He was clenching his teeth so tightly it was genuinely concerning.
One couldn't help but worry whether Yzak, currently piloting the Freedom Justice Guetz, might shatter those perfect teeth of his.
But honestly, others had no right to judge Yzak—if anyone were to experience what Yzak went through today themselves,
only then could they truly understand the rage burning in Yzak's heart.
Glaring fiercely at Wang Hu, who was still using the military headquarters as cover in their game of cat and mouse, Yzak resolved then and there
to settle all their old and new grudges with Wang Hu once and for all!
"Get out here and face me, Wang Hu!"
Multiple times, Yzak tried to lock onto Wang Hu using his mobile suit's targeting system, but each time he was close to securing a lock,
Wang Hu would slyly duck behind the military headquarters, provoking a furious roar from Yzak.
Under Yzak's control, the Freedom Justice Guetz drew its Beam Saber.
"It's different—this machine is nothing like the Duel Gundam I piloted before!"
With just a light tap on the throttle, the Freedom Justice Gundam shot forward instantly.
Feeling the performance of the machine beneath him, Yzak's eyes lit up, all regret over losing the Duel Gundam completely forgotten.
Brandishing the Beam Saber, Yzak felt like he was putting in almost no effort as he closed in on Wang Hu, who was still circling around.
"Hahaha, let's see you try to run now!"
With a loud cry, he swung the saber straight at the despicable Wang Hu, his eyes wide open, determined not to miss a single frame of his enemy's demise.
"Zzzzt!"
Like a hot knife through butter, the Freedom Justice Guetz effortlessly sliced through the Heavy Battle Sword that the Training ZINN had hastily raised in defense.
"Tch!"
Yzak clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction as the enemy's broken sword clattered to the ground, finally feeling a surge of triumphant relief and tasting what overwhelming power truly felt like!
"You can't escape, Wang Hu!"
Sword in hand, Yzak chased Wang Hu relentlessly, cornering him so thoroughly that Wang Hu truly had nowhere to run—neither to the skies nor into the earth!
This scene, witnessed by everyone else—especially the Coordinator citizens on-site who had previously felt utter despair,
and by those like Patrick watching up close from inside the military headquarters—
"Hmm, Yzak is doing well."
With his stern face finally softening, Patrick allowed a slight smile to touch his lips.
Echoing his rare praise were the cheers and enthusiastic support from countless Coordinators outside.
It had been a long time coming—finally, they were seeing their military display such dominance, no longer being beaten down like dogs.
"Hahaha, Wang Hu, look at you now!"
Of course, Yzak couldn't hear Patrick's praise from inside the military headquarters; to him, the current chairman's approval wasn't particularly noteworthy.
But the cheers from the citizens outside—now that was something Yzak truly appreciated.
Perhaps getting a bit carried away by the crowd's energy, Yzak's fighting style grew more aggressive.
Seizing an opportunity, he disabled the computer targeting system on his control panel.
After all, his marksmanship skills at the military academy were among the best, and he was originally designated as the pilot for the Freedom Gundam that Kira had stolen!
Therefore, relying on his manual control, Yzak activated the multiple beam cannons on his mobile suit, coordinating them with the beam rifle in his hand.
"Die!"
With a slight adjustment of his aim, the Freedom Justice Guetz unleashed a beam fire net!
Direct frontal assaults combined with lateral beams to block Wang Hu's evasion routes.
The dense web of beams intertwined, trapping the enemy Training ZINN like prey caught in a spider's web.
In his eyes, Wang Hu was nothing but a dried-up skeleton in a grave, destined to be annihilated by this strike.
"Is this as far as I can go?"
Staring unblinkingly at the beams flying toward him, Wang Hu sighed inwardly, feeling somewhat disheartened.
If not for his mobile suit's severely lacking performance holding him back, he wouldn't have been forced into such a vulnerable position.
When fighting against those Genes, he could still compensate for the shortcomings with his skills.
