Facing the Eurasian Federation forces that had retreated into their turtle shell, the heavily advancing ZAFT warships fiercely unleashed their firepower upon the crystal-clear Umbrellas of the Moon.
The thunderous bombardment lasted for over an hour, completely breaking from ZAFT Forces' usual tradition of being conservative with their artillery.
"Hmph." Seeing the Coordinators outside still continuing their bombardment, Sharu in the fortress command center dismissed the last trace of doubt in his mind.
He wasn't a fool—as a high-ranking officer of the Eurasian Federation with intelligence, he could rationally assess the actual combat capabilities of the Coordinators. Therefore, when his own forces had previously managed to repel the Coordinators, he instinctively felt there must be some trick involved. But witnessing ZAFT's current performance...
"It seems the trauma East Asia inflicted upon them, along with the excessive withdrawal of ZAFT veterans from space to complete the landing operations, has left ZAFT Forces with no choice but to deploy even poorly trained recruits to the battlefield now!""
Complacently confident, Sharu made his judgment. Only under such preconditions could it explain why his soldiers were able to repel the Coordinators.
After all, if his own seasoned veterans couldn't even defeat the enemy's green recruits, then there would be no point in dreaming about revitalizing the Eurasian Federation's former glory and leading humanity's trends as in ancient times.
"The General is absolutely right," his adjutant chimed in, stepping forward with a half-bow and a thumbs-up. "In my view, within the current Eurasian Federation military, only you, General, can lead the entire army down the Path of Light."
"Ha." Though pleased, Sharu maintained a reserved expression on his face. After pondering for a moment, Major General Charle said, "Notify them to convene an officers' meeting. Grant leave to the soldiers who participated in this battle. The noble Eurasian Federation military is not like the beasts of East Asia—only reasonable leave can maintain vigorous combat effectiveness."
"Understood." Catching the implied meaning, the adjutant nodded repeatedly. What officers' meeting? Wasn't it just a victory banquet?
But then the adjutant reconsidered: their soldiers often clamored for leave, serving more like clock-watching civil servants than military personnel. They had even managed to establish a commercial street within the fortress. Given this major victory, if leave weren't granted, the soldiers might even mutiny.
Since the soldiers could get leave, shouldn't their noble and honorable senior officers also...? Whether for dignity or to distinguish themselves from those soldiers, holding a small-scale victory banquet wouldn't be too much, right?
Chuckling to himself, the adjutant thought of a certain officer's wife—or rather, the mistress he had recently hooked up with. His heart warmed, and he immediately prepared to carry out General Charle's instructions.
"Wait," General Charle added before the adjutant turned to leave. "Have the soldiers remain vigilant. Only after ZAFT Forces have completely withdrawn should we deactivate the Umbrella of the Moon according to military regulations."
"Rest assured, General," the adjutant pledged, thumping his chest. "Although the Umbrella of the Moon is extremely energy-intensive, and our fortress's energy supply is quite strained under the influence of the Neutron Jammer..."
"But at this critical moment, we definitely won't skimp on energy supply!"
"Mm." Seeing his adjutant's solemn promise, General Charle expressed satisfaction with his subordinate's competence.
He then headed toward the door as well—to attend that officers' meeting, he needed to prepare some proper attire.
The elegant and noble descendant of heroes couldn't afford to appear as crude as those cowboys from the New Continent!
"Oh, and send an invitation to our friends from East Asia too."
Just before reaching the main entrance, Charle remembered to invite those he considered barbarians to come and broaden their horizons.
"Understood, General! Rest assured, General!" Watching Charle depart, the adjutant grinned from ear to ear.
He wholeheartedly agreed with his superior's decision!
East Asia? Hah, nothing but barbarians!
Meanwhile, aboard the Archangel that received the invitation, everyone on the bridge wore expressions of speechless disbelief as they looked at the so-called invitation.
