Since the material preparations were complete, the resistance organization and the Archangel began preparations for the breakthrough battle.
Following Lu Tianming's suggestion, the Archangel designated ORB as the next destination after breaking through this area—upon hearing this news, both Cagalli and Kisaka were greatly shocked by this decision.
Especially the latter... Suspecting that Lu Tianming had already discerned Cagalli's identity, Kisaka strongly doubted that Lu Tianming's choice of destination was intentional—and responded with a meaningful smile.
Lu Tianming felt somewhat innocent about this. His selection of ORB as the next stop was not only because ORB was an important ally to be won over in his strategy but also for another crucial reason.
—Based on the original battle situation as a reference, several battles after the Alaska Battle nearly destroyed most of the mass drivers on Earth.
To put it plainly, a mass driver is a launch platform for battleships, providing sufficient power to launch Earth-based battleships into space, making it a critical strategic facility.
In the original scenario, both the Alliance and ZAFT's respective mass drivers were destroyed by each other, leaving only ORB with one remaining. Thus, ORB, which still possessed a mass driver, became the target of all.
If the macro strategies of both sides did not fluctuate significantly, it was likely that the core of the conflict would soon focus on ORB... and given the current intensity of the war, it might even escalate directly from a battle over the mass driver to a full-scale battle for ORB.
With ORB's strength alone, resisting the siege of two major forces would probably be difficult... Therefore, they had to plan ahead and go to provide support.
Otherwise, if ORB, their largest ally, were captured... the difficulty of realizing Lu Tianming's plan would multiply several times over.
Regardless of their opinions, the arrangement to launch a concentrated assault on Tiger's front line in the coming days was finalized.
The Archangel needed to break through this area and proceed to the next. The resistance organization wanted to defeat Tiger and seize freedom.
The two sides quickly reached an agreement and, after strategic deployment, prepared to launch the attack.
"Mr. Lu, are you planning to equip any other gear for this battle?"
As the Archangel gradually took off, Kira in the hangar began inquiring about Lu Tianming's combat preparations.
With the official completion of the Aile Pack, this backpack had become the optimal choice for the moment. The other three backpacks were relegated to being merely mountable options.
"No mounting. Equip the Aile Pack to Mr. Mu's Skygrasper. As for the Launcher Pack and Sword Pack, whether they are installed on the remaining Skygraspers or on the Manta Ray... in any case, they won't be of much use for now."
Lu Tianming, walking out of the maintenance room, waved his hand and was about to say something when a deafening explosion echoed from outside.
"Is it artillery fire from the Desert Tiger's side? No... the fuselage isn't shaking."
With only sound and no vibration, even Kira could tell that the source of this explosion wasn't artillery fire.
But if it wasn't artillery fire, what caused such a massive explosion?
"It must be the minefield laid by the resistance army... It seems they've seen through this."
Lu Tianming shook his head as if he had anticipated this. Before the battle, the resistance had calculated the necessary route of Andrew's forces and laid mines, intending to disable the BuCUEs.
However, such tactics were likely not new to Andrew's side. Relying on minefields to cripple the BuCUEs was no longer effective.
"As expected, the real showdown has to come down to MS combat."
"But—this time, let them witness the power of the Strike Suit's new equipment."
————————————
"The radar interference has intensified... It seems those guys have chosen to engage head-on after the minefields failed."
Sitting in the LaGowe, Andrew noticed the signals of distant targets on the radar becoming blurry and realized—the Archangel had already deployed and was prepared for battle.
"Still, the battle plan was relayed earlier, wasn't it?"
Aisha, seated alongside Andrew in the LaGowe, smiled faintly. This Mobile Suit, like the BuCUE, was a Canine Mobile Suit but featured a two-seater cockpit.
"Yes, two Petrie-class units lying in ambush from the rear will emerge once the Archangel passes, coordinating with our Lesseps-class to pincer the Archangel."
"As for the Strike Suit..."
Andrew was about to say that no matter what backpack configuration it used, they had corresponding tactics to counter it, when an untimely communication cut him off.
The caller was one of his BuCUE squad's MS Squad leaders, who seemed both surprised and urgent.
"Sir, the Strike Suit is using... a backpack we haven't seen before!"
