Athrun indeed issued a warning through the internal communications of the four before the attack.
Under normal circumstances, that would have been enough; not to mention the tacit understanding among the four, especially considering how unlikely it was to expect Yzak to cooperate with Athrun.
This was truly something that would only happen if the sun rose in the west.
However, Athrun and the other two had never anticipated that even after the warning, they could still be hit!
This was quite troubling!
"Boom."
The crimson beam did not hit its intended target; instead, it took away half of the Duel Gundam's body.
Yzak was so anxious that sweat was pouring down his forehead as he watched half of his body sparking and crackling.
And mind you, this was really sparking and crackling!
"What the hell! Why was the Gundam's reaction so slow at that moment?"
It was as if he saw his great-grandmother waving at him from the universe; the white-haired Yzak shouted loudly, venting his anger.
"Could it be?" In a flash of insight, Athrun thought of the only possibility.
"In previous attacks, the enemy always targeted the joints of the Duel Gundam!"
"Compared to the entire frame, the joints of the Gundam are undoubtedly much weaker! Even the PS Armor might not be able to defend against it?"
"Could it be that the damage caused the Duel Gundam to respond slowly to Yzak's commands?"
"Who could possibly achieve something like this!"
Almost bubbling with anxiety, Dearka piloted the Buster Gundam.
He fired a burst of shots at the Moebius Zero, which was trying to come in and finish off the Duel Gundam.
After hearing Athrun's theoretical possibilities, he was unwilling to believe it.
Just having Wang Hu from the Allied Forces was already a blessing.
If that Wang Hu could execute such tactics, he might still believe it!
How could it be that any pilot from the Allied Forces could do this?
If that were the case, what were these Coordinators even fighting for?
They might as well raise a white flag and surrender!
"It's just a coincidence, everything is a coincidence!"
Dearka repeatedly stated in the four-person communication that what Yzak encountered could only be a coincidence.
Faced with his comrade's denial, Athrun fell silent.
He switched the Aegis Gundam to MS mode, holding a gun and a sword as he rushed towards Yzak.
Whether it was a coincidence or not was secondary; he at least had to save Yzak.
Otherwise, in his current state, he might be taken out by stray bullets at any moment.
"Athrun."
Seeing his friend rush over, Nicol, who had avoided the previous beam cannon attack from the Aegis Gundam and activated the Mirage Colloid System, thought for a moment.
Let's try again! It should have been a coincidence last time, right?
Nicol stealthily slipped around the Moebius Zero, which was dodging the Buster Gundam's attacks.
This time, he even timed the invisibility of the Mirage Colloid System, not revealing himself before the attack like last time!
He raised his sword, deliberately not firing a beam immediately, just gripping the hilt and aiming at the enemy.
According to his plan, the beam that would shoot out from the hilt in the next second could pierce through that troublesome aircraft.
"Boom boom boom!"
However, the most unwanted thing still happened just as Nicol was fully prepared.
Even the enemy aircraft cooperatively flew right into his line of sight. Just as Nicol was about to strike the oblivious enemy...
Suddenly, without warning!
The enemy Moebius Zero executed an almost 90-degree vertical drop.
The beam rifle attack from Dearka's Buster Gundam, originally aimed at the Moebius Zero,
ended up striking Nicol's Blitz Gundam directly—so sudden, so utterly unimaginable.
Taking a direct hit from his ally Dearka, the Mirage Colloid of Blitz Gundam was broken, revealing Nicol's battered figure to the horrified eyes of his comrades.
Though slightly better off than Yzak's Duel Gundam, it was only relative.
"Nicol?"
"Nicol!"
"Nicol?"
Dearka froze, Athrun was stunned, and Yzak stood dumbfounded.
After fighting for so long, the greatest damage to their team had all come from friendly fire?
"Dearka! Take Yzak and Nicol back!"
After pushing Duel Gundam toward Buster Gundam, Athrun immediately rushed to rescue Nicol.
By now, he'd realized—that old rogue on the other side had been toying with them all along!
The enemy's skill and timing were far beyond their level.
More allies meant more vulnerabilities to exploit. But perhaps... one-on-one would fare better?
"I... I understand." Even the usually reserved Dearka grasped Athrun's intention instantly.
While keeping the enemy Moebius Zero at bay with suppressing fire, he literally tethered Duel Gundam to his own unit,
preventing his hotheaded friend Yzak from causing more trouble.
Despite his condition, Yzak kept shouting in the cockpit about continuing the fight for three hundred rounds.
"Seriously, are you the heroine from some third-rate drama?" Dearka finally snapped.
"You bastard! How dare you say that!" The white-haired pilot nearly choked on his rage.
"Sorry, Athrun." Unlike his unreasonable companion, the green-haired piano prince Nicol remained courteous.
Following closely behind Aegis Gundam, Blitz Gundam moved cautiously.
"It's fine." Athrun fired occasional shots at the Moebius Zero while reassuring his comrade.
"The enemy is strong—I'd say their piloting rivals even Wang Hu, who's currently fighting Commander Creuset."
"Is that so?"
Nicol sounded surprised, but the ironclad evidence forced him to agree.
After suffering two defeats, Nicol analyzed the encounters and reached a conclusion.
"I don't know how they detected me, but I've heard piloting a Moebius Zero..."
"requires exceptional spatial awareness. Maybe that's why?"
"Both times, I felt like they anticipated my every move!"
"Athrun, if you engage alone, you must remember this!"
"Understood." Athrun nodded gravely. Facing this enemy,
the slightest mistake could cost lives.
"Athrun, hang in there! I'll be back soon!"
After catching Nicol, who had been sent over by Aegis once more, Dearka gave Athrun a solemn reminder before leaving.
"I will." Athrun responded briefly, sharpening his focus to the utmost.
After all, everything from now on depended entirely on him!
But as the saying goes, misfortunes never come singly, and troubles always target those already suffering.
Just as Dearka was about to retreat with the two wounded, a sudden dire message from the flagship left all four of them stunned.
"This is the flagship Vesalius. Can Captain Creuset and the rest of the team hear me?"
"Our ship—our ship is under attack by the enemy Allied Forces' MS, the Strike Gundam! The enemy is equipped with artillery combat anti-ship weaponry!"
"Requesting immediate reinforcements! Requesting immediate reinforcements!"
"Repeat, this is the flagship Vesalius—"
"What?!" all four of them shouted in unison. "The flagship's been ambushed?"
"Kira… is that you?" Athrun added quietly to himself.
"Kira?"
Dearka and Yzak didn't catch it, but Nicol did.
He murmured the name in confusion.
(End of Chapter)