The Mech Touch novel Chapter 564

The monster horde threatened the Hafner mechs as well as the Vandals. Ves did not believe that the Hafners had implemented too many controls in the genetically modified monsters. Ordering them to group up and sweep through every mech on the Kamwin continent was a double-edged sword. Short from ordering them to disperse their horde, the Hafner mech pilots might not make it through the monster wave alive unless they possessed another failsafe.

The Vandals couldn’t let their opponents pull out another trick. They needed to end this battle quickly or at least take care of their primary objective.

After the Hafner mechs punched through one of the Vandal wings, they attempted to widen the distance.

The other Vandals attempted to catch up to them, but they were being hindered by their own comrades! The Vandals who witnessed Venerable Foster’s prowess in battle completely lost their will to fight, and became nothing more than obstacles to their fellow teammates! The wrecks that littered the ground also served as an impediment to the pursuers.

The Vandals needed time to reorganize their ranks. They had no choice but to let the Hafner mechs go.

However, before the Hafner mechs successfully disengaged, a furious barrage of cannon fire impacted their formation! Dozens of heavy projectiles and powerful laser beams pelted them from the side!

Over twenty Akkara heavy mechs had been transferred to the surface! Ordinarily, they served as makeshift turrets for the Vandal combat carriers. Major Verle had made a judgement call and opted to field the Akkara mechs on the ground at the cost of weakening the defenses of the fleet.

As long as Hafner didn’t attack the Vandal ships in orbit, the risk was worth it!

The Flagrant Vandals didn’t particularly excel at ranged combat. The only mech model that performed well at range was their Akkara heavy cannoneers. These slow and heavy quadruped mechs provided a stable platform for the numerous cannon barrels mounted on its frame. An entire company of Vandal melee mechs guarded the valuable Akkaras.

Gathering over twenty heavy mechs and ordering them to fire in a single direction was a lethal move. The Hafner mechs hastily ran for the nearest cover, but not without losing over twenty mechs!

Along with the losses sustained in the earlier clash, the Hafner mechs only numbered around fifty mechs!

"This is the best way to beat an expert pilot." Ves concluded. "Captain Foster is deadly up close, but even she has to lower her head when it comes to massed firepower."

The heavy caliber of the cannons mounted on the Akkaras meant that her thoroughly average Mackey Craic mech couldn’t shrug off the shells and laser beams without concern. Already the swordsman mech had gained several ugly cracks and scorch marks upon its armor!

The Akkara mechs continued to unleash death even after the Hafner mechs dove for cover. The heavy shells and laser beams worked away at the tree trunks. While the massive trees were capable of withstanding regular mech fire, the massed firepower of over twenty Akkara mechs was in an entirely different class!

The Hafner mechs lost too many comrades. Their plan was already a longshot, but to come across an unexpected setback depressed the surviving Hafner mech pilots.

However, they never thought about surrender. A warrior of Hafner never relented against pirates!

"The monster horde we’ve instigated should be close!" An instructor said. "We only need to endure for ten more minutes until the monster horde arrives!"

Both sides gritted their teeth as they fought with their utmost. By now, the main thrust of the Vandals finished sorting out their battle lines. They pressed on towards the suppressed Hafner mechs. Even after they sustained some losses, they still outnumbered the Hafner mechs by at least three-to-one.

The power of the Akkara mechs was in full display right now! Though Ves often complained in his mind about their cost and troublesome maintenance issues, he couldn’t help but celebrate their inspiring performance!

"If Venerable Foster piloted a true expert swordsman mech, then she would have been able to dash up close and slice and dice these clumsy heavy mechs." Iris said besides Ves. "It’s tragic that she never got the opportunity to show off her expert abilities in a better machine."

Ves huffed in response. "If she hadn’t broken through in a completely spontaneous moment, then we wouldn’t have to drag this battle out."

"Sir, the monster horde is five minutes away!"

Major Verle already looked pensive at the worsening situation. Though the Akkara mechs did a good job keeping the Hafner mechs from pulling something off, they weren’t able to finish them off.

"Divert the Akkara group and half of our main group to deal with the monster horde."

In any case, the Hafner mechs only numbered a bit more than forty mechs by now. The Vandals didn’t need to allocate all of their landbound forces into finishing them off.

The battle lines shifted. Half of the Vandal mechs eagerly split off in order to confront the incoming monster horde without distraction. The Akkara mechs along with their escorts also moved away from the Hafner mechs.

By now, the monsters numbered over five-hundred mech-sized beasts. That was sufficient to trample Training Camp Quistas even if they hadn’t suffered from a massive bombardment.

Diverting around a hundred-and-fifty mechs was overkill to Ves, but Major Verle and the mech captains on the ground wanted to finish off the monsters quickly before they attracted more beasts. With the collective firepower of the Akkara mechs, the Vandals wouldn’t have any problems with massacring the monsters.

This left just a bit over a hundred Vandal mechs to confront the remnants of Hafner. Though forty mechs still remained standing, none of their mechs had made it out unscathed. Seeing that the Vandals diverted much of their mechs elsewhere, Venerable Foster saw an opportunity to disengage.

"Retreat!"

Without the Akkara mechs suppressing their freedom of movement, the Hafner mechs emerged from behind the trees and retreated at an orderly speed.

The Vandals that remained followed in pursuit. Their ranged mechs fired their weapons as they ran, hoping to chip away at the fleeing Hafner mechs.