"Let's use this time that the Destroy is buying us to activate the MS!—quick, activate your MS!"
The Blue Cosmos forces at Torrington Port were in complete chaos, but at least the Dagger units in the warehouse stumbled to life.
"What about the Kingdom of Foundation? Any news?"
"They said they're mobilizing their troops…"
"Then make it faster, or this warship will be inside their territory soon!"
Although only the Archangel and two MS had come to attack, the Archangel-class was by now a well-known Assault Landing Ship type in the Earth Alliance, renowned for tearing through defenses. These Blue Cosmos operatives had no confidence in holding the line against such a combination.
Compared with the turmoil at Torrington Port, the Kingdom of Foundation's forces were organized and methodical.
On the surface, the Kingdom of Foundation collaborated with Blue Cosmos under the guise of "supporting ZAFT's national rebellion," openly using recolored GINN and DINN units—a fact known to the Earth Alliance.
Originally, a warehouse at Torrington Port had been stocked with Dagger units to supply the Kingdom of Foundation for refitting. The Archangel's sudden raid disrupted these plans, leaving Blue Cosmos no choice but to activate the warehouse Daggers for a counterattack.
"Phew… this feels dangerous…"
Unlike the other teammates excited for the upcoming battle, Shura, sitting in the Black Knight cockpit, maintained a grave expression.
"Shura, what's wrong? You've been so quiet today, not like you at all."
A voice came over the comms: "Shouldn't you be heading straight into the battlefield right now?"
"Caution… these aren't the robots from our simulation training!"
Shura said loudly into the communicator.
"Y-yes, yes, you're the leader, you decide."
"Shura, such a worrywart."
His teammates' nonchalant voices sounded over the comms, but the sense of "killing intent" Shura felt seemed to intensify.
"Zzz… everyone, it looks like the Blue Cosmos at Torrington Port are starting to falter. Your turn to take the stage."
Orphee's voice came through the comms.
"No matter what, show these intruders the strength of the Kingdom of Foundation!"
Ten Black Knights completed activation in rapid succession, their crimson mono-eyes lighting up within their heads, marked with a distinct medieval style.
"Black Knight Squadron, sortie!"
Shura commanded over the comms, pressing the pedal. "Don't forget what we trained for!"
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At Torrington Port, the three massive MA units seemed to realize that their super-large twin high-energy beam cannons were of little use against the Archangel, which maneuvered with extraordinary agility. On top of that, the crucial beam deflection devices had not yet been installed. Maintaining MA form under the enemy's heavy fire was decidedly unwise.
So, they all performed the same maneuver in unison.
Their waist and legs rotated under the disk-shaped backpack, the massive backpack detached and shifted to the back, revealing… giant MS units?
"Looks like the giant MA that attacked Orb last time was manufactured here."
Recognizing the familiar style of the massive units and the numerous beam weapon barrels on them, Roz could guess where that Shamblo had come from.
"Mu, I'll take care of them. You handle the other units at Torrington Port."
"Understood! Target time, Blue Cosmos scum!"
Mu skillfully locked his aim onto a Dagger standing at the port and pulled the trigger.
A thick beam easily destroyed the Dagger, and the following Dagger that had just exited the warehouse caught the blast, resulting in both units exploding into fragments.
"To be honest, I don't know."
Roz manipulated the controls, flying toward the three Destroy units. "Considering the Blue Cosmos at Torrington Port and the potential Kingdom of Foundation reinforcements, I can handle them with Unicorn, but I have no confidence in keeping the Archangel completely unscathed."
"So the Archangel will take damage, right?"
Mu grinned and pulled the trigger again, a thick beam destroying another Dagger. "But no matter how damaged the Archangel gets, it won't be worse than when we evacuated from the Alaska Base, because…"
"Don't say it—watch your mouth!"
Hearing Mu's words, Roz interrupted before the conversation went further.
"Mission changed. Recon is no longer feasible. Destroy the factories producing these giant MAs, then we withdraw!"
Marue's voice came over the comms.
At the same time, the three Destroy units made their move.
They raised their hands, revealing cannon barrels at their fingers. Thirty green beams shot out, weaving a deadly net aimed at the approaching Unicorn.
Due to unfamiliarity with the unit, several Dagger units fell to the Destroy units' fire.
"This level of firepower…"
Roz maneuvered the Unicorn in the air like a nimble fish, slipping through gaps in the deadly "threads." "…pales in comparison to the Hi-Nu Gundam!"
"Hi-Nu… Gundam? Is that a familiar unit?"
Mu's voice sounded confused over the comms. "Shut up, I'm piloting!"
