The Mech Touch

An enormous number of people living in the Magair Middle Zone, Krakatoa Middle Zone and many other zones had tuned into the few broadcasts that were able to track the amazing duel without degenerating into continuous red and silver explosions.

The Mars held clear responsibility for blinding and damaging many sensors as its ARCEUS System constantly pumped out resonance-empowered beams like no tomorrow!

The integrated energy weapons embedded into its frame had been firing at their maximum possible rate of fire.

Other energy weapon systems would have melted, exploded or malfunctioned if they operated as intensely as the ARCEUS System, but the high-quality parts developed by Immace Energy Armaments remained true to their specs and continued to hold on even after enduring all of this abuse!

Another element of the Mars that experienced a huge amount of strain was its Abasis Armor.

The unique, cutting-edge experimental transphasic armor system was one of the top-end products of Truvek Defenses, another renowned tech development company backed by powerful forces.

The Mars did not just represent the face of the Cross Clan. Every contributor that had cooperated with the Crossers by contributing their expertise and their tech to the design felt a strong sense of ownership to the high-tier expert mech that quickly morphed into an ace mech.

It was not wrong to state that the Mars was a product of Davute!

Victory and defeat not only had profound implications for the parties directly involved in the Battle of Pima Prime, but would also generate a lot of ripple effects to other groups.

The power blocs that founded and ruled over Davute were especially concerned about the outcome of the duel.

As far as these people were concerned, they had no stake in the battle as a whole. The defeat and subsequent destruction of the Golden Skull Alliance had little bearing on the overall situation of a major economic engine like the Davute System.

The people in the region would just lament the loss or suspended development of several popular living mech models such as the Pacifier, the Ferocious Piranha, the Hymenoptera and so on. Their market penetration was a bit big and their owners would definitely be pissed if the LMC could no longer offer any continuation to its product lines.

In any case, it would be better if the Mars was able to win this stellar duel. A victory would not only grant more fame and renown to Davute, but also provide solid proof that its local development companies were strong and capable of competing against its regional rivals!

Of course, Patriarch Reginald Cross did not allocate a single thought towards the demands and aspirations of other people.

He could not afford to get distracted by anything as he constantly struggled to keep up with the fast and powerful moves of his opponent!

That wasn't all. Aside from having to fight against the Neo Amadeus on a physical level, he also had to firm up his mind and will and make sure his Saint Kingdom didn't buckle against the one projected by his opponent!

Shaped by many decades of focused and disciplined swordsmanship training, Saint Jeremiah had condensed and sharpened his force of will into the most solid bladed weapon that he could forge under his circumstances.

When he broke through to ace pilot, his domain field largely inherited these characteristics!

The result of this was that Saint Jeremiah's Saint Kingdom became smaller but significantly more condensed.

It was like a ball of alloy that resisted a lot of pressure and could easily cause losses to weaker and less solid domain fields.

Unfortunately, Patriarch Reginald's Saint Kingdom happened to match this description!

Combat was never fair. Reginald was confident that his resonance strength and domain field would have been stronger and more developed if he broke through at the same time as Saint Jeremiah Gauge.

​ It was a pity that Reginald achieved his dream too late!

This led to the current circumstance where all of the attacks launched by his ace mech automatically weakened as soon as they got close to the Neo Amadeus!

By now, it had become abundantly clear that while the ace swordsman mech did indeed possess a few powerful and ingenious design solutions, its quality and specifications were not comparable to that of the Mars!

Yet because of Saint Jeremiah's powerful will, every positron beam launched by the ARCEUS and every round blasted by the transphasic shotgun underwent so much distortion that they became too weak to overcome the armor covering the Neo Amadeus.

Fortunately, Saint Jeremiah experienced even greater difficulties in his attempt to punch through the armor of the Mars!

Though Reginald's Saint Kingdom simply wasn't as developed, it was still capable of making certain that the ace pilot retained ownership of the immediate space around the Mars.

Every incoming sword and dagger strike that the Mars had no hope of blocking automatically lost a bit of power as Reginald tried his best to bleed off their damage potential.

By the time the Neo Amadeus was able to strike the Mars with all twelve weapons, the activated Abasis Armor completely resisted the remainder of the impacts without exceeding its limits!

The two ace mechs violently struck each other with an overwhelming volume of attacks until both ace pilots recognized that neither of them would be able to make significant progress if they maintained the current status quo.

Patriarch Reginald did not object too much to it, though. His Mars possessed a lot of staying power. He was confident he could slowly wear down the Neo Amadeus over time.

Saint Jeremiah Gauge recognized this as well. It would be stupid for him to stick to a strategy that only led to his ace mech's eventual exhaustion and defeat!

The two ace mechs broke away from each other. The powerful machines and their pilots had just experienced a lot of strain which worsened their conditions. They eagerly took advantage of the temporary lull to catch their breaths and ease the heavy load they put on themselves.

