The Power of Nine: A Mecha LitRPG Adventure (Overdrive Book 2)

by R. H. Tang

  Julian ducked. The arm whizzed over him.

  Then he brought his head back up in a vicious head butt, sending his opponent stumbling back. This time, he flicked his sword rather than stabbed with it. The end pierced the cockpit, and the corpse slammed to the floor. The machine was mostly undamaged. His precise stab had excised the pilot, leaving the Mech behind a dead but almost undamaged shell.

  TWO MINUTES REMAINING

  Two minutes remaining?

  How could all that have happened in just three minutes?

  Julian could have sworn it said that five minutes were remaining half an hour ago.

  Yet another Mech charged, immediately brushing any thoughts out of his mind.

  He had to fight.

  He panted and raised his blade.

  This was all up to him. Felix and Emma were far too frail to enter the corridor. He needed to keep them alive for the last mission. Considering the damage to Julian's Mech, he wouldn't be a lot of use when Zane reappeared.

  His friends were strong. If he carried them here, they'd carry him later.

  He quickly glanced at his statistics as he skewered yet another foe.

  Head: 8%

  Torso: 22%

  Left Arm: 1%

  Right Arm: 70%

  Left Leg: 16%

  Right Leg: Destroyed

  The 1% on his Left Arm referred to the stubborn stump that still hadn't exploded. Of course, the only reason the stump hadn't exploded yet was because all the internal circuits had gotten incinerated when the Artillery units destroyed his shield. It was useful for blocking a few blades, but it couldn't move.

  Other than his right arm, everything else looked destined for the scrap heap. The Mana Dispersal Spike on his left shoulder had already been reduced to rubble.

  Julian took a long breath.

  He still had a single spell charge remaining, but the sparking around the surviving Mana Gatherer Spike worried him. If he cast a spell, there was a small possibility it'd blow his arm off. That'd only happened to Julian one time before, but he couldn't risk it here.

  A sword whizzed towards him.

  He parried it, flipped his blade around, then skewered the opponent.

  Once again, he brushed the irrelevant thoughts out of his head.

  No time to think. Thinking was well and good, but planning ahead with a murderous opponent right in front of you was a fool's game. He was fighting an endless stream of enemies.

  Knowing when not to think was an important skill too.

  Julian slammed his broadsword into yet another opponent. When he'd first started playing, he'd preferred narrower blades. After all, they looked the coolest. But after he tried a thick sword for the first time, he had never looked back.

  The crushing ability was simply too appealing.

  It was even better with an SPG Caster. Although he hadn't used it much this match, a broadsword empowered by Thunderbolt did a disgusting amount of single-target damage.

  Julian smashed another opponent. As he took a brief breather, Felix stepped forward and released a compact spray of bullets.

  The approaching machine crashed to the floor. Then the next charge came, and Felix had no choice but to scurry back into position.

  The two friends cursed.

  That was another problem with their team composition. They hadn't accounted for just how hard it was to play with only three players. Felix had barely done anything all night.

  Perhaps the next time they tried the mission, they should equip the Minesweeper to the Ace. The unusual arrangement would sharply reduce the Roar's performance, but having four decent Mechs was probably better than one outstanding Mech, two decent ones, and one worthless one.

  There was another low stab, and Julian barely moved his foot away in time.

  He cursed again and shook his head.

  What was he doing?

  There was no time to think of the next mission. He was acting like he'd already lost. In reality, they were more than halfway there.

  "I gotta focus."

  With a wrenching upward cut, he sheared off the enemy Mech's head and sent it stumbling back into the one behind it. A blast from Emma took care of both opponents.

  Her accurate shot brought a smile back to Julian's face.

  What was he doing pretending like this match was over?

  Julian's report in the Database from just two months ago claimed that he was a difficult teammate because he was easily discouraged. He'd been doing his best to prove that wasn't the case, but it was still hard to remain positive all the time.

