"First blood is mine!"
Breaking away from the four-unit squad formation, Yzak took the lead, rapidly pulling the trigger of his beam rifle.
Searing, deadly beams shot from his weapon, targeting the Moebius Zero approaching head-on.
"Hmph, a measly Moebius Zero. Watch me shoot you down in no time."
Yzak boasted arrogantly. If he were facing Wang Hu piloting the Qilin, he might have some lingering fear.
But a Moebius Zero?
Not a chance!
In his mind, as long as he charged forward, the Duel Gundam's performance would make shooting down the enemy a matter of seconds.
Hell, under his torrential beam shots, the reckless Allied Forces mobile armor would be destroyed before he even got close.
However...
The Moebius Zero nimbly weaved through the beam attacks from Yzak, Athrun, and the others—like a butterfly flitting through flowers, a bee dancing among petals.
Not only did the beams fail to land a direct hit, they didn't even graze the mobile armor!
"How is this possible?!" Yzak, who had charged the farthest ahead, was so furious his face twisted.
If it were Wang Hu pulling off such maneuvers, he could accept it. But this was some nobody!
Was he really going to fail against such an opponent?
"Unforgivable!" For no reason other than wounded pride, Yzak saw the enemy closing in.
"Fine then!" If shooting wouldn't work, he'd rely on the Gundam's mobility.
He'd skewer the enemy with his beam saber!
Holstering his rifle, drawing his saber, holding his breath—Yzak focused entirely on the enemy, waiting for what he deemed the perfect distance.
As one of ZAFT's top 20 cadets in this batch (though half-baked), Yzak wasn't as foolish as he appeared.
The cunning pilot didn't forget the beam gun mounted on his shoulder. He fired several shots from it first, forcing the enemy to evade.
Seizing the moment when the enemy would inevitably dodge, Yzak swung his beam saber with a fierce roar and charged.
"Brilliant!" Watching his comrade's flawless response from behind, Dearka couldn't help but shout.
From his perspective, Yzak's tactics were perfect—like that saying, wasn't it?
Ah, right—"The finest art is nature's chance, perfected by the artist's hand." A masterpiece of instinct!
Just as Dearka prepared to cheer Yzak on for his first kill...
The Moebius Zero did indeed evade as expected.
But while dodging, four wired control pods detached from its main body.
"Pathetic!" Yzak laughed mockingly. "Still putting up a fight? What can your physical rounds even do?!"
As he watched the Moebius Zero evade his beams, Yzak could already envision its fiery demise.
With a ruthless swing, his blade came down like executioner's axe!
"Nice!" Dearka's cheer abruptly cut off, sounding unnatural and forced.
"What the hell!" Buster Gundam stood frozen with both Beam Cannons in hand, mirroring the stunned expression of Dearka in the cockpit.
What had he just witnessed?
He saw Yzak piloting Duel Gundam swing its sword—and miss completely!
A swing at empty air!
Had Yzak stayed up too late last night, leaving him too exhausted to see straight today?
How else could he explain missing a completely stationary Moebius Zero?
"Damn it!" Yzak's face cycled between pale and flushed. Others might not notice due to limited viewing angles.
But Yzak knew exactly what had happened.
During his attack, all four bullets from those seemingly useless Wired Control Pods had struck his Duel Gundam's joints.
Then, inexplicably, his attack trajectory shifted. An indescribable force had nudged his strike off course.
"Yzak, those bullets hit your joint mechanisms and pushed along with your momentum, throwing off your aim!"
Blitz Gundam, another highly mobile Gundam, had concealed itself using Mirage Colloid technology.
Nicol hadn't been far behind Yzak and had arrived at the scene almost simultaneously.
From a third-person perspective, Nicol likely understood the situation better than Yzak himself.
"To think he could pull off something like that!"
As Duel Gundam passed by Moebius Zero, it took several more enemy rounds mid-maneuver.
Only after Nicol's explanation did Yzak belatedly grasp the mechanics behind his failed attack.
But understanding only fueled his rage and humiliation!
"Nicol, stay out of this! This is my fight!"
Spinning Duel Gundam around, a furious Yzak roared at Nicol to back off and not interfere.
"Sorry Yzak, but our opponent is far more skilled than we anticipated."
"This is too dangerous!"
Normally, the meek Nicol would have complied with Yzak's demand.
At most, he'd provide cover fire while his comrade salvaged his pride.
But this was different. Nicol had witnessed their opponent's godlike skills, and Commander Creuset's parting instructions still echoed in his ears.
Having maneuvered into what he considered the perfect position...
Seeing the enemy craft within reach, Nicol deactivated Blitz Gundam's Mirage Colloid.
Raising the Triple Missile Launcher integrated into his arm shield, he unleashed a full salvo.
"Nicol! How dare you!"
Watching his teammate about to claim his prey, the repeatedly humiliated Yzak's eyes bulged with rage, veins nearly bursting at his temples.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Three explosions blossomed across the cosmic backdrop, smoke billowing through space.
Then, clutching a shield that appeared half-melted, Nicol's Blitz Gundam came tumbling out of the fireball?
"What now?"
Dearka had abandoned his initial combat enthusiasm after witnessing both comrades' embarrassing performances.
The battle-hardened veteran resolved to focus solely on keeping himself and his friends alive through this engagement.
Are the Allied Forces pilots all monsters?
He couldn't wrap his head around it. While other friendly forces were happily wreaking havoc across the battle lines...
Why was it that every enemy he encountered turned out to be such a tough nut to crack?
"Engine flares and wired gunfire!"
Switching the Aegis Gundam into MA mode, its 580mm Scylla Multiple Phase Energy Cannon deployed from the underbelly.
Athrun quickly explained:
"The enemy had already detected Nicol. The moment Nicol attacked, they used wired gunfire to destroy the missiles before Thunder could fully launch them."
"Then within microseconds, they rotated their frame and nearly melted the Gundam's armor using the intense heat from their rear thrusters!"
"While PS Armor can withstand physical bullet impacts, it still can't endure the extreme heat from propulsion systems!"
After rapidly delivering this explanation, Athrun shouted for Yzak and Nicol to retreat.
Because his Aegis Gundam's attack was about to strike!
"Damn it!" In just the few minutes since combat began, Yzak had already cursed countless times.
He wanted to run. He really did.
Even piloting a Gundam, taking Athrun's attack head-on would be fatal!
But whether he could escape depended entirely on whether his opponent would let him!
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