The Mech Touch

While Ves invested his time on coming up with a set of universal glow instructions, the Komodo War continued to rage in the center of the star sector.

To the warring Fridaymen and Hexers, the events that took place in the Nyxian Gap did not even come to their attention.

The war already consumed all of their attention! Who cared what the designer of the Blessed Squire was up to these days. The military mech pilots weren't even able to access any news aside from what their superiors wanted to know.

"Come on! The Hexers are getting battered! Let's push them out of the city while their reinforcements are still on the way!"

After successfully conquering and pacifying the Marrakath System, the Wrathful Doves only needed a few months to complete its reorganization. The Hex Army provided the victorious army group with a large amount of recruits, mechs and supplies over the course of a couple of months.

While the Wrathful Doves still needed time to return to its old level of strength, the war waited for no one. With the fall of the Crestfallen Stars, the interior of the Carnegie Group and the Vermeer Group became vulnerable.

The Hex Army decided to act boldly and launched several bold offensives. Each of them thrust deeply into the territories of the two Coalition Partners. The Hexers wanted to attack strategic and critical interior star systems before the Fridaymen took everything of value away.

One of the star systems that the Hexers just happened to attack was the Leemar System!

This academic star system used to be one of the Carnegie Group's centers of power. Many leaders, scientists and other notable figures studied at one of its many renowned universities.

Right now, the Hex Army was determined to conquer the Leemar System! As the home of the Leemar Institute of Technology, the Hexers wanted to send a strong message to Master Olson and Master Katzenberg.

Since the two Fridaymen Masters dared to target the Blessed Squire mechs with their Glow Crusher design, the Hexers were determined to hit back twice as hard by razing their cherished institution!

Of course, the Masters, the teaching staff, the students and almost everyone else had already evacuated the vulnerable star system. What troubled Leemar's administration was that it took a lot more time to transfer all of the expensive hardware and material stockpiles.

Since the LIT was home to at least five Master Mech Designers and many more Seniors, the LIT had built up an elaborate high-end infrastructure centered around research, development and production.

Leemar had been responsible for fabricating numerous expert mechs and high-end mechs for the Fortune Legion! Naturally, the infrastructure needed to produce the best mechs of the Fortune Legion was very considerable.

Now, much of it was under threat!

Hundreds of shells launched by distant artillery mechs smashed onto the tropical lands where the LIT was based!

A couple of explosive shells even impacted Master Olson's guest estate! Powerful explosions rocked the grounds, causing numerous new craters to appear.

While the mansion was made out of better materials than many other homes, the Hexers didn't give up. Dozens of other shells hit the mansion, collapsing its roof, several rooms and even entire wings!

Fortunately, Master Olson already took away everything she cared about months ago. Not even her private workshop contained any traces as the bombardment finally breached the underground chambers!

The destruction of Master Olson's mansion only served as a minor distraction for the Battle of the Leemar System.

"Crush this school and everything it has left! Don't let a single building stand!"

Both Fridaymen and Hexer mechs fought numerous different skirmishes across the Leemar Institute of Technology's expansive campus grounds.

Mechs from both sides hotly contested against each other in the air and land. With each passing second, an aerial mech crashed into the ground. Landbound mechs constantly fired and collided against each other.

"Watch out for the shore! Those amphibian mechs can sneak attack us at any time!"

Since the LIT was built on an archipelago, the combatants contested in the seas as well! Tens of thousands of aquatic mechs and amphibian mechs clashed against each other at various depths in order to secure the crucial waters surrounding the famed institution.

Little of that had anything to do with Mech Lieutenant Niklas Monroe.

As a native of the Leemar System and a mech officer of the Fortune Legion, Lieutenant Monroe received the distinct honor of piloting one of his unit's Glow Crusher!

Not every Fridayman mech pilot looked forward to piloting the new mech model. Due to the necessity of charging straight into an enemy formation in order to break the Blessed Squire's glow, the Glow Crushers that charged in regularly never made it out intact!

What was even worse was that the Hexer mech pilots developed an intense animosity towards the Glow Crushers. No Fridaymen mech attracted more fire from the maddened women than the mech that had the potential to ruin their parade!

The Fridaymen were human as well. Who would want to accept the 'honor' of piloting this necessary mech if it only turned them into the biggest target on the battlefield?

Lieutenant Monroe was not one of them. In order to defend the planet he grew up in, he eagerly embraced the only mech that could neutralize one of the Hex Army's trump cards!

Several mech companies advanced forward while enduring an increasing amount of fire. One of the downsides of defending the LIT was that it featured a lot of open space. The cities built around the institute mostly consisted of smaller structures.

"Come on! We only have one chance at this! We have to take out those artillery mechs!"

Up ahead, the Fortune Legionnaires finally reached a wide street where at least two Hexer mech companies escorted half-a-dozen artillery mechs as they slowly lumbered forward.

The huge, lumbering six-legged mechs each boasted a plethora of cannons. The artillery mechs continually fired heavy shells after receiving accurate targeting data from scout mechs and spy drones.

Occasionally, the Fortune Legion attempted to bombard the Hexer artillery mechs, but their targets either intercepted the incoming rounds with their secondary armament or projected a large shield to block whatever managed to slip through.

