Published at 3rd of April 2026 7:56 am

Chapter 7444 Military Commitment

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Though Ves really felt annoyed by the attempts made by the elves to pull him into their political orbit, he still appreciated the novelty of their existence.

As one of the key figures responsible for their 'creation', the First and Second Elf had a strong interest in building up a relationship with him. They apparently thought they needed more backing in order to further their interests.

This made sense as Terran society had become intensely divided over the elven initiative. The galactic net had been lit on fire ever since the initial announcement spread, and emotions only became more heated over time.

The two leading elves had come under such intense pressure that their ongoing charm offensive could literally decide whether the elven race could survive beyond this year!

Naturally, obtaining the explicit support of the inventor of the Carmine System, the founder of the Red Collective and the director of the Phase Lord Department could solve a lot of problems!

Unfortunately for the elves, Ves did not see any reason to lend any substantial support.

He still needed to maintain a certain degree of separation from the elven initiative.

The only reason for him to disregard this priority was if the benefits of allying himself with the elves exceeded the downsides.

So far, he saw little of that. Perhaps the elves had a lot of promise in specialized fields, but red humanity still maintained an overwhelming head-start in all matters of development.

Another reason why he felt reluctant to grant the elves a seal of approval was because they might pose a genuine threat to red humanity in the future.

Sure, the elves all made the politically correct statements of how they were simply an 'arboreal variant of human', but he knew how easy it was for divergent biologies to eventually identify themselves as a different or superior race.

In that sense, Ves partially agreed with Saint Jannzi's wary attitude.

He still supported human supremacy, though his definition of it was much broader than normal.

The creation of a new race and one that borrowed from extremely well-established myths of stories went a step too far!

Ves did not want to get hit in the face with the potential backlash that might occur if the elves ever decided to sever their ties to human civilization in the future!

That said, he did not want to spoil his relationship with the elven race before it could get off to a good start.

The current trajectory suggested that a significant proportion of Terrans planned to convert themselves into elves.

This group would definitely be weighted towards people belonging to the middle and upper layers of society.

That meant that the elves would definitely wield an outsized influence over the direction of the Terran Alliance in the future!

In other words, Ves needed to walk a tightrope when it came to the elves. He had to make a friendly impression without getting caught in their trap.

"...we understand the fear of the common folk towards our emergence, but our creation is not as radical as they think." The First Elf patiently explained her viewpoint to Ves and his fellow Larkinsons. "We consider ourselves to be a logical progression of an ongoing development. When you look at our civilization from a macro perspective, we have been engaging in transhumanism since the Age of Stars. When we compare ourselves to the many alien races of the Milky Way and Red Ocean, we often feel dissatisfied with our lack of strength, intelligence and other traits. Since we have the technology to improve upon our inadequate baseline, many of us have embraced its possibilities to improve and build upon our foundation."

"There is a difference between augmenting yourself and inventing a new race." Saint Jannzi flatly stated.

"We do not share the same view." Yenya Aduc elegantly replied. "Human augmentation has long become ubiquitous. The introduction of so-called curated qi cultivation methods has only further lowered the barrier to entry, as even third-raters can break their mortal limits without breaking the bank. Baseline humans have long become extinct in the new frontier."

This was a fact that no one could argue. Even the dullest third-class human who never came in touch with the qi cultivation methods published by the Red Collective had already mutated beyond their original biological makeup.

Years of passive exposure to exotic radiation had subtly changed and altered their body, mind and spirit into a package that could easily be distinguished from a third-class human who remained in the old galaxy.

"You are still moving beyond established conventions of human augmentation." Saint Tusa Billingsley-Larkinson stated from the side. "It is one thing to choose to augment yourself into a special human with pointy ears. It is another thing to create a race whose offspring will permanently inherit the same ears and other improvements. Your children and grandchildren will forever bear the consequences of your choices. You have deprived them of the right to choose."

The First Elf shook her head. "We do not live in a utopia where choice is sacrosanct. Consider this, honorable saint. The well-established market for designer babies has long made it so that humans start off on a stronger footing from the moment of their artificial conception. This is actually an extrapolation of the older trend of augmenting the bodies of infants at an age where they lack the agency to decide on their own improvement. What we have done is merely a continuation of this existing trend. We solidified the designer baby approach so that the parents of tomorrow no longer have to undergo the tedious and expensive process of commissioning a designer baby from a genetics lab."

She was technically correct, but the implications of her race went far beyond automating the designer baby process!

Ves mentally shook his head.

