The Mech Touch

Trip Oxxon and Zenon Dia Bavros possessed a lot more similarities than the last pairing.

They were both young.

They were both elite graduates.

They both specialized in piloting knight mechs.

They both minored in piloting classical mechs.

It was like pitting them against mirrors of each other. Of course, this was just the first impression. Ves was sure that he'd be able to witness their individual differences soon enough.

The arena operators did not delay too long. After providing the audience with a brief introduction of the mechs and mech pilots, the match soon commenced!

"They're colliding against each other!"

This time, both mech pilots had no intentions of stalling the fight. Both Oxxon and Bavros drove their mechs towards each other while pressing their entire frames against their enormous tower shields.

Boom!

Ves could practically feel the air ripple as a thunderous collision took place! The two mechs bounced back after suffering various degrees of damage from their reckless collision. He wasn't sure what the point of it was, but the two mechs immediately closed in on each other before hacking at each other's shields with their one-handed swords.

Sparks flew and sharp noises sounded out as the two knight mechs hacked their swords and bumped their shields against each other without any interruption.

Knowledgeable mech insiders and mech fanatics knew that this was just the start. When two defensive mechs were pitted against each other, it was virtually impossible for one of them to achieve a decisive victory in the first couple of minutes!

Instead, the mechs had to outlast their opposition. The way to do so was to steadily chip away at the defenses of the enemy while not wasting too much energy and other resources in the process.

"That Dragonscale Warrior mech looks quite different." Raella noted. "Its exterior is made out of lots of relatively small scales. I don't know what that means in terms of defense, but the biomech is definitely more agile and flexible than our Bright Warrior!"

This was true. The Dragonscale Warrior probably gained its name from the rippling scales that were able to resist and deflect the probing attacks that made it through its guard!

Gloriana shook her head in disapproval. "Classical mechs can adopt this armor scheme as well. It's just that it isn't worth it most of the time. The solidity of a single bigger plate is hard to match when you replace it with several smaller scales. The fact that they have to be mounted in a particular way to allow for additional range of motion introduces weaknesses that make it easier to break through them. They also offer less defense against blunt force trauma since they are comparable to a tough hide rather than armor."

Ves agreed with her assessment as well, but he was sure that the Dragonscale Warrior had something special in store. Otherwise, it didn't make much sense to design it as a commercial mech.

Several minutes went by. The excitement level from the crowd had dimmed once they observed how slowly the mechs incurred damage.

Many sword strikes deflected off the curved shield or bounced off the armor of the mechs. The offensive power of the mechs was relatively low, especially when pitted against the defenses of another knight mech!

This meant that over a dozen exchange blows might ensue before one of the two sturdy mechs actually suffered another wound!

"Man, whose idea was it to pit two knigh mechs against each other?"

"The first match was much more exciting."

"Can we refund our ticket?"

Some viewers even started to yawn! Despite the youth of the two mech pilots, neither of them attempted to pull off any flashy moves. It was as if their minds had just blanked out, regressing them into more primitive versions of themselves who only knew how to hack and slash!

Only the mech insiders knew better. Knight mechs weren't designed to pull off brilliant maneuvers in the first place. They were built to slug it out like this. Before either mech pilot could put their talents to use, they had to change the circumstances and do their best to expose a new weak point in the opposing mechs.

The differences between the two sides soon became evident.

"It's just as I expected. The Dragonscale Warrior is less durable." Gloriana concluded. "Just look at the gap in its arm. It only took two slashes to wear away a portion of the scales."

The Bright Warrior became more aggressive as a response. Pilot Oxxon began to exhibit some of the restlessness of his youth. The sword wielded by his mech attempted to attack this weak point many times!

Of course, Pilot Bavros was well aware of the danger. The Dragonscale Warrior positioned itself so that its shield blocked every attack directed against the exposed limb. Its bone surface gained more and more cracks and chips. Even if the Bright Warrior was unable to break it in a couple of blows, continued attacks on the same sections steadily caused the bone shield to be dismantled!

While the Bright Warrior's metal tower shield incurred similar damage, Bavros was currently on the backfoot of this ongoing clash. The Dragonscale Warrior would definitely fold first at this rate!

Ves did not expect his mech to gain the upper hand so quickly. It was not that good of a knight mech considering that it was based off a modular mech platform. Yet its simple, beginner-friendly design characteristics allowed Trip Oxxon to learn the ins and outs of his mech remarkably quickly!

In contrast, the Dragonscale Warrior deviated substantially from other ordinary knight mechs. Its abnormal armor scheme and added flexibility increased its learning curve and forced Zenon Dia Bavros to spend more time on how to leverage these properties to the best effect!

While the mech pilot of the organic mech slowly began to pull off more extreme moves, it was still difficult to reverse the situation in a short amount of time!

Growing impatient with the lack of progress, Oxxon decided to take a risk. His Bright Warrior kicked out against the lower side of the Dragonscale Warrior's shield. This caused the solid bone object to tilt.

A sword instantly threaded through a gap in the defense and impacted the chest of the Dragonscale Warrior!

Even though the scales were thicker and sturdier at this section, the stab still caused a few of them to scatter!

