The ripples from the wedding between Ves and Gloriana faded. As much as this glamorous event captured the imagination of the public, people's mories were short.
To many ordinary citizens, the affairs of the rich and powerful were too far away. Life went on and neither the Miracle Couple nor the LMC exerted any direct influence on their ordinary civilian lives.
That did not apply to everyone. The products of the LMC beca increasingly more popular throughout the region.
The Komodo Star Sector was its ho market. Yet the availability of LMC chs was not uniform.
One half of the star sector was devoid of these distinct machines. The Friday Coalition completely banned the use of LMC chs.
This was not an unusual rule in itself. The Coalition already banned the use of chs designed by Hexers or anyone aligned to them. However, a lot of avid custors were forced to relinquish their precious chs.
The Desolate Soldier and its variants, which played a major role in the Sand War, no longer showed up in the Bright Republic and the Ylvaine Protectorate. A lot of states that relied heavily on Ves and Gloriana's work beca closed to the LMC.
That did not apply to the other half of the star sector. The lesser states that fell within the Hexer sphere of influence did not receive any prohibitions against using LMC chs. Their local governnts were free to decide whether they wished to allow the LMC to expand their business operations in their ch markets.
Most of them did. The LMC may not be a part of their dostic ch industry, but the comprehensive value of its products was undeniable!
At this ti, the LMC's product catalog consisted of a handful of third-class chs.
Despite the lack of choice, a lot of the offerings were very compelling to many custors.
The Desolate Soldier model was the original bestseller of the LMC. It sold over a million copies during the Sand War and continued to sell millions more as the ch company expanded its reach across other star sectors.
From a performance standpoint, the Desolate Soldier and its variants was not that stellar. The lastgen model was dated and did not take advantage of the innovations of the latest generation. Its design was optimized for use against the sandn and did not fare as well as other competing models when fighting against chs.
What was even worse for the LMC was that its product margin was abysmally low. The large number of interdiaries involved in the production, distribution and sale of the ch model all took a cut of the earnings.
By the ti the remaining profits trickled into the coffers of the LMC, perhaps only 50,000 hex credits remained out of the 600,000 hex credits the custor had paid!
Despite all of these shortcomings, plenty of custors in the surrounding regions continued to purchase the Desolate Soldier in greater numbers. Not only that, but the cheaper and less robust Prideful Soldier sold in great quantities as well!
Their glows were just too good. The duty-based glow of the Desolate Soldier was useful for law enforcent, militaries, rcenary corps, security companies and more custors. Everyone except pirates derived a lot of value from leveraging this morale-sustaining glow!
If not for the low profits per sale, the sales of the Desolate Soldier could have financed all of the Larkinson Clan's capital ship expenditures for the next decade!
The Aurora Titan failed to match the grandeur of the Desolate Soldier. Its extre specs and its incredibly unwieldy handling turned it into a very niche product.
The rise of Venerable Jannzi Larkinson hardly boosted sales of this defensive space knight. Not even the growing reputation of Ves or the expanding reach of the LMC boosted sales that much.
Many Larkinsons within the LMC considered the Aurora Titan to be a flop. It wasn't even worth it to include the ch model in the company's product catalog anymore.
The Doom Guard was the second bestseller of the LMC. The striker ch possessed almost as many shortcomings as the Aurora Titan, but its glow was much more useful in combat.
It was a pity the Doom Guard underwent so changes. Its glow had changed characteristics, causing it to form a disorienting glow that disabled anyone who entered its range. This was a bit more difficult to take advantage of than scaring enemies away.
Sales of the Doom Guard were trending downwards for this reason. The release of a new ch model accelerated the striker ch's decline.
Compared to the Doom Guard, the Ferocious Piranha presented an all-around improvent. While it was a very different ch type, the Ferocious Piranha nonetheless captured the hearts of many ch buyers!
In the middle of an asteroid belt in Vicious Mountain, a squad of twelve Ferocious Piranha swooped forth!
A rcenary corps called the Thermal Ants accepted a mission to take down a pirate gang that was nestled within an empty star system.
While the pirates had hidden themselves well, sohow they exposed their whereabouts.
"Damnit! Who betrayed us?! Who sold us out?!"
"It's bad, boss! We need to run straight away!"
"There's no running from those light chs. Our only choice is to fight!"
The pirates deploy a ragged swarm of 37 chs. This was actually quite a respectable number for a simple pirate gang.
The Ferocious Piranhas clearly captured the emissions from the pirate chs. Under ordinary circumstances, it was impossible for 12 light chs to defeat twice their number.
While the quality and condition of the pirate chs were horrible, their nurical superiority couldn't be overco so easily!
The ranged pirate chs began to fire at the light skirmishers. Unfortunately for them, the battlefield was not conducive to ranged combat.
The light skirmishers skillfully weaved through the attacks. They also made sure to take cover behind as many asteroids as possible.
With the abysmal marksmanship of the pirates, there was no hope of landing more than a few coincidental strikes!
