Published at 7th of April 2026 7:11 am

Chapter 7449 Hedging Strategy

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"What?!" Ves looked scandalized! "I am not going to take up your suggestions!"

Before Calabast provided him with her recommendations, she strongly advised him to send out Eliza Mo Ragadan.

He exchanged a look with his subordinate from the Red Collective.

"I am not too sure about this." He said. "I could use a second perspective. While I haven't known her for as long as I have liked, I think I am a good enough judge of character to trust in her discretion. If I want her to represent my interests for years on end, then I have to bring her into my inner circle sooner or later. I might as well do the former."

Calabast paused for a moment but did not repeat her statement. She simply shrugged as if making it clear that any leaks would be his fault.

"Very well, then. Let me give you a pair of proposals. They may sound unpleasant, but they are undeniably effective if you want to gain real power in the Terran Alliance."

Her proposals ended up so extreme that Ves could not imagine that he would ever seriously agree to them! They sounded so offensive to him that he found it outrageous that Calabast chose to bring them forth in the first place!

"Outrageous! You are essentially telling me that I should pick a side by sabotaging the other side! That goes way too far! I will never sabotage General Axelar Streon's chances of breaking through by tampering with his Ouroboros! Not that I will be able to do that in the first place. It is ridiculous for you to think that I can alter the Ouroboros from an enormous distance. As for your second idea of siding with the Steel Coalition by deliberately weakening or outright sabotaging the Woodsap mechs adapted to elven pilots, that is even more heinous! My principles as a mech designer will never allow me to undertake such an action! Every mech pilot deserves to make use of the best work that I can reasonably supply. Practicality is a valid reason to lower the performance of a product. Selfish and political motives are not valid reasons!"

Ves could understand the logic behind the spymaster's devious plots, but that did not mean he could imagine himself pulling them off! He might not be the most principled leader, but he never compromised on them when it came to his primary profession!

He would instantly lose much of his pride and sense of duty as a mech designer if he started to taint his own works in order to advance other goals!

He directed a very sharp look at the intelligence director.

Ves suspected that she hadn't been serious about the pair of proposals in the first place. She knew him far too well to know what definitely wouldn't work.

It seemed as if Calabast deliberately engineered this situation in order to make him more open-minded towards less extreme proposals.

His gaze told her that he was on to her game and was not amused by it in the slightest.

"The risks are disproportionate to the rewards." Eliza offered her own opinion. "The probability of getting caught is too great. The Terrans are too competent. If they manage to find proof that you are involved with pulling one of them down, then their trust in you will collapse overnight. You will not make enemies out of the coalition that you have scorned, but you will never be able to retain the trust of the coalition that you have sided with. No matter what, both sides consist of Terrans who are loyal to their colonial star empire. They are not truly enemies with each other. If you insist on entering their game, then it would be wise to play within the boundaries that they have set."

"That is sound advice, Eliza." Ves appreciated her input. "What would you do instead?"

His chief of staff looked pensive for a moment. "It might not be polite, but I would attempt to make use of your current influence within the Red Collective to tilt the balance in the favor of your chosen side. The RC as a whole is divided on this matter, but that does not stop you from changing that. You have numerous friends and allies within our superorganization. If you can rally them and form a united power bloc, thereby acquiring enough power to draw on the resources of the Terran Alliance, but maintain enough distance to avoid getting caught up in its troubles."

Calabast shook her head in disapproval. "That does not go far enough. A web of alliances and influences is decent, but it is based on a shaky foundation. As long as the Larkinson Clan is not considered Terran, we will always be outsiders to them. They will never give us too much real power. They are too intelligent and far-sighted enough to spot the potential traps. No, if you want to take greater advantage of the Terran Alliance, you will need to commit yourself one way or another."

"And how do we do that without giving up our independence?" Ves asked.

The intelligence director smirked. "I think you will like my less extreme proposals. My general advice is to hedge your bets. Why invest in a single side when you can invest in both at the same time? This way, no matter which coalition has managed to gain the upper hand, you will be able to earn the corresponding benefits."

Ves grimaced when he heard that. "Hedging is little different from staying neutral. The Terrans will definitely figure out what we are doing. I do not think that they will like our clan very much if we are attempting to exploit both sides at once."

"This is why you need to approach this in a certain way, Ves. You are a mech designer, are you not? As a recently promoted first-class mech designer who is on the cusp of completing the massive Arboreal Project, you have become one of the few mech designers who can compete fairly against the Terrans in their own mech market. This is a privilege that relatively few foreigners possess. You should take advantage of this condition to strategically develop a handful of mechs that can encourage the Terrans into a path of your choosing."

