Azure Calamity struck Midnight Gundam, while Midnight Gundam reflected four beams toward Raider Gundam and its Meteors. Everyone who witnessed the scene was stunned, but the entire exchange had happened in an extremely short span of time—so short that Raider Gundam's pilot had not reacted in time.
One of the four beams struck Raider Gundam's Meteors directly, triggering a roar and an explosion. The remaining three beams headed straight for Raider Gundam. Though startled, its pilot still attempted evasive maneuvers. However, the attack had come too suddenly, and the pilot lacked experience, making the evasion far less decisive than it should have been. Fortunately, the previously overlooked Crimson Forbidden suddenly rose from below and positioned itself in front of Raider Gundam, deflecting all three beams.
The exchange ended with the three units suffering minor losses. One of Crimson Forbidden's horns had been broken, Golden Scavenger's Meteors had exploded into fragments, and Azure Calamity was completely unharmed—yet it had conveniently handed Midnight Gundam a godsend of an assist. Just one clash was enough to reveal the gap between them. Even with three units, they had failed to gain any advantage over Midnight Gundam.
Perhaps it was because the pilots of those three units had not been serious. Perhaps it was also because they lacked experience. Still, the exchange gave Xiao Ran a few ideas.
"Their skills are good, far better than ordinary Elite Pilots. They might be on Zechs's level, but they severely lack combat experience. Still, given enough time and experience, fully mastering those three units shouldn't be a problem. Their coordination is also exceptionally good, and they can bring out considerable combat power. They're much stronger than the previous generation of Three strong ones. If they're given enough time and opportunities to grow, their chances of becoming B-class Pilots