Gundam 00: Rise of China

Flames surged inward through the menacing breach on the side of the aircraft carrier, and scorching heat waves, carrying thick smoke, filled every corridor.

The Union fleet's flagship, with its seemingly indestructible steel behemoth body, was vulnerable to the specially prepared anti-ship missiles produced by the Man-Revolutionary Alliance.

That thick composite armor was nothing more than a slightly stiff piece of parchment, easily torn with a single puncture.

Immediately, the deck was filled with cries, explosions, and the shouts of damage control personnel, creating a chaotic scene.

The soldiers on the warship desperately tried to extinguish the towering flames with high-pressure water jets, but their efforts only produced large plumes of futile white mist and did nothing to suppress the raging fire demon.

On the other side, Chief of Staff Jason, who had temporarily replaced General Mike, was being dragged away from the bridge by two bodyguards who were holding his arms tightly.

Not long ago, he clung tightly to the railing in the bridge, refusing to move, his eyes filled with a deep, almost resolute look.

For a high-ranking commander to encounter such a shameful event, it seems that sinking with the ship would be his last shred of dignity.

Chief of Staff Jason wanted to share the fate of the warship, but his men disregarded his plight and carried him away, no one willing to watch the last backbone of the fleet perish in the flames.

With General Mike out of the question, Chief of Staff Jason is the only one who could potentially lead them out of this predicament!

"Let me go, I know what to do next."

The person who can turn the tide in a desperate situation is undoubtedly someone like Chief of Staff Jason. Even though his voice was hoarse, he did not struggle. His gaze went over the shoulders of the people around him and looked at the burning flagship.

He felt as if a huge boulder was pressing on his heart, after all, what was sinking now was not just an aircraft carrier.

That was the Union's maritime hegemony that had dominated for centuries, and a globally accepted, unshakeable myth of war.

Today, however, this myth was shattered by two mercenaries in front of billions of viewers across the entire gravity field.

"Chief of Staff Jason!"

Noticing that their superior seemed to have regained his fighting spirit, the officers were both happy and worried. They were happy that their chief of staff did not seem to have given up, but worried about how to break the current deadlock.

"Change the flagship quickly. The entire fleet is now out of control, which is the perfect opportunity for the enemy."

Gently gesturing to those around him to let go, Chief of Staff Jason quickened his pace considerably. He knew that the sooner he could restore command of the entire fleet, the sooner he could salvage Union's humiliated reputation!

Indeed, as Chief of Staff Jason said, when the flagship caught fire, was about to fall silent, and lost command, the entire Union fleet off the coast of Taliban fell into a deathly silence.

Flagship pilots on the front lines were so engrossed in their operations that they were practically lost in thought as they gripped the control sticks.

Just a few hours earlier, when the Celestials' Gundams attacked Taliban, they were waiting for the enemy to finish their attack before they would follow their fleet into Taliban to receive cheers from the people.

It was a victory parade that everyone thought was pre-arranged.

Soon they will be able to enjoy Taliban's wine and women, just like their predecessors countless years ago, calling themselves saviors.

To put it proudly, everyone in the world loves Union people!

But what happened in the blink of an eye?

The flagship was destroyed, and the commander's fate is unknown.

Is this still the invincible Union army?

Faced with the enormous gap between reality and expectations, all the Union soldiers were completely blank in their minds.

The already chaotic flag formation became even more disorganized. Even their symbolic firepower ceased, and no one spoke on their internal communication channels except for the chaotic, deathly silence.

The morale of the Union army deflated like a punctured balloon...

But in stark contrast to the Union army's bewilderment, the fervent cheers and tsunamis spread throughout Taliban.

"Hit! Hit the flagship!"

Soldiers threw their helmets into the air, and civilians embraced and wept in the streets.

At this moment, no one cared that the mercenary Saches had once been a notorious mad dog, nor did anyone care how much innocent blood he had spilled on his hands.

In the eyes of the Taliban in their desperate situation, those who can bring victory are heroes.

Of course, the greatest hero is still Char, who has become a symbol!

So the first six training aircraft to arrive at the battlefield rushed directly to the area below Wang Ye's aircraft. The captain of this unit spoke in a hoarse but incredibly determined voice over the public channel.

"Lord Char! The Third Mobile Squad of Taliban is at your disposal! Please give your orders!"

Immediately afterwards, more scattered machines converged from all directions.

There are training systems, old training MS, and even more outdated fixed-wing fighter jets.

None of the Taliban soldiers questioned Wang Ye's identity, and no one cared whether Wang Ye was one of their own.

All they knew was that it could lead them to victory and save Taliban.

He is the commander-in-chief!

"As you wish, I will respond to Taliban's expectations."

Through the public channel, Wang Ye's voice was transmitted to every receiver.

The voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable power, just as people had imagined hearing.

"The Union warriors will still fight with all their might, so let's utterly crush them before their seemingly invincible warships!"

"go ahead!"

Without precise instructions that were practically delegated to every individual, Wang Ye was playing a strategy war game, the kind of player who simply drew a box and then sent troops there.

Even such a crude and hardly proper order caused the Taliban army's long-suppressed anger to erupt completely.

In an instant, the Taliban army, like tigers released from their cages, fiercely tore into the gaps in the Union's chaotic formation.

The flag-like formation, which had temporarily lost its central command, was thrown into chaos. After several units were shot down, it retreated again and again.

Then, the Taliban soldiers, having tasted the fruits of victory for the first time, were in high spirits, their battle cries filling the sky and resounding throughout the world, as if victory was already in their grasp.

This continued until half an hour later, on a frigate at the rear of the Union fleet.

Having deliberately chosen this unassuming warship as the new flagship, Chief of Staff Jason, wiping the ash from his face, stood back in front of the command platform.

Without wasting any words, he directly connected all combat units.

"I am Jason Thicke, and I am now in command of the entire fleet."

"The flagship sank, which is a disgrace to the soldiers, but not the end for Union."

"My children, you must understand that no one can humiliate Union and then walk away unscathed, going back to the bar and bragging about how he slapped Union in the face!"

"Therefore, I ordered all units to regroup and launch a counterattack on the spot."

"Let those mercenary dogs and foolish rebels know that Union remains the true defender of this world!"

These few words were like cold water poured into boiling oil, instantly snapping the dazed soldiers out of their reverie.

Then, the spirit of "a desperate army will surely win" rose up, and the Union army, whose actual strength was not bad, quickly regrouped and relied on the powerful anti-aircraft firepower of the fleet behind them to stabilize their position in an instant.

The generational gap in equipment and training cannot be bridged by the Taliban army's enthusiasm alone.

After regaining their footing, the Union army quickly demonstrated the qualities of an elite regular army.

With crossfire advancing layer by layer and the squads coordinating their tactics perfectly, they turned the tide and forced the Taliban army into a series of defeats.

In terms of raw power, the Taliban army is still inferior to the Union!

"Hey, Char!"

In the midst of the battlefield, Saches cleaved a charging flag-shaped aircraft carrier in two with a single blow, clicked his tongue, and then looked around.

He loved war, but losing his life for it was not his style.

"Let's retreat! These guys can't win."

Wang Ye did not respond to Saches's suggestion.

His red thug continued to weave through the ranks, guiding the Taliban army to tighten their defenses, showing no intention of retreating.

Although the situation was indeed deteriorating, it was all within his calculations.

Wang Ye never expected to defeat Union's main force with this group of Taliban remnants.

The real main force should be the Gundam Exia that arrived on the battlefield.