The Mech Touch

Chapter 6158  The Hidden Potential of Wood

Ves was put in the same position as last time when the Elegant Rage struggled against the alien swordsman.

The krelion judge was thrashing his Woodsap mech. The disparity in strength was obvious to everyone.

The only reason why the Elegant Rage had yet to fall entirely was because she had already drained through half-a-dozens on the surface of New Constantinople VIII.

Although the planet still offered many more forests for the Woodsap mech to drain, continuing this pattern was not a viable pathway to victory.

The tribulation manifestation this time precisely punished such behavior. The greater the excessive harm to the environment, the greater the sins of the Elegant Rage!

A qi cultivator that gained strength from light and justice gained a massive bonus whenever he fought against a genuine evil-doer!

In fact, the existence of such a profession among the krelions caused Ves to wonder whether their alien civilization was as evil and tyrannical as he initially thought.

The Subjugation King had made an awful first impression. Might was clearly right in a galaxy as rich and prosperous as Messier 87. It was not difficult to think that most of the krelions living under the reign of such a bastard of a leader would end up as bastards as well.

It was difficult for Ves to judge the truth. The krelion judge was just a lifeless simulation. He was not a clone possessed by an actual alien powerhouse. There was no way to communicate with this temporary manifestation.

"There is still too much we do not know about Messier 87." Ves sighed.

He quickly shifted his mind from this subject and tried to think on what he could do to help his Woodsap mech win.

There had to be a way. If he had to return to the System Space and make a gamble by drawing his radiant lottery ticket, then he was willing to do so. The main reason why he kept it in reserve last time was because he had no pressing need for any goodies.

This was not the case anymore.

The Elegant Rage might not be a valuable mech in absolute terms, but her growth and the sentiments attached to her had made her irreplaceable.

The mech was partially responsible for saving Venerable Lanie's life. Ves also took advantage of her strange mutation to skip a huge amount of research effort and easily develop his very first elemental Carmine mech in existence.

These reasons and more all encouraged Ves to double down and massively increase his investment in his latest work so that he could save her from the brink of annihilation!

Having made up his mind, Ves was just about to scurry back into the System Space until the Elegant Rage made a surprise announcement.

"I HAVE AN IDEA ON HOW TO WIN THIS FIGHT."

"Explain." Ves asked as he shifted his interest back to the present.

"I DID NOT REALIZE THIS PLAN BEFORE, BUT NOW THAT I HAVE FOUGHT LONG ENOUGH TO ESTABLISH A CLOSER CONNECTION TO MY WOODEN HALF, I DISCOVERED THAT IT CAN DO FAR MORE THAN ACT AS A REPLACEMENT TO MY METALLIC MECH PARTS."

"Are you suggesting that we use the ebony mech that makes up much of your mech frame for other purposes?" Ves quickly guessed.

"I THINK IT IS POSSIBLE. THE MORE I EXERCISE MY WOOD, THE MORE I UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS CAPABLE OF. THIS WOOD IS NOT LIKE THE METAL THAT MY MECH WAS INITIALLY MADE OF. THERE ARE EMOTIONS… MEMORIES… AND INSTINCTS BURIED IN THE EBONY WOOD. ONLY FRAGMENTS REMAIN, BUT IF I TRY TO DRAW THEM OUT, I THINK I CAN DO WAY MORE THAN FIGHT LIKE A MECH. I… MAY BE ABLE TO TRANSFORM INTO A MUCH LARGER EBONY WOODEN MECH, ESPECIALLY IF I ABSORB ENOUGH WOOD ENERGY."

Both Ves and Major Jankowksi reacted with shock at this suggestion!

The idea sounded crazy!

It also sounded plausible!

Ves quickly thought about the suggestion. He recalled that the wooden parts of the Elegant Rage were made out of an improved version of ebony wood.

The ebony wood was derived from the Ebony Everchanger, which in turn was a clone of the Emperor Tree.

All of this meant that the Elegant Rage inherited at least a part of the legacy of the calamity plant!

It was therefore quite possible for the Elegant Rage to induce a state of 'ancestral reversion' where the living mech deliberately let go of her original form and activate whatever heritage was buried inside her organic components!

Ves immediately came up with a number of doubts.

The Elegant Rage did not sound certain whether she could control this transformation process. There was no guarantee that she would grow strong enough to gain an advantage against the krelion judge. What if her wooden components fell apart? She would basically cripple herself as a result!

Another concern that bothered Ves was whether this would bring back the Emperor Tree in any way. What if the clever calamity plant had deliberately laid a trap in order to bring itself back to life again?

Even if the Emperor Tree could not be resurrected in full, there was a high chance that he Elegant Rage would get contaminated by whatever remnant that was buried inside all of the ebony wood!

Still, if everything went right and the Elegant Rage managed to win the final fight, what next? Would she be able to reverse her transformation and turn back into a recognizable mech, or would she remain permanently mutated in a much more monstrous form?

If the latter was the case, then she may no longer possess the qualifications to be piloted by Venerable Lanie!

As Ves continued to think about all of the possible ways the mech's proposal could go wrong, the Elegant Rage adopted a firmer tone.

"I CAN DO THIS, PROGENITOR. BELIEVE IN ME. I CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT I WILL BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL, BUT I AM CONVINCED THAT THIS ACTION WILL MAKE ME STRONG ENOUGH TO BEAT THE TRIBULATION MANIFESTATION. THIS HIDDEN ABILITY IS A PART OF MY DESIGN. WHETHER YOU INTENDED TO OR NOT, THIS WOOD CONTAINS THE SEED OF POWER OF THE EMPEROR TREE. ALL I NEED TO DO IS TO FEED IT WITH ENERGY, WHICH I HAPPEN TO POSSESS IN ABUNDANCE."

