But at the very instant before the lethal beam blade, capable of melting through warship armor, could strike, Covenant Gundam's thrusters abruptly pivoted. The machine pulled sharply upward at an inconceivable angle, like a dancer gliding through the air, nimbly and precisely evading Meteor's powerful, inertia-laden slash.
Then came the moment of death.
Having swung its massive weapon, Meteor inevitably suffered a brief moment of postural rigidity. Covenant Gundam seized that fatal fraction of a second perfectly.
It gracefully flipped above Freedom Gundam, raised its large Beam Saber once more, then folded in like a bird of prey spotting an opening in its quarry and cleaved down viciously.
"Ungh!"
A fierce sense of danger shot up Jiliang's spine like an electric current, making her whole body tense. She forcibly pushed every one of Meteor's thrusters to maximum output in an instant.
Accompanied by the engines' furious roar, the enormous machine forcibly shifted several body lengths sideways at the last possible moment, narrowly escaping its original position.
Covenant Gundam's slash missed. The searing blade grazed Meteor's outer armor, leaving behind a long, deep molten scar.
Orphee Lam Tao did not halt his deadly dance because of that.
He simultaneously drew Beam Pistols from his waist. At the instant Freedom Gundam slowed down from its emergency evasive maneuver, his machine wheeled around like a venomous snake that had been waiting for its chance, both muzzles locking tightly onto Meteor's massive right arm.
A continuous torrent of beams tore through the darkness, piercing precisely through the thick armor of Meteor's right arm.
Blinding red warning icons instantly filled the main screen before Jiliang. Without the slightest hesitation, her fingers flew across the control panel and decisively pressed the red emergency-release button.
Before the violent chain explosions could consume the entire right arm, Freedom