On the other side, Creuset faced off against Kira and Athrun. Was it merely a coincidence? The three of them were reenacting a fated battle that had never truly happened, albeit in a different way.
The Super GN Dragon Cavalry of the Strike Freedom Gundam and the Providence Gundam were like soldiers of two armies, clashing and besieging each other, while the Providence Gundam itself held dual blades in its hands, colliding with the Strike Freedom Gundam and the Infinite Justice Gundam.
"How does the Providence Gundam have so much power?"
"This kind of output... no wonder its mobility has decreased!"
Kira and Athrun were both shocked that the Providence Gundam could withstand the combined strength of the Strike Freedom Gundam and the Infinite Justice Gundam. Their Mobile Suits had also undergone continuous upgrades and modifications, being no inferior to the Providence Gundam. Logically, the Providence Gundam should have been knocked flying by their combined charge; instead, it held its ground steadily in a one-versus-two stalemate.
"Heh, it seems my decision back then was indeed correct—sacrificing mobility in exchange for higher output power and strength." Creuset felt secretly glad he had made that choice. Furthermore, he had never neglected his MS pilot training in private. Otherwise, he would have truly been in trouble this time.
Although he preferred the feeling of controlling everything from behind the scenes rather than being a frontline warrior, it didn't mean he had completely abandoned his identity as a fighter. He was confident that his skills were among the first-tier powerhouses in Prometheus Fortress and had no intention of letting himself drop out of those ranks.
Regarding the modification of the Providence Gundam, he had his own ideas. He knew he wasn't the type to charge Into the Array; unlike Yang Hui, who always led from the front, his combat style and personality were more suited to Hold the Fort at the center. Therefore, when modifying the suit, he sacrificed a portion of mobility and flexibility to enhance output power, armor, and strength.
This was how he achieved the scene of a single Mobile Suit contending with two ace machines of the same level simultaneously.
How strong were Kira and Athrun? He only truly understood after this first exchange. The two strongest pilots of their world certainly lived up to their reputations.
"Athrun!"
"Yeah!"
The Strike Freedom Gundam pulled back, and the Infinite Justice Gundam drew another Beam Saber to take its place. However, resisting the strength of the Providence Gundam with a single machine was too taxing. Even with the thrusters of the Destiny Pack on its back at full power, it couldn't stop itself from slowly being pushed back.
"Oh? So that's the tactic? Well, I can't allow that!"
Creuset perceived Kira and Athrun's intention. He separated his hands and swept the Infinite Justice Gundam aside.
At the moment it was swept away, the Infinite Justice Gundam used the momentum to counter-attack, spinning around as its cold, gleaming blade slashed toward the Providence Gundam.
Screech!
The Providence Gundam lacked flexibility, so it raised its heavy shield to block, but a hideous gash was cut into it by the sharp High-Frequency Vibration Blade.
However, this was enough. The Providence Gundam had already intended to retreat. Creuset knew Athrun was an expert specializing in close-quarters assault. As he backed away, the muzzles of his Beam Rifle and Strong Shield composite armament were both aimed at Athrun, and he fired without hesitation.
The Infinite Justice Gundam had also anticipated this. The center of its small physical shield deployed, and a seven-colored Beam Shield blocked all of Creuset's beam shots. It continued to charge against the heavy firepower.
"I said, that won't do!"
Boom!
Suddenly, several solid rounds exploded against the Infinite Justice Gundam's shield. The massive force halted the Infinite Justice Gundam's charge. Electric arcs even danced across the scorched areas of the shield, and the seven-colored Beam Shield vanished.
"Tch, as expected of the Captain?" Athrun's expression soured. He no longer dared to charge in a straight line, instead closing in on the Providence Gundam while dodging attacks that mixed beams and solid shells.
Meanwhile, the Strike Freedom Gundam, which had left first, was focused on dealing with the Providence Gundam's Super GN Dragon Cavalry. As long as Athrun could buy enough time, once Kira destroyed all the Super GN Dragon Cavalry and returned, Creuset's defeat would be inevitable.
Unexpectedly, the Strike Freedom Gundam's warning sensors suddenly wailed. A thick bolt from an electromagnetic cannon shot toward it, disrupting Kira's rhythm and forcing him to abandon his pursuit of the Super GN Dragon Cavalry to evade.
"What speed! It's Mr. Zechs!" Seeing the shooting star weaving through the debris at high speed, Kira immediately identified the opponent. There were only three people who could achieve such speed and movement within a Debris Zone: Yang Hui, Graham, and Zechs. Even Jehart, who specialized in high-speed and erratic movements, couldn't match it.
Among the machines of those three, the only one using a long-range electromagnetic cannon was Zechs' Epyon Gundam (equipped with the Tallgeese II's Dober Gun (Beam and Solid Ammunition Dual-Purpose)).
"If Mr. Zechs is here... Athrun! Watch out for Wufei!"
"Wha—ugh!"
Just as Kira's warning fell, the Altron Gundam EW suddenly lunged from behind a piece of debris. Its Beam Trident swung down heavily, forcing the Infinite Justice Gundam to hastily raise its sword to block. The immense force sent Athrun flying back a considerable distance, only stopping just before hitting a meteorite.
"Athrun! Are you okay?" Kira didn't dare to stay entangled with the Providence Gundam's Super GN Dragon Cavalry and the Epyon Gundam anymore. A burst from his Rainbow Cannon cleared a path through the obstacles in the area, and after forcing the Epyon Gundam back, he moved to the Infinite Justice Gundam's side to confront the three machines surrounding them.
"Athrun is mine. You guys take Kira as you please." Zhang Wufei didn't care whether Zechs and Creuset agreed; he only wanted his target. Both were experts specializing in close-quarters assault, and Zhang Wufei had wanted a full-power battle with Athrun for a long time.
"No problem. Zechs, we'll take care of Kira, then go find Yang Hui," Creuset said to Zechs.
In truth, everyone knew that the ultimate goal of Graham calling so many people for this battle royale was to take down Yang Hui and end his myth of invincibility.
Therefore, from the start, Creuset had wanted to unite everyone to deal with Yang Hui. He was looking forward to seeing Yang Hui's frustrated expression when surrounded by everyone.
The first person he encountered was Zechs, and he convinced him immediately to form a temporary alliance. The two then split up to find more allies. Creuset happened to run into Kira and Athrun, thinking that if he could convince them, their chances of defeating Yang Hui would be great.
Instead, the conversation collapsed after only a few sentences. Kira and Athrun followed their instincts, rejected Creuset's proposal, and attacked him. This gave Creuset a massive headache; on one hand, their refusal meant his side lost two powerful combat assets, and on the other, he knew he was no match for the two of them working together.
Thus, he had been stalling for time, waiting for Zechs to discover his situation and come to support him.
Fortunately, Zechs arrived in time, and he even brought along Zhang Wufei, who had appeared out of nowhere.
Zhang Wufei hadn't come with Zechs; he had noticed the commotion of the battle from another direction and rushed over immediately. Seeing an opportunity to fight Athrun at full strength, he couldn't sit still and charged right in.
As for Creuset's proposal to team up against Yang Hui, he was interested and yet not interested. He wasn't thinking that far ahead; currently, he had only one thought: to defeat the Athrun in front of him. As for Yang Hui, that would have to wait until after he beat Athrun.
"Kira, the disadvantage is too great. Prepare to retreat."
"Understood, but I don't think they're going to let us leave."
Athrun and Kira weren't the type of people to lose their heads; knowing they were at a disadvantage, they would certainly look for an opportunity to retreat. However, the three people eyeing them hungrily didn't seem likely to give them a chance.
And so...
Two against three, the five Gundams remained motionless for a time, each watching and staying wary of the others.
...
The battle royale was roughly divided into three battlefields. Yang Hui was cautiously searching for Yurin's location; Graham and Flit were teamed up against Asemu and Jehart; and Creuset, Zechs, and Zhang Wufei were against the powerful duo of Kira and Athrun.
As for those who hadn't entered the fray yet, they could be seen clearly on the large screens outside the area. Woolf, Lyle, Tieria, and Gai Murakumo were hidden among the meteorite clusters, quietly scattering Mobile Mines and preparing a pocket for Yang Hui to wander into, aiming to take him out alongside Yurin.
"Aren't they being too despicable?" The blunt Norba Shino cursed as he saw the actions of the ambush quartet.
"Despicable?"
Norba Shino's remark made everyone look at him, and they couldn't help but laugh.
"What do you mean? Isn't this despicable!?" Norba Shino questioned the people laughing at him in anger.
"Heh, have you really ever been on a battlefield?" Fram Nara, who was watching the match, asked with a cold laugh.
"What did you say!?"
"Heh, anyone who has truly been on a battlefield wouldn't say such ridiculous things."
"You..."
"Shino!" Akihiro held back the furious Norba Shino. Although Akihiro didn't like the methods of Woolf and the others either, he was different from Norba Shino and didn't see anything wrong with such tactics. After all, this was a battle, not a one-on-one duel; there was no such thing as "despicable" as long as one could win.
Moreover, they were newcomers. They were currently asking their seniors to teach them, so they couldn't afford to let their relationships sour.
"Sigh, still too young."
"Young and naive. Naively cute."
"Setting aside Mr. Yang Hui's monstrous strength, aren't ambushes, snares, and traps exactly what you should do on a battlefield? This isn't a dueling arena."
"You can't just set aside the Commander's strength. In a one-on-one, who can beat Mr. Yang Hui? Even Chief Instructor Graham can't do it, right?"
"Definitely not. It would probably take the Chief Instructor plus Miss Yurin and Mr. Flit—at least four people to stand a chance, right?"
"Probably. Kira and Athrun plus the Chief Instructor or Miss Yurin should also be able to do it."
"Exactly. Knowing you can't win and still charging in blindly is just stupid! It wouldn't serve any purpose."
"The simulation training is meant to fully simulate every possible environment that could appear on a battlefield."
Listening to the crowd's mockery, Norba Shino's expression became increasingly ugly and angry. At that moment, Mikazuki suddenly spoke up: "They will lose."
"Hmm? Mikazuki, what did you say?" Everyone looked back at Mikazuki Augus, who was calmly watching the screen.
"They will lose. That uncle named Yang Hui is strong—unimaginably strong," Mikazuki Augus said calmly.