The Mech Touch

The initial moves made by the two mech pilots betrayed their inclinations.

Captain Alazar Ipsich was a cautious mercenary officer who had survived many sticky situations. Recklessness was not in his blood. As someone in charge, he had a responsibility to lead his subordinates well and avoid putting them in a position where their lives could easily be lost.

Therefore, Ipsich favored making the best use of his time. Since there was no rule that stated that he had to launch an attack immediately, he wanted to maintain distance from his opponent in order to assess the situation further.

To a grizzled veteran mech officer like Ipsich, acting without information was a quick way to end a mercenary mech pilot's career!

His opponent adopted a different mindset.

As a former mech athlete who fought plenty of competitive matches, Kelly Gidon knew that the usual rules of the battlefield did not necessarily apply to the dueling ring!

The rhythm of a mech duel was completely different!

Raella sighed. "Momentum matters more than careful planning. Too many mech pilots who have never learned how to fight in the dueling ring always make this mistake. They think too much. There is no way that they can come up with a killer strategy when there are so few variables in play. In this situation, the dumber mech pilot always comes out on top! Isn't that right, Vincent?"

"Huh? Why are you asking me?" The hover chair-bound expert candidate looked befuddled.

Ves believed in his cousin's words. He had witnessed several mech duels himself and was always impressed by those who exhibited more aggression. It was not a coincidence that those who pressed forward the most tended to be the most successful and celebrated mech athletes!

The Bright Warrior had taken flight, but the Epsilon Mosar that had sprinted forward quickly adjusted by flaring its organic flight system in order to continue its pursuit!

The flight speed exhibited by the Epsilon Mosar made it clear that the mech was no slouch when it came to aerial maneuvering!

"Damn." Ves cursed. "The Epsilon Mosar is designed for both landbound and aerial combat. It performs best on land, but it's aerial performance is not that much worse."

"What's more important is that the Epsilon Mosar isn't burdened by design choices that place additional burdens to it in order to allow the mech to operate in space." Gloriana noted. "You can't say the same for our Bright Warriors."

"I already took that into account." Ves responded. "I've removed several elements that are useless in planetary combat and put in something else in the capacity that has become available."

Still, there was only so much he could do. The Bright Warrior was designed as a spaceborn mech first and that could never be changed.

The difference it made wasn't too large, fortunately. Ves had enough time to make some targeted adjustments that increased its combat ability in the air.

"Their speeds aren't too far apart!"

The Bright Warrior kept its distance from its pursuer. Ves smiled at this sight. Ever since Juliet Stameros joined the design department, the flight systems and other mobility systems of his mech designs received a substantial bump in improvement.

Even if aerial combat was not the Bright Warrior's strong suit, it was enough for Captain Ipsich!

The mercenary officer currently looked quite troubled. He had lost the initiative from the moment the duel commenced. Mindlessly going into the fray was not his style, but his opponent clearly thought differently!

Due to the limited dimensions of the dueling ring, the two mechs began to circle around. Seeing that the Epsilon Mosar wasn't able to catch up in a short amount of time, Kelly Gidon decided to employ the secondary armament of her machine.

The fleshy biomech's mouth opened up and discharged a thin green laser beam!

The beam accurately struck the flight system of the Bright Warrior. While the attack was too weak to damage the protruding elements of the classical mech, the Epsilon Mosar already released a second laser beam!

This time, the Bright Warrior dodged an instant before the second release, causing most of the beam to splash harmlessly against the energy shield erected to contain the duel.

Captain Ipsich did not let his opponent attack his mech with impunity. The Bright Warrior pulled out a backup pistol and started to fire back at its pursuer!

Unlike ordinary flesh, the matter that made up much of the biomech's structure was based from exobeasts that had evolved to survive very hostile environments. The heat that struck the exotics-reinforced flesh only caused its outer surface to dry and blacken for a bit.

This was hardly enough to injure the biomech!

Raella sighed. "Something has to change. Pursuits always end up favoring the chasing side. Just look at the two circling around. While Kelly Gidon is able to fire at the Bright Warrior's flight system with impunity, Captain Ipsich is reduced to firing poorly-aimed snapshots at an awkward angle."

It was not that easy for humans to fire behind them. While mechs possessed more conveniences such as being able to rely on a rear sensor to observe its target without turning its head, it was still awkward for a humanoid mech to fire a weapon towards the rear.

Any laser beam that struck the undaunted Epsilon Mosar merely impacted its front, which ruled out the possibility of inflicting any crippling damage!

Though Captain Ipsich was cautious by nature, he wasn't stupid. Seeing that his current approach didn't work, he commanded his mech to holster its pistol and turn around.

He was no longer avoiding the clash!

A huge cheer of excitement came from the crowd as the Bright Warrior lifted its two-handed sword and closed in on its opposition!

CLANG!

The Epsilon Mosar's attempt to chop the Bright Warrior failed when the latter zipped to the side to avoid one blade while blocking the other that couldn't be avoided!

As the two mechs passed each other by, they quickly circled around in order to perform another exchange of blows!

CLANG!

The shorter and slimmer biometal blades held up well against the solid alloy sword of the Bright Warrior.

This time, the differences between the two mechs became more pronounced.

