The Mech Touch

Chapter 7597 The Amazing Adaptability of Woodsap Mechs

The Amazing Adaptability of Woodsap Mechs

As amazing as his Woodsap mechs could be, it was hard for them to unleash their full potential when they were running low on resources.

Their rapid regeneration that allowed them to bounce back from heavy strikes time and time again put an enormous drain on their reserves.

Without enough TE Wood or compatible biomass in the vicinity, the advanced Carmine mechs could no longer replenish their organic frames as quickly or as extensively as before.

Without enough energy, they could not properly fuel the processes that allowed them to fight and restore themselves on the battlefield.

The Terran test pilots should have made the decision to return to their motherships so that they could properly replenish themselves.

However, they did not do so for two reasons.

One of them was that their side was already short-handed on the battlefield. Any withdrawal had a chance to trigger a catastrophic cascade.

The other reason was that returning to their mothership would not help them as much. The combined fleet had already depleted a considerable amount of Gaia Trees and other sources of biomass in prior engagements. The latest fight had expended practically everything that remained, which meant that it was impossible for the Woodsap mechs to get what they needed when they returned!

"In fact, there is a third reason why those Terran pilots chose to stay in the thick of combat." Gloriana mentioned. "That reason is cannibalization. Every time a Woodsap mech falls, it usually leaves behind enough usable debris that other intact biomechs can use to repair their own damaged frames. This has greatly extended the longevity of the biomechs that remained. Let me show you a presentation that I have made."

The projector displayed an information-dense graph that tracked the physical conditions of all of the Woodsap mechs from the start of the battle.

As time passed by, many of the lines dipped below 100 percent, which indicated that they sustained damage.

Certain biomechs hardly got hit after many minutes of fighting, but others endured such frequent attacks that they suffered multiple impacts that should have crippled them already!

However, these biomechs often managed to drag their physical conditions above 70 percent in short order, which signified that their amazing regeneration processes worked as intended.

Yet nothing lasted forever.

In the latter half of the battle, some of the lines began to dip straight to 0 percent regardless of how much the Woodsap mechs fought to endure in the field.

Usually, suffering losses should have made it harder for the remaining mechs to sustain themselves, as the enemy could concentrate their firepower on fewer targets.

Yet that did not happen.

Each time a Woodsap mech fell apart, at least half-a-dozen biomechs that happened to be positioned close enough experienced significant improvements to their physical integrity!

They healed by as much as 20 percent over a span of a few dozen seconds!

For many of these struggling biomechs, that was enough restoration for them to last for another couple of minutes!

This pattern repeated often enough to prove that this was not a coincidence, but a real pattern and a proven battle tactic.

This was most definitely a rare but beneficial advantage of his product!

Although cannibalization possessed a negative connotation, Ves was sure that he could spin this phenomenon in a positive light.

Killing off Woodsap mechs did not necessarily make the rest of their units weaker.

Instead, the surrounding biomechs drew strength from their fallen comrades and were able to fight with greater vigor!

However, as Ves studied the lines and took note of which organic machines persisted and which ones fell, he spotted a concerning pattern.

A frown appeared on his face.

"This loss pattern does not appear fair or random. Among the prototype biomechs, the standard human machines have been brought low three times as much as the more exotic elven variants. Did the Saint Commander or the Second Elf deliberately choose to sacrifice one for the other?"

Gloriana shook her head. "I took notice of this as well, and already conducted a small inquiry. The answers given to me by the Second Elf and the surviving test pilots makes it clear that it is not a top-down decision. The Terran soldiers themselves decided on this strategic direction. None of them are stupid, Ves. Even if not many of them are orthodox first-class multipurpose mech pilots, they still know which biomechs are more effective than others."

"Are you saying that these Terran pilots conducted a performance analysis while they were in the thick of the action?"

"Apparently, so, Ves. It is not as absurd as you make it sound. The pilots of the standard human version are already aware of the disparity in performance. Past engagements as well as training sessions have already exposed a gap that almost none of them can surmount. They made an honest assessment of themselves and concluded that they could not produce as many results as their elven counterparts when given the same amount of resources and opportunities."

