Chapter Summaries

Cornelia received Charles’s order to cooperate with Lin Cuo and launched a costly air assault against the BETA in the Persia Theater. The Imperial Knight Air Assault Group opened a temporary gap in the enemy’s defenses, while Great Han’s Traditional Air Force began its own sortie from the southeast.

• Charles ordered Cornelia to hold Area 18, exchange Laser-Class data, and follow Great Han’s joint airspace schedule, while insisting the empire could not lose the front.
• Dalton and Gilford confirmed that Lin Cuo had delivered promised rail access, sakuradite components, and artillery schedules, and Cornelia approved the Joint Fire Plan despite distrusting him.
• The Imperial Knight Air Assault Group sent 792 aircraft through mountain valleys to attack Laser-Class positions, losing aircraft and crew as the BETA fired on them.
• The first assault destroyed or suppressed more than a hundred firing positions and created a nineteen-minute window that let two imperial armored corps resume their advance.
• Great Han’s Traditional Air Force took off from the southeast as the imperial air assault opened the western sky.

Lin Cuo and Li Xingke prepared to test electromagnetic siege cannons against Britannia’s Laser-Class defenses as the campaign advanced toward Herat. After an accidental slap sparked a confrontation with Kallen, Lin Cuo called Nina, who admitted she had been watching his battle data partly out of concern for him.

• Lin Cuo proposed deploying electromagnetic siege cannons, and Li Xingke revised the firing schedule to test how the Laser-Class prioritized the new projectiles.
• Kallen reached the current relationship cap with Lin Cuo and told him she could overlook their past conflicts and let him grab her when he was nervous.
• As the Guren entered an underground shelter, Lin Cuo accidentally slapped Kallen’s backside while trying to slap down his hand, and she confronted him.
• Lin Cuo switched to an encrypted call with Nina, who warned him about the Guren’s falling barrier reserves and admitted she was a little worried about him.

Lin Cuo offered Nina a permanent research position in Great Han, reassuring her that he would need her even after the war. He used his struggles and Nina’s maternal feelings to deepen their bond, while Kallen watched and challenged his manipulative tactics.

• Lin Cuo sent Nina an appointment offering her permanent status as a Great Han researcher, and she asked whether she could stay after the exchange program and the war.
• Lin Cuo told Nina he would continue to need her for the Firmament Project, and the system unlocked the Goddess of Love decision and began the High-Energy Strategic Research Project countdown.
• Lin Cuo told Nina that he had reduced his messages because she became distracted after hearing from him, then reassured her that he cared about her.
• Lin Cuo told Nina that she reminded him of the motherly warmth he had lacked, and Nina became emotional while Kallen recognized his calculated approach.
• Kallen confronted Lin Cuo after he muted the call, but he defended his tactics before unmuting and telling Nina the connection had suffered interference.

Lin Cuo and the commanders tested a layered artillery attack against the Laser-Class, while nationwide war mobilization strengthened Great Han’s production and public support. Jiang Lihua left Kaguya Sumeragi with a mountain of government paperwork, which Kaguya accepted as part of Area 11’s role in the Human Community.

• Lin Cuo pretended to suffer battlefield stress to draw Nina into offering comfort, while Kallen objected to his intimate manner and ordered him to focus on the battle.
• Great Han’s forces launched decoys, conventional shells, and Mach 12 electromagnetic projectiles, damaging the terrain and forcing Laser-Class units to change their firing priorities.
• Chou Xianglin reported the projectile’s deflection and mass loss, and Li Xingke ordered mixed solid rounds, lower decoys, and String Kite to record the beams.
• The Central Broadcasting Station announced battle casualties and national production figures as broadcasts, war support, stability, and military output rose.
• Jiang Lihua assigned Kaguya Sumeragi half of a large backlog of local-government applications, and Kaguya agreed to handle them for Area 11’s future in the Human Community.

