Facing the three giant MAs that had suddenly appeared, everyone on the battlefield was momentarily stunned.
However, the battle quickly resumed. The white ZAFT units and the Earth Alliance's "wetware" MS fell into a chaotic melee once again.
After all, the main forces in this battle were either clones or "wetware"—beings that strictly executed orders. Even if the nuclear missile forces were destroyed, they would not stop this meat-grinder-like combat.
"Normal soldiers are mixed in with the wetware and clones... Tsk, I can't worry about them now."
Looking at the combat situation before him, Roz Links grit his teeth.
Just now, Kira Yamato and Athrun Zala's METEOR units had intercepted the nuclear missile force, and it would take some time for part of their armament to recycle. This meant that, for the next moment, he was the only one who could unleash full firepower.
Pressing a button on the control stick, a small hexagonal-column-shaped container with a triangular silhouette was ejected backward from the large armed base container mounted on the GP03 Dendrobium.
As the small container's thrusters ignited, it zoomed past the Dendrobium and flew toward the melee of white GINNs and wetware Daggers.
With the launch of small missiles embedded within the container, a large number of mobile suits were destroyed by these specialized small missiles, turning into piles of components drifting in space.
The firepower of the Dendrobium was being displayed in this world for the first time. At this moment, the Dendrobium was not functioning as a planetary defense unit like the original version, but as an assault strike unit meant to tear through the front lines.
This was a change in the tactical positioning of the machine after Roz modified the GP03D blueprints. The small containers discarded armaments like detonation cords in favor of various missile containers.
Even the large armed base containers housing these smaller units could, after being discarded, activate built-in thrusters; explosives installed behind the armor would turn them into large missiles, dealing damage to the enemy with the shrapnel from the container's fragmentation.
Roz piloted the Dendrobium, weaving through the outer edges of the front line, and unhesitatingly pressed buttons on the control stick twice. Two small containers detached from the Dendrobium and were flung behind it.
As the nozzles on them operated, these two small containers quickly completed their attitude adjustment. Three pieces of armor unfolded like flower petals, revealing the dense array of small missiles hidden within.
These small missiles flew out from the containers, covering a vast area. Upon reaching a predetermined distance, they exploded one after another, forming "beam rain" sheets that, while fine and fragmented, had not diminished in power.
The "Beam Rain Curtain" blanketed a massive section of the battlefield, indiscriminately sweeping both ZAFT and Earth Alliance MS into its path.
Yes, this was Roz's idea: since helping either side would not stop this war, he would strike both sides until the war ended... or until he died in battle.
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At this moment, three Jesta units—sporting a paint scheme enough to make one's eyes darken—approached the edge of the battlefield standing atop flight sub-lifters.
"This is Juliet 1. The squad has arrived at the battlefield."
Bridget, who was active on the internet as a black-haired mecha-girl, fixed her gaze intensely on the Daggers marked with "Sb" on their shoulders.
Those were beings just like her; they were "compatriots" persecuted by Blue Cosmos.
Every time they saw those wetware units fighting desperately on the battlefield, the Haros on the Nahel Argama felt a phantom pain in their non-existent hearts, as if they were being sliced by blades.
"Woc, that big white guy is so cool..."
"You think it's cool looking at it, but those of us actually here are just terrified, okay?"
"I'm at Gryps too. Before I die, can the streamer say 'I love you'?"
"The Earth Alliance guy above—your abacus beads are flying all the way over here to the ZAFT side! Also, since you used nuclear bombs, don't expect the streamer to give you any face."
"I wasn't the one who did it! I'm just logistics responsible for machine maintenance! The higher-ups have gone completely demonic lately! I just want to keep living properly and watch the stream!"
In the still-active livestream room, the chat was filled with the exclamations of ordinary people and the complaints of soldiers currently on-site at Gryps.
In this environment where the future looked pitch black, this mixed bag of viewers reached a slight consensus: "We don't want to fight."
"Juliet Squad, deploy all weapon ports! Support the Dendrobium!"
Steadying her surging emotions, Bridget issued the command.
The sub-lifters beneath the Jestas' feet expanded, revealing missile pods and extending two cannon barrels from within.
This was the reason why these Jestas, which utilized nuclear reactors provided by Roz Links, used flight sub-lifters; these platforms existed as supplementary armament for the Jesta Cannon.
A massive volley of missiles was launched, striking units marked with "BS" one by one, blowing them into piles of fragments.
"It's over! My oshi is actually shooting at me!"
This phrase flashed frantically across the bullet-chat, but Bridget no longer had the heart to keep watching the stream.
"Compatriots who are similar to me, yet different..."
When Bridget spoke, her voice was no longer high-spirited and firm; it was filled with a sadness that even the livestream viewers could feel, carrying a slight tremor. "We are all going to die. Everything we do is in the hope that this world will change, so that when you are born again, it will be in a peaceful and beautiful era..."
"But if we fail to change all this... compatriots, please do not be born again."
Bridget controlled the Jesta Cannon and raised her weapon.
"Do not be... born again into this distorted and sorrowful world!"
Ignoring the flood of question marks and exclamation points scrolling through the chat, Bridget grit her teeth and continuously maneuvered the Jesta, firing at the machines marked with "BS," granting liberation to those tormented, suffering souls bound within the machines.
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"It's never-ending. Just how many of these things did they manufacture..."
As he watched the white machines and wetware units continue to replenish their numbers despite his attacks, Roz Links grit his teeth.
For a brief moment, his expression bore a striking resemblance to the infamous "Torrington Syndrome" face.
"These bastards... just what do they think life is?!"
Suddenly, a needle-like electric sensation jolted through his mind. Roz pulled the control stick by reflex.
A thick beam of light surged toward the Dendrobium, missing it by the narrowest of margins as the machine evaded.
Immediately after, Roz maneuvered the giant cannons on both sides of the Dendrobium and fired a shot back in the direction the beam had come from.
A massive gray machine deployed a beam shield. The thick beam struck it like a torrent of water hitting a boulder; fragmented light, resembling scattered droplets, splashed onto the giant machine's arms, punching through the PS armor and melting sections of the plating.
However, the pilot of this giant machine clearly did not care. Instead, they maneuvered the gray giant to extend the beam sabers built into its palms, lunging toward the side of the Dendrobium with a sweeping slash.
Roz was no rookie to be intimidated by such a massive unit. He swiftly manipulated the mechanical arms beneath the Dendrobium to extend a thick beam saber hilt, deploying an ultra-long beam ship-cutting sword.
The ship-cutting sword clashed with the giant beam saber. Amidst the flying sparks, both sides caught sight of each other's appearance.
It was a machine without legs. A black and gray unit equipped with a disc-shaped pack had replaced the head monitor; much like how the Unicorn was fixed to the GP03D, this unit was fixed atop the giant machine.
"Unicorn... surprised? Or should I say, Amuro Ray."
Rau Le Creuset's voice came through the short-range communication, his tone carrying a hint of excitement.
"We have been preparing for a long time just to defeat you."
Suddenly, a piercing white light flashed from the flank of the two machines. Any unit caught in the path of this radiation storm—whether Earth Alliance or ZAFT—was instantly vaporized into a cloud of drifting parts.
"The light of GENESIS... it's beautiful, isn't it?!"
Rau Le Creuset's wild laughter continued to ring through the short-range communication channel.
Roz glanced at the area just ravaged by the radiation storm, his expression growing increasingly grim.
..................