The four mobile suits entered the battlefield, joining the chaotic battle and drawing everyone's attention.
"That's... Orb's MS!"
"Damn it! Is Orb joining the war now?"
"Attack! Open fire!"
The Earth Forces and ZAFT Forces, who had been locked in deadly combat, simultaneously diverted a small contingent to intercept the Dawn units with remarkable coordination. Their battle had reached a stalemate, and if Orb were to join the fray, the situation would spiral out of control.
"Oops, no passage here."
Before the diverted forces could approach the lead Gundam Exia, several beams outlined its silhouette, piercing through the enemy units ahead.
Seizing the opportunity, Gundam Exia leaped from its flight unit, deploying all six beam daggers from its waist. They shot forward, impaling six DINNs through their chests before retracting along their cables. The stricken DINNs, crackling with sparks and arcs, plummeted to the ground, exploding like fireworks before impact.
Gundam Exia didn't return to its flight unit, landing directly on the ground instead. Gundam Virtue's shoulder-mounted beam rapid-fire cannons roared to life, obliterating all tanks and fighters around Exia's landing zone before it too descended, taking position beside its comrade.
"30 seconds to recharge."
Receiving Tieria's transmission, Gundam Exia didn't hesitate. Drawing its Solid Sword, it moved fluidly around Virtue, alternating between beam fire and slashing attacks to eliminate any approaching enemies.
As the ground forces were cleared from the area, the fighters and DINNs in the sky sensed imminent death from the glowing barrels of Virtue's cannons. Abandoning their current targets, they swarmed toward the Gundam.
Just then, a golden streak traced an elegant arc across the sky, weaving through the approaching enemy formation. When it came to a stop, fireworks of destruction bloomed in its wake, raining debris and wreckage downward.
"Tieria."
"Recharge complete. Beam bazooka, sweep mode—fire."
A massive green beam split the heavens, cleaving the world in two.
"Idiots, they can't even aim... What the—!?"
"Morons, what's the point of firepower if you can't... Aaaah—!"
Gundam Virtue's shot hadn't directly hit anyone, drawing jeers about Tieria's poor marksmanship. But then the bulky mobile suit twisted with unexpected agility, rotating the colossal beam like a blade. The sweeping attack transformed the missed shot into a devastating slash, clearing the skies and restoring their blue purity.
"Stop this!"
At that moment, the Astray Gundam Red Frame charged in from the side, its treasured Kikuichimonji sword descending toward Virtue's head.
"Clang—!"
Gundam Exia had somehow interposed itself between Virtue and Red Frame, raising its Solid Sword to block the Kikuichimonji's strike.
"Hmm? It can block Exia's blade?" Setsuna frowned. Exia's Solid Sword was a high-frequency vibration weapon that could shred even Phase Shift Armor within moments—ordinary armor should offer no more resistance than tofu. Yet Red Frame's solid blade not only withstood the vibrating edge but held it at bay.
"What are you all trying to do!? Do you have to keep killing?" Lowe's voice suddenly broadcast across all communication channels—Dawn, Exia, Cherudim, and Virtue.
"Yang Hui?"
"Disable him."
"Understood."
"Yang Hui! Answer me!"
Lowe continued to interrogate Yang Hui, but in the next moment, he had no time for such concerns. The Astray Gundam Red Unit took a heavy kick to its abdomen, the tremendous force sending it flying backward.
The Gundam Exia closed in, launching six beam daggers again. Losing its balance, the Astray Gundam Red Unit managed to evade three of them with an unnatural maneuver, sliced through the one aimed at its head with the [Kikuichimonji], and caught another with its hand—only one beam dagger pierced the Red Unit's thigh.
The Astray Gundam Red Unit attempted to pull the beam dagger it held, intending to drag the Gundam Exia closer and defeat it with the [Lightning Ball] on its left arm.
To Lowe's shock, the moment the Red Unit grasped the beam dagger, the Gundam Exia severed the connected cable.
"Ugh! Damn it!"
With one leg rendered useless, the Astray Gundam Red Unit crashed to the ground, unable to rise. Seeing the Gundam Exia rapidly approaching, Lowe channeled all remaining energy into the left arm, the [Lightning Ball] primed to strike the moment the Exia came within range.
"Now!"
As the Gundam Exia entered the Red Unit's ambush zone, the latter pushed off the ground with its right hand, engines flaring violently, propelling it toward the Exia. The terrifying energy sphere crackling with electricity aimed straight for the Exia's head.
"Got you... What!?"
To Lowe's disbelief, the Gundam Exia tilted its body slightly, dodging the [Lightning Ball] by a hair's breadth.
A cold flash—the Astray Gundam's left arm was cleanly severed at the shoulder.
