The Friday Coalition's counterattack hit the invading Hexers hard!
Many occupied star systems turned into contested territory after the Fridayn launched their offensives. The battered Fortune Legion took a backseat in this operation. Instead, the Sundered Phalanx and the Oni Guard led the charge and broke upon the fragile Hexer lines with great fanfare!
With the assistance of foreign expert pilots, the Fridayn combat troops frequently managed to overwhelm their Hexer counterparts.
For most ch pilots, one of the most terrible outcos that could happen was losing the support of an expert pilot!
These supre warriors often acted as guardian angels for their respective ch regints.
Up until recently, both sides adopted the sa approach towards expert pilots. Each ch regint had to be watched over by at least one Venerable.
They did not necessarily have to make a move. Their main purpose was to stay in reserve and act as a deterrent against enemy expert pilots.
As a result, expert pilots actually did not clash against each other that often. Only under special circumstances such as when the expert pilot enjoyed an absolute advantage would they make a move.
Of course, there were plenty of other scenarios where expert pilots sought out battles.
For example, the now-famous Venerable Ghanso Larkinson eagerly utilitized the nurical advantage bestowed by his Scarra to hunt down as many Hexer expert pilots as possible!
In a battle on another planet, several dozen glowing positron beams weaved a precise net at so rapidly-retreating Hexer chs.
By now, no Hexer ch pilot underestimated the notorious Unit L anymore!
With a ch company of quasi-expert rifleman chs backing up the Charlemagne, not even several Hexer expert chs stood a chance!
"Damn cowards!" Venerable Ghanso snarled as his shots only inflicted severe damage against the evacuating expert chs. "These Hexers are all talk!"
An expert swordsman ch flew alongside the Charlemagne. Different from the Charlemagne, the Jeanne D'Arc was almost purely geared towards lee combat. With the firepower at Venerable Ghanso's disposal, the feminine expert ch had no chance to show off its prowess.
"Your aim is getting worse." Venerable Foster noted in a bored tone. "This is the sixth ti you've let the Hexer expert chs go. Is the strain getting to you or are you just getting soft?"
"Shut up, Vesian! I can't help it if the Hexers run at the first sight of our chs!"
Though the two were forced to fight alongside each other, their animosity hadn't lessened much. Just because they were fighting for what they thought was right did not an they had to like their comrades.
With foreigners such as Venerable Ghanso Larkinson and Venerable Relia Foster taking part in the offensive, the war continued to tilt in the favor of the Fridayn!
While the Hexers were scrambling to defend their hard-fought gains, a new ch sprung onto the scene.
On more and more contested planets, the brand-new Valkyrie Redeer model erged with high expectations!
The Blessed Squire had imdiately showcased its value in battle. The Hexers hoped that the Valkyrie Redeer might do even better!
After all, compared to a modest supportive knight ch, the aerial marauder ch was much more offensive-oriented. Its manufacturing cost was fairly high, but it was a machine that was completely geared towards won.
A lot of Hexers looked forward to piloting such a unique machine!
The effectiveness of the Valkyrie Redeer did not disappoint. Against ordinary ch pilots such as Fortune Legionnaires, the narrow death beams were usually capable of disrupting their focus.
Sotis, the marked ch pilots even froze, causing their chs to turn into vulnerable targets!
The Valkyrie Redeer pilots all learned to take advantage of this state by driving their spears through the cockpits of their targets!
Against more disciplined opponents such as the Oni Guard, the Valkyrie Redeer still retained a degree of effectiveness.
Now that the Konsu ch pilots knew what to expect, they no longer allowed the Market For Death ability to consu their minds. Yet even so, each human was vulnerable to an extent.
Once the Valkyrie Redeers shifted to putting multiple Marks on a single target, even the most disciplined ch pilots lost their concentration!
As ti went by, the Valkyrie Redeer quickly generated a lot of notoriety. It couldn't be helped as the aerial chs proved to be wondrously effective at conducting small and sudden raids!
The Fridayn ch forces on the ground reacted by grouping their chs into larger units. While this slowed down their counterattack, the Valkyrie Redeers could no longer use their inherent advantages to annihilate individual squads!
This defense reaction frustrated many Valkyrie Redeer ch pilots. They loved swooping down from the air in order to demolish individual squads. Now, the stubborn Fridayn no longer moved out unless they could gather at a ch company.
When at least forty chs traveled together, their ability to defend against aerial attacks increased remarkably.
The ch pilots of most dive-oriented aerial chs no longer wanted to tangle against these targets. Even if they brought twice as many chs, it was impossible to disable the entire ch formation. In fact, due to the fears of colliding against each other, entering into a dive with too many chs was quite detrintal!
The Valkyrie Redeer ch pilots weren't reconciled to this outco. They had tasted the power of their new chs and beca more attuned to their capabilities.
While they could still play a useful role by hovering at a distance while taking potshots with their pulse submachine guns, the results were not comparable.
"This isn't working! The Oni Guard will overrun Leemar II entirely if this keeps up!" Captain Avinx growled.
"Then what do we do, ma'am?" A trusted lieutenant asked.
"We throw the rulebook out of the window. Who says we can't dive in greater numbers? Follow and stay together!"
In the span of a single week, her ch company sustained nurous losses. Though her ch regint attempted to replenish her chs and ch pilots, she was left with 28 Valkyrie Redeers including her own along with just three auxiliary chs.
Not every attack run resulted in a one-sided crush! Even with the various advantages of their Valkyrie Redeers, the Oni Guard were still capable of shooting them down at a distance.
