The moment the battle began, the East Asian Army's ferocity delivered a solid blow to the Coordinators.
Even without deploying the Goddess of Love, it seemed the East Asian Army's sheer strength was more than the ZAFT Forces' Boaz Fortress defenders could handle.
Faced with the East Asian Army's display of the Umbrella of the Moon—installable on battleships—and a firepower network beyond Coordinator comprehension,
especially after ZAFT Forces' battleships and Mobile Suits witnessed the meaningless deaths of the suicide squad,
they hesitated to advance.
Fear of death is, after all, human nature, and they were up against the East Asian Army, renowned for its benevolence.
Since they couldn't even scratch the enemy, despite the cause of defending their homeland,
the clever Coordinators began to harbor some troubling thoughts in their hearts.
Seeing this and growing anxious, the Boaz Fortress defense commander understood the Coordinators' nature all too well.
PLANT had not been established for long, and its military was equally young.
In truth, the entire PLANT and ZAFT Forces were a hastily assembled rabble, held together solely by hatred and a string of victories.
As for national cohesion or military spirit,
there was none to speak of.
This is a common flaw of young immigrant nations, especially in this timeline where the monstrous East Asian Alliance existed,
denying PLANT any chance to cross the threshold of proper state-building.
On the battlefield, the East Asian Army shattered ZAFT's backbone; off it, through various means, they nearly tore apart the Coordinator community in PLANT's homeland.
"What to do, what to do?"
Frowning, the defense commander was at a loss.
Fortunately, as the saying goes, "Loyalty is revealed in turmoil, resilience in the storm."
At this critical moment, three meteors blazing with brilliant light emerged from behind Boaz Fortress.
Three fresh reinforcements had arrived from the homeland—or were they just cannon fodder sent to their deaths?
Seeing the Boaz Fortress defenders hesitating, wanting to fight but afraid, wanting to retreat but lacking the courage,
Yzak, who had recently experienced many events and matured greatly,
having received loving guidance from his dear mother and endured many hard knocks to grow up,
roared angrily in ZAFT Forces' internal channel.
"Yzak Joule?"
Many soldiers on the battlefield saw the white-haired man on their screens turning into a trash-talker.
This guy was a household name to most.
The famously tragic man from the former Creuset team.
Every time he swore to achieve victory, he ended in failure. If not for his mother's backing,
that red uniform of his would have been stripped off long ago.
And despite his righteous scolding in the communications, if it came down to actual combat records,
did Yzak have any victories to his name?
Soldiers are, after all, a group that judges by merit. Without achievements, how could he expect others to obey him based on status alone?
Impossible!
"Yzak, stop yelling."
Dearka, following behind his friend, covered his forehead and switched through several video feeds from the Boaz Fortress defenders.
After briefly observing his allies' expressions, Dearka grew deeply concerned that Yzak's cursing wouldn't inspire their fighting spirit at all.
It might even lead them to take potshots at Yzak during the upcoming battle.
Ignoring Dearka's attempts to dissuade him, Yzak continued ranting for a while longer, accusing their battlefield allies of being complete cowards.
After cutting off communications, Yzak's demeanor shifted completely as he turned to address Dearka and Heine.
"Were their eyes shooting flames?"
"Yes."
Heine nodded, his gaze fixed on Yzak seated in the yellow Freedom Justice Guetz as he confirmed.
"But not directed at the enemy - all of it was aimed at you."
"My suggestion is that you shouldn't join up with the allied forces. Otherwise, I'm seriously concerned you'll take a bullet in the back and leave the battlefield that way."
"If that happens, it would be quite troublesome to explain when we return."
"I know." The white-haired pilot showed a knowing smile.
"At least they still have the capacity for anger, which proves they haven't reached the point of being completely hopeless."
To put it nicely, the reason Yzak and his two companions were here was to provide reinforcements. To put it bluntly, they were here to atone for their mistakes through meritorious service.
Since Ezalia hadn't given Patrick the satisfaction by making Yzak a shield to attract fire from Clyne Faction supporters, Patrick - now overwhelmed and nearly driven mad - couldn't be expected to go easy on the mother and son pair.
Thus Yzak and his team found themselves kicked out to Boaz Fortress.
"You two go join up with the allied forces."
Beneath his calm expression, Yzak said something that made Dearka and Heine pale with shock.
"I'll break through the East Asia Fleet's defensive fire network."
"You're insane, Yzak!"
Hearing this, Dearka couldn't remain seated. Before Yzak could depart, he grabbed his friend's controls to prevent acceleration.
"Going alone is suicide!"
No matter what, Dearka was determined not to let his friend do something so reckless.
"You don't understand."
On the screen in Dearka's cockpit, Yzak's expression remained calm, yet beneath that calmness burned absolute resolve.
This Yzak didn't seem like the person Dearka knew.
"Their courage has been shattered by the East Asian Army. If this continues, Boaz Fortress can't be held."
Yzak pointed toward their allies hovering motionlessly around the East Asia Fleet in the distance.
"So what? We just do our best, even if it means dying here."
"But I won't agree to meaningless suicide! Yzak, we're not the main characters!"
Shifting his gaze, Dearka wasn't completely ignorant of Yzak's intentions.
He simply wanted to use his own death, combined with his earlier taunts toward their allies, to reignite the fortress defenders' courage.
But easier said than done - how could he simply watch his friend throw his life away?