C.C. complained that Lin Cuo had tricked her into managing the resettlement of former Order members, while Jiang Lihua promised to handle the funding and protect her from extra work. Jiang Lihua also asked C.C. to keep Lin Cuo company, and C.C. denied being moved by his plans for their future as she realized she had grown attached to this ordinary life.

• C.C. told Kaguya Sumeragi that Lin Cuo had dumped the Order's records and resettlement work on her by appealing to her concern for the children.
• Jiang Lihua offered to place housing, food, and education costs in a special budget and give C.C. the right to refuse further assignments.
• Jiang Lihua asked C.C. to talk with Lin Cuo sometimes because he was lonely and occasionally afraid, though he hid it.
• C.C. angrily challenged Lin Cuo's plans to take her stargazing and offer her a home near the stars, a pizza shop, and travel permits.
• Jiang Lihua promised to scold and stomp Lin Cuo if he bullied C.C., and the three women laughed together.
• C.C. realized she had become reluctant to leave the noisy, ordinary life she now shared with them.

C.C. found Mao thriving in Luoyang after Lin Cuo gave him work, an identity, and a place among the soldiers, while she was left to handle Order resettlement files. In Pendragon, the imperial leaders reviewed Great Han’s technical data as Lin Cuo’s recorded explanation needled the empire over its late satellite launch.

• C.C. arrived at the Rectification Committee and learned Mao had exposed false identities and Order networks among the people awaiting resettlement.
• Mao told C.C. that he had found purpose investigating the Order and felt at home among the officers, crediting Lin Cuo for giving him useful work and an official identity.
• Mao fled when C.C. tried to leave the Order files to him, and the Training Corps officers shielded him from her.
• Euphemia, Schneizel, Lloyd, and Cornelia examined Great Han’s detailed technical report and confirmed its data could be independently verified.
• Lin Cuo’s recorded explanation praised the empire’s scientists and soldiers before mocking Britannia for launching its first satellite eleven hours after Great Han, prompting Cornelia to demand that the recording be turned off.

Lin Cuo gave Britannia valuable weapons-test data while publicly declaring his admiration for Euphemia, provoking Cornelia and leaving Euphemia unsure how to read his motives. Euphemia decided to send him a formal thank-you letter as Britannia entered its tenth hour of war.

• Lin Cuo announced that he would share Mach 12 test data, firing models, failure records, and approved testing interfaces with Britannia.
• Lin Cuo praised Euphemia publicly and framed his cooperation as a promise between them and a contribution to humanity, angering Cornelia.
• Lloyd praised Lin Cuo’s report and declaration, while Cecile reminded him that the moment was serious.
• Cornelia warned Euphemia that Lin Cuo mixed valuable help with personal aims, but Euphemia argued that he might sincerely want humanity to win.
• Schneizel said Lin Cuo met many of the Empire’s standards for a ruler and royal marriage partner, prompting Cornelia to call him worse than Schneizel.
• Euphemia asked to thank Lin Cuo, and Cornelia allowed it through diplomatic channels; Euphemia began drafting a letter as Britannia reached its tenth hour of war.

Schneizel coordinated Britannia’s counteroffensive and sent Odysseus to help troops and evacuees in the northern theater. At the front, the Knights of the Round faced heavy losses against the BETA, and Bismarck ordered Luciano to return to position.

• Schneizel reviewed the imperial counterattack’s progress and called a joint conference to coordinate the war effort.
• Schneizel asked Odysseus to visit a northern reception center and use royal relief resources to help soldiers, evacuees, and bereaved families.
• A Royal Dragoon squadron and its supporting machines suffered severe losses when Assault-class, Tank-class, and Laser-class BETA attacked them.
• Monica rejected the Third Armored Knight Order’s request for another head-on penetration attack and warned Luciano against pushing deeper.
• Bismarck ordered Luciano to return to his position, and Luciano acknowledged the command.

