UC will eventually reach the stars

"Huh?" The group of staff officers exchanged glances, all seeing something unusual in each other's eyes. What kind of propaganda would require such a huge risk to launch a long-range attack? "Colonel Ye Yun, what should we do?"

"We need to tally the results, collect data, and then quickly make videos. We should try to get the videos out of the Zeon army's sights. They want to publicize their victory in the raids, so we should publicize that their troops are all cowards. If we take a hard line, they'll run away. We should make a video of a Zaku running in front and 61 chasing behind, shouting 'Brother! Don't run away!' Anyway, we should make it humorous. Compared to your serious propaganda, this kind of parody is more effective."

Ye Yun quickly scanned the map back and forth, seemingly searching for something. "By the way, you should suggest to General Merck that we lay mines at various depths on the side of the Mediterranean near the Zeon-controlled area these next few days, just to prevent the Zeon army from obtaining supplies from the sea. Keep the depth low."

"...Yes!" Ye Yun rattled off a long list of political considerations, leaving the staff officers somewhat bewildered. Was this something they, as junior staff officers, should be thinking about? However, they roughly understood that Ye Yun's previous operation, which involved a raid of over a hundred kilometers to destroy the Zeon army's logistics hub, had put immense pressure on Zeon in terms of propaganda, severely damaging the morale of the Zeon army. This attack by the enemy might be a counterattack and retaliation.

Ye Yun really wanted to say: They're organizing their troops to counterattack right now. You want to laugh happily? They'll make you cry right now!

The enemy's attack was kept very secret, which is why they were able to achieve a decent result. It should be enough to give Merck a headache and make Gop rub his temples in frustration, but not much more... If the Federation headquarters were willing to provide strong support to the Median air force for a massive supply, Ye Yun didn't think the frontline troops would lack ammunition at all.

After all, the Federation's only MS losses in the entire battle were the three Daggers that were knocked down by the Zeon's new melee fighters. Apart from one that was destroyed by the wrist cannon after being cut down, the other two seem to be repairable. The specifics are pending the assessment of the frontline engineers at the Suez base.

However, this would inevitably involve mobilizing a large number of troops. As mentioned before, Ye Yun is the commander of the 13th Mobile Force, not part of the African Army system. He has now received a temporary appointment from General Merk to assume short-term command of the African Army, but this short-term command is clearly not enough to withstand such a large-scale military operation.

“Air Force report…” A staff officer placed a document on the table, “It appears there is a giant aircraft approaching us… They released Minovsky particles, so our radar couldn’t detect its location, but it has already slipped away.”

"Oh?! An aircraft capable of releasing Minovsky particles on its own?!" Ye Yun grabbed the tablet and quickly swiped through it a few times. "Wow... what a pity, such a big turkey, the interceptor pilot who took the picture will be crying in his dreams tonight." Ye Yun's voice was full of teasing, eliciting a few dry laughs from the tense and oppressive atmosphere in the command center that night.

"Notify all units to lower the alert level, but be careful of a counterattack." Ye Yun shook his head, glanced at his watch, and realized that more than ten hours had passed without him noticing. He let out a long breath and patted his face. "Is there any coffee? Oh, and have the units take turns resting."

"Yes, Colonel, rest assured." The staff officers looked at each other. In the past ten hours, Ye Yun had only made the initial decisions. Most of the time, he just stood there looking at the electronic map. But for some reason, everyone felt at ease when Ye Yun was there. Throughout the night, the various orders from the Africa Army Command were carried out layer by layer according to the pre-arranged plan, which basically did not give the Zeon army much of a chance.

"By the way, contact the Space Force. This turkey is too big to fit in its coop. Look where it's lying. We should go and check on it once we find it."

"Yes!"

Chapter 108 Char Aznable

"Lady Kycilia!" A secretary knocked on the heavy wooden door and called out softly.

"Come in!" came a somewhat cold female voice from inside.

"Lady Kycilia, Mr. Char Aznable has arrived as agreed." The secretary bowed very respectfully to Kycilia. After all, this woman in front of her was not only ruthless, but also one of the three major figures in the Principality of Zeon, Kycilia Zabi, who controlled Zeon's logistics, research and development and intelligence departments.

