The Mech Touch

After achieving their first victory in the main phase of the group swordsman mech competition, the Swordmaidens gained a crucial boost in confidence.

During subsequent group matches, their mech pilots placed less emphasis on relying on their skill and instead leveraged their teamwork.

Since each of the veteran Swordmaiden mech pilots trained so often together and fought so many pitched battles together, their mutual understanding and trust had reached a degree that their opponents had yet to match!

The fights rarely ended quickly. Their opponents always managed to inflict heavy damage onto the Swordmaiden mechs. In terms of pure skill, the Heavensworders exhibited considerably greater refinement.

It didn't help that the Swordmaidens stubbornly stuck to wielding greatswords despite their lack of fit with the Diligent model.

Yet despite these adverse factors, the ferocity and incredible cooperation of the Swordmaiden mech pilots eventually allowed them to find their groove.

"We did it! We managed to get past the first few days!"

While one of the Swordmaiden groups got crushed after getting matched against a team of seeded competitors, the other ones managed to make it through.

The top team led by Commander Sendra performed the most brilliantly. While every Swordmaiden was a skilled swordsman mech pilot in her own right, Sendra had already moved beyond their level after receiving much more instruction from Venerable Dise.

"When I took over from Commander Lydia, I managed to earn everyone's respect due to my strength as an expert candidate back then." The expert pilot explained to Ketis during a match. "Commander Sendra doesn't enjoy this privilege. The distance between her and the rest of our veterans is much closer, so her position is still unstable. Even with my support, I can't keep propping her up. This is why I gave her special treatment. It helps that she is already good enough, though I am not entirely in favor of her combat approach."

"She's a lot more.. tricky than you." Ketis agreed. "Compared to her performance in her initial matches, Commander Sendra isn't going for the attack anymore. Instead, she's waiting for the enemy to come to her. Once her opponent shows any opening, she pounces like a venomous snake!"

The three commanders of the Swordmaidens could each be summed up with a single word.

Commander Lydia was the mother. She founded the outfit that once carried her name. With her suspected Hexer background, she erected an entire organization from scratch.

Not only did Lydia give the women of the frontier a chance to rise above their lowly station, she also put them through grueling training programs that produced genuine elites!

This was an amazing accomplishment. These days, each and every Swordmaiden revered the late Commander Lydia as their mother and greatest benefactor.

Though she had already been dead for a couple of years, her influence upon the organization she founded remained ironclad!

When Dise took over, she had to keep a damaged and deflated organization together. While her leadership was not comparable to that of her predecessor, her personal strength along with the high cohesion of her fellow sisters allowed her to succeed.

As the hunter, she was keenly aware of her strengths and weaknesses as well as that of the rest of the Swordmaidens.

The changing environment left no space for the Swordmaidens to exist independently. While Dise was good at fighting, mindless combat was no longer sufficient to allow the Swordmaidens to survive.

One of the best decisions she ever made was to bring the Swordmaidens into the Larkinson Clan via Calabast.

Although the women lost a lot of autonomy, they still retained almost everything they cared about while being able to pass off the rest to their new parent organization.

While the Swordmaidens had lost several more sisters in the service of the Larkinson Clan, they had fully proven their battle prowess with Dise as their standout warrior!

Now that Sendra took over as the third-generation leader of the Swordmaidens, many sisters had yet to figure out their future direction.

Commander Sendra took over not too long ago and had yet to make too many major decisions. There weren't many opportunities yet to make her mark on the organization she grew up in and loved with all her heart.

However, her behavior and actions prior to her promotion already gave the Swordmaidens a few clues on where she would take them. Her performance in the mech arena was another indicator.

"Come on, you old man!" The black-coated Diligent extended its greatsword at the opposing mech. "Are you going to attack yet or will you just stay put until the match ends?"

"If you want to fight so badly, then come after me!" The male mech pilot shouted back.

"Heh, why should I? According to the dueling rules, the lightest mech has to take the initiative to fight. Look at how much this greatsword weighs down my mech. I'll never be able to catch up to your mech and you know it. You've got ten minutes left to make a move."

She was right. Even though both of them piloted the same Diligen mechs, their weapon loadouts were different. The slender dueling sword wielded by the opposing mech weighed substantially less than a greatsword.

This meant that every Swordmaiden mech that appeared on the arena were always treated as the equivalent of a heavy mech. They were slower but incredibly deadly if they succeeded in leveraging their prodigious offensive power.

After a bit of dancing around, the challenger gave up on provoking Commander Sendra to launch an attack.

In fact, most Swordmaidens eschewed the advantage they gained due to their heavier weapon loadout and just charged at their opponents straight away!

This had always been the Swordmaiden creed. Attack was better than defense. There was no point in delaying an inevitable confrontation. Surrendering the initiative to the opponent was always a sign of weakness.

While Sendra often acted proactively in the past, she had become more restrained as of late. Part of it was because she couldn't afford to make so many reckless decisions as a leader. Another part of it was because of an evolution in her mindset.

"She's become more fond of laying traps." Ketis commented.

