Chapter 6058 Solus Gas Isolation

Chapter 6058 Solus Gas Isolation

The account of Captain Wilton Larkinson and his men provided Venerable Joshua with crucial intelligence.

The Emperor Tree had not remained static ever since the Larkinsons touched down on the surface and erected Chimera Base within its sphere of influence.

Ever since they touched down, the Larkinsons attempted to test the Emperor Tree in many ways, but the bots and listening devices launched in its direction only yielded limited data.

It was only now that the Larkinsons dispatched real mechs that the Emperor Tree not only demonstrated the capacity for higher logical thought, but also demonstrated a wealth of new capabilities that happened to be remarkably effective against mechs!

As the damaged and partially crippled Flagrant Vandal mechs started their journey back to Chimera Base, the four living mechs that remained all looked poised to initiate a difficult fight.

"You've heard it, guys." Joshua said as he made an effort to project greater calm. "The Emperor Tree's ability to manipulate and dominate minds has improved. That, or the plant has stopped holding back. Dise and I should be able to shrug off any attempts at manipulation, and the same goes for our living mechs. I cannot say the same for you two. Lanie, Taon, do you think your willpower is strong enough to resist the Emperor Tree's manipulation?"

"...I can't say." Lanie replied.

"It is irresponsible for me to say yes." Taon regretfully said.

Each of them understood what expert candidates were like. They had broken through the initial shackles of their mortality, but only opened up a relatively tiny gap.

Expert candidates possessed a hint of extraordinary power, but it was a stretch to call them superhuman.

Perhaps the only reason why expert candidates existed was to prepare them for a much more massive transformation down the line. They were not really supposed to wield great power at their current stage.

That made this mission so risky for Lanie and Taon. If they could not guard their minds well enough, the Emperor Tree might cause them to make a mistake at a critical moment!

The expert candidates all felt conflicted. They had no idea if they would turn into liabilities during the mission. The safest and most logical course of action was to call off the mission or have them retreat just like the Flagrant Vandals.

However, that would defeat the purpose of their participation. As expert candidates, they were just one step away from taking their first true step towards greatness. Retreating now when the threat did not appear to be unbeatable would cause them to lose momentum and replace their confidence with timidity.

These were not the qualities that an expert pilot should possess. Expert candidates were expected to embody the courage, the skill and the overwhelming belief in one's own strength that characterized true heroes.

The dilemma that every expert candidate faced in this was that they lacked the corresponding strength. Without the extraordinary willpower of an expert pilot and a powerful expert mech to resonate with, expert candidates were like paper tigers.

They shared superficial characteristics with expert pilots, but they were much weaker than the real deal!

This puts expert candidates in a tough situation.

Going all-out on tackling the toughest challenges may very well cause them to get killed. It was not unusual for articles to show up on the galactic net that reported on the unfortunate passing of expert candidates that overestimated themselves.

On the other hand, trying to play it safe and relying on the steady accumulation of time and the constant improvement of skills also did not work. Expert candidates whose passions remained cold and always thought before taking action lacked the decisiveness and hotbloodedness that characterized every expert pilot!

From this point onwards, it would be too late for regrets. Whether they lived or died, the expert candidates had to stick by their choices!

"Let us move out." Venerable Joshua instructed. "Maintain a medium altitude from the ground. The Zeal and his lifter platform absolutely cannot afford to get struck by those fast and sharp root spikes. The fact that they strike from below can quickly scrap the only means of levitation for the heavy artillery mech. We must never let that happen."

As the four mechs launched from behind the hill and proceeded to move forward at a steady pace, they also climbed higher and higher in the air.

The Solus Gas concentration steadily increased as they approached the Emperor Tree, but decreased as the mechs flew higher above the ground.

It became much more difficult to navigate through all of the obscuring gas. If not for the fact that the two expert mechs were equipped with superior sensor systems that were empowered by true resonance, they might not even be able to track their own routes anymore!

"We are getting closer. We should be crossing the red line very soon. Can you feel it?" Venerable Joshua asked.

"My Decapitator is looking forward to cutting through the branches of the tree." Dise spoke.

"My living mech and I are completely lost." Lanie admitted.

"Same."

"Get ready!"

The four mechs boldly crossed the red line. Nothing happened at first, but the four pilots still felt a lot more nervous than before.

Surprisingly enough, the Emperor Tree did not launch any immediate attacks, even though it had most definitely noticed their approach.

The four mechs slowed down and began to prepare for battle.

The Everchanger held the Heartsword in one hand and the Vitalus rifle in the other hand.

The First Sword held the Decapitator in preparation to chop through anything made out of wood.

The Elegant Rage held her pair of plasma tonfas at the ready, though it was not certain whether they would be of any use in the coming confrontation.

The Zeal had already prepared his massive Devora Cannon to launch an attack that would likely make the Emperor Tree hurt, if only to a small extent. His four heavy artillery cannons had also beeen prepared for sequential fire in case there was need to suppress a swarm of exobeasts.

The four mechs faced the thick gas and peered at the very faint silhouette of a massive tree beyond.

"Careful!"

All four living mechs suddenly came under bombardment by a torrent of human-sized seeds!