After determining the enemy unit's position from the beam trajectories, rather than slowly locating the target, the [Dabude-class] land warship rotated its dual 350mm main cannons on both sides, preparing to retaliate with artillery fire. But...
Just as the rotation stopped and before the cannons could fire, several pink beams pierced straight through both twin-mounted main cannons. Simultaneously, the twin-mounted main cannons of the eight surviving [Gallop-class] land warships were also pierced.
"Thinking of bombarding my subordinates? Dream on."
Yang Hui made his move. Emerging from stealth, he raised both beam rifles and fired rapidly, instantly destroying the most threatening warship cannons. Maintaining curved maneuvers, he nimbly weaved through the hail of gunfire while continuously firing his dual rifles. His chest Vulcan Cannons swept the sky, causing Dopp Fighters to burst into fireworks one after another. On the ground, Zaku IIs and Magella Attack Tanks similarly turned into flames, debris, and smoke.
At the same time, the four Astray Gundams positioned on both flanks sprang into action. The lightweight units 8 and 9 closed in on the Zaku IIs in the blink of an eye, their twin blades dancing wildly as they slashed left and right, leaving a trail of wreckage behind. Meanwhile, units 2 and 3 maintained elegant crisscrossing trajectories, their beam rifles claiming a life with every shot.
"Units 2 and 3, take out the warship's machine guns!"
"Roger!" x2
Noticing the [Dabude-class] and [Gallop-class] warships rotating their machine guns, units 2 and 3 slid backward to create distance from the Zaku IIs and Magella Attack Tanks while simultaneously locking onto and destroying all the land warships' machine guns.
While they shifted focus to the machine guns, the Zaku IIs and Magella Attack Tanks didn't miss their chance to counterattack.
But by then, units 8 and 9—who had been cutting through the enemy like vegetables—had already carved through the Zeon formation and arrived behind them.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
Beam blades flashed, leaving dismembered wreckage scattered across the ground before the units gracefully withdrew.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~!"
Naturally, Yang Hui wasn't about to fall behind. He dealt with the enemy units pursuing numbers 8 and 9 while swatting away the annoying mosquitos in the sky.
"Second wave, prepare."
"Fall back!"
"Roger!" x4
Units 2, 3, 8, and 9 regrouped and quickly retreated, maintaining a safe distance.
At that moment, the pink energy torrent struck again, swallowing several more Zaku IIs, dozens of Magella Attack Tanks, and Dopp Fighters—leaving not even debris behind. Two more [Gallop-class] warships were mercilessly pierced, their explosive shockwaves wiping out numerous nearby Zaku IIs, tanks, and fighters.
As the energy torrent subsided, another artillery barrage arrived. This time, most shells landed on the three retreating [Dabude-class] warships.
The massive 100-meter land warships finally succumbed to the assault. Small explosions erupted continuously as energy accumulated, culminating in towering flames visible even from the Federation defense line several kilometers away.
The destruction of the three [Dabude-class] warships signaled Zeon's defeat. With their command system lost, the Zeon Army scattered like headless flies—some fleeing in terror, others firing wildly and accidentally hitting their allies.
"Charge! Free hunt!"
"Roger!" x8
...
Fifteen minutes later, the battle concluded. The mountain forest had been utterly devastated—the ground was now either deep trenches or craters of varying sizes. Mechanical wreckage was densely scattered everywhere, mixed with engine oil, blood, and various unidentifiable fluids. Flames still burned, and the smoke and dust showed no signs of clearing anytime soon.
Yet the instigators of this destruction had vanished without a trace. Once the battle ended, Yang Hui led his squad away from the battlefield, only stopping to rest several kilometers away.
After finding a secure location and having Unit 7 maintain surveillance with its detection systems, everyone disembarked to rest, eating and drinking to replenish their energy.
"Gulp~ gulp~ gulp~ Ahhh... that was... way too satisfying!"
"You were just busy shooting down small aircraft the whole time."
"Russ! You bastard! If it weren't for you, I would've charged in and wreaked havoc!"
"You? Seriously? You were just stationary firing, almost got shot down by those aircraft while trying to shoot them."
"I was protecting you, you know!"
"Hahahaha..."
"Russ and George made a killing this time. Three Dabude-class and twelve Gallop-class ships—none escaped. And that's not even counting the MS, war chariots, and fighters caught in the crossfire."
"Russ took out six Gallop-class ships. George got three Dabude-class and three Gallop-class. Jung and Yū combined for one Gallop-class. Blog and Fred teamed up for another Gallop-class. The Major single-handedly destroyed the last one."
"So envious! Long-range artillery units have it easy—safe and racking up military merits!"
"Safe my ass! You have no idea how scared I was when those cannons swiveled toward me!"
"Exactly. If the Major hadn't taken out the warship's main gun in time, even the Astray Gundam's mobility wouldn't have saved us."
