The Mech Touch

The Larkinson Clan's artillery fire abruptly changed in pattern.

Previously, the Transcendent Punishers fired their cannons at a brisk rate of fire. Due to their relatively low hit rates, the mech pilots attempted to increase their chances of inflicting meaningful damage by outputting as many attacks as their mechs were able to bear.

Yet once they received the command to draw upon the Great Prophet's blessing, they no longer fired their weapons in a scattered manner.

Every bunker that hosted a Transcendent Punisher gained a holy atmosphere. As mech pilots such as Taon Melin opened their minds to Prophet Ylvaine, they actively felt the object of their worship responding to their prayers.

"Prophet, guide my aim!"

Over three-hundred Ylvainan mech pilots simultaneously entered into a different state of mind. Pure devotion welled up in their minds as their devotion was clearly being rewarded!

Inside the Prophet's Fist, Taon felt as if he had gained a completely different view of the battlefield.

When the glow of his artillery mech had become more active, its sensors seemed to supply him with additional information.

The Forward Momentum's secrets opened up to him and his fellow mech pilots.

He intuitively learned that attacking a specific section on the starboard side would disrupt the power flow to the surrounding bunkers.

He also learned that one of the bunkers on the fleet carrier was incorrectly maintained. If he concentrated his fire on the left side of the oval roof, he could weaken the entire structure.

"This!"

None of his practice sessions with the Prophet's Fist ever yielded so much information to him. This was completely new as far as he was concerned. Was he able to read the weaknesses of the enemy because his connection to the Great Prophet was closer than other Ylvainans?

Whatever the case, he had to share what he learned!

This was not difficult. Through the man-machine connection, he transmitted his inexplicable insights to the command network after packaging them into a condensed form.

Due to his special identity as the chosen of Zeal, the Ylvainan mech officers took his contribution seriously.

They had no doubt in the data supplied by Taon. To the Ylvainans, faith and devotion trumped logic and skepticism!

"We have developed a list of priorities based on the observations you have made with the Prophet's blessing." A mech captain spoke. "Every Transcendent Punisher will be allocated a set of targets. We must strike hard and make our attacks count. Do not let the Bright Martyr down and do not fail your purpose!"

"We stand ready to exact the Prophet's punishment!"

The Prophet's Fist received a data transmission from the Spirit of Bentheim that precisely outlined its targets.

Taon no longer sought to glean more details from the Forward Momentum but instead brought the cannons of his mech to bear against the aft section of the enemy capital ship.

The Forward Momentum wasn't making it easy for him to keep his guns on target. The ship slowly spun around like a giant drill, which made it very difficult for ranged mechs to focus their fire on a single section.

Before, that would have inconvenienced the Ylvainan mech pilots. Now, their aim remained true. While they still employed their own aim along with the aid provided to them by the targeting systems of their mechs, they received additional assistance from what must be the Prophet himself!

"Fire!"

The Transcendent Punishers fired once. The Forward Momentum immediately shook and drifted off-course for a fraction a second as numerous important systems ceased to function as normal!

The Prophet's Fist adjusted its frame after firing its primary armament. While it could have fired another shot after its weapons recovered, it was not yet the time to do so. Taon had to go down the list of targets and bring the guns to bear on a bunker that was intermittently visible as the enemy capital carrier did not stay still.

It didn't matter. He trained his guns on a specific set of points ahead of where the Forward Momentum traveled and tried his best to stay on target.

Seconds passed until the next order came.

"Fire!"

The moment Taon pulled the trigger, the Prophet's Fist silently boomed as its pair of positron cannons and gauss cannons unleashed their power again.

The points where he happened to be aiming at just happened to be occupied by one of the bunkers of the Forward Momentum!

The Prophet Fist's attacks along with the attacks of several other Transcendent Punishers managed to drill a hole right through one of the gun ports.

"Fire!"

When Taon fired once again, he already knew the results of his attack. Without any surprise, he observed the already-damaged bunker collapsing and exposing a ruined artillery mech into space!

This was far enough. There were still many more Destiny Hammer mechs that were continually trying to make up for their losses.

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

The Transcendent Punishers continued to maintain their uncanny high accuracy. More and more bunkers collapsed while the Forward Momentum exhibited more problems due to losing an increasing amount of subsystems.

While the capital ship was too massive to be taken out so easily, her bunkers were another matter!

With at least two-hundred Transcendent Punishers focusing their firepower on twenty bunkers at a time, every few salvos continued to fell a lot of Destiny Hammer mechs at a time!

As confident as the Destiny Hammers were in their own strength, they finally sensed that something was very wrong once they lost an entire mech company after just a handful of exchanges!

"We've lost half of our men!"

"How is the enemy able to target us so precisely?! I thought the Larkinsons didn't have any mech pilots who could match our skill!"

"What kind of nonsense intelligence is this!? How can religion possibly play a role in a matter like this! This report is pure fantasy!"

The soldiers of the Vanguard Group smelled something very wrong about this change. If this went on, the Destiny Hammers assigned to Task Force Umbra would probably be wiped out in short order!

