<h4>Chapter 2659: High-tier Expert Mechs</h4>
At this stage of the battle, the apparent n of the enemy strike force became clear to Ves and the other leaders.
The enemy split up their fleet in two pincers which slightly arced apart from each other in order to pin the expeditionary fleet down from two sides.
From the orientation of the Golden Skull Alliance, the left side was dominated by the Friday Coalition''s elements of the enemy fleet. All of the elite mech units as well as their expert mechs soared forward in an obvious attempt to break through the lines of their opponents with unstoppable momentum!
The Praetor n and the nat n took responsibility for the right side. Neither the Larkinsons nor the Glory Seekers were too familiar with the unitposition of the Garlener ns, but Ves was not too intimidated by the mechs they fielded.
While they were unquestionably up to military standard, the traitor ns were evidently unable or unwilling to bring their crack troops.
"They''re seasoned regrs." Major Verle''s projection spoke in an appreciative tone. "The mech troops fielded by the Friday Coalition''s friends have a stable and reliable quality to them. Their rtively unexciting mechs reflect their stated purpose in battle, which is to form a solid wall and upy their opponents as much as possible. They aren''t shock troops who are needed to breach defenses, nor are they required to outmaneuver their opposition in order to achieve victory in one fell swoop. Look at their overall mechposition. It''srgely medium mechs with a modest proportion of heavy mechs sprinkled in. They only have enough light mechs to perform the necessary scouting and interception roles."
He had a good point. Ves had already noted the overall quality and characteristics of the mechs fielded by the Praetors and nats. It appeared that theirmitment to this operation was not all that great.
"Why have they agreed to fight us at all?" Ves frowned.
"Pardon, sir?"
"Think about it. From what I understand of the sordid history of the Becker Tribe, once the Cross n lost its ace pilot and had been driven out of Vicious Mountain, the conflict should already be over. The Becker Tribe has lost all of its conquered territories and even gave up its own star systems aspensation. The Praetors and nats managed to preserve the core of their territories while also cannibalizing the territories that used to be held by the Cross n. This is an irreversible oue. Killing the remnants of the Cross n doesn''t serve any strategic purpose."
Major Verle followed the train of thought and began to specte as well.
"Hmmm. I understand. The Praetor n and nat n may have seeded in preserving themselves, but the Becker Tribe is in poor shape. They need to focus much of their energies on preserving what they have. There isn''t much of a rationale to finish the job as the Cross n is unlikely to make aeback and is already on its way out of this gxy."
Ves pointed at the powerful Garlener expert mechs that were about to sh against each other. "Look at them. These arrogant expert pilots are too impulsive and prone to their emotions. I bet they''re the ringleaders behind the cooperation with the Friday Coalition. This is all a private action to them. The only soldiers they were able tomand are those who are personally loyal to them. This is how expert pilots work in Vicious Mountain. They have actual autonomy and decision-making power in their star sector."
"That sounds usible."
They could make good use of these guesses if they turned out to be urate. If Ves was right about the forces of the two ns, then their rank-and-file shouldn''t be too threatening. There was a difference between following orders and fighting for a cause. Perhaps the individual soldiers might harbor some irrational hatred against the Crossers, but now that the main problem had been resolved, it was not worth it to risk their lives to beat down an already fallen opponent.
Ves looked at the moving elements on the map with a hopeful expression. "We don''t have to invest too much resources in fighting against the standard mechs of the two ns. We can just rely on the Living Sentinels along with some other perfunctory units to hold back the right pincer with the help of ourbat carriers. If it turns out my guess is wrong, our Transcendent Punishers can help hold back the Garleners."
"That''s a solid n, but only if you''re right, and that is never certain." Major Verle cautioned. "Still, I''m inclined to believe in you. Only the Fridaymen should be fighting us with the fate of their precious state on the line. We''ll definitely need to allocate more forces to prevent them from reaching our ship. The Spirit of Bentheim will certainly be in their sights."
He proceeded to bring these matters up to Colonel Ariadne Wodin and the other leaders. They all recognized that this theory had merit. In particr, the senior officers of the Cross n also supported Ves'' assertion that the rank-and-file Praetors and nats were followers.
"It''s the expert mech pilots who are truly calling the shots." A Crosser officer briefly exined to them all. "We have identified Venerable Damira nat and Venerable Albert Praetor among our current opponents. Both of them are most certainly the masterminds behind this private action."
The power that both expert pilots exuded in their expert mechs was impressive. To be honest, the Garlener expert pilots on both sides were on a different levelpared to the rest.
This was the power of veteran expert pilots who matured in a vtile star sector!
This was the power of expert pilots who lived in an environment where their kind was revered!
It would have been quite frightening if the Larkinson n had to fend off the Erin Tear, the Trost and the Imperial Verdict on its own. Fortunately, the Cross n''s own powerful expert pilots kept these powerful machines in ce, if only to take revenge on the traitors.
While the situation still looked manageable, that was only the case if the three aforementioned enemies were eliminated or remained locked inbat.
If just one of the powerful enemy expert mechs achieved victory, then a chain reaction would quickly ensue that would spell the defeat of the Crosser expert mechs and subsequently trigger the copse of the rest of the expeditionary fleet!
