The Bright Warrior in its swordsman ch configuration projected a distinct impression to the audience.
Those who watched the broadcast only caught a hint of it, but the people sitting on one of the many elevated viewing platforms were able to sense its presence a bit better.
Even though the audience was too far away to truly experience its glow, if they were any closer, they would have felt its welcoming embrace.
This was a product of the Bright Warrior’s heavily-altered spiritual design.
For one, he made an agreent with Goldie to play nice with whoever piloted the ch. He also dug deep into the dueling ch’s spiritual DNA to widen its target audience.
The Bright Warrior product line was never supposed to be piloted by non-Larkinsons. This was baked into its very identity and served as the root of its existence.
Ves envisioned the second iteration of the Bright Warrior concept as the basic and most fundantal protector of the Larkinson Clan. While his other chs may be stronger or flashier, the Bright Warrior could always be counted upon to deliver reliable performance in many different situations!
As a modular ch platform that was designed with maximum compatibility in mind, the Bright Warrior was not a suitable dueling ch at all. There were many junctions where Ves and the other lead designers prioritized adaptability and universality over pure performance.
A ch that was fine-tuned to accommodate a specific ch pilot would always perform better than one that attempted to be a good ch to many different ch pilots!
Still, it was not as if Ves could have taken the opposite approach. The design duel format prevented the participants from learning about the ch pilots beforehand. This ant that Ves and Dr. Navarro were both forced to keep their chs open-ended enough to accommodate different personalities and fighting styles.
Therefore, what was supposed to be a traditional weakness of the Bright Warrior actually ca sowhat handy at this ti. Its balanced specs, wide range of motion and great attention to its piloting experience were all capable of making any newcor to the Bright Warrior feel at ease!
"Captain Ipsich has adjusted well to the Bright Warrior." Gloriana remarked as she analyzed the fluent movents of the modified ch. "As an experienced ch pilot, he should already be fairly good at adapting to different chs, but I don’t see much signs of discomfort so far. Whatever you did has worked."
The side projection that displayed a view of the c.o.c.kpit showed that Captain Ipsich was sitting comfortably in his piloting chair. His body was only moderately tense, but that was normal whenever a ch pilot was about to do battle.
"The captain should still be getting used to piloting a living ch." Ves murmured as he observed the ch with his spiritual senses. "A familiarizing period ensues anyti a ch pilot interfaces with one of my products for the first ti. Just like two different people eting for the first ti, the captain and his ch are just strangers. Since they’re ant to fight with each other, they need to familiarize themselves with their new partner and establish a solid relationship as soon as possible."
This was one of the complications associated with piloting his chs. Ordinary machines did not possess any personality or capacity for independent thought. They were just there. This ant that any ch pilot could hop into its c.o.c.kpit and pilot it straight away, only needing to worry about mastering its technical capabilities.
This was different. Captain Ipsich’s slightly distracted expression signified that he was still exploring the surprising degree of responsiveness from his current machine.
What made the experience more wonderful than usual was that Ves had asked Goldie to enhance the modified Bright Warrior’s spiritual foundation all the way to 75 Ves!
He hesitated a lot before Ves made this decision. 75 Ves was very close to the limit that ordinary ch pilots could bear. If Captain Ipsich’s relationship with the Bright Warrior ever deteriorated, then his piloting experience would quickly worsen!
While that didn’t necessarily an that the rcenary officer would lose the ability to put up a fight, there was no way he’d be able to fight at his peak anymore.
"Hopefully, that doesn’t happen." He muttered under his breath.
This was the double-sided nature of living chs. Since they had gained the ability to love their ch pilots, they were also capable of doing the opposite. Ves really hoped that none of the selected ch pilots had a history of abusing their own machines.
"Good ch pilots don’t mistreat their gear." Gloriana reassured him. "This is especially so for Lifer ch pilots I think. The biochs they utilize are often treated as living partners. It is customary for the ch pilots of this state to treat their biochs like pets or buddies."
"Miaow." Clixie senselessly agreed as she luxuriated on Gloriana’s l.a.p.
"ow."
Lucky hadn’t been paying attention to the upcoming match at all. Instead, he kept sniffing his nose in different directions. His artificial green eyes gazed hungrily at the bodies of the various Masters and other dignitaries that were sitting together in small groups.
Each of them carried high-class gear that probably relied on high-quality exotics to deliver amazing performance!
Even Ves briefly imagined what it would be like to ’incapacitate’ a Master and rifle through his or her belongings.
There was bound to be a lot of priceless gear on their bodies!
He quickly squashed this temptation. He even patted Lucky on his head.
"ow!"
"Stop staring. Do you think you’ve been subtle? Each of these people can probably turn you into a rust bucket before you can blink your eyes!"
Bioch designers always augnted their bodies to so degree. Even if they didn’t specialize in human augntation, they surely knew soone who did. While the Masters of the LRA might not be as perverse as Dr. Jutland, their bodies should have definitely reached a superhuman level!
