The Mech Touch novel Chapter 3329

Chapter 3329: Second Try

Despite the best efforts of Grand Regent Habidas Aaden, his influence was hardly felt in the state that had descended into insanity.

Priests, not statesmen, were in charge these days. Devotion and purity were much more important qualifiers to commanding over people than intelligence and expertise.

Even though many people recognized that the whole premise and motivation of the Statue War was stupid and self-destructive from the onset, the two sides who claim to fight for the correct version of Vulcan did not see it that way.

To them, they were fighting for the true god! If they won, the Vulcan Empire would be saved! If they lost or did nothing, then their enemies would drown their great dwarven state in perpetual darkness as Vulcan's light left the forsaken dwarves.

Against this kind of logic, the dwindling number of non-religious and moderate dwarves failed to persuade their militant brothers and sisters from seeking compromise.

When certain high-placed members of the dwarven society received word of the MTA's resolution, they began to make their own moves, ones that did not involve their maddened cousins.

Two beardless old dwarves looked through the window of a military space station. Several damaged and half-repaired capital ships including the Great Ram were docked onto the arms that stretched out from the orbital base like antennas.

Numerous shuttles and transports flew in and out of the fleet carriers, bringing in cargo and personnel at an industrious pace.

Many dwarven soldiers, of which the men all lacked their distinctive beards, were undergoing their final check-in procedures as they waited to board their respective vessels.

The large amount of luggage bots carrying their bags and trunks signified that these disgraced Ferril soldiers were about to go on a long trip.

General Kebrinore and Venerable Orthox both looked grave, the latter more than the former.

"I received my orders this morning." The dwarven general spoke. "High command reactivated us in order to march against our own brothers."

"Our mission?" The expert pilot gruffly asked.

"The provincial governor wants us to assist the other mobs aligned with the Dwarven God Cult in raiding the rural star systems of the Uriburn Province. If we cannot hold the central authority's territory, we are to burn and destroy any useful infrastructure that keeps the planets working and useful to the province. Think about destroying space stations, bombarding factories, taking out local government structures and so on. We even have orders to raze the farmland wholesale if we have the time. If the Statue War drags on long enough, our superiors think that starving the opposition is a viable tactic."

The more Venerable Orthox listened, the more he lost faith in the Ferril Province. Most of the decision makers had already fallen under the sway of the Dwarven God Cult. They took over its radical policies and ideology and stooped at nothing to gain an advantage over their opponents!

He felt more and more powerless to prevent this maddening war from growing more destructive. His beardless state turned him from a war hero into a loser. Though there were still dwarves who respected his identity, the public had long dismissed his warnings and pleas because they did not align with popular opinion.

The Ferril Province along with many other provinces had completely fallen under the sway of the two polarizing religious denominations!

Thinking about what had befallen his precious state caused Orthox's will to become more depressed. As an expert pilot, he was good at smashing powerful mechs.

It did not turn him into a powerful politician or charismatic leader, though. Even at his prime, his influence only allowed him to command more attention than other expert pilots. The true players of the Vulcan Empire were much more capable of taking control of the population.

At this time, Venerable Orthox would rather be a politician than a high-tier expert pilot. What was the use of extraordinary martial skill when he was helpless to stop his fellow dwarves from slaughtering each other?

It was a dark irony that the dwarven authority figures who possessed voices that were able to sway a lot of people had fallen under the sway of a human enemy. Devil Tongue, indeed.

"How are the men?" Orthox asked with a touch of concern. "These are the last men that are still willing to listen to us. Are there any fanatics or cultists among them that can poison our remaining well?"

"We know our people well enough to filter out the crazies." Kebrinore answered. "It's the allies that we've invited that can pose a risk to us. I have no doubt that there are fanatics among our crew that have dedicated their lives to either the human or dwarven version of Vulcan. However, once we are on the move, we operate under a different environment. As long as our fellow compatriots are of the same mind as us, these fanatics will eventually give themselves away, allowing us to handle them as we see fit."

The dwarven expert pilot looked resigned. "I never want to fight against my fellow dwarves, especially when we are part of the same state. However, we cannot let our fleet descend in the same sectarian madness that is tearing our homeland apart. If we must eliminate a small number of dwarves to protect a larger group of dwarves, then so be it. Anyone who has signed up for our venture has made a promise not to bring the ailments affecting the Vulcan Empire to our gathering. I will not be lenient to anyone that has violated our rules."

"As it should, old friend. Are you ready to speak to the men?"

Venerable Orthox remained silent for a moment. "Do I even deserve to address them? I failed them in the field of battle."

Still, the evacuation fleet was able to bring away enough dwarves to keep the essence of their state alive! _{frёeωebɳovel.com}

The dwarf paused and closed his eyes as he imagined how their dwarven evacuation fleet would fare in the new galaxy.

"It is in this new region of space opened up by the MTA and CFA where we can truly do dwarvenkind justice. The old galaxy is already occupied by an endless amount of human polities. Setting up a dwarven state in this environment constantly forces our people to resist the greedy humans. I have no doubt we will encounter the same treatment in the new frontier, but the territories there have yet to be divvied by all of the pioneers. It is there that we shall found a proper dwarven state."

Talk of founding a potential new state finally prompted Venerable Orthox to smile.

"Our people's first attempt at erecting a sovereign dwarven state has failed. Our society was flawed and our culture was too beholden to religious influences. We shall address these vulnerabilities and seek to build a more tolerant and open-minded state. As much as we hate the tall folk for mistreating our fellow dwarves, we cannot cling to this grievance if we wish to build a healthy culture. Our second dwarven state shall cast out the darkness and lead us to a brighter future. Not as an empire, but as a republic. A true enlightened state where dwarves like us will be at the forefront of this age! For a brighter tomorrow!"

"FOR A BRIGHTER TOMORROW!"

The feed ended at that point as Venerable Orthox had spoken enough.

The man felt lighter now that he had expressed his thoughts and shared his vision with the men that were willing to take part in this new adventure.

"Good job, Orthox." General Kebrinore complimented. "Your speech wasn't as professional as most, but you spoke from the heart, and that has touched our men. A brighter tomorrow indeed."

"I merely wish to prevent the darkness that has swept over our state to be kept at bay when we make our second attempt."

"True, true. We will need your leadership and vision in the times to come."

"Shouldn't you be speaking to some of our dwarven Masters in order to secure the ludicrous amount of MTA merits required to pass through the beyonder gate?"

"Ugh, don't get me started on that." The beardless general palmed his face. "We need their merits and funding, but they all want to take charge of our evacuation fleet. Each and everyone thinks they should become the next Ves Larkinson."

Venerable Orthox scowled. "Tch… That is enough of a reason to push back against this notion. Mech designers must never be in charge!"