The Mech Touch (Web Novel)

The second phase of the design duel wasn't accompanied by song and dance this time. The atmosphere in Prosperous Hill VI was too tense for any festivities to have any effect.

The Lifers simply wanted the matches to start as soon as possible in order to know once and for all whether biomechs were strong enough to compete against classical mechs!

In fact, an increasing number of Lifers already admitted in their hearts that biomechs weren't superior anymore. At best, they stood on equal grounds against regular mechs.

What they didn't want to see was biomechs getting beat up left and right! Such an outcome would induce major doubt in the minds of both Lifers and foreigners who were tuning in to the broadcast.

"Will Dr. Navarro's biomechs prevail? Or will Mr. Larkinson prove that the most ordinary mechs are actually stronger?"

The original point of the design duel had almost been drowned by all of these questions! Hardly anyone recalled that its original purpose was to prove which mechs were more worthy to be called alive.

This was why the judgement of the mech pilots was crucial to this design duel. Only those who piloted the mechs in battle were the most qualified to determine which form of living mech was better!

After a brief introduction, the announcers quickly moved on to the first match.

[Captain Alazar Ipsich and Kelly Gidon will be squaring off against each other yet again! This time, they are sitting in the seats their opponents previously occupied. Having gained much experience in piloting the mech that they must overcome this time, these mech pilots will surely put their knowledge to good use!]

Two mechs stepped into the dueling ring. Jeers immediately rang out from the audience.

"Hahaha! Look at that shabby mech! Trash can indeed! The mech doesn't even boast any proper armor coverage anymore! Even my twelve-year old son can repair a mech by slapping some random plates across some holes!"

"There is no contest in this match! Just look at the difference. This metal mech is covered with scars while our fine biomech looks completely healed!"

Ves glowered a bit. These laymen didn't possess an inkling of understanding of the complex engineering challenges he faced with repairing his sword-wielding Bright Warrior. What gave them the qualifications to criticize his repair job!?"

Besides, the Epsilon Mosar that his mech defeated in the first match was not as strong as they thought.

While the mech looked as if it had healed from all of its injuries in the last three days, Ves wasn't fooled.

One of its limbs was abnormally weak. Its frontal flesh was too new and weak. Its entire flight system looked shaky. The mech suffered from a lack of balance due to the unevenness of the mech.

In short, it was impossible for the Epsilon Mosar to exhibit the same degree of battle effectiveness as before!

This was mostly the fault of Captain Ipsich. Back when he piloted the sword-wielding Bright Warrior, he did his best to thrash the Epsilon Mosar and thereby achieve the first victory in the design duel.

Now, he was forced to pilot the consequences of his own actions. The Epsilon Mosar may look fine on the surface, but piloting it was a vastly different experience than before.

As the sensors of his injured biomech trained on the Bright Warrior, feelings of envy and desire bubbled up inside him. He would much rather pilot the mech he managed to achieve victory with again.

The experience of piloting it and interacting with it had kept haunting his dreams every night. He often wondered what it would be like to pilot the Bright Warrior on a regular basis instead of just a single time.

"I'm sorry." He softly spoke.

He knew he was doing a disservice to the Epsilon Mosar. Objectively speaking, it was quite a well-designed biomech. If Captain Ipsich overlooked its injuries, then it was a fine swordsman mech that was highly maneuverable in the air.

It was a great mech to utilize in serial raids, especially considering that it was able to heal its minor wounds between engagements.

Yet Captain Ipsich still yearned to pilot the Bright Warrior instead. He didn't mind its boring design at all. The mech was much more exciting when he interfaced it. He truly felt the difference of what truly constituted a living mech now that he was forced to pilot the Epsilon Mosar.

Despite its organic nature, Captain Ipsich did not sense any dynamic responses from his current mech. The mech was as robotic and formulaic as any mech he piloted. The Epsilon Mosar was strictly programmed not to show any initiative.

It was too controlled.

Ipswich missed the relationship he developed with the mech that currently stood on the other side of the dueling ring. Even though he had to put some effort into growing this relationship, it was completely worth it in his eyes.

Now, he had been denied this chance. Piloting a biomech that was no different from a bacterium in terms of responsiveness was such a big letdown to Captain Ipsich that he suddenly lost all of his eagerness to fight this match!

"What's the point?" He whispered to himself.

He thought he was better than this. He was a consummate professional and a mercenary who always abided by his contract. He had been hired to do a job, and that was to pilot both mechs to the best of his ability and issue a fair judgement about which one he liked the most at the end.

Yet Captain Ipsich felt as if they could skip all of the remaining steps right away!

He kept trying to search for something greater in the Epsilon Mosar. Yet the qualities that caused him to fall in love with the Bright Warrior was completely absent in his current steed!

This was reason enough alone for him to throw his support behind the foreign mech designer.

"I can't do this, though." He slightly shook his head. "I still need to complete the job no matter how much I wish to turn away."

It wasn't just his professionalism asserting himself. While he had been prohibited from following the news, the Epsilon Mosar still registered the loud chants from the viewing platforms high up in the air.

