Mu heard those earth-shaking slogans and felt ten thousand alpacas stampeding through his heart.
Of course there would be Blue Cosmos members within the Eighth Fleet - after all, Halberton belonged to the Atlantic Federation.
Wasn't it perfectly reasonable for those high-ranking officials of the Atlantic Federation to plant some moles within?
One must understand that history has witnessed even more absurd events than this.
Given Halberton's capabilities, maintaining overall control of the Eighth Fleet was already quite remarkable.
Wasn't this much better than having Brahmins appear within the military?
"Wang Hu!" Only at this moment did Mu truly understand what this man beside him and Admiral Halberton intended to do.
"Shameful... no, extremely wise."
Prostrating himself in admiration of Wang Hu and Halberton, Mu felt reinvigorated with boundless energy.
Although Mu had achieved sudden enlightenment and mentally prepared himself to be sidelined after this battle, Creuset - who was countless times more perceptive than his incompetent son and had now detected something suspicious - was far from pleased.
"Dunkirk Great Retreat!"
Creuset really wanted to curse. How could they simply abandon a fully-equipped fleet like the Eighth Fleet?
While later generations might glorify the Dunkirk Great Retreat, it represented absolute disgrace at the time!
The fact was that 330,000 Allied Forces abandoned all their weapons and equipment, retreating empty-handed to the islands - this was an absolute failure!
Never did he imagine that Wang Hu and Halberton would make the same decision here today.
Creuset desperately wanted to rush before them and ask: Have you no shame?
Do you still have any dignity left?
One is Qilin of East Asia, the Strongest Natural; the other is the renowned strategist of the Allied Forces.
To have devised such a strategy before the battle began - you've truly abandoned all sense of shame, haven't you!
"Captain Creuset, what does the enemy mean by this?"
Just as Creuset was fuming, an untactful subordinate approached him.
Yzak, who had mentally prepared for a fight to the death before the battle with determination to succeed or die, asked.
"The enemy wants to escape."
Taking several deep breaths, Creuset tried to suppress his irritation.
But the more he thought about it, the angrier he became, until he finally shouted through the internal communications:
"The enemy's Eighth Fleet intends to abandon all weapons and equipment, transferring to escape pods to descend into the Earth Sphere! Don't give them the chance!"
"The enemies before us are just buying time - don't engage them, charge forward directly!"
"Strike down the Eighth Fleet before they retreat! Shoot down even their escape pods!"
"What?" Hearing their Captain Creuset's words, all Coordinator soldiers including Yzak were shocked.
They're in the middle of a battle - can they really pull off such a move?
But before these bewildered Coordinator soldiers could ask further questions, Creuset called out the designations of several soldiers predetermined before the battle.
"P1 and P7, follow me! The rest of you, engage freely! Hit them hard!"
At this point, his objective had already failed. In that case!
Creuset, his face cold, led the carefully selected Red-clothed Elite and charged straight toward Wang Hu, who was piloting the Zeta Gundam as it rushed forward.
Meanwhile, Will, serving as the battleship commander in the rear, didn't wait for Creuset's orders. Having already guessed what the Eighth Fleet intended to do, he immediately advanced with 11 battleships, likely sharing the same attitude as Creuset.
If we let you Eighth Fleet members escape smoothly today, I might as well buy a noodle and hang myself on the spot.
Do you really think we're some fools from history? To just stand by and watch you run away!
"Bastard!" Dragoons on the back of the Gouf Ignited traced arcs of lightning across the void. Inside the cockpit, Creuset spoke rapidly.
"P1, move to distance 700, ORANGE, 23 MARK 16, BRAVO!"
"P2, move to distance 346, INDIGO, 12 MARK 32, CHARLEY!"
"P3—"
His mind racing, Creuset's spatial awareness was pushed to its absolute limit!
"Is Old Creuset going all out?"
Inside the Zeta Gundam's cockpit, Wang Hu watched as seven CGUE units, coordinating with Creuset, charged toward him. He, too, focused with every ounce of his attention.
Firmly gripping the control sticks, Wang Hu glanced back just before engaging the enemy, then surged forward to meet them head-on.
"Wang Hu!" Creuset shouted. Under his control, the Dragoons left afterimages across the cosmic expanse.
A barrage of beams rained down, not aiming to destroy Wang Hu outright—that was too unrealistic—but to restrict his movements. As long as the opponent couldn't maneuver freely, they could create a real opportunity to shoot down the Zeta Gundam!
Focusing his mind and calming his breath, Wang Hu expanded his spatial awareness. Fully aware of how dangerous Creuset was at this moment, he dared not be the slightest bit careless.
"The Dragoons aren't the real threat—the danger lies in—!"
In an instant, Wang Hu discerned Creuset's true killing move. But he had no choice now. To cover the Eighth Fleet's successful retreat, he had defined his own role in this battle as a living target!
A decoy to lure Creuset and the enemy's elite Mobile Suits!
Thus, the Zeta Gundam paid no heed to the beams fired by the enemy Dragoons!
"Boom, boom, boom."
