6887 Superdimensional Edge After a short delay, the ace mechs finally deployed into space. The Black Lord emerged first. Just as Master Laila Rebecca Devos claimed, her ancient clan was not in a hurry to use up its stash of superdimensional matter. The ace multipurpose mech still possessed its existing configuration which was roughly half a year old. The Devosans had taken good care in updating the design of their senior ace mech to ensure that it would never become outdated. Technical speaking, the availability of superdimensional matter and the slow proliferation of superdimensional technology already made the Black Lord outdated. That did not mean it was obsolete. Superdimensional adversaries were so rare at the moment that it was premature to declare non-superdimensional mechs outdated. So long as the Black Lord did not face an enemy equipped with superdimensional tech, it should not be a problem for it to survive. The Wind of Destruction was a senior ace pilot who possessed a wealth of experience and centuries worth of diligent and unceasing training. Unfortunately, the growth of his resonance strength had slowed to a crawl after becoming an ace pilot. Nobody understood why, but the ace pilot of the Devos Ancient Clan failed to demonstrate as much talent, splendor and greatness as his more successful peers. This caused latecomers such as General Axelar Streon to overtake him and reach the limit of their rank. While everyone guessed that the Wind of Destruction may be suffering from a malady that prevented him from achieving greater progress, nobody was stupid enough to voice their thoughts out loud, especially inside Devosan space. People considered such topics to be taboo. Only a small group of people possessed the qualifications to speak openly about the ace pilot's issues. "They say that the Wind of Destruction lost a duel against another rival in the past. When he became an ace pilot, he wanted to have a rematch in order to wash away his shame, only to find out that his opponent already died." Alexa Streon gossiped. Ves rolled his eyes. "I doubt that story is true. Ace pilots shouldn't be stupid enough to base their entire lives on proving their superiority over a single rival. I am much more supportive of the theory that he has been asked to take part in a dangerous operation, but refused because he balked at the risks. His cowardice therefore proceeded to become a stain that has forever tainted his willpower." Alexa almost looked scandalized! "Terran saints are not cowards!" "I am not accusing him of being a coward. I am just guessing that Saint Alessandro Devos has made a misstep in his past, and has not been able to move past this psychological flaw. This is not a condemnation of all Terran saints. Your grandfather is doing much better than the Wind of Destruction, so his courage is not in doubt." General Axelar Streon had bravely led the mech corps of the Streon Ancient Clan against the native aliens many times. Even if his ancient clan was still gathering forces for an upcoming deep strike expedition that may never come, he did not shirk his own responsibilities and continued to fight at the frontlines in order to fulfill his responsibilities to the Terran Alliance and red humanity as a whole. His Ouroboros played an indispensable role in holding back the native aliens. The Terran Alliance only enjoyed the dedicated protection of a single god pilot. As fast as the Light of Sol may be, he could never match the deterrence and the destructive potential of the Spacelock and the Destroyer of Worlds at the Rubarthans. Combat also accelerated the previously stalled development of the nearly ancient 'living' mech. According to Alexa, his grandfather frequently praised how the Ouroboros had truly come to life after Ves had corrected a work that he previously considered an afterthought during one of his trippy Mastery experiences. The young Journeyman made another guess. "I have been wondering whether converting Black Lord to a living ace mech or designing a completely new living ace mech from scratch will help the Wind of Destruction break past the reason behind his stalled growth. The effect may be better if we integrate the Carmine System in his new machine. The spiritual foundation of a pristine and flawless living mech may be able to remedy the flaws of his own soul and willpower." Ves scratched his head in thought. "Living mechs aren't panaceas, Alexa. They may be able to help high-ranking mech pilots overcome certain mental problems, but in many cases their willpower can only be healed by themselves. A living mech can play an assisting role at most. They still need to sort out their courage, their convictions and their faith in themselves. If the Wind of Destruction can solve his problem by piloting a living mech or a Carmine mech, the Devos Ancient Clan would have commissioned a successor of the Black Lord by this time." The fact that the Devosans did not do so implied that the Wind of Destruction suffered from a more complex problem that could not easily be remedied by pairing him up with a mech that could talk back to its own pilot. "What about a superdimensional ace mech, sir?" Alexa softly said. "Could his problem be solved if he is equipped with a much stronger ace mech that may give him the strength to kill an ancient phase whale?" "Perhaps." He shrugged in response. "I think that regardless of the problems that hold ace pilots back, they can always redeem themselves on the battlefield by completing a deed that is worthy of legend. Of course, this is easier said than done. The gap between their combat capabilities and the deed they must complete has often proven to be far too wide. Superdimensional tech may just be the solution they need to close that crucial gap." Alexa nodded. "My grandfather has already expressed great interest in a superdimensional upgrade. Like the Wind of Destruction, he is not in a hurry to upgrade his Ouroboros. High-grade superdimensional matter is hard to come by, and the Streon Ancient Clan does not have an existing agreement with the Larkinson Clan. Still, this allows him to monitor other superdimensional mechs and buy more time for R&D to refine their applications of