Gundam, Gravity Elegy

Even though Zokerk's performance in this regard was not obvious, it turned out that Gao Ren had indeed made the right bet, which resulted in a fatal blow.

"The lieutenant is amazing!"

"No, this kind of thing is not something to boast about."

Amidst the cheers echoing through the communication channel, Gao Ren simply shook his head:

"What really matters is..."

"What's important?"

Perhaps due to the gradually increasing concentration of Minovsky particles, Ellen's voice sounded slightly stuttered.

But this made it impossible for Gao Ren to give a precise answer.

Protect the city?

Protect the Earth?

Gradually, images of those figures and the people living in this city began to appear in his mind.

Leslie, Tini, and... Tia?

Although Shirley said that the two sisters were deceiving her, but...

"At least this way they can be protected."

Gripping the control lever tightly, Gao Ren sighed softly:

"In any case, people who are trying to live should no longer be tormented by this world."

"..."

In the Lion Dance team's internal channel, Ellen could hear the somber and disappointed tone in the boy's words, but she didn't know how to comfort him.

He's clearly an adult, but it seems the only things he can say are those based on his job duties:

"Um, Lieutenant, the Captain and First Lieutenant already signaled to retreat. It seems they've completed their mission. Shouldn't you...?"

retreat?

Eileen seemed to want to say that, but the clearly transmitted agitation forced her to swallow all her words back:

"A new enemy, the voiceprint analysis machine is..."

"tiger."

Faster than the communications officers, the frontline combat personnel have provided more precise feedback.

"I've already seen that guy."

Dodging the machine gun fire that poured down amidst the fire control alarms, Gundam quietly held up its last remaining shield in front of it.

In a corner directly ahead, the cyclops holding a machine gun stood silently, its almost squinting red eye seemingly conveying a sense of disdain.

"You missed, but this also means you've lost your last piece of armor."

Of course, what's more important at this moment is perhaps the skeletal mark on the chest:

"Another ghoul...tsk."

Listening to the communication, which seemed to be disrupted by the high concentration of rice grains in the environment, Gao Ren subconsciously frowned:

"Although this is just my personal guess, you must have been watching there for a long time—just letting your comrades fight me like this?"

"After all, I need your combat experience and data, and I also need to find a way to disarm you."

Claude spoke calmly:

"Although this guy is a bit useless, it seems he has fulfilled his duties."

"...Oh, is that so?"

Hearing those words, which could only be described as simple and honest, the boy couldn't help but smile.

To be honest, Gao Ren himself found it difficult to describe the thoughts in his mind clearly; they were somewhat chaotic, and the tangled thoughts just swirled and surged in his head.

"I suggest you surrender immediately, since you have no weapons left except your shield."

Ultimately, it transformed into some kind of resentment and malice that should never have existed:

"Once you surrender, I will offer the Gundam to Lady Kycilia in its entirety. We... no, I can prove my worth, and you will receive a substantial sum..."

"Rubbish……"

"what?"

The persuasive words, clearly copied directly from a book, were interrupted, and Claude was taken aback.

Then, what clearly echoed in my ears was the roar of machinery and steel:

"So you're actually planning to resist?"

Seeing the shadowy figure, now reduced to only a shield, still making moves, Claude's previously calm expression suddenly turned ferocious:

"Why can't you people learn your lesson? You guys are clearly incapable of resisting anymore..."

'biu'

Then, all the doubts and anger were silenced by that unique yet familiar voice.

On the cylinder, the high-temperature saber, whose force field was converging, shone with a fiery glow in the night.

"Beam Saber..."

Shocked and confused.

Even though they were separated by the cockpit, the thoughts arising from the fundamental logical conflict seemed to have been successfully transmitted to the other side:

“I guess you probably concluded that I didn’t have enough weapons because you saw me swinging the pump gun the whole time, but there’s another possibility.”

"Such speed!!"

With the nozzle activated, the black figure had already arrived in front of the corpse-tiger.

“Particle storage technology is not yet perfect, and the beam saber is a weapon that is sharp enough for me but has insufficient battery life.”

By the time he realized what was happening, all Cloud could do was raise his sword to block.

'Sizzle'

'Zzzzzzz'

The electromagnetic field and the I-force field repel each other. Although there is no crisp sound like metal, Claude feels a certain burden.

