Chapter 65: The Second Battle of Jachin Due (Part I)

In the end, this melodramatic misunderstanding was resolved after Li Boyong and Fulei spoke with complete honesty.

Although Natarle Badgiruel acted with rare tsundere behavior, stating that Li Boyong did not need to explain anything to her, her actual attitude showed that she had accepted the explanation.

This matter could have been put to rest right there, but Li Boyong just had to be cheeky and ask Natarle Badgiruel what she had wanted to see him about.

This caused Natarle Badgiruel to turn completely cold; she ignored Li Boyong entirely, except for official business.

Could she possibly say that she had sought out Li Boyong at that time because she had suddenly developed a sense of unease before the great battle, and had been preparing herself mentally?

How could Natarle Badgiruel ever voice such an absurd thing? Naturally, she dealt with Li Boyong by forcing herself to be cold.

This left Li Boyong feeling very depressed, because having just acquired the function to view intimacy levels, he had watched with his own eyes as Natarle Badgiruel's intimacy dropped from its previous value to its current one.

According to the system's prompts, to recruit a character as one's follower, one needs at least 80 points of intimacy. After gaining that character's recognition, one must also pay the corresponding points based on that character's abilities to successfully recruit them.

Based on Natarle Badgiruel's abilities, the system gave a cost of 23 points.

Don't let 23 arbitrary points seem like a small amount; that would be enough to learn a fairly powerful skill with points to spare.

Furthermore, look at the rewards for the tasks issued by the system—they are pitiful. He currently only has 2 plot points and the 12 battle merit points he just obtained, totaling only 14 points. Accumulating points does not seem easy.

As for how to gain Natarle Badgiruel's recognition, Li Boyong was even more at a loss as to how to bring it up, or what would even count as gaining her recognition.

How could he say it?

Should he go straight to Natarle Badgiruel and say, "May I ask, can I become your master?"

He was afraid of being stuffed into the main gun barrel of the Archangel...

Or should he explain the system and his situation in minute detail, then ask the other party to become his follower, and then leave this world together?

Is that really okay?

Is that really what the other party wants?

And then there is Shihe; what should he do?

Take her along?

Don't take her? Could he bear to leave this world all alone?

Would he be content?

After thinking through all these messy thoughts, Li Boyong's heart, which had been burning because he had just acquired a new function, gradually cooled down.

Heh... whether he can even survive the final battle is up in the air, let alone thinking of such beautiful things!

Pouring a bucket of cold water on himself in his heart, Li Boyong forced himself to focus on the upcoming decisive battle, but no matter how he thought about it, he did not use those points to learn any skills.

Perhaps it was because in his heart, he was still hoping for the best outcome.

Regardless, as the Earth Alliance fleet drew closer to the ZAFT Jachin Due defense line, the outbreak of the final battle was right before their eyes.

On September 26th, the massive Earth Alliance fleet began its attack on the Jachin Due defense line, and the Second Battle of Jachin Due officially began.

As the battle started, the Earth Alliance fleet formed a perfect box formation and released a large number of MS units, pouncing on the Jachin Due defense line with the force of Mount Tai pressing down.

The ZAFT forces on the Jachin defense line naturally began to resist stubbornly. These ZAFT soldiers were very clear that behind them lay the Hourglass Satellite Cluster of the PLANT homeland, and they absolutely could not let a single Alliance nuclear missile slip through!

Li Boyong sortied piloting a Full Armor Dagger. His mission was to lead the replenished Strike Dagger squad and the three "Niaoren" to open a path for the Peace Maker team.

At the same time, the system also gave him a task.

【Task】

Survive the Second Battle of Jachin Due. (Completion reward: 5 plot points.)

【Task】

In the Second Battle of Jachin Due, for every enemy machine shot down, gain 1 battle merit point; for every enemy warship shot down, gain 5 battle merit points, until the battle ends or the host dies.

Two tasks; the first survival task goes without saying.

The point is the second task; how many rewards he can get depends entirely on how much battle result he can achieve.

Should one say it's worthy of being a final battle task? This means he has to fight for his life!

But no matter how he complained, the system's task had been issued, the final battle had already begun, and a damaged Ginn had already recklessly drawn its sword and rushed in front of him.

Li Boyong frowned, controlled the Full Armor Dagger to dodge slightly, and then used his beam rifle to shoot down this Ginn.

His heart sank; it seemed that faced with nuclear missiles aimed at their faces, the ZAFT pilots were truly beginning to fight for their lives.

"Do not advance recklessly. Let those three machines go up and cause a scene first; we will follow and press forward to provide cover, and look for a suitable breakthrough point."

Li Boyong made a decision in his heart and issued orders to his subordinates.

With the ZAFT forces fighting so fiercely, why should he be in a hurry to fight for his life for the Peace Maker team? The more time he could drag out, the better, to make it convenient for Freedom and Justice to enter and wipe out all the nuclear missiles.

Raider, Calamity, and Forbidden—the three "Niaoren" piloted these three machines and began to wreak havoc on the Jachin defense line, showing absolute strength that surpassed mass-produced machines.

Li Boyong led the Strike Dagger squad, following behind the three "Niaoren," providing some cover while snatching up some kills.

Forty-five minutes after the battle began, faced with the Earth Alliance forces that held an absolute advantage in numbers, the ZAFT forces on the Jachin defense line, despite still resisting fiercely, began to show signs of decline.

After all, the Jachin defense line was much longer than the Boaz defense line, and the ZAFT forces, at a disadvantage in numbers, were finding it very difficult to defend.

In the fighting during this period, Li Boyong shot down three enemy machines, but also lost four subordinates; the scale of his unit had already been reduced by nearly half.

But precisely because of this, Li Boyong, possessing the "Survivor" skill and the "Friendly Fire Reaper" title, became even more powerful.

He even broke through the firepower blockade of three GuAIZ in succession, and used his Ship-Slicing Blade to hack and explode the bridge of a Laurasia-class ship.

After shooting down the Laurasia-class ship, Li Boyong had already found the position where the Jachin defense line could be torn open.

The commander in the rear subsequently discovered this weakness and issued an order to the MS units on the front line to attack this position.

Li Boyong's team and the three "Niaoren," being closest to this position, naturally received this order, but Li Boyong deliberately dragged his feet for five minutes before beginning the attack on this position.

Ten minutes later, the defense line at that location was torn open under the attacks of the three "Niaoren" and Li Boyong's team. The Peace Maker team sortied, and along this opened path, fired a large number of nuclear missiles toward the PLANT homeland behind the Jachin defense line. ===== CHAPTER 66 =====