The party got to The Pit around 1:00 pm. They paid their fee; this time, even Steve insisted on paying his part. They got assigned 4 machines in the back of the Pit. Without much complaint, the four of them climbed to their pods.
As they logged in, they found the workshop empty. They formed a party and flashed into the lobby for warlord battles before anyone came.
Warlord Battles mode worked differently from operations. In this mode, players were placed in two different groups, better known as factions. One was called the white faction, the other was the black faction. These terms were taken from chess.
The warlords for the Factions were chosen by the amount of experience accumulated by the pilots in the current level. At this time in his old life, Mark was starting the third pilot level. He had no chance of being the warlord. The one who was chosen Warlord was given a crown that showed above their game ID for the duration of the battle.
Different from the Operations game mode, in Warlord Battles, there were multiple ways of winning. This property gave the game mode a more strategic gameplay for the pilots. There were three different ways of winning the war game.
The first was to kill the enemy Warlord. The second was to capture all the checkpoints and hold them for three in-game minutes. Checkpoints were defensible positions of strategic value. These strategic points were scattered across the game map. Finally, the last one was to kill all of the enemy's army. This last one was the hardest because every time a checkpoint was captured, a certain number of respawns were given to the army.
An aspect that most people disliked about this game mode was that it allowed all mech grades, without distinction, to fight each other. Lots of people complained that it was unfair to have D-grade mechs struggling against A-grade machines. Their complaints fell on deaf ears. The purpose of this mode was to simulate real battles; there is no such thing as fairness in a real war. After all, in a real clash of steel and fire, might makes right.
Mark and the teens flashed into the waiting room for the Warlord Battles mode. There was a multitude of mechs and pilots in the room. Everyone was waiting for the rooms to fill. The warlord battles mode needed 1000 players, 500 on each side, to begin. Mark and the others were at a party, and they had their own private channel. Because of this, they were spared from the chaos of the open comm-channel.
Mark looks around. "Are we joining the army, or are we going to do are own thing?"
"Marksman, since when do we follow the warlord's plans? Let's do our own thing." Steve responded while looking at Mark's image displayed on the monitors of his machines.
"Well, I for once agree with Steve." Scarlet declared through her com-channel.
Alex typed in a message of support for Steve's choice. "I agree, let's do our own thing."
"OK, we will do our own thing." Mark yielded to peer pressure.
Alex pointed everyone's attention to a spot in the waiting room, where a group of McCain Reapers seemed to be planning their own strategy. The mech made by Mark and the others had a D grade on the 3rd pilot level, but it was still useful. Being a cheap machine, the McCain Reaper was bound to find users on every level it was present.
At the same time, many players are looking at Mark's group. With two A-grade and two B-grade machines, their party stands out. On average, people of the first pilot levels tend to have C-grade and D-grade mechs, which was because of the cost of high-grade machines. A gathering of such mechs was a rare sight. Even Mark's original Machine, The Prescott M3, was a C-grade mech. It was due to the recent windfall that he was piloting an upgraded version.
The elegance of the Majestic Peri got Alex a lot of attention. This bothered the teen. She tried to hide behind Mark's Prescott M3 Deluxe, but since his mech was also an A-grade machine, the teen was unsuccessful. A stream of party invites and friend requests poured down to all of the members of the party.
Mark's thoughts started to form a plan. "Say, if we are going to make our own thing, why not do it with our own little army?"
Steve got excited in his cockpit. "LET'S DO THIS!"
"If there are a few fliers, can I be the leader of the sky team?" Scarlet asked with a hopeful expression on her comm-channel. Her waifu face spoke with sparkling puppy eyes.
They started to accept the party merger request. By the time the launch counter started, they had a group of 65 mechs besides their own machines. This ragtag army was formed by an assortment of different mech models.
They had 5 heavy artillery mechs. 20 rifleman mech, 12 were focused on assault, and 8 were focused on defense. 14 machines had flight capacity, 6 of them were medium-sized, and 8 were light machines. 8 defensive type mechs with 5 guardians and 3 sentinels. 1 support mech with a dedicated sensor backpack. 12 harasser mechs, 6 were light, and 6 were medium machines. 4 scout mechs, all of them light machines, and 1 sniper mech, this completed the brigade. The young man was now leading the mismatch group.
Mark had a sizeable force. All they needed to set up their strategy was to know the map of the battle. Warlord Battles used the same maps as all other game modes. Mark was banking on playing in familiar terrain. But overall all he planned to take over a checkpoint and defend it.
