The Mech Touch

If the modified Bright Warrior entered the dueling ring with Zeigra's glow to begin with, then Kelly Gidon would have been able to adjust her expectations beforehand.

However, the abrupt switch in the middle of an ongoing bout had caught both mech pilots by surprise!

The difference was that Captain Ipsich rolled with the change of glows. The new presence that seemed to have swept over the battle-scarred Bright Warrior was aggressive, but most of its ire was directed outwards.

Since the mercenary officer already directed its ire towards his opponent, he meshed pretty well with Zeigra.

It didn't matter if they were strangers to each other. Since both of them were united by a common purpose, they rapidly got along with each other. As long as Ipsich did everything possible to take down his opponent, Zeigra would have his back every step of the way!

"How come Captain Ipsich has gone crazy?"

"The mech has changed somehow!"

"Is this the special ability of the Bright Warrior? How fascinating."

The Master Mech Designers and other dignitaries weren't as ignorant as other people. They were able to reach closer to the truth. With their powerful spirits, they were easily able to sense the altered glow of Ves' mech.

Even though they quickly realized that the change hadn't actually changed the physical performance of the mech in any way, the effect it had on the mech pilot was quite profound!

Normally, Goldie exuded a bright and inspiring presence. Her distinct aura was not only useful in encouraging every clansmen to develop a common bond with each other, it was also helpful in keeping large amounts of Larkinson mech pilots in high spirits during battle.

However, its effectiveness in crowds did not translate to the current setting. Goldie still worked best when she was paired with a Larkinson mech pilot. Since this wasn't the case anymore, then what about letting another design spirit take her place?

It sounded simple, but it really wasn't. The Bright Warrior was never designed to accommodate other design spirits. Doing so rashly led to various compatibility problems. In the worst case, the spiritual foundation of the mech actively rejected the foreign design spirit!

In order to avoid this outcome, Ves had invested his own energy into modifying the spiritual foundation of his dueling mechs. He did something that he had never truly done before, and that was opening up his mechs.

He did not just open them up to mech pilots outside of their initial target audience.

This was why the Bright Warrior, which was a model that was only ever designed to represent Goldie, was unexpectedly able to accommodate Zeigra!

Of course, there were a number of problems. First, the fit between the Bright Warrior and its new design spirit was not good.

This was why Goldie was still present in the background. Her role had been relegated to keeping the mech placated. If she was removed from the picture, then the mech itself would have likely clashed against the foreign intrusion!

It didn't help that the mech had been enhanced to 75 Ves by feeding it with Goldie's spiritual energy. This not only made the living mech stronger, but also caused it to grow closer to the Golden Cat.

All of this meant that the Bright Warrior could have embodied Zeigra better if it was designed to accommodate the aggressive design spirit from the beginning. As it was, the hasty modifications that Ves had made barely allowed the mech, mech pilot and new design spirit to work towards a common end.

Defeating the enemy came first! This was something that they all agreed upon, and this was why the altered Bright Warrior had turned into an unrelenting attacker without showing any major inconsistencies!

The reaction from the crowd had changed along with the swing in momentum. The biometal swords wielded by the Epsilon Mosar were having a hard time blocking the fast and powerful strikes of its opponent!

Inside the c.o.c.kpit, Kelly Gidon began to show more and more frustration on her face. She gritted her teeth as she felt as if she was being pressured on multiple sides.

Physically, the aggressive Bright Warrior put the defensive capabilities of her biomech to the test. The exposed flesh of the Epsilon Mosar began to exhibit more and more wounds that were covered by drying purple blood.

Every so often, a sword would break through the Epsilon Mosar's guard and score another wound onto its upper body!

What was worse for Kelly Gidon was that Captain Ipsich did not show any signs of flagging!

The ability of a mech pilot to maintain an offensive was limited. Only one misstep or mistake could easily allow the opponent to break off or turn the tide.

Yet for some reason, Captain Ipsich turned into a beast. His d.e.s.i.r.e to chop the Epsilon Mosar in half was so great that he employed his full ability as if he was in a life-or-death match!

Soon enough, the unrelenting offensive finally achieved a critical result!

As the flying and spiralling mechs continued to press their weapons against each other, the Bright Warrior suddenly overloaded its flight system and boosters, causing it to push itself forward with much greater force than it displayed before!

The extra momentum it gained allowed the Bright Warrior's powerful blade to break past the Epsilon Mosar's hastily crossed swords and dig deep into the pectoral muscles!

A groan of pain and disappointment rang out from the crowd!

When the biomech maintained the upper hand, then the encouragement from the crowd had a wonderful effect on Kelly Gidon's confidence.

Yet now that she and her mech entered into dire straits, the encouragement from the crowd had stopped flowing. Instead, the spectators began to express all kinds of negative emotions. Anger, dismay, disappointment and unwillingness continued to flow from them all, causing the entire arena to take on a different atmosphere.

"I don't know how Captain Ipsich turned into such a maniac, but I like it." Realla grinned.

"He has finally stopped holding back and started to show everyone what a real man is capable of." Vincent echoed.

Gloriana looked amazed as well. She was one of the few people who understood the change.

