The Mech Touch (Web Novel)

This was the final opponent of the 5th round.

Instead of fielding a gigantic army of alien cultivators like Ves expected, the lightning tribulation presented a more frightening adversary.

The storm spat out a clone of the Subjugation King.

There was absolutely no doubt that the powerful alien leader was related to the tall and glowing manifestation that had appeared in the middle of the hull.

For a moment, everyone froze in shock and incredulity.

It was one thing to fight against an army. The tribulation energies got dispersed across many different lighting soldiers, thereby making them manageable enough to get defeated in detail.

Anyone smart enough would understand if all of that power got concentrated in a single cultivator, the entity in question would be able to wield all of it in a concentrated manner!

No barrier would be able to withstand the powerhouse's might. No amount of firepower would be able to get through the monstrous figure's defenses. The clone of the Subjugation King simply exuded far too much power for anyone to believe they could defeat the tribulation manifestation with ease.

"We are in big trouble." Ves spoke as he observed the giant figure from a distance that was far too close for his liking. "This guy is most definitely a clone or a copy of the Subjugation King. Even if he's not even close to matching the power level of the real thing, this wave will still be far more difficult to overcome than it should."

"Explain." Dread Captain Volkert Argile spoke over the communication channel.

"The previous 8 waves all consisted of a diverse selection of alien soldiers that most definitely originate from Messier 87. Yet for all of their unique talents and abilities, the intelligences that control their actions and shape their cultivation techniques are modeled after their originals. What I mean by that is that if an alien soldier used to be as strong as an expert pilot, then his copy will have the fighting consciousness that is comparable to that of an expert pilot."

The dread captain was not stupid. He instantly understood the point that Ves was trying to make.

"This 'Subjugation King' is far more powerful than any opponent we have seen before. We have at least determined that he is stronger than any individual god pilot. According to our energy readings, his clone is roughly equivalent to a first-class ace mech in power. That fits the power scaling pattern that we have already calculated based on the energy readings of the preceding waves of enemies. He is not strong as a god mech, thankfully, but he can still inflict a great amount of damage even if he fights like a mindless brute."

Ves pressed his lips as he continued to look at the powerful adversary. "I wish. This matchup should have been fair as long as the clone of the Subjugation King possesses the fighting consciousness and mastery over the elements equivalent that of an ace mech. However, I am afraid that the big alien above is able to control the actions of his clone. Do you understand how unfair that is? Even if the clone is only limited to the power of a formidable ace mech, he is effectively being 'piloted' by the equivalent of a god king pilot!" fr(e)ewebnov(e)l.com

"God king pilot?"

"That is the proposed name for the theoretical and not-yet-realized rank of whatever comes after god pilot!"

"...If that is the case, the improvement in control and understanding is too great. It may be safe to say that if the previous enemies were able to leverage 50 percent of their full potential, this adversary can utilize at least 95 percent of the full potential of his clone."

"That's about right." Ves said as he grew more depressed at the thought. "This is why… I think that you should go all-out this time."

"We are already prepared to field all of the Dread Marines that are in good fighting condition." Dread Captain Argile said. "The only reason why you haven't seen them all is because they would only get in each other's way if they appear on the hull at once. We also need to have sufficient reserves in case this clone is able to wipe out all of our Dread Marines in sight with a wide-area attack."

That was a very real possibility given how much power and control this clone possessed!

"That is not going to be enough." Ves spoke. "I do not doubt the combat capabilities of your Dread Marines, but there is a point where throwing a million ants at a large enough opponent won't really produce any useful results anymore. This is precisely the case at the moment."

"Then what do you suggest, professor?"

"We need you to use everything the Dominion of Man has as her disposal, captain. Use all of your gun batteries. Activate every azure energy shield. Target the clone with weapons of mass destruction as long as it won't wreck your entire ship. You cannot afford to give this enemy any reprieve!" freew(e)bnovel.(c)om

This was a heavy demand, one that would break the ritualistic combat that had governed the previous engagements.

Caramond and the Dreadfire Legion had done a good job at managing the fights up to this point, but that was when the enemy was playing fair.

This was clearly not the case anymore. The Subjugation King exploited the conditions of this format and pulled off a move that utterly broke the balance without being too obvious about it. Given that Messier 87 had a very strong hostility towards the natives of the Red Ocean, there was no chance that its heavenly authority would crack down on this abuse.

All of that meant that the Dread Marines and the Dominion of Man were in for a world of hurt if they proceeded to fight according to the old rules.

While Ves was willing to take a gamble every now and then, even he recognized a sucker's bet when he encountered one. This was definitely a risk that he was not willing to take!

Unfortunately, Dread Captain Argile did not see it that way.