Beams struck the shield in the Zeta Gundam's hand. Wang Hu pressed forward, enduring the barrage as he charged straight toward Creuset.
"P3!" His entire being intensely focused, Creuset watched the Zeta Gundam charging on the screen.
He drew the Beam Saber from his waist and, with a glance at his subordinates all in position, calmly said, "Understood."
The Red-clothed Elite designated P3 acknowledged over the comm.
Then, the CGUE that had moved to the Zeta Gundam's lower flank fired the rocket launcher mounted on its shoulder. To counter the PS Armor of the Allied Forces' Gundams, every warrior selected by Creuset this time was equipped with high-powered heavy weaponry!
As the old saying goes, there's no problem that one RPG can't solve. If there is, just fire a few more!
PS Armor isn't some divine equipment. This type of armor, which requires immense energy to function effectively—let this 900mm armor-piercing round end the myth!
Trailing a long plume of smoke, the massive rocket shot directly toward the still-advancing Zeta Gundam.
"Hmm?" Wang Hu's peripheral vision caught the incoming rocket; evading this kind of attack was simple.
But—
Raising his head, the panoramic cockpit provided Wang Hu with an expansive field of view.
So he clearly realized that no matter where he dodged, CGUEs were waiting for him from all directions!
"Feels like I'm not fighting Creuset, but..."
Grumbling under his breath, Wang Hu abruptly halted and rapidly fired his high-power Beam Rifle.
After the beam shot down the rocket, the Zeta Gundam drew its beam saber, swiftly blocking a CGUE that seized the opportunity to charge in for close combat.
Just after kicking away this overly brave CGUE that dared engage him in melee,
Without catching his breath, Wang Hu spun like a top, rapidly dodging left and right within the confined space.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom—"
A series of explosions erupted as five or six fireballs bloomed in space.
Wave after wave of rockets, coordinated with CGUEs intermittently lunging forward, proved the initial success of the tactics Creuset had painstakingly devised before the battle.
"Yes, just like this." Suppressed by Wang Hu for so long and repeatedly bested by him since the Nova incident,
Creuset, seeing Wang Hu genuinely cornered this time, couldn't help but reveal a frenzied expression, despite usually keeping his emotions hidden.
If—if he could shoot down Wang Hu here!
What did it matter if the Eighth Fleet escaped?
Wang Hu's value far exceeded that of the entire Eighth Fleet!
"P7, evade!" With Dragoons swirling around him, a hopeful and exhilarated Creuset excitedly issued commands.
Just moments ago, his Dragoons had thwarted a critical assault by Wang Hu, and his timely order allowed a CGUE to dodge Wang Hu's surprise attack.
"P3 and P4, close in for melee combat! P5 and P1, watch your positioning and provide cover as needed."
Through his efforts, Creuset gradually seized the initiative on the battlefield.
In his eyes, Wang Hu was like a moth trapped in a spider's web.
Though he still had the strength to struggle, sooner or later, he would be completely ensnared by the threads Creuset spun!
"Brother Wang Hu, over there?"
On another part of the battlefield, Kira was locked in combat with his old rival Athrun. Both having activated Seed Mode, their fight was equally intense.
Amid the chaos, Kira inadvertently noticed Wang Hu's situation. The brother he always saw as invincible
was actually at a disadvantage today, making his heart skip a beat.
"Where are you looking, Kira!"
Athrun seized the moment of Kira's distraction, roaring as the Aegis Gundam switched to MA Mode
and unleashed a Beam torrent straight at him.
"Athrun." Kira's vacant pupils contracted as he hurriedly maneuvered the Strike Gundam to evade.
But one misstep led to another. Previously evenly matched with Athrun,
this slight lapse allowed the Aegis Gundam to instantly overpower the Strike Gundam.
However, the unfavorable situations for both Kira and Wang Hu did buy the Eighth Fleet precious time.
"Admiral Halberton, everyone is ready."
On the flagship Menelaus, a balding man with a small mustache under his nose approached Halberton and reported.
Halberton gazed at the few remaining Moebius units that, under Mu's leadership, miraculously hadn't collapsed instantly against the Coordinators.
At this moment, the Blue Cosmos members he disliked were still using the foremost battleships as their positions, locked in a seesaw battle with ZAFT's Mobile Suits.
Halberton let out a long sigh. "Blue Cosmos? Hoffman, their fighting spirit is admirable."
Following the admiral's gaze, the mustached, balding man Hoffman also looked over.
"It's too late to say such things now, Admiral."
Though he was clearly Halberton's adjutant, his words carried obvious resentment.
"Hahaha, indeed." Halberton made no attempt to pretend otherwise, after all, he was the one who had pushed them out to die and buy time for the fleet.
Moreover, this Hoffman beside him had raised objections to his strategy early on.
"History will prove whether today's choice was correct." Halberton said with a light laugh.
"Hoffman, the military must not fall into the hands of fanatical extremists."
"And the highest authority of the Allied Forces must never fall into the hands of ambitious schemers with ulterior motives!"
"We are not thugs raised by some privileged class. Defending the nation and defending certain parasites - these are two entirely different concepts!"
(End of Chapter)