The Mech Touch - Chapter 7456 New Resonating Alloys
Chapter 7456 New Resonating Alloys
The specifications for the Promethea Mark II Project received multiple updates over the last few months.
New discoveries made by Ves and Gloriana along with continued access to new technologies from different sources always opened up new possibilities.
Though the two mech designers had fallen into the trap of feature creep, they simply couldn’t help themselves.
They had access to more high technologies than ever, and every field witnessed brand-new breakthroughs practically every day.
This was especially the case for hyper technology, E-technology and superdimensional technology!
Of course, now that the priority of completing the Promethea Mark II had risen, neither mech designer had any intention of diverting their attention any further.
They both decided to lock the current configuration and do their best to achieve their delivery within two months or less.
This decision made Ves and Gloriana feel pained. They felt that the Promethea Mark II as a high-end mech platform still had room for more improvement.
Nonetheless, they did not intend to walk back their decision. They had no other choice but to narrow their scope and focus on completing their existing ideas as opposed to adding new ones on a regular basis.
Ves in particular spent a large amount of attention on upgrading the primary weapon.
Similar to the Amaranto Mark III, the mech designers invested a disproportionate amount of value of the Promethea Mark II into her armaments.
Even if they chose to postpone the completion of the Cryotron, the Ignitron Mark II possessed more than enough feature additions and upgrades.
They had listened to all of the ace pilot’s feedback and made sure to address her criticism. Not only would she be able to handle the weapon as if it was an extension of her own body, she would also gain access to numerous new modifiers that effectively increased her versatility!
The goal was not necessarily to make the Ignitron Mark II as powerful as possible. Though the high-end weapon contained plenty of upgrades that significantly increased its firepower, Ves did not set this as an overarching priority.
His real goal was to turn it into a one-stop solution for most combat scenarios that Saint Isobel Kotin might encounter on the battlefield.
This was why he borrowed the power of his collaborators to implement a range of handy tech into the weapon.
These upgrades included focusing components that could dynamically split a powerful energy beam into multiple weaker ones or defocus the beam so that it could function like a less efficient energy shotgun, each of these options should allow the Promethea Mark II to handle a greater variety of threats while limiting collateral damage.
“The Cybernetic Empire offers a lot of small nifty technological advancements.” Ves explained to Isobel. “While the Cybers have made only limited advances in the fields of hyper technology and E-technology, they have made considerably greater strides in conventional technological fields. The sophistication of their energy weapons is on another level. It is unclear how the presence of the dormant First Flame has affected their energy weapons development, but this factor is not a trivial one. What matters is that you are benefiting quite much from this circumstance.”
“What is most urgent at this junction is that we must finalize the choice of key ace mech-grade resonating materials.” Gloriana said as she waved her arm to activate a projection. “The Cybernetic Empire has developed many new resonating alloys, each of which bear some relation to the aforementioned circumstance. Let me state that these are not the only compatible resonating materials you can choose from. However, the alternatives that we have lined up for you are significantly less powerful or relevant to you. They are still serviceable, but they are not game changers.”
Three projections of different materials appeared before the female mech designer. Isobel could not glean much from the projected images. They all looked like alloy bars with different colors and textures. She could only faintly sense something special about them, but the projections could not do them justice.
“What are they?” She asked with a frown.
Gloriana pointed at the first alloy bar that shone with an ominous dark red sheen.
“This is what the Cybers call ‘Exsanguino’. Its effect is singular but also highly effective. Resonating with this material changes the properties of your flames so that they can burn any substance that falls under the category of ‘blood’ much more effectively. This amplification is quite dramatic. You can expect an increase of at least an order of magnitude.”
That sounded quite dramatic, but as Isobel parsed Gloriana’s in her mind, she slowly started to frown.
“Wait, it only works on blood? What sort of blood?”
“Any substance that is used to circulate oxygen and other resources within an organism.” Ves responded. “The Cybers have conducted extensive research on the bizarre effect of this experimental accident. It works on all organic subjects no matter whether they are artificial or natural in origin. The blood doesn’t have to be natural either. In fact, we speculate with great certainty that both basic and advanced Carmine mechs may be susceptible to Exsanguino. This means that if you choose to wield the power of this resonating alloy, you can potentially become a counter against pretty much every Carmine mech.”
