"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!..."
The ship cannon support arrived just in time, swallowing countless ELS along its path. Like an eraser, it cleared a massive area, significantly reducing the pressure on the MS units.
"Report: All [Gottfried] shots have hit their targets. A massive number of ELS have been destroyed."
"Continue firing. Cover the MS units." Tianem sat in the captain's chair of the flagship [Kirin-class], his expression growing heavier as he watched the cleared area being rapidly refilled by an innumerable swarm of ELS.
Receiving intelligence was one thing; seeing it from a distance through optical cameras was another. But facing it personally was something else entirely. From his initial caution to shock, and now to the feeling that there was no chance of victory, Tianem truly understood the horror of a war between one civilization and another. It also made him realize that all the wars he had fought in his own world were nothing more than children's games.
"Vice Commander, General Douglas requests to lead the fleet in a charge against the ELS swarm."
"Request denied. Order Douglas to hold his position..."
"ELS have broken through the MS units' defensive line!"
"Activate the [Valiant] and [CIWS Array]! All ships engage in anti-air combat! Set all missiles to proximity fuzes and maintain the GN Field deployment!"
"Understood!"
"Order the Victor and Hamon fleets to advance 500 kilometers and assume a surrounding posture. We must stop the ELS here!" Tianem commanded.
"Understood!"
Char and the others' Brain Quantum Waves were indeed capable of attracting the ELS's attention, and in significant numbers. The powerful Brain Quantum Waves drew a large portion of the ELS toward them, like sharks scenting blood and lunging for their prey.
But... that was only a portion. The number of ELS was simply too vast. Aside from those rushing toward the MS units, even more ELS continued forward, sweeping toward the steel defensive line formed by the fleet.
Tianem suppressed the fear of an invincible foe deep in his heart, maintaining a calm and composed demeanor as he commanded the fleet. Though the torrent of ELS was terrifying, the humans of this world lived behind them. Tianem was a soldier and a member of the Promis Legion; regardless of whether it was the Gundam UC World or the Gundam OO World, humanity was the object of his protection.
It wasn't just Tianem; everyone present felt the same. No matter which world they came from, they had to protect humanity from threats beyond their kind!
The fleets on both flanks moved forward slightly, curving the straight battle line into a slight arc, like the mouth of a bowl, attempting to catch the torrent of ELS and let not a single drop pass.
...
On the other side, Flit, Jehart, and the others encountered the same situation. Under Argreus's command, the fleet made the same choice as Tianem, desperately holding back the silver tide.
"Governor Argreus, the number of ELS is too great! We're about to be breached!"
Both the warships and the MS units poured out their firepower with everything they had, weaving a dense, airtight web. But even so, the repeated waves of ELS impacts pushed this web back bit by bit. The relentless tide was on the verge of tearing the entire web apart.
"The 32nd MS Garrison Unit is to support the 3rd Attack Fleet. The 25th MS Garrison Unit is to support the 12th Attack Fleet..."
Command after command was relayed down in meticulous detail. Argreus's forehead was drenched in sweat. He had been excited at first—this was an unprecedented war. As a tactician, he had hoped to shine in this great battle through his tactical command. But now... he felt only tension and dread.
Argreus finally realized that a tactician's pride was worthless in the face of the survival of all humanity. He finally understood the true meaning of the saying: in the face of absolute power, tactics are meaningless.
Now, Argreus only wanted to rack his brains to maintain this defensive line and not let a single ELS through.
"Argreus."
At that moment, Flit connected to the communication from the right-flank flagship, the Kirin-class Suìyuè.
"Commander, the line is about to collapse. The fleet is about to transition to sweep-and-destroy combat mode." Though Argreus was determined, it didn't mean he couldn't see the current situation. It was only a matter of time before the fleet was breached. They were not the only ones on the final defensive line; the Promis Legion was only the first line of defense, with the Federation's regular fleet behind them. Thus, they needed to plan ahead and change their combat methods.
"What are Revil's instructions?" Flit asked Argreus. The overall commander for this operation was Revil. To avoid command chaos on the front lines, Flit had to ask for Revil's thoughts first.
"Not yet..."
"Hold the line. Have all MS units retreat to cover the fleet. Report the situation of the right-flank fleet to Revil... Ugh!"
"Commander!"
"I'm fine. Do as I say!"
"Understood!"
The communication ended, and Argreus clenched his fists tightly. Facing the ELS, the sense of powerlessness rising from the bottom of his heart was truly painful.
"All forces—"
"Order from Commander Revil: All fleets are to slowly retreat while maintaining sweep-and-destroy operations. The Earth Federation fleet will move forward. The Genesis Light will shine once more to cover the fleet's merger and reorganization of the defensive line!"
"Good!" Upon receiving the order, Argreus couldn't help but punch the air in excitement. This order was incredibly timely. "Notify all ships to begin retreating! MS units are to withdraw immediately! Be careful not to enter the path of Genesis's beam!"
"Understood!" XN
When Flit, Jehart, and the others received the instructions from Argreus, their lips curled into relaxed smiles. "All units retreat! Leave the axis of the Genesis beam and escort the fleet as it pulls back!"
