novelhk Chapter 34: The Fangs of the Desert Tiger, A Mighty Attack Ends Before Its First Cry
Chapter 34: The Fangs of the Desert Tiger, A Mighty Attack Ends Before Its First Cry
【CE71.2.16. African Community - "Dawn Desert" Pilot Zone】
The Archangel's journey was less a voyage and more a long struggle against the desert.
This white ark, which should have been soaring through the stars, was now like a stranded whale, struggling and writhing in the boundless sea of sand. The tracks creaked under the weight of the scorching sand, and the swirling dust, like an ever-present mist, enveloped the entire warship.
Inside the bridge, the atmosphere was even hotter and more restless than the air outside.
"How far is the target area?" Maru Ramias's voice was visibly tired, her gaze fixed on the monotonous yellow on the main screen.
"Reporting to the captain, according to the simplified map provided by 'Bright Desert,' we have entered the designated rendezvous area, but... there are no friendly signals on the radar." The CIC operator's voice carried a hint of uncertainty.
Natal Bakirul's brow furrowed deeply. She couldn't understand the captain's decision to place the ship's hopes on a resistance organization of unknown origin, with whom they had only communicated a few times via encrypted communications. This completely violated the code of conduct for soldiers.
But what she couldn't understand even more was the man who called it a "strategic retreat."
Ling Yu has been gone for over 24 hours, during which time he only sent one encrypted message with just two words: "Safe." Then he disappeared without a trace, as if he had vanished into thin air.
Kira Yamato sat in a corner of the restaurant, absentmindedly poking at the synthetic food on his plate. His mind kept replaying Ling Yu's strange yet insightful "e-sports theories" from before he left.
"Controlling mana", "spreading out", "baiting skills"...
He still only vaguely understood these words, but he grasped the core idea—don't get carried away, treat the battle as a game that requires calculation and strategy, rather than simply an emotional outburst.
"But... can this really be done?" Kira murmured to himself. Whenever he saw his companions in danger, he couldn't suppress the urge to protect them.
Just then, the piercing alarm broke the silence inside the ship!
"Warning! High heat source reaction, multiple! Approaching at high speed below the horizon!"
"It's ZAFT!"
The bridge instantly descended into chaos.
"All personnel at Level 1 combat readiness! Kira, sortie!" Murrue decisively gave the order.
"Kira Yamato, Strike! Launch!"
With the familiar sortie command, Kira piloted the Strike Gundam and launched it, landing on the scorching desert. His feet sank into the soft sand, the machine sinking slightly, and this unfamiliar sensation made Kira's heart tighten.
In the field of vision, four tan-colored, hound-like four-legged mobile suits were gliding towards us at an astonishing speed. They used their tracks to perform incredible drifting maneuvers on the sand dunes, and the dust they kicked up perfectly concealed each other.
TMF/A-802, Baku. Zaft's desert warfare ace.
"So that's what Brother Lingyu was talking about...positioning?" Kira thought subconsciously. He immediately raised his beam rifle and locked onto one of the machines using his powerful dynamic vision.
"Bang!"
The beam hit its mark precisely, but the Baku made a nimble side slide just before impact, the beam merely grazing its armor and leaving a molten crater in the sand.
The next second, three more Baku attacked from three different directions simultaneously. They did not fire, but instead used their sharp claws and high-speed movement to create a huge sand wall around the Strike Gundam, instantly obscuring Kira's entire vision.
The radar screen was filled with static, with only the piercing alarm blaring frantically.
"I can't see it!"
Kira's heart skipped a beat; he remembered Ling Yu's words—"Card vision." The enemy was using the environment to create an information gap. He immediately activated his thrusters, attempting to take off and escape the sandstorm.
But it was too late.
A Baku emerged from the sandstorm like a ghost, its electromagnetic cannon striking the Strike Gundam's knee joint at an extremely tricky angle. The immense impact caused the Strike to stagger and nearly fall to its knees.
"Oh no!"
Kira forcibly stabilized his machine and drew his beam saber. However, the Baku, having landed a successful blow, immediately retreated into the sand wall and vanished without a trace.
This was a fighting style he had never experienced before. The enemy was cunning and patient, like a pack of well-coordinated wolves, constantly probing and harassing him, wearing down his energy and patience.
