The Mech Touch novel Chapter 3824

Chapter 3824 Vanguard Composition

Now that the Golden Skull Alliance decided to stop remaining passive, the leaders immediately formulated a plan.

Much of it was tentative and general as no one could tell what was on the other side of the portal.

Was it a secret phase whale mansion?

Was it a ruined alien city?

Was it a wild and undeveloped wilderness?

Was it a fractured space pocket that was already beginning to fall apart?

No one knew! People could make guesses based on what was pouring out of the portal, but none of them were confident in their answers.

The only way to know for sure was to head inside and confirm the situation on the other side of the portal in person!

There was no other way. The Larkinsons had already tried to sneak through hundreds of different probes, some of which were microscopic in size, but the dense crowd of fish-whales made it impossible for any of them to survive the journey!

Even the stealth probes dispatched by the Black Cats got taken down. The fish-whales appeared to be quite sensitive towards what was happening in their immediate surroundings. The elite variants were even more perceptive than their ordinary white brethren!

The Larkinsons and their allies had no choice but to give up their attempts to scout the enemy's terrain. They needed to push forward and pass through the stabilized portal without any solid idea of what they might face.

The dangers of such a mission could not be understated. Any mech that passed through the portal might encounter an alien defense mechanism that could instantly wipe them all out upon entry!

"The vanguard must be strong enough to push the tide of fish-whales back." Ves stated to General Verle. "However, they must not be important enough that their loss will hurt our overall strength. I will not approve of any plans to send our expert mechs in the first wave. Their loss is much harder for us to replace!"

It was virtually impossible to poach expert pilots from other organizations. These strong-willed individuals were usually loyal to a fault. Ordinary enticements didn't work on them, especially when their employers put a lot of effort into keeping them happy!

As such, the only way the Larkinsons could expand their roster of expert pilots was to nurture them from their own ranks. This was bound to be a slow and gradual process.

In comparison, it was much simpler for the Larkinsons to replenish their regular troops.

The clan lost hundreds if not thousands of mechs and mech pilots in prior battles, but the Larkinson Army always bounced back with relative ease.

The reason for that was that it was easy for the clan to make up for its losses. The Spirit of Bentheim could easily pump out mech after mech as long as the supply of raw materials was sufficient.

The Larkinson Clan also arrived in the Red Ocean with a surplus of mech pilots, so Ves had plenty of ready and able reservists to call upon to fill the missing positions.

Even if this pool of manpower ran out, it was not a big problem to go on the job market and hire additional batches of mech pilots.

While there weren't a lot of mech pilots for hire in a dwarf galaxy where security was in high demand, it was not impossible to hire hundreds of slightly inadequate pilots.

There were probably good reasons why these pilots failed to find satisfactory employment up until now, but if there was one thing the Larkinson Clan was good at, it was training and converting outsiders into loyal and reliable soldiers!

Due to these considerations, the Larkinson Clan, Glory Seekers and Cross Clan all mustered up the necessary troops.

Over a thousand mechs that were still on standby were called up to form the vanguard.

Among the Larkinsons forces, General Verle had decided to tap in the Avatars of Myth, the Flagrant Vandals, the Penitent Sisters as part of the first wave.

The mechs dispatched by these mech legions needed to face the brunt of the fish-whale onslaught. It was not enough for them to stand their ground. They needed to push forward and gain more space for the expeditionary forces!

General Verle quickly explained their next moves to Ves. "We do not know what is on the other side of the portal, but if we can control enough space, we can send in our second wave in order to secure a beachhead into enemy territory. This is just as important as we need to make sure we retain an escape route in case our forward troops encounter too many fish-whales."

The second wave consisted of at least 800 mechs and mostly consisted of defensive mechs and ranged mechs. The Living Sentinels, the Battle Criers and the Eye of Ylvaine were being tapped to help control the space portal on the other end.

Their job was to do the same as they were doing now, and that was to hold back any fish-whales from going forward!

In order to boost the defenses of the planned bridgehead, General Verle decided to call in the big guns. A mech company of Transcendent Punishers were on their way to the mining site as their firepower could play an immensely useful role in mowing down hordes of cannon fodder fish-whales!

"What about the Swordmaidens?" Ves asked. "You haven't mentioned them before. Given their inclinations, I am sure they would love to hack their big swords through the flesh of these alien creatures."

The leader of the Larkinson Army frowned. "Their role will be much more limited and specialized in this operation. The Swordmaidens are strong offensive assets, but their defenses leave much to be desired, sir. I am sure they can adequately handle individual fish-whales with skill and patience, but the nature of this battle does not allow them to fight on their terms. Without additional defensive support, the fish-whale horde will rapidly damage and wear down the vulnerable Swordmaiden mechs."

The general was right. The Swordmaidens could deal a lot of damage but they weren't as good at taking it. The new Second Sword model designed by Ketis only partially addressed this shortcoming, and there weren't enough of the newer and stronger mechs in the hands of the Swordmaidens to make a difference!

Ves briefly hummed. "What are your plans for them, then?"

"I only intend to send in a limited amount of Swordmaiden units through the portal. It is not necessary for them to waste their time on fighting the grunt fishes. With their skill and offensive power, it is much better to deploy them against the elite fish-whales."

"That's a good idea. What of our expert mechs?"

"It is too irresponsible to put them in the first wave, but as long as we have secured a beachhead and confirm that the space portal is fully under our control, I recommend that we send in a limited amount of expert mechs. Three should be enough. We still need to retain enough on this side of the portal to defend our fleet from any other surprises that might occur."

There was always the possibility that the fish-whales or another threat might emerge from a different direction.

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