The Mech Touch novel Chapter 7111

Chapter 7111: Rogere Sulie

Andraste’s participation in one of the arena tournaments could be considered her unofficial debut to the public.

It was the first time she earnestly fought and showcased all of her combat skills that she had developed up to this point.

She did her Larkinson heritage proud.

There had been plenty of people who assumed that Andraste would not be able to amount to much as a fighter due to the fact that both of her parents were mech designers.

How could a pair of nerds possibly understand how to nurture their child into a warrior?

It turned out that those expectations were completely inaccurate.

Sure, Ves and Gloriana might not be true warriors, but their clan was filled with skilled and honorable soldiers!

Each of them had imparted their skills and instilled them with their martial values and principles.

Ketis and the Swordmaidens had especially shaped her views towards combat and her place in society.

This became evident in how Andraste carried herself and presented herself towards a growing number of viewers.

Andraste possessed the typical confident bearing of a Swordmaiden. Her blade fell into her hand as if it was an extension of her body.

Whenever she fought, her movements were fast, purposeful and unpredictable.

She did not maneuver around the arena ground as if she was flowing through water. She was too impatient and did not possess a methodical mindset.

Instead, she surged forward like lightning and struck with thunder. Her blows were fast, discordant and difficult to defend against at the best of times.

Such erratic and powerful movements should have strained her young body and drained her stamina in an instant.

Yet her unnatural physique was so remarkable that she was able to keep this up for a long time, easily outlasting all of her dueling opponents as if she was the only adult in the room.

None of the children in her age bracket stood a chance.

Many of them had received at least rudimentary training, but the intensity was often disappointing. They were still children, after all. How could they possibly turn into warriors in just a handful of years?

Even Andraste did not train her martial skills most of the time, but she still managed to crush every kid that was assigned to fight against her next.

With each victory on her record, Andraste gained more and more courage.

Her grin turned increasingly maniacal as the young girl relished in the glory and honor that she was earning with every thrust of her blade or the pull of trigger.

None of the kids stood a chance. A few even cried when Andraste dismantled their proud fighting skills within seconds.

While Andraste clearly favored her sword, she did not insist on defeating all of her opponents in a sword duel.

She used her laser pistol whenever it was convenient.

Even if the protective suits worn by the duelists were able to resist a lot of damage, Andraste’s aim was impeccable. No matter how well the kids tried to dodge out of the way, she was able to land repeated laser beams onto the same spot or protective zone.

If her opponent did not try to close the distance or eliminate her directly, then she would definitely be able to finish the fight by focusing her ranged attacks and landing all of her shots on the same armor sections.

If this fight took place between adults, then her opponents may be able to whip up a technical or non-technical solution.

That was not the case. The other children that participated in the competition needed twice as much training to even have a chance of winning a fight.

[And the winner is Andraste Larkinson! The young lioness of the Larkinson Clan has once again disabled another challenger. Who remains that shall be able to stall her momentum?]

Even the commentators started to hype up Andraste as if she was already ordained for greatness.

Andraste grinned as she basked in all of the attention she received.

She understood to a much better degree why soldiers fought for glory recognition.

"This is too addicting!"

In the end, Andraste easily managed to win her tournament. She even earned the qualifications to join a tournament that pitted teenagers from each other.

These children were considerably older and more difficult to outfight. They were taller and possessed genuine skills. Their augmentations were also more extensive and powerful.

All in all, these kids finally managed to give Andraste the pressure she needed to excel under pressure.

Her opposition was much greater this time. Perhaps they were taken aback when told to fight against a younger and shorter child, but they did not hold back out of respect and out of a desire to win against a woman who was bound to become a hero in the future.

"I am glad that my father is able to give you so much hope for the future. I don’t know how far ahead he is in his mech designs, but I hope that he will give you your hope sooner rather than later."

The two continued to strike up a conversation as they retreated from the arena ground together.

Both of them had to prepare for their upcoming matches. Rogere would be continuing on in the winner’s bracket while Andraste had been cast down to the loser’s bracket of the tournament.

Each of them still had a chance to win the championship of this competition. Andraste grew determined to defeat Rogere in fair combat next time!

Still, even as they strategized against each other, they still maintained their friendly demeanors towards each other.

"So you are a reformed sword practitioner?"

"Yes, but only to a point." Rogere replied in his cultured voice. "My ancient clan was still too hidebound by tradition during my younger years. I received swordsmanship instruction from hand-picked tutors and veteran mech pilots. It was only a year after the Age of Dawn commenced that I was able to persuade my parents and elders that there is greater merit in studying traditional swordsmanship practiced by your clan at the time. I never regretted this decision."

Rogere Sulie’s swordsmanship therefore turned into a blend of clean techniques interspersed with a handful of extraordinary moves.

He was able to use the former to keep tricky opponents like Andraste at bay. He was able to rely on the latter to surprise her and overpower her more than once.

Andraste truly became convinced that Rogere would turn into a fierce swordsman and ultimately swordsman mech pilot once he matured!

Whether Rogere had a future as a swordmaster or a high-ranking mech pilot remained to be seen. Even Andraste knew better than to predict such breakthroughs. Willpower cultivation was not considered the hardest cultivation approach by far.

"How is it that you were able to block my laser pistol attacks so easily with your plasma rapier?" She asked him next. "Its blade is so thin, but you were able to maneuver it into place before my weapon discharged the energy beam."

Rogere smiled and tapped the side of his head. "The magic is not that sophisticated. My cranial implant and auxiliary qi cultivation have both enhanced my reaction speed, precision and other traits from different angles. When combined, the whole is greater than the sum of their parts. This is what children of our age range have to worry about."

Only elite descendants such as Rogere received such expensive and luxurious treatments, but this kid truly showcased what the next generation of children had in store.

"I am not even the best fighter among my classmates." Rogere admitted. "There are impeccable fighters among us who can consistently defeat me because they have the edge in body constitution. "

Andraste’s eyes almost popped when she heard that. She had struggled greatly against Rogere earlier.

To think that Rogere was not even the best.

Andraste grew both fearful and excited about the prospects of challenging these growing elites.