For once, the Larkinson Clan had a stroke of luck.
The random draw that determined their next opponent placed the dreaded Zpoeze Battalion as the final boss of the G-Aena League.
Practically no one thought the Zpoeze Battalion would falter in the semifinals and be forced to fight for third place.
Even if the Larkinsons managed to reach the finals only to get stomped by the pussies, it still would have been worth it! Losing against the Zpoeze Battalions would put them in second place, which was still worth 20 combat carriers!
Therefore, the Larkinsons absolutely had to win their next match. None of the clansn involved in the tournant relaxed any longer. It was all hands on deck as they prepared to analyze their next opponent and make specific preparations to win the upcoming match.
During the following eting, Director Raella put forth a suggestion.
"We have always been aiming to win either first or second place in this tournant. Although we only need to defeat one more battalion to reach the finals, it would be an enormous sha to stumble at this point. The prizes for third and fourth place are much smaller. After all we have done, I don't think that anyone here wants to return to our clan with just 10 or 5 combat carriers in our possession."
All of the Larkinsons in the eting room nodded. They were all fighting to beco the champion of this massive and prestigious event, but getting second place didn't sound so bad either.
"If that's the case, make sure to go all-out this ti." Raella continued. "Whatever we have left, just use it if the mont is right. Don't think of hiding our strength for later."
"Is the Glory of Urthina Battalion that strong?"
Raella crossed her arms. "Yes. If you haven't watched the previous matches yet, you'll find that the only reason why they fumbled a match was because they fought against a highly mobile ch battalion that was able to evade their most powerful attacks. Most of our chs can't do that, so we won't be able to fight the Urthinans at an advantage."
"What is their strategy, exactly? I've seen them fight, but all I see is their chs launching an all-out assault."
"That's pretty much what they are all about." Raella responded. "The Glory of Urthina Battalion's ch roster is disproportionately slanted towards assault-oriented chs. Their aerial wave consists of hundreds of lancer chs, offensive knight chs as well as light skirmishers that specialize in intercepting other light chs. Aside from that, they also field a substantial lanndbound contingent of dium cannoneer chs escorted by defensive knight chs."
The aerial wave was the main attacking force that could already sweep so of the weaker battalions in the G-Aena League with just a single charge. The fairly mobile landbound ranged contingent that followed from behind provided firepower support just in case they bumped into tougher opponents.
"From what the Urthinans have shown up until now, their ch doctrine and ch roster is completely geared towards assault. They do not have the patience or desire to remain on the defensive, and they do not bother to set up the battlefield in their favor either. They're just obsessed with vanquishing the unbelievers."
"Sounds familiar." A Larkinson officer scoffed.
"We've fought our fair share of cultists and fanatics, so expect to fight against highly motivated ch pilots who will never break or show hesitation in battle. Don't think that they have more guts than skill. Since the Church of Urthina is powerful enough to enter the Red Ocean, its ch forces are definitely capable."
The Larkinsons in the eting room studied the snippets of footage that Raella had prepared for them. They showcased the indomitable lee chs flying forward and charging straight towards the first enemies in their sight.
It didn't matter if the opposition had prepared defenses. The Urthinan lancer chs simply charged through any solid obstacle while the following chs took advantage of the openings.
If there were any ranged chs that were sohow out of reach to the Urthinan lee chs, then the cannoneer chs that always tried their best to keep up with the forward elents did their jobs and fired solid gauss rounds against tougher targets or expanding shrapnel rounds that could easily grind down elusive light chs no matter how amazingly they danced in the air.
Commander Casella shared her own insight of their next adversaries. "One of the key reasons why the Glory of Urthina Battalion managed to defeat two of their opponents so easily is because its quick and overwhelming assault leaves little room for the enemy to think and form a response. By the ti the overwheld defenders change their tactics, the Urthinan chs have already broken into their core."
That was a scary scenario, but not an insurmountable one. The Larkinsons already knew what to expect, so it was impossible for them to be caught off-guard like this. That didn't an they could allow the enemy to break through their lines.
Once the Urthinan chs broke through the Larkinson Battalion's lines, it beca a lot harder to get rid of the intruders! The Larkinson chs would beco less organized and make it easier for the Urthinans to cause further disruption.
"What I'm more worried about is that the Urthinans haven't shown their full capabilities." Raella said with obvious concern. "These Urthinans are fanatics, but that doesn't an they're stupid. They might even be putting up an act to lull us in a false sense of security."
"What makes you say that, director?"
"Just look at the footage of their only defeat in the first round. They matched against a battalion that deploys chs that are too fast for most of the Urthinan chs to catch up. The complicated canyon battlefield also helped them out by limiting the movents of the lancer chs and blocking much of the line of sight of the cannoneer chs."
The Glory of Urthina perford rather brilliantly against two of its opponents, but lost so badly against another battalion that it was hard to respect the Urthinans.
