"Yorvick." President Yenames Clive addressed his cousin and trusted protector. "Why are you not moving to defeat the terrible monsters unleashed on my subjects? They are being harmed in large quantities. It is the duty of our colonial state's most powerful protector to take action when its people and planet are being severely threatened." "I am sorry Yenames. I am afraid I cannot do that." Yorvick steadily replied over the communication channel. "...Why not?" Yenames simply asked. The Indormeon remained still as its formidable Saint Kingdom continued to envelop a part of the Grand Stage. The defensive ace pilot had chosen to condense his protective and defensive Saint Kingdom so that it provided stronger and more concentrated protection to Yenames Clive alone. Despite the arrival of a whole company of mechs in addition to hundreds of individual infantry soldiers, The mighty ace knight mech did not budge from its position directly in front of Yenames Clive. This was the best position for the Indormeon to use its considerable bulk and its solid tower shield to block any long-ranged strikes from afar. However, many people including the president of the colonial state himself thought that the Indormeon could do a lot more for everyone if it went out and quelled the crisis! "YORICK!" Yenames Clive roared as he grew frustrated at his lack of control! "As the commander-in-chief, I compel you to go out and crush the rogue warbeasts as soon as possible!" "You have yet to formally proclaim the founding of the colonial state and formalized your appointment as its president." Yorick replied. "You are still a servant of the colony of Davute!" "That is true, but the leader of Davute does not hold as many rights and power. Give up, Yenames. I do not intend to move from your side for the remainder of the day. My greater duty is to protect your life. The Davute Project depends on your continued wellbeing as it will collapse if our enemies manage to assassinate you on this crucial day. I cannot overlook the slightest chance of an assassination." The president violently gestured with his arms, causing the multiple layers of ceremonial robes on his body to flutter! "Then allow me to evacuate to the Skyline Palace or an underground stronghold! The sooner I am brought to safety, the better!" "My mission still remains active even if you are brought to a less exposed and more secure location." Saint Yorick emotionlessly replied. "The plotters of this vile attack have already shown they can circumvent our sophisticated security measures and teleport hostiles in areas where they shouldn't have been able to penetrate. Who can say it will not happen again? Aside from that, you are a symbol of Davute. You must show your courage and commitment to the people by standing bravely while you watch the mech troops of Davute rise to the occasion." As a member of the Clive Consortium that had been on a leadership track for most of his life, Yenames Clive knew exactly what Yorick was referring to. It was a more profitable choice for him to remain in place and witness his people struggling and suffering to survive against the rampage of wild beasts that should have never been let loose. However, his empathy and attachment for his subjects made it difficult for him to stomach this cold-blooded choice. He especially found it to be an incredible waste to keep the Indormeon anchored to his position. "A Saint must step forward and fight! You should at least shoot down the warbeasts that are in the line of sight of your ace mech's ranged weapons. I know that the mech designers have added a handful of ranged options to your Indormeon!" The ace knight mech showed no indication that it was about to employ its modest but powerful complement of ranged weapons. "Using them is unnecessary and counterproductive." Saint Yorick replied. "The engineered warbeasts will most certainly direct their aggression towards my ace mech, which not only distracts me from anticipating assassination attempts against your life, but also puts our immediate area at risk. Other ace mechs are already taking the lead in cleansing the Government District of the filth that is trying to stain the streets with blood. The Shotgun Shogun, the Koi Riser and the Mars are more than adequate enough to defeat even the strongest rogue creatures. The Government District shall be made secure in two minutes at most." "That is too long of a delay! The warbeasts can tear through mechs and crowds of Davutans in a matter of seconds!" "Believe in your citizens, Yenames." Yorvick calmly replied. "You did not ask for this test, but you can make use of it to see which mech companies and mech forces are worth courting. Be glad that Karlach is testing us before the proper war has commenced. It is much more costly for our colonial state to make misjudgments when we have already invested heavily in the wrong groups. Look at how the parade mechs of the Larkinson Clan are faring. Both their standard mechs and expert mechs are performing more than admirably. Their Everchanger is worth as much as four expert mechs during a violent attack such as this due to its glow abilities alone!" When President Yenames Clive accessed the feeds that displayed the current activities of the Larkinson mechs, he immediately understood why they earned the appreciation of his powerful cousin. Not a single parade mech of the Larkinson Clan turned out to be a waste! The Minerva kept track of the surrounding and coordinated the movements of both Larkinson mechs and any cooperating mech units from other organizations. It also empowered the standard mechs of the Larkinson Clan within range with a hint of true resonance, allowing mechs such as the Nullifiers to more easily tear through the transphasic exterior defenses of the tougher and more resilient warbeasts! The Amaranto perfectly sniped the different warbeasts with great power and accuracy. Although its firing rate was a little slow, each blow was guaranteed to kill or cripple any expensive monster that could give most non-transphasic expert mechs a run for their money! Even the melee mechs were doing their part. A part of the Rigid Walls and the Bright Warriors Mark II's had moved to Block L where the VIPs of the Larkinson Clan resided and utilized their formidable defensive equipment to completely shield the seating block from any damage. The other Rigid Walls and defensive Bright Warriors had moved to shield the surrounding civilians from the errant attacks of surviving beasts. The Second Swords performed considerably better than expected! The four quasi-first-class mechs utilized their new first-class armor plating and hastily forged greatswords to hunt down individual warbeasts without relying on any assistance! "This is just like old times!" Commander Sendra Larkinson crowed. "These upgraded Second Swords might not run as smoothly as our old machines, but with this much raw power at our disposal, it is inexcusable for us to leave this battlefield empty-handed. Now let us earn a trophy!" That was exactly what the other three veteran Swordmaiden mech pilots wanted to hear! 