The Mech Touch novel Chapter 5551

Chapter 5551 The First Challenge Match

Master Aulaus Kreshnik gave Ves a decent amount of well-meaning advice.

Though not all of his tips were new to Ves, the man provided a valuable high-level perspective on the Rubarthan mech market.

"The Rubarthan Pact should normally be ruled by a single central administration under the Star Emperor, but since the Great Severing has largely cut us off from the old galaxy, we have entered into a new and much less stable circumstance."

The ruler of the New Rubarth Empire maintained such a strong grip on Rubarthan society that his absence led to severe disruptions among his former subjects in the Red Ocean!

"So how has that affected the mech industry and the mech market of the Rubarthan Pact?"

"There are far too many changes for me to explain in a single sitting." Master Kreshnik replied in a light tone. "Our central government previously maintained a competitive balance in our mech market. No single mech company is allowed to become too dominant. Every mech company is supposed to have a 'fair' chance to market their products to every Rubarthan. Now, that is becoming increasingly more difficult. The Rubarthan Pact is split up into multiple principalities, and each of them have begun to adopt their own rules and policies in the absence of a central authority."

That sounded interesting.

"I heard that the Smokestack Prince has gathered a lot of allies."

"He has. Out of all of the direct descendants of the Star Emperor, the Smokestack Prince is the one that has the greatest chance of unifying our economy and industry. I may not like all of his proposals, but his attainments in these fields are undeniable."

"Yet you have chosen to make an exit from the Rubarthan mech market and come down to our playing field instead."

"It is much easier to compete in the second-class mech market." Master Kreshnik admitted with a smile. "Small design teams are fully capable of designing mature products that can easily earn modest amounts of profits. The chances of failure are small so long as our mech designs are good enough. The requirements to design a second-class mech is a fraction of a first-class multipurpose mech. The former is much simpler and contains less high-tech parts than the latter. I almost cannot believe how extensively this simplification cuts down on all of the work and other requirements."

Designing a second-class mech must be akin to playing a game in easy mode to the likes of Master Kreshnik.

Nonetheless, second-class mechs had their own characteristics that superior mech designers often overlooked.

When Ves studied the defensive rifleman mechs that had just completed their final inspections, he could pick up dozens of little elements that a native second-class mech designer would never add to his works.

Master Kreshnik evidently designed the Nelerath Mark I as if it was a dumbed down version of a first-class mech.

The greatest sign that this was the case was the fact that its mech frame contained well-hidden ports that contained an unknown quantity of small modules.

Even if Master Kreshnik tried his best to hold himself back, he just couldn't help himself.

The Fey Fianna was not a simple mech either, but Ves and his fellow collaborators had done their best to cut down on the bloat and focus on maximizing its primary functions. This was the most appropriate strategy for mechs at this price level.

Master Kreshnik had to know that as well, but he had chosen to add a lot of bloat to his mech design anyway. The additional mass and thickness helped to make that possible, but it remained to be seen if the additional complexity translated into actual results.

Both mech designers suspended their discussion once they had received word from the inspectors that their mechs passed all of the tests.

The Fey Fiannas and the Nelerat Mark I's proceeded to move to the opposite ends of the main arena.

Since the enormous venue was roughly shaped like a hippodrome, it was possible to simulate battles where ranged mechs could fight against their adversaries at more realistic distances.

Neither Ves nor Master Kreshnik had any objections to starting the match at maximum distance.

The Nelerat Mark I clearly preferred to put as much range between itself and its adversaries as possible.

That did not mean it was unable to fend off attackers at closer ranges. As a machine designed to counter fast and agile phasefighters, the Nelerat Mark I was able to track fast-moving enemies so long as it was not burdened by too much armor.

The Fey Fianna was a bit more flexible, but it was pretty adequate in fighting at longer ranges as well.

Precision was not its forte due to obvious reasons. It was much easier for the ranged weapon fey to consistently land hits against bulkier targets with low mobility.

As the countdown started, many people started to go quiet as they waited for the opening of the first challenge match.

"START!"

The two sides immediately went into action!

The Nelerat Mark I's attracted the most attention in the beginning. The four defensive rifleman mechs did not open fire right away.

Instead, they quickly deployed the modular external armor plating on the arena floor. It did not take much time to set them up as they automatically linked up with each other.

The quantity of mechs mattered a lot. More mechs translated into more construction materials. The four mechs were able to form a cozy little fortress where they barely managed to squeeze inside with enough room to orient their gauss rifles in multiple directions.

Ves could clearly see that the bulky external armor plating could be used to form a defensive sphere in space.

The fact that this battle took place in planetary conditions meant that the Nelerat Mark I could take advantage of the ground as a virtually impregnable layer of armor. They did so by thickening and reinforcing the other sides of their makeshift fortress.

Once the four Nelerat Mark I dug into their fortification, they began to place their rifles into special slides that not only served as additional anchor points, but also enabled the rifleman mechs to quickly and smoothly change their firing angles to track fast-moving targets at closer distances. _{frёewebηovel.cѳm}

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