After the Garibaldi Rebake smashed the Zeydra with one swing of its hammer, it looked at the Exia that had fallen not far away.
Kindhearted Shao Hong piloted his Mobile Suit to extend a hand, preparing to give it a pull.
Setsuna, still in shock from the hammer blow that had nearly flattened a classic heavy-armor Mobile Suit into a small pancake, froze for a few seconds before piloting the Exia to take the offered hand and be pulled up.
At that moment, Graham also descended in his Union Flag. Looking at the new Mobile Suit that had suddenly appeared below, he broadcasted on an open channel, his voice a mix of eighty percent curiosity and twenty percent probing.
"Are you also SDP Mobile Suits?"
Regarding this question, both Mikazuki and Shao Hong felt no need to answer, as Reid had never told them to report their affiliation to any organization other than Celestial Being.
Therefore, Shao Hong simply relayed the order he had just received.
"It's best if you attack these Mobile Suits with melee weapons. Plasma Vibration Swords should be able to break through their defenses."
After Shao Hong spoke, Mikazuki picked up his Rebuilt Sword. He and the Garibaldi Rebake turned and headed into the city to find other Vagan Mobile Suits to trouble.
The Genoace units here had already ascended to high altitude when they saw things were going south, making them difficult targets for the two Mobile Suits.
Graham felt like he had just been ignored. Interesting, very interesting indeed.
Meanwhile, seeing that this Union Flag had provided him with support, Setsuna decided to reveal a little information. "They claim not to be SDP, but locals. As for their advice, I suggest you take it."
With that, Setsuna also turned and took off, preparing to rendezvous with Dynames and Virtue first. He knew that they needed to cooperate to fight the enemy now.
As for Graham, after hearing Setsuna's words, he muttered to himself, "A young boy's voice..."
Then, Graham's spirits lifted as if he were motivating himself. He spoke over the team's internal comms, "You all heard that. Now that we know an effective way to destroy the enemy, it's time for a counterattack. I must say, they are truly like dragons—immune to magic, requiring us to engage in close combat. This is like dancing on a tightrope, and I won't force anyone to participate. Returning to base now will be considered a proper retreat, not desertion."
After Graham finished speaking, not a single person from the Union flight squadron left.
If they left now, even if they survived, they would be a laughingstock for the rest of their lives. There were no such cowards in the elite team led by Graham.
Moreover, even the Kingdom of Azadistan's troops, who could only use their machines as construction equipment to dig through ruins and save people, hadn't lost their courage and retreated from the battlefield. The men of the Union flight squadron certainly didn't think they were inferior to those third-rate troops.
Seeing that no one was leaving, Graham spoke again on the squad channel.
"Since no one is leaving, I'll lay out the plan. Although our Mobile Suits' performance is inferior to the enemy's, battles are never decided by performance alone. We will now use the Hyena Surround Lion Tactic. Today, we must shoot down a few of their units to prove we are worthy of participating in the fight against invaders from another world."
After speaking, Graham led his forces and began to pick off lone Genoace units or small groups of one or two on the periphery. With their skilled coordination, they successfully shot down several Genoace, contributing their strength to the battle.
However, whether it was the Union, Celestial Being, or Tekkadan, they were all currently operating on the outer edges of the battlefield, mainly to prevent the invading Mobile Suits from escaping.
The most intense fighting on the main front was, naturally, the aerial battle taking place here by the Gran Chaos.
Turning back the clock a little, after Reid gave his orders, the Black Tri-Stars, Belfgang, Salya, and Hilda launched immediately as the first wave.
Subsequently, the Gran Chaos's secondary catapults launched a series of Mass-Produced GM Astrays armed with sniper rifles. Some of these units would land directly on the Gran Chaos's hull to prevent the enemy from finding and exploiting blind spots in its massive frame.
The rest would descend to the ground and snipe at the aerial units from below, not necessarily for accuracy, but to disrupt the enemy's flight and prevent them from approaching the thrusters at the rear of the Gran Chaos.
As for the main catapults, they were continuously launching the main forces. Reid himself sortied with the third wave, alongside the Xia sisters.
By now, the battle outside the Gran Chaos was already raging.
Knowing that the automatic machine guns were useless against the Vagan Mobile Suits with their Electromagnetic Armor, the guns were now used more as locators.
This Gran Chaos was no longer equipped with the same systems as the one from the AC Universe. The hull had two rows of high-energy laser emitters on both the left and right sides. Reid had reserved this space for the future Deuterium Nuclear Charge System, which was primarily intended to recharge the new generation of mass-produced escort units.
