The Mech Touch (Web Novel)
chapter-6340

"Are you sure you are ready for this, Tusa?"

"I am. I have trained for this. I would have liked to spend more time on getting used to wielding Destroyer weapons, but we are already underway. Battle can theoretically break out at any moment. I want to be certain that my mech can grab the tier 3 Destroyer spear and not get disintegrated right away. By the way, calling this weapon this way is getting tiresome. Have you thought about giving it a name of its own? A Destroyer weapon of this caliber certainly deserves one. I think the Terrans who previously owned it must have already given it a name. They probably removed the name etched into the shaft after they put it up for auction."

The Dark Zephyr stood before a long container that was made out of Destroyer-resistant alloy.

Ves manually transmitted an encrypted code that caused the container to unlock and slowly open up, revealing the powerful treasure contained within.

The nameless tier 3 Destroyer spear did not beckon the ace light skirmisher at all. Instead, its deadly speartip began to flare destruction energies, as if taking offense at the Saint Kingdom that had enveloped the weapon.

"How is it going so far, Tusa?"

"Not too good. The reaction from the spear is much stronger than the tier 5 Destroyer sword I borrowed from the Devosans. There is a sea of difference between the two weapons. The concentration of Destroyer particles in this tier 3 weapon is so much higher that I can't even imagine what the Terrans have done to make it. I feel as if this weapon shouldn't even exist."

"Oh? Why would you say that, Tusa?"

"Well, from what little I can perceive through my Saint Kingdom, I kind of get the impression that the speartip is like a shuttle that is rated for 10 passengers, but is suddenly forced to contain 50 passengers. There isn't enough space inside to fit all of the extra passengers, so they have to squeeze in so tightly that they have to be compacted into compressed meat cubes or something!"

"Well, that is certainly a disturbing image that you have painted. Thanks for that, cousin."

"It's even worse than that. Somehow, those meat cubes don't stay in place, but have instead begun to merge or react with each other in a way that is making all of them stronger and more active than before. They are constantly bouncing energies off each other, egging each other on until they evolve into more dangerous versions of themselves. Oh, and they are still packed tightly against each other, making it very easy to set them off and explode. The challenge of wielding a weapon of this power is to make sure that whatever destructive forces they unleash must be pointed towards the enemy rather than oneself."

That sort of matched the descriptions that Ves had heard and read. Destroyer weapons of his caliber were no longer as safe and controllable as their less powerful variants. Their great might came at even greater cost, thereby ensuring that no mortal machine could ever wield them safely.

It was only the existence of high-ranking mech pilots and their extraordinary willpower that made these weapons viable!

If expert pilots, ace pilots and god pilots did not exist, then there was no reason to go through all of the trouble and expense of making high-tier Destroyer weapons!

"Are you ready to proceed?"

"I… give me another moment. I need to get a better feel for this spear. It is much more intimidating to handle this weapon in reality, you know. All of the reading and preparation I have done doesn't compare to the real thing. You have truly managed to obtain a weapon that exists in a league of its own. I can't imagine that the Terrans are willing to let it go so easily."

"Well, my friendship and gratitude are good enough reasons, I suppose." Ves boasted. "After I complete my business trip, they will become even more grateful that they spent the effort to earn so much goodwill from me. Besides, a tier 3 Destroyer weapon is not even the best of what they have in their possession. There are also tier 2 and even tier 1 Destroyer weapons, though I am not sure if there are any of the latter present in the Red Ocean."

Tusa had a clear answer to that. "I am pretty sure that the Light of Sol has a Destroyer sword or knife at his disposal. There is no reason for him to not have one. He never showed it off in public because he is probably treating it as a trump card. Once his enemies grow powerful enough, I think he will be able to amaze everyone by how well he can carve up even the strongest enemies with his blade. If a tier 3 Destroyer spear like the one we have is already this scary, think of how much worse a tier 1 weapon would be. I really can't imagine how many 'compressed meat cubes' have been packed inside such a tiny weapon."

After a few more moments, Saint Tusa eventually psyched himself up to try out the intimidating weapon.

The secure cargo hold of the Tarrasque where they were conducting this dangerous trial went into lockdown. Not only was there a total communications blackout, but multiple transphasic energy shields came online in order to contain any accidental outbursts of destructive energies.

Ves remained in the same compartment despite being aware of the risks. He wanted to witness the Dark Zephyr grappling with the Destroyer spear with all of his senses in order to gain a better understanding of Destroyer tech.

"Mrow."

Blinky was already prepared to make detailed observations with his spiritual senses. He was easily able to observe the Destroyer particles contained within the speartip, even though they were not purely spiritual in nature.

Ves actually had no idea what Destroyer particles were supposed to be. So far, he ascertained that they were neither purely physical or material. Instead, they appeared to be particles that fell under a third and much less familiar category. This category of matter possessed properties of both material and spiritual substances, but blended them in a unique way that Ves was not familiar with. He did not even have a clue how they could be produced outside of god pilots using their God Kingdoms to essentially will them into existence.

In any case, the Dark Zephyr was on the cusp of wielding this spear.

