The Mech Touch

Phase lords came in many different forms. While they all grew big and gained spatial abilities, they tended to evolve in dramatically different directions due to variations in development trajectories.

The starting point of phase lords also affected their properties.

It was also important to keep into account that the body cultivation approach of the native aliens originated from the phase whales. It was only natural for the phase whales to get more out of it and gain both tremendous physical might as well as an excellent affinity for phasewater at any stage.

In comparison, nunsers generally got a lot less out of the same method adapted to their race. Their imperfect rituals and other flawed adaptations might affect the efficiency of their growth as well.

Whatever the case, nobody could deny that the nunsers possessed larger and more physically powerful bodies than most of the other intelligent races of the Red Ocean. They tended to attain more physical gains if they managed to evolve into phase lords.

That was not to say that their spatial affinities were awful. They were just comparatively worse at it than more sensitive races such as the orvens.

Out of the few nunser phase lords that the Larkinson Clan had encountered so far, the Trampler of Stars actually turned out to be a little more atypical of his species.

The nunser warlord had spent an inordinate amount of time on developing his spatial abilities. He had to put in greater effort just to develop a single strong specialization, but his efforts paid off as his ability to shake entire battlefields had become unparalleled among lesser phase lords.

However, the time and effort he put into becoming good at projecting his power across wider distances had not given him sufficient time to develop his physical prowess all that much.

While he needed less time to strengthen his physique than most other races due to being a nunser, there were plenty of other native gods in alien society that thought that the Trampler of Stars had taken unnecessary detour.

The Tireless Engine currently engaged in battle against Patriarch Reginald Cross and the Mars was a bit more typical of his species.

While the upper-tier lesser phase lord was still capable of destabilizing and weaponizing the surrounding fabric of space on a more passive basis, it was undeniable that he had developed his impressive physique into a well-oiled combat machine.

If not for the fact that an ace mech such as the Mars was too damn small, fast and tough, the Tireless Engine would have been able to put up a much better fight!

It was only after he had shed his impressively large raiment and shrunk his body proportions that the Tireless Engine was finally able to pose a real threat against the Mars, especially when he was wielding his recently awarded Saint Piercer spear.

Ever since the Tireless Engine had taken on his more compact form, he was unable to exert his true physical strength.

Yet what he gained in return was greater speed and control over his own motion. The phase lord was able to empower his smaller body a lot more effectively, enabling him to react faster, make tighter turns and land attacks that would have otherwise missed.

The two combatants frequently circled around each other before charging forward to exchange a handful of blows!

In some bouts, the Tireless Engine managed to pierce its threatening spear past the guard of the Mars and nick the high-quality armor of the ace mech.

The ace mech's Saint Kingdom offered remarkably little resistance against the special alloy that made the Saint Piercer such a potent experimental weapon.

Its speartip gleamed as it pierced through the domain field emitted by the Mars at all times. The mysterious alloy continually resisted every effort made by Patriarch Reginald to retard the weapon's progress and weaken its lethality!

As such, whenever the Saint Piercer managed to get through and strike the upgraded Abasis Armor of the Mars, the ace mech incurred another visible scar or cut!

The Mars already collected over a dozen cuts across its formerly pristine Abasis Armor. It was a testament to its material quality that the Saint Piercer had not been able to punch through all of the layers and damage the internals of the ace hybrid mech.

Even so, Patriarch Reginald already guessed it was only a matter of time before the spear struck an important component. He had to admit that the Tireless Engine was a highly skilled spear wielder. The alien phase lord was constantly learning from his mistakes and adapting his fighting style against his opponent.

The integrated energy weapons of the ARCEUS System were particularly vulnerable against the enemy's spear strikes!

In order to preserve their integrity and allow them to keep firing at the Tireless Engine in order to deplete the phase lord's spatial barrier faster, Reginald had to fight more cautiously than he was comfortable with and skip many attack opportunities in order to play it safe.

Patriarch Reginald was not comfortable with adopting such a cautious fighting style, but his opponent had become so threatening with his special spear that he did not want to end up getting impaled by the weapon due to a moment of carelessness!

He initially entered this battle with the attitude of beating down the Tireless Engine and adding the giant skull of the nunser phase lord to his collection of trophies.

Now, he was no longer trying so hard to attain victory. While his 'teammates' may be fearing that he had lost himself to the throes of battle, Patriarch Reginald still maintained enough awareness to understand that defeating the Tireless Engine was not the point of this operation.

He just needed to hold back the spear-wielding phase lord long enough for the Larkinson expert mechs to do their jobs and retreat without getting pursued.

Now that Reginald had gained the Tireless Engine's measure, the ace pilot looked forward to resuming his duel against the nunser warlord on a proper battlefield.

The current situation was too unfavorable for Reginald to fully commit to a duel. There were too many alien warships and phasefighters that could intervene on behalf of the Tireless Engine and exhaust the Mars a little faster.

It was better if the two could fight a proper duel with their respective forces at their backs. At least then neither side would gain an overwhelming advantage in this regard.

The powerful ace pilot assumed that the Tireless Engine implicitly agreed with this intention.

Though the phase lord was still trying his best to score a punishing blow onto the Mars, the alien powerhouse refused to make any risky gambit. He tried his best to play it safe and prevent the ace mech from taking advantage of any openings.

It was only now that Reginald realized that his assumption about his opponent was off the mark.

The accelerated arrival of a second phase lord, a smaller one maybe, but still a genuine one, proved that the Tireless Engine had just been waiting for backup!

