The Mech Touch novel Chapter 484

One might think that the most precious resource in a battle consisted of manpower. Without able men and women trained to fight, no force would be able to sustain themselves in battle.

Others might argue that mechs counted for more. A force that invested in the quantity and quality of their mechs would possess more depth and options even if their mech pilots fell short.

Through the progression of the battle on Detemen IV, Ves learned that both manpower and mechs played second fiddle to the most crucial resource of all: time.

"There’s never enough time."

The entire operation on the Detemen System rested on the premise that the Flagrant Vandals and the Detemen League could complete their objectives within four days.

If they stuck around longer than that, then enemy reinforcements might arrive to close their window of escape.

The rebels numbered hundreds of thousands at the very least. Though most didn’t possess any exceptional skills, it was undeniable that they had numbers on their side, or else they wouldn’t have been able to wrest control of the auxiliary regiments that guarded the planet.

The only downside was that they hadn’t been able to cultivate a mech force that could compete for global hegemony on the planet.

As for the 6th Flagrant Vandals, as a legitimate mech regiment, their numbers was only a fraction to the rebels, and only about two-thousand of them consisted of the actual fighters. Yet their ability to fight was arguably more superior than the Detemen League due to their abundant ships and mechs.

Both of them had managed to overwhelm the defenses around Neron City and enjoyed free reign in certain parts of the city. While a lot of different outfits still possessed enough mechs to resist the Vandals, their internal rivalry and mistrust ruled out the possibility of forming a common front against the invaders.

Over at the manufacturing district, the Vandals picked their targets carefully. They didn’t overwhelm every manufacturing complexes in their way with brute force, but rather focused their efforts on a handful of plants at a time. Through this fashion, they deliberately let off valuable sites whose defenders sighed in relief.

The company defenders of the complexes that had been spared all thanked their lucky stars that the Vandals chose to pass them by. They had zero incentive to bail out the industrial sites that the Vandals raided.

In fact, the lucky ones even cheered the Vandals on for ruining their competitors and make it easy for them to expand their businesses after this ordeal.

Yet while the Vandals achieved a decent amount of success in one of their objectives, the hunt for Lord Javier consumed far too much time. The noble’s whereabouts only became known on the last day of the operation, and it wouldn’t be easy to take him into custody.

"Lord Javier is a tough bone to chew." Ves surmised.

Not only did he pilot the Loquacious Raphael, which was arguably the best mech on the planet, he also relied on the protection of his elite honor guard. Furthermore, the entire area around the recycling plant was riddled with traps and tunnels.

The attacking force made out of Vandal mechs and rebel auxiliary troops faced two unappealing options.

The most direct option was to push through regardless of the cost. No matter how many traps Lord Javier prepared, it was undeniable that he didn’t bring too much mechs when he escaped the palace.

Still, anyone could imagine the cost might not be worth it. Depending on how well Lord Javier and House Eneqqin prepared their battlefield, the Vandals might lose all of the mechs committed to this assault.

The other option would be to take it slow. This was the most proper response to the situation the attackers faced. By scouting ahead and detecting the traps beforehand, they could easily dismantle them one by one before they exploded in their faces.

The problem with this choice was that it would take days or even weeks to tighten the envelope around Lord Javier’s hideout. This course of action might be viable in other campaigns, but in the time-sensitive operation of the Vandals, they needed to scram from this star system by the end of the day or risk never coming back to Republic space.

In essence, the defenders deliberately served an unpalatable binary choice to Vandals and the rebels. Taking it slowly was out of question, and barging on ahead would lead to unacceptable losses.

The mastermind behind this defense plan therefore hoped that the attackers would pick the third option, which was to give up on Lord Javier and abandon any thoughts of pushing through.

Commander Breskin and the rebels already leaned towards this exit that the defenders had magnanimously prepared for them. Although failing to take out Lord Javier would discredit their organization, they could always make a comeback.

The Vandals on the other hand couldn’t afford to fail when they were so close to completing this objective. They staked much more than their credibility, but locked themselves into a contract with the opposition forces within the Vesia Kingdom.

If they stepped away at this critical moment, then their return to friendly space might be in question.

This was why Major Verle rejected all three options, and chose a fourth instead. When facing an elaborately prepared board set up by their opponent, the best solution wasn’t to play the game on the enemy’s terms.

No. The best solution was to flip the board entirely.

The artificial meteorites sent down from orbit plummeted through the atmosphere like the wrathful hammers of a god. The sheer kinetic energy these meteorites could unleash was unimaginable. Though anti-air batteries successfully shattered a handful of of the hardy meteorites through sheer weight of fire, that still left around a dozen more.

The fleet in space already estimated the amount of anti-air fire the meteorites would be subjected to. They flung enough of the meteorites to push through the storm and make it to the surface.

Half a minute before the first impact, every civilian still in range despaired. Madness and resignation took over, and a few of them even did things they never would have done if not for the glowing specs streaking towards their location from the air.

"HAHAHAHA! It’s the end of the world!"

"Shhh honey. Don’t cry. It will all end soon."

"Brace for impact!" _{ƒгeewebnovёl.com}