An infernal terrain finally registered on Sy and Eran as they made their way toward the rocky ridge and disappeared behind it. The ground was oozing with heat - steams rising up from the rock bed and red sands.
Thankfully, the Union's Mechs were designed for this type of harsh condition. Energy weapons don't easily heat up, and if they occasionally did, it can be remedied by pacing between shots. Laser guns also benefited with their projectiles' lesser dissipation, increasing their range and firepower, in exchange for their emitters overheating at a higher rate.
The duo climbed over the ridge to spy on the heavies who were too slow to catch up to them - their pilots realized their sluggish pace and gave up, reluctantly heading into the opposite direction.
Nonetheless, Sy convinced Eran to linger for a brief moment as he observed the heavy mechs. With his better perception in Construction-tech, he distinguished some areas in the heavy mechs' composition which their rifles could effectively penetrate.
Genevieve was right about the torsion being less durable in the 3rd gens. Most tougher alloys were brittle and could not play the part of a flexible twisting part. It was only ammended when hybrid alloys emerged later on.
Some parts in the heavy mechs' thick armor platings were crudely welded. Sy could predict that shooting these areas would potentially collapse the external integrity of the heavies, revealing their fragile inner frameworks. But he was not that excited to confront them. With all those weaknesses, one of the strength of a heavy mech was firepower.
Sure, they could undress the heavy mechs, but their medium mechs, themselves, were already bare naked against a single volley of numerous arsenal.
With the threats moving away, the duo climbed down, and also began their own journey across the ragged terrain. Sy found this moment to practice with the motors of the Famling, carefully placing each steps on the ground.
"How do you find Steel Arena's combat simulation?" Eran asked while keeping watch on the surroundings.
"It's real enough." Sy replied, but then added, "But I will have to rebuke the 99.9% realism."
"Why so?" Eran curiously made his yellow mech glance at the grey mech who was tiptoeing his way across the barren land.
"Well.. without death, it's not real enough." Sy shrugged, "That factor alone will reduce the realism to 49.9%"
Both chuckled for a moment, before they turned their attention to the bigger picture of the battle.
They found giant stones stacked together and nestled on the shade it produced to exhaust the heat from their engines.
Sy made use of this moment to study the battlegrounds. The minimap displayed a detailed illustration of the terrain and the specific location of each mechs. This was thanks to their team mates whose comms automatically pinged the location of their designated mechs as well as detected enemy mechs. There were also scanners which mapped their whereabouts and thus frequently shared and updated every time the comms synchronized.
It was a sophisticated military technology in order to keep the pilots aware of what was transpiring even if they were assigned on different locations.
Downside was the range in which each comms could effectively make contact with each other. Also, the ponderous security measure. Specialists might be able to tap on it and compromise an entire operation.
Nonetheless, the size of the battleground was the maximum range for 3rd Gen comms network, and allied mechs could communicate with each other with no interruptions.
There were mountain ranges in the north and south, providing a natural barrier, but one could still traverse a narrow path behind them. A good place for flying mechs to roost.
Facilities and giant bodies of rocks dotted the entire region with an occasional flat expanse.
For some reason, they were spawned in the southwest and were heading north. They have lost contact with the heavies and could not ping the behemoths' location to their team mates.
'Come to think of that..' Sy guided the mech to stand up and then circled the stones. Facing east, he could see the foothills of the mountains, over a kilometer away from their mark.
'How did we miss it?'
Sy shouted in the team channel, "Eran, you should see this." When the yellow mech stood beside him, he pointed, "Those foothills are a good place to set up an ambush."
The scion was silent for a moment while contemplating. He responded, "Yeah, I think so... Wait. Let me activate my range finders. I think it's in the maximum range of our rifles."
However, before the yellow mech could raise its rifle, something dangerous flashed in the elevation. A concentrated energy blast streaked through the air and nearly tore the flamboyant mechs head, missing by a few inches before splashing into the ground.
"I can't control my mech. I lost control. I lost control." Eran hid his panic in a series of words, maintaining a dignified voice. If he was giving a speech, he would have been very convincing to the audience.
In the end, the yellow mech did not move an inch. Sy had to react quickly before the sniper lined up its next shot. He expertly tripped Eran's mech and carefully guided its upper body on the ground before dragging it to safety.
Another concentrated blast silently pierced the air, but this one missed its mark by a wide margin. It penetrated through the stones like they were paper. The sniper's pilot was getting desperate with the preys nearing cover.
Before another shot could be fired, the two were back in the place where they were resting earlier.
"My mech's sensors are fried." Eran regained his composure and stated in the comms, "Switching to secondary module."
Finally, some semblance of control returned to the yellow mech, as its eyes flickered before pushing itself up into an erect position.
Sy was peeking a small part of his Famling's head, trying to determine the position of their stealthy assaulter. He had a glimpse of where the first flash appeared and was making sure that the sniper did not relocate.
"You see him?" Eran questioned, rushing beside his team mate - cautious to leave a space where Sy's mech could retreat if there was trouble.
Sy ordered his mech to take a few steps backward, before sighing regretfully, "I can't see the guy. But I know the place where he took the first shot."
"You shoot the guy while I distract him." Eran suggested, there was mischief in his tone.
An awkward chuckle escaped Sy's lips. That tactic was too obvious. Once Eran randomly sprinted in a direction and revealed himself from the sniper, he would be given some leeway to line up a shot. But what if the shooter decided not to give its attention to the runner and cautiously watch for the one that can threaten it?
"I think I'll try and shoot the spot where the first flash occured." Sy was suddenly confident as an idea formed in his mind. He could pre-aim the rifle and take a quick shot, only revealing a small silhouette of his mech for a short period. It will take a lot of skill and a photographic memory to pull it off.
"Are you sure?" Eran had doubt in his voice, "You know.. you can't just show yourself and aim at our friendly sniper."
"Why would I do that?" Sy felt offended as he ordered his mech to step a little further away from the stones. His mech was already aiming its rifle toward the stone with calculated movement.
"2 inches, 36°" The Pioneer mused with his face plugged on the sight device. As his mech slowly leaned to its right, he could see the outline of the rough edges of the stone in which they were hiding. As soon as the foothills came to view, the crosshair landed exactly at a certain peak, and the barrel of the rifle flashed - discharging a single energy blast before Sy quickly retreated beside Eran.
"Huh?" The scion was confused. Sy just took a little peek with rifle at the ready, and then fired. Just like that. It would have been fine as he witnessed some soldiers perform such feat, but not that fast. Not to mention the range.
A moment later, their scanners flared, displaying the occurrence of an explosion near them. They both peeked their mech's head toward the foothills and saw a dim orange glow on one of its summit - indicating that there was an explosion there.
"Well, that was easy." Sy murmured while admiring his handiwork.
In the kill feed, it showed Vulcan444 ammo racking another mech, so they were certain that their shooter was eliminated.
"What the crap!" Eran made a face. "How did you do that?"
"Simple." Sy explained, "I already know the spot where I would shoot and I pre-aimed toward that direction."
[Wow!]
Genevieve who had been silent until now, finally spoke in the comms. She added:
[You should join my division, Sy. I'll personally recommend you as a sniper for my hawk squadron.]
"No, thanks. I'd rather be a civilian."
Eran was repeating what Sy did. When the scion was confident, the yellow mech leaned to the right and fired its rifle. The energy blast streaked through the air and harmlessly passed over the foothills and dissipated before it could reach the mountain range.