Lu Tianming carefully observed the battle situation. Currently, the LaGowe and the two remaining BuCUEs were circling around the Strike Suit.
The distance between the three mobile suits was roughly equal. If lines were drawn with the Strike Suit as the vertex, each pair of mobile suits would form an angle of approximately 120 degrees.
In this formation, there was almost always at least one mobile suit positioned in the Strike Suit's blind spot, allowing it to launch a surprise attack while the Strike Suit was dealing with the other two.
"Can't we provide any support for the Strike Suit?"
On the Archangel, Murrue asked with concern as she watched the Strike Suit's battle.
The wave-like attacks from the two BuCUEs and one LaGowe made it difficult for the Strike Suit to find opportunities to counterattack while surrounded.
Although Lu Tianming's exceptional piloting skills prevented him from being defeated in this situation... finding a suitable chance to counterattack was equally challenging.
"No, their combat area is too tight. Any weapon from the Archangel could potentially hit the Strike Suit."
Badgiruel shook her head. She had been monitoring the battle as well and had already considered how to support the Strike Suit... but it was clear that the high-mobility combat over there was beyond their ability to interfere with.
In just the short time she and Murrue had been discussing, the Strike Suit had already exchanged two or three rounds of fire with the three enemy units. The Archangel's weapons simply couldn't aim accurately enough.
As for the Skygrasper... it was still entangled with the battleship and couldn't break away.
For now, they could only wait for Lu Tianming to find a way to break through.
"The Strike Suit seems to be having trouble keeping up. It looks like it wants to take to the air to find an opportunity."
At that moment, in the LaGowe's cockpit, Aisha watched the Strike Suit gradually becoming passive in the encirclement and sighed with some regret.
The Strike Suit's earlier full-burst attack had made her think this mobile suit might surprise them... but it seemed it wasn't as powerful as expected.
After another round of attacks, the Strike Suit, which had repeatedly tried to counterattack, seemed to give up on struggling. It discarded its shield, and a brilliant beam of lightning immediately formed in its free hand before being slammed into the sand.
The lightning exploded upon contact with the sand, kicking up dust that momentarily enveloped the Strike Suit.
"Trying to obscure vision... but I already anticipated you'd use this move."
Andrew chuckled lightly. Using such vision-blocking tactics against the highly mobile BuCUEs was indeed a good idea...
However, he had already predicted this.
He had keenly noticed earlier that the Strike Suit's propulsion unit was emitting a faint glow, likely preparing for thrust - indicating that the Strike Suit probably intended to ascend into the sky to create distance and prepare for long-range combat.
But he wouldn't give the Strike Suit that opportunity.
"BuCUE units 1 and 2, pounce and surround from above the smoke! I'll provide beam interference from the front!"
Andrew immediately gave the order, then piloted the LaGowe to charge directly toward the Strike Suit's position. Several beams shot from the cannons on the dog-like back, disappearing into the dust cloud.
The other two BuCUEs immediately obeyed. The Beam Sabers held in their Mobile Suits' mouths ignited with radiant energy. As their pilots commanded, all four legs kicked off the ground while propulsion units fired simultaneously. The two BuCUEs swung their Beam Sabers and lunged toward the upper part of the smoke cloud, ready to intercept and destroy the Strike Suit should it emerge.
Almost instantly after his order, something indeed burst from the smoke. Seeing the distinctive twin wings, Andrew's lips curved into a faint smile—the Strike Suit was moving exactly as he had predicted!
But when he focused his gaze, his slight smile abruptly froze.
Because he clearly saw... only the backpack had shot out from the smoke?!
The two BuCUE pilots clearly hadn't anticipated this either. The expected target position was now completely empty.
With the first failure of their plan and no further instructions coming from Andrew, the sudden disorientation left the two pilots momentarily stunned.
And that split-second hesitation became the opening Lu Tianming needed for their breakthrough.
A pink flash suddenly erupted—the Strike Suit, still hidden within the smoke, had used its discarded Shield to block LaGowe's shots and seized the opportunity. In one swift motion, it sliced through the rear sections of both BuCUEs, instantly disabling them.
However, after landing, the Beam Saber in the Strike Suit's hand dimmed—without the backpack's power supply, the Strike Suit's energy depletion was especially rapid. Keeping the Beam Saber activated would only waste precious energy unnecessarily.
"...Can't even power the Beam Saber anymore? Since you've shown me this weakness, don't blame me for being merciless, kid in the Strike Suit!"
Andrew pushed both control sticks to their limits. LaGowe's propulsion units roared to full power, sending the entire Mobile Suit charging toward the Strike like an orange meteor, kicking up waves of sand in its high-speed assault.
LaGowe leaped into the air, tilting its neck forward as the pink Beam Saber swung directly toward the Strike Suit's Cockpit!
Yet despite the growing alarm warnings, Lu Tianming showed no signs of tension... there was even a hint of excitement in his eyes.
His earlier decision to discard the backpack wasn't just to distract the BuCUEs—it was because he had already converted the backpack's energy into the form he needed.
That is—"Link Energy".
Seeing LaGowe charging toward them, the energy stored within their bodies and linked between them could finally be released.
Lu Tianming slammed the left propulsion lever to its limit while Xia Chuan thrust his left palm forward. Simultaneously, they shouted the name of their technique:
"Protect Shield!"
A wave of energy spread from their palms like ripples, rapidly forming an invisible barrier between the Strike Suit and LaGowe.
LaGowe's Mobile Suit crashed into it, failing to break through the shield. Instead, with a powerful push from the Strike Suit, it was thrown backward.
"We're not done yet—Xia Chuan, give them the finishing move!"
Lu Tianming seemed determined not to give the Desert Tiger any chance to recover. He once again pushed the right arm's propulsion lever to its absolute limit, not stopping even when it couldn't go any further.
"Got it! Take this—Finishing Move: Shining Finger!"
Sensing Lu Tianming's fighting spirit, Xia Chuan naturally spared no effort in channeling all the energy within his body.
He felt all the power in his body surge with his will, madly gathering toward his right palm.
Torrential energy erupted from the energy transfer port, instantly dyeing his entire palm in a dazzling bright green glow.
Seeing LaGowe—who had just been repelled by the shield and hadn't yet landed—Xia Chuan immediately pushed off with his left foot, propelling himself forward abruptly before slamming his charged right palm toward LaGowe.
With a thunderous explosion—the battle officially came to an end.
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