The second phase of the design duel wasn’t accompanied by song and dance this time. The atmosphere in Prosperous Hill VI was too tense for any festivities to have any effect.
The Lifers simply wanted the matches to start as soon as possible in order to know once and for all whether biomechs were strong enough to compete against classical mechs!
In fact, an increasing number of Lifers already admitted in their hearts that biomechs weren’t superior anymore. At best, they stood on equal grounds against regular mechs.
What they didn’t want to see was biomechs getting beat up left and right! Such an outcome would induce major doubt in the minds of both Lifers and foreigners who were tuning in to the broadcast.
"Will Dr. Navarro’s biomechs prevail? Or will Mr. Larkinson prove that the most ordinary mechs are actually stronger?"
The original point of the design duel had almost been drowned by all of these questions! Hardly anyone recalled that its original purpose was to prove which mechs were more worthy to be called alive.
This was why the judgement of the mech pilots was crucial to this design duel. Only those who piloted the mechs in battle were the most qualified to determine which form of living mech was better!
After a brief introduction, the announcers quickly moved on to the first match.
[Captain Alazar Ipsich and Kelly Gidon will be squaring off against each other yet again! This time, they are sitting in the seats their opponents previously occupied. Having gained much experience in piloting the mech that they must overcome this time, these mech pilots will surely put their knowledge to good use!]
Two mechs stepped into the dueling ring. Jeers immediately rang out from the audience.
"Hahaha! Look at that shabby mech! Trash can indeed! The mech doesn’t even boast any proper armor coverage anymore! Even my twelve-year old son can repair a mech by slapping some random plates across some holes!"
"There is no contest in this match! Just look at the difference. This metal mech is covered with scars while our fine biomech looks completely healed!"
Ves glowered a bit. These laymen didn’t possess an inkling of understanding of the complex engineering challenges he faced with repairing his sword-wielding Bright Warrior. What gave them the qualifications to criticize his repair job!?"
While the mech looked as if it had healed from all of its injuries in the last three days, Ves wasn’t fooled.
One of its limbs was abnormally weak. Its frontal flesh was too new and weak. Its entire flight system looked shaky. The mech suffered from a lack of balance due to the unevenness of the mech.
In short, it was impossible for the Epsilon Mosar to exhibit the same degree of battle effectiveness as before!
This was mostly the fault of Captain Ipsich. Back when he piloted the sword-wielding Bright Warrior, he did his best to thrash the Epsilon Mosar and thereby achieve the first victory in the design duel.
Now, he was forced to pilot the consequences of his own actions. The Epsilon Mosar may look fine on the surface, but piloting it was a vastly different experience than before.
As the sensors of his injured biomech trained on the Bright Warrior, feelings of envy and d.e.s.i.r.e bubbled up inside him. He would much rather pilot the mech he managed to achieve victory with again.
The experience of piloting it and interacting with it had kept haunting his dreams every night. He often wondered what it would be like to pilot the Bright Warrior on a regular basis instead of just a single time.
"I’m sorry." He softly spoke.
He knew he was doing a disservice to the Epsilon Mosar. Objectively speaking, it was quite a well-designed biomech. If Captain Ipsich overlooked its injuries, then it was a fine swordsman mech that was highly maneuverable in the air.
Yet Captain Ipsich still yearned to pilot the Bright Warrior instead. He didn’t mind its boring design at all. The mech was much more exciting when he interfaced it. He truly felt the difference of what truly constituted a living mech now that he was forced to pilot the Epsilon Mosar.
Despite its organic nature, Captain Ipsich did not sense any dynamic responses from his current mech. The mech was as robotic and formulaic as any mech he piloted. The Epsilon Mosar was strictly programmed not to show any initiative.
It was too controlled.
Ipswich missed the relationship he developed with the mech that currently stood on the other side of the dueling ring. Even though he had to put some effort into growing this relationship, it was completely worth it in his eyes.
Now, he had been denied this chance. Piloting a biomech that was no different from a bacterium in terms of responsiveness was such a big letdown to Captain Ipsich that he suddenly lost all of his eagerness to fight this match!
"What’s the point?" He whispered to himself.
He thought he was better than this. He was a consummate professional and a mercenary who always abided by his contract. He had been hired to do a job, and that was to pilot both mechs to the best of his ability and issue a fair judgement about which one he liked the most at the end.
Yet Captain Ipsich felt as if they could skip all of the remaining steps right away!
He kept trying to search for something greater in the Epsilon Mosar. Yet the qualities that caused him to fall in love with the Bright Warrior was completely absent in his current steed!
"I can’t do this, though." He slightly shook his head. "I still need to complete the job no matter how much I wish to turn away."
It wasn’t just his professionalism asserting himself. While he had been prohibited from following the news, the Epsilon Mosar still registered the loud chants from the viewing platforms high up in the air.
Too many eyes were pointed in his direction right now. How could he possibly continue to hold his head high if he breached his contract and issued his surrender straight away? How would he ever be able to call himself a Lifer if he purposely sabotaged the chances of Dr. Navarro?
"I need to put up a good fight."
Captain Ipsich tried to focus on the upcoming fight. He roughly knew what the Epsilon Mosar was capable of already. Its changes were a bit interesting as well.
[Commence the match!]
The sixth match started off with a bang!
Both mechs jumped into the air and quickly gained altitude!
He never imagined that Dr. Navarro was capable of changing the legs of his biomech into ominous-looking tendrils! ƒreewebɳovel.com
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