Gundam: A Gundam Enthusiast's Journey with a Mecha Girl

Meanwhile, Kira's situation is extremely critical.

Despite Kira's best efforts to prevent Thunderbolt from getting close to the Archangel with its railgun, the railgun, firing live ammunition, was simply unable to stop Thunderbolt's advance as long as Thunderbolt didn't mind consuming more energy.

After withstanding three railgun shots, Thunder leaped up and landed on the central deck of the Archangel, brandishing its light blade as it attacked the Assault.

"Once I've dealt with you, no one will be able to stop me from sinking Longlegs!"

Faced with the swift and fierce onslaught, the attackers, lacking suitable weapons, could only desperately try to fend off the onslaught.

"Kira, I've brought my empty backpack!"

The launch of the Sky King II at this moment gave Kira an opportunity to counterattack.

Kira's pupils constricted instantly, and his brain raced as he quickly planned his next move.

Strike threw the railgun at Thunder, obscuring Thunder's vision. Taking advantage of Thunder's swing of its light blade to cut Thunder in two, Strike suddenly took a step forward, closing in and punching Thunder in the head with its right arm. Then, taking advantage of Thunder's brief loss of control, Strike activated the thruster on its left calf at full power, kicking Thunder hard in the waist and knocking Thunder off the central deck.

"Now, Cagalli!"

The Strike removed its lightning backpack and flew towards the Sky Overlord II.

"What is that idiot Nicol doing! Diego, we can't let Strike finish its transformation!"

While still on the deck of the Henry Carter, Yzak spotted the Strike's movements. The two Gundams immediately turned their weapons toward the Sky King II and the Strike, attempting to prevent the Strike from completing its refit.

"Stop right there! Interrupting the protagonist's costume change animation is incredibly unsportsmanlike!"

Mu's Sky King One finally returned to the rescue, swooping down through the anti-aircraft fire of the Henry Carter. The thick beam of the Flame God streaked across the deck of the Henry Carter, forcing Duel and Storm to jump off the deck to take cover.

"Damn it, that fighter jet!"

Yzak angrily cursed the Sky King No. 1 that had jumped out to cause trouble, but it was too late. The Strike had already completed its refit in the air and was engaged in a fierce battle with the Thunder. Meanwhile, the two Sky Kings chose to tie down the Henry Carter and the Duel and Storm, which were unable to use their maneuverability.

Chapter 47 The Final Battle in the Desert (4)

"Hey, Mr. Raven, is it really okay to keep arguing with me like this? Your teammates are in danger."

Andrew manipulated Raquel to dodge left and right, while simultaneously using words to stir up Raven's emotions.

As the Archangel was attacked by the Henry Carter, one side of the ship was billowing black smoke as it slowly descended.

However, Raven completely rejected his instigation.

"Don't underestimate my companions, Tiger. This level of crisis is no match for them."

Short Sword leaped into the air, its four shoulder cannons unleashing another volley at Lako. But Lako was quick on its feet, utilizing the excellent jumping ability of its beast-type mobile suit to dodge Short Sword's barrage with a leap, while simultaneously retaliating with its beam cannon. Short Sword had no choice but to abandon its attack and roll in mid-air to avoid the shot.

Like the Dagger, the Laco is also piloted by two people simultaneously. The unparalleled tacit understanding between Andrew and Aisha, along with the superior reflexes of the Adjuster, allows the Laco to achieve the same level of operational density as the Dagger.

"Furthermore, the current situation is not that you are holding me back, but rather that I am pulling you down from your position as commander."

Andrew had a sudden thought, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the convoy that was already approaching the Resips.

However, this momentary lapse in concentration almost cost Lako the battle. A beam of light struck Lako, whose movements had paused briefly, and he managed to dodge it thanks to his Coordinator's reflexes.

"You don't actually think that the scattered troops of the Dawn Desert can stop the Lesseps, do you?"

There are just too many uncertainties in this world!

The alternating firing of the short sword's shoulder armor created a fire net that temporarily restricted Lako's movements. Then, the beam rifle in the short sword's hand fired a seemingly fatal shot.

But Laco quickly lit up the beam blade at his mouth, and with a flick of his head, used the beam blade to deflect the short sword's shot.

"Don't underestimate me, Mr. Raven and Miss El."

Aisha, who was in charge of the Lako's fire control system, was also an elite pilot with combat experience no less than Andrew's. The combination of Andrew and Aisha brought the Lako's performance to its limit. In the entire ZAFT army, it is estimated that there would be no other pilots more suitable for the Lako than them.

