Chapter 3256 - Equal Before Death
The much-anticipated battle formation of the Larkinson Clan had finally unleashed its promised attack!
The Superior Mother's death phase of existence was heartless, impartial and utterly cold against any form of life. No matter whether the energy wave passed through friendlies or enemies, humans or dwarves, Larkinsons or Vulcanites, every living human was equal in front of her might.
Of course, the Larkinsons that had kept the Molten Hammers busy in the middle of the battlefield had already received instructions in advance. The mechs had all moved out of the anticipated trajectory of the death energy attack well ahead of time. Numerous mechs even took hold of the arms of machines that had lost a portion of their mobility.
No one wanted to stay in the danger zone now that the Penitent Sisters had channeled their ultimate attack!
The Molten Hammers that had been fighting against the expeditionary forces with plenty of success became confused for a moment. Why did the tall folk retreat? Did the humans not realize that the dwarves were able to move a lot closer to the enemy fleet?
The retreat was too coordinated for it to be a spontaneous action. It was planned in advance.
"What is the purpose of giving us space?"
"Have the humans given up on this fight?"
"Vulcan bless us! The cowardly tall folk have lost heart and wish to beg for their lives!"
"Shut up! What if this is a trap?!"
Not even the commanders of the Molten Hammers knew what to do for a moment. In the absence of instructions, the dwarven mechs maintained a cautious, defensive stance. Their mech pilots instinctively drew closer together as if to obtain more comfort in numbers.
The dwarven mechs outnumbered their human counterparts. That was clear from the beginning. The Molten Hammers did not have to rush to make any decisions in haste. The mech division had always advocated for patience and deliberation. It fit with their steady but solid fighting style.
No matter what stratagem the enemy employed, the Molten Hammers always had faith that their powerful defenses and strong battle lines could weather any storm!
It wasn't until several dwarves who possessed a wider perspective of the battle spotted an anomaly that they discovered that something was wrong.
"What is the point of projecting a giant human?"
"That's their goddess! Their goddess has come to punish us for our transgressions!"
"Vulcan, protect us and save us from this evil woman!"
It wasn't until the giant apparition along with the mechs that were responsible for her appearance had released an inexplicable energy wave that the Molten Hammers really started to feel threatened!
"The humans have released an unknown anomaly! Get out of its firing path!"
Disarray ensued. The Molten Hammers in the path of the energy attack received panicked instructions that caused many dwarven mech pilots to falter or freeze.
This wasn't a part of their training. Aside from the veterans of the rebellion who had already learned to get out of the way of anything odd or dangerous as soon as possible, the younger dwarven mech pilots showed mixed reactions.
Some followed the instructions of their superiors and elders without much thought. Others became locked in paralysis as the appearance of the giant woman along with her strong aura had exposed them to phenomena that went far beyond what they had been trained to fight against!
The tight cohesion and coordination that the Molten Hammer mech units showed before had disappeared.
Some mechs that were in the middle of a compact formation tried to move away, only to collide into their comrades who had yet to move.
Plenty of mechs were able to move away but had been slow to act due to the incomprehension of their mech pilots.
Others who were more cautious or recognized the threat early had already tried to move outside of the path of the incoming energy attack a long time ago. The only reason why they hadn't moved out yet was because their mechs were too slow!
"We can't get out of the way fast enough!"
The Molten Hammers discovered to their horror that their proud and sturdy mechs had become their own worst enemy at this moment. The Molten Furies, the Magmatars and the massive Iron Crushers in particular did not possess enough acceleration to move out of the way before the swift energy attack reached their positions!
"Eject from your cockpits! Forget about your mechs! Your lives are more important!"
"FORM A SHIELD WALL! Our defenses are invincible! Even gods can't break our armor!"
The dwarven mech pilots all took action in different ways. Whether it was ejecting their cockpits in order to get out of the danger zone faster to fearlessly linking together in order to form the most desperate shield wall in their lives, not a single dwarf was waiting for their deaths!
Alas, only a fraction of lucky mechs and mech pilots situated at the periphery managed to evacuate in time. The rest were too far inside the danger zone or did not possess the speed to get out of the way in time. The Iron Crushers for example needed several seconds to even complete a cumbersome course change!
It only took a short moment for the attack released by the Penitent Sister battle formation to reach the front of the disarrayed Molten Hammer mechs.
Whether they recognized the threat or not, whether they moved their mechs away or linked up to defend against the unexplainable, whether they trusted in the defenses of their mechs or chose to eject their cockpits prematurely, every victim was equal in front of the Superior Mother's attack.
For a moment, the entire battlefield appeared to stagnate. Many mech pilots who had been paying attention to the eye-catching spectacle couldn't help but slow down their attacks or abort their offensive movements.
The energy wave traveled quickly through space, but not as swift as a laser beam. It just traveled forward with an inevitability that shook the hearts of anyone that was in its inexorable path.
On the bridge of the Spirit of Bentheim, Ves remained solemn as he gripped the shaft of this new hammer.
"The dwarves have brought this on themselves."
Though he wished to defeat the Vulcanites, he did not revel in the deaths of their mech pilots. A part of him felt that mech pilots didn't deserve to get killed in this fashion. There was no glory in their futile resistance. They either got out of the way… or lost all of their vitality. There was no other outcome.
"The attack wave is bigger than last time." He whispered.
This was quite impressive because the amount of Penitent Sister mechs that launched this attack was actually a bit less than before. Though the all-female mech legion had recruited thousands of new mech pilots, the recent recruits were not Hexers in origin and still had much to go before they completed their training and indoctrination.