"Quite the extravagant affair," Mu said with a pained smile. "Do they really think winning one battle means the Coordinators will bow down and surrender?"
"Whatever." Wang Hu shrugged. Regarding everything he'd discovered on the battlefield, he wasn't kind enough to offer any reminders.
"Chengzhi, are you going?" Wang Hu turned to ask Li Chengzhi.
"Oh." Hearing his friend's question, Li Chengzhi smiled naturally. "As allies, we should at least send a representative. Otherwise, wouldn't it seem too impolite?"
"What?" Mu spoke for everyone on the bridge who was shocked by this response. "You'd actually attend such a meeting? This isn't a proper officers' conference!"
Waving the perfumed invitation in his hand, Mu would swear on his dead father's grave that it would undoubtedly be a cesspool filled with the nauseating decay of old-era nobility.
"I'll go." Li Chengzhi sighed and put on an appropriately resigned expression. "For the sake of our cooperation and maintaining harmony before the East Asian reinforcements arrive, if none of you go, then I'll have to."
"Poor you." Seeing he'd put it that way, Mu showed a sympathetic look.
The others, including Natarle Badgiruel who normally gritted her teeth at Wang Hu and Li Chengzhi, maintained superficially unquestioning expressions under these circumstances.
After all, it was easy to imagine that this officers' meeting wasn't something any professional soldier with military bearing would be happy to see or attend.
"Then I'll see you off. Perfect timing—after dropping you off, I can go rest too."
Seeing no objections from anyone, Wang Hu stepped forward and put his arm around Li Chengzhi as if to escort him.
Once the two had left the bridge with their arms around each other's shoulders, Mu immediately changed his expression.
"Tell everyone to stay alert. I don't think Creuset on the other side will let this go so easily."
"Hmm?" Murrue asked curiously, her large headlights (eyes) widening. "Isn't the enemy about to retreat? The Umbrella of Moon is impenetrable."
"Not sure, just a feeling?" Mu pointed to his head, leaving his words unfinished.
From his previous conversation with Wang Hu outside the conference room, to this so-called great victory...
Plus based on his own understanding of Wang Hu and Li Chengzhi—were those two really the type to give face to allies just for the sake of harmony?
Useless people? Those two wouldn't even give them half a glance!
So Mu dared to swear by his deceased father again - Wang Hu and the other definitely had their own plans. If not, then let his father die once more!
"Murrue." Natarle Badgiruel stopped the ship's mascot captain from pressing further with questions.
She looked at Mu's thoughtful expression, then said to the confused Murrue:
"No matter what happens next, it won't be wrong for us to maintain sufficient vigilance according to military regulations."
After speaking, Natarle turned to Mu. "Lieutenant Mu, please come with me."
Under the puzzled gazes of the others, Natarle led Mu outside.
"Wang Hu and Li Chengzhi never intended to hand over the Archangel and the Strike Gundam, right?" she asked Mu.
"Uh." Mu found this question somewhat difficult to answer. Honestly, he could confirm that Wang Hu and the other definitely had ill intentions toward Artemis.
But exactly what kind of ill intentions, he wasn't sure either.
"Just as I thought." Natarle didn't actually need Mu to answer this question - she just wanted to confirm her suspicions.
"In those two people's eyes, neither us nor the Eurasian Federation have ever been taken seriously from the beginning."
"And this time, Li Chengzhi's attendance at the banquet is most likely with some purpose."
"Then?" Mu stared at this rare intelligent person on the battleship and tentatively asked:
"Should we notify the Eurasian Federation military?"
"Why would we?"
Was it because she held a grudge over what happened in the previous meeting?
Or was it because Natarle had figured out the cause and effect afterwards, feeling that no one would believe her even if she spoke?
Or perhaps, in order to safely bring the Archangel back, they needed to rely on Wang Hu and his companion's strength.
In this peculiar situation, Natarle chose the rare path of playing dumb.
(End of Chapter)