The Battle of Kyushu had made Suzaku Kururugi famous.
To ensure that the Ishikawa Conference proceeded smoothly, Ask and Cornelia had both concentrated large numbers of troops there, but they could not simply let the rebels in Kyushu do as they pleased.
Moreover, Kyushu lay across the sea and was easy to defend but hard to attack. Once defenses were established along the sea and air routes, even a successful invasion by Area 11's forces would come at a devastating cost.
Inflicting a thousand casualties while suffering eight hundred themselves would look rather "unseemly" for the mighty Britannia Empire.
Requesting reinforcements from Britannia's homeland or borrowing Schneizel's and Ask's forces would, in turn, make Cornelia look incompetent.
Thus, following Ask's proposal and coordination, they decided to equip the Lancelot with a float system and use a catapult to "shoot" it onto Kyushu Island before the enemy could react.
Suzaku Kururugi would face all of Kyushu's rebels alone.
It was almost certain death, but it was also an opportunity.
Unexpectedly, Zero also took part in the operation.
The Black Knights had completed the Hadron Cannon on the Gawain they had seized. With Kallen and Zero piloting it together, the Gawain joined forces with the Lancelot and destroyed the resistance in Kyushu.
The official account, however, was that Suzaku Kururugi had joined up with the Britannia military and annihilated the enemy alongside them. Every fact involving Zero was concealed.
After all, fighting alongside the enemy was hardly something to be proud of.
Meanwhile.
As the Battle of Kyushu began, the Ishikawa Conference also convened without incident.
Ask piloted the Rhongomyniad back to the EU base.
Before leaving, he had arranged a meeting with Empress Kaguya and given her a thorough "warning."
No matter how much the Black Knights grew, they could never