Ves initially hadn’t been too happy when he learned about the existence of Exsanguino.
The Cyber materials scientists initially treated the outcome of a lab accident as a niche product that might be nice to employ against phase whales or mutated beasts.
Yet once they realized that it could also be employed against Carmine mechs with great effectiveness, they valued it a lot more!
Though Isobel already began to appreciate the formidable power of Exsanguino, she also realized that she could not employ it against every target.
“If your description is correct, then Exsanguino is not a universal solution.” She said. “It does nothing against purely mechanical targets such as mechs, phasefighters and warships. Perhaps my flames will be able to burn enemy pilots or crew with greater ease, but any normal hot flame can already do so with ease.”
Gloriana nodded in admission. “That is very much so. Choosing to integrate Exsanguino into your Ignitron Mark II means that you have chosen to increase your ability to fight and overcome Carmine mechs as well as powerful organic champions such as calamity beasts, phase leaders and Goliaths. This is a serious commitment, particularly when you forgo other key resonating exotics that are much more effective at inflicting mass destruction.”
“Do you have an example of that?” The ace pilot curiously inquired.
“Yes. We have specifically selected the second option to provide you with an opposite choice.”
The projection of the dark red alloy bar shrunk in size. The projection of a dull blue alloy bar soon attracted the ace pilot’s attention.
“This is another interesting new resonating alloy that the Cybers have labeled as Triton-Remose-B. Its effect is to impart flames with a mental suppression effect. To be more precise, proximity to the flames affected by this material causes any nearby organisms to feel discouraged or demoralized. Their courage falters while their hope evaporates. This may sound vague, but that is because the limited lab tests conducted by the Cybers have ascertained that the effects greatly vary from subject to subject. Strong-willed individuals are better able to resist the mental suppression effect, up to a point.”
“Up to a point?”
“The magnitude of the mental suppression effect varies depending on both distance and quantity of flames.” Ves helpfully explained. “Simply put, the closer the distance, the stronger the effect. The greater and more numerous the fires, the more the organisms in the vicinity become locked in terror.”
Isobel furrowed her brows in thought. “Triton-Remose-B certainly provides a very different benefit from Exsanguino. I can see how the former can be useful in many situations. Under many circumstances, the warships and facilities that I wish to burn can often stall their demise for precious minutes due to damage control measures and other forms of resistance. If I can terrorize them into paralysis with my flames, then that would allow me to neutralize their combat effectiveness much faster than before.”
This was not a trivial matter! Out of all of the ace mechs of the Larkinson Clan, the Promethea Mark II promised to be among the best at neutralizing large amounts of infrastructure as well as entire enemy fleets.
Isobel’s ability to destroy both would definitely gain a significant boost if she made use of Triton-Remose-B.
However, just like Exsanguino, its effects were quite narrow. Not only was the effect limited to organic targets, but it also happened to be relatively ineffective against larger and stronger-willed enemies!
“I take it that enemy champions are not as susceptible to Triton-Remose-B.”
Both mech designers nodded.
“That is unfortunately the case.” Ves said. “I believe that it is still possible to scare phase leaders out of their wits if they are surrounded by your flames, but we are not sure that the same applies to Goliaths considering that they are under the total control of a remote leader entity. Perhaps it is possible to affect them both when you grow older and strengthen your willpower further, but you will probably have to wait for many years. Until then, you should mostly employ this effect against weaker targets.”
Saint Isobel Kotin looked troubled. The effects of Exsanguino and Triton-Remose-B were both unconventional but effective.
They opened numerous new ways to approach a battle and complete her objectives, but they were also circumstantial in effectiveness.
She hated that the resonating alloys imposed conditions on her. She could only truly make Exsanguino useful when she fought against powerful organic foes, and she could only make Triton-Remose-B useful when she used its effect against large enemy populations.
