Chapter 3054: Air vs Water The distance quickly narrowed between the two sides! The ferocious Avatar mechs were premium second-class mechs that were tougher and stronger than the average mech models that were usually used by private organizations. This was the benefit of an organization led by a wealthy mech designer who took care of his own men. Yet the black mechs weren't weak despite their ignoble roles. Whoever was behind them invested considerable sums to turn them into tough and durable machines. Though the amphibian mechs weren't exactly the fastest when they walked on land, they were uniquely optimized for combat on a water-dominated planet like Trieden II. The paradise destination was mostly covered with oceans and the only surface landmasses that existed were either islands or slightly larger archipelagos. There was a functional elegance behind the design of the black mechs. As Ves tracked the progress of the unfolding battle from the bridge of the Spirit of Bentheim, he noted that their mech pilots were no slouches either. "These guys definitely aren't crown terrorists." Ves concluded after the first minute the Larkinsons and unknown enemies opened fire against each other… "Their performance is too regular. I can smell the standardized training that they have gone through." The enemy mech pilots previously performed a lot more sloppy when they ambushed the Purnessers and assailed the Violet Estates. There wasn't any need for the black mechs to leverage all of their strength against a weak target that only knew how to hide behind walls. Yet the Larkinsons were different. If the Purnessers were like cowardly foxes, then the Avatars came like roaring lions! Against actual challengers, the enemy mech pilots could no longer put up the facade of a bunch of brainwashed terrorists who were only fighting in order to retrieve a supposed crown. Mechs continued to fall from both sides as the exchange of fire grew more intense and precise as the range narrowed. What was important to note was that the Ferocious Piranhas had flown ahead of the Bright Warriors! Though the infamous light skirmishers deployed by the Flagrant Vandals had to slow down their forward advance a bit in order to perform constant evasive maneuvers, they were well on their way of reaching their opponents! The black mechs did not ignore their approach. Their ranged mechs abruptly switched from directing their fire towards the Bright Warriors in favor of doing everything they could to take down the Ferocious Piranhas! Even though the Vandal mechs put a lot more effort into their evasive maneuvers, the ranged black mechs did not attempt to hit them straight-on. Instead, they deployed a coordinated firing strategy where each mech poured their firepower into a specific zone around their target. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢 As long as all of the different zones boxed in all of the directions where their target would be an instant later, it was impossible for beleaguered Ferocious Piranhas to escape getting hit! "Ahh! I'm already out!" "Don't bother dancing around anymore." A Vandal captain urged. " We're going down no matter what we do. If that's the case, then focus more on boosting forward and strive to close in to the enemy as soon as possible. Vandals forever!" "VANDALS FOREVER!" The fearless daredevil pilots of the Flagrant Vandals took the incoming fire in stride. Even if Ferocious Piranha after Ferocious Piranha dropped down or flew out of formation due to suffering crippling damage, the remainder did not let these sacrifices go in vain. With each Ferocious Piranha that fell, many more were getting closer and closer to the thick and sturdy mechs poking half of their frames out of the water. Several Larkinsons including Ves winced as they witnessed these mechs dropping like flies. None of them were cheap and it pained them to see mechs worth several hundred million hex credits perish without even receiving the opportunity to pay back the money that the clan had put into their fabrication. "I'm losing billions of hex credits worth assets!" Ves complained. "Meow." Lucky huffed as he laid on the armrest. The battle was of little interest to the gem cat considering that he and the Spirit of Bentheim were too far away to be in any danger. "You don't know what this means. We will have to fabricate replacement mechs for the pilots that lost their original machines. This will delay the supply of mechs to the mech pilots who have not yet received anything, which means it will take additional weeks or months before we get up to full strength!" The rescue operation cost more than money, lives and assets. It also ate up valuable time that he and his clan could have spend on other useful activities. Seeing all of the losses the clan incurred so far made Ves feel a bit regretful for accepting Calabast's recommendation. He didn't feel it was worth it to pay such a hefty price just to obtain the services of a diplomatic family. He was plotting to demand a greater degree of fealty from the Purnesse Family in order to get his return on investment. These damned Loxians were proving to be a lot more trouble so far than he expected. The battle continued to unfold as Ves strayed in his thoughts. Though the ranged Bright Warriors were hitting the black mechs fairly hard, the enemy had plenty of mechs to spare for now. The unknown force had probably done their research on the Larkinson Clan because the black mechs were doing their best to take down the incoming light skirmishers! "Do these people know what our Ferocious Piranhas can do?!" "It doesn't matter! We'll make their lives hell regardless of how few of us are left!" Even though the Ferocious Piranhas neither had mass nor numbers on their side, the Vandals did not even think about defeat. The original mech regiment that used to serve in the Bright Republic's Mech Corps had changed substantially over the years. Though it hadn't taken on a lot of new members until recently, the Vandals constantly worked to retool themselves and reengineer their martial tradition to establish their new place in the Larkinson Clan. Though they still retained much