Chapter 729: Technicians
The AEGIS Frames were built as fortress guardians, designed to repel major assaults from a huge Zombie Horde or any form of breach events… But Shane had other plans.
For now, they remained dormant giant machines, fixed inside the defensive walls of the shelter…
However, that was going to change really soon as the quality of the pilots was higher than he had expected.
Should could already imagine it.
“They’ve been too passive for too long,” Shane muttered under his breath.
Rhona glanced at him. “Sir?”
“I’m considering an assault… using Mech Frames.”
Rhona’s brow arched slightly. “An offensive deployment? Beyond the walls? I mean… Are you targeting a specific shelter? Do you have something in mind? ”
Rhona folded her arms as she considered the complications or the problems that may arise if that happened…
“Commander… With all due respect, they were never meant for long-distance excursions. The energy draw alone—”
“I know…” Shane nodded. “We’ve tested their operating limits. Too much drain. We don’t have the mobile generators or battery caskets strong enough yet. And even if we did, the frames would have to halt every few kilometers for a full recharge or sync recalibration.”
“That’s why they’re defensive units,” Rhona said again, but more like an echo. “They’re tanks that don’t roam. We still lack the technology for that… ”
Shane smirked faintly.
“I don’t like leaving these Mech Frames here forever. I plan to fix the energy problem. We’ve already sent a message to the Elven Craftsmen, right? I think that with my help, we’ll have stabilized mana crystallization through that World Tree’s Bloom Process, haven’t they?”
“Huh? What’s that?” Rhona was confused at the last part.
Shane jolted as it was actually a matter that only those from the Fairy Realm knows.
“Haha… Nothing… Just think of it as a better method to use Mana Stones.”
Rhona blinked. “Mana Stones as fuel conversion cores? Well… You already saw the problem with the Phantom. I guess you already had a plan. That’s good.”
“Exactly. Furthermore, we’re using larger high-tier ones. The sizes of the Mana Stones matter a lot… Once we get the relay field stabilized, we’ll have a perfect Mech Frames soon.”
Rhona was quiet for a moment. She trusted Shane’s plan. “…And with that, we wouldn’t need to worry about retreating mid-op.”
“Or charging stations. Or exposed convoys.” Shane said. “The Mechs can march into a Zombie Lord’s nest… and burn it to the ground with this method.”
By the time the last practice match ended, the hangar’s main lights were dimmed slightly…
Soon, the cooling fans slowed as the temperature dropped… Many pilots had already returned to their quarters, but some stayed, watching replays of their matches on the side terminals or stretching near their Mechs, still in their suits.
Shane remained leaning on the observation railing with his eyes fixed below.
He saw Arris laughing with two other pilots, gesturing to a scene from her match replay where she’d nearly caught Xyrille in a counter. Her face was flushed with sweat and excitement…
Shane smiled, seeing that her body language relaxed. Not out of cockiness, but pride. She was pleased with the way she fought against the Ace Pilot.
And Xyrille, off to the side, sitting on one of the Mech’s armored boots, just remained silent… Her expression unreadable, but he was focused, watching the footage of the final seconds of the match on her personal datapad.
She was rewinding, rewatching, and calculating her moves for her future battles.
She knew she could’ve won. And more importantly, Shane knew she held back for safety.
That kind of control impressed him more than any flashy move ever could.
As Shane turned to leave, Rhona walked beside him.
“You’re really going to launch a raid, aren’t you? How long would that be? Please give us a month or two.”
“That’s too long… Maybe in just seven days or so… We start small. Maybe recon first. Then the forward team with Mech support.”
“We have to do a lot of preparations then. Are you thinking of deploying five Mech Frames?” She asked.
“Just five Juggernauts should be enough…” Shane replied.
“Anyway, I’ll visit the Elven workshops tomorrow. They’re stationed just near the Warden Units Division, correct?”
“Yeah. Cloud should be assisting them right now…”
Shane gave a half-smile. “Let them know I’ll visit them soon since we’ll need them in two weeks.”
“Understood, Commander.”
The following morning, Shane visited the workshop where the Elves are.
It didn’t take long before he saw the Elven Mana Technicians work in quiet harmony. They were all tall, graceful figures with lustrous robes lined and light crystal tools floating beside them like obedient birds…
This sight was completely different from the engineers and mechanics in the hangar…
A voice called out after a few moments.
“Commander Shane, you honor us.”
The speaker was Eiralenya, a tall elf with pale green hair. Her presence was as graceful as ever, but her bearing hinted at someone used to commanding immense arcane forces.
“I heard you’re close to making them stable,” Shane said as he nodded respectfully.
“Closer than ever,” she replied, gesturing for him to follow.
“The Mana Stones you extracted from somewhere still had some hints of World Tree’s blessing… unlike anything we’ve seen so far. Crystalline purity above 98%. The energy density is off the charts—enough to overload traditional magic circuits, and even some mech reactors. But we’re learning.”
Obviously, the Mech Reactors were new to them. Still, they were working really hard to compensate for their lack of experience with the combined magic and advanced tech.
Shane looked around and soon, they saw a transparent bridge of mana strands, which flexed subtly underfoot. Beneath them, light cascaded into open air, merging into mana streams that fueled the room…
As they walked, Shane observed elven engineers or craftsmen.
Apparently, they were called Crystalwrights and Mana-Smiths back in the Fairy Realm. However, they were simply called Technicians by everyone in the Division for uniformity…
“How’s the progress?”