Chapter 108: Encirclement

While the Narsian Ambush sprung from the outside of their ranks, most of the force was trapped in the middle of the Kepler Mecha squads formation. Artillery shells from the Battle Cannons continued to rain down on them, while the Giants rushed out to meet the enemy head-on.

Despite the fact that Max brought greater numbers the giants still had the edge in close combat numbers, since most of the Crusaders were long-range focused, and the Line Mecha weren't their equals one on one.

But to get there, they would have to withstand the full fury of a Kepler Mecha barrage. They couldn't do anything about the Battle Cannons, which were out of the main camp's range and not close enough to the ambush teams for them to stop, so staying in place wasn't an option. Instead, they all charged for the encirclement, opening themselves to incoming fire that they hoped would be less damaging than what was landing in their camp.

With the heavy weapons emplacements expertly taken out by the first volleys of artillery, the return fire as the mecha approach is minimal, but large portions of the force have turned around to stop the attackers that are coming from behind.

If Max could see them, he would shake his head in shame. For an attack from behind, the standard procedure is to switch every second Mecha around so that the main target wasn't left unattended, but entire wings turned to face their opponents, leaving large gaps in the advancing lines, just as the Narsians intended.

[Spread and fill the holes] Nico's angry voice comes over everyone's intercoms, and they hurry to obey.

They were mostly successful at taking the Narsian countercharge, but some giants still snuck through the holes in the lines to attack the back of the units who turned to deal with the ambushes.

For a moment, the two circles are a confused melee, as the outnumbered Giants look for ways to get at the relatively defenseless long-range mecha and to take out the Line Mecha who make up the majority of the bodies that are trapping them in for this attack.

While the Kepler squad leaders shout orders at their wings to deal with the most imminent threats, the Narsian commanders do the same, their roaring language unintelligible to Max. It isn't one of the languages that Kepler's translation software recognizes, so Stalwart can't translate their deployment orders for him.

Max moves forward, locking onto dozens of targets before cycling up his Pulse Laser Array and blasting the backs of two of the ambushers as he approaches at the head of the artillery squad.

They roar something back at him, and a particularly large Narsian, standing a full head taller than the rest of his unit lifts his hammer in a challenge, then throws it at Stalwart. The Narsian weapons have a disruptive energy field around them that causes strong vibrational damage to anything they hit, in addition to the force of the weapon itself, but the shield on Stalwart has no trouble with such simple attacks, knocking the flying metal weapon to the ground with a simple flash of energy on impact.

The failure seems to have enraged the giant, and he pulls a large sword as he rushes toward the giant mecha, every step covering a half dozen meters of ground.

The effort is doomed though, as the twin Plasma Shotguns flash and the heavy armor over his body vaporizes, leaving only a lower torso and legs to collapse on the swampy ground, dying the teal leaves with the Giant's blood.

Since the rest of his unit is already engaged, the Pulse Lasers from Stalwart tear into their backs with impunity, felling a Giant with every strike while Max continues onwards towards the main fight.

The sound of all three of the Rail Guns on Tarith's Rage shatters the air, before the keening wail of the serrated blade being forced through the air begins and another round of Narsian orders are shouted out.

Only this time, someone shouts back at them, using the intercom of a Crusader Class Mecha.

Nico has analyzed enough of their language to decipher the basics of the insults that they have been shouting at the Kepler Mecha, and she is taunting them back in their own language.

In order to take down a Crusader Class Mecha, they would need at least four team members or a lucky shot with a heavy weapon, so the Narsians divert a few of their warriors from where they are locked in combat with the Line Mecha to go deal with the rude red Mecha's Pilot.

"You got this Stalwart?" Nico laughs, realizing that Max is looking straight at the unprotected backs of the Giants running her way.

Max sighs and turns his Pulse Lasers on them, following with a blast from the Plasma Shotguns, before Nico cuts down the last of the five with her sword in a single strike.

With the Line Mecha holding the giants away from the more heavily armed Mecha, the battle has turned into a slaughter. Crusaders are firing at will, blasting away Narsian infantry by the handful every second, and the ambush forces are getting ready to flee.