"Hmm...bring us two cups of coffee, and then you can leave." Kycilia didn't even look up, staring at the documents on the table.

"Lady Kycilia." A very magnetic voice came from the doorway.

"Char, I haven't had a chance to congratulate you on your promotion yet." Kycilia leaned back in her chair, propped her head up with one hand, and looked at the Zeon major in front of her. A slight smile appeared on her lips. It felt good to have a huge secret between herself and another person, especially since the secret belonged to the other person. She could even make him disappear without her having to lift a finger.

"Thank you very much!" Although he put his strange military cap aside and sat down properly, Xia did not take off his mask.

Kycilia nodded to the secretary who brought in the coffee, then looked at Char and pointed to the mask he was wearing. "Are you going to keep wearing it in front of me, Char?"

"..." Xia Ya paused for a moment, then took off his mask, revealing his true appearance.

“You look more energetic than before.” Kycilia looked at Char, no, the young man who should be called Casval Rem Deiken, Sera Mas’s brother, and a smile appeared on her lips that was different from her usual cold expression.

"Oh, thank you for your concern." Xia Ya smiled, having regained control of his emotions at this moment.

"Have you seen Sera? I heard she's getting close to the young master of the Ye family." Kycilia finished writing a document, which turned out to be a photo of a Dagger 105. The Dagger 105 had a folded-down backpack (what the soldiers called a flight pack) hanging on its back and was holding a Type 59 90mm machine gun. It was standing in a mess and firing its machine gun.

Seeing this scene, Kycilia felt a headache coming on. This was already the worst of all the Federation army raids. They would rush in, fight wildly, and then just run away.

Then, for some reason, Kycilia's eyes were fixed on the TYPE59 90mm machine gun. The Federation Army highly valued this machine gun, and the original 100mm machine guns had basically begun to be phased out. In terms of main firearms selection, both logistics and the front line preferred the TYPE59.

"Yes, I took a look from afar, and Sera is dazzling right now." Xia's voice revealed a hint of pride, after all, anyone would be proud of their sister's outstanding abilities.

"Yes, it is indeed very dazzling." Kycilia suddenly felt like laughing. This little guy, Char, was actually pointing it out to her. Yes, Sera was dazzling. Too many people were watching. The Undead Legion's attack and the Federation Army's rush to rescue her had widened the gap in reputation between the two sides even more rapidly.

This situation has escalated to the point where, regardless of the Federation's attitude towards Zeon, even some members of the Zeon military who had received favors from them have begun to harbor some resentment.

In addition, Sera's rescue operation has effectively received support from the Earth Federation. Otherwise... hundreds of millions of refugees would not be something Sera could support with the limited financial resources of the Maas family. Many grain merchants, who were instructed by some people in the federal government, were quietly selling their supplies to Sera at a price that was a bit high, but not too high, and then actively helping to deliver the food to SIDE5.

This ensured Serra's neutrality and also made things as convenient for Serra as possible.

“Don’t worry, your sister is more sensible than you. She’s firmly neutral in her stance, so I have no reason to go against her.” Kycilia stared at Char. “Do you know why I called you here?”

"Just returned from Low Earth Orbit, so I don't know yet," Char said very frankly. He was lucky on this patrol, as he didn't encounter anything. "I heard that on the Luna 2 front, the Zeon forces and the Federation's hunting units are fighting fiercely."

How could it not be intense? Not to mention that Luna 2 organized its own production and maintenance of short swords, Earth sent Luna 2 40 short swords, which was barely enough to keep Luna 2 at the level of a large battalion! You can imagine how crazy Luna 2's fighting was during this period.

The Zeon forces weren't faring any better. Their 180mm cannons were now being called "invisible reapers" by the Zeon forces; by the time you found out, the projectiles had already torn the entire Zaku to shreds.

