No more doubt plagued the Vandals and Swordmaidens. Now that the Vesians arrived at their doorsteps, the unruly mech pilots all calmed down.
In a battle for survival, doubt led to defeat!!
With roughly four to five-hundred mechs deployed on each side, the frontline stretched for kilometers. The temporary headquarters only managed to keep in touch with all of their mechs through the use of relays.
The environment imposed many restrictions on the battle. The interference in the air this close to the red zone hindered communications and discouraged both sides from spreading their mechs thin. It would be too easy to become isolated and cut off from backup.
The heavy gravity also complicated the fighting. The Flagrant Swordmaidens previously tore apart the Caged Tongs by surrounding their mechs and taking out their gravitic backpacks first. Without their personal antigrav fields, the afflicted mechs became forced to fight against six times normal gravity.
This practically crippled a mech’s combat effectiveness!
Not only that, the high energy consumption of gravitic backpacks discouraged long, drawn-out engagements that typically happened when hundreds of mechs clashed against each other on land.
Most landbound engagements actually took place over multiple days. Battles in virtual games such as Iron Spirit didn’t serve as an accurate example of how they were ordinarily fought because their endurance and supply situation were subject to artificial restrictions in order to hurry them up.
The main reason why the Vesians moved ahead with a frontal clash was because they couldn’t sustain the enormous energy expenditure of lengthy medium-intensity battle. They would rather prefer to fight a quick high-intensity battle and end it quickly to prevent any accidents concerning their energy reserves!
"What a grand occasion." Ves remarked quietly as he saw the seismic sensors continuing to display a vague blob of heavy objects moving towards the prepared battle lines of the Vandals and Swordmaidens.
Neither side played any maneuvering games. The Flagrant Swordmaidens were forced to draw a line in the sand because of their duty to shield the camp and supply train. The Vesians deliberately attempted to cross that line because a straightforward confrontation suited their needs.
Thus, a rare occasion occurred where both sides willingly pushed for a set piece battle!
Such glorious battles regularly entered the annals of history. No matter if a side won or lost, as long as they fought at their best, the entire mech regiment received an immense amount of honor. Their performance would be turned into a glorious battle record and be added into the archives. and in turn enrich their martial tradition.
A mech regiment with a long list of battle records carried much more weight than a mech regiment with few notable battles to their name!
One of the hidden sources of inferiority to the Flagrant Vandals had always been their dearth of battle records. Small, inconsequential raids and trade interdiction didn’t deserve to be turned into a battle record.
Only major engagements such as the Detemen Operation turned into a point of glory.
Ever since the Vandals embarked on their historic journey into the Vesia Kingdom, they continued to fight arduous battles that sacrificed many of their brothers and sisters.
Yet their sacrifice was not in vain! Not only did they accomplish their mission or survive time and time again, the battles also contributed to the elevation of the Flagrant Vandals.
No one would dismiss the Flagrant Vandals as the scum of the Mech Corps after the war. Every Vandal veteran could easily bring up honors they earned with their own flesh and blood. Some mech regiments wished they fought as frequently against the Vesians as the Flagrant Vandals!
"Look at our battle records! Tell me if we haven’t fought as valiantly as the mech regiments in the frontline!"
Right now, many Vandal mech pilots fought not just for their own survival, but also to leave behind their legacy!
The Mech Corps always treated the descendents of fallen mech pilots generously. Those affected by the loss of a warrior received preferential treatment and subsidies. This was a way of motivating mech pilots to battle without fear and to sustain popular support for the war.
In fact, the Bright Republic only copied the Vesians in this manner. Vesian commoners generally didn’t receive good treatment in their society, but it was wholly different once someone in their family became a mech pilot.
Any commoner could become a knight if they distinguished themselves in battle! This was also why the Vandals expected the Vesians to fight just as hard if not harder.
The Vesians held the upper hand, after all.
"The main force is coming into range."
"Hold your fire. We won’t hit much at this range."
Due to the interference in the air, the effective range of laser weapons practically halved. There was no question about their power, but accuracy suffered a severe impact after a range of more than a couple of kilometers. Combined with the integrated ECM systems incorporated in any modern mech, perhaps only five to ten percent of laser beams landed on a mech.
Both sides expected the main battle to be decided in a melee clash. This suited the Swordmaidens just fine, as they always held utmost confidence in their mech swordsmanship.
For this reason, their main line consisted of Swordmaiden mechs. The Devil Razors and Silver Valencias were especially conspicuous. Mayra’s designs all took the forefront and inspired the rest of the Swordmaidens into an unprecedented amount of battle lust.
This was a battle for the ages for the Swordmaidens!
As for the Flagrant Vandals, they positioned their mechs at the flanks and at the rear. Their mech roster was a mixed bag and lacked cohesion. However, this also granted them a lot of flexibility, and for this battle they decided to plug up the gaps the Swordmaidens couldn’t fulfill.
Ves likened the deployment of the Flagrant Swordmaidens mechs as a strong fist surrounded by wings. It was the job of the fist to slam straight against the enemy, thereby providing enough opportunities for the wings to cut the enemy from the flanks.
Therefore, the Swordmaiden mechs played the most critical role. The longer they held out against the Vesians, the larger the chances of cutting the Vesians apart!
The success of their missions hinged upon eliminating their greatest rivals on the surface of Aeon Corona VII! freewebnoveℓ.com
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Mech Touch