Reid naturally heard the announcement from the Archangel's bridge CIC and immediately sensed something was off. The system awarding a full 30 Merit Points for this sudden mission almost certainly meant the enemy presence extended beyond what they could currently see.
Moreover, in the original timeline, it was the Vesalius—which had returned to PLANT once—that followed the Eighth Fleet's advance team. So why were they now facing the Gamov carrying Yzak's trio and another Laurasia-class ship instead? Where was Creuset?
Reid refused to believe his interference had altered events to this extent—Creuset had been thrown into prison after his hearing before PLANT's council.
Returning to the NT-X's cockpit, Reid directly asked over the squad channel:
"Mu, are you sensing anything unusual right now?"
Mu found the question odd at first, but instantly realized Reid was referring to Creuset. During private conversations, Mu had complained to Reid about the strange connection he shared with Creuset, which Reid had jokingly called a "match made in heaven."
Responding seriously, Mu answered:
"Nothing so far. Did you notice something, Reid?"
Reid didn't beat around the bush, laying out his suspicions:
"Yes, and it's significant. Theoretically, a Laurasia-class ship shouldn't be able to stealthily tail a Nelson-class vessel—especially after we'd warned about potential pursuers. Laurasia-class excels at fire support, not covert tracking."
The bridge heard Reid's analysis. Frowning, Murrue asked:
"Reid, are you suggesting another enemy force is hiding nearby for an ambush?"
Reid nodded firmly:
"Exactly. Better safe than sorry. Our strategy to attack the Laurasia-class remains sound—if we eliminate these two ships before any ambush materializes, the threat disappears.
But as precaution, Kira and Mu, after switching to Striker Packs, don't stray far from the Archangel. Ange and I can handle the Duel, Buster, Blitz, and four GINNs alone."
Neither Kira nor Mu objected. The two battles at Artemis Fortress had proven Reid could comfortably hold his own against two G-weapons. Against three, he shouldn't be quickly overwhelmed.
As for Princess Angelise, she tore through GINNs like a wolf among sheep—four GINNs might last ten minutes at most if they pushed their machines beyond limits. Once she finished them, the combined might of husband and wife would force the Duel, Buster, and Blitz to either retreat or be destroyed.
Truthfully, Kira and Mu weren't wrong in their assessment. Pre-Newtype awakening, Reid's limit was holding back against two G-weapons simultaneously. Against three, unless the opponents made fatal errors, he'd be the one fleeing.
But now, with fully awakened Newtype abilities and upgraded piloting skills, Reid brimmed with confidence. One against three? Truly no issue.
The moment Reid launched from the Archangel, he and Ange immediately split the Duel, Buster, Blitz, and four Heavy Ion Beam Cannon-equipped GINNs apart with two precise shots from the Heavy Particle Beam Cannons.
Reid maneuvered his Mobile Suit to dodge the heavy particle beam cannon attacks from the two GINNs near the edge, then deployed his Bits, continuously firing to force the Duel, Buster, and Blitz away from the GINNs. This gave Ange the opportunity to deal with them alone.
Of course, the Duel, Buster, and Blitz were quite cooperative. Yzak was already seething with rage. Although Reid had previously managed to take on both him and Dearka alone, now he was attempting to fight all three of them at once—how much more could he possibly look down on them?
Moreover, according to the plan, their unit was supposed to lure all of Archangel's escort Mobile Suits over. Yet only two had shown up, and the mission wasn't even halfway complete.
So Yzak shouted over the team comms:
"Dearka, cover me and Nicol! Damn Reid Isaac, looking down on us like this! Nicol, use your specialty—we have to teach him a lesson he won't forget."
Yzak's words resonated strongly with his two teammates. If Reid had tried to take on all three of them with the support of the mothership or his allies, it would have been one thing. But now, he was attempting it with zero backup—clearly, he was underestimating them.
So Nicol simply replied, "Got it," and activated the Mirage Colloid System, vanishing from sight.
Dearka didn't waste words either. He fully unleashed the two shoulder-mounted 6-tube missile pods, the 350mm anti-armor shotgun launcher, and the 94mm high-energy beam rifle, laying down suppressive fire over the area where the NT-1 was positioned.
