The Mech Touch

The Avatars of Myth was the first mech force of the Larkinson Clan.

They took a lot of pride in that. They had started off at the same time the Larkinsons began to surpass the limitations of their old family.

Under the leadership of Ves Larkinson, the Avatars of Myth went from a fresh new mech unit with no existing baggage to a storied mech legion with a martial tradition that had been tempered over dozens of battles.

The Avatars of Myth of today was known as the original elite mech force of the Larkinson Clan.

Its story and traditions may arguably be the most boring among all of the other mech legions, but it was also able to adapt well to almost any circumstances.

The Avatars were mostly oriented towards frontal assaults, but they could also fulfill other roles due to their inherent versatility. Their mech pilots made use of offensive melee mechs, defensive melee mechs, rifleman mechs, and also drone mechs in recent times.

The heavy use of the Bright Warrior Mark III model and the Fey Fianna model further increased the versatility of the Avatars. They could dynamically change their configurations and loadouts to fulfill every role. This came in particularly handy when the mech units lacked a specific capability, such as ECM or search and rescue.

Commander Melkor Larkinson had led the Avatars for a long time. His relatively dull personality partially reflected on his mech legion as it never became too eccentric like the Swordmaidens or the Eye of Ylvaine.

This was not always a disadvantage. The Avatars accepted all sorts of people, up to a limit. As long as a mech pilot was skilled and disciplined enough, he or she would certainly be able to earn a spot in this elite mech legion.

Perhaps there were clansmen who accused that the Avatars of Myth had remained boring because of Melkor, but these voices were in the minority.

The Avatars fought well, and they also had their own special features.

The Avatar Invocation Method taught to every member of this mech legion was their defining technique.

While it originally started off as a failed derivation of the battle formations employed by the Swordmaidens and the Penitent Sisters, the Avatar Invocation Method had become a mainstay of the Avatars of Myth.

It was impossible to launch dramatically powerful attacks through invocation. The fusion of like-minded mech pilots that characterized proper battle formations did not occur because the Avatars were too different from each other.

What happened instead was a half-baked version that caused design spirits to connect to the minds of the Avatar mech pilots and trickle a portion of their power into them.

This could produce noticeable effects, but at a much weaker scale than what could be accomplished with an actual battle formation.

However, invocation had its own advantages. The difficulty threshold was much lower, so every Avatar mech pilot could pull it off during a stressful battle situation. It was not dependent on homogeneity, so it didn't matter if the mech pilots possessed different thoughts and beliefs.

More importantly, the Avatars could borrow the powers of every willing design spirit.

So long as the individual mech pilots in question developed a good enough relationship with a design spirit, he or she could fight with a part of the extraordinary powers bestowed by their chosen patron.

They could also maintain their invocations long enough to last a typical battle. They weren't at risk of getting exhausted after pulling off battle formations just once or twice. This made the Avatars a lot better at attrition warfare than the other elite mech regiments!

None of this was normal in the slightest.

In fact, it was not inaccurate to state that the Avatars of Myth already tasted a preview of what systematic cultivation was capable of. It was exactly because the Avatars wielded powers beyond the reach of mortals that Commander Melkor keenly appreciated the value of the Spirit Vessel Auxiliary Qi Cultivation Method.

"Both the patriarch and my husband contributed to the development of the Spirit Vessel Method,” Ketis shared an important fact. “Ves is able to channel the design spirits through himself and his design spirit quite well. Joshua and his Everchanger can do similar actions. It is with their assistance that the Spirit Vessel Method can teach other Avatar mech pilots to imitate these methods."

“That sounds impressive,” Abis Firelight whistled in appreciation. “I hope my Vandals get something just as good, or else we will all become disappointed."

"The Vandals will not be neglected. You will like what I have to share later,” Ketis promised to the Vandal Commander.

"So what is your opinion, Commander Melkor?"

"I love it already,” Melkor grinned. "My Avatars will be able to complete their mission much faster and with greater confidence once they can borrow a larger proportion of the power of design spirits. Few people will think that we are bland once they see us borrowing the power of the Golden Cat to improve our skills or Qilanxo to harden our defenses during combat. My mech legion will finally be able to live up to its name.”

Ketis smiled back. "It is good to hear that you think highly of it. That said, the T Institute did make sure to attach an important warning to the practitioners of the Spirit Vessel Method. Frequent exposure to design spirits can help you in battle, but also ruin your potential to ascend to an expert pilot or higher. There is a risk that mech pilots can become overly dependent on borrowing the power of one design spirit or another. If they become so reliant on this crutch to fight that they cannot properly fight anymore without this special ability, then they have become slaves to their own cultivation method. Real mech pilots must maintain their own will and confidence in their fighting skills to retain their chance to become expert pilots one day. That is why they must not become too reliant on what they can do after practicing this new method.”

