The various Mobile Suits launched one after another, with the Archangel, Qilin, and Sword of the Heavens closely following, heading straight for the Kingdom of Scandinavia.
In fact, Yang Hui had not informed the others; aside from him and Sumeragi, the members of Prometheus Fortress, only Murrue, Natarle Badgiruel, Creuset, and the captain of the Qilin, Amagi, knew that all three ships were equipped with high-yield nuclear bombs.
If they were to be defeated, then regardless of the circumstances, they would drop the nuclear bombs on the Kingdom of Scandinavia. After all, they would have lost anyway, so it would be a case of mutual destruction. If they were lucky, they might even take the festum and all the assimilated people with them; if they were unlucky and failed, they could at least buy some time... right?
As the elite team approached the core of the Kingdom of Scandinavia, the red dots on the radar detection system multiplied rapidly, soon exceeding one hundred.
"Just as I thought." There was no need to look at the radar anymore; the optical cameras could already see the situation in the Kingdom of Scandinavia and what the enemies marked as red dots were like.
The entire kingdom was densely packed with green figures. Perhaps the festum's main body remained in a dormant state, so it had not completely transformed. The assimilated individuals still retained human forms, with more than half of their features still human, while the other half was made up of green crystal clusters.
In the sky, there were over fifty MS, their joints covered in green crystals. Some of the Mobile Suits had begun to exhibit biological characteristics, and at the center, guarded closely, was a Gundam-type Mobile Suit wielding a giant sword, its head transformed into a twisted golden human face.
"Astray King..."
Despite the significant changes, the remaining features allowed Yang Hui to recognize the true identity of this Mobile Suit—it was indeed the Astray King Gundam.
"Let's begin; eliminate all the living beings here!"
Without communication, orders, or reminders, a silent understanding prompted everyone to launch their attacks simultaneously. Yang Hui was the first to enter Innovator Mode, his dual wings scattering countless orange Light Dots, converging into deadly energy spheres that struck the enemy Mobile Suits blocking their path.
Even more bits rained down on the city, exploding into countless flashes of fire, consuming innumerable semi-assimilated humans.
"Boom! Boom! Boom..."
Countless flashes of fire erupted, and the Dawn Gundam did not pause for a moment, unleashing bits until he saw the black glow shining from the joint seams of the enemy Mobile Suit directly in front of him.
"I knew it!"
The Dawn Gundam immediately halted its advance, pulling up at a right angle just in time to avoid the black wormhole that appeared in its previous location the very next second.
The others were the same; after the first wave of attacks ended, they saw the shining black glow, a cold wind brushing against their nerves, and they all pulled their control sticks, quickly moving away from their previous positions.
However, even though they were all ace pilots, there was still a gap in their reactions. A few of the ZAFT aces were just a fraction of a second too slow, and their Mobile Suits' arms or legs were swallowed by the wormhole.
"Damn it!"
"So fast!"
"Die, monster!"
...
Even those who had doubted Yang Hui and thought the intelligence was nonsense had to believe, when faced with the ironclad truth, that these were indeed monsters not belonging to Earth.
"Are you there?"
The moment the wormhole attack began, the same voice echoed simultaneously in everyone's minds—a somewhat rough yet undeniably pleasant female voice.
Under normal circumstances, they might have been pleased, as the voice was quite pleasant to hear, perhaps even imagining a delightful encounter afterward.
But now, they gritted their teeth, forcing themselves to ignore it. Every curse was swallowed back, not daring to speak aloud, because Yang Hui had warned them—whether they responded or not, no matter what they said, it could be taken as an answer, triggering the assimilation phenomenon.
"All missile launchers loaded with ground dispersal warheads. Target: Scandinavian mainland, indiscriminate saturation."
"[Lohengrin] activated, charging initiated. Target locked on enemy commander's Mobile Suit."
"Evasive maneuvers! Hard to port 30°, [Gotterdämmerung] fire!"
No one on the bridge dared to speak aloud—only the rapid clatter of keyboards could be heard. All orders had to be transmitted via text.
"What is this!? AHH~!!!!"
At that moment, a scream erupted from the Qilin's bridge. The CIC officer's hands were suddenly encased in green crystal, rapidly spreading upward until it consumed their entire body, and then—
Bang bang bang…
Amagi didn't hesitate—she drew her sidearm and fired, shattering the crystal before calmly sitting back down to resume command.
"Damn it! These monsters…" Amagi was drenched in cold sweat. The victim had been too tense, instinctively muttering "shut up," which triggered assimilation—exactly as Yang Hui had warned. Any utterance could be interpreted as a response to the festum, leading to assimilation.
"All personnel, do not separate! Marine units on high alert—no one is to be left alone. If anyone shows signs of assimilation, open fire immediately!"
"..."
"...Understood."
The acknowledgment of this order didn't come immediately. It took over ten seconds before responses of "affirmative" trickled in. Before assimilation, these were their comrades—their friends. Pulling the trigger wasn't easy.
But orders were orders. For the safety of the rest, they had no choice but to stain their hands with their comrades' blood.
Where there was a first, there would be a second, a third… And it wasn't just the Qilin—the Archangel and the Sword of the Heavens faced the same crisis.
Archangel: "Three in the dormitory sector showing assimilation. Confirmed eliminated."
Sword of the Heavens: "One in the storage area showing assimilation. Confirmed eliminated."
Qilin: "Two from the maintenance team showing assimilation. Confirmed eliminated."
...
Bang!
Natarle Badgiruel slammed her fist against the armrest of the captain's chair, her expression grim. If not for the risk of assimilation, she would have cursed loudly and ruthlessly ordered, "Annihilate every last one of these monsters."
"[Tiger] weapons systems completely disabled. Right arm and left leg lost. Requesting return to ship."
"Approved. Maintenance team on standby—repair the [Tiger] at maximum speed!"
"Understood!"
"[Lightning] and [Blue Wolf] signals lost! Enemy units heading straight for us!"
"Courage, launch! Missile launchers one through four, anti-air scatter rounds, fire!"
"Have Gundam Cherudim take over the positions of Master and Death God. Deploy two units to cover the gaps left by Lightning and Blue Wolf."
"Roger!"
The battle had reached a fever pitch. Due to the emergence of Wormhole attacks and the Assimilation phenomenon, none of the MS could swiftly eliminate enemy units. Gradually, some couldn't withstand the pressure—cursing before being assimilated, turning their weapons on former comrades. Others misjudged the chaos and were swallowed by wormholes, vanishing into the void.
The Dawn Gundam maintained high-speed maneuvers, tracing bizarre yet graceful arcs across the sky like a dazzling painting. Behind it, a chain of black wormholes trailed like sinister beads.
(End of Chapter)