Chaos and fear reigned. If not for the fact that Julius was still alive, the Columbia fleet would likely have scattered and fled. Kaster's death forced Julius's personal guards to wake him from the unconscious state that had slipped into sleep.
After Julius woke and heard the guard's report, he nearly failed to catch his breath. "Dead... Kaster is dead? The Gundam battleship? Shattered?!" His body had gone limp on the bed. Only after a long while did he come back to himself. He swept his gaze across the soldiers and generals around him and saw the despair in their eyes, enough to drive them to collapse.
Julius's heart tightened. The soldiers could feel despair; even the generals could feel despair. But he alone could not, because if he showed despair as well, they would truly lose all will to fight. These three fleets would never escape the Zerg's clutches!
Julius forced himself upright, the icy look returning to his face. "Victory and defeat are commonplace in war. We underestimated the Zerg and lost a battle. This is my responsibility. It was I who caused innocent soldiers to die on the battlefield. When we return to our home planet, I will personally apologize to the soldiers' families. But as the main culprits, the Zerg... I will never let them off either!"
Julius's sudden outburst of authority left the surrounding officers stunned.
One officer could not help muttering, "Your Majesty, can we... can we still return to our home planet?"
Julius snorted coldly. The emperor's majesty made the general's legs go weak, and he dropped to his knees. "If we were not in need of men, I could sentence you to death for sowing chaos among the troops with those words. Of course we will return. Not only can we return,