Chapter 83

　　Merit was pinned down, huddled behind the remains of a giant statue that had crumbled to the ground. He was in a clear area, formally a park or garden, but their battle had burned and ruined it.

　　The Goblin was situated on a high building, aiming down at him from a rooftop. Its PPC was accurate and devastatingly powerful. Worse, it was guarding the flag, the white piece of cloth fluttered in the artificial wind a few hundred meters away, but Merit couldn`t reach it with his opponent so focused on the attempt.

　　Ducking out from behind the statute, he pulled the trigger of his lasgun, sending a few bolts of energy toward the partially hidden figure before hiding from the returning stream of destruction.

　　Merit had scored a few hits on the Goblin, but its thick armour and position meant it deflected most of the damage. There was no way he would be able to eliminate it without getting closer.

　　Tsk.` Merit was frustrated by the turn of events. It wasn`t a difference of skill or ability. It was simply a matter of Mech disparity in their equipment and outfitting.

　　The Scout he was using wasn`t designed to pack a punch long-range. It relied on its superior speed to close the distance with its foes. But against a Goblin in a stationary position with superior firepower, Merit couldn`t get near enough to it for his Lasgun to pierce its armour.

　　He needed something to change, a variable in the terrain or circumstances that could shake things up. Concentrating on the Neural Link, Merit cycled through the Mech`s suite of sensors, assessing the area for anything he could use.

　　Temperature, radiation, atmosphere, Merit went through them all before he saw something that could be useful. The Goblin was perched on top of a large concrete structure with several other buildings behind it. The highest was a skyscraper that dominated the skyline, rising from behind the Goblin and slightly to the right.

　　Focusing on it, he pushed his sight deeper. The Scout Mech`s sensors penetrated the concrete surface of the structure, giving him a general overlay of what lay beneath.

　　From what he could see, there were half a dozen potential weak points in the frame, areas where only a few steel beams or cross-members supported the weight. Typically, they would never present a problem, but the building would topple if he could strike a few accurately. At worse, it would provide Merit a distraction and buy him enough time to close some of the distance between them.

　　And at best&.

　　Timing it correctly, Merit spun out of cover, his lasgun sending shots burning through the air toward the Goblin. They were ineffectual, only one striking its shoulder and leaving a small scratch in its armour. Sim responded by sending another stream of PPC energy toward him.

　　Dodging behind the rubble, Merit began to count the recharge time in his head. Rather than duck back down as he had been doing, he leapt into the air, his boosters giving him more height. Aiming down the Lasgun`s sights, he marked the spots his sensors had shown him.

　　Crack! The sound of the Lasgun split the air, disturbing the silence.

　　A half dozen shots struck the skyscraper behind the Goblin. He wanted those shots to be as powerful as possible, so he drew more power than the weapon could safely handle. Merit pushed the Lasgun to its limits, the heat warping the barrel and rendering it useless after the last of the energy dissipated.

　　Merit tossed the worthless gun aside, gently gliding back toward the ground as the PPC energy recharge countdown ended.

　　"Are you getting tired, Merit? You missed me by a mile!" Sim called out on the universal channel, his words amplified for the arena`s crowd. Confident, he aimed at the drifting Scout, ready to knock Merit out of the tournament.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

　　"I wasn`t aiming for you." Merit replied as the building behind the Goblin began to shake and groan. Turning around, Sim watched as the concrete fa鏰de crumbled, the structure twisting and collapsing.

　　Not hesitating, Sim leapt from where he was perched, plummeting to the ground just as the building crashed around him. Clouds of dust were sent in all directions, so thick it even blocked the sensors of his Mech. The rumbling continued for what felt like hours, the debris raining down on him as Sim covered himself with his arms, the Goblin`s thick armour keeping him safe.

　　Finally, the noise stopped, and he could stand. Pushing away thick slabs of concrete and steel beams, the Goblin emerged into a world of grey dust. Nothing could be seen around it.

