The Mech Touch

The Ginetzy Battalion wasn't as good as the Quizlam Battalion when it came to information warfare.

That didn't mean that the Ginetzys were prohibited from employing the same methods.

In the previous group arena battle, the Quizlams showed such great proficiency and mastery of ECM technology that they managed to turn a huge part of the battlefield into a blindspot for the enemy.

The Ginetzys didn't have the tech, the expertise and the numbers to accomplish something so exaggerated.

However, it was not a problem for them to turn a small area of the arena into a site where the enemy had difficulty penetrating with their sensors.

All of the smoke and interference successfully turned the location of the Ginetzy Battalion into a void to the Larkinsons!

Although the Ginetzy Battalion's own mechs were blinded as well, they had already made the appropriate preparations to remain in contact with each other.

Not only were their mechs situated relatively close to each other, but they also buried communication lines underneath the ground. This ensured that the Ginetzy mechs were able to keep coordinating their actions with each other.

The story was much different for the Larkinson mechs. The Flagrant Vandal mechs that had swept inside this obscuring cloud were practically blinded due to all of the interference and jamming that had emerged.

The Ferocious Piranha's sensor systems might be better than average, but they were ultimately unable to peer too far into the fog. They weren't true scout mechs that possessed specialized sensor and scanning arrays that could power through much of the interference!

Although the Vandal mechs kept charging forward to the last-known positions of the enemy ranged mechs, all they encountered in return was a volley of short-range missiles that easily fractured their relatively thin armor plating!

Though the Ferocious Piranhas were able to withstand a little more damage than other light mechs, dozens of Ginetzy missileer mechs were firing their missiles at the Larkinson light mechs with utter clarity!

"Damnit, retreat and relay the news back to Commander Casella!"

Only three Ferocious Piranhas managed to escape the constant missile barrage relatively intact. Each of them exhibited serious battle damage and one mech even lost both of its legs!

When the other Larkinson mech pilots learned what had happened, they frowned.

"It's like the energy shield all over again. These Ginetzys are really making it difficult to mop up all of their ranged mechs."

The problem was that as soon as the Vandal mechs retreated from the enemy position, the Ginetzy ranged mechs resumed firing on the entire Larkinson Battalion from within the smoke cloud!

The Ginetzys weren't bothered by all of the sensor-blocking measures they put up, but the Larkinsons were different!

Although the Bright Warriors and Valkyrie Redeemers already fired their luminar crystal rifles into the smoke cloud, the chance was great that their energy beams hit nothing but empty terrain!

Even if their attacks coincidentally hit a Ginetzy mech, the damage wasn't concentrated. It would take forever to rely on these occasional hits to defeat the Ginetzy Battalion!

Although the Transcendent Punishers were just about to open fire on the hidden Ginetzy mechs, there were just twenty of them in this fight. That was too few to rely solely on their firepower to demolish all of the Ginetzy mechs in time.

Commander Casella looked at the obscuring smoke cloud and knew that the Larkinson Battalion didn't have the means to neutralize it or render it ineffective.

The Larkinson Army was good at direct combat, but it was completely lacking in terms of auxiliary functions. Many more mature mech forces possessed at least some extra capabilities such as erecting shields, blinding enemy sensors, supplying energy and other functions.

The Larkinsons on the other hand were only good at attacking and nothing else. That might be sufficient against most ordinary enemies, but as the caliber of their opponents kept growing stronger, it became more important than ever to address these shortcomings!

That was something to consider for later, though. Right now, the Larkinson Battalion had a battle to win!

"We need to go on the offensive!" Casella decided! "Even if the Ginetzys have prepared a trap for us, staying in place will do us no good. Ranged mechs, concentrate your firepower on the right flank of the enemy position! Melee mechs, prepare to charge the left flank!"

More specific orders quickly followed suit as the various captains and other officers readied their men for an assault!

The surviving Bright Warriors armed with luminar crystal rifles continued to fire blindly into the smoke cloud.

