Gundam, the Gundam journey of a certain glue guy and his mecha girl.

“They can’t get very far by relying on inertia alone. If they really want to escape, they will definitely start their engines. The heat source of a warship’s engines is much more noticeable than the heat source of the wreckage, and the radar will be able to easily pinpoint their location. But just waiting like this is not a good solution.”

After a moment's thought, Kruze reached out and began operating the holographic sandbox.

"Long-legged has very limited escape routes. We can let the Gamow go ahead and make it look like it's going to circle around in front of Long-legged. Long-legged will then jump out on its own."

But before Kruze's battle plan could be relayed, Radar reported loudly.

"A large heat source has been detected, suspected to be an enemy ship!"

"It seems the enemy is more impatient than I thought. Artis, send out the remaining MS, including those four Gs."

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Following Mu's proposed battle plan, the Archangel automatically ended its inertial navigation state and started its engines.

Mu took the lead, using the hooks on his machine to move through the wreckage and slowly make his way to the location of the ZAFT warship.

Raven and Kira, each piloting a mobile suit, lay in ambush among two large pieces of wreckage, awaiting the enemy's attack.

ZAFT's pursuit forces did not keep them waiting for long.

[Enemy forces approaching, number five.]

El showed Raven the enemy information he had detected.

"The two Kings and the three stolen Gundams, without Thunderbolt, used the Mirage system to hide?"

Regardless of Xunlei's condition, as the enemy approached, Raven knew it was time to make his move.

"Kira, aim at King. Our priority is to reduce the enemy's numbers."

"Ok."

Seconds later, a green beam of light ushered in the battle.

The Strike Gundam, equipped with an empty backpack, emerged from behind the wreckage, catching the ZAFT forces off guard, and swiftly shot down a King Gundam with a single shot.

Meanwhile, Raven, who was lying in ambush in another direction, decisively emerged from behind the wreckage, swung the beam boomerang from the shoulder of his sword-equipped backpack, and cut another King in half from behind.

"There's an ambush!"

Aslan, who was in the lead, reacted quickly. Yzak, who was piloting Duel, and Diego, who was piloting Storm, also showed qualities that matched their red outfits, quickly starting to evade and maneuver, while simultaneously pinpointing the positions of Kira and Raven.

"caught you!"

Duel quickly turned around, aiming his beam rifle at the short sword and firing in rapid succession. However, the short sword drew several graceful arcs through the wreckage, easily dodging Duel's shots. At the same time, he fired the Iron Chariot Rocket Anchor from his hand, grabbed a piece of wreckage, and threw it towards Duel.

The debris instantly obscured Yzak's vision, forcing him to maneuver to the side and find a better position. But just as he dodged the flying debris, a boomerang of light from his short sword was already in front of him.

The duel had to abandon its firing and used its shield to deflect the beam boomerang, but in that short time, the short sword closed the distance, and the massive anti-ship blade swung down from above with heavy potential energy.

The instinct for survival made Yzak quickly steer Duel to the side to dodge, but the short sword seemed to be prepared. The right half of the thruster was at full power, and the anti-ship blade fell halfway down before quickly turning into a horizontal slash, heading towards Duel's left arm, which was wearing a shield.

Faced with the anti-ship sword's slash, which could easily sever even the armor of a battleship, Duel's shield was completely ineffective. In the face of the anti-ship sword's high-powered beam blade and heavy mass, the shield only lasted for a moment before being brutally torn apart, and Duel's left arm was also severed by the anti-ship sword.

Yzak was now drenched in cold sweat. Before the attack, he had looked down on the mass-produced short swords, but now he had no intention of underestimating them at all.

The short sword is undoubtedly a formidable opponent. Apart from lacking the PS armor, its performance is not much inferior to several high-end models, and its pilot is even more difficult to deal with.

When Yzak watched the video of the battle between Dagger and Shigu, he only felt that the pilot of Dagger was relying on the performance of the machine to fight. The reason why he was able to replace one of Shigu's hands was simply because Kruze did not understand the performance of Dagger and Dagger adopted a reckless fighting style.

Short Sword's combat performance just now was like that of a completely different person; his control over the machine was more proficient, and the tactics he adopted were more effective.

Forced by the overwhelming power of the sword-wielding short sword at close range, Yzak had no choice but to retreat from the duel and create distance between himself and the short sword. However, the short sword, which had already gained the upper hand, was not about to give up so easily. Raven pulled the control stick, intending to continue the pursuit, but at this moment, El quickly took control of the machine and fled in the opposite direction of the duel.

The next moment, the storm's bombardment reached its peak, engulfing even the duel in its midst.

This is the 350mm anti-armor shotgun fired by the Storm Gundam in combination mode. Compared to the precious prototype Gundam Duel, the Dagger, designed for mass production, does not have the PS armor that can ignore live bullet attacks, so it has to give up the opportunity to continue its attack.

"Diago, what are you doing, you brat!"

