Five black-coated Diligent Mark XXIV's thundered forward and clashed against five identical chs, only this ti coated in dark yellow!
The arena grounds shook as the combined tonnage of ten second-class swordsman chs maneuvered around each other in order to find the right angle to strike.
Every ch pilot that had managed to make it through the grueling virtual preliminaries possessed skill that was already above average.
Those who seriously aid to compete in the main phases of the tournants made thorough preparations in order to compete.
Not only did they invest a lot of practice ti in piloting chs that were similar to the Diligent Mark XXIV, they also specifically formulated a set of tactics that made the most out of what everyone considered to be a fairly limited ch model.
The key to making it to the finals ch combat tournants was to draw out the full potential of the Diligent chs!
Every contender aspiring to reach the top 1000 or top 100 possessed an undeniable advantage against ch pilots like the Swordmaidens.
"Tch!" Commander Sendra gritted her teeth as a dual-wielding ch utilized its maneuverability to the utmost.
Her black-coated Diligent ch was unable to block every poisonous strike that approached from different angles. The armor of her ch sparked as so of the bee sting-like stabs managed to get past her guard.
Although Sendra attempted to punish her opponent's daring moves by making wide, powerful sweeps with the greatsword of her ch, the damn Diligent ch took too long to perform the move, giving the opposing ch enough ti to dash backwards and avoid the blow!
Although every Swordmaiden ch pilot had already practiced with the Diligent models beforehand, it was still difficult to shake off their old habits.
"Not even the Bright Warrior is this sluggish."
The Swordmaidens had gotten spoiled with living chs. While Ves had yet to design a dedicated swordsman ch, flexible models such as the the Bright Warrior Mark I and II were still better than anything they piloted before.
As premium ch models of their respective ch classes, the old and new Bright Warriors perford far above regular chs. Ves was quite generous to his own ch pilots in that regard.
Therefore, even if the latest Bright Warrior only incorporated minor accommodations to the Swordmaiden fight style, its responsiveness, force exertion and maneuverability were significantly ahead of the Diligent she was piloting at the mont!
Not only that, but the chs supplied by the Heavensworders were absolutely dull and devoid of any life.
While the benefits of piloting a living ch were rather subtle and difficult to explain, the Swordmaidens keenly missed the intimacy they had with their previous machines.
The Bright Warriors fought with their ch pilots. The Diligent fought against their users.
At least, this was how Commander Sendra experienced it. She constantly struggled to make her ch move the way she wanted. Ti and ti again, the Diligents proved to be too weak, too slow and too reluctant to express her fighting style.
The rest of the Swordmaidens were in a similar predicant!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Their opponents keenly noticed this. It was highly unusual for competitors to opt for greatswords to begin with. Though the Swordmaidens did their best to compensate for the limitations of their Diligents, they could not disguise every single sign of discomfort!
"Up the pressure!" The enemy leader shouted. "Don't let these won breathe! Try and gang up on them if possible. With their unwieldy blades, they can't possibly defend their rears."
The dark yellow chs changed their approach. Now that they had gained their opponent's asure, there was no point in turning this group match into five separate one-on-one duels.
The whole point of allowing multiple chs to compete against each other was to give full play to their teamwork!
Even as the chs that wielded single or dual light blades began to converge and circle around, the Swordmaiden chs chose to converge in the center of the arena ground. They ford a loose circle with every machine facing outwards.
The dark yellow chs grew a bit more reluctant to go in after witnessing this change. No matter what angle they approached from, at least three Swordmaiden chs would always be able to strike at the front!
While the opponents did not fear the Swordmaidens, that was only because it was fairly easy to evade or deflect the attacks by jumping back.
This was a lot harder to do if the competitors were forced to approach the nacing Swordmaiden chs. The extended reach of the latter's greatswords ant that the dark yellow chs would all have to block the incoming attacks first before launching their own attacks!
Even so, the commander of the opposing chs did not lose confidence. "The shortcomings of their formation are obvious. Their chs are too packed for them to swing their greatswords at abandon. As long as we get past their reach and press our chs up close, we can focus our attacks on just two of their chs while using them as our shields at the sa ti. The remaining greatsword-wielding chs won't dare to make any drastic moves!"
Shorter weapons may lack reach, but they fared much better at very close ranges. They were quite favored in team matches because it allowed friendly chs to fight close together without worrying too much about hindering each other's attacks or even hitting their own side!
After a brief pause, the dark yellow Diligents simultaneously surged forward!
They did not sprint forward at their greatest possible speed. The competitors aid to overwhelm the Swordmaiden chs with a multitude of rapid strikes rather than gamble on performing a risky charge that could easily backfire.
By holding back their speed, the dark yellow chs still retained plenty of maneuverability. They needed it as each of them had to form a response against the greatswords that were bound to strike them first.
The Swordmaidens knew exactly what their opponents were doing. They knew how bad it would be if the enemy chs all pressed close against their own. Yet despite this, they still kept their machines close together in order to prevent any of their units from getting isolated.
