The Mech Touch

flank.

”Hah! As if I ’d fall for an ambush! Your marks are all over the place! ” Lovejoy taunted over the speakers as he used his mech ’s superior agility to dance around the projectile.
”Now that you ’ve exposed your position, get ready to pay! ”

The opposite mech turned out to be a medium cannoneer.
As it was piloted by someone with a higher rank than Lovejoy, the mech did not panic or retreat.
Instead, it committed to battle and fired off a volley of shells from his ballistic cannon.
Each time it fired off a heavy shell, its entire frame rattled loudly.

”With the kind of racket your armor is making, I ’m surprised it ’s still on its feet! ”

Lovejoy made a judgement call after he saw the state of his opponent.
Instead of trying to rush into his opponent ’s face, he stopped going forward once he got close and started strafing sideways.
Though the cannoneer was still able to keep up, its accuracy was horrible due to the faults integrated in its arms.

”You bastard! I know it ’s you, Lovejoy! Face me like a man! ”

”Gladly! ”

The cannoneer already missed its best shot when it failed to take out the Unicorn during its initial ambush.
Its designer had panicked and rushed the mech to the battlefield under the pressure of hearing others getting a step ahead.

There was no suspense once the Unicorn got close.
Lovejoy easily utilized his mech ’s agility to jump to the side and cut the cannoneer from the flank.
Though the initial thrust dealt only glancing damage, the opening it afforded allowed the Unicorn take the initiative and relentlessly push the medium mech into a dead end.

After a final spark, the medium mech dropped onto its back.

”Too bad there ’s no rewards for a kill. ”

The objective of the match remained gathering coins.
As there were too many mechs and too little coins, conflict was inevitable, though not always desirable.
The more fragile mechs had to choose their battles carefully, lest they incur crippling damage that took them out of contention.

After grabbing the shiny cartoonish coin, Lovejoy quickly departed from the site.
The noise might have attracted scoundrels, and he didn ’t want to be the mantis who stalked the cicada, only to be preyed by the oriole behind.

He quickly relaxed once he sensed no other mechs nearby.
”It ’s still rather early.
The battlefield should be sparse.
It ’s prime time for me to hunt for coins. ”

Once he reached the random delivery point, he let loose the coin and allowed it to float to the skies.
His systems beeped, acknowledging the completion of the delivery.
He gained a score.

”This is far from enough.
If I want to reach the top hundred, I have to gather at least half-a-dozen more coins. ”

The average cut-off varied over the years.
In some past contests, the pilots frenziedly sought to destroy each other.
In such fraught circumstances, a team could easily qualify by successfully delivering about four or five coins.

Normally pilots behaved tamer.
They had to rationally choose their battles.
Unless provoked by the possession of coins, they ’d normally choose to brush aside when meeting a match.
Naturally, there were always a couple of people who proactively sought to destroy the opposition in order to show off their skills and lower the average cut-off margin.
As long as these battle maniacs survived long enough, they ’d easily swagger past this round.

After fifteen minutes of fruitless searching, Lovejoy stumbled upon a flier racing to deliver his coin.
”A chance! ”

The Unicorn set aside its spear and retrieved its laser pistol.
It fired a barrage of shots in the direction of the flying mech.
As an elite pilot, his marksmanship was decent though he didn ’t specialize in ranged weapons.

With the aerial machine ’s speed, Lovejoy had little chance to hit the target with a couple of aimed shots.
He might as well substitute accuracy for volume as he crazily overheated his pistol.
With the sheer amount of lasers beams in the sky, a couple of them succeeding in hitting the flying mech.

”Go away! This coin is mine! ”

”Fat chance! Your wings are already smoking! I ’m eating chicken tonight! ”

The Unicorn pressed through the trees and reached the flying mech ’s crash site.
The mech only suffered a malfunction in its power supply so it hadn ’t straight up turned into a pancake.
Its pilot ruthlessly cut off its malfunctioning wings with a sword.

”Whoever designed this piece of dung should stay away from flight systems. ” The pilot muttered before turning his burning gaze at the Unicorn.

”Hand over your sword and coin, and you can keep your miserable life. ”

”You can pry them from my dead hands! ”

Without another word, the two mechs closed the distance.
Lovejoy fended off the initial thrust with decent spearwork.
As a pilot who specialized in swordsmanship, he hadn ’t neglected his training in other weapons in case he encountered situations like this.
Sadly for him, the opposite pilot was a competent swordsman himself, and despite his mech ’s many handicaps, he still managed to press Lovejoy back.

As the pressure increased, Lovejoy crazily split his focus.
One portion analyzed his opponent ’s moves while the other kept an eye on the environment.
He slowly guided his opponent forward.

After making a few more steps backward, the Unicorn hastily jumped aside as a volley of high-powered laser beams strafed his former position.
Even as they failed to hit their primary target, they still extended forward and glanced the former flight mech.

The mech stuttered in its movements as several critical systems malfunctioned.
Lovejoy took advantage of the gigantic opening and thrust his spear straight through the mech ’s cockpit area.
Though the mechs on the battlefield were remotely controlled, any damage to the cockpit that normally killed the pilot inside still counted as a weak point.

The flight mech lost control and fell into a heap.
Lovejoy threw away his spear and quickly picked up his opponent ’s sword.
He turned around vigilantly, expecting another volley of lasers.
When nothing happened, he carefully inched closer to the flying mech ’s coin and picked it up.

”Too bad that laser gunner didn ’t come forward.
His mech must be a shambling wreck. ”

Those who piloted substandard mechs often chose to stay in the shadows.
They loved to be the bystanders in a duel between two mechs.
They lost their opening when one side vanquished the other in a dominant fashion.