Reid completed the construction of the two Mobile Suits and spent another day thoroughly reviewing the recent military reports that had piled up in his office.
The next day, Reid successfully conducted technical tests on the small-scale Nibelungen Irradiator and managed to install it onto a Mobile Armor, which he named Autoregin.
For the design of this unit, Reid referenced the Apsaras II. The only difference was that there was no Zaku head above the cannon muzzle. The large-caliber MEGA Particle Cannon in the central section was replaced with a small-scale Nibelungen Irradiator, and two rows of High-Energy Beam Cannons were added around the body.
To enable the unit to fly, Reid ultimately replaced the two AC Universe Miniature Nuclear Fusion Reactors with three Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactors.
This allowed the unit to be equipped with the Minovsky Particle Flight System and also accommodate an I-Field Generator.
However, even though the unit was completed, its actual performance would still depend on its performance in real combat.
Therefore, Reid used the Factory Module to produce parts for four Autoregins, planning to have the locals assemble them along the way to the Atlantic route.
After all, the anti-air defense range of a single Autoregin might still be somewhat limited. With five units, at least one direction could be adequately defended.
Once preparations were complete, Reid set off again aboard the Antietam-class Freighter, bringing along the newly built Joyeuse Gundam · Infinity, Phantom Dragon Gundam · Flame Feather, one complete Autoregin, and parts for four more Autoregins.
Reid's destination this time was the Ascension Island Base, located between Africa and South America.
According to the original plan, Reid intended to use the Ascension Island Base as a springboard, attacking the Atlantic Federation's mainland via the former Cuba region and Florida.
But plans often change.
While Reid was still en route, Athrun completed the assembly of all Orbital Drop Troops. After resting for half a day, he launched a surprise night attack on Western Europe!
Athrun did not choose to replicate the classic example from the previous century by landing in Europe at Normandy.
Instead, he opted for an exceptionally simple and direct approach, selecting the northern French city of Calais as the landing point.
Calais was one of the cities in the former French region closest to the British Isles, with a straight-line distance across the sea of only about 38 kilometers.
At this distance, flying Mobile Suits could reach Europe within ten minutes.
Of course, Calais was also a key defensive area for the Eurasian Federation.
Athrun chose to attack here because he knew that all the Eurasian Federation forces that could be mustered in Western Europe were concentrated there. As long as they could break through with a strong assault, the only remaining Eurasian Federation troops in Western Europe would be those stationed at the Gibraltar Base.
It was worth noting that the Eurasian Federation forces sent to suppress the southern nobles were still bogged down in the former northeastern Italian and former Austrian regions. If they attempted to retreat now, they would be relentlessly pursued by the Noble Federation.
The European nobility had long been deeply rooted in this land. No matter where the southern noble alliance went, they could find local noble allies to assist them.
With locals leading the way, these Eurasian Federation troops had nowhere to hide.
As for the idea of eliminating the nobles in each area they passed through, aside from whether the Eurasian Federation forces had the capability to dig out the nobles from every corner, simply identifying who the nobles were would be a massive challenge. After all, some nobles were virtually indistinguishable from ordinary white-collar workers.
The Eurasian Federation could not possibly carry out a "kill all rather than let any escape" massacre of civilians to root out nobles who might aid the Noble Alliance.
Given their inhumane track record, they knew that playing this game would lead to their own overthrow by desperate citizens long before the Noble Alliance or ZAFT even attacked.
Thus, the Eurasian Federation forces originally tasked with suppressing the southern nobles could only retreat step by step—repelling pursuers, then falling back again, repeating the process.
Judging by their current pace, even with three more days, they would not make it back to the original French territories of the Eurasian Federation.
Therefore, Athrun believed that the opposing Eurasian Federation defensive forces—with barely over a hundred Mobile Suits, around thirty Mobile Armors, their main strength consisting of tanks and armored vehicles, and soldiers hastily assembled from bodyguards, police, and construction workers—would be crushed within an hour, even with coastal fortifications for cover. If not, Athrun thought he might as well return to military academy for retraining.
Reality rarely offers miracles.
For the Eurasian Federation, the troops in the Calais region were already all they could muster.
High-ranking officials and wealthy elites had even sent their personal bodyguards for protection, while Mobile Suits and Mobile Armors—including base guards and any operational units—were pulled from all regional bases and deployed there.
Unfortunately, while the number of Mobile Armors in Calais seemed decent, most of their pilots lacked professional training, and the Mobile Armors themselves were hastily pulled from factories.
These Mobile Suits had not undergone proper testing or adjustments; it was common for a few cables to be improperly connected during emergency deployment.
