The crowd surged like a living tide, packed shoulder to shoulder.
A group of high school students had managed to find a decent vantage point where they could see the parade more clearly.
It was still some distance away, but getting any closer would have been pointless. There were simply too many people. With everyone pressed together and taller spectators blocking the way, the view from ground level was terrible.
From the pedestrian overpass, however, the slightly elevated terrain gave them an excellent line of sight. With binoculars, they could see everything clearly.
"So that's the princess."
"She really came?"
"Inaho, isn't that your sister?"
Nina Klein had spotted two cars in a nearby parking lot. Standing beside them was the older sister of Inaho Kaizuka, the most outstanding student in their grade.
"That really is Yuki."
Inko Amifumi recognized her as well. She and Inaho had grown up together, so she naturally knew his sister.
In fact, everyone there knew one another: Nina Klein, Calm Craftman, Okisuke Mikuni, Inaho, and Inko. They formed a small circle of friends, and Yuki had even instructed them during their Kataphrakt training.
Their school was not unusual for teaching high school students how to pilot combat mechs. It had become a compulsory subject for students across the entire world.
The purpose was simple. If Mars ever launched another surprise attack, Earth would have enough personnel capable of piloting Areions.
Areion was a name recognized on both Earth and Mars.
Still, the compulsory course might soon become an elective.
The princess had come as a goodwill ambassador on an unprecedented peace mission, hoping to ease tensions between Earth and Mars and reduce the risk of another war.
"Inaho?"
"What is it?"
"Do you want to see your sister that badly?"
When Inaho suddenly started running toward Yuki, the others immediately followed him.
About five minutes later...
"Don't worry. I only knocked your sister unconscious."
"You knocked her out?"
Inaho studied Koichiro Marito intently. Despite the older man's less-than-polished appearance, he knew Marito would never knock Yuki unconscious without a compelling reason.
Something unusual must have happened, something serious enough that Yuki's movements had to be restricted.
Was it related to the other three people with them?
Two were girls wearing unusual-looking goggles. Both appeared to be asleep.
As for the young man, he was the first person Inaho could remember meeting who exerted such overwhelming pressure simply by being present.
Every instinct he possessed warned him that this man was dangerous.
Could he have had something to do with Yuki being knocked unconscious?
"Hey, old man, why did you knock Yuki out?"
"You weren't planning to do something indecent to Inaho's sister, were you?"
"Hey, watch what you're saying, you brats. Inaho, don't overthink this. What happened to your sister had nothing to do with anyone else here."
Marito knew Yuki's younger brother was exceptionally intelligent. In fact, the boy's composure and analytical mind often made him seem nothing like an ordinary child.
Inaho was undoubtedly analyzing the entire situation already, which meant his suspicions would soon fall on the mysterious young man.
"The motorcade! It's here!"
Nina, who had been about to ask about the three strangers, was instantly distracted.
The Martian princess was the one she was most curious about.
She and the others hurried over to the railing and gazed into the distance as the motorcade finally came into view.
The Martian princess was riding in the stretch limousine at the center of the formation.
According to what Nina had read online, the princess was an incredibly beautiful girl with golden hair and blue eyes.
The instant the entire limousine came into view, Nina pressed her binoculars to her eyes and strained to peer inside.
"Ugh, no good. The windows are tinted."
She could not see anything inside.
"Why doesn't the princess roll down the window and greet everyone?"
"Are you stupid, Nina? That would be far too dangerous."
Inko stared at the idiot in disbelief.
There were bound to be people in the crowd who bore ill will toward the princess. Some might even be waiting for an opportunity to attack her.
If she opened the window, a sniper could easily take a shot at her.
"Hey, is that part of your welcome ceremony?"
"Of course not. Do you think we'd be that stupid?"
"But you don't look surprised. Did you know about this and choose not to stop it?"
"Sorry, but I only just learned about it myself. I was going to stop it, but..."
The sudden exchange made Inko turn toward Inaho and the scruffy-looking man.
Both of them had abruptly become grave. Instead of watching the motorcade, they were staring elsewhere.
Following their gazes, Inko spotted something flying through the air and rapidly closing in.
She narrowed her eyes for a better look.
"You've got to be kidding me."
"What is it, Inko...?"
Nina's voice died in her throat when she saw the object trailing fire through the air.
A second later, it plunged straight into the motorcade.
Boom!
With a deafening explosion, flames swallowed one of the escort vehicles. The other guards, now fully aware of the threat, used another vehicle to ram the burning wreck out of the way.
