With Yzak's Freedom Justice Guetz skewered on his bayonet, his mobile suit curved like a thoroughly cooked shrimp.
Bent into an arch on Wang Hu's bayonet.
He had deliberately chosen a position fatal enough, yet one that wouldn't cause the nuclear energy system within his mobile suit to explode.
Wang Hu held Yzak aloft, like a general from ancient times challenging enemies before battle.
Boasting of his achievement to all the ZAFT Forces defenders of Boaz Fortress.
First the morale rises, then it plateaus, and finally it exhausts itself.
At this point, General Zheng's strategy was declared a success.
Sure enough, the Boaz Fortress defenders, who had previously been stirred up by the efforts of Yzak and Dearka.
And seemed to have their morale boosted, now collectively fell silent as their restless energy dissipated.
"We can't win."
"The opponent is that Kirin Wang Hu, after all."
"The East Asian Army is the strongest military in the world, while our ZAFT Forces were originally just a militia organization."
One by one, slowly, some Coordinators began spreading discouraging words.
Compared to the total number of Boaz defenders, these disheartened soldiers were certainly few.
But everyone knows the principle that a long dike can collapse due to an ant hole—when people within an army start losing faith in their own forces.
Usually, that army won't last much longer.
"Oh?"
Sensing the change in enemy morale keenly, General Zheng in the East Asia Fleet decisively issued the order for a full-scale assault.
Instantly, under General Zheng's command, the East Asian Army fleet surged forth like a tiger descending a mountain or a dragon overturning the sea.
The fleet formation, originally advancing in a cone shape, suddenly spread out its left and right wings.
Completely disregarding the ZAFT Forces scattered around Boaz Fortress.
The East Asian Army, right before the enemy's eyes, intended to surround the biggest obstacle in front of them.
Boaz Fortress.
Of course, the seasoned General Zheng hadn't forgotten the ZAFT Forces spread around the fortress like scattered blossoms.
He called up warships from the rear forces; these loyal and brave East Asian soldiers would be responsible for engaging the enemy around Boaz Fortress.
Given the enemy's deployment from the start, there was no hope of completely annihilating them anyway.
Insisting on a perfectly rounded outcome would be like carving marks on a moving boat—foolish and pointless.
Therefore, General Zheng gave only one requirement to these soldiers from the rear forces.
That was to protect their own lives as much as possible. If the enemy's will to fight wasn't very strong.
They could engage them intermittently and drag out the battle. Even if the enemy tried to flee, there was no need to pursue too closely.
A symbolic chase would suffice.
"Boom, boom, boom."
Following General Zheng's arrangement, the central fleet continued bombarding the enemy's Boaz Fortress.
The Ying Zheng's City Breaking Cannon served as the absolute main force. It was still remembered that during the Second War, the main cannon of the Coordinator vessel Minerva.
Its most remarkable achievement was blasting apart a fragment of Junius Seven.
This shows the considerable power of the City Breaking Cannon.
Thus, every shot from the Ying Zheng tore away large chunks of the external armor from the enemy's Boaz Fortress.
If it weren't for the fact that the ZAFT Forces had indeed put great effort into Boaz Fortress.
I'm afraid the approaching Ying Zheng alone, with just this single battleship, could completely suppress the fortress before us.
Watching the Ying Zheng's overwhelmingly domineering attacks, the other East Asian Alliance warships weren't idle either.
To pave the way for subsequent combat operations, the Wuan-class Heavy Cruisers used their broad hulls and formidable firepower, coordinating with the Tongwu-class battleships specialized in anti-aircraft defense.
Together they formed an impregnable mobile Great Wall, providing cover for the landing ships arriving later.
While attacking the stubborn Coordinator Mobile Suits that continued to resist desperately, they also systematically cleared the selected landing zones on Boaz Fortress where their own landing crafts were scheduled to breach the enemy fortress.
Thus, under the cover of Wuan-class and Tongwu-class warships, the landing fleet flew over Boaz Fortress.
Leisurely, they deployed the Assault Landing Crafts, filled to capacity with East Asian Alliance Space Marine Corps.
Along with what had now become essential supplementary combat power for East Asian Alliance warriors - various types of Unmanned Intelligent Combat Spiders.
"The situation is beyond recovery."
The garrison commander of Boaz Fortress watched sorrowfully on the screens.
His own warships were being chased around like ducks by the East Asian Alliance fleet.
The ZAFT Forces Mobile Suits, having lost their will to fight, were being shot down one by one by East Asian Alliance MS.
Even this Boaz Fortress beneath his feet, into which PLANT had poured all its efforts, modeled after the East Asian Alliance's Nova Fortress.
Ultimately failed to replicate the miracle once created by the East Asian Alliance's Nova Fortress. Its fall seemed only a matter of time.
"Your Excellency, Commander."
Seeing the commander's desolate expression in the command room, an officer timely stepped forward.
"Before the enemy completes their encirclement..."
"Should you make a strategic withdrawal first?"
"Hahaha."
Hearing his subordinate actually suggesting he escape first, even if using the elegant term "strategic withdrawal."
The garrison commander laughed in extreme anger.
He didn't know when it started - when did the ZAFT Forces, this military full of hope and vitality, degenerate to such a state?
"I!"
He wanted to scold them, but with the battle situation deteriorating so badly, the garrison commander felt ashamed to criticize his subordinates' cowardice.
Wanting to issue new commands, to create even the smallest glimmer of hope in this unfavorable battle situation.
To prevent the East Asian Alliance from monopolizing all the glory, yet the garrison commander admitted he lacked such capability.