　　To the audience, they stared in awe at the devastation. Even with their advanced viewscreens, the only thing visible was the Goblin, its colourful paint subdued in a layer of dust. No one in the crowd cheered. They waited with bated breath for what happened next.

　　Behind the Goblin, a bright blue light emerged in the swirling dust cloud. Before Sim could react, a beam sword was plunging at it from the grey, piercing its back and burning a hole through its torso. Aiming for the gap in its armour, the blade slid into the Goblin with ease.

　　"Good match, Merit." Sim conceded as critical damage warnings were voiced from his Mech. The Scout, equally dirty as its opponent, retracted the blade.

　　"You as well, Sim." Merit replied as the Goblin slowly disappeared into motes of white light.

　　"Winner, Merit of Caledon!"

　　At the announcement, the crowd went wild. Even people cheering for Sim applauded Merit`s win, recognizing the greatness of the match they had just witnessed. In the stands, Micah was subdued. His hopes for someone from his home planet to win had just been dashed.

　　Next to him, Ty, Cid and John tried to comfort their morose friend.

　　"Sim was fantastic, Micah. It can`t be helped that Merit is unstoppable." Ty stated. Cid looked at Mare, silently urging her to comfort their friend. Mare was at a loss for a moment, trying to think of something to say.

　　"Being in the top thirty-two is an accomplishment to be proud of. Next tournament, I`m sure he will place even higher with the proper preparation and luck." Mare added.

　　On the other side of the arena, Sylla had her hands locked around Elric`s arm nervously as she watched Kal struggle against the Goblin. When the building collapsed, she let out a worried yell that could barely be heard over Elric`s laughing. He was slapping his knee in joy while the Goblin was buried in dust and debris.

　　"That`s using your head, lad!" Elric shouted, and Tamara clapped her hands to show her support, as much of a display in public as she was willing to give. When the match ended, she nodded at the outcome, pleased with the resourcefulness Kal demonstrated.

　　Talha had a frustrated look on her face, frowning at the scene of Kal`s victory and the crowd`s adulation. Tamara recognized the source of her granddaughter`s feelings.

　　"Do you wish you could have participated?" Tamara asked, brushing her shoulder against Talha to get her attention. The young woman snapped out of her musings.

　　"He should have told me he was going to join. I would have loved to come along as well." Talha stated. She had trained with Kal during his time on Caledon and knew how talented a Pilot he was, but she felt there was no way he could have competed with her.

　　"Perhaps next time. Real-world combat experience makes a Pilot more skilled than any tournament. The Clans have sent some of their more capable people. I would guess they are members of some of the more prominent mercenary groups or even a noble House Guard. You have experience in combat, but you have never been on the losing side of a conflict before. It`s a transformative experience." Tamara advised.

　　"Is that why Kal has improved so much?" Talha asked.

　　"Partially, he was close to death in the past and will fight harder to keep it at bay than someone who has never been in its clutches. But there is more. The Atlas was cruel to him. Who knows how it has changed him?" Tamara remarked.

　　"Bah, you`re both overthinking it. Young Kalen is a Noble Scion, so it`s only natural that he succeeds. With the pair of you overseeing his training, it`s no wonder he`s quick to adapt to a situation. The only thing that will hold him back now is that Mech he`s using. A Scout is a fine machine but will struggle against some of these custom variants. He should reoutfit it before going into the next bracket before he regrets it." Elric chimed in, running his free hand through his beard.

　　Next to him, Sylla had the grace to look abashed at her earlier behaviour, letting go of the large man`s arm and sitting back in her chair. Tamara gave the governor a small smile, showing that there was no embarrassment over her reaction to the match.

　　"We should talk to him before the next match starts." Talha replied, pulling up her communications display and selecting Merit` from her friend list. Typing a quick message, she sent it. In a minute, a reply came, inviting them to his storage area to chat.

　　"Good, I`ve got a few recommendations for him," Elric said as they all were teleported to Kal.