The Mech Touch (Web Novel)

5792 Blueprint of Ascendancy

As the broadcast of the momentous public inquiry finally ceased, the ripple effects of this historic turning point still reverberated across the new frontier!

Everyone's lives had been affected by the revelations and decisions made during the sessions!

The last day especially stood out as a moment where the entire public and much of the current leadership joined together to force a fundamental change to their society!

Nobody knew what the addition of the Red Collective would bring to their lives, but few people doubted that their lives would go on as usual.

This was because the Red Collective promised to be a lot more open and accessible to ordinary people!

The reactions to what Ves had managed to accomplish with his words alone were myriad and intense.

Much to his chagrin, it seemed that it would become harder to Ves to get rid of his notorious title because of his latest performance!

"So that is why he is called the Devil Tongue!"

"Like mother, like son. From what little I have heard about his ancient mother, her son has definitely inherited her cunning and her scheming. I definitely wouldn't want to become his enemy."

"His nickname might sound evil, but he is exactly what we need in our highly stratified society. So many leaders are so close-minded that they are not sensitive to criticism from below anymore. It takes a cheeky mech designer with a sharp tongue to tell them how out of touch with reality they have become!"

While all of human society reacted strongly to all of the changes wrought by Ves, none exhibited more fanaticism than the citizens of the Hex Federation!

Surprisingly enough, it was not the members of the Larkinson Clan who celebrated the hardest, but the Hexers who literally worshiped Ves as their Supreme Son!

Priestesses and other fanatical Hexers all attracted growing crowds across all cities within their second-rate state to extol the virtues of the Superior Mother!

"THE RED TWO HAS SPOKEN! OUR SUPERIOR MOTHER IS TRULY THE GREATEST OF THEM ALL! HER STRENGTH IS UNQUESTIONABLE, FOR SHE HAS MANAGED TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE DURING THE CLASH OF GODS!"

"The Superior Mother's journey is legendary! The fleeters have confirmed that she has completed the entire cycle of hexism! She has gone through the phases of life, death, godhood, damnation, dust before ultimately rising up as the most Supreme woman to ever exist!"

"We are the blessed people! We have worshiped the Superior Mother long before other unenlightened fools. Those brutes who previously scorned our beliefs are jealous of us for earning her favor first!"

The religious fervor in much of Hexer space had spiked!

Even the more secularist-minded Hexers couldn't help but get caught up in the excitement and begin to revere the Superior Mother for her strength and deeds.

Outsiders such as the Fridaymen became perplexed as they observed the exaggerated fervor of the Hexers.

"These witches have gone crazy! Don't they realize who they are worshiping? Cultmaster Original Sin is already dead and gone according to the records! Even if she managed to cheat death somehow, she is the last person to look up to. She has more human blood on her hands than entire mech armies!"

"It is exactly because of her notoriety and prowess that the Hexers adore the Superior Mother. They are not pacifists. As frightening as it may sound, the Hexers worship any strong woman who demonstrates excellence!"

Amidst all of this growing fervor, the Wodin Dynasty that maintained a strong connection to the Larkinson Clan benefited immensely from the latest events!

The Supreme Son and his powerful mother had become so prominent throughout human space that the two leading women of the Wodin Dynasty already started to plot on how to capitalize on this latest coup.

Deep within the Crescent Palace on New Scimitar IV, Matriarch Xiaphna Wodin and Madame Constance Wodin both gathered together to outline their plan.

"My grandson-in-law has opened up a fantastic new pathway for the Hexer people." The old but vigorous matriarch stated as she held a saucer and a cup of tea. She elegantly lifted her cup and took a sip before she continued to share her vision. "Our greatest weakness has always been the fact that we have never been able to breach the second-class ceiling that limits our potential."

"My youngest and proudest daughter is in the process of earning the qualifications to become a first-class mech designer."

The matriarch gently shook her head. "I am aware, but she is but one of many Hexers. She may be able to drag a number of us up to her level, but we cannot rely on her charity forever. We must follow the example of the Superior Mother and rely on our own strength to become equals to the high and mighty first-raters!"

The Hexers always regarded it as a great injustice that they never managed to become as wealthy, powerful, respected and feared as the likes of the Terrans and the Rubarthans.

They fully believed that they deserved to be treated as the superior people, but the powers that be always conspired against them. The unenlightened fools rejected the Hexer ideals and treated the Superior Mother as superstition.

The final session of the public inquiry fully vindicated the faith that the Hexers held towards the Superior Mother!

Even though she lived another life at the time, the Superior Mother had unquestionably achieved great success by acting as the model of a Hexer in a hidden society that had ultimately failed her in the end.

However, what these ignorant fools did not know was that the Superior Mother had overcome every trial up to and including death itself to ascend into a transcendent being that was greater than a typical god!

Every Hexer became inspired by the Superior Mother's difficult journey, so much so that they prayed a lot more earnestly towards her than before!