The GAT01FA Full Armored Dagger that Jung was piloting, which originally belonged to Ye Yun, now had 17 Zaku heads on its shoulders. Moreover, among these 17 heads, 9 were painted in different colors, representing the Zakus that Ye Yun had hunted while piloting the Full Armored Dagger.

Moreover, there are several others in similar situations. In short, the 180mm heavy artillery has become the last thing the Zeon forces want to encounter when operating near Luna 2.

“Hmm…yes!” Kycilia rubbed her temples as she thought of Luna II. The changes that had occurred here were yet another variable that gave Kycilia a headache. Despite being surrounded by the Zeon forces, Luna II had become exceptionally active after forming an MS unit, and had even begun to put pressure on the Zeon forces instead…

“Never mind, that’s Dozru’s problem. I have a lot of other things to worry about.” Kycilia sighed. “Lamba Ral has disappeared, no, he has defected.”

"Uh..." Xia was stunned. To be honest, he was also surprised. "Did...something happen?"

“…” Kycilia pulled out a document from the side and handed it over. “Although I don’t know who did it, it can’t be those useless members of the parliament who the evidence points to. You know why, if they could do something so meticulous, they wouldn’t be like this now.” Perhaps because she knew Xia’s biggest secret, Kycilia relaxed and criticized others, which was completely unlike her usual self.

“Explosion… the shuttle is destroyed… the other side is really willing to go all out. The investigation data on the shuttle… hmm… it does look like it was done very cleanly.” Xia quickly scanned the data. “Unless Ramba Ral comes out on his own, in a place like SIDE5 where identity information is currently completely chaotic, it wouldn’t be too easy for him to change his identity.”

“Yes, but he went missing in the airspace near Side 5. In the past two hours, six rescue ships under Sera’s command have passed through this airspace.” Kycilia looked at Char. “Sera is a smart girl. She knows what she is doing. Zeon can be friends with Sera Mas. Don’t push our friendship away.”

"...Do you need me to relay this message?" Xia understood Kycilia's thoughts. In a sense, this was also a test for him. If he hesitated, there was no doubt that an anti-Zeon would be tragically shot after he left the house.

“Yes, but this time the main purpose is to deliver a batch of supplies to them as an apology for the attack on Sera at Side 4 last time. We mistook them for someone else. After all… Dawn Heavy Machinery Manufacturing is the manufacturer of Earth Federation Forces' MS Daggers, so Leo and the Daggers have some similar signals.” Kycilia said with a smile, but her smile didn't reach her eyes; a coldness always flickered deep within. “So, some accidents happened by chance. Can you explain this to Zeon? What's done is done.” But there's no guarantee there won't be a next time.

“I’d be happy to.” Xia knew he had no choice, and the deed was already done. His going now represented a way of wiping the slate clean of the two incidents: the attack on Sera and Ramba’s defection. In a sense, it also seemed to be Kycilia expressing a friendly attitude, at least that she wouldn’t pursue Ramba Ral’s defection too much.

Char's judgment was simple: Ramba Ral was neither one of Kycilia's people, in terms of faction or affiliation. Ramba was a die-hard Deiken supporter, unlike the opportunists in the council, and in a sense, he would never truly be loyal to Zabi.

In terms of affiliation, she is Dozru's subordinate. The infighting within the Zabi family is intensifying, and Kycilia would definitely not refuse if it could weaken Dozru.

Of course, Char thought that Kycilia might be regretting that there wasn't such a spectacle happening under Gihren's command. Moreover, Char maliciously thought that if such a thing really happened, Kycilia might directly send people to track them down, and then kill them all after Gihren's personal guards made their move.

"By the way, what do you think of Ye Yun? I heard you two have met before," Kycilia said with a smile.

“A very proactive person.” Xia recalled that he didn’t have much of a memory. His sister was riding a horse in Texas when the horse was startled and went berserk. This man happened to be passing by on his way to visit his adoptive father and immediately ordered his attendant to shoot the horse dead, thus saving Artesia. However, it seemed that because it was Artesia’s favorite horse, the two of them had a fight and parted on bad terms.

Afterwards, I traveled to Texas for a while and met him a few times. We were just nodding acquaintances and didn't have a deep relationship.

