"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
After what felt like an eternity of waiting, Kira finally received the sortie signal.
When five streaks of light shot out from the distant, visibly approaching battleship, Kira suppressed his urge to act immediately.
Only when the bright flashes of intense combat erupted did Kira—who had long been prepared and endured lonely anticipation—finally get his chance.
At last, he could freely unleash the firepower of the Strike Gundam's artillery equipment upon the Nazca-class battleship before him.
Thanks to the innate advantages of being the Ultimate Coordinator, even without systematic training, as this world's destined protagonist,
blessed with immense fortune, Kira already possessed the capability to match Athrun and the others—let alone take on a single battleship.
Thus, the moment they clashed, Creuset's adjutant, left behind on the Nazca-class battleship, was immediately overwhelmed by Kira's ferocious assault.
In a panic, he frantically called for Creuset and the others to return immediately for tactical support.
"Were we tricked?"
Yzak no longer shouted about wanting to fight the Moebius Zero for hundreds more rounds.
His rationality resurfacing, he practically urged Dearka to hurry back with him.
"Athrun, watch out!" Dearka, who understood the situation even better than Yzak, was equally frantic.
After hastily warning Athrun, he prepared to retreat at once.
"Dearka!" Athrun suddenly called out to his comrade, considering that the one attacking the battleship might very well be his friend Kira.
He wanted to suggest switching places with Dearka, but the moment the words left his mouth,
the thin-skinned and somewhat indecisive Athrun felt it wasn't quite appropriate.
Technically speaking, he was stronger than Dearka.
In terms of mobile suits, his Aegis was better suited for combat than the Buster.
And most importantly...
If he returned, could he really bring himself to attack Kira?
If the battleship were to sink because of his hesitation, then...
In space, a Mobile Suit without its mothership meant a slow death!
But if he didn't go back, what if Kira was shot down by Dearka or the others...
For a moment, Athrun found himself trapped in an agonizing dilemma.
"Huh?" Dearka, about to leave, caught Athrun's unfinished words and was puzzled.
Just as he was about to ask, he noticed Athrun's momentary hesitation.
And the enemy Moebius Zero, seizing the opportunity of Athrun's pause, swiftly closed in.
"Look out!" Dearka blurted out, raising his beam cannon and firing in an attempt to aid Athrun by diverting the enemy's attention.
"Ah!" Startled by Dearka's warning, Athrun snapped out of his thoughts and saw the Moebius Zero charging at him on the display.
"Damn it!" He barely had time to shout before Dearka's attack was predictably dodged by the enemy.
Then, a torrent of bullets erupted from the Moebius Zero's gun pods and the linear cannons beneath its fuselage...
Pouring down like rain onto his Aegis Gundam.
"Ah!" With a low groan, Athrun swayed left and right inside the cockpit.
The Gundam's PS Armor could indeed nullify physical ammunition, but that didn't mean the kinetic energy from the bullets could be ignored.
Especially since the enemy Moebius Zero prioritized attacking the Gundam's joints.
"Move, move!" Enduring the violent tremors, Athrun struggled to regain control of the Aegis!
"Athrun!" Dearka watched as the Aegis, completely overwhelmed in an instant, fell entirely into the rhythm of the enemy Moebius Zero.
He hesitated too!
One wrong step led to another. If he were to return to the mothership now with the heavily damaged Duel and Blitz,
Athrun might never make it back. But if he stayed to support Athrun,
what about the battleship?
For the adjutant to urgently call them back for reinforcements, the situation there must be dire as well!
At this critical moment, the white-haired Yzak had a flash of insight.
"Dearka, you stay. Nicol and I will go back."
"What?" Sweat poured down Dearka's face as if two tiny figures were wrestling in his mind.
Hearing Yzak's words, Dearka instinctively wanted to refuse.
You two wrecks want to go back? Aren't you just walking into a slaughter?
"Damn it, do we have a better option right now?" Sensing Dearka's hesitation, Yzak roared like an emperor.
Spittle flying, Yzak berated Dearka.
"But..." Despite Yzak's insistence, Dearka couldn't shake his unease.
Fortunately, the standoff didn't last long, as a savior appeared.
"Wang Hu! Wang Hu!"
The usually elegant Creuset charged back in his CGUE.
Raising his gun, he fired repeatedly at the Moebius Zero, with Mu piloting the Qilin close behind.
"Oh? Finally figured it out, huh?"
Wang Hu, who hadn't spoken a word throughout the battle, remarked at the belated and uncharacteristically flustered Creuset.
"Wang Hu?" Hearing the man's voice over the public channel,
the four rookie pilots finally realized they had been fighting none other than the Qilin of East Asia!
The Natural's super ace!
For no reason, and quite embarrassingly,
they all felt a wave of relief.
Though they immediately flushed with shame for thinking that losing to Wang Hu wasn't so bad.
But losing to Wang Hu—it really wasn't shameful!
"These rookies can't even get me excited."
Seeing Creuset's return, Wang Hu decisively abandoned the "rookie" Athrun.
Piloting the Moebius Zero, he actively engaged the CGUE.
"Sorry, Wang Hu. Creuset here still noticed something was off."
Quickly maneuvering the Qilin to join Wang Hu in ganging up on Creuset, Mu didn't forget to apologize.
"No worries. I never expected you to stall for long. This is already ideal."
Wang Hu replied nonchalantly, ignoring Mu's dark expression, then turned back to Creuset.
"That's it—that expression, Creuset. This look suits you!"
"You!"
Taking a few deep breaths, Creuset temporarily resisted the urge to trade barbs with Wang Hu.
The main issue was that he had truly fallen into the trap, and if not for his own realization...
The combat style of the Qilin was unmistakably that of his rebellious son.
If he waited until receiving the message from the battleship before turning back, everything would be too late!
Before fulfilling his ambitions and achieving his grand aspirations, he absolutely could not die—no matter what!
Never!
For this, even if he had to grovel before Patrick in the most humiliating manner, it would be worth it!
"Captain!" Athrun and Dearka exclaimed as they saw Creuset return, their morale instantly bolstered.
With a shout, they prepared to assist him. In their eyes, Creuset was incredibly strong.
But with both Wang Hu and an unknown Allied Forces pilot combined, even their captain might struggle, right?
"Athrun, fall back—protect the battleship!"
Creuset firmly rejected his subordinates' assistance, his sole focus on preserving his Nazca-class Battleship.
"This...?" Exchanging glances, Athrun and the others understood the gravity of the situation.
Without another word, the four swiftly turned and sped toward the battleship.
"Is this really wise?"
Wang Hu glanced at the departing Gundams and taunted Creuset.
"If you die here, you'll lose everything."
"Wang Hu!"
Creuset's voice remained as composed as ever, yet now it carried an unmistakable edge of frustration.
Beneath his mask, his brows furrowed so tightly they could crush a fly. For the first time, resentment surged within him—why did someone like Wang Hu even exist?
-Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LegendaryTL
Thanks!