"Shut up, your PS armor isn't broken. I wouldn't have bothered helping you if you hadn't almost been shot down!"

Diego rebuked the enraged Yzak and continued searching for the short sword. He realized that the Storm's anti-armor shotgun had a significant suppressive effect on the short sword. In combination mode, the anti-armor shotgun could even penetrate the armor of a warship. The short sword's thin armor was no match for the anti-armor shotgun's fire, and its extremely wide kill radius effectively suppressed the short sword.

However, Kira on the other side did not give Diego a chance to continue leisurely bombarding the short sword. Assault raised his beam rifle and fired several beams at Storm's position, forcing Storm to maneuver and dodge Assault's shots.

Aslan, piloting the Aegis, stared intently at the Assault that suddenly emerged from behind the wreckage.

"That's a Strike Gundam, and the one sitting inside that machine... could it be Kira...?"

The Holy Shield transformed into a crimson meteor, closely following the Assault.

Chapter 9 Fierce Battle in the Debris Zone (2)

Kira piloted the Strike and dodged several beams of light fired from behind him.

"That's the Holy Shield, and the person sitting inside is... Aslan?"

Kira still remembers the moment his childhood friend jumped into the cockpit of the Aegis.

"Don't come any closer, Asura, I don't want to fight you."

Contrary to Kira's wishes, the Aegis took the initiative to launch a fierce attack.

Kira had no choice but to fire his beam rifle in an attempt to force Aegis back, but Athrun saw that Strike did not intend to shoot him down, ignored the beam that grazed Aegis's body, and went straight for Strike.

"Is that Kira sitting in that machine?"

"Aslan, it really is you."

"Listen to me, Kira, we are not enemies. The Earth Alliance is just using you as a Coordinator. Come back to ZAFT with me!"

"It has nothing to do with the Earth Forces or ZAFT. I'm fighting here because my friends are still on that ship!"

Kira put away his beam rifle, drew his beam saber, and slashed forward, forcing Aegis back.

"Friends? The despicable Earth military, using hostages!"

Aslan, who already disliked the Earth Alliance, was now truly enraged.

First, they used nuclear weapons to massacre hundreds of thousands of civilians on Junius 7, and now they've done something like using hostages to force a teenager onto the battlefield.

"Just how despicable do you want to be, you human beings!"

At this moment, Aegis also put away its beam rifle and unfolded the beam saber on its arm.

'Since you were forced to participate in the battle, I'll forcibly take you back!'

Two machines, one red and one white, intertwined and fought fiercely in a corner of the wreckage.

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The moment Raven saw Storm Ingera's shot and was forced to dodge, the short sword swiftly emerged from behind the wreckage, seizing the opportunity when Storm was focused on dodging and unable to aim, and quickly closed the distance with Storm.

"Tch, what a troublesome guy."

Diego frowned. Although the two main weapons in Storm's hands provided more ferocious firepower than other G-series mobile suits, they were somewhat cumbersome in close to medium-range combat. However, the missile launchers on Storm's shoulders could still be used for interception.

Seeing the short sword getting closer and closer, Storm opened the missile launchers on his shoulders and fired a total of twelve missiles in one go, forming a dense barrage that shot towards the short sword.

Ravens remained calm. Al quickly calculated the missile's trajectory, fired the rocket anchor from his short sword, grabbed a piece of debris, and threw it away.

The debris prematurely detonated the missile, and the smoke from the explosion instantly obscured Storm's vision.

"There's another trick up your sleeve?"

Diego never expected that the barrage of missiles would be intercepted in this way. Without the missiles, and without the Vulcan cannon equipped with the Storm, he was essentially unarmed in close combat and had no way to deal with the short sword's next attack.

But Yitzhak's duel had already arrived.

To cover Storm, who was not good at close combat, Duel put away his beam rifle, drew his beam saber with his remaining right arm, and rushed into the smoke, taking the initiative to engage in close combat with the short sword.

Despite losing an arm, Yzak came prepared this time. Instead of hastily igniting his beam saber, he concealed his dueling form within the smoke, only revealing his attack intent the moment he burst out of the smoke.

The cherry-red light blade was lit just before it was swung out, and the short sword in front of the duel seemed not to have reacted yet, still heading straight towards the storm at full speed. But just before the duel's beam saber touched the short sword, the short sword in front of Yzak made a move that looked somewhat familiar to him.

Like a matador teasing a bull with skillful movements, the short sword mobilized all its thrusters, made a graceful turn in front of the duel's fuselage to dodge the duel's attack, and then kicked the duel in the back, quickly closing the distance with the storm.

"That move, was it the captain's? How could someone else be able to pull off that kind of move that's like dancing on the edge of a knife?"

Diego, who witnessed Yzak being tricked, was shocked, but the short sword did not give him more time to sigh. The cold light on the ship's blade was getting closer and closer to the storm, and given the storm's mobility, there was no possibility of escape at this point.

