About half an hour into the battle, the first Strike Gundam E was destroyed, causing the remaining four machines to momentarily freeze. They had been brimming with confidence about taking down the Dawn Gundam, yet here it stood unscathed while one of their own had been eliminated—a reality they struggled to accept.
But Yang Hui wasn't about to let their hesitation go to waste.
The Dawn Gundam, still within the beam barrier, didn't pause for even a second. After slicing through one Strike Gundam E, it vanished under the cover of the explosion's glare. By the time the remaining four units snapped back to focus, they unleashed a furious barrage at the barrier, determined to shred both it and the Dawn Gundam hiding behind it.
Under the relentless assault, the beam barrier finally shattered—but the Dawn Gundam was nowhere to be found.
Beep beep beep—
"Watch your backs!"
"Second one."
Another flash of cold steel, and the second Strike Gundam E equipped with the Aile Striker was bisected at the waist.
"Damn it! Aaaah—!!!"
At this moment, the two remaining Strike Gundam Es with Aile Strikers charged forward, their beam sabers closing in from both sides. The Dawn Gundam raised its arms, blocking with its twin solid swords. Sparks erupted from the clash, blindingly bright, while the thrusters on its back flared violently, locking the three mobile suits in a midair deadlock.
Yang Hui didn't believe the enemy had lost their minds just because they'd resorted to risky close combat. He realized the Dawn Gundam was effectively pinned by the two Strike units, making escape difficult—and the artillery-type Strike Gundam E on the ground had already locked onto him. The barrel of its [Flame God] High-Energy Pulse Cannon radiated a deadly, ominous aura.
"No time…" Yang Hui knew it was too late to use his bits to break free and evade the incoming blast. In an instant, he activated Innovator Mode. His eyes shimmered with prismatic light, his expression calm and analytical. "…Bits, beam convergence."
The scattered bits orbiting the battlefield swiftly converged toward the Dawn Gundam, merging layer by layer over its wings, which blazed with an intense radiance.
"What the—"
"Danger! Move—!"
The pilots of the two Strike Gundam Es sensed the impending threat, their survival instincts screaming at them to retreat. But before they could even release their grip, their vision was flooded with golden light—and then, nothing.
To outside observers, the Dawn's sacred wings sliced through the two Strike Gundam Es as effortlessly as a hot knife through butter, cleanly shearing away their midsections before folding protectively in front of the Gundam.
At that exact moment, the [Flame God] High-Energy Pulse Cannon roared to life. A torrent of blue-white-red energy collided with the golden wings—but instead of detonating, the beam split into dozens of smaller streams, deflected in all directions and raining down upon the landed [Dagger] units below.
BOOM BOOM BOOM—!
"M-Monster…" Those were the final words of the last Strike Gundam E's pilot. Before his voice even faded, the Dawn Gundam—still encased in its wings—had already closed the distance. The wings unfurled before him, carving an X-shaped void through his machine.
BOOM—
"Fifth one. Hah." With all enemy units annihilated, Yang Hui's eyes reverted to normal, his forehead glistening with sweat. After a quick assessment of the battlefield, he locked onto his next target.
…
The Freedom Gundam, Justice Gundam, Rebirth Gundam, and Covenant Gundam were locked in fierce combat against five Strike Gundam Es. In terms of Mobile Suit performance, the four Gundams indeed surpassed the five Strike Gundam Es. Yet, for some reason, the enemy's coordination far exceeded that of Kira's team, executing crossfire and alternating cover with perfection, narrowing the gap in performance and piloting skills, making the battle evenly matched for the moment.
"Athrun!"
"Got it!"
Dodging a blast from the [Flame God] High-Energy Pulse Cannon, the Freedom Gundam dashed forward at high speed, its Solid Sword in hand, closing in on a cannon-type Strike Gundam E. As it brushed past the panicked pilot, who was just sighing in relief at surviving, the Justice Gundam suddenly appeared before it, delivering a powerful kick to the Mobile Suit's abdomen.
Simultaneously, two [Flame God] High-Energy Pulse Cannon shots streaked toward the Justice Gundam. The Covenant Gundam and Rebirth Gundam swiftly moved to its sides, blocking the attacks with their shields.
The Justice Gundam flipped downward, firing the [Fortissimo] Beam Cannon from its [Destiny-00] in an inverted position. The enemy Mobile Suit failed to evade in time, and its [Flame God] High-Energy Pulse Cannon was destroyed.
"Perfect chance!"
The Rebirth Gundam descended from above, transforming into its four-legged MA form as it landed heavily. Its slender limbs extended deadly Beam Sabers, piercing through the limbs of the cannon-type Strike Gundam E. Raising one leg, it aimed straight for the cockpit and struck down.
"Watch out!"
Dearka, who had just taken down one enemy, now found himself in danger as beams closed in from three directions, leaving him no room to dodge.
But Dearka remained unfazed. The Rebirth Gundam deployed the twin shields on its massive backpack, blocking beams from two directions, while the Freedom Gundam intercepted the remaining beam just in time.
"Thanks."
"Stay alert."
No sooner had the words been spoken than the Freedom Gundam and Rebirth Gundam leaped upward together, narrowly avoiding the incoming assault.
"Kira! Dearka!"
"With one down, their coordination is weaker! Now's our chance to take them out!"
"Roger." X3
Even Kira, who had resolved to disable rather than kill, answered without hesitation. If circumstances allowed, he preferred not to take lives, but he was no saint. The situation was too dire to hold back—hesitation would only endanger his allies.
Four against five had been a stalemate, but now, with four against four, Kira, Athrun, Nicol, and Dearka quickly seized the advantage, disrupting the enemy's faltering coordination.
