As Eclair recovers from her shock, she asks if Clubs Bleu is all right, and they confirm that they're uninjured- the white flag is up and they're out of the game. Eclair realizes that had Clubs Bleu not been in front, her tank would have been hit; it's a significant setback, but not on the same level as the flag tank being taken out. Interestingly enough, except for the matches with St. Gloriana and Black Forest, Oarai gets first blood in all of its matches.
Oarai celebrates, with Hippo pleased that they got one, Rabbit Team happy to take first blood, and the student council equally relieved until Miho tells everyone not to get carried away.
Meanwhile, Maginot is struggling to reload and avoid enemy fire at the same time, and Momo is pleased that, as good as their defenses are, they can't return fire. Noriko orders Akebi to aim for the tracks, and she detracks an R35, immobilizing it long enough for Momo, of all people to get a hit. Yuzu is pleased, and Momo is quite proud of herself, while Anzu points out that Yuzu was the one who got them so close, an interesting point in noting that not even Momo could have missed this shot.
Eclair is distressed at how her mobile warfare strategy failed. Meanwhile, Madeleine, watching from the side in her school uniform, suspects that the problem lies with Maginot's tanks, but is interested in seeing how Eclair does.
Miho, noticing that Maginot's down to three tanks, orders Duck and Turtle to help Hippo, and plans on taking the rest down one by one.
Eclair, hearing a warning by Fondue and still clutching her stomach, orders the tanks to deploy smoke screen. Saori warns Miho about it, and Miho tells her tanks not to pursue theirs too far, realizing it is a temporary retreat. Naturally, Momo takes umbrage, but Anzu is calm. Mako (whose vision is exceptionally good at a distance) watches the tanks escape.
Maginot's somewhat dismal state of affairs is not lost on Gallette, who notes the R35's failures at surprise attack and mobile warfare. She notes that not only are they at a disadvantage, but they're likely going to lose at an area in which they expected certain victory.
Of course, Gallette is the last thing on Eclair's mind. As Fondue worries about Eclair, she gets a frantic radio call from one of Eclair's crew, saying that Eclair's face has turned pallid, as Eclair is slumped forward in her command seat. Fondue orders that they rush to the forest ahead.
They get Eclair out of her tank, her uniform stained with what looks like vomit. She apologizes for forgetting her stomach medicine, and hesitantly rises to her feet to continue. Fondue tries to convince her not to force herself, and Eclair responds by first telling her not to jest, and then in a fit of uncharacteristic anger, refusing to even hear any suggestion to surrender, a nice defiance of the Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys trope.
Gallette walks up and asks why Eclair is trying so hard. Fondue is shocked, but Eclair calmly asks Gallette if she likes tankery. Eclair says she wanted to win at first, not even caring about traditions, but after fighting with Madeleine and becoming commander, "became burdened by those traditions," and her desire to win combined with those traditions. She says she wants to win with everyone else, as she, the team and their collective efforts embody Maginot's traditions. She hopes to make Maginot stronger in the future and sees her efforts as preparation for that, which is why she can't help but enjoy it. This was nicely touching and a good amount of Character Development most of the canon teams don't get.
Eclair wobbles a little after the speech, and invites Gallette to enjoy it together with her. Gallette, blushing, says that it's a strange question, because she's already part of it, and she, hesitatingly, adds that she hates Eclair.
Oarai searches for Maginot, but while Rabbit Team has not found them yet, Momo is sure they're in the forest. Miho, however, is worried, and thinks back to why she miscounted Maginot's tanks; she realized that Maginot fired first, and everyone else returned fire, preventing them from counting the enemy. She concludes that Maginot wants them to get confused, and that they're not fighting as the "old" Maginot any longer. It's nice to see her stop Wangsting about her failure, and instead use it to figure Maginot out.
Rabbit Team spots a SOUMA, and Miho orders them to pursue it while maintaining a safe distance, at which point another SOUMA is spotted. Miho orders the team to go after the SOUMA Rabbit Team is pursuing.
Eclair, noting how popular her tank is, also realizes that her old and new strategies failed, but now is the time to try something new. As Oarai pursues them, a Char arrives and opens fire on the Type 89 and StuG from behind, ending the chapter on a Cliffhanger.
This was a good chapter, and I wonder if the battle will conclude in the next, since Maginot has taken significant losses by now, and Oarai may just have lost two of its tanks.
- Next Installment: Having defeated BC Freedom, Centipede Team turns their sights toward Anzio, which brings them back to the story's beginning.
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