Blue Cosmos had been far too arrogant, failing to realize the Neutron Jammer existed.
Or perhaps they had never imagined such a thing could exist in the first place.
Under a military-industrial complex like this one, many families who owned major corporations had sought to profit by cutting what seemed like an unimportant final line of defense. The result was exactly what they were seeing now.
This last line of defense, made up of rich young heirs, had a laughable combat capability.
It was like a future version of the Maginot Line, though the reasons behind it were different.
Either way, it was all show and no substance—no better than having no defense at all. On Xu De's monitor, he could even see some pilots in Moebius units panicking and crashing into World Tree.
Compared to them, Bella was actually pretty capable.
In that case, he might as well give her a hand.
"What?"
The girl still hadn't understood what Xu De meant when the immense heat signature from inside World Tree drew her attention.
The collapse of World Tree Space Station began with a silent blue flash.
It had already been riddled with holes by beam fire, and now ZAFT's missiles had pierced the protective shell around the nuclear power section.
Uncontrolled pink explosions began cascading along the station's entire alloy frame.
This symbol of humanity's exploration of space became a tombstone amid a mixture of chaos and silence.
The collapse of World Tree, a symbol they had taken pride in as humanity's first step into the era of space colonization and a moment of great significance in human history, had officially begun.
And the Coordinators' revenge had begun as well.
"Find a large piece of debris and hide behind it, heading toward the Moon. Shut down all power and leave only the friendly identification signal on."
"Ah... why?"
Stunned by the shock of World Tree's collapse, Bella asked in a daze.
"Because they're coming."
As soon as Xu De finished speaking, dense blue trails appeared ahead.
They looked like shooting stars.
But these were far more dangerous than shooting stars. They were all Mobile Suits.
Patrick Zala, the furious chairman of the Defense Committee, was clearly determined to retaliate at any cost.
"Hide. You'll be responsible for the consequences if you don't."
Xu De repeated himself.
"Then what about you...?"
Intimidated by Xu De's forceful tone, Bella asked blankly.
"I'll draw them away."
"Shut down your engines. Don't get in my way."
Seeing one of the approaching Ginns, Xu De's lips curled slightly as he changed direction.
They had come at just the right time. This was the rear, while the main forces were still fighting ahead.
The Federation had finally recovered and begun to fight back.
The remaining Ginns had spotted the soldiers still here and were coming to wipe them out.
This was his chance.
He wasn't so noble that he'd play the hero and save a damsel in distress. He was doing it for the kill count, plain and simple.
Those Coordinators had probably been blinded by hatred and the success of their three waves of attacks, or perhaps they were still unused to fighting in space.
These Ginns striking at the rear hadn't even formed up. They were just charging straight at them.
Without support, he had a chance to score a kill in a one-on-one fight.
The kill count was a very important condition for him to keep piloting the Gundam.
If ZAFT had attacked in formation with proper combined-arms tactics, he wouldn't have risked it.
But clearly, ZAFT wasn't that professional.
"Ah..."
Elsewhere, hearing Xu De's words, Bella watched his back as he seemed to be heading off to die.
She felt lost, and her heart was racing. She couldn't tell if it was because of the threat to her life or because a stranger was drawing away the Mobile Suits to die for her.
At least, that was how it looked to Bella. Xu De's actions were no different from throwing his life away.
She knew what a Ginn could do. Perhaps Xu De, a new recruit with little experience, didn't realize it, but the attrition rate was five to one.
He'd told her not to get in his way, but wasn't that just an excuse?
But why?
As Bella drifted through space, bewildered and helpless, Xu De had already encountered the Ginn.
It had no special paint scheme. It was just an ordinary Ginn.
Xu De had only just breathed a sigh of relief when the other pilot's laser communication came through.
"Natural! Die!"
The Coordinator's voice was twisted with rage.
Just as Xu De had expected.
The soldier had been blinded by hatred.
Xu De didn't respond. He simply made a quick turn, dodging the machine gun fire from the enemy's hands behind the cover of World Tree debris.
Perhaps the pilot's family had died on Junius.
But that was no reason for Xu De to surrender without a fight.
There were no room for excuses on a battlefield. He wasn't the one who had ordered the nuclear missiles fired.
He had no reason to die in someone else's place.
As for those who had been killed, Xu De felt sorry for them.
But he wouldn't hold back.
People who were softhearted didn't survive on the battlefield.
Unless they were born as strong as Kira.
But he wasn't. He was just an ordinary person with some ability.
He didn't have the qualifications, nor the ability.
"Natural!! Get out here!!"
The soldier kept shouting.
Xu De was assessing the other pilot's state of mind.
Real combat was different from a simulated battle.
In an actual fight, the opponent wasn't a robot. It was a battle of wills between two people.
And this soldier's mind was already consumed by rage.
There was no need for him to keep provoking the man.
Now, I can do this.
Xu De silently repeated the thought to himself and decided to use the same tactic he had employed in the previous simulated battle.
On a battlefield, a skill practiced day and night was better and safer than fancy tricks.
After several days of practice, Xu De's drifting had become even more nimble.
With a sharp, inertia-driven turn, the Gundam's thrusters sprayed exhaust onto a piece of debris about the same size as a Moebius.
The bait was set.
The pilot, already blinded by anger and bloodlust, instinctively chased after the fastest-moving heat signature.
He didn't realize that Xu De had deliberately slowed down and slipped in behind him.
The Vulcan Cannon and Linear Cannon fired at the same time, instantly crippling the enemy's rear engine.
Unlike in the simulation, hitting the thrusters on the Ginn's back set off a chain explosion.
"Guess I got lucky. Looks like Ginns aren't all that reliable."
Looking at the Ginn that had suddenly exploded in front of him, Xu De breathed a sigh of relief.
The whole thing had looked simple and quick, but in reality, Xu De had been dancing on the edge of a blade.
It had only worked so quickly because of Xu De's steady nerves, the enemy's inability to think clearly, and the Mobile Suit's flaws.
If even one of those factors had been missing, it could have turned into a drawn-out fight—or even cost him his life.
On the battlefield, losing your cool meant death.
It wasn't that brave men were invincible. Charging in without a plan wasn't bravery; it was just throwing your life away.
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