  He'd just finished smashing in another cockpit when there was a sudden brilliant glow. Julian cursed and barely dodged out of the way. The blade passed by so close that it covered up his entire screen.

  He quickly pulled up his sensors.

  "Wait. What?"

  Felix and Emma swore as the incomplete profile popped up in front of them.

  Beam Swordmaster

  Overall Ranking: S

  Specialization: Melee

  As before, the full statistics weren't available, but this mini-boss was evidently a foe to be respected. If its overall ranking was an S, it probably had nearly perfect scores in Melee, Mobility, and Speed.

  ONE MINUTE REMAINING.

  The opponent twirled its blade as it wound up for another strike. If it landed, Julian was dead. The attachment at the side of the arm was a Force Repulser, a strengthening item that used magnetic forces to significantly amplify a Mech's striking power. In exchange for a slight delay in your attacks, you were guaranteed to win any clash of blades. Adding a generator-linked beam sword to that combination was just disgustingly unfair.

  Julian threw his sword.

  The machine brought its blade up to respond, and Julian forced the one-legged SPG Caster to lunge forward with its full strength.

  There was no way he'd defeat an S-tier Beam Swordmaster with a ruined machine in a fair fight.

  He had to get creative.

  He'd fought countless melee duels, and he'd been in this exact position several times before.

  This was different than his newfound analytical skills. In this case, he already knew what to do. When it came to melee combat, Julian was like a chess grandmaster who'd played so many matches that he knew the optimal solutions to every end game state.

  Like DISTINCTIONMAN50000's Hot Pink Hotness, the Beam Swordmaster used a blade attached to an arm-mounted generator.

  Having used a wire-attached sword for years, Julian knew the dangerous weapon's every strength and weakness. It provided increased cutting power—enough to obliterate heavy armor in a single strike—but it was entirely dependent on the external generator. Beam swords that carried their power sources were weaker but more reliable.

  Julian crashed on top of the enemy Mech with a resonant thud. The two machines briefly grappled. The burning blade swung, but before it could shear off his shoulder, Julian yanked back with all his Mech's remaining might. With an enormous clang, the generator disconnected from the arm. The blade vanished. He stumbled forward and crushed the enemy machine's cockpit with an elbow drop.

  Julian let out a long breath.

  He was lucky that worked.

  He raised his sword again.

  There was a tremendous bang, and Julian let out a yelp of surprise as his machine lurched forward. He cursed and picked himself up and off the ground. He tried stumbling back, but it was no use.

  In the time it took for him to dispatch the Beam Swordmaster, the other machines had arrived.

  Emma instinctively ran forward, but Julian shouted at her to stay away. Her thin sniper would go down in just a few attacks.

  "Get back! Get back! Don't save me!"

  She begrudgingly stayed in place.

  There was enough time for them to hold off the final wave. If Julian held the enemies off for just a little longer, Felix and Emma would make the final round. He didn't know what enhanced challenges awaited them, but so long as they survived, they had a c
hance.

  Julian forced his machine to stand again.

  A broad swing of his sword knocked away the enemy unit that'd landed on top of him, but it was only a brief reprieve. The next one immediately piled on top. Julian desperately fought back from the strangling metal tide but to no avail.

  His health dropped lower and lower.

  Julian had to hold off the tide for just a little longer. Then he could collapse the tunnel.

  At this point, it didn't matter if his machine exploded. He was on the brink of death anyway.

  Emma let out a sudden cry.

  "Wait! Wait! Give me the wire! Give me the wire! I can win the next round with the wire!"

  Julian's eyes widened.

  What a smart idea.

  The Beam Swordmaster's generator wire didn't just work with the energy from Paragons. It could work with Mana Dispersal Spikes too.

  He'd been thinking earlier about how he should have added a transfer wire to his machine.

  Now his squad had an unofficial workaround.

