed to taking their power by force if they are hostile to humans."

The two continued to explore Joshua's new ideas. Ketis did not entirely support this unconventional scheme, but she understood that her husband needed a new goal to occupy himself. She was happy as long as he wasn't moping anymore.

"I need to become stronger." Joshua stated. "Look at how many powerful beasts have managed to evolve to the level of the Emperor Tree in a couple of years. This is just one untamed planet among many in the new frontier. Think about how they will continue to grow until they reach the next stage. What if they become smart and strong enough to overtake us all? What if they can travel the stars and take away all of our living space? I think we need to prepare for a future where beasts and monsters become our greatest threat, and I think I am far better equipped at handling them than anyone else!"