The Mech Touch

Biomechs differed from classical mechs in various ways. Aside from the obvious differences in composition, biomechs also demanded a different piloting approach to their users.

Vincent Ricklin didn't know what he was getting into after he interfaced with the Rotenring. The quick lesson he received before did not prepare him at all for all of the changes he experienced.

The first and most obvious difference was that biomechs didn't make use of electronic processors. Instead of performing all of their thinking on precise and highly-controlled chips, biomechs performed all of their processing tasks through special tissue that resembled brain matter.

While they were designed to operate as similar to electronic processors as possible, they nonetheless exhibited several distinct differences due to their growth-based production method.

Since every organic chip had to grow into shape on its own, these biological processors exhibited substantial copy to copy variation!

Every brain was unique, and that applied to these organic chips as well. What was even more interesting was that the organic chips grew in unison with the rest of the mech. This meant that they weren't produced in a separate facility and installed onto a biomech.

Instead, the organic processors already played a central role in regulating the growth of a biomech from the moment a seed began to grow!

This caused the connection between the two to be substantially more intimate, which in turn exposed a mech pilot to both greater and different data input.

All of this made Vincent feel as if he was stuck in an alien mech. Many other factors played a role as well as biomechs introduced plenty of changes that caught ordinary mech pilots off-guard.

While Jannzi was able to roll with the changes due to her powerful will and superhuman capability to adapt to different mechs, Vincent possessed only a shadow of her capabilities.

In fact, he wouldn't have been able to get the Rotenring to walk if he wasn't an expert candidate to begin with! His lack of familiarity with biomechs was so bad that he had hardly managed to increase his fluency with his biomech as time went by. He was just as bad at piloting the striker mech as before, up until his current opponent crossed a line that Vincent never tolerated.

From the moment the enemy swordsman mech attacked the Rotenring's legs, Vincent suddenly snapped.

His legless form leaned forward as his face turned into a snarl. His fury and his nascent force of will condensed in a way that caused him to gain a greater feel for the Rotenring. Several differences that used to stump him now seemed trivial in the face of the current threat.

If there was one affront that Vincent couldn't tolerate, it was crippling his lower body!

Even though his current opponent was frantically hacking its sword against the Rotenring, as a striker mech it could never be taken down with a few simple attacks.

The cruel-looking chainsaw mounted on the underside of the heavy shotgun finally showed its purpose. Although it was extremely difficult to hit an opponent with the serrated blades, once it sunk into flesh, its cutting and tearing potential was extremely high!

By the time the enemy swordsman mech pilot commanded his mech to fall and roll away, a large and ugly wound had been left on its chest.

Due to the savage nature of the attack, the wound not only affected a large portion of the mech, but also continuously leaked blood with few signs of abating.

This was one of the secondary dangers of the chainsaw. As long as it was able to eviscerate a large portion of flesh, the wounded biomech in question would continually bleed out as time went by. The swordsman mech urgently needed treatment or else it would certainly collapse over time!

The effect of the chainsaw explained why it was mainly employed against biomechs. The effect was significantly weaker against classical mechs. Their excellent compartmentalization and lack of blood meant that this kind of bleeding would never occur.

Right now, Vincent thought that chainsaws were quite exciting. No weapon complemented his fury more than a weapon designed to brutalize a biomech!

"I don't know who you are or why you're attacking us, but you've messed with the wrong man! No one touches my legs!"

All of the inconveniences and indignities he suffered after the Battle of Reckoning flashed through his mind. Though he knew that his condition was only temporary, he felt so humiliated and diminished that he never wanted to be put into the same position again!

As the damaged swordsman mech launched an all-out assault in order to make the best of the situation, Vincent's Rotenring quickly moved to batter aside the incoming sword slash.

While the shotgun-chainsaw combination was slow to handle, when swung its momentum was incomparable to that of an agile sword!

After batting aside the sword, the chainsaw revved up again just as the Rotenring surged forth at a greater speed than it had shown before.

The swordsman mech pilot was still unaccustomed to the changed in Vincent's battle effectiveness. This caused his mech to suffer a serious blow to its shoulder!

"Where are you going?! Come back here, coward!"

Even though the swordsman mech was continually stepping back, the Rotenring tilted forward and advanced at an even greater speed!

Even though its precarious sprint could easily cause the Rotenring to trip to the ground, Vincent was somehow able to exert such great control that the mech still retained its balance by the time it swung its chainsaw at the injured shoulder of the enemy mech.

WHRRZZZZ!

An awful tearing and scraping sound spread out yet again as the Rotenring's chainsaw tore through the flesh and bone that comprised the shoulder.

Even though the enemy swordsman mech succeeded in sinking its blade into the side of the Rotenring, Vincent didn't even notice anything. His mech still exerted enough force to sink the chainsaw deeper into the body of the enemy mech, and that was all that mattered!

After a considerable exertion, the chainsaw successfully tore off the left arm of the enemy swordsman mech!

