The Mech Touch novel Chapter 2086

Chapter 2086 Atypical Mech Designer

The third test initiated by Ves gradually turned into a bloodbath.

About one in every thirty challengers suffered severe wounds ranging from deep stabs to outright limb amputations!

Despite the growing number of 'mistakes' made by Ketis, she gleefully maintained her smile while looking forward to clash against the next challenger!

It became increasingly harder for the candidates to muster up their courage and grab the floating sword. While the rate of suffering grievous injuries was rather small, anyone who got hit by the sharp side of the greatsword instead of the flat side suffered unimaginable pain!

The floor around Ketis quickly began to resemble an abattoir with the growing amount of blood pooling below her feat. It got to the point where the mech designers had to watch their step lest they tripped!

It became worse for them as time went by. Ketis continually grew more formidable in their eyes. Her bloody existence even started to cast a shadow onto their hearts!

A growing number of mech designers decided they wanted nothing to do with this extremely dangerous test. Three-hundred of them had already stepped back from the ghastly sight. They would rather take their chances with Gloriana's remaining test! Even if that didn't work out, they wouldn't be particularly sad at the prospect of returning home empty-handed.

Working under someone as sadistic and bloodthirsty as Ves was a curse rather than a blessing!

"Next!"

Ketis had already chopped up a woman who clumsily overextended herself in a feeble attempt to escape severe injury.

The man who followed suit felt a bit more confident about his attempt. So far, Ketis never subsequently chopped off the limbs of the challenger who came after her previous victim!

He happened to be one of the mech designers with a cranial implant. He keenly observed Ketis' body language and microexpressions. He also performed a very thorough statistical analysis on the injuries suffered by the challengers who came before. With a sample size of over 200, the man was 86 percent confident that Ketis would not leave him with more than a bruise!

When his hands grasped the handle of the floating sword, he sprinted forward with confidence. He uttered a guttural cry as he launched a simple chop!

He had already analyzed the previous attack patterns and concluded that Ketis was far too strong, fast and skilled. There was no way to defeat her by resorting to trickery, finesse and technique unless he was a formidable swordsman himself!

Since defeating Ketis was out of the question, he simply decided to launch a straightforward attack with only a portion of his momentum. Too little force wouldn't impress anyone, while too much force made it too easy for him to lose his balance.

As his sword steadily chopped down, Ketis moved faster than he ever thought possible!

In one instance, his sword clanged against the flat of the greatsword.

In the next, he suddenly lost all feeling in his hand, before realizing to his horror that his wrist was transmitting an unimaginable amount of pain!

"Aaahh!"

Ketis apathetically shrugged and didn't bother to voice an excuse this time. "You think too much."

Standing at the side, Ves nodded his head in agreement.

This test was not about outsmarting Ketis!

When Ves approached her to administer this test, he specifically stated that he wanted to see blood.

"How often?" She asked.

"As much or as little as you want. You can decide for yourself who you want to chop." He responded. "Though do keep enough of them intact. Gloriana needs enough bodies to make her choice as well, so do try to keep the casualty rate reasonable. The goal is to make it clear that there are real consequences to holding a weapon."

"I'm not complaining, what is the point of this, Ves?" She scratched her head.

"If these mech designers are about to work for me, I want them to be able to keep their cool during a possible combat situation. I have witnessed plenty of cowardly mech designers in the past. To be honest, they disgust me. While I don't expect my new employees to be as fearless as you, at the very least they shouldn't lose their marbles if they are ever shot at! I have no time to coddle mech designers who faint at the sight of blood."

While Ves didn't plan to drive them into the middle of an active battlefield or anything, he wanted his subordinates to keep functioning in case a crisis occurred!

It was much easier for him to increase an assistant's talent or knowledge. It was much harder to boost some of their other traits!

The goal of this selection was to distinguish the candidates who possessed the rare qualities he sought!

As the challengers slowly moved forward as if they were about to face their executions, Ves inwardly shook his head.

The mech designers all let their nerves get the better of them. In fact, it got so bad that he seriously started to doubt whether he could meet his quota today!

He had witnessed too many mech designers who lost heart before they even grasped the floating sword!

Some battles were unwinnable. In his short but eventful career, Ves had experienced several setbacks, tragedies, and defeats. What stood out to him was how people behaved during an impending catastrophe.

Would they break down and cry?

Would they raise their hands and offer their surrender?

Would they run and flee as fast as possible?

None of these responses satisfied him. While they were excusable reactions for typical mech designers and other noncombatants, Ves wasn't looking to hire typical mech designers!

He couldn't help but recall two memorable incidents where Ves witnessed awful defeats.

In one instance during the journey through the frontier, the Flagrant Swordmaiden fleet stumbled upon the survivors of Chopra Interstellar Services in space.

One of them happened to be a mech designer by the name of Eric Kichiro, who uttered a phrase that Ves never forgot.

"Cowardice is a virtue!"

Just recalling those words made unsettled Ves considerably! His mood sunk even further after learning what Eric had done.

When the Chopran fleet clashed against a pirate group called the NIN, Eric didn't stay put at his assigned station on a ship. Instead, as the Choprans suffered a sudden setback, Eric quickly abandoned his post and ran straight towards the escape pods and launched without asking for permission!

His premature escape inadvertently sparked a panic. Many of his fellow comrades saw his escape pod flying away, thereby sparking a panic throughout the Chopran fleet! Their morale took a considerable hit, causing several more people to lose their nerves as well and flee their ships!

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