Surprise Attack Successful

"Captain, we—"

"Continue as planned. Power up the main cannon and target the Archangel—"

"But Eno..."

"I believe Eno would agree if he knew. After all, he has been captured; his life or death is uncertain."

Le Creuset cut off Adis's concerns.

"But the MS team is currently in action. If we fire the main cannon..."

Seeing Adis at a loss, Le Creuset responded with a faint, cold sneer: "No one in our team is stupid enough to be hit by friendly ship fire. If you don't hurry, the enemy ship will fire first."

Adis hesitated, wanting to say more, but ultimately followed orders and issued the command: "Prepare to fire the main cannon! Target the enemy warship!"

On the Archangel, Dalida checked the dashboard again and raised his voice.

"—We are being targeted by the laser from the Nazca-class ahead! We have been locked on!"

Murrue and the others, whose attention had been entirely focused on the MS battle before them, were shocked by this report.

Natarle issued instructions without hesitation.

"Main cannon, target the Nazca-class ahead—fire!"

Murrue, in the captain's seat, hurriedly turned to the CIC to stop the order: "Wait! Mu La Flaga's Moebius Zero is approaching! You cannot fire the main cannon!"

The specialized Positron Blaster Cannon was powerful enough to destroy an entire warship with a single direct hit.

—If they fired recklessly, it would inevitably strike the Moebius Zero as it approached the enemy ship according to the battle plan.

Furthermore, because of the surprise nature of the Moebius's attack, they could not even risk using radar to transmit a warning.

"This is too dangerous! If we don't fire, we will be hit by their main cannon!"

Natarle shouted back: "Are you planning to gamble the life of this ship?"

She knew this would endanger Mu La Flaga, but they were already locked on by the enemy's radar; if they didn't take countermeasures, even the Archangel might not survive.

"Do not fire—the ship will take evasive action!"

Captain Murrue pursed her lips and made a resolute decision: "Notify Eno Kamal of our movements and tell him to watch his safety!"

With two enemy ships ahead and their number of MS far lower than the enemy's, any hesitation or loss of composure now would truly be a death sentence.

But could the surprise attack really succeed...

For a moment, Murrue's palms became damp without her realizing it.

"Is it over like this... hmm?"

Suddenly, Le Creuset jerked his head up.

A strange sensation crawled across his skin to the top of his head—a feeling so familiar it forced the deep-seated loathing and ecstatic thrill within him to awaken—

"Adis! Maximum output to the engine room, lower the bow! Sixty-degree pitch!"

The sudden command jumped out of Le Creuset's mouth without reason.

"Huh?"

Adis looked at Le Creuset, completely bewildered.

They had already locked onto the enemy warship; why the sudden need for such a drastic change in course?

"Adis!"

Adis's momentary sluggishness sparked irritation and impatience in Le Creuset.

He understood the man's confusion; after all, that feeling could not be conveyed. But understanding was one thing, and some things—

Beep, beep—

[Heat source approaching the bottom of the ship—it's an MA!]

However, before Adis could take much action, a Moebius flew out from below like an arrow released from a bow.

In the cockpit, Mu La Flaga roared wildly, charging toward the Vesalius at maximum acceleration.

At this moment, without any command, the soldiers reacted; the Vesalius's engine noise suddenly began to rise, and the thrusters fired at maximum power.

The automated defense system fired interceptor beams at the Moebius.

But the distance between them was too close, and there was no time to reload ammunition.

The Moebius rolled, dodging the Vesalius's automated defenses, and its four wire-guided gun barrels ejected.

Bang, bang, bang—

At this perfect point of attack, countless shells landed directly on the Vesalius's engine turbines.

Rumble—

Almost at the same moment the Moebius emptied its ammunition and passed the Vesalius, flames erupted from the Vesalius's engine room.

"Whoa~"

Mu, who had been silent for a long time, couldn't help but shout as he threw his arms up.

He wove through the incoming swarm of interceptor missiles.

Bang!

A steel cable fired from the front of the Moebius and latched onto the outer hull of the Vesalius.

Using the rotational inertia provided by the cable, the Moebius severed the line and quickly broke away, leaving Le Creuset staring in hateful frustration.

[Engine room severely damaged! Thrust reduced!]

[Section 5 sodium wall damaged! Fire reported! Damage control, sealing compartments!]

The crew's voices, sounding like wails, reported the status of the warship one after another.

"Enemy MA is breaking away!"

As that silhouette flashed past, Adis shouted in anger: "Shoot it down--!"

But with the ship shaking and tilting so violently, the cannons could not aim accurately.

The general's piece was right before them, yet the situation of the match had taken a 180-degree turn for the worse.

The newly built ship and the MS enemy had used the very forces they were meant to protect as bait, relying on a single outdated MA to strike directly at the heart of the enemy.

Playing such petty tricks--Adis turned his head in indignation to look at his captain, only to be struck by a look of utter shock.

"Damn you, Mu...!"

Le Creuset cursed, gripping the armrests of his seat with enough force to crush them, his expression beneath the mask twisted in the fury of a demon.

This was the first time Adis had ever seen Le Creuset display such intense emotion.

At the same time.

Unaware of Mu La Flaga's situation, Ino piloted his Ginn to provide agile long-range support for the Archangel.

Because the energy was being drawn directly from within the Archangel, the beam weapon in Ino's hands barely stopped firing after the first shot.

"Damn it, this guy is so annoying!"

Dearka, suppressed repeatedly by the opponent, couldn't help but curse.

In truth, Dearka was not afraid of a single barrage.

Although the Buster Gundam lacked a shield, its agility was high; given the opponent's skill level, he wouldn't be hit even if they fought for a lifetime.

The problem was the Archangel.

The Archangel's firepower was already formidable, and when combined with a flexible, long-range support battery, it made Dearka feel incredibly stifled.

Even though the opponent's individual strength wasn't high, they were stubbornly suppressing him by relying on the Archangel's firepower.

Even the usually good-natured Nicol was starting to get angry.

Having no real skill but relying on a warship to suppress you--who could stand that!

However, Ino remained unaware of their frustration.

He had actually been keeping his attention on the Strike Gundam, which was being thoroughly suppressed not far away.

"Does this count as forced experience feeding?"

Ino couldn't help but tease as he watched Kira being relentlessly suppressed.

In reality, given his own situation, he could have easily helped Kira out of his predicament, but after considering the other's attributes, Ino temporarily abandoned the idea of providing support.

Pressure creates motivation.

With Athrun nearby, the possibility of Kira being killed in one strike was very low.

Plus, with him watching over from here, and Yzak and Michel helping to feed him experience in the front--

Opportunities for this kind of training were rare indeed.