  He knocked his assailants aside and then reached for the arm he'd torn away from the Beam Swordmaster. There was another tremendous crash as yet another enemy landed on top of him. The two interlocked Mechs flailed as Julian tried groping for the discarded arm.

  He ordered his Mech to reach out, but nothing happened.

  He'd lost his other hand a long time ago, and he'd briefly forgotten. In the middle of a battle, the minutes felt like years.

  Julian stabbed his sword deep into the machine on top of him and kicked it aside. Leaving his blade buried in the enemy Mech, he grabbed the wired arm and flung it behind him. Emma grabbed it and cheered.

  An empowered shot was exactly what they needed for the last mission. Based on the current mission's pacing, it was very likely that Zane would return. Considering how much damage Emma had done last time, a full-powered attack with energy transferred from Felix's Mech could push them to victory.

  Considering the surviving machines, it was almost certainly their best chance.

  Julian peeked at the timer and smiled.

  There were only ten seconds left.

  He'd gotten through the worst of it. Now it was time to do something reckless and play his very last trump card.

  He tried grabbing his sword again, but it was too far away. The next enemy stomped on Julian's chest then threw a knife right into his face. There was a tremendous bang, and then his vision went out as his eye cameras were destroyed.

  That was fine.

  He was extremely familiar with his orange and gold SPG Caster. In the last two months, he must have played at least a hundred games on it. He knew where his head was, and he knew where the roof was too.

  Before the enemy machine could do anything else, Julian yanked the knife out of his eye. He accelerated toward the ceiling at full speed, turning his thrusters to the maximum setting.

  There was a tremendous crash. The rest of the enemies charged forward, hoping to attack Felix and Emma.

  Julian made a whirling cut with the knife, bringing it all the way around his Mech's body.

  Then he cast Thunderbolt and sheared the knife through the roof.

  It would never be a good idea in real life. The corridor was his only cover. It'd destroy the enemies in front of him, but it'd expose his team to the next wave.

  But this was a game.

  Part of winning Fortress Missions was taking advantage of the game's logic. Because the final stage was an aboveground boss fight, the underground tunnel didn't matter.

  The whole thing fell with an enormous echoing crash.

  COMBO KILL: 8,000 CREDITS!

  Julian was whirled away to the loser's lobby, where Tyler was already waiting.

  Tyler turned to him and grinned.

  "What's up, man? Good to see you again."

  Ominous letters flashed across their screen. Julian's laughter caught in his throat.

  FINAL WAVE HAS ARRIVED.

  ZANE'S GUILT APPROACHING

  20

  "Retreat! Retreat, my men! I shall handle this alone!"

  Julian breathed out a sigh of relief. The mission had gotten much more difficult, but it still kept the same basic shape of the base map. There was still some fairness.

  Minesweeper missions were required to keep the same requirements as their base missions. A one-on-one boss battle had to stay a one-on-one boss battle, but a Fortress Minesweeper mission was so unprecedented that a small part of Julian had feared the rules wouldn't apply.

  In the initial map, you had to fight a one-on-one duel against Zane's father. In this map, Zane himself returned for retribution.

  The army slowly faded as a massive shadow enveloped the battlefield.

  "Cowards! Cowards! Where are you? It's time for me to avenge my fallen brothers!"

  The massive Zane's Grief re-entered to the battlefield. The Mech had been hastily upgraded since the last time they saw him. The loosely spherical Mech looked even more menacing than when it had first formed.

  The overall shape remained the same—a massive sphere with a strange artillery structure protruding from the top with the plumed Mech's torso overlooking an enormous battery of rifles and cannons. However, the earlier damage had been completely repaired, and there was a new set of massive thrusters to each side.

  The booster units were each the size of two Mechs stacked on top of each other. The panels on the enhanced thrusters flipped open, revealing row after row of rocket launchers.

  Tyler cursed softly under his breath. Julian shook his head.