The few laser beams that managed to strike the Ferocious Piranhas hardly left more than a shallow scorching scar. The thin but premium armor gave the Piranhas a lot more protection than other light chs.
"Stop firing!" The pirate commander yelled. "Get back and give us so covering fire. Stay on guard against any other enemies creeping up on us from behind. There was no way the light skirmishers ca alone!"
The pirates all thought the light skirmishers rely served as scouts for a greater force of rcenary chs. They didn't expect an imdiate confrontation as the pirates ought to be strong enough to make the rcenary light chs pay if they approached.
Yet as the Ferocious Piranhas continued to advance, the pirates beca confused.
Were these light chs actually going on the attack?
The pirate commander grew furious! Just because the incoming light chs looked a bit fancier than usual didn't an they were qualified to challenge his chs!
"These rcs consider us trash. Prove them wrong! Attack these idiotic scouts! As long as we crush them all, we can slip away unnoticed!"
That invigorated the other pirates. The pirate lee chs surged forward.
Surprisingly, the rcenary light chs did not veer away! Instead, as the range rapidly closed, their ch pilots each turned a ntal dial.
Invisible fields ford around the light skirmishers. The ch pilots hardly felt anything different as their chs wrapped a protective shield around their minds and the minds of their battle comrades.
With this essential protection in place, the light ch pilots continued to urge their chs to advance.
Eventually, the two sides ca within striking distance!
Shortly before the lee chs were able to exchange blows, an enormous change took place.
The mont the Ferocious Piranhas ca near, every single pirate ch froze or jerked out of control!
So chs flung their weapons away as their arms and fingers convulsed.
Other chs locked up as their ch pilots beca completely unresponsive.
Only half-a-dozen chs managed to avoid the affliction that had overco the other chs. Yet even though the pirate commander and so of his oldest veterans managed to stay in control, their minds ca under incredible strain!
"AAhhh!"
"What is this!?"
"My ds! Where are my ds!"
The pirate commander felt wild and excited at one mont, only to be doused in ice as a wave of calm forced him out of his high. Before he could even begin to get used to his new state, the wave of aggression ca back just a second later!
There wasn't enough ti for him to adjust!
"Pull.. back. Retreat. Don't let these rcs get close!"
The pirate ranged chs overloaded their laser rifles in order to scare off the incoming light chs. Even if most of their shots missed their marks, their increased rate of fire caused at least so beams to strike the Ferocious Piranhas.
Their attacks had no effect!
The light skirmishers rapidly closed in on the vanguard of the out-of-control chs. The Ferocious Piranhas rapidly stabbed their daggers in the unprotected backs of their vulnerable targets.
Twelve pirate chs lost functionality!
If two stabs didn't do the job, then four, six, eight or more attacks would do. Since the pirate ch pilots afflicted by the Ferocious Piranhas glow were unable to focus on piloting their chs, their machines turned into sitting ducks.
What horrified the pirates even more was that the disabled ch pilots weren't even capable of ejecting their cockpits.
"Noo! Retreat! Don't fight these weird chs!"
It was too late. The mont the light skirmishers entered their midst, the pirates had already lost their chance.
The light skirmishers split into two. Six Ferocious Piranhas rapidly closed in on the ranged chs that were taking potshots at them. The other six continued to suppress the disabled pirate chs until they were able to take their helpless targets down.
The pirate commander and his confidantes no longer thought about saving their buddies. They struggled to pilot their chs away.
The wily pirates wordlessly split in different directions. In situations like this, grouping up only made it easier for their opponents to mop them up! The pirate commander gritted his teeth.
Even though fleeing in different directions was a good tactic to adopt, it wasn't the right response this ti.
"You fools! We could have taken one of these light skirmishers down if we joined hands."
It didn't take a lot of ti for the Ferocious Piranhas to mop up all of the disabled chs. Soon enough, the light skirmishers split up in order to pursue the fleeing pirate chs.
As the pirates largely made use of shabby-looking dium chs, there was no hope of outrunning their pursuers.
It only took less than a minute for the Ferocious Piranhas to catch up to their prey!
"If you want to take us down, then you'll have to work for it!" The pirate commander roared!
His swordsman ch no longer flew away. Instead, the ch arced around in order to charge straight at one of the two Ferocious Piranhas on its tail!
"Ack!"
Yet as soon as the pirate commander ca close, his mind once again ca under the effect of the Ferocious Piranha's glow!
While the pirate ch still closed in for the attack, its movents weren't as fluid as before. The pirate commander's battle effectiveness effectively dropped by 30 percent, which was a huge margin in battle.
The targeted light skirmisher easily dodged the pirate ch's sword strike. As soon as the sword swooped past, the swift light ch boosted forward and struck its daggers deep into the weak points of its target.
Just a second later, the second Ferocious Piranha struck the back with a flurry of stabs, causing the flight system and several other vital systems to lose power!
The pirate commander despaired as his cockpit lost most of its functioning. These new light chs completely crushed his pirate gang without giving his n any opportunity to show their strength.
"What horrible new ch is this?!"
He was just the first of many ch pilots that fell victim to the latest carnivores of the battlefield!
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