At the forefront of the Atlantic Federation's MS units were five Mobile Suits: the Dark Strike Gundam, Verde Buster Gundam, Azure Duel Gundam, Jet Black Lightning Gundam, and Crimson Aegis Gundam. Behind them followed the Massacre Dagger squad.
At this point, Yang Hui wasn't surprised by the appearance of the Massacre Daggers. These units weren't much different from standard Daggers, but due to the Phantom Pain unit's specialized nature, they were coated in low-visibility black and dark gray paint to enhance stealth during operations.
The Mobile Suits had undergone lightweight modifications and were equipped with a more user-friendly OS. Their communication and target acquisition systems had also been upgraded, with additional night-combat lighting installed across their frames.
For suppression missions, each unit was outfitted with two 12.5mm anti-infantry machine guns mounted on the feet.
In terms of armaments, they were largely identical to standard Daggers, primarily relying on a variety of Striker Packs. The default configuration was an enhanced-output Aile Striker, though other packs could be swapped in as needed.
The appearance of the Dark Strike Gundam, Verde Buster Gundam, and Azure Duel Gundam wasn't shocking either. In the original timeline of Stargazer, the Dark Strike and Verde Buster had led the assault on DSSD (while the Azure Duel had been destroyed on Earth under unclear circumstances).
What did surprise Yang Hui was the presence of the Crimson Aegis Gundam and Jet Black Lightning Gundam among the group. If he remembered correctly, those two should have been en route to intercept the Mars delegation at this time.
Whatever. No point overthinking it. Since they've delivered themselves to me, I'll take them all down—though I might spare two of them.
With that thought, Yang Hui opened a comms channel to Athrun. "Athrun, among the five lead units, the black and red ones are worth capturing. The rest are hardcore Blue Cosmos loyalists—show no mercy."
"Understood."
...
Aboard the flagship of the Phantom Pain unit, the Nana Buluku, the captain nearly lost his mind when he spotted the Dawn Gundam and Justice Gundam among the enemy forces.
"Why are they here!? Intel said he didn't bring his Mobile Suit!"
His orders had been clear: lead the fleet in a surprise attack on DSSD, eliminate all personnel, and retrieve all research data. During the mission briefing, the captain had questioned his superiors after learning that Yang Hui's fleet was already en route to DSSD. He doubted his unit's chances—while he'd never faced Yang Hui directly, combat footage alone was enough to confirm the man was a monster. They were just ordinary soldiers.
But the intel provided by his superiors had assured him Yang Hui wasn't piloting the Dawn Gundam this time, which was why he'd dared to launch this ambush.
Now, however, that intel had proven catastrophically wrong—and the price for that mistake would be their lives.
"What now? Fight or flee? Fighting is hopeless, but I don't even know if we can escape at this point." The captain no longer cared about the consequences of disobeying orders. Even if it meant court-martial or a secret execution, survival came first.
But at this moment, he had no time to think, nor to execute any escape plan.
"Incoming missiles, count 128!"
"What!? Anti-air interception! MS units assist the fleet in intercepting enemy missiles!"
The dense swarm of incoming missiles sent chills down everyone's spines. This was the first combat deployment of the Unicorn-Class frigates, and no one knew exactly how formidable their firepower would be.
Based on analyses from the technical and staff departments, the White Tiger already possessed formidable firepower, and the high-profile debut of the Qilin-class clearly marked it as a firepower monster. By extrapolating from the White Tiger and Qilin-class, even the slender and compact Unicorn-Class frigates were presumed to pack a punch.
Yet seeing eight frigates unleash a simultaneous salvo of 128 missiles still shocked them profoundly.
A barrage of 128 high-speed missiles couldn't possibly be fully intercepted by hastily deployed anti-air defenses. While most were taken down by the combined firepower of the warships and MS units, over a dozen high-speed missiles broke through the defensive screen and struck the fleet.
In an instant, one Agamemnon-class battleship, three Nelson-class, and three Drake-class vessels were engulfed in explosions. As the flames dissipated, secondary detonations continued—the fragile Nelson and Drake-class ships were instantly silenced by direct hits. Though the Agamemnon-class didn't suffer immediate destruction, the gaping wounds and flickering fires across its hull showed it was barely holding together, no longer combat-capable.
"Order the Brooklyn to fall back! All ships—"
"Incoming artillery fire!"
"Wha— Aaahhh!!!"
Following the missiles came high-energy beam cannon fire. Dozens of thick green beams tore through the darkness of space, vaporizing several MS units before slamming into the fleet. The Brooklyn, mid-turn, was pierced by two beams and exploded.
The Nana Buluku had no time to worry about friendly ships either—two shots struck its bow. Thanks to armor superior even to the Archangel's, it avoided immediate destruction, but the violent tremors still rattled everyone aboard.
