Chapter 267: Divergent Paths, the Demon Puller Begins to Show His Prowess

"Lacus's belly is big!?"

Athrun felt like he was hit on the head with a club, and suddenly he saw an endless green grassland full of life.

"Athrun, what's wrong?"

"Uh, nothing."

The gentle voice woke Athrun from his stunned fantasy, reminding him that now was not the time to think about it, Lacus was already safe, and... he had something very important to do.

"Kira! You come too!" Athrun stretched out his hand in the direction of Kira.

"Eh?"

"You have no reason to stay in the Earth Army! I remember that you are the one who hates fighting and war the most, but why do you want to fight for the Earth Army? You have seen what they did, is it really just?"

...

Kira and Athrun's communication was full-channel communication. After hearing what Athrun said, both sides were not calm. On the ZAFT side, people who were dissatisfied with Athrun, led by Izak and Diego, raised questions one after another.

"What's going on? Athrun knows the enemy pilot?"

"No wonder Athrun failed, it turns out they are acquaintances."

"Tsk, did you show mercy?"

On the other side, Bakilu immediately asked Maru to recall the Strike Gundam after hearing this.

"Captain! Recall the Strike Gundam immediately, and don't let the Strike Gundam fall into the hands of ZAFT!"

Maru was stunned for a moment and nodded, but when he turned around, the communication control was in Yang Hui's hands.

"Yang Hui..."

"Listen, I believe in Kira." Yang Hui said to everyone.

Others were skeptical, but Thor and others immediately dispelled the doubts that had just arisen in their hearts after being stunned. Yes, Kira is their companion, they should believe Kira, believe that he will not go to ZAFT, and will definitely come back.

...

The initial surprise, the heartbeat in an instant, Kira lowered his head, his expression painful.

"I don't want to fight you either..."

"Then..."

"But...there are people I want to protect on that ship, my friends!"

The difficult shouting struck everyone's heart, the disdain of the ZAFT army, the guilt of the Earth army, the touching of Thor and others, and the relief of Yang Hui and the understanding of Aslan.

Friends, for many people, friends are a weightless word, because they may be friends in the last second, and may be strangers in the next second, or even become mortal enemies; but for some people, the word friend is as heavy as Mount Tai, a harbor of the soul, something to stick to, and an existence that can be given everything.

And Kira is such a person. For Thor and others, he was forced to be used by Yang Hui and the Earth Army; for Yang Hui, he went against his own will and walked into the vortex of war.

And Aslan...he really didn't want to fight Aslan, but...Aslan was stronger than Thor and others, even stronger than himself. Aslan didn't need his protection, but Thor and others did, so...he could only fight Aslan.

"Then... there's nothing we can do..." Aslan also lowered his head, understanding Kira's determination. As a soldier and Kira's friend, there was only one thing he could do, "Next time we fight, I'll kill you!"

"Me too..."

The former best friends said goodbye and took divergent paths.

The cockpit of the Strike Gundam closed and returned to the direction of the Archangel.

Aslan also took Lacus back to the cockpit and returned to the Vesalius.

But it was at this moment that the ZAFT army moved.

"The enemy MS has left!" Captain Addis reported to Cruze.

"Start the engine, Addis, all troops attack!"

The ZAFT army's actions were immediately discovered by the Archangel.

"The enemy ship's engine started, and the MS moved towards the Strike Gundam and the Archangel!"

"Tsk, is that so?" Baki Lulu looked ugly. She had long expected that the ZAFT army would lose patience, so she strongly opposed the return of Lacus.

"Archangel, turn around urgently, defense line 11, disengage at full speed!"

"Strike Gundam has not returned yet..."

"Yang Hui!"

"Don't worry, there will be no fight." Everyone on the bridge was very nervous, but Yang Hui kept a confident and calm smile. Everything was under his control.

"Yang Hui!"

Mariu called out in panic, but Yang Hui pretended not to hear him. He was waiting.

Sure enough, the next second, what he was waiting for came.

"Notice to both the ZAFT Army and the Earth Army, please stop fighting immediately." Lacus' voice sounded on the communication channels of both sides at the same time, gentle and firm, full of unquestionable temperament.

"This is... Miss Lacus..."

"Hey, hey, hey, this is terrible."

"Tsk, we were deceived!"

Mariu, Bakilulu and Mu were not fools. They felt a completely different side of Miss Lacus through her voice. How could they not know that they were deceived by Lacus's illusion when they first met. At that time, the three of them really regarded Lacus as an innocent young lady who was ignorant of the world.

And now Lux shows unparalleled charm and temperament.

"It has been a year since the tragedy of [Blood Valentine's Day]. Whether it is for natural people or adjusters, that tragedy should attract our attention. What is the purpose of war and fighting? Weapons and power exist for protection, not for meaningless fighting. As the representative of the [Blood Valentine's Day] tragedy memorial group, I, Lacus Klein, request both sides to stop all fighting!"

