The Mech Touch

"Careful with those mechs! They're responsible for giving us extra combat carriers if everything goes right. If one of our mech pilots trip during a match because you bumped a crate due to your sloppiness, I will have your head!"

The Larkinson fleet had burst into activity shortly after the Larkinsons signed into their first tournaments. The Gorgoneion alone had become incredibly active as hundreds of packed mechs had to be shipped to the surface of Chance Bay.

To many of the combat-oriented clansmen, their vacations were over. Now that the top had given them a directive to compete in tournaments, they all readied themselves to perform in front of crowds!

It soon became clear that the Larkinsons mainly signed up for mech combat and mech design tournaments. The clan heavily emphasized both its mech pilots and its mech designers, after all.

Not everyone was allowed to sign up, though. Only the better ones were allowed to go in order to ensure their younger and more inexperienced clansmen didn't shame the clan too much.

To mech pilots, this was especially important because the Larkinson Clan only planned to use up 2000 mechs at most.

In competitions where the contestants had to bring their own mechs, the machines usually got trashed at the end. The amount of churn that would ensue in the following weeks would definitely be exaggerated!

Fortunately, a lot of battle damage was still fixable. The Spirit of Bentheim's production crews already stood ready to repair or reconstruct any mechs that got wrecked in all of the mech combat tournaments.

Even if the clan anticipated that there would be a lot of unrecoverable losses, the repair personnel would still be able to salvage at least some spare parts and recycled materials out of any inoperable machine. These recovered goods could be utilized to repair other heavily-damaged machines, thereby giving them second lives.

In fact, Ves didn't mind if all 2000 mechs got utterly ruined beyond recognition. While it was sad to see these living mechs go, they would have served their purpose and maybe deliver great results before they died.

Currently, the Larkinson Clan possessed way too many mechs and not enough carriers. Being able to trade the former for the latter was a great opportunity in his opinion!

The only question was how many mechs the Larkinsons needed to sacrifice in order to obtain a decent carrier. If the 'exchange rate' was too awful due to the poor performance of the mechs or mech pilots, then the clan would definitely bleed!

It was for this reason that the Larkinson Army took this responsibility absolutely seriously. General Verle treated this as a military operation and expected his soldiers to fight as if the lives of everyone on the fleet was at stake.

Given the many dangers of the Red Ocean, this was not an exaggeration!

Since the Larkinsons had to perform at their best, the Living Sentinels mostly sat out the fights.

There was nothing wrong with them, but the Larkinsons simply had too many other mech pilots that were better.

In fact, with a pool of 20,000 mech pilots, the struggle to earn a spot in one of the mech combat tournaments was intense!

Since the Larkinson Clan prioritized winning rather than other goals such as gaining experience or experimenting with new battle strategies, certain mech legions and individual mech pilots received much more priority than others. The expectations on them were also a lot higher.

Of particular note was the swordsmen and swordswomen of the Larkinson Clan. The Swordmaidens and the Heavensworders were both excellent duelists and felt right at home in the mech arenas.

They already signed up to many tournaments that featured mixed mech types or only melee mech types. Whether it was solo combat, duo combat, squad combat or greater, the swordsman mech enthusiasts of the Larkinson Clan were expected to play leading roles!

In fact, the infantry swordsmen of the Larkinson Clan also applied to various person combat tournaments in droves. Unlike their mech pilot counterparts, they didn't have to bring any mechs, so it was much cheaper and more convenient for them to take part in a lot of different martial competitions.

Many Larkinsons expected decent results from them. While their augmentations might not be able to keep up with those who originated from the more prosperous parts of the old galaxy, their training and combat methods were quite excellent, especially if they embraced the Heavensword Association's galaxy-renowned swordsmanship tradition!

Aside from these sword fanatics, other powerful mech legions such as the Avatars of Myth and the Penitent Sisters were expected to step up, particularly in group combat tournaments.

All seven legion commanders had gathered on a catwalk overlooking one of the busy hangar bays of the Gorgoneion.

Many of them had been hard at work. It was hard to choose the right tournaments and to select the most suitable mech pilots to go on stage.

Commander Casella sighed. "It's a pity that my Living Sentinels are being left out of this excitement."

Commander Melkor patted her shoulder. "You can still represent your mech legion by yourself. There's also Percival and Trinity."

The Living Sentinels had three expert candidates that could take part in a select few mech combat tournaments. Not only did they sign up for solo competitions, a few of them would even show up in group competitions.

"We'll be relying on you to command our troops in the big one." Commander Sendra of the Swordmaidens stated. "We cannot afford to falter in the battles we should be best at. If we can't win against a mech battalion in the arena, how much better will we fare on the battlefield?"

The 'big one' that the legion commander was referring to was the G-Aena League, a large battalion-level mech combat tournament!

The league that was sponsored by G-Aena Mech Supplies was well-funded and took place in one of the largest mech arenas on Chance Bay. Millions of live spectators along with billions of virtual ticket holders from all across the old galaxy were expected to watch each and every match. There were even expectations that the total number of viewers would surpass 1 trillion for the finals!

This was by far the most important tournament the clan took part in, and the 500 mech pilots selected to take part in this spectacle were definitely the best the Larkinson Army had to offer!

