Master Benedict Cortez grew more keen as his Mars finally made its first true appearance in public. Decades of research and years of design work had finally come into fruition. It was rare for Masters to be given the responsibility to design ace mechs. Only the most trusted and accomplished mech designers of a state had a chance of receiving an invitation to design the most powerful mechs of their lifetimes. There were so few people who could pilot ace mechs in the first place that many Masters got passed over. Objectively speaking, Master Benedict shouldn't have obtained his turn. He had advanced too soon and his design solutions weren't close to the level of a seasoned and experienced Master. Though he managed to realize his design philosophy, the implementation of his new Magma Vein System and Endex System were still fairly rough as they were at the start of their respective development cycles. It didn't matter much to him. Qualified or not, Master Benedict never intended to pass up the opportunity to design a genuine ace mech. He had learned so many lessons and became exposed to so many new aspects of high-level mech design that he expanded his horizons and gained many new research directions. However, the Mars was currently his best and proudest work. Though it was not a solo project, it undoubtedly encapsulated his design philosophy and the ideals he pursued since he started on this career. Naturally, Benedict possessed a lot of confidence in his magnum opus. It was supremely powerful and utilized some of the best tech available in the Krakatoa Middle Zone. "It has finally happened." Ves spoke. "Our living god will finally shine today." Gloriana smiled as she held a suited Andraste in her arms. The Master Mech Designer had started a conference call with the two contributors that had contributed to the Mars by making it more unique by raising its upper boundaries in different ways. Though Master Benedict always respected Ves for his unique work and his radical but successful design solutions, his wife could be just as brilliant in her own ways. Master Benedict did not view radical and unorthodox mech designers with much respect in the past. He thought that they were incompetent fools and dreamers who vastly overreached in their attempts to produce major breakthroughs in a single leap. The progression of science rarely moved forward without the support of enormous accumulation. A huge amount of research and experimentation formed the basis of most advancements in human civilization these days. It wasn't until Benedict came in touch with the leading mech designers of the Larkinson Clan that he gained a new appreciation of their worth and contribution to the mech industry. Frankly speaking, Benedict did not believe it was the best idea to rely on mechs that were solely based on Ves and Gloriana's radical design philosophies. The pair possessed highly distinct strengths but also fairly major deficiencies and blindspots. They were also Journeymen who still had a long way to go before they were able to develop more rounded and refined mechs. Still, their shortcomings didn't matter as long as the pair worked in a collaborative context. This was where Master Benedict truly appreciated the so-called Miracle Couple. Some of their most defining specialties could easily be plugged into any mech design and instantly elevate the work to a higher level. This was exactly what happened to the Mars. Master Benedict could have chosen to collaborate with other Seniors if he truly wanted to, but he had opted to join hands with a bunch of Journeymen instead. This was because only Ves and Gloriana allowed his Mars to grow after its completion. Besides, Ves had played a key role in enabling the Mars to become a masterwork mech. This exceptional accomplishment instantly multiplied the value of their creation and set it apart from many other ace mechs! The proportion of masterworks among ace mechs tended to be significantly higher than usual, though. They were developed by the best Master Mech Designers of a state and organization. Many of these prestigious figures possessed so much depth in mechs that their ability to successfully fabricate masterwork mechs was incredible! Master Benedict had no illusions about being able to turn the initial version of the Mars into a masterwork mech right away, but everything changed once he got hit by Ves' strange hammer. Though Benedict deeply wanted to grab that hammer and research it in order to figure out how it could have triggered such a massive epiphany in his mind, he was tactful enough not to say anything to the Larkinson Patriarch. Everyone had their secrets. Even Benedict never shared too much about himself to the people around him. That did not affect his ability to collaborate with other mech designers. Each of them possessed a clear understanding of what they sought from each other. This was also another reason why Benedict was satisfied with the Larkinson mech designers. They were all young and posed little threat to higher-ranking mech designers. They also retained much of their purity and enthusiasm in mech design. Currently, Ves and Gloriana's anticipation for the Mars might be even greater than his own! Their limited contributions already granted them a measure of ownership of the Mars. After being paired with a powerful ace pilot, the Mars offered the greatest hope of maximizing the growth traits of the two Larkinson mech designers. However, there was no guarantee that the Mars could defeat its formidable opponent. No matter what, the Neo Amadeus was developed with the support of an entire coalition partner! Even Master Benedict did not possess a complete enough understanding of Venerable Jeremiah Gauge and his Neo Amadeus to judge whether they still possessed a powerful trump card that could turn the tide. "What are your first impressions of the Neo Amadeus?" Benedict idly asked. "I underestimated its ranged capabilities." Ves immediately spoke. "I did not think it could project so much power at a distance just by tossing