But facing the Qilin piloted by Yzak—a machine equivalent to the Freedom Gundam and Justice Gundam—he finally understood the limits of human capability.
However!
Pressing his thin lips together, Wang Hu was not one to surrender meekly!
If he couldn't dodge, then he wouldn't dodge!
Although the Training ZINN lacked both PS Armor and an Anti-Beam Shield,
making it as fragile as paper against beam weapons, one thing must not be forgotten!
Using his foot to kick at the ground, Wang Hu had been circling the ZAFT Forces headquarters while evading, all the while staying aware of his surroundings.
The wreckage of Genes scattered across the ground could, in a way, serve as excellent shields!
At the critical moment, Wang Hu used his foot to flip up a severed arm from a Gene, wielding it as a weapon.
He swung the arm repeatedly, using it to block the beams fired directly by Yzak, releasing it just before it exploded.
The Training ZINN retreated step by step, continuously scavenging various components from the overwhelmingly abundant debris on the ground.
Using these, he fended off Yzak's attacks.
Aside from the lateral beams sealing off Wang Hu's movements, the number of frontal beams was actually quite limited.
Even as Yzak relentlessly launched new attacks, attempting to create a killing opportunity with an endless stream of beam fire,
Wang Hu felt as though he were walking a tightrope over a bottomless abyss, with immense pressure closing in from all sides.
Others might crumble under such relentless pressure, but Wang Hu absolutely would not!
"Why, why!"
"Why won't you just die!"
Yzak was bewildered, Yzak was enraged, Yzak was hopping mad.
If he couldn't even take down Wang Hu, who was piloting a mere Training ZINN under these circumstances, he had no idea how he would face Dearka afterward.
Nor how he would face his mother, or the spectators who were cheering him on.
But the more agitated he became, the more his shooting accuracy declined.
The once impenetrable beam fire net, under his agitated state, naturally revealed an opening.
"Opportunity."
A strange glint flashed in his eyes. Seizing this hard-won chance, Wang Hurled several pieces of Gene wreckage toward Yzak.
Seizing the opening from Yzak's flaw, Wang Hu broke free—but instead of fleeing, he charged straight toward Yzak. In the brief moment before Yzak could react, Wang Hu executed several erratic zigzag maneuvers, closing the distance to within five steps of his opponent!
The saying goes: beyond seven steps, a gun is fast; within seven steps, it's both fast and accurate. But this principle depends on the person. Even though Yzak had trained in quick-draw techniques, two factors worked against him: first, he wielded a Beam Rifle, not a Beam Rapid-Fire Handgun; second, his attacker was Wang Hu. If Wang Hu dared to advance, he surely had confidence in his plan!
"Bastard!" Enraged by Wang Hu's audacious disregard, Yzak swiftly adjusted his rifle and opened his MS's cannon ports. He refused to believe that even at point-blank range, he couldn't riddled Wang Hu with holes! The muzzles of his weapons glowed faintly with pre-fire energy. Yzak trusted his skills and his quick-draw technique implicitly.
Then came the lean-back—again, the lean-back. Though Yzak repeatedly reassured himself that this attack would surely hit, Wang Hu's combat record instinctively drove him to prioritize caution. He aimed at the larger upper torso of Wang Hu's Training ZINN, causing Wang Hu to momentarily vanish from his main viewpoint. Consequently, Yzak's first—and most critical—wave of attacks missed entirely!
"Damn it!" Realizing he had squandered a golden opportunity, Yzak cursed loudly inside his cockpit. By the time he tried to reclaim the initiative, it was too late.
Suddenly emerging from Yzak's blind spot, Wang Hu leaped into the air and lunged at Yzak, driving a fierce elbow strike into the junction of Yzak's right neck and shoulder. If Yzak had been in a flesh-and-blood body rather than protected within his steel Mobile Suit, that elbow would have sent a 500,000-credit bounty flying from Wang Hu's pocket.
