Most people had only seen the term "Human Pig" in history books.
But everyone on the battlefield today witnessed it firsthand—whether from the ZAFT Forces or the Archangel's side.
Even though this so-called "Human Pig" was actually a CGUE and not a real human, making the visual impact considerably less shocking.
The identity of the pilot operating that CGUE, however, was anything but ordinary.
This fact largely compensated for the only shortcoming of the "Human Pig" appearance!
"Is... is that Captain Creuset?"
Having narrowly escaped certain death from the meteor shower and desperately racing back with the few lucky survivors,
the sight of their battleship still intact should have been a relief.
But witnessing their once invincible, dashing captain in his current state—
Dearka, inside the Buster Gundam, felt his jaw nearly drop to the floor.
And it wasn't just him. The crew aboard the Vesalius, including the Gene pilots, all wore expressions of shattered idols.
"Continue the attack!" Li Chengzhi had initially thought the day was lost, but upon clearly seeing Creuset's pitiful state,
a jolt of renewed determination surged through him. As the saying goes, "Kick a man when he's down."
Could there be a more opportune moment than now?
"Target remains locked on the enemy Vesalius."
Even more eager than Li Chengzhi, Natarle Badgiruel barked orders loudly,
looking as if she'd gladly drag the gunner aside and take over herself.
"Received, understood!"
Just when all hope seemed lost, a new path emerged.
The bridge crew, reinvigorated and efficient, swiftly rotated the cannons and recalibrated various parameters and coordinates.
They were determined to deliver a few more blows to that half-dead wreck of a ship, avenging its relentless pursuit earlier.
"Attack the Archangel!"
Dearka no longer had time to ponder why Captain Creuset had ended up in such a state. Seeing the Archangel's cannons turning,
he felt his very soul about to flee in panic. As soldiers, they knew all too well the fate that awaited if their battleship sank.
Even if they survived now, and even if the Archangel chose to ignore them and leave,
the outcome awaiting them would still be death!
And don't count on any nearby ZAFT allies for rescue, either.
Because all nearby forces that could have rushed to their aid had already been summoned by Captain Creuset—
only to be wiped out entirely in the self-destruction of the Artemis Fortress.
"If you don't want to suffocate slowly inside your Mobile Suit cockpits, then fight like your lives depend on it!"
Gripping his 50mm anti-armor shotgun and 94mm high-energy beam rifle, Dearka opened fire on the Archangel.
"Choose between dying now, dying later, or not dying at all!"
While firing, he shouted at his comrades, urging them to summon every ounce of their fighting spirit.
"Yes, let's go!" His words snapped the others out of their daze. The remaining Gene pilots suddenly came to their senses.
In their current predicament, the crippled Vesalius was their only chance for survival.
If we protect that battleship, everyone can survive. If we fail to protect it, we might as well just slit our own throats.
That way, we might at least die a quicker death!
And so, the crew of the Archangel still hoped to shoot down the enemy's last damaged ship, but they were faced with the Coordinator's desperate, suicidal Mobile Suit forces.
"Ugh!" The Archangel shook violently under the enemy's attack, causing Li Chengzhi and Natarle Badgiruel, who were standing, to sway unsteadily.
"Are you alright?" Seeing Natarle Badgiruel about to fall headfirst onto the hard floor, Li Chengzhi caught her just in time and asked perfunctorily.
"I'm fine." Natarle Badgiruel quickly adjusted her military cap and turned her head away, unwilling to look at Li Chengzhi.
"Recall Captain Wang Hu. And where is Captain Mu? Where has Kira gone?"
Natarle Badgiruel glanced at the main screen and realized that, under the Coordinators' relentless attacks, attempting to destroy the heavily damaged Vesalius might end up costing them their own ship.
She immediately decided to have Captain Wang Hu abandon his pursuit of Creuset. After all, as long as they sank the enemy's last remaining battleship, the remaining enemies would die even without their intervention.
"Signal Wang Hu to return and defend our ship." Li Chengzhi released his hold on Natarle Badgiruel, agreeing that this was the best course of action.
"Also, fire a signal flare to locate Kira and Captain Mu, and try contacting both of them via communication devices."
"Understood!"
The communications officer responded loudly and promptly sent messages to Wang Hu, as well as to Kira and Mu, whose whereabouts were currently unknown.
"Return?"
Wang Hu had been chasing Creuset all this way only because his slippery opponent kept evading him, leaving no opening for an attack.
Seeing the message from the Archangel, Wang Hu didn't hesitate and immediately turned back.
To kill a snake, strike its head. Since he couldn't eliminate Creuset on the spot, destroying the enemy battleship would be equivalent to eliminating Creuset!
"Wang Hu, Wang Hu!" Creuset had long since turned off his directional communication channel, his clothes stained with the blood he had coughed up.
He noticed that Wang Hu was no longer pursuing him.
This didn't bring him much joy; for him, it was the second greatest humiliation since his birth.
The greatest humiliation was when he discovered he was a clone.
"Trying to shoot down the mothership?"
After briefly analyzing his opponent's motives, Creuset gritted his teeth and sped up, flying back toward the Vesalius.
Time passed swiftly, and the battlefield situation changed in the blink of an eye.
As Wang Hu piloted the Qilin and flew to the vicinity of the Archangel, which was under desperate attack by the Coordinators, Creuset also smoothly returned to his own ship.
Just as Wang Hu was driving off Dearka and the Genes, Creuset, ignoring the shocked gazes of everyone, rushed into the mothership's bridge, holding his breath.
"It's Wang Hu, Wang Hu is here!" Dearka loudly alerted his comrades around him.
"Captain Wang Hu has returned." The spirits of everyone on the Archangel lifted.
"Captain, you!" The adjutant hurriedly approached Creuset, who was covered in blood, and the look in his eyes deeply wounded Creuset's heart.
This pitying gaze was even more detestable than the looks he had received from the maintenance crew after disembarking from the CGUE.
"Notify Dearka and the remaining Mobile Suit units - spare no cost, disregard casualties, ignore Wang Hu, and make sinking the Archangel the absolute priority!"
After coldly issuing this command, Creuset prepared to force his subordinates to gamble their lives for victory.
"What?" Understanding the implication behind Creuset's words, the Adjutant froze instantly.
Was their captain suggesting a kamikaze suicide attack?
Wasn't that something only the desperate Allied Forces Naturals would do?
Since when did we Coordinators need to resort to such measures?
"Go relay the orders. This is for PLANT and all of ZAFT. We cannot allow that ship to remain active any longer."
"Today, right now, we must sink her!"
Somewhat resembling Azrael facing Genesis, Creuset urged with intense emotion.
"Yes, yes, understood!" The Adjutant stared at Creuset, who looked like a demon, too terrified to voice any further objections.
Besides, Captain Creuset wasn't wrong - how long had this Archangel been active?
In such a short time, it had already inflicted massive losses on their forces!
"Sink that cursed Natural's ship."
While transmitting the new orders to Dearka and the others, the Adjutant added his own interpretation.
"Captain?" Dearka and his team, already fighting desperately, received the new command from their mothership.
Staring at the orders, they smiled bitterly before their already reckless attacks turned truly suicidal.
Suddenly, even Wang Hu found himself hard-pressed against such opponents, limited by his Mobile Suit's performance.
After all, facing enemies who disregarded their own lives, watching a dozen of them bypass him to charge recklessly at the battleship...
As the saying goes, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
Wang Hu had no intention of trading his life one-for-one with the enemy at this moment - not even one-for-many!
(End of Chapter)