"Understood!" XN
...
Revil kept his eyes fixed on the tactical map, his expression quite grim. Only half an hour had passed since the start of the operation, yet the defensive line formed by the Promis Legion was already showing signs of collapse. If they continued to fight a war of attrition in place, they would only be swallowed by the ELS torrent.
"How much has Genesis charged?"
"74%! It can be fired!"
"Very well. Remind our allies to leave the beam axis. Genesis, prepare to fire!"
"Firing sequence ready..."
"Confirmed: no allies on the beam axis..."
"Begin the sweep!"
"Understood! Beginning the sweep!"
The Genesis Light, composed of an electromagnetic storm, roared and thundered once again. A brilliant, dazzling torrent surged forth, once again devouring a massive portion of the ELS, and then...
"Boom~!"
It struck the surface of the two moons again. But this time, everyone was horrified. A layer of the two moons' surfaces peeled off automatically. This detached surface layer merged and transformed, turning into a massive, heavy shield. It allowed the electromagnetic storm to crash into it, peeling away bit by bit.
At the same time, this shield underwent another change, curling and shrinking from the edges toward the center.
"Genesis has been blocked! The density of the detached ELS segments is increasing, and a crystal shield of some sort has appeared on the surface!"
"What!?" Revil was shocked. The ELS's ability to learn was terrifying; they had perfectly learned how to defend against a Gamma Ray Burst so quickly.
"Contact Lieutenant General Mannequin! Order the Federation fleet to deploy from A01 toward U95!"
"Understood!"
"How many ELS are left in the center?" Revil asked. The fighting on the two flanks was so intense for the purpose of drawing more ELS away from the center—that was their only hope for this operation.
"70% remaining!"
"Not enough!" Revil gritted his teeth. By his calculations, at least 50% of the ELS in the center had to be lured away, but they were still far from that, and the flank lines were about to collapse.
Furthermore... the biggest problem currently was that the ELS were still maintaining their original forms. No mimicry of warships or MAs had appeared...
"Sir, a message from the Supreme Commander. The central fleet will retreat along with the main fleet. They will launch an assault on the ELS home star. The T.N.T. Cannon will wait for his signal!"
"It's too early! It's still too early! They—"
"Sir! Look!"
"...Has the change finally appeared?"
On the screen, the ELS finally began to change. Several Small-scale ELS crashed into each other, merging together. One by one, MS glowing with a purple light appeared before everyone's eyes.
"That's—!"
Indeed, the ELS had transformed into the Promis Legion's mass-production MS instead of the [Gag]. The large ELS also directly took on the forms of the [Unicorn-Class] and [White Tiger-class] instead of the [Ural-class].
Although the front line had been holding, it wasn't without sacrifice. A large number of Promis Legion members had already been assimilated by the ELS, and the data for the MS and warships had likewise been leaked.
"Don't panic! Although there's a discrepancy, the situation is developing in the direction we hoped. Now that they've mimicked us, a familiar enemy is much easier to deal with!"
"Understood!" XN
"Relay orders to the left and right flank fleets: stop retreating! After merging with the Federation fleet, all fleets are to launch a counter-assault and push back the ELS offensive!"
"Understood!" XN
"Signal Yang Hui. We will provide them with all support."
"Understood."
The final order carried a hint of weight, for everyone who received it knew its implication—that "all support" included the sacrifice of their lives.
...
The Dawn Gundam, trailing a golden tail, wove back and forth through the ELS several times before returning to the front of the Rainbow Ship. Fine beam lines danced, shredding all ELS attempting to approach the Rainbow Ship and the other MS.
"Beep, beep, beep!"
"Tieria!"
"Compressed Particles, Over-limit Release!"
A large ELS that had opened its maw to fly toward the Dawn Gundam and the Rainbow Ship was pierced and destroyed by Raphael's Destruction Beam. Meanwhile, Yang Hui's face was as dark as ink.
"The weakness of the Dawn Gundam... I didn't expect to find it at a time like this."
That was right. During the battle with the ELS, Yang Hui had found the Dawn Gundam's weakness: it lacked a decisive battle weapon capable of destroying large targets in a single strike.
In previous battles, large targets like Genesis or the beam sabers didn't require the Dawn Gundam to destroy them directly. For warships, it only needed to destroy key positions like the bridge or the main engines. MS required heavy cannons even less.
Habit had become second nature, causing Yang Hui to overlook this weakness. Faced this time with large ELS that could not be touched directly, the Dawn Gundam actually lacked an effective way to deal with them.
He had found the weakness, but there was currently no time or opportunity to solve it.
"Yang Hui, the ELS are changing!"
"Very well. Setsuna, are you ready?"
"I'm ready!"
"All units, hold nothing back! Get the OO Qan[T] to the core of the home star!"
"Understood. Kira!"
"Right, we'll clear the path!"
The Strike Freedom Gundam and Infinite Justice Gundam, equipped with Meteor Systems, rushed to the very front. All weapon ports opened, and the dual Rainbow Cannons bloomed with a brilliant, multicolored radiance.