Xiao Ran's gesture was obviously a provocation—the kind that made it seem as though he did not regard the three enemy units, or even the entire Combined Fleet, as worthy of notice.
That single motion immediately caused a stir among the Earth Force. The three units Midnight Gundam had pointed at also made movements as though they were preparing to attack. Everyone watching this scene across the world was equally stunned, and those aboard the Archangel were also taken aback by Midnight Gundam's action.
"Who is piloting that silver unit? What is he trying to do?! He actually made such a provocative move while at an absolute disadvantage." Sitting in Crimson Strike's cockpit, Cagalli stared at the image on her screen and shouted in disbelief, "The silver unit, the golden unit, and that black transforming unit... and all those units behind them are Gundams? Where did these machines come from?"
Kira, seated in Freedom Gundam, fell silent slightly at Cagalli's words. Cagalli did not know who was in that unit, so how could he? Yet no matter how he thought about it, he could not believe that someone who would make such a provocative gesture on the battlefield was Xiao Ran, the man in his memories who always planned before acting.
He was also curious about these Unknown Units that had appeared out of nowhere in Orb. Why had such a force emerged within Orb after they left? What he did not know was that the silver Gundam was being piloted by Xiao Ran. Though that provocative gesture was admittedly rather showy, Xiao Ran had made it deliberately.
Before leading his team into contact with the Combined Fleet, Xiao Ran had not expected the enemy's mid- and high-end combat strength to be so substantial. Setting aside the Participants, all five