"Tsk, what are you talking about at this critical moment?" Cruze secretly cursed Lacus for making a fuss. The transaction has ended, and the Eighth Fleet has not arrived yet. Now is the best time to sink the Archangel. As a result, this Noisy...

"Captain Lao Lu Cruze, please stop the action. Are you going to turn the place where I, the representative of the mourning group, am located into a battlefield?"

"Tsk..."

"I will never allow such a thing. Please stop the combat action immediately!"

"... Tsk, you are really a difficult lady to serve."

"Can't you hear me?"

"... Got it, Miss Lacus Klein, Addis, notify the entire army to return home immediately!"

Cruzer really didn't want to give up this opportunity, but Lacus Klein threatened him with righteousness, and her identity was broadcast on all channels, leaving him no room for refusal, unless... defected to ZAFT!

This was something Cruze couldn't accept, otherwise his plan would be ruined.

"..."

In the cockpit, Aslan stared at Lacus in a daze. He found that he seemed to have never known Lacus. Wasn't his fiancée a soft and cute girl? How could she be so intimidating and temperamental?

"Hehe~"

In response to Aslan's surprise, Lacus responded with a gentle and lovely smile. She also felt that Aslan was silly and cute most of the time.

On the other side, the Archangel saw that the aggressive ZAFT army retreated as Lacus requested, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Everyone looked at Yang Hui, and the eyes of Malu and Bakilu were even more meaningful. It turned out that... he had arranged everything long ago.

Malu and Bakilu thought more, and they had many questions to ask Yang Hui, such as whether Lacus's behavior was arranged by him in advance? Why did they trust Lacus? Why did they believe that Kira would refuse Aslan's recruitment?

But Yang Hui had already reminded them to draw a clear line with Yang Hui and not to have close contact with him anymore.

"Let's pack up, at least we are safe before Lacus is sent away." Yang Hui said to everyone and left the bridge.

"...Okay."

Returning to his room, he reorganized the plan in his mind. His existence had been exposed, so what kind of offensive would the PLANT side launch against Orb? And how would the Earth Union view this incident?

He had to consider all possibilities, deal with changes that occurred, and re-perfect the entire plan. How to get the greatest benefit at the lowest cost, and how to achieve the goal without exposing more?

"The Eighth Fleet will arrive soon. Lacus has limited time to buy. After Lacus leaves, he will definitely be attacked by the ZAFT army. So... Archangel cannot be allowed to land directly on the Alaska base, otherwise Kira will be in danger. The attack on the Eighth Fleet is inevitable, but how can we interfere with the landing position of Archangel and save Duane Halbottom?"

Duane Halbottom is the only general that Yang Hui likes in the Atlantic Federation. He has no extreme ideas, is not controlled by [Blue Cosmos], is kind, and is a model of soldiers. He is also called [Wise General], which can be regarded as a clear stream in the dirty pool of the Atlantic Federation.

Yang Hui will definitely destroy the Atlantic Federation, but not completely, but to destroy the current high-level officials of the Atlantic Federation, [Blue Cosmos] and [Logos] hidden behind the scenes, because they are the biggest distortion in this world.

What after the distortion is eliminated? What should the Atlantic Federation do? Who should lead?

Duan Halbottom is one of Yang Hui's candidates. He has a high rank, high qualifications, high prestige, and high ability. After clearing out all those who excluded and suppressed Duan Halbottom, he will have room to display his abilities.

"...We have to separate for the time being."

...

On the other side, Lacus returned safely to the Vesalius, and the mission of the Cruze team was completed. Logically, they should escort Lacus back to the PLANT homeland, but Cruze did not intend to do so. Not only did he hand Lacus over to the Rachni team, who escorted Lacus back to the homeland, he also sent a request for reinforcements to Patrick Sara.

The opportunity to sink the Archangel cannot be missed, and the opportunity to destroy the Eighth Orbital Fleet cannot be missed!

The commander of the Eighth Fleet, Duan Halbottom, is also notoriously difficult in ZAFT. Although he has never defeated ZAFT on the front battlefield, he has never let ZAFT completely destroy them.

Not only that, under the command of Duane Halberton, the ZAFT army also suffered a lot of losses. The title of "wise general" is well-deserved, and he is also the number one enemy of ZAFT.

This time, the Eighth Fleet gave up the retreat tactic and came to support the Archangel. It was the best opportunity to destroy them. It could sink the new battleship of the Earth Army and destroy a big enemy. Cruze believed that Patrick Sarah would definitely agree.

And... the information about Yang Hui on the Archangel.

"Haha, how will you deal with it next? Yang Hui, also taste the taste of being at a disadvantage?"