Due to the fact that most of the ordnance unleashed by the Ginetzy mechs were indirect, it was difficult to trace the origin points of all of the missiles and shells. The missileer and cannoneer mechs also changed their positions every so often, making it even more difficult to deduce their actual locations.

However, the constant stream of energy beams still had effect, especially when they raked a smaller part of the enemy formation.

Soon enough, the Transcendent Punishers got to work as well. Just like the other Larkinson mechs, their sensor systems failed to penetrate through the obscuring cloud.

However, unlike Avatars or the Penitent Sisters, over 80 percent of their shots hit the mark!

Every Eye of Ylvaine pilot had already triggered the Guided Aim ability. The familiar presence of the Great Prophet had descended on them, granting them an unnatural insight into the enemy position.

No smoke or mist could stop them from hitting their targets!

What was even better was that the Ylvainans didn't keep this advantage to themselves.

"Larkinsons, link into our targeting system! Align your weapons with ours!"

The Transcendent Punishers didn't focus on dismantling the enemy mechs by themselves this time. While their firepower was prodigious, they could contribute a lot more to the Larkinson Battalion by helping the other mechs identify the enemy positions!

The Yvlainan mech pilots didn't hesitate to spread their firepower. Rather than concentrating their shots on a handful of Ginetzy mechs, they fired their gauss cannons and positron cannons at dozens of different mechs.

The Transcendent Punisher attacks served as spotlights that helped the other Larkinson ranged mechs stay on target. The Ginetzy Battalion became befuddled why its countermeasures weren't working.

"How are they detecting our coordinates?"

"It's those artillery mechs! Before they came into action, these Larkinson mechs couldn't hit anything. Everything has changed now those artillery mechs have begun to fire on our mechs!"

The Ginetzys weren't stupid and immediately figured out the pattern. They directed most of their ranged mechs at the Transcendent Punishers, but how could it be so easy to defeat the Larkinson artillery mechs?

The knight mechs dispatched by the Avatars finally fulfilled their purpose. They blocked the majority of the incoming attacks. Even if their shields and frames were deteriorating an a distressing rate, they still bought valuable time for the Larkinson ranged mechs to take down a lot of Ginetzy machines!

In the meantime, the Larkinson mechs boldly entered into the mist.

Guided by the occasional attacks the Transcendent Punishers directed at the left flank, the Swordmaidens and Penitent Sisters had a vague idea where the enemy mechs were located.

Just as the first squad of Swordmaiden mechs were about to drive their greatswords through the cannoneer mechs of the Ginetzy Battalion, the latter suddenly detonated all of the remaining shells in its magazines and blew themselves apart!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

The Ginetzy mechs took themselves out, but it wasn't as if they had a chance of surviving an encounter against melee mechs up close.

The important part was that their self-destruction also took out their attackers!

All of the Swordmaiden mechs that had fearlessly charged into the enemy were either gone or so badly damaged that they could no longer put up a fight!

The Arena's safety systems worked quite hard to save the lives of all of the mech pilots. It was not easy to save so many mech pilots from the detonations of their own machines!

It was exactly because of the existence of this safety measure that the Ginetzys were so unscrupulous about launching suicide attacks!

"Dirty bastards!"

"They're exploiting the rules!"

"They're just making the best out of the situation. There's nothing wrong with their actions."

Not just the Ginetzy ranged mechs were able to self-destruct like this, but their auxiliary mechs were also loaded with explosives!

The seemingly exhausted and useless shield mechs charged at any melee mech that had entered the smoke cloud.

Before the Swordmaidens and Penitent Sisters could find the Ginetzy artillery mechs, they unexpectedly bumped into the shield mechs.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

More Bright Warriors and Valkyrie Redeemers collapsed or retreated in a sorry condition as they failed to take down the crucial Ginetzy missileer and cannoneer mechs.

As long as the latter two remained intact, the Ginetzy Battalion still had a chance of winning this match!

Commander Casella was distressed by the loss, but she did not waver in her resolve.

The Ginetzys had to blow up at least one of their mechs to take down an approaching Larkinson melee mech. The balance between the two battalions remained equal as a result.

