After successfully escaping before the military could seal off a several-kilometer radius centered on Lacus's performance venue, the group hurried toward the rendezvous point.
However, if they relied on their own two legs, they would never make it in time.
To save time, they had no choice but to seize a vehicle.
There had originally been vehicles everywhere around them, more than enough to commandeer.
Unfortunately, because of the EMP attack, almost every vehicle had been rendered useless.
"It's hard to imagine anyone being stupid enough to use an EMP attack in their own capital."
Dearka could not help mocking them.
Moreover, this coup was even connected to the Earth Alliance. Orb's navy had probably lost contact with the capital's leadership by now and had no idea how to respond to the approaching Earth Alliance fleet.
"They're basically inviting a wolf into their home and getting themselves eaten too."
He followed up with another complaint.
"You're exactly right, Dearka. They aren't that smart."
"Mr. Andrew, I don't like the sound of that."
"If you don't like it, there's nothing I can do. You've already heard it. See that vehicle up ahead? Take it. Any problems?"
At present, they were probably still within the range of the EMP attack. They did not have time to check the vehicles around them one by one.
The best method was to directly seize a vehicle belonging to the armed forces carrying out the military coup.
"No problem."
"No problem."
"Okay."
The three of them used hand signals to communicate as they approached.
In the end, Andrew appeared first, playing the part of a drunkard to draw the other side in. As several soldiers tried to subdue him while he acted disorderly and drunk, Athrun and Dearka rushed out by surprise and knocked them down before they could react.
The three quickly climbed into the vehicle. The engine started, the accelerator was floored, and the vehicle shot forward.
Naturally, that kind of commotion drew the attention of the nearby soldiers. They immediately gave chase, and then suddenly collapsed.
Athrun and Dearka had just been preparing to fire warning shots, only to stare in shock as those soldiers went limp and fell to the ground without warning.
The next second, their brains felt as though someone had violently stirred them. An intense wave of dizziness nearly dragged their consciousness into darkness.
Immediately afterward, a force of inertia almost flung them out. Andrew had slammed the brakes, having suffered the same dizzy spell as they had.
"W-What the hell was that?"
Dearka's voice now carried a trace of fear.
Although his head felt terribly swollen and dizzy, he could still barely notice that even more people were collapsing.
He saw the crowd standing near the square. They looked like a field of wheat struck by a sudden gale, toppling in waves.
It was as though an invisible reaper had harvested every life in that area in an instant, turning it into a field of death.
"Infrasound attack?"
Athrun said through gritted teeth.
It felt similar to being struck by that kind of weapon.
The condition lasted nearly ten seconds before they could no longer feel it.
And it faded extremely quickly, so quickly that it almost made one suspect it had been an illusion.
It was like suffering pain on the level of a severed arm one second, then having the pain vanish in the next. Even if anesthetic were injected, it should not take effect instantly. The pain should fade bit by bit.
It should not disappear completely in the next second.
"Mr. Andrew, do you know what kind of weapon that was?"
"No. I've never seen anything like it. All I know is that we need to leave as fast as possible. Hold on tight, boys!"
He floored the accelerator.
At the same time, a heavy impact rang out elsewhere.
Bang!
It was the sound of flesh being struck bluntly.
Cagalli had lifted her skirt and viciously kicked the useless Yuna with her high-heeled foot.
"Trash!"
She really did curse him. This thing had lost consciousness instantly, just like an ordinary person.
That proved how fragile his willpower was.
Across the entire scene, only a handful of people had managed to barely remain conscious.
Of course, her father had endured it as well.
"Kisaka, act immediately. Also..."
Her father issued orders at her side. In the past, their contents would have made Cagalli feel ashamed, because they involved shifting blame onto someone else.
No matter how one looked at it, this was not the behavior of a statesman, but of a politician who only knew how to manipulate power.
They would blame this large-scale fainting incident on the Seiran family, claiming that there had been a problem with their EMP devices and that this issue had caused it.
Still, with so many people having fainted, would there really be no problems?
Cagalli was still quite worried.
She could now understand why the commander who had survived at the Earth Alliance island base, along with some of the soldiers and officers who had awakened after fainting, had been so terrified.
She understood what that kind of mental torment felt like now, because she had personally experienced what it was like not to pass out.
It was a true physical attack on the mind.
According to what those officers had later said, it seemed they had been tortured by Mr. Kain through varying degrees of mental attack.
"I am Uzumi Nara Athha, Chief Representative of Orb. To the Earth Alliance fleet..."
Her father also established contact with the navy and had them broadcast a warning to the Earth Alliance.
"What a piece of trash."
Cagalli spat another insult and kicked Yuna again, making his face twist.
For a useless person like him, fainting instantly was actually a good thing, because he would not suffer that hangover-like discomfort afterward.
Lifting her skirt, Cagalli regrouped with Captain Murrue, who had arrived not far away. The captain of the warship had also rushed over.
As for the person who had suffered the worst mental shock, that was definitely Lacus, who had been closest to the source. Since Lacus had not fainted, the hangover-like sensation she experienced was certainly worse than Cagalli's.
"Lacus, are you all right?"
"I'm fine now."
"What do you mean, fine? You're soaked in sweat."
Lacus's entire body was drenched in sweat, and her face was still pale.
If someone had not been supporting her now, with nearly half her body leaning against him, the weakened Lacus would not have been able to stand at all.
So when Cagalli reached her side, she stepped forward to help support her.
"What?"
Miss Murrue's face suddenly changed drastically because of a communication.
"The Earth Alliance has launched an attack without warning!"
"What?"
Cagalli's expression also changed.
"They actually declared war on Orb's military without even warning us? Damn it!"
"No. I'm afraid they aren't attacking Orb's navy. They're attacking here directly!"
Lacus said in an extremely grave voice.
Those words left Miss Murrue and Cagalli somewhat confused, because they still did not know what kind of core figure Lord Djibril, who was currently lying here unconscious, truly was.
The information they currently understood had come from the PSP, which only covered the first season of that "fan animation." They knew nothing about the second season.
Therefore, the hidden hands within the Earth Alliance military, the people of LOGOS, had likely realized that something abnormal had happened with Lord Djibril. Without hesitation, they had decided to silence him by killing everyone involved.
If that was the case, the situation was extremely bad. Under the other side's crazed command, it was not impossible that the Earth Alliance military might now decide to destroy Orb outright.
(End of Chapter)
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