As the beam was about to pierce through the cockpit along with him, Jehart's mind went blank, as if he was calmly welcoming his own death.
At that moment, Doll Frost, piloting the [Jedas M], inserted himself between the two, crossing his arms in front of him to block the fatal blow for [Jedra].
"Ugh~!" Although the beam didn't penetrate the electromagnetic armor of [Jedas M], the immense impact left Doll Frost in great discomfort.
"Doll!"
"I'm fine."
"What just happened?"
The four machines converged, facing off against the Luna Gundam. Jehart was certain that the shot he had dodged was the same one. To prevent other enemy units from interfering, he had specifically ordered the MS units to focus their attacks on enemy forces in other directions, buying himself time. So, apart from the Luna Gundam, there were no Federal Army MS units in this area.
Moreover, after he initiated the assault, the Luna Gundam had only fired one shot.
"What exactly happened?" Jehart gritted his teeth, trying to figure out what had transpired, but...
Doll Frost and the other two had clearly witnessed the bizarre scene, and precisely because they saw it, it felt even more surreal. Looking at the Luna Gundam was like staring at a monster.
"Is this... something a human can really do?"
"A monster..."
"Commander Jehart..."
"What is it? Report if you have something to say!"
"Just now... that shot... it reflected."
"Reflected? How is that possible!?" Jehart received an answer that sounded like a fairy tale.
"That shot... after you dodged it, it hit the surface of an individual unit, and then... the beam reflected."
"This..." Jehart sharply turned his gaze towards the Luna Gundam, which was calmly watching their exchange.
"Commander Jehart..." A hint of retreat crept into the hearts of Doll Frost and the other two. If it was just a coincidence, that was one thing, but if such a maneuver was something the opponent could control, then they might not be Yurin's match.
"We've been deceived. She is the trump card of the [Celestial Being] squadron!" Jehart thought bitterly, clenching his teeth. He was certain that even the Federal Army had been fooled. What about [Moon Angel] being the weakest of the [Three Archangels]? What about the only weakness?
All of that was a lie!
With that move just now, even Yang Hui and Graham might not be able to pull it off!
In fact, Jehart's guess was half right and half wrong. From the beginning, Yurin had never hidden herself, nor did she have any trump card. Moreover, Yang Hui could also perform such a maneuver. This method of beam reflection and refraction was originally taught to Yurin by Yang Hui.
But while Yang Hui could do it, he couldn't now. A single beam refraction wasn't a big deal, but to recreate the terrifying tactic of multiple beam refractions, even if Yang Hui entered Innovator Mode and simultaneously consumed the machine's potential performance, he would still need the Trans-Am system. Otherwise, his reaction speed wouldn't be fast enough to position the Funnels before the second refraction.
But Yurin had done it. Without relying on the Trans-Am's performance burst, using her strongest precognitive X-Rounder ability, she predicted the direction of the beam reflection in advance and controlled the Funnels to reach the designated position, achieving up to three beam refractions.
The reason Yurin had never used this move in battle was simply that she hadn't needed to. If it weren't for Jehart and his guards being highly skilled X-Rounder pilots with exceptional combat skills, no one could have pushed her out of her optimal comfort zone.
"[Moon Angel]... damn it..." Jehart hesitated. If Yurin could truly master this bizarre refraction shooting, they might not be able to complete their mission and could very well all perish here.
"Finished talking?"
At that moment, Yurin opened the public channel, connecting the communication of the four machines.
"Miss Yurin..."
"Long time no see, Jehart. It's truly regrettable that we meet again on the battlefield."
Yurin's voice was as calm as a still lake, but it made Jehart and the others increasingly nervous. As they waited for their exchange, the fact that she, a sniper, showed no tension after being approached by the enemy undoubtedly pointed to the answer they most feared.
"I never expected you to be the trump card of the [Three Archangels]. Everyone was deceived by you..."
"You're mistaken. I'm not the trump card, and I haven't deceived anyone."
"Are you still going to hide it at this point?"
"Haha, I'm telling the truth. This move was taught to me by Yang Hui. As for hiding it... no one had been able to push me before."
For the latter part, Jehart and the other three tacitly agreed. Waves of precise sniping from over 1000 kilometers had nearly taken them out, let alone other pilots.
But as for the former part... it seemed they had stumbled upon some significant information.
"You said... this was taught by Mr. Yang Hui..."
"Oops? Did I accidentally let something slip?"
"..."
"Now that the secret's out, it won't be so easy for you to leave. Jehart, you're surrounded by me."
"What!?"
The four were startled. The four MS units stood back to back. While they were conversing, the Funnels that had been scattered around had already encircled them. The menacing gun barrels locked onto them, and the Funnels' surfaces emitted an unknown faint green light, like a ferocious beast baring its sharp fangs.
"Damn it! Retreat!"
