Less than half an hour after the Archangel had broken away from the Orb fleet, the ship's internal alarms blared.
On the bridge, reports followed one after another without pause.
"Detected three no, four heat signatures. Commencing identification..."
"Identified as Aegis, Blitz, Duel, and Buster."
"The enemy also has one Vosgulov-class submarine aircraft carrier."
Natarle Badgiruel's expression darkened. "Hiding and waiting for us? After half a month, they really are like persistent ghosts... Captain."
Sitting in the captain's seat, Murrue Ramius spoke calmly. "Prepare for anti-MS and anti-ship combat. Simultaneously, deploy Unit 590 and the Skygrasper for sortie!"
The personnel in the hangar and on the catapult deck burst into motion. Various maintenance instruments clattered under the guidance of the machines.
"They really appeared... Just how did those two kids know?"
Kira knew because of his robotic bird, Torii. While at the Morgenroete factory, Torii had suddenly flown away and run into the Zala Team Athrun, Nicol, Yzak, and Dearka who were lurking in Orb in disguise.
Kira's encounter with Athrun was the basis for his belief that a ZAFT attack was imminent. It was also the reason why Athrun was lying in wait in this specific sea area.
As for why Mikazuki knew? It was nothing more than pure intuition.
Barbatos, Strike, and the Skygrasper launched in quick succession.
Kira and Mu were responsible for guarding the Archangel, so they stayed relatively close. Mikazuki, naturally, took the initiative and charged at the very front.
Only these four suits seemed to be lying in ambush; no GINNs were in sight.
Mikazuki, carrying a set of brand-new equipment, tore into the formation of the four enemy machines. He pulled the trigger of the 300mm Smoothbore Gun without a moment's hesitation.
Bang!
The caliber was nearly twice as large as the original 115mm. Though the recoil was immense, for Barbatos, it was merely a matter of the muzzle kicking up for a moment before stabilizing.
The shell struck the flight sub-unit beneath the Duel's feet.
Boom!
Not only was the flight sub-unit destroyed, but even the Duel's legs were caught in the powerful blast. Inside the Duel, Yzak Joule, who had been eager to settle scores with the Strike, was paralyzed with terror.
"What?"
Athrun cried out in shock. Watching the scene unfold on his monitor, his face was twisted in disbelief.
"Solid ammunition instantly destroyed Phase Shift Armor? Are you kidding me?"
"Athrun, the opponent's gear has been swapped out! How... how could this be?" Nicol Amalfi exclaimed.
Athrun asked urgently, "What is it, Nicol?"
"The equipment on that 'Wolf' is entirely composed of ultra-high-spec physical weapons! The caliber of those smoothbore guns is actually 300mm!"
Athrun sucked in a breath of cold air. A 300mm physical smoothbore gun? You had to be joking. The highest known spec was only about 150mm, right?
300mm... Never mind the machine itself, could a pilot even survive the impact of that kind of recoil from inside the cockpit?
"That monster... has he been holding back his true strength since the beginning of our engagement? This is a joke..."
Just then, Athrun saw the muzzle of the Barbatos aiming in their direction. He shouted urgently, "It's coming again! Nicol, Dearka, scatter!"
"Yzak, return to the carrier immediately! Don't let him catch you!"
"Don't screw with me! I'm going to kill that Wolf and the Strike!" Yzak roared back.
Athrun grew furious and shouted into the comms, "You're the one who needs to stop screwing around! Look at your machine what can you even do like that? Are you just going to throw your life away for nothing? What's the point of being killed here? Can't you tell the difference between glory and stupidity?"
Dearka also tried to persuade him. "Athrun is right. Go back for now, Yzak."
"Urgh..."
Yzak's face was grim. Relying only on the suit's remaining back thrusters to fly, his energy meter showed he was only two bars away from being unable to maintain his Phase Shift Armor.
"Damn Wolf, I'll remember this!"
Utterly humiliated, Yzak turned around and flew toward the mother ship. He wasn't annoyed by Athrun's attitude, but rather by the fact that he had been crippled by a single shot the moment he stepped onto the battlefield.
He was a Red Coat, after all. To be forced out of the fight before even making contact was beyond frustrating.
On the other side, Kira and Nicol's Blitz entered a state of engagement. It had to be said that Nicol lived up to his status as a Red Coat; Kira actually found himself pinned down by the Blitz for a time.
Mu's Skygrasper had already engaged the Buster multiple times.
The crew of the Archangel was equally stunned by the power of Barbatos's new gear. On the deck, Kojiro Murdoch watched the screen and clicked his tongue in amazement.
"Handling such a large-caliber smoothbore gun like a toy... That kid really didn't lie to me. Good! Take them out, Mikazuki!"
Inside the Barbatos, Mikazuki was very satisfied with the power of the smoothbore gun. It was no worse than the ones he and Akihiro used back in the day. He stowed the gun and drew the Aligned-Steel Tachi carried on his backpack, also provided by Orb.
This tachi was one of the few "normal" weapons in his arsenal, yet its quality was far superior to the one provided by the Archangel. Its length and weight perfectly met Mikazuki's standards.
At the same time, Mikazuki noticed Kira's movements in the rear were off. The Strike's actions seemed timid and hesitant.
"Kira, are you afraid of killing people?"
Inside the Strike, Kira turned his head at Mikazuki's words. He saw the cold, glowing green eyes of the Barbatos looking straight back at him.
"...Yes. I... I don't want to kill."
Mikazuki withdrew his gaze and swept aside a beam fired by the Aegis with a single stroke of his blade.
"You'll die if you keep fighting like that. I don't particularly like the way I'm about to put this, but I'll tell you anyway."
"Since you don't want to kill, then just destroy their machines. Don't aim for the cockpit. A combat style like that... you should be able to manage it, right?"
🔥 WANT TO READ AHEAD? STOP WAITING!
Consider to Support this story and get instant access:
✅ 400+ Advance Chapters (Binge the next arcs right now!)
✅ 2 New Chapters Updated Daily!
👉 Patreon.com/flokixy
🛍️ Want full story bundles? Access them directly on Patreon without a monthly commitment!
Thank you to everyone supporting the daily updates! ❤️