Chapter 728: Machines

Chapter 728: Machines

Shane heard the question, but he didn’t answer. Instead, he decided to exit the cockpit and remove his visor…

Just like that, Garren observed the figure who had come out of the cockpit…

Then Garren blinked—his eyes wide in shock and awe.

“C-Commander?! W-wait—That was you?!” Garren blurted out from inside the Juggernaut’s cockpit, dumbfounded.

He THEN watched the figure climb down from the Bastion’s back harness with practiced ease as if he had been doing this for a long time.

“Yes…” Shane nodded lightly, his voice as steady as it had been on the battlefield. “Good fight.”

Inside the cockpit, Garren slumped back into his seat like all the tension in his spine had just vanished. A long sigh escaped him, halfway between disbelief and triumph.

“Holy hell… I challenged the Commander himself… That Chief Rhona must be laughing right now.”

He chuckled, rubbing his face with a gloved hand. “No wonder the damn Bastion wouldn’t budge. That wasn’t just any pilot…”

Shane, meanwhile, turned toward a nearby maintenance screen as one of the Mech technicians approached, holding a tablet.

“Sir, your sync results just came in.”

He glanced at it.

[ Pilot Synchronization Rate: 92%

Frame: AEGIS-04 “Bastion”

Status: Exceptional Compatibility

Recommended Integration: Permanent Assignment ]

Shane raised an eyebrow slightly. That high on a first try?

“Looks like the Bastion likes me,” he muttered with a faint smirk. Rhona, standing behind him with arms crossed, chuckled.

“Tch. Likes you? Does it have that kind of feeling?

Before Shane could answer, gears sounded lightly, and warning lights rotated on the far side of the hangar.

“Right… The pilots were all fired up after hearing that you’re here, Commander. They all wanted a fight…” said Rhona.

“Wait… No. I’m not here for that. Just have the pilots duel with themselves.” Shane immediately said as he wasn’t in the mood for another battle.

Hearing this, Rhona decided not to argue and had the two pilots who were waiting to duel against Shane fight themselves instead.

They didn’t want it at first, but knowing that Shane would watch them, they ultimately agreed.s

Rhona then gestured toward the second dueling bay as she looked at Shane… “You’ll want to see this, Commander.”

“Alright… Let’s watch them.”

Two towering AEGIS-01 Juggernaut frames were being prepped—each 8 meters tall with similar reinforced armor and weapons… They were using the base models of the Juggernaut without customization.

One of the Pilots was Xyrille. She was the Eclipse’s Ace Pilot with the high Sync Rate to all types of Mechs except Juggernaut…

The other was Arris. She was in the same batch as Xyrille, and the only Mech Frame whose Sync Rate was higher than Xyrille, was this Juggernaut.

Their mechs knelt in the launch cradles, arms raised and locking into weapon racks. Twin-linked rotary cannons slid into place on forearms, while pile bunkers hissed as they retracted into elbow ports.

Shane moved closer to the observation deck with a few engineers in tow.

The lights dimmed, and a siren flared once to warn the spectators.

[ Training Match: Live Combat – Full Systems Enabled – No Fatal Damage]

With a rumble, both mechs launched forward, seismic tremors shaking the reinforced floor.

Xyrille’s Juggernaut moved quite fast, and it was on a low stance in controlled footsteps.

This already showed her mechanical skills as she had already grasped the limit of the Mech Frame’s mechanical movement…

She soon activated her pile bunker… It was a bit early, but she didn’t mind. Apparently, it wasn’t to attack her opponent. She instead stabbed into the side wall to ricochet herself at an angle, avoiding a frontal clash. Arris then met her with a heavy shield bash, sparks flying as steel screamed against steel.

CLANG!

This time, Arris moved quickly as rotary cannons spun up and activated…

BRRRRT! BRRRRT!

Shanelaid down suppressive fire, but Xyrille activated Rampage Mode and surged forward with terrifying speed.

“She’s overclocking this early?” Shane murmured as he assessed the skills of the Ace Pilot.

“Yes,” Rhona grinned. “She’s testing Arris’s reflexes.”

Within seconds, the airspace between them became a clash of hydraulic limbs and kinetic shields. The sound of pile bunkers smashing into defensive plates echoed like thunder, making the audience cheer…

It was such a pity that there was no betting stand that was arranged… Perhaps this would have become even more exciting.

Furthermore, this would be such a perfect scene if they had beers or some other snacks while watching this epic battle.

“Whoo! Go Arris! Don’t lose again!”

