Chapter 6276 Enfeoffment

Chapter 6276 Enfeoffment

The Minerva had returned to the Spirit of Bentheim by this time.

Though Commander Casella Ingvar preferred to berth her expert mech at one of the fleet carriers most of the time, the factory ship was able to provide the best care to the machine.

Ves was not too worried about the Minerva's condition. Casella's breakthrough and forced resonance state was not that strong. On top of that, her command specialization meant that her machine did not suddenly gain the power to punch phase lords in the head or anything.

The Saint Commander remained in the cockpit as she continued to discuss her gains with the patriarch of the Larkinson Clan.

The two had been trying to figure out the reason why Casella somehow became reasonably good at both commanding massive armies and super-empowering a small group of mechs.

So far, they had not come up with a more solid answer than chalking it all up to E energy radiation.

"The Red Ocean is what I call a medium energy environment." The spiritual manifestation of Ves explained. "It is already a known phenomenon that high-ranking mech pilots have become more powerful compared to their old galaxy counterparts, and it is not just due to differences in technology. There is just a lot more energy floating around in space that is entirely absent in the Milky Way. Those ace commanders in our former homes have to power everything by themselves, while you can borrow from the power of heaven."

"The power of heaven?"

"It's another way to refer to E energy radiation. Anyway, my theory is that one of the driving reasons why your Command Field has grown so ridiculously large at your current level of strength is because E energy radiation is passively supporting its existence. Do you think that is the case?"

Casella furrowed her brows. "I have not consciously thought about it, but your theory has merit. I cannot give you a definite answer as my Command Field is highly dependent on the tech integrated in the Minerva. Perhaps I previously ignored this factor because I thought it was filtered through technology."

"It is too soon to make a profound decision on this matter." Casella said. "I have only just attained my current rank. I still have much to learn and discover about my changes and improvements. I also need time to rethink my development trajectory. My brother's death... has prompted me to make changes in my life."

"Whatever the case, I think you have a choice on how you want to develop your Command Field in the future. Will you try to develop both directions as equally as possible, thereby risking the outcome that you will merely become mediocre in both, or will you favor one direction over the other?"

That was a very important question, and one that Casella did not wish to answer right away.

"It is too soon to make a profound decision on this matter." Casella said. "I have only just attained my current rank. I still have much to learn and discover about my changes and improvements. I also need time to rethink my development trajectory. My brother's death... has prompted me to make changes in my life."

She wordlessly reminded Ves that he still owed her a full explanation about that. His spiritual projection raised his hand.

"Soon. Be patient. I think a face-to-face meeting isn't necessary. We will just have to wait until Saint Tusa returns from the field and becomes available to us. We can borrow his Saint Kingdom to hold a remote conversation in absolute confidence so long as you do not mind if he listens in on our discussion."

"Vassalization implies surrendering control."

"Any mortal kingdom is never completely centralized, Casella. The sovereign must always rely on vassalization and delegation in order to manage everything better. While Commandeering allows you to directly lead your massive army of Knights, Enfeoffment should not only be more about bestowing power to powerful candidates, but also giving them the space to exercise their power in a manner of their choosing. I mean, what is the point of controlling human-controlled mechs if you always take away all of their control? You may as well follow the example of the Army of One if you want to control every variable. Don't forget that living mechs are all unique and can think for themselves. Don't waste their advantages."

Ves had to stand up for his living mechs and at least persuade Casella Ingvar to give his products enough room to express themselves.

Casella looked thoughtful. "I shall consider it. Your argument is valid. I have not made a decision on whether to adopt your Enfeoffment scheme, but it is a good option. I have never truly seen myself as the Queen of my own Saint Kingdom. It sounds... overly dramatic."

"Ace pilots are all dramatic one way or another. You are so far removed from normal humans that you simply don't think like them anymore. This is a blessing as well as a curse. Just embrace it. This is your true nature. Trying to repress your eccentricities will probably hinder your growth. Doing the opposite and expressing your urges more freely will probably be better for your development in the long run. Just think about all of the people who eventually made it to god pilot. There is absolutely no normal human among them. They all rank at the top in terms of eccentricity and weirdness."

He made another good argument.

Casella was not the sort of pilot who liked to express everything in the open. Her nature as a commander encouraged her to keep much of her thoughts and feelings to herself. She preferred to present a restrained and carefully cultivated image of herself to the public.

However, now that she had reached a stage of her development where she needed to become more powerful and high-profile in order to realize her ambitions, perhaps a radical switch was in order.

The Saint Commander actually began to adopt a more favorable attitude towards Enfeoffment. Dressing up the tiers of empowerment in noble titles could do much to distinguish herself from other ace commanders, not that there were that many of them in the first place.

She even had a candidate for the only pilot who deserved to be crowned King.

No one else but her brother deserved to reign as a co-ruler of her own Saint Kingdom.

As long as Imon remained absent, then the crown of the King would always remain unused.

"I think I shall take up the mantle of Queen of my own Saint Kingdom." She decided.

"Good. Please think more about your development direction going forward. Whether you want to field a vast army of Knights, build up a thriving court of Aristocrats or find a balance between both, it is better to make up your mind sooner rather than later. My wife and I can precisely plan, configure and design the Minerva Mark II according to your choices. It is very troublesome to change this later. I can think of multiple different ways to enhance your machine's effectiveness in all of those possible scenarios."

"Can you give an example, sir?"

"Well, one of the major advancements of my sixth-generation living mechs is the Ultimate Module. If you intend to invest heavily in Commandeering, I can probably figure out a way to make the Ultimate Module detachable. It may be possible to use it as a beacon to extend your Command Field beyond its usual range. Maybe you can even deploy your Command Field in two different locations at once!"

That certainly sounded a lot more intriguing to Casella!

The tactical and strategic value of being able to deploy her Command Field beyond the radius of her Minerva opened up a lot of interesting possibilities, such as empowering a flanking force that attacked from a completely different direction!