The Greatest Mecha-Chapter 69: The Percival In Battle

The squad battle was one of the most played modes in Mech Galaxy Wars. Here, the players would join or form a squad of four mech pilots to battle another squad for dominance. There were other lesser modes that revolved around the squad securing a position.

The team she was in was a team of four. Aside from her, there was another medium mech with gun barrels for hands. She identified it to be a gunner or a sniper type. The other two were both light mechs—one small and carried only a sniper rifle, and the second had a jetpack strapped to its back, indicating that it was an aerial type mech. If Sól was to dictate her role on the team, she would say that she would end up being the main attacking force in the battle.

The other medium mech was a ranged one. The flying light mech, because of its size, would be very fast and maneuverable, meaning it would be a very good support to the team. The only one that did not show any use to the team was the small light mech; its armor looked lackluster, and she doubted their opponents would be light mechs.

Sól sighed within the cockpit of the Percival. The second medium mech approached the small light mech and spoke. "Now what’s this? A little thing like you will only give free kills to the enemy." No one said anything, not even the small light mech that was being addressed. "Just stick with me and you’ll all be fine," the pilot of the cockpit said proudly.

Soon the match started, and they found themselves in an industrial terrain—or what remained of a massive factory that had long since shut down. There were pieces of metal, bricks, and debris around them. The scenery was next to life in its realistic graphics, the sky dark and gloomy with only a single moon and very few stars in the sky.

They soon started to march forward, spreading out slowly over the complex. The other medium mech was the slowest, as it was being weighed down by its bulky armor and huge gun barrels. But it was clear that its pilot preferred the safety of his mech and the firepower it offered over a more competent mech. The aerial mech took to the sky to scout ahead for the enemy. The small light mech moved swiftly across the debris, trying to move stealthily.

The Percival walked forward with grace, its joints hissing softly, its heavy boots crunching on the ground. Its head turned left, then right. Inside the cockpit, Sól had initiated all the mech’s sensors. The heat sensors had yet to pick anything; the sound sensors were the same. The only thing that slowed her down was her huge Gatling gun. It could fire 1,000 shots of compressed heat at its target at a rapid speed, but the thing weighed a lot. Sól had it by her side, at the ready if the enemy appeared at any moment.

A few minutes passed before the aerial mech circled back and spoke to them. "I found them. There are four of them, and they are all medium mechs. One knight, two gunners, and one aerial mech. They seem like a well-seasoned squad, and I suspect they are carrying devastating payloads."

The second medium mech snorted proudly. "Who cares if they are national-level players? As long as they ain’t got a heavy mech, we can take ’em on."

As much as Sól hated his proud tone, he did have a point. Heavy mechs were the nightmare of all mech weight classes in the game. They were brutishly slow, but they carried the most devastating payloads in the game—like walking nukes. But the aerial mech was right in the sense that they were like a seasoned team.

"We have to think this through. They have two gunners for long-range suppression, a knight for close combat, and an aerial support. Considering what we’ve got, I would say we have an advantage," Sól spoke to the group for the first time.

The proud medium mech looked at her. "Why do you sound like that?" To him, her soft voice sounded like a filter.

Sól had forgotten to use her voice changer device since her voice regularly disturbed her teammates in the wrong way. Before they could formulate a plan, the cockpit of her mech blared to life in a flashing red filter.

"Warning: multiple heat sources detected."

"Warning: incoming laser fire detected."

Sól had not expected her mech’s systems to be giving her the heads-up. She screamed out, "Incoming fire! Take cover!" Saying this, she jumped to one side, the aerial mech taking off next, the small light mech disappearing behind a heap of debris, but the medium mech failing to move an inch. Despite all his bravado, he was very slow to react to the attack. Fortunately, because of the distance the blasts had to travel and the number of debris the blasts had to go through, their force was greatly lessened. But they managed to cause a few small holes on his mech.

Sól was a bit alarmed. "Whatever they’re using to charge their blasts, it’s strong. I’ll move in to attack them. You can launch your own fire back."

The medium mech grunted. "My mech also packs a punch. I’ll show them."

The small light mech dashed forward. "I can draw their attention and attack from the side, but the aerial mech will be a problem."

Their aerial mech cut through the air and fired a volley of shots at the other team’s aerial mech. "I’m on it, and he’s slower than I am."

They all sprung into action and attacked their enemies. The barrage of blasts released by their opponents persisted for longer than they expected. While most of them could avoid it, the medium mech was caught in the fire and crippled, but he managed to destroy one of the enemy gunner mechs and damage the other one. The battle between the two aerial mechs drew more sparks and flashes as they fought the sky with bombs. On the earth, Sól was facing the remaining gunner mech, who had lost one of its arms. The other one recharged and shot at her. She raised her Gatling gun and released a barrage of explosive rounds at the mech’s legs, causing it to fall to the ground. The small light mech took out its sniper and shot a few decisive shots at the gunner mech, ending its time in the battle.

"Warning, incoming..."

Before she could react, she reacted—or in clearer terms, her body was moved away from the laser blast that the aerial mech shot her way. "Did this mech just move on its own? Or did I move it on instinct?" She was not given much time to think before the knight mech of her enemy team darted forward from her blind spot and slashed at her head. The small light mech shot a blast at the knight mech’s head, which it blocked with its huge, strong shield.

This gave Sól an opening to raise her Gatling gun and fire at who she considered to be the most threat. She shot at the flying mech and managed to catch it off guard, since its wings had been damaged by their own aerial mech. As the match was reaching its final stalemate, it was now Sól and the small light mech against the knight mech, who had done very little through the fight. The knight was still raising his shield. "Fire at it together!" she called out to her teammate.

They both unleashed all of their fire at the shield, but it refused to break. The knight mech charged forward with a burst of speed from the thrusters it had been charging on its legs. It ran into the Percival and knocked it off its feet. Sól groaned as she lost control for a second. The Gatling gun slipped from her hand and dropped to the ground.

The medium mech stood over her and started to attack her with his machine pistol that fired volleys of compressed heat. Her systems screamed at her:

"Warning! Systems temperatures are rising, internals malfunctioning."

Sól found it hard to think under the continuous attacks coming down on her mech. Luckily, the small light mech managed to fire a few shots at the knight mech, drawing his attention. The knight mech turned and charged at the small light mech, giving Sól some time to pull herself together. The cockpit of the mech was boiling hot. She groaned at the multiple messages the mech gave her.

"Hull integrity at 45%."

"Weapon efficiency at 37%."

Sól could hear her teammate getting bashed in. By the time she managed to stand her mech, she could see she was the last one remaining. The small light mech had died to keep her in the game, and she would win.

"Your team is gone, and you are finished. Overheating, I would show you any sentiment," the knight mech said in a cold voice.

"Standby..."

The voice in her cockpit spoke again. The same odd sensation returned to Sól, and it felt like a guiding hand from the mech itself. She knew just what to do and how to do it. To hit the knight mech, the shield had to go—and she still had more than enough firepower to get the job done.