Athrun ntioned that both the deputy commander of ZAFT's Earth Forces in North Africa and the commander of the Gibraltar Base had been taught by Patrick. Reid wasn't surprised.
As the founder of PLANT's current regi, Patrick Zala had been in charge of military operations since the Zodiac Alliance era. Now, among ZAFT's senior officers with seniority, every single one had, to so extent, served under Patrick Zala at so point.
Of course, having served under him didn't necessarily an they were part of the Zala Faction, but it was a fact that the Zala Faction was deeply entrenched within ZAFT. Even with Durandal now in power, he couldn't completely purge the Zala Faction from ZAFT—after all, it was impossible to tell which officers still held loyalty to their old commander.
Moreover, Durandal still relied on these soldiers to fight, so he naturally wouldn't touch the mbers of the Zala Faction, who ford the backbone of the military.
What was truly cunning was Durandal's move to have Orphee Lam Tao take over Athrun's position at the Armory. That was so shrewd calculation.
While those Coordinators didn't possess a passive charm ability like Lacus, they could still use hypnotic influence to sway Yzak's decisions at critical monts.
Especially after spending so ti together, as long as these Coordinators behaved themselves initially and lowered Yzak's guard, they could almost certainly influence him with ease.
However, all of this was for later. If Durandal didn't stir up trouble, how could he reveal his true intentions? And how could Athrun easily turn against him? So, Reid decided to offer a subtle reminder at the very end.
Moreover, by revealing here that he could directly take control of ZAFT forces in North Africa and the Gibraltar Base, Athrun was essentially showing that he now had a foundation for cooperation with Reid. The next step was to discuss serious matters.
So, Reid gave Lacus a look. Lacus understood instantly and, with a cheerful smile, imdiately took Cagalli outside for a walk.
Cagalli was actually reluctant to leave because she was eager to learn about the New Misurugi Kingdom's next plans.
In her view, the war between the New Misurugi Kingdom and the Earth Alliance had progressed too quickly.
When the war first broke out, Cagalli had been worried that the conflict between the New Misurugi Kingdom and the Earth Alliance might lead to another attack on Orb's holand by the Atlantic Federation.
However, despite her many political shortcomings, this girl was fiercely loyal. So, she never considered betraying the New Misurugi Kingdom outright. Instead, she began preparing for a second holand defense war.
As Cagalli was urging Dawn Company to ramp up Mobile Suit production, the Atlantic Federation suffered a defeat and retreated to the Hawaiian Islands.
Then, Cagalli assud that the two sides would inevitably engage in a fierce battle across the Pacific, aning Orb's peaceful days were over. At least the extra Mobile Suits could serve as escorts, so it wasn't a complete waste.
But just over a month later, the Atlantic Federation was beaten back to its holand.
Now, things were looking up. Seeing that the New Misurugi Kingdom had defeated the Atlantic Federation and fully occupied the central and eastern Pacific, the old foxes in Orb's political arena decisively demanded that Cagalli deepen cooperation with the New Misurugi Kingdom.
This ti, both the upper and lower houses of Orb's parliant were surprisingly unified in their opinion: Orb should fully align itself with the New Misurugi Kingdom and directly send troops to support it.
In that case, once the war ends, given Reid's personality of rewarding rit and repaying grievances, even if Orb can't get a slice of the pie, it can still take a big gulp of the soup.
However, with the holand crisis resolved, Cagalli doesn't want Orb to participate in the war, so she refuses to send troops based on Orb's national policy of "not invading other countries, not tolerating invasion by others, and not intervening in other nations' disputes."
But as the war continues, seeing the Atlantic Federation hunkered down in its holand and getting beaten every day, Cagalli is almost unable to suppress the thoughts of those below her.
Because cutting off soone's path to wealth is like killing their parents, all of Orb's top officials are ready to follow behind the New Misurugi Kingdom to scoop up so benefits. As long as the New Misurugi Kingdom wins this war, even the scraps from the Atlantic Federation's downfall would be enough to stuff their families to bursting.
Moreover, Cagalli still talking about neutrality now is truly laughable. What country in the world still thinks Orb is a neutral nation? Hanging a neutral country sign is just selling dog at under the label of mutton.
So, Orb's political arena is essentially forcing Cagalli's hand every day. If it weren't for the fact that her position was put there by Reid, she would have been kicked out long ago.
Cagalli actually knows her situation well, which is why she really wants to know the New Misurugi Kingdom's next move before deciding whether to firmly prevent Orb from joining the war.
Unfortunately, Reid won't reveal any confidential matters to Cagalli because she is too immature.