She was amazed not only by how Ves managed to enable such a switch to take place, but also at how Captain Ipsich underwent such a drastic swing.

His combat effectiveness had practically jumped by 50 percent! This was while he was still piloting the same mech with the same physical properties as before!

Ves continued to smile at the sight. The events that took place vindicated his theories. The strength of a mech was merely one factor that decided its battle effectiveness. The fit between the mech and mech pilot was another factor that could make a major difference!

As long as mechs were piloted by humans, then it made sense to invest in the synergy between the two!

Gloriana eventually wasn't able to hold in her curiosity.

"How come Ipsich is able to sustain his assault for so long? Did you do anything extra?"

"Maybe." Ves mysteriously responded, mindful of the public setting he was in. "I just made some realizations about my design philosophy and how I have been letting my existing paradigms limit my options. It's been some time since I advanced to Journeyman, yet I have largely been working in the same narrow direction that I had previously set when I was an Apprentice."

He had no doubt that the Master Mech Designers sitting behind him possessed ears that were s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e enough to hear his whispers. This was why he didn't say anything more specific.

His wife still wasn't satisfied, though. She frowned. "I don't understand. Your specialty is good at affecting mech pilots, but this is something else. It's as if you've injected Ipsich with a stimulant!"

The new life that Ipsich showed had not faded at all. Instead, as the captain continued to maintain his offensive rhythm, his fit with his mech and its new design spirit continued to rise.

His moves became a little more fluent. He responded faster and was able to read his opponent more accurately. Even though some of the internal components of the Bright Warrior was already showing signs of breakage after being subjected to continuous strain, the mech's momentum continued to rise at a steady pace!

Kelly Gidon attempted to break away from the unstoppable Bright Warrior many times. Her increasingly bloody mech kicked, dropped, boosted or turned around its relentless opponent.

Yet no matter what the Epsilon Mosar tried, the Bright Warrior always managed to stay close enough for the tip of its sword to hit the injured biomech.

"What is happening?!"

No one was able to answer her question right now. Just as the Epsilon Mosar managed to gain some distance, the Bright Warrior pushed forward and stabbed forth with its sword, heedless of how much it exposed its damaged frame!

At this point of the battle, the Bright Warrior incurred some internal damage. A couple of hits from the biometal swords managed to take advantage of the earlier wounds they inflicted and damaged some of the internal components that were right underneath.

Even though the Epsilon Mosar stabbed its swords into these openings right away, the longer reach of the Bright Warrior caused its blade to sink into the c.h.e.s.t of the biomech first!

The mech prepared by Dr. Navarro suffered a heavy injury!

Even though its thick and resilient muscles prevented the sword from running through its back, the Epsilon Mosar still suffered a heavy injury!

The counterattack launched by the biomech failed to affect the Bright Warrior to the same degree. One of the limbs went out of control, causing one of the swords to miss and slide off the surface of the opposing mech's exterior plating.

The other sword managed to sink in and damage some internal components, but the Bright Warrior hardly seemed to notice. Its redundancy and compartmentalization weren't particularly high, but they were still adequate enough to contain the blow!

"It's over!" Ipswich roared as the blade of the Bright Warrior retracted before chopping down right afterwards!

The sword missed only because the Epsilon Mosar lost altitude. With the injuries it suffered, Kelly Gidon thought it was better if she brought the fight to the surface!

"Oh no you don't!"

Captain Ipsich wasn't having it. The Bright Warrior dove down with greater speed as it still retained more of its power. With a powerful swing, its sword clanged against the crossed blades of the biomech once again.

This time, the performance of one of its limbs was too heavily affected to defend against the attack. The left arm lost its grip on the sword as the latter flung away!

Another spurt of purple blood sprayed from the Epsilon Mosar as it suffered a deep cut!

Due to the attack, the biomech lost control of its descent. It fell faster than before and crashed straight onto the surface with more force than was considered safe! It didn't even have time to correct its posture. Its flight system was crushed flat!

"Finish the biomech!" Vincent excitedly roared!

The Bright Warrior seemed to have reached the peak of its aggression! After adjusting its flight, it dove straight at the prone mech. Yet before the tip of its sword was able to drive home, a signal sounded out!

[The first match is over! Captain Alazar Ipsich has won!]

Safety measures instantly came under play. An energy shield formed over the prone biomech, preventing it from getting exposed to any further attacks. Powerful gravitic modules underneath the arena acted upon the diving Bright Warrior, pushing it upwards and causing its falling momentum to bleed away.

Though the mech looked as if it desperately wanted to finish off its opponent, the match was already over!

The crowd fell silent.

"How could this be?" Someone questioned. "How could one of our biomechs lose that easily?"

The audience was in disbelief. They couldn't believe that a well-regarded mech had lost in such a clear and obvious fashion. The match wasn't even close at the end!

"Don't lose hope! We still have four more matches to go, and this is just the first phase! There are 9 more matches for our biomechs to gain the upper hand! Now that we know what these trash cans can do, our mech pilots won't fall for the same trick twice!"

The mood among the spectators gradually stabilized. There were plenty of chances for Dr. Navarro and his mechs to compensate for this loss!