The big day had co! Before the Larkinson Battalion fought its first match against the Ginetzy Battalion, the other two competitors in Group A fought against each other first.
The Quizlam Battalion and the Heartfall Battalion both put up a good fight.
As their future opponents, the Larkinsons studied their chs and strategies carefully.
The random battlefield generated by the arena settled upon a cratered, airless planet environnt.
While much of the terrain was fairly open, the many craters along with the high amount of hills and slopes resulted in plenty of shallow cover.
Aerial chs could easily gain a good view over the battlefield, but there was nothing for them to hide behind if they got targeted.
The Heartfall Battalion initially deployed a wave of light chs in the air. However, as soon as they flew high enough, they imdiately ca under withering fire from well-entrenched rifleman chs!
The Quizlam Battalion deployed a mix of chs and brought plenty of ranged chs to snipe the exposed Heartfall scout chs!
This forced the Heartfallers to recall their light chs down to the ground before they got shot to pieces.
That was the beginning of a pattern. In the subsequent hour, the Quizlam Battalion essentially waged guerilla warfare against the Heartfall Battalion.
The forr obfuscated the sensors and the information-gathering ability of the latter as much as possible.
From flooding the arena field with lots of jamming to launching sensor-scrambling smoke shells, the Quizlam Battalion turned the entire cratered battlefield into a misty horror drama.
The Heartfall Battalion's chs possessed decent sensor systems but none of them were capable of overcoming through all of the interference. Their strongest sensor and scanning systems were only effective at shorter ranges.
While this was sufficient to scare away raiding parties, the Quizlams still brought a lot of ranged chs!
In order to keep themselves as elusive as possible, the Quizlam's eschewed artillery chs and relied solely on rifleman chs to pepper the Heartfall chs with projectiles.
Since the Quizlam rifleman chs did not employ any energy weapons, they generated a lot less heat than their opponents. That helped with keeping their energy signatures as low as possible, making it hard for their opponents to detect the chs at a distance.
What was even more infuriating was that the Quizlam rifleman chs relocated every ti they fired a heavy shot. Before the Heartfall chs fired their weapons in the direction where the projectiles ca from, the Quizlams had already fallen back behind cover or stepped aside!
Eventually, the Heartfallers figured out that staying put would only grind them down. They opted to make use of their mobility advantage and advanced in three large formations.
This not only forced the Quizlams to keep up, but also had to exert greater effort to take down the moving chs. Each ti the elusive Quizlam chs exposed their positions, one of the three Heartfall formations charged straight at their targets and overwheld the sneaky chs before they could run!
In the end, the Heartfall Battalion did the best they could to eliminate the Quizlams one by one, but they constantly suffered attrition while they perford their maneuvers.
"The Quizlams are going to be a difficult challenge." Commander Casella murmured.
The Larkinsons still needed to overco Ginetzy Battalion first before they could move on to strategizing against their next opponent.
At least the clan didn't have to fight against the Quizlams first. Now that these tricky bastards showed off all of their tricks against the Heartfallers, the Larkinsons could make much more targeted preparations against the electronic warfare specialists!
"You're up, Larkinsons! Hurry up and head outside!"
All 500 Larkinson chs simultaneously stepped onto the main arena.
The first ones to step onto the field was the Avatars of Myth. They constituted the main body of the Larkinson Battalion and amounted to as much as 239 chs.
Although the Larkinson Clan no longer revered the Bright Warrior model as much as before, it was still its mainstay. The Bright Warrior not only reinforced teamwork, but also gained a lot more value in the hands of the Avatars of Myth.
Of course, the main reason why the Larkinson Battalion leaned so heavily on the Bright Warriors was because they could fulfill each basic role.
After weighing the importance of quickly tearing down the energy shields favored by the Ginetzy Battalion, the Bright Warriors mainly deployed Bright Warriors in rifleman ch configuration this ti.
Each of them were ard with highly flexible luminar crystal rifles. Loaded with four separate attack phase luminar crystals, the Avatar rifleman chs were able to respond effectively to several different situations.
Aside from Bright Warriors in rifleman ch configurations, the Avatars also deployed a decent amount of knight chs in order to guard the more vulnerable artillery chs of the Larkinson Battalion.
Though Commander Casella also wanted to bring lancer chs, she couldn't bring enough of them for them to make a difference.
"Besides, we have the Penitent Sisters."
The Penitent Sisters brought a large number of Valkyrie Redeers. The recently-upgraded marauder chs were all ard with reduced versions of luminar crystal rifles. While their weapons were smaller and weaker, they suited the more mobile chs well.
The Sisters also opted to deploy a small number of Eternal Redemptions, but their extrely lacking mobility ant that the cannoneer chs were better off with sticking with the Eye of Ylvaine.
The youngest and newest ch legion of the Larkinson Clan was a risky addition to the Larkinson Battalion.
Even if they brought just 20 Transcendent Punishers, their high importance and low mobility turned them into strategic assets that needed protection at all tis. They also anchored the other Larkinson chs to an extent.
Opposite to the Eye of Ylvaine, the Flagrant Vandals deployed with a full lineup of light chs.
Due to the relatively static battle approach of the Ginetzy Battalion, the Vandals only brought 40 Ferocious Piranhas this ti.
The light chs were there to hunt down enemy scouts, monitor enemy positions and test the enemy's counterasures.
If the Ginetzy Battalion failed to repel the Ferocious Piranhas, the Flagrant Vandals were free to press their attacks against the vulnerable enemy chs!