  A quick stats checked revealed that the Mech's statistics and weapons were identical before, save for the addition of the two Weaponized Booster Units. But even though the stats were the same, Julian knew that the performance had increased even further. The new Zane's Guilt was likely in the S-tier's upper echelons in both Shooting and Speed.

  The port in the chest opened, and the massive Vengeance Cannon gleamed.

  Even though she was hidden inside the building, Emma still instinctively raised her rifle as soon as she saw the Mech's vulnerable cannon. Then she cursed. The former weak spot was now protected by an incredibly thick layer of laminated armor. A plate covered up the barrel, allowing Zane to charge until it was finally time to fire fully.

  Purple lightning gathered. There was a brief sizzle, and then the roof completely exploded. The new Vengeance Barrage struck so quickly that it was nearly invisible. The only trace of the special attack's existence was a faint purple mist in the air.

  The Vengeance Cannon returned to the protected center area as the gate closed. Zane's signature attack had become far more powerful.

  CLICK.

  The rifles loaded together, and then fired as one, devastating the next floor down. Zane planned to reduce the base to smoldering rubble.

  Emma murmured beneath her breath.

  "I can do this. I can do this."

  She had very little time. She needed to reconstruct the transfer wire before the Vengeance Cannon fired again.

  Emma detached the wire from the salvaged arm and connected it between her left-side Mana Dispersal Spike. Then she threaded it through both of Felix's Spikes to maximize her power. Just one look at the new Zane's Vengeance told her that transferring energy from a single Spike wouldn't be enough.

  The two machines were now anchored together in an extremely awkward fashion. Felix's machine had scrunched its shoulders tightly together so that the short cable—only meant to connect a machine's arm with its shoulder—could fit.

  When Emma stepped forward, the bulky Minesweeper-equipped machine was dragged awkwardly behind her. Felix laughed, then started scuffling his legs to shunt their combined Mech forward. The shambling movement vaguely resembled a three-legged race.

  Instead of walking up to the rooftop, they climbed out of the destroyed tunnel rooftop, re-emerging far from the soon-to-be doomed secret base. It was a good thing the hidden loot only spawned after the mission was complete. Otherwise, Zane wou
ld have destroyed it.

  Once she entered her firing range, Emma hefted her rifle.

  Instead of firing, she froze and lowered it.

  "Huh?"

  "What's wrong?"

  She couldn't hear them. It seemed like the Loser Lobby's communications wire only opened up during the brief period when the stage cleared. No wonder Tyler had been so quiet. Julian had been far too focused to notice.

  She raised it back up to firing height.

  This time, Julian and Tyler saw it. They cursed.

  The weight of Felix's Mech was jerking back Emma's arm every time she raised it to shoot. It changed everything about how she approached her usual shooting form.

  The Vengeance Cannon emerged once again and decimated the remainder of the building. Rubble blew through the air.

  The second floor completely collapsed.

  Zane cackled as he continued firing indiscriminately. He couldn't see Emma or Felix, but he didn't need to, not with so much firepower.

  "Where are you?"

  "Where are you hiding?"

  The Vengeance Cannon appeared once again, but Emma couldn't shoot for it because of the increased armor.

  She had to blast straight through the cockpit. She had the power to do it, but only a single opportunity. If she fired, she'd immediately give away her position. Zane didn't need the Vengeance Cannon to destroy her. Just a few scattered missiles would do the job just fine.

  Emma raised the cannon as smoke from the devastated building blew through the battlefield. The cockpit was just a speck on the massive Zane's Guilt.

  Even missing by a little bit wouldn't do her any good.

  Julian held his breath as Emma hefted her rifle again for a third time, desperately trying to adjust to the bizarre weight on her back.

  Zane's laughter morphed into rage as he continued firing.

  It was good thinking by Emma and Felix to sneak out.

  "Where are you?"

  "Where are you?"

  "Show yourself!"

  "Show yourself, you coward!"

  Emma would have to shoot him soon. After destroying the building, the AI would know to scan the ruins.