"What... what are you doing!? We are... the Sakura Country's Second Fleet! We were sent to welcome you. By doing this... are you declaring war on our country!?" The dark muzzle pressed against the bridge terrified the commander so much that his legs trembled, and he spoke with a stammer.
"A Sakura Country fleet? Is that so?"
"Ye... yes."
"If this is a Sakura Country fleet, why aren't you flying your national flag? Why are your crew members not wearing uniforms? Why did you even deploy into an attack formation?"
"Tha... that's because..."
"Hmph, the Empire is not so easily deceived. Pirates—as a world power, it is our obligation to eliminate terrorists who threaten world peace."
As soon as the words fell, the people of the Sakura Country saw the dark muzzle glow with a green light, filled with the aura of destruction.
"No! We aren't... we aren't pirates! We really are regular forces..."
"Still trying to argue? Fine, go to hell and tell your lies to Satan!"
"St... stop!"
The commander was so scared he wet his pants, but his plea for mercy received a response. The glow of the muzzle began to fade, and it moved away from their faces.
"Heh, you're lucky to be alive," Yang Hui sneered. "By order of Princess Cornelia, since this is within the Sakura Country's Territorial Waters, even for pirates like you, we do not have the right to use military force to eliminate you. Relinquish all armaments and accept detention by our forces. We will then hand you over to the Sakura Country authorities."
"This... this... you can't do that! We are the Sakura Country authorities! We aren't pirates!"
If the threat of death had made them wet their pants, the current threat was like falling into a bottomless abyss.
They were indeed a government fleet, but their mission was a black operation that could absolutely never be exposed. Once it came to light, the Sakura Country's plan to ambush the Holy Britannian Empire's fleet would be revealed, giving the Empire an excuse to declare war. At the same time, their international status and reputation would plummet to the bottom.
The Sakura Country government would certainly not tolerate this happening. Therefore, their solution would be to publicly claim they were pirates and throw them out as scapegoats.
By doing so, although their international standing would still be affected by the presence of pirates within their borders, it would be much better than the alternative.
But this abandoned fleet would never be able to clear their names. Though they were regular soldiers, they would be executed under the stigma of being pirates to give the Britannian Empire an account.
"Final warning: relinquish all armaments and wait for my forces to take over. Otherwise, we will treat your continued defiance as a major threat and eliminate you with force."
"No... no, no, no! We surrender! We'll follow your arrangements!"
They didn't know what it felt like to wait for death, but right now, they didn't want to die immediately. Ultimately, they chose to submit; the Britannian Empire had not given them a third option.
"Tch, boring. They didn't even resist." Another casual remark came through the public communication channel, causing the Sakura Country personnel's legs to start shaking again. Just as they were feeling relieved that they wouldn't die immediately, their hearts leaped into their throats once more.
But seeing that the Knightmare threatening them had already holstered its weapon and turned its back to them, a fire named rage burned in their chests. It was obvious that the previous comment and their current posture were intentional mockery.
"Colonel! Let's do it!" A hot-blooded youth couldn't take it anymore and pleaded with the commander. Dying in a blaze of glory was better than enduring this humiliation.
"...Wait for Britannia to take over." The commander was angry too, of course, but he could no longer muster the courage to attack. His entire fleet had been captured by the enemy's Knightmare units without firing a single shot.
Furthermore, in terms of numbers, a single warship might carry one or two Knightmares—how many were there total?
Looking at the scale of the Britannian fleet opposite them, could they only carry such a small number of Knightmares?
That was obviously impossible. If they launched a surprise attack and managed to destroy the Knightmares in front of them, what about the main force that was currently approaching? How would they deal with that?
Moreover, what appeared before them was not the fourth-generation Knightmare, the Glasgow, that they were familiar with. Even with the naked eye, it was clear that the Britannian Empire's Knightmares had been upgraded, not to mention their miraculous water-surface movement technology.
All of this chilled him to the bone, robbing him of the courage to attack.
"Colonel!"
"Shut up! If you want to die, I can fulfill that wish for you! Don't drag me down with you!" Driven to desperation, the commander drew his gun and pressed it against the young man's head.
The cold touch of the dark muzzle quickly cooled the youth's hot blood, leaving him in a cold sweat.
What they didn't know was that everything that had just happened had not escaped Yang Hui's eyes. Sitting in the cockpit, Yang Hui gave a cold smile, feeling somewhat disappointed. He had actually been looking forward to the other side persisting with their hot-bloodedness so he could legitimately wipe out the entire fleet and even declare war on the Sakura Country directly.
"Royal Sister."
"What is it?"
"Be careful when boarding. There's no shortage of hot-blooded youths among these runts."
"I know."