Only after completely sensing no more psychic wave fluctuations from Cagalli did Reid turn to Athrun with a serious expression.
"Athrun, don't bla for deliberately sending Cagalli away. As a politician, she's too green. There are many things she can't know—they could ruin everything."
Athrun knows all too well that Cagalli lacks the cunning of a politician, but that's also why he likes her. After all, only in front of Cagalli can he relax completely without reservation.
So Athrun nodded in understanding and said,
"It's fine. Actually, Cagalli isn't completely clueless. She just still holds onto her dreams."
This ti, Reid didn't directly retort with "That's an impractical dream." Instead, he got straight to the point.
"Alright, Athrun, let's talk business. Although you rarely co back and I'd love to chat about sothing light with you, our current positions and the situation make it impossible not to discuss official matters. So, what ssage did PLANT send you with?"
Reid thought Athrun had co secretly because PLANT had hinted indirectly or directly given him orders, as Athrun is essentially soone who dislikes troubling others.
But this ti, Reid guessed wrong. Athrun shook his head slightly and said directly,
"No, it's not. Coming to Orb this ti was actually my own decision. After analyzing the situation on Earth, I'm almost certain that without the cooperation of the New Misurugi Kingdom, even if I go to the Suez Battlefield, it'll be hard to make any progress."
"I know all too well how troubleso the East Asian Republic's forces are, and it's well-known that they excel at land warfare. Right now, they also hold advantageous terrain. I'm not reckless—I don't want to clash head-on with such a force."
Hearing that this was Athrun's own idea, Reid thought to himself that the kid had grown up, learning that he didn't have to shoulder everything alone and could seek help when needed. So, with an unusually serious expression, Reid said,
"Alright, in that case, let's first discuss your strategic approach. If there are no issues, we can then talk about the terms."
Athrun had no objections. He adjusted the table in the reception room, and soon a laser projection of the entire western Eurasian-African map, stretching from Gali to Kuwait City, appeared on the tabletop.
This map covered nearly all of Europe, the Middle East west of the forr Iranian region, and most of North Africa.
The military deploynts of the New Misurugi Kingdom, ZAFT, the East Asian Republic, and the Eurasian Federation were clearly visible on this map.
Reid wasn't surprised that Athrun had produced this map, as he had been looking at it almost daily recently. There were no particularly secretive deploynts on it—most of the information was semi-public.
Once the map was displayed, Athrun produced a teaching pointer from sowhere and began pointing at the map as he spoke.
"The Suez Canal Battle, in essence, is ZAFT's strategic objective to completely choke off the two entrances to the diterranean, just as in the last war, and then launch a direct assault into the heartland of the Eurasian Federation from the diterranean.
Actually, in my view, this sequence isn't necessarily fixed. My reassignnt hasn't been made public yet—the enemy is in the open, while I'm in the shadows. I plan to give the Eurasian Federation a surprise directly."
Reid imdiately understood the implication of Athrun's words and looked at him in surprise, asking,
"You an, you want to ignore the fighting at the Suez Canal and directly attack the European mainland? With just the forces from the Gibraltar Base? That's far too few. And while the Eurasian Federation's combat effectiveness may be lacking compared to the other four nations, don't underestimate their determination to defend their holand."
Athrun naturally wouldn't recklessly use the limited forces at the Gibraltar Base to invade Europe. After all, the ZAFT forces at Gibraltar were mostly naval, with ground forces barely sufficient for defense and entirely inadequate for an offensive.
So, Athrun fixed his gaze intently on Reid and said,
"I actually have a Space Airborne Forces unit that can intervene in the battlefield. Thanks to Chairman Durandal's firm stance against executing space airborne operations, I can now pull off a surprise.
And don't worry about issues like defying the Chairman's orders. The PLANT Supre Council has overruled so of Chairman Durandal's decisions and granted supre command over the European and African regions. Clearly, the neutralist councilors seem to want to pit against Durandal to maintain political balance.
However, I won't directly oppose Chairman Durandal's orders.
But this is where I need the New Misurugi Kingdom's cooperation. I hope the New Misurugi Kingdom can directly eliminate the garrison forces near the Black Sea."
Reid had no interest in ddling in PLANT's political affairs. As long as Athrun's thinking was clear, that was enough. As for Athrun's request, Reid ntally simulated the scenario and smiled, saying,
"Athrun, you've learned to play dirty. Having the New Misurugi Kingdom eliminate the Black Sea garrison would give the Eurasian Federation the illusion that our nation intends to open a second front. After all, the Atlantic Federation's holand is tough to crack. To truly attack the Atlantic Federation's mainland, we must first cut off support from Europe.
