The Mech Touch novel Chapter 490

One mech. Around twenty opponents. The Loquacious Raphael appeared to be on its last legs. The suicide attacks from the hovertanks rent apart its rifle arm while exposing various sections of its frontal armor to the elements.

No matter how well the armor system could hold out, it couldn’t do anything about the exposed areas.

Nonetheless, at the end of its lifespan, the Raphael’s entire frame glowed like a star about to explode. The mechs of the Flagrant Vandals all put up their guard as soon as Lord Javier yelled out those strange words.

"Twin Supernova Release? What does that mean?" Addy asked back in the rebel base.

Ves interpreted the sensor readings in rapid tempo. He quickly deduced that the Raphael’s core heated up from two distinct spots. Once he realized what that represented, his eyes widened in shock.

"The Loquacious Raphael possesses two smaller power reactors instead of a single larger one!"

"What’s the significance of that?!"

"It means it can run through a lot more power in an instant, though the heat build-up will be ruinous! At these power levels, the Raphael can’t last more than three minutes!"

The artificial limiters that shackled the power reactors broke upon the command. With this irreversible, Lord Javier decisively chose to burn out the entire potential lifespan of his precious mech in a matter of minutes.

"My steed, lend me your strength! Let our final battle together be as magnificent as the death of stars!"

The mech glowed hot from more than heat. Some sort of unknown red-orange energy field coated the surface of the mech, including its damaged portions. It gave out the illusion that the mech was burning.

"Don’t listen to his melodramatic nonsense!" Captain Orfan tried to sober up her mech pilots. "Ranged mechs, open fire! Melee mechs, prepare to intercept the Raphael!"

A storm of lasers and projectiles slammed into the Raphael, but just as they reached the energy field, it exploded. This prematurely set off the explosive shells and hindered the kinetic projectiles and laser beams from hitting the Raphael itself.

"What is this, some kind of energy screen?!"

"I don’t believe it can sustain itself forever! Keep firing!"

No matter how much firepower the Vandal mechs threw at the overloading mech, none of their efforts bore fruit. The energy field acted like a reactive defense to the custom mech, halting any incoming attacks through sheer violence.

"Mr. Larkinson! Figure out that energy field!" Addy yelled at him.

"It can’t be cracked by weak attacks, no matter how many it endures! It can only be penetrated by one strong attack!"

"Is there any other weakness?"

"As I said, the Loquacious Raphael can’t possibly sustain this energy field forever. Why not wait it out?"

Unfortunately, Lord Javier didn’t intend to waste this moment. His overloaded mech surged forward with its powerful legs, which stirred up soil and debris as it raced towards the nearest Vandal mechs.

"Block him!"

A handful of melee mechs moved to intercept the approaching Raphael, yet the elite mech arrived within range before they could finish their adjustments.

"Weaklings! Get out of my way!"

The Raphael avoided the twin daggers of a skirmisher mech and spun forward, allowing it’s glowing sword to slam against the side of the light mech with the flat of the blade.

BANG!

By striking with the flat of its sword, the Raphael maximized the contact surface of the energy field surrounding the weapon. Upon contact with the sides of the skirmisher mech, the surface of the energy field exploded with extreme violence! A quarter of the light mech’s mass practically disintegrated from the blast!

The Raphael’s decision to attack the light mech left the swordsman mech next to it free to attack the berserking mech. With a powerful two-handed chop, the swordsman mech attempted to bisect its target starting with the head.

However, just as the sword made contact with the top of the energy field, it exploded with a smaller but energetic blast that pushed the sword off-course. This unanticipated reaction caused the swordsman mech to become unbalanced.

"My mech is invincible! No attack shall ever sully it, especially from unworthy scum like you!"

Lord Javier’s reaction time sped up along with the comprehensive enhancement of the Raphael. His mech utilized the blast that destroyed the light mech to swing its weapon towards the vulnerable swordsman mech.

Though the Vandal pilot only needed half a second to recover from his mistake, Javier wouldn’t let his opponent off! The sword swung with the edge first, and upon contact with the arm, the subsequent explosion sprung forth in a narrow line that almost sliced the swordsman mech’s torso in half!

"Butchers of Detemen IV! Justice is at hand! None shall escape our wrath!"

"Hold him off! Don’t let him approach our ranged mechs!"

It was too late! The Vandals came with greater numbers, but they spread themselves out in an attempt to surround the Raphael in case it ran away. They never anticipated that Javier would storm their formation. Now, their melee mechs needed to close the distance in order to cover for their ranged mechs, but no matter how fast they ran, they couldn’t overtake the Raphael in overdrive!

A trio of explosions rang out in the clearing as the Raphael swung its sword in three quick slashes. Just a light graze was enough for the energy field that enveloped its sword to explode, crumbling the fragile rifleman mechs that attempted to flee.

None of the mechs survived, and two of their pilots even perished when the explosion breached the containment of their cockpits!

The Raphael proceeded to turn around and chase after the other ranged mechs. Though the latter enjoyed a head start, the Vandal mechs had ultimately been optimized to run a marathon. Against a sprinter doped with destructive stimulants, the Raphael easily overtook the scrambling mechs and downed them one by one with explosive stabs directed against their flimsy rear armor.

Captain Orfan shouted various commands to her surviving subordinates. She attempted to surround the Raphael to force it into a defensive posture, but the burning mech moved too quickly to let itself be cornered.