Whenever the expert pilots of the expeditionary fleet sought to polish their skills, they challenged each other in practice bouts.
While none of these fights were safe, expert pilots generally possessed a high degree of control over their own power exertion.
As long as they fought to practice their skills rather than beat each other into submission, these high-energy sparring sessions generally did not compromise the integrity of the expert mechs beyond the usual signs of wear and tear.
This was an acceptable price to pay in order to provide the expert pilots of the Golden Skull Alliance more realistic combat experience.
Today, the members of the Golden Skull Alliance enjoyed multiple good shows as the strongest mechs in the fleet displayed their capabilities.
The Dark Zephyr exhibited both its speed and its elusiveness.
The Minerva demonstrated its grasp over the battlefield.
The First Sword proved its unparalleled control.
The Blade Chaser showed off a hint of the unlocked potential of its expert pilot.
The Shield of Samar exercised its relatively new gravity control.
The Amphis reminded everyone that older expert mechs were powerful as well.
The performance of every expert mech inspired a lot of confidence in the spectators. This was because the expert pilots controlling the machines showed several signs of improvement.
They grew in strength and skill. They became more adept at responding to different threats. They also unveiled new techniques that took greater advantage of their talents and the special features of their expert mechs.
However, the practice bout that everyone had been waiting for had yet to start!
The participating expert mechs had only just deployed in space after the two expert space knights had their turn.
?? ??-??? ??, ??? “Who do you think will win this time?”
“It’s hard to say. This is a lopsided fight from the beginning. This is a three-against-one fight.”
“Yeah. The outnumbered expert mech will definitely win.”
“Are you kidding? Have some faith in our expert mechs, man! They’re not regular machines. Not only are they all alive, two out of three of them are masterworks! Our expert mechs are already strong in a duel. Think of what they can do when they fight alongside each other. The combination of their powers and abilities will definitely shake their next opponent!”
“I’m not too sure about that…”
Plenty of observers got into an argument about who would win the much-anticipated confrontation. It was as if they were discussing a high-profile arena match rather than a simple sparring session!
The people in the fleet even started to bet on the matches.
Which side would win?
Which expert mech would get taken out of the fight first?
Which mech would show the most distinctive abilities?
A lot of officers and leaders became exasperated as their people spent more time on calculating their bets than their routine duties!
It couldn’t be helped. A handful of the greatest mechs of the Golden Skull Alliance were about to square off against each other. A bout with this combination of expert mechs had never occurred before!
The Larkinson expert mechs flew out first.
“The Amaranto!”
Although Venerable Davia Stark was just a guest pilot who had always made it clear that she was not a part of the clan, it was undeniable that she played a key role in past battles.
While multiple expert ranged mechs had emerged since then, the Amaranto had always retained the crown as the most precise and deadly long-ranged combat unit in the fleet.
“The Everchanger!”
Venerable Joshua and his expert mech had gradually showcased what they were capable of when paired together. Both of them were so versatile that they had taken part in numerous different initiatives.
People often considered the Everchanger as the expert mech that best represented the Larkinsons. Its lively aura along with its excellent embrace of multiple glows had cemented its place as the standard bearer of its clan!
Compared to the enthusiasm directed towards the two masterwork expert mechs, the third machine to emerge in space attracted less attention.
“That’s the Riot.”
As one of the few non-masterwork expert mechs in the Larkinson Clan, the expert spearman mech never attracted as much admiration or appreciation.
Even among its peers, Venerable Rosa Orfan’s personal machine was distinctly underwhelming.
The Dark Zephyr stood out due to its dazzling mobility and odd prime abilities while the First Sword displayed a lot more combat power than usual due to the excellent skill of its expert pilot.
In comparison, the Riot never displayed any flashy performance.
Venerable Orfan’s skill was great relative to ordinary mech pilots, but it was nothing special when compared to the likes of Venerable Dise.
The Riot was designed to be a tenacious mech, but its defenses couldn’t come close to matching that of the Shield of Samar.
Its mobility and offensive characteristics were relatively average, but that made the Riot even more invisible when standing alongside its more extreme and specialized peers.
The relatively ‘balanced’ Riot couldn’t even match the versatility of the Everchanger.
With all of these factors, it was no surprise that the Riot became the underdog among its peers.
As the Riot followed after the Amaranto and the Everchanger, its expert pilot did not show any signs of discouragement.
“This is my moment.” She whispered to her expert mech. “We have both improved after we fought against the dwarves. The performance we’ve shown back then is no longer reflective of our current strength. Let’s show these doubters that we can hold our own in the Larkinson Clan!”
Pure fighting intent welled up in her mind as she became eager to challenge herself against her upcoming opponent!
“You too, Qilanxo! Let’s prove to Jannzi that you can do more than put up shields!”
One of the more unusual traits about the Riot was that it was being watched over by an unexpected design spirit.
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