When that happens, the Eurasian Federation will surely mobilize forces from both east and west to encircle our troops, giving you the opportunity for an airborne assault.
However, you'll need to tell first where you plan to drop your forces."
Athrun did not answer here, his teaching pointer directly aid at the British Isles.
Reid indicated that this strategy of Athrun's was sothing even he hadn't anticipated, let alone the Eurasian Federation. The British Isles were Atlantic Federation territory, and right next to them was the Paradise Island Base. By any asure, it didn't seem like a suitable target for attack.
So Reid asked in surprise:
"The British Isles, Athrun, are you serious? The Atlantic Federation forces at Paradise Island Base are far from few. If you attack here, you'll get kicked in the rear instantly."
Athrun naturally wouldn't make such a basic mistake. He said directly:
"Actually, no. As long as the Gran Chaos brings a surface fleet and stops just outside Ireland at that ti—without even needing you, Reid, to be on board—the forces at Paradise Island Base will absolutely turtle up and not co out.
If they really do co out, then we imdiately change strategy. My troops will be the bait, and at that point, you, Reid, can directly occupy the now lightly defended Paradise Island Base."
Upon hearing this, Reid indicated that this plan indeed seed feasible.
Devouring the garrison forces in the Black Sea area actually required no reinforcents at all; the troops from the Old Capital Base were sufficient.
The Eurasian Federation forces in the Black Sea had long been intimidated by Tekkadan. Seeing that as long as they didn't attack, the Old Capital Base troops wouldn't cross the boundary, they now fired blank shots into the sky every day, just doing enough to justify the pay from the Eurasian Federation military.
As for the East Asian Republic and Eurasian Federation allied forces in the Middle East, they were still confronting ZAFT's North African forces at the Suez Canal and had no ti to sneak up on the Old Capital Base's rear.
As long as Reid made a brief appearance during the Black Sea campaign, the Eurasian Federation would act exactly as Athrun predicted.
The Eurasian Federation currently didn't have many troops dostically. The garrison at Gibraltar absolutely couldn't be moved; the only mobile forces were the defensive troops in various European cities.
To prevent the New Misurugi Kingdom from sweeping directly from east to west across Europe, they would certainly gather their main forces and set up a defensive line in the Romania area.
At that mont, if the Gran Chaos appeared near Ireland with a surface fleet, the Paradise Island forces most likely wouldn't dare to move, because they knew that the mobility of the Mobile Suits piloted by Reid was extrely abnormal—they could travel from the Black Sea to the Atlantic in just a day or two, and due to ultra-high-altitude flight, European countries wouldn't even detect them.
Even if they did move, just as Athrun said, Reid could then target Paradise Island Base. The Black Sea campaign didn't require Reid to commit all his main forces; they could remain on the Gran Chaos, with command handed over to Salamandine. With her abilities, she could certainly capture Paradise Island Base.
As for the British Isles, their local defenses were generally diocre. Because they relied on the backing of Paradise Island Base, the main defensive fortifications of the British Isles faced Europe. As long as Athrun's troops suddenly conducted an airborne assault in the northwest, rapidly seizing the British Isles wasn't impossible.
With the British Isles as a springboard, ZAFT troops could continuously airdrop into Europe.
And this truly didn't violate Durandal's principle of not using airborne troops for invasion.
Because the British Isles belonged to the Atlantic Federation, and the Atlantic Federation had already launched a second nuclear strike on PLANT's holand—this certainly couldn't be considered invasion, only retaliation.
If the British Isles beco a ZAFT springboard, the next to suffer would likely be the forr French region. It's even possible ZAFT might stage a Normandy Landing in this CE century.
However, the French mainland would be extrely vulnerable at that ti, as defensive forces would have been transferred to Eastern Europe, likely allowing ZAFT to seize it with ease.
Following that, the Eurasian Federation forces defending Gibraltar would be caught in a pincer attack from front and rear. Without withdrawal, they would face certain annihilation—thus, ZAFT would effectively break into Europe.
The more Reid thought about it, the more feasible the plan seed. For the New Misurugi Kingdom's forces, the greatest risk would be the mont after capturing the Black Sea forces, when the Old Capital Base troops could be caught in a flanking attack from both sides.
But Reid had already devised a strategy to abandon the Old Capital Base and relocate the forces to the Ascension Island Base.
By then, luring the Eurasian Federation forces in and having the Old Capital Base troops retreat directly would result in minimal losses.
So, now there was only one question left: what would the New Misurugi Kingdom gain by playing along with Athrun in this charade?
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