Chapter 3292: Tipping Point
The Ferril Provincial Army started off with a total of around 30,000 mechs and 13 expert mechs.
The attacking Vulcanites had every reason to be confident. They were fighting on their home ground, their fleet was tight and condensed to just their combat vessels, the professionalism and development of their military mech divisions exceeded that of any private armed force and they were led by old, veteran war heroes who achieved great success in defeating enemy humans in the past!
Yet.. the Ferrils miscalculated. Not every enemy human force is the same. Some of them were better-equipped than most. Others had a lot of friends who could not be provoked.
As for the Golden Skull Alliance? The Larkinson Clan alone was a giant anomaly in itself. The apparent strength it possessed on the surface was a complete smoke screen. The infamous clan hid one surprise after another.
From the inexplicable battle formations that wiped out thousands of Molten Hammer mech pilots at once to the Unending alloy armor plating that made the Larkinson expert mechs nearly unkillable, all of these unexpected surprises caused the dwarven battle plan which previously looked so ironclad to crumble apart.
Though General Kebrinore and the other dwarven officers added plenty of assurances to their plan, they realized far too late that they had not respected their human opponents enough!
The final and most crucial miscalculation which caused the entire dwarven offensive to falter was the unexpected burst of strength from the Amaranto!
Without any warning and without any sign that the expert mech contained any powerful component that could explain where its strength had come from, the radiantly glowing expert rifleman mech drew from an unknown power source and overpowered the expert mechs assigned to contain this extreme threat!
Now, this masterwork expert mech which had always exerted a lot of dread towards the Vulcanites was completely unleashed!
Its subsequent actions conformed with General Kebrinore's worst nightmare. In just a relatively short span of time, the Amaranto removed 8 dwarven expert mechs off the board.
That was more expert mechs than what the humans fielded from the start!
The dwarven general did not even have to look at the list in order to know which ones were gone.
The Molten Hammers started off with 4 expert mechs, but now only the Gatecrasher was left.
Slug Rangers lost 3 out of 4 expert mechs. The remaining ranged expert mech which had been taking part in the successful offensive at the enemy's left flank had retreated back to the fleet in time.
The Hivar Roarers brought a lot of expert mechs as well, but it had lost 3 of its proud machines as well. The remaining bestial expert mech that had been so pivotal in pushing the other flank had no choice but to retreat as well. There was no cover in open space and using the frames of existing mechs as shields was just delaying the inevitable!
The Great Ram was not connected to the warnet anymore, but her sensor suite was still powerful enough to keep track of the changes on the battlefield.
It became clear that once-proud Ferril mech forces no longer possessed a viable road to victory. In fact, if the remaining surviving expert mechs threw every other consideration aside and initiated a suicide assault against the Amaranto, there might have been a chance to salvage this situation.
Unfortunately, the other Ferril commanders were unwilling to make this choice. In absence of central command, they made a conservative choice as they lacked the stomach to make the hard choices that were necessary to win against powerful humans. They did not wish to gamble their remaining surviving expert mechs and expert pilots and recalled them before they too fell victim to the Amaranto's tyrannical firepower!
Was it the right choice? Many dwarves had different ideas about it, but from the moment the surviving expert mechs removed themselves from the battlefield, General Kebrinore knew that his side had unquestionably lost control of the battle.
The surviving dwarven mech units were still putting up a good fight against their human counterparts.
Previously, the flank where the Amphis and the Dark Zephyr had been trying and failing to prop up the hard-hit Larkinson and Glory Seeker mechs only needed a single push before the Ferrils conquered this side!
Yet the sudden retreat of three dwarven expert mechs robbed the remaining successful Hivar Roarer mechs with their strongest form of support! The morale of the mech pilots plunged while the Amphis and Dark Zephyr were unleashed as well!
Though the two human expert mechs were in bad shape and their expert pilots had already exhausted much of their strength, they did not have to do much in order to reverse the situation!
The Dark Zephyr bypassed every enemy avian mech and rapidly sunk its daggers through the surfaces of every Crumbleshell it came across. By now, the Larkinson Clan had thoroughly managed to figure out the internal layout of this enemy mech model. Venerable Tusa was always able to stab in the places which guaranteed an instant kill!
"I might not have the guts to fight another round with your expert mechs, but killing your turtles is as easy as going on a walk!" Venerable Tusa taunted as he did his duty, not hesitating to overstrain his will to project greater strength. "Where's your courage now, dwarves?!"
The Amphis did not brazenly plunge behind enemy lines. The Cross Clan's expert space knight had already taken a considerable beating in an attempt to stall the three dwarven expert mechs that had just run away.
Therefore, instead of doing anything, Venerable Linda Cross chose to fly her mech alongside friendly units and supported them while they launched their counter-attack.
Her expert mech still held its battered and half-crumbled shield up front while throwing out its chainsword at various Hivar Roarer mechs within reach. Not a single dwarven machine was able to withstand the unnaturally high force transmitted by this remarkable weapon. They all shattered apart as if they were struck by a giant hammer!
"None who oppose our Cross Clan shall escape our retribution!"