With most of the mobile suits on the Resips shot down by Raven, and the last one, Lako, locked in a fierce battle with the Dagger, the Dawn Desert Convoy approached the Resips with almost impunity.

"Brothers, bring that big guy up here and show these ZAFTs from outer space what they've got to see!"

A jeep carrying some kind of launcher approached and fired four rockets that struck the lower hull of the USS Lesseps.

However, the four rockets did not explode directly. Instead, they stuck to the armor of the Resypsy and soon emitted a dazzling white light, beginning to cut through the armor of the Resypsy.

These four rockets were heavy breaching missiles that Seib acquired at a high price from arms dealers in Banadia. The arms dealers said that they could easily tear through even the multilayered armor of a spaceship.

While this is most likely just boasting from arms dealers, right now, all Seyb needs is for it to cut through the armor of the Resips.

These four heavy breaching shells did not disappoint Seib, cutting four holes in the armor of the Resips that were large enough for a person to pass through. Seib took the lead, fired his grappling hook, and then climbed up like a pirate from the Age of Exploration.

"Remember, there's only one target: the bridge of this land-based warship. Don't get bogged down with ZAFT. Be quick, don't let these Coordinators react!"

-----------------

"They actually boarded the enemy! Even in the CE era, people still use this tactic!"

The operation in the Dawn Desert truly opened Andrew's eyes. Even though he was known as the "Desert Tiger," he never expected that such an outdated tactic would be used here.

"Andy, don't get distracted, you'll lose!"

Although they appeared to be completely at ease on public channels, in reality, Andrew and Elsa had long since lost that composure.

The high-speed maneuvering combat with the short sword was extremely exhausting. Even as Coordinators, they were gradually becoming overwhelmed. Every opening they made would be seized by the short sword, and if they weren't fully focused, it would be difficult for them to find any openings in the enemy's defenses.

Meanwhile, Raven in the cockpit of the Dagger was also covered in sweat. He had first broken through ZAFT's anti-aircraft fire, then single-handedly defeated ZAFT's Baku forces, and finally had to engage in a protracted battle with Lako.

The prolonged concentration was also constantly draining Raven's stamina. Even though Raven had exceptionally high energy, his physical strength was at best only at the level of a naturally trained person. If it weren't for El's repeated interventions, Raven might have already been defeated in his confrontation with Lako.

"Raven, watch your ammo, you only have 15% left."

"We only have 15% left, so the other side probably doesn't have much energy left either. Is it finally time to decide the winner?"

Just as Raven was constantly unleashing barrages in an attempt to find an opening in Lako's defenses, Lako was also continuously firing beam cannons, trying to seize the opportunity to shoot down the short sword, showing no intention of conserving energy.

As Raven had predicted, Lako's energy was gradually approaching the danger zone.

"Andy, going there like this isn't a solution."

"I know the outcome will be decided in the next strike!"

After the short sword and Lako's fuselage clashed again, Lako changed his previous cautious fighting style and lunged at the short sword with his light blade.

"Raven, they're coming!"

"it is good!"

Raven, forcing himself to stay alert and showing no intention of avoiding the fight, charged straight at Laco.

However, although Andrew seemed to want to end the battle with melee combat, Aisha pressed the firing button for the beam cannon when she saw the short sword coming at her from the front.

However, Raven, who was prepared, decisively pressed the separation button, causing the iwsp backpack on his back to fly forward.

The beam struck the iwsp backpack, instantly causing an explosion.

"You took him down?"

Andrew felt a sense of relief before he could see what was happening, but the next moment, Lako's head was pierced by the beam rifle of the short sword.

Lako was thrown to the ground in the explosion. The short sword fell to the ground, discarding the beam rifle and shield he was holding in his hands. He drew the beam sword from his waist and, in an instant, severed Lako's limbs and twin beam turrets.

The short sword's beam blade was pointed at Lako's remaining main body.

"Surrender, Andrew, you've already lost."

In the dark cockpit, Andrew heard Raven's advice, and at the same time, the communications of the Restipus were also connected to Laco's cockpit.

Amidst a burst of gunfire, Da Costa shouted a report to Andrew about the situation inside.

"Captain, the enemy has infiltrated the area in front of the bridge, but don't worry, we have already held off their attack. Crew members from other areas are on their way, and we will take care of them soon!"

But Andrew, knowing that the situation was hopeless, had lost all will to fight.

