The Mech Touch

The temporary coalition that Ves had managed to form consisted of quite a decent number of biomechs. Gathering so many fighting machines together conveyed a lot of strength, but that did not mean that everyone was of the same mind.

Ves knew that the coalition of 30 mechs was inherently unstable. Different groups held different motives, and mashing them all together did not change their original goals.

Now that they encountered a group of Ruuzon Guard mechs, he was afraid that the situation was about to change in an undesirable direction.

His suspicions turned out to be true.

Due to the odd movements of the Roving Hunter mechs, Ves knew he had to make a quick decision.

He decided to present the evidence to the other groups. Nothing would convey the gravity of the situation better than revealing the Ruuzon Guard officer's plot!

Ves converted the sounds he heard into a digital audio file with the help of his implant. He then proceeded to transmit it to all of the mechs in the coalition aside from the Ruuzon Guard mechs.

He could sense the change in their demeanor. Their mechs flew noticeably more apart from the three Ruuzon Guard mechs in their midst. The Perringer and Optimon followed suit. They reversed course and tried to open up as much distance as possible!

They all felt threatened. In fact, Ves had emphasized the danger to them by cutting out the latter portion of the incoming transmission. By leaving out the part that made it clear that he was their primary target, the truncated message made it sound as if the Ruuzon Guard officer wanted to commit indiscriminate slaughter.

While all of these mechs reacted in such a distinct fashion, the other side clearly noticed the abnormality.

No one shot at each other. Yet. Since every mech had gone through some scraps, no one wanted to start a battle where they might easily die.

The best outcome right now was to take advantage of the period where these supposed reinforcements were still on their way and fly as far away as possible!

Twenty-three mechs gradually backed away. They wanted to distance themselves from the Ruuzon Guard mechs.

Their attempt did not succeed. The Ruuzon Guard mechs that they previously traveled with acted as if they were still a part of the temporary coalition. The Ruuzon Guard mechs in the distance were gradually closing in as well.

The range between the current coalition and the potentially-hostile mechs was getting shorter instead of longer!

This odd behavior increased the suspicion towards these units of Ruuzon Guard. If their officers and mech pilots were truly arena guards, then why were they stalking anyone who was trying to move away?

The only reason why neither side launched an attack was because both sides would likely incur a lot of damage. No one wanted to risk his life to achieve a pyrrhic victory at best.

At least that was what Ves thought.

Just as he was trying to think of a way to separate himself from the Ruuzon Guards without causing the situation to deteriorate into chaos, a single biomech lifted up its rifle.

"YOU CONSERVATIVE DOGS! THE RULE OF YOUR MASTERS IS OVER! THE REVOLUTION SHALL SUCCEED!"

To the horror of Ves and many other people, the rifleman mech of the Brakkard Consortium fired a positron beam at the closest Ruuzon Guard unit!

The powerful beam struck straight into one of the damaged sections of the c.h.e.s.t of a biomech. A considerable amount of flesh and internal organs burned or vaporized in an instant due to the accurate close-ranged shot. The biomech that got struck practically fell from the sky for a few seconds before it reluctantly regained control.

No one reacted for a few seconds. Nobody knew why the mech pilot of the Brakkard Consortium opened fire by himself. It didn't appear that the Brakkard mech pilots were unified.

"This idiot!" Ves angrily cursed. "What is up with their discipline?!"

He should have known better. Captain Rivington already informed him that the Brakkard Consortium was a gang. Ves thought that second-class mech pilots were much more disciplined and less drunk on the job, but maybe he needed to revise that impression.

The other Brakkard mechs joined in without too much consideration. It didn't even seem to matter whether one of their guys opened fire without orders. All they knew is that as long as one of their own made a move, the rest had to back him up without any reserve!

"OPEN FIRE!"

Their ranged mechs shot at the Ruuzon Guard mech that had just been hit. The beams and projectiles slamming into the poor machine quickly caused it to crash into the ground!

There was no way the Ruuzon Guard would let this aggression go unanswered. The two remaining Ruuzon Guard mechs that had played nice earlier all raised their weapons but flew backwards towards the larger group of mechs in the distance.

"Don't let these bastards reunite with the rest!" Ves quickly transmitted to the coalition. "Take them out while they are still vulnerable!"

His forceful words were meant to push the doubters forward. Only some groups responded to his command.

The unknown purple mechs did not hesitate too much before joining in on the attack. The cyborg mechs of the Combinants opened fire at the same time.

The remaining groups went on the attack as well! Their melee mechs remained in place but their ranged mechs all concentrated their fire on the two runners.

Since the two fleeing Ruuzon Guard mechs exposed their backs to the temporary coalition, the firepower easily overwhelmed their defenses! Two fleshy c.o.c.kpits soon blasted from the heavily-damaged mechs!

"We did it! We whittled down their numbers!"

However, during this process, the twenty-one biomechs in the distance were rapidly closing the distance. Their ranged mechs had already opened fire in return!

"You sc.u.mbags!"

The downing of the three Ruuzon Guard mechs seemed to inflame the rest that were closing the distance. Ves didn't know why the enemy went on the attack when they were down two mechs, but right now the rabbit shuttle was in great danger!