As for the pilots, they were likely flipping through brick-thick operation manuals at the last minute before sortieing, perhaps without even knowing what half the buttons did.
Thus, while the Mobile Suits in this force were at least able to sortie normally, many of the Mobile Armors wobbled unsteadily in flight—one even plunged straight into the sea during a charge.
Athrun's forces didn't even require his personal involvement to deal with such ragtag opposition. Within fifteen minutes of engagement, the defenders along the Calais coast collapsed, and the battle shifted to urban defense.
Another half-hour later, the Calais municipal government announced its surrender, marking the complete failure of the Calais defense.
It's worth noting that Calais was only 173 kilometers from Brussels, the capital of the Eurasian Federation—a distance Mobile Suits could cover in under an hour at top speed.
Thus, upon receiving news that the Battle of Calais had begun, the Eurasian Federation's top leadership immediately boarded planes and fled Brussels.
Everyone flew directly to Berlin and ordered the main Eurasian Federation forces in Austria not to retreat westward but to head north instead, as further eastward escape might soon be necessary.
Then, three hours after Calais fell (some time was lost restoring order in the city), a reconnaissance unit under Athrun's command flew almost unopposed into Brussels, the Eurasian Federation capital, and easily occupied the federal headquarters.
What happened next struck even Athrun as surreal—these Europeans surrendered far too quickly.
Particularly in the original French territories: Athrun had just announced ZAFT's occupation of Brussels and was preparing to redeploy forces there, planning to first capture the strategic stronghold of Luxembourg to the south the next day, then advance toward Gibraltar.
As a result, after Athrun announced the occupation of Brussels, Paris directly declared surrender, and then like dominoes falling, cities around Paris successively announced surrender, followed by large areas of the Eurasian Federation from Monaco in the south to Toulouse in the west declaring surrender.
However, Luxembourg, which Athrun was preparing to attack, remained silent, unsure whether it intended to resist or was waiting for ZAFT's main force to press in before surrendering.
Nevertheless, Athrun's subsequent occupation of Western Europe proceeded exceptionally smoothly. Luxembourg did resist, but it was more of a token resistance.
After all, Athrun never expected a squad of soldiers to charge at Mobile Suits on ceremonial horses with rifles.
For such an obvious performance, Athrun did not want to cause unnecessary bloodshed, so he simply ordered his subordinates to maneuver the Mobile Suits forward a few steps.
The vibrations from the Mobile Suits' movement startled the horses, throwing the charging troops into disarray, after which Luxembourg surrendered. It truly was a case of demonstrating courage in battle and showing sincerity in surrender.
After occupying Luxembourg, Athrun did not continue southward, as further south would bring him into contact with the Eurasian Federation's true main force in Western Europe. Athrun did not want to confront this force with only his own isolated army.
It must be noted that those following Athrun now were loyalists he had painstakingly won back, and they could not be recklessly expended.
Therefore, Athrun left the majority of the Zaku Warrior forces to guard Luxembourg and took the other flight-capable Mobile Suits to attack the former Spanish region, aiming to liberate the ZAFT forces at Gibraltar Base.
However, while Athrun was crossing the former French region to attack the former Spanish region, two other events occurred in the world.
The first was that, likely seeing Athrun's remarkable military achievements leading troops in the Eurasian Federation, the ZAFT South American commander—the only Earth-based ZAFT region not under Athrun's control—became restless.
ZAFT's South American forces and the Atlantic Federation troops at the Panama Base had been in a standoff for a long time, and the ZAFT forces in the South American theater had not achieved any notable merits.
The role of ZAFT in South America during this war was to reclaim lost territory, as the Atlantic Federation had directly invaded South America in the early stages of the war.
Now that their allies were "expanding territories," while they had not even fully completed the basic task of reclaiming lost territory, it was indeed somewhat embarrassing.
The so-called incomplete task of reclaiming lost territory referred to the fact that the former Cuban, former Jamaican, and former Bahamian regions, originally belonging to the South American Union, were still under Atlantic Federation control.
Thus, the ZAFT South American commander launched a surprise attack on these three regions.
The Atlantic Federation forces at the Panama Base had grown complacent.
The standoff at the Panama Base had lasted for a long time, and both sides knew that ZAFT was biding its time, waiting for the New Misurugi Kingdom to attack the Atlantic Federation homeland.
After all, attacking then would yield twice the result with half the effort.
Therefore, at this time, before the New Misurugi Kingdom had truly attacked the Atlantic Federation homeland, the Atlantic Federation forces at the Panama Base did not believe the opposing ZAFT forces would take major action.
