The titanic battle between the Larkinson Clan and the Allidus Alliance unfolded completely outside everyone's expectations!

Many mech pilots felt increasingly small as the manifestations of several dark gods fought openly against each other or the heroes that had risen up from the ranks of the Larkinsons!

The simultaneous breakthroughs of Venerable Tusa, Orfan and Dise challenged the supremacy of the pirates.

It sounded impossible, but two of the new expert pilots of the Larkinson Clan successfully entangled two of the dark gods!

The pirates and the Larkinsons both viewed this sudden turn of events with different levels of astonishment.

To the pirates, the power of the dark gods was something that was unquestionably great! The highest leaders such as Lord Hivex knew that the terrible deities of the Nyxian Gap possessed powers beyond anyone's imagination.

Even if the dark gods hadn't actually descended in full, their fog manifestations already represented a considerable portion of their power.

Yet despite this fact, the Banthar and the Blueshift continually challenged the Blinding One and the Inexorable One, proving that humans and mechs were capable of fighting against literal gods!

While the Larkinsons largely did not believe in the existence of actual gods, they still possessed a lot of fear towards these giant entities. In fact, the more the dark gods demonstrated their might, the more the Larkinsons began to question whether these powerful entities were truly divine.

"This is not a battle between mechs and ships anymore." An Avatar officer gasped. "This is a battle between gods and heroes!"

"Those aren't gods! They're demons! We're fighting against demons!"

"Then what does that make our mech pilots?"

"Isn't that obvious? They're the real gods on the battlefield!"

"They're demigods, not actual gods."

"Semantics!"

The perspectives of every Larkinson taking part in this battle shifted in real time as the multiple confrontations between gods and expert pilots enlightened them to the true power of mech pilots!

This wasn't all! Not only did Venerable Tusa and Venerable Orfan prove that humans were capable of fighting against gods, but Venerable Dise and her linked Swordmaidens were wreaking havoc amongst the ranks of the Archons!

Ordinarily, the intensive battle formations of the Swordmaidens should have drained the female mech pilots straight away. Yet to the mild surprise of Ves, the battle formation led by Venerable Dise successively employed her draining battle formations with no end in sight!

This was all due to several reasons. Her breakthrough supplied her with an ample amount of energy. Her bond with Qilanxo also allowed her to borrow the design spirit's powerful energy. Finally, the convergence of the imaginary realm and the material realm amplified every spiritual exertion!

"CUT!"

A sword-shaped battle formation superimposed by the illusion of a giant greatsword slashed through the ranks of the remaining elite pirate mechs.

To the credit of the Allidus Archons, none of the elite mech pilots had broken and fled. Their superiors had drilled so much obedience and discipline into their heads that they were reluctant to act outside of orders.

That was a mistake.

Their relatively tight formation and high concentration had made it easy for the astonishing Swordmaiden battle formations to sweep through their ranks. The pirate officers belatedly ordered their subordinates to disperse, but it was too late at this point!

Chaos spread through the rest of the battlefield. Anomalous hazards occasionally afflicted a number of mechs. Though their frequency had lessened, they still caused a lot of grief to pirates and Larkinsons locked in battle.

While the thousands of pirate mechs continually suffered losses from the unstable environment, the Penitent Sister battle formation that had dove in their midst were exempt from this threat!

With the giant form of the Superior Mother watching over the Penitent Sisters, her presence protected the Hexer mechs from many anomalous hazards!

Along with other advantages, the Penitent Sister mechs were able to butcher the pirate mechs at an unimaginable rate!

Though the Penitent Sisters hadn't become gods, they nevertheless received the Superior Mother's blessing. With the Supreme lending her power to her devoted, the Penitent Sister mech pilots had become more and more fanatic in their beliefs! Their minds and spirits united as one as their increasing fervor enhanced their connections to the battle network even further!

Yet even as the pirates suffered great losses, Ves did not assume the battle was over and done. Multiple pirate warships remained intact. Their turrets and gun batteries had already inflicted significant material damage to the Larkinson fleet and were in the process of inflicting even more damage.

The Gravada Knarlax was slowly recovering. She had already restored a portion of her propulsion systems and her huge turrets were slowly swiveling towards the remaining Larkinson ships.

The Larkinsons needed a way to break the spirit of the Allidus Alliance! The trump cards that Ves had deployed up until now were not enough to win the battle!

It was at this time that his body slightly shook. Some sort of echo had struck his spirit, causing him to interrupt all of his thoughts.

"What is..?"

His heart beat faster. It began to catch up to the pace of the foreign impulses that affected his body. Soon, he discovered that his heart was not beating faster without a reason.

It was resonating and matching its beat with another heart!

Just outside the Redfeather, a single resplendent golden mech had been hovering in space for several minutes.

Inside the cockpit, Joshua Larkinson sat motionless with his eyes closed and his mouth curled in a blissful smile.

"I have waited so long for this moment."

The Quint responded. Through his unprecedentedly close connection to his mech, Joshua felt as if he truly understood the full profundity of the life within the masterwork mech.

"You are.. so wonderful, so magnificent. Is this who you truly are? Let us join forces and open ourselves up to each other!"

The man-machine connection between Joshua and the Quint took a life of its own. Its parameters instantly shot up, so much so that it forcibly exceeded the safety limits imposed by the neural interface.

The extraordinarily deep connection allowed Joshua and the Quint to exchange with each other to a degree that would have ordinarily fried the young expert candidate's brain. Yet at this time, Joshua felt no strain at all. No matter how much data and other input poured into his head, it did not come close to exploding.

