Infinity, Progressing from Arasaka

"I clearly shielded you from the line of fire, you really are a sports idiot."

Seeing Lelouch gulping down the medicine, C. C. continued with his sharp tongue, "It's not good to rely too much on this kind of power."

"Your Geass requires direct eye contact to take effect; it cannot work through indirect vision. Its effective range is approximately 270 meters, and Absolute Command can only be used once on the same person. Seriously, what kind of Obsessive-compulsive disorder is this when you're awakening your Geass?"

"Ahem... I'm not dependent on anyone. I'm just using them when necessary."

Lelouch said wearily.

He was too weak to kiss CC right now; his whole body was sore and weak, especially the gunshot wound in his lower back, which made him wince in pain with the slightest movement.

"Huff... huff..."

Taking a deep breath, perhaps due to the effects of the medication or psychological factors, Lelouch seemed to suddenly remember something. "How many people are in the exchange unit from European Britannia? To what extent is prosthetic limb and prosthetic eye technology used in the military?"

He asked in a serious tone.

"I don't know. At most, it won't exceed three thousand people."

CC shrugs.

"They are directly under your Imperial Sister, and in District 11, only Cornelia can mobilize them. Even Vice Governor Euphemia can't. So they've been stationed in the Tokyo Concession. If you hadn't rashly attacked Cornelia's main camp last time, you probably wouldn't have run into them. Heh heh, are you feeling discouraged?"

"If the conditions are the same, I won't lose—hiss, hiss hiss cough cough."

With his fists clenched, Lelouch's wounds were aggravated again, and he coughed and gasped for breath.

"Still not giving up, Lelouch?"

CC plopped down on the sofa, crossed her legs on the coffee table, then grabbed the tattered, bloodstained ZERO mask beside her and tossed it around, saying, "This is war, not chess."

"Being able to meet all these conditions is also a skill. And didn't you give up on it when you were nine? What, are you regretting it?"

"..."

Lelouch immediately fell silent.

He clasped his hands tightly.

Those amethyst-like eyes were fixed on the broken ZERO mask in CC's hand, and a few murky shadows appeared in the pupils.

In the last battle, he found a weakness in Cornelia.

Without hesitation, he led the main force of the Black Knights, including Kallen Kouzuki, the ace of the ZERO Imperial Guard, in a surprise attack on Cornelia, who habitually took the lead. Using tactics such as destroying the terrain by flipping the floor and placing Geass-planted spies in advance, he made the most of his advantages and indeed reached Cornelia.

Then, the accident happened.

The white seventh-generation guide prototype [Lancelot] that he was worried about, which he encountered during the Shinjuku Incident, did not appear. Instead, he encountered Cornelia's Imperial Guard, who had been equipped with the Seventh Generation [Vincent Early Production Prototype] Knightmare.

His trump card.

The Kallen Kouzuki Guren Type-02 2, piloted by Kallen Kurenai, was developed by foreign engineers at a high price commissioned by the Six Houses of Kyoto Seventh Generation provided to the Black Knights before their demise. It truly deserved the title of ace, playing a decisive role in battles such as the Mount Narita Defense Battle.

It possesses an overwhelming performance advantage over the Britannia- standard fifth-generation fighter, the Sunderland, including the Gloucester 5.5-generation fighter previously used by the Cornelia Imperial Guard (a pseudo-sixth-generation fighter, not the latest upgraded sixth-generation fighter from European Britannia). In combat, it is almost as if it is moving through empty land.

This time, however, the [Guren Type-02] was blocked.

These Knightmare machines made in European Britannia, are undeniably superior to those made elsewhere, regardless of their size, the high torque output of their electronically engineered components, their energy capacity, operating systems, communication systems, and security certification procedures.

Under siege, Kallen was overwhelmed and unable to support other battlefields.

Furthermore, they were surrounded by a diverse range of the Britannian Army with superior personnel and quality.

Even the last 'miracle general' of old Japan Kyoshiro Tohdoh, and the Four Sacred Swords piloting the 'Gekka,' the last legacy of the Six Houses of Kyoto, with performance comparable to a seventh-generation fighter jet, could not run rampant.

Especially when a large number of new sixth-generation fighter jets from Eastern Europe, the Gloucester, joined the battle, the situation immediately became deadlocked.

For the Black Knights, a stalemate is a disadvantage.

The Black Knights ' 'superior horses' were tied up, their 'medium horses' were insufficient in number, and the 'inferior horses' were of uneven quality.

By a stroke of luck, the Britannian Army's large 'medium-class horses' and the even lower 'lower-class horses' were brought into full play.

