Watching the mushroom cloud rise, Yang Hui couldn't be certain whether the festum had been completely eradicated. But... facing a nuclear explosion, festum in an inactive state shouldn't have been able to survive, right?
"Mephis, has the mission been completed?" The best confirmation method was through Mephis and the mission objectives. If the mission was complete, then he could confirm their destruction.
[Unable to confirm. The Commander has not yet fulfilled all requirements of the second phase mission.]
"The Atlantic Federation..." Yang Hui frowned slightly. Among all the mission targets, the Atlantic Federation was the most troublesome. Both [LOGOS] and the Librarian Works had been confirmed as eliminated. [Blue Cosmos] had become a shell of its former self after [LOGOS] was exposed. That left only the Atlantic Federation as a nation...
Destroying an entire country wasn't something that could be accomplished easily or quickly—especially not the Atlantic Federation.
Although the Atlantic Federation had been firmly suppressed by Orb since the Second Battle of Jachin Due, excluding Orb as an outlier, the Atlantic Federation remained the world's most powerful nation. Even if Yang Hui and his allies mobilized all their forces, eliminating the Atlantic Federation would still take considerable time.
This meant they couldn't confirm the festum's status, leaving the mission at risk of failure at any moment.
[Affirmative.]
"The Atlantic Federation—does this refer to the current administration or the entire nation?"
[The current administration. To be precise, all individuals connected to the festum.]
"Understood." Yang Hui nodded, his expression easing slightly. If that was the case, it wouldn't take too much time.
"Creuset, eliminate all high-ranking members of [Blue Cosmos], as well as anyone closely tied to [Blue Cosmos], [LOGOS], or the Kingdom of Scandinavia. Notify Halberton—I'm giving him three days. If he can't secure that position within three days, don't blame us for taking action."
"Understood."
"Liumei, immediately hold a press conference. Release selective combat records—I want the Atlantic Federation's current administration and [Blue Cosmos] thoroughly discredited."
"Understood."
"Murrue, Natarle, can the prepared protective suits withstand radiation at this level?"
"They can." X2
"Once temperatures drop, immediately send personnel to confirm the festum's status."
"Understood."
While mission completion was the best confirmation method, Yang Hui wasn't foolish enough to passively wait for time to pass. Even if the outcome remained uncertain, he prepared two plans to proceed simultaneously—resolving this as quickly as possible.
...
Bang!
Upon receiving Creuset's notification—or rather, what he perceived as a blatant threat—Duan Halbaton had no idea what was happening. The only intelligence he had was that a nuclear bomb had detonated in the Kingdom of Scandinavia. Logically, this should mean the Orb-ZAFT allied forces had emerged victorious.
But why, right after the battle's conclusion, had Orb issued such a harsh ultimatum? Was this a pretext—was Orb preparing to move against the Atlantic Federation?
"No, impossible. Yang Hui wouldn't do such a thing. If he wanted to act against the Atlantic Federation, he would have declared war during the conflict. He wouldn't stoop to such underhanded tactics. Then... what exactly happened? Could there still be people from the Kingdom of Scandinavia within the Atlantic Federation?"
After pondering for a long time, Duan Halberton still couldn't find an answer. But soon, his adjutant's report gave him a clue.
"General, Orb has held a press conference."
"At this critical moment? A victory declaration?"
"No, it's..."
"What is it?" Duan Halberton noticed his adjutant's hesitant and panicked demeanor, even a hint of fear, which gave him a bad feeling.
"You'd better see for yourself."
Duan Halberton turned on his terminal to watch the press conference hosted by Wang Liu Mei, and then...
"How is this possible!?"
Duan Halberton stood up in shock, staring at the selectively disclosed intelligence about the Kingdom of Scandinavia and the festum. The city overrun with mutated monsters, unimaginable wormhole attacks, and the terrifying assimilation phenomenon—all of it revealed to him what had truly happened in the Kingdom of Scandinavia and why nuclear weapons had been used against such a small nation.
"Commander, are these... truly extraterrestrial creatures?" the adjutant asked fearfully, swallowing hard.
"Are these things supposed to exist on Earth!?" Duan Halberton roared, pointing at the mutated creatures on the screen.
"No..."
"Then why even ask!? Those bastards in high command..." The thought that most of the Atlantic Federation's leadership were members of Blue Cosmos and closely tied to LOGOS made him furious. They might have even seen some benefit in these monsters! This was outright treason!
"Commander, what should we do now...?"
"Alert our people—arrest all Blue Cosmos members immediately! Put the fleet on highest combat readiness!"
"Understood!"
After the adjutant left, Duan Halberton slumped back into his chair, exhausted, pinching the bridge of his nose to calm himself.
Now he finally understood. This was why Yang Hui had made such harsh demands of him. Taking the highest position within three days wasn't just empty talk. Though with Orb's help, they had already gathered many allies within the Atlantic Federation and had been preparing for a complete overhaul of the government...
They weren't ready yet!
Beep beep beep...
Seeing the caller ID—an old friend and one of the Atlantic Federation's top officials—Duan Halberton immediately answered. "It's me."
"Halberton, Clemmy and the others are in trouble!"
"What? What happened?"
"Just now, we received reports—every Blue Cosmos-aligned member of the Federal Council has had their dirty laundry aired. Assassinations, bribery, collusion, massacres... every crime imaginable, all backed by irrefutable evidence. The nation is in chaos. Protests have erupted, demanding punishment for these people! Some of the evidence even implicates other nations, and they've all sent formal inquiries..."
"This..." Duan Halbaton didn't even need to doubt—this was undoubtedly Yang Hui's doing. Apart from Orb, he couldn't think of anyone else capable of targeting so many people simultaneously. "...This is a good thing."
"A good thing? You mean—!"
"Exactly! Orb has given me three days to take that position, or they'll intervene directly."
"This—! We can't let them interfere!"
"Right, otherwise the Atlantic Federation will cease to exist. So, it's time for us to act."
"...Understood. I'll contact them immediately."
"Remember, first stabilize public sentiment. As for Clemmy and his group, it's best to arrest a few for public trials. The people need an outlet for their anger."
"What about the military?" The person on the other end of the PAD sounded worried. Without mincing words, what they were doing could be called a coup—and without strong military backing, a coup only ends in failure.
"Leave the military to me."
"Good. I'll count on you. When the time comes, I'll vote for you."
"Thanks, old friend."
The call ended, and Duan Halbaton found his friend's show of support amusing. Vote for him? Yang Hui had only given him the ultimatum—wasn't the outcome obvious? Did someone else still have designs on that position? Well, they'd have to consider whether they'd wake up to their scandals and criminal evidence being exposed... or worse—
Whether their head would still be on their shoulders!
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