The initial moves made by the two ch pilots betrayed their inclinations.
Captain Alazar Ipsich was a cautious rcenary officer who had survived many sticky situations. Recklessness was not in his blood. As soone in charge, he had a responsibility to lead his subordinates well and avoid putting them in a position where their lives could easily be lost.
Therefore, Ipsich favored making the best use of his ti. Since there was no rule that stated that he had to launch an attack imdiately, he wanted to maintain distance from his opponent in order to assess the situation further.
To a grizzled veteran ch officer like Ipsich, acting without information was a quick way to end a rcenary ch pilot’s career!
His opponent adopted a different mindset.
As a forr ch athlete who fought plenty of competitive matches, Kelly Gidon knew that the usual rules of the battlefield did not necessarily apply to the dueling ring!
The rhythm of a ch duel was completely different!
Raella sighed. "Montum matters more than careful planning. Too many ch pilots who have never learned how to fight in the dueling ring always make this mistake. They think too much. There is no way that they can co up with a killer strategy when there are so few variables in play. In this situation, the dumber ch pilot always cos out on top! Isn’t that right, Vincent?"
"Huh? Why are you asking ?" The hover chair-bound expert candidate looked befuddled.
Ves believed in his cousin’s words. He had witnessed several ch duels himself and was always impressed by those who exhibited more aggression. It was not a coincidence that those who pressed forward the most tended to be the most successful and celebrated ch athletes!
The Bright Warrior had taken flight, but the Epsilon Mosar that had sprinted forward quickly adjusted by flaring its organic flight system in order to continue its pursuit!
The flight speed exhibited by the Epsilon Mosar made it clear that the ch was no slouch when it ca to aerial maneuvering!
"Damn." Ves cursed. "The Epsilon Mosar is designed for both landbound and aerial combat. It performs best on land, but it’s aerial performance is not that much worse."
"What’s more important is that the Epsilon Mosar isn’t burdened by design choices that place additional burdens to it in order to allow the ch to operate in space." Gloriana noted. "You can’t say the sa for our Bright Warriors."
"I already took that into account." Ves responded. "I’ve removed several elents that are useless in planetary combat and put in sothing else in the capacity that has beco available."
Still, there was only so much he could do. The Bright Warrior was designed as a spaceborn ch first and that could never be changed.
The difference it made wasn’t too large, fortunately. Ves had enough ti to make so targeted adjustnts that increased its combat ability in the air.
"Their speeds aren’t too far apart!"
The Bright Warrior kept its distance from its pursuer. Ves smiled at this sight. Ever since Juliet Staros joined the design departnt, the flight systems and other mobility systems of his ch designs received a substantial bump in improvent.
Even if aerial combat was not the Bright Warrior’s strong suit, it was enough for Captain Ipsich!
The rcenary officer currently looked quite troubled. He had lost the initiative from the mont the duel comnced. Mindlessly going into the fray was not his style, but his opponent clearly thought differently!
Due to the limited dinsions of the dueling ring, the two chs began to circle around. Seeing that the Epsilon Mosar wasn’t able to catch up in a short amount of ti, Kelly Gidon decided to employ the secondary armant of her machine.
The fleshy bioch’s mouth opened up and discharged a thin green laser beam!
The beam accurately struck the flight system of the Bright Warrior. While the attack was too weak to damage the protruding elents of the classical ch, the Epsilon Mosar already released a second laser beam!
This ti, the Bright Warrior dodged an instant before the second release, causing most of the beam to splash harmlessly against the energy shield erected to contain the duel.
Captain Ipsich did not let his opponent attack his ch with impunity. The Bright Warrior pulled out a backup pistol and started to fire back at its pursuer!
Unlike ordinary flesh, the matter that made up much of the bioch’s structure was based from exobeasts that had evolved to survive very hostile environnts. The heat that struck the exotics-reinforced flesh only caused its outer surface to dry and blacken for a bit.
This was hardly enough to injure the bioch!
Raella sighed. "Sothing has to change. Pursuits always end up favoring the chasing side. Just look at the two circling around. While Kelly Gidon is able to fire at the Bright Warrior’s flight system with impunity, Captain Ipsich is reduced to firing poorly-aid snapshots at an awkward angle."
It was not that easy for humans to fire behind them. While chs possessed more conveniences such as being able to rely on a rear sensor to observe its target without turning its head, it was still awkward for a humanoid ch to fire a weapon towards the rear.
Any laser beam that struck the undaunted Epsilon Mosar rely impacted its front, which ruled out the possibility of inflicting any crippling damage!
Though Captain Ipsich was cautious by nature, he wasn’t stupid. Seeing that his current approach didn’t work, he commanded his ch to holster its pistol and turn around.
He was no longer avoiding the clash!
A huge cheer of excitent ca from the crowd as the Bright Warrior lifted its two-handed sword and closed in on its opposition!
CLANG!
The Epsilon Mosar’s attempt to chop the Bright Warrior failed when the latter zipped to the side to avoid one blade while blocking the other that couldn’t be avoided!
As the two chs passed each other by, they quickly circled around in order to perform another exchange of blows!
CLANG!
The shorter and slimr biotal blades held up well against the solid alloy sword of the Bright Warrior.
This ti, the differences between the two chs beca more pronounced.