of their former military vagabond ways, the Vandals put a lot more emphasis in their new role as the light mech specialists of the clan. This was a niche that the other mech forces currently didn't focus upon, so the former Brighters eagerly embraced the Ferocious Piranha IB as their mech of choice. "Come on, Vandals! Let's teach those arrogant Penitent Sisters and Swordmaidens how real soldiers fight!" "VANDALS FOREVER!" The Ferocious Piranhas rapidly approached the vicinity of the Violet Estates. Instead of trying to enter the defensive envelope of the remaining stronghold of the Purnesse Family, the Ferocious Piranhas flew around the people they were supposed to rescue and headed straight towards the scattered formations of the black mechs! Only a bit more than half of the mech company had made it through, but this was still a devastating amount for the enemy. As soon as the Ferocious Piranhas flew in range, the black mechs abruptly jerked and exhibited a lot less reactiveness than before. The terrible suppressive glows of these annoying light mechs were making their mark! Unfortunately for the Vandals and the rest of the Larkinsons, the enemy mech pilots affected by the hostile glow weren't debilitated to the point where they lost control. The controllers of the black mechs firmed up their minds and gritted their teeth in order to attack the fast and nimble light mechs that were harassing them from above and from the sides. The close range prevented the enemy ranged mechs from continuing their attacks on the Ferocious Piranhas with as much vigor as before. Friendly fire was a very real possibility. Instead, it was the job of the melee mechs to fend them off. However, the light mechs were so quick and mobile that it was hopeless for the defending melee mechs to have any realistic chance of downing the Ferocious Piranhas. The aquatic black mechs simply weren't fast enough! They couldn't even fly, so how could they possibly land their attacks on the swift machines! The only machines that stood any chance of downing the light mechs was the small number of striker mechs armed with shotgun weapons. Their broad pellets dealt pretty damage to the Ferocious Piranhas at closer ranges. However, the Vandals didn't have to worry about getting harassed this way for long as a torrent of lasers and other beams struck the enemy striker mechs from a distance! "Thanks for the backup, Avatars!" "No problem, Vandals! Keep them occupied until we reach your position. We just need a minute!" With the striker mechs quickly getting downed or suppressed to the point where they had to dip below the water, the Ferocious Piranhas were free to fly and pressure the black mechs. The Vandals knew better than to close in to strike with their daggers, though. Their offensive power was not great and it would be even harder to deal crippling damage against well-armored amphibian mechs. Instead, the Ferocious Piranhas did as much as they could while making threatening attack passes over the heads of the half-submerged black mechs. Not just their glows, but also the threat of a dive attack kept the enemy machines constrained. The black mechs simply weren't equipped to defeat the Ferocious Piranhas, especially when the Vandals acted like scoundrels with the way they were taunting their opponents without actually getting close enough to open them up to strong retaliation. "Hahaha! Look at these idiotic black mechs. They can't shoot us down anymore now that we have gotten so close. Make sure to interfere with their rifleman mechs as much as possible. Don't give their mech pilots any peace!" The Ferocious Piranhas distracted the black mechs so well that they bought plenty of time for the leading edge of the Avatars to finally get close. "Lancer mechs! Drive a wedge through their formation!" Melkor commanded. "By your will!" The Bright Warriors in lancer mech configurations had gone ahead of the rest of the Avatars as their forward acceleration and velocities were higher. They pointed their long and thick lances straight ahead as they did not show any fear of telegraphing their next move towards their opponents. However, the response surprised the Lakrinsons. The black mechs did not opt to face the incoming charge head-on. Instead of hastily repositioning their sturdiest and most defensive machines to meet the incoming charge, they did something much simpler. They all dove underwater! In one instance, the amphibian mechs were poking out of the waterline, looking more than ready to fight against the incoming Larkinson mechs regardless of the losses. In the next instance, the site they previously occupied had turned into calm water with only a small number of downed black mechs poking out from the shallow surface. "Damn! We lost our targets!" "Are they leaving?" The lancer mechs smoothly flew past the site where the black mechs had previously congregated without driving their lance through any solid metal. The mech pilots of the offense-oriented Bright Warriors expressed a lot of frustration at being denied their moment of glory! "The black mechs are popping out again!" The enemy force did not intend to retreat from the battle now that they encountered serious opposition. Instead, they chose to meet the challenge of the Larkinson Clan and fight against the powerful Bright Warriors and Ferocious Piranhas despite the heavy casualties that they would surely sustain! As the melee Bright Warriors that followed after the lancer mechs crashed into the lines of the black mechs, a furious struggle broke out as both sides tried to take each other down with no further signs of backing off. Neither the Larkinsons nor unknown assailants believed that they were about to suffer defeat! "That's strange." Commander Melkor murmured as he observed the behavior of the black mechs from afar. The rifle of his mech periodically spat out beams as he took aim and pulled the trigger. "What gives these black mechs the confidence that they can beat us especially considering that our second wave is on the way?" He quickly drew one worrying conclusion. "They're not alone! This isn't their force! Hostile reinforcements are probably on the way!"