Chapter 109: SEED – The Crimson Sea 3
GOOhN used the catapult inertia of the torpedo launcher to fire a torpedo that struck the underside of the low-flying Archangel, causing the ship's hull to shake violently.
Kira immediately piloted the Strike Gundam, which had only been half-equipped with underwater propeller thrusters, and fired a beam rifle from the hangar entrance at GOOhN on the sea's surface.
Unfortunately, the seawater hampered the beam rifle's range. Facing Strike Gundam's attack, GOOhN immediately dove back underwater, escaping without a scratch.
"This won't work." Kira opened his communicator and shouted to Murdoch, "Sergeant Murdoch, help me finish installing the underwater propeller thrusters quickly. I want to take a rocket launcher down there!"
Murdoch replied helplessly,
"Kid, I told you just now—the leg propeller thrusters are done, but the shoulder units aren't finished. You wouldn't wait a moment.
Alright, come back first, I'll get you re-equipped right away."
While Kira and Murdoch were communicating, the ZAFT GOOhN once again provoked the Strike Gundam, firing a torpedo that hit squarely.
Kira had no choice but to fire back with his beam rifle, then quickly retreated into the hangar so Murdoch could install the final two propeller thrusters.
On deck, Tolle had nothing to do. GOOhN was blocked by the Archangel and out of range, DINN was chasing Mu's Skygrasper around, and the distance was too far for him to hit.
So, he sat idly in the cockpit, letting Nami conjure a pair of arms and legs to pilot the Recon Ginn.
He told her if DINN came too close, she should trigger automatic counterattack mode.
Then he simply fell asleep in the cockpit. After all, he'd been working hard every night the past few days, and since there wasn't much for him to do right now, he might as well rest.
Mu, however, was run ragged. Even with the high-speed Skygrasper, he couldn't shake off the pursuit of the two DINNs.
Just dodging their attacks drained his strength, yet he also had to dive down near the sea from time to time to cover the Archangel and attack the two GOOhNs.
Within minutes, Murdoch finished the re-equipping swiftly. Strike Gundam now held a rocket launcher in each hand and leapt from the Archangel into the sea.
Just before diving, it almost got hit by GOOhN's underwater beam rifle, but Kira dodged in time and countered with a rocket launcher shot to its face. Without a shield, the Strike would've been finished otherwise.
But the GOOhN agilely evaded the attack and dove underwater again, starting a deadly game of hide-and-seek with Kira.
Once underwater, Strike Gundam fired rocket launchers at the speeding GOOhN.
But GOOhN's speed was overwhelming. It quickly dodged, triggering the rocket shells to explode in the currents.
Then another GOOhN rammed into Strike with its head, followed by a second that smashed into it as well.
After pulling back, they fired their seven-tube torpedo launchers. Kira was overwhelmed, unable to fight back.
Though it was his first naval battle and he staggered from the continuous collisions, Kira quickly adjusted to the propeller thrusters.
He began maneuvering underwater at high speed, keeping up with one GOOhN's movements. At the moment it closed in, he blasted its back with two rocket shots.
The explosion ripped open its rear armor, sending it spiraling down into the depths, crushed by pressure until it exploded into scrap.
The other GOOhN, furious at its comrade's death, continued charging Strike recklessly, darting around at high speed and launching torpedoes whenever it could.
But Kira was quickly adapting to underwater combat, and the GOOhN managed to hit him less and less.
Finally, Kira deliberately showed an opening. When the GOOhN rammed, he fired multiple rockets at point-blank range, blowing it to pieces.
Elsewhere, Mu was still in a deadly chase with the two DINNs, trading machine gun fire.
He could only lure them toward the Archangel, hoping to get support from the ship and Tolle. Unfortunately, Tolle was asleep inside the Recon unit.
The Recon Ginn was being piloted entirely by Nami. But she wasn't directly controlling the mobile suit nor fully fused with it. She only simulated limbs inside the cockpit to replace Tolle's controls, so her reactions were slower.
After receiving Mu's request for support, Nami fired the beam sniper rifle at the incoming DINNs.
Whether it was luck or poor control, the Recon Ginn was riddled with bullets from the DINNs' heavy machine guns and anti-air shotguns, its body half-destroyed and completely disabled.
Luckily, Nami quickly triggered the neo DG cells to protect the cockpit, or else Tolle would have been done for.
But Mu seized the moment, blasting one of the DINNs with a high-energy pulse cannon and destroying it.
Seeing its partner die, the other DINN lost all sense, firing wildly as it charged Mu's Skygrasper.
But it failed to notice the Archangel's automated Vulcan defense system. Its wing was shot, forcing it to retreat at full speed, barely maintaining flight through inertia.
At that moment, Tolle was jolted awake by the Recon Ginn's explosion. Looking at his immobile machine, he cursed loudly,
"Damn it! Another one of my units down—stupid DINN! If I'd known, I wouldn't have fallen asleep. What a disaster."
Nami shrank back timidly and said, "Master, I'm sorry. Nami wasn't good enough and couldn't protect your machine."
Hearing this, Tolle couldn't stay angry. After all, it had been his choice to sleep. He couldn't blame Nami.
But then came her second line—her pitiful expression, the sultry smile of a temptress, and the sudden appearance of a whip. Tolle nearly blew a gasket.
"Master, please punish your servant. Don't hold back!"
"Nami, could you please be serious for once? I'm not blaming you, so there's no need for punishment. But I expect you to act properly from now on. Saying things like that at a time like this isn't funny at all!"
With her tearful look, Nami apologized again. Tolle could only forgive her. After all, a junk Ginn was nothing compared to his evolving support AI nano-armor.
And with the battle already over and no more danger, there was no point in arguing with her anymore.
(Support me and read ahead on Patreøn: patreøn.com/craxxtranslations.
3 new chapters are released daily—thank you for your support!
Powerstone Event: For every 50 powerstones, 1 chapter will be unlocked.)