"Look, Ves!" Gloriana pointed at the other side of the arena. "Dr. Navarro’s first ch is coming out!"
[Ladies and gentlen, please give a round of applause to a bioch that is derived from one of Doctor Frederico Navarro’s most successful works!]
The entire audience stood up from their seats and clapped even before the bipedal bioch had exited the tunnel!
Dr. Navarro’s hoground advantage fully ca into play at this ti. Ves and his fellow Larkinsons all pressed their lips as the local spectators treated the opposing ch like a returning hero!
Ves had overlooked this aspect. In fact, the original design duel should have taken place in a smaller ch arena with only a handful invited guests bearing witness. He had never anticipated that a confrontation between two Journeyn would attract several hundred thousand spectators.
Even if there were a number of foreigners in the crowd, there were so many locals that the supporters of Ves had no chance of making their voices heard!
Realla shook her head. "This is bad. Ho ground advantage is a real psychological factor that can swing the outco of any match. Look at all of those distant people cheering and clapping. Their collective energy is quite massive. All of that support will feed into the ch pilot of the opposing ch."
Ves was able to sense this phenonon on a faint level. While nothing much happened on a spiritual level, he still perceived a growing undercurrent. This was the power of a crowd!
The bioch that had entered the arena ground was an uncovered bioch that looked like it was made out of pure muscle.
Vincent imdiately drooled! "Wow! Look at those abs! Look at the biceps! If not for the smooth lower side, I would have wanted to pilot this ch as well!"
"Looks are important, but they don’t necessarily determine how well a ch performs." Ves hoped.
"That shouldn’t be the case." Gloriana retorted. "Dr. Navarro hasn’t made it this far by being vain. I can sense plenty of power in this bioch."
Once everyone ford an initial impression of the second ch, the announcer finally began to reveal its properties.
[The Epsilon Mosar this bioch is based upon is one of Dr. Navarro’s proudest lee ch designs! Having sold over 20,000 units since its introduction to the market, the Epsilon Mosar has quickly won over its ch pilots for its offensive capabilities. The Epsilon Mosar trades protection for power and speed, allowing it to take the initiative and fight its opponents at its choosing. The base model is ard with a pair of biotal swords and a backup pistol, though it also contains a number of surprising options depending on the variant.]
Ves had to admit that the Epsilon Mosar made him worried. Its overall design truly possessed an aggressive air. No matter if the ch won or lost, its attacks were bound to pressure its opponents!
"Don’t forget about Dr. Navarro’s design philosophy." Gloriana quietly reminded him. "His products are fad for their morphing ability. While this usually takes hours which renders it impractical in combat, who knows whether he has added any short-term solutions to this modified dueling ch."
Ves added a lot of additional depth to his dueling ch, which ant that Dr. Navarro could easily do the sa.
While the latter was more constrained by the rules, there were still plenty of changes he could make without straying too far from the original design!
The ch pilot of the modified Epsilon Mosar happened to be a woman.
[Sitting in the c.o.c.kpit of Dr. Navarro’s dueling ch is Kelly Gidon. Her ill.u.s.trious decades-long career is split up into periods. She spent the first half of her piloting career as a ch athlete of the Triton Blasters, winning nurous trophies along the way. Once her competitive career ended, she shifted over to working for a troubleshooter division under Coslin Protection, a renowned security company based in this very city! As a troubleshooter, Pilot Gidon has been dispatched to many problem areas and fought many different opponents. Her combat experience is quite abundant!]
"Damn!" Vincent cursed. "This woman is much more familiar with the arena!"
Raella grimaced as well. "Kelly Gidon is clearly an old hand at this. Perhaps she never fought on a stage as big and popular as this, but she clearly looks as if she is taking in the mont. Together with the ho ground advantage, I’m afraid her fighting spirit has already reached a peak!"
The projections showed that Kelly Gidon was grinning. She couldn’t wait to bear the expectations of the crowd and beat down the opposing tal ch!
In this match, the Bright Warrior and its ch pilot had turned into the villains. There was no way the local audience wanted to root for them. Instead, they threw their entire weight behind the Epsilon Mosar and the Gidon, which caused this pairing to take on a heroic aura that appeared to be just as strong as one of Ves’ glows!
This was all an illusion, of course, but psychology didn’t care about that.
As the seconds went by, the noise from the crowd slowly faded.
Eventually, they fell silent.
The first duel of the first phase was about to start.
[Begin!]
The two chs did not delay! The mont the announcer gave the signal, the opposing machines already moved!
"It’s taking flight!"
The Bright Warrior instantly boosted into the air, causing it to ascend by at least a hundred ters in an instant!
The Epsilon Mosar moved in a different direction. It had unsheathed its biotal swords from its back while at the sa ti dashing forward!
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