Instead, Joshua felt as if his will and mind were expanding at a stupendous rate. His awareness of his surroundings extended far beyond the cockpit and swept a wide area around the motionless Quint!

Like a seed sprouting from the ground after a shower of rain, Joshua felt his consciousness rising to a level that was far beyond what he could have imagined as an expert candidate.

As this pure moment of bliss overtook his mind, his consciousness ran through his memories, his experiences, his ideals and his desires.

Different mech pilots possessed different reasons for fighting.

Some fought for family.

Others fought for honor.

Many mech pilots never truly discovered their reasons to fight. Expert candidates were different because they were in the right direction.

However, to take the final, crucial steps, an expert candidate had to clear all of their doubts and commit wholeheartedly to a single conviction!

Joshua needed no thinking to dial in his principles. At this time, he interfaced with one of the most impressive and liveliest mechs he had ever had the pleasure of piloting.

After Ves upgraded the Quint and enhanced its spiritual foundation, the life contained within the masterwork mech had evolved to a higher state.

Now, the Quint provided Joshua with the clearest vision of the benefit of piloting a mech designed and made by Ves. Pure love and respect flooded through Joshua's mind as he became more and more integrated with the masterwork mech.

Of all the possible machines that expert candidates could break through in, a masterwork mech offered some of the most sublime experiences for these lucky individuals!

As Joshua finally obtained his long-awaited chance of apotheosis, his force of will bloomed and resonated with the Quint!

In turn, the Quint benefited considerably from Joshua's breakthrough. The mech seemingly gained a bit of will of its own! Though miniscule, this was something completely unheard of. It was impossible for a mech to gain its own will. That would imply that it was a living, thinking entity that could develop its own wants and needs.

While Ves had laid the seeds to such a development, it was very difficult to accomplish this state. Yet under these exceptional circumstances, the Quint received a unique benefit that caused it to become even more filled with life!

With the extraordinarily close blond that Joshua forged with his mech, they resonated with each other to such an extensive degree that something rare was taking place.

Even as Joshua ascended to the rank of expert pilot, he had become completely in sync with his mech.

The complete and utter alignment between mech and mech pilot resulted in complete resonance, which was a state that only Venerable Jannzi had achieved in the history of the Larkinson Clan!

When Joshua raised his fist, the Quint simultaneously raised its fist as well!

A powerful green glow spread from the Quint! Unlike the Blueshift or the Banthar, the Quint's radiance vastly exceeded that of the other mechs!

"With my heart and soul, I shall always fight with mechs like you!" Joshua generously declared as his eyes glowed with green! "Each and every mech designed by the clan patriarch is alive, but only I can utilize you to the fullest!"

Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

The green glow expanding from the Quint finally pulled in the design spirit of the Bright Warrior model!

For the first time in their lives, the Larkinsons were finally able to see the ancestral spirit that symbolized and watched over their clan!

The green-golden radiance of a giant cat proudly came into existence, thereby adding yet another god in a battle that became increasingly more centered around deific heroes and manifestations.

With Goldie's appearance, Joshua's bond with her had intensified. He gained a greater understanding of the young ancestral spirit and even felt the hopes and fears of the Larkinsons connected to the Larkinson Network!

The weight on his shoulders was immense. The members of the clan looked upon expert pilots like him for hope.

Everyone knew that the Larkinson Clan would never be able to survive if he failed to stop the pirates. Joshua solemnly accepted this responsibility, and so did the Quint and the Golden Cat.

"Let us end the threat at the source!"

Both Joshua, the Quint and the Golden Cat set their sights on the Gravada Knarlax. The heavy cruiser was damaged, but far from taken out of the fight.

Fog of different shades continually spewed from her depths. This fog not only offered supernatural protection to some of the pirate assets, but also sustained and empowered the giant manifestations of the dark gods!

The Quint finally moved. The masterwork mech accelerated far beyond its usual rate as Joshua's breakthrough along with the attainment of complete resonance provided it with capabilities that went far beyond the limitations of its parts!

The mech thrust forward, its third eye glowing as bright as a lighthouse in the dark! The giant energy projection of the Golden Cat looked eager as the Gravad Knarlax's formidable bulk came closer and closer!

The masterwork mech charged forward with such great speed that the pirates didn't even have any time to respond to this latest development! The Quint raised its lance just before the mech and the Golden Cat collided right into the bow of the Gravada Knarlax!

NYAAAAAAA!

A collision of immense proportions shook the battlefield! Even the dark gods had to pause as the Allidus Alliance flagship's very nose crumpled inward as the glowing manifestation of the Golden Cat physically slammed into the ship!

She did not rest after she collided into the Gravada Knarlax. After gathering her wits, her head darted forward and took a huge bite out of the ship! It was as if a supersized version of Lucky was snacking on the vulnerable vessel!

Just as the energy manifestation of the Golden Cat attempted to tear even deeper into the ship, a powerful explosion of dark energy blasted her and the Quint back!

Every Larkinson suddenly felt nervous as they felt a huge pressure descending upon them. They watched with amazement as three huge shadows emerged from the ships and merged with the fog manifestations fighting against the Larkinson Clan.

The manifestations rapidly transformed. They became more solid and lost their fog-like consistency. The pressure emanating from them had grown so powerful that everyone aside from the expert pilots were suppressed!

Ves instantly shot up from his chair. "Not good! The dark gods have arrived in person!"

The Unending One, the Blinding One and Inexorable One had grown so angry that they decided to descend upon the battlefield with their main bodies!

The dark gods were ready to unleash their full power!