The Mech Touch

Chapter 7571 Conditional Loyalty

Ves had always wondered the meaning behind the existence of Chosen Envoys.

The System had included the ability to convert special individuals into so-called Chosen Envoys.

It seemed like a random addition, and one that was only tangentially related to the domain of Spiritual Ascension.

When Ves had chosen this upgrade track, much had changed. The Mech Designer System completely transformed the way it interacted with him and other users. It introduced fantastic facilities such as the Tree of Possibilities and the Workshop of Creation.

Ves understood all of the additions and improvements for the most part. Every new and improved service had a solid logical explanation for why it became available.

Chosen Envoys was a different story. The ability to create and host them fell under the jurisdiction of the Sacred Temple, which happened to be the highest and most ethereal facilities in the System Space.

While Ves had gotten a lot of use out of the unique and extremely precious ability to view and manipulate his own Divine Core in the Sacred Hearth, he often overlooked the larger and more expansive Chosen Courtyard.

This space was considerably larger but also emptier.

Perhaps Ves and the other users of the System were meant to fill it up with Chosen Envoys over time.

He was in no hurry to do so, largely because he largely remained confused about the purpose behind this particular expansion.

What was the point of Chosen Envoys?

Why would a mech designer and a creation cultivator that aspired to become a Star Designer possibly have need of these strange attendants?

Normally, mech designers could count on the protection of a state or a large organisation to fulfill their security needs.

Even if they eschewed such protection, the more successful ones should always be able to invest enough money and resources to build up a decent mech force.

Ves himself followed both paths at the moment.

He painstakingly recruited talented mech pilots and nurtured them when they grew under his care and employment.

He also began to mix with the big players who ultimately chose to send protectors of their own in order to safeguard their interests.

With so much comprehensive protection, the existence of Chosen Envoys seemed redundant.

Yet… now that he had finally deployed his first and only Chosen Envoy on an actual battlefield for the first time, Ves suddenly felt as if he had gained enlightenment.

He gained a glimpse of a truth, or perhaps a specific interpretation of it. Whatever the case, he no longer felt as confused about the existence and purpose of Chosen Envoys as before.

The first insight he gained from the manifestation of a Chosen Envoy was that Ves could feel that he firmly held the reins.

He commanded total obedience from the ghost of Imon Ingvar.

It was a magical feeling and one that Ves could not describe. It was not as absolute as his control over his various incarnations, but it was also not as feeble or delicate as his connections to his various masterworks.

Ves perceived the Chosen Envoy as a sentient drone that was firmly under his thrall.

He could instinctively feel he could issue any command without any restrictions.

While the Chosen Envoy could never fulfill every possible order, he would try to do so to the best of his limited abilities regardless of his wants or desires.

In fact, while Imon Ingvar had managed to recover a considerable part of his personality during the days he spent recovering inside the Chosen Courtyard, his ego still remained very weak.

The current version of Imon did not share much of a resemblance of his once glorious self.

This was very evident by the complete lack of extraordinary willpower.

The complete loss of his willpower cultivation was by far the most serious downside of his transformation into a Chosen Envoy.

Ves seriously doubted that there was any possibility for him to preserve the willpower of any strong expert pilot or ace pilot during the conversion process.

Because a Chosen Envoy had to be absolutely subordinate to a transcendent figure.

The phrase itself denoted their role and boundaries. They were individuals specially chosen to represent Ves or another user.

They could only serve one single individual at a time. This was an important observation. Chosen Envoys could never serve two or more masters.

Ves knew without any shadow of a doubt that he commanded Imon Ingvar's absolute obedience.

After all, he had been the one who had 'chosen' him to become his 'envoy'.

Therefore, uninvolved users such as Gloriana or Ketis could never issue orders to Imon Ingvar. The latter would simply ignore their commands.

Unless Ves explicitly instructed Imon Ingvar to accept the orders of other people, the reborn warrior would always remain impassive to the requests of others.

This was an incredible benefit.

In a universe filled with people whose motives and loyalties could change at any time for any reason, having an absolutely loyal subordinate and protector was incomparably precious.

Ves had experienced far too many betrayals and turnarounds to maintain faith in the absolute loyalty of others.

Everyone had a price.

Even the most honorable and loyal of high-ranking mech pilots could still appeal to higher values and principles to turn their backs on old friends and superiors.

While the latter most definitely had to contort their minds and wills in order to engineer such a special situation, Ves knew it could be done.

In fact, he suspected that the MTA and RA secretly taught and instructed expert pilots and ace pilots on how to rules lawyer their way out of inconvenient vows and promises shortly after their advancements.

It certainly explained how a certain number of saints gradually lost interest in serving their states and shifted their loyalties to groups that operated on a larger scope… such as the mechers.

In any case, Ves would be a fool to think that he could still command the likes of Saint Dise or Saint Rosa Orfan as if they were his dogs.

They became more valuable to him as they grew in power and capabilities, but they also gained more agency for those very same reasons!

This was a natural development, especially considering the mech pilot-focused culture propagated by the Big Two after the start of the Age of Mechs.

Ves constantly found himself forced into managing his relationships with powerful ace pilots who nominally served his clan.

The fact that he had resigned from his position as patriarch of the Larkinson Clan already made it a lot more difficult to maintain his authority over these strong-willed individuals.

He ultimately had to rely on a mix of gratitude and mutual interests to keep them roughly in line.

Even then, they could still disagree with him for any reason.

For example, Saint Davia Stark never joined the Larkinson Clan and made pains to remind everyone that she had merely agreed to serve as a retainer.

Saint General Ark Larkinson did not even bother to defer to Ves.

The stubborn uncle had no problem with taking advantage of the successes of his nephew, yet always insisted on leading the Larkinson Clan in a very different direction!

Ves felt rather lucky that he formed common ground with Saint Commander Casella Ingvar, who happened to be the current leader and matriarch of the Larkinson Clan.

Even then, the frighteningly smart and observant ace commander had already made it clear to Ves in her own subtle way that her loyalty was never unconditional.

She possessed her own wants and obsessions.

The reason why Ves could count on her continued loyalty for the time being was because he had managed to 'revive' her brother, though in a very flawed and incomplete fashion.

Even though Imon the Chosen Envoy still did not resemble his original living self in many different ways, Casella refused to admit the truth that her brother was fully lost!

So long as a shred of his soul still remained alive, she fully believed that she retained the hope of recovering him completely in the future!

Perhaps Ves or the Saint Commander could only gain the power to completely restore Imon Ingvar when they ascended into God Kings or beyond, but as long as the possibility existed, Casella would never lose hope!

Though Ves personally felt that Casella was deluding herself by betting on such an incredibly distant and low-probability prospect, he had no qualms about taking advantage of a grieving sister.

He needed Casella.

Her strength as an ace commander was incomparably precious. Her leadership position also granted him an indirect means of controlling his clan.

So long as she remained in charge, Ves also maintained his control in a sense.

Ves actually found it ironic that he was able to win over Casella's conditional loyalty due to the fact that he commanded the unconditional loyalty of her brother.

He actually felt a little guilty about exploiting their familiar relationship. Imon did not deserve to lose his ability to choose his own loyalties. Yet a Chosen Envoy could never become anything else. There was no way to revive whatever remained of his after his demise unless he assumed this particular form of existence.