Being forced behind two Anti-Beam Shields by the Dark Assault Gundam and Azure Duel Gundam was definitely not good news for the five Assault Jinn Dominion Types.
Even though the Short Beam Rifle had relatively weak firepower, it boasted a decent rate of fire. Coupled with various Electromagnetic Cannons and Linear Cannons supplementing the firepower, the Anti-Beam Shields wouldn't last long. If they kept blocking like this, the shields would inevitably be shot to pieces.
Faced with this situation, the Nameless unit immediately began discussing tactical adjustments over their internal comms.
At this moment, both Shinn and Barry Howe were fully occupied blocking enemy attacks, so there was no point expecting them to come up with ideas.
Thus, Xiaoqiang was the first to speak up on the squad channel:
"This won't work. We need to find cover first."
However, Ghost immediately retorted:
"There's no cover along the route we're taking. Besides, that black Strike Gundam can fly, so cover wouldn't solve the problem anyway."
Seeing this, Soap hardened his heart and declared:
"Then let's break out of the defensive net directly. We'll use our firepower to force the black Gundam blocking our path to retreat and charge through."
Using Assault Jinn Dominion Types to force back a Gundam with next-generation performance? It wasn't entirely impossible, but it essentially meant gambling with their lives on the enemy's Accuracy.
Judging from their earlier exchanges, this plan was tantamount to a suicide mission.
So Xiaoqiang outright rejected it:
"No, forcing them back would only buy us a moment. Although we're not far from the cliff, those few seconds while charging would make us pure targets. Even if the enemy reacts slowly, they could easily take out two of us."
Soap knew it was dangerous, but if they kept dismissing every idea in their current situation, they'd be waiting for death. Moreover, as part of the Nameless unit, when had any operation not been dangerous?
Clearly, Soap wasn't the only one thinking this way. Barry Howe quickly and succinctly stated over the squad channel:
"I agree with Soap's proposal."
After Barry Howe spoke, Shinn also said:
"I agree too."
The reason Shinn and Barry Howe agreed with Soap's suggestion was simple: both judged that the shields in their hands wouldn't hold much longer. Delaying further would mean certain death.
With three in favor, one against, and one abstaining among the five, the breakout plan was approved.
Having listened to the entire discussion, Neil now spoke up:
"As long as you can get past the black Strike Gundam, I can try to stop them from pursuing."
Neil's words instantly boosted the five's morale. The Jet Black Hunter Gundam's performance far surpassed the two Gundams they were facing. If Neil could free up his hands, the blockade by these two Gundams would no longer be a problem.
Thus, Shinn and the other four immediately sprang into action.
To break through the Dark Assault Gundam's defense line, they first needed to prevent the Azure Duel Gundam from supporting it.
Without anyone else needing to say it, Shinn, taking advantage of his shield still being intact, directly piloted his Assault Jinn Dominion Type forward, using the shield as cover.
After all, among these five, Shinn had the highest Mobile Suit piloting skills. If he couldn't handle the diversion alone, the others stood no chance.
Facing the sudden advance of the Assault Jinn Dominion Type, Moody, the pilot of the Azure Duel Gundam, wasn't the least bit flustered.
Based on the previous battle, she was utterly confident that these five outdated Mobile Suits from the New Misurugi Kingdom were no match for her. A single machine charging forward was just asking to be eliminated.
However, at this moment, Shinn's mind was focused on only one thing—a one-on-one combat tactic Reid had taught him during their boring nights on the South American trip.
This tactic was a compulsory lesson for UC veterans—deceiving lock-on.
To be honest, when Reid first taught Shinn this move, he never expected him to actually learn it. He simply believed in teaching it first, so even if Shinn couldn't master it, he would at least know such a tactic existed.
But Shinn had always listened to Reid very attentively. After all, when not in combat, he remained rational and wouldn't let his body move faster than his mind.
Now, aware of the vast gap in combat power between them, Shinn chose to trust Reid's tactic.
Moreover, Shinn, in a state of intense focus, had unknowingly activated SEED.
In Shinn's perception, everything in the battle seemed to slow down to a crawl.
From Moody's perspective, however, what happened next would defy all his expectations.
When the Assault GM Dominion charged at him, Moody continued firing the mobile railgun, making his opponent think his barrage hadn't let up.
But in reality, his left hand had already retracted the stowable beam gun and drawn the "Cone" Throwing Propelled Armor-Piercing Penetration Bullet.
Since the enemy Mobile Suit had no long-range weapons and would need to use a beam saber, it would have to expose half its body from behind the shield.
If it intended to ram directly with the shield, a single "Cone" Throwing Propelled Armor-Piercing Penetration Bullet could blast apart the already battered shield.
