[201-400] THE MECH'S TOUCH

Chapter 393: Unseen Threat

Perhaps the pressure had been too much for him, because Sir Ravanac eventually gave in to his fears. "Pull back!"

In his consideration, it was better to retreat and claim that the intelligence officers screwed up by underestimating the defenses of the facility they were supposed to destroy. At worst, he'd receive a reprimand. He could always regain his honor in subsequent battles.

If he instead pressed on with the attack, he might be able to break the defenders, but he might also lead his unit to a bad end. In that case, the consequences would be much more dire. Losing his knighthood was the worst thing that could happen to him.

Once he lost the protection of his elevated status, his enemies among the Legion would certainly pounce on him. He'd lose everything he'd worked for these past couple of decades.

The Chasseurs slowly receded from the gap. The defenders didn't follow, as they weren't in a state to pursue. Only a third of their mechs still possessed the strength to fight back, which was way too little to pose a significant threat to the diminished Chasseurs.

In order to guard against any further sneak attacks, Sir Ravanac's mech joined the most intact mechs at the rear guard. As the Chasseurs gradually quickened their pace, the defenders realized that they successfully repelled the Vesians.

"We did it! They're gone!"

"What a hell!"

"Where did those laser beams come from?"

As the mechs at the walls celebrated their success, both the Oodis Mudriders and Walter's Whalers experienced the same thing. The Meandering Monkeys completely gave up on their harassment and pulled back to escort the deflated Chasseurs back to their transport ships.

Almost no one could believe they pulled it off. Even as they celebrated their success, they still held a lot of doubts.

"Alright men, knock it off! The Vesians may still change their minds! Start policing the battlefield and make sure to replenish your supplies!"

The different outfits quickly went into action. They retrieved their fallen mechs and pushed aside the hollow wrecks of the Vesian mechs. All of their pilots managed to eject to safety long ago, so the defenders had no scruples about moving them away.

In actuality, the mechs held a lot of value. After handing them over to repair shops, the mechs could be brought back to working condition. The defenders already started contemplating their salvage rights.

This was one of their rights, and while other employers might quibble over how to distribute or retain the wrecks, Ves could care less where they ended up. After a few detours, Ves wearily returned to the command center and watched the center projection for the latest movements.

"Where are the Vesians?"

"The 1st Meandering Monkeys and the 5th Vavulan Chasseurs are in the process of boarding their transports, sir." Someone reported.

"Have they left any mechs behind?"

"Not as far as we are aware of, sir."

Ves worriedly waited for the Vesians to make a move. The worst part about it was that due to the jamming, they couldn't get any detailed or reliable readings of their movements. For all they knew, the Vesians managed to pull the wool over their eyes and maneuvered around for another attack.

"Detecting ship movements! The transports are lifting off!"

Fortunately, some things couldn't be hidden, and the massive amount of power needed to lift a number of transports carrying lots of mechs could be observed from dozeons of kilometers away.