He was determined to set up a place where the heavy mechs of his brigade could rain fire over the enemy. This kind of place was known as a fire support base, or F.S.B. for short. The brigade could also send teams to attack the enemy from this location.
These kinds of strategies were common for people at pilot level 5 and over. Players on the third pilot level were teens and young adults; they lacked any sort of organizational skills. Most players started getting their act together around the fourth pilot level.
Having been to real battles in his past life, Mark had a wealth of experience in this sort of thing. Because of this, he was able to reach pilot level 9. Soon after, he retired as a mech pilot to pursue other things. While he was back at the third pilot level, on account of his regression, He had an immense advantage over the rest of the players. They still had not developed the necessary skills to command and organize a decent Mech force.
The warlord for Mark's faction, the black faction, was chosen. The player who got the crown was a pilot with a game ID that read Publius-Q.V. Mark, and his team paid little attention to this player. Instead, their attention was focused on the announcement that the young man wanted to see; the map location was revealed.
The lost city of Ys. This was an urban map based on an ecumenopolis, in other words, a city that covered the entire surface of a planet. Mark was elated by this.
Some maps in A.M.S. caused a lot of impact on the players. The environments, the landscapes are full of alien and exotic vistas with colorful foliage. This planet, however, caused a different kind of impact. The gray and quiet stillness of the streets. The tall and broken skyline covered the entire region. The abandoned living spaces with furniture still in them.
These things caused an eerie atmosphere that drove the players to create their own fictional lore about the area. Some said that the planet was deserted because of a pandemic. Others claimed it was an alien attack, a cruel genocide of other species in the galaxy that hated humans. Some even described hordes of flesh-eating zombies.
In Mark's eyes, however, he had reached the perfect place to enact his plan. The young man was familiar with the map; in his past life, he had played in it hundreds of times.
As they all spawned, the young man looked at their spawning location. Almost immediately, he identified 3 different locations suitable for a fire support base. He asked Scarlet to go scout them all. The rest of the brigade moved to the closest point. As a rule, mechanized armies marching on land moved as fast as their slowest unit. In this case, the five heavy artillery mechs.
After a few minutes, Scarlet's report came back; the checkpoint near them was empty, but the other two Mark had in mind were occupied. Mark asked Steve to take a raiding force and secure the empty checkpoint, a place known as the abandoned mall.
It was not long before the sound of battle emerged; distant laser fire and explosions started to sound in the direction of the enemy encampment. Their faction had started the fight. Steve, for his part, succeeded in securing the checkpoint without much effort. Only a few light enemy mechs were running around and taking advantage of the empty checkpoints. Steve and his Raiders made quick work of them. Scarlet, Alex, and the rest of the fliers supported them from the air.
Once Mark and the rest of the brigade arrived, they set up the fire support base in the parking lot for the abandoned mall. That area had a lot of space, perfect for the heavy mechs. To improve sensor coverage, the support mech was set up near the artillery battery. Using an old trick he learned in his former life, the young man linked up the sensor suites of the heavy mechs to the support mech. This was done to increase the area of sensor coverage. With this, the artillery battery was able to bombard most of the map from their location.
To protect the heavy mechs, he assigned the five guardian mechs, placing them around the heavy machines. The three sentry machines, supported by other mechs, will form a patrolling route around the area of the abandoned mall. This way, attacking mechs could be spotted before they reached the F.S.B
The difference between a Guardian mech and a Sentinel mech came down to the weapon load-outs and their movement speeds. Guardians used close-quarter weapons like swords, clubs, and spears. The large bulk of armor caused them to move slowly. While sentinels use ranged weapons that concentrate in area denial, such as shotguns, high-capacity machine guns, or flame throwers. The movement speed of the sentilel mechs was often faster, but not by much. Both tend to use shields; however, guardian-type roles have larger shields.
Mark set up three teams to guard the perimeter; two of the teams had one sentry mech and three defensive rifleman machines. The remaining team consisted of two defensive riflemen and one sentry machine. Dividing their patrol routes into three different colors, he established a defensive perimeter around the F.S.B. To reinforce the perimeter, the cat butler posted the sniper mech on the top of a tall and sturdy building overlooking the mall area.
With the defenses done, Mark and Steve started to set up the attacking forces. They decided to form 4 teams of five mechs each. Two harassers, two assault, and one scout mech will compose the fire team. They named Alpha, Bravo, Charley, and Delta. This team will paint enemy targets and structures, giving the artillery battery something to shoot at.