"That Mars of yours is truly a marvel of engineering." Jeremiah sincerely praised. "Your mech designers are truly something else and the parts your clan has managed to acquire for it are stronger than I expected."

"Thanks. Your Neo Amadeus isn't that bad either. Your swords are the most powerful mech weapons that I have ever had the privilege to fight against. I will put them in a place of honor on my flagship to commemorate my first victory as an ace pilot."

Jeremiah laughed. "Hahaha! You will never get the chance to claim my swords because I will be driving them through your fancy mech. Your Mars may be great, but battles between ace pilots like ourselves are never determined by whose pockets are deeper. If the pilot is weak, his mech is also weak! This truth is more valid than ever the higher up you go! If you think that you have seen everything that I could do, then think again! I have not even begun to display the power that I have gained after forging myself into a weapon for an entire century!"

The Neo Amadeus glowed bright and the Saint Kingdom around it became sharper and more filled with silver light!

It was as if Saint Jeremiah had turned himself into an incarnation of justice and swords!

The expression of his will and the power of his conviction materialized in a way that induced greater pressure on Patriarch Reginald!

Of course, Saint Jeremiah was burning through his willpower and mental capacity at a greater rate by creating such a dramatic lightshow.

Since his Neo Amadeus couldn't defeat the Mars by playing the long game, Jeremiah decisively changed tack and chose to employ his strongest techniques in order to overcome the hardy defenses of the Mars through overwhelming force!

The Neo Amadeus stretched out all twelve of its arms, which combined with its glowing form caused the ace mech to resemble a multi-armed divinity that was about to exact holy judgment on the wicked!

Its physical arms that held its precious swords along with the energy arms that held the less important but still deadly daggers began to shake and vibrate as they accumulated more power.

The different weapons themselves also grew hotter and more energetic as Saint Jeremiah resonated with them to the strongest degree!

Patriarch Reginald did not remain idle during this time. The Saint Kingdom around the Neo Amadeus had grown so strong that ordinary attacks from his ace mechs didn't cut it anymore.

The Mars began to accumulate energy as Reginald chose to employ a big move as well. He did not believe that he was too weak to overcome his opponent's powerful Saint Kingdom!

"Reginald." Ves' voice suddenly spoke up in the communication channel. "Please respond. I've been trying to catch your attention for a while now. I have important information that you need to know."

Reginald briefly frowned. He vaguely recalled hearing additional voices in his ears, but he had completely disregarded them as he became too invested in the fight.

"What is it, kid?"

"Finally!" Ves let out a breath in exasperation. "I'll keep this short. You are not making the best use of the Mars."

"I am the pilot here. I know what I am doing." Reginald angrily rebuked. "I have trained for years with the Mars. It is an insult to suggest that I know nothing about how to utilize its power!"

"I'm not saying that, Reginald! I am sure you have mastered the basics to an incredible degree and gained a deep and intimate understanding of all of its tech and parts. However, I have noticed that you have never made serious use of the design solutions that I have imparted to the Mars."

"What am I missing according to you? I do not feel I am misusing the Mars."

"You are piloting the Mars in the same way you used to pilot the Bolvos Rage. You have subordinated the Mars into a tool. This is a massive waste of potential! The Mars is a third order living mech that can do much to help you fight against your opponent, but you have given it no room for independent thought and operation!"

Reginald remained unmoved by Ves' argument. "I will not tolerate any uncontrolled factors in my mech. I am in charge and my will is paramount. Whatever living component the Mars possesses is too worthless to help me in this fight. I am strong enough to defeat Jeremiah Gauge on my own, and I intend to vanquish him without relying on anyone else's help. Resorting to outside help is an admission of defeat!"

"YOU IDIOT!" Ves lost his patience! "I envisioned the Mars as your partner, not your slave! Its living properties are intrinsic to its design. Not only that, you're also ignoring the design spirits that I have paired with the Mars. The Cross Warlord that sits at the center of your clan's spiritual network is ready to back you up. The Phase King can allow you to make significantly better use of the transphasic functions of your ace mech. I can guarantee you that you will be able to win your first ace mech duel by teaming up with your living mech as well as the design spirits that I have mentioned. The Mars is a living mech that is designed with synergy in mind!"

He may be right, but Reginald was not in a mind to embrace these words.

"I have my own pride, Ves." The Cross Patriarch spoke in an increasingly firmer tone. "I am not like your Larkinsons. I have my own pride. As a warrior, I must test myself and overcome my challenges by relying on my power. I am grateful for everything you have done to make the Mars more exceptional, but when I am in its cockpit, I am in charge. The only way I can honor my father and all of my deceased clansmen is to fight and win this duel in the way that I have been taught by those very same people! THIS IS MY VOW!"

"..."