"That damned Creuset, he set us up!"
When the incoming Beam attack came into view, Xia Chuan immediately clicked his tongue in annoyance. If this lurking old schemer hadn't fired that shot, Lu Tianming's side had almost forgotten there was still a Battleship waiting to deploy.
Clearly, this Battleship had remained hidden all along just to find an opportunity to ambush Lu Tianming's side with a surprise attack.
But the immediate danger didn't stop there. The elevated Aegis suddenly transformed again and charged back, unleashing its Scylla-type Energy Cannon directly at Lu Tianming's position.
With two simultaneous attacks incoming, the Strike Suit now had nowhere to evade... and if it tried to block, the Anti-Beam Shield in hand might not withstand much...
Lu Tianming gritted his teeth. At this moment... they had no choice but to gamble!
"Xia Chuan, pour all energy into the Shield! We'll clash head-on with him!"
"Will that work—never mind, no time to overthink it, we're going all out!"
Xia Chuan initially wanted to question the plan, but seeing the attacks already upon them, he could only steel himself and give it everything.
If Mu could block a Positron Cannon with a bare machine, he refused to believe his enhanced setup couldn't withstand a volley of main cannon fire!
Instantly, their synchronization rate shattered the 70% threshold. Both Xia Chuan and Lu Tianming felt an invisible shackle break, followed by a torrent of overwhelming power surging forth.
Guided by their will, the immense energy flooded into the Shield. Facing the incoming energy torrent, the Strike Suit suddenly swung its left arm, positioning the Shield defensively before it. Then, its freed left hand formed a palm and pressed firmly against the Shield's back.
"Protect Shield!"
As they shouted in unison, concentrated energy erupted from the hand interface, channeling entirely into the Shield.
The raging energy infused into the Shield, instantly spreading outward in ripples centered around it, ultimately forming a circular energy shield that fully protected the Strike Suit behind it.
Boom!
The main cannon collided with the defensive shield, sending clouds of dust billowing out. Watching the distant explosion, Athrun breathed a sigh of relief.
Under that level of firepower... surely the Strike Suit couldn't remain intact anymore.
But now that he thought about it, the Battery Pack modified by PLANT technicians was remarkably durable. He'd thought it was about to run out of power earlier... yet after firing the Scylla, it still maintained operational capacity...
Just as Athrun was marveling to himself, another warning alarm suddenly blared.
...How was this possible?! How could the Strike Suit still be operational?!
His eyes shifted back to the screen in disbelief—but reality seemed to confirm it. Apart from the shattered Beam Shield, the Strike Suit's main body appeared largely intact and unchanged, even firing a shot at him.
Athrun clicked his tongue in frustration, maneuvering the Aegis to evade the shot... only to notice the opponent didn't pursue this time, instead maintaining distance as if adopting a more cautious approach.
Observing the Strike Suit before him, a realization dawned on Athrun.
Could it be... that the Strike Suit was now running low on power?
Clearly, Creuset had also detected this subtle change and transmitted orders:
"Athrun, coordinate your Aegis with the Vesalius's barrage to pin down the Strike Suit."
"That guy... probably doesn't have enough battery power left."
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"Damn it, how did the enemy battleship break through? Taking advantage of us not having a battleship here, aren't they?"
Watching the Nazca begin laying down suppressive fire against the Strike Suit, Xia Chuan cursed in frustration.
It wasn't that the Archangel hadn't arrived, but rather that it couldn't provide any meaningful assistance in the current situation.
The Nazca was positioned at an extremely close range, essentially hiding in the distance while maintaining separation for sniping. For the Archangel's artillery to reach it, they'd have to position themselves even further forward than the Strike Suit.
That would undoubtedly be a risky move - being drawn into the enemy's rhythm like that might mean walking right into an ambush if they had additional forces waiting.
This resulted in... although the Archangel had arrived, it could only help the previous fleet deal with the GINN units, replacing the MA forces that had just been wiped out by the GINN to cover the retreat.
What was worse, the Strike Suit was indeed running low on power.
The earlier shield deployment, being the first time used, had wasted significant energy due to improper power input control. Combined with the initial full-speed assault and the powerful suppression that also consumed substantial power, the Strike Suit had now entered a critical power level period right in front of the Aegis.
"...Hang in there, kid! I've got the Stingray carrying the Artillery Pack and am using the Zero to guide it toward your position!"
Mu's voice suddenly came through Lu Tianming's channel, bringing some relief to Xia Chuan who was in the midst of crisis.
They had previously considered the necessity of pack replacement, so they had installed pack mounting points on the Stingray. However, since the Stingray's AI wasn't fully developed, the Zero needed to provide guidance to lead the Stingray through the combat zone for delivery when the distance was too great.
"Excellent! It's the man who turns impossibility into possibility! We're saved!"
Just as Xia Chuan cheered, he heard Lu Tianming open the voice communication channel and reply with still furrowed brows:
"Not now! The Nazca-class coordinating with the Aegis' barrage is too dense - we can barely manage to evade as it is... Switching packs at this moment would only make the Strike Suit a sitting duck!"
Lu Tianming's words held truth, as even while responding he was frantically coordinating with Xia Chuan to dodge.
His efficiency at mid-air pack switching wasn't as fast as the Getter Team's transformation speed... Deploying now would only result in becoming a stationary target and getting shot down.
Hearing Lu Tianming's response, both Mu and Xia Chuan made simultaneous clicking sounds of frustration.
"Tch... In the end, I can't even help with something like this?"
Mu's unwilling voice came through the communication channel, accompanied by a sigh of resignation from Xia Chuan's end.
Lu Tianming himself was also gritting his teeth, brows tightly knit. His eyes fixed on the screen, he desperately dodged volley after volley of random fire while mentally calculating any possible solutions to break the deadlock.
Have the Zero and Stingray harass the Aegis? No good - even if the Aegis was distracted, the Nazca-class' artillery fire couldn't be stopped.
What about having the Archangel use the Positron Cannon? Also no good - that thing had too much startup time, and once detected the Archangel would become the focus of concentrated attacks. Even considering having the Archangel temporarily draw fire, there were too many uncertainties involved.
The diverted firepower was insufficient, the safe time for backpack replacement wasn't enough, the clearing capability after changing backpacks fell short... There were too many uncontrollable factors. If even one failed to meet expectations, they would both end up losing their lives.
...But at this moment, there was no better alternative.
Just as Lu Tianming was about to explain his plan, a voice came through the allied communication channel:
"I understand now... In short, as long as we buy you enough time to change your battery pack, you're confident about leading the Archangel and allied battleships to retreat safely, correct?"
The voice was somewhat unfamiliar to Lu Tianming, but he could still recognize it as belonging to the captain of the Montgomery.
"Yes... that's correct."
Lu Tianming didn't quite grasp the other's intention yet, but answered truthfully.
He heard the other person take a deep breath before continuing:
"Young man, go ahead and change your backpack."
"During this time, your safety—we'll guarantee it."