There were many differences between expert pilots and ace pilots.
From transforming their rudimentary resonance shields into proper Saint Kingdoms to unlocking the growth of their resonance strength to a much greater height, any expert pilot practically underwent a comprehensive rebirth and evolution from the moment they triggered a second apotheosis.
When Dise Larkinson finally attained her sainthood, what stood out the most to her was that she gained enormous improvement in her ability to sense, understand, reinforce and sharpen the metal under her control.
She was able to take immediate advantage of her newfound sense of metal to gain a far better grasp of what the First Sword and the Decapitator were capable of under normal circumstances.
Saint Dise then proceeded to infuse them with metal E energy drawn from the ambient environment to strengthen them far beyond what was normally possible with hyper technology!
Although the Unending alloy and other metals resisted this forced procedure, Dise's willpower had finally grown strong enough to defy this outcome and impose her own ideal result.
It was far easier for her to do this than other ace pilots due to her particularly strong affinity for the metal element!
With the temporary blessing of forced resonance, most of the actions that normally required Saint Dise to pilot an ace mech could all be applied without any major hindrance while piloting her trusty expert mech and battle partner.
The First Sword had grown enormously when Dise managed to break through. The feedback generated by a mech pilot attaining sainthood was enormous.
Not only did the living mech's spiritual foundation grow a lot stronger due absorbing all of the energies that Dise carelessly released during her momentous ascension, but the very essence of the First Sword became even more aligned the new ace pilot's domain!
This meant that the First Sword was able to absorb and contain far more metal energy than before!
The same applied to the Decapitator mech sword as well!
The giant and gleaming greatsword grew tougher and sharper without losing any flexibility. The masterwork creation practically sang when resonating with Saint Dise's willpower, and actively sought to make itself more useful in any way possible!
Saint Dise became delighted with every new facet that she managed to discover about her expert mech and mech sword.
If she wanted to, she could easily keep herself entertained for days as she patiently examined each and every aspect that she had overlooked in the past.
This was not the time for her to indulge in her newfound sensitivity and comprehension towards metal.
She turned her attention back to the Muscular Swordsman. Ever since he discovered that the expert mech was able to break the hold of his earth aura, he had backed off and patiently gave Dise the time to complete her transformation to sainthood.
Even though Dise was aware that she was not facing a real blood-and-flesh sword cultivator, she still made the First Sword perform a simple bow in respect to the energy manifestation.
The expert mech then turned around and bowed to the source behind her latest and most crucial
realization, the Heavensword.
"Thank you for letting me see the truth of my own power. Now that I have clad my will in metal, I shall complete this challenge and beat you at your own game. You better power your energy manifestation up, or else I will easily cut off its head with my Decapitator!"
The power of the First Sword had reached an entirely new level, if only temporary. The current state of the Muscular Swordsman was simply outclassed on almost every level, so he was no longer able to present a worthwhile challenge to the new saint.
It would be too boring to cut down the adversary that had given her the chance to break through without any effort.
The relic weapon apparently registered her request, because the blade that was currently in the hands of the Elegant Swordsman transmitted a powerful pulse of heavenly energy that directly struck the Muscular Swordsman!
It was as if the earth-wielding energy manifestation received a massive upgrade!
His aura strengthened to the point where it was able to push back against the First Sword's Saint Kingdom.
The definition of his appearance improved and his energy signature had multiplied by multiple times. "Let's set aside this boring dance and go all-out! Give me all you got! Show me how a true swordsman from ancient times wields his blade!"
Her urge to duel became stronger than it had ever been in the past. The notion of being able lock blades with an actual representation of an ancient human sword cultivator exhilarated beyond all measure!
This was a rare and unique experience that was almost impossible to attain through other means! Dise did not want to miss out on this rare and precious opportunity!
Her current breakthrough state was temporary. Once she exhausted her reserves, the newly ascended ace pilot would inevitably enter a state of exhaustion. She needed to conclude this fight within this time window in order to end this day on a perfect note!
The Muscular Swordsman seemed to oblige with her demands by not wasting his time. After he fully processed the additional injection of heavenly energy, the Muscular Swordsman let out a silent shout and began to shock and vibrate the surrounding earth energy into his false body! Soon enough, the pieces of rock armor that previously only showed up just before the First Sword landed an attack appeared in a more persistent form this time.
The rock armor segments also began to multiply. They soon began to cover the mech-sized form of the Muscular Swordsman in a suit of pure condensed earth energy that had taken the form of a suit of armor made out of rock!
A runed suit of armor no less!
The rock-clas Muscular Swordsman even conveyed the name of this technique in a manner that transcended mortal means of communication.
Son of the Mountain.
Whatever these runes actually meant, they qualitatively transformed the previously crude applications of earth E energy and massively increased the efficiency and effectiveness of the rock armor!
The copy of the Heavensword went through a similar transformation. Shards of rock condensed around the originally slender blade and began to depict runes that massively strengthened ridiculously large and thick blade!
Collapsing Peak.
At this point, the augmented Heavensword could no longer be regarded as a sword anymore. Instead, it turned into an extremely thick and massive siege weapon that only vaguely resembled a sword!
Its edges weren't even sharp anymore. The Muscular Swordsman had completely given up on relying on the sharpness of his weapon, and relied entirely on the mass of his ultra-heavy weapon to inflict overwhelming blunt impact and concussive damage!
The two duelists couldn't be more different at this time.
The two even exuded completely different auras.
Saint Dise smirked as she readied her machine for a fight that she was bound to remember for the
rest of her life.
"Go."
The First Sword boldly took the initiative and charged forward!
The Muscular Swordsman responded by swinging his massive transformed sword faster than Disc anticipated.
If the earth aura was still able to drag down the First Sword's mobility and cause the living mech to move sluggishly, then she would undoubtedly get crushed or expend excessive resources in an attempt to block this devastating blow.
However, the metallic gleam on the First Sword's armor system glowed brighter, allowing the mech to cut through the Muscular Swordsman's domain and shake off much of this debilitating effect! Like a shovel digging through soil, the First Sword only had to expend a moderate amount of effort to avoid getting bogged down!
Since the expert swordsman mech was originally a fairly fast and mobile machine from the onset, the restoration of much of her capabilities finally granted her a considerable edge in mobility!