The Mech Touch

The Mars and the Neo Amadeus had dropped significantly from their prime at this phase of their increasingly more impressive mech duel.

The two ace mechs not only inflicted considerable damage to each other's frames, but also expended a lot of energy in the process.

The Mars had pumped a lot of power to its ARCEUS System in order to maintain its high output, but its energy reserves were still healthy with the indispensable help of the Magma Vein System and the Endex System.

These special design solutions had actually undergone a major improvement after getting affected by Patriarch Reginald's willpower baptism.

The Magma Vein System squeezed additional efficiency out of the Mars while the Endex System generated considerably more energy out of a mysterious source, making it so that Patriarch Reginald did not need to tighten his belt anytime soon!

The Neo Amadeus did not possess such exaggerated energy management and energy generating systems, but as an ace swordsman mech it did not drain its energy reserves as quickly as its adversary.

Even so, if the two ace mechs continued to fight each other at the current level of intensity, their energy reserves would most certainly enter into dangerous territory after 10 minutes.

Patriarch Reginald preferred to slow down the pace of the fighting and drag out the duel in order to make the most out of the advantages of the Mars.

Saint Jeremiah possessed the opposite idea!

His urgency became greater as the duel dragged on because his ace mech did not excel in battles of attrition.

Not only that, Jeremiah was also growing more and more exhausted himself. He had exerted his force of will many times in order to amplify his big moves and deal meaningful damage against the Mars.

He had no choice but to do so because it was the only way for him to overcome the powerful protection of the Abasis Armor.

Though Jeremiah was happy that the armor system of the Mars had suffered so much damage that it was no longer as insanely tough as before, the excellent quality of the Abasis Armor meant that it still took a lot of effort to damage it further.

This meant that Jeremiah could not slack off in terms of empowering his ace mech with true resonance!

After recognizing that he was operating on a definite time limit, Saint Jeremiah did everything possible to land as many strikes on the Mars as possible.

Though the heavy saber in the Mars was a bit unwieldy, the ace hybrid mech was more than strong enough to handle it in a fluid manner.

Combined with its considerable length, it was not that difficult for Patriarch Reginald to use it as a blocking tool!

Reginald maintained the same strategy as before. His Mars did not even attempt to launch any attacks despite the fact that the Whale-Cutting Saber was probably sharp and powerful enough to cut through the exterior of the Neo Amadeus.

He just wanted to rely on the surviving ranged weapons of the Mars to continue to grind down the shoulders and other vulnerable sections of the Neo Amadeus!

The ace swordsman mech had to work harder in order to avoid getting blocked. It began to channel more power into its transphasic flight system so that it could maneuver around the Mars and attack it from angles that made it more awkward to defend against.

The Neo Amadeus expended its energy reserves at an even faster rate than before, but Saint Jeremiah managed to strike the Mars at a considerably higher rate.

The faster energy drain increased his urgency and caused him to recall all of his swordsmanship skills and push them to a greater height than before!

"I have trained my swordsmanship and piloted swordsman mechs for over a century." Jeremiah stated. "I did not dedicate my life to becoming stronger just so that I will fall against a messy hybrid mech like your Mars! My sword is strong and my cause is just! I will not allow you and your Hexer allies to ruin the lives of my people!"

All of the pressure piling up on Saint Jeremiah finally triggered a small breakthrough!

Though his improvement was not as dramatic as that of Patriarch Reginald, his swordsmanship became noticeably more exquisite and his control over his Neo Amadeus had gained a lot of ground!

The more the situation became unfavorable to Jeremiah, the more he dug into his potential and mustered up greater strength!

This was not an uncommon phenomenon in ace mech duels. Every single pilot that advanced to this point was either extremely talented or incredibly good at learning in actual combat.

Saint Jeremiah obviously fell into the latter category. There were no incompetents among ace pilots, and the scion of the Gauge Dynasty enjoyed some of the best treatment that the Friday Coalition was able to provide.

This wasn't all. As Jeremiah resonated with his transphasic sword on a deeper level, he developed a closer bond with the living consciousness residing deep within its construction.

The controversial technology applied to the mech sword might not be entirely ethical, but Jeremiah did not spend any thought on that as he tried his best to sync with this odd weapon.

When Jeremiah was able to develop a deeper bond with the transphasic sword, he was able to channel more of its properties through his Saint Kingdom.

The domain field around the Neo Amadeus began to form into a spatial storm that not only inhibited warp travel, but also weakened the transphasic reinforcement of the Abasis Armor!

Then the Neo Amadeus managed to strike the ace hybrid mech again, its transphasic sword managed to penetrate the armor much more easily this time!

"Bastard!" Reginald cursed at his opponent.

This wouldn't have happened so easily if Reginald's Saint Kingdom was still in good condition, but the earlier explosion had ruined that. It would take a long time for him to repair his domain field and resist Jeremiah's intrusion into his territory.

The fight became a lot more dangerous to both mechs. The Mars began to suffer multiple cuts through its armor as the active effects of the Abasis Armor basically lost strength.

The 11 kilograms of phasewater integrated in the armor system had become irrelevant!

