Regarding the performance by the daughter of PLANT's chairman, the pink-haired songstress, the layout of the venue left Yuna Roma Seiran and his father somewhat confused.
They had thought Uzumi Nara Athha would arrange extremely strict security, but the actual defenses were merely average.
No matter how one looked at it, that gave off the feeling of a problem, even a trap.
However, they had confirmed it clearly several times. The security force really was only at that level, and they could find nothing abnormal.
In that case, once the Seiran family's forces entered, even if they were surrounded afterward, Uzumi and the others would already have no way to escape. They would be controlled first.
Would the result not still be their victory?
After repeated investigations, they confirmed that the Athha faction's forces had not acted at all and had not been deployed within the capital. In the end, they could only reach one conclusion: the Athha family truly was too arrogant and too confident.
In any case, there was no way they could miss such an opportunity. Without hesitation, they immediately dispatched the military forces controlled by the Seiran family into the area.
As for the Archangel and that terrifying fighter, this was an urban district packed with dense crowds. Those weapons would be nearly useless here.
If they accidentally injured the crowd, a little manipulation of public opinion would finish them.
According to intelligence, the Athha faction had not brought in the Archangel either.
If there was any heavy equipment at the site, it would be the large robot scheduled to appear during the performance.
Its design looked somewhat knightly, but the thing posed no threat and was not a mobile suit. It looked extremely outdated.
It seemed to be the kind of large humanoid engineering machine used several decades ago, clumsy to an absurd degree.
No one knew where they had found that antique. It even leaked electricity. The intelligence personnel had inspected the machine to determine whether it had any killing power, and only after confirming there was no problem was it allowed to be brought into the venue.
As a result, the inspector arranged by the Seiran family was nearly shocked unconscious.
In any case, since they had confirmed it was basically scrap metal, there was no need to worry about it.
Of course, since the other side had not brought heavy weapons, Yuna's side would not be stupid enough to send in heavily armed units either. That would also bring intense criticism down on their family.
Even if civilians were easy to fool, sending heavy weapons into the city would provoke fierce protests. The Seiran family would be condemned and would not gain support.
Therefore, the troops entering to take control were purely armed soldiers.
As long as they seized the main members of the Athha faction and the other families, nearly all their surrounding political enemies would fall into the Seiran family's hands.
Once all deployments were complete, once the EMP disruption devices were ready, and once they had again confirmed the movements in the surrounding area and verified that the military forces supporting the Athha faction and the others had not entered, there was practically no suspense left.
The goddess of victory was already beckoning to the Seiran family.
At a time like this, there was only one possible way for the situation to be reversed: the army obeying the Seiran family would have to suddenly stab them in the back and rebel.
But such a possibility was utterly impossible.
If they were going to rebel, it would be abnormal for them not to have reacted to these deployments already.
Finally, with the successful activation of the EMP devices that destroyed electronic instruments, the absence of any rebellion was further confirmed.
Victory already belonged to the Seiran family.
Now it was time to appear onstage.
With the order issued, their troops began to emerge at the venue and impose military control over the area. They would act under the righteous banner of accusing Uzumi Nara Athha of betraying Orb.
"What's going on?"
"My phone suddenly sparked and started smoking!"
"It's not just phones..."
"All the electronic equipment in the venue has malfunctioned. This is an EMP attack!"
For a moment, the entire venue square nearly descended into chaos.
"Citizens of Orb, please remain calm. This is not an enemy attack. This is our operation against..."
The words coming from the loudspeakers stopped people from panicking too badly. At least this was not a sudden war reaching Orb's homeland. But they also understood one thing: this was a military coup.
At that point, most of the people could only obediently stay where they were and avoid moving around as soldiers poured out from every direction, placing the entire area under military control.
"Damn it! What the hell are they doing?"
Yzak gritted his teeth as he spoke.
"A military coup out of nowhere. This is bad."
Dearka's expression was also extremely ugly.
In this situation, forget rescuing their princess. Even protecting themselves might be difficult.
"Kids, you'd better get ready too."
As he said that, Andrew showed the others the phone-like device in his hand.
It was an EMP-resistant communicator. It had received a message: an Earth Alliance fleet had begun approaching Orb.
