Both claws of the Raider in its MA Mode were sliced clean off. Clotho Buer stared in momentary shock before reacting instantly, shifting back into MS Mode to dodge the Gundam Barbatos's lethal follow-up strike.
Mikazuki's brow twitched. He was slightly surprised that the opponent could evade his attack under such circumstances, but he quickly dismissed the thought.
"Is this one of those 'Boosted Men' Orga mentioned?"
Boosted Men were distinctly different from Coordinators. Whether it was the pilot of the Raider or the pilots of the other two latest G-Series models, they had all been taken in by Blue Cosmos since childhood.
Subjected to the Earth Alliance's training and physical enhancement, they used drugs to bolster their MS piloting abilities. They were the first generation of Biological CPUs developed by the Alliance.
With the aid of these drugs, a Boosted Man could display piloting skills comparable to, or even exceeding, a Coordinator. However, once the effects wore off, they suffered immense side effects. This was precisely why the Earth Alliance had retreated so hastily the previous day.
Aside from the Raider being disabled, the most critical factor was that the drug's duration was nearing its end. These three Boosted Men were the main strength of the Earth Alliance; once their effectiveness faded, continuing the battle would be a thankless and losing effort.
Though Muruta Azrael, the leader of Blue Cosmos, was not a career soldier, he was no fool. He was well aware of the gap between his forces and Orb.
The prototype for his side's Strike Dagger, the Strike, had been built by Morgenroete. Their true combat power relied entirely on those three from the Phantom Pain unit. Meanwhile, the opposition fielded five high-performance Gundams: Freedom, Strike, Buster, Justice, and the Gundam Barbatos.
What use were numbers? Without the Phantom Pain to tie down the enemy's main forces, their Strike Daggers were nothing but fodder, no matter how many they had. The sheer firepower of the Freedom was simply absurd. Thus, he had decisively ordered the retreat.
"You bastard!"
Clotho roared as the Raider charged Barbatos. The beam cannon in its mouth began accumulating energy, clearly intending to blast him at point-blank range.
Mikazuki remained utterly undaunted.
It was a joke. Even if the armor on the Barbatos wasn't its original Nano-laminate Armor, it could still block beams. Why would he be afraid?
Sizzle!
Without the slightest exception, the beam splashed harmlessly against the Barbatos's armor upon contact, failing to inflict even a scratch.
The result caught Clotho completely off guard.
"Immune to beams? You've got to be kidding me!"
He suddenly recalled a similar scene from the day before, but he hadn't paid much attention to it then. Now, the realization was awkwardit was like throwing an egg against a stone. "Damn it! Bastard! Die!"
Clotho pulled the control levers frantically. A dark red spot appeared on the abdomen of his pilot suit, growing larger by the second, yet he seemed completely oblivious to it.
"So annoying!"
Mikazuki's expression soured with impatience. This "bald bird" was truly a nuisance.
The 120mm Mortar on the Barbatos's right arm shifted forward, while the left arm gripped its blade. The sub-arms on the backpack were released from standby but did not move yet.
The shield cannon on the Raider's right arm fired continuously. Since beams were ineffective, Clotho switched to physical rounds. Even though he had lost his mind to rage, some tactical common sense remained.
However, the physical cannon only had a 52mm caliberit was even more useless than the beams. Mikazuki didn't even bother to dodge, letting the Barbatos take the hits head-on.
"How? Physical shells aren't working either? You... you monster!"
The Raider swung its right hand, pulling the spherical, flail-like Mjölnir from its waist and hurling it toward the Barbatos.
Mikazuki didn't even give the desperate attack a second glance. The Barbatos swung its blade with a casual flick, and the Mjölnir ball was cleaved in two, falling uselessly into the sea.
Just as he was about to rush the Raider, two parallel beam blasts shot from the flank, passing directly between the Barbatos and the Raider.
Barbatos halted in mid-air. Mikazuki zoomed in his sensors to see a blue, heavy-artillery unit on the shore: the Calamity Gundam. The twin cannons on its shoulders were still smoking, clearly the source of the attack.
"Heh, looks like fun. Let me join in."
"Orga, get the hell out of here! He's my prey!" Clotho roared in a blind fury.
"Shut up. Look at yourself right now, it's hilarious," Orga Sabnak replied with a sneer.
"What? You bastard!"
Just as Clotho was about to charge forward again, a communication link from the flagship opened, and Muruta Azrael's cold voice echoed through the cockpit.
"Get back here for resupply, you failure."
The communication cut off immediately after that single, blunt sentence.
Clotho's face turned even uglier, his teeth chattering as he gritted them in rage.
"Bastard! Just you remember! I'll shoot you down when I get back!"
After spitting out the threat, he transformed into MA Mode and fled the battlefield. Mikazuki wanted to give chase, but another beam blocked his path.
"Mika, don't chase him yet. There are too many Earth Alliance MS. Come back and help clear out the small fry first."
Orga Itsuka's voice came through. The main cannon on the left side of his ship, the Kshatriya, had been hit and was currently out of commission.
"I want to, but... I have to deal with that blue one first."
Just as Mikazuki was about to boost forward, a beam that should have missed him suddenly curved mid-flight, snapping straight toward him.
Barbatos unsheathed the Sword Mace from its back.
Sizzle!
The beam was shattered and dispersed into the sea, kicking up sprays of water.
The sensor display updated. At the six o'clock position stood a green unit holding a massive scythe, equipped with two shields on each side and its back.
"Heh, let me test you out as well."
Shani Andras, the pilot of the Forbidden Gundam, murmured with a lazy, languid smile.
Mikazuki frowned.
"A turtle? After the birdman and the bug, now it's a turtle?"
Although he had encountered these three machines the day before, Mikazuki hadn't looked at them closely. Now that he had a proper look, he stated his impression quite bluntly.
🚨 Note: Consider supporting this story on Patreon.com/Flokixy to access 400+ advance chapters and 2 new chapters daily! (Full story bundles also available without a subscription).