Dearka didn't bother aiming precisely—his goal was to pin Reid down and create an opening for the Duel and Blitz to close in. He didn't expect to take Reid out with sheer firepower.
Seeing the three of them now coordinating seriously against him, Reid smirked. As Buster's missiles rained down, Reid recalled his Bits and maneuvered the NT-X Gundam in sharp, erratic movements, using the head-mounted Vulcan Guns to intercept missiles in his path, dodging them all effortlessly.
As for the beam and shotgun attacks, Dearka hadn't even aimed properly—did he really expect Reid to just fly into his line of fire?
Still, Buster's suppression had served its purpose. The Duel had already closed the distance to the NT-X Gundam and began firing its beam rifle at Reid.
Unfortunately for Yzak, his attacks were completely telegraphed—Reid could predict every shot's timing with ease. Instead of high-speed evasion, Reid simply adjusted the NT-X's posture with minimal thruster movements, rendering Yzak's shots nothing more than "airbrushing," as if he were tracing Reid's outline without hitting him. This sent Yzak into a furious rant over the comms.
But Reid's attention wasn't actually on Yzak—he barely even countered his attacks. The real problem was the now-invisible Blitz.
Back when Reid's Newtype abilities weren't fully awakened, dealing with the Mirage Colloid System had been a real headache. He could only rely on his danger sense to evade at the last moment when Nicol was about to fire—an extremely risky approach. If Yzak and Dearka pressured him even slightly, Reid could easily be overwhelmed.
Now, however, with his emotional perception fully active, Reid could pinpoint Nicol's direction and position. So he deployed another Bit and swept the area with a heavy particle beam, directly targeting Nicol's location.
From Yzak and Dearka's perspective, Reid's actions were nothing short of a horror story.
Despite being such a large machine, Yzak was practically point-blank with the NT-X, yet every shot missed by a hair's breadth. Missing once or twice could be blamed on poor marksmanship, but missing over a dozen shots—including Dearka's continuous long-range fire from the rear—was downright eerie.
What's more, the NT-X Gundam had been engaging both of them steadily when it suddenly deployed a Bit, firing beams into an empty space behind it.
Then, right where the beams struck, the Blitz materialized out of thin air, its Mirage Colloid System deactivating as Nicol executed an emergency evasion. Over comms, he cursed, "Damn it, are all the Mobile Suits from the New Misurugi Republic monsters?!" leaving both Yzak and Dearka stunned.
After all, once the Blitz activated its Mirage Colloid System, even allies couldn't pinpoint its location. So how the hell did this Reid know?
Regardless of what Yzak, Dearka, or Nicol thought, Reid was thoroughly satisfied with the combat effectiveness of his Newtype abilities. It felt like playing an FPS with full map hacks—except even better, since it provided a 360-degree, three-dimensional awareness that even warned him of enemy firing timings in advance.
Combined with his own battlefield experience and piloting skills, the three underdeveloped youngsters—Yzak, Dearka, and Nicol—were practically being toyed with.
However, Reid's enhanced abilities weren't without drawbacks. Maintaining them at high intensity rapidly drained his mental stamina, and prolonged use could easily lead to disorientation.
Moreover, Reid was experiencing the same sensation Amuro had when piloting the RX-78-2—the NT-X's feedback systems couldn't quite keep up with his reflexes. Several times, he had spotted perfect counterattack opportunities, only to miss them due to the machine's delayed response.
Truth be told, the NT-1 Gundam's base frame was fundamentally a half-finished product. It wasn't until the Zeta era that a fully matured mobile suit skeleton was developed.
Right now, the NT-X was only keeping up with B-class machine mobility thanks to magnetic coating technology. Even then, among B-class units—excluding heavily armed or armored ones—its mobility was subpar. If not for the two Bits covering its weaknesses and the rocket thrusters excelling in mid-to-short-range bursts and retreats, this flaw would've been exposed much sooner.
But all that aside, the NT-X was more than enough against the Duel, Buster, and Blitz piloted by the still-developing Yzak, Dearka, and Nicol. Meanwhile, on the adjacent battlefield, Ange had already taken down three GINNs and was chasing the last one.