What the Ginetzy Battalion actually sought to accomplish was to keep as many of its ranged mechs alive as possible in order to take out all of the Larkinson mechs.

If they were facing another typical mech battalion, then the Ginetzy Battalion's strategy might have worked.

It was a pity that the Ginetzys haven't accounted for the Eye of Ylvaine! The well-protected heavy artillery mechs kept marking the actual positions of the hidden Ginetzy mechs, causing the hit rates of the other ranged mechs to triple!

Though the Avatars and Penitent Sisters still missed plenty of their shots, their current effectiveness was much greater than before, which caused the Ginetzy mechs to experience much greater discomfort!

If nothing else happened, Commander Casella predicted that the Larkinson Battalion would eventually be able to win this match.

"The price is a bit big, though."

As the Sentinel Commander continued to oversee the battle, the Ginetzys finally launched their final measure.

If the Larkinsons were able to figure out the trend of the battle, then so did the Ginetzys. They needed to change the game somehow.

This was why a squad of Ginetzy light mechs suddenly charged out of the smoke cloud and headed straight to the formation of surviving Avatar ranged mechs!

"Shoot them down!"

The Avatar mechs tried to shoot down these odd light mechs, but most of their shots failed to hit their mark. The Ginetzy light mechs were not only fast, but were also controlled by skilled mech pilots.

"These aren't regular light mechs. Their performance is higher!"

"They're elites!"

"What are they doing?! They can't possibly take out all of our rifleman mechs by ourselves."

"They're… they're heading straight for the Quint! This is a decapitation strike!"

Decapitation strike!

As long as the Ginetzys took out Commander Casella with a blitz attack, they could inflict considerable damage to the Larkinson Battalion!

The Transcendent Punishers already redirected some of their fire to the threatening light mechs, but the enemy approached from a tricky angle that used the Avatar mechs as their own shields!

Though two-thirds of the Ginetzy light mechs failed to stay up during their attack run, the remaining third successfully made it through!

The lack of melee mechs in the Avatar formation and the risk of causing friendly fire made it a lot more difficult to take out these intruders!

One of the light mechs stood out from the rest. The light mech was not only considerably faster and more agile, but its mech pilot was head and shoulders above his comrades.

"Their expert candidate is among this group!"

"Damn, he or she is trying to assassinate our commander in person!"

"Stop this mech!"

"It's too late!"

The Ginetzy light mechs had acted way too quickly for the Larkinson Battalion to form a proper response. It would take at least a dozen seconds for a squad of Swordmaiden mechs to come to Commander Casella's aid, but the enemy assassins could easily complete their mission during this time!

Just as the surviving enemy light mechs almost reached their target, the Quint roared to life and took action.

Its luminar crystal rifle fired a barrage of thin and narrow slicer beams that nonetheless possessed a terrifying degree of penetration power.

The beams precisely struck the parts of the flight systems of the enemy mechs in the brief intervals they became exposed from the front.

This was an incredibly tricky move, but Casella and the Quint managed to land their shots without fail!

The light mechs aside from the one piloted by the Ginetzy expert candidate struggled to stay in control. Though they did not lose a lot of flight capability, the slight damage to their systems nonetheless interrupted their movements and caused them to incur a lot more hits!

Unfortunately, the luminar crystal rifle wielded by the Quint was only capable of firing so many shots at a time. Before it could fire another shot, the Ginetzy champion mech had already reached the Quint!

Seeing that time was critical, the enemy expert candidate did not bother to circle around the back. Instead, it thrust its twin daggers straight towards the chest of its priority target!

Yet before those twin weapons could take out the leader of the Larkinson Battalion, both of them were repelled when another weapon blocked their path!

The Quint and the Ginetzy assassin mech both bounced back from the force.

To the Ginetzy Battalion's utter surprise, the Quint had dropped its luminar crystal rifle and pulled out a sword that had been hidden behind its back!

Casella eagerly grinned as she faced her challenger.

"You messed with the wrong mech."