Melkor frowned as he processed her words. "That is... difficult to follow. The Spirit Vessel Method is all about borrowing the power of design spirits. Are you claiming that if we make use of it, we are sabotaging our own future as high-ranking mech pilots?"

"That is one potential outcome, Melkor. This should not always be the case, or else religious mech pilots would not be able to exist. In my opinion as a swordmaster, I think it all comes down to the mech pilot's attitude towards a god or design spirit. If one of your Avatar mech pilots regularly invokes the Golden Cat to the point of wanting to slavishly devote himself to our ancestral spirit, such a pathetic soldier has lost the qualifications to transform his willpower. If your Avatar mech pilot was merely grateful and respectful towards Goldie, then he should still possess a strong enough confidence in himself to preserve his breakthrough opportunities.

The legion commander with a visor looked thoughtful. He even began to rub his stubbled chin in thought.

"The division makes sense. There is a difference between looking up at a higher existence and utterly debasing yourself before a god. Maybe it is acceptable for priests and ordinary civilians to bow down to their respective gods, but we are mech pilots. Our knees must remain unbent. Figuratively."

Though his eloquence left much to be desired, Melkor possessed enough knowledge and experience to be able to tell the difference.

This was because his mech legion had a bunch of highly talented mech pilots who nonetheless hit a wall in their growth trajectory. Bottlenecks existed, and it was not that easy to develop the mentality of a greater being than your current rank.

After thorough investigations, Melkor learned that they had surrendered too much of themselves to their favorite design spirits. Such a mentality could ruin promising mech pilots if they went far enough.

Although this was an unfortunate outcome, the Larkinsons couldn't stop people from worshiping the design spirits. They could only advise the mech pilots who showed signs of falling into a pit of slavish devotion.

Seeing that Melkor understood the implications, Ketis looked pleased that she did not have to waste too much of her time on basic explanations.

"Good. Let me move on. The Living Sentinels will gain the right to practice the Eighty Unity Auxiliary Qi Cultivation Method. To be honest, this is based on battle formations, but instead of channeling power to a design spirit, it instead seeks to bestow the collective power of 2 mech companies or more to a single mech that has received the privilege to wield all of this power.

"In essence, this Righty Unity Method is a way to pool the power of all nearby mechs into a single machine?"

Swordmaiden Commander Sendra Larkinson asked. "That sounds as if it is an inferior version of a battle formation. What values are there in practicing this method?"

"Aside from the standard package such as strengthening your body, immune system and learning ability, this method is all about coordinating and gathering the strength of the two individuals standing in the rear. The Eighty Unity Method is developed in cooperation with the Saint Commander, so think of it as obtaining some of the benefits of her resonating ability on a larger scale."

The ace pilot nodded in acknowledgment.

Legion Commander Sorral Larkinsons could infer a lot of information from what little had been shared.

"The technique of pooling the power of at least 2 mech companies to a single chosen machine imposes a great amount of burden onto it, correct?"

Ketis nodded. "Yes. Most mechs cannot survive long while withstanding the powers of a supposed god. This can be trained, but it will take time for our older living mechs to become strong enough to affect the outside environment."

"Are there any other special features that I need to be aware of, Ketis?"

"The Eighty Unity Method is easier to practice than the other clan-exclusive ones." The Swordmaiden informed Legion Commander Sorral. "We took into account the lower standards and looser obligations of the Sentinels. What they lack in individual strength, they can make up for it with teamwork. The idea is that the Living Sentinels lack the hard power to quickly exhaust the defenses of large alien warships and especially phase lords. Sometimes, it is better to sacrifice the energies of others to bestow one of their own with the power to leap across boundaries and inflict powerful blows."

Everyone understood how this could play a useful role to the Living Sentinels. A perfectly coordinated fleet could easily double their effective combat power!

This was not idle speculation. Saint Commander Casella's Command Field was able to produce similar effects!

"If our troops ever come across an enemy phase lord, then they will at least be prepared for a hard fight." Sorral said. "Have you tested the effects on a large enough scale?"

"No. We need to wait until your Sentinels have begun to practice this method properly and conduct the live testing ourselves. The Red Collective must have gathered information from them as well, but they have not shared too much data in return."

The Living Sentinels gained their own chance to punch above their weight. They just needed to get started with the Eighty Unity Method and practice their newly acquired skills against each other.

The Sentinels generally collected a lot of unmotivated mech pilots, but that did not mean they had to stay this way. The excitement of being able to channel so much power and let a lucky recipient gain control over it all would be magnificent!

"Are there any design spirits that can help our mech pilots execute this unity technique?" Legion Commander Sorral asked.

"Yes. Titania is closely related to the Eighty Unity Method. Her assistance can make it easier for mech pilots to pool their power together. She can also help the Living Sentinels maintain their concentration and issue warnings."

"That sounds excellent. I look forward to seeing whether this method will allow our Living Sentinels to challenge expert mechs head-on."

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