Chapter 6885 Sharp Observations The testing session had to be aborted before they had a chance to try out the fun stuff. It couldn't be helped. The First Sword Mark III's activation of the Decapitation Mode resonating ability proved too much for the observers. How could Ves know that enhancing the sharpness of the Decapitator to a height never seen before could actually cut people just by looking at the unnaturally sharpened blade? Ves did not hesitate to pull the plug. From the moment the new ace swordsman mech posed a threat to Larkinsons and other friendlies, it became irresponsible to continue with the testing session. An hour had passed since then. Everyone who became adversely affected by the unexpected attack had all undergone medical examinations. The First Sword Mark III had also returned to the Tarrasque. The Larkinsons subjected the machine to a thorough examination in order to make sure that she had not become tainted by foreign influences. Ves proceeded to call a meeting in order to discuss the findings that people had gathered from the earlier phenomena. "Alright." He said. "We need information. We are dealing with a mech that is made out of materials that we have never used before. Their qualities are exceptional, but we don't know much about what superdimensional matter can actually do. It is therefore vital that we pull back the curtain and figure it out as best as possible. Gloriana, you first." The woman looked serious as she presented her own findings. "The clansmen that have become adversely affected by the First Sword Mark III have not sustained severe injuries. At most, their eyes received different levels of strain. Their psychological torment is greater than their physical torment. Most of them will recover after a good night's sleep. Curiously enough, the people who have received the greatest amount of hurt and distress appear to be those whose attainments in systematic cultivation are weaker relative to others. Those with stronger minds and spirits have been able to withstand the sight much better." That caused the small gathering to look relieved. "That is good to hear." Ves smiled. "Could the damage have been greater to those who are vulnerable to the sight of the Decapitator's unnatural sharpness?" "Perhaps." His wife shrugged. "I cannot say. I imagine that the pain inflicted from staring too closely at the Decapitator under those circumstances would have deterred most people from continuing to stare." The situation was not as bad as people feared. "Have you thought of any countermeasures to prevent this remote blinding effect from occurring in the future?" His wife nodded. "We have already conducted a few quick trials with the First Sword Mark III in private. Direct observation with one's own eyeballs remains dangerous, but observation through optical sensors can easily be proofed against this blinding effect by implementing a purpose-built filter that deliberately lowers the resolution of the Decapitator when it is highly concentrated with true resonance." The simplistic solution prompted Ves to raise his eyebrow. "That's it? Just making the sword look blurry on the projected footage is enough to make it safe to watch?" "Yes. Do not ask me why this is so. I cannot give you an explanation that fits within our existing theoretical frameworks. I can only tell you that the filter works for those who are weakest in mind and spirit." The Larkinsons would just have to settle for this solution, then. It would certainly be a nasty surprise against enemies who were unprepared to encounter this kind of issue, but the problem was that it would also affect friendly human forces that had not been warned about it in advance. Oh well. The best the Larkinsons could do was to transmit warnings to other groups of humans as early as possible. If they kept watching the First Sword Mark III without activating any filters, then that was their fault. The clan had already done its due diligence by that time. "Dise." Ves turned towards the ace pilot who remained quiet and contemplative since the start of the meeting. "Was this the first time you activated this Decapitation Mode?" The ace pilot whose Saint Kingdom still made them feel as if they were swimming in a pool filled with razors shook her head. "No. I activated it before, but only in front of Ketis and the Master Mech Designers she collaborated with. It was a private showing that did not include anyone weak. My mastery and familiarity with my upgraded mech and sword was also not as great as now. I am able to resonate much better with SuperSunder Metal than before." That tentatively proved that the cause of the blinding effect was activating the Decapitation Mode resonating ability at a high enough intensity. She had essentially made her superdimensional weapon so sharp that it broke a physical boundary and started to cut at people through a metaphysical channel. Ves could only scratch his head if he wanted to explain how resonating with a superdimensional sword generated such an exaggerated response. He decided to set this little mystery aside. It was not necessary for the Larkinsons to get to the bottom of this. Implementing the filter should be enough. Almost no one observed space battles with their naked eyes. They would hardly be able to see anything if they tried to spectate a battle taking place across hundreds or thousands of kilometers in the observatory chamber of a starship. The solution devised by Gloriana should be safe enough. Perhaps the only instance where people truly needed to take special precautions was if the First Sword Mark III ended up in a dueling arena in front of live spectators. It was impossible for such a scenario to take place. Ace mechs were far too destructive. No mech arena could contain their destructive might. Their Saint Kingdoms alone could already penetrate most barriers. The meeting resumed. