Chapter 87: SEED – The Price of Growth 1
Murrue Ramius jogged all the way to the Archangel, issuing combat standby orders for everyone to return aboard.
Kira Yamato immediately let go of Flay Allster in his arms and sprinted back toward the Archangel.
Flay screamed and ran after him.
Sai Argyle suddenly grabbed Flay Allster by the shoulder, holding her just as he called out, "Flay."
What he received in return was her face twisted in disgust. His mind went blank, and all the words he had wanted to say were swallowed back down.
Flay Allster forcefully shook off Sai Argyle's hand and ran toward the Archangel.
Sai Argyle withdrew his trembling hand and muttered to himself, "I really am an idiot!"
From a distance, Tolle Koenig watched, thinking to himself:
"Heh, just a little more. Once he experiences firsthand the difficulty of piloting the Strike Gundam, it should be about right.
If it still doesn't work, then so be it. Sai really is a hopeless case—not worth investing too much energy in."
Soon, Mu La Flaga was already flying his Skygrasper toward the town, with Natarle Badgiruel and the doctor following close behind in a vehicle.
Kira Yamato was still dashing through the corridors of the Archangel, with no sign of where Flay Allster had ended up.
The Skygrasper truly lived up to its name as a high-speed fighter jet; in just moments, it arrived above the sea of fire. But there wasn't a trace of any ZAFT forces.
From the Skygrasper, Mu La Flaga looked down at the ground. All he could see was the blazing fire, and at the city's edge, a densely packed crowd.
Seeing the Dawn Desert group arrive right behind him, he had no choice but to land near the crowd and inquire about the situation.
The reports said no one had died. Those injured were people who had hurt themselves in their rush to flee the city.
Just as Tolle Koenig had known.
ZAFT's Desert Tiger unit had issued advance warnings, telling everyone to evacuate because they were going to burn the city.
But there was no time to gather supplies—the weapons, ammunition, fuel, water, and food were all gone.
Though the townspeople were safe, none of them knew how they would survive without essential supplies.
"As long as people are alive, there's always a way.
It looks like the Tiger never intended to fight seriously—this was just retaliation for last night.
If he could settle it by paying only this much, then that Tiger really is merciful."
Mu La Flaga once again spoke at the wrong time, using such words to "comfort" a group of angry survivors. Who knew what he was thinking.
Still, he really was a bold man. If it had been me, I wouldn't have dared say something like that—I'd be afraid they'd beat me to death on the spot.
Sure enough, the hot-tempered Cagalli Yula Athha charged forward furiously.
"What did you say?! This much of a price? Our homes and town were burned to the ground, and you call that 'this much'? You call the one who did this merciful?"
Hearing her barrage of questions, and seeing the crowd glaring at him like they were ready to devour him alive, Mu La Flaga sensed things turning ugly and quickly apologized.
To defuse the crisis, he added:
"But the enemy is a regular army. If they had truly attacked, the outcome wouldn't look like this—you know that too, don't you?"
Cagalli Yula Athha refused to yield, retorting with defiance:
"That guy is nothing but a cowardly, despicable wretch. He burned the city only while we were away.
And he thinks that counts as victory?
We've fought bravely all this time, and just recently even defeated a BuCUE.
So that despicable coward can only resort to tricks like this—and still calls himself the Desert Tiger?"
Mu La Flaga felt utterly speechless in the face of this hot-headed "Caga-no-Brains."
Her face was filled with hatred, her eyes as big as lanterns staring straight into his, unblinking.
He grew so uncomfortable that he couldn't meet her gaze, realizing there was no way to reason with her. Awkwardly, he surrendered:
"Y-Yeah, that Tiger really is detestable."
"Same goes for you!" Caga-no-Brains roared, then stormed off like a bear, stomping away with heavy steps.
Tolle Koenig could only feel helpless watching. There was simply no reasoning with someone like her.
After all, they had killed three of the Desert Tiger's men. Burning a city without killing a single person—yes, that was merciful.
Besides, saying that as long as people are alive there's still hope was true. Food and water can always be found somehow. With the Archangel here, it could even serve as a transport ship.
Did she really want the Desert Tiger to retaliate with that kind of brutality? Would she only be satisfied if he slaughtered the entire town?
Tolle Koenig honestly couldn't understand what went on in Caga-no-Brains' head.
He decided it wasn't his business and stayed well clear. Best not to get involved with that foolish girl, or risk catching her stupidity. Better to stay in the hangar practicing how to pilot the Skygrasper—and keep watching events unfold from the sidelines.
Meanwhile, the Dawn Desert fighters reached a consensus. The fierce group hefted rocket launchers and machine guns, jumped into their vehicles, and set out to seek blood revenge against the Desert Tiger.
Mu La Flaga looked at the messy trail of tire tracks and sighed helplessly.
"Really don't know what to say… guess the land shapes its people."
Natarle Badgiruel, shocked, turned to Mu La Flaga and asked:
"They'll be wiped out, won't they? With weapons like that, there's no way they can stand against BuCUEs."
"Yeah… so what should we do?"
"Don't ask me, I don't have a solution either. We'd better report this to Captain Ramius."
Mu La Flaga nodded in agreement, climbed back into his Skygrasper, and sent a communication to the Archangel.
He reported the destruction of the city, along with the Dawn Desert's plan to take revenge on the Desert Tiger.
On the Archangel's bridge, Murrue Ramius was stunned.
"What did you say?! Revenge? That's absurd!
Commander La Flaga, why didn't you stop them?!"
Mu La Flaga helplessly changed the subject.
"Ah, their momentum was truly unstoppable. Besides, there are a lot of wounded here… and we're also short on food and water. What should we do about that?"
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