"Got him."
The three attackers surrounding the Dawn Gundam smirked, while Leon maintained his usual indifferent expression. In his eyes, Yang Hui had never been particularly impressive. Leon had studied all of Yang Hui's combat records, including every instance where the Dawn Gundam displayed its might.
To Leon, the first appearance was merely exploiting an unfamiliar Mobile Suit's capabilities—first feigning weakness to lull opponents into complacency, then suddenly unleashing overwhelming force to catch them off guard. The second engagement, while flashy, ended with the crippled Blitz Gundam nearly dragging Yang Hui underwater in a mutual demise—an embarrassing outcome. As for the Orb defense battle, Leon acknowledged Yang Hui's skill but considered his dominance largely due to inferior opponents.
Unlike others who viewed Yang Hui as invincible, Leon held a measured disdain. Yet he remained disciplined—contemptuous in strategy but meticulous in tactics. Believing even a lion must exert full force against a rabbit, he chose not to face the Dawn Gundam alone, instead bringing his entire team.
Leon, Falus, Nia, and Fat comprised Blue Cosmos' covert Phantom Pain Unit—Squad Zero "Werewolf," the most elite Bio-CPU team with a 100% mission success rate. Ruthlessly efficient and perfectly synchronized, they had executed what seemed like an inescapable killbox against the Dawn Gundam—a trapped prey awaiting slaughter.
But... they'd underestimated Yang Hui.
At that moment, Yang Hui's previously shut eyes snapped open, radiating prismatic light as he activated Innovator Mode.
"Bit."
The Dawn Gundam's wings erupted in blinding radiance, golden energy surging outward like a supernova. Dread prickled the quartet's instincts. Even mid-blindness, the Gale Strike and Nebula Lightning Gundams instantly retreated at full thrust while the Torrent Duel and Hailstorm Buster Gundams opened fire without hesitation—their tacit understanding allowing them to trust their teammates would clear the danger zone.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!...
Physical rounds detonated the bits while beams deflected wildly. Explosive smoke and fire engulfed the Dawn Gundam's position.
"Did we get him?" Falus squinted through fading visual static toward the inferno.
"FALUS, EVADE!"
Leon's warning made Falus jerk the controls. The Torrent Duel dipped just enough to save his life.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!...
Alarms shrieked as a beam chain grazed the Mobile Suit's head, shearing off the antenna, armor plating, and sensors.
"Too close!" Falus gasped. Only his absolute trust in Leon's instincts had prevented a cockpit strike.
But relief was short-lived. The Dawn Gundam burst through the flames trailing golden light, its beam submachine gun already pressed against the Torrent Duel's cockpit before Falus could react.
"Damn it!" The icy chill of death crawled over Falus as he watched the faint glimmer of light, resigned to his fate.
"Not so fast!"
"Clang—!"
The Gale Strike Gundam activated the moment Dawn Gundam burst through the flames. Though Leon's vision hadn't fully cleared, the blurry silhouette was enough for him to act.
With a blazing flare from its back, just as Dawn Gundam was about to fire, the Wing Saw Ship-Slaying Sword swung down toward its right arm. Dawn Gundam had no choice but to switch from rifle to saber, blocking the strike. But due to the Wing Saw's unique properties, it couldn't afford to lock blades and instead used the momentum to retreat.
Yet, striking without results wasn't Yang Hui's style. As he pulled back, the wings wrapped in bits flared outward, slamming into the Torrent Duel Gundam. If not for Falus's survival instincts jerking the controls to tilt the mobile suit, that single blow would have claimed his life.
Even so, the Torrent Duel Gundam lost its entire left side—left arm, left leg, shield, left leg-mounted Beam Saber, left hip-mounted Beam Rifle, and even the Shiva Magnetic Cannon held in its left hand. The cockpit itself was now exposed.
Falus was lucky. Dawn Gundam's Wings of Light had only grazed the side of the Torrent Duel's cockpit, missing his body by inches. Otherwise, he would have been erased just like the left half of his machine—no wreckage, no explosion, as if wiped away by an eraser.
"Falus! Damn you! Die!"
Nia's Nebula Lightning Gundam deactivated its Mirage Colloid System once more, cutting off Dawn Gundam's retreat. The Lance Dart high-velocity armor-piercing rounds locked onto its back, while the high-energy Beam Rifle gleamed coldly.
"Nia! Watch out!"
But Dawn Gundam's wings flicked backward, scattering bits. The Lance Dart rounds barely ignited their thrusters before the bits latched on, triggering a violent explosion right beneath the arm.
"Ah—!!"
"Nia!"
The Hailstorm Buster Gundam also disengaged its Mirage Colloid System, unleashing a full barrage that forced Dawn Gundam back. It regrouped with the heavily damaged Nebula Lightning and Torrent Duel Gundams, alongside the Gale Strike.
