The battered and broken states of the Hell Death Gundam and Altron Gundam left Duo Maxwell, who had just narrowly escaped with his life, utterly speechless.
At this mont, Duo could only sigh inwardly, "So it turns out I'm the strongest one among the four of us here."
There was no helping it. Given the current situation, the relatively intact Heavy Armor Gundam Custom was indeed stronger than the crippled Hell Death Gundam and Altron Gundam.
Seeing the Heavy Armor Gundam Custom return, Duo, who was barely holding off the attacks of the Phantom Dragon Gundam Epyon Armor back-to-back with Wufei, felt as if he had spotted a savior. He imdiately shouted over the restored squad comms:
"Duo Maxwell! Give us so support. The enemy is ridiculously strong."
Faced with Duo's plea for help, Duo Maxwell also broke out in a cold sweat. He really wanted to reply:
"Bro, have you considered the possibility that I was being chased back here? The real Reaper is hot on my tail right now."
This "real Reaper" naturally referred to the Ice Phoenix Gundam.
The Heavy Armor Gundam Custom's Full Burst Mode had indeed stalled the Ice Phoenix Gundam for a mont, as no one would think of charging head-on into such a barrage of missiles.
By the ti Ange had cleared the missiles, the Heavy Armor Gundam Custom had already bolted away like a rabbit.
However, the Heavy Armor Gundam Custom lacked large wings or additional thrusters, so its sprint speed was only average. Thus, the Ice Phoenix Gundam could still easily catch up.
Of course, Ange didn't forget to switch to the Magnum Rifle during the pursuit to practice her marksmanship.
But Duo Maxwell was cunning. He piloted his Mobile Suit directly into a small debris field, then used acrobatic, counter-intuitive movents to disorient Ange within the wreckage.
It wasn't until the Heavy Armor Gundam Custom retraced its path and fled the debris field from the direction it had entered that Ange was able to relocate it.
That was how the Heavy Armor Gundam Custom managed to return completely unscathed.
However, having been toyed with by Duo Maxwell, Ange was actually brimming with rage. If she hadn't promised Salamandine not to activate Burst Mode, she probably would have directly engaged Trans-Am to show Duo Maxwell that she was rely letting him run—he could have a 29,999-ter head start.
Thus, in Duo Maxwell's eyes, the Ice Phoenix Gundam chasing him at full speed was a Reaper coming to claim his life, while the two he had hoped would turn the tide now seed to need rescuing by him instead.
At this mont, Duo Maxwell really wanted to turn and run, but unfortunately, he couldn't.
The Mobile Suit chasing him was too fast; he definitely couldn't escape alone.
So the Heavy Armor Gundam Custom unleashed another Full Burst Mode, temporarily repelling the Phantom Dragon Gundam Epyon Armor's next charge. After regrouping with the Hell Death Gundam and Altron Gundam, he delivered the grim truth:
"Duo, Chang Wufei, Quatre is dead. I was chased back here. Prepare to fight for our lives."
Hearing that Quatre was dead, Duo and Chang Wufei fell silent. Finally, Duo sighed:
"Ah, I never thought he'd be the first to fall. By the way, who exactly are we fighting right now? Are they OZ or White Fang?"
Duo's question left the other two even more speechless, as they realized they actually had no idea who their opponents were.
Judging by their ship, it should also be an Eternal Peace-class vessel, and only OZ could produce such ships.
But they were clearly helping OZ fight White Fang. Why wasn't that ship attacking the Libra Ship instead of coming after them?
Just as Duo and the others realized they had no idea who they were fighting, Ange and Salamandine, who had already caught up, were also exchanging banter.
After being forced back by the firepower of the Heavy Armor Gundam Custom, Salamandine remarked that wasn't this Ange's target? Why had it co her way?
So, upon seeing Ange arrive shortly after, she decisively teased,
"Ange, why did you drive your target over to ? Are you planning to concede early and let take on three at once?"
Hearing this, Ange, though aware she was in the wrong, refused to back down verbally and replied directly,
"Think too much. I just had so spare ti to let my prey stretch its legs. But you, Salamandine, how co you haven't taken down a single one yet? I'm currently leading by one point."
However, as soon as Ange finished speaking, Reid chid in on the squad comms.
"Ladies, could you wrap this up a bit faster? I've already finished my part. There's another big one waiting for to deal with."
While Salamandine was requesting a change of equipnt, Hoshino Ruri had already breached the Eternal Peace's systems.
With all the route maps obtained, Reid no longer needed to cause destruction. The Eternal Peace was now under Hoshino Ruri's control, and he could simply use the transport belts.
