The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1047

When Colonel Xelven warned him of the possibility of foul play, Ves put up his guard since then. Even so, he didn’t believe that anyone would be able to pull off an attack with all of the security measures in place.

Surely the Honored Ones had everything in hand, right? Hundreds of exoskeleton soldiers patrolled the streets and facilities of Kester Hills.

Further out of sight, several mech companies from the Mech Corps, Mech Legion and the Honored Ones jointly patrolled the entire region and made sure no one would be able to sneak up to the retreat.

However, all of those precautions seemed moot as every single device shut down at once! More egregious than that, every single person in sight collapsed at the same time by some poison that all of the detectors failed to pick up in the air or in their water and food. _{freewebnovel.cσ๓}

This was preposterously difficult to achieve! Ves knew that everyone had put their utmost effort into making this a secure venue, and for all of their precautions to fail so catastrophically indicated that the plot ran deep!

While Venerable Foster attempted to maintain consciousness, Ves walked over to the collapsed bodies of the attendants. The Reinaldan servants still breathed, but no matter how much Ves patted them, they didn’t regain consciousness.

"They’re not dead. Just out cold."

"Lethal poisons are much harder to slip by the detectors. They also draw too much attention." Foster uttered as she shakily climbed up to her feet. "I think.. my gene optimization treatments are helping me resist the effect. I’m surprised you are better off than me. Come here so I can lean on you. I can’t move by myself at the moment."

As Ves approached the expert pilot, he was wary about coming too close. "Are you really convinced I am not involved?"

"I think if you are the actual culprit, you would have done something to me by now."

"Killing an expert pilot is no joke. You know the MTA will get involved if something untoward happens to you. I think that’s one of the main reasons why the culprits merely tried to put us to sleep."

"I wouldn’t put too much stock in their restraint. This action violates many agreements. Whoever is responsible is likely hiding their true identities."

Right now, they didn’t know why everyone collapsed and why their electronics stopped working. Without functional comms, neither Ves or Venerable Foster would be able to call upon for help!

Ves and Foster recognized that this criss threatened both the Tovar Peace Delegation and the Colchester Peace Delegation. Right now, they finally managed to put their differences aside. It was more important to work together than to hold on to old hatreds.

When Ves supported Venerable Foster’s body as she leaned on him, he tried not to become affected by her close proximity. The expert pilot in turn took notice of his ease of movement despite the additional burden. His muscles pressed against her body, allowing her to feel his underlying strength and body heat.

"For a mech designer, you are remarkably fit." She remarked.

"It’s a souvenir from a previous adventure in the frontier."

"What a waste."

"I don’t think so. It has helped me become immune to many poisons and diseases."

Whatever substance affected everyone must be very potent, because it even managed to affect Foster’s physique despite going through several rounds of CFA gene optimization treatments.

As they stepped out of the courtyard and into the main streets of Kester Hills, they encountered an unnaturally silent village. The Honored Ones who ordinarily patrolled from place to place in their fully-enclosed exoskeleton armor all stood rigid in the open.

Ves and Foster approached a patrol of four frozen exoskeleton soldiers.

Ves knocked at the chest plate of one of them and furrowed his brows. "Their armor has been shut down. I bet the soldiers inside the shells are unconscious as well."

This was very serious. If even guards had been neutralized, who protected them all from attack?

"It figures." Venerable Foster sneered even as she continued to lean against Ves. "The Honored Ones are lazy and incompetent. We shouldn’t have trusted them so much to provide security."

Ves did not entirely agree with her assessment. "Not all Reinaldans are the same. The Honored Ones assigned to guard us consists of their elites. They’re a lot more diligent than you give them credit for. Our opponents are just a bit more sophisticated in comparison."

The eerie silence and the frozen suits got to him in a way. He nervously flexed his free hand, contemplating whether he should materialize the Amastendira. His other hand kept supporting Foster’s body. Her body was hard, lean and muscular. Her proximity continued to distract him from his surroundings.

"Keep your head in focus!" Foster barked, having worked away some of the substances in her body. "This isn’t the time for you to be absent-minded!"

"Where do you suggest we go? I think we should check up on Senator Tovar and Prince Colchester’s temporary estates. We have a duty to see to the safety of our respective patrons."

"I think.. They’ll be fine. Their individual security is very robust." Venerable Foster shook her head. She obviously hadn’t heard about the near-disastrous pirate raid against the Tovar Peace Delegation. "We need to go to the center of this village and find some way of taking charge of the defenses. We’re useless without weapons, armor and mechs."

Ves looked around the village and strained his ears for any sounds of fighting. He saw and heard nothing.

"Nothing seems to be happening."

"That doesn’t mean anything. Perhaps the culprits are kidnapping some of our delegates. We need to arm ourselves before we can contemplate anything else. Checking up on our fellow delegates can wait."

He tentatively agreed with her course of action. Right now, it would take too long to check up on Senator Tovar and Prince Colchester, especially considering they occupied estates on the opposite ends of Kester Hills.

The conference chamber where the negotiations took place behind closed doors was situated very closely to the security center where the Honored Ones coordinated all of their patrols. It would be easy for Ves to check up on Colonel Xelven and all of the other main negotiators once he was finished with the security center.

As they walked the short distance to the center of the village, they encountered more and more frozen exoskeleton armors. Brighter and Vesian delegates also popped up from time to time. They all fell unconscious without exception.