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂 Now that they addressed the most acute issue, they spoke about other matters. "I don't see any further point in testing the First Sword Mark III's performance against energy shields or physical obstacles. Her swords will just cut through them no matter what. The only difference is how much force the mech has to exert to push the superdimensional blade through." Ves stated. Everyone else nodded. The earlier tests had provided more than conclusive results. The First Sword Mark III completely broke the boundaries of what people thought was possible for a junior ace mech. "Superdimensional tech breaks the balance." Gloriana couldn't help but remark. "As long as there is enough mid to high-grade superdimensional matter, applying it to a mech on a large scale artificially raises its performance at least an entire level as far as I am concerned. A superdimensional standard mech can rival an expert mech in offensive and defensive performance. A superdimensional expert mech can threaten a junior ace mech. A superdimensional junior ace mech already possesses comparable lethality to a senior ace mech. As for a superdimensional senior ace mech…" Her voice faltered at that point. Everyone knew why she did not dare to finish her last sentence. It was too ridiculous to claim without any empirical proof that a superdimensional senior ace mech could actually rival a god mech in any way. Nobody dared to make any careless claims in this regard. They could not afford to challenge the primacy of god mechs and end up getting it wrong. Fortunately, no one had any interest in pressing the matter. God mechs were way beyond their purview. As the meeting continued, Ves eventually turned towards the only guest in the chamber. "Master Devos." He addressed the Terran Master Mech Designer. "Would you like to share any insights on the First Sword Mark III's performance up to this point?" The older woman smiled. "Your ace swordsman mech is a strong machine, so much so that her very existence is forcing everyone to reevaluate the strength of your clan. The addition of a junior ace mech does not change the equation all that much. What does change our evaluation is the fact that your superdimensional junior ace mech presents a serious threat against some — but not all — senior ace mechs." That did not sound too surprising. Ves already thought this would be the case. "What does your resident ace pilot think about our latest ace mech?" "He is… I would not say apprehensive, but certainly more vigilant towards the threat posed by your First Sword." Master Laila Rebecca Devos responded in a serious tone. "The exceptional lethality of this machine at close range necessitates changes to his tactical approach towards a duel. Mind you, the Wind of Destruction still remains confident he can gain the upper hand in a fight with no restrictions. He only believes that he will face an uphill battle if his Dark Lord is forced to engage the First Sword Mark III at close range." The Black Lord happened to be a fairly suboptimal matchup against the First Sword Mark III. The former was a multipurpose ace mech that nonetheless placed a lot of emphasis on swordsmanship. The latter's superdimensional armaments enabled her to punch far above her weight at close range. This would force the Wind of Destruction to restrain himself from letting his ego dictate his actions. He needed to fight smart and make use of his ace multipurpose mech's ranged armaments as much as possible. It was not an approach that the Terran ace pilot would be comfortable with, but if he valued the mission over his pride, then he should do what was necessary. "Is the Wind of Destruction still interested in sparring against Saint Dise?" Ves inquired. The Master Mech Designer smiled. "He should. It will take more than a superdimensional junior ace mech to deprive him of his courage. He considers this spar as a necessary challenge. Superdimensional tech will gradually become more prevalent among high-ranking mechs, so it is better if he is able to gain experience with fighting against them sooner rather than later. It is also good practice for fighting against phase lords armed with Saint Piercer arms." That fell within Ves' expectations. The Wind of Destruction was over 260 years old. While he was not considered talented enough to be regarded as a god pilot candidate, his hard work over so many years still turned him into an extremely solid senior ace pilot. He would never cower from this challenge. "Dise?" The ace pilot's willpower and fighting intent quietly surged from the moment they talked about the Wind of Destruction. She may be new and underdeveloped as a Saint, but she did not fear a confrontation against a well-established senior ace pilot. Saint Dise could not deny that her willpower and personal strengths were far inferior to that of her older Terran counterpart, but she had complete faith in the power of Ketis' latest masterwork! The First Sword was one of the first full high-grade superdimensional mechs to exist! The ace pilot took a lot of pride in that. She also felt she assumed the obligation to represent the might and prestige of superdimensional mechs against any challengers. Just as the Wind of Destruction could not allow himself to step back against a revolutionary new ace mech, Saint Dise could not afford to admit defeat to her senior before a fight had even begun! "Let's schedule the sparring session for tomorrow if there are no objections." Ves proposed. "We should make additional preparations to ensure that the two highly lethal ace mechs cannot threaten any lives or expensive assets. We should also expand the list of conditions to include additional restrictions for the purpose of avoiding any unfortunate accidents. Both ace pilots must hold back to an extent. We cannot afford to let them pummel each other into pieces during a time of war." "Agreed." Master Laila Devos simply replied. The purpose of the upcoming practice duel was to gather more relevant information on the performance of a superdimensional ace mech. The other goal of this high-level sparring session was to allow both ace pilots to accrue valuable combat experience.