The Battle of Mazepan had finally co to an end.
Relief spread throughout the soldiers that had won a relatively short but exhausting battle against the cosmopolitan and native alien forces.
The expanded Bluejay Fleet had suffered very modest losses, but the outco could have been much worse.
If the greater phase lords managed to defeat the Dark Zephyr, there was nothing in the Bluejay Fleet's arsenal that could prevent the Arena Lord of Ya'gwasa and the Distance Shaper from tearing everything else apart.
This made the weary ch pilots and soldiers even more grateful towards Saint Tusa. He did not exactly defeat the formidable Arena Lord in single combat, but he and his ace light skirmisher had most definitely contributed the most in slaying the nunser phase lord!
As the Bluejay Fleet quickly began to shift to post-battle operations while remaining on guard for potential follow-up attacks, the victorious Dark Zephyr returned to the hangar bay of the Tarrasque in glory.
As the Dark Zephyr moved to the workshop compartnt, Ves had already returned and shrunk to his normal human size. Even though he had fought hard as well, he still needed to do his duty as a ch designer.
Soon enough, the Dark Zephyr slowly powered down and entered an inactive state. The Larkinson ch technicians that were permanently assigned to service the ace light skirmisher proceeded to scan and inspect the battle scars the machine had incurred.
As an archech, repairing the Dark Zephyr beca a much more complicated process than usual. It was impossible for ch technicians to repair damaged archechs by relying on ordinary thods and expertise.
Gloriana anticipated this in advance, so she made sure to train ch technicians in the basics on how to repair archechs. She also fabricated a considerable amount of spare archetal parts that ca in handy in situations like these.
If the Dark Zephyr incurred more severe battle damage, then it was impossible to repair the living ch on the Tarrasque. Ves would have to wait until he could bring the Dark Zephyr to Yernstall or New Constantinople VIII where he could purchase specialized materials and tools.
If the damage was especially extensive and catastrophic, then only Gloriana could restore the archech to his forr glory. That was an especially troubleso demand. It was the main reason why he and his wife decided to limit the use of archech to their very best and most important products.
As the ch technicians proceeded with their work, Ves half-paid attention to their progress by keeping an eye on the projected workstation.
Tusa anwhile floated down from the cockpit and approached with a mixed expression.
As soon as Ves was able to taste the ace pilot's Saint Kingdom, he could sense why his cousin felt so complex at the mont.
Saint Tusa felt incredibly satisfied and exalted after he managed to slay a greater phase lord. This was a feat that even senior ace chs struggled to attain. For a junior ace pilot. like himself to not only beco the main contributor to the Arena Lord's death, but also land the killing blow was a glorious feat that would elevate his status in the ch community to a height he could only dream of in the past!
However, the young ace pilot also felt a bit ambivalent after hearing the Arena Lord's last words. As much as they stood on opposing sides in a war, both of them managed to find enough common ground with each other. Their intensive fight to the death had caused human and alien to thoroughly recognize each other as worthy and honorable warriors. For the Arena Lord to look beyond the division created by race and history and acknowledge Tusa as the legitimate inheritor of his title affected the ace pilot's ntality a lot.
Then there was the title that Major Jankowski bestowed upon Saint Tusa. The RA ch commander had made this declaration at the right ti. All of the ch pilots and other soldiers had just fought and won an exhausting victory. Each of them had gone above and beyond to ensure that the lesser and greater phase lords wouldn't be able to run them all over. Since the Dark Zephyr not only managed to keep up with two greater phase lords, but also eliminate one outright, calling him the Phase Bane seed incredibly fitting!
The problem was that. Tusa did not appear to embrace all of these developnts. He still looked as if he was struggling to believe that he had actually managed to fell a greater phase lord.
"Everything has beco a lot more complicated for ." Tusa frankly admitted the source of his unease. "Before I beca an ace pilot, life used to be a lot simpler for . I had responsibilities, but they only amounted to doing my job and fighting at my best. Now, I need to do much more than that. I have to serve as a role model and engage in public relations. This is much more troubleso to . I don't like to waste my ti with all of this nonsense."
"It is not nonsense, Tusa." Ves responded. "As you have already ntioned, the additional duties and responsibilities that society imposes upon you are essential to your heightened status and position. ch pilots exist to defend our race and civilization. They can do that directly by winning their fights, but they can also help everyone out by serving as inspiration to many people who lack your strength. Fa, reputation, glory and prestige are all tools that allow you to shape public opinion and benefit from that in turn. This battle will serve another crucial step in forging your legend as a high-ranking
ch pilot."
