"Oh? Is that so, but... the enemies before us aren't exactly ordinary."
Lu Tianming gazed at the mobile suit silhouettes gradually appearing in his field of vision and said with a laugh.
The condition of the Aegis and Blitz was fine, no different from the forms he was familiar with—but the Duel and Blitz appeared somewhat unusual.
They clearly had some sort of special armed backpack mounted on their backs, providing powerful thrust to the mobile suits themselves, enabling free movement in the air while also enriching their armaments.
If Lu Tianming wasn't mistaken... this was probably the so-called 'atmospheric combat backpack,' a combat backpack that appeared in the derivative novel SEED RE:, which was adapted and created based on the original SEED.
Not to mention models, it was such an obscure item that even its design sketches were only line drawings.
But... regardless of how popular this thing was, the enhancements it provided were genuinely substantial. Even without mentioning the free aerial mobility it offered, in terms of armaments, the Duel had added a full two railguns and two Armor Schneiders, while the Blitz had added a forced discharge system.
It could hardly be called anything but abundant.
With this kind of firepower boost, attempting rapid suppression using the method of perfectly replicating the Strike Suit became considerably more difficult.
"What's there to fear? They don't know our capabilities either, do they?"
Xia Chuan was unconcerned. Even if the enemy had enhancements, did that mean their side hadn't changed?
He didn't think... that the enemy could maintain their original composure upon seeing the Strike Suit equipped with three sets of gear simultaneously.
"You're right."
Lu Tianming nodded, and at the same time, a plan suddenly surfaced in his mind.
A slight smirk curled at the corner of his mouth, as if he had thought of something, and he spoke with a hint of mischievous laughter:
"Since we're going for rapid suppression... let's just give them a proper taste of intensity!"
As the Strike Suit was catapulted from the Archangel, Yzak also noticed its sortie. Seeing that the Strike Suit had still managed to launch before their arrival, Yzak let out a faint, regretful tsk, but maintained a calm tone:
"So the Strike Suit has come after all... No matter. Just as planned before, suppress it directly with firepower!"
In Yzak's expectation, the Strike Suit would most likely choose the Aerial Combat Backpack with the highest mobility, along with the Flight Platform, to handle the one-versus-many situation in the air, looking for an opportunity to close in and use its unique, strange skills to break the battle.
His solution to this was—firepower suppression, heavy suppression.
With the Blitz's long-range sniping, the atmospheric backpack-equipped Duel's railguns, and the Aegis's Scylla interweaving, he didn't believe the newly launched Strike Suit had the ability to withstand such firepower.
Even if it really managed to block it... the Blitz would still launch an attack.
The mobility-enhanced Blitz could fully take advantage of the chaos to activate the Mirage Colloid System, rush to the Strike Suit's side, and directly use a forced discharge to control it, completely denying it any chance to use its abilities.
As for the Archangel and the Skygrasper... in his eyes, they were no different from clay chickens and pottery dogs. Once the Strike Suit fell, dealing with them would be a mere afterthought.
Upon hearing Yzak's command, Dearka immediately maneuvered the Blitz into a familiar motion—combining its twin guns into anti-armor shotgun mode before pulling the trigger. A torrent of yellow beam fire instantly showered toward the Strike Gundam.
Simultaneously, the Duel followed up with pursuing artillery fire. Its two railguns fired in alternating patterns while beam rifle shots interspersed to weave an even denser net of fire around the Blitz's barrage.
However, Athrun didn't launch the Scylla as planned.
Just as Yzak was about to question and urge him, Athrun's urgent voice came through the comm channel:
"The Strike's condition is abnormal... Prepare to evade!"
?
Hearing Athrun's warning, Yzak felt a jolt of alarm—he had been too impatient earlier, forgetting to observe the Strike's backpack configuration before engaging. Could there be some hidden trick in its equipment?
He was about to examine it closely, but before he could, the Strike's movements provided the answer.
A dazzling light erupted from the Strike's direction, coalescing into wings behind its back—the Wings of Light that had only appeared twice before!
Seeing this special effect, Yzak's heart sank. Among the Strike's chaotic array of skills, aside from the four-hundred-meter beam blade that could slice a battleship in half, this move was the most threatening.
He still vividly remembered watching the combat records: when the Strike activated this ability, it fought one against three, instantly destroyed two GINNs, and toyed with Athrun's Aegis.
"Yzak, I'll intercept him!"
Seeing the Strike miraculously evade the fire net with pinpoint accuracy and charge forward using the Wings of Light's speed, Nicol immediately pushed the control stick, thrusting his mobile suit forward.
The Blitz surged ahead, positioning itself before the Strike Gundam. Its claw-like wings flipped out from the back, the forced discharge system priming—ready to activate and immobilize the enemy once it entered the control range.
"Too obvious... Xia Chuan, shoot him down!"
Pressed into his seat by the accelerating G-forces, Lu Tianming didn't show distress but instead let out an excited chuckle. The Blitz's movements... he didn't even need his mental danger alerts to predict Nicol's actions—just seeing it step forward was enough.
Under Lu Tianming's control, the Strike seemed prescient—turning sharply at the edge of the system's range to flank the Blitz.
And this was Xia Chuan's moment to strike.
With just a light mental command, he released all restraints in his consciousness. Correspondingly, the suit's weapons unleashed a full barrage: wing-mounted missiles, the Launcher Pack's gatling guns, head vulcans... all close-range burst weapons were fired simultaneously.
From Nicol's perspective, the Strike's silhouette vanished before his eyes as if disappearing into thin air—before he could react, a series of red warning alarms flooded his screens.
He could only feel explosions erupting across the Blitz's frame like a string of firecrackers.
Power system failure, flight imbalance, PS Armor load reaching maximum... numerous malfunction alerts almost instantly filled the Blitz's cockpit screens.
"Nicol!"
Seeing the Blitz plummet amidst a series of explosions, Yzak's blood surged with adrenaline—he slammed the control stick forward without hesitation.
Blue flames erupted violently from the Duel's backpack as he switched from dual gun-shields to blades, drawing two Armor Schneiders simultaneously. Propelled by immense thrust, he charged straight toward the Strike Suit.
Meanwhile, inside the cockpit, Lu Tianming watched the locking warning flash across his display and smiled with undisguised anticipation:
"Perfect timing!"