However, Xia Ya had a very deep understanding of Ye Yun's ability to act; he was a person who would do what he thought of.

"Why just think about it and not do it? Are you planning to wait two years and say, 'If only I had done it this way back then,'" These were the words Ye Yun said to Xia Ya, which deeply affected him.

“…That little brat from back then has now become a real headache.” Kycilia took a deep breath. Yes, she had met Ye Yun. This kid came to Zeon demanding an explanation for the confiscation of Ye's Heavy Industries' assets. They even danced together at a party. The little guy's skills were mediocre; he was just at the stage where he wouldn't make mistakes. The two didn't have a deep conversation. After a brief encounter, he ran away after she refused to help him. He didn't seem very interested in dancing.

What was he interested in? Now Kycilia knew.

Shuguang Heavy Machinery Manufacturing.

SIDE5 Rescue Fleet.

Federation Forces Ground and Space MS Training and Combat System.

He is the youngest colonel in the Federation Army, and it seems only a matter of time before he is promoted to general.

Like a lover of the goddess of victory, she led her subordinates to achieve a series of astonishing victories! They even reached the point of influencing the course of the war.

“He’s an ambitious little guy.” After thinking about the territory Ye Yun had expanded in just four months since the start of the war, Kycilia felt deeply that she shouldn’t have danced with him in the first place. She should have kept him alive or killed him along with him when she created an accident!

"That's beyond my judgment," Xia said sincerely with a smile.

Chapter 109 News of an Old Friend

"You've worked hard on standby!" Ye Yun returned to his residence and looked at the three little ones who were also huddled together, pulling them out of bed. After fussing with them for a while, he let the three little ones start eating breakfast. Since the MS pilots' residence was in the pilot area, the breakfast was provided according to the pilots' standards.

There is fresh fruit, milk (including oatmeal and other snacks for soaking the milk), fried eggs, scrambled eggs (the kind of scrambled eggs with egg powder like in Europe and America), toast, bacon, smoked ham, hash browns, waffle-like cookies, and of course, various sauces.

High in calories and nutrients! A meal of cookies and coffee is something even the most hardened soldiers can only dream of!

However, when it came to Aina's place, for everyone's health, Aina instructed Ye Yun's orderly to bring a fixed amount of food from the canteen every morning.

"It's alright. I rested in the cockpit afterwards, while Norres was on duty. I just had Norres eat breakfast first and then went to rest." Aina tapped Rita, who didn't want to drink milk, signaling her to behave and not secretly pour it for Jonah. The same goes for Michelle, who was trying to stuff lettuce leaves into Jonah's hands. "You should also eat some quickly and then go to rest. General Merck should be here soon."

"The conference call has been going on for a while now. General Merck is going crazy. Although the troop losses are actually not many, the loss of supplies is really killing him. His preparations for the attack over this period of time have been completely wasted." Ye Yun sat in his chair and glanced at the former 09 squad members next to him who were eating sandwiches. "Sally, when did you guys arrive?"

"It just arrived along with the latest batch of Dagger 105. Boss, this new model of Dagger is quite interesting. It's really strong in close combat."

"How could it not be powerful? It has 40mm rapid-fire cannons mounted on both shoulders, but it seems many people haven't gotten used to it yet, and the firing angle is also relatively narrow." Ye Yun curled his lips, not particularly optimistic about this thing. However, even Ye Yun admitted that if it were to suddenly fire during a knife fight, the Zaku on the other side would be stunned by this machine gun. Even if it couldn't penetrate the enemy's armor plates, the armor plates that were being strafed by the shells would still put enormous pressure on the Zeon pilots. And if it damaged anything, it would be a real advantage.

What's more, Sally was using that 40mm autocannon to strafe light armored vehicles and ordinary Zeon soldiers on the ground... What was that saying again?

Oh, right!

Level the anti-aircraft guns, and order a military court!

"I thought we could get some exercise last night, but Rita was wrong!" Sally turned her head and threw the bread in front of her into her mouth. She had to admit that as a member of Ye Yun's team, she felt that she was being treated really well, just look at all the food and drinks she was getting.

