The retreat of the Zaku Series Units freed up Reid, but before he could resume command after returning to position, a private communication from the Immortal Aegis came through.
He heard Ange roaring through the comms:
"Reid! What are you doing charging ahead alone? Trying to make me a widow?"
Reid didn't dare talk back, knowing full well he had indeed abandoned the main force to rush ahead solo.
The reason was simple: although the enemy Mobile Suits didn't include any high-end boss units, their pilot lineup was ridiculously skilled. Reid genuinely feared that if he arrived even a moment later, the Innovators' Gundams would be ambushed by these veterans, leaving him only to collect their corpses.
So, Reid wisely expanded his private channel with Ange to include the entire team, pretending nothing had happened as he issued orders:
"Everyone, fire Beam Weapons in unison to break the enemy formation.
After their formation is disrupted, Gaia, Ortega, Mash - you three quickly eliminate our old friend, the Zaku I Commander Type. The pilot inside is Char. This is a rare chance for payback."
Upon hearing this, Gaia's Trio found it straightforward. They were fully aware of the Zaku I Commander Type's capabilities. If the three of them in Amazing Kampfers couldn't take down one, they might as well hang themselves with noodles to avoid the shame of living.
So Gaia immediately replied excitedly:
"Roger that! I've had it with Char for a long time. Boss, just watch - if we don't shoot it down within one minute of catching it, we'll swear off alcohol for a month."
For a moment, Reid considered whether he should find a way to help Char hold out for ninety seconds. Gaia, Ortega, and Mash were such heavy drinkers that getting them to abstain for a month would be quite an achievement.
Of course, this thought was quickly dismissed. Keeping an enemy alive for even one extra second on the battlefield was dangerous - how could he possibly consider extending that by half a minute? No matter how poor the Zaku I Commander Type's performance was, its heat hawk could still damage their Mobile Suits.
So Reid continued commanding:
"Yulan, Yufang, Salya, Hilda - after the enemy formation breaks, head to Celestial Being's side and deal with the High Mobility Psycho Zaku and Marasai. Note: both MS pilots are beast-style fighters and won't be easy to handle. Don't screw this up."
The Xia sisters never questioned Reid's orders.
But when Hilda heard this - four against two, with Mobile Suit performance advantages, yet being told the enemies would be tough - she felt Reid was looking down on her skills. She retorted indignantly: "Commissioner, what's so scary about beasts?" Have you forgotten what we used to fight against?"After complaining about Reid, Hilda didn't forget to challenge Salya: 'Salya, want to bet on who takes down their enemy first?" I'm going to win back the Gundam Eclipse's piloting rights."
This competition for the Gundam Eclipse's control was actually Reid's fault.
After returning from South America, Reid wouldn't be piloting the Gundam Eclipse for a while, but such a high-performance machine couldn't be left unused. Its capabilities definitely surpassed the Delta Gundam Kai, Amazing Kampfer, and Delta Plus, placing it in the same tier as the Mystic Lightning and NT-X2.
Originally, Reid had intended to have Noin switch to it.
However, Noin felt the Delta Gundam Kai was quite good, and the Gundam Eclipse didn't have Funnel Weapons. Besides, she wasn't involved in stealth operations, so she refused on the grounds that a Mobile Suit with stealth capabilities wasn't suitable for her.
Reid then asked the Xia sisters, who were very satisfied with the Mystic Lightning and NT-X2 Gundam and had no intention of switching Mobile Suits either.
Considering that the sisters' Mental Link System wasn't suited for frequent Mobile Suit changes, Reid didn't press the issue. Moreover, the Gundam Eclipse's performance wasn't superior to the Mystic Lightning or the NT-X2 Gundam.
Moving on, the coordination between Gaia, Ortega, and Mash required them to pilot the same type of Mobile Suit, so it wasn't suitable for them either.
That left only Salya and Hilda.
Truthfully, Reid didn't care which of the two piloted the Gundam Eclipse, but when he asked, both wanted to switch Mobile Suits.
So Reid didn't make a choice and instead had them compete in a simulation battle—best of three in different environments, with the winner getting to pilot it.
The outcome was obvious: Salya hadn't become the leader of the Paramail First Squad just by seniority.
Hilda, having piloted a fire support Mobile Suit for a long time, had better shooting skills than Salya, but once she was closed in on, she couldn't hold out for long and would lose.
Thus, in all three matches, she narrowly lost after having one of Salya's Mobile Suit's arms or legs disabled, forfeiting the right to pilot the Gundam Eclipse.
