The Mech Touch

The Certain Lance Project was a highly specialized mech model that was solely designed to excel in a single purpose.

All of its design characteristics were aimed at delivering the most powerful and destructive charge attacks possible.

Its heavy mass, its strong impact resistance, its heavy lances and its ability to beseech Ylvaine to guide its mech pilot were all aimed at breaching the toughest defensive lines with a single attack run!

"Given the extremes of this design, the Certain Lance Project should never get entangled in a melee battle." Dulo Voiken said. "Its rigidity and defensive power rivals that of a space knight. In a number of areas, it even exceeds the parameters of a defensive mech. My sister and I have only managed to raise the toughness of our lancer mech design to such a height by sacrificing options that can improve its performance in close-ranged combat. Ideally, the Certain Lance Project should never come to a halt. It must always ensure that it is able to soar away after completing its attack run."

ᴘ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀ ɴ ᴏᴠᴇʟ This was why the Certain Lance Project was designed in this fashion. It was heavier than most mechs which made it harder for enemies to bleed its momentum. Its front side was shaped like a wedge which allowed it to shove through any obstacles. Its lance broke after being subjected to too much force so that the lancer mech did not get stuck.

"It's impossible for lancer mechs to avoid entanglement." Ketis spoke. "If the Certain Lance Project ever gets caught by a swordsman mech, how can it defend itself? Those heavy lances are too large and unwieldy."

Dulo Voiken did not look fazed. "I thought about that. It just so happens that I specialize in designing spearman mechs that excel at performing stabbing motions. Even though the Certain Lance Project is dedicated to performing charge attacks, it only needs to hold its weapon with a single arm. I am sure you have already noticed that its arms are asymmetrical. The left arm is thicker, more solid and more capable of withstanding powerful shocks. The right arm is faster, slimmer and more nimble! This is an arm that is suitable for wielding spears! As long as the Certain Lance Project carries a spear in its loadout, it can keep melee mechs at bay, especially when they are grouped into a spear wall."

It was a fairly clever solution that allowed the mech to fight in different ways. While there was no way that a mech as bulky and sluggy as the Certain Lance Project could outfight a dedicated melee mech such as the Rigid Spine model, it at least prevented the lancer mechs from getting slaughtered without any means to deter its attackers!

After Dulo and the other participating mech designers answered questions about the Certain Lance Project, Janassa Pellier brought up an important question.

"I am impressed by this lancer mech. It will surely become the premier lancer mech model in the Larkinson Clan. The Bright Warrior's lancer mech configuration looks like a training mech in comparison." She began. "However, why dedicate this mech to the Eye of Ylvaine? With their special advantages, I think it is better to turn the Ylvainans into ranged mech specialists. Why should we split their focus by adding a lancer mech model in their roster? There is no obvious synergy between the Transcendent Punisher model and this new model. Why not design a more universal lancer mech and make it available to multiple mech legions? I think the Avatars of Myth would love to get its hands on a real assault-oriented mech!"

These were all good questions. Even Dulo Voiken himself held doubts at certain times. While it was true that he was the project leader, the initial concept and ideas came from Ves. Without him, this mech design wouldn't even exist!

Ves looked up at the finished lancer mech and took in its pure and holy glow. The mech's glow was identical to that of the Transcendent Punisher. This was just the way the Ylvainan believers in the Larkinson Army liked it. Their faith in the Great Prophet drove them forward and inspired them to fight with complete certainty that their sacrifices were worth it in the end!

A part of him felt guilty for manipulating and exploiting these gullible believers into fighting on his behalf.

Another part of him liked the idea of having loyal and reliable troopers under his command.

He turned and faced his fellow Journeymen. "The Eye of Ylvaine may excel at ranged combat, but that is not what they are all about. The Ylvainans, similar to the Penitent Sisters, are motivated by their faith, and that makes them suitable to perform the most difficult and risky missions imaginable. The power of their Great Prophet can also be applied in more ways than guiding their aim. From predicting enemy movements to figuring out the best timing and angle to launch an attack run, the Eye of Ylvaine is the mech legion that is centered around taking maximum advantage of its information superiority."

This was a difficult matter for him to convey to his fellow Larkinsons. None of them understood the Ylvainans better than himself. The time he spent in the Ylvaine Protectorate had given him a deep and profound understanding of the Ylvainan people. Their devotion to Ves and the Great Prophet rivaled that of the Penitent Sisters and their obedience came close to that of the Battle Criers.

It would be a waste of their strengths and potential to confine them to the rear. In his long-term plans for the Larkinson Army, Ves wanted every mech legion to become a self-sufficient military organization.

While they still needed to retain their traditional strengths, Ves wanted them to perform other roles if necessary.

The Avatars of Myth shouldn't have to wait for the Flagrant Vandals to perform scouting missions.

The Living Sentinels didn't need to wait for the Swordmaidens to go on the attack.

The Eye of Ylvaine shouldn't have to call for help from the Battle Criers in order to defeat enemy expert mechs.