“That’s enough, Da Costa. If they promise not to harm you, surrender to them. We’ve already lost.”

Chapter 48 Winners and Losers

The battle ended in victory for the Archangel.

The heavily damaged USS Henry Carter, after recovering the Duel, Thunder, and Storm units, quickly left the battlefield and retreated in disarray towards the surrounding friendly forces' encampments.

The remaining ZAFT troops, led by Andrew, surrendered to Dawn Desert and the Archangel.

As for these ZAFT prisoners, Dawn Desert didn't treat them too badly. After confiscating their weapons, they were imprisoned in Banadia's prison.

Coincidentally, the prison had just been completed not long ago under Andrew's supervision, and before it could even hold a few members of the resistance, Andrew himself ended up living there.

Meanwhile, the crew of Dawn Desert and the Archangel held a victory celebration banquet.

"To victory!"

"Homage to the Archangel!"

"Homage to the Desert!"

"Toast...to hell with it, drink!"

Unable to think of a suitable toast, Seib simply laughed and downed the cold beer in his glass in one gulp.

"As expected of the leader of Desert Dawn, he drinks with such gusto! I can't lose to him!"

Mu's competitive spirit was instantly ignited. He imitated Seib and downed a whole glass of beer in one gulp. But unlike Seib, who seemed unaffected after drinking it, Mu couldn't help but burp after putting down his glass, which caused a burst of laughter from those around him.

"Major... even in this kind of situation, you should at least pay attention to your demeanor."

Even at the victory celebration, Bakirulu maintained her usual demeanor, wearing her general's uniform impeccably.

"Oh dear, that's exactly the kind of occasion where you need to relax and let loose. Lieutenant Bakiruru, stop looking so gloomy, come and have a drink!"

A slightly tipsy Mu casually moved closer, his arm naturally draped over Bakirulu's shoulder. The unique scent of a man mixed with a faint smell of alcohol wafted over, catching Bakirulu off guard. Her body stiffened noticeably, and a barely perceptible blush appeared at the base of her ears.

"Okay, that's enough. If you keep going like this, I'm going to sue you for sexual harassment."

Maru appeared between Mu and Bakiruru, subtly separating the two.

"And if Major Mu wants to drink, I'll keep him company. I'd like to see just how much the famous 'Eagle of Endymion' can drink."

These words instantly propelled the atmosphere in the banquet hall to a new climax.

Saib, who was already a little tipsy, saw this scene and his eyes lit up, and he shouted loudly.

"The 'Eagle of Endymion' is going to have a drinking contest with the beautiful captain of the Archangel! Ladies and gentlemen, get fired up!"

"Oh!!!"

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Unlike the noisy adults gathered in the center, a small corner at the edge of the venue became a gathering place for several young men in the army.

"Kira, you're surprisingly amazing."

Cagalli, who witnessed the entire assault battle from her Aerial Overlord Unit 2, looked at Kira with a very surprised expression.

"Of course! Kira has been fighting alongside us all the way from Heliopolis to this point!"

Thor patted his chest proudly, speaking with great enthusiasm, as if he were piloting a Strike Force in battle.

"What a joke, Thor. You talk so high and mighty, but in the end you're still stuck on watch with me on the bridge."

"Hey, Millie, stop embarrassing me!"

Tohru and Miriam went about their usual private time, while Kira sat quietly to the side, watching his two friends' daily antics with a faint smile on his lips.

"The real expert is the teacher. Starting with Heliopolis, if the teacher hadn't been fighting, I probably wouldn't have been able to hold on long ago."

"No, Kira."

Thor leaned forward and looked directly into Kira's eyes.

"While the teacher is indeed very powerful, he couldn't have made it this far on his own without Kira. Kira, you could definitely have more confidence!"

"That's right, that's what I think too! We've gotten this far because we've fought alongside Kira and our teacher."

Kira felt a warmth rising deep within him from Tohru and Miriam's encouragement, but Cagalli, listening to their conversation, had some doubts.

"I'm saying, although I know that Skyfire Raven is a very skilled pilot, do you guys really like him that much?"

"Cagali, you don't understand."

Miria tilted her head back, wiggling one finger from side to side, a smug expression on her face for some reason.

"Our teacher isn't just good at piloting mobile suits; he's also an incredibly talented scientist! Both the short sword and the assault rifle were designed by him!"

"And the lessons are also very easy to understand."

"Miss El was also created by the teacher himself."

"The most amazing thing is that the teacher is a completely natural person who has not undergone any genetic modification!"