"All hands, maximum battle speed."
"Firefighting teams, be alert for acceleration effects. All combat personnel assume level one combat readiness."
Murrue sat upright in the captain's chair, her warm and gentle voice resonating throughout the battleship via the intercom. The unique charm of a woman's voice was like a spring breeze, soothing the pre-battle anxiety of everyone aboard.
Was this why Wang Hu had appointed her as captain?
Watching Murrue calmly mobilize the crew for battle, Li Chengzhi pondered and concluded this likely played a significant role.
Amid Murrue's soothing voice, rough men in the ship's hangar worked efficiently to replenish ammunition and supplies for the mobile suits of Wang Hu and his team.
Soon, the burly chief mechanic gave a thumbs-up to the pilots already seated in their cockpits, signaling preparations were complete.
"Haah..." Taking a deep breath of the crisp air, Kira piloted the Strike Gundam onto the catapult runway.
"Kira Yamato, Strike Gundam launching!"
Following closely, Wang Hu's Qilin and Mu's Moebius Zero were also catapulted out. However, unlike Wang Hu, both Kira and Mu didn't venture deep into space after leaving the Archangel. They maneuvered their units to guard their mothership as escorts.
Watching the purple Qilin streak toward the enemy ship alone, Kira unconsciously tightened his grip on the control stick.
"Brother Wang Hu... can he really do it?"
No matter how fearsome Wang Hu's reputation was, in Kira's eyes, sending him alone against a Laurasia-class battleship seemed too much—especially since the enemy were Coordinators like himself.
"Don't worry," Mu comforted, though still reeling from recent setbacks. "Though it pains me to admit, Wang Hu is different from us."
"Even I think the title 'Miracle Worker' suits him better. So Kira, watch closely—this is the true power of Wang Hu, the Qilin of the East Asian Army!"
"Mr. Mu..." Kira looked surprised at Mu's solemn yet admiring expression on the screen. Nodding half-understanding, Kira positioned the Strike Gundam on the Archangel's outer deck.
Brother Wang Hu, I'll keep my eyes wide open—to witness your heroic feat!
Meanwhile, aboard the Laurasia-class battleship Kamov traveling along the route to the Allied Forces lunar base...
"Still no sign of that new Allied Forces battleship 'Legged'?" asked Captain Serman from the command platform, his tone impatient.
Having been entrusted by Commander Creuset to pursue this vector, he was determined not to disappoint.
"Negative, Captain. Thermal sensors show no trace. The enemy's heat signature vanished suddenly," reported the radar officer after multiple verifications.
"Hmm?" Serman's eyebrows twitched, his disappointment evident.
"Decoy missiles? Damn those cunning Naturals! Why can't they fight us head-on like real men?"
Waving his hand dismissively, Serman concluded that since the Archangel wasn't in his pursuit vector, it must have gone toward Captain Creuset's position.
"Pity. We've been tricked by those bastards. Inform Captain Creuset about our findings here."
"Also, execute an immediate turnabout—let's see if we can catch up with the battle on the captain's side."
"Yes, sir!" Serman's adjutant shared his view and loudly acknowledged the captain's orders.
He was about to relay the commands to the crew and notify Creuset aboard the Nazca-class battleship when the radar officer who had made the earlier report stood up again, his voice tinged with urgency.
"Report! A large heat signature has suddenly appeared directly behind us at a distance of 3,479! Based on thermal readings, it's estimated to be the Allied Forces' new battleship, the Archangel!"
"What?" Stunned by the news, Captain Serman froze for several seconds.
Not ahead of us, where we've been relentlessly pursuing them, constantly worrying about being caught and missing their chance to escape... Now they're trying to ambush us instead? Since when did the Naturals of the Allied Forces grow so bold?
"Captain!" Seeing Serman still dazed, the adjutant shouted urgently. "They've used a diversionary tactic—it looks like they're trying to ambush us! And if it's that Wang Hu leading them... We should notify Captain Creuset immediately and have the allied forces on their way rendezvous with us!"
"Hmm?"
Serman, who in the original timeline had boldly rammed his battleship into the Eighth Fleet's flagship, was no coward. On the contrary, he was known within the military for his stern and unyielding demeanor. The mention of Wang Hu by his adjutant made him realize who had emboldened the Natural soldiers aboard the Archangel.
Faced with Wang Hu, whose reputation rivaled even Captain Creuset's, Serman felt a surge of competitive fire. "Deploy the MS Gene units and notify all allied ships. Tell them we'll hold the Archangel here and for them to converge as quickly as possible. If they're too slow, we might just sink the enemy ourselves!"
"Captain?" The adjutant could hardly believe his ears. Before setting out, Captain Creuset had been clear—they were only to locate the Archangel, not engage it directly! But his captain was...
"We can't run." Serman chuckled darkly, explaining to his adjutant, "Our battleship isn't built for speed. Even if we flee, we won't buy much time. Since the hunter has become the hunted, let's show these Allied Forces dogs whose bite is sharper! If we can hold them here until reinforcements arrive, crushing them will be a matter of minutes!"
Seeing his captain's resolve and hearing his sound reasoning, the adjutant stopped protesting. Still, as he watched the four Genes hastily launching from the battleship's hangar, an uneasy feeling settled over him.
"Here they come?"
Having maneuvered close to the Laurasia-class battleship, Wang Hu studied the Genes emerging to intercept him through his screen, rifles at the ready.
"Heh heh heh."
Closing his eyes, Wang Hu's spatial awareness silently expanded infinitely across this region of space.
Without Creuset here to stir up trouble, the Mobile Suits before him were nothing more than appetizers before the main feast!
In the ocean of his consciousness, he marked each enemy unit one by one as four Beam Pods detached from the main body of his machine.
"Open fire!"
His eyes snapped open, a cold glint flashing within them.
Phantom lightning danced across Wang Hu's forehead as the four Beam Pods, under his control, shot toward the enemies at impossible speeds and angles.
Then—
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" Four explosions illuminated the dark void.
Not even giving them time to leave last words in this world, four Genes that had launched from the battleship mere minutes ago were utterly erased from existence!
"How is this possible?!"
The crew on the bridge of the Laurasia-class battleship could hardly believe their eyes.
"Is this the power of the East Asian Qilin?" Captain Serman removed his hat, smiling bitterly.
But after that bitter smile, he raised his voice to rally his soldiers' morale.
"All hands, prepare for Mobile Armor assault! Show the resilience of the ZAFT Forces!"
"Aah... So this is Brother Wang Hu's true strength?"
Inside the Strike Gundam, Kira's mouth hung open. He felt like a complete fool.
All this time, he had actually worried about whether Wang Hu could handle Coordinators alone.
Turns out, the real fool was me all along!
(End of Chapter)