This directly led to ZAFT's secret troop movements to attack the former Cuban, former Jamaican, and former Bahamian regions catching the Atlantic Federation off guard, resulting in the loss of control over these three areas.
To be honest, the fact that ZAFT is now fighting the Atlantic Federation is good news for the New Misurugi Kingdom.
However, with the original Cuban region occupied by ZAFT, Reid's planned offensive route has been rendered useless.
Reid certainly can't attack ZAFT-controlled territory without prior agreement with PLANT, and as for passage through the region, the South American ZAFT forces aren't under Athrun's command—most of them here likely follow Durandal's orders.
Therefore, Reid doesn't trust the ZAFT forces in South America and would never entrust his rear and supply lines to them.
Although the original Cuban region being retaken by ZAFT has disrupted Reid's plans, Athrun has still kept his promise by withdrawing from the British Isles.
In fact, when Athrun led his forces to occupy Brussels, all ZAFT troops on the British Isles crossed the sea to the Eurasian Federation mainland.
This left the natives of Great Britain and the Isle of Man stunned, wondering how ZAFT could trust the New Misurugi Kingdom, which was so close at hand, enough to leave not a single guard behind.
However, Ange did not immediately lead her forces to fully occupy the British Isles.
She deliberately waited two days, allowing the guerrilla forces on Great Britain and the Isle of Man to emerge after ZAFT's departure, before marching her troops into both islands.
The reason for waiting for the guerrillas to reveal themselves was that Ange wanted to eliminate any potential opposition on the islands in one sweep.
These guerrilla forces, who absolutely could not tolerate ZAFT's presence, were either remnants left behind by the Atlantic Federation or individuals deeply brainwashed by Blue Cosmos ideology.
In Ange's view, keeping such people around would only cause trouble, so it was better to deal with them all at once.
Thus, when the New Misurugi Kingdom's forces suddenly withdrew from the Faroe Islands and instead fully occupied the British Isles, other nations finally realized what kind of deal PLANT had struck with the New Misurugi Kingdom.
Trading the British Isles for the Old Capital Base—no matter how you looked at it, the New Misurugi Kingdom came out massively ahead in this deal. No wonder they agreed, and even Ange personally led the expedition to Ireland.
For the civilians on the British Isles who had no intention of resisting, however, the occupation by the New Misurugi Kingdom was far more acceptable.
The social welfare provided by the New Misurugi Kingdom was vastly superior to that of the Atlantic Federation, and becoming citizens of the New Misurugi Kingdom would be a huge win for them.
Of course, where there were those who welcomed it, there were also those who did not.
The former royal family of the British Isles was not particularly welcoming of Ange's arrival.
Since the British Isles were not part of the Eurasian Federation, the terms Reid negotiated with the Eurasian nobility had no bearing on them.
After the establishment of the Atlantic Federation, the local royal family of the British Isles was no longer allowed to officially claim the title of monarch, retaining only an honorary royal title passed down through generations.
But with the arrival of the New Misurugi Kingdom, even that title would disappear.
A country cannot have two monarchs, and since Queen Angelise Ikaruga Misurugi possesses a pure royal bloodline, her occupation of the British Isles makes her the new queen of this land.
The surname Sussex-Windsor will completely disappear from the name of the British monarchy.
However, the other nobles of the British Isles paid no heed to the old royal family's sentiments. They immediately rushed to pledge their loyalty to Ange, hoping that as queen, she would restore the nobility to their rightful status and position.
For this reason, all noble families in the British Isles with aristocratic lineage unanimously sold out the old royal family without Ange needing to do anything. A pile of blackmail material on the old royals was sent over.
With this information alone, the old royal family could legally be executed three or four times over.
Thus, the old royal family members wisely declared that their royal title would end here. They offered to surrender all real estate and artworks in the British Isles and leave the region, asking only to be spared.
Seeing how cooperative they were, Ange showed some mercy. Instead of truly stripping these former royals of everything, she allowed them to keep their personal bank assets and sent them all to the Kingdom of Scandinavia.
Why weren't they sent back to the Atlantic Federation?
Naturally, because their personal bank assets were not insignificant. Sending them to the Atlantic Federation would mean funding the enemy.
The Kingdom of Scandinavia, on the other hand, was a neutral country and right under her watch. Even if these people tried to cause trouble later, she could easily crush them without giving anyone an excuse to establish a puppet royal family.
However, after dealing with the old royals, Ange did not formally announce her ascension as the new queen of the British Isles. With Reid absent, she stated that she could not take the throne without him.
(End of Chapter)