The Mech Touch

Though the Swordsmaidens managed to exhaust the defenses of the knight mechs and wreck each of them, they paid a very heavy price for their victory.

Less than twenty Swordmaiden mechs remained operational. Commander Dise lost over two-thirds of the mechs she had brought to reinforce the defenders!

Though she didn't mourn the loss of mechs, she winced at the thought of losing some of her sisters. The knight mechs and the other Fridayman mechs punched far above what their mechs were capable of withstanding!

Against such superior machines, too many Swordmaidens died unjustly. The attacks directed against their mechs punched through their cockpits with such penetration power that their female mech pilots never had the opportunity to pull the emergency ejection lever!

While the Swordmaidens were saddened by their losses, the Kronons suffered an even greater tragedy!

With almost two-hundreds mobbing the elite CRC squad, the numbers disparity had grown too great for the elite mechs to fend them all off, especially when the distances were so short!

Their ranged mechs barely had the time to fell a few dozen mechs before all of the melee Kronon mechs started to surround and separate the CRC mechs from each other by physically exerting their considerable weight!

Once separated, each elite mech had to fend off against at least eight lesser mechs at the same time!

While it was very much possible for a second-class mech to defeat ten third-class mechs at the same time, it was very difficult to do so without the space and breathing to maneuver and bring their weapons to bear!

The Kronon Dynasty trained their mech pilots well. As a professional mech military, the Kronons taught their mech pilots various tactics on how to tackle superior mechs.

If a point ever came where they were ordered to attack second-class mechs, every Kronon followed the same multi-step plan!

"First, hug their arms. Even if the artificial musculature of these mechs are stronger than you can ever imagine, enveloping them with the mass of an entire medium mech will definitely hamper their functioning!"

With one or two Kronon mechs physically grabbing hold and pinning down the arms of the CRC mechs, the Fridaymen knew that they had made a huge mistake in closing in on the Kronon mechs!

Unlike the other lesser rabble, the Kronons were fully-fledged military mech pilots! Even if their strength still wasn't very impressive by the standards of the Friday Coalition, the discipline and teamwork exhibited by over a hundred high-spirited mech pilots was not something to be taken lightly!

Their arrogance and underestimation of those they considered to be inferior would force them to pay dearly!

"Second, remove their weapons. If the second-class mechs employ interchangeable weapons, then it is not as hard as you think to overpower their fingers and pry their rifles or swords from their hands! If they carry any integrated weapon modules, then just do your best to wreck or bash them apart with continuous attacks! These integrated weapon modules are just as vulnerable as any other weak point!"

Even as Kronon mech after Kronon mech got blasted away by the secondary armament built into the frames of the elite CRC mechs, the Ylvainan defectors did not abandon their plan!

Several mechs maneuvered around the machines keeping the arms of the enemy mechs trapped. After the Kronon mechs came within reach, they based, pulled or pried the ranged and melee weapons held by the mechs from their rightful owners!

The loss of their primary weaponry alarmed the Fridaymen mech pilots quite a lot, but once the crazy Kronons rabidly bashed the areas of their mechs which held their secondary armaments, they turned to full-blown panic!

"We're trapped!"

"Colonel Jeivz, we request immediate assistance!"

"Reinforcements are on their way! Don't give up!"

Once the mechs lost their weapons, they no longer posed a serious threat against the surviving Kronon mechs.

The Living Prophet issued some quick orders. Half of the Kronon mechs separated from the elite squad in order to hinder the advance of the reinforcing mercenary mechs and CRC mechs.

Though the Kronon defectors suffered enormously, the elite CRC squad no longer exited!

After losing their weapons, the trapped mechs soon lost their footing as the Kronon mechs purposefully tripped them onto the ground.

Once they lay prone and vulnerable, the Kronon mechs didn't hesitate to bash their more vulnerable parts with weapon attacks or trampling attacks!

Stepping onto the second-class mechs with the weight of another mech was not only satisfying, but also effective at crushing weaker parts while deforming the armor covering the stronger parts!

Due to all of these sudden developments, Colonel Jeivz looked at the tactical overview in shock.

The mercenary mechs no longer exhibited any drive. His CRC mechs no longer enjoyed a numerical superiority against the Glory Battalion. In fact, the Hexers were beginning to gain the upper hand as more and more momentum swung in their favor!

"The battle is no longer under our control, sir. Resistance is heavier than expected. We should cut our losses." His aide advised.

"We can still win." Colonel Jeivz gritted his teeth. His curly moustache twitched as he rapidly considered various tactics to address the threats from the rear.

The Swordmaidens and Kronon defectors may have downed a fair number of second-class mechs, but their strength had diminished! They wouldn't be able to resist another wave!

Even if the colonel wasn't able to direct any of his surviving CRC mechs against the flankers, he could still instruct the mercenaries to mob the remaining hostile elements harrying the rear!

"Sir, look! More Kronon mechs are making their way on the battlefield!"

In the extended map that encompassed half of Krent, hundreds of mech signatures started moving straight towards the site of the battle!

Though the scattered patrols and elements would still take some time to reach the battle, it didn't take a lot of thinking to conclude that these reinforcements were definitely on the side of the defectors!

The Ylvainan leaders had made it more than clear that the Ylvainans could never be ordered into attacking the Bright Martyr.

This meant that hundreds of mechs would soon begin to trickle in and continue to replenish the ranks of the flanking forces. All the while, the dwindling mercenaries would continue to lose their mechs and become less able to shield his CRC mechs from getting harassed from multiple directions.

Once that happened, the losses could easily surpass his bottom line! Once his forces suffered such a total defeat, the colonel's standing within the CRC would definitely be ruined!

