Witnessing the explosion of Artemis Fortress with his own eyes, Rau Le Creuset felt a metallic sweetness rise in his throat, the rusty scent of blood flooding his nostrils.
As someone who had experienced the lunar frontlines, the scene before him felt all too familiar.
It was practically identical to that previous incident!
Back then, the ZAFT Forces had launched a massive assault, swiftly suppressing key strongholds of the Allied Forces' lunar defense line. Just as they were on the verge of breaching the final barrier, the despicable Allied Forces employed a shameless self-destruct attack, wiping out the ZAFT assault troops at the time.
And now!
Artemis Fortress had exploded!
Massive chunks of rock and metal components, propelled by immense kinetic energy with the force of meteors striking Earth, obliterated the battleships he had gathered through trust and credibility.
No matter how majestic or indestructible these man-made steel marvels were, they were utterly powerless against this cataclysm of heavenly wrath.
ZAFT's warships were like paper boats in a mischievous child's hands, casually crumpled and trampled amid laughter.
If the battleships suffered such a fate, there was no need to even mention the MS GINNs or the marines who had breached the fortress.
Certain death! This outcome was inevitable!
"Wang Hu! Wang Hu!" A venomous roar echoed across the battlefield from the CGUE's cockpit via communication waves.
Thanks to his exceptional skills, Creuset managed to avoid being struck by the debris scattered by the fortress explosion.
But the sight on his screen—the battleships groaning and sinking due to the fortress's chain reaction explosions—made his heart convulse and his blood pressure skyrocket!
As for the GINNs and marines, they had already fallen beyond his concern.
"My, the Eurasian Federation Army soldiers are quite spirited! They actually detonated the fortress's energy core and ammunition depots directly."
Having already crossed the line once, why hesitate to go all the way? This was far from the first time he had infuriated Creuset.
Hearing the other's venomous voice, Wang Hu immediately responded over the comms, though his face bore a tinge of melancholy as he spoke.
"I truly didn't expect this, Creuset. You can't blame me!"
"Wang Hu!" A mouthful of blood finally burst forth, uncontrollable. Creuset could only think: In all my life, I've never seen someone so shameless!
The Eurasian Federation Army resorting to a self-destruct attack?
Are you treating me like a three-year-old child?
Or do you purely think I'm a monkey you can toy with at will?
Self-destruction is something your East Asian Army would do, or those radicals in the Atlantic Federation Army—but the Eurasian Federation Army, that bunch of bureaucrats, would never dare!
Based on his understanding of the three main components of the Allied Forces, if the Eurasian Federation Army truly dared to do such a thing, he'd gladly let Wang Hu twist his head off and use it as a football!
And another thing! Did you think I was blind?
While evading the meteor attacks, Creuset noticed something: the Archangel, which had headed toward a specific location right from the start of the battle.
The area where that ship was now located hadn't been struck by a single meteor.
No, that wasn't quite accurate.
To be precise, not a single dangerous meteor had attacked that area!
How could such a coincidence exist in this world?
With these two pieces put together, if Creuset still couldn't figure out the underlying reasons, he might as well buy a noodle to end himself.
"You planned this! Everything was calculated by you! Wang Hu!"
Another mouthful of blood spilled out, but Creuset didn't even bother wiping it away. It was foreseeable how much trouble this failed operation would bring him.
First, there was the unauthorized rampage that breached the neutral nation of Orb's Heliopolis colony, sparking diplomatic turmoil.
Then, there was the misuse of privileges to summon a fleet, only to have four battleships wiped out single-handedly by Wang Hu, followed by the entire fleet being annihilated here at Artemis.
Even as Rau Le Creuset, facing such massive casualties—
Compounded by the failure to capture the primary target of the landing operation, the East Asian Army's spaceport, criticism was flying everywhere between the homeland and the military command!
"Wang Hu! Wang Hu!"
Like a cuckoo crying blood or an old ape wailing in sorrow, it was enough to move listeners to tears and break their hearts.
Creuset actually reached a point where his mind nearly snapped. The CGUE's movements shifted abruptly, stubbornly enduring the constant barrage of meteors falling from above.
