It wouldn't be right to say the actions of Celestial Being aligned perfectly with Roz's predictions, but he had guessed the broad strokes.
On the surface, the three superpowers seemed to be bogged down in endless counter-insurgency wars, making their troop quality appear questionable. However, the situation Celestial Being had just stepped into wasn't one governed by "human-wave tactics"—which could be overturned by machine performance or pilot skill—but rather the realm of the superpowers' "Industrial Cthulhu."
Massive amounts of artillery and aerial bombs from the three nations were deployed without end. The bombardment lasted over ten hours, stretching from dawn until dusk, turning the Taklamakan Desert into a pockmarked wasteland of craters.
Even the escape route opened by the Gundam Virtue provided no refuge; once inside, they were pinned down by the relentless shelling.
Although E-Carbon steel reinforced by GN particles was incredibly tough, it would eventually buckle under such sustained, concentrated fire.
The specialized anti-Gundam units of the three superpowers waited silently at their respective bases for the bombardment to cease. Five minutes before the shelling was scheduled to stop—that would be their moment to strike.
"Ah-Bao, stay at range in the GAZuOOT for fire suppression. Everyone else, take the Hellions and coordinate with us."
Inside a deep red Enact, Black-Flag was constantly recalibrating the machine's parameters. Beneath this crimson MS was a massive ship-like component, docking with the suit to transform it into a Mobile Armor—the Agrissa.
"Our target is the blue one. The other colors have already been divvied up by the three superpowers."
As the moment of sortie approached, Black-Flag grew increasingly tense.
According to the Lord God's data, aside from Celestial Being, a new faction was supposed to appear during this joint exercise. Furthermore, there was the "Raven"—a Hunter who wasn't even mentioned in the original logs.
"Quick and decisive. The faster we finish, the safer we are!"
"Acknowledged. We've reached the target zone."
Inside the GAZuOOT's cockpit, Ah-Bao stared intently at the area still being carpeted by fire. "Let's just get this over with. This damn mission."
Finally, the AEU command center relayed the order. The artillery bombardment that had lasted more than ten hours was finally drawing to a close.
"Whew... let's go!"
Black-Flag took a deep breath and floored the pedals. The Agrissa's thrusters ignited, propelling the massive unit into the sky. Without the aid of GN particles, the Agrissa's flight was a pure testament to "brute force over aerodynamics"—relying entirely on high-output thrusters to hurl its bulk through the air.
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Meanwhile, in the night sky a short distance from the Taklamakan Desert exercise zone, the Penelope scattered a localized field of Minovsky particles, just enough to cloak the small group of mobile suits.
Three ReZEL Type-Cs—two equipped with Defenser A-Units and one with a Defenser B-Unit—soared through the air. Each carried two Minovsky particle scattering missiles beneath their wings, and more impressively, each had a Jesta Cannon perched on its back.
These Jesta Cannons had discarded the flamboyant, Vtuber-autograph-laden liveries from the Gryps Conflict era, reverting to their original dark blue colors.
In the dark of night, their glowing red visors paired with the somber frames exuded an aura of silent intimidation.
Despite the staggering weight—enough to cause a crash for any normal aircraft—the ReZEL Type-Cs, backed by their absurdly high-output electric thrusters, circled the Penelope with ease.
Nearby, the Psycho Zaku, loaded to the teeth with armaments, and the Banshee Norn—with a Beam Magnum holstered on its rear skirt and Armed Armor VN and a custom Armed Armor BS equipped on its arms—hovered in the sky.
This squad, a lineup capable of causing a heart attack for anyone who recognized the machines, stayed on standby, veiled by the murky night.
Considering this might be the last time the Lord God squad appeared, Roz had brought overwhelming combat power, intending to wipe them out on the spot. At worst, they would end up facing the combined forces of the three superpowers.
As for Lunamaria, her recruitment had been so sudden that Roz hadn't designed a custom unit for her yet.
Given the intensity of the upcoming battle and the specific characteristics of the Impulse, he had assigned her to the defensive detail aboard the Nahel Argama.
'We're about to have a grand session of "gunpla" play—guess who's not invited?'
"Looks like they're preparing to launch," Roz said, cracking his knuckles as he watched the magnified view on the panoramic display. In the distance, the bombardment was finally thinning out.
"They'll likely be piloting something out of the ordinary, based on the logical patterns of their past behavior..."
