Chapter 171: The Perfect Invasion Operation?

Just as Yang Hui and the others stepped out of Flit's office, they ran into Woolf and Asemu, who had been waiting for them for quite some time. To their surprise, Romary was also there.

"Yo! Yang Hui, Graham, Yurin, glad to see you made it back alive," Woolf greeted them.

"Yeah, lucky for you, you were transferred. Otherwise, someone would've ended up on the casualty list," Yang Hui teased.

"Tch! Don't underestimate me! I'm the super pilot, Woolf Enneacle! How could I die so easily?" Woolf replied with a smug look.

"Oh, feeling tough, are we? Wanna spar?" Graham asked with a smirk.

"Uh… well… the wind's pretty strong today… haha, hahaha…" Woolf shivered at the word "spar" and quickly changed the subject, not wanting to delve deeper into that topic.

"Uncle! Auntie! Are you guys okay?" Asemu ran up to them, clearly worried. Romary didn't say anything, but her face was filled with concern.

"Woolf, did you run into any issues during your mission?" Yang Hui ignored Asemu's question and turned to Woolf instead.

"Just a minor hiccup. Someone violated orders again and got a scolding from their dad," Woolf said with a laugh.

"Captain Wool—mmph!"

The moment Woolf mentioned someone on the Diva had violated orders and got scolded by their dad, it was obvious who he was talking about. Yang Hui reached out and pinched Asemu's cheek, asking Woolf, "Oh? There's someone like that on the Diva? Tell me, what happened?"

"Mmmph~!" Asemu struggled to break free from Yang Hui's grip, but his hand was like iron, unmoving and even tightening further.

"Yeah, I was surprised too," Woolf said, a mischievous smile forming as he watched Asemu's futile struggles. "I thought the kid had grown up, but it seems he's still the same. Flit captured an MS cockpit and retrieved the pilot's helmet from the deceased driver.

You wouldn't believe it, but that helmet is something else. It can forcibly stimulate a normal person's X-Potential Field, awakening X-Rounder abilities. However, the side effects are severe—it damages the brain's nerves—so it was locked away and research was discontinued.

But guess what? Someone heard about it, broke the lock, stole the helmet, and ended up shining in battle."

"Oh? Re~ally~? A~se~mu~?" Yang Hui's face twisted into a terrifying smile as he looked at Asemu, his grip on the boy's cheek tightening even more.

"Mmmph~!"

"What? Are you mad because I'm not letting you speak?"

"Mmmph!" Asemu couldn't shake his head, but his hands were waving frantically.

"I'm gonna die! I'm really gonna die this time!"

Just as Asemu thought that, the pressure on his face eased. He let out a sigh of relief, but before he could fully exhale, a sharp pain shot through his head.

"Thunk~!"

"Ouch!"

Asemu crouched down, clutching his smoking head, while Yang Hui blew on his "fist of love."

"I knew something was off with this kid. Turns out he really is an idiot," Yang Hui said.

"Uncle Yang Hui, I was just worried about you…"

"Hmm?"

"Sorry, I was wrong."

"Ah, such a familiar apology. But I've noticed that someone here knows their mistakes, admits them, but never actually fixes them?"

"I'm not! I just… just…"

"Just what? Speak up, man. Don't mumble."

"Right! I ran into Jehart in Solon City," Asemu confessed.

"And?"

"I… I still couldn't beat him. I lost again…" Asemu said, his head lowered in frustration.

During the defense of the Big Ring base, Asemu had managed to fight Jehart to a draw. He thought he had finally caught up to Jehart.

But… in their next encounter, Asemu, armed with the Gundam AGE's new equipment, was once again defeated by Jehart. It wasn't as one-sided as before, but he still lost.

This blow to his confidence left Asemu feeling bitter, and he began to chase after X-Rounder power once more.

Yang Hui, Graham, and Woolf exchanged glances, their expressions odd.

Well, that's to be expected, right? Two days of training couldn't possibly have closed the gap between him and Jehart. Reality isn't a game, and training isn't some super experience potion that instantly levels you up.

The reason Asemu had managed to fight Jehart to a draw before was partly due to his anger-induced burst of power, Jehart's distraction with the overall battle situation, and most importantly, Yurin's prior exhaustion of Jehart.

"Hey, Woolf, did you forget something?" Yang Hui raised an eyebrow, giving Woolf a look that wasn't exactly friendly.

"Uh…"

"You're a veteran of the Celestial Being squadron. Shouldn't battle analysis be the most basic of basics?" Yang Hui complained, covering his face.