The Archangel, leveraging its overwhelming firepower, had nearly crippled the forward-deployed Laurasia-class ship, leaving it billowing smoke from multiple breaches. The rearward Montgomery, Bernard, and Raul were stunned—just how strong was this Archangel? And what kind of monster had Reid Isaac developed? Holding its own against three Gundam-series units with ease.
But the Eighth Fleet advance team and the Archangel's good fortune ended there. Suddenly, three large heat signatures appeared on the battlefield's flank. The Archangel's CIC immediately announced:
"Three large heat signatures detected on the flank—identified as three Nazca-class ships! Mobile Suit teams have launched... Sixteen GINNs, and... the Aegis?!"
The report from CIC was utterly despairing—sixteen GINNs. The generational gap between the G-series and GINNs was far from being able to overcome ten-to-one odds, and Kira wasn't piloting the Freedom Gundam. As for the Green Astray, if it had to face six GINNs head-on, Mu surviving would already count as a victory—let alone the fact that the enemy also had an Aegis among them.
At this moment, Captain Koopman of the Montgomery, upon seeing three Nazca-class ships and so many GINNs, immediately made a decisive call and roared at the Archangel:
"Captain Ramius, retreat from the battlefield immediately. The Montgomery, Bernard, and Raul will cover your escape. Move quickly!"
No sooner had Koopman finished speaking than George Allster, already panicking beside him, stood up and grabbed Koopman, asking in disbelief:
"What? We're covering their retreat? Against three Nazca-class ships and sixteen GINNs?"
Koopman shot George Allster a disdainful look, his expression making it clear he didn't expect to survive the day, and fired back:
"What else? Nelson-class and Drake-class ships can't outrun Nazca-class vessels. Even if we abandon our mothership and take escape pods, we'd still be surrounded by sixteen GINNs. So, letting the Archangel go and standing our ground to die with dignity—isn't that better? Or are you expecting the Archangel to cover for us? Do you think ZAFT would spare us even then?"
George Allster was left speechless by the retort. With his precious daughter Flay aboard the Archangel, he couldn't bring himself to suggest the ship stay behind either. Powerless, he slumped back into his seat.
Fortunately, Reid had heard the entire communication. He knew that even if the Archangel turned and fled now, it wouldn't shake off the pursuers—the Montgomery, Bernard, and Raul wouldn't last more than a few minutes. Running now would only weaken their own forces and shatter morale in an instant.
So Reid decided he was done playing with the Duel, Buster, and Blitz. He pushed his Newtype abilities to the limit, using the emotions of the three pilots and his own experience to predict their movements.
Without hesitation, Reid fired the Heavy Particle Beam Cannon to force the Buster back, then recalled his Bits and activated the rockets, charging straight at the Duel at point-blank range.
Seeing the NT-X Gundam rushing toward him, Yzak didn't back down. He drew his Beam Saber, ready for close combat, but this time he'd learned from his first encounter with Reid. Instead of swinging immediately, he first raised his anti-beam shield with his left hand, aiming to bash the NT-X. If Reid deployed decoy balloons again, the shield strike would knock them aside, leaving Yzak free to press the attack.
But Reid, seeing the Duel raise its shield for a bash, knew exactly what was coming. With a faint smirk, he maneuvered his machine to dodge backward, causing the Duel's shield strike to miss entirely.
Just as Reid predicted, Yzak followed up with a downward slash from his Beam Saber in his right hand.
Reid had been waiting for this moment. He deliberately spun his machine in a feint, positioning himself behind the Duel—but this was a ruse to make Dearka think his back was exposed.
True to Reid's expectations, Dearka barely had to think. Seizing the fleeting opportunity, he fired several shots at the NT-X's back.
However, as the NT-X Gundam circled behind the Duel, it casually released five decoy balloons. The Buster's targeting system was instantly thrown into chaos, and every shot Dearka fired struck nothing but the decoys.
At the same time, Reid didn't attack from behind the Duel. Instead, he chose to lie flat before reigniting his rocket thrusters, instantly creating distance between them.
All this happened in a split second. Dearka, distracted by the sudden appearance of decoy balloons obscuring the NT-X, fired without realizing the Gundam had already moved from its original position.
