Actually, being able to become the adjutant to ZAFT Forces' top idol star Creuset—how could this officer left aboard the Vesalius be an unworthy figure?
Objectively speaking, his comprehensive abilities were widely praised within the ZAFT Forces.
But!
The problem lay in the current situation, which made it truly difficult for him to make the correct judgment.
First, the sudden explosion of the Artemis Fortress had completely wiped out the fleet gathered by their own Captain Creuset.
Considering that probability theory doesn't allow for absolute zero, perhaps within the wreckage of the Artemis Fortress, there might still be survivors from their own forces?
Or maybe a very few people survived on those battleships caught in the explosion?
Alright, even if everyone over there died, what about the Buster Gundam and Gene pursuing the Archangel? Could they have all died too?
From the adjutant's perspective, the most likely scenario for the Mobile Suit units chasing the Archangel was that they were scattered due to the meteor shower.
Driven away from the vicinity of the Archangel battleship.
After all, given the size of Mobile Suits and the average quality of Coordinator pilots, the adjutant absolutely refused to believe that all those soldiers had died.
Moreover, even if—by the remotest chance—Dearka and the others had died,
Captain Creuset wouldn't die, right?
He would still return, wouldn't he?
Then the question arose.
The current state of their three battleships was not good; they had taken considerable meteor attacks head-on from the Artemis Fortress.
Many of their ship cannons and missile bay hatches were even damaged, reducing their firepower and combat effectiveness well below baseline.
To confront the seemingly unscathed Archangel head-on with such crippled vessels—
The adjutant silently calculated the odds of victory and pessimistically concluded that the chances were slim.
The Archangel had already unveiled this world's most powerful single weapon, the City Breaking Cannon, while their own side had barely any functional ship cannons left.
What could they use to engage the Allied Forces' newest and most advanced battleship?
Use their skulls to block the enemy's spiked club?
This wouldn't be a battle—it would be suicide!
Additionally, during the previous engagement, they had dispatched all their Mobile Suits.
But could they retreat?
Shaking his head helplessly, the adjutant deemed that equally unfeasible.
The reasons were the same as above.
If they retreated, the Archangel would inevitably pursue. Could their three half-crippled battleships outrun the enemy?
At best, they would prolong their agony for a while before ultimately being picked off one by one by the pursuing enemy's ship cannons.
Moreover, what about Captain Creuset and those potential survivors?
Retreating would be equivalent to standing by and watching them die screaming in despair.
The adjutant knew full well that his own slight frame could never bear such blame.
Even in the best-case scenario where all three battleships returned to their homeland, he would endure endless humiliating condemnation and die in disgrace.
"Adjutant, what should we do now?!"
While the adjutant was still struggling internally, torn between fleeing or stubbornly fighting,
the Archangel at their doorstep wouldn't grant him so much time. Seeing the enemy ship's City Breaking Cannon already glowing with the blinding light preceding a bombardment—
The officers on the bridge of the Vesalius battleship urgently pressed the adjutant to make a decision.
"Me?" Looking up at the Archangel, the adjutant steeled his heart, about to voice the choice in his mind.
However.
Fight and die, don't fight and still die!
The chance of survival could only rest on those Mobile Suits whose fates were unknown.
His mouth opened and closed, closed and opened.
Faced with this choice where neither path offered a clear future.
He simply couldn't bear the consequences that either decision would bring!
"Lohengrin positron breaker cannon, target enemy left battleship one, fire!"
Li Chengzhi was unaware of Adjutant Creuset's internal struggle, or even if he knew, he wouldn't care.
His eyes firmly locked on the target battleship, he issued commands with full authority.
"Godsfield high-energy beam main cannon, fire!"
"Bariant 110cm linear magnetic railgun, fire!"
"Launch all 24 large missile tubes at the stern!"
"Concentrate fire, concentrate fire, saturation bombardment!"
Better to cut off one finger than injure all ten - as a top graduate from the East Asian Military Academy, Li Chengzhi firmly remembered this principle.
