Without following the strategic genius to the bridge, Li Chengzhi instead went to Wang Hu's room.
Li Chengzhi recalled Halberton's behavior earlier in the hangar.
He said to Wang Hu, "Initially, Halberton hadn't made the decision to use our military equipment."
"It was only after seeing the Zeta Gundam's cockpit that he made an impromptu decision."
"Even bringing up the matter of Artemis Fortress earlier was meant to lay the groundwork for later negotiations with us and our military."
"Exactly." Wang Hu nodded in agreement with his friend's assessment. "That's why he deserves the title of strategic genius."
"With Halberton's reputation, he could swallow his pride and find an excuse to detain our Zeta Gundam here, just like what we did at Artemis Fortress."
"Those shameless fools in the Atlantic Federation Army would definitely support him fully. By doing this, Halberton would also be genuinely regarded as one of them by those idiots."
"Considering Halberton's personal career prospects and his reputation within the Atlantic Federation Army, detaining the Zeta Gundam would bring nothing but benefits."
"On the contrary, openly supporting the East Asian Army's Mobile Suits as the Allied Forces' standard equipment would be a conventional mistake."
"Should we let him die?"
Both men in the room understood the reasoning behind this, so Li Chengzhi didn't waste words expressing admiration for Halberton.
Instead, he directly asked this question.
After all, if everything Wang Hu had told him about what was supposed to happen in this world was true,
Then the Eighth Fleet in near-Earth orbit would soon become history.
Even though this world had seen the unexpected rise of the East Asian Alliance, and now had a Super Ace like Wang Hu and the Zeta Gundam here,
Plus Creuset had repeatedly suffered defeats at the hands of his friend Wang Hu,
Anyone who would underestimate the masked man and think he was no longer dangerous based on this
Was either foolish or malicious!
Putting himself in the enemy's shoes, Li Chengzhi tried to think from Creuset's perspective.
If he were truly determined to launch a surprise attack on the Eighth Fleet and devastate it as in the original history,
Li Chengzhi himself could come up with several plans, since there was only one Wang Hu and only one Zeta Gundam.
Overall, the Eighth Fleet hadn't received any substantial enhancements compared to the same period in the original timeline.
Yet the enemy ZAFT Forces, hidden who knows where, had genuinely become several times stronger.
"A desperate fight might not achieve much." Wang Hu was also considering his friend's opinion.
Halberton, who had a strategic vision completely unlike most Atlantic Federation people, had now clearly aligned himself with the East Asian side.
Although he was unpopular among the upper echelons of the Atlantic Federation Army, he unexpectedly enjoyed support from a considerable number of lower-ranking traditionalist officers and soldiers.
At this point in time, the main force of the Atlantic Federation Army hadn't yet been devastated by the Coordinators' Genesis weapon.
Unlike during the Second War when they completely became yes-men for Blue Cosmos, there were still many potential allies within the current Atlantic Federation Army.
"The reason the Allied Forces performed so abnormally poorly in the Second War as you remember it," Li Chengzhi stared at Wang Hu and spoke slowly.
"Halberton's death was one factor. After he fell—the banner of the rational faction within the Atlantic Federation Army—the fools in the upper echelons lost their counterbalance and began acting recklessly."
"Another reason was that Genesis wiped out too many of the Atlantic Federation Army's truly elite veterans. To rebuild their military strength, Blue Cosmos took the opportunity to fill the ranks with countless supporters."
"Therefore, Halberton must not die."
Mistakenly thinking that Wang Hu's statement about a desperate fight not changing the outcome was because his friend wanted to prove the accuracy of his future intelligence, Li Chengzhi unconsciously escalated the situation in this manner.
"Hmm?" Wang Hu looked up at his friend who was staring at him, and after a moment's thought, he guessed that the other had misunderstood him.
"If Creuset attacks the Eighth Fleet, what method is he most likely to choose?" Wang Hu asked without directly revealing his own plans.
As the saying goes, two heads are better than one—he wanted to hear his friend's tactical arrangements.
"The enemy force consists of elites drawn from PLANT's homeland defense," Li Chengzhi thought for a moment and offered his analysis for his friend's reference.
"During the previous vanguard engagement, because your Zeta Gundam made its debut, the enemy was unfamiliar with its capabilities and you caught them off guard."
"But just as the enemy has now found ways to counter your Qilin, in the next battle Creuset will also be able to devise tactics specifically targeting your Zeta Gundam."
"This way your deterrent effect would be contained, and the remaining enemy forces could calmly breach the Eighth Fleet's defenses."
Yes, Wang Hu had considered this too—if Creuset led a team to intercept him, the enemy's four Gundams combined with their Mobile Suit forces could easily take down an entire Eighth Fleet.
In the original history, Creuset with just two battleships managed to eliminate Halberton, without even needing to deploy personally.
Now, under the same logic, would it really become difficult just because he was added to the equation?
After all, the enemy currently had eleven battleships!
"So do you have any good ideas?Wang Hu spread his hands, throwing the tricky problem back to Li Chengzhi.
"This..." Li Chengzhi's expression froze. He knew the current situation was hard to resolve, but Wang Hu had always given off an air of being omnipotent.
Could it be that even Wang Hu had no solution?
After all he'd said, was Wang Hu still unable to save Halberton?
"Heh." Wang Hu's laughter was rather unpleasant, and Li Chengzhi's face showed signs of irritation.
Just as Li Chengzhi occasionally felt like losing his temper, Wang Hu pushed the door open and walked out.
