The Bolvos Rage and the Erin Tear had mutually taken each other out of action!
Both of their expert pilots knew they couldn't proceed with their fight with their disabled expert mechs.
Their cockpits ejected from the backs of the two hugging machines at the same time!
The Trost attempted to shoot Patriarch Reginald's cockpit down by launching missiles from its shoulder mounts, but the Amphis quickly intercepted them before they reached their destination.
The hybrid mech piloted by Kelvin Praetor launched other attacks, but Reginald's cockpit was too fast and durable!
Venerable Linda Cross interfered as much as possible, causing Kelvin to lose the opportunity to kill the leader of the Cross Clan!
Only two expert mechs were left. The Trost and the Amphis squared off against each other for a moment.
A hybrid mech was generally weak against a space knight, and the rules weren't that much different at the expert mech level. Its ranged weapons lacked the punch needed to punch through the armor of a space knight.
While the Trost was armed with a short halberd that could accomplish what its other weapons could not, it was not as good as the Imperial Verdict up close.
In contrast, the Amphis was deadly at close range! Its unnaturally heavy blows and tricky chainsword moves made Kelvin reconsider his options.
He directed the sensors of expert mechs to the rest of the battlefield.
The Trost was unsuitable to fight against the Amphis. Why not direct its attention elsewhere?
Kelvin briefly considered intervening in the slow and grinding confrontation between the regular Crosser mech units and a group of obstinate defenders such as the Living Sentinels.
Yet the distance wasn't much. The Trost was considerably more mobile than the Amphis, but the difference in straight-line acceleration was actually not that drastic.
If Kelvin wanted to unleash the firepower of his expert mech without constraint, then he needed to increase the distance. The Amphis would have to take longer to catch up, giving the Trost plenty of time to unleash devastation!
The Trost suddenly rocketed to the ships of the expeditionary fleet. Venerable Kelvin had already spotted the advance of the Jeanne D'Arc and decided to link up with the sole surviving Fridayman expert mech.
As long as the Trost combined forces with the Jeanne D'Arc, they could easily gang up on the Amphis!
"Venerable Foster!" Kelvin quickly communicated to the distant expert mech. "Turn around and link up with my Trost!"
Unfortunately, Venerable Foster wasn't listening!
She had completely set her sights on her mission. As long as her Jeanne D'Arc was able to get past the measly reserves of the Larkinson Clan, she would be able to reach the Spirit of Bentheim!
Six other Fridayman expert mechs failed to make it this far. The Ulver Quinn, the Prava Lonestar as well as two additional expert mechs were already falling apart under the combined attacks of hundreds of enemy standard mechs.
She knew her peers wouldn't be able to last much longer!
The story would have been different if the Ulver Quinn and the other Fridayman expert mechs were still at their peak. Yet after depleting all of their ammunition, draining most of their energy reserves and resisting thousands of blows with their crumbling armor, they were only holding on through sheer grit and determination.
The four expert mechs were like flickering candles in the wind! It was only a matter of time before the numerous attacks finally collapsed their precious machines.
If they fought to preserve themselves, then they might be able to last a few extra minutes, but that was contrary to their purpose. Their goal was to stall the remaining expeditionary mechs as long as possible so that they wouldn't be able to catch up to the Jeanne D'Arc.
Venerable Foster briefly grew heavy as she realized how little time she had left. Her Jeanne D'Arc may be capable of regenerating its damage, but that took time and lots of energy.
Every second that passed, at least a dozen positron beams and gauss rounds impacted her expert mech!
It couldn't be helped. The mech had to reach the Spirit of Bentheim as quickly as possible, so Venerable Foster was unable to make too many evasive maneuvers. The Jeanne D'Arc had to reach the side of the factory ship before the enemies from behind caught up. Its durability was also nearing its end.
While Venerable Foster was heavily focused on reaching her goal, she was not unaware of the other events taking place on the battlefield.
Whether it was the fall of the Charlemagne or the urgent request issued by Venerable Kelvin Praetor, the Vesian expert pilot was aware of everything.
"I can't turn back!" She gritted her teeth.
Even though Task Force Umbra partnered up with the Praetor Clan and the Planat Clan, its goal was never to achieve a comprehensive victory. Their sole purpose was to kill the patriarch of the Larkinson Clan.
She could not give Ves anymore chances to run away or pull out another trick out of his bag! She had to grasp this hard-won opportunity and see it through the end. This was why she resolutely ignored every transmission that asked her to slow down or turn around.
"I don't have time!"
If she hesitated any further, then the Valkyrie Prime as well as other enemy mechs would probably be able to catch up and force her to a standstill.
The Jeanne D'Arc had no choice but to push through the storm of artillery fire without regard for surviving after this battle. The mech did its best to shield its vulnerable and critical sections as best as possible.
Aside from the enemy artillery mechs, her only concerns were the handful of Larkinson mechs that had remained in reserve. They served as the final backstop against enemies that sought to get close to the flagship of their fleet.
Venerable Foster did not think much of the remaining opposition.
The Bright Sword Prime was incomparable to a real expert mech.
The Princess Jeckas piloted by the Swordmaidens was an ordinary commercial second-class swordsman mech model.
The Shield of Samar was too slow and inflexible.
Perhaps the only mech that caused Venerable Foster some consternation was the rifleman mech huddling behind the Shield of Samar.
It had already fired a powerful energy attack before. That single attack managed to weaken an attack from the Charlemagne. This meant it had the power to threaten the Jeanne D'Arc, if only slightly.
"This rifleman mech shouldn't be able to fire too many supercharged shots. Otherwise, it wouldn't have bided its time. As long as you can block, evade or mitigate two or three shots, then you're probably in the clear." An analyst from the CRC aboard the Eager Condemnation personally instructed Venerable Foster.
"Understood." She nodded seriously. "I need as much ranged support as possible."
"We do not have enough available ranged mechs at our disposal, but we will redirect everything we have left to suppress the enemy bunker mechs. This will accelerate the downfall of our assets, so make the most out of this opportunity. Godspeed, Venerable Foster."
The artillery fire against the Jeanne D'Arc indeed slackened off, which made her feel a lot more relieved. She had much more confidence in her ability to reach the Spirit of Bentheim than before.
"Now, I only have to get past you lot."
Venerable Dise could sense her opponent's contempt. She grew furious!
"Relia Foster! I know it's you! We have waited years to avenge the deaths of Commander Lydia and our fellow Swordmaidens. Answer me and face the death that you deserve!"