After locating the Wing Zero Gundam, Reid had the system capture it directly.
It must be said, Heero is not Setsuna—his wife is more important than his Gundam.
If it were Setsuna, he would take his Gundam everywhere, even if it risked the Mobile Suit being seized.
After securing the Wing Zero Gundam, Reid figured that since the Eternal Peace was now completely under control, it could be kept around for a while. In case the Gran Chaos's hangar filled up while recovering the Virgo IIs later, they could stuff so into the Eternal Peace. After all, the Gran Chaos, with its enhanced power, could tow the Eternal Peace.
So, Reid had Hoshino Ruri patch him through to the Eternal Peace's bridge comms.
At that mont, Captain and chanic Mike Howard and Sally Po, the Eternal Peace's combat commander, were frantically trying to figure out how to restore the ship's completely locked control interface.
But against Hoshino Ruri, the bridge crew's efforts were futile.
Thus, Reid skipped the formalities and got straight to the point, speaking in a cold tone,
"Dr. Mike Howard, Major Sally Po, please stop wasting your efforts. The Eternal Peace's systems are now fully under my control. Your role in this war ends here."
Upon hearing this, Mike Howard imdiately shouted,
"Who are you? OZ? We're here to stop the Libra Ship from firing. Why are you attacking us?"
Reid didn't answer this question and instead said directly,
"Your question is no longer relevant, Dr. Mike Howard. Now, you must make a choice.
Option one: I'll open the path to the lifeboats for you. Take everyone on the Eternal Peace and abandon ship. I guarantee that as long as you leave without taking hostile action, you won't be attacked.
Option two: You can continue resisting on the bridge or attempt sothing else on the way to the lifeboats. In that case, once my forces board the ship, everyone dies.
Simply put, if even one person acts without authorization, everyone dies with them."
Upon hearing this, Mike Howard imdiately fell into a dilemma.
In truth, Mike Howard didn't want to choose either of the two options Reid had given him.
Choosing the first option ant placing his life on whether the enemy would keep their word. Once they boarded the lifeboat and left the Eternal Peace, everyone on the ship would be like at on a chopping block, unable to even fight back.
But choosing the second option was almost certain death. Mike Howard knew exactly how many people were on the Eternal Peace. The enemy's ship was clearly also an Eternal Peace-class vessel, but they definitely wouldn't have gone into battle with the minimum crew configuration.
Moreover, the Eternal Peace's systems were now in enemy hands. They were likely outnumbered, and they had no advantage in terrain. Fighting under these conditions offered no chance of victory.
One option ant possible death, the other ant certain death. The choice had been clear from the start.
Neither Mike Howard nor Sally Po were the type to stubbornly choose to die standing rather than take a step back.
So before long, Reid received their reply that they were willing to abandon ship.
Reid was quite satisfied with this and ordered the Black Tri-Stars to oversee the evacuation. If anyone tried anything underhanded, he would have Hoshino Ruri deploy the Urban Combat Autonomous Robots from the Gran Chaos to slaughter everyone on the Eternal Peace.
The Urban Combat Autonomous Robots inside the Gran Chaos were the sa model used by the A-Laws in the AD Universe.
Because they were compact, took up little space, and were highly lethal against humans, Reid had taken two of them during a break in the last assessnt battle. He planned to use them for urban warfare or assaulting strongholds when they invaded the Atlantic Federation in the future.
However, after Reid piloted the Joyeuse Gundam away from the Eternal Peace, he found that the battle outside was still ongoing. Even though the enemy was clearly at the end of their rope, Ange and Salamandine were still "flirting."
Reid considered this behavior a classic example of giving the enemy a chance to turn the tables, so he directly urged the two won to finish the fight quickly.
Hearing Reid's urging, Ange and Salamandine naturally stopped wasting ti. Ange said directly,
"Sala-chan, the head of the household has spoken. I'll back you up. Let's finish them off quickly."
With that, Ange unleashed the Ice Phoenix Gundam's full firepower. Both GN Particle Version VSBR Beam Cannons and the Magnum Beam Rifle in her hands fired directly at the Hell Death Gundam and the Altron Gundam, which were struggling to maneuver.
Seeing this, Duo and Chang Wufei had no choice. One lowered the armor wing on the right side of the Hell Death Gundam, while the other raised the shield on the Altron Gundam's left shoulder in front of it, doing their utmost to evade in a desperate bid to survive.
The Heavy Armor Gundam Custom chose to evade because Duo Maxwell knew full well how devastating the Ice Phoenix Gundam's firepower was.