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞 Whereas most melee mech pilots in the field wanted to distance themselves from the killer warbeasts whose claws and teeth could tear straight through many layers of armor plating as if they were made out of butter, the Swordmaidens eagerly challenged them as if they knew no fear! "Hack this lizard apart!" A strange six-legged creature had been breathing fire into the entrance of an underground shelter! The blast doors and energy shields that should have blocked the flames from penetrating deeper completely failed as the transphasic fire blasts tore through the barriers with concentrated power. Over a hundred civilians had just entered the tunnel complex and failed to move far enough from the entrance to escape the danger! Though the four Swordmaiden mechs failed to move in quickly enough to prevent so many civilians from getting burned, they could at least hinder the fire-breathing warbeast from ruining the tunnel complex even further! "Careful with the flames!" Commander Sendra warned even though her fellow sisters did not really need the reminder. "If this beast is weak, go for the neck. If it is tougher, then focus on disabling the limbs!" The Second Swords automatically split up and approached the six-legged fire lizard from multiple directions. As the formidable swordsman mechs struck with quick and cautious slashes, the Swordmaiden mech pilots found out that the weapons weren't easily capable of penetrating through the scales. This was no surprise as the alloys of the crudely made greatswords originally consisted of alien warship hull plating. The metal may be a lot tougher than the second-class greatswords that the Second Swords wielded before, but they did not particularly excel at cutting through tough materials, even if they were mildly transphasic! As the lizard roared in irritation more than anything, it attempted to scorch the nearest Second Sword. "ROOOAAAAAA!" Yet when the flames surged in the mech's direction, the Second Sword had already sidestepped away. "Hah, your aim is poor!" "Watch out, sister! This creature turns a lot faster than it looks!" The Swordmaidens thought that the creature's turning rate was poor due to possessing an abundance of thick limbs, but the bioengineered creature had a few tricks up its sleeve! The sides of the scaled lizard's body flashed with propelling fire, allowing the warbeast to double its turning rate! "Damn, this beast has boosters on its sides!" "Aim your swords at these cavities! They shouldn't be covered by any scales." "We're too late! My sword just bounced off the scales that dropped back into place!" The Second Swords continued to circle and poke at the warbeast. Its transphasic scales were so effective that the swordsman mechs only dented the scales with every normal attack they unleashed. It took heavy and committed strikes in order to break or peel away a number of those powerful scales! Although the Swordmaidens managed to damage a few scales after half a minute of dancing around, Commander Sendra quickly grew impatient. "Get this lumbering beast to breathe fire once again. Once one of us is forced to evade, we can take advantage of the creature's exposed bioboosters to circumvent its scales." "Good idea!" A Second Sword deliberately acted as bait by slowing down its movement while lingering in the forward arc of the threatening creature. This provoked the warbeast into taking a deep breath before breathing out an expanding cone of flame! The Second Sword in question had already circled to the side, but the lizard predictably utilized its bioboosters to keep up with the movements of its annoying prey. "Strike!" The other three Second Swords had already started to rush forward. Before the creature finished turning around, three extremely hardy swords stabbed their tips right through the exposed biobooster organs! The swords sunk deep as the bioboosters could not resist physical attacks as well as heat damage! The lizard roared in pain as the three greatswords had cut deep enough to cut through a lot of flesh and organs! Yet before the Second Swords could retract their blades, the warbeast abruptly heated up at an astounding rate! "It's going to release a lot of flames!" The three nearby swordsman mechs barely managed to let go of their weapons and moved back as far away as possible while holding their arms in front of their chests. The mechs protected their cockpits to the best possible extent! BOOOOOM! The expensive warbeast roared as every cavity in its body released all of the flames that the creature could generate in an instant! The entire street and surroundings became scorched in an instant! The three nearby Second Swords hadn't been able to escape the edge of this firestorm! "Sisters!" However, as the immediate surroundings turned into a molten crater due to the powerful blast of flames, the three Second Swords ultimately managed to limp out while exhibiting only partial damage to their exteriors. Their thin but impressive layer of first-class bulk alloy armor plating offered just enough protection for the Larkinson mechs to protect their internals! Though the swords poked into the creature's body had already molten to an extent, the vengeful Swordmaidens did not care and quickly moved in to reclaim their weapons and butcher the exhausted fire lizard! "More!" The Swordmaiden mech pilots did not let the state of their mechs and greatswords deter them from continuing the fight. They wordlessly collected themselves before venturing out to challenge a second formidable warbeast with their blunt and half-molten blades!