"It's been so long, the Strike should have arrived by now..."
Yzak, currently lying in ambush near the uninhabited island, grew somewhat impatient as the expected Strike still hadn't appeared.
Although his two-pronged attack was indeed forcing the Strike to confront them alone... what if the opponent took a gamble and chose a different tactic?
What if they adopted the base-trading tactic of directly eliminating the mass-produced machines...
"It hasn't been that long, just wait a bit longer... Oh? It's here!"
Dearka spoke in a relaxed tone, comparatively less impatient than Yzak, simply waiting calmly for the Strike's arrival.
Just as he was speaking, the radar alarm suddenly sounded. Hearing this, he smiled knowingly—it had indeed arrived.
However, when he saw the enemy response on the radar, he couldn't help but pause for a moment.
"Wait, the one coming... doesn't seem to be the Strike?"
Dearka rubbed his eyes, somewhat incredulously staring at the Mobile Suit response appearing on the screen as he reported in surprise.
"...Not the Strike? Then what is it?"
Yzak's mind went blank as he asked in confusion.
"Mobile Suit designation ZGMF-X10A... It's that stolen Freedom Gundam!"
"How is that possible! How did that thing end up in their hands?"
Yzak's voice was full of astonishment. He had heard some information about the Freedom Gundam's theft... but he had assumed it was just because the Zala faction had pushed Siegel too hard, forcing Siegel to temporarily flee with the machine. Who would have thought it would be connected to the Archangel?
How did they even get together?
"Hey, Yzak, should we continue the operation? That Freedom is a Nuclear Powered Machine."
Dearka's tone clearly showed some uncertainty. Ordinary modifications would be one thing... but this thing was somewhat overpowered.
A nuclear engine... the machine's performance was almost a generation ahead. How were they supposed to fight this?
"Don't panic! According to intelligence, the Freedom should still have been incomplete when it was stolen. Even if they've made corrections now, it probably can't achieve its intended tactical effectiveness."
"If we proceed according to plan, we should still have a chance of winning!"
As he spoke, Yzak took a deep breath—pushing the control stick forward to charge ahead.
The Duel's feet kicked off from the beach, the atmospheric backpack nozzles suddenly erupting with tremendous thrust that propelled the Duel directly into the sky.
He pulled an Armor Schneider directly from his backpack, looking imposing as if ready to fight the Freedom to the death.
"Why is there only the Duel alone?"
Feeling the response from the radar, Xia Chuan was momentarily stunned—he had expected to encounter all four Gundams, so why was there only the Duel here?
Seeing this situation, Lu Tianming slightly furrowed his brows and reminded:
"Stay alert... but since he dares to come alone, let's show him the power of our new machine!"
"Roger!"
Having reached a consensus, the two synchronized their actions. Under their coordinated control, the Perfect Freedom similarly drew its Armor Schneider and charged straight toward the Duel, while the Gatling shoulder cannons attached to its Launcher Pack continuously spewed fire at the opponent.
Facing the onslaught of the Gatling Machine Cannons, the Duel neither dodged nor evaded, relying directly on its PS Armor to withstand the damage. It then swung its arm in a wide arc, bringing the Armor Schneider resting on its shoulder down in a fierce slash toward the Freedom.
However, such a move was nothing to Lu Tianming and Xia Chuan, who had achieved perfect mental synchronization. The Freedom merely tilted its body slightly to evade the strike and, seizing the opening left by the Duel's missed attack, countered with a horizontal slash aimed at the Duel's cockpit.
Seeing the lethal strike incoming, the Duel hastily raised its shield to protect the cockpit, blocking the Armor Schneider while the Railgun on its backpack began to crackle with energy, as if preparing to fire a point-blank shot at the Freedom.
Staring into the dark muzzle of the cannon, Lu Tianming didn't hesitate for even a moment—instead, he pushed the propulsion lever all the way forward.
The Freedom's Propulsion Unit flashed with blue light, and with a smooth, twisting motion, the mobile suit used its Armor Schneider pressed against the shield to forcefully shove the Duel backward. The Railgun's aim was thrown off, and the shot plunged into the ocean below.
But just as Lu Tianming expected the Duel to readjust and attack again, the pushed-back mobile suit, without a second thought... turned and fled straight toward the uninhabited island?
"? What is this guy trying to do?"
Xia Chuan was baffled by the opponent's actions. To so decisively expose its back... was it afraid they wouldn't figure out its intentions?
Even Xia Chuan could see it now—this guy was clearly trying to lure the Freedom into pursuit, where an ambush by the Blitz and others likely awaited on the uninhabited island!
So what should they do now...? Obviously, blast him from a distance with long-range cannons. Charging in recklessly was risky, but sniping from afar was clearly much safer.
But... would Yzak be foolish enough not to anticipate that?
"...I don't know, but I can sense—the danger doesn't seem to come only from the direction of the uninhabited island."
Lu Tianming hesitated slightly, his brow furrowing as he replied.
Perhaps Xia Chuan didn't share this strange intuition... but he could feel it—something lurking in the nearby shallow waters was watching him.
"What do we do then?"
"Play along with their scheme."
Lu Tianming chuckled softly as he pressed the lock-on key on the control panel, targeting the Duel with the Launcher Pack's super-high impulse cannon.
"Dearka, he took the bait! Begin the attack!"
Seeing the lock-on signal appear in his cockpit, Yzak showed no panic. Instead, a smug grin spread across his face.
He immediately opened the communication channel and signaled Dearka.
From the close-quarters combat, to feigning defeat and retreating, to the enemy fearing an ambush and opting for long-range bombardment—it had all gone according to his plan.
His role was to attract the Strike Suit's—now the Freedom's—attention.
At that moment, the Blitz, concealed underwater with its aquatic equipment, would have the opportunity to surface and launch a cannon strike at the Freedom's exposed back!
Like a submarine breaking the surface, the Blitz emerged abruptly behind the Freedom. In an instant, the Missile Pods on its underwater combat equipment deployed, unleashing a torrent of missiles that scattered like blooming fireworks, hurtling straight toward the Freedom's undefended rear.
However—at that very moment, the Strike Suit in the air suddenly executed a sharp turn, and the Beam erupting from its cannon instantly swept through and detonated all the missiles in the sky.
"What?!"
Watching the suddenly turning Freedom, Dearka's expression froze. This guy... had he noticed his presence all along?
Impossible. He had been in a submerged state until now—how could he have been detected? Unless... this guy had reacted the moment he surfaced?
But before he could process the thought, the warning alarm in his own Cockpit blared.
It was clear—Freedom had now locked its sights on him.
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