Chapter 352 - 353: It’s the Strike! The Strike Is Coming Down the Mountain!

Chapter 352: Chapter 353: It’s the Strike! The Strike Is Coming Down the Mountain!

[Yzak getting carried away as usual]

[The illusion you get from stomping scrubs]

[No, no, no, this is actually his normal level. What’s wrong with the world’s third-best player stomping a few scrubs?]

[Mainly because every match before this was high-end. Now he’s finally having fun stomping scrubs]

[If he keeps fighting scrubs forever, he might end up at scrub level himself]

[The sky cleared, the rain stopped, and now you think you’re hot stuff again lol]

[Lmao]

The audience was still noisily arguing. Meanwhile, the battle was still raging.

At this point, the camera returned to the Doolittle’s bridge, then showed space from the ship’s point of view.

Three GINNs were weaving through the barrage in bizarre serpentine maneuvers.

Then rocket anchors suddenly fired from the shoulders of all three GINNs, their claws biting deep into the armor seams of the escort ships. As the steel cables tightened, the warships’ starboard gun turrets were forcibly ripped from their hulls, and leaking water froze into waterfalls of ice crystals in the vacuum.

These had originally been external devices added specifically to deal with MS units like the Strike that had PS armor, mainly for "binding" them. But ZAFT immediately discovered that these things also worked very well for dismantling fragile escort ships.

Of course, they were useless against large ships like the Agamemnon-class and Nelson-class—one of those ships’ cannons was bigger than a GINN itself.

But for "stomping scrubs," nothing could be better.

The visual effect was especially impressive, creating enormous psychological pressure on the enemy.

Even more intimidating was Duel’s "solo charge." Buster covered Duel from behind while the Duel Gundam, like it had switched on Musou mode, kept advancing toward the Doolittle.

"Those monsters!" On the Doolittle’s bridge, Sutherland slammed his fist against the console.

On the radar map, the lights representing friendly units were vanishing at an alarming speed. "All Moebius units, prioritize the G-series! Target Duel!"

But the order came too late.

The Duel Gundam stepped on the wreckage of a Drake-class escort ship destroyed by Buster, using the debris to change its direction of travel before slicing an oncoming Moebius in half with its beam saber.

Inside the cockpit, Yzak licked the sweat from his lips. Bloodthirsty light burned in his blue eyes. With the Strike gone, I’m the god of this battlefield!

"Small fry should know their place!"

"Hey, hey, hey, Yzak, don’t get too carried away!"

Dearka provided cover from behind.

Crimson beams cutting across the battlefield continually tore open the defensive line formed by escort ships and mobile armors, while exploding fireballs linked together into a brilliant ring of stars.

Rather than saying Dearka was covering Yzak, it was more like Dearka was paving a starlit road for Yzak’s ascension to godhood.

The facts proved that when the gap in strength was absolute, no matter how many small fry showed up, they were nothing but easy pickings.

"Hahahahaha!"

The 115mm railgun on Duel’s right shoulder was not as powerful as Buster’s 350mm railgun, but against Moebius units, it could still take one out with a single shot.

Suddenly, the shoulder cannon flashed brightly, and a Moebius exploded instantly.

"Boom!"

That Moebius had been extremely close to the Doolittle.

After the explosion, the shockwave and debris struck the armor of the Agamemnon-class warship.

The entire massive ship trembled slightly.

The impact itself did not cause much damage, but the humiliation was immense.

Sutherland’s eyes widened.

—That was provocation!

Without a doubt, that was provocation!

"What about the Archangel? Still no response?!" Sutherland demanded furiously.

"No. The people we left aboard aren’t responding!"

"Electromagnetic interference?!"

"No, that’s not it. Our comms link with the Archangel is powerful enough that interference shouldn’t block it. It’s... the Archangel that cut us off."

—Did they get away?!

"Damn it! They want Clyne all to themselves!"

[Lmao, he still thinks everyone else is thinking like that at a time like this]

[Blue Cosmos is way too absurd]

[They’re absolute freaks]

[Wait, if the Archangel runs away, what happens to the Strike?]

[I don’t think the Strike is the important part. The important part is what happens when they try to pilot it in a minute]

[Oh right, that’s the key...]

As if responding to the audience, the scene finally cut to the Doolittle’s hangar.

Because of Duel’s attack, every Moebius aboard the Doolittle had already left the hangar.

Only the Strike remained, but the Blue Cosmos people could not unlock it and were anxiously stamping their feet beside it.

At that moment, Athrun suddenly leaped out from behind them and dropped every one of them with a single shot each.

"Hurry, come over here!"

Athrun brought Kira and Inori over to the Strike.

But then Athrun discovered that he could not get inside either.

"It’s locked?!"

Athrun immediately understood why those Blue Cosmos people had been frantic just now yet had not taken the Strike out to fight.

—So they literally couldn’t open it.

"I’ll do it."

Kira walked up to the cockpit hatch.

Then the sealed hatch opened naturally, as though welcoming the arrival of its master.

"—!!!"

The moment he saw that, Athrun seemed to understand something.

Kira entered the Strike’s cockpit.

Then Inori followed her inside.

"Today... let me do this myself."

Kira looked at Inori.

Inori nodded.

She actually thought giving Athrun a little yuri shock here might be interesting, but since Kira did not want Athrun to experience anything too stimulating, Inori decided to let him off for now.

"Kira... you’re the Strike’s pilot?"

Athrun and Inori both entered the Strike’s cockpit, one on each side.

The Strike had two pilots.

One was the primary pilot, and the other was support.

Inori had once said that she had helped Kira pilot the Strike.

Athrun had not believed her at the time.

But now, he had no choice but to believe it.

The facts were right in front of him.

"Mm. Now... let’s get out of here."

The Strike tore away the restraints securing it. After taking the beam rifle and the other weapons that had originally belonged to the Strike from nearby, it moved to the hangar doors.

Then it blasted the doors open and flew out.

"Hahahahaha!"

The camera followed the motion and cut to space outside.

The Duel Gundam swung its beam saber while Yzak’s crazed laughter echoed over the public channel. "Small fry! Ready to have your guts ripped out?!"

Yzak was still provoking them like a madman.

And because their flagship was under threat, the Moebius units had no choice but to come support it.

The instant the beam saber split two Moebius units apart, the Earth Alliance pilots had not even seen the path of the attack before they were dead.

"You Naturals aren’t even good enough to be targets! Hahahaha!"

Yzak was provoking them on purpose.

But the Earth Alliance had no choice except to fight back, leaving them both furious and frantic.

Amazing!

This felt amazing!

At that moment, something else seemed to fly out of the Doolittle.

"Die—huh?!"

Yzak aimed on reflex and fired his beam rifle, but the other machine dodged it with practiced ease.

Only then did Yzak realize that it was the Strike.

"The Strike! It’s the Strike!"

Even his voice changed pitch.