The short sword was swung upwards to strike the anti-ship blade, the beam aimed directly at Storm's waist. If this strike hit, Storm would undoubtedly be cut in two.

However, Diego successfully demonstrated his prowess as a Red-Clad warrior at the critical moment, maneuvering the Storm backward to align its fuselage parallel to the anti-ship blade, thus dodging the fatal strike. But as the price, the Storm's hands were severed, along with the weapons it held.

However, this did not mean that Diego's nightmare was over. The head of the dagger almost filled the entire screen on the front of the cockpit. Diego's palms were covered in cold sweat. He knew that in the next moment, the dagger would swing down the heavy anti-ship blade in his hand.

"Yzak, if you don't remember to avenge me, I'll haunt you even as a ghost."

"Why are you only thinking about Yzak at a time like this? Even I would feel sad."

In the empty expanse of space, a pitch-black mobile suit suddenly appeared, kicking away the short sword that was about to cut down the anti-ship blade. Then, beam rifles fired repeatedly, forcing the short sword back.

"Nicholm! Weren't you supposed to be attacking Longlegs?"

"I only rushed back because you and Yzak were locked in a fierce battle. Anyway, Diego, you should retreat now. Storm is no longer capable of fighting, is it?"

Piloting a powerful machine only to be beaten to such a sorry state, Diego, who was proud of his red-clad identity, was speechless for a moment. He could only spit out a curse in resentment before piloting the Storm away from the battlefield.

"Yzak, we must cover Diego."

"I know what to do, don't tell me what to do!"

To cover Storm's retreat, Thunder and Duel deliberately distanced themselves from Dagger and used beam rifles to fire continuously at Dagger, forcing Dagger to retreat into the distance.

The enemy's tactics have effectively suppressed us, Raven. This is not good.

"It's alright, we've achieved our goal."

With El's help, Raven focused on maneuvering his short sword at high speed through the wreckage, dodging the shots from Thunder and Duel.

"Kira has held off Aegis, Stormwind has retreated, and Thunderfury and Duel have focused their attention on us. We have successfully stalled the enemy, and now we're just waiting for Mu to make his move so we can escape."

But things didn't go as Raven expected. A message came from the Archangel, and Mirialia's tearful face appeared on the screen.

"Mr. Raven, please save Kira! Strike has been captured by Aegis!"

Meanwhile, Nicol and Ytzhak also received orders from the mothership.

[The Vesalius is severely damaged and must return to port immediately!]

Chapter 10 Fierce Battle Within the Debris Zone (The End)

"The Vesalius was severely damaged? Of all times, at this time?"

Yzak looked resentfully at the short sword that was constantly fleeing in the distance.

"How can we retreat without achieving anything? We must at least shoot him down..."

"Retreat, Yzak. The enemy doesn't have many energy-consuming weapons. If we keep engaging, our energy will run out first."

As usual, the steady Nicol tried to dissuade the hot-headed Ytzhak.

"Stop babbling, you coward! If you want to run away, then run! I'm going to smash that guy to pieces today."

Having faced the dagger head-on in two duels, both ending in defeat for Yzak, the hot-tempered man, could not easily tolerate such humiliation. However, a message from the Aegis calmed Yzak down slightly.

“Nichol, Yitzhak, cover me, I have captured the Assault.”

In the distance, Aegis, using its four mechanical claws in its MA form, grabbed the nearly depleted Assault and was rapidly retreating. However, this also meant that if Aegis were attacked at this moment, it would be completely defenseless.

Although Yzak was reluctant to retreat, he was not so desperate as to ignore his teammates' pleas for help. He could only drive Duelist toward the Shield and prepare to retreat together.

But to his surprise, the short sword, which had been fleeing back and forth from the duel and the rapid-fire shots, suddenly charged towards them on its own.

"That bastard, he came just in time!"

Having just calmed down, Yzak saw the short sword's actions and instantly lost his temper again. He put away his beam rifle, drew his beam saber, and charged at the short sword, determined to fight it to the death.

However, Thunder caught up with Duel and slammed him to the other side.

“Nicholson, what are you going to do…”

Before Yzak could finish speaking, two thick beams of red and white light streaked across the spot where the duel had just taken place.

"Archangel, hold your position. All gun mounts, continue firing. We must keep Thunder and Duel pinned down to create an opportunity for Dagger! Also, have the maintenance crew prepare their gun-launching backpacks!"

Maru gave the order loudly, gripping the armrests of the captain's seat tightly with both hands, staring intently at the distant battlefield.

As always, Bakiruru, with her characteristic calmness and efficiency, effectively allocated the Archangel's firepower and carried out Maru's orders.

In an instant, beams of light, cannonballs, and missiles flew out, and the fierce firepower unleashed by the Archangel pinned Thunder and Duel firmly in place, while Dagger took advantage of the opportunity to quickly head towards the Aegis.

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Mu was piloting the Mobius Zero, which was now only its original form, and was rapidly returning to base.