Legs may not hold much significance on other Mobile Suits.
But when the entire leg is made up of thrusters, with a main thruster as well,
losing one leg has a much greater impact.
It's not just a simple reduction in power by half.
Without one leg, his aerodynamics cannot maintain balance.
This means he has to allocate some of the thrust to keep the Mobile Suit stable.
The power has dropped by about a third.
With a successful strike, He Kui did not hesitate. Seeing that he had not succeeded, he directly controlled the Dagger series along with Little Bird to detonate, then made his way towards Ratu.
The series of actions flowed seamlessly, and before he knew it, the remaining survivors had completed their evacuation under He Kui's cover.
"...Does he still have a trump card?"
Creuset coldly watched the direction He Kui had left.
Although the opponent had lost the small aircraft, most of the outer armor had also fallen off, and without the burden, the Mobile Suit was much faster than his own, which had lost a leg.
Chasing was no longer meaningful.
But waiting for the trump card to run out would be his death.
"The Mobile Suit's power is running low."
Although they had escaped, Ailina still reported with a pained expression.
"It's okay, they didn't pursue us."
He Kui said as the Mobile Suit slowly descended into the rainforest.
The huge commotion immediately startled countless small animals in the forest.
Many beautiful parrots took flight.
It seemed they were completely unaffected by the battlefield behind them.
"Are you feeling calmer now?"
After parking the Mobile Suit, He Kui turned to Ailina.
"Um, I'm sorry."
Ailina, having fully regained her composure, lowered her gaze.
But the bloodshot eyes still testified to her sorrow.
"It's alright."
"You mentioned Uncle and the others."
"I don't know."
He Kui sighed.
"But first, we still need to go to Ratu."
"Let's walk there; we won't starve."
Although they couldn't use navigation, they could still calculate basic directions through the computer.
So even in this dense forest, He Kui did not get lost.
"Mm."
Just as the two were preparing to hide the Mobile Suit and continue on their way, a sudden splash erupted from the deep Amazon River beside them.
A battered Forbidden, missing one hand and one foot, emerged from the river, the dawn light reflecting dazzlingly off its streamlined form.
At that moment, it seemed that this machine before them was not a weapon that claimed lives.
"Aegis!"
Ailina instinctively wanted to shield He Kui, but he stopped her.
"It's fine; it's an acquaintance."
Hearing the ease in He Kui's voice, Ailina looked up.
The cockpit slowly opened.
"Still alive."
Hergules spoke in a calm tone, though the blood on his forehead and Edward, who was weakly leaning against him, told a different story of the previous battle's peril.
"How did you escape?"
He Kui asked, relieved.
"That person wouldn't go into the water, and..."
Before Hergules could finish, another Forbidden surfaced.
But it wasn't the Deep Abyss Forbidden; it was the familiar Forbidden in blue.
"White Whale."
Seeing the Mobile Suit, He Kui's last bit of worry was swept away.
Fortunately, these top-tier combatants were still intact.
"Let's go."
After the cockpit of White Whale opened, it spoke.
"Mm."
Since neither of them was too large, the three of them could barely fit in the massive cockpit of the Forbidden in blue.
"Thank you all."
Once they submerged back into the wide Amazon River, Edward weakly spoke over the comms.
Compared to Ailina, he, who was accustomed to life and death, now exuded a spirit of defiance beyond just sadness.
As if nothing could make him yield.
"No, if it weren't for their fierce fighting, we wouldn't have been able to break through."
He Kui shook his head.
"But your plan still worked."
"Was it really my plan?"
Their president had likely anticipated what would happen on the day of Gungnir.
Of course, this anticipation wasn't about sitting idly by; it was more like a safety net.
A safety net for when the explosives failed.
The reason he hadn't made it clear before was probably to guard against certain individuals.
"Regardless, without the mass driver, our pressure will be greatly reduced."
Edward sighed.
Maintaining the mass driver would take some time, and during that time, they certainly wouldn't take the initiative to attack; instead, they would focus on stability.
"But Ratu isn't a place we can stay indefinitely."
Since the defense minister had already betrayed them, their bases would surely be discovered.
"Yeah, we'll have to wander again."
Edward chuckled self-deprecatingly.
"So what about you? What are your plans?"
He Kui turned to the girl upon hearing this.
"I want to stay here!"
Ailina's tone was firm, her eyes seemingly ablaze with a burning fire.
"Alright."
He Kui didn't say anything about taking Ailina away.
Perhaps she wouldn't leave until her revenge was complete.
After not traveling by water for long, they arrived at a base in Ratu.
However, unlike the last base, this one was in the sea.
And the location had also changed slightly.
"Coming here should be temporarily safe."
Edward said as the five of them quickly disembarked from the Mobile Suit after entering the port.
"Edward! Hergules!"
Seeing the signals from the two, many survivors quickly gathered around.
However, it seemed there were only about a hundred of them.
It's worth noting that during Panama's heyday, there were over a hundred thousand people.
Of course, this doesn't mean everyone else was dead; some had surrendered, while others had not returned.
As for the factory's population, as long as they surrendered, they wouldn't be killed.
And this place certainly wasn't home to all the people; some were maintaining order, while others were on guard, with soldiers dispersed.
However, this battle had nearly wiped out all of South America's resources.
At least for the next few years, with their current population, they wouldn't be able to engage in large-scale combat.
Of course, there were still many people in other parts of South America.
But whether it was their education level, personal abilities, or combat experience, it wouldn't be very good.
It would take several years to train them.
"Aegis!"
In the distance, the Uncles of the two also approached.
However, this time, the number of Uncles had changed from five to just two.
"...Uncle."
Ailina looked at the two weary Uncles, her eyes red, as if they had aged significantly overnight.
"They..."
Aegis also hesitated to ask.
"Spa and Zahari are in recovery, Pavao..."
The Uncle sighed as he spoke.
"..."
Hearing the other's words, although he had anticipated the outcome, a wave of sadness still rose within him.
However, this emotion didn't linger for long, as the Uncle wiped his eyes.
"He wouldn't want us to be frowning, would he?"
"The president has been waiting for you for a long time; hurry up."
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