"Evade the enemy attacks! Move the Forward Momentum behind the Auralis! Let the other fleet carriers become our shields!"

The Forward Momentum actively broke formation and slowed down in order to let the other fleet carriers overtake her. Once the other capital ships had passed her by, the vessel quickly hid behind the large and formidable bulk of the Gauge Dynasty's capital ship!

General Vander Pierce became furious! The Vanguarders acted on their own accord without even bothering with the decency to ask for instructions first! Not only that, they completely shamed themselves by drawing themselves back to the rear of the fleet!

"Ever forward, indeed!"

As much as he wanted to reprimand the Vanguarders, the leader of Task Force Umbra forcibly pressed down his rage. While his authority was technically absolute, the forces he led were composed of several different units that belonged to several different factions within the Coalition.

They weren't united enough to let go of their selfishness!

Even though the Forward Momentum managed to take shelter behind the Auralis, it was already too late for the Destiny Hammers. They lost 64 precious heavy artillery mechs!

Of the surviving 16 mechs, several of them sustained significant damage that heavily impaired their performance.

While the Destiny Hammers were still capable of influencing the course of the battle with the firepower they managed to preserve, they were no longer a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield!

This was especially so because the Destiny Hammers lost all of their mech officers and veterans! For some unknown reason, the Larkinson artillery mechs prioritized all of their attacks on the machines piloted by the most authoritative, skilled and experienced mech pilots.

The ones who were left were all in their thirties and possessed significantly less skill than their older colleagues!

Back in the Larkinson fleet, the Ylvainan mech pilots each felt satisfied with what they had managed to accomplish. The Destiny Hammers may be better than them in many ways, but the Ylvainans had gods on their side!

With the blessings of the Great Prophet and the Bright Martyr, Taon and his fellow devout mech pilots actively channeled the fury of their faith! They continued to mete out targeted destruction at other exposed targets.

At this time, the Orca Tyrant became their target of choice. The Puffer Clan's fleet carrier was not as weak as the Forward Momentum, but she was also slower and more sluggish.

It didn't matter if the Orca Tyrant possessed a thicker shell. With hundreds of Transcendent Punishers achieving an effective hit rate in excess of 80 percent, no amount of alloy plating could withstand the combined impacts of hundreds of positron beams and gauss rounds!

Despite the longer distance, the Witch Slayer mechs which were using the Orca Tyrant as their cover experienced great difficulties. Dozens of fragile marksman mechs collapsed in an instant as their positions came under sudden bombardment! The lack of warning and simultaneous attacks gave the mech pilots no time to react before sections of their mechs blasted to pieces!

Over a third of the Witch Slayers had been slain in just a couple of salvos! The rest of the marksman mechs did not dare to snipe at the Larkinson fleet anymore and withdrew until they were hovering directly behind the Orca Tyrant's bulk!

All in all, the Transcendent Punishers expended a lot of effort to take just over a hundred ranged mechs. Yet despite felling so few mechs, the oppression exerted by the enemy strike force had reduced by over half!

While the ranged mechs of the other elite mech units weren't bad, they did not excel in ranged combat unlike the Destiny Hammers and the Witch Slayers. The latter two mech troops differed from the others by their ability to make their attacks count!

Now that they had been diminished and suppressed, the expeditionary fleet gained a lot more momentum during this battle phase!

Taon slowly let out a deep breath as he exited out of his elevated state. He felt the presence of the Great Prophet receding from his mind and mech. While his Prophet's Fist still possessed it's reassuring glow, he still longed to return to his previous state.

"I can't." He shook his head. "I need to be prepared to face the subsequent wave of enemies."

They only managed to dismantle a portion of the enemy strength. The Fridaymen and their helpers brought around 6000 mechs in total. The Transcendent Punishers and their Ylvainan mech pilots could not afford to exhaust themselves too early. Even the Great Prophet himself felt a little weaker than before to Taon!

"The fight is far from over."

The Prophet's Fist and the Transcendent Punishers opened fire again.

Back on the bridge of the Spirit of Bentheim, Ves sighed as he saw the results of the outburst of the heavy artillery mech he designed.

"What a splendid performance." Major Verle's projection smiled just after he issued a set of orders to others. "Your Transcendent Punishers exceeded my expectations. They are truly an evolution of your remarkable Deliverer designs."

"Thank you, but do note that there is a limit to this special state." Ves warned. "Every benefit has a cost. Every process consumes energy. We need to make sure to reserve enough strength to survive the next phases of the battle."

"Indeed. It is almost time for our fleets to approach medium range. This is the phase where many rifleman mechs will shine. Melee mechs will take to the field as well."

What Major Verle didn't state was that the enemy expert mechs would probably make their moves as well in the next phase!

Ves could practically feel Venerable Ghanso's hostility from this distance. Once the main body of the enemy strike force entered the fray, the battlefield would become a lot more chaotic!

He gripped the Larkinson Mandate tighter. He could feel Goldie's concern. Larkinsons were already dying at a steady rate. Many more would die as the battle progressed!