"Shinn, you're the vice-captain. Once you receive my order, lead the team in the assault as planned." Roz stepped on the pedals, and the Penelope shifted into cruise mode, streaking toward the smoke-filled battlefield.
"Vice-captain... I understand." Shinn's eyes widened slightly before turning sharp with focus. "I won't let you down."
"Yo, kid, relax a bit."
A familiar voice crackled in his ear. On the comms, the red-haired Veronica sat in the cockpit of one of the Jestas, wearing a custom helmet with data-link ports. She was observing the distant battlefield with keen interest.
"You're a veteran of the Gryps Conflict now. This level of intensity is minor compared to that," Veronica said, looking directly into her cockpit camera. "Being too tense rarely brings good results. Have a little more confidence."
"If all else fails, just have your little girlfriend take you back to the dorms to sleep for a day. We promise to turn off our audio sensors; we won't hear a thing."
"Veronica, bad," Stellar chimed in over the comms, condemning Veronica's attempt to lead Shinn astray.
"Can't help it, it's just my personality. I was the number one streamer in the Vtuber 'Hot Tub' category, you know," Veronica shrugged, completely unbothered. "But let's put our focus back on Big Bro Roz."
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On the moonlit desert, the Penelope skimmed the dunes at an extreme low altitude, bypassing the three superpowers' radar sweeps. The powerful jets of its electric thrusters kicked up a violent wake of sand and grit.
Roz had not yet authorized a wide-scale dispersal of Minovsky particles, so detection by the superpowers remained a possibility. But for this decapitation strike, proximity and speed were everything. And the first target was clearly the GAZuOOT.
Roz narrowed his eyes. As the machine reached the designated coordinates, he yanked back on the control sticks. The Penelope, which had been hugging the ground, suddenly pitched up and roared into the sky like a rising dragon.
The radar net set up by the superpowers on the perimeter immediately picked up the Penelope's signature.
"Report! A new signal is entering the combat zone. Speed: Mach 2. Radar ID is... the Raven?!"
Inside the AEU command center, Kati Mannequin, a female officer with short black hair and glasses, listened to the radar observer's report.
"Colonel Kati, the Raven is heading straight for our anti-Gundam unit!"
"Can Patrick be pulled back?" Kati frowned as the data flooded in.
"I'm afraid not. Second Lieutenant Patrick has pushed too far forward; he's almost on top of the target."
"The Raven... this is a 'Gundam' we cannot swallow alone." Kati sighed. "Contact the UNION and the HRL. Request a joint strike on the Raven."
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Meanwhile, inside the Penelope's cockpit.
"So much malice, Roz," AllMind whispered. Though she hadn't hacked their comms yet, she could feel the raw, unfiltered hostility radiating from the surrounding forces.
"It's expected. In the eyes of the world, we've thrown our lot in with Celestial Being," Roz replied dismissively.
To a Newtype who had stood amidst the ruins of Junius Seven and walked out with his sanity intact, the "malice" of the three superpowers felt like listening to a poorly written rap song filled with crude insults—distracting, but hardly threatening.
"Target... target..." Roz scanned the myriad of machines encircling the Exia and Virtue. Finally, atop a small ridge, he spotted a unit that looked utterly out of place with the AEU's aesthetic, lurking behind a wall of tanks.
"Ah... found you."
"But look at that positioning... he's using the others as human shields," AllMind noted, her eyes thinning. "What's the plan, Roz?"
"Funnel missiles, or have the ReZELs sortie and—"
Before Roz could finish his thought, a dense barrage of impacts hammered against the Penelope. The GAZuOOT had spotted him. Along with the ground tanks, it began firing relentlessly at the Penelope suspended in the night sky.
Shells and missiles rained down on the PS Armor. The air near the cooling vents grew distorted from the heat, swirling into the gale-force winds of the explosions.
"Lane Aim!"
A voice, amplified to a thunderous roar by external speakers, pierced through the din of battle.
"To think you've fallen this far! To hunt down our small squad, you've actually joined forces with terrorists like Celestial Being!"
The male voice was deep and powerful, but the righteous indignation in his tone was so absurd that Roz nearly burst out laughing.
"Have you abandoned your pride as a pilot?! Where are your ideals? Where is that honorable fighting spirit you once possessed?!"
Black-Flag ranted on. This script had been rehearsed countless times.