“Yesterday, a giant transport plane did approach our position, but because it released Minovsky particles, our radar didn’t detect it,” Ye Yun recounted the situation he encountered in the command post last night. “Perhaps the other side felt that the forces that a single giant transport plane could carry were insufficient to take down this base.”

This is not just speculation, but a result of careful analysis. Although Minovsky particles can block radar technology, they will remain in the air for a period of time. Therefore, based on the concentration of Minovsky particles, we can roughly outline the trajectory of this super-large transport aircraft.

The enemy did indeed initially head straight for the African Army headquarters, seemingly intending to launch a surprise attack. However, after news of unsuccessful attacks on other bases was quickly relayed back, the large transport plane's mission was decisively changed, and the enemy turned and left without looking back.

Watching the flight path that had almost turned 180 degrees, Ye Yun twitched his lips. Why didn't the other side come? There were still two flight backpacks at the base. If they came, he would definitely have to keep the other side here!

Of course, the air force pilots were even more devastated than Ye Yun. The first kill of such a big toy had just slipped away right under their noses?! They simply couldn't accept it!

"So...they really planned to raid this place last night? They have a squadron of mobile suits stationed here, at least four mechanized battalions, and the main force of the Earth Federation Forces' Africa Air Force...this place?" Sally patted her forehead, somewhat incredulous. What were they thinking? "How big is that plane? They can't possibly carry a whole squadron of Zakus at once."

“It might not just be a Zaku.” Ye Yun placed two printed photos on the table, and Doris, who happened to be walking by, immediately picked them up and glanced at them. “A new model Zaku!? Enhanced melee combat? It seems that Zeonic and Dawn Heavy Machinery Manufacturing have a good understanding, after all, they actually release new models of mobile suits almost at the same time.”

"Let me see!" Doris's words immediately piqued everyone's interest. Sally, who was eating a hash brown, jumped up and took the photo from Doris after she finished looking at it. Even Gao Long, who had just finished his breakfast and was about to get up, came over.

"That's not all. There was also an underwater MS that attacked the Red Sea base. The attack was launched underwater, and no enemies were detected on the ground or in the air." Ye Yun shrugged and revealed the intelligence.

"How was that confirmed?" Sally asked casually, staring at the photo in front of her.

The first of the three photos shows the new model running wildly, with the wrist cannons on the back of its hands flashing bright flames, clearly firing fiercely.

The second picture shows him in close combat with a short sword, kicking it and breaking its balance.

The third image shows someone using a shield to block a short sword's swing, before the new machine slashes through the short sword's waist.

“It looks like the move is based on ours…” Gao Long frowned and tossed the last ticket to Nores across from him. “It looks like one of your signature moves.”

"..." Norres picked up the photos and examined them carefully, his eyes showing a dangerous glint in them. "They do look somewhat similar, but they shouldn't be the same pose I have in the short sword database. The point of force application is different." Norres didn't elaborate, but since he said it wasn't, it probably wasn't.

“One against three, we won. Two mechs were badly damaged, one was destroyed, and two pilots were killed in action. One of them… Lekovini, you should know her, the pilot of the third mech in the original 4th squad, Sally. I heard she flirted with you at the bar last time and you kicked her. Aina, get the drinks.” Ye Yun gestured to Aina. “It’s really not a good feeling to have someone you know die in battle.”

The other pilot who died in battle was one of the later ones, so people weren't as familiar with him. The ones who were truly familiar with him were the earliest MS pilots, so Ye Yun didn't mention his name.

“That guy… damn…” Sally scratched her head, her expression complicated. “I should have agreed to go on a date with him.” Of course, this didn’t mean Sally was willing to engage in any intimate activities, just a casual date. She pouted, feeling quite uncomfortable.

"Michelle, you can go to class now." Aina patted Michelle's head, signaling the little ones not to stay there during such a heavy time. Michelle and the others knew they couldn't make a fuss here, so they quickly went to their rooms to attend online classes.