There were lots of ace pilots who would kill to be in Tusa's place!
For him to show so little appreciation to all of the fa and glory he attained from this battle was a reflection of his much simpler background and ntality.
Unlike the first-raters who grew up in a society that was obsessed with status and reputation, a forr mber of the Bright Republic like Tusa simply wanted to be a good soldier.
Ves raised his arm and patted Tusa's shoulder. "You'll get used to it. After today, you will definitely notice the benefits of forging a great reputation. You have contributed more to red humanity than almost any individual ch pilot already. If the Arena Lord remained alive, he could have used his Saint Piercer to kill two or three ace chs and who knows how many other troops. You managed to end his threat before he could use his superior martial prowess to break the defenses of nurous star systems." These words helped to stabilize Tusa's mood. "Hm, you are right, Ves. I am proud of what I have done. I am also happy that I have managed to do a lot of good for everyone. I just... don't know what to do with the two titles that others have pushed onto my lap." Ves smirked at Tusa. "I happen to know a thing or two about titles. The first thing you should know is that you should never take them lightly. Titles have power, as they shape the cognition of many people towards you. In a dwarf galaxy where we are flooded with E energy, the power of titles has increased. To put it in extrely simple terms, they may be able to give you a small boost of power due to the passive thinking produced by a population of people. It would be even better if your title spreads to the native aliens. They can contribute their thought power to you as well, causing you to beco an even greater bogeyman to them than before."
"Does that an that. I will soon beco known to all of the native alien residents and visitors of Ya'gwasa as their new Arena Lord?" Tusa asked in a half-despairing tone. "You don't like the title that the forr Arena Lord has foisted upon you, Tusa?" "No! I have no desire to take over an alien planet. I can't even visit it because it is located deep within alien space and is firmly occupied by hostile aliens. I truly have no desire to take over the previous Arena Lord's mantle. Can you figure out a way to transmit a ssage to Ya'gwasa on my behalf? I want to tell the administrators over there to appoint one of their own as Arena Lord."
Ves chuckled. "I don't think you can transfer lordship over an arena planet such as Ya'gwasa so easily. I haven't studied their customs, but I can easily guess that stuff like this only gets transferred through combat rather than words. I think that starting from now, many phase lords will seek you out and kill you in honorable combat in an attempt to claim the title of Arena Lord. These ambitious aliens won't accept a verbal admission of defeat. Arena Lords are supposed to be the strongest out there, so nothing less than a bout will comply with their martial rules."
The ace pilot already started to groan after hearing that. "Damn it! If I knew that I would
beco a target for so many fighting maniacs, I would have put more thought on whether it was appropriate to kill the Arena Lord."
He did not really an that. No matter what, eliminating a greater phase lord was a massive contribution to red humanity. He would be betraying his commitnt to defend his race and civilization if he held back due to such a selfish reason.
"Well, since you are the new 'Arena Lord, you can't get rid of it so easily." Ves advised.
"You don't have to acknowledge it or show it off if the very notion of it displeases you. Just rember that genuine titles are precious. It is best if you treat this as a strategic resource and keep it in reserve. It will at least give you the privilege to choose your title to an extent. If you do not like the alternatives, you can always fall back to this one and
let it beco your public moniker!"
The expression on Tusa's face showed how unlikely that would co to pass.
"I will take your words under advisent. Speaking of other titles, did you co up with the idea to crown with the title of Phase Bane?"
"Surprisingly, no." Ves responded. "It's quite sharp of you to deduce that this is a calculated move. I am told that Jovy Armalon ca up with it. He has done so as a way to help you, and by extension . It is possible for ch pilots to acquire officially recognized titles while they are still regular ch pilots or expert pilots, but it is quite rare. Once any pilot becos a saint, it practically becos a necessity, as that will mark your transition from a mortal to a god."
"I understand that, Ves, but why Phase Bane?"
"I think the chers want to influence you into becoming a better duelist and assassin
against enemy phase leaders." Ves said. "Jovy Armalon is a Survivalist, which ans he is always thinking about how he can help red humanity survive in a hostile universe. We are not doing well in the Red War at the mont, so he wants to tip the balance in our favor by encouraging you to embrace a title that will encourage you to develop more effective ways to kill phase lords and phase whales."
Tusa grimaced. "That is not a bad idea, but... I am not comfortable with the responsibilities and expectations that co with this title. As good as this title sounds...
it doesn't sound like . You know what I am all about. I would rather carry a title that reflects my speed or my ability to evade everything the enemy throws at . Pushing the title of Phase Bane onto feels like you are trying to force to fit in the wrong box. I don't like it. Ves."
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