It was as if the appetizers had just made way for the main course of the meal. The entry of every other mech that had previously remained in reserve was a shocking sight that instantly increased the intensity of the battlefield by an order of magnitude!
Thousands of positron beams struck the sturdy and formidable knight mechs of the Molten Hammers. The mech pilots of these dwarven units all possessed the courage to charge in front of everyone else for very good reasons.
The short height of these defensive mechs might not provide as much cover to the mechs following from behind, but they also made it a lot harder to strike them from a distance.
Their thicker physical shields and stockier forms also meant it would take longer to take them down despite getting hit a lot of times. Their high mass and solid constructions allowed each of them to maintain a stable and purposeful flight trajectory despite getting hit by dozens of gauss rounds or positron beams. Even if their shields were close to falling apart, the mechs did not stop until their frames became more and more ragged.
At that point, the damaged space knights smoothly fell out of formation and turned around to retreat back to their motherships.
This not only preserved the functionality of their machines, but also allowed them to act as emergency reserves!
If there was ever a need for their services in the later stages of a battle, they could always deploy again with backup shields in their hands to block incoming damage at critical moments.
“What a well-executed approach!” Ves sighed with admiration.
While there were many defensive units that employed similar rotations, the dwarves were much more proficient at it. Their defensive mechs were tougher and did not break as easily when put under fire. The dwarven mech pilots had also practiced this maneuver a lot and were able to judge when their mechs were close to suffering internal damage.
As long as the damage to their machines was contained to the exterior, the damaged armor sections could always be repaired or patched up with haste as long as they returned to their motherships. However, once their critical internal parts started taking damage, it became a lot more troublesome and time-consuming to bring them back up to full functionality.
In essence, the hardy mechs of the dwarves granted them a lot more staying power than normal. Many people such as Ves and General Verle were already able to figure out that they could not afford to get locked in a battle of attrition against these resilient opponents!
“The Hivar Roarers mechs have also begun to move!”
Whereas the Molten Hammer and Slug Ranger mechs were all accelerating straight ahead, the mechs of the bestial mech regiment weren’t as straightforward.
Only a few of their heavier and less mobile bestial mechs all joined the main formations that were moving straight ahead. Most of their mechs split up into two different prongs and began to arc around so that they would be able to converge upon the expeditionary fleet from different angles.
That caused Ves to take the Hivar Roarers more seriously. As he studied their mech models, he saw that they consisted of a variety of ranged and melee machines that took up all kinds of different animal shapes.
One of the more distinct Roarer mechs was the odd-looking turtle mechs. They looked almost exactly how they sounded. They resembled giant turtles though with at least some of their limbs replaced by guns. Cannons and other weapon modules were also mounted to their sides sometimes.
“Don’t waste your firepower on these turtle mechs. They’re too difficult to hit, and even if you strike them, they hardly look any worse!”
This was the most interesting characteristic about the turtle mechs. Since they were flying forward with their distinct turtle shells facing upwards, their silhouette was quite flat and minimal. This made it very difficult for the ranged mechs of the expeditionary fleet to hit these odd-looking bestial mechs.
Of course, the fact that shots could easily bypass these turtle mechs also meant that they were not good at blocking incoming fire. The mechs that were flying close to them had to endure the incoming fire without much cover!
Ves soon figured out the concept behind these hardy bestial mechs.
“Don’t underestimate the threat posed by the Hivar Roarer turtle mechs.” Ves called. “They are self-contained weapon platforms that can unleash a constant barrage of fire at our forces. Think of them as doom crawlers in space! As long as they are able to take up positions on our flanks, they can enfilade our ranks!”
That quickly woke up the Larkinsons. Although the firepower of the turtle mechs didn’t actually match that of a doom crawler, they still came close enough to the Cracker line of the Slug Rangers. The cannons mounted on the turtle mechs could inflict even more damage to the expeditionary fleet’s forces because they would incur damage from their sides or even their rear!
As long as any mech or formation of mechs had to defend against incoming fire from multiple sides, the poor machines wouldn’t be able to hold their ground anymore. They either had to retreat or face a swift defeat.
Neither of these options were acceptable! There was no room for the mechs to retreat or else they would bump right into the ships of the expeditionary fleet. If these crucial vessels began to get bombarded from multiple sides, then it was unlikely that they would be able to last much longer either.
“As long as the dwarves attack us from the front, we can concentrate all of our defenses forward so we can fend off their attacks for a long time. If we have to worry about getting stabbed from the side, we’ll have to split our defensive resources and weaken our ability to defend from either direction. This is not ideal!”
This was not an ideal situation. In fact, it was one of the nightmare scenarios that the Golden Skull Alliance had anticipated. The Ferrils could easily afford to split off a third of their mechs to perform a pincer maneuver because they had the numbers to spare!
The best solution to attack these dangerous turtle mechs was to fight them up close. As ranged mechs, they were unable to defend themselves properly against melee mechs.