As for why he didn't destroy the shield during the enemy's charge—because the shield's explosion would also provide cover for the enemy. If the distance wasn't close enough, it might even give the enemy a chance to counterattack.
So, when the Assault GM Dominion's beam saber emerged from the right side of its Mobile Suit, Moody confidently maneuvered his suit to throw the "Cone" Throwing Propelled Armor-Piercing Penetration Bullet toward the left.
According to Moody's prediction, the enemy would expose half its body and run straight into the armor-piercing round.
However, just as Moody waited for the enemy Mobile Suit to collide with the attack, he suddenly noticed the emerging beam saber's energy rapidly fading, and the beam saber itself entering a free-fall state. The armor-piercing round he had fired missed completely.
All of this proved that the emerging beam saber was a feint. Since the enemy Mobile Suit didn't appear from the right, Moody assumed it was attempting a ramming attack.
So, he maneuvered his Mobile Suit to turn left, thrusting the right shoulder shield forward to brace for impact.
Normally, Moody's choice wouldn't be wrong. The Assault GM Dominion's output was inferior to the Azure Duel Gundam's, and the Azure Duel Gundam weighed a solid 84.24 tons, belonging to the heavy assault class—it had no fear of colliding with the Assault GM Dominion.
Yet, when their shields collided, Moody stared in disbelief as the enemy's shield effortlessly bounced off, without even a tremor felt in the cockpit.
That wasn't the main issue. The real problem was—there was no Mobile Suit behind the shield.
For a moment, Moody wondered if he was witnessing something supernatural today. The Assault GM Dominion was an 18.0-meter-tall Mobile Suit, even taller than the Azure Duel Gundam. How could it possibly vanish into thin air?
Of course, there are no fantasy elements in the CE Universe. The Assault GM Dominion didn't vanish—Shinn simply released his shield just before collision, letting it continue forward by inertia while maneuvering his Mobile Suit into a crouch.
Executing a crouch during full-speed sprinting is a maneuver that would make ground crew scream, as it inevitably damages the knee and hip joints—areas requiring armor removal for repairs—and risks overloading and destroying the thrusters.
Yet this move proved brilliantly effective. Shinn essentially used a Beam Saber and shield to trick the Azure Duel Gundam's lock-on system twice consecutively.
Since the Assault GM Dominion stood slightly taller than the Azure Duel Gundam, Moody naturally focused his main camera on the upper body of the enemy unit rather than looking down at its feet.
The Azure Duel Gundam lacked a Panoramic Cockpit, so at close range, the pilot could only see the opposing shield, unaware that both shoulders had disappeared from view.
Similarly, the pilot couldn't simply glance down to locate the Assault GM Dominion, creating the momentary illusion that it had vanished, causing a split-second of confusion.
That hesitation was fatal. The Assault GM Dominion wielded two Beam Sabers, and Shinn had already maneuvered the crouching unit to thrust a blade directly into the Azure Duel Gundam's cockpit using its remaining momentum.
One could say Moody didn't even realize the enemy had ducked below his main camera's field of view before the Beam Saber pierced his cockpit—he never had time to check the lower cameras before his cockpit was destroyed.
Shinn's maneuver was textbook-worthy. Though enhanced by his SEED state, he had achieved victory against a superior machine with a two-generation gap in performance.
This battle was equivalent to defeating an Impulse Gundam using a Beam Ginn—a unit only modified with beam interfaces and otherwise unchanged. It required not just pilot skill disparity but flawless tactical execution.
Frankly, no one present expected Shinn to eliminate the Azure Duel Gundam in a single engagement, and this outcome immediately affected the other two battlefronts.
Seeing an Assault GM Dominion destroy the Atlantic Federation's next-generation Gundam, Canard Pars immediately cursed his "useless teammate" for being unsalvageable.
The black Gundam he faced was troublesome enough—it seemed equipped with specialized countermeasures against Photon Wave Barriers, rendering his defenses as fragile as paper against its Beam Saber.
Moreover, the enemy's machine outperformed his own, making the fight unbearably difficult.
Canard Pars recalled the painful memory from two years ago near the PLANT Colony Satellite cluster, when a massive Mobile Suit from the New Misurugi Kingdom shattered his shield with a single strike. He concluded that New Misurugi Kingdom units were outright cheating, making the fight hopeless.
After temporarily forcing back the Dark Hunter Gundam with his "Boast" Beam Cannon, he turned and fled without hesitation, declaring he'd reunite with his female companion aboard the ship. Preventing the retreat of local forces was never his mission anyway, and since this wasn't Eurasian Federation territory, he decided, "Let someone else handle it—I'm out."