Casualty reports from the battles between Great Han, Britannia, and the BETA unsettled civilians as the empires continued their costly war. Underground, V.V. proposed using Ragnarök to make humanity’s consciousness transcend death, but Charles questioned whether they could risk humanity on an untested answer to the BETA.

• Television broadcasts listed mounting casualties from Britannia’s and Great Han’s battles, including losses in Asabasca and Persia.
• An E.U. legislator criticized Britannia’s colonial history while an evacuated engineer demanded to know when the E.U. army would act.
• V.V. read Schneizel’s reports and told Charles that the BETA were growing more numerous as humans died.
• Charles explained that Ragnarök had been intended to merge human consciousness and overcome the separation between the living and the dead.
• V.V. proposed completing Ragnarök so humanity could survive the BETA by no longer relying on the body as its sole form of existence.
• Charles rejected the comparison to their original plan, warning that they did not understand the alien life-form they faced.

V.V. urged Charles to use cooperation with the Great Han to gain access to ancient ruins, proposing Euphemia as part of a marriage alliance with Lin Cuo; Charles agreed only to observe their relationship and keep Schneizel away from the research. Meanwhile, the BETA invasion overwhelmed Iberia as the E.U. struggled to coordinate a response, leaving General Jean Smilas frustrated by delays.

• V.V. proposed a six-month diplomatic and research partnership with the Great Han, including a possible engagement between Euphemia and Lin Cuo, to gain access to ancient ruins.
• Charles ordered Schneizel kept away from their research and told V.V. to observe Euphemia’s relationship with Lin Cuo before deciding further.
• The BETA spread outward from Madrid, triggering mass evacuations and confusion among Iberian officials over transport and emergency priorities.
• General Jean Smilas learned that the E.U. had not yet authorized a unified mobile force while Britannia advanced and the Great Han shared new weapon-test data with the empire.
• Smilas demanded to know why the E.U.’s First Joint Mobile Group was still awaiting authorization, and his adjutant cited unresolved demands from Iron Blood and Free Iris.

Smilas struggled to coordinate the E.U.'s military response until Laura Bodewig and the others pressed him to authorize their joint forces for Madrid. He approved the deployment, while Leila Malcal withheld why Lin Cuo had provided Great Han's four experimental machines.

• Laura Bodewig demanded that Smilas confirm the joint forces' command structure and asked how many machines could be deployed.
• Charlotte confirmed that Great Han had delivered four Seventh Generation machines with maintenance documents, while Cecilia and Tatenashi Sarashiki described their support and warned of further delays.
• Laura praised Lin Cuo's ability to win and revealed she intended to challenge him, prompting Charlotte to tease her about wanting a date with him.
• Smilas signed the order, placed all machines under unified theater command, and ordered Andrei to prepare to depart for Madrid.
• Leila Malcal told Smilas that Laura and the other young women were capable, then avoided explaining why Lin Cuo had provided the machines free of charge.

Smilas and Leila struggled with the political and administrative burdens of mobilizing the E.U., while Lin Cuo received news that its first joint force had deployed. At the High Energy Physics Core Laboratory, Nina’s fanatical need to protect Lin Cuo inspired a breakthrough in the sakuradite weapon project.

• Smilas approved the First Joint Mobile Group’s deployment, recognized that Leila and Lin Cuo had gained political influence, and sent Leila an encrypted request to chair a military-industrial coordination conference.
• Leila continued reviewing urgent government documents, worried over Madrid’s funding, supplies, and evacuees, and resolved to keep the evening meeting despite her exhaustion.
• Lin Cuo learned that the E.U.’s First Joint Mobile Group had set out, while the system reported that Leila’s affection for him had risen even as their political and behavioral trust remained unchanged.
• At the High Energy Physics Core Laboratory, Nina fixated on Lin Cuo’s plea for warmth and protection, then realized the sakuradite model needed to devour rather than control energy.
• Nina rapidly revised the model, breaking through the project’s technical barrier and sending its research progress surging forward.

