"When did he...?"
Having thought that Wang Hu, whom he had been longing for, was already dead, Creuset was suddenly shocked to see the other man appear on the shoulder of the Freedom Gundam.
Wearing a standard pilot's space combat suit, yet striking such a disgusting pose.
Creuset felt that even though he was already in such a miserable state, could the heavens not even grant him his three small wishes?
In the blink of an eye, while dodging the attacks fired by Kira according to the coordinates Wang Hu had provided, he pondered when exactly Wang Hu had climbed onto the Freedom Gundam.
"Could it be...?"
Creuset, the brain in the vat, finally caught on.
"Was it when he threw the Beam Saber earlier?"
It seemed that only this explanation could make sense of when Wang Hu had left the Lightning Z Gundam!
"Wang Hu, you've tricked me again!"
Having figured out the reason, Creuset was furious.
If he weren't just a head now, he would have spat out a mouthful of blood in anger.
This also explained why the Lightning Z Gundam's flight path had been so rigid—because Wang Hu wasn't even inside that mobile suit!
That despicable Wang Hu had fooled him once again and even set a trap that ensnared his three Dragoon Pods!
"But Wang Hu, don't think you can finish me off like this!"
The red glow of the Prototype Chaos Gundam's cameras flickered incessantly.
It was as if they had replaced Creuset's angry eyes, glaring fiercely at Wang Hu and the Freedom Gundam.
"With this mobile suit's speed, you'll never hit me."
"Today, even with just two Beam Claws, I can take you down. No one can save you!"
Creuset roared at the three on the other side through the shared communication channel.
However, none of the three, including Wang Hu, responded to Creuset, because just as Creuset had finished uttering these harsh words—
"Boom!"
A beam rifle shot from the Freedom Gundam struck the Prototype Chaos Gundam, which had been flying like a ghost in space.
And where there was one, there was another. Creuset was astonished to discover that the Prototype Chaos Gundam, which had relied solely on its speed to overpower the Freedom Gundam and the Strike Gundam and had not been hit once since the battle began, was now being struck repeatedly by the Freedom Gundam.
If it weren't for the PS Armor of his mobile suit being quite effective, he might have met his end here once again!
"Why is this happening?"
The brain in the vat throbbed violently, and Creuset vaguely felt an ominous dark cloud looming over his head!
"We hit him, we hit him, we really hit him! Brother Wang Hu!"
While Creuset was feeling uneasy, Kira, on the other hand, was overjoyed.
Given Brother Wang Hu's usually exaggeratedly outstanding combat record and his reliable credibility, when he sent the predicted coordinates and firing lead, Kira followed them without a second thought.
Even though the coordinates and lead Wang Hu provided seemed outrageously unbelievable, Kira still blindly obeyed.
And the result was delightful—hadn't they just hit the previously elusive Creuset?
Hearing Kira's excited shout, Wang Hu smiled.
The reason they couldn't kill Creuset earlier was entirely due to the element of surprise.
Without understanding the capabilities of Creuset's Prototype Chaos Gundam or the current strength of Creuset, who had become a brain in a vat, Wang Hu had carelessly lost his advantage just like Lord Guan Yu, falling for a villain's trick and stumbling at a critical moment.
But having suffered such a great loss, even losing the Lightning Z Gundam, if he still couldn't figure out Creuset's true capabilities, Wang Hu swore he'd write his surname upside down!
"Kira, continue! Attack according to these coordinates this time." With murderous intent in his eyes, Wang Hu acknowledged that while he couldn't provide Kira with a dowry like Lacus did, nor could he stand on Freedom Gundam's shoulder wearing a succubus outfit, his abilities as a human cheat device were no worse than that pink-haired girl's!
"Alright!" Having achieved success once before, Kira, who was already Wang Hu's devoted fan, didn't hesitate for even a second. Working deftly, Kira happily fired the Rainbow Cannon according to Wang Hu's instructions.
"And Mu, don't just stand there idle either!" Standing on Freedom Gundam's shoulder, Wang Hu began directing Mu, whose mind was still reeling nearby. He told him to stop using his dazed state as an excuse to slack off and quickly join in ganging up on Creuset, the brain in a vat.
"Wang Hu..." Unlike Kira, Mu knew in his heart that this wasn't the time to ask such questions. But concerning his father and a series of secrets, after much deliberation, Mu still blurted out instinctively: "Was everything Creuset said true? Is he really my father's clone? And was Kira really born from an artificial womb? Then that would mean..." He didn't finish the sentence, because even though his mind was still in chaos, he understood that if someone wasn't born from a mother's womb but emerged from something mechanical like an artificial womb, combined with the label of being a genetically modified Coordinator...
With multiple concerning factors stacked together... From an ethical perspective... Could Kira still be considered human? Was Kira not some product created by a mad scientist? If the technology was mature enough, could Kira be mass-produced?
"I..."While on the surface Kira was busy chasing down Creuset, he heard every word Mu said perfectly clearly." With Kira's high intelligence, he didn't even need Mu to bring up the topic - ever since Creuset mentioned the artificial womb, the question of whether he could be considered human had already been circling in his mind multiple times!
Because of Mu's prompting, the worries that had been troubling him surged back, bringing forth thoughts that had been forcibly suppressed. Consequently, Kira's movements inevitably faltered slightly.
"Opportunity!" Creuset, who had been suppressed without any openings, was overjoyed. Seizing upon Kira's momentary mistake, he decisively activated the Mirage Colloid System and entered stealth mode.
