Gundam 00: Rise of China

Chapter 89 The Knight of the Lake, Patrick, and Monarch Manekin

"Colonel Manekin, the council has approved your proposal."

"I now authorize you, on behalf of the Council, to utilize all the resources available to the AEU!"

"In short, you must remember that it was our continent of Europe that laid the foundation for modern civilization, even though we were once behind in the new era."

"But the glory of our ancestors still shines on the continent of Europe. We absolutely cannot tolerate any barbarian tribes or those who have managed to survive for a time standing above us forever."

"They mock our glory with impunity."

"Understood, Your Excellency Chairman."

Manekin stood respectfully in front of the display screen, having submitted his proposal to the council immediately after returning from Taliban.

She solemnly expressed her gratitude to the AEU Chief of Staff on the screen, and assured him that she would never tarnish the glory of the entire AEU.

At the same time, in order to make AEU great again, I will dedicate myself to the cause until my dying breath.

Upon receiving Manekin's solemn assurance, the AEU reviewer on the screen nodded in satisfaction.

Then, after the screen went dark, Manekin, who had been so respectful, began to tremble with anger.

She clenched her teeth so hard they made a grinding sound, and her artistically manicured nails were also under her force.

It pinched right into her palm!

"Colonel!"

Because of the situation in Taliban, and because Patrick, despite his seemingly unreliable personality, was also involved.

His skills and tactics are indeed second to none in the entire AEU army, and now Patrick has become his loyal knight through Manekin's little tricks.

He watched as the person he admired dripped blood from his palm onto the ground.

Heartbroken, Patrick, the devoted admirer, couldn't sit still any longer. He quickly stepped forward and pulled out a handkerchief from his bag.

Kneeling on one knee, Patrick, whose nature was hard to change, carefully released Manekin's hand and then gently wiped her wound.

"Patrick, how can the AEU be revitalized by working with these parasites!"

Taking a few deep breaths, Manekin, who loved the entire AEU more than her own life, tried to calm the raging anger burning in her chest.

But she failed...

Thinking about the contingency plans I submitted, which were all for the sake of my motherland, I felt a pang of sadness.

After submitting it, it disappeared without a trace, as if a stone had sunk into the sea.

Whenever I went to the military headquarters to inquire, or to the council to ask people from the relevant departments, I would always find myself doing so.

The responses I received were all hypocritical and arrogant—that the higher-ups were considering the overall situation, that the higher-ups were pushing forward the process, that the higher-ups were soliciting relevant opinions, and so on.

As a member of the Plain Yellow Banner of the old AEU, didn't Manejin know that this was a blatant attempt to shirk responsibility?

They are afraid of taking responsibility, and will never do anything that is not their duty. They flatter their superiors, look down on their middle class, and despise their subordinates.

Clinging to existing interests, creating rigid or even nonexistent upward mobility channels.

This is the current state of AEU. The vibrant life that once thrived is still vivid in our minds, but now all around us is a desperate situation where there is nowhere to bury the dead.

"When will AEU be able to become great again?!"

"Is it truly only under the rule of foreign races and women that the AEU can unleash its true power?"

Unwilling to accept this, Manekin thought of the countless online jokes about AEU, and she suddenly blurted out words that were extremely sensitive for her.

"Colonel!"

He may be a bit silly, but Patrick, who managed to rise through the ranks in the AEU army, wasn't just someone whose mind was filled with romance.

Although he was a bit slow compared to truly intelligent people, Patrick was definitely a smart person among ordinary people.

She quickly stood up and abruptly interrupted Manekin, preventing her from saying anything that might be detrimental to herself.

"Now that the council has approved the Colonel's plan, it's a good thing no matter how you look at it."

"The process is not important, as long as the result is good."

Trying to distract himself from Manekin, whom he was so concerned about, Patrick racked his brains for words of comfort.

Who knew that if Patrick hadn't brought it up, things would have been fine, but the moment Manekin did, his anger flared even more.

Staring at Patrick's earnest expression, Manekin, who had finally regained some composure, suppressed his anger and said...

"Did they agree? They agreed under duress."

"Why didn't you do this earlier? The People's Revolutionary Alliance hadn't revealed its new technology yet, and there was still a time when it hadn't unlocked the door to the future."

"Why didn't these bunch of good-for-nothings agree?"

"Great! The People's Revolutionary Alliance just played two of its trump cards, and our side jumped in—they agreed!"

"Do they agree? They are afraid of losing their status and power."

"They are worried that if the People's Revolutionary Alliance leads the future of the entire human world, they will be swept into the dustbin of history!"

After yelling, Manekin, panting heavily, regained her rationality as the chief tactical commander of the AEU after venting her anger.

Ever since Wang Ye tricked her in Taliban, she has been obsessed with proving that she is better than Wang Ye.

At the very least, he had to prove that he and Wang Ye were leaders of the same tier.

But Patrick, unaware of Manekin's inner turmoil, was still caught up in Manekin's anger.

He didn't feel wronged just because Manekin yelled at him.

On the contrary, he felt that since Manekin had so openly expressed his feelings in front of him without regard for his image, and said so many things that he could not tell outsiders.

They're definitely one of our own!

How could Manekin possibly reveal his other side if they weren't one of his own?

The thought of this possibility instantly made Patrick feel a surge of joy.

Then I no longer felt out of breath, my back didn't hurt, and I could even climb five flights of stairs in one go.

With this in mind, Patrick patted his chest and declared.

"Colonel Manekin, just watch how I perform in this Moraria military exercise."

"This time, our AEU army is fully prepared, and with Colonel Manekin in charge, as the old saying goes in the East..."

"We have the right timing, the right location, and the right people. If Gao Da from the Celestial Organization dares to come, he will surely be defeated here."

"Then all the difficulties of our AEU will be resolved, and Colonel Manekin, you will become a great figure in history."

"And I, Patrick, will protect you like the legendary first warrior, the Knight of the Lake!"

"What?"

Manekin initially found Patrick's first words somewhat agreeable, but his later words were less pleasant.

Manekin stared at Patrick, who was making a firm promise, and she really didn't know what to say to him.

The main reason is that the Knight of the Lake mentioned by the other party was indeed known for his bravery, and the knight's extreme loyalty in later legends is even more famous.

Can!

After taking several deep breaths, Manekin wanted to say that the knight had ultimately betrayed them, killing several of his comrades with his own hands for such a dishonorable act.

Do you also want to steal my boyfriend?

But then Manekin thought to herself, "I'm a woman."

Oh, that's alright then.

Ignoring Patrick's incorrect use of allusions, Manekin turned and paced back and forth, racking his brains to perfect his plan without any oversights.

"That money-grubbing mercenary Saches is usable. As long as he gets paid, this scoundrel won't care who his employer is."

"Moralia will not outwardly comply with but inwardly defy the official orders of our AEU and mobilize troops within our AEU to replace some of Moralia's mercenaries."

"Plan succeeds! With the full strength of the AEU, what is there to fear from Celestial Being's four Gundams!"

"If the People's Revolutionary Alliance can do it, there's no reason why the AEU can't."

"Wang Ye, you just wait until those damned Celestials bow down and submit before my AEU army."

"That will be the day when AEU becomes humanity's hope for the future!"

The plan is to have Moraria lure Celestial Being's Gundams to attack under the guise of military exercises, and then use the AEU's army to hunt down those Gundams.

Having reviewed the performance of Celestial Being Gundam in Taliban, Manekin was confident that he could defeat the enemy with the military strength of the AEU.

Seize the enemy's vital energy source to help your country open the door to the development of outer space.

In short, the AEU must not be trapped on its home planet!

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