One thing was now obvious. This military coup was definitely connected to the Earth Alliance.
ZAFT had also begun moving in response. Their mobile suits would be delivered nearby, and they were to head out immediately.
"I'm staying to find Nicol. Depending on the situation, I might be able to get Lacus out too."
Yzak had no intention of leaving.
For one thing, there was no mobile suit especially suited to him. If he piloted some other unit and exchanged fire with the enemy, he still would not be able to outperform Athrun and the others in those two machines.
And if he ran into the Legged Ship's unit, he would not be its match. He would only drag the others down.
In truth, back when they had first seized the machines, Yzak had also captured one. It was Dearka's current unit. But that machine was clearly better suited to Dearka's strengths.
After all, Dearka was the best in the team at long-range sniping, and the Buster had been designed specifically for that role.
The unit that had unfortunately needed to be destroyed was the one that would have suited Yzak best.
As for the other reason he was staying, if he truly succeeded in bringing both Nicol and Lacus away, that would be a major achievement.
Of course, it was not that Yzak was especially chasing personal merit.
In his view, rescuing Lacus and Nicol under the present circumstances would be even more difficult than Athrun and the others fighting in mobile suits.
If he succeeded, it would prove just how outstanding he was. It would be proof that he was stronger than Athrun.
"Yzak!"
"That brat!"
Athrun and Dearka had no way to persuade him, because before Yzak had even finished speaking, he had already slipped into the crowd.
"That kid will have to look after himself. You two, follow me right now!"
Andrew immediately had the two boys move as well. They had to escape quickly.
Otherwise, once the entire military-control operation was complete, they would no longer be able to get out.
"Yuna, you bastard! Not only are you staging a military coup, you're bringing the Earth Alliance in too?"
Those were Cagalli's furious words as she cursed the pleased-looking bastard who had walked up in front of her.
"What a thing to say, Cagalli. Aren't you the one who invited PLANT's princess here? If you can invite guests to Orb, why can't I invite honored guests from the Earth Alliance?"
"That's completely different, you bastard!"
Cagalli was so furious that she wanted to punch him.
"Of course it's the same, Cagalli. We'll catch up in a little while. For now, I need to pay a visit to PLANT's honored guest."
With a group of guards around him, Yuna walked toward the stage.
After arriving below the stage, seeing her this close made him realize that the real person was far more beautiful than any image.
"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Lacus Clyne."
She ignored him, perfectly calm.
"As expected of the PLANT chairman's daughter. You truly are an exceptionally composed princess. I do apologize for interrupting..."
Yuna's voice stopped.
The princess was genuinely ignoring him, treating him like empty air. Instead, she was staring at one of the people accompanying him.
Had she recognized him?
"It seems Miss Lacus Clyne has recognized me."
"I am surprised. I didn't expect to draw you out personally."
On the stage, Lacus really was surprised. She had not expected this core figure of Blue Cosmos and LOGOS to come to the site in person.
"Draw me out?"
"Yes, Lord Djibril."
This man was the one who, in the second season of that "fan animation," would become the leader of Blue Cosmos and LOGOS.
She had not expected him to appear. That truly surprised Lacus.
"In other words, from the way you're speaking, we are the ones who have fallen into a trap?"
Lord Djibril frowned and looked around. He could not understand how she intended to reverse the situation.
Was she relying on that suspected third-party force from Mars?
There was no way to use mobile armors or mobile suits at this venue. Only personnel could attack here, and the armed forces on-site were all on his side.
So where did her confidence come from?
From the two silver-haired women beside her? They seemed to be pilots of those fighter craft.
He raised his head and looked toward the sky.
Were their optical-camouflage fighters up there?
Even if they were, would they dare act?
The surroundings were filled with crowds.
"Mr. Kain, if you would."
The songstress suddenly said that.
Who was she asking?
Kain?
Was the person with that name the representative of the third-party force? Where was he?
Before Lord Djibril could look around, an eerie scene occurred in an instant.
The attendants beside him suddenly collapsed to the ground like robots that had lost power.
His pupils widened.
It was not only them. Countless people throughout the venue collapsed without warning.
What had just happened?
Before he could think any further, an intense wave of dizziness slammed through his brain.
(End of Chapter)
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