"No one is born the main character of this world."
"But even if I'm not this world's protagonist..."
"At the very least, I want to protect what matters to me."
"No matter what powerful enemy we face, I still want to fight for my comrades, for the Homeland behind us."
"To raise the sword in my hand and defeat evil, to overcome powerful foes."
"This way, at least I can become the main character of my own life."
He smiled, a genuine smile directed at Dearka who was sincerely concerned for him through the screen.
Yzak manipulated the Freedom Justice Guetz to raise its hand, forcefully prying open the Buster Gundam's grip on his mobile suit.
Creak, creak.
The sound of metal grinding transmitted into Dearka's cockpit.
This noise seemed to symbolize Yzak's determination.
"You!"
Dearka was momentarily stunned. He had always been the mature and sensible one in front of Yzak.
Even though he could be sly at times, Dearka never believed Yzak could persuade him with words.
Between the two of them, it should be me, Dearka, who could convince the other!
But now, right here—
"Dearka, let him do it."
Heine, who had been listening to everything, chose to stand by Yzak's side.
Being the most worldly-wise among the three, he quietly did something else—
He secretly broadcast Yzak and Dearka's conversation to all the Boaz Fortress defenders present.
"Heine!"
Furious, Dearka turned his head and glared at his later-joined comrade.
He wanted to blame Heine for siding with Yzak at this moment.
But after opening his mouth, Dearka dejectedly lowered his head.
Unconsciously, Dearka abandoned his own stance in his heart.
"I'm leaving now. See you at PLANT."
Seeing this, Yzak smiled faintly and broke free from Dearka's grip.
Bidding farewell to both his friend and Heine, Yzak resolutely pushed his mobile suit to its maximum speed.
The golden Freedom Justice Guetz was like a beam of light illuminating the dark sky.
It charged toward the seemingly eternal and unshakable East Asian Army fleet.
A knight raising his lance to charge against fully armored tanks.
In the eyes of the weak, this was overconfidence and laughable, but in the eyes of the strong, it was the embodiment of courage—a sacrifice made despite knowing the impossibility of the task.
"Yzak!"
Another light flickered beside the golden beam—the dark green hue belonging to the Buster Gundam.
"Dearka?"
Yzak tilted his head and revealed a knowing smile, saying nothing more and not sending his friend back.
Where righteousness leads, life and death follow.
The bond between Yzak and Dearka was no less than that between Athrun and Kira.
Perhaps it was even stronger!
"Since it's come to this, let us compose the triumphant song of our lives here."
With a loud cry, both Yzak and Dearka radiated an indescribable heroism and unwavering determination.
"Them!"
The Boaz defenders stared fixedly at the foul-mouthed Yzak, having heard Heine's privately transmitted communication.
Their hearts were deeply moved as they watched Yzak charge forward despite knowing the odds were against survival.
They had initially thought he was a clown, but upon reflection, they realized they themselves might be the clowns.
"Yzak, go for it, Freedom Justice Guetz!"
"Keep it up, Yzak! You can do it!"
Gradually, Yzak's actions moved more Boaz defenders. Though they hadn't yet joined the charge, cheers and encouragement slowly grew in number.
Compared to the entire army's previous lifelessness, the morale of the Boaz defenders had at least improved considerably.
If Yzak and Dearka could successfully break through the East Asian Army's seemingly impregnable firepower network—
Perhaps the ingenious flash that could reverse the battle, as hoped by the Boaz Fortress defense commander, might truly appear.
Closer, closer. Under the gaze of countless hopeful eyes, Yzak and Dearka arrived at the place where the suicide squad had previously met their demise.
One more step forward would bring them face to face with the insurmountable wall.
Whether these two could cross that abyss and ignite the courage of the Coordinator soldiers,
Or make these wide-eyed Coordinator soldiers once again recall the fear of being dominated by the wall,
All depended on this earth-shattering attempt!
"Yzak!"
"Dearka!"
They called out each other's names as if it could boost their strength.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Yzak and Dearka plunged headfirst into the fire net.
"They're in!"
Countless people began to cheer. Though it was just a small step for two individuals, it represented a giant leap for countless others.
The yellow Freedom Justice Guetz weaved left and right, appearing extremely precarious as if it would be hit by the East Asia Fleet's beam attacks at any second.
Yet at every critical moment, it always managed to evade the beam assaults and successfully turn danger into safety.
When evasion was truly impossible, Yzak would selectively raise his shield to block the weaker beams, thereby avoiding attacks that the shield couldn't withstand.
Though moving erratically, Yzak was indeed still advancing forward.
As for Dearka, his mobile suit's performance was inferior to Yzak's Freedom Justice Guetz.
His initial performance during the advance also appeared slightly worse than Yzak's.
But the experienced Dearka cunningly chose to follow behind Yzak.
Don't think Dearka was using Yzak as a human shield though - the skills Dearka demonstrated
Genuinely made both the East Asian Army and the Boaz defenders drop their jaws in amazement.
Raising his combined beam cannon, Dearka displayed Wang Hu's signature move:
Using beam attacks to counter and neutralize the beam assaults coming from the East Asia Fleet.
Relying on this technique, along with their excellent tacit understanding,
The coordinated advance of the two demonstrated results where one plus one was greater than two.
Just as it seemed these two might break through the East Asian Army's fire net,
When the cheers of the Boaz Fortress defenders were already rising in their throats—
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