Venerable Dise did not look very pleased. "Sendra has always been more independent than our other sisters. Her willingness to think outside the box is what makes her suitable to command. Our other sisters are too rigid. Rather than think for themselves, they will just base their choices on past patterns regardless of whether they suit current conditions. That won't avail us in the long-term. We need someone who can adapt with the times."

"Well, she's doing more than that at the moment."

Commander Sendra kept her mech as still as possible as the opposing machine drew closer. A typical Swordmaiden mech pilot would have moved forward long ago, but the black-coated mech stood as solid as a knight mech!

The enemy mech pilot felt ill at ease with the situation. Commander Sendra and her mech did not do anything, but exerted considerable psychological pressure.

The Swordmaiden Commander and her mech seemed to be ready to launch a dozen different responses. Any opponent that got close would have to make some difficult choices on how to attack.

If the male mech pilot chose wrong, then he would definitely leave his mech open for a counterattack!

This was why he chose to take this mech as seriously as possible and take his time to close the distance. Two whole minutes passed until he came close to the opposing mech's attack range.

"The clock is ticking, old man." Sendra taunted. "Why are you even taking part in this tournament when you're so senile? Did you lose direction when you attempted to reach a retirement home or something?"

"I AM NOT OLD! I'M FORTY YEARS OLD! I'M IN THE PRIME OF MY CAREER!"

The man finally lost patience with the woman's incessant talking. Trap or not, he knew he wouldn't get anywhere if he kept trying to wait for opportunities.

This was the time for taking action!

Still, he did not lose his mind. He was too experienced for that. He commanded his Diligent mech to stride forward at a steady pace.

However, just as his mech was about to enter the range of the black-coated Diligent, the latter performed a powerful horizontal sweep!

Woosh!

The greatsword cut the air with such force that the opposing mech did not dare to block or get struck by the heavy attack!

The timing of the sweep was exquisite. Even accounting for the Diligent's slow reaction time and other delays, Commander Sendra's mech quickly managed to regain its stance just before the opposing mech was ready to pounce forward.

"Tch."

The man knew he missed an opportunity to punish the woman's risky move.

As his mech strode forward a second time, Sendra's mech performed an identical move.

However, this time the male mech pilot was ready!

His mech quickly stepped backwards just before he planned to push his mech forward straight away.

This time, the attacking mech had already raised its sword to impale its target!

Yet what happened next was completely outside the male competitor's expectation.

Sendra's mech had let go its greatsword!

"What?!" Ketis leaned forward as her jaw practically dropped to the floor. "She can't do that!"

Venerable Dise palmed her face. "She's showboating."

Weapons were sacred to swordsman mech pilots. Dropping or tossing their weapons was not only disrespectful towards the weapons they dedicated their lives to wielding, but also left the disarmed mechs with much less options.

During the first proper group match, Commander Sendra already encouraged her fellow Swordmaidens to drop their weapons and rely on grappling to turn a situation around.

This time, she pulled off a similar stunt!

As the hefty greatsword spun and cut into the unprepared Diligent mech, it left a large gash. While the tossed blade failed to penetrate the armor layer, the force it exerted was considerable enough to halt the opposing mech, at least for a small moment!

This was enough for Commander Sendra's mech to recover and dart forward. Even though the opposing mech recovered quickly enough to perform a warding blow, the weaponless mech easily performed a sidestep.

Without the greatsword weighing it down, Sendra's mech possessed superior maneuverability at the moment!

"Ha!"

Just as the opposing mech was about to perform a follow-up move, the Swordmaiden mech lunged forward and managed to grasp the enemy machine's sword arm just as it was about to swing its weapon again!

Even though Sendra's mech got hit by the blade, the lack of force behind it meant that it only damaged the armor.

This was enough for Commander Sendra!

After a brief bout of jostling that caused both mechs to press against each other, Commander Sendra succeeded in wrenching away the slender sword wielded by the opposing mech!

Her mech shoved the opposing mech away while gripping its newly-obtained weapon.

"She stole the old man's weapon!"

"What a daring move!"

"Who the hell is she? Swordmaidens? I never heard of them. Give me all the intel."

The entire crowd went wild at the successful attempt to rob an opposing mech of its weapon.

While tossing a weapon was highly improper, losing it to the enemy was much worse!

Right now, the male mech pilot couldn't afford to wallow in his shame. Even if he managed to turn the tables and win, the crowd would always remember this humiliation!

"I need a weapon. Where is the weapon she tossed?"

Clank.

Before the opposing mech could even think of picking up Sendra's discarded greatsword, a foot already stepped onto it. The Swordmaiden mech was effectively in control of both of their weapons!

"Are you thinking about stealing my weapon? Come get it, old man!"

While Commander Sendra enjoyed an absolute advantage right now, she declined to go on the offensive. Instead, she humiliated her opponent even further by keeping her mech in place while taunting her opponent's lack of weapons!

The worst part about all of this was that the rules were still in her favor! If the male mech pilot was not willing to launch an attack, then Commander Sendra would win the match by default!

"You horrendous witch!"