Roz performed a sharp maneuver, narrowly grazing a Destroy's right arm. The beam saber on his left arm activated, extending from the forearm.
The Unicorn flew around the arm, slicing off the Destroy's right arm, the cut revealing molten metal.
Maintaining extreme speed, the Unicorn dodged green beams from small high-energy beam cannons on the Destroy's circular backpack and reached directly above its head.
Shooting the Destroy's cockpit head-on could risk hitting a city in the distance, and attacking from behind could hit the Archangel. Roz could only attack from above.
With a brief charge of the Beam Magnum, the Destroy—now missing its right arm—looked up at the Unicorn, seemingly preparing to fire from its mouth cannon.
A violent particle beam erupted from the Magnum, hitting the Destroy's aiming head precisely. Its thick armor melted instantly, and the pilot inside never got a chance to speak a last word before being engulfed.
The Destroy lost all mobility, letting the Beam Magnum pierce its body to the ground. Purple electricity arced around the beam, continuously cutting through the wreckage and leaving long, irregular trails of melted metal.
As the Beam Magnum's output ended, the Destroy shed it's broken parts, turning into a pile of debris.
Next, the Unicorn raised its left arm shield, deploying a lightwave shield. Red-and-white beams struck it, splashing like high-pressure water hitting a rock.
Stray beams scorched the ground, leaving trails, and many Blue Cosmos operating anti-air turrets were eliminated before they could even react.
"Output power normal… good. Push forward in one go!"
Roz checked the systems on the touch screen and pressed the pedal.
The Unicorn maintained the lightwave shield while its backpack thrusters burned stronger, charging forward like a shield rush, forcing the Destroy's Cerberus-style multiple cannons to impact the shield while continuing its advance.
Although these Destroy units were massive, due to adaptation issues and technical limitations, they lacked Aurora nuclear reactors and still relied on battery stacks similar to the Shamblo for endurance.
Consequently, only small-caliber beam weapons could fire continuously; the big cannons on their chest and head could not sustain prolonged use.
As the bigger cannons entered recharge, the Destroy pilots resorted to finger and backpack beam fire.
Simultaneously, another Destroy fired its chest cannons at the Unicorn weaving through the beam rain. Its four six-barrel missile pods also launched all missiles at the Unicorn.
The Earth Alliance had designed the Destroys with excellent firepower; two units alone could deliver fleet-level saturation attacks. But in mobility, they were completely inadequate.
The Unicorn maintained its lightwave shield while continuously adjusting its posture thrusters, dodging incoming chest cannon. Using its head Vulcan guns, it destroyed missiles that slipped past the beam rain, then lifted the lightwave shield to block several beams and passed through the dense fire, reaching the Destroy's lower-left flank.
If the Destroy were faster, it could have maintained pressure on the Unicorn.
But Roz had identified their weakness during the first Destroy strike: even raising their heads was slow. By the time he bypassed the fire net, the Destroy's left arm could not readjust in time to attack.
With one Destroy blocking the other's aim, the fire net thinned instantly.
Like it had eyes in the back of its head, Roz constantly adjusted the pedals and joysticks. The Unicorn made small low-altitude course corrections, rolled once, and continued flying on its back.
Roz raised the Beam Magnum and pressed the trigger without hesitation.
The familiar thick beam pierced the Destroy's left waist, passed through its chest, and exited the right shoulder, forming a purple-red beam into the sky.
The purple electricity easily cut through the Destroy, leaving incisions on its body. Its head revealed internal components destroyed by the current, looking grotesque.
This was the scene Shura had just witnessed near Torrington Port.
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The once orderly Torrington Port had become utterly devastated. Everywhere, steel structures had melted, and high-energy batteries stored in warehouses began to explode.
The massive MS units gradually deteriorated under the beam attacks, like giants hollowed out from the inside, slowly collapsing to the ground. The high-energy battery packs in their disk-shaped backpacks started detonating one by one, sending armor plates flying.
On the ruined battlefield, the remaining Dagger units continued firing at the Archangel, but every now and then, a thick beam would erupt from the Archangel's central deck, precisely destroying a Dagger.
A barrage of missiles launched from the remaining vehicles toward the Archangel, but under the dense anti-air fire, only a few managed to penetrate and strike the armor.
The layered armor of the Archangel had scorch marks from the explosions, giving the impression of damage, but it remained largely intact. Beams fired from the Dagger left temporary traces on the layered armor that disappeared after brief heat dissipation.
"Roz! The Kingdom of Foundation troops have arrived… Black MS?! Ten black units, half of them heading toward you!"
Mirilia's voice came over the comms. Roz gritted his teeth.
