Jiliang, Canard! It's ZAFT...!
Only then did Miliaria's terrified report reach the Archangel's bridge.
But there was no time for surprise. The battlefield had already descended into complete chaos.
The original situation no longer existed. Now, three forces were locked in a melee—ZAFT had stopped watching from the sidelines and bared its fangs, attacking both the Earth Forces and the Alliance forces.
The two sides that had originally been fighting, whether the Three-Ship Alliance or the Earth Alliance, had no choice but to temporarily redirect their firepower and deal with this sudden third-party disruptor.
The fleets of the three sides exchanged fire in the distance, beams crisscrossing through space. At the center of the mobile suit battle, things were even more brutal.
Meanwhile, Jiliang and Canard, Nicol and Sven were still fiercely clashing with the Earth Forces' three G units—Calamity Gundam, Forbidden Gundam, and Raider Gundam. They were too close to disengage easily.
No one could easily intervene in this fiercely contested battlefield. Beams and solid ammunition filled every inch of space. The intensity of the battle made it seem as though it would continue until everyone ran out of ammunition, or until someone fell, undisturbed by anyone.
...Yet that was not the case.
That cold malice was slowly approaching, carrying the arrogance of something that would end everything.
Jiliang was locked in combat with the Forbidden Gundam.
"-----?"
Jiliang maneuvered the Freedom Gundam sideways, shaking off the Forbidden Gundam's Beam Cannon fire that could curve its trajectory. She immediately fired back with the Swordfish Railguns at its waist, forcing the enemy back.
At that very instant, she sensed something.
It was neither a signal on the radar nor something caught by her eyes.
Something—something that acted directly upon the depths of her senses. It was as if a cold,