Second Spaceport Defense Battle (6)

With a glance at the fiery explosions, Felix maneuvered his Ginn. He banked left in mid-air to evade an incoming attack, then executed a barrel roll to dodge another.

Having successfully evaded both attacks, the Ginn opened fire with its Heavy Assault Machine Gun.

Bullets erupted from the muzzle.

A single burst instantly obliterated a Vanguard Fighter.

After downing the target, the Ginn maneuvered once more.

Dodging an attack from the right, he raised his weapon and fired behind him.

"What!"

The pilot of the Vanguard Fighter behind him wore a look of shock, crying out in disbelief. The next moment, the fighter was shredded by bullets, turning into a fireball in the sky.

Having destroyed that Vanguard Fighter, Felix turned his gaze toward the remaining aircraft.

These fighters fired upon the Ginn while maneuvering through the air. As the Ginn sought out targets, it continued to weave through the incoming fire.

Dodging attack after attack, the Ginn's Heavy Assault Machine Gun roared to life.

Clack!

With a single shot, bullets tore from the chamber.

Boom!

Piercing through a Vanguard Fighter, the craft exploded with a thunderous roar, raining debris down toward the ground.

Following that shot, the Ginn maneuvered through the air, side-stepping an attack before drawing its Heavy Slash Blade. With a single slash, it cleaved through a passing Vanguard Fighter, instantly detonating the craft.

Before the explosion could reach him, Felix steered the Ginn away, ensuring the blast wave did not affect his machine.

The Ginn pulled back, maneuvering through the air to dodge incoming fire from the left, right, and rear.

He raised his gun and fired to the left first.

After that shot, the Ginn performed an aerial flip to dodge a fresh volley of bullets from behind, while the Heavy Assault Machine Gun opened fire once again.

Even as he unleashed that burst, the Ginn continued its maneuvers, dodging an attack from the right before firing in that direction.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three explosions rang out in that instant.

The three Vanguard Fighters that had just been surrounding Felix were eliminated.

Before he could even catch his breath after downing the trio, Felix was met with another assault from the Vanguard Fighter squadron. The frequency of the attacks was fierce, and the angles were incredibly tricky; an ordinary pilot would surely have struggled to parry such an onslaught.

But Felix, long accustomed to such encirclements, faced the barrage with composure. The Ginn danced through the fire like a nimble sprite.

Through constant forward, backward, lateral, and aerial maneuvers, he dodged the dense wall of fire entirely. While evading, the Heavy Assault Machine Gun in his hands never ceased its work, pouring out a relentless stream of fire.

Inside the rear command headquarters of the Earth Alliance Forces.

"How is the battle progressing?"

Watching the large screen, Hope asked his adjutant.

Horton turned to face Hope and reported.

"The situation is intense. While our casualties are heavy, we have also inflicted significant losses upon these ZAFT forces."

Hearing this, Hope cut Horton off and continued his inquiry.

"What is the status of that formidable MS from the ZAFT forces? Have our troops managed to destroy it?"

Horton pondered for a moment before speaking.

"The ZAFT forces deceived us; the number of their MS units far exceeds what our scouts reported. The units we tasked with surrounding that MS were intercepted and harassed by their support MS, and they have yet to complete their objective."

Hope glanced at his wristwatch, checked the time, and spoke.

"Our troops' ammunition is nearly depleted, and the enemy's supplies must be running low as well."

Having said this, Hope suddenly issued an order.

"Order the troops to return!"

"Yes, Commander!"

Horton saluted and replied.

Turning to the communications officer, Horton relayed Hope's order. Upon receiving the command, the officer transmitted it to the front-line troops.

After the order was sent, Hope continued.

"Have the missile units launch a strike against the front-line ZAFT forces to cover our troops' retreat. As for the ground forces, abandon all damaged vehicles that cannot move. Personnel from those vehicles are to board others and withdraw from the battlefield."

"Yes, Commander!"

Front lines.

The Earth Alliance Forces, currently locked in fierce combat with the ZAFT forces, received the order from the rear command. Upon understanding the contents of the directive, the troops began preparations for withdrawal.

In just a minute or two, the missiles from the rear struck.

With the addition of the missiles, the Earth Alliance Forces Vanguard Fighter units were able to retreat smoothly, and the ground troops seized the opportunity to abandon their tanks and withdraw into the forest belt.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Following a series of explosions, a wall of fire resembling a Great Wall of flames appeared before Felix and his team. Seeing such a wall of fire, Felix did not act rashly.

"Captain, shall we pursue?"

An inquiry came through the comms.

Felix checked his ammunition status and asked the unit.

"How is everyone's ammunition consumption?"

After the brief question, the responses received were all that they had very little left. Hearing these replies, Felix decisively ordered a retreat.

Under Felix's command, the unit returned to the spaceport.

Inside Victoria Spaceport.

Felix and the others piloted their Ginn units and landed in an orderly fashion on the spaceport's runway, with Felix maneuvering his Ginn into the Hangar.

The Maintenance Crew began their inspection of Felix's Ginn.

While they were checking it, Felix climbed out of the cockpit and left the Hangar.

In the command center.

"How is the situation?"

Andrew looked at the returning Felix, placed a glass of warm water in front of him, and asked. Felix, resting in a chair, looked at the warm water before him without rushing to drink it. After resting for a while, he picked up the glass and took a sip.

"It's alright!"

Looking at Andrew, Felix said these two words. Andrew listened, looked at the table, then at Felix, and took a sip of the coffee in his hand.

"After this battle, the Earth Alliance Forces might quiet down for a while."

"I can only say there won't be any large-scale offensives, but they certainly won't be stingy about launching things like missiles at the spaceport; we still cannot let our guard down."

Setting down the water glass, Felix replied to Andrew.

Andrew nodded in agreement and set down his coffee cup at the same time.

"Get me a glass of water!"

Doug's voice reached the ears of the two men at that moment.

Felix and Andrew turned their heads together to see Doug walking in wearing his combat pilot suit, drenched in sweat just like Felix, his face etched with exhaustion.

"You're back?"

Looking at Doug, Felix said to him.

Andrew, meanwhile, stood up to pour a glass of water for Doug.