"What you have mentioned largely covers the physiological deviations. There is also the matter of culture and identity. Those are arguably more important changes in biology. I have… personal experience on how difficult it can be for individuals with diverging physical attributes to maintain a strong connection to fellow humans. If the elven race wishes to remain welcome in human company, then it must make a concerted and united effort to maintain this bond."

"We are aware of this obligation and have no intention of neglecting it." The Second Elf sternly answered. "Many elves are chosen among the ranks of soldiers who have volunteered for frontline duty. They will do their best to fight our alien enemies and defend the Terran Alliance. We have an obligation to protect any citizen of the Terran Alliance no matter the race. Whether they are human or elf is of little consequence to us. We identify ourselves as Terrans first."

That was a very clear political statement, and one that should reassure the concerns of many Terrans.

The elves made the correct decision to focus on the factors that bound the Terrans together as opposed to the ones that could further their division.

It was a pity that not everyone intended to play along with the elves, but that was their own problem.

Ves did not have much interest in these issues. He would rather focus his limited attention on more relevant matters such as the upcoming military campaign.

"I agree that a good way to prove your commitment to protecting your people is to take your Woodsap mechs to the front and put your lives on the line." He responded. "To that end, how big of a force can we expect you to accompany our fleets?"

"It will not take long for our mixed force of human and elven Woodsap mechs to complete their organization." The Second Elf immediately answered. "You can expect 120 Woodsap mechs to board 4 state-of-the-art combat carriers before joining your combined fleet. They are at your Saint Commander's disposal. All we ask is that we are given plenty of chances to prove our mettle in controlled engagements against a variety of alien opponents."

"What are your requirements?" Casella Ingvar asked.

"We will transmit a detailed list of requests and expectations to you, but in short we wish to test our might against equal or moderately stronger forces of enemy strike craft, warships and defensive installations without receiving any friendly military assistance." Caracalla Shuku succinctly explained. "We must be allowed to fight and die on our own terms in order to show the Terrans back home how much we can make difference across the Terran front. As much as we admire and appreciate your famous Command Field or your iconic ace mechs, they are components of the Larkinson Clan. We cannot possibly extend those advantages to our own forces, nor do we have any desire to do so. Our people must stand up for our own rights."

"That is how it should be." Ves voiced his approval.

The Saint Commander looked thoughtful. "It will be difficult to engineer combat scenarios where your Woodsap mech detachment can fight against a somewhat isolated force of alien assets, but it is not an impossible demand to fulfill. As long as it does not endanger my fellow Larkinsons, I have no objections to your proposal. Just be aware that if you choose to challenge the aliens on equal ground, you must be mentally prepared to accept the consequences of your own decisions. Intelligence gathering is never complete. Our forces will actively intervene to bail you out if you have bitten more than you can chew. Accidents can always happen. If the aliens have brought unexpected reinforcements, then it will take time for our own units to come to your assistance. You must bear responsibility over your own casualties."

"Understood, commander." The Second Elf seriously responded. "We will never dare to cast any blame on you for our own hubris and mistakes. We have all chosen to undertake this duty for the good of the Terran Alliance. We know that we will make sacrifices, and we are fully prepared to return with less than the original 120 prototype Woodsap mech pilots. We only hope that the losses we are bound to suffer will lead to further improvements down the line."

Ves nodded in affirmation. "That is the purpose of testing prototypes. I have a lot of confidence in my own work, but nothing is certain until we have completed this round of field tests. We should be able to apply quick fixes and adjustments while we are operating behind enemy lines, but if we have discovered more severe problems, then you will have little choice but to put up with them for the remainder of the campaign."

Personally, he did not think that it would come to this. He merely stated these words because he wanted to err on the side of caution.

Now that the elves had made it clear that they would definitely accompany the Larkinsons into alien-occupied space, the barrier between the two groups had weakened to an extent.

The Woodsap mechs might not constitute a large or particularly powerful force, but they could still help the Larkinsons minimize their own casualties in the upcoming battles.

There was no better way to strengthen bonds of trust and camaraderie than fighting on the same battlefield!

As the Second Elf started to mingle with the military-minded Larkinsons, Ves took the First Elf to the side in order to hold a more personal discussion.

"Let me take a closer look at this 'Grail of Rebirth."

Yenya Aduc did not hesitate for a second. She freely lifted the extraordinary grail with both hands.

This allowed Ves to reach out and touch the surface of the carved exterior of the highly decorated grail.

From the moment he did so, he came into direct contact with one of the most unique and remarkable artifacts he had come across!

His eyes slightly widened as he gained a much more detailed impression of the extraordinary features that supported the Green Rebirth Ritual.

Just as she suspected, the transformation from a human and elf went far beyond a change in biology.

The key to the Green Rebirth Ritual was the complete sublimation of spirituality!

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