Without pause, the Exia bent its knees and twisted, nimbly circling behind the Red Unit. One blade pierced its head, another severed the remaining arm.
"Mission complete... Hm?"
Just as the Exia prepared to remove the Red Unit's last leg, an alarm blared. It retreated instantly as missiles exploded precisely around the Red Unit, their blast radius calculated to repel the Exia without harming the disabled machine.
"These attacks... It's him..."
Recognizing the precision of the explosions, Setsuna immediately guessed the assailant's identity.
Sure enough, a figure burst from the ocean, landing beside the Astray Gundam Red Unit—identical in form but clad in blue.
"Gai Murakumo."
"Setsuna, fall back. I'll handle them. The Earth Forces and ZAFT Forces have begun retreating—clean up the stragglers."
"Understood."
The Gundam Exia turned to leave, but the Astray Gundam Blue Unit launched missiles to block its path. Mid-flight, a rain of beams descended from above, intercepting each projectile.
"Gai, you're joining this fight too?" The Dawn Gundam descended from the sky as Yang Hui opened a comm channel to Gai Murakumo.
"It's just a mission. Otherwise, I wouldn't be your opponent," Gai Murakumo replied flatly. His words weren't meant to imply any deep friendship with Yang Hui—their relationship was merely that of excellent business partners, nothing more. What he truly meant was that he'd always considered Yang Hui dangerous, someone to avoid opposing unless absolutely necessary.
But Gai was still Gai. No matter how perilous the situation, once he accepted a contract, he would see it through.
"What's the mission objective?"
"That's confidential."
"Is that so?"
"Gai! Get out of there! You can't beat him!" Lowe shouted over the comms. He knew Setsuna, he knew Gai, and he certainly knew Yang Hui. While Gai was strong—perhaps on par with Setsuna—Yang Hui surpassed even Setsuna in skill, and his mobile suit was far more terrifying. Lowe didn't believe Gai stood a chance.
"I know. But I took the job."
"I see. Very well. Then you can keep Lowe company."
The moment the words left Yang Hui's lips, the Dawn Gundam moved. Streaking forward like a trail of starlight, its blade flashed free, gleaming with a cold light sharp enough to sting the skin.
Gai had his own intelligence network and knew some details about the Dawn Gundam. Years of experience and instinct screamed at him that letting it close the distance would be disastrous. The Astray Gundam Blue Frame swiftly retreated in the opposite direction while unleashing a barrage of beam rifle fire, rockets, and missiles.
Yet the Dawn Gundam didn't even bother dodging. It charged straight through the suppressing fire.
"Those are... beam weapons?!" As he fell back, Gai noticed tiny light dots breaking away from the main formation, attaching themselves to the rockets and missiles before detonating them. Meanwhile, beam shots were deflected and scattered. He immediately recognized these drifting particles from the wings as some kind of multipurpose offensive-defensive weapon system.
This realization sent a chill down his spine. Both the Atlantic Federation and ZAFT Forces had only recently miniaturized beam weapons, yet the technology before him was already an advanced iteration far beyond theirs. Just how strong was Orb's technological prowess? How much had they surpassed ZAFT and the Federation?
"A terrifying man indeed."
That was Gai's assessment of Yang Hui. He knew Orb had become an entirely different nation since Yang Hui's rise.
But shock gave way to urgency—the Dawn Gundam was already upon the Blue Frame, leaving no room for distraction.
"Then... try this!"
The missile pods detached from the Astray's shoulders as Gai grabbed them mid-retreat. He hurled both the pods and his rocket launcher at the Dawn Gundam while firing his beam rifle. The remaining munitions in the pods and launcher detonated on impact, engulfing the golden mobile suit in a fiery explosion.
"Now's my chance!"
Instead of holding position or retreating further, the Blue Frame drew its beam saber and lunged forward through the flames.
Beam weapons ran on energy, and energy could be depleted. While the explosion might not have damaged the Dawn Gundam itself, it could have weakened its golden defensive field. If there was even a momentary gap in that shield, this strike would decide everything.
A good idea, but everything was within Yang Hui's calculations.
The Beam Saber thrust forward, aiming to pierce through the flames. Yet, in an instant, a flash of cold light split the fire in two—along with the right hand of the Astray Gundam Blue Unit that held the saber.
"Tch!"
Despite the failed assault, the Astray Gundam Blue Unit didn't give up. Its left arm reached for the Beam Rifle at its waist, but before its fingers could even close around the weapon, Dawn Gundam severed the limb.
"It's over, Gai."
"Mission… failed."
"Swish—swish—swish—"
Blinding sword flashes later, only the wrecked remains of the Astray Gundam Blue Unit crashed to the ground.
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