The remaining harasser mechs and assault rifleman will set up a raiding force led by Steve to conquer the checkpoints in the area. Alex and Scarlet will provide support from the air and clear any aerial forces the enemy has. They each were leading a team of 3 medium flying mechs and 4 light machines. This completed the setup for the brigade, and they soon started their assigned actions.
At the same time, the brigade finished preparations, the black faction force led by Publius-Q.V. was suffering a crushing defeat. Too many players ignored him, and the forces he led were poorly organized. Also, the mechs used by the elite force of the white faction were superior to his own machine.
Inside the cockpit of his mech, the crowned pilot cursed. "Dam this rabble. If they were able to follow instructions, we would have finished this battle by now." He started to look for a way out of the trap he walked into. Looking at the map, he saw a sizeable force gathered at the abandoned mall checkpoint.
Anger began to swell within him. "If you don't come to the fight, I will take the fight to you." He signaled his forces to move to the abandoned mall. Some of the mechs from his group failed to disengage. Without a second thought, he left them behind.
Minutes later, on a checkpoint near the mall, Steve was waiting for the bombardment of the checkpoint in front of him to finish. Once the fire and flame stopped pouring down, Steve and his team swept the remaining forces and conquered the checkpoint. This was the third one they conquered using Mark's method.
Suddenly, A wave of mechs from the black faction rushed past them. They were being led by a black and blue machine wearing the warlord's crown. The enemy trailing behind them started firing at Steve and his group. Publius-QV used an underhanded tactic to shake his pursuers.
Steve engaged the enemy attacking him. The enemy was not expecting to find a decent machine. So far, they have been encountering D and C-grade mechs, but the moment they found the colorful machine, it all changed.
Ever since Steve started to fix mechs, even if it was just for 2 days. He started to develop an eye for spotting damage to the machines he was fixing. Never in his wildest dreams did Steve imagine he would use this to find weaknesses in the mechs he intended to shoot down. The loud teen was hoping not to repair these machines afterward.
A leg joint on one machine, an exposed power conduit on another, a shoulder joint on a third one. Placing a shot here and a sword stab there, Steve was gracefully dealing with various machines at the same time. While he was the center of attention, his team quietly started grouping against one machine after another.
Scarlet spotted Steve's battle and dove down with her team to provide support. Laser fire rained down. The enemy, overwhelmed, started to retreat. As they got out of range of Steve and his group, fire and brimstone started raining on them. None of the attackers survived.
On the F.S.B. Mark, watch what happened on the sensor display of his machine. He redirected Bravo fire team to cover Steve's group. Alpha, Charley, and Delta kept their advancement. Mark looked at the allied forces moving towards them with suspicion. The young man decided to prepare for the worst. After all, the friendly fire setting was turned on in the warlord battle mode.
Publius-Q.V. laughed inside his mech. In his mind, he had used the cowards to shake off his pursuers. "Let that be a lesson to you, in war you fight, or you die." The unscrupulous pilot laughed as he continued his march towards the abandoned mall checkpoint.
He never turned to look at the result of his maneuver. He missed the spectacle of skill displayed behind him. The misguided pilot was getting ready to teach a lesson to these cowards. The real reason for the maneuvers made by Mark's brigade went over his head.
Arriving at the edge of the F.S.B. Publius-Q.V. failed to see the organization behind the place. Looking at the machines gathered in the area, he spotted a cobalt blue and gold mech that seemed to be directing the others. Anger swelled within him. The unscrupulous warlord began to run towards the leader of the cowards.
The com of his mech flared up. "I have the crown, I am the one who gives orders!" The crowned pilot raised the rifle of his mech and started shooting at the usurper who leads the cowards.
Mark was expecting this. Children often throw tantrums when things don't go their way. With ease, the Prescott M3 Deluxe evaded the shots. Even before getting the systems enhancements, Mark had a higher reaction time than most. When some of the shots from the enraged warlord hit the mech he was shooting at, the difference in equipment showed. The upgraded armor of Mark's premium mech only suffered laser burns.
Mark observed the machine that was shooting at him. It was a rifleman mech that was focused on assault. Most of the mech was intact, but he noticed a damaged portion on the side of the mech, right below the arm that was holding the rifle. The armor in that area tends to be thinner because the arm normally covers this portion. However, whenever the arm is raised, this section is exposed.
Mark dropped his rifle and spun to his left side. Grabbing his heavy pistol, he accurately places a shot on the damage section of Publius-Q.V. The mech bursts into flames. Marks' shot tore through the armor plate, the mech's chassis, and reached the machine's power generator. The mad warlord didn't realize what had happened until he found himself in the waiting room. The immature pilot rage-quit the match.
