Chapter 173: The Most Familiar Enemy
"The I-Field, huh?"
Amuro remembered this type of defensive equipment quite clearly—it could neutralize beam weapons as if they were nothing.
After all, back then, Eli had practically demonstrated the perfect counter-strategy to everyone.
With that in mind, Amuro's first move was to gain altitude!
The next moment, a barrage of missiles surged toward them from the direction of White Base.
This was the unspoken coordination between Bright and Amuro. Even without any communication, the two could pull this off seamlessly.
But Amuro wasn't just climbing. As he fired his beam rifle at Char with his left hand, he simultaneously launched a rocket at the MA with his right.
He didn't expect to cause any real damage—this was just a probe.
Sure enough, four beams of light ignited from Neue Ziel's shoulders.
Immediately, streams of green energy swept forth from them, engulfing the missile rain along with Amuro's rocket and transforming everything into a single fireball.
These MGEA beam cannons—virtually standard on MAs—were truly giving Amuro a headache.
As he saw the enemy charging up another blast in his direction, Amuro quickly maneuvered the G-line to evade.
The G-line's performance wasn't bad—but if he were in a Gundam!
He reversed thrust with the G-line, then immediately yanked the controls back the other way.
But just like what had once happened with the RX-78-2, the G-line, overloaded as it was, failed to respond to Amuro's command in time.
A yellow beam shot through the fading green glow and struck the added armor on the G-line's left leg.
The armor shattered on impact. Though the leg appeared intact for now, the machine's status screen was already flashing red.
"Hang in there, Amuro! The unit equipped with the electric needle is heading your way!"
It was a bit of a relief that Bright had quickly followed Amuro's train of thought and responded accordingly.
And credit was due to Yashu's backpack—it enabled battlefield modifications like this.
"Have him wait at a distance for my signal. Tell him not to approach recklessly."
Amuro gave the order mid-evasion.
He knew all too well that the pilot of the MA was also a Newtype.
Although he wasn't particularly worried—after all, the only Newtype who had ever truly pressured him was Lalah.
Still, even a run-of-the-mill Newtype could sense their ally's attacks and react accordingly.
Especially when—
Neue Ziel suddenly deployed several cone-shaped devices.
As expected, this MA was equipped with the Psycommu system.
Its rear-mounted gatling gun spun up briefly, then unleashed a dense barrage at the incoming funnels.
This Newtype didn't cut it.
Lalah's control of funnels had been far more fluid, unpredictable, and difficult to deal with.
This one, by contrast, operated purely mechanically.
Just like now!
Amuro suddenly braked, spun around, and slipped the beam rifle under his left arm—blasting a funnel moving along its preset course!
With that, Amuro was confident: even if he charged straight at that MA now, he could probably take it down.
He yanked the control stick, pivoting the machine around its waist to dodge a beam blast.
But the reason he didn't charge was because of the Gundam trailing close behind the MA.
Unlike in the past, this time Char wasn't piloting a cutting-edge machine—he was flying a damaged, subpar Gundam.
Yet even so, what gave Amuro the most pressure in this battle was still the Gundam's beam fire.
The two had clashed countless times. Compared to Lalah, Char was even more attuned to Amuro's combat style.
So while Neue Ziel's beam sweeps didn't pose much threat, it was the Gundam's beam rifle that truly kept Amuro on edge.
"Char! Do you really have to fight?!"
That growing irritation finally spilled from Amuro's mouth as a shouted accusation aimed at Char.
Unlike others, Amuro wasn't one to speak over open comms.
Or rather—very few even survived long enough for Amuro to start talking on open channels.
But Char was different. Even without comms, he could hear that question from the boy he once knew.
Compared to Eli, it was Char who had truly witnessed that boy's transformation—from a lost child stepping into a Gundam for the first time, to a cold killing machine for the Federation.
As that thought crossed Char's mind, he sighed and returned fire.
Getting involved with this boy—truly one of the mistakes of his youth.
If only he had faced Amuro back then with more caution and kindness, maybe none of the chaos that followed would've happened.
He'd simply been caught off guard by a sudden, unexpected glimpse of Artesia. His emotions were unavoidably shaken.
"If I don't fight, I can't protect Lalah… Amuro."
Char murmured softly in the cockpit, then used the Gundam to continue suppressing the G-line.
So he's just trying to drive me off?
Amuro finally caught on—Char didn't seem to have much actual intent to fight.
If that's the case…
The G-line's visor lit up—an indication it was scanning for more data.
After finishing off the remaining funnels, which Amuro now considered no real threat, he continued firing his gatling at Neue Ziel's main body, occasionally lobbing a rocket as well.
The rockets were either dodged or detonated, but the gatling rounds found their mark.
They tore into the top armor and continued down toward Neue Ziel's "tail"—
No—Neue Ziel had deliberately turned, shielding itself with its chest armor instead.
That realization made Amuro focus on that area.
He had thought it was just a simple thruster module, but judging from how the enemy prioritized its protection, there had to be more to it.
Watching Neue Ziel get caught in a repetitive, predictable movement path while trying to shake him, Amuro knew—the time had come!
A flash lit up in the distance. Then, a needle-shaped projectile shot toward Neue Ziel at high speed.
The I-Field generators on its shoulders emitted a faint glow—but they failed to stop the solid round, which pierced the thruster nozzle on its right skirt armor.
Amuro frowned.
It looked like a hit—but not enough to create a true opening for a follow-up strike.
Worse still, the enemy fleet was now closing in.
With one last look at his opponent—Char—Amuro turned the G-line around and began retreating under the cover of White Base's artillery fire.
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