Chapter 233: Explosion
Gaplant's terrifying thrust was enough to pose a risk even to enhanced humans.
But Eli showed no fear. Bracing himself against the G-forces, he charged out from the Jaburo gate, ascending into the sky!
Gaplant swept past the White Trojan Horse first and ascended above it.
Facing the Titans' real airborne transport unit, with only a few having escaped the Blackout Zone, Eli showed no mercy. He immediately activated the MEGA particle cannons integrated within the twin shields mounted on Gaplant's arms—firing a fierce barrage!
At the same time, Eli opened a comm line to the Pegasus-class ship ahead.
"This is Eli Lee. White Chaser, authorization granted to use force against the Titans."
In this battle, Eli had no intention of explaining things to the crew aboard the White Chaser. He issued his command with crisp clarity.
"Huh?"
Otto was the first to react, clearly shocked by Eli's sudden appearance and abrupt order.
"In that case… NT-X Gundam, launch!"
Before Otto himself could respond properly, the White Chaser's portside launch catapult was already open, and a flash of light shot out.
"Hey, I haven't even given the launch order yet!"
Captain Otto shouted toward the CIC.
Opening the hatch without a launch order?
Otto's words indeed caused the CIC crew to halt their actions. Everyone on the bridge turned to look at him.
Just moments ago, Otto had been trying to project the authority of a ship's captain. Now, he immediately lost momentum.
He let out a faint sigh.
"Aren't any of you even afraid?"
Otto lowered his head, took off his standard-issue helmet, and replaced it with his military cap.
But he noticed that the crew on the bridge were still looking directly at him—no one looked away.
"I get it. We don't have many choices left… All hands, battle readiness level one! Deploy all anti-aircraft guns—target: Titans airborne troops!"
Otto straightened the brim of his cap and thrust his right arm forward, delivering his command with unwavering resolve to everyone on the bridge.
Since the captain had already resolved to break into Jaburo and fire upon the Titans forces who had driven them to this point, then wasn't this decision just another step forward?
"Yes, sir!"
This time, there was no hesitation from anyone on the bridge. Every crew member began following the new captain's orders and operated the White Chaser accordingly.
A dense barrage of anti-aircraft fire rained down on the Titans forces still descending through the atmosphere.
Given the difference in altitude between the two sides, this barrage wouldn't hit the descending troops with pinpoint accuracy.
But when it came to dealing with MS units reentering the atmosphere, such accuracy wasn't necessary.
As long as a single round grazed the heat-resistant parachutes attached to the MS units for atmospheric reentry, the friction with the atmosphere would cause them to burn up.
"White Chaser, do you read me? Please assist us in securing the airfield!"
Immediately, the White Chaser continued pouring firepower while advancing toward the airfield on the surface of Jaburo Base.
As for whether NT-X, now without the support of the warship's firepower, might be in danger?
No one entertained that thought—after all, this was the teamwork of Amuro and Eli.
After launching from the White Chaser, Amuro ignited NT-X's thrusters and rapidly ascended. Once he stopped rising due to MS structural limitations and began falling, a beam of light streaked in from the side—it was Eli, piloting the Gaplant.
Eli hadn't completed a full transformation; he had only released the joint locks on his left arm and reached out to grab NT-X, lifting it higher.
Together, they plunged straight into the heart of the enemy formation.
By now, a considerable number of Titans MS had already emerged from the Blackout Zone.
Normally, the next step would be to descend using their heat-resistant parachutes until they reached an altitude where their onboard landing systems could engage.
But they were now caught between two reapers!
"Counterattack, counterattack!"
Orders to return fire immediately echoed within the Titans comms.
The majority of MS that had already exited the Blackout Zone instantly discarded their protective parachutes and turned their weapons on the two enemy suits.
But before they could fire, they were already under beam fire!
Eli had pulled Amuro into high altitude, then released his grip on NT-X, letting it free-fall.
Meanwhile, he himself began a dive.
"Vmmm!"
Inside the atmosphere, wire-controlled cannons weren't viable.
But even so, Amuro simply fixed the weapon to NT-X's back and used it as a large MEGA particle cannon—more than enough to be a significant threat!
Combining it with his beam rifle and beam wrist cannon, even in freefall, Amuro was still able to maneuver using NT-X's thrusters, launching a deadly assault on the Titans MS.
NT-X spun through the air in what looked like acrobatic stunts, firing beams in all directions during its movements.
And every single shot hit its mark.
Even if they didn't immediately detonate the MS, they were still enough to melt arms or legs!
"Thank you… Chris…"
Amuro murmured softly in the cockpit.
The only reason he could pull off such bold maneuvers in-atmosphere was because the suit had undergone a complete transformation.
After obtaining the movable frame technical data, Christina had wasted no time in designing a comprehensive refit plan for NT-X.
But rather than calling it a refit, it might be more accurate to say she built an entirely new mobile suit.
In contrast, Eli, piloting the Gaplant in MA mode, had less flashy accomplishments—he simply picked off MS units within his targeting range like an old-fashioned jet fighter.
But Eli soon noticed that Amuro's altitude was becoming dangerously low.
After destroying a GM-Q unit with his MEGA particle cannon, Eli piloted Gaplant toward Amuro's position.
Gaplant didn't rely on traditional fighter jet-style tail rudder adjustments for turning.
That kind of thinking was too limited!
The movable shield wings on both sides of Gaplant rotated, redirecting the rear thrusters downward.
Then, the central body lifted and flipped 180° to face Amuro's direction.
The shield wings then rotated back into alignment, correcting the horizontal orientation. In a feat of spatial maneuvering no standard fighter or transformable MA could replicate, Eli flew directly beneath NT-X!
The suit trembled—caused by the weight of the MS landing atop it.
That's right. Eli was now using Gaplant as a flying platform, allowing NT-X to maintain altitude.
Neither suit needed to maneuver anymore. Simply maintaining stable flight posture was enough, because any MS attempting to approach would be driven off by Amuro's overwhelming firepower.
These two suits alone had already wiped out 20% of the Titans' airborne forces.