Azadistan Palace, a subordinate immediately reported to Marina, "Your Highness Marina, we have received news from Celestial Being."
"Celestial Being!?" Both Marina and Celine were taken aback; it was surprising that Celestial Being would send them a message.
"They have rescued Masoud Rachmadi and are on their way to the palace. We hope the princess will convene a meeting to seek an early ceasefire. End of message."
Upon hearing this, Marina pondered for a moment before promptly ordering a meeting to be held.
"Your Highness Marina…"
"I do not agree with their methods; this could be a trap. But I… I would rather believe, I want to believe." At this moment, Marina was no longer the flustered and helpless person she had been before; her eyes were filled with determination.
Meanwhile, a large number of media outlets also received news from Celestial Being, demanding that their stationed reporters obtain firsthand reports.
"Here in front of the Azadistan Palace, reports say that Masoud Rachmadi has been rescued and is being sent to the palace. Citizens are rushing here upon hearing the news. Unconfirmed reports state that the organization responsible for rescuing Masoud Rachmadi is Celestial Being. It remains uncertain whether Gundam will appear here.
Regardless, if Princess Marina Ismail, representing the reformists, meets with the conservative religious leader, the Grand Master, it will surely push towards the end of the internal strife in Azadistan."
This live report attracted global attention, with high-level officials from various countries closely watching the scene. Although the report mentioned uncertainty about Gundam's arrival, they all knew Gundam would definitely come.
"Lieutenant, do you really think Gundam will come?"
"And with hostages, no less."
Howard Mason and Daryl Dodge expressed their concerns. The palace was surrounded by a tight net; they were confident that if they took action, they could leave Gundam with no way to escape.
"It will definitely come; it's quite exciting." Graham's lips curled into an excited smile.
Indeed, this was Gundam, this was Celestial Being, and this was the goal he was willing to fight for.
Sure enough, not long after, Gundam Exia descended from the sky, landing steadily in the square in front of the palace. Shockingly, Gundam Exia had disarmed all its weapons.
"Disarmed!? How insidious." Graham cursed under his breath. With this, all of UNION's arrangements were rendered useless. Neither he nor the military upper echelons could issue capture orders. There would be other opportunities to capture Gundam, but if their reputation was tarnished, it would be hard to recover.
As everyone was in shock, Gundam Exia walked step by step towards the palace, not flinching in the face of gunfire. Even the MS guarding the palace stepped aside, and the frightened citizens stood frozen in safe positions, watching Gundam Exia advance.
Finally, Gundam Exia crouched in front of the palace and invited Masoud Rachmadi out of the cockpit.
"Please go to the palace."
"Hmm, this journey has hardly been comfortable."
At this moment, Masoud Rachmadi emerged safely from the cockpit and even engaged in cheerful conversation with Setsuna, drawing gasps of surprise from onlookers.
"I deeply apologize."
"Please accept my gratitude."
"Please hurry."
As Setsuna politely urged him, Masoud Rachmadi walked towards the palace. As he passed by Setsuna, he whispered in a voice only they could hear, "I will help you."
Setsuna froze for a moment but quickly regained his composure. After Masoud Rachmadi safely reached the palace, he turned and entered the cockpit.
Unexpectedly, Marina ran out at that moment and called out to Setsuna.
"Setsuna F Seiei! Is it really… you?" Marina could hardly believe that the young man who had listened to her complaints back then was truly one of the Gundam Meisters.
"Marina Ismail, whether we return depends on future developments."
"Setsuna…"
"Let's fight for the future you believe in."
With that, he ignored Marina's calls and entered the cockpit. The GN Drive activated, and green star-like lights spread out as Gundam Exia ascended into the sky before everyone's eyes.
"Yes, let's fight. As a Gundam Meister, I am… a Gundam Meister." Setsuna murmured as he looked down at Marina.
The UNION side was almost in chaos, with one faction arguing that they could not become the world's laughingstock by failing to capture Gundam, while another believed that as long as they obtained Gundam, reputation didn't matter.
At that moment, Gundam Dynames and Gundam Cherudim, which had been on standby near the capital, took to the skies and joined Gundam Exia, meeting up with Gundam Rasiel, which was waiting in the high altitude.
"Look!" Everyone looked up at the sky, where the four Gundams hovered in the void, like true angels overlooking the earth. They were watchers and punishers, declaring their authority: We have been watching you; where there is war, there will be us.
"Tch, so they really left a backup plan?" Graham clicked his tongue. If Gundam Exia had come unarmed to return personnel, then there must be countermeasures in place to prevent UNION from acting rashly. This was Myer's style; he would never let his companions go to their deaths for a goal.
"Lieutenant…"
"Don't go; it would just be a waste."
…
As Gundam departed, major news agencies around the world received another message from Celestial Being. During the rescue of Masoud Rachmadi, they were attacked by AEU's secret forces, and the organization that kidnapped him was indeed AEU's foreign mercenaries.
This news immediately caused an uproar. Although AEU vehemently denied it, Masoud Rachmadi publicly confirmed the information, plunging AEU into great chaos, facing condemnation from all sides and questions from its own citizens, leaving them overwhelmed and unable to cope.
As everyone had predicted, AEU officially shifted all responsibility onto the foreign mercenaries, leading many soldiers from the mercenary group to choose to leave and return to their old ways. During this time, many mercenaries openly attacked AEU bases in retaliation for AEU's attempts to shirk responsibility, causing significant damage.
At the same time, AEU's high-ranking officials watched the combat records brought back by Kati, wearing expressions identical to those of Kati and her team back then, completely stunned by Gundam Rasiel's incomprehensible combat power.
From strategic deployment, timing of appearance, encirclement tactics, to command and coordination, all aspects proved that Kati's command had no issues. If it weren't for Gundam Rasiel's appearance, the operation to capture Gundam would have absolutely succeeded.
Moreover… AEU was now facing a dire situation with no one available for use, so they still kept Kati in her original position, only requiring her to redeem herself.
Kati naturally didn't care about this; instead, she repeatedly browsed through the reports.
"Demonstrating status, returning hostages, making UNION hesitant, this is Kujo's handiwork. But afterwards… heh, Myer, it's you, isn't it? What a pity… it's not me working with you." Kati looked at the reports, admiring the masterpieces of Sumeragi and Yang Hui, while regretting that the person coordinating with Yang Hui was not herself.
"Colonel!"
"What's the hurry?"
"I'm very sorry."
"Speak, what is it?"
"Superiors have ordered us to be on high alert; our unit is about to execute a highly confidential mission. Here are the orders and the operation plan."
"Okay, I understand. You may leave."
"Yes!"
Kati flipped through the operation plan left by her subordinate, glancing at it a few times before closing it and falling into thought.
"The joint military exercise of the three nations is finally about to begin? The turning point of reform, the preliminary goals of the first phase plan; this time, I will not lose, Myer."
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