That actually sounded a lot more acceptable than her previous proposals. Unlike the last two ones, her current plan actually played into Ves' obligations as a mech designer.

"Tell me more. Be specific, Calabast."

"While I cannot call myself a mech designer, I believe it is not difficult for you to imagine new mech models that can help the Terrans fight or counter specific opponents. For example, you can earn a large amount of goodwill from the Steel Coalition by designing a conventional mech that can counter the products of the Arboreal Project."

Ves blinked at that. "Design a counter to my own work? This early? That sounds crazy, do you know that? I cannot deny that my Woodsap mechs possess distinctive strengths and weaknesses, but it is up to our adversaries to figure out how to exploit the latter. It is stupid and counterproductive for us to do this work only for the aliens to swoop in and steal the information."

This had happened not once, not twice but many times throughout human history.

Scientists and mech designers could potentially become their own worst enemies because of their inability to resist developing a counter of their own protectors!

"Do not be so quick to dismiss my idea." Calabast said as she crossed her arms again. "The demand is there. You can choose to give these customers what they want or allow others to make their own attempts. Unless the Star Designers decide to intervene directly, the works of other mech designers will inevitably be partially effective. You, on the other hand, can use your first-hand knowledge on Woodsap mechs to design cost-effective counters."

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"Doing this will fulfill multiple objectives. First, you fulfill the demand of Terrans and foreigners who are desperate to field an efficient counterweight to your Woodsap mechs. Second, you will accelerate the development of your new subcategory of Carmine mechs. I believe that as a mech designer, you do not think a mech that remains unopposed for many years is the best product. Lack of competitive pressure can easily lead to stagnation. If you want to speed up the subsequent growth and evolution of your Woodsap mechs, you need to give yourself and the developers of the Green Coalition enough pressure to innovate further."

She had crafted her argument well. Calabast under his philosophy precisely enough to tailor an argument that played to his sensibilities.

Ves indeed believed that competitive pressure was necessary to draw out the best in people and products.

He had witnessed far too many instances where lack of threats and competition had led to stagnant growth.

However, that did not mean the opposite was necessarily the right answer. Excessive pressure and competition could outright break people and objects.

If Ves followed Calabast's plan, then he would have to be careful about designing a counter. It had to be effective enough to pose a credible threat to Woodsap mechs, but also withhold just enough to prevent a situation from spiralling out of control.

He needed to be very clever about this, because it would be far too easy to go too far in one direction or another.

Though Ves still wanted to grant his Woodsap mechs a lengthy grace period, he also believed that they needed to face enough pressure to incentivize the Terrans to improve their core technologies.

His understanding of the Terrans suggested to him that they would definitely slack off and rest on their laurels as soon as they handled the immediate crisis!

If he wanted the subsequent development of his Woodsap mechs to remain active and dynamic, then it was not entirely a bad idea for him to design a counter instead of letting other colleagues work haphazardly.

"It will be difficult to squeeze enough time for this project." Ves said in a much more serious voice than before. "However, as long as its sole purpose is to function as a counter, then it shouldn't require as much as the Arboreal Project. I… shall take this proposal under advisement. What about the other side of your hedging strategy? How can I placate the Green Coalition if I hand over an effective counter to the Steel Coalition?"

Calabast smirked wider as the conversation increasingly fell into her rhythm. "That is simple, dear Ves. You have multiple options available to you. Perhaps the option that may delight you the most is to design a new Woodsap mech that is especially configured to synergize with elves. I believe that the elven race may already do well with the mechs of the Arboreal Project, but it is clear that you have never started it with this goal in mind. If you take the time and effort to design a proper biomech optimized for elves from the start, the results will definitely outperform your earlier works. While this new elven Woodsap mech design will not hold any appeal to the human supremacists among the Terrans, your actual target audience will be delighted!"

Ves again found himself impressed by how clever and devious Calabast could be. The former Hexer pointed out that designing a mech that was specifically meant to be used by elves as opposed to humans would definitely make one of the most powerful and influential groups within the Green Coalition happy!

So long as the elves became delighted by his targeted work, they would definitely be willing to maintain a closer bond with him even if he cooperated with their opponents!

All in all, Ves did not have much objection to pulling off both proposals at the same time. If he did so correctly, then he could minimize the probability that either side would punish him heavily for his double dealing!

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