"Don't even think about escaping!"
Just as Wang Hu and the other two were flying toward the Archangel, the enraged Yzak suddenly appeared like an unexpected troublemaker.
Firing continuously at the retreating trio, Yzak sprayed beam rifle shots from his weapon as if they cost nothing.
"Dodge!"
Having already sensed this uninvited guest with his spatial sense ability, Wang Hu warned them in advance through internal communications.
Then, to prevent Kira and Mu from being held back by the enemy, Wang Hu swiftly turned around and swung his beam saber into a dazzling flurry.
Right before Yzak's eyes, he once again showcased the spectacular move of slicing beams with his sword.
"Was it with this move that you killed Captain Creuset?"
Under normal circumstances, Yzak would surely have been shocked by Wang Hu's flashy technique that showed him up.
But now, fueled by Captain Creuset's death, his rage was maxed out, compounded by memories of countless humiliations caused by Wang Hu.
His face twisted with no trace of emotion, he kept his head down, relentlessly shooting and charging forward.
"Yzak, don't be reckless!" They had already possibly lost one captain and many, many comrades.
To be honest, Dearka had originally intended to let it go, not to mention anything about revenge or not.
It would be wise to accept the empty battleships left behind by the Eighth Fleet and call it a day. If possible, he even planned to discuss with Adjutant Will.
After returning, they could use some embellished reporting—not mentioning how many Allied Forces soldiers they killed, but only stating how many battleships they shot down.
After all, in a way, they wouldn't be falsifying their achievements; the Eighth Fleet's battleships were indeed taken down by them, right?
But seeing his friend Yzak acting like a mad dog, Dearka, feeling overwhelmed, couldn't just abandon him!
Steeling himself, Dearka rallied the nearby Genes, leading them to follow behind his friend and provide covering fire as best they could.
No matter what, they might have lost one Captain Creuset today—they absolutely couldn't let Yzak die here too!
"Brother Wang Hu!" Kira turned back and returned to Wang Hu's side, who was still covering their retreat.
"Please let me help!"
After saying this, Kira made as if to charge forward and intercept the Duel Gundam, which was now very close to them.
"Go back, head to the Archangel."
Wang Hu said this not because he wanted to show off, but because through his spatial awareness, he had detected something.
Earlier, the Blitz Gundam and Aegis Gundam had been delayed for a moment by their attacks, hadn't they?
Then, perhaps seeing that the Duel Gundam and Buster Gundam had taken their places.
Now, seemingly having stalled their retreat, under the lead of the Blitz Gundam.
Those two Gundams had gathered a small squad of Mobile Suits, taken a detour, and were charging straight toward the Archangel battleship.
Having learned their lesson, Nicol and Athrun abandoned the empty shells of the Eighth Fleet that were still automatically moving along the way!
"What!" Only after Wang Hu's warning did Kira notice what his childhood friend was doing.
Watching that small Mobile Suit special squad rapidly advancing toward the Archangel, ready to cut off their retreat.
Fully aware of the consequences if they succeeded, Kira didn't argue unnecessarily with Wang Hu.
Resolutely chasing after Mu who had already turned back toward the mothership.
"Brother Wang Hu, please return quickly. We'll be waiting for you on the Archangel."
Compared to Mu who rushed back without a word, at least Kira said something heartwarming.
Watching the two hastily running back to defend their home, Wang Hu just smiled while mentally noting down Mu's rude behavior today in his little notebook.
Although I don't need you to say nice words specifically, it's your fault for not saying anything.
"Whoosh!"
Just as Wang Hu was still watching the two depart, he seemed to have eyes on his back as he sidestepped to avoid Yzak's hateful strike with his Beam Saber.
In just a short time, this enraged Coordinator official's son had already charged to Wang Hu's side.
"So it's Yzak." Wang Hu said calmly over the public comms, greeting the white-haired pilot.
"I'll kill you, kill you!" Like a berserker who had lost his mind, Yzak immediately roared repeatedly over the comms.
"So rude." Since he had just sidestepped to avoid the white-haired pilot's slash.
Wang Hu simply followed through with his body movement, delivering a fierce spinning elbow strike that brutally smashed into the back of the Duel Gundam's neck.
"Crack!"
A powerful strike like this hitting a human's neck or the back of the head - such vulnerable areas would mostly shatter.
The Duel Gundam's neck was no exception!
In the horrified eyes of Dearka and the others behind them, Yzak's Duel Gundam's head seemed to have been hammered into its body by Wang Hu.
But that wasn't all - the Zeta Gundam's right arm scooped, pulling back the Duel Gundam that was falling into a downward posture.
"Crunch!"
A teeth-grinding sound virtually echoed in Dearka and the others' minds as the Zeta Gundam's palms heavily pressed against the Duel Gundam's chest armor.
"Boom."
Another illusory explosive sound followed as the Zeta Gundam's leg executed a knee strike, heavily impacting what would be roughly the waist area of a human body before the Duel Gundam could completely fly away.
"No way?" Dearka blurted out, watching the Zeta Gundam's sky-breaking maneuvers opposite him, his brain completely short-circuiting.
Bro, you're piloting a Gundam, a robot right now - and you can still perform a martial arts combo?
Do you have to be so characteristic of your East Asian heritage!
And he clearly heard the sound of teeth chattering - this time it wasn't his brain adding sound effects.