The Swordmaidens did not communicate with each other. The veteran ch pilots were all close sisters who fought alongside each other for many years. Their abundant experience along with the huge amount they lived with each other had caused them to form a high degree of tacit cooperation.
Off to the side, Ketis and the rest of the Swordmaidens each held their breaths.
"These ch pilots are way better than I thought. Will the opponents that co afterwards be even stronger?"
"I don't think so. We just got unlucky and squared off against one of the stronger teams right away."
"We can't afford to fold too easily. If our best team can't get past this phase, then we won't impress anyone!"
"The chs are at fault. I don't know what the Heavensword Association is thinking by forcing everyone to pilot just one standard configuration of a ch. They should have given the competitors the option to pilot more suitable variants!"
Not even Ketis knew whether the Swordmaiden ch pilots would be able to overco their current opponents.
Every tournant of the Great Omanderie Festival adopted a single-elimination format. Due to the sheer number of competitors as well as the great cost of allowing them to duel against each other with real chs, no one received a second chance.
As long as anyone, even a promising seed, suffered a defeat, they were out of that specific tournant!
Not even seeded competitors who were expected to reach the top 100 were guaranteed to go far. If so unknown dark horse bumped into one of them and achieved an upset, then the journey of the loser ended regardless of that person's identity!
This was what made tournants fun. Every match counted and unexpected surprises happened every year. Even if the top seeds from the Heavensword Association inevitably reached the finals, the events preceding these predictable matchups already generated enough excitent to keep people talking for weeks!
"They're getting close!"
The entire audience clung to the edge of their seats as they witnessed the two sides getting closer.
Once the dark yellow chs were about to get into range, they each clung their shorter blades closer in anticipation of blocking the heavy strikes that were bound to co.
Each of the chs wielding lighter weapons had to focus their full efforts on blocking this ti as they didn't have as much room to dodge this ti.
"Here it cos! Resist with all your might!"
Yet even as the jogging chs entered the range of the Swordmaiden chs, the latter declined to swing their greatswords!
"What?!"
"Why aren't they attacking? Don't they realize they're giving away their greatest advantage?!"
"Careful! They're up to sothing!"
The Swordmaidens declined to perform the most optimal course of action. If the chs at the front all swung their greatswords against the approaching opposition, then they had a decent chance of inflicting crippling damage!
Due to the need to approach from the front, the dark yellow chs were unable to dodge this ti.
Not only that, but the chs were actively pushing themselves into the blades of the Swordmaiden chs.
The damage the dark yellow chs would incur if their guards were broken was much greater than if they just stood still!
Yet by refusing to do so, the Swordmaiden chs instead kept their massive weapons close to their fras.
The three Swordmaidens chs facing the charging opponents all braced themselves against the ground while holding their swords in a blocking grip as well!
With one arm grasping the hilt while the other pressing up against the flat of the blade, the three Swordmaiden chs ford a solid wall which the unprepared dark yellow chs crashed against!
Crunch!
Due to the latter's restrained speed, the collisions that ensued weren't powerful enough to knock down any machine. Instead, an awkward mont ensued as the collided chs were both pressed up against each other while suffering from the aftereffects of the debilitating impacts.
The Swordmaidens acted faster than their opponents.
While the ch pilots of the dark yellow chs were just starting to respond by trying to stab their shorter swords, two greatswords lunged forward and threaded the gaps between the friendly chs at the front!
Two dark yellow chs incurred severe damage!
Even though so of the other opposing chs managed to take advantage of the close range to unleash so stabs, the damage they inflicted was limited due to lack of space. There wasn't any opportunity for the Diligents to wind up their attacks!
While the dark yellow chs were all preoccupied with launching stabs, their targets did sothing that was beyond their expectation.
The three Swordmaiden chs directly facing the opposition all let go of their greatswords!
Even as the heavy weapons clattered onto the ground, the weaponless machines began to wrestle against their opposition!
Although the opposing ch pilots had taken this possibility into account, the Swordmaiden chs were so close that it was easy for them to grapple their opponents.
Surprisingly enough, the Swordmaiden chs only focused on hugging the opposing ch while neutralizing the weapon arm.
While they held their opponents in place, the two Swordmaiden chs that were still standing behind them took the opportunity to launch precise stabs that tore right into the fras of the immobilized chs!
"Yes!"
Even if the devastating attacks failed to knock out the affected chs right away, they suffered so much internal damage that they hardly posed a threat anymore.
The hugging Swordmaiden chs quickly pushed away their crippled dancing partners.
Throughout all of this ti, the two dark yellow chs that hadn't been caught in a hug had launched nurous attacks from the flanks. Even though two Swordmaiden chs exhibited serious damage, the flankers failed to finish off their opponents!
Commander Sendra's ch picked up the greatsword it dropped. She grinned as the numbers had turned in the favor of the Swordmaidens.
"Those tiny swords of yours are too feeble. Let show you what a real sword can do! FOR LYDIA!"
"FOR LYDIA!"
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