"That's why the Major's the best! Fight me on that!"
"Who'd argue with that? Without the Major, we'd all be dead several times over!"
"The Major's number one in the world! To hell with the Red Comet and the Black Tri-Stars!"
This was a sentiment everyone shared. Though Yang Hui hadn't displayed overwhelming dominance during the battle, he always eliminated the right enemy at the perfect moment—like destroying the land battleship's main gun early on to save Russ and George from artillery fire, or covering Blog and Fred's backs while they went on their rampage.
Truth be told, each of the eight present owed Yang Hui their lives multiple times over.
What they didn't know was that another factor was Yang Hui's reluctance to push the C-grade Astray Gundam to its limits.
"Don't think flattery will get you out of trouble for your mistakes!" Yang Hui scolded with a laugh.
"Eh!?" x8
While their performance in this battle showed significant improvement in tactics, coordination, and execution compared to last time—with vastly different results—it was far from flawless.
For instance, Ford Romfellow nearly got caught in a missile barrage while providing cover fire for Russ Kessel against incoming Dopp fighters, and Blog and Fred often neglected their rear during assaults...
Perfection is an illusion—there's no best, only better.
But this wasn't living, nor was it training. On the battlefield, any carelessness or negligence would lead to death. They needed constant discipline and tempering—only by performing better and better in combat would their chances of survival increase.
"Let's not settle this now..."
"Great!" x8
"...We'll settle it after we return!"
"Major! You're a devil!" x8
"Speaking of which, Major, you're not planning to go back yet, are you?" Travis Kirkland asked Yang Hui.
"Of course not. Do you think you've had enough fighting?" Yang Hui asked with an amused smile.
"Not at all!" x8
Jung and the others answered without hesitation. They had now become qualified soldiers, their eyes gleaming with the ferocity of wolves—the enemy was nothing but prey to them.
"But we've been exposed now. The remaining Zeon forces will definitely heighten their vigilance. We can't repeat the previous ambush tactics," Jung analyzed. While they had largely annihilated this Zeon unit, some had escaped, meaning their intelligence was now compromised.
"So we won't ambush anymore," Yang Hui decided. Not only would Zeon increase reconnaissance efforts after being exposed, making ambushes difficult, but other Zeon units had also reached their positions and begun establishing defenses during their battle. Achieving similar results through ambushes would be impossible now.
"I see, so we'll directly assault their base? Major, that's..."
"That's bullshit!"
Thump~!
"Ouch!"
Yang Hui irritably gave Ford Romfellow a knuckle rap on the head. With only nine mobile suits, directly assaulting a heavily defended base? What kind of terrible idea was that!?
Well, if he had the Dawn Gundam with him, forget nine units—he alone could sweep through the entire Zeon defensive line. But the problem was, the Dawn Gundam wasn't here!
With their current lineup, charging into a Zeon base would mean they couldn't even escape a single artillery barrage!
"Alright, our next targets will be scattered reconnaissance and patrol units, while also providing opportunistic support to friendly forces along the defensive line."
"But the frontline is so vast—can we cover it all?"
The Astray Gundams' hover mobility was indeed excellent, far surpassing the Zaku IIs and land warships. However, the entire Middle Eastern defensive line was extremely long, and they still had to engage in combat—they simply couldn't manage it all.
"That's why from now on, we'll split into two squads." Yang Hui brought out a map and began assigning tasks. "This is our current position. Russ, Ford, and Blog will follow me southeast to this point, then circle around to attack Zeon's rear and disrupt their supply lines. Jung, Yung, Fred, George, and Travis will form a squad with Travis as captain, heading northwest to this position before returning to the defensive line for resupply..."
"That's too dangerous, Major. Following your planned route, your supplies won't be enough."
"Therefore, after you resupply, head in this direction."
"This is!"
"Asbard—Zeon's central command post."
"Major, are you planning to..."
"Exactly. A pincer attack from front and rear."
Everyone was stunned by Yang Hui's idea, including Ford Romfellow who had proposed the terrible suggestion—he had only been joking. Asbard was the Zeon Army's largest base on this front and also housed the central command headquarters. Its security was undoubtedly the tightest among all bases. They couldn't even capture an ordinary base, and now they wanted to attack Asbard? Wasn't that just asking to be killed?
"The frontlines have suffered repeated setbacks, the rear supply lines are in crisis, and we've been unable to achieve any results. If we're surpassed by the people at Odessa, what do you think they'll do?" Yang Hui asked them.
"Deploy troops to protect the supply lines and hunt you down, then reinforce the frontlines to execute a short-term decisive battle!"
"In that case, the base will definitely be understaffed at that time!"
"Exactly. This is a huge opportunity. Tempting, isn't it? A whole nest of high-ranking Zeon officers are waving at you."
"...Let's do it!" X8
(End of Chapter)