The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1285

After dealing with Gloriana, Ves disliked his show of weakness. How could his spine turn so soft in front of a girl?

Ves felt the need to reassert his masculinity. How better to do that then to teach William Urbesh a lesson? The Garlaner talked big, but everyone could see that he was no true warrior. The Vandals or the Swordmaidens would have chewed him up and spit him out in a second!

"How many battles have you fought?" He asked.

The simple question took William aback. "Pardon?"

"None, right? I bet you haven’t even felled a single mech."

"I resent that accusation! I have beaten plenty of mechs!"

"Have any of those instances occurred outside of simulations and practice sessions?"

William’s face began to flush. "I-I-I would have you know that I am a great Urbesh clansman! We have ruled the Slicer Tribe in the past and we shall do so again under my leadership!"

Really now. From what Ves could see, William would never be able to lead a village, let alone a prominent power of a second-rate state! If William thought he stood a real chance, then the Urbesh clan must be in a dire state!

"So you think you’re hot stuff, right?"

"I wouldn’t call myself that, but I am proud of my skill!"

"Then come prove it to me. Right here. Right now."

"W-What do you mean by that?"

Ves patted his chest. "Come prove your strength. Don’t you want me to acknowledge you? Then come show what you’re made of in the only way real men communicate!"

The real meaning of his provocation dawned upon the mech pilot. While Ves still stood in a casual posture, William began to enter into a fighting posture by raising his fists, leaning forward and bending his knees.

"That’s better. Now come here and throw a punch!"

"You sure? I’m a trained fighter!"

"Then you should definitely be able to beat down a mech designer like me! Come on and fight already! Stop pussyfooting around like a craven—"

"WAAAAH!"

William ran up to Ves in a swift rush. His lean body gifted him with a lot of speed that caught Ves slightly by surprise.

Yet when William’s punch landed, Ves merely looked bored as William immediately cried out and shook his pained knuckle.

"You’re cheating! You have armor underneath your clothes! Your ship projected an anti-grav field that blocked my fist! There is no way you should be able to withstand my genetically-enhanced strength!"

Ves lazily kicked at the whining figure, causing William to fall flat on his back!

"OUCH! Are you a cyborg or something!? There’s no way you’re a mech designer!"

Contempt rose up from Ves. Compared to the likes of Tristan Wesseling and Gloriana Wodin, William Urbesh was the most pathetic citizen of a second-rate state he had ever met!

"Stop making excuses. If you can’t even defeat someone who designs mechs all day, how can you ever hope to lead a clan or a tribe? I know thousands of third-raters like myself who can whoop your ass, genetic enhancements or no! Even a struggling pirate from the frontier is better than you, because they at least have the guts to keep fighting instead of complaining about unfairness!"

"Don’t compare me to a pirate!"

Urbesh could no longer maintain his arrogant facade. If he couldn’t even defeat a single mech designer, how could he call himself a warrior?

The mech pilot looked so pathetic that Ves took pity on the fellow. "I’m not like any other mech designer. Nonetheless, even if it isn’t fair, so what? Battles are never fair. The galaxy isn’t fair. Nothing is fair. If mech pilots are only able to fight when the battle is fair or in their favor, then you might as well say goodbye to your ambitions, because the only courage that’s good enough to produce expert pilots is the one that dares to fight against overwhelming odds!"

"T-That’s not true! There are many kinds of expert pilots!"

"How many have you actually met? Don’t think I’m ignorant about expert pilots. My Larkinson Family currently boasts several expert pilots and expert candidates! We have high-ranking mech pilots in every generation leading all the way back to the founding of our home state! Can your Urbesh clan match my family’s pedigree?"

William fell silent.

"The Urbesh Clan isn’t in a good shape, am I correct?"

To his credit, William honestly admitted it. "My clan fell from grace in recent times. No expert pilot has emerged from our clan in two generations. Many of my relatives who tried have died or failed. The other clans don’t want us to rise again, so they’ve deliberately cornered them into duels or lead them into accepting dangerous missions."