The Lion of Orb

"This was indeed very much the Atlantic Federation's style—"

Patrick Zala pondered briefly before speaking.

Before this world became the Cosmic Era, the Atlantic Federation's predecessor had always operated this way.

They called themselves the world's police and the Lighthouse of the free world, yet they stirred up trouble across the globe and had even personally lit the fuse that buried an era.

"Blue Cosmos and LOGOS are headquartered in North America. The Atlantic Federation has been completely infiltrated.

"If they use power and force to coerce small nations like Orb, those countries will find it difficult to resist—"

Siegel Clyne rubbed his temples and spoke with a grim expression.

"The problem is that the strength we demonstrated this time—was excessive."

"This will make countries like the East Asian Republic, which might originally have wavered on the scales, unhesitatingly fall to the other side.

"They will most likely not stop the Atlantic Federation's military operation—"

Weariness filled Siegel's voice. The most troubling thing was that their influence on Earth was quite limited; they did not even have a single base where MS units and troops could resupply.

If the Atlantic Federation took such action, they would have difficulty taking any countermeasures as well.

A brief silence fell over the shuttle, broken only by the low hum of the environmental circulation system.

"And that is precisely why we need allies even more—"

Three days later, another war began. CNN news footage spread throughout the entire Earth Sphere over unencrypted civilian channels.

The camera shook violently. The person filming was clearly on the balcony of a high-rise, recording with a digital camera fitted with a telephoto lens.

The protagonists of the footage were not people, but steel.

The Atlantic Federation's "linear cannon tank" formations rolled down Caracas's main avenues like swarms of