Endless yellow sand stretched out before them, with a solitary landfill standing amidst it. Three Long Nose units, accompanied by three transport vehicles, rushed toward the landfill at full speed, firing cannons as they ran, causing damage at random, hitting with surprising accuracy.
"Whoosh~"
Pink beams of light sliced through the air, piercing through the three Long Nose units, and even the three transport vehicles were not spared, exploding into a shower of sparks.
"Gundam Dynames, mission accomplished, beginning withdrawal…"
"Beep beep beep…"
Just as Gundam Dynames, hidden under Optical Camouflage, was about to retreat, countless black dots flew in from all directions, trailing dangerous flames, triggering the radar alarms.
"...They found me so quickly? Damn it! Shift the plan to B4!" Neil looked at the missiles raining down and dared not remain hidden under Optical Camouflage any longer. He quickly deployed his shield and moved toward the designated retreat point.
"Understood!" X2
As soon as he finished speaking, Gundam Kyrios, carrying Gundam Cherudim, flew in from the distant sky, firing GN Rifles and GN Submachine Guns continuously, trying to intercept the rain of missiles. However, it could only relieve a bit of the pressure on Gundam Dynames; complete interception was impossible.
"Enemy aircraft incoming!"
"Received! I'll assist Gundam Dynames, you be careful."
"Understood."
Gundam Cherudim detached from Gundam Kyrios's back and fired a barrage at the rapidly approaching enemy formation, landing directly beside Gundam Dynames. It opened all its shields to protect him. Gundam Dynames, due to its reliance on Optical Camouflage and stealth tactics, had no shield design of its own; the two shields it had were temporary installations using spare parts from Gundam Cherudim.
"How could they find us so quickly? Have they cracked the Optical Camouflage?" Lyle connected to Neil's communication.
It was already anticipated that they would face a joint attack from the three major powers after defeating the armed forces, but he didn't expect the enemy to strike so fast, almost as if they had locked onto Gundam Dynames's position the moment the armed forces were eliminated.
"Ugh~" Enduring the violent tremors, Neil gritted his teeth and replied, "A large number of bi-directional communicators were dispersed; this is a tactic used in space. Ugh! GN Particles aren't all advantages!"
"What should we do? At this rate of attack, they want to pin us down here!" Lyle asked.
"Shift the plan to D7, contact Tieria to open a retreat route, we'll rendezvous with them… Wait! That movement! Allelujah, drop down quickly! It's a self-destruct attack!" Neil was about to contact Tieria to execute the contingency plan when he saw the UINON's Realdo air force moving in a very strange manner, recklessly charging toward Gundam Kyrios, and quickly warned.
However, at that moment, Gundam Kyrios was already surrounded by the Realdo units, with no gaps to evade.
"Boom boom boom boom…"
"Allelujah!"
A large number of Realdo units detached their lower halves and crashed into Gundam Kyrios, thick smoke and fierce flames engulfing it, with debris raining down like raindrops.
Accompanied by Allelujah's scream, Gundam Kyrios fell, shrouded in smoke. Gundam Dynames and Gundam Cherudim shouted in alarm and hurried toward the crash site of Gundam Kyrios.
"Allelujah!"
"I'm fine…" Allelujah shook his head, transforming Gundam Kyrios into MS mode, forming a triangular formation with Gundam Dynames and Gundam Cherudim to withstand the enemy's firepower.
"Tieria! Hurry!"
"Zzzz… Don't rush me… Zzzz… GN Bazooka… Charging complete… GN Particles… Zzzz… Release!"
The intermittent communication ended, and a massive beam of destructive energy plowed through the desert, creating a deep trench.
"Path opened… Zzzz… Rendezvous at coordinates I24."
"Understood!" X3
With the path opened, the three units dove in without hesitation, with Gundam Kyrios leading the way, Gundam Dynames following closely behind and firing at the sky to reduce the density of missile suppression, while Gundam Cherudim trailed slightly behind, intercepting attacks that would hit them.
But they underestimated the manpower and resources the joint forces had deployed, as well as their tactical arrangements.
The trench did effectively reduce the threat from missile and long-range fire coverage, but the enemy's setup was not limited to just missiles and long-range fire.
Not long after advancing, the missile attacks ceased, and the bombing units in the high altitude had reached above the three Gundams. Their lower bays opened, and bombs began to rain down like dumplings from above.
"Damn it! Lyle! Allelujah!"
"Understood!"
"How many troops have they deployed!?"
The three units halted, even Gundam Cherudim temporarily lowered its shield, aiming its guns at the sky to confront the bombing units.
Countless fireworks exploded in the air, and the flames and smoke obscured their view of the sky, but the three dared not stop pulling the triggers. They knew that beyond the smoke and sparks lay countless dangers.
At that moment…
"Danger!"
The radar alarm blared loudly, and Lyle opened his shield again, pushing Gundam Dynames and Gundam Kyrios behind him.
"Lyle, what are you doing… ah!"
Neil had intended to scold Lyle for his recklessness, but the next second he saw countless grenades raining down from the edge of the trench, striking Gundam Cherudim's shield, while the bombs that had lost their fire suppression followed closely behind. The shockwaves and vibrations made all three let out cries of pain, and the fixed devices on their backs nearly failed.
"Run! We can't stay here any longer!"
"But how do we get out? The enemy's firepower is too fierce!"
"Allelujah, release all GN Particles! We'll charge through using the GN field!"
"Understood!"
"Lyle!"
"I understand! Damn bastards!"
The three units endured this wave of fire coverage, not daring to delay any longer, and immediately stood up to retreat. Gundam Kyrios abandoned all offensive actions, transferring all energy from the GN drives to the GN Particles dispersal. The emerald green GN field surged to the front, clearing the smoke that obscured their vision. Gundam Dynames pressed closely against Gundam Cherudim's back, resting the GN Sniper Rifle on Gundam Cherudim's shoulder to guard against aerial attacks, while Gundam Cherudim continued to use its GN Shield to protect their rear.
As they got closer to the rendezvous point, their speed slowed, and the enemy's fire suppression intensified.
"Hold on! We're almost at the rendezvous point!"
"Understood!" X2
This stretch of less than 100 kilometers, which would normally take just over ten minutes to traverse, took them a grueling five hours due to the fire suppression.
But just a few kilometers from the rendezvous point, they saw Gundam Exia and Gundam Virtue, which should have been waiting for them a few kilometers away, completely suppressed right before their eyes.
"Too slow! Ugh~" As the five Gundams finally gathered, Tieria's reprimand came immediately.
"Don't joke around; making it here safely is already a desperate effort," Lyle shot back.
"Setsuna, Tieria, why are you here?" Neil asked while intercepting missiles and bombers in the sky.
"Pressured to come here; they didn't even give Tieria a chance to fire," Setsuna replied.
"Damn it, tactical formation Z10! Tieria, open a new path!"
"Understood!" X4
(End of Chapter)