"Ahh!"

"We're all going to die!"

"We need to get out of this deathtrap!"

"Shut up! Don't disturb us! We've almost cracked the controls!"

The Perringer and the Optimon were having a lot of difficulty keeping the inactive rabbit shuttle stable and secure. The Ruuzon Guard mechs with ranged capabilities all directed their firepower towards the shuttle. They knew exactly who was inside and how much they could achieve if they killed the most important passenger!

Faced with all of the beams and projectiles attempting to slam into the organic shuttle, the Perringer had to block it all with its stolen tower shield with just a single arm while at the same time scrambling for cover somewhere below.

"I can't keep up with your movements, Venerable! Please don't make so many sudden movements!" Oliver Vlambeer complained.

"My sudden movements are the only reasons why my current mech is still in good shape. I cannot allow the enemy to focus on a single point!"

"The shuttle will fall or get crushed at this rate!"

The two mech pilots were anything but in sync. Venerable Jannzi fought on an entirely different level from regular mech pilots while Oliver was still an inexperienced mech athlete!

"Meooow!"

Lucky clung his body tight against the Unending Regalia. The violent movements along with the realization that they were getting shot at frightened him to no end!

Even Ves felt his stomach lurching despite the inertial compensators in his suit keeping his body stable.

"I'm getting sick!" Vincent screamed from his position in the corner. His hover chair had to be pressed into place on a vertical orientation due to lack of space. "Kill me now! Just end my misery!"

There was nothing he could do. If the Rotenring was still in good condition, then he would have been able to avoid this nightmare.

Out of the coalition, the biomechs of the Brakkard Consortium fought the hardest, followed by the unknown purple organic machines. Both of these groups apparently had the greatest motivation to attack the unknowns.

The others were a bit more reluctant. The Trezin Showstoppers, the Combinants and the Right Siders clearly didn't want to bear the brunt of enemy attacks.

However, they didn't want their side to lose either, so they made sure to put in a serious effort.

It didn't take long before the first mechs started to fall. The most heavily-damaged mechs were attractive targets because they were easy to eliminate first. Faced with multiple attackers, these targeted mechs or biomechs quickly started to drop like flies!

Numerous c.o.c.kpits ejected from the broken mechs. Most mech pilots decided to err on the side of caution because their chances of survival were much higher if they ditched their mechs!

Even though losing their mech made the mech pilots vulnerable, there was no reason for them to hold their ground and fight to the death!

They only wanted to hang onto their fighting machines because power gave them more agency. If they wanted to do well in this civil war, then it was important for them to possess the ability to fight against other mechs!

Once they lost one, it was very uncertain if they would be able to get their hands on another one. This was why they did not abandon their mechs straightaway!

"We're too split."

What concerned Ves quite a bit was the fact that the Ruuzon Guard were on the winning side. Even though they started off with fewer mechs, their teamwork and coordination was much better!

"Jannzi, you need to join the fight. They won't last without your help!"

"I can't! I need to shield your shuttle."

Ves sighed. "I know, but we'll end up in a much worse situation if our battle line collapses. Just put the damn shuttle on the ground and help our comrades out! Leave the Optimon behind to guard against any sneak attackers."

In the end, the Perringer and the Optimon placed the shuttle behind a cl.u.s.ter of apartment tree structures. The latter biomech remained behind while the Perringer flew forth.

"I'm here now!" Venerable Jannzi shouted. "Captain Rivington, work with me! We need to crush the Ruuzon Guard as fast as possible!"

"Aye!"

The Perringer approached the Taragon's current opponent and attacked from the flank!

When Jannzi's mech drove its shield against a biomech of the Ruuzon Guard, the sword-wielding machine lost its balance.

Captain Rivington immediately spotted an opportunity. His Taragon stabbed forward and sunk its sword deep into the abdomen of its opponent!

Even though another Ruuzon Guard mech attempted to drag away the Perringer, Venerable Jannzi did not shift her target. With great skill, the Perringer avoided the spear thrust in its direction and chopped its sword onto the shoulder of the original target.

Soon enough, the latter fell to the ground! Before it impacted against the surface, the broken biomech ejected its c.o.c.kpit.

The Perringer and the Taragon already moved on to ganging up against another Ruuzon Arena mech. The teamwork they exhibited allowed them to dispatch their second opponent in less than a dozen seconds!

Their teamwork was impeccable despite their unfamiliarity. Captain Rivington was well-versed in team-based tactics while Venerable Jannzi was much more skilled than any other mech pilot on the current battlefield.

Their timing, positioning and skill quickly made a substantial difference. Eight Ruuzon Arena mechs fell in quick succession, causing the remaining ones to back off in panic. The subverted Ruuzon Arena mech pilots had lost their courage against the surprising might of their opponents!

While Ves wanted to celebrate this great success, his mood sank even lower. While the fight ended in his favor, Ves had never stopped paying attention to the tunnel they originally emerged.

According to his Odineye, a large amount of mechs were flying through it at this very moment!

The ultralifers were coming!