Fully considering the enemy's potential counterattack capability, he decisively selected what appeared to be the most vulnerable enemy battleship.
To ensure the first battle would be the final battle, he unleashed all available weapons on the Archangel at once.
His goal was to achieve a kill with saturation strikes.
He was racing against time - against the enemy battleship, and against the possibly surviving enemy Mobile Suits that might be returning.
The city-breaking cannon, with its single most powerful attack, led the assault. Its violent and abundant energy swept away all obstacles in its path.
In an instant, the places where the city-breaking cannon passed became completely clean of human footprints, as if the universe had returned to its original appearance overnight.
I still remember that on the timeline of the original world, at the beginning of the Second World War, the ZAFT army's Minerva battleship had used the city-breaking cannon to blast open the wreckage of Junius Seven as it was falling!
Following the city-breaking cannon attack was the conventional main weapon from the Archangel — the Godefroy high-energy beam cannon.
Its power is certainly smaller compared to the city-breaking cannon, but it depends on who you compare it to; of course, it cannot match the city-breaking cannon.
But its capability...
The only warship known to withstand this cannon is the Minerva from World War II.
The only ones that can completely resist attacks from this cannon are the large variable MS or MA from the Allied forces during World War II.
Therefore, at this point in time, those who have survived a direct hit from this cannon.
Perhaps only that man who claims to turn the impossible into possible—Mu.Pull.弗拉达先生了.
且还是他必须要驾驶强袭高达的情况下.
嘶!这么说的话,果然穆虽然被克鲁泽啊王虎啊等等人轮番的看不起.
他实际上还是很厉害的哦!
最后的什么巴里安特110cm线性磁轨炮,还有大天使号舰尾发射出来的导弹.
和上述两位选手一比就没有什么值得介绍的了,纯纯就是充场子的,也许放在平时还能说一说.
可现在实在没有必要解释,因为被李承志选为目标的那艘战舰.
它还没等到巴里安特110cm线性磁轨炮和导弹到达它的身上.
This unlucky, ill-fated battleship had already become smoking space debris.
The section of its bow that took a direct hit from the City Breaking Cannon had been completely vaporized, leaving a massive penetrating wound visible from the front.
Before the battleship could even explode, four thick beam energy streams from the Archangel's main cannons blasted eight additional skylights through the vessel.
"Ad-adjutant? Tell us what to do already!"
Watching the neighboring battleship turn into scrap metal right before their eyes, the bridge crew of the Vesalius could no longer remain seated.
The casual destruction of the nearby battleship had severely struck the chord of their fear of death.
"W-"
The helpless adjutant was about to announce his decision under the crew's urging when—
"They're running! The Blizzard next to us is running away!"
Suddenly, a soldier on the bridge jumped up and cursed. "How dare they run! How can they run!"
"Hah." Leaving aside the bridge crew's agitation—whether due to the Blizzard escaping before them or the realization that their ship might become the Archangel's next primary target—
For the adjutant himself, he felt a huge wave of relief.
After all, since someone else had taken the lead in retreating, following suit would significantly reduce his own responsibility, right?
At the very least, he wouldn't have to bear the blame alone?
Suppressing any hint of a smug smile, he straightened his expression to feign indignation at being forced to retreat after their allies had already turned tail.
The adjutant opened his mouth again. "This vessel will—"
Once more, he couldn't finish, as another soldier interrupted his command.
"Report! Captain Creuset's signal has been detected! Based on distance calculations, he'll return to this ship soon!"
"Note: There's another thermal signature following Captain Creuset! Intelligence identifies it as the enemy ace Mobile Armor, Qilin!"
"Damn it." Muttering too quietly for anyone to hear, the adjutant's expression shifted repeatedly. Helpless, he opened his mouth to speak again.
"Prepare to rec—"
"Alert! Alert! Enemy vessel initiating another attack! Target is this ship!"
"Multiple thermal signatures detected! Identified as Buster Gundam and several Genes returning!"
"..." The adjutant went numb. Can't I just finish a sentence?
Why do emergencies always have to keep happening?
(End of chapter)