The mass of the two chs was roughly even, but the Epsolon Mosar was able to exert more strength.
The Bright Warrior was a bit more rigid and solid. This served the ch fairly well when one of its opponent’s swords slashed against its c.h.e.s.t plating!
The montum behind the attack left a modest groove in the c.h.e.s.t armor of the Bright Warrior. Ves and every other Larkinson winced at the sight.
The opponent managed to land the first true blow!
"This is just the start." Ves said as if to console himself. "The Bright Warrior’s c.h.e.s.t armor can still take a lot of hits."
As a Lifer ch pilot, Captain Ipsich was well aware that uncovered biochs did not possess any thick exterior plating. This ant that it was a bit easier to inflict damage to them with lighter attacks.
In contrast, chs with hard outer shells such as nearly every classical ch in existence possessed solid armor that was capable of bouncing off weaker attacks.
The short swords in the hands of the Epsilon Mosar would never be able to score such a powerful hit against the strongest section of the Bright Warrior if not for getting a head-start!
Therefore, the obvious conclusion was that it was better for Bright Warrior to push up right into the face of the Epsilon Mosar!
"If you want to brawl, then I’ll satisfy your wish!"
Captain Ipsich finally showed so heat as his Bright Warrior no longer parted from the Epsilon Mosar. Instead, the two chs stayed in close range and started to clash against each other with no hint of retreat!
"Kill the garbage can!"
"Chop off the arms of that classical ch!"
"Biochs forevers!"
In contrast, the Bright Warrior’s single blade missed the mark more often than not. Captain Ipsich may be a competent ch pilot but his opponent was just as skilled.
Fortunately, the ch pilot of the Bright Warrior wasn’t helpless. The rcenary captain no longer defended against certain weaker attacks in order to inflict a more powerful blow against the opposing bioch.
Slick!"
Soon enough, the crowd all expressed their dismay as Ipsich managed to outmaneuver Kelly Gidon and inflict a deep slash on one of the Epsilon Mosar’s shoulders!
A spurt of alien purple blood leaked out from the wound before automatically closing. The cut area even showed signs of rging back together!
Still, the initial attack had served its purpose. The left arm of the bioch had beco slightly less powerful. The attacks from this limb had beco less threatening, at least for the mont, allowing Captain Ipsich to gain the initiative.
Even though his Bright Warrior already showed several deep slash marks on its frontal surface, its operational efficiency still remained at a peak!
Although it seed as if the Bright Warrior had gained an advantage due to the characteristics of its physical form, the balance was not as skewed as it seed.
"All biochs can heal." Gloriana stated. "While their healing ability isn’t perfect, the damage suffered by the Epsilon Mosar can still be mitigated over ti!"
Indeed, what she said had co to pass. The damaged limb of the Epsilon Mosar slowly recovered. While it did not restore itself to its peak, it had changed enough for Kelly Gidon to go on attack yet again!
More slash marks adorned the exterior of the Bright Warrior. Captain Ipsich did his best to block and avoid any incoming strike. When that wasn’t possible, he tried to spread out the damage across the entire surface of the ch.
This was what the armor of a ch was for! As long as all of the destructive energy was wasted on so solid tal plates, then the vulnerable internals were spared from damage.
This was key in allowing the Bright Warrior to keep up the fight!
As the bout continued to persist like this, Ves began to analyze the battle from a spiritual perspective.
So far, the spiritual elents of his Bright Warrior didn’t really seem to play a role. While Captain Ipsich had rapidly gained a lot of proficiency in piloting his current ch, his progress wouldn’t have been much different if he piloted a lifeless ch.
In the heat of battle, it was hard for weak and subtle effects to exert any influence!
The glow of the Golden Cat seemingly played no role in this duel.
Ves could see this and so could his wife.
"The Bright Warrior isn’t resonating with its current pilot." Gloriana stated. "The ch and its ch pilot are still separated by too many barriers. They have too little in common."
He could see that as well. All of the changes he made to prevent the Bright Warrior from rejecting a non-Larkinson ch pilot might have achieved its purpose, but they didn’t do much to facilitate cooperation.
Fortunately, Ves still had options.
It seed it was ti for him to activate one of the asures he had implanted in the Bright Warrior’s design.
Unknown to anyone else, Ves discreetly concentrated his mind and spiritually reached out to the Bright Warrior. He gently tweaked its spiritual design until it activated sothing that had lain dormant.
The fairly pleasant glow of the Bright Warrior suddenly switched. Goldie’s presence no longer dominated the ch. Instead, her aura faded in order to make way for another, more aggressive glow!
The Bright Warrior suddenly seed to have turned into a bigger, more ferocious predator! The hostility emanating from the previously-sunny ch was so abrupt that Kelly Gidon’s montum had suddenly flagged.
Captain Ipsich, who was influenced by the sudden change, acted exactly according to the new glow and began to unleash an aggressive set of moves that pushed the Epsilon Mosar back again and again!
"What just happened?!"
Gloriana widened her eyes while gripping Ves’ hand. "Did you..?"
Ves smirked. "I did. Who says the Bright Warrior only has room for a single occupant?"
Zeigra had taken over from Goldie! Even though nothing physical about the Bright Warrior had changed, the contrast was so striking Kelly Gidon wasn’t able to adjust!
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