Facing the endless swarm of unmanned aerial vehicles filling the sky.
Although the Coordinators didn't yet know which faction these drones belonged to at this moment,
it didn't dampen their current high spirits.
After all, the drones had to be either from the Atlantic Federation or the East Asian Federation across the sea.
Compared to the East Asian Federation, many Coordinators found it more plausible that they came from the Atlantic Federation.
After all, their side had launched a surprise attack - it wasn't like the East Asian Federation could predict the future like gods.
"Hahaha, the Atlantic Federation must be desperate if they're dragging out these ancient relics from their bottom drawers!"
Among the large DINN formation flying toward the drone swarm, a Coordinator soldier laughed until tears welled in his eyes.
It had to be said that with the Neutron Jammer - the Coordinators' ultimate trump card -
the drone tactics, once considered the new paradigm of future warfare
and proven effective in actual combat,
were now looked down upon by the Coordinators.
And why not?
Because of the Neutron Jammer, remote control of drones had become a joke.
Without support from rear data links, traditional active phased array radar and similar systems were rendered useless.
Relying solely on each drone's own computing power, with just thermal sensing and visual probes -
how much could they really accomplish?
Besides, at the beginning of the war, hadn't those foolish Naturals already tried using drone attacks?
Back then, the Naturals had modified drones into Suicide Drones.
But their so-called intelligent programs, combined with errors in visual and thermal perception,
meant that often before the unmanned aerial vehicles could even reach them,
due to various misidentifications
and their own powerful firepower, those poor little things would fall before the great Coordinators.
They believed this time would be no different.
Ultimately, it was just the desperate struggle of Naturals who had run out of options.
With such thoughts, when the pure white drones in the distance entered the DINNs' firing range,
"Let's have a competition - see who can shoot down the most drones?"
a Coordinator soldier joked over the public channel. Although these drones performed better than those from the early war period -
flying higher and faster, with such numbers almost reaching them
while maintaining stable flight without incidents -
the Coordinators still maintained their cheerful mood, not believing these drones could pose much trouble.
"Bang bang bang."
The Coordinators' DINNs opened fire, their high-powered rifles attacking the dense drone formation ahead.
Countless shell casings ejected, countless projectiles flying.
"Ha, probably this wave will take down all those drones."
Some Coordinators said with mocking eyes, speaking words that seemed reasonable but were actually unrealistic.
"Yeah, those poor Naturals."
But the other Coordinators agreed - in their memory, drones were just too fragile.
Drawing from their initial encounters with Natural unmanned drones, every bullet could effortlessly eliminate countless fragile drones along its trajectory.
Would this time be the same?
They waited with anticipation.
Yet the cruelty of reality struck like an iron fist, brutally slapping the faces of these DINN-piloting Coordinators.
The sky was filled with an endless swarm of drones, with the lead wave each carrying two heavy missiles.
Before the Coordinators' bullets could reach them, these drones had already launched their payloads.
"Huh?" Even as they saw the massive wave of incoming missiles, the Coordinators still hadn't grasped the severity of the situation.
They casually performed evasive maneuvers or raised their guns to shoot down the heat-seeking missiles as per standard procedure.
But they seemed to have forgotten one thing - if the drones could be described as endless,
then what scale must the incoming missiles represent?
Perhaps their failure to recognize the danger stemmed from their deeply ingrained arrogance.
"Wait, something's wrong!"
Finally, some smarter Coordinators began to realize what was happening.
Watching their bullets miss the enemy drones, seeing the drones shift formations like agile bees in the sky -
sometimes dispersing, sometimes converging.
Though occasional drones were shot down, against the sheer volume of the drone swarm,
it was utterly insignificant.
"Attention, there's something unusual about these drones!"
The alert Coordinators shouted urgently, but by then the missiles were already upon them.
"The missiles are different too!"
Sharp-eyed Coordinator soldiers stared in horror at the missile noses approaching them,
noticing the eerie red camera lenses glowing with mysterious red light.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh."
The whistling sound of missiles tearing through the air reached them, and only then did the Coordinators understand the danger.
Missiles that should have lost most of their guidance capabilities were now maneuvering with unprecedented agility!
"Why can't I shake them off!"
A Coordinator soldier at the front of the formation yelled frantically.
His teammates had all turned into fireballs in the sky just moments before.
And he, who had miraculously survived, wouldn't last much longer.
No matter how he maneuvered, no matter what complex aerial maneuvers he performed in the blue sky,
even if he managed to evade some missiles, others would immediately take their place as if possessing their own will.