Then Aina took out a dozen small cups and two bottles of liquor, and placed them on the table. Ye Yun uncorked the bottles, and the aroma of the liquor spread out, clearly indicating that it was a very good drink. Ye Yun casually poured some into each cup, saying, "A toast to that unlucky fellow, congratulations on escaping the quagmire of war."

"To Lecovenni..." A group of people stood up, raised their glasses, and drank them down in one gulp.

"Is there a plan to strike?" After finishing his drink, Gao Long subconsciously licked his lips and looked at Ye Yun. Although they were just nodding acquaintances and their relationship wasn't particularly good, it wasn't bad either. To avenge him... perhaps not, but killing a few as a sacrifice was something Gao Long was willing to do.

"The new MS with its stark white paint job, I've already sent photos to all the earliest MS pilots. I'm sure this thing will be targeted as soon as it shows its face." Ye Yun narrowed his eyes. He could say that all the Federation MS pilots were trained by him or trained according to his training syllabus. Ye Yun was naturally proud of this. And now... Ye Yun had a feeling of wanting to avenge his disciple (Rita, who had entered the room, glanced back at Ye Yun).

“It seems we really won’t be able to settle accounts with him anytime soon.” Rachel handed a report to Ye Yun. “This is the latest intelligence.”

"Is this the Black Sea?" Ye Yun took the data Rachel handed him and glanced at it. The location was clearly marked as a port in Mersin, Turkey. A ship that looked like a submarine opened its cabin, and a new Zeon mobile suit that Ye Yun and his group had just seen in the photos was slowly standing up.

"The air force is... tsk, it's really troublesome not having command." Ye Yun subconsciously wanted to coordinate an air force attack on the port, but the next moment he realized that this was the African Army's base, no longer in Dhaka.

“Even if we launch an attack now, it’s probably too late. This is a state-of-the-art MS prototype. If nothing unexpected happens, we’ll likely see many of these on the battlefield soon.” Ye Yun said through gritted teeth. “However, they probably won’t fare too well. We’ve already destroyed another prototype. In a sense, I even think that underwater MS is more valuable, perhaps even enough to trigger a strategic shift…”

"Will it hit shipping?" Ye Yun asked, and everyone seemed to realize what was going on.

"Ok!"

Chapter 110 The Strategic Value of the Steel Artery

"Ye Yun... if it weren't for your quick reaction! All our efforts over the past few months would have been in vain!" Major General Merck stared at the electronic sand table in front of him, his face ashen, and slammed the pen he was holding onto the table. "Damn Zeon!" It was clear that Major General Merck was extremely angry!

However, it is understandable. After all, in the past few months, Major General Merkel has almost single-handedly moved the least favored African theater to the most likely theater to be liberated, and started to receive preferential treatment from federal resources. One can imagine how much hard work he has put in.

Originally, according to Major General Merk's plan, after he had weakened the Zeon forces in Africa to the greatest extent possible and after transferring Ye Yun's 13th Mobile Force, it was time for the entire scenario to come to an end. In other words, he should enjoy the victory he had brewed!

But now... *smack*

Although Ye Yun managed to preserve the troops, the biggest loss was the loss of nearly a squad of mobile suits at the Suez base. However, all things considered, the number of mobile suits lost in the entire Zeon surprise attack did not exceed five. Given that the Earth Federation Forces' mobile suit production has begun to increase rapidly, single-digit combat losses can probably be replenished within a week, so it doesn't seem to be a big problem.

However! Supplies! Merck's supplies, which were meant to deliver the decisive blow, were still significantly damaged. While this didn't necessarily lead to a complete collapse in overall combat capability due to logistical issues, it severely hampered their offensive capabilities. In particular, six Midia aircraft at a transfer base were damaged, and a simple assessment indicated that at least 9-15 days would be needed for minimal repairs before they could be put back into service.

Sigh... This is just adding insult to injury.

"Is there any solution? We need to replenish our supplies as soon as possible. This is no longer just a problem for our African Army to deal with these Zeon murderers; it's a problem that directly relates to the Earth Federation Army's overall large-scale strategic plan." Major General Merck's expression was ferocious.