But it didn't end there. Though not made of flesh, Yzak's MS still obeyed the laws of physics. The force of the blow caused his Freedom Justice Guetz to tilt uncontrollably backward. Grabbing the enemy's right arm, Wang Hu yanked the Freedom Justice Guetz back toward him, then bent his leg and delivered a powerful front kick aimed directly at the cockpit where Yzak sat.
The impact was immense. Inside the cockpit, Yzak was thrown about, howling in pain. Even with the protection of cross-style safety harnesses, the white-haired pilot wasn't fully shielded. The glass on his helmet shattered—this time not from Kira's knife, but from Wang Hu's assault. Just as in the original timeline, if Yzak managed to escape with his life, he would bear a long scar across his face.
"You bastard! You bastard!" he screamed, consumed by boundless rage, his blood pressure skyrocketing. Clutching his bleeding face with one hand, his vision turned crimson as blood streamed down.
"Blacked out?"
A shadow loomed over his display—Wang Hu, seeing Yzak still grounded, moved in to press his advantage.
True to his nature of pursuing even a cornered foe to the bitter end, Wang Hu leaped up, aiming both feet directly at the head of the Freedom Justice Guetz.
"Wang Hu!"
This was the grief-stricken and furious roar from Yzak inside the cockpit.
"Wang Hu!"
This was the simultaneous shout from Dearka and Heine, who had arrived a step later than Yzak because they had been checking Dearka's physical condition.
Piloting the Buster Gundam and Blitz Gundam respectively.
The moment they appeared, they saw Wang Hu brutally beating Yzak, who was lying on the ground, with extreme ferocity.
"Tch."
Turning his head and seeing two additional reinforcements arriving, Wang Hu muttered a low complaint.
He glanced at the Freedom Justice Guetz piloted by Yzak beneath his feet—durable and still seemingly intact despite the assault.
"Discretion is the better part of valor," a saying that applied equally to Wang Hu himself.
Mainly, he checked the damage alerts on the Training ZINN's display, where red warnings flashed for various joints and components.
Despite being the one delivering the blows, his own mobile suit appeared more damaged than the one being struck.
Indeed, the old adage held true: you get what you pay for.
"That should be enough."
Glancing at the time, he silently calculated the progress on Lelouch's end.
Feeling that he had overachieved in buying them sufficient time, Wang Hu knew when to stop and turned to make his escape.
If he didn't run now, he might very well lose his life here today.
"Think you can just run after hitting someone?"
Dearka and Heine, along with Yzak, who had just struggled to his feet.
None of the three were willing to let Wang Hu get away.
Especially Yzak, who had been publicly beaten in front of so many—he would drag Wang Hu down to hell with him even if it cost his life.
But before the three could even start their pursuit!
Already on the run, Wang Hu paused briefly, bending down to pick up a new heavy machine gun from the ground.
As if taunting Yzak and the others to their faces, Wang Hu hurled the heavy machine gun toward the ZAFT Forces headquarters.
"Wang Hu!"
Caught off guard, despite their best efforts to defend, the headquarters building erupted in thick flames.
"Wang Hu!"
At this point, words were futile. Taking in the dire state of the headquarters, the three chased after him like madmen.
You run, I chase; you chase, I flee.
Wang Hu pushed the Training ZINN to its absolute limits, squeezing out every bit of its potential.
Narrowly evading pursuit by two Gundams and one Qilin—a machine not inferior to the Gundams of this timeline—
He raced frantically toward the planned escape route.
"Where is Wang Hu trying to go?"
Locals always know the terrain better than outsiders. Heine seemed to have an inkling.
This route led to a certain ZAFT military port!
What was Wang Hu planning?
Heine's mind raced, sensing that every move Wang Hu made had a purpose!
--Enjoying the story? Want more chapters? Check out my Patreon and support me for 40+ advance chapters.
Just search for "LegendaryTL" on Patreon!"
Thanks!