Marauding Terror (2)

Marcelo rushed forward at a decent pace. He was just fast enough that he was running, but also holding back enough so that he could make any sharp movements should there be any need.

Whoosh! Snap! Boom!

The sounds followed each other as the swordsman mech that Marcelo was piloting swung its sword in an arc.

The blade cut through the air, slammed into a couple of trees, and sliced them down immediately. They did not stand a chance against the considerable mechanical power that his mech brought to bear against them.

A dark shadow flitted in between the trees some distance away from Marcelo. There was just enough space for the prototype mech to weave and bob between them without bumping into them. The smaller size of the mech also played a role in making it far easier for it to move between the trees. If Marcelo attempted to do the same, he would have to be very careful and it would also slow down his mech.

Pop! Pop!

Another volley of high speed, energy rounds collided with the frontal armor of Marcelo's mech. The frontal armor of any mech was its strongest point, so not much damage was done. However, if given enough time, even a swarm of ants could grind down a tortoise.

"Argh, dammit!" Marcelo growled angrily. He cut down several more trees in a bid to get Maximiler's mech, but the swift marauder mech easily retreated whenever it was about to get exposed.

"Marcelo, come in!" A voice rang into Marcelo's ears from the transmission channel. It was Dave, one of the other pilots who piloted a knight type mech. He wanted to know what exactly Marcelo was facing for him to be swearing so much.

"The mech is good. And Hayde is acting like a totally different person. He is showing skill that he only usually shows when he's fighting battles in bed with a woman." Marcelo gritted out. He couldn't help but mock Hayde a bit while he was at it.

The Hayde that he knew was a bit of a pervert, always flirting left and right. He only got serious when he was about to make a move on a woman, and that level of seriousness was what Marcelo felt as he was facing off against the marauder mech.

"Fall back for now. I've met up with Liz and Archer. I will send you our coordinates so that you can meet up with us. We stand a greater chance at downing the mech if we're together." Dave told Marcelo and quickly sent him the coordinates where they could rendezvous.

"Alright, copy that. I'll be there soon." Marcelo replied. He quickly turned around and began to skirt the forest line that the marauder mech was hiding in. He soon arrived at a large river that parted the sides of the testing field.

Just then, another volley of high powered rounds slammed into the back of his mech. He had already been getting peppered by rounds ever since he began falling back, but these rounds were different. They packed a lot more punch, and had an explosiveness to them that the former rounds lacked.

These rounds hit certain sensitive areas in Marcelo's mech that immediately compromised the integrity of his machine!

"What?!" Marcelo was shocked. The shots of the marauder mech had hit the back of the knee joint of the right leg of his mech. That hit had severely hampered the mobility of his mech, reducing its speed by about thirty percent.

"What's happening, Marcelo?" Dave's voice came over the transmission channel.

"My mech is being hit hard. The firepower of this mech is beyond anything I've seen before, and its aiming systems seem to be a notch above what I've also seen. He hit my mech in its knee joint so I can't move as fast as before." Marcelo explained.

"...Alright, keep coming the way I told you. We'll meet up on the way and put up a proper response against Hayde's mech then." Dave's displeasure was obvious from the tone of his voice. He was also a bit worried that Marcelo's mech would end up being brought down before they could meet up.

"Archer, go ahead and assist Marcelo. The marauder is swift on its feet, and your presence is sure to pressure Hayde into falling back." Dave firmly told Archer, the light mech specialist in their team.

Archer piloted a light skirmisher mech. The mech was swift as a bird and its mobility was even better than Maximiler's marauder mech. It wielded a pair of sharp daggers that it could drive into the weaker sections of an enemy mech, and disable the mech. With it there, it could pressure Maximiler into taking a step back and allowing Marcelo enough room to retreat.

"Okay." Archer replied and pushed his mech to the max, sending it running across the empty plains like a breeze.

Back at the center of the field, where Maximiler and Marcelo were still playing a game of cat and mouse, several more rounds hit the back of the swordsman mech that Marcelo was piloting.

By now, the entire coating of the mech had been charred black, and multiple large craters of melted metal and slag could be seen all over the mech. Maximiler had steadily been increasing the output of his weapons, and his firing rate kept on climbing higher and higher as well.

As a result, Marcelo found himself on the loosing side. Even as he jerked his mech from side to side and tried his best to protect the more sensitive sections of his mech, the blows never stopped coming, and his mech steadily kept on getting damaged. It would only be a matter of time before it would be put out of commission.