While this was not an absolute rule, Ves himself already knew that this was true. He conducted much more extensive studies on the performance parameters of the different variants and knew that the gap could not be chalked up to coincidence or statistical uncertainty.

The Elven Edition of the Arboreal Project enjoyed far too many advantages.

They were piloted by elves personally blessed and transformed by Gaia.

The biomechs forged a much stronger pact with their exotic partners.

Their affinity with the wood element had improved, allowing them to channel and process Wood E energy more efficiently.

Their physical regeneration sped up while also consuming less resources.

Their performance increased whenever they fought in the vicinity of intact Gaia Trees.

Furthermore, the bodies of elven mech pilots received greater protection and fortification while they remained inside the cockpits.

This directly increased their chances of surviving blows that would have ordinarily killed their more fragile human colleagues!

Frankly speaking, the unexpected emergence of the elven race and the development of the Elven Edition of his Woodsap mechs sometimes made Ves question whether there was still a point of servicing his human customers.

Many Terrans had already become convinced that his Woodsap mechs were tailor made for the emerging elves!

While humans could also make good use of the products of the Arboreal Project, they fell so far behind that it was difficult to justify their inclusion.

This pressure became particularly acute in times of crisis and resource scarcity!

What happened over the course of the Battle of Hypeh-Tekas II could be regarded as a direct consequence of this disparity in performance.

Human mech pilot after human mech pilot voluntarily closed in on their alien targets and attracted the greatest proportion of firepower onto their organic machines.

Despite all of their tenacity and adaptation, the enemy firepower proved too much for many of them. Yet the living mechs and sometimes their human pilots willingly welcomed their demise knowing that their sacrifice replenished the conditions of their superior elven counterparts!

The elven Woodsap mechs did not let these sacrifices go to waste. Their elves put their full focus on inflicting as much damage onto their targets while trying to evade as much incoming strikes in return.

They fought strategically with a remarkably clear awareness that they formed the linchpin on the assault against the alien orbital defense network!

Defensive platform after defensive platform fell under their precise firepower.

Alien phasefighters got blown into pieces in quick succession by coordinated attack volleys that always trapped them inside unescapable kill boxes.

The elven Woodsap mechs tried to harness and channel as much of the poisonous life energies in the environment as they could.

Even if they did not dare to absorb all of it directly, they were still able to generate beneficial effects just by shaping the free-floating energies in special ways!

The human pilots and biomechs could never do this without receiving instructions. They had never been taught the theory and methods to manipulate life E energy in such a manner.

However, the elven pilots all seem to have acquired many gifts from their new patron and goddess. As part of their species transformation, they also gained an unknown number of innate abilities and techniques that allowed them to wield a fraction of Gaia's power!

Although the effects were not too pronounced this time, any measure made a difference during this pitched battle.

As Ves continued to study the curated footage, he lamented the willing sacrifices of human Woodsap mechs while also applauding the superior performance of the elven biomechs.

He also happened to take note of another interesting phenomenon.

This was a pattern that he already spotted after previous engagements, but the much greater pressure of this particular battle basically supercharged this practice!

"My creations are continuously evolving in real-time." He remarked. "They are not stubbornly holding on to the standard parameters of their original design. In fact, it is the opposite. Every time they endure damage, their restored parts always deviate a bit from their prior conditions. Actually, they do not even have to wait to get damaged before making adaptations to their organic parts. These biomechs are actively implementing modifications on their own initiative!"

Although this phenomenon only truly kicked off during the latter half of the battle, it was still an amazing sight to behold to Ves.

At first a single elven Woodsap mech began to slim down.

The wooden mech frame grew thinner and weaker.

Redundant or less effective weapon systems slowly broke down so that the available biomass and other advanced materials could be used to repair or strengthen more essential parts.

On the whole, this Woodsap mech actively grew weaker, but that was the right decision to make.

Ves called up a few data logs and immediately noticed that the very same Woodsap mech managed to become a lot more efficient in the process!

Energy consumption dropped by over 35 percent, which made an enormous difference at this stage of the battle!