An announcement sounded throughout the battlefield. The fighting stopped for a moment. "A hidden achievement has been obtained." Tyrant slayer has been granted to the player, The Marked Guardian." The image of a bloodied knife surrounded by a golden laurel wreath showed on everyone's monitors, followed by a quote, "Thou Shalt not suffer fools to rule."
Looking back on his past life, he never knew this achievement existed. For him, and apparently every other player on the battlefield, this was the first time looking at this hidden achievement. An expression of surprise covered his face.
To everyone's surprise, the warlord crown was now on Mark's Game ID. The mech following Publius-Q.V. lowered their weapons and started sending a request to join Mark's party. Soon, the young man started receiving requests from other members of the black faction. They all started moving towards the abandoned mall.
On another side of the map, Alex and her team were providing support for team Alpha and team Delta. After securing another checkpoint, the teen flew around searching for targets. She potted the group of McCain Reapers she had seen in the waiting room. The mechs were using an old building as a makeshift stronghold.
From her aerial vantage point, she was able to see their struggle. The Reapers were pinned down by an enemy fire team. Because of the disparity of mech grades, the group of reapers could only hide behind the sturdy walls and take the occasional potshot at the mechs from the white faction.
Unfortunately, as a blue Reaper tried to take a few shots at the enemy machines, it got hit by the enemy fire. The shots tore through the chest armor, killing the simulated pilot inside. The heap of lifeless metal fell to the ground.
The blatant disregard for her art infuriated Alex. Pushing the throttle of her Majestic Peri to the max, she left her team behind. Closing in on the mechs of the white faction, Alex opened fire using the rifle of her mech. As she was passing over the enemy machines, a compartment opened on the flight system of her mech, and 2 cylindrical objects came tumbling out. As the cylinders touched the ground, they exploded, releasing thick smoke and metallic particles. These particles were magnetically charged and were mostly used to confuse optical sensors.
The mechs of the white faction were blinded. In their confusion, they started shooting in every direction. Some of them even started shooting each other. The mechs of Alex's group arrived and started to make a pass at the confused machines. As the Majestic Peri started to turn for a second pass, an alarm rang in the pilot's cockpit. This sound alerted Alex to an enemy locking onto her machine.
Alex wanted to maneuver; however, if she broke away from the lock on, the mechs of her brigade and the McCain Reapers hiding in the building nearby would suffer the consequences. Instead of leaving, Alex placed her mech in hover mode. A few moments passed, and two dozen smoke trails were closing in on her. The gun ports on the head of the majestic Peri opened, and the two Gatling guns made their appearance. Soon after, no more missiles crossed the sky. Alex, having avenged her works of art, decided to return to the abandoned Mall.
In the abandoned Building, the group of McCain Reapers witnessed the events in amazement. In their minds, they had already resigned themselves to their fates. But an angel of mercy showed. The flight system of the flying mech looked like wings, leaving a trail of plumes. As they saw Alex repelling the missile attack, they realized it was not an angel, but the goddess of war herself who came down to deliver them from death. Seeing the flying mech leave, they decided to follow their savior.
Little by little, the remnants of the black faction trickled onto the abandoned mall checkpoint. As the brigade kept increasing, Mark kept creating and dispatching more teams. Even some more heavy mechs joined the artillery battery in the parking lot. All was going well, and the organization was producing results. The new fire teams went out, the old fire teams came back; this was called a rotation. There were so many mechs now that even the flier teams got to rotate.
A sudden message put an end to it all. The Warlord for the white faction was cut off at a checkpoint and was destroyed under a bombardment. The anticlimactic end to the struggle of the black legion left the players wanting more. Under the pleas of the players, the group from the Grease Monkey workshop relented and ended playing five more Warlord Battles. The rest of the players kept following Mark's advice and won their battles.
After their itch was satisfied, the mech pilots returned to the workshop. They had a ton more customers who came for repairs. To supply their needs, Mark purchased a lot more repair rights for the repair shop. He also submitted the droids to the A.M.S. system and produced around twelve units to help Steve with repairs. The automatic fabrication fee was well worth it.
Mark was finally able to get to the design lab around 3:00 pm in real time; he was planning on leaving the pit around 8:00 pm. As the cat butler started his design run, Steve and Alex were working in the repair control room. After meeting new people, their schedule was full of repairs and paint jobs. Scarlet was happily doing her hostess duties at the cafeteria.