Without the support of the spinning turtle mechs and with the continued rampage of the Amphis and the Dark Zephyr, the remaining Hivar Roarer mechs lost a lot of their bite. Like a deflated balloon, the dwarves not only lost all of the advantages they previously accumulated, but also showed a tendency of breaking.
The mass confusion, the rapid reversal in fortune, the higher-than-expected casualties and early retreat of their remaining heroes all pushed the remaining dwarven mech pilots to the brink!
It was a testament to their training and their commitment to their service and respective causes that they did not break on the spot.
"Stubborn dwarves." General Verle frowned as he watched the situation unfold from the Graveyard's command center. "They just won't break."
He was happy that his forces finally managed to gain a decisive advantage in this battle, but that did not mean he was ready to lean back and sip his favorite drink.
Many clansmen could still perish while they attempted to secure their victory. The fact that most dwarven mech pilots hadn't broken from all of the pressure was the biggest issue weighing on his mind.
He believed that if the dwarves really got desperate, they might do something desperate such as trying to destroy the Larkinson fleet at all costs or dragging down as many human lives with them as possible!
Verle decided to open a private channel to Ves.
"Congratulations, general." Ves smiled. "We made it through."
"Don't be so quick to celebrate yet, sir." The general immediately cautioned. "The Ferrils can still do a lot of damage to us. They still retain over ten-thousand mechs that can all do a lot of damage to our fleet."
Ves understood what Verle was worried about. His tired smile dropped in response. "What are you suggesting, then?"
"It depends on what you wish to accomplish, sir. What is the objective that you are striving for? Do you want us to take revenge on the Ferrils that have launched an unprovoked attack on us, or do you want to preserve as much of our lives and battle strength as possible and maximize our chances of escaping the Vulcan Empire?"
Though General Verle's questions offered Ves two seemingly-equal choices, his underlying message was clear.
Though Ves and many other Larkinsons were incredibly angry at the Ferrils and wanted payback for all of the comrades that had fallen over the course of this battle, was exacting their vengeance truly important at the moment?
Ves did not want to risk his freedom and survival. There were still well over 10,000 dwarven mechs left. Even in a situation where they were at an absolute disadvantage, they could still destroy a lot of mechs and ships if they were truly pushed into a corner!
"Also… take a look at the Gatecrasher." Verle slowly said. "Do you think that Venerable Orthox will just stand by while seeing his fellow dwarves get slaughtered?"
Ves narrowed his eyes as he observed the Gatecrasher showing an increasing amount of desperation in trying to get rid of the Bolvos Rage.
As someone who was highly sensitive towards life and emotions, he could sense the growing urgency from the formidable high-tier dwarven expert mech.
A sinking feeling emerged from his stomach. "Are you saying…"
"Do you know why high-tier expert pilots are so feared?" General Verle helplessly smiled. "It's not just because of their individual combat effectiveness. The true reason why opponents dread their appearance on the battlefield is because there is always a risk that a losing engagement might provide them with the stimulation they need to break their final bottlenecks. I don't think I should tell you what the consequences will be if Venerable Orthox undergoes his second apotheosis.
The emergence of a brand-new ace pilot would change everything! Not only was an ace pilot supremely powerful in a way that Ves couldn't even properly describe, but the other dwarven mech pilots whose confidence had nearly reached their lowest point would suddenly regain their full morale!
Even if the Golden Skull Alliance managed to block or defeat the newly-ascended ace pilot at great cost, the maddened dwarven mech pilots that threw themselves onto their human opponents could inflict massive damage to the expeditionary fleet!
Ves had many important goals in mind. Crushing his current opponents until there was nothing left was not one of them. He and his clan wouldn't gain anything meaningful out of persecuting the Ferril punitive fleet. Instead, they would just suffer a lot more preventable losses and even give their opponents a chance to reverse their losing struggle!
The Larkinsons experienced many times when opponents pushed them to desperation, only for that to be the catalyst of a miraculous breakthrough or the unveiling of a desperate and extremely dangerous countermeasure.
In fact, that was exactly what the Vulcanite soldiers had done to the Larkinson Clan! Their insistence on annihilating the entire human fleet left Ves and his clansmen with no choice but to go all-out and employ much of their trump cards.
Though the dwarven mech forces looked as if they had nearly exhausted all of their options, they still had a few cards left to play.
"Sir!" A sensor officer yelled! "The Great Ram and several other dwarven fleet carriers have begun to increase their acceleration. They are overloading their propulsion systems!"
Ves immediately switched to a view of the dwarven capital ships in question. Each of them were in the process of disgorging escape pods, shuttles and other vehicles en masse.
There was only one particular reason why the large and expensive fleet carriers exhibited this behavior.
"They're attempting to ram our fleet! The Great Ram is on a collision course with our flagship while their other fleet carriers are on track to ram into the Hemmington Cross, the Indigo Tremor and several other friendly capital ships."
"What's their ETA?!"
"The closest time until impact is 15, no 9 minutes! The fleet carriers are dumping all of their cargo and supplies to reduce their mass and their engineers are overloading their propulsion systems to a ruinous degree!"
The decisions made by the Ferril commanders showed that they recognized their impending loss. In order to create an opportunity to evacuate as many dwarven lives as possible, they did not hesitate to sacrifice their proud capital ships!
"These damn dwarves!" Ves cursed!