[201-400] THE MECH'S TOUCH

Chapter 388: Self-harm

"My businesses will be ruined if the Vesians have free reign in Orinoco!"

As the different interest groups in Orinoco tried and failed to come to a consensus, a series of thunderous explosions happened outside. The force of the explosions shook the floor and even unsettled the footing of the people in the conference room.

A door slammed open as a security officer hastily entered the gathering. "Sirs! Massive explosions have destroyed the spaceport, the planetary assembly building, various storage yards and the headquarters of the five biggest companies in Orinoco. An anonymous message has only given the occupants two minutes of time to evacuate before the bombs set off!"

Several people looked at each other with a stricken expression. "Awful!"

The sudden chaos plunged the capital city in a full-blown pandemonium. People panicked and ran in every direction.

The Vesians spotted the destruction as well. Seeing that most of their strategic targets blew up on their own accord, the two transport ships that previously headed to Orinoco changed course and joined the main raiding force to Freslin instead.

Just this act alone revealed the motives of the explosions. By destroying the most valuable structures in and around the capital city ahead of time, the Vesians had no more reason to stop by.

"Who is responsible for those bombs!? Don't they know what they've done! This is naked treason!"

"Whoever destroyed my headquarters will pay!"

The consequences of such an act was very severe, but whoever bombed those places managed to accomplish their goal of diverting the Vesians away from their city. After all, if they didn't persuade the enemy transports to change course, the Imodris mechs may have decided to destroy a lot of other infrastructure as well.

While certain people in Orinoco sighed in relief, others in Freslin looked furious. In the command center, Ves looked grim.

"I knew it was too good to be true. It looks like we'll be facing the full force of the Vesians after all."

Unlike Ves, Melkor couldn't accept what had happened. As a bona fide Larkinson and a former cadet of the Mech Corps, he found the self-sabotaging actions of the bombers to be a profound betrayal of what it meant to be a citizen of the Bright Republic.

"The Mech Corps won't take this lying down! They'll certainly investigate the bombings after this is over!"

"I know you're angry, Melkor, but this isn't the time to focus your attention on those bastards hiding in Orinoco. We have to get ready to meet the Vesians."

The two lagging transports that previously headed towards Orinoco caught up to the main formation that flew towards Freslin. A tense hour went by as the transports reached a flat and uninhabited plain well outside Freslin. The Vesians deployed jammers at that moment, making detailed observation impossible with the equipment at hand.

"They've set down around forty kilometers away from our base." Melkor noted as he changed the center projection to a plot of the local terrain. "After their mechs embark from the transports, there is a chance they will stop by Freslin first. However, it doesn't have anything in particular worth destroying, so it's likely they'll go for the Mech Nursery as soon as they are deployed."

It did not take long for the Vesians mechs to move. After a brief period of organization, over eighty-five mechs set off in the direction of the Mech Nursery. Long-ranged sensors hidden in the forests around the Mech Nursery caught the broad strokes of the Vesian movements, but lacked the power and sophistication to observe any detailed information such as the type and models of the individual mechs.