The effectiveness of a battle network depended highly on mutual understanding and mental alignment. Though devoting themselves to a singular figure or ideal was a good way to narrow people's differences, it was not enough. The newcomers had to truly live and think like the rest of the Penitent Sisters in order to join their most honored circle.
Since the Battle of Reckoning, the Penitent Sisters veterans who had launched the attack that slew the entire crew of the Auralis had become a lot more pious and devoted to the Superior Mother. Their previous successful experience offered them a lot of guidance and they had all consciously worked to increase their compatibility with the battle network and each other.
Of course, there was also another reason why the attack wave became more threatening this time.
"The Superior Mother has grown stronger. A lot stronger." Ves observed with mixed feelings.
He felt it when the Penitent Sister battle formation activated the Superior Mother's crown and channeled a portion of her power. The presence the ancestral spirit exuded in the brief moment she was active could be felt across the entire battlefield.
Compared to previous times, her death aspect had become a lot more concentrated and condensed. Ves could imagine why this was the case.
"She has witnessed too much death."
The Komodo War still raged on. An uncountable number of mech pilots and other service personnel lost their lives every day. Whether they were Fridaymen or Hexer, the Superior Mother was close to death every single day.
Ves frowned for a moment. In his impression, the Superior Mother had started to grow a bit out of balance. He originally designed her to become a spirit that personified the six phases of existence, namely life, death, godhood, damnation, dust and woman.
For as long as he knew her, the Superior Mother had always come across as a balanced individual.
Now, he wasn't so sure anymore. Though Ves was definitely glad that her death phase formation had gained a substantial increase in might, he wasn't sure what this will mean for her future development.
"I can't worry about that right now. For now, her emphasis on death is extremely useful."
The results were obvious. Any mech that got swept by the eerie grey wave instantly went silent and shut down. This was the typical sign that the mech pilot lost the ability to pilot a mech.
There were many reasons for this. Perhaps the neural interface malfunctioned. Perhaps the power reactor fizzled out. Perhaps the mech pilot suffered a concussion and was unable to concentrate anymore.
Regardless, the mech pilot might not have necessarily died. This was what most of the dwarves believed, even though the terror in their hearts hinted at a more dreadful truth.
When the wave passed through the thickest formations, a couple of units were more badly affected than others. The renowned Forgehammer mech regiment had concentrated all of its famed Iron Crusher mechs in the middle in order to force a breakthrough.
Their situation was the worst out of all of the other dwarven mechs. Not only were the Iron Crushers smack in the middle of energy attack's area of effect, they also moved as slow as snails, causing them to have no chance of moving outside the danger zone!
"Vulcan save us!"
"The forge shall always burn!"
Now, almost each and every Iron Crusher mech became affected by the wave of death in the same way. Its silent passage calmly passed through their frames as if they existed in a different dimension.
If not for the fact the Iron Crusher mechs all shut down afterwards, the dwarves would have claimed that this was just an illusion!
Yet the truth was there to see for everyone. The command center aboard the Great Ram all fell silent as the operators became pale as they stared at the telemetry. Every single mech pilot inside the mechs affected by the massive attack lost their life signs.
There was no exception. No matter whether the massive death energy wave passed through the thick Iron Crushers to the more economical Shieldbreakers, not a single form of protection made any difference.
Not even energy shields were able to block this strange attack.
After sweeping through over a thousand Molten Hammer mechs, at least hundreds of more machines were still in the death energy wave's trajectory. Sheer terror had caused many dwarves in its path to break down. Even if they were still able to escape the danger zone in time, the mech pilots were already locked in the illusion of their deaths!
"WAKE UP! FORM UP BEHIND ME NOW!" A roaring voice boomed across the communication channels of the Molten Hammer mechs.
As the strongest and most prestigious expert pilot of the mech division, Venerable Orthox enjoyed many privileges. With just the press of a button, he could override all communication protocols and get his message across at the loudest possible volume!
His willful roar shook the dwarven mech pilots out of their paralysis. Just as they began to move their mechs, their hero had already surged forth.
A huge red comet had soared in front of the surviving mechs and slowed to a halt! The famed Gatecrasher had finally entered the fray and it did so at full power!
"NO DWARF SHALL PERISH UNDER MY WATCH! MY SHIELD SHALL NEVER YIELD!"
The Gatecrasher was just a single expert mech, but as soon as Venerable Orthox resonated with its shield, a huge red barrier came into existence that covered enough area to shield a mech company!
As soon as the death energy wave collided against the Gatecrasher's extraordinary shield, the seemingly unstoppable reaper of lives was blocked!
Everyone from the expeditionary fleet widened their eyes. They couldn't believe how someone managed to block their greater trump card!
Unfortunately for the dwarves, the area covered by the massive death energy attack was far greater. The energy that bypassed the Gatecrasher's powerful resonance ability went on to sweep through hundreds more mechs before reaching the end of the Molten Hammer formation.
"NOOO!"
Venerable Orthox did not need to access any life sign readings to know that his fellow battle comrades had died. Even as he suddenly exhausted a lot of strength to block the powerful attack, his will had grown even firmer as his sense of failure drove him to exert an even greater effort to prevent any more lives from getting lost!
"Tall folk… MUST DIE!" He roared, his expert mech's resonance shield exploding like a volcano!
Meanwhile, General Kebrinore had become ashen-faced as he witnessed the ruinous attack from afar. How many lives had been lost.
"Sir! The energy wave has not dissipated! It.. it's turning around!"
"WHAT?!"