The Great Enemy must have been keeping tabs on what was going on here, as the newly arrived Greater Energy Beings wasted no time in making their move. Max detected the power surge at the portals, and expected that the reinforcements would be coming through, but instead there were two Energy Beings, and both of them were moving toward the human camp at incredible speeds.
Max activated the portal function of his armour to meet hem halfway, leaving Nico to deal with the base issues, and Felicity to help with the mental health of a traumatized Alliance force.
The two creatures, nearly identical in form, but radiating very different energies, paused when they saw Max's Mecha appear in front of them.
"So, the Lord of the Humans has come in person to meet us. I should feel honoured, I suppose. But I am so eagerly anticipating your death that I can't seem to gather the emotions." One of the enemy Commanders greeted him.
"Take all the time that you need. By the time that we are finished here, there will be no doubt that you have been blessed to even stand in my presence." Max replied through the Mecha's loudspeaker.
That was enough to enrage the creatures, and both shifted to forms roughly equal in height to Max's forty-metre tall Emperor Class Mecha, then extended claws from both hands and charged.
Max sidestepped right and unleashed the light Mass Drivers, coated in a sheen of the stolen energy he had been stockpiling, letting the rounds detonate inside the targets.
These ones had learned. They didn't try to go incorporeal to avoid the damage, they simply allowed their bodies to expand with the blast, and Max only managed to gather a little energy from each shot.
One backed away to stabilize, while the other attacked, keeping Max from focusing fire on the more injured target as they exchanged blows. Once one was stable, the other took over, taking the brunt of the damage from Max's Mass Drivers, but for the moment, he was holding back on the Plasma weapons and the Disintegrator.
They hadn't been necessary last time, and the longer he held off on showing his full firepower, the weaker they would think that he was the next time that he faced one of their kind. Killing them too quickly would only lead to more complications later, and they didn't have an effective ranged weapon that they could fight back with.
This was the Myceloid God's planet, so he would fight by the Myceloid God's rules. Close combat, short ranged weapons, and pure skill.
The longer that he kept these two tied up in combat, the better. They should be the Generals of their force, but they couldn't spare the attention to deal with anything but him right now, Max could read it in their minds.
Of course, they already knew that, and the fact that they were unable to do anything about it enraged them nearly as much as the blood soaked berserkers that they sent into combat against the Androids Nico was deploying.
Max's blade was knocked wide, opening the front of his chest to the enemy, and both Energy Beings dropped their guard to charge in for the kill. All it would take was to tear the chest of the Mecha apart and get to Max, and they would have victory in hand.
But the chest was also where the Disintegrator was mounted on the Emperor Class Mecha, and when they moved together to attack, Max attacked as well.
The beam destabilized both Energy Beings, sending a flood of power into Max as he leaped backwards with his thrusters to put the Mass Drivers at a proper angle to attack.
The penetrating rounds sent another flood of energy into Max, weakening his enemies while restoring and strengthening him. It was almost too cruel to be fighting them from inside a Mecha like this. Their attacks hit his void shields, while they only had their bodies to block with. They could have gathered equipment to protect themselves, but normally, they would just return to an energy state to move or escape, and carrying anything was a huge limitation on them.
As the sustained fire from the Mass Drivers prevented them from reforming, the two Greater Energy Beings began to panic. They were too limited by this place, they couldn't fight the way that they were used to, and they didn't have the skills to overcome this strange Human.
The best thing they could think to do was surround him and try to use his tactics against him.
One formed a whip of solidified energy, while the other focused a blast to mimic the Mass Drivers.
That was marginally more effective, and the energy bullets nearly penetrated the Void Shield, while the whip wrapped around Max's blade and held it tight.
But then Max pulled back the blade, yanking his opponent forward, and kicked it solidly in the face, sending a burst of energy into the air as the creature went incorporeal and tried to surround the Mecha.
"Don't." The other had time to shout before the Disintegrator flayed the being apart, turning it into nothing more than loose energy that both Max and the survivor were desperately trying to absorb.
Max took the lead with a burst from the Mass Drivers, followed by a full blast from the Plasma Destroyer Array that nearly vaporized his opponent. The attack was so sudden that the last thought it had was confusion, and then all thought was gone as Max tore its consciousness apart and integrated it into himself.
[Very good, little human. You are learning quickly.] The Myceloid God informed him, but before Max could reply, its thoughts had retreated into the distance, and out of reach of his abilities.
Perhaps this battleground wasn't just for the amusement of a bored god. Perhaps it was more of a training ground for what was going to come next. The more Max thought about it, the more certain he became that he was correct, and the more he hoped that he was wrong.