As for the Swordmaidens, they exclusively deployed Bright Warriors in swordsman ch configuration.
Originally, the Swordmaidens didn't find the Bright Warrior model to be a comfortable fit for their fighting style.
Before they received a proper swordsman ch designed by Ketis, they improvised by customizing and altering the existing Bright Warriors to accommodate their needs.
The Swordmaidens even painted over the golden coating of the Bright Warriors into a muted green tint. Together with their greatswords, the Swordmaiden chs exuded a lot more nace than the Bright Warrior chs!
Every Larkinson thought highly of the Swordmaidens. While they were useless in ranged combat, as long as they got close to the enemy, they could easily chop their opposition apart, especially if they attacked from a flanking angle!
The Swordmaidens weren't expected to play a role in the beginning phase of the battles. If they just charged up at the Genitzy Battalion, they would probably lose most if not all of their 80 machines before they could hack their weapons against the energy shields of their opponents!
No, the ranged chs ard with luminar crystal rifles had to make the first move.
Once the match comnced, Commander Casella quickly issued a round of orders.
"Vandals, scout the enemy position! Keep as low to the ground as possible but don't hesitate to hunt down the enemy scouts!"
"Aye, commander!"
The enemy scout chs played a crucial role in transmitting precise targeting data to the Ginetzy missile and cannon-carrying chs.
Due to this important role, the Ginetzy scout chs remained as flighty and elusive as possible.
Unlike the Vandals, the Ginetzy light chs avoided battle as much as possible. Each ti they ca under threat, they quickly retreated to the Ginetzy Battalion's main formation.
The Larkinsons already expected the Ginetzy scout elents to play hard to get. Casella didn't think it was crucial to take them out straight away. As long as they stopped peeping on the Larkinson ch elents, the Ginetzy ranged chs weren't able to bombard as much as they liked!
"So far, so good."
This ti, the battlefield turned into a hot, sandy desert environnt. With low, rolling hills and occasional rocky outcroppings, the circumstances of this match resembled that of the previous battle.
The only true difference was the heightened temperature. Commander Casella and many other Larkinsons frowned when they realized that their heat-generating chs would reach their limits faster in the current environnt.
"We'll need to end this battle quickly. The longer it goes on, the more the Ginetzy Battalion are able to build up their advantage."
Of course, the Ginetzys were able to bring only so much ammunition to the fight. Once their ranged chs ran out of missiles and explosive shells, they beca a lot less scary!
The Larkinsons couldn't afford to bet on outlasting their opponents. By almost entirely forgoing lee chs, the Ginetzys brought more than enough ranged chs to kill double their number if left unopposed!
"We've identified the Ginetzy Battalion's main position! They have entrenched themselves in the middle of a rocky outcropping!"
Casella accessed the live feed that was relayed back to the main Larkinson formation. She could see that the Ginetzys had not settled in place but instead sought the more favorable terrain in sight before setting up shop.
The enemy missile chs and cannon-wielding chs both ward up their weapon systems.
Even if the Ginetzy scout chs were unable fly too far from their friendlies, they still relayed plenty of relevant sensor readings.
"Damnit, we're under fire!" A Flagrant Vandal ch pilot roared! "There's a dozen hunter-killer missiles behind my back! I can't break their locks! Ahhh!"
The unlucky Ferocious Piranha exploded into several different pieces as multiple missiles struck the ch without any difficulty.
A small energy shield generated by the arena protected the cockpit against any damage. THe protected cockpit soon zipped upwards until it passed through the extrely powerful barrier that marked the boundaries of the arena field.
This phenonon happened several tis. Both sides largely ignored it as they knew it was just the ch pilots of the destroyed chs being brought to safety.
In the anti, more Ferocious Piranhas got blown up after being chased by missiles. The Larkinson light chs did not carry any machine guns or other ranged weapons that could be used to shoot the missiles before they reached their targets.
In fact, even if the Ferocious Piranhas were able to intercept the incoming ordnance, many of the hunter-killer missiles simply flew too fast to shoot them all down!
"These missiles and shells keep pouring in from afar!"
"If this continues, we can't hold back the ginetzy scout chs much longer!"
The Flagrant Vandals had to retreat their Ferocious Piranhas from the main enemy position before they were wiped out in their entirety!
"Careful, folks! These Ginetzy missiles are not only good at locking in our chs, but none of our ECM systems managed to divert them. I suggest we either intercept the missiles or cut them off at the source!"
This was unsettling information to Commander Casella, but it did not stop her resolve. The Larkinsons needed to advance towards the Ginetzys.
Minutes passed by as the huge audience felt the tension. The Larkinsons knew where their enemies were located but did not dare to commit an assault until they ca closer.
The Ginetzy Battalion's position was covered entirely by energy shields. While they had beco a lot more vulnerable now that they exposed their location, their missileer and cannoneer chs were already firing their weapons at any Larkinson ch that exposed their whereabouts!
As the freed-up Ginetzy scout chs beca bold enough to explore again, they continued to relay the coordinates of the advancing Larkinson chs.
Hundreds of missiles and explosive shells flooded the Larkinson Battalion!
Even spreading out their formations didn't help that much. The enemy artillery chs rely concentrated their fire in a single zone and wiped everything out that was inside.
In just a short span of ti, the Larkinsons had already lost over thirty chs while the Ginetzys only lost a smaller amount of scout chs!
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