Of course, he couldn't say that he already had the strength of two people.
Building on that, perhaps in the future he'd be able to unlock even more abilities unique to him. That might be the key to growing stronger.
He'd already taken the first step. The next step was to uncover more abilities that were uniquely his.
While Xu De was still figuring out how to bring out his abilities, the three of them left the training area together.
They hadn't gone far when a major came floating toward them down the corridor.
He had a cold expression and an air of arrogant, elite refinement.
"Sir."
The three of them stopped and saluted the major as he approached.
"Hmph."
The major gave a snort in reply, his disdainful gaze passing over Xu De.
Then he ignored them and continued on his way.
"Don't worry about it."
Moody hurriedly spoke in a low voice beside Xu De.
"Major Harris, if I remember right, is also with Blue Cosmos. He rose through the ranks pretty quickly."
Draco added this for the two of them, his tone carrying a subtle note of warning.
Hearing that, Xu De guessed what was going on.
If Blue Cosmos had infiltrated most of the military's upper ranks, then his own path to promotion could well be blocked. By contrast, officers affiliated with Blue Cosmos would be promoted.
The Earth Alliance might be one military, but in the end, his service record belonged to the Atlantic.
The Eighth Fleet, at least, offered a relatively fair environment for advancement. After all, Halberton was even willing to patiently counsel Kira, a Coordinator.
And Halberton had the support of quite a few members of parliament.
That was, of course, assuming Xu De could help them avoid getting wiped out.
There wasn't much he needed to do differently. It all came down to making sure the Eighth Fleet survived.
Mulling it over, Xu De decided not to dwell on the man they'd just encountered.
If someone picked a fight with him or threatened his interests, he'd hit back.
If they had a sour face, he'd ignore them.
It wasn't as if he couldn't look sour too.
With that thought, Xu De followed the other two into the junior officers' living quarters.
It was just a small single room with a private bathroom, but at least it was a room of his own, not a shared dormitory.
For them, that was already a remarkable privilege.
"Want to come take a look at my room?"
Moody looked at his door, then turned to the other two.
He even winked, as if giving them a signal.
Xu De and Draco exchanged a glance, then nodded in turn.
As soon as they were back inside the room and the door was shut, Moody lowered his voice, just as the other two had expected.
"I heard ZAFT recently gave a medal to someone named Le Creuset."
That might have been headline news in countries friendly to PLANT, but in the Earth Alliance—especially the Atlantic military—it was forbidden news.
"He shot down thirty-seven Mobile Armors and six warships in total, and got the highest-level Nebula Medal. They've even been promoting him as some kind of Coordinator superman."
As Moody spoke, his expression grew increasingly grim. Hatred twisted his normally sunny face.
The darkness hidden beneath that sunny exterior showed through.
"He killed my old commander."
Draco's expression remained cold at that, but his brows drew together.
"I saw him from a distance once. It must have been him. His presence was overwhelming."
The two of them were surprised to hear that Draco had actually crossed paths with Le Creuset.
"Holy shit, you ran into that lunatic and made it back alive!?"
Moody exclaimed in shock.
The combat report was vague. It didn't say whether the Mobile Armors were Moebiuses or Mistrals, or whether the warships were Agamemnon-class or Drake-class.
But thirty-seven of them would take a while to kill even if they were just chickens lined up for slaughter. And even the smallest warship, a Drake-class, was a behemoth.
"I didn't face him head-on..."
"I watched him charge into a Drake-class defensive line in a Ginn, take out an Agamemnon-class ship from the Second Fleet, and then we retreated."
Draco's expression remained cold as he spoke, but a trace of fear still crept into his heart.
"...Tss."
After a moment of silence, Moody sucked in a sharp breath.
"If you really run into him, I'd advise you to get the hell out of there. Coming back as a deserter to face a trial is still better than dying for nothing."
"Don't even think about getting revenge. You'd only get yourself killed."
Draco said it with absolute seriousness.
Moody looked a little angry, but he didn't argue.
If Draco was telling the truth, then Le Creuset really was someone none of them could afford to mess with.
As for Xu De, he agreed with Draco.
But he didn't think they could afford to run away.
If he did, he could forget about getting his hands on a Gundam.
Still, Le Creuset was a major boss. There was no way they could take him on as they were now.
They'd have to prepare thoroughly.
But Le Creuset's reputation also meant that if they managed to drive him off—or even kill him—at Heliopolis, the military merit would be enormous.
Their own reputations would rise even further.
Of course, for now, that was just wishful thinking.
They'd be better off figuring out how to make it back alive from an encounter with Le Creuset.
They were all Naturals, so how could the gap between them be this ridiculous?
Did they add something extra when they cloned him?
Xu De grumbled inwardly, his expression growing more serious.
The road ahead looked like certain death, but he still had the advantage of knowing the plot. There was some chance of survival, even if it wasn't much.
But it all depended on what he did. He still had almost a year.
"Can you get hold of footage of Le Creuset in combat?"
Xu De asked.
Le Creuset didn't know who he was, but Xu De knew all about Le Creuset. That gave him a great opportunity.
If he carefully studied Le Creuset's movements and prepared properly, and if he could make use of the Gundam's superior performance, he might have a chance a year from now.
He wanted both a Gundam and military merit.
That was the only way he could establish his value and secure his position. If he kept hiding from everything, sooner or later he'd be killed by one of the many dangers here.
If he was going to die anyway, he might as well choose how.
"That might be tricky. I doubt the higher-ups would make it public."
Moody shook his head.
The reason was simple: releasing it would hurt morale.
It was like telling them the enemy had a superman. Most of the ordinary soldiers on the front lines would be scared.
It wasn't as though PLANT could promote him and the Earth Alliance would just follow suit.
"The quickest way is probably to ask Admiral Halberton."
Moody pointed upward as he spoke.
"What do you think? If you're going, I'll come with you!"
Moody had also grown a little interested in seeing the footage.
At that, Draco glanced at the two of them.
"Do you really want to get yourselves killed?"
"We just want to know our enemy. It's hard to say whether we'll run into him."
"If we really become Mobile Suit pilots, we'll definitely be sent to the front lines."
"Even if we have to run, we need to know how to do it."
Xu De spoke earnestly.
Before you continue