"Tch, I knew it… Hold on, finishing off the last giant MS."
The Unicorn adjusted its posture at low altitude, dodging the last Destroy's beam sweep, and flew toward its target.
"I'll hold them off until you return! Pick up the pace, Roz!"
Mu continued firing. With the enemy forces mixed with numerous DINN and GINN units, precise targeting was pointless—just hitting as many enemy units as possible with sniper fire was enough.
"…Split into teams as planned. Team One with me, using the giant MS as a pivot to steadily advance!"
Watching the display, Shura's expression darkened. "Team Two, attack the enemy battleship and the MS aboard!"
"Understood!"
The comms responded. Ten Black Knights split into two groups, some carrying anti-ship weapons followed DINN and GINN units, following five Black Knights toward the Archangel.
Feeling the suddenly dense fire net, Roz maneuvered the Unicorn skillfully, inching closer to the Destroy.
Only because the Unicorn used a laser nuclear fusion reactor could Roz sustain this high-intensity maneuvering; a battery-powered MS would have run out of power long ago.
Roz checked the remaining magazine rounds, narrowing his eyes.
After rolling to evade incoming missiles, the Unicorn raised its Beam Magnum, aiming at the Destroy's legs.
The thick beam easily destroyed the Destroy's legs. The pilot could not transform using the backpack and could only watch in despair as the Destroy fell to the ground.
Exactly the effect Roz intended, after using the shield to block several incoming shells, he aimed the Magnum at the right-front ground and pulled the trigger.
The falling Destroy collided with the thick beam. The high-energy beam cut through the last Destroy's armor like a hot knife through butter, destroying the pilot and the disk-shaped backpack in the process.
"You bastard!"
Although feeling the murderous intent from the elegant pure-white unit before him, seeing the Blue Cosmos MS—supposedly Kingdom of Foundation "allies"—destroyed while ignoring Foundation's attacks ignited a strange anger that overwhelmed his concern.
Pulling the heavy saber from his MS, Shura piloted his Black Knight toward the Unicorn.
"This is Roz. Returning to the Archangel for support."
After quickly dodging several beam attacks, Roz calmly removed a magazine from the rear skirt armor with his left hand while raising the Beam Magnum with his right. He released the empty magazine, inserted a new one, and the mechanism secured it perfectly.
The Unicorn's left hand re-mounted the empty magazine on the rear skirt armor. At Roz' current financial status, throwing away a magazine after use was out of the question.
Sensing something, Roz abruptly turned the Unicorn. The shield reassembled and blocked a slash.
"Got you!"
Shura shouted, pushing the Black Knight harder to strike the Unicorn away.
But something felt off. Even at high output, the heavy saber didn't cut as expected—it was instead pushed aside.
The Unicorn's thrusters flared, and the white shield, like a locomotive, rammed the Black Knight. A violent vibration struck, leaving Shura momentarily stunned.
A series of shield strikes followed, sending the Black Knight flying.
"Uwaaah…"
Shura instinctively screamed, but his hands remained firmly on the controls.
"Captain!"
Over the comms, teammates' voices were panicked. Two Black Knights raised guns toward the Unicorn.
Feeling the targeting, Roz frowned. The Unicorn's left forearm beam saber extended, its power dialed up near the limit, ready to unleash a violent strike.
The Beam Magnum wasn't ideal at close range; these black MS had good resistance to ballistic and beam attacks, and the Vulcan gun had little effect. Before the two black MS could fire, Roz decided to slash them with the high-powered beam saber.
The Unicorn's left beam saber arced perfectly, slicing toward Shura's Black Knight cockpit.
Shura instinctively stepped on the pedal. The Black Knight's thrusters surged, raising the MS.
The high-power beam saber cut smoothly through the Black Knight's waist. FT armor tore easily, offering no resistance. Even the rear thrusters were damaged, causing an explosion.
The Black Knight was cut in two. Seeing the offset cut, Roz frowned.
The Unicorn kicked the briefly suspended Black Knight, activating its leg thrusters to slide sideways, evading beams from two other Black Knights above.
The Beam Magnum fired again, spraying an intense beam directly onto one Black Knight.
It barely had time to react—its FT armor overloaded and melted. No explosion occurred in time.
The Black Knight closest to the beam watched in despair as the purple lightning overloaded its FT armor, splitting it in two, detonating its battery pack and exploding like fireworks in midair.
"Just grazing it…"
Shura, still reeling from the brief confrontation, stared at two teammates killed by the Unicorn.
Comms carried their terrified screams, their overwhelming fear echoing in his mind. Finally, the Black Knight Shura piloted crashed onto the devastated ground, sending violent shocks through the area.
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