The Mech Touch

The big day had come! Before the Larkinson Battalion fought its first match against the Ginetzy Battalion, the other two competitors in Group A fought against each other first.

The Quizlam Battalion and the Heartfall Battalion both put up a good fight.

As their future opponents, the Larkinsons studied their mechs and strategies carefully.

The random battlefield generated by the arena settled upon a cratered, airless planet environment.

While much of the terrain was fairly open, the many craters along with the high amount of hills and slopes resulted in plenty of shallow cover.

Aerial mechs could easily gain a good view over the battlefield, but there was nothing for them to hide behind if they got targeted.

The Heartfall Battalion initially deployed a wave of light mechs in the air. However, as soon as they flew high enough, they immediately came under withering fire from well-entrenched rifleman mechs!

The Quizlam Battalion deployed a mix of mechs and brought plenty of ranged mechs to snipe the exposed Heartfall scout mechs!

This forced the Heartfallers to recall their light mechs down to the ground before they got shot to pieces.

That was the beginning of a pattern. In the subsequent hour, the Quizlam Battalion essentially waged guerilla warfare against the Heartfall Battalion.

The former obfuscated the sensors and the information-gathering ability of the latter as much as possible.

From flooding the arena field with lots of jamming to launching sensor-scrambling smoke shells, the Quizlam Battalion turned the entire cratered battlefield into a misty horror drama.

The Heartfall Battalion's mechs possessed decent sensor systems but none of them were capable of overcoming through all of the interference. Their strongest sensor and scanning systems were only effective at shorter ranges.

While this was sufficient to scare away raiding parties, the Quizlams still brought a lot of ranged mechs!

In order to keep themselves as elusive as possible, the Quizlam's eschewed artillery mechs and relied solely on rifleman mechs to pepper the Heartfall mechs with projectiles.

Since the Quizlam rifleman mechs did not employ any energy weapons, they generated a lot less heat than their opponents. That helped with keeping their energy signatures as low as possible, making it hard for their opponents to detect the mechs at a distance.

What was even more infuriating was that the Quizlam rifleman mechs relocated every time they fired a heavy shot. Before the Heartfall mechs fired their weapons in the direction where the projectiles came from, the Quizlams had already fallen back behind cover or stepped aside!

Eventually, the Heartfallers figured out that staying put would only grind them down. They opted to make use of their mobility advantage and advanced in three large formations.

This not only forced the Quizlams to keep up, but also had to exert greater effort to take down the moving mechs. Each time the elusive Quizlam mechs exposed their positions, one of the three Heartfall formations charged straight at their targets and overwhelmed the sneaky mechs before they could run!

In the end, the Heartfall Battalion did the best they could to eliminate the Quizlams one by one, but they constantly suffered attrition while they performed their maneuvers.

"The Quizlams are going to be a difficult challenge." Commander Casella murmured.

The Larkinsons still needed to overcome Ginetzy Battalion first before they could move on to strategizing against their next opponent.

At least the clan didn't have to fight against the Quizlams first. Now that these tricky bastards showed off all of their tricks against the Heartfallers, the Larkinsons could make much more targeted preparations against the electronic warfare specialists!

"You're up, Larkinsons! Hurry up and head outside!"

All 500 Larkinson mechs simultaneously stepped onto the main arena.

The first ones to step onto the field was the Avatars of Myth. They constituted the main body of the Larkinson Battalion and amounted to as much as 239 mechs.

Although the Larkinson Clan no longer revered the Bright Warrior model as much as before, it was still its mainstay. The Bright Warrior not only reinforced teamwork, but also gained a lot more value in the hands of the Avatars of Myth.

Of course, the main reason why the Larkinson Battalion leaned so heavily on the Bright Warriors was because they could fulfill each basic role.

After weighing the importance of quickly tearing down the energy shields favored by the Ginetzy Battalion, the Bright Warriors mainly deployed Bright Warriors in rifleman mech configuration this time.

Each of them were armed with highly flexible luminar crystal rifles. Loaded with four separate attack phase luminar crystals, the Avatar rifleman mechs were able to respond effectively to several different situations.

Aside from Bright Warriors in rifleman mech configurations, the Avatars also deployed a decent amount of knight mechs in order to guard the more vulnerable artillery mechs of the Larkinson Battalion.

Though Commander Casella also wanted to bring lancer mechs, she couldn't bring enough of them for them to make a difference.

"Besides, we have the Penitent Sisters."

The Penitent Sisters brought a large number of Valkyrie Redeemers. The recently-upgraded marauder mechs were all armed with reduced versions of luminar crystal rifles. While their weapons were smaller and weaker, they suited the more mobile mechs well.

The Sisters also opted to deploy a small number of Eternal Redemptions, but their extremely lacking mobility meant that the cannoneer mechs were better off with sticking with the Eye of Ylvaine.

The youngest and newest mech legion of the Larkinson Clan was a risky addition to the Larkinson Battalion.

Even if they brought just 20 Transcendent Punishers, their high importance and low mobility turned them into strategic assets that needed protection at all times. They also anchored the other Larkinson mechs to an extent.

Opposite to the Eye of Ylvaine, the Flagrant Vandals deployed with a full lineup of light mechs.

Due to the relatively static battle approach of the Ginetzy Battalion, the Vandals only brought 40 Ferocious Piranhas this time.

The light mechs were there to hunt down enemy scouts, monitor enemy positions and test the enemy's countermeasures.