The appearances of Ghirard and L'Koi diverged a lot, but the sharp-eyed mech pilots could still spot the family resemblance.

A temporary lull ensued as both sides took a step back in order to take stock at the drastic change in circumstances.

The nunser spacers and phasefighter pilots all made pleased guttural alien noises as soon as they received confirmation that the proudest and strongest son of their warlord had arrived to lend them a hand!

The humans on the other hand all reacted with dismay. No matter how strong or weak this 'L'Koi' may be, even the least powerful lesser phase lords was still more than a match for most expert mechs!

The arrival of a second phase lord and a blood descendant of the Tireless Engine no less had such a massive impact on the battle that its flow had been completely disrupted!

This was slightly to the advantage of the Warborn champions as most of the alien warships and phasefighters had stopped their fire for the time being.

Even so, the addition of a second phase lord on the battlefield might make all of this moot, as the expert pilots didn't think they could retreat from Duqaste XI if L'Koi chose to stand in their way!

"Is this… your son, alien?" Patriarch Reginald asked with a hint of wariness and respect in his voice.

"HE IS." Ghirard proudly transmitted back in his translated speech. "I HAVE SIRED MANY SONS AND DAUGHTERS. I AM PROUD OF MOST OF THEM, AS THEY SHOULD. yET OUT OF ALL OF MY MORE MARTIAL DESCENDENDANTS, ONLY L'KOI HAS PROVEN HIS SUPERIOR STRENGTH, LEADERSHIP AND VALOR. NOW THAT I HAVE REACHED THE LIMIT OF MY GROWTH AS A LESSER PHASE LORD, I HAVE CHOSEN TO RAISE L'KOI INTO GODHOOD SO THAT HE MAY SUCCEED ME IF I FALL."

The nunsers cared a lot about family, both their immediate relatives and their more extended relations. The aliens were quite similar to the Larkinsons in this regard.

The choice made by the Tireless Engine was not too unusual. Most phase lords tended to remain stuck in their lesser stage for the rest of their long lives.

Each lesser phase lord aspired to promote to a greater phase lord, but precious few managed to make this transition. Phasewater production systems were too scarce, and until recently, the phase whales had been extremely reluctant to award a PPS to deserving alien powerhouses.

The lesser phase lords were therefore stuck in an awkward position. They possessed great might and authority and were able to accrue a lot of money and resources for these reasons.

It took a lot of resources in order to elevate a descendant into a phase lord. The rituals responsible for transforming mortal aliens into newborn gods were so flawed and dangerous that the death rates were quite considerable.

Who knew how many sons and daughters the Tireless Engine had sacrificed in the hope of fostering a true divine descendant!

The more ambitious and optimistic phase lords tended to save most of their wealth in preparation for an extensive upgrade spree if they manage to become a greater phase lord.

The more realistic and pessimistic lesser phase lords instead spent all of their assets on building their mortal empire and cultivating their descendants.

It took a lot of resources in order to elevate a descendant into a phase lord. The rituals responsible for transforming mortal aliens into newborn gods were so flawed and dangerous that the death rates were quite considerable.

Who knew how many sons and daughters the Tireless Engine had sacrificed in the hope of fostering a true divine descendant!

Still, no matter how many lives and resources Ghirard expended, he finally managed to realize his goal.

L'Koi still looked young, and his body size was much less impressive than his father at his height.

Even if the two phase lords looked somewhat similar size at the moment due to the Tireless Engine's voluntary shrinkage, L'Koi was still a lot weaker due to his much lower phasewater concentration and his much less developed phasewater organs!

Yet still the presence of the second phase lord practically paralyzed the Larkinson expert mechs.

General Ark and the others could already feel the eagerness in L'Koi's true body. The newly arrived alien had come to lend his father a hand, and what better way to do so than to crush the expert mechs that had just made a mess out of the depots of Duqaste XI!

The younger phase lord already locked his gaze onto the Lionheart.

Out of all of the expert mechs, this one was clearly a cut above the rest.

"YOU. PILOT OF THE WHITE MACHINE. WHAT IS YOUR NAME?"

"I am General Ark Larkinson, the commanding officer of the 77th Warborn Mech Division."

"LARKINSON. I RECOGNIZE YOUR NAME. THAT IS GOOD. I SHALL EARN MORE GLORY IF THE FIRST 'EXPERT PILOT' THAT I HAVE SLAIN IS DESCENDED FROM A MORE BLESSED LINEAGUE. I SHALL DO MY BEST TO PRESERVE YOUR TINY HEAD SO THAT IT MAY OCCUPY A PRIZED PLACE ON MY THRONE, THOUGH FORGIVE ME IF I CANNOT ADEQUATELY CONTROL MY STRENGTH. I CANNOT MATCH THE CONTROL OF MY FATHER."

General Ark twitched his lips. "It's okay. Just use the head of my expert mech instead. It is a more dignified mark of my existence, and I would rather be remembered by the splendor of my expert mech than the frailty of my human body."

"GOOD! YOU MAY CLAIM MY OWN HEAD IF YOU HAVE CLAIMED VICTORY, BUT THIS SHALL NEVER HAPPEN BECAUSE I DO NOT INTEND TO LOSE AGAINST PREMATURE GODS SUCH AS YOURS! ONLY YOUR SO-CALLED SAINTS CAN GIVE ME A PROPER CHALLENGE!"

L'Koi went into action as soon as he spoke those words!

The time for talking had passed!

The only way the two sides could resolve their differences was through an exchange of arms as opposed to an exchange of words!

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