"Hmph... No matter how powerful a Mobile Suit may be, it ultimately cannot surpass the limits of an MS? What a pity."
Creuset watched as the Strike Suit was driven into a corner, shaking his head in disappointment.
He had thought the Strike Suit would bring more surprises... but it seemed this was the end.
Disappointed, he sat back down in his seat on the Bridge, ready to watch the Strike Suit and the Archangel helplessly perish in the blaze of explosions as he had calculated—but then an alarm shattered his calm observation.
"Captain Creuset... We're being targeted?!"
The radar operator beside him quickly reported... though his tone carried more—incredulity.
It was as if he couldn't comprehend why they were being targeted at all.
"Launch Anti-beam mines, execute evasive maneuvers as planned... It's nothing more than the Strike Suit's death throes."
Creuset chuckled lightly. After being sniped by the Launcher Pack-equipped Strike Suit last time, he had already prepared defenses against such beyond-visual-range attacks.
Fireworks-like mines exploded in front of the Nazca-class ship, scattering and refracting the intense Beam aimed directly at the Bridge. Combined with the Nazca's subsequent emergency braking, the damage from this attack was minimized to the extreme.
Just as Creuset was about to remark that the Strike Suit's final counterattack was underwhelming—a series of explosions across the battlefield made him realize something was wrong.
He quickly checked the radar, but the results left him stunned.
The radar, previously filled with red markers indicating allied forces—now showed only two Battleships and four G Series Mobile Suits.
One Laurasia-class Battleship, one Self-Destructing MS Hangar, one Beam Firepower Test Type Guul, six GINNs, two Long-Range Recon ZINNs—all had vanished in that single moment!
He repeatedly instructed the Bridge crew to replay the footage. Through synchronized playback from multiple camera angles, Creuset finally understood what had just annihilated so many allies.
The Strike Suit had opened all its gunports—four Linear Cannon Pods, each with one solid cannon and two missile launchers, plus the two firearms in its hands—fourteen barrels in total, all erupting with blinding light that swept across the entire battlefield.
The solid shells from the cannons and the missiles, propelled by the light, unleashed force far beyond their intended range, striking enemies scattered throughout the battlefield.
Among the allies that had just disappeared, most had failed to react to this sudden sniper attack beyond imaginable range, pierced and shot down without even a chance to struggle.
The planned self-destructing ships were also sunk... and even the four G Series Mobile Suits that resisted with solid weapons suffered varying degrees of limb damage from the light-enhanced bombardment.
Now, all the means prepared for this battle had been neutralized, and even the G Series units no longer possessed their previous combat capabilities to some extent.
Yet the Archangel remained unscathed... and even the Eighth Fleet still had surviving vessels.
Could this assault essentially be considered a failure...?
Creuset did not think so. He remained calmly seated in his chair, merely waiting for a communication.
Sure enough, he didn't have to wait long. The captain of the remaining Laurasia-class battleship—Addis—personally contacted him.
"My deepest apologies, Commander Creuset... The operation did not proceed as planned."
"It's alright. No one could have anticipated the Strike Suit launching such an attack. Prepare to withdraw; this time, we have failed."
Hearing the other's deeply apologetic tone, Creuset knew things were still unfolding as he had expected. Outwardly, however, he shook his head slightly and replied with a regretful expression.
"No, Commander Creuset. The destruction of the self-destruct container was my failure. Therefore, I intend to redeem this mistake with my own actions."
Captain Addis shook his head, his gaze resolute.
"Commander Creuset, this ship will serve as the final means of attack, ramming into the Archangel and initiating a self-destruct."
"...It seems your mind is made up, Captain Addis."
Creuset sighed with an air of regret, then stood up and gave a solemn military salute.
"In that case, proceed as you see fit."
————————————————————
"...All those enemy forces, taken down with just one strike?!"
On the Archangel, Badgiruel stared in disbelief at the suddenly clear radar, her eyes filled with astonishment.
Just moments ago, the battle situation had been dire, surrounded by threats on all sides... Yet the Strike Suit had resolved all the immediate dangers with a single move?
Even the two Laurasia-class battleships had been struck down—one destroyed, the other crippled. Only the closest one couldn't be targeted at the bridge from a suitable angle, so they had to reluctantly neutralize it by destroying its turrets.
"Should we issue a return order to the Strike Suit and Moebius Zero now?"
Miriallia, serving as the communications officer, asked curiously. With the imminent atmospheric entry, it was logical to retrieve both mobile suits properly.
Murrue was about to nod in agreement when a warning alert sounded—the neutralized Laurasia-class ship had no intention of retreating and was instead charging directly toward the Archangel?!
"Captain, based on the current trajectory, the probability of a collision between the two ships is high!"
Someone voiced this observation. Murrue frowned slightly upon hearing it. Under normal circumstances, facing an oncoming battleship, they could easily obliterate it with the Positron Cannon.
But now, during atmospheric entry, the ship's angle of descent had strict requirements—in this situation, the Positron Cannon had no suitable firing angle. The only means of interception were missiles and such... Destroying a battleship was simple, but completely eliminating its wreckage was impossible.
If they couldn't destroy it, their only option was to evade... Murrue turned to Neumann, who was at the helm:
"Is it possible to maneuver and avoid it at this point?"
"We could shift slightly... but that would not only prevent us from landing in Alaska, but even a partial collision could jeopardize the Archangel's safe passage through the atmosphere."
Neumann shook his head regretfully... The distance between the two ships was simply too close, leaving no room for sufficient maneuvering.
Murrue bit her lower lip in frustration. They had persevered this far—was failure inevitable now?
Just then, Lu Tianming's voice suddenly came through the communication channel, igniting a glimmer of hope in the hearts of those who had nearly given up:
"Launch the Sword Pack to me using the Manta Ray... Then evade as much as you can. Leave whatever can't be avoided to me!"
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