Great, we're doomed now!

Although the gushing lava pillars in the distance were still terrifying, their momentum was no longer as violent as before, and a huge weight was lifted from the hearts of the residents.

—This was followed by an overwhelming surge of joy and gratitude.

"They did it! They did it!" On the ground, the host in charge of the broadcast shouted excitedly into the camera. The footage was quickly transmitted to all the colony cities on Titan through the remaining public signal, and also to people in the universe who were watching.

The next moment, countless people rushed out of their shelters, embraced each other and wept, and looked at the gradually stabilizing horizon, letting out a deafening cheer.

"Bayel!"

"Akhalat!"

"Long live the Legion Master! Long live the Grey Knights!"

The shouts were initially chaotic, but then coalesced into a unified wave that resounded across the land of Titan.

-

Guided by the Babel Tower frigate, the lunar orbit fleet began to orderly regroup and, after disarming, accepted temporary supervision.

Although there was a brief period of chaos during the process, it was quickly quelled without any adverse consequences, and everyone's emotions were relatively stable, with only the low hum of the warship's engines being somewhat disturbing.

But in this space where order was being restored, a small, unmarked escape pod suddenly sprang out from the shadow of a cruiser, its engine overloaded and spewing out a dazzling blue light. Like a startled rabbit, it abruptly broke away from the lunar fleet and accelerated its escape into the deep universe towards Mars.

"Unauthorized unit leaving the flank detected!"

The radar operator on the bridge immediately reported, and McKeelist, who had been closely monitoring the situation, immediately sharpened his eyes: "Stop it."

The nearest high-speed frigate immediately changed course, its thrusters at full throttle, and rapidly closed the distance to the escape pod like a cheetah pouncing on its prey. Several beams of light grazed the escape pod's path as a warning.

Immediately afterwards, the escort ship released a mobile suit equipped with restraint gear, which accurately hooked onto the hull of the escape pod, successfully attached itself to it, located the engine section, and resolved the problem with a high-energy explosive bomb.

The whole process was clean and efficient, giving the small boat no chance to resist or self-destruct; it was simply rendered powerless.

After a long while, the hatch was opened, and soldiers escorted in a middle-aged man in a high-ranking officer's uniform, his hair somewhat disheveled. He tried to remain calm, but his pale face and slightly trembling fingers betrayed his inner terror.

When he saw the man's face clearly, McGillis's pupils contracted slightly before returning to calm.

“...Father.” McGillis’s voice was devoid of emotion. “Your adventure has failed.”

The middle-aged man—the head of the Farid family—swayed almost imperceptibly.

He raised his head and looked at his son, who now held great power and might even become the chief of the "inner circle" in the future. His lips trembled a few times, but in the end, he couldn't say anything to defend or rebuke him. He just lowered his eyes in dejection.

Faced with an absolute disparity in power, any words seem pale and powerless.

McGillis may just be his clone, but since he has been chosen by that great man, he already has a status above him, the original.

The blond youth looked at him quietly, his eyes filled with complex emotions—to be honest, he didn't know how to deal with this man either.

"Clerk, how should this be handled according to military law?"

“This is ‘rebellion,’ and should be punished with life imprisonment.”

The clerk pushed up his reflective glasses, completely disregarding the relationship between his superior and the prisoner, and bluntly stated, "But he is still an accomplice of the culprit, publicly slandering the great savior...that person."

Ye Shou had strict rules about "addresses" three hundred years ago. The clerk almost said something that went against the sacred words, but thankfully he reacted in time and breathed a sigh of relief.

But when he looked at the head of the Farid family, an undisguised look of disgust appeared on his face:

"He himself violated the taboo by creating clones, and then used his own crimes as evidence to try to frame Babel, and even tried to smear Lord Kuze... Death penalty!"

He doesn't deserve to live!

Many people agree with this verdict.

After all, Elian and Farid tried to incite a civil war among mankind and committed the despicable act of planting nuclear bombs into the Earth's crust; they truly deserved to die!

"die?"

Farid jolted, broke free from the soldier's grasp, and stepped forward to grab McGillis's right hand, tears streaming down his face.

"I...I don't want to die...Save me, save me, McGee!"

That lord values ​​you highly. If you just ask... let me meet him, and I will wholeheartedly pledge my loyalty before him!

"Those were all things Elian forced me to do; in truth, I never wanted to do them from the beginning... I felt... um!"

Seeing that McGillis showed no sign of wavering, the head of the Farid family hardened his heart and knelt down, but still forcibly held the blond youth's hand.

"Please, don't worry about those things. I've always treated you like my own son..."

You will continue to inherit the Farid family business. I only want a small estate and a quiet life in the countryside... McKee!

Even though things have escalated to this point, I am still the head of the family. Wouldn't a public repentance benefit that person?

"Father...please stop talking...take him away."

McGee shook his head in anguish, covered his face, and waved his hand.

"No, no, McGee!"

Two soldiers stepped forward, one on each side, to "escort" this once-illustrious figure away from the bridge.

McGillis, sitting in the captain's chair, covered his face with his hands, his body trembling slightly as if he were sobbing.

Everyone was deeply moved:

Although they are in a relationship between the original and the clone, it shouldn't be described as anything more than affectionate... but I never expected that they actually have such deep feelings for each other.

"After all, they were father and son for a full twenty years."

"No wonder he was sad."

"Yes, you see, he hasn't even raised his face once."

—McGillis couldn't help but grin from ear to ear~

The golden retriever immediately lowered its eyes and tried desperately to think of some tragic things to dilute its joy.

Chapter 272: Daughter, then your father will come to kill you! (Two chapters combined)

The Moon, Atlas Base.

