The distance quickly narrowed between the two sides!
The ferocious Avatar chs were premium second-class chs that were tougher and stronger than the average ch models that were usually used by private organizations. This was the benefit of an organization led by a wealthy ch designer who took care of his own n.
Yet the black chs weren't weak despite their ignoble roles. Whoever was behind them invested considerable sums to turn them into tough and durable machines.
Though the amphibian chs weren't exactly the fastest when they walked on land, they were uniquely optimized for combat on a water-dominated planet like Trieden II. The paradise destination was mostly covered with oceans and the only surface landmasses that existed were either islands or slightly larger archipelagos.
There was a functional elegance behind the design of the black chs. As Ves tracked the progress of the unfolding battle from the bridge of the Spirit of Bentheim, he noted that their ch pilots were no slouches either.
"These guys definitely aren't crown terrorists." Ves concluded after the first minute the Larkinsons and unknown enemies opened fire against each other… "Their performance is too regular. I can sll the standardized training that they have gone through."
The enemy ch pilots previously perford a lot more sloppy when they ambushed the Purnessers and assailed the Violet Estates. There wasn't any need for the black chs to leverage all of their strength against a weak target that only knew how to hide behind walls.
Yet the Larkinsons were different. If the Purnessers were like cowardly foxes, then the Avatars ca like roaring lions!
Against actual challengers, the enemy ch pilots could no longer put up the facade of a bunch of brainwashed terrorists who were only fighting in order to retrieve a supposed crown.
chs continued to fall from both sides as the exchange of fire grew more intense and precise as the range narrowed.
What was important to note was that the Ferocious Piranhas had flown ahead of the Bright Warriors!
Though the infamous light skirmishers deployed by the Flagrant Vandals had to slow down their forward advance a bit in order to perform constant evasive maneuvers, they were well on their way of reaching their opponents!
The black chs did not ignore their approach. Their ranged chs abruptly switched from directing their fire towards the Bright Warriors in favor of doing everything they could to take down the Ferocious Piranhas!
Even though the Vandal chs put a lot more effort into their evasive maneuvers, the ranged black chs did not attempt to hit them straight-on. Instead, they deployed a coordinated firing strategy where each ch poured their firepower into a specific zone around their target.
As long as all of the different zones boxed in all of the directions where their target would be an instant later, it was impossible for beleaguered Ferocious Piranhas to escape getting hit!
"Ahh! I'm already out!"
"Don't bother dancing around anymore." A Vandal captain urged. " We're going down no matter what we do. If that's the case, then focus more on boosting forward and strive to close in to the enemy as soon as possible. Vandals forever!"
"VANDALS FOREVER!"
The fearless daredevil pilots of the Flagrant Vandals took the incoming fire in stride. Even if Ferocious Piranha after Ferocious Piranha dropped down or flew out of formation due to suffering crippling damage, the remainder did not let these sacrifices go in vain. With each Ferocious Piranha that fell, many more were getting closer and closer to the thick and sturdy chs poking half of their fras out of the water.
Several Larkinsons including Ves winced as they witnessed these chs dropping like flies. None of them were cheap and it pained them to see chs worth several hundred million hex credits perish without even receiving the opportunity to pay back the money that the clan had put into their fabrication.
"I'm losing billions of hex credits worth assets!" Ves complained.
"ow." Lucky huffed as he laid on the armrest.
The battle was of little interest to the gem cat considering that he and the Spirit of Bentheim were too far away to be in any danger.
"You don't know what this ans. We will have to fabricate replacent chs for the pilots that lost their original machines. This will delay the supply of chs to the ch pilots who have not yet received anything, which ans it will take additional weeks or months before we get up to full strength!"
The rescue operation cost more than money, lives and assets. It also ate up valuable ti that he and his clan could have spend on other useful activities.
Seeing all of the losses the clan incurred so far made Ves feel a bit regretful for accepting Calabast's recomndation. He didn't feel it was worth it to pay such a hefty price just to obtain the services of a diplomatic family.
He was plotting to demand a greater degree of fealty from the Purnesse Family in order to get his return on investnt. These damned Loxians were proving to be a lot more trouble so far than he expected.
The battle continued to unfold as Ves strayed in his thoughts.
Though the ranged Bright Warriors were hitting the black chs fairly hard, the enemy had plenty of chs to spare for now. The unknown force had probably done their research on the Larkinson Clan because the black chs were doing their best to take down the incoming light skirmishers!
"Do these people know what our Ferocious Piranhas can do?!"
"It doesn't matter! We'll make their lives hell regardless of how few of us are left!"
Even though the Ferocious Piranhas neither had mass nor numbers on their side, the Vandals did not even think about defeat.
The original ch regint that used to serve in the Bright Republic's ch Corps had changed substantially over the years. Though it hadn't taken on a lot of new mbers until recently, the Vandals constantly worked to retool themselves and reengineer their martial tradition to establish their new place in the Larkinson Clan.
