Athrun stared with bewildered eyes, glancing back toward the land battleship.
In the brief moment he had spent obstructing Wang Hu—
Just that fleeting interval—Captain Balthfeld had already reorganized the battle lines.
Though the first land battleship, severely damaged by Kira, was beyond saving, the other besieged battleship was now smoothly evacuating its own soldiers who had abandoned ship, thanks to Captain Balthfeld's assistance.
The Allied Forces' Zero Ginns and guerrilla units had been driven off by him.
Meanwhile, his friend Kira was busy aiding the resistance members targeted by the intact land battleship's artillery.
Nicol was relentlessly pounding the Strike Gundam.
"Is this the capability of Captain Balthfeld, the Desert Tiger?"
Blinking, Athrun mentally compared him to his former captain, Creuset.
Indeed, both were men capable of single-handedly turning the tide of battle!
"It's possible. It can be done."
For no apparent reason, a spark of hope ignited in Athrun's heart.
Inspired by Mister Tiger's demonstrated prowess, Athrun looked ahead with renewed anticipation.
"This—"
But the newly kindled hope was instantly extinguished as Athrun abruptly recalled his previous captain, who also possessed the power to alter the battlefield.
His current fate...
"Damn it!" Cursing under his breath, Athrun prepared to rush forward and assist.
It turned out that in that short span, Balthfeld—having first pummeled Mu and then teamed up with Nicol to attack Kira—now charged with the imposing aura of a desert tiger king, replacing Athrun to confront Wang Hu.
Like a false tiger meeting a true one, this captain, so formidable against others, was now being thrashed by Wang Hu!
No matter how hard Balthfeld struggled or how fiercely he attacked, Wang Hu always appeared leisurely and unperturbed, toying with Lag before launching a ferocious counterstrike.
From Athrun's perspective, he had lost count of how many times Balthfeld had been brutally kicked by Wang Hu!
"Captain Balthfeld, I'll help you!"
Shaking his head to dispel the rising unease, Athrun shouted and made to advance in support.
"Wait, young man."
After taking another punch from Wang Hu and maneuvering Lag to bounce up from the desert sand, Balthfeld chuckled wryly upon hearing Athrun's cry and halted the young man's well-intentioned offer.
"Fall back! Retreat with Martin and Nicol!"
"What?" Still charging forward, Athrun wondered if he had misheard.
Instead of calling for coordinated combat, was he ordering them to flee?
"Boom!"
Suddenly, Lag was kicked sideways by the Zeta Gundam, hurtling toward Athrun.
Seeing this, Athrun instinctively spread his arms to catch the incoming Balthfeld.
But mid-air, Lag raised its claws and kicked directly at the Aegis Gundam.
"Crash!"
The Mobile Suit's feet carved two long trails in the sand as Athrun was tossed about in the cockpit.
When he looked up again, Athrun found himself abruptly removed from the battlefield, now positioned near the undamaged land battleship.
"Captain Balthfeld?"
The astute Athrun immediately realized why this was happening - the most likely possibility was that Commander Balthلد had deliberately taken Wang Hu's blow.
Then used the opportunity to remove himself from the battlefield!
"Commander!" Understanding dawning on him, Athrun wanted to charge back in.
"Retreat, immediately, that's an order!"
Struggling but resolutely blocking Wang Hu's path, Balthلد's slightly irritable voice
echoed in the ears of all ZAFT Forces soldiers on the battlefield.
"This battle's defeat is already unavoidable. Wang Hu's strength and the East Asian Army's power are beyond what we can contend with right now."
"Preserve yourselves to be of use, to search, to explore true peace, and the path you truly wish to pursue!"
"The true path will surely emerge after careful consideration!"
"Commander?"
Athrun stopped insisting. Watching the clearly unsustainable Lag, he suppressed the grief in his heart.
Indeed, Commander Balthلد's Lag was already battered and bruised, and the forward Baku Legion had been annihilated by the Archangel.
The resistance organizations that had once been dispersed by Mister Tiger had regrouped. If they didn't seize this moment to retreat now...
"Sigh." With a long sigh, his hand gripping the control stick made creaking sounds. Athrun understood the danger of indecision.
"Athrun! Let's go."
Just then, his friend Nicol also withdrew.
While preparing to cover the land battleship's retreat, he was also calling for Athrun to hurry.
"Understood." Glancing back at Commander Balthلد taking another punch from Wang Hu, Athrun firmly imprinted today's scene in his memory.
"Don't think you can escape!" Feeling that piloting a Mobile Suit in the desert was worse than piloting the Sky Grasper, Mu who had lost face countless times wanted to seize this final opportunity.
At the very least, he needed to take down some more enemies, so he intended to pursue.
Kira following behind Mu had the same thought - he felt he hadn't performed well in today's battle.
Although part of it was because he was equipped with artillery gear, putting him at a disadvantage in close combat against the Blitz Gundam.
