The Mech Touch novel Chapter 3465

Chapter 3465: Lighthouse Keeper

In order to keep the competition fair, the mech designers weren't allowed to go backstage and attend to their damaged mechs right away.

They all had to stay in the same spectating platform until all 94 mechs had their turn.

Soon enough, 47 different mech duels came to a conclusion.

Many mechs earned their moment of glory in the field. Many mech pilots began to blame themselves for failing to overcome their opponents. Many mech designers tempered their emotions after they reminded themselves their work still had to go through two more matches.

Once the announcer finally declared a break, the mech designers quickly moved to the rear in order to supervise the repair work and confer with their designated mech pilots.

When Ves finally arrived in front of his Pontifical Lance, he noticed that it was almost restored to its previous condition. Hysphalin Industries sold more than superfabs. The company also developed a diverse array of repair devices and restoration systems that could quickly bring any damaged frame back to a fully functional state.

Of course, not everything could be returned back to peak condition. Certain phenomena such as fatigue and other forms of wear and tear were notoriously difficult to fix. It was completely unnecessary for Hysphalin Industries to bring out the big guns and expend an enormous amount of money just to repair a bunch of short-lived competition mechs.

Besides, how well these machines were able to pick themselves back up after suffering heavy damage was one of the ways mech designers distinguished themselves from each other.

The design of the mech, the choice in materials and how well it was put together all influenced the repairability of a machine.

The Pontifical Lance performed well in this regard. Although Ves observed numerous faults caused by inflexible programming, he could still iron out most of the wrinkles before the next round commenced.

While he began to take over manual control over these sophisticated repair systems, the mech pilot of the Pontifical Lance approached with a somber expression.

"You don't have to feel sorry about your loss." Ves calmly replied before the man could explain his defeat. "Both of us have gone through our fair share of duels and competitions. Losing is part of the game. I have little fault in how you fought against the Dominant. That mech is just so strong that it still retained most of its battle effectiveness after losing its entire shoulder."

His preemptive words put Gregory Haloscar at ease. The mech pilot had encountered mech designers who responded to losses in a much more ugly fashion. When a lot of pride and winnings were at stake, it was quite possible for people to lose their cool.

Fortunately, despite his relatively young age, Ves was able to accept the reality of this outcome without a fuss. That spoke well for their future chances.

Since they didn't have to go through the complicated dance of moving past their earlier loss, Gregory quickly reoriented his thoughts towards his next bout. "You've seen me pilot your mech earlier. What did I do right and what do I need to change?"

"I'm quite satisfied with the way you handled yourself." Ves responded with a smile even as he continued to fix his work. "You're a skilled and seasoned lancer mech pilot and that is what I need the most. At its base, the Pontifical Lance doesn't attempt to reinvent the concept of a lancer mech. Just piloting it like the other machines you are familiar with is already good. The only issue that I want you to work upon is to actively cooperate with your living mech."

"Uhm, explain, please."

"You've already piloted the Pontifical Lance so you should know it is more than a cold, logic-driven machine. From what I've been able to see, you accepted a suggestion from your mech. Has that decision paid off for you, Gregory?"

The man nodded. "I kept your words in mind and took the hint seriously, even if I can't figure out whether it is actually right. Although I can't say I'm completely convinced, I'm willing to put my trust in my mech again in the next match."

Ves briefly paused his repair work in order to turn around and face the mech pilot in the eyes.

"You need to do more than passively accept the input of your lancer mech. You need to work as an actual team. Think about all of the times you fought alongside fellow battle comrades. It's rarely the case that one of you takes the lead while the rest simply does nothing except when receiving explicit instructions. The Pontifical Lance still has untapped potential. What is limiting it from displaying its full capabilities is your lack of initiative. Embrace your mech. Open yourself up to it. Trust in its guidance, and it shall lead you to victory. Do you understand?"

"I… think so. I'll do better. I will not taste defeat again!"

"That's the spirit. Now hop back in your cockpit. Your mech is almost ready for the second round."

Once the break was over, the mech designers all moved back to the spectating platform again. The second round commenced with four fresh duels.

Though Ves appreciated the sight of all of these unique competition mechs showing off their distinctive features, he was mostly waiting for his work to enter the arena again.

He didn't have to wait too long. After the arenas were all cleaned up after hosting a couple of thrilling bouts, the announcer finally mentioned a familiar name.

[In the fourth arena, will Ves Larkinson's Pontifical Lance succeed in demolishing its foe in a single charge or will Marik Esophe's Lighthouse Keeper be able to hold its ground?]

Ves widened his eyes.

The Lighthouse Keeper was another knight mech!

However, unlike the Dominant, the Lighthouse Keeper adopted a radically different battle approach.

Part of it was because Marik Esophe wasn't as good as Ereben Seinlin.

There was only so much Marik could put into his Lighthouse Keeper, so he made a difficult choice to forgo integrating a flight system in the design.

By skipping this demanding element, the Lighthouse Keeper was actually considerably more resilient than the Dominant. Even if its design wasn't as sophisticated, all of that extra capacity went into strengthening its defenses even further.

In order to make sure that the Lighthouse Keeper was able to defeat opponents that could easily evade its sword, Marik Esophe opted to pair his knight mech with deployable turrets.

"Is that even allowed?" Ves briefly wondered.

If Mr. Esophe broke the rules, then the Lighthouse Keeper would have never been allowed to fight in the first round. Evidently there was no problem with pairing a knight mech with detachable systems.

Still, it was not as if these turrets came without a cost. Their existence ate into the design budget of the Lighthouse Keeper, making it so that Esophe could not stuff the frame of the mech with as much high-quality goodies.

In order to compensate for this shortcoming, Esophe chose to cover his Lighthouse Keeper with thicker and heavier layers of more affordable armor plating.

The downside was that the Lighthouse Keeper was so fat and heavy that it could barely jog on the ground! Its mobility was so terrible that it could not win any matches without relying on its turrets to force the enemy into action!

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