Knowing the plot, Lu Tianming didn't hesitate and immediately proceeded to equip the Aerial Combat Backpack along with the delivered Beam Rifle, Combat Knife, and Shield.
Just as Lu Tianming was about to relax after seeing the additional external armaments on the fire control system and the fully recharged battery, a deafening explosion echoed through the space colony.
"What's going on? Has the battle started again?"
"Didn't the enemy forces withdraw earlier? Why are there invaders again?"
Kira and the others stared at the exploding colony wall, immediately thrown into panic once more. Having nearly been caught in the standoff between the Aegis and Strike Gundam earlier, their fear was even more intense during this second assault.
"Miss Murrue, I'll leave the protection of the civilians to you."
Lu Tianming switched to communication with Murrue and spoke solemnly.
"Mhmm... Be careful. The enemy unit is a Commander Unit 'CGUE'—it's on a completely different level from the previous GINNs."
Murrue nodded without saying more, offering a word of concern before evacuating with Kira and the others.
Meanwhile, Lu Tianming watched the approaching white monoeye MS named CGUE in the sky, lightly resting his hands on the control sticks as he said:
"Xia Chuan, prepare to engage!"
"Alright, watch how your dad's gonna show you how it's done!"
————————————————
Rau Le Creuset, the commander of this Gundam hijacking operation, was piloting the CGUE in pursuit of his rival—Mu La Flaga, who was piloting the Moebius Zero.
However, when the two of them entered the space colony during the chaotic battle, his attention was drawn to something else.
"That's the Strike Gundam that defeated Miguel... Let me test your capabilities!"
Mu's Moebius Zero had already been nearly disabled under his pursuit, and even without being forced to land, it could no longer pose a threat—naturally, he shifted his focus to the more valuable Strike Gundam.
With a deft maneuver, the CGUE executed a sharp turn under his control, diving down like a hunting hawk while simultaneously unleashing a barrage of fire from its machine gun.
But the Strike Gundam had completed its backpack installation by then. Driven by Xia Chuan, the thrusters on its back burst into action, and with its shield raised, it charged forward directly, Beam Saber in hand.
"Incredible performance!"
Creuset was startled—the Strike's instantaneous burst speed far exceeded his expectations. Before he could react, the crimson blade filled his display. The fear of death instantly gripped him—a sensation he had never experienced throughout his battlefield career.
But... Death seemed to be playing a joke on him, as the strike missed entirely.
Somehow, the Strike had swung its blade off-target, landing beside itself.
It even followed up with... a rather comical series of spins.
"Hmph... Impressive specs, but the pilot can't properly control the MS? As expected of a Natural."
Witnessing the Strike's clumsy missed strike, Creuset chuckled softly—he realized it was likely a pilot error.
What a pity... If it had been just a bit faster earlier, he would have been dead.
"On the battlefield, where life and death hang by a thread, there's no room for mistakes... Use your final breath to remember this iron rule!"
Inside the Assault Suit's cockpit, Lu Tianming and Xia Chuan were equally baffled by their earlier misoperation.
"Bro, what were you dodging back there?"
Lu Tianming stared blankly at the empty space where his strike had missed, confused.
"Shit! I thought you drawing your blade was a feint to bait his defense, so you could spin around and take a shot from the side!"
"What's there to fear about his defense? You could've just slashed through it with your Beam Saber... Watch out, he's chasing us!"
Just as Lu Tianming was about to question Xia Chuan's explanation, he saw the CGUE swinging its sword and immediately shouted a warning.
Seizing the opening in the Assault Suit's stance, Creuset swiftly manipulated the CGUE to draw its Greatsword, bringing it down from above like a slam dunk.
Lu Tianming quickly activated the left Attitude Control Thruster while Xia Chuan threw his weight sharply to the right—their simultaneous but opposing movements threw the Assault Suit into perfect balance, leaving it hovering like a stationary target as the Greatsword came crashing down.
Fortunately, the PS Armor could withstand physical projectiles—the Greatsword didn't deliver a fatal blow, only producing the impact of a blunt strike.
Yet the powerful force still sent the Assault Suit plummeting to the ground. Lu Tianming was slammed back into his seat by the impact; if not for the seatbelt, he would have been bouncing around the cockpit like a rubber ball.
At the last moment, Lu Tianming tapped the thrusters, barely managing to land the free-falling Assault Suit on its feet.
"Damn it, this isn't working... From now on, I'll handle command and fine adjustments. You take full control of the combat!"
Lu Tianming gritted his teeth, his tone resolute.
During their earlier fight with the GINN, their maneuvers had been limited. He never expected... that in a real battle, they'd run into issues with control coordination.
Aware of his own mediocre piloting skills, Lu Tianming thought it over and decided to hand the bulk of the fighting to Xia Chuan.
"Alright! This time, father and son will unite as one—we're gonna blast him to pieces, aaaargh!"
Xia Chuan roared, his fighting spirit blazing as he watched the CGUE diving toward them once more.
And at that very moment, unnoticed by either of them in a corner of the display screen—an indicator labeled 'Resonance Level' was steadily rising.
Piloting the CGUE in the air, Creuset was about to press his assault when he saw the grounded Assault Suit leap into the air again, just as it had at the start of their encounter.
Seeing the Assault Suit attempting to recreate its initial ambush, Creuset chuckled to himself.
"The same move won't work on me twice!"
His earlier surprise had been solely due to unfamiliarity with the new mobile suit's capabilities—now that he was prepared, how could he possibly be defeated by the same tactic?
He quickly maneuvered the CGUE to gain altitude, continuously firing its machine gun at the Assault Suit's head monitor as the mobile suit ascended.
No matter how high its performance or strong its armor, if it couldn't see its enemy, it would be nothing more than a lamb to the slaughter!
"Xia Chuan, spin and throw the Beam Saber!"
Lu Tianming issued the command immediately. By his estimation... shooting wouldn't work against a veteran like Creuset who excelled at evasion. To secure victory, they had to rely on clever tricks.
"Got it! We're using that move from Zeta Gundam!"
Xia Chuan instantly understood. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the Beam Saber spinning through the air like a throwing knife, hovering mid-air like a fan made of light.
"Resorting to throwing it in a hurry—but at that speed, it's far from catching up to the CGUE!"
Creuset was somewhat experienced with the Assault Suit's sudden change in tactics—but at this level, it still wasn't enough to make him feel a renewed sense of crisis!
According to his calculations, that Beam Saber simply couldn't catch up to his mobile suit. The most likely outcome was that it would fall powerlessly in midair.
—But if he could calculate this, there was no reason Lu Tianming couldn't.
Yet, as the white Assault Suit used its shield to block the earlier machine gun fire, it immediately drew a Beam Rifle from its waist—a dazzling beam shot straight toward the spinning Beam Saber in the air!
The Scarlet Particle Beam struck the blade's edge, and the rifle's energy refracted into a starry barrage of projectiles. The originally concentrated beam energy was forcibly shattered, like a column of water smashed into countless droplets.
Though the power of this shot was diminished by the Beam Saber's dispersion—its attack range expanded several times over!
This left Creuset, who might have otherwise evaded the attack with a maneuver... completely without room to dodge!