But if he wanted to change this world, to earn the right to stand beside Brother Wang Hu, how could he use such excuses to justify himself?
"Enough." Suddenly withdrawing his attacking stance, Wang Hu gazed toward another battlefield moving into the distance.
He spoke to Balthلد in the Lag before him. "Mister Tiger, for the last time - won't you come over to my side?"
"Oh." With the enemy standing down, Balthلد in the Lag was happy to take this opportunity to catch his breath.
"You seem quite fond of persuading us to join your side."
"I recall you previously tried to persuade Athrun too. Did you also try to persuade Creuset?"
"Of course." Wang Hu answered quickly, laughing heartily. "But he refused. Don't know if he's dead now or not."
"Hahaha, then you should know my answer."
Looking at Aisha who turned to gaze at him - the person he loved most in this world -
Balthلد showed an apologetic smile before answering Wang Hu's question.
"The me right now is a soldier of ZAFT, the Desert Tiger who protects PLANT."
"Is that so?" Having received the expected answer, Wang Hu didn't appear particularly disappointed.
Inside the cockpit of the Zeta Gundam, Wang Hu revealed a light chuckle.
"You people, no matter how many times I ask, whether in the past or future, those like you who hold such lofty ideals..."
"Will probably refuse me again and again. So let me ask a different question. If given another chance—"
"Without involving PLANT, without the conflict between Naturals and Coordinators, but instead for the sake of genuine peace and true justice—"
"Desert Tiger Captain Balthfeld, would you walk this path with me?"
"Well then..."
Exchanging a glance with Aisha to confirm their mutual resolve, Balthfeld gave his affirmative answer before preparing to go all out.
"On the path of justice, I'd be delighted to walk with you, Qilin Wang Hu of the East Asian Alliance!"
As the words fell, Lag moved.
Like a true fierce tiger, it roared skyward with an earth-shaking bellow.
Aisha controlled the back-mounted Beam Cannon, firing a beam filled with determination as the vanguard, followed closely by Balthfeld's tiger-like pounce.
"I look forward to walking this path with you, Captain Balthfeld."
Dodging Lag's beam attack with a flicker, Wang Hu's Zeta Gundam lowered its posture and executed a forward slide.
Facing the charging Lag, the Zeta Gundam slid beneath the belly of Balthfeld's mobile suit.
"Wang Hu!"
Laughing heartily, Mister Tiger manipulated Lag to lower its head, attempting to stab the beam blades resembling fangs at its mouth toward Wang Hu below.
Raising his shield, he both blocked Balthfeld's beam and pressed against Lag's underside.
With a surge of power, the Zeta Gundam thrust upward violently, sending the massive frame of Lag flying into the sky.
Seizing the moment before the immobilized Lag could use its thrusters to regain mobility,
Wang Hu aimed his rifle and destroyed both of its gliding wings, followed by its limbs and head.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Beams struck Lag's body, explosions erupting across its frame.
"Captain Balthfeld?"
Aboard the land battleship engaged in a fighting retreat against the pursuing Allied Forces in the distance,
Martin, as if sensing something, stared blankly toward the sky where continuous explosions echoed.
"Captain Balthfeld?"
Gritting his teeth while covering the retreat with Nicol beside him, Athrun paused mid-engagement with Kira.
The distant sounds seemed to foretell something.
"Kira! Another one... another one!"
Shouting words others could scarcely comprehend, two clear tears streamed from the corners of Athrun's eyes.
"This is war! This is the world Brother Wang Hu wants to change!"
Kira immediately roared back, able to understand the thoughts of his childhood friend before him.
"So to prevent more tragedies from being born in this world, in our generation—our generation—war and the world must be transformed!"
"Even if it's you, Athrun, I won't hesitate for this cause!"
Raising his Beam Cannon and wielding it like a staff, Kira executed a powerful overhead strike—a "Splitting Mount Hua"!
"This damned war."
Only these words did Athrun agree with. Swinging both arms, he used the sharpness of his Beam Sabers to slice through the Beam Cannon Kira swung at him.
Without lingering, coordinating with cannon fire from the land battleship behind him, Athrun seized the moment Kira dodged.
Grasping the hand Nicol extended from behind, Athrun returned to the deck of the rapidly retreating battleship.
"Nicol!"
"Athrun!"
These two comrades-in-arms, who had pursued the Archangel from space all the way to the ground, simultaneously unleashed their full firepower backward to hold off the enemy.
"It's over now."
Wang Hu watched as Lag exploded into a fireball in the sky, hoping that this time, both of you could survive.
Silently praying in his heart for the couple to make it, the Zeta Gundam turned and flew toward the Archangel.
What followed was farewell and a new journey.
--Enjoying the story? Want more chapters? Check out my Patreon and support me for 40+ advance chapters.
Just search for "LegendaryTL" on Patreon!"
Thanks!