The Mech Touch

Two similar but different expert mechs squared off against each other.

Both of them happened to be expert space knights.

Despite these similarities, the two exceptional machines couldn't be more different in their budgets, quality, features and preferred fighting approaches!

The Shield of Samar was one of the Larkinson Clan's oldest and most defining mechs.

The mech and its pilot practically embodied the Larkinson Clan's protective ideal.

Having grown in tandem with the Larkinson Clan, the Shield of Samar and Venerable Jannzi both attained a formidable level of strength after years of growth and evolution.

The most remarkable aspect about the pair was that they still possessed a lot more untapped potential!

Both of them continued to develop at a frightfully fast pace. The only issue was that Venerable Jannzi and her Shield of Samar had never fully exerted all of their capabilities in an actual fight.

The best they could do was to try out their battle methods in sparring sessions like these.

The large, gold-coated expert heavy space knight possessed a strong and solid impression as it floated in space.

Even when Venerable Jannzi was not actively resonating with the expert mech, her deep and extensive connection with her lifelong battle partner caused it to be surrounded by a deep blue corona at all times.

Opposing her this time was not another Larkinson mech, strangely enough.

In order to make sure that every expert pilot in the expeditionary fleet learned how to handle different opponents, sometimes they challenged their counterparts hailing from different organizations.

This was the first time that the Shield of Samar confronted the Amphis.

The older expert mech was not as dazzling and spectacular as the Larkinson masterwork mech.

It was a more standard mid-range expert space knight that the mech designers formerly in the service of the old Cross Clan had cobbled together under normal conditions.

That didn't mean the Amphis was weak. It was a simple, well-designed and well-constructed expert medium space knight that packed a surprising amount of offensive power!

The design concept of the Amphis matched the sensibilities of the Garlen Empire which the Cross Clan used to be a part of before its exile.

There, expert pilots were glorified as warlords and conquerors.

Venerable Linda Cross might have specialized in piloting space knights like her current sparring partner, but her combat approach was substantially different!

This was plainly evident to the observers watching this upcoming duel.

The larger and more massive Shield of Samar possessed an aura that emphasized its protective spirit.

The smaller and more maneuverable Amphis radiated an impression that resembled that of an attack dog!

No one was clearer about these differences than the expert pilots themselves. Their invisible wills collided with each other.

Venerable Linda Cross gained more respect towards her younger sparring partner. "Your dedication to your mission is admirable. I have only come across this degree of commitment from Saint Hemmington Cross and Patriarch Reginald Cross. I may not entirely agree with your ideals, but you are a true knight."

"You are not as rough as I thought you were." Venerable Jannzi replied as she readied herself for the inevitable confrontation. "I thought that every Crosser was willing to send their people to their deaths in order to earn more glory, but now that I am here, I find that you are not as obsessed about illusionary fame."

"Your impression of me isn't far from the truth if you met me from a decade ago. After seeing our original clan collapse and after witnessing so many of my fellow Crossers die in order to protect what was left of our people, I have found a different reason to fight. Seeing the Cross Clan rise from its near-extinction gives me much more satisfaction than thinking about taking revenge on our betrayers."

Both of them were protectors. Both of them fought for similar reasons. They just expressed their strength in different ways.

The two spoke no further. They did not come here to chat and learn each other's life stories. They came here to polish their skills!

"Get ready!" Venerable Linda Cross uttered as she grew serious!

The Amphis gained a sharper and more active temper! The Crosser expert pilot activately resonated with her old and trusty machine!

Since Venerable Linda was a true combat veteran and a mid-tier expert pilot with decades worth of experience, her resonance strength was considerably more formidable than that of her opponent!

However, Venerable Jannzi was not as far behind as her age and experience suggested. Her resonance strength had grown remarkably quickly ever since her battle partner turned into a masterwork expert mech.

Combined with the Shield of Samar's formidable living qualities, Jannzi did not feel suppressed in the slightest!

"Watch out!" Linda snapped as her expert mech struck the first blow!

The Amphis threw out its defining chainsword!

Even though the attack looked rather silly, Venerable Jannzi did not dare to underestimate this opening strike.

Her Shield of Samar tightly held its massive Unending alloy tower shield in front and angled it to deflect as much of the incoming force as possible.

The heavy space knight actually bounced backwards when the chainsword finally struck!

Though Venerable Jannzi had not chosen to activate her expert mech resonance shield or energy shield, she had made sure to resonate with her tower shield in order to increase its ability to resist attacks.

Even so, the Shield of Samar was unable to negate all of the physical force from the attack. It was as if the heavy space knight was struck by a giant hammer instead of a sword!

Such a phenomenon completely violated the laws of physics, not that Venerable Linda Cross cared.

In her opinion, the best way she could protect the Cross Clan was to advance and crush her adversaries with overwhelming force!

As the chainsword bounced away from the Shield of Samar, the Amphis pulled it back before launching it out again!

This time, Venerable Jannzi was a little more prepared. Her Shield of Samar glowed and gained a little more solidity.

However, once the chainsword struck a second time, the stricken mech bounced even further backwards!

"Tch!"

Venerable Linda Cross had put more of her power behind the blow this time. Her stronger and more developed willpower directly overwhelmed Venerable Jannzi's attempt to reinforce her own expert mech!

This was the advantage that stronger expert pilots possessed when confronting their weaker counterparts!

The duel became more heated as the Amphis began to move in earnest. It flew around the massive but sluggish Shield of Samar like an offensive mech.

At the same time, the Amphis launched its chainsword forward at different angles, speeds and intervals.

Even if the Shield of Samar had the benefit of possessing a massive tower shield, Jannzi still found it challenging to defend against the onslaught of heavy and powerful attacks!

