Human Hell

Just as Xu De was lost in thought, the voice of the commander of the First Fleet, a man named Coby, resounded throughout the sector via the all-frequency channel.

"Warning to the ZAFT ships ahead, leave this area immediately! The glory of us Naturals shall not be defiled!"

"I repeat."

The voice was low and echoed through the sector with authority.

It also stirred excitement among the soldiers in the ranks who subscribed to the Blue Cosmos ideology.

Even those who did not subscribe to the Blue ideology felt their blood boil upon hearing these words as Natural soldiers.

The fear of being overwhelmed by the massive ZAFT force was also dispelled to some extent.

Of course, those affected clearly did not include Xu De and his companions.

Those scions already knew the truth behind it all.

At this moment, they merely let out a disdainful snort.

"Starting off with a general's speech—they never intended to let them leave in the first place."

"It's nothing more than a morale booster."

Indeed, logically speaking, the warning should have come from a communications officer first, followed by a squadron leader.

The fact that a general spoke right from the start clearly showed they didn't care much for the Coordinators' fleet on the other side.

"Shh! At least switch to a private channel!"

The girl named Bella complained with a coquettish pout.

Though she likely only just realized that Xu De was on the channel.

Of course, this was a public channel to begin with.

No sooner had she finished speaking than the two switched to a private chat, and Xu De stopped receiving any further noise from them.

Meanwhile, Xu De remained seated in his cramped cockpit, his mood entirely unaffected by such childish behavior.

For one thing, Xu De had seen plenty of grand spectacles in his time.

And although he lacked inside information, he was still clearer on the trajectory of this battle than they were.

All in all, if he hadn't been forced into the Atlantic Federation with no way out, it wouldn't have mattered to him if both sides beat each other's brains out.

The Coordinators were the old class, while the arms merchants behind Blue Cosmos were the new class.

He had no affection for either side, nor did he identify with them.

But there was no help for it; to survive, and to survive with dignity, he had to become stronger.

No sooner had this thought crossed Xu De's mind than the previously clear channel was suddenly filled with interference.

It sounded much like the static from the old televisions of his childhood.

But this was no secret late-night television session; this was a battlefield.

This sound was the signal of the Grim Reaper.

"Wh... what..."

"Nu..."

Xu De's communication was intermittent, and on the other side, the Coordinator warships had already launched their attack.

With a full fleet salvo, hundreds of green beams of light streaked toward their main force.

"Quite a scene to start with..."

Although he knew this was the largest battle outside of the conflict on the moon, seeing the dense barrage of beams before him still made Xu De's scalp tingle.

Accompanied by a series of explosions, nearly 20% of the Earth Alliance's warships were destroyed after being caught off guard.

Without communications, no orders could be received.

Without radar, no tracking missiles could be fired.

Without neutron interference, nuclear weapons could not be activated.

In short, the entire Earth Alliance fleet was in total chaos.

The others finally realized the presence of the interference and switched their communication methods to short-range laser transmission.

"Damn it! Radar is completely black! Bella, how is it on your end?"

"Idiot! Look ahead!!!"

Bella cried out in terror.

No sooner had the girl finished speaking than a battleship-class beam cannon, having bypassed numerous other vessels, struck the Moebius piloted by the boy and the Mistrals beside him with pinpoint accuracy.

Clearly, the second salvo had already been fired.

These beam cannons traveled at the speed of light; one could only dodge them by calculating the lead.

Before life and death, all beings are equal.

A chain of explosions instantly reduced the young master of high status and his guards to cosmic dust.

Without preparation, death follows.

No one can escape it.

At this moment, the girl's desperate shriek over the channel stood in stark contrast to her previously lively and cute demeanor.

"Switch targeting to manual mode, disable radar detection, and keep your eyes on the front. The third wave is coming."

Out of humanitarian concern, Xu De watched the dense swarm of incoming missiles and offered a reminder to the collapsing squad.

The third wave consisted of missiles; although these heavy projectiles lacked radar guidance and precision, they didn't need it.

After all, the World Tree was sitting right there, plain as day.

They just needed to fly straight, without even considering the curvature of the Earth, save for the minor gravitational interference of low Earth orbit.

"Headquarters orders... hold the space station at all costs..."

Listening to the monotonous command, Xu De decisively cut the communication.

Hold it? Surviving would be a miracle.

This was a great war, a cosmic meat grinder.

Without giving the Earth Alliance time to reorganize their lines, the third wave of attacks arrived right on schedule.

Xu De skillfully operated the two Vulcan Cannons on his Moebius, firing rhythmically at the incoming missiles.

Maintaining absolute calm, he didn't waste a single round, never firing again once he confirmed an explosion.

Heaven knows how many Ginn the enemy has waiting.

Even in the rear, one must remain cautious.

According to Xu De's prediction, after these three waves of attacks, their completely disorganized formation would be met by an assault from the Ginn.

"Save me!! I don't want to die!!"

At this moment, Bella, watching Xu De nimbly weave through the missiles, clung to him like a drowning person to a straw.

"Only you can save yourself."

Xu De's voice remained as calm as ever.

Not even the consecutive explosions of friendly forces before him affected him in the slightest.

It was this calm voice, so different from the panicked screams of the others, that provided Bella with a profound sense of security.

"I... I can fight!"

Though she didn't know who this pilot—whom they had initially ignored—really was, a woman's intuition told her something.

If she wanted to live, she had best listen to this boy.

"No need to fight."

"Hide."

Xu De's voice was cool and collected.

The previous wave of missiles had caused their entire escort formation to fracture, which gave him the opportunity to move freely.

As for the World Tree, it could not escape its fate of collapse.

Look at the other defensive lines.

Being nothing more than young masters and misses, they were fundamentally incapable of stopping these sudden missiles.

Rather, they couldn't even dodge in time, let alone intercept them.

Failing to hold the line would at most be dereliction of duty; even if they faced a military tribunal, they could use their family influence to escape punishment.

Even if they couldn't escape, the worst they would face was prison.

But here, dead is dead.

Seeing that the World Tree was about to take direct hits from numerous missiles, there was no longer any need to defend it.