[Keep them engaged. We don't need infiltration attacks hitting the infantry later tonight.] Max orders, in case some of the pilots had the idea to let them escape and prevent more damage to their units.

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A cornered enemy is a dangerous enemy, but it is more dangerous to let them live.

The Narsian forces are nearly obliterated when suddenly Max's radar fills with red dots of unidentified movement. Not hours away, and not at the edge of the swamp, like most of the movement that the Satellites detect, no this is detected by Stalwart's own sensors, and it is under twenty kilometers away and approaching fast.

[We've been detected. All units fall back into the forest and converge on my position.] Max instructed, moving to a small hill where they had detected extremely deep holes under the water on two sides.

That should limit the number of attackers they will be facing at one time, and give the ranged mecha somewhere to fire from.

As the Narsians fall, the unit retreats, preparing for additional incoming.

By the numbers, they are over five hundred strong, with unknown equipment, but clearly aware of the battle that just raged here.

Not that they could have missed it. Between the glow of the energy weapons, and the sound of Rail Guns and Battle Cannons, they would have to be deaf and blind or dead to not notice, and even then there was a good chance they might.

The enemy is almost on them when they are finally in position, but they do get themselves arranged for a close combat charge before the Narsians are in sight.

The first sign that they have been spotted is the Plasma Cannons, heavy weapons being fired on the run, forsaking accuracy for the ability to engage without stopping. They are strong enough to make it work, and a number of light mecha go down with assorted damages, while the Crusaders take minimal blows to their armor. The curved armor plates of the Redemption Pattern Crusaders are among the finest of any army's equipment, a single shot from an infantry-sized Plasma Cannon won't take them out.

Over the heads of the Light Mecha in front, the heavy weapons roar out their reply, lighting up the sky again, as they did with the first attack.

The Line Mecha brace for impact, but just before the Narsians reach them Bulwark and another Crusader with a combat shield step forward to block a large section of the forces, with Tarith's Rage between them, crouching to sweep low with her sword, forcing the Narsians to try to stop or risk losing their heads.

It was perfectly timed, even without coordinated orders, and the center of the charge faltered. Then the left flank falls into the deep underwater hole, flailing for purchase in the mud before being blasted apart by the ranged attackers they were trying to reach.

[Full rate of fire. After this we will return for resupply.] Max orders, picking dense clusters of Narsian signatures to target with his high explosive Battle Cannon rounds.

He didn't bother loading anything else this time. Even if the Narsians have armor on the planet, they're not bringing it into this forsaken swamp, so the weapon is best suited to artillery duty and eliminating large groups of enemies at once.

The Giants quickly learn to fear the blue light of his Pulse Lasers, moving behind cover when he pans the weapon in their direction. They are clearly shouting obscenities at him, though Max can't understand the words.

"There's only one thing to do then. Repay the favor." Max chuckles to himself in the cockpit of Stalwart, switching his targeting method to fully randomized, splitting his fire as much as possible to hit Narsians dozens of meters apart at nearly the same time, while the Plasma Shotguns take out anyone brave enough to stand in front of Stalwart.

[Light Mecha casualties 20 percent] comes the automated message from his computer and Max surveys the battleground while firing at whatever target seems convenient.

Most of them aren't dead, just disabled, so once the battle is over they should be able to recover the mecha and drag them back to base.

As they themselves did to the Narsians, Max's patrol has found themselves surrounded. There are enemies on every side, but with the impassible waters on two sides, the ranged mecha are still clearing the Narsian force at a steady rate, despite the heavy damages they are taking in return. One after another the Giants fall until they are at under a quarter strength, causing their commanders to signal the retreat.

[Do Not give chase. Gather up the wounded and the damaged mecha and let's get back to base.] Max orders, his mind slowing from the fast-paced thought processes of battle to a more sedate speed, reducing the flow of endorphins and adrenaline into his system. It's a side effect Max hadn't considered. Faster thinking causes an increased stress response, which releases more adrenaline, further heightening combat effectiveness in the short term, but causing a crash in the long term when the adrenaline wears off.

He will have to learn to control his excitement even more or at least train his body to handle it. As it is, his hands are shaking, and he isn't sure if he will be able to pilot smoothly for the walk back.

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