NOVEL WEB Chapter 464: Three Heroes vs. Quinn
Quinn was strong. That much was beyond doubt.
The phrase "as if it were an extension of one's own arm" was ultimately just a compliment. No matter how a Titan mecha pilot performed, no matter how skilled they were, they were always just a step behind Synthe-Mech Titans like Quinn.
After a gentlemanly bow to the three, Quinn finally left the spot he had been occupying and stood before them.
The three were fully armed, standing in a triangular formation. Theresa was the tip of the spear, Bianka was on the flank to provide support, and Rita was at the rear, ready to provide global support.
Their formation already had the makings of a team, but how well they would coordinate when the time came was another matter entirely.
The two sides faced off. Theresa and her team were on high alert, while the faint roar of motors and engines could be heard from Quinn.
"Ready—" On the side, the person who had been pulled in to act as the starter raised his hand, expertly calling out the signal.
"Begin!"
The moment the agreed-upon signal was given, the three of them shot out in different directions almost simultaneously.
In Rita's hands was a firearm with a ridiculously large caliber. Its sci-fi-esque shell contained an equally sci-fi-esque power.
At least, that's what it was to Shu.
In Bianka's hands was a simple, unadorned steel spear. She was currently circling to the side, trying to get out of Quinn's frontal range.
Theresa's weapon was a massive cross, taller than Theresa herself by a head.
There were no handholds on the cross itself; only a few chains wrapped around it could be used.
This was a "Judah Replica" that Otto had created for Theresa and Kallen using existing technology. It was a culmination of all of Otto's understanding of weaponry.
The moment the signal was given, as Theresa ran forward, she had already thrown the giant cross from her back, sending it hurtling towards Quinn from the front.
A massive, three-hundred-kilogram cross flew straight at him. Even a Titan mecha's frame couldn't take such a blow without a scratch!
But an attack from the retreating Rita arrived even before the cross! Two shots, fired in quick succession, aimed directly at the Titan mecha's most obvious weak point—the power unit.
Of all the weak points on a Titan mecha's body, besides the pilot themselves, this was the easiest to destroy. And the weapon in Rita's hands was powerful enough to pierce that "thin" layer of armor.
Training exercises didn't use live ammunition, and both sides had agreed that the fight would stop if either one received damage that would be fatal or crippling.
But that was clearly not now.
The three of them weren't the only ones who moved after the signal.
A burst of scorching steam erupted from Quinn, instantly creating a cloud of vision-obscuring smoke that concealed his massive frame.
The giant cross and the two shots disappeared into the mist without making a ripple, like stones sinking into the sea.
Rita looked at the cloud of steam through her scope, her brow furrowing involuntarily.
This scene is a bit familiar...
Bianka, still circling to the side, hesitated. With her line of sight completely blocked, should she continue her support attack?
Before the two could find an answer to their questions, the advancing Theresa suddenly leaned back, sliding along the ground for some distance, narrowly avoiding the metal cross that came flying back at a low altitude.
At the same time, a mechanical arm, glowing like a red-hot branding iron, tore through the protective steam and charged straight at Theresa.
"Overload Mode?!" Rita let out a gasp of surprise. She was all too familiar with this state! Wasn't this the state a Titan mecha could only enter when it was overheating and overloaded?
In Overload Mode, a Titan mecha's hard metal shell would soften considerably due to the high temperature. Combined with memory metal materials, it allowed the clumsy Titan to become extremely agile, capable of performing many jaw-dropping, extreme maneuvers.
But this state, which sacrificed defense for ultra-high mobility and attack power, shouldn't have appeared so easily...
It was called Overload Mode for a reason, but had the opponent even preheated or overloaded?
No! The opponent had entered this state directly! It went from a standing, dormant posture straight into Overload Mode, which meant Quinn didn't have the "startup time" that plagued most Titan mechas!
"An enemy like this is indeed troublesome..." Rita muttered, then fired another three shots at Quinn.
"In Overload Mode, its defense against armor-piercing rounds is almost zero. Weapons that normally can't break through a Titan's hide can now play a significant role."
Theoretically, that was true. Many people once held this view, believing that defeating an Overloaded Titan only required a wave of concentrated fire, and that an Overloaded Titan was far less useful than a normal one.
Only those who had faced an Overloaded Titan head-on would understand what a terrifying thing it truly was.
The rampaging Titan suddenly leaped into the air. Its massive body twisted in an extremely bizarre posture, dodging Rita's three shots. It then landed on the ground, its forward momentum completely undiminished.
Bianka's eyes widened in disbelief at the sight, while Rita sighed internally.
This was an Overloaded Titan. You never knew what kind of moves the person piloting it would pull off.
After all, it wasn't just the Titan mecha that was overloaded; so was the pilot inside, who was also overloaded thanks to the [Desperate Strength] serum.
Dodging bullets was a small matter. Most people would learn their lesson after seeing one of them dodge shrapnel from a close-range missile explosion.
Theresa, still sliding along the ground, reached out the moment the Judah Replica passed over her. She grabbed the chains wrapped around the cross and used its backward momentum to pull herself up from the ground.
The coiled chains unraveled, stretching taut in the air. Theresa landed on her feet, yanked on the chain with a sharp tug, and sent the cross swinging in a wide arc, smashing toward Quinn once more.
This time, the distance between them was unavoidable!
To Rita's astonishment, Quinn's glowing red arms suddenly cooled down. After completing a localized hardening, he crossed them in front of him, blocking the cross's second attack head-on.
Quinn's forward momentum only faltered for a moment before he continued onward.
But on the other side of the cross, Theresa's small figure had already slammed into it, creating a deafening crash.
Quinn and Theresa collided, separated only by the cross. The immense force brought both of their charges to a halt.
Now was the time!
Seeing this, Bianka no longer hesitated and charged in from Quinn's rear flank.
Rita also seized the opportunity created by the brief stalemate between Quinn and Theresa, raising her weapon and firing another three shots straight at Quinn's power system.