The Covenant Gundam, under cover of the [Destiny-00], closed in on a Sky-Soaring Type Strike Gundam E. Its mechanical claw grabbed the enemy's head from behind, while the Solid Sword formed by its right claw thrust into the neck joint, twisting and severing the head.
At the same time, the Justice Gundam struck from the rear, its [Scorpio] Beam Saber piercing straight through the Strike Gundam E's chest before withdrawing. The second Strike Gundam E exploded midair.
"Haah... haah... Athrun, look out!"
Just as he caught his breath, the [Flame God] High-Energy Pulse Cannon's blast came dangerously close, about to hit the Justice Gundam. At that moment, a golden light descended from above, erecting a barrier between the Justice Gundam and the tricolored beam. The energy blast deflected, following an unnatural arc that engulfed the legs of another Strike Gundam E.
At the same time, before it could react, the Dawn Gundam appeared behind it. The solid sword emitted a faint green glow as its high-frequency vibration effortlessly sliced through the Strike Gundam E's armor, cleaving both the mobile suit and its pilot inside the cockpit in half.
"Athrun, don't let your guard down."
"Yang Hui! What are you doing here?"
"My opponent was taken care of, so I came to help you."
"What?!"
Engrossed in their own battles, they hadn't noticed that Yang Hui had already eliminated five enemy units. The realization left them both shocked and disheartened. Facing the same number of opponents, with four of them working together, they still hadn't been as fast as Yang Hui alone.
"Stay focused. The battle isn't over yet. Coordinate with me and wipe them out."
"Roger!" x4
...
On the third battlefield, the Gundam Exia, Gundam Cherudim, and Gundam Virtue confronted their old adversaries. To swiftly eliminate the Raider Gundam, Forbidden Gundam, and Calamity Gundam, Setsuna and his team didn't give the three enemy units a chance to regroup, instead splitting them apart and engaging each individually.
"Damn you! Die!"
Faced with the Gundam Cherudim's precise shooting, Clotho burned with rage. The [Scorn] energy cannon flared ominously, charging straight toward the Gundam Cherudim. Unfazed, the Cherudim took a few steps back, bending backward to narrowly evade the claw-like attack piercing through smoke and flames.
"Whoa, that was close!" Maintaining its reclined posture, the Gundam Cherudim's beam rifle locked onto the Raider Gundam.
"Damn it!" Not only had his ambush failed, but the enemy had now locked onto him. Clotho panicked, hastily executing evasive maneuvers—but...
"Zing—" A beam shot through, piercing both the left mechanical claw and the stabilizer wing, causing them to explode.
"Bastard! Damn you! Damn it all!" Cursing through gritted teeth, his face twisted in fury as if ready for a fight to the death, but inwardly, he was terrified. Without hesitation, he turned and fled toward the mothership.
Just then—BANG!—Clotho felt his mobile suit lurch downward. Having lost the left stabilizer wing, it nearly tipped over into the ocean. He quickly adjusted the unit's posture.
"Orga! You bastard!"
"Shut... up... just... get back..."
Over the comms, Orga's voice was weak and fragmented. Only then did Clotho realize that, compared to his own unit, the Calamity Gundam had lost both arms, shoulders, and all its weapons—only its legs remained intact. A gaping hole had been torn through the side of the cockpit.
"Orga!"
"Shut... up... If we don't... get back now... I'm really... gonna die..."
"Damn it!!!"
With the Raider Gundam and Calamity Gundam retreating, the Forbidden Gundam was left alone on the battlefield. Seeing his allies in such a pitiful state, Shani cursed them as useless. But in that split second of distraction, the Gundam Exia seized the opportunity—two blades descended, slicing through the energy deflection shield before delivering a kick to the abdomen, sending the Forbidden Gundam crashing to the ground.
"Ugh—!!!"
The Gundam Exia wouldn't let this chance slip. Six beam daggers unsheathed, hurling toward the downed Forbidden Gundam. Naturally, Shani wasn't about to surrender. Flames erupted from the back of his unit, propelling it upward just in time to evade the beam daggers' assault.
Shani didn't dare to stay any longer. If she remained, she might end up dead here. She quickly chased after the Raider Gundam and Calamity Gundam to retreat.
At that moment, Shani's survival instincts screamed in alarm, her entire body enveloped in the icy grip of death. Instinctively, she pushed the control stick and pressed down.
"Whoosh—"
The next second, a beam shot from behind, piercing through the Raider Gundam's backpack and head.
"Boom—!"
Amid the flames, the Forbidden Gundam sank into the sea, its fate unknown.
"Tch, they actually dodged it," muttered Tieria, shouldering the beam sniper rifle of the Gundam Cherudim, clearly dissatisfied with the result.
"It's enough. At the very least, they won't be able to sortie again today," Lyle said emotionlessly, trying to soothe Tieria's frustration.
"Fine. I'm just annoyed we didn't finish them off."
Lyle understood their mission wasn't necessarily to destroy the Raider Gundam, Forbidden Gundam, and Calamity Gundam. As long as they severely damaged them and eliminated as many enemy forces as possible, buying time for the upcoming retreat, it was sufficient.
Still, seeing Yang Hui take on five enemies and wipe out their aces, while Kira and the others also destroyed their targets, it was frustrating that they had let their opponents escape in a one-on-one fight.
"Let's go. End this quickly."
"Roger." x2
With that, the Gundam Exia, Gundam Cherudim, and Gundam Virtue joined the cleanup of the remaining grunts. Without the enemy aces to hold them back, Yang Hui and the others were like wolves among sheep, slaughtering mercilessly. The enemy's morale collapsed instantly.
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