Chapter 148 - Into The Seventh Solar System

A heavy mecha is truly that - heavy. 

It is like a mobile fortress. It has two defensive systems that are incredibly tough to crack. The first one is the magical barriers which the mage pilot can put up. I don't have to explain much about these magical barriers. For as long as the mage has energy, the barriers would be up. And in a heavy mecha, the mage does not have to worry about spending his magical energy for offense.

The magical bombard enhances the mage's energy into powerful attacks. Which means that it has a very insignificant toll on the mage's magical reserves. Almost a hundred percent of the mage's magical energy can be directed into the heavy mecha's defense. And usually, this lasts a very long while. 

Once the mage's magical energy has hit the minimum level, the heavy will switch to its secondary defensive system. The Iron Dome. 

The Iron Dome consists of six small energy cannons and six small laser cannons attached to a powerful targeting system that could track all incoming attacks, and the twelve small cannons would automatically shoot the attacks down. 

For most of the time, these two systems would be more than enough for the heavy mechas to tide through the entire battle. 

If they were not enough, it simply meant that the battle had gone south, and the heavy mecha had to depend on its natural physical armor to withstand attacks. 

Let me assure you, that although the armor of the heavy mecha is thick, it would not be strong enough to resist the combined attack of enemies in a battlefield that has gone south. Still, its strong armor affords the heavy mecha a relatively higher rate of survivability compared to its weaker medium mecha siblings. 

But in that particular battle against the pirates, the two defensive systems were more than enough. They barely even got to use those systems.

Because whatever could be said of the heavy mecha defense system, the highlight of all heavy mechas were their heavy cannons. That those puppies were put in full display mode during that pirate battle.

Pirates were foolish. But that particular coalition was just… I don't know. Out of their minds, God-level stupid. They truly believed that numbers can overwhelm anything. Well, their beliefs were put to the test and they sure as hell got converted that day. 

Once the main body of mechas entered our short range, I gave the command.

"Fire." I said, my eyes gleaming in anticipation.

B-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-M-M-M-!-!-!-!

There were no bright, blinding lights. Just a volley of pure death and destruction. 

The first FEW lines of the enemy mecha just disintegrated.

One second they were there, charging forward maniacally.

The next second, they were flying all over the place. In pieces. 

"Fire" I said again. Remember, the heavy cannons were RAPID-FIRE cannons. 

B-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-M-M-M-!-!-!-!

"Fire." 

B-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-M-M-M-!-!-!-!

You get the idea. 

Heavy cannons pack an insane punch, usually trading attack speed for pure destructive power that could devastate the enemy. Rapid-fire heavy cannons pack the same insane punch, but at a blistering rate that, although was far below a machine gun, was still extremely respectable. Insanely high damage and high attack speed was an incredibly potent combination. 

It deals an absurdly high amount of damage and it completely shatters the confidence of the enemy. It didn't matter if they knew that the volleys wouldn't last for much longer. The sheer destruction and devastation that the rapid-fire cannons caused would rip apart any semblance of rationality in their minds, and replace it with utter terror.

After staring in horror at the shredded remains of their comrades, the distinctive sound of the heavy cannons would strike a deep terror in the hearts of the survivors. 

However, the trade off was that it was not sustainable. Thirty shots and the rapid-fire cannons had to have light maintenance done. At sixty, the cannons need heavy maintenance. 

Of course in desperate times, those numbers could easily be doubled, but such careless use of the cannons would render them completely irreparable. 

However, I didn't need to push the heavy mechas too hard that day. By ten volleys, the incoming mechas were completely stopped in their tracks. A huge number of mechas were completely destroyed by that point, and made for a visually horrifying scene for the survivors.

By twenty, the survivors had completely dispersed. 

Not even the devil himself could resist a twenty-volley pounding by a thousand heavy mechas without having the urge to run and hide. 

Why didn't the enemy mechas shoot back at us? 

Oh they certainly did. Weak laser beams, weak energy cannons, weak everything. Insignificant. What can you expect from cheap, low grade mechas that wouldn't even qualify as target practice for us? They were so weak that their effective range was actually really short. Firing from long range and medium range totally had no effect on us. 

If they could swarm us and get to close range, I dare say that half a million of those rabble could probably do real damage to us, maybe even wipe us out. But they had to get to close range first. And with my regiment's formation, they simply couldn't. 

Once their main firepower, the sorry excuses they call 'mecha' were beaten back, the pirates had no more reason to stay. Their exos had no chance, and their frigates were more transport ships for their loot than damage dealers. 

If they couldn't even run down a single destroyer's worth of power, how could they even think of dealing with ten battlecruisers and fourteen other destroyers? 

That had truly kicked a metal plate that day, and lost their foot in the process. Being able to retreat was already a luxury for them.

I broke a million-strong pirate coalition that day. 

Smashed them up so badly that I dare say the relative peace that came upon Deep Blue for the many years to come was all because of me. 

Yes, Your Majesty. Battles in space are most effectively carried out using mechas. With mechas, a single soldier gains the mass and firepower to impact even the biggest ships. 

They are highly maneuverable, highly versatile and capable of taking on multiple roles in any given battle situation and extremely easy to manufacture. 

With mechas, a physically weak soldier with no magical capabilities gains the fighting power to go head to head against a weak and unarmored dragon. 

The power of technology truly boggles the mind. It almost bridges the once insurmountable advantage that magic provides us dragons. 

Of course, nothing truly beats having true magical power.

A mecha needs the assistance of a host of technicians, engineers, resources and a myriad of other support to function properly and consistently.

A dragon simply needs to spread its wings and he would be ready for combat. 

That is why, even with Universe Empires sprouting up all over the place, the Dragon Clan remains the undisputed number one power in the Realm. 

That is also why Aragosh Dragonos placed his twenty five regiments under his dragons. We were the apex fighters of the mercenary group. 

Although not as effective and powerful as dragons, your Wyvern Riders are still much more useful and versatile compared to mechas. With Symphonian armor and magic enhancing weapons, and if you place three blue mages in each Wyvern instead of one, each Wyvern Rider could possibly take on a squad of mechas by itself. 

All in all, I do feel very optimistic over the current state of your army's growth. With three Starships, and a possible ten more in the works, you would be able to pose a serious threat to any power in this realm or in other realms. 

Yes, Your Majesty. Continuing on with my story.

After dealing with the pirate attack, we quickly departed and made our way into the seventh solar system, where our real mission would truly begin. In there, we would be fighting against the AARs of the Haran Empire - Advance Auxiliary Regiments. 

These regiments were highly trained, and their equipment was much better than ours. 

In fact, the situation that I faced with the pirates was almost reversed when dealing with the AARs. In most cases, a single Symphonian mercenary regiment could probably only deal with a single battalion of theirs. And even then, the cost would be high. 

In our case, because we were significantly more powerful than common mercenary regiments, our regiments could go head to head with theirs. 

We were hoping that our surprising strength would allow us to take a few quick victories by surprise. 

And through the genius of Aragosh Dragono and Yerra Draco, and through the incredible arrays created by Rona and Zas, we were able to maintain our surprising strength a secret far longer than we estimated, and we were able to take more than a 'few' victories. 

Rona and Zas were, afterall, a Mistress of Time and a Master of Space. 

Each AAR we met, we were able to trap and completely destroy with no survivors.