As the main battlefield of the "Operation Recapture the Moon" three hundred years ago, two-thirds of the Atlas crater was destroyed, and its landscape was permanently altered.

Later, to commemorate this battle, an outpost was built here and named Atlas, after the giant who held up the sky in Greek mythology. Here, it symbolizes humanity's reclaiming of the heavens and its renewed march into the stars.

Three centuries have passed, and Earth and Mars have largely lived in peace, no longer facing threats from space. The Moon's function as a "war fortress" has gradually disappeared, and it has become a natural large spaceport, with more than 70% of Earth's warships and merchant ships passing through here on their way to space.

The lunar orbital integrated fleet is stationed here year-round to maintain the safety and smooth flow of the shipping lanes.

Furthermore, although the lunar surface itself is not suitable for habitation, many wealthy individuals still purchase land there, and over the years a city has been built. Powered by a massive reactor, it relies almost entirely on external supplies to sustain its life, making it truly a place where every inch of land is incredibly valuable.

Neither snow-capped mountains nor the vast ocean offer a view that can compare to gazing upon our beautiful home planet from the moon.

—The wealthy flocked to it, making it the premier vacation destination in the entire solar system.

But upon closer examination, it turns out they don't really enjoy appreciating Earth's scenery, since they can do the same thing on a spaceship or artificial satellite.

What they truly enjoy is occupying the "mythical land" that has existed since ancient times, and bringing the "moon," which is full of symbolic meaning in human civilization, under their control.

Looking out over Earth from here, one doesn't feel the insignificance of humanity and the vastness of the universe, but rather a unique perspective, as if viewed from the heights of gods and giants, overlooking all of humanity—a perspective more irresistible than any sensory stimulation!

Today is a rather special day. Countless high-ranking figures have lost their interest and are not spending their days leisurely in their lunar villas as usual. Instead, they are staring intently at the virtual projection with bloodshot eyes.

Some looked terrified, but many more were bewildered and at a loss, clinging to a sliver of hope that they could get through the ordeal.

—The plan failed!

Although Elian was the commander, he did not have the authority to move the fleet out of the defense zone. The fact that he could secretly transport a large number of warships and mobile suits out of the airport and hide the true size of the fleet was due to the efforts of many people in secret, even going so far as to activate an inside agent in the Tower of Babel.

They should have had an absolute advantage. If they had launched a propaganda war and muddied the waters at the cost of sacrificing the Farid family, they would have had a chance to quickly cut through the mess and confirm the facts!

but……

One failure can truly lead to utter despair.

What's hardest to accept is the process itself, as if an invisible hand controls everything. No matter how well they prepare or how ruthless they are, once that person appears, there's no suspense left!

The war was also extremely farcical; the entire fleet was simply incorporated into the army.

I had a feeling something like this had happened before... Was it not exaggerated? Turns out it wasn't a propaganda campaign after all!

But he was highly respected during the War of the Calamity, so this performance was somewhat normal. However, three centuries have passed...

If I had known this would happen, why did I resist in the first place? ... It's too late to regret it now.

Their plot to overthrow the Tower of Babel has been brewing for more than just a year or two; it's not something that can be stopped easily. Especially after the attack on Solomon's Temple, even if they were willing to make drastic sacrifices, they would absolutely not let them off the hook afterward.

But can we blame them for courting death?

Who knew "he" would actually stand up from the throne!

Regret, pain, despair—anyone who knows history knows what will happen next.

That lord is not a merciful and sagacious ruler. Or rather, he is only like that when dealing with ordinary people, but he is more ruthless than the coldest winter when it comes to rebels and enemies!

Their assets, power, and connections are meaningless in the face of absolute power!

...Let's leave aside how the important figures struggled with this.

The news of Elian's betrayal and execution was like a meteorite impact, causing a violent shock among the officers and soldiers of the remaining lunar fleet. After a brief period of chaos, a mutiny was launched led by several senior officers, who quickly took control of the entire base.

Because there was actually very little resistance, the process was virtually bloodless, more like an "uprising" than a mutiny. After all the officers and soldiers reached a consensus, they turned their anger towards the culprits.

"Control all passageways! Disarm the Elian Guard!"

"The research institute area is under complete lockdown, all data and materials are sealed, and relevant personnel are under centralized guard!"

"Don't resist. It's not worth shedding blood for something that's already settled!"

This was originally an opportunity to settle scores or curry favor with the new superior, but the soldiers acted with extreme restraint.

Since that person clearly didn't want to cause too many casualties, and even personally protected those shameful traitors, how could they possibly go on a killing spree?

The order was carried out swiftly, and the soldiers acted decisively, encountering little effective resistance.

The Elian family's private army was demoralized and proved vulnerable to the rebels. Their research institute was also thoroughly raided in a short period of time, and a large amount of experimental data and unactivated drones were discovered, which was truly shocking.

Inside the command center, several senior officers looked at the compiled reports on the screen, their faces grim.

No one could have imagined that the commander had secretly manufactured so many prohibited weapons. It's fortunate that they turned back in time; otherwise, it's hard to imagine that such a big thing would have gone unnoticed if it had been exposed.

...No, I guess some people still know, but they certainly won't admit it now.

"Send a communication to Sydney headquarters... no, to the Temple of Solomon." The white-haired colonel finally made his decision, his tone firm. "Report our situation. The lunar fleet will remain in place... unconditionally obey the command of [Tower of Babel]."

Thus, the schemers' power was further disintegrated, and the Tower of Babel breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing things developing in a positive direction, everyone temporarily set aside their trust and began to think about how to act in the future. After all, the world situation would definitely change drastically after Ye Shou's return.