"Where are you going?" Li Chengzhi called after Wang Hu's retreating figure.
Without responding, Wang Hu just waved dismissively behind his back and continued on his way.
Meanwhile, on the Archangel's bridge, Halberton was explaining his considerations to Murrue and the others.
From the perspective of a high-ranking Allied Forces officer, Halberton carefully analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of the current military situation.
He bluntly pointed out the internal power struggles within the Allied Forces, particularly Blue Cosmos' infiltration of the Atlantic Federation Army.
After listening to the admiral's speech—which was entirely motivated by his love for the Allied Forces and Naturals—about the difficult choices and great sacrifices he had made, everyone was moved by his selflessness and noble character.
Murrue and the others' loyalty was undoubtedly solidified to the maximum.
"Admiral Halberton, we will unite around you and resolutely oppose the unhealthy tendencies within the Allied Forces to the very end."
Finally, as the representative of the group, Murrue expressed their determination to the admiral.
Halberton looked at the people before him with satisfaction—this was exactly the effect he wanted.
As someone who had risen to the ranks of high-level officers, his moral character was naturally beyond reproach, and his words to Murrue and the others were sincere.
But if you thought he was an honest and simple man, you would be gravely mistaken.
Halberton was someone who clearly understood his position and where his support lay!
Just as he was about to speak again to further consolidate Murrue and the others' loyalty—
Swoosh. The bridge door suddenly opened, and Wang Hu—who, in Murrue's eyes, now appeared selfish and solely aligned with the East Asian Army—walked in.
Seeing Wang Hu, whose face seemed repulsive due to their biases, not a single one of Murrue's group could muster a pleasant expression.
Each of them cast slightly accusatory glances his way.
Impressive, Wang Hu thought as he took in their expressions, feeling a renewed sense of respect for that shrewd old man.
Before Halberton's arrival, everyone on the Archangel had been subdued by his combat achievements and prestige.
While they weren't blindly obedient to the point of following every order without question, they were generally compliant.
Yet in just a few minutes, these people now dared to bare their teeth at him?
"Captain Wang Hu, what brings you here?" Murrue acted as Halberton's spokesperson, her tone neutral as she addressed Wang Hu.
"I'd like to speak with the admiral alone." Wang Hu smiled slightly and extended the invitation directly to Halberton.
"Oh?" Halberton was slightly surprised, studying Wang Hu who had openly requested a private conversation.
Curious about what the other man wanted to say, he waved off Murrue and the others—who were reluctant to let Wang Hu speak with him privately—and had them leave first.
After Murrue and the others exited with expressions of resistance and concern, Halberton calmly turned his attention to Wang Hu, signaling for him to speak.
"I'm here to save the lives of everyone in the Eighth Fleet."
Wang Hu's opening statement was deliberately shocking, delivered with an attitude of aiming to startle.
"The Eighth Fleet's lives?" Halberton was no fool; how could he be frightened by such words?
"Are you referring to the Creuset team pursuing the Archangel?"
He had already learned about this from the advance team, and it was one of the factors that had influenced his decision change.
Known as a strategic commander, Halberton was well aware that his Eighth Fleet was no match for the currently powerful Creuset team.
With a formidable external enemy at hand, it would be suicidal to engage in internal strife with Wang Hu and the others over the Zeta Gundam.
And look, Wang Hu had come to him on his own initiative.
He's proactively offering to solve my problems.
Everything is falling into place!
He's definitely not an honest man, Wang Hu thought, observing Admiral Halberton's expression. He realized that the other man had likely already considered the very ideas in his mind.
He was simply waiting for Wang Hu to voice them first.
I made a mistake by underestimating others too much.
But to protect Halberton and preserve the entire Eighth Fleet, Wang Hu slowly began to speak.
"Your Excellency, I believe..."
"Captain Creuset, I am very disappointed in you."
Aboard the Vesalius, hidden just beyond the Eighth Fleet's reconnaissance perimeter, Creuset had arranged for a small space shuttle to send Lacus away.
Shortly after returning to his own quarters, he received a communication from Patrick, the supreme commander of the ZAFT Forces.
Without even the hypocritical pretense of formal greetings, completely disregarding how Creuset had at least saved his daughter-in-law, Chairman Patrick launched into a furious tirade against Captain Creuset. Actually, one couldn't really blame Patrick.
Even Creuset himself, who was being berated, knew that being merely scolded was the best outcome he could hope for given the current situation.
The fact that he hadn't been stripped of all his positions and recalled to the homeland, but was still allowed to continue leading troops in the field...
The Chairman must be under tremendous pressure.
"Creuset, to counter the Allied Forces, especially the East Asian Army, we are conducting large-scale recruitment back home."
"Furthermore, in preparation for the Guillotine Operation, I don't want to see you wasting any more of ZAFT's precious military strength."
Rubbing the bridge of his nose, frustrated by the incomplete success of the landing operation, Patrick was considering simply ordering Creuset to bring his troops back.
After all, the forces currently under Creuset's command were homeland defense units, and his recent battle records had been disastrously poor.
If he failed again, Patrick wouldn't know how to explain it to the Council.
How did such a military idol, who had always enjoyed smooth sailing, fall to such a state?
Back home, people were even throwing rotten eggs at Creuset's propaganda posters!
"Chairman Patrick." Creuset had initially been somewhat worried about being sidelined, but upon hearing about the large-scale recruitment back home...
His spirits lifted. After all, his ambition wasn't merely for Coordinators to dominate the world, but rather...
(End of Chapter)