Unfortunately, no expert pilots and expert mechs were allowed to fight in the G-Aena League. The competition also limited the amount of expert candidates that were allowed to participate.

This was a rule that took into consideration that not every pioneer was able to whip up an expert candidate. A single expert candidate among hundreds of mech pilots wouldn't be able to make too much of a difference, even though past group combat tournaments showed that the finalists all had them in their ranks.

Out of all of the expert candidates that the Larkinson Army had to offer, the honor of leading the Larkinsons in the G-Aena League went to Commander Casella Ingvar.

Though the other expert candidates were no slouches, Casella possessed three distinct advantages.

First, she was the most popular and well-liked expert candidate in the clan. Her presence would definitely boost morale and allow the other 499 mech pilots to put up a more tenacious struggle against tougher opponents!

Second, she was a capable and proven battlefield commander. Even though she belonged to the Living Sentinels, the mech pilots from other legions had no qualms about following her commands.

Third, she was the currently-designated mech pilot of the Quint. This heavily-modified and upgraded Bright Warrior was one of the Larkinson Clan's treasured masterwork mechs.

That alone was enough of a reason to put both Casella and this precious living mech in the arena.

Still, not everyone was comfortable with putting the Quint at risk in a mech arena. What if the machine got wrecked beyond recovery in a difficult match? The loss of a masterwork mech, particularly one that was compatible with regular mech pilots, would be a disaster for the Larkinson Clan!

However, Larkinsons had to bring out their best, and they couldn't afford to leave the Quint on the Gorgoneion.

A lot of pressure and expectation rested on the shoulders of Commander Casella.

"I will not let down your trust." She solemnly declared to the other legion commanders. "I cannot promise that we'll be able to go all the way to the end, but we must definitely bring back enough combat carriers."

The battalion that she was slated to lead in the G-Aena League consisted of a mix of Avatars, Vandals, Swordmaidens, Penitent Sisters and a small complement of Ylvainans. This presented them with a relatively balanced lineup that would have a response for many different situations.

Of course, the mech composition also possessed clear weaknesses and shortcomings. The Larkinson battalion did not excel at defensive combat and could not overpower opponents by relying heavily on ranged combat.

No matter what, the Larkinsons had to go on the attack and drive their mechs right into the faces of their opponents!

"Let's hope we don't get matched up against any defensive battalions." Commander Melkor said as he adjusted his visor. "Even if we can come out on top, our mechs will definitely be in poor shape."

If not for the fact that the G-Aena League was willing to repair light or moderately-damaged mechs, it would have been too painful for most groups to compete in this huge event!

While the legion commanders continued to discuss their strategies for their upcoming group matches, a lot of individual Larkinson mech pilots readied themselves to deliver their best performances in numerous smaller-scale occasions.

Imon Ingvar and Vincent Ricklin had both gathered in front of one of the smaller mech arenas of Chance Bay.

The New Stars Tournament was a 1 week affair that was meant to showcase the combat prowess of many expert candidates. In order to make sure that enough of them showed up, the tournament organizers set up an attractive prize pool.

Imon and Vincent weren't the only Larkinson expert candidates who participated in this particular competition. They just arrived early because they couldn't wait!

"Ah, this is where I belong!" Vincent spread his arms. "After all of that boring practice and training, I can finally show off my skills in front of an adoring crowd!"

Imon crossed his arms and scoffed at his friend's attitude. "The clan didn't give you a mech in order to stroke your ego. We're expected to win and climb up the rankings. Leave all of the showboating after you have won a combat carrier for the clan."

"Hey man, this is a competitive sport, not an actual battle. Don't be so serious. If you step into the arena with a different mindset, you'll just get crushed on all of the expectations that people place on you. What you should really do is to let go and have fun!"

The two couldn't agree on this issue, but it didn't matter. Enough Larkinsons had signed up to the New Stars Tournament that only one of them had to do well enough to deliver a satisfying result.

Both of them shook their hands and wished each other luck before they marched forward.

Once Imon and Vincent stepped inside the arena, they would become competitors.

Many other notable Larkinson mech pilots entered into other arenas at this time. People such as Dietrich Krotz and Commander Sendra of the Swordmaidens would soon be demonstrating what the Larkinson Clan was capable of in the Red Ocean!

While all of this went on, a group of Larkinsons arrived at a special venue where another sort of tournament was about to commence.

"We're here." Ves announced as he held Lucky in his arms. "I missed this feeling."

"Meow."

Alongside his bodyguards, four other Larkinsons followed right behind him. While a lot of other clansmen, most notably the assistant mech designers of the Design Department, had already bought tickets to watch their patriarch in action in the stands, Ves was allowed to bring a handful of his people to the backstage.

He turned around to face the young clansmen.

"I brought you here in order to learn. Pay attention to your conduct and don't argue with any people. We're bound to bump into all kinds of strange personalities inside, but no matter what happens, don't do anything without me. Understood?"

Maikel, Zanthar, Maisie Ann and Rennie all nodded. No matter how freely they behaved aboard the Spirit of Bentheim, they were in a completely different environment now. Even the girls restrained their behavior this time.

"Alright, let's head inside and start this show!"