Of course, with a few modifications, these emitters could be turned into high-energy laser cannons with extremely strong penetration and destructive power. However, their range was too short, making them ineffective for intercepting missiles but better suited for dealing with Mobile Suits that got close to the ship.
That said, if an enemy MS could get that close, it meant the enemy had already reached the mothership's side, a clear sign that the battle was going poorly.
Therefore, this system had been completely useless before. Now, however, relying on the machine gun detectors for targeting, the Gran Chaos's intelligent AI could use the high-energy laser cannons to quickly pick off approaching Mobile Suits.
Furthermore, Hoshino Ruri was also controlling eight Rocket Bits for defense. Coupled with the Gran Chaos's hull, which was constructed with multiple layers of Laminated Armor, the Vagan's first wave of attacks was completely fruitless.
However, the Vagan's first wave had only deployed the Genoace model. The Danazines and the two final Ghirargas were still holding back, scanning and observing.
After the first attack failed and seeing that the Genoace's strongest weapon, the Beam Cannon, had little effect on the enemy warship's armor, the Danazine forces prepared to move up for a second wave.
In truth, if the Vagan forces hadn't habitually scanned the obviously powerful, unknown enemy and had gone all-in from the start, the Gran Chaos would not have escaped completely unscathed. The Danazine's Danazine Cannon could still penetrate Laminated Armor, and the Gran Chaos wouldn't have dared to take many hits from it.
However, it was now too late for the Danazines to advance. The three Amazing Kampfers, the Gundam Eclipse, the Z Plus Gundam, and the Mystic Lightning had already moved to intercept them.
All five Mobile Suits were equipped with weapons that could effectively damage Electromagnetic Armor. The Gundam Eclipse and the Z Plus, in particular, were armed with weapons using VSBR Technology, capable of destroying a Mobile Suit with Electromagnetic Armor in a single shot.
As for the Amazing Kampfer, its performance was nearly at the bottom of Reid's squad, but it was still an absolute high-end machine on the outside. The two Heavy Ion Beam Cannons on its backpack could forcibly break through Electromagnetic Armor with sheer particle volume.
Its other weapons, however, were ineffective. Thus, the Black Tri-Stars were primarily playing a support role this time, wielding Bazooka Launchers loaded not with shells, but with various special munitions, responsible for deploying smoke, flashbangs, and glue rounds.
As for the Mystic Lightning, it had already activated its Mirage Colloid System and was flanking the enemy. The two Ghirargas that had yet to move were Belfgang's targets.
So when Reid launched in the Gundam Artemis, he found that the battlefield had already turned into Salya and Hilda's two-woman show.
The Z Plus Gundam, a Mobile Suit with its primary stats invested in firepower, was truly effective against opponents who favored reckless charges.
Moreover, Salya and Hilda might have a built-in buff against dragon-shaped enemies. In their original world, they had spent much more time fighting dragons than Ange, so they might have triggered some kind of buff.
Otherwise, it was impossible to explain how Salya, piloting the Gundam Eclipse, was pulling off attacks similar to Ange's. The Gundam Eclipse first charged into the enemy swarm in its MA Mode, its two Magnum Beam Cannons constantly clearing a path. Then, seizing a gap as the enemy dodged, it instantly transformed into a Mobile Suit and sliced off an enemy's "head."
One could only say that Salya had gotten used to aiming for the head when fighting dragons.
Hilda, meanwhile, was aiming all her shots at the center of the enemy Mobile Suits.
The Z Plus Gundam's firepower at this moment was even fiercer than the Freedom's Rainbow Cannon. Not only was it surrounded by numerous escort units, but the Mass-Produced GM Astrays would even physically block projectiles for it.
As a result, the enemies in front of the Z Plus Gundam were turned into fireworks one after another, to the point where the Genoace units began to detour around it.
With Ange's entry into the fray, the three began to coordinate their attacks.
Although Ange's Immortal Aegis had been upgraded with almost every new technology available, and it wielded the same Cosmic Era Magran Beam Rifle as the Gundam Artemis, Ange uncharacteristically positioned herself as a tank, drawing enemy fire.
Of course, with the Immortal Aegis as a tank, it could only be the most "stylish" of Evasion tanks.
Reid felt that if the Immortal Aegis had a Wings of Light system right now, it would look like a butterfly dancing through the Vagan forces.
For the Vagan forces, however, this "butterfly" was rather deadly. It would periodically fire a beam to take out an unlucky soul, and anyone who tried to rush in for close combat would be instantly chopped into pieces.
