"Boom, boom, boom, boom..."
For a moment, the flashes of the explosions were so blinding that no one could keep their eyes open. As the fire faded and the dust slowly dispersed, everyone finally saw the true face of the enemy.
"That's...!"
It had the symbolic large mechanical claws and the slender mono-eye of the Bigro. The difference was that it didn't have the narrow, flat body of a big crab; instead, it had a rounded, bloated arc. Four pillars extended from its body, each connected to a device identical to the unmanned weapon Kajima Yuu had just destroyed. Of the four, one was missing.
If Yang Hui were here, he would have recognized it at a glance—it was a hybrid of the Bigro and the Braw Bro, the first unit developed using the Psycommu System.
"That's Zeon's new weapon... Scatter!"
Hearing Kajima Yuu's command, everyone immediately dispersed. The crab's pointed mouth suddenly opened, and a thick beam, comparable to a ship cannon, shot out. Simultaneously, the three remaining unmanned devices detached from their pillars and scattered in three directions, launching an attack on the 3rd Squad.
"Groups of three, watch out for the guided weapons!"
At Luna II, squad leaders like Kajima Yuu knew part of the research department's plans, such as the movable frames and transforming machines currently under study, as well as a type of guided weapon specifically for NTs. What they were facing now was remarkably similar to the guided weapons the research department was developing.
Sure enough, facing this eerie combat weapon for the first time, the members of the 3rd Squad were momentarily overwhelmed. They had to watch out for the crab's Mega Particle Cannon on one side and defend against the Wire-guided Mega Particle Cannons on the other. They were primarily impossible to guard against because their small size and the complex surrounding environment made them difficult to hit, and their attack angles were tricky and lethal.
"Damn it, is this the power of an NT?" Kowloon cursed. This was the first time they were fighting a real NT; whether it was the environment or the opponent, it was hellish.
Kajima Yuu quickly thought of a tactic. Soon, after discovering the enemy machine's movement patterns, he came up with a plan.
"Units 4, 5, and 6, maintain fire on the main body. Units 7, 8, and 9, pin down the enemy's guided weapons."
"Understood!" X6
With Jung's command (as the overall commander), the squad's operation immediately shifted into high gear. Three machines concentrated all their attacks on the enemy's main body, suppressing it so much that it had no chance to fire its Mega Particle Cannon, forced to constantly dodge behind the surrounding wreckage.
Although the Wire-guided Mega Particle Cannons wanted to attack the three machines focusing on the main body to relieve the pressure, as long as their movements paused even slightly, the attacks from the other three machines arrived. Though they didn't land a direct hit, they gave the remote units no opportunity to attack.
Even if they managed to fire a shot by chance, the three machines would use their shields to block for their teammates.
"What power!" Chap Adel, who had blocked a shot, looked at his nearly scrapped shield and cursed, "Good thing we swapped for new shields this time, or I really wouldn't have been able to stop that."
"Watch out, here it comes again!"
"Don't even think about it!"
A Wire-guided Mega Particle Cannon seized an opening to fire again at the three machines attacking the main body, but Kajima Yuu had already predicted its next move. At the moment it paused, he fired.
Swoosh—
The pink beam pierced directly through one of the Wire-guided Mega Particle Cannons. The Mega Particle Cannon exploded in space before it could fire.
At that moment, the other two Wire-guided Mega Particle Cannons retreated and were retracted into the main body.
"Six shots. Every six shots, they return to replenish energy." Kajima Yuu immediately sent the intel he had observed to the entire squad, while never relaxing his observation.
"Recharge time is one minute. The next retrieval will be our chance!" As the Wire-guided Mega Particle Cannons separated from the main body again to attack them, Kajima Yuu relayed the gathered intel to his teammates once more and formulated a battle plan.
"Understood!" X8
Following the same movement patterns, and with one less Wire-guided Mega Particle Cannon to interfere, the 3rd Squad became even more proficient. Several attacks from the three machines targeting the main body hit home, causing the enemy unit to slow down as thick smoke billowed out.
"Now!"
The moment the Wire-guided Mega Particle Cannons were retracted, Kajima Yuu moved with two teammates. At full throttle, their flames trailing behind them like long ribbons, they charged straight at the main body.
Avoiding the swing of the mechanical arms, a Beam Saber was thrust directly into the mono-eye, piercing the enemy machine. The two accompanying teammates were not to be outdone, their own Beam Sabers unsheathed as their blades sank into the enemy unit's body.
Completing the maneuver, the three machines quickly retreated as a rain of beams followed, submerging the enemy machine. They did not stop pulling their triggers until a violent explosion occurred.
The battle over, several people breathed a sigh of relief. This was the first time an entire squad was needed to deal with a single enemy machine, and defeating it had been no easy feat.
"Captain, there's definitely more than one. Let's go support the other squads," Kowloon suggested.
"No need." Kajima Yuu saw flashes of battle in two other areas nearby, but he had no intention of supporting his comrades. Since his squad could handle it, the others surely could too. Thus, he decided, "Groups of three, expand the search area. The enemy's nest must be nearby!"
"Understood." X8
...
Zeon's NT weapons were indeed powerful, especially when encountered for the first time. Their eerie attack methods caught the enemy off guard, but...
Regrettably, their luck wasn't very good. A total of five Prototype Units had respectively encountered the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 7th Squads. The captains were Jung, Kajima Yuu, Russ Kessel, and Travis Kirkland. The first two were the strongest among all the local captains; Russ Kessel's marksmanship was outstanding, and Travis Kirkland was steady and experienced. None of the enemy units could gain an advantage over them.
As for the last one... it encountered the 1st Squad led by Yang Hui.
The result was self-evident. When it came to dealing with bits, Yang Hui was practically the progenitor. In a few moves, he destroyed all the Wire-guided Mega Particle Cannons. Amuro and South Burning sliced off the two mechanical claws, and the head's Mega Particle Cannon was hit by Cima, rendering it unusable. The thruster engines were destroyed by Christina Mackenzie's support fire. Now, it was just another piece of floating wreckage.
"Colonel, Chris, Fort, Shirou, you three wait here and hand the prisoners over to the Luna. Everyone else, scatter. Battles have occurred in five directions. Explore towards the center."
"Understood." X8
Not just the 1st Squad, but also the three squads that intercepted the decoy fleet turned back after annihilating the enemy. Based on the locations of the battles and the direction the decoy fleet had been heading, the central area between all squads should be the location of the enemy's headquarters. Therefore, they all set off toward the same position.
Soon, they entered each other's optical camera ranges. Forming a circle, their objective became obvious.
Before them was a massive piece of wreckage. It didn't belong to a warship, an MS, or a fighter—it belonged to a Colony.
"This is... Colony Hal?" Seeing the name written on the outer wall of the wreckage, everyone frowned. "Was Hal destroyed during the Battle of Loum?"
"I've never heard of that."
"The military doesn't have any records of it either."
"Colonel, the end of the wreckage is equipped with large thrusters. They are in a usable state."
"..."
The result was clear. Colony Hal had not been destroyed during the Battle of Loum; it was another insane preparation by Gihren Zabi.
"George, Russ, take your men and destroy all those thrusters for me." Yang Hui ordered with a heavy expression.
"Understood." X2
"Jung, Yu, you're in charge of the outer perimeter. Travis, Blog, Fred, Sectors A through D. Athrun, Gai, Sectors E through I. Scatter."
"Understood." X7
The entire team dispersed, with each squad heading to their assigned sectors for exploration. As soon as they entered the interior of Colony Hal, they saw a scene of utter devastation. Bodies floated among the ruins, causing a Nameless Scorn to rise in everyone's hearts. It wasn't just one or two bodies, but countless. Some wore civilian clothes, while others... wore the white short-sleeved uniforms unique to laboratories.
"Those Zeon bastards!"
"Gihren Zabi is a madman!"
"We have to kill him!"
Everyone felt an inexplicable fury. A Nameless Scorn burned fiercely, threatening to consume everything.
"Put this on the tab for now. We will settle this clearly with Gihren Zabi. Focus on the mission." Sensing that everyone's psychic waves were fluctuating too violently, Yang Hui immediately reminded them.
He had taught them to remain calm on the battlefield regardless of the situation, and they had always done well. So this time, Yang Hui didn't blame them. Forget them—even Yang Hui himself almost lost control. Among these bodies were countless children, especially those in white uniforms; not a single one was an adult.
"Kycilia, I'll start with you."
...
At the Flanagan Institute, everyone in the base already knew the decoy fleet had been annihilated, and the Prototype Units and test subjects sent out had lost their signals. They knew they had no way out now. They would either be captured by the Federation or be buried with Kycilia Zabi. And their choice was...
"What are you doing!?"
Initially, she hadn't noticed anything unusual about the crowd, but the looks in their eyes made her realize something was wrong. She pulled out her pistol and backed away, separating herself from everyone else.
"Lady Kycilia, we have no chance. Surrender," the Adjutant stepped forward to advise.
"Surrender, Lady Kycilia."
"The Federation won't kill us. We still have value."
"Lady Kycilia, I don't want to die yet!"
...
"Are you... joking!? I, Kycilia Zabi, will never accept such humiliation! Set the self-destruct sequence immediately! Even if I lose, I'll make Yang Hui pay a heavy price!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Kycilia Zabi turned to face the console. her hands moving rapidly as she began setting the self-destruct sequence. She knew she could no longer command these people, so she would do it herself. But...
Bang—