Lin Cuo received news that Nina Einstein had made a breakthrough, moving the Goddess of Love Project into engineering validation, while Great Han’s forces struggled with BETA pressure and worsening logistical strain in northeastern Persia. He convened an emergency military conference to present the project, leaving its purpose and the commanders’ response unrevealed.

• Lin Cuo learned that Nina Einstein had resolved a research bottleneck and that the Goddess of Love Project was expected to complete engineering validation in 180 days.
• Li Xingke and Chou Xianglin discussed mounting transport, ammunition, maintenance, and troop-rest problems as BETA attacks continued around Mashhad.
• Todo reported that his forces had been fighting for more than a dozen hours against BETA that showed no signs of resting, and Li Xingke ordered reinforcements and frontline officer replacements.
• Li Xingke joined Lin Cuo’s emergency military conference expecting another assault proposal, while Todo urged him to explain the objective.
• Lin Cuo transmitted a document bearing the project name Goddess of Love to the conference participants.

Lin Cuo formally brought Nina’s Goddess of Love weapon project into the national system and appointed Li Xingke to coordinate it, while Jiang Lihua assigned Kaguya Sumeragi political responsibilities. After the conference, an exhausted Lin Cuo sought comfort from Kallen in Guren’s cockpit, and she kissed him before leaving to shower ahead of another sortie.

• Lin Cuo explained Nina’s Goddess of Love weapon and confirmed it deserved national investment, then appointed Li Xingke as its strategic engineering chief coordinator.
• Li Xingke objected to the added workload and asked Jiang Lihua to divide the project’s responsibilities.
• Jiang Lihua assigned Kaguya Sumeragi responsibility for international political coordination, and Kaguya accepted while refusing responsibility for technical accidents and testing budgets.
• After ending the conference, Lin Cuo muted Guren’s cockpit communications and embraced Kallen, who eventually allowed him to kiss her.
• Kallen pushed Lin Cuo back, said she would shower before they sortied again in an hour, and left Guren’s rear lift platform.

Lin Cuo joked with Kallen about synchronized pilot recovery, then reflected on battlefield losses and imagined a global defense system that could secure humanity’s future. Meanwhile, the Emperor and the Four Warp Gods temporarily cooperated against an existential threat and began recalling the Primarchs.

• Lin Cuo proposed a synchronized recovery procedure for paired pilots, and Kallen challenged him to shower in the neighboring room instead.
• While showering, Lin Cuo thought about soldiers killed by the BETA and resolved to focus on reducing future casualties until the war was over.
• Lin Cuo envisioned clearing three Hives and building a global orbital and ground defense system to intercept future BETA landings.
• Lin Cuo imagined delegating government duties and retreating to a palace for a peaceful life after the war.
• The Emperor and the Four Warp Gods suspended their infighting to face a threat to reality, and their first step was recalling most of the Primarchs.

Tzeentch proposed expanding the Webway into a transportation network between universes, while Lin Cuo’s forces faced mounting losses in Persia. Cornelia halted further concentrated air assaults after a Heavy Laser-Class devastated the imperial aircraft, then received a report of an enormous target approaching underground.

• Guilliman questioned Tzeentch’s role in the Primarchs’ return plan, while Ferrus and Fulgrim argued over Isstvan V until Sanguinius and the Emperor stopped them.
• Tzeentch explained that broken routes and Warp threats were preventing armies from reaching the right positions, and proposed building Webway nodes that connected different universes.
• At Area 18, Cornelia learned that air raids had suffered heavy losses and that the ground advance lacked the artillery, tanks, and engineering equipment needed to break through.
• An Imperial Forward Observation Station detected a Heavy Laser-Class, which fired on the third assault wave and crippled nearly half the aircraft concentrated for the attack.
• Cornelia canceled further concentrated air assaults and ordered the ground forces to hold their positions as Gilford prepared to reorganize the guard forces.
• A southern front report warned Cornelia that an enormous target was approaching from deep underground.