Especially when there are 'fierce pioneers' who stabilize the situation and boost morale.

The exchange troops from European Britannia gave Lelouch and the Black Knights a vivid and engaging lesson in warfare.

Not only did the newly arrived Knightmare armored cavalry instructors come from afar, but veterans who had been pulled out of the meat grinder of the Eastern Europe front destroyed a large number of Black Knights' armored vehicles, including Knightmare, with their superb anti-armor gymnastics.

To subdue cavalry with infantry.

The armored grenadiers crushed the armored cavalry.

Having seen countless battles and possessing extensive experience in multi-service joint operations, one could understand how to coordinate with a single gesture from the superior or a glance from Heze.

While the commander and some mid-to-high-level officers possessed good combat strength and capabilities, there was a severe lack of qualified officers to communicate with the entire army. The tactical quality of the soldiers was low, and even among Knightmare pilots, many of their movements were extremely clumsy and stiff, as if they had only been training for a few months.

War is never something that can be accomplished simply by a commander opening and closing his mouth; even the best strategy needs people to execute it, which requires a strong execution team. And the Black Knights clearly do not have that.

When the battle ended.

The Black Knights suffered their worst defeat since their founding.

ZERO, the founder and leader, was injured.

The deputy commander Kaname Ohgi and fell into a coma.

The head of the military department, Kyoshiro Tohdoh, was seriously injured and admitted to the ICU for emergency treatment.

One of the Four Sacred Swords, Takiyasha Kunai Takuyuki, died in the rearguard action, and Ryoh Sawamura died from his injuries after the retreat.

High-ranking officers, including Tohru Yoshida and Naomi Inoue, were killed in action.

The number of other injured is countless.

Even now, Lelouch can't forget that life-or-death race against time.

During the retreat, it was right in front of him.

The Knightmare piloted by the Black Knights member responsible for protecting him had its leg blown off by an armored grenadier who had infiltrated the area beforehand. The pilot fell to the ground. The killing machines belonging to European Britannia dismembered the cockpit with armor-piercing high-explosive grenades, dragged the pilot out, and blew his head off.

His vehicle, the "Burai," was somehow rigged with a magnetic bomb.

The High-Mobility Drive Wheel were blown off, leaving it limping and unable to escape at high speed. It had no choice but to abandon the aircraft and flee in hiding.

During the retreat, he unfortunately encountered Britannia soldiers while calling for Kallen.

Just as he was trying to escape using Geass as usual, the absolute command failed, and the soldier opened fire. At the critical moment, CC shielded him from multiple fatal bullets with her body.

His ZERO mask was shot, luckily only grazing his forehead, but the bullet that pierced CC's body went through his waist and abdomen.

I almost died...

Finally, Kallen arrived in her badly damaged Guren Type-02 2 and rescued him and CC.

Lelouch was thus forced to reveal his identity to the other party, thus forming a secret alliance.

That war, a local conflict in European Britannia, thoroughly woke him up.

190

Chapter 190 Vera Changes People.

Silence... still silence.

Until, thump, thump-thump—

The knocking broke the suffocating silence in the room. Lelouch and C. C. turned to look at the same time. The automatic door opened, and a blind girl who could only get around in a wheelchair was pushed into the room by a maid. Following closely behind was a girl with short, fiery red hair, wearing the beige high school uniform of the Ashford Academy.

"Brother, are you feeling better?"

The petite girl in the wheelchair proudly held up a tray placed on her lap, on which were an unopened pizza takeout box, a bowl of steaming soup, a pot of fragrant vegetable stew, and a small slice of toast.

Undoubtedly, the latter was for Lelouch. As for the pizza...

"Thank you, Nunnally."

CC deftly sprang up from the sofa, reached out and took her share, then glanced at Lelouch, who was lying on the sickbed, distressed by the arrival of Kallen Kouzuki, and thought, "Much more sensible than this competitive little brat."

"Please don't talk about your brother like that."

On this particular matter, Nunnally's tone was gentle yet firm.

"Illegal gambling and chess games... my brother got involved in the terrorist attack because of me. I'm sorry... Nunnally's disability prevents her from helping her brother..."

Speaking of herself, the blind girl's soft voice trembled with a hint of tears, which Lelouch's heart. It was a deeper sense of guilt than physical pain. He hadn't protected Nunnally and his mother back then, and now he had to break his vow and deceive his sister...

In order not to expose ZERO's identity, and also to avoid harming the gentle and kind-hearted Nunnally, he had no choice but to collude with C. C., Kallen, and Sayoko Shinozaki, who was in charge of taking care of Nunnally's daily life, to deceive Nunnally by saying that he was unfortunately involved in a terrorist attack against Britannia while earning a living by illegally gambling with nobles.