It was the Coordinator soldiers in the cockpits of the Genes he had called over for support, who were absolutely terrified!
"Yzak!" However, despite the fear, looking at the battered Duel drifting in space, Dearka charged forward recklessly for his friend's life, gritting his teeth.
Even if he had to die today, he would die together with Yzak.
"Damn you Yzak, remember to pay me back in the next life!"
Screaming hoarsely, Dearka prepared to meet his end here today.
"Such admirable friendship."
Watching Dearka charge forward fearlessly to rescue his friend, Wang Hu praised lightly.
But although the friendship was admirable, those who should die must still die.
Raising his Beam Rifle, Wang Hu aimed his crosshairs at Dearka who had rushed to the Duel Gundam's side and was dragging Yzak away.
Just as Wang Hu was about to send the star-crossed lovers to their demise that very day,
Li Chengzhi's urgent shout suddenly blared from Zeta Gundam's communication device.
"Wang Hu, get back here! Kira and Mu can't hold on any longer!"
It turned out that while Wang Hu was teaching Dearka and Yzak a lesson,
Blitz Gundam had fully unleashed its capabilities, pushing close to Archangel's perimeter and launching fierce attacks.
Meanwhile, Nicol had Athrun lead a small number of CGUEs and GINNs to pin down Kira and Mu.
To ensure Kira and Mu would be too overwhelmed to return and support Archangel, Nicol - the former gentle piano prince - issued an almost unbelievable order,
one that the old Nicol would never have given: he commanded Athrun and the remaining Coordinator soldiers
to open fire on the escape pods falling into the atmosphere!
This tactic proved highly effective. Although Athrun didn't actually fire on the escape pods filled with Eighth Fleet soldiers,
the other Coordinator soldiers showed no such restraint. Since they couldn't immediately destroy Strike Gundam or Zero Ginn,
and couldn't assist in besieging the annoying new Allied Forces battleship Archangel,
they figured they could at least handle these defenseless escape pods!
"Damn Coordinators!"
Even Mu, who had never discriminated against Coordinators, couldn't help but curse through gritted teeth.
But the Coordinator soldiers ignored his anger and continued firing merrily.
"Athrun, is this how you operate now?"
Pinned down by his childhood friend, an overstretched Kira could only increase his attack frequency, hoping to eliminate his opponent sooner.
"This is war!" The transformed Athrun wouldn't do it himself, but he wouldn't criticize his comrades either.
After all, those Coordinator soldiers firing on the escape pods were his true allies.
He held Kira back relentlessly, refusing to yield an inch.
"You!" Kira knew verbal arguments were pointless at this point.
While battling Athrun, he descended, trying his utmost to save as many escape pods as possible.
"The world's deviation grows ever larger."
Noticing Archangel's predicament, Wang Hu spared Dearka and Yzak.
After all, Buster Gundam could still evade, and the GINNs and CGUEs behind weren't just background decoration.
Every moment wasted here meant more falling escape pods would be destroyed.
Not to mention Blitz Gundam was deftly dodging Li Chengzhi's anti-air fire while single-mindedly pounding Archangel's armor.
Gaining small advantages while losing bigger ones wasn't worth it.
At full power, Wang Hu piloted Zeta Gundam into Mobile Armor form and raced toward the increasingly critical battlefield.
"Athrun, Wang Hu's coming!" While striving to shoot down Archangel, Nicol kept monitoring the battle situation.
The youth who had inherited Creuset's mask was the first to detect Wang Hu's rapid approach.
He quickly warned Athrun, urging his friend to stay vigilant.
"Wang Hu?" Athrun in Seed Mode glanced at Kira before him, then looked back at the approaching Zeta Gundam.
"No time!" Calculating mentally whether he could shoot down the Strike Gundam before Wang Hu, Athrun sadly realized it was impossible.
"Then!" A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as the password panel ejected from the cockpit armrest.
Though at this distance, the Aegis Gundam's self-destruction might not be enough to destroy the opposing Strike Gundam.
But the blast would certainly prevent Kira from returning to the Archangel!
While maneuvering closer to the Strike Gundam during these final moments, Athrun had already entered the self-destruct codes, awaiting only final confirmation.
"Athrun, watch out!" Just as Athrun was about to reach the optimal position, Nicol's shout came through.
Then a tremendous gravitational pull sent the Aegis Gundam into an increasingly rapid descent.
"What's happening?" Athrun stared at the crimson emergency alerts flooding his cockpit, watching as the Strike Gundam drifted further away.
"What's going on? Can't I even die together with Kira?"
"It's gravity! Gravity!"
Nicol hadn't abandoned his friend. Racing toward Athrun's falling position, he shouted loudly.
"Enjoy Earth's special welcome, Coordinator boys."
Wang Hu, piloting the Zeta Gundam in MA mode, flew beneath the Strike Gundam.
He laughed toward the two whose mobile suits were glowing red in the distance.
Unlike the G Project's theoretical Gundams capable of atmospheric re-entry, the Zeta Gundam's design specifically reinforced this capability.
So Wang Hu used his mobile suit's back to support Kira behind him, letting Kira firmly remember his broad back in these final moments.
Wang Hu also contemplated how events would unfold hereafter. He'd been away from the East Asian Army for too long.
If he didn't return soon, someone might take his position.
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