The main distinction of the Larkinson Clan was that it was founded and led by a mech designer. The Design Department of the Living Mech Corporation was highly productive and would only produce more mech designs over time.

As the Larkinson Clan continued to grow over time, the size of the mech legions would certainly grow in turn. This meant that they would steadily have more room for additional mech models.

Of course, it would take decades before any of the mech legions reached this point. The Larkinson Clan's lack of carrier vessels severely constrained the growth of its mech legions.

Before the Larkinsons solved this problem, it was best not to overwhelm the mech legions with too many responsibilities.

"I think it is a good idea that the Ylvainans get to have a completely different mech." Gloriana spoke up while she watched over her daughter. "Right now, the Eye of Ylvaine is more constrained than any other mech legion because its mechs and mech pilots are dispersed on different ships. They control our sole artillery mechs and that has slanted them too much towards ranged combat. Do you know how many Ylvainan mech pilots we have who feel much more at home inside the cockpit of a melee mech? They have been forced to stay in the reserves or join one of the other mech legions in order to perform their jobs."

This was a good observation. As a mech designer who was obsessed with fitting mech pilots to their perfect vessels, Gloriana could be quite observant when needed.<del>panda novel</del>

Ves took the lead again. "The Certain Lance Project will not be the last lancer mech model in our lineup. I think you will better be able to appreciate this Ylvainan mech once we have developed a different lancer mech in the future."

The Avatars of Myth needed a lancer mech model as well. An assault legion wouldn't be deserving of its name if it did not possess a solution that could smash through enemy lines!

It could wait, though. Lancer mechs weren't that useful against alien warships.

The Larkinson Army also didn't need to field too many lancer mechs either. Deploying a few hundred machines in the field was enough to shake up a battle, especially when their mech type excelled at achieving immediate results!

"Alright. Let's move on to the next completed mech." Ves announced.

"Wait! I still need to bestow a name to the lancer mech model!" Dulo called.

"Oh yeah. I almost forgot about that. Since you insist on it, you must have a suggestion in mind. What should the Certain Lance Project be called now that it is finished?"

"The lancer mech we've designed shares numerous similarities to the Transcendent Punisher. They are both guided by the ‘prophet' and they are both designed for religious soldiers." Dulo Voiken explained. "Given these relations, I think it would be good if our lancer mech model will be known as the Transcendent Charger. While their mech types are different, they are still related to each other. Calling our new work this way will reinforce its identity as an Ylvainan mech."

"Hmmm…"

The name sounded fine on its own, but Ves feared that the similarities in the names might cause people to confuse between the two Ylvainan mech models.

"Transcendent Charger sounds awfully similar to Transcendent Punisher. Still, your reasoning is decent and the name itself inspires confidence. I approve."

"Thank you, sir!"

Ves didn't expect the Eye of Ylvaine to field a lot of Transcendent Chargers in the short term. There was no space and it took a lot of time and effort to train or retrain a large body of lancer mech pilots.

Even if a hundred Transcendent Chargers fell onto his lap, accommodating them and integrating them into the Larkinson Army took a huge amount of effort!

Hopefully, he and his clan would be able to find better ways to obtain additional combat carriers. Ves was getting sick and tired of the extremely slow expansion of the Larkinson fleet.

Aside from the cheap and fragile light carriers emerging from the Diligent Ovenbird every now and then, the Larkinson Army hardly had any room to grow!

They moved in front of a different offensive melee mech.

Unlike the newly-named Transcendent Charger, the Splitter Project aimed to breach enemy formations through a more gradual and sustainable approach.

The Splitter Project was the only mech model dedicated to the Avatars of Myth for this design round. The project centered around an axeman mech that didn't possess as much finesse as swordsman mech but made up for it with greater power.

"What a powerful mech." Juliet commented. "Imagine how much physical force this frame can exert. Its arms and torso are completely configured to deliver continuous heavy blows."

"The code name of this mech design is not symbolic. The Splitter Project should truly be capable of splitting enemy shields and other barriers." Tifi Coslone stated. "With this axeman mech, the Avatars of Myth will gain a powerful offensive addition that can definitely enhance their breakthrough power. No enemy mech line will remain unscatched if they are assaulted by enough units!"

Ves recalled the past yet again. During the Battle of Fordilla Zentra, the dwarven extremists that sought to attack the expeditionary fleet fielded a dwarven axeman mech model.

None of the dwarven products were weak, and he became quite impressed with the Shieldbreaker mechs that hailed from the Avido Berserkers.

Just like the Shieldbreaker model, the Splitter Project was meant to fight in the front and confront heavy-armored units with the intent of chopping through armor!

While swordsman mechs could perform the same role, they just weren't as good at it due to the inherent characteristic of their weapons.

Against solid shields and stationary mechs, axes were much more efficient at tearing through these obstacles! Even if axemen mechs weren't able to attack the enemy from a flanking angle, it didn't matter because an enemy line would not be able to remain unscathed for long!