He made a show of it, determined to take down Wang Hu, the mastermind behind it all, even under these circumstances.
He was willing to stake his own life without hesitation!
"Is this guy insane?"
Noticing Creuset charging recklessly toward him with fierce determination, Wang Hu was startled for a moment before turning and fleeing.
After all, he had no desire to risk his life in a battlefield plagued by natural disasters.
As he fled, his eyes darted around, and he glanced toward Kira and Athrun, who had separated from their grappling state due to the cataclysm.
Both of them were also doing their utmost to evade the dangers raining down from above.
"How... how could this be?"
On the bridge of the Archangel, Natarle Badgiruel was stunned, Murrue was dumbfounded, and the entire crew was as frightened as quails by the sudden, drastic change.
Especially Natarle Badgiruel, who had nearly erupted into another argument with Li Chengzhi earlier—she was the most incredulous of all.
Like Creuset, she never believed the Eurasian Federation Army in the Artemis Fortress would have such guts.
In fact, she would have been impressed if these bureaucratic soldiers had simply refused to surrender.
"Did you anticipate this all along?" Murrue suddenly jumped up and asked.
"Just a speculation," Li Chengzhi replied, his hands unseen, nails already digging deep into his palms.
Yet outwardly, he remained composed.
"Now is not the time to discuss such matters."
He quickly shifted the topic to prevent the bridge crew, mainly Murrue, from fixating on the fortress's self-destruction.
"The self-destruction of the Artemis Fortress has nearly annihilated the ZAFT Forces fleet pursuing us. Given that the enemy is focusing their main forces on the landing operation,
and considering they must also allocate troops to garrison key strategic points and defend their homeland,
the enemy forces currently in this area should be all the mobile forces they can deploy in the vicinity!"
"After this battle, the obstacles ahead of us will be cleared, leaving only the three enemy Nazca-class battleships brought by Creuset to snipe us!"
"Taking advantage of the enemy's disarray and panic, if our ship takes the initiative to attack, we have a seventy percent chance of victory!"
Li Chengzhi gritted his teeth, his eyes resolute, determined not to let the efforts of those agents who might have sacrificed themselves go to waste.
He must clear all obstacles here, including that Creuset!
"Captain Li Chengzhi?" No one else noticed, but Natarle Badgiruel was the only one who spotted the bloodstains on Captain Li Chengzhi's military trousers.
Could it be? As someone who couldn't tolerate the slightest impurity in her eyes, she pondered thoughtfully. Indeed, facing a situation where they were outnumbered by enemies while also dealing with internal disagreements...
The current situation was almost too good to be true!
"As soon as the explosions subside, our ship will advance immediately!"
"Target: the enemy's remaining three Nazca-class Battleships!"
When a decision needed to be made, it had to be made decisively - otherwise they would suffer the consequences. Once again, while everyone else on the bridge was still bewildered, Natarle Badgiruel was the first to stand up and decisively express her support for Li Chengzhi.
"Natarle?" Murrue looked at her partner with dazed eyes.
Wasn't she supposed to dislike Wang Hu and Li Chengzhi?
Why had she been agreeing with them several times now?
"Natarle..."
His eyes wandering, Li Chengzhi glanced back at the determined woman and felt a sudden stirring in his heart.
For no apparent reason, a thought emerged in his mind: Perhaps setting aside our positions, she and I might get along quite well?
"Hurry up!"
Completely unaware of what Li Chengzhi was thinking, Natarle Badgiruel raised her voice by several decibels.
She urged the bridge crew to quickly make preparations!
So they could respond to the battlefield situation at any moment after the meteor shower impacts ended!
"Ah, yes!"
With Natarle Badgiruel's instructions and reminders, the helmsman, gunners, and others finally snapped back to attention.
They quickly calculated in their minds - regardless of the Artemis Fortress situation for now, the current opportunity was truly once-in-a-lifetime!
It would be such a pity to miss this chance. So they rolled up their sleeves and prepared to properly show the ZAFT fleet that had been chasing them like stubborn adhesive plasters just why the Horse King has three eyes!
(End of Chapter)