Seeing the Hyperion's successor unit flee, Neil naturally didn't pursue. The enemy's retreat suited his intentions perfectly.
In fact, Canard Pars' escape ended up saving the life of Swen, who was piloting the Dark Assault Gundam.
Facing the sudden barrage of fire from the four mobile suits of the Nameless unit, the shieldless Dark Assault Gundam had no choice but to evade and make way.
After all, a momentary evasion wouldn't let the enemy escape—if they ran, they'd be exposing their backs to him.
However, what happened next was so surreal that no one expected an Assault GM Dominion to take down an Azure Duel Gundam in a single round.
Seeing his long-time companion die, Swen—who wasn't one to express emotions openly—didn't scream or shout, but his first instinct was to avenge his partner.
At this point, Swen no longer cared whether the other Assault GM Dominions escaped or not. He decisively charged toward Shinn, whose mobile suit was now armed with only a Beam Saber, and simultaneously fired the EQS1358 Rocket Anchor at Shinn's unit to prevent him from fleeing.
Fortunately, Shinn's teammates in the Nameless unit didn't abandon him. How could they easily give up on their little bird when he was performing so impressively?
Five against two was a hopeless fight where they could only bet on escaping with their lives, but five against one was a winnable battle.
Moreover, Shinn had just taken down a successor model of the Duel Gundam, despite a two-generation gap in mobile suit technology, and had done so with almost no damage to his own unit—a feat that greatly boosted morale.
So, Barry Howe charged at full speed toward Shinn's mobile suit and, in a last-ditch effort, used a shield throw to block what was essentially a sneak attack from the rocket anchor.
By now, Shinn's Assault GM Dominion had yellow alerts flashing at both the knee and hip joints due to the extreme strain he had just put on the mobile suit, affecting its ability to stand and walk and drastically reducing its mobility.
But Swen didn't have time for a second shot, because almost simultaneously, Ghost's sniper fire, Soap's machine gun beams, Xiaoqiang's rifle beams, and rockets were all directed at the Dark Assault Gundam.
Unwilling to trade his life for the enemy's, Swen had no choice but to pull up his mobile suit and evade.
Then he saw the allied Hyperion G abandon him and flee outright.
Now it had gone from five against one to six against one, with the new addition being the new Gundam from the New Misurugi Kingdom, renowned for its exceptional performance.
At this point, Swen also thought to himself, "What's the point of fighting?" and decisively ascended further to escape. If he didn't run now, he'd be dead too.
Naturally, no one pursued the fleeing Dark Assault Gundam. Seeing this, Neil directly praised Shinn over the internal comms:
"Nice job, little bird. Now I understand why the Chairman kept you in the military despite such a huge mistake, instead of sentencing you to life imprisonment."
Hearing this, Shinn realized that his light sentence was indeed due to Mr. Reid's intervention. Although it was Mr. Reid who had personally ordered his imprisonment, Shinn knew it was his own fault.
According to Mayu's letter, Stella was now living well—truly, Mr. Reid was a good man.
In reality, Neil had intentionally let it slip. After this battle, even a fool could tell that this Shinn was being groomed as an ace pilot. Sending him to the Nameless unit was just to correct his impulsive nature.
Even if he left the Nameless unit, Shinn would at most become a captain and, after retirement, be promoted a few ranks as per convention to enjoy the treatment of a field officer.
But as the saying goes, even the prime minister's doorman holds a seventh-rank official position. With Reid as the shadow ruler of the entire New Misurugi Kingdom, those he favored were bound to have bright futures.
So, Neil's slip of the tongue was deliberate—to let Shinn know who had helped him behind the scenes, lest this simpleton end up resenting Reid after leaving the Nameless unit.
Neil was actually worrying for nothing. He didn't know that both Shinn and Mayu had been rescued by Reid from Orb, and Shinn felt nothing but gratitude and admiration toward Reid.
Of course, as the saying goes, Shinn Asuka needed to have his brain functioning to express gratitude and admiration. Once impulsiveness took over and his body moved faster than his mind, only instinct would prevail.
However, even if Shinn were to harbor resentment toward Reid in the future, he would have to suppress it in front of Mayu.
Mayu would genuinely scold her thick-headed brother, and as Shinn's external brain, sometimes her words held higher priority than his own thoughts.
As for Mayu's current state, she was a devoted admirer of Ange and Une—the only warm-hearted little darling in the leaky cotton-padded jacket squad of Hoshino Ruri and Nein.
Reid was almost ready to have Ange adopt Mayu as a foster daughter and make her a princess.
Moreover, Reid now held Stella, the ultimate weapon against Shinn.
If Shinn dared disobey, all Stella needed to do was pitifully call out "Shinn" a few times, and this guy would turn to jelly.
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