This wasn't the first time that Venerable Linda Cross confronted an enemy space knight. She utilized her deep understanding to strike in a way that took advantage of the minor loopholes in the Shield of Samar's guard.

After the tower shield got struck a thirteenth time, the Amphis suddenly surged forward with undaunted momentum in an attempt to collide its kite shield against the Shield of Samar!

Fortunately, Venerable Jannzi reacted quickly enough and dragged her expert mech's tower shield in place in time!

The two expert mechs collided against each other! Just before their physical shields made contact, their resonance shields flared a bit in order to bleed off the force from the powerful impact.

Both of them bounced back from each other, but the Amphis clearly held the disadvantage this time.

"What a heavy machine!"

The Amphis was ultimately a lighter and smaller machine. There was a limit to Venerable Linda's ability to amplify the physical force of her expert mech.

Seeing that a frontal clash was not the best idea, Venerable Linda took advantage of her expert mech's superior mobility and circled around again.

This time, she launched trickier chainsword attacks. They not only targeted the extremities of the Shield of Samar, but also gained additional dimensions by taking advantage of the chain attached to the weapon.

"Damn!"

Venerable Jannzi cursed as the chainsword came at an unexpected angle. It flew wide, but due to the Amphis making a lateral movement and yanking the chain, the thrown weapon actually whipped its target from the side!

The large tower shield did not avail the Larkinson expert mech this time!

Venerable Linda continued to repeat this maneuver. The chainsword no longer flew straight but actually behaved similar to a whip under her skilled manipulation.

With the help of her ability to amplify her physical attacks, these whipping attacks struck with much more force than they should, thereby posing a considerable threat to the Shield of Samar!

In contrast, the Shield of Samar was not able to strike back at the circling Amphis. The reach of its relatively ordinary sword was too short!

Jannzi had an answer to that, though.

"Fatal Attraction!"

The entire Shield of Samar flared as Jannzi activated one of its resonance abilities!

A strong surge of gravitic force affected the Amphis!

Though Venerable Linda's superior resonance strength was able to weaken its hold, the Amphis nonetheless flew uncontrollably towards its current adversary as if it was falling into a gravity well!

The smaller the distance, the stronger the attractive force!

Even though the Amphis was unable to break free from this attraction, Venerable Linda did not panic. The offensive expert space knight snapped its chainsword forward with greater power than before!

This time, the chainsword struck the Shield of Samar with so much force that it succeeded in unbalancing its target!

The expert heavy space knight actually rotated on its axis due to its inability to absorb the heavy blow that had struck the corner of the tower shield!

"Hah, your gravity trick only makes my chainsword hit your mech harder!" Venerable Linda laughed.

This was indeed an unfortunate interaction for Venerable Jannzi. Though she successfully brought the enemy mech closer, the force of gravity also caused every incoming physical attack to strike harder!

Even so, Jannzi still had a lot of faith in her expert mech's defenses.

The Amphis no longer tried to harass the Shield of Samar from a distance. Both mechs clashed against each other more directly!

First, they exhausted their resonance shields and energy shields with unabashed attacks. This was a pure battle of attrition as neither of the two expert mechs were easy to take down!

Once they rid each other of these defensive layers, their fight became more violent.

Physical shields bashed against physical shields. Blades crossed and deflected from each other.

Although the expert mechs looked intense, in truth neither of them succeeded in landing telling blows against each other.

Both mechs were too tough!

The Amphis may possess more offensive power, but the Shield of Samar's superior defensive capabilities were able to resolve every strike.

At the same time, the Amphis was also able to handle incoming attacks with ease because the Shield of Samar's attack power was too low!

Seeing that she wasn't making much progress at this time, Venerable Jannzi tried to exert the new gravity aspect of her expert mech in a different manner!

"Gravity Pool!"

The Shield of Samar glowed brighter as it created a small gravity well at the side!

This unexpected move caused the Amphis to move uncontrollably as it became affected by a sudden attraction force!

Though Venerable Linda Cross compensated quickly enough, she could not quite prevent her expert mech from suffering a serious attack by an incoming sword!

"Good job, girl! You managed to catch me off-guard! Let me get more serious this time!"

In an instant, the Amphis launched its chainsword forward at close range!

The weapon snaked along the Shield of Samar's sword arm and somehow winded around it like a snake!

The Amphis did not stay still while this happened and circled to the side while its chainsword managed to entangle its prey!

Though Venerable Jannzi recognized the threat early on, her Shield of Samar was unable to extricate its sword arm from the snaking chain nor turn fast enough to prevent the Amphis from completing its revolutions!

By using its target as a fulcrum, the Amphis quickly circled around and continued to bind its thick and resilient chain across the Shield of Samar's frame!

Venerable Jannzi could do nothing against this unorthodox attack!

None of her Shield of Samar's defenses could cope against this capture maneuver. Its tower shield was stuck as it got pressed against the front of the enormous machine.

"I lost." The Larkinson expert pilot directly admitted.

She realized that she had lost from the moment the chainsword bound her expert mech's arm.

The Shield of Samar could have fended off the chainsword if it was still able to deploy its resonance shield or energy shield, but the Amphis had already depleted them in an earlier phase of the fight.

Venerable Linda relaxed and commanded her Amphis to circle around in the other direction. The expert mech slowly unwound its chain.

"Absolute defense doesn't exist." The Crosser expert pilot said. "There are always holes in every defense."

"I don't believe that." Jannzi replied. "You've taught me a lesson, but I won't get caught off-guard like this next time. Now that I know what your chainsword can do, I will be ready for your next attempt."

How cute.

Venerable Linda grinned. "Want to bet on it, Larkinson?"