The Mech Touch novel Chapter 264

As the center of landbound mechs in the Republic, Bentheim featured a lot of mech arenas. Ves himself had witnessed the famous Leviticus vanquishing over another opponent at a privately-run mech coliseum. That enormous venue only found enough space to operate by setting up at the outskirts of Dorum.

Their upcoming design duel took place at a massive stadium operated by Bentheim’s local government. Its central arena took up the same amount of space as the domed arena he visited at Moira’s Paradise.

Ves entered the chamber that held the first production model of the Blackbeak. The mech looked as pristine as ever, courtesy of the mech technicians scouring over its surface right now.

In the days since Melinda accepted to duel in his stead, a lot had changed.

The lack of major events at this time prompted many publications to blow up the rivalry between Ves and Dumont. They turned a minor scuffle between competitors into the battle of the century.

All of this raised the profile of their mechs. Interest in the Blackbeak surged, with many laymen clamoring to pilot its virtual version. Ves vetoed the release of the virtual model, as he didn’t wish to let his competitors study his design.

Although its specs had already been published, that was different from getting a solid feel for the mech. Any decent mech designer could easily spot a dozen weak points in any design if they spent at least an hour with any random design.

Dumont must have gotten a good glimpse already when he issued his challenge, so Ves had already fallen behind.

On the other hand, the Havalax had already started selling. While Dumont withheld the virtual version to the public, footage of the Havalax in action already started to appear on the galactic net.

This, along with other articles published over the last month provided Ves with a wealth of information on his competitor’s design.

While he tried to figure what made the Havalax tick, Melinda trained with the Blackbeak as if her life depended on it. She applied for leave at the Planetary Guard and moved full-time into his first production model. The only time she left the mech was when she had to sleep or wanted to practice her more advanced maneuvers in a simulation.

Currently, Melinda sat at a nearby table and held her head in her hands.

"Are you ready to go on stage?"

Melinda groaned at his question. "How full is the arena?"

"It’s completely packed. There’s more than half a million spectators out here. Win or lose, you’re bound to become a celebrity."

"Yippy." She replied flatly. "You know, my comm has been flooded with messages from our fellow cousins. They’re all envious as hell that I’m able to display my skills in front of so many people. I bet they’ll sing a different tune if they’re in my place."

"Melinda, it’s going to be fine. You’ve been spending a lot of hours inside the cockpit. Have you gotten a good feel for the Blackbeak."

This time, she released a brief smile. "I don’t know how you did it, but your creation is one of the smoothest mechs I’ve ever piloted! It’s like I’m donning a second skin, but larger. Best of all, it doesn’t have any of the pet peeves that ruin my day!"

Experiencing the full majesty of a gold label mech was a unique experience. Melinda practically broadened her perspective on how far a mech could go to deliver an immersive piloting experience. The strong X-Factor in the Blackbeak’s frame resonated within her bones each time she interfaced with the mech.

In addition, Ves applied everything he learned from acquiring his initial mastery into knights. Ves noted everything that Barley had grown frustrated about and made sure those elements didn’t show up in his own design. This smoothed out the piloting experience and enabled Melinda to focus more on beating her opponent and less on trying to make her machine move as she willed.

Ves glanced up at the clock. "The last duel between the Velvet Fists and the Grease Monkeys before the break should almost be ending. If you’re still having second thoughts, you can still back out now. Some of my underlings brought a couple of replacement pilots, you see."

"That won’t be necessary." She shook her head. "I’m used to the first production model, and it’s gotten used to me as well. You can’t replace me at this point, not if you want your Blackbeak to perform at its best."

He shrugged. "Very well, then. Don’t forget that you are risking your life out there on the field. If the duel is heading into an awful direction, don’t hesitate to concede. I don’t want you to risk your life just to drive more sales for my mechs. I can always figure something out if that happens, but there’s no way for me to revive you from the dead."

"I’m not Jackknife Jake, Ves. I know my limits. In the Planetary Guard, we learned how much we can push a mech."

Minutes went by until the faint commotion above faded out. The latest duel must have come to a conclusion. An arena guide appeared from a side entrance.

"Mr. Larkinson, time is up. Please come with me. Lieutenant Larkinson, please enter the cockpit. Your mech will be lifted onto the arena as soon as we rearrange its terrain."

"Roger that."

The arena personnel guided Ves up a lifter platform which brought him out in the open. The recorders zoomed in on his face.

"Up next is one of our Republic’s homegrown mech designers, a superstar who emerged out of nowhere! Give it up for the nerdy half of the Larkinson duo, Ves Larkinson!"

Ninety percent of the spectators had never heard of him before. Even if they caught a glimpse of his designs, the kind of people who attended mech duels cared more about the people piloting the mechs than the designers who made the machines.

A number of inspection bots bearing the logo of the MTA started to scour the battlefield and the mechs. The delegation from the MTA occupied a different platform just above the heads of Ves and Dumont. Even though the projections didn’t introduce them in any way, their presence was very much felt due to their reputation alone.

The bots cleared the arena once they failed to detect any signs of foul play.

"Let the duel commence in ten seconds!"

A timer counted down from ten.

Ves gripped the handholds of his seat. It felt frustrating to sit so far away while parading out his favorite niece to fight in his stead. He knew how dangerous a dual could turn out. Even though a duel between knights rarely led to fatalities due to their considerable defensive prowess, a single stab of a sword could puncture right through a cockpit if the chest armor had been weakened.

"Please don’t go too far, Melinda. Just endure the opening moves. Don’t try anything fancy."

The countdown ticked down to zero, and the duel officially commenced!

"FOR THE HELLHOUNDS!" The Havalax’s speakers broadcasted in the air. The white mech immediately sprinted forward with its kite shield up in front. It aimed to close the gap to the Blackbeak with its superior speed.

Melinda kept her cool. She knew the Blackbeak couldn’t run as fast as the Havalax, but she ran anyway in order to force her opponent to burn through its energy cells. The more the Havalax expended its power, the sooner its reserves ran out.

n response, the Havalax started to overload its systems, putting a lot of strain on them in exchange for a momentary surge. Captain Vicar decided to start the engagement with an axe, having sheathed the sword behind the Havalax’s back.

Once his mech reached the lagging Blackbeak, it began to bash with its shield while simultaneously chopping its target from above.

The Blackbeak turned at the last moment and absorbed the shield bash with its own moon-shaped shield. As for the axe strike, it only managed to put up a hasty guard with its sword, which clearly didn’t fare well against the power behind the offensive weapon.

The Blackbeak’s sword arm strained to absorb the impact, allowing the Havalax to slip in a low kick that destabilized the black mech’s footing. This opened up the Blackbeak to another attack!

Melinda immediately faced a crisis!