"Damn it!" Staring at Creuset, who truly knew how to seize an opportunity and had instantly disappeared without a trace, Wang Hu was so frustrated he wanted to curse.
The current Creuset wasn't easy to deal with - catching another opportunity like before would be difficult! And despite having lost all his Dragoon Pods, even though Creuset was boasting that he could take down all three of them with just his Beam Claws, who knew if the humbled Creuset might choose to hide and bide his time instead!
"I, Wang Hu..."
Watching Creuset disappear, Mu realized his careless remark might have caused serious trouble.
His lips trembled slightly, but he couldn't find the right words to beg for forgiveness.
Especially toward Kira, who had undoubtedly been hurt by his words!
However, Wang Hu didn't have that Atlantic Federation time to comfort Mu, nor was he going to force a smile and say "it's okay" just to make Mu feel better while suppressing his own displeasure.
Turning around, Wang Hu jumped onto the external interface of the Freedom Gundam's cockpit and manually opened the hatch using the password switch.
"Brother Wang Hu."
If Mu, a grown man, wasn't quick-witted, then Kira, who was just a teenager, was even more so.
As soon as Wang Hu entered the Freedom Gundam's cockpit, he saw the pitiful and confused Kira, who looked like a puppy abandoned by its owner.
"Move aside."
Wang Hu pulled Kira away, dragging him out of the pilot's seat.
Then Wang Hu plopped down into the seat Kira had been occupying.
"This system!"
His hands moved so fast they left afterimages as Wang Hu skillfully modified some parameters to suit himself.
Wang Hu was racing against Creuset, fully aware that the bastard would likely try to sabotage him before escaping!
Sure enough, just as Wang Hu finished modifying the system, his Newtype intuition sensed a chilling wave of killing intent approaching.
"Is it targeting Mu?"
Gripping the Freedom Gundam's control sticks, Wang Hu quickly assessed the situation.
To his surprise, he realized Creuset wasn't coming for him this time.
Instead, he was heading toward that cheap son of his.
"Mu, watch out!"
Wang Hu immediately shouted a warning to Mu while swiveling the guns to sweep around the Strike Gundam.
"Wang Hu?"
Startled, Mu felt a strange, almost mystical sensation.
Perhaps it was a father-son connection telling him that Creuset had now approached his vicinity.
Guided by this instinct, Mu controlled the Strike Gundam to turn and thrust downward to the left!
Sparks flew as electricity crackled.
The Prototype Chaos Gundam, hidden under the Mirage Colloid System, was revealed.
Mu's desperate thrust had pierced through the top of Creuset's mobile suit.
But Creuset's Beam Claw was also deeply embedded in Mu's Strike Gundam.
"Mu La Flaga!"
Creuset's voice rang out filled with hatred.
"Rau Le Creuset."
Compared to his opponent, Mu felt the subtle sensation of having slain his own father, which was reflected in his tone.
But before Mu could say anything else, the Rainbow Cannon attacks from Wang Hu's Freedom Gundam came flying over.
Continuous Beam shots pounded against Creuset's Prototype Chaos Gundam.
"Creuset!"
With bewildered eyes, Mu watched as the Prototype Chaos Gundam drifted further and further away from him under Wang Hu's assault.
The complex emotions in his gaze were truly worthy of an award-winning actor's expressiveness.
"Mu, what are you doing!"
Not giving Mu time to wallow in melancholy, Wang Hu not only rushed over with his weapon but also shouted at him like a wake-up call.
"Oh, oh, oh."
Interrupted by Wang Hu's calls, Mu shook off his complicated emotions and drew another Beam Saber from his mobile suit.
Now is not the time to dwell on inexplicable matters—the priority is to join forces and cut Creuset down in a flurry of blades.
Wang Hu wouldn't be going anywhere later anyway, and from Creuset's tone, it seemed Wang Hu was also in the know.
As for the doubts in his heart, he could always verify them with Wang Hu afterward.
With this thought, Mu rushed toward the immobilized Creuset, raising his blade with the intent to slash him to pieces.
But Mu's plan fell flat. From the pitch-black curtain of space, a similarly dark mobile suit abruptly charged out.
It was the Blitz Gundam, piloted by Heine, who had arrived with Yzak and the others but had been absent throughout the earlier battle.
Seeing that his two comrades couldn't subdue Wang Hu alone, Heine had wisely abandoned any thought of joining a three-on-one fight against Wang Hu.
Thanks to his quick-witted assessment of the situation, Heine took advantage of the chaos on the battlefield.
First, he extracted Dearka from the Buster Gundam, then dug out the bloodied Yzak from the lone Freedom Justice Guetz drifting in space.
Finally, just as Heine was about to make his escape, he noticed Captain Creuset reappearing out of nowhere.
So he bided his time until the perfect moment, snatching Creuset right out from under Mu's grasp!
"Don't even think about running!"
Having made too many mistakes today, Mu felt his pride stung.
Eyes fixed on the dying Creuset, who had been snatched from his hands, Mu raised his gun and fired.
But Heine, well-versed in the art of evasion, immediately activated the Mirage Colloid System.
Creuset, cooperating seamlessly, also activated his own Mirage Colloid.
Just like that, the two vanished without a trace from Mu's sight. By the time Wang Hu rushed over, it was already too late.
There was no hope of finding any trace of those two bastards now.
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