The Mech Touch

The new techniques and displays of power from the Riot and the First Sword did not go unnoticed to many people.

Ves became particularly impressed by how much his two expert mechs were able to turn the tide and regain the initiative in their fight against the Shockshell!

This was a remarkable turn of events considering that neither the Fridayman expert pilot nor her high-tier expert hybrid mech had grown any weaker.

Certainly, the continuous launching of different attacks were starting to strain Venerable Rebecca’s willpower and the Shockshell’s ammunition and energy reserves, but both of them were powerful enough to keep up the high-intensity assault for plenty more minutes.

What truly allowed Venerable Orfan and Venerable Dise to turn the tables against their powerful opponent was that they had changed their combat approach by fully involving Qilanxo in the fight!

It was an amazing sight that enchanted more and more mech pilots around the site.

The fight between the three expert mechs turned from a one-sided beatdown to a clash between a monster and a natural phenomenon!

The Shellshock did not look any weaker due to generating a faint but intimidating electrical storm manifestation around its frame.

However, both the Riot and the First Sword seemed to have found a protector to resist against this powerful force of nature by calling upon the help of a powerful design spirit!

“How are these expert pilots doing all of this?!”

“What is that lizard?”

“This expert mech bout is starting to resemble a fight between gods.”

When Ves observed the shifting fight between his expert mechs and the Shockshell, he felt more and more satisfied with how his work held up under challenging circumstances.

He also felt relieved that the Larkinson Clan or its allies didn’t have to draw too many resources from elsewhere in order to bail out Venerable Orfan and Venerable Dise.

There were still other powerful and troublesome opponents such as the Star of Liberation and the Skorpion Kommando that could inflict an enormous amount of damage if left unopposed.

Though Ves continued to keep an eye on the fights centered around the other two enemy high-tier expert mechs, most of his focus rested upon the Riot and the First Sword at this time.

“They have finally figured out the correct use of their machines.” Ves smiled in satisfaction.

He still recalled a discussion he held with some of his expert pilots in the past.

During the period when the Larkinson Clan was in the process of upgrading all of its older expert mechs to modern standards, Venerable Tusa, Venerable Orfan and other expert pilots had specifically pointed out the lack of changes to their weapons.

“Why are you so stingy, Ves?” Venerable Orfan complained. “We still have plenty of phasewater in storage. Why don’t you draw out a kilogram of it and use it to make my spear transphasic? Phasewater technology is all the rage these days, but why haven’t I heard any story about equipping our expert mechs with transphasic weapons? It’s not enough for my Riot to receive an outer layer of transphasic armor!”

“The newer expert mechs such as the C-Man and the Blade Chaser Mark II can both launch transphasic attacks. Their ability to punch through resonance shields and armor are much better than ours.” Venerable Tusa said.

Ves merely crossed his arms in response to this inquiry. “I admit that transphasic weapon systems are strong and open up new attack options that weren’t accessible to us before. If we didn’t have access to powerful weapons such as our Unending alloy weapons and our luminar crystal rifles, I would have been tempted to equip you all with transphasic weapons.”

“Why did you decide against this, then?”

“Do you think that Unending alloy is a weak material?”

“It is strong. Hardly anything can punch through it as long as it is thick and solid enough.” Venerable Jannzi replied.

“Do you think that luminar crystal weapons are weak?” Ves asked another question.

“They’re all strong. They just don’t have the ability to bypass defenses as easily as transphasic weapons.”

“You guys aren’t getting it.” Ves shook his head in disappointment. “Let me remind you that I took part in the design of all of your machines. Maybe our other mech designers have done more work than me on certain design projects, but that does not change the fact that all of your machines are qualified living mechs. It is a core part of their identities and serve as one of their strongest advantages.”

“Sir…”

“Let me finish, Joshua. I will put it in simple terms so that you can quickly understand my point. Transphasic weapons and transphasic armor systems are both products that grant your mech a powerful and defined boost. We can measure the improved baseline performance of your expert mechs to a precise degree after implementing them in your machines. That is also the end of the story. If you want to leverage more power out of them, you can only rely on your own willpower to amplify their performance through generating true resonance.”

Venerable Orfan looked confused. “What’s wrong with that? Isn’t that how all expert mechs work?”

Ves snorted. “You are forgetting at least two points that distinguish living expert mechs from their regular counterparts. The first is that a living mech that is alive enough can help you resonate with it to a greater degree. The second is that their design spirits not only serve as the source of their glows, but can also fight alongside you, if indirectly.”

“You mean when we utilize our prime abilities, right?” Venerable Joshua looked like he understood what Ves was trying to convey.

This was not a big surprise considering that his Everchanger was the machine that best fit the definition of a living mech!

Ves smirked wider. “Don’t misunderstand my words. I am not putting down phasewater technology at all. I would have integrated them in our newer expert mechs if I thought it was an awful waste of money. However, if I had a choice, I would rather equip your mechs with Unending alloy armor plating and luminar crystal weapons. This is because both of them are the best carriers of my design philosophy, far superior to weapons that are simply different because they are transphasic.”