Cornelia and Lin Cuo discovered that a Mother Ship-Class BETA had emerged underground, threatening Cornelia’s command post and thousands of imperial soldiers. Lin Cuo began preparing the first combat orbital kinetic strike, but the enemy’s Heavy Laser-Class could intercept the projectile.

• Cornelia read Great Han’s intelligence report and learned that an underground BETA nearly 1,800 meters long was moving beneath the battlefield.
• Lin Cuo confirmed that the Mother Ship-Class had appeared in southern Area 18, where Cornelia and thousands of imperial soldiers were stationed.
• Lin Cuo ordered Chou Xianglin to prepare the Celestial Balance Orbital Defense Test Group and provide the reserved kinetic strike payloads.
• Chou Xianglin explained that the nearly twenty-ton tungsten-based projectile could cause localized geological collapse but might be intercepted by a Heavy Laser-Class.
• Lin Cuo planned to divert the Heavy Laser-Class’s attention before launching the strike.

Lin Cuo arranged with Li Xingke to enter imperial territory and rescue Cornelia, who was surrounded by BETA, then informed Euphemia of the danger. He left for the mission with Euphemia anxiously awaiting news and promising to go on a proper date if her sister returned safely.

• Lin Cuo asked Li Xingke to open a joint military passage and agreed to coordinate a rescue with the IS units and Guren, despite Li Xingke warning him about the political risks.
• Li Xingke agreed to submit the rescue plan through joint theater procedures, requiring identification of friend and foe and the Empire's retreat routes.
• Lin Cuo contacted Euphemia through her private communications terminal and told her that BETA were surrounding Cornelia's command center.
• Euphemia urged Lin Cuo to rescue her sister immediately and promised to go on a proper date with him after the war if Cornelia returned safely.

Lin Cuo and Kallen led a joint rescue formation toward the Empire’s third transit corridor while coordinating the evacuation and a planned kinetic-weapon test. At another Great Han test ground, Suzaku Kururugi examined the Dauntless Type, a heavily armed platform built around a ground power supply.

• Euphemia told Lin Cuo that her father had raised a possible marriage proposal between the Empire and Great Han, then urged him to rescue her sister first.
• Lin Cuo and Kallen launched toward the third transit corridor, joined by Lingyin Huang and Houki Shinonono, while Chifuyu Orimura warned Lin Cuo not to let personal feelings alter the mission.
• Li Xingke ordered the formation to cover the trapped troops’ withdrawal and forbade them from advancing toward the underground targets.
• Li Xingke reported that the first Celestial Balance Kinetic Weapon test payload had entered its release window, pending confirmation of friendly positions.
• At a separate Great Han test ground, Suzaku Kururugi completed an adaptation test with the Dauntless Type, whose fixed power supply enabled sustained high-energy weapons output.

Suzaku piloted the Dauntless Type under coercive supervision while Great Han prepared an orbital strike against the Heavy Laser-Class. The strike destroyed Celestial Balance Seven, but its falling projectile pierced the Heavy Laser-Class and crashed into the rock below.

• Great Han's engineers designed the Dauntless Type around Suzaku's ability to withstand extreme forces, prioritizing the cockpit restraints over a comfort-oriented limiter.
• Suzaku attempted to switch the Dauntless Type to unrestricted manual fire control, and a military policeman in the supervision seat shocked him as punishment.
• Lin Cuo had forced Suzaku to accept the tests by threatening to electrically punish Lelouch, Kaguya Sumeragi, and other Imperial personnel if he refused.
• Celestial Balance Seven released a tungsten-composite projectile toward the Heavy Laser-Class as the orbital platform drew fire.
• The Heavy Laser-Class destroyed Celestial Balance Seven, while ground-based Laser-Class units burned away much of the falling projectile's exterior.
• The projectile plunged into the Heavy Laser-Class's firing organ, pierced it, and struck the rock below.