If the Ginetzy Battalion failed to repel the Ferocious Piranhas, the Flagrant Vandals were free to press their attacks against the vulnerable enemy mechs!

As for the Swordmaidens, they exclusively deployed Bright Warriors in swordsman mech configuration.

Originally, the Swordmaidens didn't find the Bright Warrior model to be a comfortable fit for their fighting style.

Before they received a proper swordsman mech designed by Ketis, they improvised by customizing and altering the existing Bright Warriors to accommodate their needs.

The Swordmaidens even painted over the golden coating of the Bright Warriors into a muted green tint. Together with their greatswords, the Swordmaiden mechs exuded a lot more menace than the Bright Warrior mechs!

Every Larkinson thought highly of the Swordmaidens. While they were useless in ranged combat, as long as they got close to the enemy, they could easily chop their opposition apart, especially if they attacked from a flanking angle!

The Swordmaidens weren't expected to play a role in the beginning phase of the battles. If they just charged up at the Genitzy Battalion, they would probably lose most if not all of their 80 machines before they could hack their weapons against the energy shields of their opponents!

No, the ranged mechs armed with luminar crystal rifles had to make the first move.

Once the match commenced, Commander Casella quickly issued a round of orders.

"Vandals, scout the enemy position! Keep as low to the ground as possible but don't hesitate to hunt down the enemy scouts!"

"Aye, commander!"

The enemy scout mechs played a crucial role in transmitting precise targeting data to the Ginetzy missile and cannon-carrying mechs.

Due to this important role, the Ginetzy scout mechs remained as flighty and elusive as possible.

Unlike the Vandals, the Ginetzy light mechs avoided battle as much as possible. Each time they came under threat, they quickly retreated to the Ginetzy Battalion's main formation.

The Larkinsons already expected the Ginetzy scout elements to play hard to get. Casella didn't think it was crucial to take them out straight away. As long as they stopped peeping on the Larkinson mech elements, the Ginetzy ranged mechs weren't able to bombard as much as they liked!

"So far, so good."

This time, the battlefield turned into a hot, sandy desert environment. With low, rolling hills and occasional rocky outcroppings, the circumstances of this match resembled that of the previous battle.

The only true difference was the heightened temperature. Commander Casella and many other Larkinsons frowned when they realized that their heat-generating mechs would reach their limits faster in the current environment.

"We'll need to end this battle quickly. The longer it goes on, the more the Ginetzy Battalion are able to build up their advantage."

Of course, the Ginetzys were able to bring only so much ammunition to the fight. Once their ranged mechs ran out of missiles and explosive shells, they became a lot less scary!

The Larkinsons couldn't afford to bet on outlasting their opponents. By almost entirely forgoing melee mechs, the Ginetzys brought more than enough ranged mechs to kill double their number if left unopposed!

"We've identified the Ginetzy Battalion's main position! They have entrenched themselves in the middle of a rocky outcropping!"

Casella accessed the live feed that was relayed back to the main Larkinson formation. She could see that the Ginetzys had not settled in place but instead sought the more favorable terrain in sight before setting up shop.

The enemy missile mechs and cannon-wielding mechs both warmed up their weapon systems.

Even if the Ginetzy scout mechs were unable fly too far from their friendlies, they still relayed plenty of relevant sensor readings.

"Damnit, we're under fire!" A Flagrant Vandal mech pilot roared! "There's a dozen hunter-killer missiles behind my back! I can't break their locks! Ahhh!"

The unlucky Ferocious Piranha exploded into several different pieces as multiple missiles struck the mech without any difficulty.

A small energy shield generated by the arena protected the cockpit against any damage. THe protected cockpit soon zipped upwards until it passed through the extremely powerful barrier that marked the boundaries of the arena field.

This phenomenon happened several times. Both sides largely ignored it as they knew it was just the mech pilots of the destroyed mechs being brought to safety.

In the meantime, more Ferocious Piranhas got blown up after being chased by missiles. The Larkinson light mechs did not carry any machine guns or other ranged weapons that could be used to shoot the missiles before they reached their targets.

In fact, even if the Ferocious Piranhas were able to intercept the incoming ordnance, many of the hunter-killer missiles simply flew too fast to shoot them all down!

"These missiles and shells keep pouring in from afar!"

"If this continues, we can't hold back the ginetzy scout mechs much longer!"

The Flagrant Vandals had to retreat their Ferocious Piranhas from the main enemy position before they were wiped out in their entirety!

"Careful, folks! These Ginetzy missiles are not only good at locking in our mechs, but none of our ECM systems managed to divert them. I suggest we either intercept the missiles or cut them off at the source!"

This was unsettling information to Commander Casella, but it did not stop her resolve. The Larkinsons needed to advance towards the Ginetzys.

Minutes passed by as the huge audience felt the tension. The Larkinsons knew where their enemies were located but did not dare to commit an assault until they came closer.

The Ginetzy Battalion's position was covered entirely by energy shields. While they had become a lot more vulnerable now that they exposed their location, their missileer and cannoneer mechs were already firing their weapons at any Larkinson mech that exposed their whereabouts!

As the freed-up Ginetzy scout mechs became bold enough to explore again, they continued to relay the coordinates of the advancing Larkinson mechs.

Hundreds of missiles and explosive shells flooded the Larkinson Battalion!

Even spreading out their formations didn't help that much. The enemy artillery mechs merely concentrated their fire in a single zone and wiped everything out that was inside.

In just a short span of time, the Larkinsons had already lost over thirty mechs while the Ginetzys only lost a smaller amount of scout mechs!