The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4924

Chapter 4924 The Power of Deterrence

The significance of taking out an expert mech was too great. This was especially when it took place at an enormous range.

It was not unusual to take out expert mechs over a hundred kilometers away in space. Battles that took place in the great void. It was especially easier to strike distant targets with most energy weapons.

The circumstances this time were completely different. For one expert mech to be able to destroy a distant expert mech in a planetary environment completely frightened the Bontue soldiers advancing towards New Kreon!

They had already endured a lot of suppression beforehand when the Iron Hedgehog took out one mech after another with every single attack.

When the mech pilots under fire thought they needed to endure this threat hanging over their heads, their enthusiasm for this battle sapped with each step taken by their mechs.

Once the Blue Amazon came under fire, these pilots became even more discouraged.

Artillery mechs weren't supposed to be able to threaten expert mechs over the horizon. The delay between firing a projectile and impact was so great that the Blue Amazon should have ample means to avoid getting harmed.

What happened today completely broke the rules!

Not only did Venerable Irene Mox manage to do an excellent job at predicting the movements of the Bontue expert pilot, the Iron Hedgehog's explosive shells also exploded with much greater power than before!

The Bontues all thought that the Quillim invaders had reserved a secret stash of super-deluxe premium shells in case of emergencies!

Even if the Bontues suspected that the Quillims did not have a large supply of these premium shells, the wind had already been taken out of their sails.

Since the planetary invasion had already taken place for some time, the Bontue defenders already possessed a good understanding of the expert mechs at the enemy's disposal.

Several of them including the Iron Hedgehog were certainly awaiting the Bontue mechs at New Kreon.

The Blue Amazon played an important role in constraining these powerful machines.

So far, the Iron Hedgehog managed to depress an entire mech force as well as take out its strongest combat asset.

Now that it had been taken out of the fight, the only other way to overcome a disparity in the number of high-level mechs was to sacrifice a lot of mechs to overwhelm the powerful enemy murder machines!

The battle was bound to be tragic. Not only would many mechs get destroyed, their mech pilots were unlikely to survive as well due to the excessively high attack power of expert mechs.

In addition, it was one thing to gang up on an expert melee mech that could only effectively slaughter its opponents at close range. A typical expert swordsman mech's group killing efficiency was not particularly high.

The Iron Hedgehog was completely different in this regard. It gave up any pretense of being able to duel against other expert mechs up close, but what it got in return was an unparalleled capacity to destroy entire areas!

So far, the Iron Hedgehog managed to depress an entire mech force as well as take out its strongest combat asset.

It did so by relying on just one of its howitzers!

The Bontues knew that once they came closer, they would once again face the full brunt of the expert mech that had breached the fortifications of many of their cities and turned the tide of many skirmishes!

Even if the damaged expert heavy artillery mech had yet to regain the function of all of its formidable cannons, it still had plenty left intact that it could harvest half-a-dozen mechs if not more with each salvo!

The officers and analysts on the Bontue side weren't stupid. They knew extremely well that launching a straightforward attack on a fortified position that was guarded by an expert heavy artillery mech was a recipe for disaster!

In the end, the Bontue commanders acknowledged that their offensive would likely fail if they insisted on pressing on. The premature loss of the Blue Amazon not only deprived them of an important lynchpin in their operation, but also had a strong negative effect on the morale of their remaining troops!

Once the troops lost their willingness to fight, their chances of succeeding had already dropped to the bottom.

"Our vanguard troops lack the heavy support they need to suppress the Iron Hedgehog and break through enemy lines. Let us pull back and wait for our main troops to catch up before pressing on to Dershin. The Quillims aren't going anywhere now that we have wrecked all of their starships."

"We can constrain and limit the movements of the stranded Quillim mech forces as long as we disperse our mechs and have them fight a guerilla war for the following three or four days. The Iron Hedgehog may have an amazing range, but it cannot be everywhere."

The Bontue leaders all assumed that time was on their side. Even if their vanguard failed to press the attack, it would not change the inevitable outcome.

Due to all of this, the Bontues made the logical decision to call for a retreat.

This surprised Venerable Irene Mox and many of her fellow Quillim soldiers. They thought that since the Bontues had managed to reverse the situation, their old enemies would be eager to finish the job!

"Damn, they're trying to take the Blue Amazon's frame away!"

A pair of Bontue mechs had quickly approached the collapsed mech and tried to drag it away, but Irene wasn't having it. Letting the enemy take it back meant that it could quickly be repaired and put back into the fight a few days later.

This time, she no longer held back. The Iron Hedgehog armed all of the howitzers and gauss cannons that it could bring to bear at this time.

She intended to make another statement this time. With Emma empowering the solid round loaded in one of the gauss cannons, the reinvigorated expert pilot intended to cement her victory!

"Hold your fire, Venerable Irene!" A voice instructed over the communication channel.

"What?! Why, sir?! The Bontue mechs are well within the range of my Iron Hedgehog! I can promise you that I can easily wreck a hundred of them before they move too far away!"

"The battle is over, Venerable. You have done your part. Colonel Harvey Dost has just negotiated a 24-hour ceasefire with the Bontue commanders. Neither side is allowed to attack each other for an entire day. It may be frustrating to us to let our enemies retreat with a shred of dignity, but do not forget what we are fighting for. One of the clauses of the ceasefire agreement is that the Bontues are not allowed to get close to Dershin and New Kreon."

Irene fell silent. She did not feel the fight was over at all. It frustrated her enormously that the Bontue soldiers who sought out to kill all of the Quillims trapped on Korinna V would be allowed to turn tail and run without suffering any further punishment for their transgressions.

Blinky spoke up at this point. "Do not give in to your baser desires. Control yourself. You are a soldier, not a rogue mech pilot. Remember that keeping the Bontue forces away from Dershin was the whole point of making a stand in New Kreon. It doesn't matter how your side is able to accomplish this goal. If you can accomplish your objective without suffering further bloodshed, then we should take it. Just look and listen at the mech pilots around you. See what you have accomplished by successfully deterring the Bontue vanguard from committing its assault."

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