Though they still retained much of their forr military vagabond ways, the Vandals put a lot more emphasis in their new role as the light ch specialists of the clan. This was a niche that the other ch forces currently didn't focus upon, so the forr Brighters eagerly embraced the Ferocious Piranha IB as their ch of choice.
"Co on, Vandals! Let's teach those arrogant Penitent Sisters and Swordmaidens how real soldiers fight!"
"VANDALS FOREVER!"
The Ferocious Piranhas rapidly approached the vicinity of the Violet Estates. Instead of trying to enter the defensive envelope of the remaining stronghold of the Purnesse Family, the Ferocious Piranhas flew around the people they were supposed to rescue and headed straight towards the scattered formations of the black chs!
Only a bit more than half of the ch company had made it through, but this was still a devastating amount for the enemy. As soon as the Ferocious Piranhas flew in range, the black chs abruptly jerked and exhibited a lot less reactiveness than before.
The terrible suppressive glows of these annoying light chs were making their mark!
Unfortunately for the Vandals and the rest of the Larkinsons, the enemy ch pilots affected by the hostile glow weren't debilitated to the point where they lost control.
The controllers of the black chs fird up their minds and gritted their teeth in order to attack the fast and nimble light chs that were harassing them from above and from the sides.
The close range prevented the enemy ranged chs from continuing their attacks on the Ferocious Piranhas with as much vigor as before. Friendly fire was a very real possibility.
Instead, it was the job of the lee chs to fend them off. However, the light chs were so quick and mobile that it was hopeless for the defending lee chs to have any realistic chance of downing the Ferocious Piranhas.
The aquatic black chs simply weren't fast enough! They couldn't even fly, so how could they possibly land their attacks on the swift machines!
The only machines that stood any chance of downing the light chs was the small number of striker chs ard with shotgun weapons. Their broad pellets dealt pretty damage to the Ferocious Piranhas at closer ranges.
However, the Vandals didn't have to worry about getting harassed this way for long as a torrent of lasers and other beams struck the enemy striker chs from a distance!
"Thanks for the backup, Avatars!"
"No problem, Vandals! Keep them occupied until we reach your position. We just need a minute!"
With the striker chs quickly getting downed or suppressed to the point where they had to dip below the water, the Ferocious Piranhas were free to fly and pressure the black chs.
The Vandals knew better than to close in to strike with their daggers, though. Their offensive power was not great and it would be even harder to deal crippling damage against well-armored amphibian chs.
Instead, the Ferocious Piranhas did as much as they could while making threatening attack passes over the heads of the half-subrged black chs.
Not just their glows, but also the threat of a dive attack kept the enemy machines constrained.
The black chs simply weren't equipped to defeat the Ferocious Piranhas, especially when the Vandals acted like scoundrels with the way they were taunting their opponents without actually getting close enough to open them up to strong retaliation.
"Hahaha! Look at these idiotic black chs. They can't shoot us down anymore now that we have gotten so close. Make sure to interfere with their rifleman chs as much as possible. Don't give their ch pilots any peace!"
The Ferocious Piranhas distracted the black chs so well that they bought plenty of ti for the leading edge of the Avatars to finally get close.
"Lancer chs! Drive a wedge through their formation!" lkor commanded.
"By your will!"
The Bright Warriors in lancer ch configurations had gone ahead of the rest of the Avatars as their forward acceleration and velocities were higher. They pointed their long and thick lances straight ahead as they did not show any fear of telegraphing their next move towards their opponents.
However, the response surprised the Lakrinsons. The black chs did not opt to face the incoming charge head-on. Instead of hastily repositioning their sturdiest and most defensive machines to et the incoming charge, they did sothing much simpler.
They all dove underwater!
In one instance, the amphibian chs were poking out of the waterline, looking more than ready to fight against the incoming Larkinson chs regardless of the losses.
In the next instance, the site they previously occupied had turned into calm water with only a small number of downed black chs poking out from the shallow surface.
"Damn! We lost our targets!"
"Are they leaving?"
The lancer chs smoothly flew past the site where the black chs had previously congregated without driving their lance through any solid tal.
The ch pilots of the offense-oriented Bright Warriors expressed a lot of frustration at being denied their mont of glory!
"The black chs are popping out again!"
The enemy force did not intend to retreat from the battle now that they encountered serious opposition. Instead, they chose to et the challenge of the Larkinson Clan and fight against the powerful Bright Warriors and Ferocious Piranhas despite the heavy casualties that they would surely sustain!
As the lee Bright Warriors that followed after the lancer chs crashed into the lines of the black chs, a furious struggle broke out as both sides tried to take each other down with no further signs of backing off. Neither the Larkinsons nor unknown assailants believed that they were about to suffer defeat!
"That's strange." Commander lkor murmured as he observed the behavior of the black chs from afar. The rifle of his ch periodically spat out beams as he took aim and pulled the trigger. "What gives these black chs the confidence that they can beat us especially considering that our second wave is on the way?"
He quickly drew one worrying conclusion. "They're not alone! This isn't their force! Hostile reinforcents are probably on the way!"
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