"Captain!"
"Falus, Nia, fall back!"
"...Understood."
Frustration burned in Falus and Nia. Their confident debut, the flawless opening ambush, had filled them with pride—only for the tide to turn so drastically. The Torrent Duel had lost half its body, all systems down, while the Nebula Lightning's crucial right arm was shattered, its armor warped beyond combat capability. Retreat was their only option.
But Dawn Gundam wouldn't let two wounded enemies escape so easily. Its wings, once more sheathed in bits, blazed gold as it surged forward, chasing the fleeing machines.
Leon and Fat couldn't possibly let the Dawn Gundam pass either. The Gale Strike Gundam, wielding dual swords, became an obstacle in its path, with its head-mounted close-range defense systems continuously firing in an attempt to harass the Dawn Gundam. Meanwhile, the Hailstorm Buster Gundam reactivated its [Mirage Colloid System], vanishing from sight to become an invisible hunter.
The Dawn Gundam acted as if it didn't even see the Gale Strike Gundam blocking its way, charging forward under the protection of its bits. But to Yang Hui's surprise, the bits failed to penetrate the [Wing Saw] Ship-Slaying Sword. Instead, they were forcefully repelled by two fierce strikes from the Gale Strike Gundam.
The [Wing Saw] Ship-Slaying Sword was the Gale Strike Gundam's most powerful weapon, hailed as an "indestructible divine armament." It could collect data on enemy units by coming into contact with their armor or physical weapons, adjusting its frequency to match the opponent's material composition. This allowed it to generate vibrations corresponding to the enemy's armor resonance frequency, granting it exceptional cutting power—capable of even breaching Phase Shift Armor with ease.
Yet Yang Hui hadn't anticipated that it could even block beam-based bits.
At that moment, Yang Hui sensed something and abruptly maneuvered the Dawn Gundam upward. The next instant, electromagnetic cannon fire and high-energy beams tore through the space it had just occupied. The Hailstorm Buster Gundam had somehow flanked the Dawn Gundam's side.
Missiles pursued the Dawn Gundam, but they proved ineffective, being swiftly neutralized by the bits left in its wake before they could get close.
"Tch, he actually detected it in advance? Is this guy a monster?" Fat cursed. The [Mirage Colloid System] couldn't be used simultaneously with Phase Shift Armor, nor could attacks be launched while it was active. But Fat was highly skilled—he could switch modes and attack almost instantaneously, leaving virtually no time gap to be detected. It should have been impossible to anticipate.
Yet Yang Hui had done it. This was the first time Fat had seen someone detect and evade his attack in advance.
"Yeah, he's really something," Leon admitted, shedding all his previous underestimation of Yang Hui. The Dawn Gundam's performance and those bizarre beam weapons were formidable, but without exceptional piloting skills, such dominance wouldn't be possible. Just from these past few minutes, it was clear that Yang Hui's reflexes and piloting abilities far surpassed ordinary standards.
"Fat, cover me. We'll hold him off." Leon's objective had shifted—no longer aiming to eliminate or capture Yang Hui, but simply to delay him.
There was no other choice. He'd already paid the price for underestimating his opponent, nearly costing the lives of two teammates.
"Roger that!"
Fat let out a self-deprecating chuckle. He wasn't in any position to mock Clotho's trio or those who had already fallen in battle.
But his moment of self-reflection ended abruptly as the Hailstorm Buster Gundam reactivated its [Mirage Colloid System], disappearing again to prepare for fire support from the shadows.
Yet to his shock, the Dawn Gundam didn't engage the Gale Strike Gundam head-on. Instead, after a brief feint—it suddenly aimed its rifle straight at him!
"How is this possible?!" A chilling sensation shot through Fat's nerves. Survival instincts kicked in, and he immediately jerked the Hailstorm Buster Gundam into evasive maneuvers, narrowly dodging the Dawn Gundam's shots.
Fat initially thought it was a coincidence, but then realized the Dawn Gundam was using one beam submachine gun and its bits to keep the Gale Strike Gundam at bay while the other beam submachine gun relentlessly pursued him. The beam bullet chain kept chasing the invisible Hailstorm Buster Gundam, confirming to Fat that the Dawn could indeed pinpoint his location.
"Damn it! How is he tracking me!?" Fat immediately deactivated the [Mirage Colloid System], dodging while laying down suppressive fire to create an opening for the Gale Strike Gundam to close in.
"Done hiding? Heh, in that case..."
A faint curve appeared on Yang Hui's expressionless face—a rare occurrence in his state of absolute rationality. The emergence of a smile under such circumstances could only mean someone was about to be in serious trouble.
Sure enough, just as Leon and Fat assumed the Dawn Gundam would prioritize the less threatening Hailstorm Buster, it abruptly halted, pivoted, and charged straight toward the evading Gale Strike Gundam.
(End of Chapter)