However, the wounded mech did not suffer this attack without hitting back. Rather than mounting a hasty and flawed defense, Bavros decided to take advantage of the Bright Warrior's exposed posture. The Dragonscale Warrior hacked at the arm of the classical mech with a biometal sword, causing its thinner arm plating to deform!

The two mechs quickly inflicted a couple more telling blows until Bavros finally managed to extricate himself out of the tricky situation. When the Dragonscale Warrior kicked its agile legs against the Bright Warrior's shield, it used the surface as a platform in order to gain some distance.

For a moment, the two mechs were separated.

"Both of them have taken a beating." Ves murmured.

The Bright Warrior received less injuries. While several sections of its thick and sturdy armor featured sword marks, its armor coverage was still intact.

The only worrisome aspect was that its tower shield was already starting to crumble. Its middle section had taken the brunt of the beating and was already showing signs of cracking in half.

The Dragonscale Warrior was in a similar situation. Its bone shield was a bit less massive than a solid metal shield, but its odd organic structure provided it with a bit more stability.

The mech itself displayed some concerning injuries. Its chest and one of its limbs displayed traces of purple blood where the broken or torn scales failed to withstand the incoming attacks.

Yet something remarkable happened as the mechs separated. The flesh underneath the damaged or missing scales rippled. In just a couple of seconds, any scales that were still attached to the mech got absorbed into the flesh. In their place, new and pristine scales covered the exposed section!

"What!?" Ves leaned forward as he observed the projection that displayed a close-up of this phenomenon. "The Dragonscale Warrior can do that?!"

Now that the biomech restored its exterior protection, Bavros drove the rejuvenated mech forward with renewed confidence!

Even though both mechs fought against each other at the same intensity as before, Bavros began to show the true capabilities of his biomech.

He took advantage of the regeneration capabilities of the Dragonscale Warrior. By accepting a moderate blow, Bavros was able to hit back just as hard against his opponent!

Even though the solid metal armor of the Bright Warrior was not that easy to penetrate, every blow added up. While the Bright Warrior's chest and limb armor slowly incurred more scars, the Dragonscale Warrior received more serious injuries due to the weaker protection ability of its scales.

Bavros didn't care! The Dragonscale Warrior slowly replenished its missing scales, drawing upon a vast reserve of energy and nutrients that were deposited in the center of the biomech.

As long as these resources lasted, the Dragonscale Warrior would always be able to regenerate its scales!

What was even more frustrating was that the underlying flesh of the mech was still tough enough to resist moderate blows. This made it very hard to take advantage of a momentary opening. Even if Oxxon managed to inflict a couple of hits on an exposed section, the only result was that a lot of purple blood leaked out before the flesh quickly knitted back together.

"This mech is all about regeneration!" Gloriana concluded. "Unless the Bright Warrior is capable of inflicting a single overpowering blow, it has no choice but to enter an endurance race."

Ves sighed. "A defensive mech can't possibility inflict a powerful punch unless it is able to perform a charge, but Bavros is smart enough to prevent Oxxon from disengaging his mech."

The Bright Warrior attempted to draw back several times, but the Dragonscale Warrior turned into a leech. No matter where the former went, the latter always followed right behind!

The nature of the match had changed. Since there was no feasible way for the Bright Warrior to win by overpowering its opponent, its mech pilot decided to conserve its energy. The metallic mech no longer performed any wasteful moves and remained on the defensive a lot more than usual.

The Dragonscale Warrior was different!

Its active regeneration allowed it to maintain its peak condition longer, but that came at the expense of its total operation time! With every minute that passed, the mech expended more and more energy and nutrients. The regeneration process was so intensive that the mech even started to release steam due to the buildup of heat!

As the organic mech grew hotter, so did its fighting approach. The Dragonscale Warrior launched attack and attack with the fury of an offensive mech rather than a defensive mech! Its scales rippled in the light as its flexible limbs allowed the biomech to inflict damage from tricker and tricker angles.

The Bright Warrior was suffering serious damage! With repeated blows, its shield was slowly crumbling and its chest armor exhibited more damage. Its limbs began to suffer some hits as well.

Unlike its opponent, the Bright Warrior wasn't able to regenerate its damage! Even though it would definitely be able to outlast its opponent if the fight went on, this didn't matter if the aggressive Dragonscale Warrior was able to cripple the opposing mech!

The Bright Warrior needed a hand, and Ves knew where to find it. He concentrated his mind and repeated the same steps as before.

The only difference was that he drew out a different design spirit. As Goldie receded yet again, a different presence came to the fore.

Qilanxo emerged from the shadows!

Trip Oxxon immediately became influenced by the different glow. He became a lot more defense-minded and began to waste less energy on launching attacks.

Since the Dragonscale Warrior was on a time limit, the only thing the Bright Warrior had to do was to resist the storm and wait for it to end!

However, just as the Bright Warrior settled in for the long haul, its diminished tower shield finally collapsed under all of the strain.

"My chance has come!" Bavros exulted.

The young mech pilot of the Dragonscale Warrior drove his biomachine forward, causing it to collide against the shieldless Bright Warrior!

The two mechs quickly stabbed against each other, though their armor managed to mitigate much of the damage.

While the Bright Warrior attempted to disengage, the Dragonscale Warrior opened its mouth and attempted to chomp onto its opponent!