"An unseen backpack?"
Andrew was taken aback by this. Previous reports had only mentioned the Strike Suit's 'versatile skills,' with recorded backpacks limited to a few types: the Striker Pack, Sword Pack, and Launcher Pack, plus at most a red Flight Platform and an orange space-specific Wire-guided Cannon Backpack.
He had countermeasures for all of these... even the Wire-guided Cannon had been considered.
But now... a new backpack had appeared?
"However, its flight capability doesn't seem great—it's been hovering at low altitude... I'll take some men to test it with a few shots!"
The squad leader hesitated briefly, but seeing that the new backpack wasn't as intimidating as expected, his tone regained confidence.
Poor flight capability, low-altitude flight...?
Andrew instinctively sensed something amiss. If the opponent intended to use flight tactics, why not employ the Flight Platform or the air-capable Striker Pack?
Alert, he quickly operated the control panel, zooming in on the Strike Suit on the display.
The Strike Suit appeared to be 'retreating repeatedly' under the pursuit of several BuCUEs, as if thrown off rhythm by their alternating high-speed attacks.
How could that guy be so weak?
Andrew was momentarily astonished but soon realized—the guy seemed to be preparing something.
Alternating attacks weren't unheard of in space; while his BuCUEs had slightly better mobility, they shouldn't be able to corner the opponent so easily.
Moreover, the retreating flight was steady, hardly the actions of someone in panic.
The answer dawned on him instantly—he's luring them in!
"Don't pursue too deeply—he's baiting you!"
The moment he realized Lu Tianming's tactics, he anxiously slapped the communication button and loudly warned.
"...What?!"
The squad leader was momentarily stunned by these words. Seeing the Strike Suit gradually retreating, he had assumed the pilot was struggling with the new backpack or adapting to the desert environment. He had been planning to launch a sudden assault before the Strike could fully adapt, aiming to disarm or shoot it down.
But the commander's sharp reminder made him realize—how could a Strike Suit that had effortlessly handled three or four Red Uniforms possibly be forced into retreat by just a few of them? As for environmental adaptation being an issue, that was pure fantasy... The Strike had descended from the sky earlier and pierced through a BuCUE with a single sword strike—hardly the behavior of someone struggling to adapt!
Snapping to awareness, he immediately pulled back the control stick—urgently reversing the treads to retreat.
"So it was discovered after all... But this distance should suffice."
Seeing all five BuCUEs in his view beginning to pull back, Lu Tianming sighed with a hint of regret. His original plan had been to lure the enemy deeper, waiting until the frontal assault ship Lesseps was also within range to bring them all into his attack zone simultaneously.
But at this distance... it would have to do.
"Multiple lock-ons complete... Xia Chuan, open fire!"
After the previous multi-lock engagement with the Wire-guided Cannons, Lu Tianming had saved the system and adjusted it into a version he could operate as well. On the screen, the BuCUEs and missiles from the Lesseps were gradually enclosed by red targeting frames under his control, each frame even labeled with the corresponding weapon's name from the fire control system.
Hearing the command to engage, Xia Chuan immediately grinned in understanding, and their Resonance Level instantly broke through seventy.
"Blast Cannon ULTIMATE FORMATION! Fire!"
With Xia Chuan's shout, the Strike Suit deployed its armaments—two cannon barrels flipped out from the backpack, settling on either side of the Strike's waist. One barrel was a Beam emitter, the other a railgun. Simultaneously, the shoulder-mounted small missile launchers, the missiles loaded on the wings, and the Strike's own Beam Rifle all unleashed their firepower.
In an instant, the Strike transformed into an aerial artillery platform, raining endless barrages down upon the ground.
Noticing that his allies had fallen into a trap, Andrew was just about to move in for support—when he saw the Strike release a torrent of attacks, including a crimson beam shooting straight toward him.
"Such long attack range... It seems the Strike's new weaponry is anything but ordinary."
Andrew clicked his tongue and swiftly jerked the LaGowe into an emergency dodge, barely avoiding the suddenly fired beam. He glanced at the spot where it had struck... Under the intense energy of the beam, the sand had been scorched into a deep trench.
The destructive power was genuinely terrifying.