Even if a couple of rounds succeeded in passing through all of these obstacles, the heavy artillery mechs just accepted the blows before resuming their attacks!

"These big mechs are rare even for the Wrathful Doves." A Fridayman commander noted. "The Hexers will definitely feel pained if we manage to take them down. Get ready!"

Everyone received tailored instructions as the Fridaymen mechs came close enough to initiate a charge.

"Monroe, you know what to do. We'll open up a path for you as much as possible."

"Got it, sir! For Freedom and Fortune!"

"FOR FREEDOM AND FORTUNE!"

Due to the crucial role of the Glow Crusher mechs, the Fortune Legion no longer positioned them up front. Instead, the lancer mechs occupied the second row. Several offensive mechs adjusted for speed and frontal defenses covered them from the front.

After completing the final preparations, the commander issued the pivotal.

"Charge!"

Over a hundred mechs thundered forward! The avenue they were walking on quickly cracked due to all of the stresses it endured!

Soon enough, the slow-moving Hexer formation halted and opted to dig in as its ranged mechs began to fire at the vanguard of the incoming enemies.

A huge barrage of fire pushed against the offensive knights! Positron beams, missiles, gauss rounds and other powerful weapons smashed against the shields of the mechs at the front.

Even the artillery mechs directed some of their shorter-ranged mechs against the incoming Fridaymen!

Amazingly, the offensive mechs held throughout the charge. Each of the mechs mounted  special shield generators on their backs. The shields they projected not only formed a powerful barrier up front, but also merged with any adjacent barriers.

The result was a large and powerful shield that was collectively supported by all of the mechs that carried this expensive shield module!

It didn't matter if the Hexers concentrated their fire on only one portion of the barrier. With the sharing arrangement enabled by this highly-advanced shielding system, every shield generator endured the exact same burden.

As the Fridaymen formation neared the enemy position, the shield generators were close to reaching their limits!

"Deactivate the shield generators! They've done their job!"

The offensive knights no longer projected their shields. Their modular backpack modules smoked as they worked hard to release an excess amount of heat.

The absence of the shield immediately affected the Fridaymen. The offensive knights traded durability for mobility and increased energy reserves, and now they were finally paying for this tradeoff!

Against the concentrated firepower of the Hexer mechs, the offensive knights quickly fell behind. Their shields only bought a short amount of time before they quickly collapsed.

"Breach an opening for us!" Lieutenant Monroe called as his Glow Crusher became filled with motion energy.

Even though his mech wasn't running at its top speed, Monroe knew it had accumulated a sufficient amount of momentum. Together with the Glow Crushers of his unit, he was confident he could break the enemy's glow!

Crash!

The surviving offensive mechs along with some other melee mechs physically collided against the defending Hexer mechs.

The powerful collisions disordered the Hexer ranks and momentarily opened up some gaps. Other Fortune Legion mechs quickly took advantage of the openings and tried their best to expand the holes.

Every Fridayman mech abruptly fought a little less vigorously as they pressed closer. Each of them had entered the outer range of the Blessed Squire's glow.

"Monroe! The way is open! Kill those damned boy mechs before they nag us to death!"

"With pleasure!"

The Fridaymen mechs had managed to create some openings in the enemy formation at great cost. Once their forward momentum stalled, it became a lot more challenging to reach the well-protected Blessed Squires.

Fortunately, Lieutenant Monroe managed to bypass the occupied Fridaymen mechs and charge forward. The other friendly Glow Crushers managed to press through as well as their comrades did their best to cover their advance.

All of this took place in a short amount of time. Before the Hexers issued their next orders, the Glow Crushers were already accelerating forward!

When Monroe felt the time was right, he activated a mental trigger.

In an instant, the lance of his mechs seemed to shine as it was about to bump into an invisible field!

"SUCCESS!"

The glows of the Blessed Squires abruptly disappeared as the Glow Crushers that managed to pull off their charge had dumped all of their motion energy!

The surrounding air became denser and more energetic as the invisible motion energy spread from the Glow Crushers.

The Hexer mechs simultaneously lost steam as the encouraging presence of the Superior Mother disappeared.

The Fridaymen succeeded in damaging their confidence!

As the motion energy rapidly dissipated, Lieutenant Monroe decisively commanded his mech to throw aside its unwieldy lance. After withdrawing a slim sword, his mech already turned around in order to link up with friendlies.

Yet just as the Glow Crushers took their first steps back, a familiar oppressive sensation overtook the mech pilots.

For a moment, both sides flagged a bit. "What is this..?"

Suddenly, the Hexer mechs became invigorated again! With the resumption of the glows of the Blessed Squires, the crazed Hexer mech pilots fought as if the Superior Mother had personally intervened!

"The Superior Mother is with us!"

"Crush these Glow Crushers!"

Lieutenant Mornoe was devastated! As numerous vengeful Hexers assaulted his Glow Crusher, he couldn't comprehend what had happened. He was sure his mech had succeeded in its charge!

"Why didn't it work! My mech broke their glows!"

He would find no answer as his mech quickly succumbed against the combined assault. The rest of his unit collapsed within minutes as the Fridaymen were forced to fight in the influence of a hostile while the Hexers had regained their confidence!

"The Hexers deceived us! They upgraded their Blessed Squires!"