"Oh? The Strike Suit's pilot has actually mastered this kind of weapon."
Creuset watched the combat footage showing the array of Linear Cannons deployed behind the Strike Suit and smiled with genuine interest.
"Should we adjust our tactics based on the Strike's changes?"
In the Nazca-class battleship, an adjutant beside Creuset tentatively asked. With the Strike Suit unveiling new equipment again, it might impact their established tactical arrangements.
"No need. There's no point in making such meaningless adjustments."
Creuset waved his hand dismissively. His strategy had never been designed with the Strike Suit as the core from the beginning... No matter how much the Strike changed, it didn't matter.
He had merely found it interesting because he saw a shadow of Mu in the Strike's pilot.
"But I am quite looking forward to it... With the same type of weapon, can this Strike pilot surpass his predecessor?"
——————————————
"Holy shit! Having Funnels makes fighting so much smoother! I don't even have to worry about ambushes now!"
In the combat airspace near the Archangel, the Strike Suit swiftly dodged an Aegis's slash, then fired a synchronized Railgun volley that forced the pursuing Aegis back, creating distance.
Xia Chuan, responsible for controlling the firing timing, couldn't help but excitedly shout when he saw all four rounds hit the Aegis—the satisfying impact was exhilarating.
"Don't get careless! The Blitz is trying to sneak attack our base again!"
Lu Tianming warned while operating the Strike Suit. He used the left hand to wield the Beam Rifle, evading and exchanging fire with the charging Duel, while the right hand controlled the Wire-guided Cannon's built-in Gatling gun, spraying a burst in front of the Archangel—forcing the previously concealed Blitz back into visibility.
Perhaps taking advantage of the Archangel performing landing procedures and being unable to retaliate, the three mobile suits (excluding the Buster) seemed to have devised a peculiar attack pattern: two would harass the Strike in pairs while the third attempted to sneak attack the base.
Now, even after being discovered, the Blitz didn't retreat but instead switched to a Beam Saber and charged straight at the Strike, aiming for close combat.
Meanwhile, the Duel maintained distance with suppressing fire, and the Aegis suddenly transformed into Mobile Armor mode, rushing directly toward the Archangel.
However, Lu Tianming, familiar with this attack pattern, had anticipated it. He swapped the machine gun for a combat knife, sharply ascended to evade the Blitz's assault, and positioned himself directly in the Aegis's path, then delivered a powerful slash.
The Beam Saber clashed with the Mechanical Claw on the Aegis MA's nose, the intense repulsive force throwing both machines apart. But the four Wire-guided Cannons seized the opportunity to dart out, unleashing a synchronized volley that dealt additional damage, staggering the Aegis again as it tried to stabilize.
Lu Tianming's eyes narrowed—this was the perfect opportunity. The Duel was too far to provide quick support, and the Blitz had been forced into a Z-axis disparity, requiring complex maneuvering to re-engage.
Just as he and Xia Chuan silently agreed to increase the Resonance Level and execute the Aegis, a dazzling Beam suddenly cut between the two machines, forcing Lu Tianming to brake abruptly.
Who?!
Both Lu Tianming and Xia Chuan tensed simultaneously. The Duel, Aegis, and Blitz were all present here, while the Buster was still being pinned down by the Zero. Who could possibly have the capacity to launch an attack at this moment?
Following the direction of the assault... Lu Tianming saw a blue CGUE standing atop a square Mobile Suit Hangar, the directional thermal cannon on its shoulder still faintly emitting heat.
Behind it, the Laurasia-class battleship showed no mercy, unleashing the firepower of several anti-ship main cannons directly toward him.
The bombardment from the ship's cannons, the Beam Weapon Test Type CGUE, and the three other G Series Mobile Suits combined to weave a continuous net of beam fire, heading straight for the Strike Suit.
Faced with such a volume of attacks, Lu Tianming and the others could only retreat while fighting, nearly pushed back to the Archangel.
"Damn it, they're going too far. Tianming, should we ask the Archangel to bring the Sword Pack? Let's go all out and blow them away!"
Being chased and shot at by a battleship was a humiliation Xia Chuan had never experienced. In a fit of anger, he considered using their 100% synchronization trump card to shatter the oppressive battle.
Lu Tianming didn't reply immediately, his gaze wandering across the battlefield. He instinctively felt that the Laurasia's intervention wasn't merely to assist the Aegis; there had to be a deeper strategic purpose.
Wait—the Mobile Suit Hangar that the Beam Weapon Test Type GINN was riding earlier!
"Xia Chuan, calculate the descent trajectory of that hangar based on its current path!"
"Huh? Okay!"
Xia Chuan was momentarily confused, not understanding why Lu Tianming would ask for this... but as he began to utilize his computational power for the estimation, his tone grew heavy.
"Damn... at this rate, there's an 80% chance this thing will collide with the Archangel—could it be filled with explosives inside?"
Xia Chuan cursed angrily. It turned out the entire barrage was just to create an opportunity for this thing to approach safely. If it were packed with explosives, even if it couldn't completely destroy the Archangel and the Strike Suit, it would at least prevent them from safely entering the atmosphere.
But... dealing with the other Mobile Suits was already troublesome enough. If they tried to spare firepower to intercept the self-destruct hangar, at least one of the three MS or the battleship would seize the chance to attack the Strike Suit.
Unless there was a way to lock onto and attack all targets simultaneously.
At this thought, an idea sparked in Lu Tianming's mind:
"Xia Chuan, can you simultaneously lock onto all units on the radar? Like the Freedom did in the original SEED."
"I'll try... although the system isn't supposed to have this function, I can force a performance boost by allocating computational power."
Xia Chuan replied uncertainly. In the original, the Freedom could do it because its system supported multi-locking... but Xia Chuan had explored his mechanical body during this time. If he could leverage the power of their link to bridge the system gap with raw computational power, it might not be impossible.
"Hey, you're not thinking of—"
Seeing Lu Tianming calm down and begin adjusting the energy transmission of the Wire-guided Cannons, a bold idea suddenly sparked in Xia Chuan's mind.
Hearing Xia Chuan's words, the corners of Lu Tianming's lips lifted slightly, as if he had anticipated what Xia Chuan would say, and he nodded affirmatively:
"Exactly. If we could create a budget version of the Destiny with the Sword Pack, why can't we modify this thing into a budget version of the Freedom now!"
No sooner had the words fallen than the Resonance Level smoothly broke through the 70% threshold through their telepathic synchronization. Every enemy unit flashing red on the radar was instantly framed by target-locking indicators.
The Strike Gundam now wielded a Gatling Machine Cannon attached to its backpack in one hand and a Beam Rifle in the other, while all four Wire-guided Cannons deployed behind it, baring their barrels like fangs. These barrels and Missile Launch Bays, which should have fired solid ammunition, were now miraculously charged with dazzling beams of destructive light.
As Lu Tianming pulled the trigger—in that instant, radiance that pierced through the entire battlefield erupted from the Strike Gundam.