superdimensional technology. Similar to phasewater technology and hyper technology, the later applications will always be more powerful and sophisticated. I predict that superdimensional tech will reach a whole new level after just two years of development." That may sound like an exaggerated claim, but Ves could easily believe her words may come true. Ves actually felt a little sorry for the First Sword Mark III for this reason. Her superdimensional conversion definitely turned her into a domineering killing machine, but that was only when compared to non-superdimensional mechs. Later on, new advancements in superdimensional tech would cause newer mechs to perform much better while using up the same amount of high-grade superdimensional matter. That would be the time where the First Sword Mark III would fall behind, forcing Saint Dise to struggle a lot more in order to produce the same results as ace pilots that received more advanced superdimensional mechs. That was fine. At least Saint Dise obtained a powerful first-mover advantage. Two years was a lot of time. The Swordmaiden saint should be able to complete a lot of hunts and grow by leaps and bounds by relying on her head start. Besides, it was not impossible for Ketis and her mecher collaborators to develop a minor update to the First Sword Mark III. They were not bound by the same limitations as the Design Department. As long as Ketis and at least one of her mecher collaborators were willing to set aside their other priorities, they could easily design a minor update to the First Sword Mark III that incorporated the latest advancements in superdimensional technology. All of this meant that Saint Dise probably did not have to wait for a decade for her battle partner to receive a technological refresh. "5 minutes left." Alexa announced. The highly anticipated duel was about to commence very soon. Ves decided to check on Saint Dise. He activated a feed that gave him a glimpse of the interior of the cockpit. If the pilot wanted to, he or she could block this feed for privacy reasons, but Dise did not activate it at the moment. She had nothing to hide. The ace pilot had already suited up in a much more powerful version of her old piloting suit. Although her latest suit did not incorporate any superdimensional matter, it still offered a great amount of protection against kinetic shocks and thermal energies. The suit was largely designed as a last-ditch effort to save the pilot in the event of a cockpit breach. Ves hoped that Dise would never have to test the power of her piloting suit, but he was realistic enough to understand that reality might not oblige. As Ves mused about the protection offered by the relatively thin piloting suit, the ace pilot pointedly raised her helmeted head towards the sensor that transmitted the visual feed. "What is it, Ves?" "Just checking. Are you ready for this bout?" "I have been looking forward to testing my mettle against an adversary that will not collapse at the first blow." Saint Dise responded with notable calm. "The Wind of Destruction is an excellent sparring partner. His swordsmanship is different from what I am accustomed to, but that makes it even better. I am curious whether his famous tier 2 Destroyer sword can withstand the sharpness of my Decapitator. I fear that the answer may be negative. None of us can afford to break this precious weapon." That was one of the notable problems with this practice bout. That was one of the biggest reasons why the Devos Ancient Clan insisted that the Larkinson Clan abide by a formal contract. It explicitly listed out restrictions and attached heavy penalties to any violations. Fortunately, Saint Dise always prized control, so Ves was not too worried that she would go out of control and inadvertently break one of the terms of the agreement. "Destroyer particles have mysterious properties." Ves explained. "Their effects become increasingly more magical and destructive as their concentration rises. I have a high suspicion that the Sirocco wielded by the Black Lord can inflict minor to moderate damage onto the armor plating of your ace mech. As for your Decapitator, it is at risk of getting chipped. Don't worry too much. We should have the facilities to repair most forms of minor damage, but it will get a little more troublesome if the damage cuts deeper." "Don't forget that the aliens are our real enemies." Ves said. "This sparring session may be able to teach you how to fight against other ace pilots, but your First Sword Mark III is primarily designed to fight against phase leaders and other notable alien opposition. The rules for fighting against phase lords and phase whales are different. There is no way to give you good practice for fighting against them, so you should focus on developing and polishing skills that may be handy when we commence our war campaign." 13:23 "I shall endeavor not to give the Wind of Destruction too many opportunities to land his Destroyer sword against my machine. That said, I still need to know how well my mech can fare against one of the most powerful Destroyer weapons in the Red Ocean. It is better if we find out now when the stakes are low." She made a good point. Ves knew that Destroyer technology was a lot more special than other forms of high technology. Its performance against superdimensional technology was therefore another crucial data point. "Don't forget that the aliens are our real enemies." Ves said. "This sparring session may be able to teach you how to fight against other ace pilots, but your First Sword Mark III is primarily designed to fight against phase leaders and other notable alien opposition. The rules for fighting against phase lords and phase whales are different. There is no way to give you good practice for fighting against them, so you should focus on developing and polishing skills that may be handy when we commence our war campaign." Saint Dise nodded. "I know. I have not forgotten about our priorities. I have been trying to leverage the use of the sword fey in this, but I have only just begun to explore the potential of sword formations." Thank you for reading my work. 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