Kira felt a surge of anger rising within him. He was furious at his own powerlessness, furious at the enemy's manipulation. The light in his eyes began to unconsciously gather.
Just as he was about to "get carried away," an even more dangerous signal appeared directly in front of the radar.
The sand wall was torn apart by an invisible force.
A commander-type mobile suit, larger and more menacing than Baku, slowly pulled out. It had a two-person cockpit, carried a massive twin-mounted beam cannon, and its menacing dual-beam saber gleamed with a dangerous glint.
TMF/A-803, Laco, and its owner—"The Desert Tiger," Andrew Bartfield.
"Oh? He held out for so long, looks like he's not just a simple recruit." In Lako's cockpit, Bartfield watched the slightly disheveled Strike Gundam on the screen with interest, a slight smile on his lips. "Aisha, a cup of coffee, please. Let's give our guest from afar a proper welcome."
Before he could finish speaking, Lako made a move.
Its speed far surpassed Baku's, like a lightning bolt flying close to the ground, instantly rushing towards Strike. Kira instinctively raised its shield to block, but Lako's movement was a feint; with an elegant, waltz-like dance, it instantly circled behind Strike.
Fire the beam cannon on its back!
With the last vestige of clarity before his power surged, Kira twisted his body at an incredible speed. The beam of light grazed past his cockpit, instantly melting off Strike's left arm!
A sharp, painful impact and a feeling of imbalance shot through Kira, who let out a muffled groan.
Before he could even adjust his stance, Bartfield's second wave of attacks arrived. Laco, like a leech, clung to his blind spot, its beam saber at its mouth like the fangs of a viper, carving deep, bone-revealing wounds into the Assault's armor.
"This is... ground warfare!"
Kira's mind went blank. All the skills he had honed in space became a joke here.
The opponent's use of the environment, control of the rhythm, and psychological pressure were textbook examples of overwhelming dominance.
The Strike Gundam's phase-transition armor rapidly depleted its energy under continuous attacks, emitting a piercing alarm.
"That's enough, little guy." Bartfield chuckled, maneuvering Laco to raise its deadly fangs and aim them at the Strike's cockpit.
Kira's pupils contracted sharply; the shadow of death had never been so close.
"Kira, friendly forces are rapidly approaching," came the CIC communications from Miriam.
Friendly forces? Who are they? Kira's eyes showed a hint of confusion.
At this critical moment,
A crimson streak of light descended from the sky, like an angry war eagle.
[Orb Modified Sky Dominator Fighter Cockpit]
"Get away from that MS, you bastard!"
Cagalli Yura Ashar's roar echoed in the cockpit.
She gritted her teeth and pushed the control lever all the way down.
Her Sky Dominator fighter swooped down at a suicidal angle, its cannons spitting out angry tongues of fire, bullets raining down around Lako, exploding in clouds of dust on the sand.
The attack did not cause any damage to the phase-transfer armor, but it successfully drew Bartfield's attention.
"Hmm?" Bartfield looked up at the suddenly appearing fighter jet, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. "Guerrilla forces? They're certainly full of energy."
This brief pause created an unprecedented opportunity for Kira.
At this moment, the Archangel's positron siege cannon also finished charging, and a huge beam of light swept across the edge of the battlefield, blowing away several Baku units that were unable to dodge in time.
Bartfield glanced at the fighter jets in the sky, then at the Archangel in the distance, poised for a decisive battle. He knew that the best time for the hunt had passed.
"Alright, that's enough for today." He shrugged casually, giving the order to retreat. "After all, we can't let the coffee get cold."
Lakho and the remaining Baku troops retreated quickly, soon disappearing into the heatwave on the horizon.
On the distant sand dunes, Bartfield lowered his binoculars, a playful smile on his face.
"How interesting. The Strike fighter pilot is inexperienced, but his potential is astonishing. That fighter that suddenly appeared acted haphazardly, yet it was filled with some kind of... conviction?"
Elsa, who was beside him, handed him a warm cup of coffee and asked softly, "Should we give chase?"
"No rush." Bartfield took a sip of coffee, but his gaze was fixed on another part of the battlefield, a desolate desert.
"My intuition tells me," his voice deepened and became magnetic, "that besides us and them,"
In this desert, there is a third guest… an audience member hiding in the shadows, watching our performance.
"A real ghost."