Yang Hui's warning was not without merit. The Bushido that the Sakura Country believed in still had some teeth. Some youngsters who hadn't been beaten down by reality were unwilling to be captured without resistance; once their blood was up, they wouldn't care about their superiors' orders.
Although they were certainly a small minority, it wouldn't be a profitable trade for the Empire's army to suffer losses because of them.
Sure enough, as the Empire's forces began to take over the fleet, they encountered resistance. If not for Yang Hui's initial warning, a sudden surprise attack might have actually caused the Imperial army to suffer losses.
Having taken over the Sakura Country's fleet without further incident, the Britannian fleet slowly steered the captured vessels toward the Imperial Settlement on the Sakura Islands.
"Do you think this excuse is suitable for declaring war?" Cornelia asked Yang Hui.
"Haha, that's a joke, Royal Sister." Yang Hui was amused by Cornelia. "When has the Empire ever used an excuse to declare war on someone?"
"Haha, true. But I think we'll be disappointed this time." Cornelia gave a self-deprecating laugh. The Empire indeed never used excuses for foreign conquests; all wars were launched directly without declaration.
But this time, she felt the Empire wouldn't declare war on the Sakura Country because its current international status was very special.
It was just a weak country, yet it attracted the collective attention of the world's great powers because it controlled 70% of the world's Sakuradaite resources. Every world power coveted the Sakura Country's Sakuradaite and dreamed of swallowing the nation in one bite, but none of them wanted another country to get it. Therefore, if the Empire were to act, and if they couldn't win a decisive battle in the short term to take the Sakura Country with lightning speed, the pressure from other powers would fall upon the Empire. They might even unite in common hatred to crusade against the Empire, which was something the Empire was unwilling to see.
"It's only a matter of time." Yang Hui shrugged. "The people at the top have been eyeing this fat piece of meat for a long time; they're starting to lose their patience."
"It seems you have other tasks?" Cornelia asked with interest.
"A secret order from the Cabinet meeting. After the joint military exercise, I and my Knight Order will remain in the Settlement."
"Hahaha, those brats are really unlucky." Cornelia laughed happily. The only difference between Yang Hui's Knight Order and the Empire's strongest orders was combat experience. She had trained with them and knew their combat strength very well; they only needed the experience of a few battles to become the Empire's strongest Knight Order in one fell swoop.
The Knights of the Round Table were indeed powerful, but they were more like twelve powerful individual knights than a coordinated Order. The Knights of the Round Table always fought their own battles and had never acted together, and their relationships with one another weren't great. No matter how powerful they were, if they were surrounded and attacked by a flawlessly coordinated, highly capable elite squad, their only end would be a tragic defeat.
Not to mention a monster like Yang Hui. Cornelia had sparred with Bismarck, the Knight of One, and she didn't believe Bismarck was Yang Hui's match.
Therefore, the Cabinet's purpose in keeping Yang Hui and his Knight Order in the Sakura Country was self-evident, except...
"Except those old fogies could never dream that all their arrangements are just serving as your wedding clothes," Cornelia said.
Yang Hui held up his hands, not denying it.
Yang Hui indeed had no affection for the Sakura Country and wouldn't mind personally leading a team to destroy it, but the country's Sakuradaite resources were very important—at least until he successfully replicated the Ahab Reactor in this world.
Most importantly, Lelouch and Nunnally were also in this country. He didn't want Lelouch and Nunnally to go down their original path, so he intended to conquer this country, ensuring the name 'Lelouch Lamperouge' would never appear, allowing him to live openly as Lelouch vi Britannia.
Moreover... intelligence suggested that the immortal witch was currently in this country. Once it was conquered, it would be easier to find her.
So, what about after the conquest?
Yang Hui's purpose in asking for special privileges from Charles zi Britannia was to escape his control. Now he had the privileges, but he wasn't completely free of control yet because the Knight Order's base was still in the Imperial Capital, right under his nose.
If Yang Hui conquered this country, he would be the most likely candidate to become the master of this territory. Although it wasn't large in scale, Yang Hui's influence had long since spread across the world. For the Knight Order on the surface, he only needed elites. As for large-scale regular troops...
Yang Hui believed that Cornelia and Clovis would not refuse him when he needed them, especially after revealing the plans of Charles zi Britannia and Marianne.
"I just don't know if I'll be able to see Lelouch and Nunnally this time," Cornelia said worriedly. She had always cared deeply for this poor pair of siblings.
"Of course you can. They are currently enrolled in the elementary department of Ashford Academy and live at the Ashford residence."
"That's good. The Ashford family is still reliable. Let's go see them together when the time comes."
"Of course. I hope that brat Lelouch has taken good care of Nunnally. Otherwise... hehehe..."
"Hiss~"
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