Though Colonel Jeivz didn't necessary care about his personal reputation, he knew that his disgrace would also extend to the Vanguard Group!

"I can't allow the other partners to use this potential fiasco as an excuse to suppress the Vanguard Group!" He whispered.

Between a total defeat and a partial defeat, neither outcome appealed to him. Yet victory seemed to shift further and further away as his forces had already lost their numerical advantage!

In the end, he issued a very painful order.

"Retreat. Fall back as orderly as possible. I believe our adversaries won't press their pursuit. What of Venerable Valentine?"

"The Screaming Blade has slowly gained the upper hand against the Star Dancer. However, Venerable Brutus has proven to be very tricky. He has abandoned all attempts to hit back against his opponent in order to focus fully on evasion. For the last five minutes, he has managed to stall Venerable Valentine by dodging all of her attacks!"

"Shameless!"

Though Colonel Jeivz looked down on the bootlicking expert pilot, he had to admit that the woman worshipper made the right tactical choice.

Light mechs always possessed an advantage against ranged mechs. While this rule of thumb was less applicable when it came to expert mechs, the Screaming Blade still possessed an edge against the Star Dancer.

Yet due to Brutus' earnest attempts at evasion, the blood that Venerable Valentine craved was nowhere to be seen!

"Coward! You male Hexers are so craven! I knew the Hexers robbed your pride as a man, but this is a new low. You're an insult to expert pilots!"

The Star Dancer shimmered with a fluctuating rainbow glow as it illogically moved out of the way of yet another saber swing!

Throughout the engagement, the heated and empowered red blade of the Screaming Blade failed to inflict more than some surface scratches against the armor of the Star Dancer.

The mech was simply too slippery for her to land a solid hit!

The Screaming Blade did its best to take out the Star Dancer. A purple haze emanated from its frame as Raen Valentine activated her mech's own mobility resonance ability.

The problem was that unlike the Star Dancer, the Screaming Blade didn't possess a way to augment its agility. Instead, its mobility resonance ability mainly empowered its straight-line acceleration, allowing it to rapidly close the distance on a distant target!

Though this had served Venerable Valentine well against most opponents, the Star Dancer she currently faced was just swift and agile enough to react and evade against all of her swooping attacks!

This caused the two expert mechs to fall into a stalemate. Both expert pilots bet on their endurance and hoped to last longer than their opponent, because maintaining these empowered states was very taxing on their resonance strength and energy reserves.

The general retreat ordered by Colonel Jeivz put a stop to this dance.

Once Venerable Valentine received her latest instructions, she grunted in frustration! "What a waste! How come these third-raters and dirty bootlickers trounced our forces? We had the upper hand!"

Yet no matter how much she complained, she couldn't reverse the orders that instructed the surviving mercenary mechs and CRC mechs to disengage and retreat to the fallback point!

"This isn't over yet, Brutus!" The female expert pilot hissed through the open channel. Her mech raised its saber menacingly at its foe. "My Screaming Blade may have failed to taste your blood, but your tactics won't work next time! Once my crew adjust the configuration of my mech, you won't be able to escape my attacks again!"

The Star Dancer hovered in the air while it slowly lost its shimmering rainbow glow. It bowed at the Screaming Blade.

"If you wish to dance with me again, then I shall always be ready to accompany you for another waltz."

"Grow a pair!"

Venerable Valentine no longer lingered any longer. With her friendlies starting to disappear back into the city, she needed to leave as well before the Glory Battalion boxed her Screaming Blade in with its surviving mechs!

The departure of the CRC expert mech caused every remaining defender to sigh in relief.

Now that they had withstood and repelled the Fridayman surprise attack, they finally started to take stock of the losses.

"Damn! Just look at how many wrecks are strewn on the ground! This place has turned into a junkyard!"

Overall, the original defenders lost over half of their mechs! The reinforcements fared worse, especially the Kronon reinforcements who mainly employed risky swarming tactics against the enemy second-class mechs.

While their bold tactics succeeded in felling a fair amount of CRC mechs, the Kronon defectors still suffered enormously!

Commander Magdalena, who presided over the Avatars and Sentinels, hailed the Transcendent Messenger piloted by the Living Prophet.

"Mr. Prophet.. thank you for your assistance."

"Call me James, if that is what makes you comfortable." A young but charismatic voice replied. "I know you have many questions. This is not the time to ask them. I suggest you proceed with taking charge of your surviving and order your support personnel to scavenge and triage the surviving wounded. Fleet Coordinator Ophelia Kronon should have already dispatched a handful of transport ships and light carriers to our location to pick up the salvage and take in the wrecks."

"YOU!" The old Larkinson commander sputtered. "How can you read my mind?! How come the fleet coordinator accepted your orders!? Is she one of yours?!"

"I am Ylvaine reborn. The past, present and future are all within my grasp!"

"As if!" Magdalena scoffed. "I'd be more inclined to believe you if you weren't so obviously unprepared to aid us against this surprise attack. Just admit it. You were just as blindsided by the CRC as us!"

"I knew this attack was coming. I tried to prevent it as best as possible. I attempted to persuade the three leading dynasties to reconsider their betrayal. Their leaders disappointed me by going through with their blasphemous intentions."

"If you were truly capable of seeing the future, then you would have anticipated their obstinacy."

"It's not that simple! The future is always in flux! Each response I make directly affects the future trends in an unpredictable and chaotic fashion!"

Commander Magdalena no longer had the patience to listen to the nonsense of a clone. She cut off the channel and began to issue the necessary orders to clean up this battlefield and reorganize their remaining forces.

Just because the Fridaymen pulled back didn't mean they could launch a second attack!