Too many eyes were pointed in his direction right now. How could he possibly continue to hold his head high if he breached his contract and issued his surrender straight away? How would he ever be able to call himself a Lifer if he purposely sabotaged the chances of Dr. Navarro?

"I need to put up a good fight."

Captain Ipsich tried to focus on the upcoming fight. He roughly knew what the Epsilon Mosar was capable of already. Its changes were a bit interesting as well.

[Commence the match!]

The sixth match started off with a bang!

Both mechs jumped into the air and quickly gained altitude!

Even though it was much simpler to fight in the air, both mechs were much more adept in the air. In fact, Captain Ipsich already knew that the Bright Warrior was even better in space!

"I really want to know what it's like to pilot it in orbit." He sighed as he quickly withdrew the new main armament of his biomech.

In the last match, the Epsilon Mosar wielded a pair of biometal swords. They were quite fast and were also quite useful in blocking enemy attacks by crossing them. Yet now that one of the biomech's limbs hadn't been restored yet, wielding a second weapon was not advisable.

The biomech now wielded a long dagger.

As soon as the Epsilon Mosar flew towards its opponent, it exhibited less speed than in the previous match. Its flight system incurred heavy damage when the mech collapsed onto its back three days ago, so Captain Ipsich had to be careful not to exert too much strain on its wings.

The Bright Warrior was obviously in better condition. Its acceleration profile already showed that it held an edge in mobility. There was no way the Epsilon Mosar could outrun its opponent!

"At least this will be quick!" Ipswich roared!

Just before the two mechs closed in on each other, the Epsilon Mosar's legs suddenly split up into several different tentacles!

The flesh and bone that used to comprise its lower limbs had rapidly split off from each other in order to form strange fleshy whips that immediately stretched out in an attempt to entangle the Bright Warrior!

"What?!" Ves uttered in shock.

He never imagined that Dr. Navarro was capable of changing the legs of his biomech into ominous-looking tendrils!

Now, those long and rippling limbs held onto the limbs and torso of the Bright Warrior and did not show any intention of releasing!

Right now, it looked as if the two mechs were mounting each other in mid air! The sight looked comical, but it invigorated a lot of Lifers!

"Whooohooo! You go mech!" Vincent enthusiastically yelled!

At point-blank range, a dagger was much more useful than a sword!

While the Bright Warrior struggled to pull itself away from the tentacles and slash its sword against the mech that had mounted its lower torso, the Epsilon Mosar rapidly started to stab its dagger into the obvious weak points of the opposing mech.

The filler material used to hastily plug the gaps across the frame of the Bright Warrior served as excellent targets!

With precise strikes, Captain Ipsich managed to chip through one of them. However, just before he stuck the weapon through the exposed gap, the Bright Warrior finally launched an effective counterattack.

Its miniature shoulder-mounted missile launchers fired all of their payloads all at once!

Kelly Gidon deliberately disabled the proximity safeguards of the miniature missiles that surged from the entangled mech. They flew around the target right in front, circled around and struck the Epsilon Mosar straight into its rear!

Several explosions rumbled against the biomech's rear! Not just its rear armor, but also its fragile flight system incurred moderate damage straight away!

The crowd became shocked!

"What a despicable move!"

"Attack it from the front if you dare!"

"Missiles are cheating!"

The Epsilon Mosar sputtered from the rear impacts! While flight systems for mechs were designed to resist damage, there was only so much they could take, especially when they were still not restored to their peak!

The mech suddenly had to exert more effort into keeping it aloft. Its maneuverability had suffered and the distraction also caused Captain Ipsich to ease up on his assault.

This was all Kelly Gidon needed to turn the tide. The Bright Warrior dropped its sword, allowing it to fall and clank into the ground below.

Instead, it utilized the strength of its own limbs along with activating nearly every booster at full power to tear at the tentacles!

The Bright Warrior even managed to unsheathe its backup knife which it subsequently used to cut at the tentacles!

Due to the Epsilon Mosar's deteriorating maneuverability, the Bright Warrior gained enough distance to pull up its leg and place their soles against the abdomen of the Epsilon Mosar.

The classical mech suddenly pushed its legs, forcing the tendrils to endure much more force!

"They can't hold!"

The tentacle legs were either cut or failed to maintain their grip on the Bright Warrior's frame. Eventually, the Epsilon Mosar lost its prey!

"Nooo!"

The biomech looked in awful shape now that it lost its prey. Its tentacles were covered with a copious amount of purple blood. Some of them didn't even show any responses anymore.

With just a single dagger, the Epsilon Mosar looked like an alien monstrosity that was already on the verge of defeat!

The Bright Warrior pulled out a pistol and began to fire at the Epsilon Mosar. At the same time, it dove in an attempt to retrieve its dropped sword.

"Oh no you don't!"

The Epsilon Mosar attempted to intercept the Bright Warrior. If the latter was allowed to regain its main weapon, then Captain Ipsich would have a much harder time.

He still needed to put up a good fight. It wouldn't do to lose so quickly, even if he felt in his heart that his defeat was already assured!