However, Hilda was clearly dissatisfied because the Gundam Eclipse's firepower configuration leaned toward a fire support role, which led to the current challenge.
Still, Reid remarked that with such a clear performance gap between the Delta Plus and the Gundam Eclipse, where did Hilda get the confidence to win?
But Reid didn't say much more—this level of internal competition was a good thing. After all, even Ange and Noin hadn't said a word.
So Reid continued to pretend he hadn't heard and spoke up again:
"As for the remaining four Mobile Suits, Ange, Noin, the three of us will take them. By the way, that Zaku Experimental Type has been hiding at the edge of the battlefield observing. If any of you come across it, just take it out in passing.
After dealing with your respective opponents, provide support to others nearby. Our targets are these Mobile Suits from another world. As for Celestial Being and the Innovators, as long as they don't pose a threat, ignore them."
With Reid's formal order given, even if Ange was resentful, she couldn't vent in the squad comms. She'd have to wait until they returned to deal with Reid, for now directing her frustration at the enemy Mobile Suits.
That was exactly Reid's intention—if Ange vented her anger on the enemies now, he'd have fewer complaints to deal with later and it would be easier to placate her.
With the assignments settled, Reid raised his CE-model Magnum Rifle and deployed two Heavy Ion Funnels.
The other Mobile Suits also aimed their high-powered weapons at the group of "Zakus" across from them.
They didn't even need to fire—the opponents were all Newtypes. Sensing the danger, they immediately began evasive maneuvers while pouring their firepower toward Reid's unit.
However, over a dozen thick beams from Reid's side ruthlessly swept away all the incoming attacks.
Even the large Bruno Cannon shots were neutralized by beam counter-detonations.
The opposing mobile suits scattered like monkeys fleeing a falling tree to evade these high-energy beams. After all, only the full explosive release of a top-tier Newtype's psychic power, aided by the Psycommu System, could achieve the metaphysical ability to block beams (as seen in the final two episodes of ZZ, where Haman's Qubeley withstood ZZ's head cannon using this technique).
However, none of the mobile suits delivered through this Otherworld Entanglement possessed Psycommu Systems, eliminating any possibility of triggering miracles.
With the mobile suits scattering to dodge the beams, their formation naturally collapsed.
The squad immediately engaged their assigned targets according to the pre-arranged plan.
Reid and Noin naturally targeted the Zaku III Psychomu Equipped Type and Commander Type Zaku IV, since these were the only units equipped with Funnels. It was most appropriate for Reid and Noin, both Newtypes themselves, to counter them.
Ange single-handedly took on the Geara Doga (Full Frontal Custom) and Geara Zulu (Angelo Sauper Custom).
It must be said that even while berserk, Angelo Sauper remained loyal to Full Frontal. Seeing the enemy mobile suit target the Geara Doga (Full Frontal Custom), he instinctively moved to provide cover, and the three units became locked in combat.
Well, to be precise, Ange was demonstrating what high-mobility combat truly meant by leveraging the Immortal Aegis's performance, completely overwhelming both the Geara Doga (Full Frontal Custom) and Geara Zulu (Angelo Sauper Custom).
The Immortal Aegis transformed into a blue meteor, thrusting its left arm Beam Crutch toward the Geara Doga (Full Frontal Custom).
The speed was so immense that Full Frontal knew evasion was impossible, forcing him to swing his Beam Saber to block.
Even while berserk, Full Frontal's hands remained steady, firmly parrying the Beam Crutch with his Beam Saber.
However, what followed was a contest of power output, and the Geara Doga simply couldn't compare to the Immortal Aegis, which had been equipped with an AC Miniature Nuclear Fusion Reactor.
Without even holding out for a second, the Geara Doga was forced backward. Just a little closer, and Ange would have finished off the Geara Doga (Full Frontal Custom) with her Leg Blades.
Fortunately, covering fire from the Geara Zulu (Angelo Sauper Custom) arrived at that moment.
So, from a third-person perspective, the battle between the Immortal Aegis and Geara Doga (Full Frontal Custom) appeared as follows:
After their beam melee weapons collided, the Geara Doga (Full Frontal Custom) was pushed back as if struck by an impact. The Immortal Aegis utilized the recoil to bounce away, evading the subsequent beam attack from the flank.
However, while evading, the Immortal Aegis continued its assault, unleashing a volley from its Beam Machine Gun toward the Geara Zulu.
Yet the Beam Machine Gun was merely a diversion—Full Frontal raised his mobile suit's Shield and blocked it effortlessly.