“Xyrille! You can do it! Just keep it up!”

“Xyrille! Xyrille! Xyrille!”

“Arris! Arris! Arris!”

The audience started cheering as the battle intensified. However, the two pilots didn’t care about the crowd as they focused on their opponents.

Arris countered with a brutal overhead slash, carving a deep scar across Xyrille’s right arm—but the Ace Pilot ducked and rolled with her 8-meter hulk, weaponizing even the mech’s mass.

Then—Xyrille vanished from Arris’s frontal vision.

The Juggernaut’s sensors flared too late.

From above, Xyrille dropped down, pile bunker was activated—BOOM!

It crashed into Arris’s shield at point-blank range. The explosion of momentum staggered the mech, forcing Arris into a sliding retreat.

Xyrille didn’t stop… She spun mid-air with twin cannons blasting, keeping Arris pinned down behind a makeshift debris cover.

“Amazing movements…”

From the command deck, Shane watched in awe as he realized that Xyrille’s title as the Ace Pilot wasn’t just for show. She deserved all the praise given to her…

Her performance seemed as if she had trained for several years.

Still, Shane also appreciated the Mech Frame’s capabilities. The Mechs, though massive, moved with the flow and instinct of warriors.

This would’ve been very difficult if they were using lower-end Mech. This showed the great engineering skills of the crew led by Rhona and Eliot.

Rhona leaned toward Shane…

“We’ve got incredible Ace, right? Xyrille is gunning for a customized Mech Frame… I promised I’d do that with Cloud’s help if her Sync Rate reaches 95%.”

“Hmm… Alright. Cloud can help you with that… Xyrille’s got the edge..” Shane nodded. “But Arris isn’t bad either. Her timing’s tight.”

***

This time, as Arris felt that she was about to lose, she flipped a switch.

[ Warning: Rampage Mode Engaged]

Now both Juggernauts glowed with red hydraulic surges…

They clashed again with earth-shattering force. Of course, Arris believed that she could still win since she just needed to wait for Xyrille’s Rampage Mode to end.

Once that happened, the victory would be hers.

Just like that, Arris got in a solid counter. Her pile bunker rammed into Xyrille’s left knee joint, crippling her mobility.

But Xyrille, using sheer upper body strength, pivoted on her good leg and caught Arris with a horizontal shield sweep that sent her flying.

In the final ten seconds, both Juggernauts roared forward for one last strike.

A double impact.

Then stillness.

Both mechs froze while steaming heavily. The systems locked as the countdown ended.

DRAW.

The hangar erupted in cheers from technicians, engineers, and squadmates watching from the upper decks.

Shane gave a single nod of approval. “Good. Real good.”

Still, he knew that because they weren’t aiming to get a kill, the battle resulted in such a draw. However, Xyrille had plenty of chances to win a while ago.

However, it could be lethal if she failed to control the strength. Even if Cloud and various assisting systems were present, there could still be a problem where the pilot could get seriously injured.

Xyrille didn’t want to take that chance in this practice match.

Nothing was on the line, anyway.

As the towering machines powered down and cockpits hissed open, Shane looked to Rhona.

“Let’s keep running these matches. I want every pilot tested against the Juggernaut. Anyone scoring above 83% sync—prep them for live deployment trials.”

“Yes, Commander.” Rhona saluted, pride in her eyes… She knew that the pilots had shown incredible results…

Shane turned back once more to the hangar, watching the Mech Frames being arranged…

For some time, Shane remained on the observation deck, watching as squad after squad launched into the simulators and even actual training duels with the base-model Juggernauts.

The hangar floor was busy with occasional sounds of clashes, bursts of steam, and hydraulic growls echoing through the Mech Division.

Each pilot brought something new.

Some were methodical, like engineers testing each skill, exploiting range, and anchoring shields with machine-like discipline.

Others were fierce and untamed, piloting their Mech Frames like titanic extensions of raw instinct, crashing into foes with ferocity.

What struck Shane most was how far they’d come.

These weren’t just pilots anymore. They were warriors training to wield titans made of steel and stone.

Rhona occasionally commented from beside him, pointing out combat efficiencies, fuel consumption improvements, and mental load balancing synced through the cockpit AI.

But Shane only half-listened. His thoughts were now elsewhere—toward the Zombie Lords’ Territories!

‘Maybe it’s about time to bring these machines out…’ Shane thought as he felt that the Mech Frames, especially the AEGIS-01 Juggernauts, were more than enough to decimate Zombie Lords!