The most serious blow inflicted by the Neo Amadeus was when its sword managed to cut through the surviving shoulder-mounted gauss cannon, thereby stopping its output for the remainder of the battle!

However, the Mars did not suffer a one-sided beating. Though it was failing increasingly more at blocking the tricky attacks launched by the Neo Amadeus, the ace hybrid mech slowly managed to pile up a lot of damage with the help of its ARCEUS System.

The shakier but still fairly powerful resonance-empowered positron beams had finally burned through enough armor plating to compromise the left shoulder of the Neo Amadeus!

"Ah!"

When the Neo Amadeus next circled around and lunged forward, the ace swordsman mech abruptly lost its rhythm when its left arm abruptly became crippled!

Though the limb was still attached to the mech, the Mars managed to destroy enough internal mechanisms to reduce its strength by half and decrease its responsiveness by a third!

If that didn't sound bad enough, the subsequent ranged attacks launched by the Mars continually damaged the vulnerable shoulder section and reduced the performance of the arm as well as other nearby parts even further!

The Neo Amadeus had no choice but to wield its transphasic sword with one arm.

Though the ace swordsman mech had originally been designed with one-handed grips in mind, the Neo Amadeus was no longer able to attack as strongly as before.

If Saint Jeremiah wasn't careful enough, then the Mars might actually be able to knock the transphasic sword from the hand of the Neo Amadeus!

With the reduction in power, the Neo Amadeus slowly fell behind in the duel.

Jeremiah was tempted to activate one or more phantom arms in order to strengthen the grip on the transphasic armor or wield additional weapons, but mind and willpower were already in a bad shape.

Not only would he be able to fight as effectively as before, he would also hasten his demise!

Seeing that the Mars had directed its ARCEUS System to put the right shoulder of the Neo Amadeus under pressure, Jeremiah understood he needed to make another drastic move.

He resonated with his transphasic sword in the same manner he did with his former anti-resonance sword.

The transphasic sword did not repel his true resonance as much, and his improved bond with the weapon had also paved the way for this consequential option.

It took considerably less time for the Neo Amadeus to supercharge its transphasic sword!

"THE POWER OF SACRIFICE SHALL VANQUISH THE WICKED!"

The ace swordsman mech quickly tossed its self-destructing weapon as soon as it was ready!

Patriarch Reginald reacted differently to this move now that he had already witnessed his opponent pulling it off before.

It did not take a genius to guess that the Neo Amadeus was able to blow up all three of its swords.

"I'm not falling for this trick twice!"

The Mars made three separate moves to respond towards this threat.

First, it backed off and built up as much distance between itself and the Neo Amadeus from the moment the latter began to charge its mech sword.

Second, it decisively tossed its Whale-Cutting Saber in the trajectory of the explosive projectile!

Third, the Mars quickly minimized its exposure to the impending blast by turning its frame so that its feet were oriented towards the threat!

Soon enough, a violent spatial explosion engulfed the space in front of the Mars as the Whale-Cutting Saber precisely managed to strike its tip against the tip of the transphasic sword!

This powerful move was enough to trigger the explosion in advance!

Though the Mars was still close enough to get affected by the spatial eruption unleashed by the transphasic sword, the mech did not suffer as much damage as Saint Jeremiah hoped!

"Brilliant response!"

"What an amazing way to defend against this move!"

Many observers were incredibly impressed at Patriarch Reginald's actions. He not only formulated the right plan, but also showcased excellent skill and reaction time when he made his moves.

In the end, the Mars only suffered moderate external and internal damage to its legs. Only a small proportion of its upper body suffered internal damage, which did not affect its performance by a significant margin.

The only problem now was that the Mars had lost its grip on its only remaining handheld weapon.

Surprisingly enough, the Whale-Cutting Saber did not suffer that much damage despite being in point-blank range of the explosion. One of the purposes behind its development was to fight against phase whales, so it possessed greater resistance against spatial attacks than normal.

Even so, a third of its lengthy blade had snapped off while the remainder of the weapon was no longer in great shape either!

As the damaged Whale-Cutting Saber spun away from the site of the explosion, the Mars had already moved in its direction in order to regain its weapon.

"Oh no you don't!"

Saint Jeremiah was not about to allow this to happen! The Neo Amadeus had already unsheathed its final sword and activated it so that it began to project a hot and powerful plasma blade!

Though the weapon was a considerable energy hog, its ability to burn and melt through armor was undeniable!

Now that the Abasis Armor of the Mars had fallen into an even poorer shape, the plasma sword was an excellent way to finish off the damaged ace hybrid mech!

The Neo Amadeus moved to intercept the Mars. Though the Fridayman mech wasn't fast enough to pick up the Whale-Cutting Saber first, it would still be in a position to cut the Mars on its vulnerable rear with its hot and glowing weapon!

Jeremiah even resonated with his plasma sword so that his Saint Kingdom became hot enough to melt enemy mechs as if they had entered an oven!

"MY FLAMES SHALL CLEANSE YOUR SINS!"

Both ace pilots recognized that this was their final dance. The moves they would make at this juncture would likely decide the outcome of their explosive duel!