The World Government's forces began to retreat.
They had no choice. Being outmatched was bad enough, but after that explosion, even their commanders-the Five Elders-had vanished.
And it was not just the four aboard Uranus. Even Saint Mars, who had been flying through the air, had been summoned back by a pentagram the instant the explosion occurred.
In truth, Imu had pulled them back to withstand another Little Girl that had exploded almost simultaneously, but to everyone else, it looked as though the Five Elders had fled the battlefield when things turned against them.
With that understanding, even the devoted CP Agents would not foolishly remain here, especially since they had a perfectly reasonable excuse: protecting the members of the Holy Knights as they withdrew to safety.
As for Uranus, which still floated in the air despite the enormous hole blasted into it...
They had no idea how to control it. In fact, never mind operating it-they had not even been allowed aboard, so they could only say there was nothing they could do.
It was hard to say what the CP Agents and Holy Knights were thinking, but eight or nine out of every ten Marines present had begun entertaining other ideas.
After all, even their ultimate weapon looked about to fall into enemy hands. Continuing to serve a World Government already riddled with problems was clearly not a wise choice.
Their only possible chance of turning things around, the mysterious ruler named Imu, had also discarded the Marines like worn-out shoes. Unlike those CP Agents, these Marines had not been brainwashed from childhood, so naturally, they had no intention of pledging their lives to him.
Dragon had no intention of pursuing the fleeing forces. Besides the fact that many of them were his former comrades, he also considered