After a brief pause, Matriarch Xiaphna Wodin transmitted a file to her daughter.

Prime Minister Constance Wodin raised her eyebrow as she rapidly read through the notes.

"This master plan of yours is… ambitious. Far be it from me to question your wisdom, but do you truly think that our dynasty and our people will be able to uplift ourselves by fully committing to the Red Collective? Did we not already decide to take advantage of the New Elites Program to nurture strong Hexer warlords?"

"So did everyone else." The Matriarch sighed. "Aside from our embrace of living mechs, we do not possess enough advantages to exceed our rivals. The new frontier is too small. It cannot accommodate too many first-raters. If we want to break past our opposition, we must excel in a different area. I cannot think of any better means than to master the power of cultivation that the Superior Mother excels at. We may not be familiar with it, but we shall assuredly turn it into our greatest weapons!"

"How?"

"By receiving the Superior Mother's guidance!" The matriarch excitedly revealed! "Have you listened to the many feats of power that she has demonstrated in her last lifetime? She has absorbed the teachings of the Wood Shrine and the Apex Predator Cult and defeated any other challenger with her techniques. Think about what we can do with the same methods. We can drain the life of our unworthy opponents. We can drown our enemy in a forest of flesh-eating trees. We may even be able to raise our own mech designers who are capable of designing living mechs! The power of life itself shall become the instrument of our people's ascension!"

The old matriarch never thought that the Hexer people would have much chance to rise during the remainder of her lifetime!

Constance Wodin became convinced as well. Her excitement rose higher when she determined that her mother's ambitious master plan was plausible!

"Gaining strength for cultivation is not enough." The younger Wodin said as she began to analyze the possibilities. "I agree that we should make use of the Red Collective. Cultivation is not as dependent on resources and territory, at least for the time being. It is likely that this will change as more production-oriented cultivators will develop effective ways to convert resources into growth boosters. However, there is a moderate window of opportunity at the start where no single group has surpassed the others. If we can gain a head-start in the early years of the Red Collective, we can use our power to acquire more resources and snowball our way to the top!"

This layout was plausible, but it would not be easy for the Hexers to realize it. There were too many conditions that the Hexers had to meet in order to pull off this incredible feat.

Nonetheless, their chances of becoming just as powerful as other first-raters were significantly higher than before!

Matriarch Xiaphna leaned forward. "We must fully utilize our connections with both the Superior Mother and the Supreme Son. We must urge the remainder of the Hex Federation to go all-out in worshiping them and embracing cultivation wholeheartedly. There can be no more room for doubt or skepticism in our state anymore."

"Certain groups of Hexers will not like that, mother. The Vraken Matriarchal Dynasty has always been reluctant to embrace the truth. Do not forget that we have still failed to become a matriarchal dynasty ourselves."

"We must learn from the examples of the mother and her son and threaten the skeptical Hexers into compliance." The matriarch mercilessly said. "If the Vraken Matriarchal Dynasty does not sufficiently do its part to contribute to the faith of the Superior Mother, then the Wodin Dynasty can take its exalted place. With the backing of our Supreme and her son, we can fully realize this threat."

Constance raised her eyebrows. That was certainly a good way to prod the Vrakens and the other remaining secularists in the Hex Federation into embracing the truth!

"That will leave us without an opening to become a matriarchal dynasty. Only 6 of them can ever exist. This has always been the rule."

The matriarch actually laughed at that! "Hahahaha! There is no need for us to obsess over this status anymore! Don't you see, my daughter? Our dynasty has absorbed the lineage of gods and Supremes. We have already surpassed all 6 matriarchal dynasties! So long as we remain faithful and obedient towards the Superior Mother, we can peacefully take control of the Hex Federation and reign over it as the only Supreme Dynasty!"

A Supreme Dynasty!

The Hexers had never welcomed such an exalted group into their midst!

However, the Supreme Son had already demonstrated that it was okay to break traditions. The Wodin Dynasty had all the right cards to make a play for power!

The two women's eyes twinkled as they imagined the possibilities.

"I can see it now." Constance whispered. "Our Wodin Dynasty are still vassals to the Evern Matriarch Dynasty on paper, but this has ceased to be the reality for several years now. It is not enough for us to rely on our connections to the Superior Mother and the Supreme Son alone. We must embrace cultivation harder than any other Hexer and outperform the matriarchal dynasties in this regard."

"The Superior Mother will help us as long as we fully surrender ourselves to her." The matriarch said with certainty. "She will bless every faithful Hexer that seeks to master her power, but she will favor the Wodins more than most because we are her family. Once we have risen to power, we can fully direct the Hexer people to establish a power bloc within the Red Collective. We must do our utmost to elevate the Supreme Son to the highest seat. Even if we fail, we must continue to act as his strongest and most loyal base of support within this large umbrella organization. Unity and faith shall be our greatest contributions to my grandson's cause. In turn, he shall reward us with power, appointments and other benefits. This shall be the blueprint of our ascendancy!"