In fact, the increased amount of ranged chs accompanying each unit was one of the biggest reasons why the Valkyrie Redeers felt restrained!
After scouring the edges of the frontline for a ti, Captain Avinx's ch company encountered several enemies on the ground and in the air.
None of them were suitable targets. Their numbers were either too much to handle or enemy support was too close at hand.
It wasn't until several hours later that the Valkyrie Redeers sniffed out a retreating elent of Oni Guard chs.
Though around seventy Fridayn machines were retreating in good order, their condition varied considerably. So only bore so dust marks while others had lost entire limbs.
Many chs bore terrible scars or exposed fragile internals. The ammunition and energy reserves of the ranged chs must dipped below a certain point as well.
The problem was that the quantity still posed a threat to Captain Avinx's unit. The lee chs each had the potential to surround and mob the Valkyrie Redeers at the end of their dive.
Even so, the Hexers did not feel deterred!
"This is a golden opportunity! Let us move and teach these beaten dogs the might of the Superior Mother!"
"For the Mother!"
The Valkyrie Redeers soared forth while gaining a bit of altitude. The retreating Oni Guard chs did not take much notice at first. It wasn't until later the Fridayn realized that the Hexer aerial chs were actually about to commit to an attack run.
Fearful of what might happen, the Oni Guard machines no longer ran away but instead stopped in place in order to et the incoming attack.
Defeated or not, seventy chs still posed a considerable threat! With the lee chs standing by, a large number of ranged chs began to fire volleys at the diving Valkyrie Redeers.
"Mark the ranged chs!" Captain Avinx gritted her teeth. "Two on one!"
Each ch automatically received a targeting instruction from Captain Avinx's ch. This allowed the Valkyrie Redeers to target their Marked For Death abilities onto a specific ch in the best possible distribution.
Over half of the ranged chs suddenly began to slow and miss. It was already a challenge for their ch pilots to maintain their focus when Marked a single ti. With two Marks on them, it was no longer possible for them to keep their aim straight!
The affected ranged ch pilots had little choice but to leave the targeting entirely to AIs.
This hardly helped! The stalker fields projected by the Hexer auxiliary chs continually confounded detailed scans and targeting calculations.
By effectively incapacitating half of the enemy formation's ranged chs, the Valkyrie Redeers managed to close in without losing any of their numbers!
"Rotate!"
The Valkyrie Redeers at the front of the diving formation flew back, allowing the chs in the second line to take the brunt of the damage.
The Hexer ch pilots adopted a specific formation that exposed only so of their chs to enemy fire.
Ordinarily, the formation wasn't practical, but the Valkyrie Redeer model just happened to be equipped with a modest shield and a high-quality armor system. It was no problem for them to endure enemy fire for a short ti!
"Rotate!"
Though the damage to the chs wasn't easy to repair, none of the Hexer ch pilots cared at the mont. It only took a short ti for their Valkyrie Redeers to dive within a kiloter of their targets!
As the ground rapidly ca closer, Captain Avinx issued a quick command!
"Widen glows by thirty degrees!"
The Hexer ch pilots obeyed in an instant. The dark third eyes of their chs that previously shone narrow beams of light at their Marks suddenly widened.
Each third eye shone like torches! The directional light they emitted no longer affected a number of specific targets, but attacked the entire formation of Oni Guard chs at once!
Seventy Fridayn ch pilots suddenly felt disturbed! It was as if the diving chs turned into a giant hamr of doom that was about to slam right on top of their heads!
With so many glows overlapping on top of each other, it didn't matter if they were all dispersed. The strength of facing so many of them at the sa ti was not much different from being targeted by a narrow beam!
"DEATH TO THE FRIDAYN!"
The ground thundered with force as the Valkyrie Redeers successfully drove their spears into the chests and other parts of their targets!
The Valkyrie Redeers may have targeted their Marks towards the enemy ranged chs at first, but their spears mostly punctured through the enemy lee chs!
Though not every target struck succumbed from the dive attack, at least twenty of them were no longer a factor!
Unfortunately, that left around fifty Oni Guard chs. As their ch pilots were slowly trying to recover from being subjected by the Valkyrie Redeer's glow, Captain Avinx already made her next move.
"Shock and Awe, five second intervals!"
A module on the Valkyrie Redeers suddenly launched a grenade into the ranks of the Oni Guard. An instant later, the Starburst grenades exploded, unleashing a strong but very localized burst of ECM and other disruptive asures!
As the closest chs beca affected by the detonation, the Valkyrie Redeers spread out and surged forward while at the sa ti unleashing a strong pulse that shocked the minds of the closest enemy ch pilots!
The combination of technological and ntal disruption generated a brief but very crucial window of opportunity.
At least twenty more chs were struck by the Valkyrie Redeers! The Hexers chs easily inflicted either crippling or fatal attacks as the disoriented Oni Guard chs failed to put up an adequate defense!
Before the remaining Konsu ch pilots were able to regain their composure, they received yet another shock as a second volley of Starburst grenades detonated in their midst!
Together with the release of yet another shock pulse, the Valkyrie Redeers managed to down even more chs!
Five more seconds passed in no ti. Following a third dual pulse attack, the Valkyrie Redeers completely went on the offensive.
Just a minute later, every single Oni Guard ch had fallen. Captain Avinx grinned as she took stock of her own unit. She hadn't lost a single Valkyrie Redeer!
Though many of her chs were not in good shape anymore, the damage could always be fixed. The dead could not be revived!
"This is the true purpose of the Valkyrie Redeer!"
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