"Damn Naturals!"
Eventually, this Coordinator soldier who had survived a bit longer also became a firework in the sky,
serving as mere decoration for the massive drone swarm stretching farther and higher.
"What's happening?"
The disastrous aerial combat situation naturally didn't escape the notice of the Coordinators in Alaska's ground forces.
Watching the drones sweep through the DINNs like army ants across dark continents, seeing their comrades reduced to skeletal remains,
a chilling sensation gripped their hearts.
And it wasn't just their location - elsewhere along the coastline,
such as the ZAFT warships serving as supply and repair stations floating on the sea,
and at the ZAFT forward outposts that had successfully established footholds in the Alaska region.
After devouring the enemies that came to intercept them, the unmanned aerial vehicles began descending in altitude.
One batch of unmanned aerial vehicles began releasing the payload pods mounted beneath their fuselages.
Through starlight guidance, through terrain matching, through image matching mechanisms.
Or under the laser guidance of other unmanned aerial vehicles.
Since high-tech guidance systems like radar couldn't be used.
They simply dug out some antiquated methods from the historical archives.
After all, regardless of the method, as long as they could drop the contents of the pods onto the Coordinators' heads.
"Damn it! What have the Naturals done?"
A Coordinator soldier roared, staring at the fierce flames engulfing his Mobile Suit.
"They used gasoline and polystyrene compound!"
Another experienced Coordinator soldier immediately explained.
"What?"
His face instantly turned pale as the unstoppable flames spread across the Mobile Suit.
The soldier had been trying to pat out the flames with the MS's hands.
But the more he patted, the more the flames spread, leaving him confused.
Now he understood - the characteristic of gasoline mixed with polystyrene compound was that once it stuck, it couldn't be shaken off.
Meanwhile, this mixture could burn at over 1000 degrees Celsius, consuming all the surrounding oxygen.
Even if not burned to death, they would suffocate.
"How dare those evil Naturals do this?"
Praying desperately that the MS armor could withstand the high temperature, he watched the hellish inferno around him.
The Coordinators' faces, illuminated by the flames, resembled demons.
"Wait, damn it, the Naturals definitely added something extra to their recipe."
Since the primary targets were the Coordinators along the coast and the battleships on the sea surface.
Facing the massive fire, being human after all, the Coordinators instinctively rushed into the sea, hoping to extinguish the flames with seawater.
But both the soldiers who had run into the sea and those pumping seawater to douse the flames.
Soon discovered something else was wrong.
"They added white phosphorus too!"
Gasoline with polystyrene compound plus white phosphorus.
The upgraded formula meant that even a small amount would burn down to the bone.
"Wait, there's calcium powder too!"
Well, calcium powder mixed with these substances was even deadlier, as it created chemical reactions producing strong corrosive effects.
"Despicable Naturals!"
Another voice emerged.
"They added aluminum thermite too! No wonder the heat felt wrong and the burning range is so wide!"
But before this "genius" could enjoy the resentful stares from those around him.
His detailed explanations made the surrounding soldiers grind their teeth in hatred.
Sometimes dying in ignorance might not be such a bad thing.
The "genius" soldier collapsed face-first onto the ground.
"And lead salt, right? I knew it, these Naturals are nothing good."
With a bitter smile, the Coordinator soldier truly hated his excellent memory.
He still remembered what he'd seen in military academy.
Lead salt was toxic, and the gases released during combustion could rapidly cause unconsciousness...
"Naturals, have the guts to come down and fight one-on-one!"
Numerous battleships were destroyed, countless Mobile Suits melted.
But there were still many Coordinators - even though the main force was advancing inland.
The military strength left in the periphery couldn't be cleared by just a few waves of unmanned aerial vehicles.
Not to mention that some remaining Allied Forces soldiers in the periphery were still resisting.
Thus, to avoid excessive collateral damage and to leave some "feast" for the Coordinator soldiers inland to taste as well.
The Unmanned Aerial Vehicles regrouped, with those that had exhausted their ammunition beginning their return journey, while those still armed headed toward the Allied Forces' Alaska headquarters.
"Bastards! Hit and run, cowards!"
Watching the departing drones and the sky-obscuring swarm overhead, the surviving Coordinator soldiers howled in frustration.
Before they could finish venting their rage through curses, their courage to continue swearing vanished.
Because the sky darkened once more—this time, it wasn't Unmanned Aerial Vehicles approaching.
Instead, it was massive aerial transport planes, their wings emblazoned with the insignia of the East Asian Alliance.
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