its swords. How is the Neo Amadeus able to maintain such strong control over them outside of its domain field?" "I imagine that your favorite Fridayman mech designer plays a large role in this." Gloriana guessed. "Out of the Gauge Dynasty Master Mech Designers who are known to have worked on the Neo Amadeus, Master Huron possesses the right specialty and the strongest qualifications to increase the control mechanisms of the swords." Master Benedict thoughtfully nodded. "Though we have only gained a glimpse so far, the interaction between the Neo Amadeus and its swords faintly reminds me of the relationship between the Charlemagne and the Scara." Ves paid much closer attention to the three main swords of the Neo Amadeus. Now that Master Benedict mentioned it, the swords absolutely stood out. They did not move or behave like inert weapons. The way they orbited around the Neo Amadeus caused them to appear more lively than usual. "Wait a second…" The words of Benedict and his wife gave him a strange hunch. Ves leaned forward on his chair and focused specifically on the sword. He did not look at their material composition or their overall design but instead tried to look for a specific trait that he had often worked with in the past. Though it was difficult to determine anything solid through a projected view as opposed to being able to see the Neo Amadeus with the naked eye, Ves still managed to pick up hints that looked disturbingly familiar to his eyes. Gloriana paid close attention to her husband's projection. "Did you find out something important about the Neo Amadeus, Ves?" "I think so. I'm not sure. I need to see the Neo Amadeus in action before I know for certain what is going on. If my suspicions are correct, the Neo Amadeus may be a scarier ace mech than I originally thought." As the mech designers speculated on the properties of the Neo Amadeus, the two ace pilots had nothing much to say anything to each other anymore. Both of them fought for different principles and ideals. It was impossible for strong-willed individuals such as Jeremiah and Reginald to sway their opponents to their viewpoints. "Your complicity in the atrocities of the Hexers is undeniable." Jeremiah declared as his Neo Amadeus seemed to glow and burn with righteousness! "As long as you remain alive, you will continue to facilitate the Hexers in their pervasive attempts to expand their evil and cultish ways to the stars. My people have suffered enough at the hands of the Hexers. As their mercenary helper, I sentence you to DEATH!" Patriarch Reginald scoffed at those words. "Don't pretend you are some sort of arbiter of justice. I've had enough of your sanctimonious attitude. You are part of the ruling class of the Gauge Dynasty. The only reason why you are able to maintain your justice is because it is backed up by the biggest fist of the Friday Coalition. Only with strength and power can you determine what is right and what is wrong! I will prove to you how little substance there is to your justice by vanquishing you myself!" Without another word, both ace mechs began to ascend and fly above the plane where most of the mechs were locked in combat. The power of ace mechs was unreasonably destructive and could produce an enormous amount of collateral damage! Even a casual missed shot might be enough to wipe out hundreds of mechs or down an entire capital ship! What was worse was that both mechs were fighting in orbit of a populated planet. When both Jeremiah and Reginald advanced to ace pilot, they went on another pilgrimage to an MTA branch headquarters where they received a lot of revelations, guidance and instructions. One of the most important lectures they received was what was permissible for them. The mechers greatly emphasized the need to minimize collateral damage as much as possible. After all, if dueling ace mechs casually wiped out half a city that was inhabited by millions of people, the popularity and support for the mech industry in human space would definitely take a major hit! Aside from abiding to the bare minimum of hard rules imposed by the MTA, Jeremiah and Reginald also tacitly agreed to abide by an additional set of unspoken rules. There was no need to speak them out loud or sign a written contract. They might disagree with each other on many matters, but they could still trust each other's integrity as a Saint. Once they flew far away enough from the main battlefield, the two ace mechs promptly began to fight! The Mars opened fire first. As an ace hybrid mech that was loaded with ranged armaments, it would be a huge mistake if Reginald did not make use of his range advantage! The Crosser ace mech already warmed up its powerful ARCEUS System and commanded it to launch a combination strike of 9 extremely powerful resonance-empowered laser beams at the Neo Amadeus! The accuracy and precision of this strike left no room for the Neo Amadeus to evade the attack, but Jeremiah did not intend to do so in the first place. The Gauger ace mech first relied on its powerful Saint Kingdom to weaken the laser beam attacks as they got closer to their target. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺 Once the powerful laser beams finally reached the Neo Amadeus, one of the swords of the target mech was already in place to intercept the attacks with its shining silver blade! A muted energy explosion erupted from the point of impact. Jeremiah's Saint Kingdom easily suppressed the unleashed energies and ensured that the damage had been minimized as much as possible! The two ace mechs paused for a moment while their pilots evaluated their own efforts. "Not bad." Jeremiah eventually spoke. "Thanks." Reginald replied. "I am far from done, though. I have more salvos in store for your ace mech." "Not so fast. It's my turn now." Before Reginald could respond, the Neo Amadeus grabbed one of its swords and launched it forward towards the Mars at an incredible speed! Even though the tossing move looked a bit casual, the power behind the advancing sword should not be underestimated!