"Damage report..."
"Kentucky, St. Louis, Missouri, and Brooklyn confirmed lost. Yorktown moderately damaged. All other ships sustaining varying degrees of damage..."
"B Team Units 1 and 3 signals lost. C Team Unit 2 signal lost..."
"Forward heat dissipation armor integrity at 62%. Two Gottfried turrets destroyed, three offline..."
"Damn Orb! All ships deploy anti-beam chaff and retreat! MS units cover the fleet's withdrawal!" The captain truly didn't dare stay any longer. Just the enemy's ship-based artillery had crippled half the fleet, with MS units suffering heavy losses—and that was before their monstrous aces had even joined the fight. This battle was unwinnable!
"But—"
"No buts! They're expendable anyway—have them cover our retreat! Only then can we—"
"Enemy MS units approaching, engaging our forces!"
"Give the order now! Do you want to die here!?"
"Y-yes!"
The command issued, the Nana Buluku and surviving ships immediately turned about, beginning their retreat—or more accurately, their flight.
...
"Hey, this order is sending us to our deaths!" Samza Coza, pilot of the Verde Buster Gundam, cursed upon receiving the command.
"Tch, coward!" Mudie Holcroft, pilot of the Azure Duel Gundam, also spat out as she struggled to evade the encirclement of M1 Astray units.
"Sven, what do we do? Should we retreat or stay?" Emilio Broderick, pilot of the Crimson Aegis Gundam, asked the squad's Captain—Sven Cal Bayan, who piloted the Dark Strike Gundam.
"...Prepare to withdraw..." Sven was no fool who blindly followed orders. Though raised as a cold, unfeeling war machine in the ruthless world of combat weapons, he had no desire to die. The enemy held absolute superiority, and their fleet had already abandoned them. Staying would be idiocy.
But not everyone agreed. Dana Snip, pilot of the Jet Black Lightning Gundam, was a restless soul. After shooting down two M1 Astrays, he drew his Beam Saber and charged straight at the Justice Gundam looming before him.
"Hahaha! Run away, all you cowards! So what if they're the 'Golden Angel' or some heroes? Watch me take them down!"
The Jet Black Lightning Gundam surged forward, forcing the Justice Gundam back. Just as Dana was about to press his advantage—
"Dana! Look out!"
"Wha—ahhh!!!"
The Justice Gundam, pushed back, executed a flawless backflip. Simultaneously, the Dawn Gundam, hidden behind it, revealed itself. All Dana saw was a flash of golden light before his screen went black. Then, the steel before him split apart—a blade expanding infinitely in his vision before slicing clean through his body.
"Boom!"
"Dana! Damn it! You bastard—"
"Mudie! Dodge!"
"Ahh!"
Mudie wasn't angry over her comrade's death. They had all grown up in the same environment, long stripped of any camaraderie. Her rage stemmed from fear—Dana had been nearly as skilled as her, yet he was obliterated in an instant. That fear ignited a desperate, furious courage.
But as she prepared to charge, a Beam Boomerang came flying. Had Mudie not instinctively yanked the controls, it wouldn't have been the Azure Duel Gundam's leg severed—but its waist.
"Damn it! Get lost!"
Seeing the Justice Gundam lining up a fatal shot on the crippled Azure Duel, the Verde Buster Gundam sprang into action. Its twin cannons merged, all weapons activated, unleashing a torrent of firepower at the Justice Gundam.
The Justice Gundam responded by retreating, weaving left and right through the barrage like a slippery eel—utterly untouchable.
"Move. If we don't take them down, we're all dead." Sven abandoned the idea of retreat. They were already marked by the Dawn and Justice Gundams—ignoring them wasn't an option.
"Roger... Fall back!"
Both the Crimson Aegis and Dark Strike Gundams prepared to engage the Dawn and Justice Gundams. But before they could advance, they hastily retreated—deadly golden Light Dots had appeared in their sights. They knew: this was the Dawn Gundam's most unstoppable, lethal weapon.
While retreating, it unleashed a torrent of beams, detonating all the incoming bits like a tidal wave, but...
"No... I..."
"Boom boom boom boom..."
The Azure Duel Gundam fell last. Specialized for close combat, its firepower was the weakest, unable to stop the bits from engulfing it. Wrapped in bits, it shattered into scattered fragments amidst countless tiny explosions.
"Damn it! Mu Di's been taken out too, we—"
"Whoosh—"
The golden tide parted as the Dawn Gundam burst through the light curtain, its wings covered in bits, slicing the Verde Buster Gundam in half from top to bottom.
--Enjoying the story? Want more chapters? Check out my Patreon and support me for 40+ advance chapters.
Just search for "TLGod" on Patreon!"
Thanks!