"A bit late for that." Yurin's lips curved into a smile, maintaining a gentle expression for a few seconds before returning to calm. "Psycho-Link System LV.3, Mirror Reflection System activated."
After a few clicks on the control panel, Yurin's connection with the Luna Gundam deepened, as if they had completely merged into one.
At Jehart's command, the four machines ignited their thrusters, focusing on a single point to break through at high speed. Just then, the Funnels and the Luna Gundam fired simultaneously. The dense beams formed a seamless net, closing in on them.
"Scatter!"
The four machines scattered, but the next second, Jehart finally saw clearly how the bizarre refraction occurred. In the path of the missed beam, a Funnel was already waiting. As it collided with the surface glowing in a faint blue light, it reflected in another direction.
"Damn it! Doll! Offa! Diet! Don't dodge, defend!"
"Commander Jehart! Understood!" X3
[Jedra]'s arms continuously blocked the incoming beams. Jehart had found a way to counter this attack: directly block it, don't give it a chance to refract. Without refraction, the attack lost its bizarre nature, and the threat was significantly reduced.
Doll Frost and the other two, being ace-level pilots, immediately understood Jehart's intent and intercepted all incoming beams, preventing them from refracting.
Seeing this, Yurin was slightly surprised. She hadn't expected them to find a countermeasure so quickly.
But even though they had found a way to counter it, it didn't mean the danger was over, because...
The Funnels could indeed only choose between shooting or reflecting at any given moment, but... who said all Funnels had to maintain the same function?
At that moment, half of the Funnels in the dense refraction array detached, reorienting their barrels towards Jehart and his team.
"Watch out! Here it comes!"
In the next second, half of the Funnels, along with the Luna Gundam, fired again, weaving the shattered spiderweb back together.
Yurin watched this scene calmly, just as Yang Hui had said. Even if you admire someone, on the battlefield, they are your enemy. There is no room for mercy. If you have the resolve to kill me, then I must respond with the same resolve.
But the next second, the radar showed a familiar machine rapidly approaching their battlefield. Yurin's lips curled, and she changed her strategy.
The net of beams was about to completely ensnare its prey, but the next moment, the attack shifted. The Funnels' fire concentrated on the gap between [Jedra] and the guards, separating [Jedra] from his team.
"Commander Jehart!"
"Damn it!"
All four were desperate to restore their formation. The three guards didn't want their first mission to end in failure. Although their time fighting side by side was short, it had given them a preliminary recognition of Jehart, and Jehart also acknowledged the skills of the three guards. Excellent subordinates shouldn't be easily lost here.
But under Yurin's fierce assault, they were all trapped in their own small spaces, unable to move.
"What is she trying to do?" Amidst the urgent dodging and blocking of attacks, Jehart's mind raced. Yurin already had the opportunity to kill them all, so why did she suddenly change her tactics?
He wanted to find the answer, but the X-Rounder ability in his mind kept buzzing, like a loudspeaker had been stuffed into his head, making it hard to concentrate. For the first time, Jehart felt the downside of having too strong an ability.
But soon, even without thinking, he understood what Yurin was up to.
"Jehart!"
"Asemu?" Seeing the rapidly approaching Gundam AGE-2, Jehart realized Yurin intended to leave him to Asemu. But why?
Reality didn't give Jehart time to think. The Gundam AGE-2 had already raised its sword and arrived in front of [Jedra]. Facing the sharp Blade of Downpour, [Jedra] hastily counterattacked, but the immense collision force left Jehart in agony. The Gundam AGE-2 then carried [Jedra] away from the area.
"Commander Jehart!"
"We must break through!"
"Damn it! We can't break through!"
The three [Jedas M] stood back to back, unable to mount an effective counterattack while desperately fending off attacks from all directions.
"Not good!"
"Diet!"
"Oh no..."
"Boom~!"
"Ah~!!!"
...
On the other side, [Jedra] finally managed to stop, facing off against the Gundam AGE-2.
"Jehart! How dare you... how dare you attack Aunt Yurin!"
Upon hearing this, Jehart really wanted to curse at Asemu. To an outsider, it sounded like he had killed Yurin, which was his goal, but in reality, from start to finish, they had been completely dominated by Yurin alone. You're angry? I'm even angrier!
"This is the battlefield! Miss Yurin is also a warrior! She was prepared for this!"
[Jedra] exerted force, and both sides retreated.
"Aunt Yurin... she had such high hopes for you! How could you attack her? I can never forgive you... Jehart..."
"Don't be naive! On the battlefield, anyone can die! If you're afraid of death, don't come to the battlefield! Asemu..."
"I'll shoot you down!"
"I'll shoot yo
u down!"
The agreement between friends was made in silent understanding. With the resolve to shoot each other down, [Jedra] and the Gundam AGE-2 clashed once again.
(End of Chapter)