Looks like Woolf was partially to blame here. If Woolf had conducted a proper analysis after each battle, Asemu wouldn't have developed the illusion that he had caught up to Jehart.

"Battle analysis?"

"Exactly. Review the battle records, identify mistakes, and get a clear understanding of your own progress and shortcomings."

"Uh… Captain." Asemu looked at Woolf, and though he didn't say it, his eyes were asking Yang Hui and Graham why Woolf had never done this for them.

"Whatever, just remember it from now on. We're heading out."

"Ah, Uncle Yang Hui," Asemu called out as they were leaving.

"What is it? Something else?"

"Well… um… welcome home," Asemu said shyly.

"Hah, you brat." Yang Hui smiled and ruffled Asemu's hair. "Train hard. I'm counting on you to protect us one day."

"Yeah!"

With that, Yang Hui and Graham bid farewell to Asemu and Woolf, while Yurin said goodbye to Romary. The guys had their own topics to discuss, and the girls naturally had theirs. Whatever Yurin and Romary talked about, Romary's face was flushed red when they parted, and she kept sneaking glances at Asemu.

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"Matchmaking?"

"You guess?"

...

In VEGAN territory, the Donskoi Fortress led the fleet forward. Jehart, having just returned from Solon City after intercepting the Diva, only now learned about the battle near the second moon and Lord Ezelcant's miscalculation.

"So that's why the morale of the entire army is so low?" Jehart asked.

"Indeed. Lord Ezelcant had intended to use the destruction of the Celestial Being squadron to demoralize the Earth Federation. But who could've predicted… sigh." Medel Sant couldn't bring himself to say that Lord Ezelcant's decision was wrong, but deep down, he too questioned the rashness of that call.

"I understand. I'll report to Lord Ezelcant first, then give a speech. That should help boost morale," Jehart said.

"Yes, Commander Jehart."

Jehart returned to his room, removed his mask, and slammed his fist onto the table.

"Why was Lord Ezelcant so reckless? Even with intelligence from our inside source, he shouldn't have broadcasted it widely without fully understanding the Celestial Being squadron's capabilities."

Jehart was deeply dissatisfied with Ezelcant's rashness. In his view, the Celestial Being squadron always had more tricks up their sleeve, and without complete certainty, one should never underestimate them.

Even if they had successfully annihilated the Celestial Being squadron, the Federation's morale could've been crushed without the broadcast—through the wreckage of their machines and battle records, for example.

Although the mission to Solon City had failed, it wasn't without its gains. They had a preview of the Gundam AGE-2's new equipment and tested Flit and the Gundam AGE-1's combat limits.

But these gains paled in comparison to the army's low morale.

"Whatever, I'll report first, then figure out what really happened."

With that, Jehart contacted Ezelcant.

"Lord Ezelcant," Jehart knelt on one knee, his head bowed.

"Jehart."

"My deepest apologies, Lord Ezelcant. The operation at the Big Ring base failed, and Solon Tech was destroyed. As the supreme commander, I take full responsibility."

"I don't need apologies, Jehart."

"Lord Ezelcant!"

Jehart looked up at Ezelcant, feeling as though the man before him was a stranger. The Ezelcant he knew always remained calm and composed, even when reprimanding him. He would never use such a harsh tone or show such undisguised anger.

"The Celestial Being has escaped our grasp once again. It's infuriating! Jehart, I've always had high hopes for you. Do you have a plan to eliminate the Celestial Being?"

"Forgive my bluntness, Lord Ezelcant, but given the current situation, it's difficult… Our inside sources in the Federation and our own traps have repeatedly failed to destroy the Celestial Being, often at great cost. From what I know of Yang Hui, he's likely figured out that we have collaborators within the Federation and has already made progress in identifying them. If we continue like this…"

"Hmph, those rotten, foolish Earthlings. It doesn't matter if we're exposed. We can always find more spies and traitors. The most important thing now is the Earth invasion operation, and the Celestial Being is the mountain blocking our path. They must be removed!"

"Yes!"

"Jehart, the failure at the Big Ring base wasn't without its gains. We've collected enough data to assess the Earth Federation's combat strength, their deployments, their response capabilities, and the power of their X-Rounders. Based on this data, I've devised the perfect invasion operation."

"The perfect… invasion operation?" Jehart frowned slightly. In his view, there was no such thing as a perfect operation. The slightest change on the battlefield could lead to its collapse.

"Yes, this operation cannot fail. Let's begin, Jehart. The construction of the new world we've long awaited."

(End of Chapter)