"Are you… are you aware that this may be a one-way trip? If you are unable to return…"

"THEN TELL LANIE THAT I AM SORRY THAT I CANNOT ACCOMPANY HER ANY FURTHER." The living mech said in a melancholic tone. "PLEASE DESIGN A GOOD REPLACEMENT MECH FOR HER IF I CANNOT BE HER PARTNER ANYMORE. THAT SAID, I HAVE NO INTENTION OF LETTING ANOTHER MACHINE TAKE AWAY MY BIRTHRIGHT. I SWEAR I CAN BEAT THIS LIGHT-OBSESSED ENEMY. WHAT I AM NOT TOO SURE OF IS WHETHER I CAN GO BACK TO NORMAL. I THINK I WILL NEED YOUR HELP AT THAT TIME, PROGENITOR."

Ves adopted a determined expression. "You can count on me. Hopefully, my intervention won't be necessary, but if this scenario unfolds… I promise I will bring you back, if not physically, than mentally."

"THAT IS ALL I WANT TO HEAR. LET ME PROCEED WITH UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL OF MY WOODEN PARTS. PILOT, PLEASE BRACE YOURSELF AND COOPERATE HOWEVER POSSIBLE. I FEAR I SHALL NEED YOUR MIND TO KEEP ME GROUNDED."

"I am glad to serve." Major Jankowski spoke in a reverent tone.

Ves began to develop the idea that the Elegant Rage's idea may be the true defining feature of a Woodsap mech.

The true power of an elemental Carmine mech made out of Emperor Wood was not its impressive tenacity and endurance.

A Woodsap mech certainly scored high on these criteria, but wood was capable of doing more than make the machine last longer in battle.

Perhaps the true reason for such an unusual mech to exist was to impart the machine with the ability to expand her wooden parts and turn into a much more formidable combat machine!

As long as the environment was favorable enough, the resulting transformation may have the potential to increase the combat power of such a mech by an order of magnitude!

Of course, there was no certainty whether the Elegant Rage could produce such an exaggerated result.

Ves and Blinky paid extremely close attention to the Elegant Rage's physical and spiritual condition. If there was any sign that the transformation would go off the rails, they would definitely intervene without hesitation!

"It is starting, professor." The expert candidate stated.

The Elegant Rage began to unleash the potential hidden within her ebony wood. It was as if the Woodsap mech removed a lock that previously kept her wooden parts contained.

It was as if a beast inside the living mech woke up. The activated ebony wood instantly started to absorb a huge amount of plundered wood energy!

The Elegant Rage quickly had to launch another volley of thorns at the surrounding forest environment in order to feed the voracious demand of her own ebony wood!

The organic components of the Woodsap mech immediately started to squirm and expand in a monstrous fashion. Her volume started to increase at an escalating rate, causing her to grow heavier and less balanced than before.

The krelion judge did not stand by while all of this took place. He actively assaulted the Elegant Rage with harsh and punishing light beams.

Although the continuous strikes inflicted heavy damage to the Elegant Rage, the out-of-control ebony wood rapidly recovered the damage and continued to grow in mass and volume!

At some point, the unconstrained growth of all of the ebony wood started to envelop the flight system of the Elegant Rage. This had severe consequences for the machine in flight!

"We are losing altitude!" Major Jankowski warned! "Elegant Rage! Please slow down!"

"I… CAN'T…!"

The Woodsap mech rapidly lost thrust power and quickly began to fall to the ground. The massive wooden monstrosity that was constantly squirming and expanding in size smashed through a large amount of leaves and slammed onto the soil with massive force!

Ves and Major Jankowski briefly shook as the inertial dampeners found themselves unable to fully compensate for the impact!

Even though the transforming Elegant Rage incurred damage from the fall, the mech actually began to grow faster now that she had landed on proper soil.

The Woodsap mech was actually taking root!

As a large amount of roots began to burrow deep into the ground, the mutating machine began to accelerate her growth, causing the ebony wood to expand so much that the Woodsap mech had already tripled in size!

The Elegant Rage's chaotic growth did not slow down in the slightest. Dark wood continued to squirm and expand with every passing second. Practically nothing related to mechs was visible anymore. The original mech frame had become fully covered by an expanding mass of wood!

As wood energy and other nutrients continued to pour into the transforming Elegant Rage, the living mech eventually began to adopt a completely different appearance.

"Is that… is that a tree?!" Gloriana gasped as she watched the live feed with growing astonishment.

"It is…" Alexa Streon spoke. "The wood is entirely made out of a weaker version of ebony wood, but the volume is massive. The Elegant Rage is beginning to resemble a smaller and darker version of the Emperor Tree."

She was not exaggerating when she said that! Even though the transforming Elegant Rage was nowhere close to matching the Emperor Tree in terms of height, mass, spirituality and more, her new state was still a lot stronger than her original form!

As the Elegant Rage's transformation into an ebony tree finally started to slow down, the entire 'mech' made a completely different impression from before!

Although the Elegant Rage had completely lost all of her mobility, her size and ability to resist attacks had increased by a huge margin!

This became evident as the krelion judge's attacks that previously inflicted heavy damage onto the blackened mech only inflicted light damage against the ebony tree!