The Mech Touch novel Chapter 3464

Chapter 3464: Quick Response

Gregory Haloscar piloted many different lancer mechs in his career.

During his time with Hysphalin Industries, he bounced from assignment to assignment. Each time, he arrived at different locations and piloted whatever lancer mech the site had in stock at the moment.

Since Hysphalin Industries was mainly in the business of selling large-scale industrial production equipment, it did not really care about sticking to a single brand or mech designer. Every security department of every local branch of the company maintained a different mech roster.

Furthermore, Gregory also polished his skills in simulation training. Though some people treated it was a game, professionals like him piloted virtual mechs as if they were truly real. They fought as if they could only afford a single death in order to make the practice sessions as accurate as possible.

He must have piloted over a hundred different lancer mech models in these virtual simulations. Many of them were substantially different from the lancer mechs he was accustomed to piloting. He found it enjoyable to explore radically different interpretations on lancer mechs. He had already piloted so many strange lancer mechs that it took a lot for him to get caught off guard by a new machine.

In addition to this, Gregory Haloscar also volunteered himself for events like these. This was not his first time piloting a brand-new competition mech on short notice. He was used to learning the traits of new mechs on the fly and dealing with all of the usual quirks and imperfections that hastily-designed and hastily-built mechs tended to possess.

In truth, it took a certain amount of courage for mech pilots to volunteer in mech design tournaments. They were practically playing the role of test pilots for mechs that were likely the shabbiest machines that their makers had ever developed.

"At least it's exciting! Mech designers are always able to come up with something new!"

The Pontifical Lance did not incorporate any extreme concepts that radically altered the formula of a lancer mech, but it was still one of the weirdest mechs he ever piloted.

It was only when his lancer mech took action that Gregory began to have a better idea on what a living mech was actually capable of. Even as he focused his mind on what was important, he could feel his mech was much more responsive than usual.

Although the mech didn't overwhelm him with a flood of irrelevant input, he quickly noticed that it was more attentive to the current situation and more accommodating to his current needs.

What surprised him a lot was how smart it was. It was as if the mech was driven by a particularly clever AI.

Yet unlike the automated systems that he had interacted with in the past, the intelligence of the Pontifical Lance was less harsh and less rigid when it came to sticking with its pre-programmed logic.

The mech's responsive intelligence felt a lot more vague but also more… organic.

Even as his mech rapidly advanced towards the Dominant, Gregory Haloscar was pleasantly surprised at how much better it was to pilot the Pontifical Lance.

Not only did he feel as if his mech was a willing and eager partner in battle, but there was also something greater inside the mech as well.

When this great but distant influence started to nudge Gregory to adjust his attack run upwards and to the side, he only had a brief moment of time to decide whether he should actually follow suit.

He originally intended to wait until the Dominant made a move before he altered the direction of the Pontifical Lance.

However, this was not a good plan against more maneuverable opponents. Faster mechs were able to displace themselves so quickly that any response that Gregory could make would likely be too late to catch up with his opposition.

Therefore, if he knew the evasion pattern of his opponent in advance, he would surely be able to inflict a more telling blow!

There was no time for him to consider his choice. Lancer mech pilots were trained to make decisions with as few delays as possible because they simply didn't have time to consider all of their choices.

It was at this time that he remembered the words of the designer of the Pontifical Lance.

Gregory decided to take a leap of faith and listen to the hint provided by his mech!

Even before the Pontifical Lance finished adjusting its course, Gregory already realized that he had made the right decision!

Hestinia Claes opted to avoid the incoming charge attack by propelling the Dominant in an atypical direction!

At this moment, there was no more time left for either side to maneuver in any other direction. The huge momentums of their mechs could not be diverted so easily, so they were essentially locked in their respective tracks.

The only actions they could still make in this brief instant was to adjust the equipment that they carried.

Hestinia opted to change the angle of the shield carried by the Dominant. By orienting it at a certain angle, the shield effectively gained additional thickness against an attack coming from a single direction.

As for Gregory, he could do little except to slightly change the angle of the spear held by his lancer mech in order to lessen the chance of a deflection.

CRASH!

The huge collision shocked everyone in the audience as loud crunching noises and various pieces of metal exploded from the point of impact!

As everyone became curious how the work of arguably the best mech designer in the tournament fared against an overpowering charge.

Ves clenched his hands as he waited for both mechs to appear in view again. Once the spray of loose debris had scattered, his heart lifted.

[The Dominant… is wounded!]

Despite Hestinia's best efforts, her knight mech had not been able to avoid the charge attack entirely.

Her opponent's correct prediction of her actions meant that she failed to turn the devastating strike into either a glancing blow or a missed attack.

"Too slow!"

After just a dozen seconds, the damaged Dominant managed to fend off the initial barrage of stabs long enough to circle around the rear of the less-maneuverable lancer mech.

With just a few well-placed thrusts, the Dominant forcibly disabled the Pontificial Lance's flight system!

Not only that, the Dominant also inflicted serious internal damage to the lancer mech as it lost control and lost altitude.

Moments before the Pontifical Lance crashed onto the arena floor, a strong field took hold of the mech.

The safety systems had engaged, marking the end of this match.

[The Dominant has secured a victory as expected, but Hestinia Claes certainly had to work for it. The Pontifical Lance and Gregory Haloscar have fought brilliantly if I might say so myself. Ves Larkinson may have lost this match, but he has definitely earned my appreciation!]

[Ereben Seinlin might have suffered an unlikely loss if Hestinia Claes did not angle the shield of her mech in time. This short but intensive bout shows that the favorites of the High Tide Tournament should not rest on their laurels.]

[If the Pontifical Lance is this strong against the Dominant, how will it fare against the other competition mechs in this tournament? Not every mech can handle a charge attack from such an explosive lancer mech as calmly as the Dominant!]

As the commentators praised the performance of the Dominant and the Pontifical Lance, Ves slowly let out a deep breath.

In the end, his mech failed to overcome the opposition.

While this was the expected outcome, it still hurt a lot to see his lancer mech getting defeated with such ease. The Dominant was simply too strong.

"At least I should get a good amount of points."

Ves had taken a look at the scoring system used by the High Tide Tournament. The complex formulas took a lot of different variables into account.

For example, the stronger the opposition, the higher the score.

"My mech also inflicted a lot of damage before it went down."

The serious blow inflicted on the Dominant should deliver Ves a hefty amount of points.

Yet Ves did not think it was enough. The best way for a competition mech to score a lot of points was to secure a win!