Victory in Sight

Both pilots closed their eyes simultaneously within their cockpits, naturally avoiding the effects of the flashbang.

However, this tactic, which had once bested Ramba Ral, did not prove very effective.

Because the two enemy mobile suits were still charging in a single file line; the first Dom was indeed affected, but the one behind it immediately filled the gap, parrying Eli's slash!

"So that's how it is. The Federation's White Devil and that Jungle Devil—have you two joined forces?"

During this brief contact, the opponent's voice came through.

It was none other than the leader of the Black Tri-Stars, Gaia.

"Zeon's intelligence network is a bit behind the times, it seems."

Eli had nothing to say to such a die-hard Zeon loyalist; he actively disengaged from the struggle and lowered the Ground Type's posture.

A beam struck from behind him!

It was Amuro's shot.

The two had indeed built up some rapport while fighting side-by-side recently, but it should have been nowhere near enough to surpass the synergy of the Black Tri-Stars.

Yet, at this moment, Gaia truly felt how troublesome this overwhelming, relentless assault was.

This was supposed to be the impression the Black Tri-Stars left on others!

"Ortega, have you recovered yet!"

Inside his cockpit, Ortega shook his head, rubbing his eyes, which had turned bloodshot from taking the full brunt of the flashbang.

"I'm good, I'm coming to help you right now!"

"No, we are preparing to retreat. I fear we are no match for them."

After forcing Eli back with a heat saber, Gaia spoke to Ortega with a grave expression.

"I have already called for artillery support from the rear; we are pulling back immediately!"

Gaia ordered Ortega, and upon hearing the sound of shells tearing through the air above, he immediately maneuvered his Dom to leap backward.

Amuro wanted to pursue, but Eli held him back.

The artillery fire stood as a barrier before them, making it too dangerous to act rashly.

However, Eli was not about to give up; he raised his Beam Rifle.

"Together, Amuro, just like that time at sea."

Without another word, the Ground Type and the Gundam raised their Beam Rifles in unison.

Without any exchange of data, the two aimed at the same Dom.

"Hum!"

The Ground Type fired first, the cherry-pink beam piercing through the heavy, falling artillery fire, heading straight for that Dom.

But the shot hit empty air.

The Dom seemed to have eyes in the back of its head, dodging the moment it moved.

"Ha, so-called devils are nothing mo—"

Ortega was clearly still bitter about being blinded earlier and couldn't help but boast.

"Bang!"

The next instant, a cherry-pink beam that followed almost immediately pierced straight through him.

It was the attack Amuro had launched!

Eli forced the opponent to dodge, while Amuro attacked based on the path of that evasion.

A simple tactic, with ultimate effect.

"Ortega, damn it!"

Gaia, the only member of the Black Tri-Stars lucky enough not to be targeted, could only watch in hatred as his teammate was taken out again.

By now, he had reached the other side of the hill, and just as he operated his suit to observe the situation, two beams came flying toward him.

Had he not pulled back in time, his head would surely have been pierced, becoming yet another notch on their belts.

Gaia gritted his teeth and finally engaged the turbines on his Dom's legs, turning to move toward the mine.

M'Quve had already prepared to abandon this location.

With the defeat of the Black Tri-Stars, this position, specifically established to intercept White Base, completely lost its threat under the artillery strikes guided by Eli.

White Base, having retrieved the two Gundams, pushed to full power and charged straight toward the left flank of the Zeon Forces!

Upon discovering this, the Zeon Forces naturally attempted to suppress them with the firepower of their Dabude-class ships.

They knew full well that they must not allow White Base to break through the entire battlefield!

But because of this, every Dabude-class ship was marked by the Federation, and Big Tray-class ships were synchronized to counter-attack.

For a time, the battle between the two sides turned into a duel of land battleships.

But what truly allowed the Big Tray-class to surpass the Dabude-class was not the vessel itself.

It was not even the Mobile Suits.

It was the almost overlooked Fly Manta and FF-3 Swordfish, those two types of atmospheric fighters.

The Dopp certainly possessed decent production capabilities, but when truly pitted against the air force that the Federation had vigorously developed beforehand, it simply did not measure up.

The Dopps were chased and slaughtered by the Fly Manta fighters throughout the engagement, while the Swordfish were utilized as heavy bombers, inflicting uncontrollable damage upon the Dabude-class before the Big Tray-class delivered the finishing blow.

The importance of air superiority in ground warfare was evident, yet Zeon had clearly failed to anticipate this.

After all, within the space colonies, where was there a vast sky for them to fly in?

Once the Dabude-class lost the ability to hold the front line, even the GMs—whose high failure rates were a cause for concern due to rushed production—could push the front line forward with sufficient confidence.

As a result, before the White Base had even fully punched through the battlefield, the Federation Forces' positions were already advancing toward them.

"Truly spectacular..."

The Gundam Ground Type and the Gundam stood upon the port and starboard sides, watching the Federation Forces rushing toward them.

After a day and a half of charging, with only a brief stop for resupply, the White Base had finally reunited with friendly forces.

There were GMs, Type 61 Tanks, and countless armored vehicles transporting infantry units.

In the sky, fighter jets streaked past, leaving behind long-lasting contrails.

Regardless of their branch, every soldier saluted the White Base as they passed.

One could tell from the black smoke billowing from various parts of the ship that they had not faced the expected fierce bombardment precisely because of the desperate efforts of the warship before them.

Eli even saw a GM Ground Type, while dragging another GM that appeared to have damaged leg joints, specifically raise its hand to salute the White Base as it passed by.

As Eli amusedly returned the salute with his Gundam Ground Type, his gaze swept across the port side of the White Base.

The port side was breached again...

Looking at that hole billowing with black smoke, Eli felt that if he ever had his own ship in the future, he would definitely prioritize strengthening the port side's defenses.

But for now, it was time to prepare for the final battle.

Anyone could see that this campaign had tilted in favor of the Federation; it was a Federation victory!

Yet that narrow-minded M'Quve was unwilling to even admit his own defeat.

He was even prepared to openly violate the Antarctic Treaty.

Sure enough, an urgent communication from General Revil reached Bright's ears.

So conflicted; I don't want the White Base to become bait like in the original work, but I also want the protagonist and Amuro to meet Lalah in person. This is tricky.