However, in the next instant, the Immortal Aegis teleported right back into their faces.
At this moment, the Geara Zulu (Angelo Sauper Custom)'s large Bruno Cannon Kai hadn't even cooled down yet. The need for charging time was a common drawback of high-power beam weapons.
Thus, the Geara Zulu (Angelo Sauper Custom) could only provide cover using its carried [Panzerfaust] anti-armor cannon.
However, this type of weapon was far slower than Beam Weapons, and Ange hadn't completely ignored the Geara Zulu (Angelo Sauper Custom). As she closed in on the Geara Doga (Full Frontal Custom), she threw two Beam Boomerangs to pin it down.
Thus, the frenzied Angelo Sauper fired his only two [Panzerfaust] anti-armor rockets (mounted on his waist, single-use only) without proper aim, then immediately dodged.
This directly resulted in Angelo Sauper screwing over his ally.
Seeing the enemy Mobile Suit charging at him again, Full Frontal naturally seized the moment before the opponent's Beam Weapon could strike, swinging his Beam Saber forward to force it back.
But Ange's move was entirely a feint.
She knew Newtypes could read minds, so she filled her thoughts with "Attack! Attack! Attack!"—yet a feint is still an attack.
This assault was a diversion; Ange had no intention of engaging head-on. After rushing up to the Geara Doga (Full Frontal Custom), she sidestepped and spun past the Mobile Suit.
Observing the Immortal Aegis's motion, Full Frontal naturally altered his Beam Saber swing into a 180-degree spin slash to avoid being struck from behind.
However, Ange didn't move behind the Geara Doga (Full Frontal Custom) to deliver a slash. Instead, she created more distance and continued firing with her Beam Machine Gun.
After his Mobile Suit's swing met empty air, Full Frontal could only raise his shield to defend again.
From a third-party perspective, Ange's maneuver merely swapped the positions of the Immortal Aegis and the Geara Doga (Full Frontal Custom), causing no actual damage.
But the next moment, one of the two [Panzerfaust] anti-armor rockets fired by Angelo Sauper struck the Geara Doga (Full Frontal Custom) from the side.
Remember, reality offers no immunity to friendly fire. The Geara Doga (Full Frontal Custom)'s right shoulder armor was instantly shattered, and its right shoulder and back thrusters were severely compromised.
Even worse, the two Beam Boomerangs were now returning. With its thrusters malfunctioning, the Geara Doga (Full Frontal Custom) couldn't evade. The frenzied Full Frontal could only watch as his ally got him killed—his Mobile Suit was sliced into three sections by the returning Beam Boomerangs.
Ange had just demonstrated a textbook tactic against Newtypes.
Essentially, it exploits the Newtype abilities of mind-reading and attack prediction by flooding their perception with mindless aggression and offensive pressure, focusing their attention solely on oneself. Then, delayed attacks or luring the enemy into others' lines of fire are used to defeat them.
Witnessing the Geara Doga (Full Frontal Custom)'s defeat—and by his own hand—Angelo Sauper now entered a state of frenzy upon frenzy, a double buff stacking up.
The Geara Zulu (Angelo Sauper Custom) began mindlessly charging and firing at the Immortal Aegis.
After missing with all his Beam shots, he hurled the large Bruno Cannon Kai at the Immortal Aegis in a desperate attempt to bait a lock-on, then drew his Beam Axe ready for close combat.
Ange wasn't afraid of any lock-on deception. Facing the thrown large Bruno Cannon Kai, she maneuvered her Mobile Suit to charge forward, executing an exceptionally fierce maneuver where the Immortal Aegis grabbed the cannon barrel and swung it backhand toward the Geara Zulu (Angelo Sauper Custom) brandishing its Beam Axe.
Before the Geara Zulu (Angelo Sauper Custom) could even swing down its Beam Axe, it was struck on the chest armor by the stock of the large Bruno Cannon Kai. Not only was its charge halted, but its balance was also disrupted.
Ange was the type to press the advantage when an enemy faltered. She casually flung the bent large Bruno Cannon Kai toward the Geara Zulu (Angelo Sauper Custom)'s Beam Axe, using the explosive impact from the cannon's destruction to once again stagger the Geara Zulu (Angelo Sauper Custom)'s movements.
Seizing the opportunity, the Immortal Aegis immediately followed up with a side kick, using its Leg Blades to diagonally slice the Geara Zulu (Angelo Sauper Custom) in half, bringing this two-versus-one battle to an end.
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