"No wonder so many MS in Creuset's fleet were shot down instantly back then... Who could have reacted to that?"
Andrew stared at the scar left by that single blast, still feeling a lingering fear.
Earlier when he read the battle reports, many GINN pilots during the Earth descent operation were directly blown apart by a single shot, and even an elite pilot testing a prototype machine didn't escape. He had lamented that the quality of Mobile Suit pilots these days wasn't great either.
But after experiencing it firsthand now, he could only say... those people didn't die unjustly.
"Aisha, what's the damage status of our side from the recent battle?"
"Only two of the five BuCUEs survived... They failed to brake in time, but ended up escaping by rushing into the shooting blind spot beneath the Strike Suit."
"The LaGowe-class suffered significant damage though. The missiles destroyed many turrets, and even the ZAUT was damaged, but it still retains combat capability."
Aisha, who was in the same LaGowe, immediately replied. Upon hearing this, Andrew was somewhat surprised.
He thought the BuCUEs would be completely wiped out... but two machines actually survived in this manner? That could be considered lucky.
Including himself, that makes three machines in total?
Andrew carefully calculated in his heart. The earlier full barrage launch had expended many of the Strike's disposable missiles, reducing the firepower threat considerably.
In that case...
A slight smirk appeared at the corner of Andrew's mouth as he opened communications:
"Implement anti-air combat protocol. With three machines—using this tactic might actually give us some chance of victory!"
At this moment, after executing an area-of-effect attack, the Strike had landed back on the sand. With Andrew now joining the battle and the overall enemy numbers reduced—the previous aerial combat pattern was clearly no longer suitable.
"I thought I could take down all the BuCUEs... but two remain."
Seeing that two BuCUEs had escaped destruction, Lu Tianming sighed lightly with regret.
The Earth sphere was ultimately different from space... While he could use wire-guided cannons for 360-degree indiscriminate shooting, when initiating a full barrage, if there wasn't sufficient distance from the enemy group, there was still a chance they could evade.
"Ah, mistakes are inevitable—no matter. With fifty percent power remaining, it's enough to deal with the three of them!"
As Xia Chuan responded, he operated the Strike to turn and face the threat—the two BuCUEs that had rushed to the rear were now turning back to assault.
The two BuCUEs advanced one behind the other. The rear one continuously fired disruptive shots at the Strike with its railgun, while the front one drew its Beam Saber and charged at full speed to slash at the Strike.
Seeing this, Xia Chuan instinctively raised his shield to block the railgun barrage while switching from rifle to saber, planning to seize the opportunity to sidestep the slash and then exploit the opening to eliminate the charging BuCUE.
But he suddenly felt a sense of crisis transmitted through the link. Without needing to think, it must be Lu Tianming sensing something he hadn't.
Almost without conscious thought, he transferred primary control to Lu Tianming.
And as if sharing the same mind, the moment control was transferred, Lu Tianming pulled back on the control stick and pressed the pedals.
The Strike, which had turned sideways, didn't remain stationary to execute a saber slash as previously intended—instead, it used the momentum to perform a ground-jump with thrusters.
Just then, Andrew's LaGowe shot past the Strike's sidestep position like an orange flash—if they hadn't changed tactics at the last moment, even if not struck fatally by the saber, they would likely have been knocked off balance by the impact.
"Damn, that was close... almost got ambushed."
Xia Chuan said with lingering fear. He had thought that with his experience in multi-machine combat against three Gundams, dealing with BuCUEs would be easy.
It seems we were still too careless.
"Previously, it was all frontal alternating combat, and strictly speaking... aside from the Aegis, the mobility of the three machines at that time couldn't match the BuCUE at full-speed assault."
Lu Tianming seemed to guess his thoughts and cautiously reminded him.
"Now we need to face high-mobility hit-and-run attacks from outside our field of vision... To draw an analogy, it's like three Aegis units surrounding us ready to strike."
"If it were just one person... this would indeed be quite difficult to handle."
At this point, both Lu Tianming and Xia Chuan simultaneously laughed as if reading each other's minds.
"—But then again, we're not as alone as they think."
"Exactly."
Lu Tianming nodded, speaking in a serious tone.
"With the two of us united in purpose... we might just be able to break through their formation after all."