"Trying to run? Not that easy!"
Compared to Lu Tianming who was dodging and weaving for survival, Yzak clearly had more breathing room here—though he hadn't managed to land a single hit on the Strike Suit, the trio's alternating attacks firmly controlled the battle's rhythm.
For every move they made, the Strike Suit needed three times the movements to respond, inevitably consuming far more energy.
In Yzak's tactical assessment, maintaining this pace would drain the Strike Suit's energy reserves first!
Now observing the Strike Suit's increasingly exaggerated motions—evading a strike without counterattacking, instead immediately creating distance—he knew it was preparing to retreat.
"Dearka, cut him off!"
At Yzak's command, the ever-prepared Dearka sprang into action almost simultaneously.
The Blitz's linked long-barrel sniper rifle split into two separate rifles, each wielded in hand as he unleashed a dense curtain of fire to restrict the Strike Suit's movement.
Meanwhile, the Aegis piloted by Athrun surged from a blind spot, once again attempting a tricky ambush from an unexpected angle.
"I'll handle dodging the bullets—you focus on Athrun!"
"Got it!"
Lu Tianming and Xia Chuan instantly reached a tacit understanding. Lu Tianming took a deep breath, hands gripping the control sticks as he began maneuvering.
Simultaneously, Xia Chuan activated full combat readiness—the previously loaded combat sensors flared to life, filtering distant data while comprehensively gathering close-range intel.
With one piloting and the other navigating, the Strike Suit pivoted, deliberately exposing its flank to the Blitz. Its blade and shield worked in tandem to repeatedly repel the Aegis while casually retreating through the Blitz's bullet storm—ultimately emerging completely unscathed from both assaults!
Instead, the Strike Suit's positioning lured the Aegis between itself and the Blitz... making it difficult for Dearka to snipe effectively from afar.
"Athrun, let me handle this!"
Seeing Athrun failing to breach the defense, Yzak grew impatient. Abandoning his role of supporting the Blitz's barrage with his Beam Rifle, he stowed the rifle, drew his saber, and charged forward.
Watching Yzak take the bait, Lu Tianming smiled inwardly.
The Strike Suit delivered another cheap shot, kicking the Aegis backward, then hurled its spinning Beam Saber toward the Duel. Seizing this momentary opening, it shockingly discarded its shield as well.
Yzak deflected the incoming Beam Saber with his shield, bewildered by the Strike Suit suddenly jettisoning its equipment. Before he could process this, Athrun's urgent warning echoed:
"Watch out! Create distance now!"
Athrun stared at the crackling energy gathering in the Strike Suit's hands—having personally endured this technique before, he knew its destructive power.
A single shot had nearly downed his mobile suit previously. Now with two charges simultaneously... if both struck one target, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Was the enemy... desperate enough for an all-or-nothing gamble?!
Yzak remembered the recorded footage clearly—this move was terrifying, but he also knew: as long as he maintained distance, the opponent would be a sitting duck!
Seeing the Aegis and Duel swiftly retreating, Lu Tianming smiled with satisfaction—everything was progressing as smoothly as he had anticipated.
But his plan wasn't as simple as firing a Lightning Ball at each of them.
As if guided by instinct, Lu Tianming pulled out the cockpit keyboard effortlessly. A flash of inspiration seemed to seep into his very being, telling him how to transform that vague idea into reality.
"Energy conversion structure adjusted, constraint field timing design complete, calculated range meets expectations, explosive flash maximized..."
Data points were adjusted in an instant under Lu Tianming's control. With the final keystroke, he grinned and declared:
"Ready! Xia Chuan, name this move!"
"Got it!"
Though surprised by Lu Tianming's sudden breakthrough and the shifting energy sensation in his hands, Xia Chuan didn't overthink it upon seeing his confident smile. If Tianming's described effects held true, then perhaps this name would fit perfectly.
Xia Chuan instinctively played the "Valiant" BGM, then forcefully pressed two Lightning Balls together. The crackling electricity between his palms seemed like the orbs' fierce resistance.
But as energy was drawn from his hands, enveloping the struggling orbs under Xia Chuan's forceful suppression... the two Lightning Balls merged through subsequent energy harmonization and catalysis, forming a single energy sphere several times larger than before!
As all his energy—along with that mysterious mental power—flowed into the glowing sphere, a fanatical light shone in Xia Chuan's eyes:
"Though the name might be slightly exaggerated... here it comes!"
"My move—Strong Sunshine!"
Meanwhile, Yzak and Athrun had retreated some distance... only to grow puzzled when their opponents didn't pursue as expected.
"Is he just bluffing... Wait, what is that?!"
Yzak suspected deception, but creating such minimal distance seemed pointless. With weapons discarded, one shot should finish this.
Just as he wondered, he saw the two Lightning Balls in the Strike Suit's hands inexplicably merge into a larger sphere... which was then thrown toward them?!
This technique could be used like this?!
As Yzak prepared to evade and pursue around the sphere, it exploded like a blazing sun. Blinding light erupted before his eyes, illuminating the dark void of space.
"Damn that Strike Suit! Using such flashy but useless tricks!"
Yzak covered his eyes in pain. The sudden explosion acted like a personal flashbang detonating right before him. Instant blindness was followed by darkness, his vision only returning blurrily after several seconds.
Through blurred eyes, he saw... the Strike Suit had already fled far away, even retrieving the weapons it had discarded earlier.
"Damn it! We almost had them!"
Yzak slammed his thigh in frustration, watching the Strike Suit slip further away with a pang of regret.
Beside him, Athrun merely let out a soft sigh without uttering a word... whether he hadn't yet recovered from the flash or was using silence to express his stance remained unclear.
If it were the latter... the meaning would likely be—
"See, I told you the loss wasn't my fault."