With each minute that passed, the oppression that the Olympus Mons exerted on the expeditionary fleet increased.
Despite the imnse distance at this ti, everyone felt as if they were being chased by an indomitable bear that kept gaining on them. As long as the powerful monster finally caught up, their bodies would easily get torn apart by just a single bear slap!
Of course, the running humans did not give up their chances of survival. While they were fleeing, so of the humans started to fire their weapons at the looming threat. Even if the hide of the bear was too thick to suffer any damage from these attacks, there was always a chance that it might help!
This was what happened right now. While the Golden Skull Alliance was preparing its faster ships to escape ahead of ti, the ranged chs of the Larkinson Clan had already begun to fire back at the approaching threat!
It was extrely difficult to achieve a high hit rate at this distance. Energy weapon discharges such as laser beams exhibited the highest degree of accuracy while physical weapons such as gauss rifles were much less reliable at extre ranges.
Even so, none of the Transcendent Punishers, Eternal Redemptions and Bright Warriors ard with ranged weapons dared to slacken off too much. Ammunition and energy cells could easily be replenished later on. Lives could never be restored once they were lost!
Commander lkor of the Avatars of Myth, Commander Chancy of the Penitent Sisters, Commander Cinnabar of the Battle Criers, Commander Casella of the Living Sentinels and so on were all exhorting their own subordinates to shoot at the closing dwarven ace chs as if they were in the middle of an apocalypse!
"Don't get paralyzed by fear! Just shoot as fast as your weapon systems can handle. That enormous resonance shield projected by the ace ch looks impressive but probably costs the ace pilot a huge amount of effort to maintain. As long as we drain its energy, the ace ch won't be as scary anymore."
"So what if we're about to die? Our deaths will have aning as long as we achieve an important goal! Right now, we must buy enough ti for our civilians and other clansn to evacuate from this star system. This dwarven frigate can't chase all of our starships, especially if we split up. Most of us might not make it out of this star sector alive, but our clan shall definitely live on due to our valor today!"
Resisting against a single ace ch was the greatest challenge that every ch pilot in the clan had faced up until now. They were so horrified that hardly anyone thought they could get out alive!
Fortunately, they were trained and disciplined enough to maintain their composure. They clung onto their duty like a lifeline and did their best to fire their weapons if possible.
Even the lee ch pilots such as the Swordmaidens prepared themselves for a suicidal charge. No matter how invincible the opponent seed, they would never give up without a fight!
"Our sacrifice will have aning!"
"Fight not for your lives, but for the lives of our fellow clansn. We are soldiers. This is the ti for you to discover what it truly ans to serve!"
Though General Verle was glad that the Larkinson Army held up so far, he feared that this was only a temporary condition.
Once the Olympus Mons ca close enough to envelop its opponents into its domain field, it would be hard for any ch pilot to remain brave when they were being crushed by the ace pilot's enormous will!
When Verle took a look at what the other chs in the fleet were doing, he began to frown.
"Why are you hesitating?"
So far, only the chs of the Larkinson Clan opened fire!
The Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan had yet to take action against the approaching dwarves. The roughly 10,000 rcenary chs that guarded the outer periter of the fleet did not take action either.
During his ergency discussion with the other leaders of the alliance, Ves couldn't help but bring up these points.
"From what I've heard so far, the domain fields of ace pilots are almost impossible to overwhelm through massed regular attacks, but it should still be possible. If you guys join in on the attack, we stand a better chance at overwhelming the Olympus Mons."
Neither Marshal Ariadne nor Patriarch Reginald provided an imdiate answer. It was clear to the both of them that the surprise dwarf enemy was primarily interested in attacking Ves and maybe his clan. They were the primary culprits behind the Vulcan Empire's rapid collapse.
As for them? They were accessories as worst and bystanders as best. There was no way the Vulcanites held the sa degree of animosity towards them as Ves. Their prospects of survival were actually much greater as a consequence, provided that they split up imdiately and distanced themselves from the Larkinson Clan right away!
Ves' mood darkened as he saw this response. Though his allies hadn't said no, they were considering it. He had learned a long ti ago that tis like these tested whether he could truly count on his friends and allies.
This was also why he held high respect for people like the Swordmaidens. They had faced these kinds of circumstances with the Larkinson Clan before and always stayed true to their oaths and loyalties. His trust in them was ironclad.
As for the Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan, it appeared their willingness to share the misfortunes of the Larkinson Clan was not as absolute!
Professor Benedict decided to enlighten Ves about an important detail. "The rcenary organizations that you've hired to defend the fleet against attackers will not act this ti. A standard rcenary contract stipulates many exceptional circumstances where the contractors are not obliged to fulfill their normal duties. Squaring off against a hostile ace ch will definitely trigger a force majeure clause. There is absolutely no way that ch pilots for hire are willing to die for sothing as trivial as money."
"Damnit!" Ves gritted his teeth. "You can never count on rcenaries when you need them the most!"
Even the larger and more powerful rcenary organizations still shared the sa flaws as their smaller cousins. None of their ch pilots were truly willing to die for a cause that was greater than themselves. They only truly cared about earning as much money as possible while keeping their lives intact. As long as either of these conditions could no longer be t, they could no longer be counted upon to perform their services!
Ves did not bother to ask Shederin to persuade the rcenaries to help the expeditionary fleet out for this reason. No matter how much money the clan was willing to throw at them, nothing was more important than preserving their lives and company assets!
He let out a deep sigh. "Then what about you two? Can I count on the Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan to abide by their commitnts?"