The proportions were clearly off. The ace light skirmisher was a little too small and too thin to wield a spear of this size and thickness. It was still possible for the machine to grip it, but the mismatch in proportions would prevent the Dark Zephyr from handling it as well as a smaller weapon.

"Lifting the spear." Ves intoned as he inputted a command on his workstation.

A gravitic field wrapped around the shaft and steadily began to lift the large and imposing black weapon.

The gravitic field did not extend to the speartip, because doing so would cause the Destroyer particles to lash out in violence for whatever reason!

Once the spear rose to a comfortable height, it remained in place, tempting the Dark Zephyr to wield the weapon.

"This is it, Tusa. You can still back out for whatever reason if you think you need more time."

"No. I am not backing out of this. I can master this weapon."

The Dark Zephyr lifted his arms and brought his hands close to the shaft.

Just before metal touched metal, the speartip already began to produce greater activity, as if the Destroyer particles packed inside detected an unwelcome intrusion into their domain!

At the same time, the Dark Zephyr decisively gripped the shaft, thereby enabling the ace light skirmisher to hold the weapon that was powerful enough to carve through azure energy shields and transphasic hyper alloys alike!

"Your power is under my control!"

With a valiant roar, Tusa strengthened his Saint Kingdom and concentrated it onto the powerful weapon, causing its Destroyer particles to dampen for a moment.

At the same time, the Dark Zephyr decisively gripped the shaft, thereby enabling the ace light skirmisher to hold the weapon that was powerful enough to carve through azure energy shields and transphasic hyper alloys alike!

Ves watched with baited breath at the spectacle. He could already see the Dark Zephyr maintaining a firm and forceful grip on the spear that was slightly oversized in its slender arms.

The ace light skirmisher began to perform several slow polearm techniques. The machine deliberately maintained a slow pace, thereby making it easier for Tusa to concentrate on controlling and suppressing the Destroyer particles that so badly wanted to lash out and unleash indiscriminate destruction in every direction.

Ves took a look at the various graphs and data readings on his workstation. He did not fully understand what all of the numbers meant, but he could sense that Tusa managed to contain the Destroyer spear for the time being.

The question was whether Saint Tusa and the Dark Zephyr could keep up this performance.

While Tusa was able to keep the weapon stable when he was hardly doing anything, his control began to slip as the Dark Zephyr performed mock attacks at a faster pace.

The faster and more dynamic the movements, the less Tusa was able to channel his willpower into suppressing the Destroyer particles, thereby giving them more room to wreak havoc!

Already, Ves could see the ominous speartip release small but incredibly lethal gouts of destructive energies!

"Tusa…"

"I can do it!" The ace pilot insisted. "Give me more space. I need to test my limits and see how far I can go. A tier 3 Destroyer weapon is rated for junior ace mechs and ace pilots. I refuse to let this weapon get the better of me. The Destroyer particles are strong, but I will not yield."

The contest between Tusa's willpower and the Destroyer spear became more and more intense. The speartip showed increasingly more signs of escaping the ace pilot's cage.

Saint Tusa no longer resorted to brute force when trying to keep the spear under his control. He actively tweaked his Saint Kingdom and began to channel it according to an image of his own creation.

"Mrow…"

Blinky used his strong senses to figure out the changing emotions that fueled Tusa's exertions.

Tusa decided to leverage his freedom domain to… liberate himself from the restrictions of the arms he wielded.

He was not a Terran who was trained since he was young to wield these potent weapons and he did not pretend to be one either. His crash course in Destroyer weapons only familiarized him enough with these potent weapons to conclude that he needed to handle them in his own way.

His solution was to avoid or temper the hostility of the tier 3 Destroyer spear by pretending as if it was his birthright to wield any weapon no matter the dangers or conditions!

Ves narrowed his eyes. Though Tusa certainly constructed an interesting theme for himself, the image he created was too simple and rudimentary for the job he was trying to fulfill.

The tier 3 Destroyer spear evidently did not think too much of Tusa's willpower and image, and began to lash out at an increasing rate!

Pulses of destructive energies shot out of the speartip at a higher frequency and greater amplitude! It was as if the Destroyer particles took offense at Tusa's apparent diisrespect and cheating behavior and decided to teach him a lesson!

Ves and Blinky suddenly detected an alarming spike in power.

"WATCH OUT, TUSA!"

Though Saint Tusa put all of his focus into harnessing the Destroyer spear, he nonetheless managed to react quickly when it appeared the spear was about to explode!

The speartip produced a violent expulsion of destructive energies!

Tendrils of pure destruction lashed out in over 9 different directions, 2 of which happened to shoot backwards that would have impaled the Dark Zephyr!

Fortunately, Tusa and his ace mech were fast enough to back off and cause the destruction lances to miss!

Multiple transphasic energy shields flared to life as they tried to contain the destruction energies… before ultimately failing, causing the remainder of the outburst to disintegrate the hull plating and burn through almost a meter of solid alloy before expending all of its momentary destructive potential!

Silence fell in the secure chamber as Ves and the others beheld the aftermath.

"I think you need to work more on your control."

"Yeah. I think I have an idea on what I did wrong. I will do better next time. I promise."