"Sigh."
Heaving a heavy sigh, the exhausted garrison commander was about to abandon all hope when.
"Your Excellency, Commander, please look at this."
Suddenly, as the dispirited commander stood there, an officer approached and said.
"This is?"
Staring at the dispatch handed by his subordinate, reading its contents, the Boaz Fortress garrison commander felt both shocked and delighted.
"Is this true?"
Facing the commander's inquiry, the officer nodded firmly.
"Hahaha."
This time his laughter was hearty, the garrison commander's eyes filled with anticipation for the coming spectacle.
"Naturals, hmph, Naturals."
"Indeed, Naturals will never learn to unite."
"Huh?"
Having completed his assigned tasks, Wang Hu remained in position, still engaging Yzak's Freedom Justice Guetz.
Currently, Wang Hu appeared to be openly slacking off on the battlefield.
But among the warships and Mobile Suits flying past him, not a single one criticized his lazy behavior.
Thanks to this, Wang Hu vaguely sensed something unusual on the battlefield.
"Has the enemy's resistance intensified?"
In Wang Hu's view, the Coordinators had transformed from a scattered flock—where they would flee like panicked ducks whenever East Asian Alliance soldiers charged—into a force that no longer collapsed at the first touch. In some areas, they had even organized decent counterattacks.
"Are our soldiers really that incompetent?"
Stroking his chin, Wang Hu pondered why this was happening. General Zheng's plan had clearly succeeded, and the enemy's morale had plummeted to the brink of collapse. Logically, this shouldn't be occurring. Unless... their own soldiers' combat effectiveness was so abysmal it was unbearable to watch. After several engagements, the enemy might have suddenly realized that the East Asian Army was like a paper tiger—intimidating at a glance but lacking real strength. Thus, their shattered morale was artificially bolstered by the East Asian Army's own inadequacies.
"Impossible."
Wang Hu shook his head, dismissing the idea as sheer fantasy.
"Then... have reinforcements arrived?"
Muttering to himself, Wang Hu maneuvered the Lightning Z Gundam upward, essentially using Yzak as a mere ornament. Wherever the Lightning Z Gundam went, it dragged the Freedom Justice Guetz along.
"Could Patrick have thrown his entire arsenal into this, planning to fight us to the death here?"
Reaching the highest point of the battlefield, Wang Hu gazed into the distance behind the Boaz Fortress. Although he didn't believe the esteemed Chairman would commit such madness—abandoning the PLANT homeland to gamble everything against the East Asian Alliance here—the possibility couldn't be entirely ruled out.
"Nothing?"
Scanning the area behind Boaz Fortress, Wang Hu saw no signs of the massive ZAFT reinforcements he had anticipated. This only deepened his confusion. Where was this sudden surge of morale among the ZAFT Forces coming from?
Puzzled, Wang Hu's peripheral vision accidentally caught a glimpse of their own fleet's rear. Far in the distance, tiny points of light appeared—clearly the exhaust flames of battleships.
"The Atlantic Federation Army?"
Zooming in with optical imaging, Wang Hu carefully examined the silhouettes of the approaching battleships. To his astonishment, they belonged to the Atlantic Federation Army!
"What is the Atlantic Federation Army doing here?"
Naturally, if Wang Hu could detect the unexplained arrival of the Atlantic Federation forces, so could General Zheng, who was stationed aboard the flagship Ying Zheng. He had also received alerts from patrol ships on the battlefield's periphery.
"Unknown. Are they here to steal credit?"
Upon hearing General Zheng's question, Chief of Staff Jiang considered for a moment and offered a possibility. With their emblem of a black-and-white painted eagle, credit-stealing was a common tactic of theirs. In the old history of World War II, records clearly showed that the now-dissolved former superpower had contributed the most and eliminated the most enemies. Yet, post-war, the Atlantic Federation, wielding global influence, twisted public perception through media and film, distorting the narrative until it seemed as if they alone had secured victory in World War II.
"Possibly."
A wave of displeasure rose in General Zheng's heart. He was fiercely protective of his own. The Atlantic Federation hadn't even bothered to consult them, dispatching this fleet just as they were on the verge of a major victory.
Isn't this just pure annoyance?
If this Atlantic Federation fleet reaches the battlefield and fires even a single shot, just wait and see how these shameless Atlantic Federation officials will boast to the whole world after the war, claiming all the victory was theirs!
"Drive them away," General Zheng waved his hand with clear disgust, his tone unpleasant.
"Alright."
Without much thought, Chief of Staff Jiang also didn't want this perfectly good victory to be tainted by even the slightest flaw. He promptly arranged for the East Asian Army warships in the rear to dispatch a fleet equal in number to the newly arrived Atlantic Federation fleet, in order to drive away these unwelcome guests who came shamelessly seeking to profit from others' efforts.
At first, it seemed the matter would end there. No one in the East Asian Army, including Wang Hu, paid it any further attention. Little did they know that just as the East Asian soldiers on the battlefield had put this minor episode behind them and refocused on dealing with the enemy Coordinators of the ZAFT Forces before them, a blinding light erupted from behind them.
The intense brightness was as startling as staring directly into a high-explosive flashbang without any preparation. "The Light of Peace?" Squinting against the piercing glare from behind, even though the Mobile Suits and the intelligent systems on the warships quickly switched to shading mode, many soldiers were caught off guard and suffered setbacks. Seizing the opportunity, the seemingly well-prepared Coordinator soldiers launched a fierce counterattack, turning the tide momentarily!
(End of Chapter)