Under immense pressure, the sound was exceptionally clear:

"It's like a valuable consumable item in a strategy game."

What game?

"As for RPGs, I'm the kind of person who would rather buy an 'iron sword' than a 'steel sword'."

"What utter nonsense!"

Found it...

Before he could fully prepare for battle, Claude found himself fixed in place.

It's not some kind of mechanical restraint; it's simply that there's no way to remove your hands from the control lever!

Why is my body not obeying my commands?

[New Humans...]

The once calm whispers seemed to be gradually becoming distorted, eventually turning into some kind of childish, yet mechanical, indistinct sound:

"EXAM SYSTEM, Stand By."

"No, I didn't start the program at all, I didn't... *gulp*."

Then, he felt his throat get completely stuck.

The battle continued, but Cloud found that it was completely out of his reach.

The tiger's incredible maneuverability and actions that ordinary people simply couldn't withstand caused him intense pain, but he was powerless to stop it.

As the pilot, he was just an ordinary spectator, watching the Gundam repeatedly block attacks from different directions before finally crashing into the abyss and swamp, where it was bound.

It felt as if countless hands were pulling at me from below. Even though I tried desperately to look up and struggle, all I saw were countless eyes coldly staring at me.

That was something intangible he would never have seen in his life, something that science should have determined did not exist:

"Kill him quickly—"

He doesn't deserve to live—

"Zeon's lackey—"

It was like being torn apart by a pack of beasts, being stabbed with knives by countless madmen who had lost their minds, and even having one of their bones broken one by one.

The tremor, akin to being dismembered and slowly tortured, made his already broken heart teeter on the brink of collapse.

"It hurts—it hurts so much."

It may have only been a few minutes, but it felt like decades had passed.

Unable to discern the exact flow of time, and being an enhanced human whose emotional modules had been partially removed, only one thought surfaced in Claude's mind:

"Kill me—"

Then, the whispers disappeared.

Under the gaze of countless people, he seemed to notice the only gentle gaze.

As ethereal as clouds and mist, the woman smiled and reached out her hand:

Come on, it's time to go.

The smoke and shackles dissipated together, revealing a long-lost, pitch-black figure:

"Gundam..."

Under the crimson gaze, the beam saber came hurtling towards him.

It's like it reacts even faster than EXAM.

'Sizzle'

It brought with it the light of destruction.

'Zzzzzzz'

The beam saber pierced through the cockpit, the giant's single eye extinguished unwillingly, and the steel corpse fell directly to the ground.

'boom'

"Ghoul, eliminate the second machine."

Without turning its head, the 'monster' wielding sword and shield simply leaped over the corpses of the 'fallen' and headed deeper into the base:

"Elegy, continue the disturbance mission."

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Aftereffects

July 23, UC.0079

12: 30 PM

The afternoon sun was generously pouring down, bathing the earth in a gentle warmth.

The light leaped through the cracks, gradually flowing into the ruins and merging with the steel remains, its hollow, mottled rays illuminating the flag buried in the rubble on the ground.

Watching this scene, Earth Attack Force Commander-in-Chief Ma Kebe frowned.

Under normal circumstances, given his artistic talent, he might have even let his thoughts wander and lamented the cruelty of war. But unfortunately, this place is called Al-Na'ut, an important gateway to the Arab world ruled by Jeon.

But a week... no, even yesterday, he wasn't like this!

"Submarines and transport equipment were destroyed, warehouses and ordnance were all destroyed, and nearly 30 mobile suits were lost... Although most of the troops stationed here have indeed been transferred to the front lines, even if you disregard things like fighter jets, tanks, and self-propelled artillery, this alone is enough to constitute the material reserves for a large-scale battle. And you're telling the Earth Federation that just two mobile suits could achieve such results?!"

Looking at the report compiled by the soldiers, Ma Kebai's anger grew even stronger:

"The main force of the Federation Army is currently attacking the Greek region. Without these supplies, what will the front lines use to sustain themselves?!"

In the vast ruins, no one dared to refute him, not even Ulagan, a trusted confidant, who simply held a white porcelain pot and silently endured the wrath of his supreme commander.

However, the commander-in-chief of the Earth attack force was clearly not one to vent his anger indiscriminately. After suppressing his perfectly timed outburst of rage, he looked at his adjutant: