The Mech Touch

Those that never fought against a high-tier expert mech before could not truly understand the horror of such a powerful machine.

As long as it was paired with a genuine high-tier expert pilot, the resulting combination was so powerful that it occupied a different level!

When leaders and strategists talked about high-tier expert mechs, they clearly set these dangerous machines apart from every other category of mechs.

This was because high-tier expert mechs truly possessed the power to overturn an entire battle by themselves!

One of the greatest shortcomings of the attacking force was that neither the Hexers nor the Golden Skullers brought any high-tier expert mechs.

Both groups thought that they could handle these powerful threats as long as they dispatched two sufficiently powerful mid-tier expert mechs against them, but there were cases where this wasn't enough.

Right now, Venerable Orfan and Venerable Dise were definitely having a hard time contending against Venerable Rebecca Andus!

The hero of the Medallion Guards did not pilot a stodgy defensive mech like most of the Medallion Guards.

Instead, she piloted a formidable expert hybrid mech that possessed excellent control and offensive capabilities!

When Ves observed the powerful actions of the Shockshell, he became more and more concerned by its combat strength.

He opened a communication channel to the cockpit of the Mars in order to gain the input of its ace pilot.

"What do you think about Venerable Rebecca Andus and the Shockshell?" Ves straightforwardly asked.

"She is strong." Reginald said with clear respect in his tone. "It is difficult for expert pilots who are over a century old to maintain their fighting spirit and their belief that they can still go forward. There are many expert pilots who face inevitable stagnation and decline once they grow over a century old. We mech pilots envy you mech designers for being able to practice your craft for centuries without growing weaker. It is different for us. I believe Venerable Rebecca's body may have weakened long ago, but it is through her dogged and persistent willpower that she is forcefully uplifting her condition."

Ves frowned. That sounded impressive on her part, but that was not good news for the Larkinson Clan!

"What is the likelihood of her breaking through in your judgment?"

The projection of Patriarch Reginald shrugged. "My guess isn't much better than yours. Just because I am an ace pilot doesn't mean I understand what it takes for people to break through. Every expert pilot's condition is different. There is no universal solution aside from piloting a masterwork expert mech, and even that doesn't always work if the expert pilot has grown too weak."

Ves took another glance at the projection that displayed the Shockshell in action. Currently, it looked anything but weak. It not only managed to push away the Riot five times in a row, but also severely depleted the First Sword's resonance shield to the point it was already showing signs of collapsing!

"I think it is safe to assume that Venerable Rebecca's chances of breaking through are considerably higher than normal. If she breaks through…"

"Don't worry about it." Patriarch Reginald dismissively said. "I will take care of it. It won't take more than a few seconds."

"Reginald…"

"I know what I am talking about, Ves. More than you, at least. I only broke through a few years ago. I know what it is like to unleash all of the pent-up power that has been building up for several decades. I admit that Venerable Rebecca will be a lot more difficult to deal with once she obtains the power of forced resonance, but she won't be able to exert too much control over her strength. Aside from that, her expert mech is too weak. I will break her Shockshell even if Jeremiah Gauge shows up at the same time."

What hubris!

Ves truly couldn't understand why Patriarch Reginald talked about such a big game. Hadn't he learned anything from his deceased father about underestimating the enemy and growing too overconfident?

The older man's eager and bloodthirsty expression said it all. This ace pilot with a one track mind only cared about defeating more opponents at his level!

The appearance of an additional ace pilot on the battlefield didn't deter him in the slightest.

Instead, Reginald just wanted to secure the bragging rights of defeating 'two' ace pilots in his first battle as a Saint!

Clearly the battle maniac couldn't be relied upon. Ves closed the channel to Patriarch Reginald without a word and opened a new one to Venerable Stark.

"I'm busy now, kid!" The expert pilot barked.

The Fridaymen had been putting the Amaranto under pressure for a while now. Though the enemy expert mechs weren't able to get close to it yet, they were still capable of bombarding its position.

The Sundered Phalanx truly didn't want the Amaranto to pick off all of the opposing low and 

Mid-tier expert mechs like the hapless Azure Vanquisher!

In fact, the suppression from mechs such as the Star of Liberation almost completely prevented the Amaranto from doing more than taking a few potshots at vulnerable enemy expert mechs.

The only consolation was that the Amaranto simultaneously restrained the Star of Liberation from doing the same to expert mechs of the attacking forces.

Ves understood that Venerable Stark's condition wasn't great at the moment, so he immediately came to the point.

"The Riot and the First Sword are having a difficult time against the Shockshell. Venerable Rebecca Andus has progressed further towards ace pilot than we anticipated. Can you take out the Shockshell in a single blow if the enemy expert pilot is close to breaking through?"

"...I can do it as long as the Shield of Samar provides me with protection. I also need you to give me a superboost."

"No problem." Ves quickly replied. "Venerable Jannzi is preoccupied with other matters currently, but her Shield of Samar is not too far away from you. She will definitely cooperate with you in order to save Venerable Orfan and Venerable Dise."

Although putting together the Amaranto with the Shield of Samar was a powerful combination, it was a waste to bring them together at this point.

The defensive capacity of the Shield of Samar was greater than practically every other machine aside from the ace mechs, but it was still a finite resource.

Right now, the Larkinson Clan would rather have the Amaranto take shelter within the nooks and crannies of its starships and have the enemy wear down these solid fixtures than deplete the Shield of Samar in advance.

Besides, Venerable Jannzi was indeed fulfilling an important function.

Not only was her expert mech guarding the core of the Larkinson Navy against sneak attacks with its powerful presence, it was also shielding the Spirit of Bentheim against enemy bombardment.

Nothing would happen to the Spirit of Bentheim and all of the valuable Larkinsons sheltering inside her hull with the reliable Shield of Samar in place!

Both the living mech and Venerable Jannzi were of one mind on this issue. No matter how many ranged mechs tried to damage the flagship of the Larkinson Clan, her powerful shielding abilities easily fended off the attacks without too much effort.

It was a pity that the Shield of Samar was still too slow to take part in the fight against the Shockshell. The recent upgrades to her design mostly enhanced the expert heavy space knight's defensive capabilities.

With many other expert mechs still entangled by other powerful opponents, the cost of helping out the Riot and the First Sword was still too great!

Right now, the battle between the Shockshell and its two opponents had become more thunderous than ever.

The Shockshell did not hold back in the slightest in its attempts to wear down the First Sword's defenses.

Venerable Rebecca Andus had adopted a clever strategy against her two opponents!

"Your First Sword is much less hardy than your Riot." She grinned as she continued to unleash a storm of attacks against the expert swordsman mech! "I would be a fool if I attacked your lumbering expert spearman mech first."

Though Venerable Rebecca had the strength to attack both expert mechs at the same time, why should she choose such an inefficient strategy when she could easily take down the thinner and less well-protected expert mech first?

She did not even have to look at the appearances of the two expert mechs to know which one she should target first. The Riot gave off the impression of a wild but stubborn boar, while the First Sword was like a sharp sword that was focused on cutting apart every obstacle.

"STOP PLAYING WITH ME, REBECCA!" Venerable Orfan furiously roared as she drove her Riot forward with even greater momentum than before!

Fueled by her anger and frustration, her need and desire to overcome the Shockshell was great.

However, just as her brightly glowing Riot was about to plunge its glowing spear against the Shockshell's resonance shield, the enemy expert mech simply slammed its glowing concussion shield in the charging Larkinson expert mech's direction.

"Repulsion Wave."

For the umpteenth time, the Shockshell easily negated the Riot's forward momentum and pushed it away!

This powerful move allowed the expert hybrid mech to continue directing all of its attacks onto the First Sword.

Even though Venerable Dise had abandoned her offensive approach and sought to preserve her expert mech by avoiding the Shockshell as much as possible, the enemy expert mech was too powerful!

The high-tier expert mech possessed and excellent flight system which easily allowed the larger and thicker mech to keep up with the movements of the First Sword.

In fact, it didn't even matter if the First Sword was able to build up a bit of distance. The Shockshell was already lethal enough by relying on its ranged armaments alone!

The Shockshell's armaments and configuration made it clear that it did not excel at long-range combat.

It had given up on more precise weapons in order to maximize its ability to crush enemy expert mechs at closer ranges!

This meant that the Shockshell was almost completely in its element at the moment. Venerable Rebecca not only seemed to be able to pull off her Repulsion Wave resonance ability without limit, she also imposed so much of her willpower onto Venerable Dise that the latter was beginning to feel more suppressed.

The disparity in resonance strength and willpower development was too great!

The First Sword might have helped to offset Venerable Rebecca's formidable influence to an extent, but it was up to the expert pilot to maintain a winning mentality.

As soon as Venerable Dise no longer believed that she could win this clash or endure the constant rain of attacks, her First Sword would no longer be able to withstand as much damage!

When Venerable Dise saw that the Riot got repulsed yet another time, she finally couldn't hold it any longer!

"Rosa! Stop blundering forward like an oafish boar! Use your brain for once! You can't beat a high-tier expert pilot by relying on brute force. You need to condense your will into a weapon and cut through our opponent's Repulsion Wave!"

If Venerable Dise was in her colleague's position, then she would have been able to use a power move to cut the enemy's Repulsion Wave in half.

Unfortunately, she was in a different position. Her opponent clearly recognized that the First Sword possessed the sharpest weapon and needed to be neutralized as soon as possible!

"I can't hold it any longer!" Dise roared as her First Sword's resonance shield was already failing!

After getting bombarded by a combination of electrical and physical attacks, the First Sword finally became exposed after its resonance shield burst!

Venerable Dise became a lot more desperate at this moment!

Even though her expert mech was getting hit directly, she forcefully summoned her focus and will and struck with a giant energy sword!

It was a pity that the Shockshell's resonance shield was a lot firmer and unshakeable. Venerable Rebecca barely took the attack seriously!