“So you’re saying that your newer expert mechs aren’t as good as your older ones because they don’t have Unending alloy?” Venerable Vincent frowned.

“Each expert mech is different and unique. There is no superior tech per se.” Ves responded in a diplomatic manner. “You have all seen the Mars, right? That is by far the most powerful expert mech in our alliance, and it doesn’t have any Unending alloy. The tech that I favor is merely an alternative that just happens to align better with my design philosophy.”

“So what does this all mean?” Venerable Orfan grew confused again.

“What I am saying is that if your expert mech is equipped with Unending alloy, you don’t need transphasic weapons or parts. You just need to find a way to make better use of the prime mech properties that Unending alloy imparts to your respective machines. Do you remember the battles we fought against the so-called ‘dark gods’?”

The expert pilots all nodded.

“It’s hard to forget the time where we fought against those weird energy creatures.” Venerable Tusa said. “I would rather fight against a mech than try to challenge a giant alien bird.”

“What if I tell you that as long as you use your living machines in the right way, you can all summon your own friendly ‘dark god’ on the battlefield?”

“What?!”

“Are you kidding?!”

“I am not joking around here. I am always serious when it comes to mechs.” Ves told them. “What I am saying is the truth. Perhaps you are all thinking that summoning the design spirits that you have grown familiar with is a fantasy that can only take place when you attain Unity of Man and Machine.”

Several expert pilots showed a lot more interest in Ves’ words than others.

Venerable Vincent was perhaps the most eager of them! He was one of the rare expert pilots who had tasted the power of Unity of Man and Machine during the Purgatory Campaign!

“You mean I can call on my buddy Bravo again so that I can punch whales and mechs with my giant fists?!”

Ves raised his palm. “Whoa there, not so fast, Vincent. Attaining Unity of Man and Machine is a rare and exceptional occurrence that we should not be banking on. What I am talking about instead is to use the advantages of your living mechs to call down a portion of a design spirit’s power on the battlefield.”

“Like a guardian angel?”

“That’s a decent analogy. Entities that you are familiar with such as Qilanxo, the Illustrious One, Arnold and of course the Golden Cat are all fairly powerful in their own way. The only problem is that they live in a different realm or dimensions or whatever, so it is hard for them to reach out to the material realm where we reside. All of the Unending alloy that we have applied to some of your machines exist to make it easier for you to draw upon their strength in battle. However, most of this is theoretical. There aren’t many cases where I have seen you guys employ this function to the fullest. You need to develop a closer relationship with the design spirits of your expert mechs and get them to agree to help you when you find yourself in a position where your own strength is not enough.”

“What difference will that make, Ves?” Venerable Isobel Kotin asked.

“Transphasic products are lifeless and unchanging.” Ves replied. “They can only give you a finite boost and no more. Living mechs and design spirits are more volatile, but that is what makes them great. Their upper boundaries are limitless. As long as you put enough effort in cooperating with them, you can achieve levels of synergy that I cannot even imagine. I wasn’t kidding when I said that you can summon your own ‘dark god’ by your side as long as your cooperation with a design spirit is good enough.”

His words conveyed his unflinching belief in the core tenets of his design philosophy.

“Ordinary technology has limits. Life is limitless.”

Not a lot of expert pilots took Ves’ words seriously at the time. Venerable Joshua already understood the potential of Ves’ work, but there were also expert pilots such as Venerable Dise who only believed in cultivating their own personal strength.

However, the current situation on the battlefield of Pima Prime left the previously skeptical expert pilot with little choice but to draw upon her bond with Qilanxo!

Of all of the expert pilots who would be able to resonate with the design spirits of their mechs to such a degree that they could consciously manifest them in battle, Ves would have expected this display from Venerable Jannzi, Venerable Joshua or maybe Venerable Vincent.

However, the extreme difficulty of fighting against Venerable Rebecca Andus and the Shockshell caused Venerable Orfan and Venerable Dise to take the first step in this novel new method of leveraging living mechs against enemies!

“This… is a game changer.” Ves immediately recognized.

Although the method that the two Larkinson expert pilots employed to manifest a fraction of Qilanxo great might was relatively weak and rudimentary, Ves could already foresee its awesome potential.

This was exactly what he wanted to see from his living mechs!

“Ordinary technology has limits. Life is limitless.”

What took place on the battlefield went beyond technology. Ves had merely put the building blocks in place, but he could do nothing further to enable this powerful display.

The strain on Venerable Orfan and Venerable Dise’s willpower was great. Similar to manifesting the power of design spirits through battle formations, the two Larkinson expert pilots performed a similar feat by relying on their own efforts!

Qilanxo obviously supported this effort. She did everything possible to cooperate in order to allow her to intervene more directly in the material realm.

Other design spirits paid attention to this fight as well. If the method that Venerable Orfan and Venerable Dise spontaneously developed could also be applied to other living mechs and mech pilots, then the Larkinson Clan may have developed a brand-new approach to mech combat!