He did not want to play any gas at the mont. He wanted to know straight away if the Golden Skull Alliance actually ant sothing to them or if they were too selfish to rely upon in the long-term.
Patriarch Reginald was as direct as ever. He did not agonize over the decision. "The Cross Clan shall always et its commitnt. The Larkinson Clan is our ally and our comrade in arms. We have fought against ace chs before. The Olympus Mons shall have to resist our fire as well if it wants to destroy the Larkinson Clan!"
Of course, the last ti the Cross Clan fought a proper battle against an ace ch, Saint Hemmington Cross was still alive back then! The Crossers were far from being able to resist another ace ch now that they were only a shadow of their forr glory!
That made Ves appreciate Cross Patriarch's decisive commitnt even more. Expert pilots were difficult to work with on so matters, but there were tis where their honor and their decisiveness worked out in his favor.
It was not for nothing that high-level expert pilots made for awful politicians.
Ves grinned. "Thank you, Patriarch Reginald. Your willingness to share our pressure is much appreciated. Our clan will certainly rember this favor and hold your people in higher regard."
The Cross Clan was undoubtedly placing a bet on the Larkinson Clan, but Ves didn't mind. Their relationship would certainly grow closer as long as they were able to survive this disaster.
Seeing that Patriarch Reginald made such a reckless but potentially rewarding choice, Marshal Ariadne could not continue to stall for ti.
She needed to make a split-second choice while taking various interests into account. She not only needed to choose what was best for Gloriana, the Wodin Dynasty and the Hexadric Hegemony, but also her own troops.
"The Glory Seekers are Hexers." The older woman said with a sardonic smile. "We have never shirked our duty. Our people have fought and died against plenty of overwhelmingly powerful opponents in the Komodo War. We are no strangers to fighting against impossible odds."
"Thank you, Marshal." Ves sincerely expressed his thanks. "The assistance of your troops is much appreciated. I owe you a favor as well. I am quite aware that I've been dragging you into a danger of my own making once again. Strictly speaking, you don't need to help my clan, but your willingness to do so warms my heart. I will definitely repay my debt to you both!"
The two allies acted quickly now that their leaders gave their word. The ranged chs of the Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan opened fire at the distant enemy.
Their entry into this heavily lopsided battle not only raised the morale of the Larkinsons, but also gave everyone a greater illusion that they might be able to fight their way out of this crisis!
As for the chs deployed by the rcenaries, they distinctly distanced themselves from the Golden Skull Alliance. While the rcenary vessels still matched the pace and heading of the expeditionary fleet, their current pattern of behavior made it clear that they would not do anything to hinder the dwarven ace ch from completing its objective!
Whether the addition of the Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan made any difference, Ves didn't know. All he could do was to hope that the additional weight of fire would cause the Olympus Mons to crumble before it reached its objective.
While the Golden Skull Alliance did its best to chip away at the defenses of the enemy ace ch, the ergency eting moved on to analysing its combat capabilities.
Ves briefly smiled. "Our intelligence analysts have gathered additional data on the Olympus Mons, most of which is public but so of it is not as obvious."
He projected rare footage of the Olympus Mons back when it was still in service in the Uriborn Province.
As an aggressive state, the Vulcan Empire loved its parades. It frequently used these events to strengthen the national pride of the dwarves and reinforce their sense of superiority over the tall folk.
Ves displayed a short clip that had been recorded more than a decade ago where the Olympus Mons demonstrated the might of an ace ch in front of an audience of high-ranking provincial dignitaries.
The distinctive rust red coating of the Olympus Mons was instantly recognizable. The larger-than-average dwarven ch wielded an enormous, two-handed maul as it flew towards a fleet carrier.
The capital ship was only 1.9 kiloters long and was built in the early days of the Vulcan Empire. By the ti of the recording, the dwarven fleet carrier was already hopelessly out of date.
Though the decommissioned military vessel could have been sold to the private sector for a lot of hamrs, the grand regent decided to employ it for a more worthwhile purpose.
Saint Yila Mayorka resonated with her powerful ace ch. Her strong and unique bond with her partner machine allowed them both to evoke a much stronger version of true resonance.
An entire sphere around the ace ch beca enveloped with light and pressure, causing the audience of provincial officials to gasp!
The Olympus Mons raised its hamr. Though the heavy maul looked large enough to smash any ch to pieces, it was still hopelessly small compared to the size of a 1.9 kiloter long fleet carrier!
Yet as the fad Mountain Hamr kept resonating more and more with her ch, this enormous hamr began to glow brighter and brighter in orange until a large energy manifestation ballooned from the physical weapon!
Soon, an enormous orange energy hamr had erged above the Olympus Mons! The weapon stretched for over a kiloter long and looked far more threatening and powerful than any of the energy manifestations evoked by the Larkinson Clan's battle formation!
"SHIPBREAK STRIKE."
The giant orange hamr struck the fleet carrier, transferring an enormous amount of kinetic energy and creating an impact that was no less than getting ramd by another capital ship!
The entire fleet carrier's side not only caved in, but the rest of her strong and sturdy tal hull cracked and shattered as if she was a broken vase!
Tons of tal debris flung out in each direction as the broken, bent and utterly ruined hull of a military capital ship drifted away from the Olympus Mons.
At the ti, this display was explicitly ant to reinforce the power of the grand regent over the provincial governors.
Now, it gave the leaders of the Golden Skull Alliance a pretty good impression that nothing in their arsenal could withstand the dwarven ace ch's mountain blows!
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