On the outskirts of the Scandinavian Kingdom, Orb's forces had ceased all concealment, openly encircling the entire nation.
The moment operations commenced, Wang Liu Mei held a press conference, revealing to the world that behind the Atlantic Federation and Blue Cosmos lurked the arms dealers of LOGOS, who profited from inciting wars for their own gain. Furthermore, she exposed that Scandinavian Kingdom itself was the true mastermind behind LOGOS—the root of the world's distortions.
Alongside these declarations, overwhelming evidence was presented. Otherwise, the global populace would never have believed it. While LOGOS was already notorious, the Scandinavian Kingdom had maintained a respectable international reputation—portrayed as peaceful, unambitious, and maintaining good diplomatic relations with many nations. Even its apparent subservience to the Atlantic Federation had been framed as reluctant compliance, evoking sympathy rather than suspicion.
Now, ironclad evidence mercilessly tore away the kingdom's facade, exposing its bloodstained true nature—though not entirely, as information regarding the festum remained undisclosed.
Still, this was enough to justify Orb's sudden large-scale military operations worldwide and its mobilization of forces to besiege the small Scandinavian Kingdom.
Shortly after, the East Asian Republic and Duan Halbaton's faction also held press conferences, publicly naming and trying the captured core members of LOGOS. This propelled global outrage to its peak, especially among Blue Cosmos' grassroots members. These individuals had genuinely believed in Blue Cosmos' ideology, acting out of hatred for Coordinators. Now, discovering that their movement had been manipulated by war profiteers who deliberately sowed conflict for profit shattered their faith, unleashing all their pent-up fury upon Blue Cosmos itself.
Within the forces encircling the Scandinavian Kingdom, the Archangel floated silently on the ocean's surface, awaiting Yang Hui and the others.
"Still not here yet?" Mu asked impatiently, knowing full well that this battle would decide the world's fate.
"There's still half an hour until the scheduled time," Murrue replied, equally anxious but maintaining her composure as the ship's captain.
"Captain, Lieutenant Colonel Huo and Major Kelly have arrived!"
"Lieutenant Colonel Rena and Major Harrison have arrived!"
"Major Houston has arrived!"
"Lieutenant Karl and Lieutenant Broderick from the Space Forces have descended to Earth aboard the Qilin! Lowe Guele of the Junk Guild and Gai Murakumo of Serpent Tail are accompanying them!"
"Major Yue, Captain Elsman, Ensign Hanifs, and Lieutenant Wes Tinfles of the ZAFT Forces have arrived!"
...
One message after another came in, signaling the arrival of ace pilots from both Orb and ZAFT. Having completed their respective missions, they were now rushing here to join the final battle.
"Contact the Qilin and accommodate them as much as possible. Begin immediate resupply."
"Understood."
The Archangel had recovered some Mobile Suits, while others temporarily headed to the Qilin for resupply. This was especially true for ZAFT's elite pilots, as ZAFT lacked any space-atmosphere integrated warships. Only their newest vessel, the Minerva, possessed limited atmospheric flight capability—yet Yang Hui had left it in space. As a result, these pilots had no choice but to temporarily dock with either the Qilin or the Archangel while awaiting the others.
"What's the situation?" Upon boarding the Qilin, everyone immediately gathered in the war room. Whether they knew each other or not, they exchanged nods—after all, they were about to face an extremely perilous battle together as rare comrades-in-arms.
"Everyone except the Sword of the Heavens has arrived. Where's Mina?" Murrue asked Sven Cal Bayang and Emilio Broderick.
"The Commander used the [Ark of Heaven]," Sven replied. "She suffered internal organ displacement and likely hasn't regained consciousness yet."
"Mina, she... sigh..." Murrue sighed, well aware of Mina's proud and competitive nature. There was little else to say.
"Emergency treatment was administered. The doctors confirmed no life-threatening injuries."
"That's a relief."
"Hey..." Yzak leaned against the wall with crossed arms, his tone tinged with impatience. "Why isn't that guy here yet?"
"Yzak!" Dearka and the other ZAFT aces were startled by his tone. They were, after all, on an Orb vessel. Offending their hosts could easily turn them into "filling for dumplings."
"It's fine." Murrue quickly mediated, not wanting tensions to rise among their crucial allies. "The Sword of the Heavens has entered the designated orbit and should rendezvous with us in about ten minutes."
"Tch, what a hassle." Yzak's complaint echoed the sentiments of many present. "If it's this dangerous, why not just nuke that country flat? Orb has nukes, right?"
"Orb does not initiate nuclear strikes against other nations," Murrue calmly explained. "Once nuclear weapons lose their deterrent value, it would spell disaster for the world." This was, of course, only part of the truth. The full details about the festum threat remained classified, and most present had no idea just how terrifying their potential enemy might be.
It wasn't that festum were immune to nuclear weapons—the concern lay elsewhere. Intelligence indicated the festum were hidden in the core area of the Scandinavian royal palace, but the exact location—whether above or below ground—remained unclear.
A nuclear strike would erase all traces of the Scandinavian Kingdom. If the festum were buried deep underground and survived the attack, there would be no time to search the ruins before they potentially reactivated or escaped. And if that happened... the world would be doomed.
Therefore, Yang Hui never considered using nuclear weapons to directly destroy the Scandinavian Kingdom. He needed to witness the festum's annihilation with his own eyes before he could rest easy.
"Tch, cowards." Without knowing the true intelligence, Yzak and the others simply thought Orb cared too much about saving face. So what if they'd pledged not to initiate nuclear strikes? Once war was declared and the enemy confirmed, they should just eliminate them!
The ten minutes passed quickly. The Sword of Heaven descended from the skies, arriving beside the Archangel and Qilin.
"Yang Hui."
"You've worked hard, Murrue."
"It's nothing. Compared to your mission, we had it easy."
"Is everyone assembled?"
"Aside from Mina who used the [Ark of Heaven] and remains unconscious, all personnel are present."
"Mina... Never mind, we'll lecture her later. All units, go online."
"Understood."
Soon, all the elite pilots present found themselves gazing at Yang Hui's youthful yet commanding face, tension rising involuntarily.
"I will now disclose the complete operational details, including our true objective and its classified intelligence. The information about to be revealed may prove profoundly shocking, but I ask you all to trust that every word represents absolute truth."
(End of Chapter)