The Mech Touch novel Chapter 2877

Chapter 2877: Diligent Mark XXIV

When the Swordmaidens woke up the next day, they prepared themselves for another round of competition.

Today, the Greater Omanderie Festival centered around mech battles. Since Ketis and several other Swordmaidens who competed in the personal combat tournaments weren't mech pilots, this was a day of rest for them. All they could do to help out their organization was to cheer the Swordmaiden mech pilots who entered the field today.

Before the Swordmaidens departed for the mech arenas, the most prominent among them gathered for a private meeting. They entered one of the rooms and activated some jammers and other countermeasures in order to prevent their host from listening in. It would have been better if Lucky was there to sweep the room, but their standard equipment was already enough to address most situations.

While the Swordmaidens weren't planning to do anything drastic during their stay on this planet, they were still accustomed to maintaining their privacy. Some of their talks dealt with the strategies they chose to employ during their matches. It would not be good if these details were leaked to other competitors.

"How are you dealing with Miss Harcourt?" Venerable Dise asked.

"She's still friendly enough." Ketis dutifully responded. "I can't say we're friends, but I don't think she's a threat. I've successfully led her to think about what kind of mech she can design in collaboration with Ves. As long as she is fixated on this idea, she won't have much reason to stab us in the back. Still..."

"What is it, Ketis?"

"I don't think Angelique warrants this much caution. She clearly respects you and our battle prowess. The Heavensworders are the most upright and honest people I've met. It's simply not in their nature to turn their back on a deal."

Commander Sendra snorted. "We've gone through so many ordeals with the Larkinson Clan that we can't afford to lower our guard. Our patriarch is a trouble magnet. His current predicament makes us even more vulnerable. I just don't feel at ease here. The Heavensworders may have dispatched a lot of security to this planet, but what happened back in the LRA already proves that only the mechs we control ourselves can be counted upon."

The reminder that Ves and many Larkinsons were stuck in one of the most contested planets of the LRA did not sit well with the Swordmaidens.

Though they still retained a strong attachment to their old identity, they also saw themselves as Larkinsons. They didn't care too much about the average clansmen, but they still developed a number of strong personal bonds with individual Larkinsons.

If nothing else, the fall of the patriarch and the collapse of the clan would cause the Swordmaidens to lose all of their material support!

The Swordmaidens had changed too much to be able to survive on their own. They needed a patron to take care of their ships, their finances, their logistical support and so on. If they were asked to go back to relying on themselves, then they would likely find it difficult to maintain a second-class standard!

Therefore, it was in their best interest if Ves and the rest of the Larkinsons made it out of the LRA alive and intact.

"You are worrying too much if you ask me." Ketis calmly said. "Ves can take care of himself. Even if he falls short, he still has Lucky. There is no way that he will get cornered as long as he has his cat by his side."

Venerable Dise remained firm. "The fact of the matter is that we cannot provide any assistance to the Larkinsons stuck in Prosperous Hill over here. We are light-years away from the planet where Ves is stranded. Rather than waste our time and worrying ourselves seriously, we should focus our efforts on making it as far into the tournaments as possible. We must not let adverse news affect our chances of fulfilling our main goal. Whether the Larkinson Clan is able to survive at the end, we still will still be in a better situation than before if we have a couple of thousand extra Swordmaiden trainees in our ranks."

This was the correct choice to make in their situation.

Sure, there had been talks of pulling out of the tournament and heading back to the LRA, but what could they do? The allied fleet of the Golden Skull Alliance were still prohibited from venturing into the inner system. Until the Lifers lifted this blockade, the Swordmaidens would just get stuck outside like the rest!

If the blockade ever crumbled, then the expeditionary fleet already possessed sufficient strength to evacuate Ves and the other stranded people from the surface.

General Verle had already transmitted enough messages to make it clear that the situation had yet to deteriorate to the point where the Swordmaidens could make a difference.

After the gathered Swordmaidens finished commiserating over their inability to affect the situation in Prosperous Hill, they turned back to their more immediate concerns.

Commander Sendra activated a projection that displayed a fairly basic-looking swordsman mech. "Our competing mech pilots will pilot the same landbound swordsman mech model they piloted in the virtual preliminaries."

The competing mech pilots had to compete on skill, not mechs. This was why the duelist and group swordsman mech tournaments all adopted the same mech model.

Almost no competitor had anything good to say about the Diligent Mark XXIV. The budget swordsman mech model was very basic and barebones compared to the premium mechs that the Swordmaidens had become accustomed to. The Diligent mechs were designed to accommodate many different sword styles, so its specs were very balanced.

The only noteworthy aspect about the Diligent was its flexibility and range of motion. The amount of movements it could make were so large that it could even fight with its back facing the enemy!

"I'm sure you have all formed your own feel for this mech during the virtual preliminaries." Ketis spoke. "Since the Diligent line of mechs has always been used for competitions in the Heavensword Association, I've found a lot of articles, comments, analyses and opinions about the model, including its latest iteration. Two different aspects stand out when I compare the Diligents to other swordsman mechs."

"Then how should we handle this mech?" _{freewёbnoνel.com}

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