However, the large escort of other bestial mechs meant it wouldn’t be easy to get at the turtle mechs. A large number of tiger mechs, avian mechs and other oddly-shaped mechs followed behind the turtle mechs.
Whether they were melee or ranged-oriented, these eclectic bestial mechs could easily entangle any detachment that attempted to intercept the pincers.
The defenders could not let the pincers succeed in their flanking attacks, but the problem was that the Golden Skull Alliance didn’t have enough mechs to spare!
The military leaders of the alliance had eventually decided to shift some of their units to the flanks. The Larkinson Clan transferred a mix of Swordmaiden, Vandal and Heavensworder mechs to both sides. These units largely consisted of lighter and more maneuverable offensive mechs.
Though they were not ideal at defending, anything heavier and slower was liable to get ignored by the Hivar Roarers. It was too easy for most of their bestial mechs to outspeed and outmaneuver defensive units!
As for the Penitent Sisters, they had a different role to play this time. Venerable Joshua’s Valkyrie Prime was already in the middle of a formation of Valkyrie Redeemers as it advanced forward right behind the Avatars of Myth.
Anyone in the Golden Skull Alliance knew that they would play a crucial role in the coming clash. Ves already tried to estimate how much damage the Penitent Sister battle network could inflict on the dwarven mech force.
“It’s not as much as I want.” He glumly concluded.
Though plenty of dwarven mechs were stacking close together, there were simply too many of them to bunch up in a small area! The different mech companies and mech regiments generously spaced themselves away from each other in order to avoid bumping into each other or interfering with any of their spontaneous maneuvers.
Since there was so much real estate in space, why not make use of it all? This was the general thought behind the dwarven formations. Dispersing their mechs and formations also made it harder to whittle them all down from range. This was one of the ideal ways to approaching an enemy while enduring constant fire.
“They’ll have to close ranks eventually once their melee mechs collide against ours.” Ves muttered.
If the mechs and mech companies continued to space themselves away from other friendlies, then it became to easy to flank and surround them. This was why Ves was willing to be patient and keep the Penitent Sister battle network in reserve. This was not the time for them to show off the Superior Mother’s might.
“I’m not sure whether it is wise to employ their battle networks too early.”
This was a difficult dilemma. As long as the Penitent Sisters used their big move, their mech pilots including Joshua would no longer be in their prime state. While they would probably be able to continue to fight, the half-depleted mech pilots would not be as effective as before.
However, when he thought about taking out a huge chunk of dwarven combat assets early, he felt it was worth the tradeoff.
Such a massive attack would not only take out threats that could disable hundreds if not thousands of friendly mechs over the course of a battle, but also inflict an immense morale blow to the enemy dwarves!
“Maybe the attack can persist long enough to reap the lives aboard a couple of dwarven fleets.”
Ves began to shift his attention to the rifleman mechs of both sides.
Though the melee mechs of both sides still had a lot of distance to traverse before they came close to swinging their weapons, the various ranged mechs had already begun to fire at each other.
The Bright Warriors mechs armed with rifles did not perform particularly well compared to their Slug Ranger counterparts. The latter were more solid, specialized and piloted by better-trained dwarves.
The only advantage the Bright Warriors enjoyed was their greater mobility. They were able to evade significantly more incoming shots and the resilience of their armor was also quite respectable.
Asa result, the fight between the two slowly evened up as the mech pilots of the Bright Warriors became used to their opponents.
There were other ranged mechs that did not fly forward aside from the flightless heavy artillery mechs.
Of particular note to Ves was the Eternal Redemptions piloted by the ranged mech specialists of the Penitent Sisters.
Ves briefly smiled. “They finally get to show their worth for the first time.”
Their performance did not disappoint him. Despite not being armed with his powerful luminar crystal rifles, their massive Samheim Gauss Cannons fired ultra-heavy rounds that inflicted the most damage against defensive mechs and bunkers alike!
The Eternal Redemption was one of the few mech models of the Larkinson Clan that truly deserved to fit the moniker of elite. They cost twice as much as a Bright Warrior to build and it showed. They were not only resilient enough to withstand a lot of return fire, but also tore apart many dwarf mechs that never took the firepower of their human foes seriously!
“It’s too bad I only have a couple of hundred of them.” Ves briefly lamented.
It was difficult to produce these Eternal Redemptions on a large scale. They were not only big and hefty, but also demanded a lot of premium materials to form all of their strongest parts.
Still, the performance of the Eternal Redemptions along with their ability to maneuver in space were crucial in making life harder for the Ferril mechs. The cannoneer mechs had begun to occupy more favorable positions away from the main fleet where they could fire at their targets from an angle exerted a bit more pressure onto the advancing dwarf mechs.
Yet as much as they were able to cripple or force many dwarf mechs into retreat, there were easily thousands more enemy machines that remained undeterred!
“The initial collision will not be pretty!” Ves winced in concern.