It's worth noting that the decoy balloons also obscured the Duel from view. And while you couldn't expect balloons to block a 94mm high-energy beam rifle, the deflection caused by the decoy altered the shot's trajectory, preventing a direct hit on the Duel. However, one of Buster's beams still struck the Duel's right shoulder, completely destroying the entire shoulder structure and blowing away a third of its head. Yzak's agonized scream echoed through the team comms.
But that wasn't the end. The NT-X Gundam, having already retreated, now charged beneath the Buster. Dearka was still reeling from the shock of having accidentally attacked an ally.
Seizing the opportunity, Reid fired continuous shots from his beam rifle below, precisely destroying both of Buster's arm-mounted weapons, causing Dearka to scream in pain within his cockpit.
At this point, Nicol no longer dared to remain hidden for a sneak attack. From his perspective, if he stayed hidden any longer, both the Duel and Buster would be shot down.
So Nicol revealed himself, first firing three ultra-high-speed armor-piercing [Lancer Darts] from the Trikeros Offensive Shield System on his right arm toward the NT-X, then extending his beam saber to charge at the Gundam. His goal was to draw Reid's attention while shouting over the comms:
"Yzak! Dearka! Retreat now!"
Reid watched as Blitz launched this desperate assault. He sidestepped the three [Lancer Darts], then raised his Bit into shoulder cannon mode, firing a shot at Blitz at half its normal power.
Nicol, in the midst of his full-speed charge, couldn't change direction to evade. He could only raise his Trikeros Offensive Shield to block the attack.
The outcome was obvious. Even with the shield's anti-beam coating, it couldn't withstand a heavy particle beam cannon. If not for Reid deliberately reducing the power by half and the Phase Shift Armor's inherent resistance to beams, Blitz would have been melted on the spot.
Still, the situation wasn't much better. The Trikeros Offensive Shield barely withstood the shot before being completely destroyed, sending Blitz spinning backward, trailing black smoke.
After all this, Reid immediately dialed down his Newtype senses. That brief moment had felt like playing a souls-like game in his past life—mentally exhausting, as if he'd been fighting intensely for hours.
Fortunately, even with normal perception, Reid could sense that Yzak, Dearka, and Nicol were all alive and likely not seriously injured, as their mental signatures were still highly active—though none of them were the least bit friendly toward him, especially Yzak.
But Reid didn't care about them anymore. Seeing that Ange had already taken out four GINNs, he directly patched into the communications between the Archangel and Montgomery.
"The Archangel can't retreat. Montgomery, Bernard, and Raul's three ships won't last more than a few minutes against sixteen GINNs. You'll just be throwing your lives away, and the Archangel still won't escape.
"Here's the plan: Montgomery, Bernard, and Raul must immediately form a three-dimensional anti-air battle line centered around the Archangel. Lay down a barrage to force the GINNs to retreat. Then, deploy all Moebius mobile armors to attack the intact Laurasia-class ship. You don't need to destroy it—just keep it occupied over there."
"Strike and Astray will coordinate with the four motherships to hold off the first wave of GINNs. Ange and I are returning to assist with defense."
As soon as Reid said this, everyone realized that in that brief moment, he had single-handedly defeated Duel, Buster, and Blitz. The screens now showed that all three mobile suits were at least moderately damaged, relying on intermittent thrusters to retreat toward the intact Laurasia-class ships.
This achievement instantly boosted morale. George Allster, as if grasping at a lifeline, immediately stood up and roared excitedly:
"Everyone, follow Commander Reid's orders! You people don't understand warfare at all. Colonel Koopman, I order you as the Atlantic Federation's Deputy Foreign Minister to obey Commander Reid's command!!"
In truth, George Allster was desperate. The Atlantic Federation's Deputy Foreign Minister wasn't a military position—he had no authority to command a colonel like Koopman.
But no one truly wanted to die. Koopman completely ignored George Allster's shouting and issued his own orders:
"Montgomery, Bernard, and Raul, you are to form a three-dimensional anti-air battle line centered on the Archangel. Simultaneously, launch missiles immediately to halt the GINN assault. Captain Ramius, from this moment onward, the three ships—including Montgomery—will temporarily be under your command."
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