However, the frenzied Vagan soldiers were not afraid of death. So as long as Ange dared to get close, they dared to attack.
Attacking the Immortal Aegis, whether in melee or at range, naturally created opportunities for others. As the Gran Chaos released more and more Mass-Produced GM Astrays, the firepower the enemy had to face grew increasingly dense.
Of course, the Vagan forces had considered bullying the poorly performing Mass-Produced GM Astrays first.
However, the GM Astrays in the sky were mostly positioned on the warship, making them difficult targets under the cover of the ship's own firepower.
As for the GM Astrays on the ground, diving down to eliminate them would mean turning oneself into a target. Splitting their forces would be a foolish move, giving the enemy a chance to defeat them in detail. Thus, the Vagan forces were in an awkward position for a moment, forced to continuously try to eliminate the elite MS Squad before them to break the stalemate.
So, Reid himself decided to join the ranks of those luring the enemy.
It was a necessary move for Reid to personally draw aggro. The Gundam Artemis's numerous small Funnels had to maintain a continuous attack for several seconds to deal effective damage to the Electromagnetic Armor, which was far too inefficient.
As for the CE Magran Beam Rifle in the Gundam Artemis's hands, with the Gran Chaos deploying more and more units, Reid's single rifle's firepower was hardly needed. The Funnel Blades were most effective at close range anyway, so Reid decided to use his Mobile Suit's high mobility to lure the enemy.
After all, not many people were capable of weaving through enemy formations. Even the Xia sisters needed to activate their Mental Link System to do so.
By creating opportunities for others to deal damage, Reid's kill efficiency actually increased.
However, the Vagan forces were no pushovers. Seeing the tide of the main aerial battle turning in Reid's favor, while their own forces were busy chasing a few Mobile Suits more agile than flies, the two Vagan Ghirargas finally began to issue commands.
More accurately, the X-Rounders in these two Ghirargas began to exert their influence.
The X-Rounder was a technology that stimulated human consciousness, awakening the beastly combat instincts long dormant in the brain through constant warfare. It allowed a person to keenly sense danger and react reflexively.
The goal of this system was to unleash humanity's beastly instincts, a system practically born to enhance the combat power of a devolved human race.
At this moment, however, the system proved somewhat useful. The two Ghirarga pilots instinctively sensed that they would lose if the battle continued this way, so they began ordering their forces to descend and fight in the city below.
The pilots knew that by fighting in the city, these "Earthlings" would be concerned about the civilians who hadn't yet evacuated. At the very least, the ruins of the tall buildings would provide excellent cover and concealment.
At the very least, the beam sniper rifles that could barely penetrate their Mobile Suits' Electromagnetic Armor would have their power greatly reduced after passing through buildings.
Thus, Reid and Ange suddenly found themselves with no enemies around them. All the enemies in front of them descended almost vertically into the steel jungle below.
Just as the beast-like pilots, stimulated by the X-Rounder, had judged, Reid frowned as he watched this scene unfold.
Although many of the native buildings in the Kingdom of Azadistan were old-style brick and stone structures that couldn't actually absorb much beam damage, serving more to provide cover and prematurely detonate solid ammunition, the fact remained that there were many local civilians from the Kingdom of Azadistan inside.
If Reid ordered a bombardment of the enemies hiding in the buildings with high-powered beam cannons, collateral damage would be unavoidable.
Although Reid didn't care about potential public condemnation or the Kingdom of Azadistan itself, such an action would definitely reduce Celestial Being's trust in him.
He had worked hard to gain Celestial Being's trust, ensuring they wouldn't interfere with his evaluation mission. This could potentially lead to Celestial Being insisting on participating on their own terms every time, rather than being semi-controlled by him as they were now.
If those guys from Celestial Being were to act on their own, who knew what kind of trouble they would cause. As a protagonist group, they might have all sorts of problems due to their immaturity, but their drive to act was always at maximum.
Moreover, the evaluation mission clearly couldn't bypass Celestial Being. The Otherworld Entanglements always occurred right over their heads during their missions.
Therefore, Reid thought for less than a second before abandoning the plan to use the shipboard Buster Beam Cannon to bombard the city and annihilate the Vagan along with it.
He then issued an order over the comms:
"Ruri, have the Mass-Produced GM Astrays surround the city.
"All Tekkadan members who haven't arrived yet are to set up ambushes around the city. If any enemies try to escape the city, shoot them down directly.
"If anyone from the outside wants to enter, don't stop those with combat capability or reporters. But don't let the Kingdom of Azadistan's ragtag army in."
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