Back when their team's "Locksmith" was still alive with his specialized interrogation and profiling skills, they had psycho-analyzed the character of "Lane Aim" to find the exact words that would trigger his emotions. They believed that if they could make him lose his cool, the victory would be theirs.
"Surrender! The three superpowers have formed an alliance. Following Celestial Being will only lead to your defeat!" Black-Flag's voice grew ecstatic, even managing to bolster the morale of the regular soldiers. "I am now the commander of the AEU Special Forces! What we did to the Celestial Being Gundams, we can do to you tenfold!"
"Even if I fall, my teammates will form a second squad, and a third, until you are all defeated! I say it again: turn back before it's too late! Surrender now!"
It had to be said, Black-Flag was a hell of an orator. The regular troops were genuinely fired up by his speech. However, in the Penelope's cockpit, AllMind was laughing so hard she was doubled over, her movements bordering on the manic.
Black Flag had crafted an image of "Lane Aim" that he was familiar with. To outsiders, he appeared to be a defector who had deserted his unit for some reason and was now hunting down his former "allies"—the persona of a fallen idealist.
The reality, however, was worlds apart. While Roz Links was also a fairly idealistic guy, he was unlike Lane Aim; he was ruthless when dealing with enemies and acted without a hint of hesitation.
After all, on the battlefield, if you don't kill the enemy, the enemy will kill you. Repentance is a privilege reserved for those who survive.
At this moment, Roz wasn't smiling; instead, he fell into silence.
'I see. A rank of Captain, overall commander of an independent force... the Lord God squad is already too deeply intertwined with the AEU.'
"Phew... Big Haro, hack into the AEU communication channels in the Taklamakan Desert."
Amidst the continuous vibrations, Roz glanced at the Penelope's PS armor overload rate, which had finally stabilized, and made his decision.
Since he couldn't flush them all out with precision, his only choice was to stifle them all before they caused further destruction—before they could turn this world into the same twisted mess the SEED world had become.
"...Understood."
Hearing Roz's tone, Big Haro naturally understood his intent.
"...Hacking complete. Please begin, Raven."
In just a minute or two, using the Penelope as a communication relay, Big Haro directly hijacked all AEU communications within the Taklamakan Desert.
A crest appeared on every screen: a Unicorn's head surrounded by a pair of burning wings forming a shield.
"What's happening? Was the communication hijacked?!"
Kati Mannequin stood up instinctively, her brow furrowed as she stared at the logo appearing on every monitor.
"I offer my condolences to those caught in the fires of this war..."
In the transmission, Roz's voice wasn't loud, but it was crystal clear. This voice, however, caused the members of the Lord God squad to widen their eyes in shock.
This voice... it wasn't the "Lane Aim" from the Lord God's data at all!
'Were we played?!'
"...Resent us if you must."
As Roz uttered the final sentence, the hijack ended, and the Unicorn shield emblem vanished.
But following immediately was a purplish-red beam that erupted from behind the cover of the artillery fire. The thick beam flew with precision toward the cluster of GAZuOOTs and tanks on the ground.
"You bastard!"
The fury of being deceived and the rage of seeing his comrades' deaths rendered meaningless consumed Ah-Bao's heart. He screamed, his hands white-knuckling the triggers.
The various AEU linear weapons mounted on his GAZuOOT unleashed a dense barrage toward the origin of the Beam Magnum shot.
The GAZuOOT's mobility wasn't great; it was essentially a fire-support platform.
Ah-Bao knew he couldn't survive such an attack, so he intended to deal as much damage to the Penelope as possible to create an opening for his teammates.
But a second later, a gust of wind blew past. As the smoke cleared from the Penelope, Ah-Bao's eyes bulged instinctively.
Despite the sustained output he and the AEU forces had poured into the machine, there wasn't a single scratch on the Penelope. Even its pristine white paint showed no signs of wear.
'What kind of material is it made of?'
It was a question he was destined never to answer. The Beam Magnum struck the GAZuOOT dead center, and its upper torso instantly melted away into the beam.
Purple high-energy electricity raged around the Magnum's path, and the GAZuOOT's lower legs—along with the surrounding AEU tank units—were sliced apart and detonated by the high-energy discharge.
Through the haze, survivors could catch a glimpse of the desert behind the GAZuOOT; the sand directly hit by the Beam Magnum had melted into a liquid-like state.
The assault on the Penelope ground to a sudden halt. A haunting silence fell over the battlefield.
.......................