However, after evading, Duo Maxwell now had to face the Beam Greatblade of the Phantom Dragon Gundam Epyon Armor.
So, in the end, none of the three Gundams fared well under the combined assault of Ange and Salamandine.
Although the Hell Death Gundam successfully blocked the Ice Phoenix Gundam's beam with its right-side armor wing, it was a Magnum Beam it intercepted.
Even with its anti-beam coating, the Hell Death Gundam's armor wing couldn't withstand a Magnum Beam. The armor wing was lted through, and the Hell Death Gundam beneath it had half its body lted away.
This ti, Duo's luck ran out. The lted right side of the Hell Death Gundam included the cockpit. As expected, Duo Maxwell had beco a well-done acquaintance.
Compared to the Hell Death Gundam, the Altron Gundam was in much better condition. Although the GN Particle Version VSBR Beam Cannon had strong penetrating power, its beam intensity was still limited.
Moreover, even though the Altron Gundam had lost its ability to adjust its lower body posture, its rear thrusters were still functional.
So, disregarding posture entirely, the Altron Gundam dodged one VSBR beam, while another beam only left a large crater on its shield.
As for the Heavy Armor Gundam Custom, with its short saber already half-destroyed, Duo Maxwell could only try to block the Phantom Dragon Gundam Epyon Armor's Beam Greatblade with the shield on its left arm's Shield-Type Twin Gatling Machine Cannon.
The result was predictable: the entire left arm of the Heavy Armor Gundam Custom was severed.
However, Duo Maxwell used the impact from blocking with the shield to push the Mobile Suit back so distance, narrowly avoiding the Beam Greatblade from striking the torso.
But the next mont, the Phantom Dragon Gundam Epyon Armor's left hand unleashed a High-Heat Whip, which struck and pierced directly into the Heavy Armor Gundam's cockpit.
Inside, Duo Maxwell was instantly reduced to charcoal, dead beyond any doubt.
With the Hell Death Gundam and Heavy Armor Gundam Custom both shot down, the remaining Altron Gundam, which had completely lost its posture, naturally stood no chance of survival.
Since both Ange and Salamandine wanted to claim this kill, Salamandine directly fired the Super GN Bazooka from her arm armor, while Ange also took a long-range shot with her Magnum Beam.
The two beams almost simultaneously pierced through the Altron Gundam, turning it into cosmic fireworks.
Thus, Heero, who was still inside the Libra Ship rescuing his wife, unknowingly lost all his teammates and Mobile Suits, becoming a true lone commander.
anwhile, Reid, seeing that all four Gundams had been shot down, imdiately began arranging the next phase of the mission, directly issuing orders over the team's communication channel:
"Next, we officially intervene in the battlefield ahead.
Yulan, Belfgang, Neil, once you three attach to the Libra Ship, infiltrate directly and let Liuli use you as terminals to hack into the Libra's systems.
Liuli, prioritize finding the controllers for the Virgo IIs and add our Mobile Suits to their whitelist. We should try to capture these Mobile Suits as much as possible, but not at the cost of taking unnecessary hits.
Everyone else, from now on, we engage both sides in combat, but prioritize attacking OZ's Space Leos. If any Virgo IIs attack, retaliate and destroy them imdiately."
After speaking, Reid took the lead and charged toward the frontal battlefield between OZ and White Fang.
Once again, both sides were left bewildered.
The sudden appearance of this Mobile Suit unit, which had fiercely annihilated the Gundam Team, was already shocking enough for both sides.
In the play prepared by Treize and Milliardo, the Gundams had important roles. The two had even considered entrusting the future to the Gundam Team.
Yet, before the four Gundams could even make their official debut, they were wiped out by an entirely unknown unit.
Due to the effects of the Neutron Jamr, neither side could contact their rear to inquire about the origins of the Gran Chaos.
However, OZ had already ruled out the possibility that the Gran Chaos belonged to Valter Fakir.
After all, if Valter Fakir's forces had the capability to easily take down four Gundams, that drear who longed to defeat Treize would have rebelled long ago.
Moreover, after Reid's squad entered the main battlefield, their actions of specifically targeting space-use Leos for elimination also proved they did not belong to OZ.
At the sa ti, the fact that Virgo IIs were also attacking this mysterious MS Squad—and many were being destroyed in return—proved they were not part of White Fang either.
This made things interesting. Both Treize and Milliardo now wanted to ask the sa question:
"Which side is your squad actually on? Why are you fighting everyone?"
And also: "Can soone in charge from your squad co out and say sothing? Otherwise, this battle just feels baffling."
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