ZERO's true identity was naturally revealed to Kallen and Sakiko.

Because it can't be hidden.

The former saved him when the battle was going badly.

The latter is a maid in the household, employed by the Ashford family. She knows Lelouch's identity as a deposed prince and takes loyal care of him. Lelouch Nunnally her brother have lived together for many years and are close confidantes, almost like family. They are trustworthy, especially since many things are difficult to do when he is recuperating at home. Rather than increasing suspicion, it is better to be open and honest.

A white lie, I never imagined it would make Nunnally feel so guilty and remorseful...

Just as Lelouch was struggling to sit up and get out of bed to comfort Nunnally, someone held him down.

"Patients should be aware of their own health as patients."

It's Kallen.

With a complicated expression, the red-haired girl reached out and gently pressed Lelouch's shoulder, which trembled slightly from the pain.

Well, Kallen just felt that this world was truly amazing.

ZERO is actually Lelouch?

This news surprised and puzzled her.

Is that playboy who had an ambiguous relationship with Milly Shirley the Britannia aristocratic school, that Tudenko who forcibly kissed her and liked to tease her, really ZERO?

Kallen couldn't help but recall the intense emotional turmoil she experienced when she learned the other person's true nature, and the perilous situation she was in at that time—

Upon receiving ZERO's order to return to the rescue, the panic he felt upon arriving and witnessing Lelouch, disguised as ZERO, being shot and bleeding; the disbelief he felt upon removing the mask and learning ZERO's true identity; and the conditioned reflex of obeying ZERO's commands without breaking down even in those moments...

During the retreat, he received emergency field care: stopping the bleeding, applying medicine, bandaging, and injecting a prescribed dose of anesthetic to help relieve pain and maintain his command ability.

After escaping with great difficulty, she helped him change out of his ZERO uniform and disguised herself as a classmate traveling with him. Using the Huttenfeldt family name and aristocratic power that she rarely touched in the past, she contacted a dedicated doctor with a special contract with the family and had him perform surgery.

Fortunately, no vital organs were damaged.

After confirming that Lelouch was out of danger, she then transferred him back to the Ashford Academy for home recuperation.

During the process, her aristocratic stepmother ridiculed her for dating a Britannia classmate, her best friend Shirley looked at her rival with resentment, and the classmates, led by President Milly, egged her on... Ugh, it was infuriating!

Lelouch is truly a sinner!

Because the other party had abruptly mentioned 'the Shinjuku incident' to her, Kallen had suspected Lelouch's identity, but she later ruled it out. Now, you're telling me you're ZERO? Doesn't that make me look like I was stupid before?

He even specifically instructed us not to tell Kaname Ohgi and the Black Knights... What a bastard!

If it weren't for this accidental injury, were you planning to keep it a secret forever?!

Kallen wanted nothing more than to slap his pretty face right then and there.

But seeing Lelouch's current listless and weak state, well...

She feared she had become a hero of Britannia.

"I'm saving you, not to watch you harm yourself."

Without backing down, Kallen met the black-haired boy's slightly gloomy purple eyes. She clicked her tongue. Lelouch's current weak and sister-complex appearance was completely different from his mysterious and unfathomable self in Zero.

After stopping the patient from turning over and getting out of bed, she pulled over a pillow and placed it behind the patient's head.

Naturally, Kallen noticed the multiple encrypted cell phones and walkie-talkies haphazardly placed on Lelouch's bedside table.

Undoubtedly, even while bedridden and recovering from his injuries, and after suffering a blow from the powerful European Britannia, he did not forget the Black Knights and continued to exert his utmost efforts in micromanagement and control.

This is also why Kallen was willing to keep Lelouch's secret.

Kallen is not a hothead who doesn't know right from wrong.

The idea of a Britannia, or even a minor high school student, leading the Black Knights in a rebellion against the Holy Britannian Empire is not acceptable to every member of the Knights or to the Japanese. Revealing the truth at this critical juncture would not benefit the resistance cause in any way.

What Lelouch thought wasn't important; she didn't have the energy to get to the bottom of things right now. The key was that he did it: he killed the former governor of District 11, the prince of Britannia, and led the Black Knights to fight against the current governor Cornelia, demonstrating his stance and attitude. That was enough.

Seeing C. C. and Sakiko's banter finally bring a smile to Nunnally after her tears, Lelouch, having calmed down, looked at Kallen, smiled, and said gently and solemnly, "Thank you, Kallen. I owe you my life. I promise I will keep my vow."