After losing this limb, the heavily damaged biomech sustained so much damage that its responsiveness and fighting capabilities had dropped below a level was able to resist the Rotenring.

The mech pilot chose to eject from his damaged biomech!

A fleshy pod separated from the back of the swordsman mech and flew through the tunnel it came from. What was left fell over and bled out as if it was the victim of a gruesome murder!

The abrupt flight of the opposing mech pilot irked Vincent to no end. He wanted cut apart the enemy swordsman mech some more!

Fortunately, there were plenty of enemies left. Vincent briefly swept his attention across the remaining enemy mechs. The remaining enemy melee mechs tried their best to keep the Taragon, Bluestar, Optimum and Perringer occupied while the ranged mechs tried to weaken them at range.

What gave the attackers an edge was that the auxiliary mech had finally gone into action. Even though it acted too late to save the mechs that had been downed, its capabilities quickly changed the dynamic of the remaining clashes!

Everytime the Roving Hunters or Venerable Jannzi attempted to launch an attack that was bound to inflict serious damage, their weapons bounced against an energy shield.

The most peculiar aspect about this shield was that it was both localized and incredibly strong. Unlike large area shields which enveloped an entire area in a protective dome, the auxiliary mech was able to project small energy shields that not only minimized energy consumption, but also concentrated its remote shields so that it could withstand more serious blows.

"This mech needs to be taken out!"

Vincent didn't even bother to command his biomech to load new shells into his heavy shotgun. Instead, he urged the Rotenring to circle around and make its way straight to the auxiliary mech!

Of course, the enemy noticed the striker mech's obvious approach in advance. Yet due to the fact that it lost several mechs, its numerical superiority wasn't so overwhelming anymore.

To several people's surprise, the two ranged mechs stopped firing their steaming rifles. Instead, they turned around and moved to block the way forward for the Rotenring.

"What can a bunch of rifleman mechs do?!" Vincent contemptuously scoffed.

His mech jumped upwards and engaged its flight system! Even though the Rotenring wasn't the best at flight, it was still enough to allow his mech to leap over the heads of the rifleman mechs.

Yet just as the Rotenring passed over the enemy ranged mechs, Vincent suddenly felt an acute threat from below.

"What the hell?!"

The organic rifles wielded by the rifleman mechs morphed into a different shape. A bayonet knife extended from the front while the overall body of the weapon had become more streamlined.

In an instant, two spears shot upwards in an attempt to impale the Rotenring from below!

Vincent experienced yet another threat to the legs and underside of his mech. He was keenly aware that if one of those spears threaded between the legs, it was capable of punching through the lower waist!

That realization triggered something inside him again. His eyes practically turned red as he did something incredibly crazy.

He stopped trying to fly forward and instead tumbled his mech in mid-air until it was upside down!

This not only prevented the Rotenring's legs and underside from getting hit by the spears, but also put it in a good position to counterattack!

"Take this!"

The Rotenring boosted downwards with incredible momentum! The chainsaw batted aside one of the spears but couldn't prevent the other from sinking into a shoulder. However, this injury seemed inconsequential in relation to what happened next!

The striker mech dropped head first on top of one of the rifleman mechs. Even though a small energy shield had formed in its path, the falling force of the mech was far too great for the auxiliary mech to stop!

A violent collision ensued as the Rotenring practically crushed one of the rifleman mechs onto the ground. The converted spear wielded by the latter clattered away as the mech was squashed to the point that its mech pilot died because its cockpit turned into a pancake!

Even though the Rotenring sustained severe damage from the fall as well, it was able to scramble back up and hold its chainsaw.

Vincent was really starting to like the Rotenring!

Unfortunately, his latest reckless stunt damaged the biomech so much that its speed and other functionality had dropped to the point where the rifleman mech was easily able to maintain distance.

Yet just as the enemy biomech converted its spear back into a rifle, the Perringer charged from behind and slammed its stolen shield straight into its back!

A few quick sword stabs later caused the rifleman mech to be taken out of action!

"It's over, Vincent! You've done enough!"

It turned out that Venerable Jannzi not only managed to defeat her second opponent, but also help out the Roving Hunters by ganging up on their own adversaries.

The Taragon was already advancing towards the auxiliary mech with its sword ready to slice apart the annoying remote shield generating mech.

The remaining mech pilot wasn't stupid enough to stay while his defenseless mech was being dissected. The cockpit of the auxiliary mech flew out. Just as it was about to enter the tunnel in the back, a kinetic round precisely hit the egg-like orb, cracking it apart in mid-air!

The Bluestar lowered its carbine.

Carlie Jinten huffed. "I may be a mech athlete, but I won't show mercy in war."

The crisis had passed, for now. The Roving Hunters and the Larkinsons managed to defeat the ultralifer mech squad! Even though the odds were against them, their unconventional advantages allowed them to win without suffering any casualties!

"Don't be so happy yet." Ves interjected over the comm channel. "My sensor is detecting increasing activity from afar. There are a lot more mechs on the move!"