Chapter 259: Ambush Battle in Orb Territorial Waters (Minerva Version)

The morning sun illuminated the sea surface as the *Minerva* set sail amidst the cries of seagulls.

The reason for such a hasty departure, besides considerations of the changing situation, also had to do with a civilian communication received yesterday.

The other party had cryptically revealed their true identity: Andrew Waltfeld, the former legendary ZAFT commander known as the "Desert Tiger."

Although the other party provided no information to prove their identity, Captain Talia Gladys still chose to believe them.

Because the judgment in the other party's words contained no errors; after suffering a nuclear attack, the ZAFT military could not continue to remain indifferent.

It was inevitable that they would launch a descent operation to relieve the besieged Carpentaria Base. If that happened, Orb's stance might rapidly tilt toward the Earth Alliance.

Therefore, Captain Talia Gladys made her own decision.

However, it seemed they were still a step too late.

Just as the *Minerva* sailed out of Orb's territorial waters, it encountered an ambush by the Alliance fleet.

A total of four aircraft carriers, eight cruisers, and various other types of vessels formed two carrier battle groups, surrounding the *Minerva* from the left and right.

At the same time, the Orb fleet behind them also assumed a combat formation, indicating their intention not to allow the *Minerva* to return to Orb's territorial waters.

In this desperate situation, Talia made a final combat mobilization over the ship's internal broadcast, attempting to stir up the crew's determination to fight to the death by explaining the hopelessness of their current situation.

Facts proved that Captain Talia's mobilization was extremely effective.

"Bastards, have those guys in Orb really teamed up with the Earth military?"

Facing this behavior from Orb, Shinn displayed unusual anger.

The country that was once his home had failed to protect his family, and now it was going to betray the unit he was in.

Regarding Orb's act of betrayal, there were many others as angry as Shinn; everyone remained silent, bracing themselves and preparing for the battle that was about to begin.

Shihe was similarly disgusted by Orb's behavior, but more than that, she had the determination to survive this battle.

She hadn't seen him again yet; how could she just die in a place like this?

"Maintenance crew, use machine guns and recoilless rifles for weapons. Remove the Ship-Slicing Blade and replace it with spare magazines."

Boarding her GINN, Shihe chose suitable equipment based on the battlefield.

Under such circumstances, a GINN could only be used as a fixed gun emplacement on the *Minerva*'s deck for combat, so firepower was the priority.

The maintenance crew quickly followed Shihe's instructions to swap out the GINN's weapons and then waited for the launch order.

The first to launch was Shinn's Force Impulse.

Immediately following were Rey and Luna's ZAKUs, and finally, Shihe's GINN.

Battle start!

The Earth military also dispatched its first wave of Windams; a total of twelve Windams equipped with Jet Strikers took off, forming a formation and rushing toward the *Minerva*.

Shinn, piloting the Impulse as the *Minerva*'s only aerial combat capability, aggressively went to contain the enemy's first wave of attacks alone.

However, the Alliance's primary target was clearly to sink the *Minerva*; they only split off one squad to intercept the Impulse, while the remaining mobile suits continued to fly toward the *Minerva*.

"Three enemy units at 10 o'clock, six at 3 o'clock. They're coming," Rey warned.

"Starting with one!"

Luna, piloting the Gunner ZAKU, fired first. A thick red ion beam dragged an arc through the air, and while dispersing the enemy formation, it successfully shot down one enemy unit.

"Nice shot!"

Shihe praised, her hands never stopping on the controls.

The GINN raised the machine gun in its left hand and began sweeping fire. After locking down the target's mobility, she hit it with a single shot from the recoilless rifle in her right hand.

On the other side, Rey also achieved a kill; the ZAFT side had a decent start.

But the truly cruel battle had just begun. As time passed, the Earth military dispatched second and third waves of mobile suit formations and simultaneously deployed the Zamza-Zah, a mobile armor equipped with a positron ejector.

As soon as this four-legged mobile armor, which looked like a crab, appeared, it blocked a positron blast from the *Minerva* with a very stubborn posture.

Subsequently, this mobile armor dragged down the Impulse, which had been wreaking havoc, preventing the Impulse from acting as a containment force against the Windam formation.

This caused the *Minerva*'s pressure to increase instantly; facing the Windam formation, which had an absolute numerical advantage, it was hit repeatedly.

For a time, the *Minerva* was in precarious danger.

Captain Talia had no choice but to adopt a circuitous course, attempting to avoid the Earth military's concentrated fire, but was met with ruthless artillery warning fire from the Orb military.

"Damn it, those guys in Orb..."

Just when things were already extremely dangerous, Shinn was distracted and caught by the Zamza-Zah.

The Impulse, whose capabilities were already nearing the danger zone, was grabbed by the right leg by the Zamza-Zah's thermal claws. Then, in the struggle, it simply exhausted the energy required to provide the VPS armor's effectiveness; its right leg was torn off by the Zamza-Zah, and the mobile suit lost its mobility, being flung toward the sea surface.

"Oh no!"

"Shinn!"

"Don't..."

The Impulse's crisis tugged at the heartstrings of everyone on the *Minerva*.

"Damn it, how can I die in a place like this, for such a bastard reason!"

Just as the Zamza-Zah wanted to deliver the finishing blow, Shinn Asuka, fueled by anger, woke up from his "revolving lantern" (near-death experience).

After a series of operations, he dodged the Zamza-Zah's finishing blow, his crimson pupils burning with boundless rage in the calm.

SEED!

He requested an aerial helium recharge from the *Minerva*, as well as the replacement of parts and equipment.

Shinn Asuka operated the mobile suit, dodging enemy attacks while moving closer to the *Minerva*.

"Shinn, go ahead and re-equip; leave the cover to me."

Shihe realized this was their only hope for a comeback in this desperate situation and decisively entered SEED mode.

Three shells were fired in succession from the 500mm recoilless rifle, drawing three arcs in the air, and miraculously hit three Windams that were trying to pursue the Impulse one after another.

"So amazing..."

Watching the three sparks in the sky, Luna Maria looked shocked, and then a sense of unwillingness rose in her heart.

If only she could have this kind of technique too...

With Shihe's cover, Shinn successfully performed an aerial recharge while piloting the Impulse.

Subsequently, with a series of erratic maneuvers, he closed in on the Zamza-Zah, thrust his beam saber into the Zamza-Zah's cockpit, and then gave it a fierce slash.

Counter-kill successful!

In what followed, it was Shinn Asuka's personal performance.

The Impulse, now equipped with the Sword Striker, successfully landed on an enemy aircraft carrier, and the Ship-Slicing Blade in its hand was doing its job of destruction as its name implied.

The Impulse's red figure was like a demon, leaping from one warship to another, wantonly destroying the hulls with the giant sword in its hand.

Two aircraft carriers and four cruisers became the stepping stones for Shinn Asuka's fame-making battle.

After losing half of their main fleet, the remaining Alliance forces timidly chose to retreat.

After this battle, Shinn Asuka first revealed his edge, showing the potential to become a super ace. ===== CHAPTER 260 =====