"Violating the rules will reduce our gains." He stated. "We cannot afford to miss out on an opportunity to provide the greatest possible power boost to our Dread Marines. As bloody as the ensuing fight will be, we are willing to accept up to 70 percent casualties if the survivors can boast of fighting against a god… and win. As callous as it may sound, we have ample reserves of elite soldiers that replenish our Dread Marine Corps at any time. The loss of hundreds of thousands of tribulation-empowered Dread Armors is a much greater sacrifice, but we hope that allowing the survivors to absorb the immense rewards for defeating the clone will more than make up for the reduction in numbers."

"THIS IS NOT A FIGHT THAT YOU CAN WIN!" Ves practically shouted! "There is a very real chance that the clone will wipe out ALL of your Dread Marines and tear a huge hole in the side of the Dominion of Man before you finally bring out the big guns!"

A short pause ensued before the fleeter let out a sigh.

"According to our analysts and outside consultants, your suggestions have great merit. Yet… those very same consultants believe that there is still a chance to win this bout without suffering excessive losses. Every test is supposed to be harsh, but fair. No matter what this so-called Subjugation King has done to subvert this tribulation storm, it is doubtful that he can override the fundamental essence of this phenomenon."

Ves wanted to smack the head whoever gave that idiotic advice!

"I don't see a path to victory that does not entail releasing our restraints!"

"Our consultants do. Caramond is the key. He is the strongest variable that is in our favor. The Red Fleet has already negotiated with the Red Association and other major stakeholders. Each of them have agreed to publicize Caramond Perle. In fact, they have just decided to announce a new civilization-wide holiday to commemorate the hero and the savior of the human race. That is a surefire way to make the masses grateful towards the Supreme Marshal."

That actually sounded like a clever idea.

However, Ves still did not think it was enough!

"That will help, but it won't tip the balance. Caramond's strength is only part of the equation. He has mostly been fighting by relying on my control and the energy output of the Spark Reactor. We have already reached the limit to how much we can leverage these variables in a battle."

"We are undertaking measures to increase the supply of fire energy to Caramond." The dread captain quickly explained. "As for control, we can only rely on your ingenuity to carry the day."

"So that's it? You still want to fight this match according to the rules even when it is obvious that the Subjugation King is blatantly cheating?!"

"We are soldiers, Ves! We do whatever it takes to serve our ship, our organization and humanity as a whole! This is not a matter of stroking our egos. We are being strategic here. I have been told that any intelligence we can gather on the Subjugation King's fighting methods, power expressions and personality traits is worth more than the survival of all of our Dread Marines."

"What?!"

"We have been given a priority mission. We are tasked with trying to wring out every piece of intelligence, no matter whether it is relevant or not, out of the Subjugation King, or at least his clone. Anything we learn from this encounter may save trillions of human lives down the line. The very survival of the human race may be secured due to all of the specialized counters we have developed in the years ahead."

The fleeters, no, the Red Two treated this upcoming match as the culmination of the information war.

The bigshots evidently decided that allowing the Dominion of Man to suffer excessive losses and possibly even getting wrecked in her entirety was worth the tradeoff of gathering crucial intelligence about an incoming God King!

The worst part of it all was that Ves did not necessarily agree with this cruel and heartless reasoning!

Ves briefly closed his eyes. "Don't you want the dreadnought to survive and remain in good shape? Considering how many crew members have developed a strong bond of fire with the Spark Reactor, I would have thought that you would have insisted on preserving your command."

"A life of dishonor is a life not worth living." The scion of the Argile Spaceborn Clan said with a serious voice. "The Dominion of Man must prove her superiority by demonstrating strength, not weakness. The Subjugation King wishes to challenge her directly. She, along with the rest of us, must overcome this challenge if she definitely wishes to cement her status as the strongest dreadnought."

Idiots!

These fleeters had gone utterly mad!

Their idiotic notion of honor and their interpretation of what was best for the Dominion of Man was completely skewed!

Before he could say anything else, a powerful pulse of energy shocked him into silence!

Ves suddenly felt a powerful being gazing directly at him. He became frightened out of his wits when the clone of the Subjugation King directly gazed in his direction!

"%$#$&#."

"I HAVE GIVEN YOU THE GRACE TO ENGAGE IN DISCOURSE WITH OTHERS, BUT MY PATIENCE IS EXPIRING. MOVE CLOSER, LITTLE CREATOR."

DAMN! The Subjugation King spoke directly to Ves!

"Uh, I am okay, Your Majesty or whatever I am supposed to call you. I am not the person in charge here. I can interpret your messages to the captain of this ship if you wish."

The alien began to exude greater power. This was not a good sign.

"IRRELEVANT. WHEN I ISSUE A COMMAND, I EXPECT YOU TO OBEY."

Before Ves could offer an excuse, he suddenly yelped as he felt his new soul mark turn into an anchor of a translucent chain!

The clone happened to hold the other end of this bizarre line. The powerful tribulation manifestation yanked it once, causing Ves to fly into the dangerous entity's direction!

"Ahhhh!"

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