Before most of the crowd could even understand what had happened, more missiles emerged from every direction.
Some flew out of darkened alleys. Others launched from a nearby television news van. Missiles even streaked out of the parking lot directly behind the students.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Warhead after warhead slammed into the motorcade, tearing the convoy apart.
The armored stretch limousine carrying the Martian princess crashed deep into the ruins beside the road.
"No! Stop!"
Nina saw two figures thrown from the armored limousine.
Another missile was already descending directly above them.
If it struck, everything would be over. War would begin again.
All Nina could do was scream helplessly and watch as the missile fell.
Boom!
That final explosion plunged countless witnesses into despair.
The Martian princess had been killed.
That meant war between Earth and Mars would begin again.
The people most terrified were those who had survived the horrific war fifteen years earlier. The Moon had been shattered, and its fragments had devastated the planet, killing half the world's population.
"Princess... They really did it. They actually did it! How could they?"
The panicked voice made Nina turn.
It came from the younger of the two girls who had previously been asleep.
The other girl had also awakened, evidently jolted awake by the explosions.
Yuki had regained consciousness as well. She stared at the devastation with a grim expression.
An hour later, the entire world had descended into chaos.
"This is a unilateral violation of the ceasefire agreement!"
"Don't be ridiculous! There's no way the United Forces of Earth ordered this!"
"Isn't the timing far too convenient? The princess was attacked the moment she arrived. If someone was that desperate to start another war, perhaps the ones who attacked her were actually Orbital Knights."
The internet was in turmoil.
The Orbital Knights stationed in Earth's orbit had just formally declared that they would launch a retaliatory invasion of Earth to avenge their princess.
"What? Understood!"
Still near the scene of the attack, Marito's expression turned grave as he received the latest report. He immediately looked toward Kain.
"Of the twenty-seven vessels in orbit, nineteen have begun altering their trajectories. Eleven have already been confirmed to be commencing atmospheric descent."
Reporting this information might have been pointless. The other party probably possessed his own means of obtaining it.
Everything now depended on how the princess responded.
Her expression grew even darker before she finally released her disguise.
"All of you, be quiet!"
Marito barked at the children. They had refused to leave, and the sight of the princess alive had thrown them into a panic.
"Mr. Kain, please."
The princess's tone was unmistakably that of someone making a request.
That alone made Marito realize that the young man's identity was anything but ordinary.
"White, you can begin."
The young man appeared to be addressing someone who was not there.
"Understood, Commander!"
The voice came from above him.
Several robots, each roughly a meter in size, deactivated their optical camouflage. They moved into position around the princess and trained their cameras on her.
A second later, the news broadcasts playing across screens on the surrounding buildings were simultaneously interrupted.
It appeared that every electronic device had been forcibly breached. Their displays now showed the princess.
"I am Asseylum Vers Allusia, Princess of the Vers Empire. In the name of the imperial family, I hereby order every Orbital Knight stationed in Earth's orbit..."
She commanded the Orbital Knights to cease their operations immediately.
Mars would undoubtedly receive the worldwide broadcast as well.
The video call connecting Marito to the military had finally stabilized.
Of the eleven vessels already descending, two came to a halt.
"This incident was a deliberate conspiracy orchestrated by certain members of the Orbital Knights. They intended to use my death as a pretext for war."
Asseylum directly exposed the attack as a conspiracy by the Orbital Knights.
Under normal circumstances, revealing that information now would have been unwise.
The Orbital Knights had already begun moving. By publicly declaring that they had betrayed her, she was effectively cutting off her own path of retreat.
Some of them might decide they had already gone too far to turn back.
But that was precisely what she wanted.
Those who refused to halt their descent were almost certainly participants in the conspiracy.
They could be shot down without hesitation.
Unfortunately, her declaration produced almost no hesitation among them.
The two vessels that had briefly stopped resumed their descent. Of the remaining eight that had ceased moving, five began advancing again and initiated their own descents.
No, another five vessels had also begun to move.
Asseylum clenched her fists so tightly that her fingernails nearly tore into her palms.
Even if they suspected she was an impostor, they should not have invaded Earth immediately. They should have investigated first.
Their refusal to obey proved that they did not care whether she was real or an impostor. They did not care whether she lived or died.
The invasion of Earth was the culmination of fifteen years of preparation.
The circle had closed.
"Mr. Kain, please."
With those words, she decided their fate.
"White, commence the operation!"
The order was given.
"Understood, Commander!"
A vast shadow began spreading across the ground.
High above them, an enormous object deactivated its optical camouflage.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]