Yet Raella presented the Larkinsons with an alarming theory.
"What if the Urthinans deliberately held back when they fought against this mobile battalion? What if they had looked forward and determined that they could afford to lose a single match? As long as no one else has managed to win 3 tis, all of the battalions in the group will have to be ranked according to the tie-breaker rules. With their two overwhelming victories, it is already 90 percent certain that the Glory of Urthina will advance!"
This was a rather outlandish theory, but one that revealed an uncommonly high degree of cunning and forethought!
Commander Casella frowned. "If… if the Glory of Urthina Battalion truly calculated this result, then it should definitely be hiding its trump cards against stronger opponents. While it may be possible for the Urthinans to look down on us and set their sights on the Zpoezers, the chance is great that they will surprise us with powerful new surprises that they haven't shown in the first round."
"Do you understand why I'm telling you to go all out this ti, commander? The Urthinans may sound like stereotypical religious fanatics on the surface, but their tournant strategy is highly rational. It's exactly what I would do if I was in their place. You guys may not realize it, but there is more to winning a tournant than smashing the enemy's chs."
Once Raella convinced them not to take the Urthinans lightly, the Larkinsons properly respected their opponents this ti.
Any battalion that could make it into the top 4 should not be weak, but even if the Glory of Urthina Battalion could not compare against the Zpoeze Battalion, the gap between the two was probably a lot smaller than most people thought!
"So how can we actually beat these opponents?"
That was an important question. The known battle strategy of the Glory of Urthina Battalion was relatively simple but already difficult to resist. No other battalion in the G-Aena League relied so heavily on lancer chs as these crazies!
"Can our knight chs withstand the charges of their lancer chs?" A ch officer asked.
"No." A ch designer replied. "According to our calculations, the enemy lancer chs can easily build up enough montum to breach through the shields and armor of our Bright Warriors in knight ch configuration. Even if we make use of a tougher and more specialized knight ch model, the results are unlikely to be any different."
Everyone already suspected that this was probably the case, but it had to be said.
"What if we fight on more confined battlefields?"
"The lancer chs can still penetrate through our defensive chs. To be honest, the performance of our Bright Warriors in their more defensive loadouts are below standard in the Red Ocean. There are substantially tougher ch models in the market. Sure, they're not alive and they don't have any glows, but lancer chs don't let any of that stop them from driving their weapons through our chs."
This was bad news, though not new for so of the gathered Larkinsons. It still disappointed them that they could not rely on their defensive chs as before. Many of their old workhorse ch models needed updates in order to bring them back up to standard.
Commander Casella voiced her greatest concern. "No matter what trump cards the Glory of Urthina Battalion has in store, it's useless to think about them when we cannot overco the first hurdle. We need to ready an effective response against the charges of all of their lancer chs."
"Ideally, we should make it so that they never succeed in impacting our chs. We can do that by shooting them down before they get close or keep running so that their lances never hit their targets."
"We can't do the latter unless we field 500 Ferocious Piranhas, which we don't have." A ch officer stated. "Besides, committing to a full force of light chs will waste a lot of our allowance tonnage. I don't think a full force of light chs can defeat this assault-oriented battalion."
"What if we throw in a couple of hundred Penitent Sisters?" A captain from the sa ch legion proposed. "We are quite interested in fighting against these Urthinans. They claim that Urthina is the greatest female goddess and that is an affront to the Superior Mother's majesty!"
A few Larkinsons groaned. They did not look forward to getting caught up in a religious dispute of all things.
Commander Casella cleared her throat. "I believe the Valkyrie Redeers can be of great use in raiding the ranged contingent of the Glory of Urthina Battalion. The Hex Army often employs the Valkyrie models against these kinds of targets in the Komodo War. It is what they are made for and what they are good at. I think we should employ better solutions against their assault units, though."
The Valkyrie Redeers excelled at flanking and raiding but fared less well in frontal combat against heavier units.
"If we can't rely on our Bright Warriors, Valkyrie Redeers or Ferocious Piranhas to counter the Urthinan lancer chs, then what do we have left?"
An awkward silence followed.
This problem was only able to occur because the Larkinson Clan's ch roster was too small and had too many holes. The need to expand the amount of ch models the Larkinsons could rely upon beca especially acute at this ti!
The Larkinsons shared several suggestions and explored different ideas, but none of the proposals sounded good.
Commander Casella was only able to choose between a number of imperfect solutions that all ca with flaws of their own. It was just too difficult to present a better plan when the Larkinson Clan didn't possess the required ch elents!
Perhaps the Larkinson Army could respond more effectively to this kind of threat, but the Larkinson Battalion had to abide by the rules of the tournant. This condition restricted the Larkinsons a lot more than the other competitors!
User Comments
0 comments from readers