The mass of the two mechs was roughly even, but the Epsolon Mosar was able to exert more strength.

The Bright Warrior was a bit more rigid and solid. This served the mech fairly well when one of its opponent's swords slashed against its c.h.e.s.t plating!

The momentum behind the attack left a modest groove in the c.h.e.s.t armor of the Bright Warrior. Ves and every other Larkinson winced at the sight.

The opponent managed to land the first true blow!

"This is just the start." Ves said as if to console himself. "The Bright Warrior's c.h.e.s.t armor can still take a lot of hits."

As a Lifer mech pilot, Captain Ipsich was well aware that uncovered biomechs did not possess any thick exterior plating. This meant that it was a bit easier to inflict damage to them with lighter attacks.

In contrast, mechs with hard outer shells such as nearly every classical mech in existence possessed solid armor that was capable of bouncing off weaker attacks.

The short swords in the hands of the Epsilon Mosar would never be able to score such a powerful hit against the strongest section of the Bright Warrior if not for getting a head-start!

Therefore, the obvious conclusion was that it was better for Bright Warrior to push up right into the face of the Epsilon Mosar!

"If you want to brawl, then I'll satisfy your wish!"

Captain Ipsich finally showed some heat as his Bright Warrior no longer parted from the Epsilon Mosar. Instead, the two mechs stayed in close range and started to clash against each other with no hint of retreat!

"Kill the garbage can!"

"Chop off the arms of that classical mech!"

"Biomechs forevers!"

In contrast, the Bright Warrior's single blade missed the mark more often than not. Captain Ipsich may be a competent mech pilot but his opponent was just as skilled.

Fortunately, the mech pilot of the Bright Warrior wasn't helpless. The mercenary captain no longer defended against certain weaker attacks in order to inflict a more powerful blow against the opposing biomech.

Slick!"

Soon enough, the crowd all expressed their dismay as Ipsich managed to outmaneuver Kelly Gidon and inflict a deep slash on one of the Epsilon Mosar's shoulders!

A spurt of alien purple blood leaked out from the wound before automatically closing. The cut area even showed signs of merging back together!

Still, the initial attack had served its purpose. The left arm of the biomech had become slightly less powerful. The attacks from this limb had become less threatening, at least for the moment, allowing Captain Ipsich to gain the initiative.

Even though his Bright Warrior already showed several deep slash marks on its frontal surface, its operational efficiency still remained at a peak!

Although it seemed as if the Bright Warrior had gained an advantage due to the characteristics of its physical form, the balance was not as skewed as it seemed.

"All biomechs can heal." Gloriana stated. "While their healing ability isn't perfect, the damage suffered by the Epsilon Mosar can still be mitigated over time!"

Indeed, what she said had come to pass. The damaged limb of the Epsilon Mosar slowly recovered. While it did not restore itself to its peak, it had changed enough for Kelly Gidon to go on attack yet again!

More slash marks adorned the exterior of the Bright Warrior. Captain Ipsich did his best to block and avoid any incoming strike. When that wasn't possible, he tried to spread out the damage across the entire surface of the mech.

This was what the armor of a mech was for! As long as all of the destructive energy was wasted on some solid metal plates, then the vulnerable internals were spared from damage.

This was key in allowing the Bright Warrior to keep up the fight!

As the bout continued to persist like this, Ves began to analyze the battle from a spiritual perspective.

So far, the spiritual elements of his Bright Warrior didn't really seem to play a role. While Captain Ipsich had rapidly gained a lot of proficiency in piloting his current mech, his progress wouldn't have been much different if he piloted a lifeless mech.

In the heat of battle, it was hard for weak and subtle effects to exert any influence!

The glow of the Golden Cat seemingly played no role in this duel.

Ves could see this and so could his wife.

"The Bright Warrior isn't resonating with its current pilot." Gloriana stated. "The mech and its mech pilot are still separated by too many barriers. They have too little in common."

He could see that as well. All of the changes he made to prevent the Bright Warrior from rejecting a non-Larkinson mech pilot might have achieved its purpose, but they didn't do much to facilitate cooperation.

Fortunately, Ves still had options.

It seemed it was time for him to activate one of the measures he had implanted in the Bright Warrior's design.

Unknown to anyone else, Ves discreetly concentrated his mind and spiritually reached out to the Bright Warrior. He gently tweaked its spiritual design until it activated something that had lain dormant.

The fairly pleasant glow of the Bright Warrior suddenly switched. Goldie's presence no longer dominated the mech. Instead, her aura faded in order to make way for another, more aggressive glow!

The Bright Warrior suddenly seemed to have turned into a bigger, more ferocious predator! The hostility emanating from the previously-sunny mech was so abrupt that Kelly Gidon's momentum had suddenly flagged.

Captain Ipsich, who was influenced by the sudden change, acted exactly according to the new glow and began to unleash an aggressive set of moves that pushed the Epsilon Mosar back again and again!

"What just happened?!"

Gloriana widened her eyes while gripping Ves' hand. "Did you..?"

Ves smirked. "I did. Who says the Bright Warrior only has room for a single occupant?"

Zeigra had taken over from Goldie! Even though nothing physical about the Bright Warrior had changed, the contrast was so striking Kelly Gidon wasn't able to adjust!