"We have to keep a constant eye on these duels." Major Verle wearily sighed. "As long as one of them tilts against our favor, we need to reinforce Patriarch Reginald and hisrades no matter the cost."
The expert pilots from Vicious Mountain truly exhibited a lot of power from the very start!
The duel between Venerable Patriarch Reginald Cross and Venerable Damira nat was the most eye-catching sh of them all. This was the first time that Ves personally witnessed a confrontation between two high-tier expert pilots and expert mechs!
The resonance meters recorded resonance strengths in excess of 50veres between the two powerful expert mechs!
Venerable Reginald Cross held a slight edge as his true resonance levels fluctuated between 55 to 57veres.
Venerable Damira nat was a bit worse off as her true resonance only hovered between 50 to 53veres.
Despite this minor disparity, Venerable Damira actually held the upper hand in the duel. The Erin Tear she piloted was an exceptionally tricky weapon master mech that was a nightmare to fight at close range!
The Bolvos Rage piloted by Venerable Reginald Cross was a much more rounded mech. Aside from its external weapons, it also carried a variety of integrated weapon systems.
Ves witnessed the Bolvos Rageunching a volley of miniature missiles at the Erin Tear. Thetter mech shot out a small but concentrated volley ofsers from its head, detonating most of the iing missiles.
Two still went through and exploded a short distance away from the Erin Tear, causing the mech''s resonance shield to wobble.
The mech piloted by Patriarch Reginald did not let up on the assault. A pair of shoulder-mounted positron turrets swiveled out and glowed in red before firing a pair of piercing beams at the enemy resonance shield!
At the same time, the Bolvos Rage raised and oriented its wrists and fired a pair of projectiles that quickly fired a couple of sma bolts!
The Bolvos Rage then lifted its shotgun and fired a st as it flew closer! The silent but powerful st easily tore the Erin Tear''s already-weakened resonance shield to pieces!
Even though the nat expert mech lost its firstyer of defense, an energy shield appeared fast enough to block the second shotgun st! While the energy shield immediately destabilized, it had seeded in its job.
The Erin Tear burst forward and jabbed forward with her weapon configured in the form of a spear!
Patriarch Reginald predicted the attack. His Bolvos Rage had already moved out of the way while putting away the shotgun. Instead, it withdrew a small rod that quickly unfolded in a circle until it formed into a shield!
Ports opened up on the chest and thighs of the hybrid mech. They began to fire small but hard-hitting projectiles that precisely targeted the secondary weapon modules installed on the Erin Tear.
The nat expert mech did not let the attacks go unanswered. The thick spear in its hands split up in half and turned into a pair of axes. The weapon master mech held them tight and charged them up with true resonance, causing the weapons to be surrounded by increasingly brighter orange glows!
The Bolvos Rage ceased its attacks. Instead, it began to distance itself from the Erin Tear while bracing its circr shield directly in front.
Once the Erin Tear finished charging the pair axes, the mech threw them forward with mighty swings!
The soaring axes spun so fast that they looked like two powerful energy disks as they advanced with speeds far greater than what an ordinary thrown weapon should possess!
The thrown axes reached the Bolvos Rage in no time! One spinning axe impacted the mech''s red resonance shield in a mighty collision that would have been deafening if there was any air in ce!
The first axe that collided against the mech even had enough energy left over to pressure the energy shield that the Bolvos Rage had already erected!
The second axe didn''t even have to expend much effort to get past the energy shield. The already unstable barrier couldn''t even prevent the spinning weapon from getting right past and mming into the solid metal shield head-on with its de!
A second burst of orange exploded at the collision site!
Due to the Bolvos Rage''s preparations, the mech managed to make it out intact, but it''s foldable shield had been split in half! The hybrid mech threw the ruined defensive tool away and pulled out yet another rod that unfolded in an identical circr shield.
The mech pulled out another shield just in time to block the hammer mming forward!
The spent axes had automatically flown back to the hands of the Erin Tear before merging together to form a hammer.
While the Bolvos Rage managed to block the attack, the kic energy behind it threw the mech backwards in space.
The Erin Tear did not pause and spurted forward with the help of powerful boosters integrated into its frame. The hammer in its hands morphed into a spear with the sharp tip pointed downwards. The weapon master mech instantly jabbed it into a downwards motion, causing it to pierce through the Bolvos Rage''s left foot!
"DAMIRA!"
An omnidirectional red st exploded from the Bolvos Rage, knocking the Erin Tear back!
"Hahahaha!" Venerable Damira natughed as she stabilized her expert weapon master mech. "You''re as slow as ever. First blood goes to me, old friend."
"DO NOT CALL ME THAT!"
The center chest te of the Bolvos Rage parted aside. The weapon port behind it glowed ominously in red before it unleashed a power beam that pierced through the Erin Tear''s recovering resonance shield and burned against the shield that the weapon master mech had formed out of the weapons it held!
The duel between the high-tier expert mechs was far from over. The first round was just the beginning. Both exquisite machines carried so much equipment and modules that the fight would not end until one of them exhausted all of their means.
This was not going to conclude in a short amount of time!