Chapter 41 These Guys Are Federation Spies!

"Sieg Zeon!"
"Sieg Zeon!"

As a massive, life-sized portrait of Gihren was hoisted up, the convoy slowly resumed its advance. Several Federation soldiers with heavy Zeon accents even climbed onto the running boards outside the armored vehicle, shouting out the slogans that the Zeon people had been yearning for.

The crowds gathered along the streets had no idea what was happening, but seeing these people right before them, they joined in with raised arms, shouting and frantically clearing the way.

Further back, the Zeon civilians blocked by the crowd also had no clue what was going on, but upon hearing the passionate slogans from ahead, coupled with the slowly approaching convoy and Gihren's portrait hanging from it, they too began to chime in. This caused the civilians even further back to inquire among those in front of them.

"What's going on up ahead?"
"It looks like the Leader's bodyguard vehicles are coming through!"
"Oh, then they must be here to drive out the Federation people!"
"Have you heard? The Leader's bodyguards are coming under the orders of Leader Gihren to chase out the Federation!"
"I heard the bodyguards received orders from the Leader to arrest the Federation people!"
"No, no, no! Leader Gihren has sent the bodyguards to execute the Federation people by firing squad!"
"I've got it on good authority that Leader Gihren himself is leading the convoy with his bodyguards to wipe out the Federation people!"

And so, as the answers traveled outward, they grew increasingly bizarre!

By the time the rumors reached a block away, they had transformed into the claim that Leader Gihren was driving an armored vehicle himself to bomb the Federation delegation's quarters!

"Wait, you're saying the Leader is in the vehicle?"
"Have you heard? Leader Gihren and Sovereign Degwin are both in the car!"
"I saw it with my own eyes! The Sovereign himself has turned out?"
"Please, help me pass this bouquet of flowers to the Sovereign!"

As the bizarre rumors grew more and more convincing, an elderly grandmother actually believed that Sovereign Degwin had arrived. She pulled a bunch of flowers from her small handbag and handed them to a passerby ahead.

The latter was standing on tiptoes with a companion to watch the commotion and, far from being annoyed by the interruption, gladly accepted the flowers and handed them to the person ahead.

"These are from an old grandmother, please pass the flowers to the Sovereign!"
"Pass them forward, these are flowers offered to the Sovereign!"

Soon, the bouquet was passed from hand to hand until it reached the person standing right in front of the convoy.

The recipient immediately waved at Macarius in the driver's seat, signaling him to open the door.

"Hm?"

Macarius initially wanted to ignore them, but seeing all the surrounding Zeon people gesturing at him, he had no choice but to slow down, open the door, and eye the other person vigilantly.

"These were passed down from over there! They want us to give these flowers to the Sovereign!"
"The Sovereign?"

Macarius was stunned for a second, then snapped back to reality. He pulled the flowers into the cabin, pretended to converse with someone inside, and leaned his upper body back out.

"His Highness says thank you. However, the road is very congested right now, can you help us get through?"

The bystander looked so excited he seemed on the verge of fainting, then replied with fanatical fervor.

"No problem, leave it to me!"

With that, he rounded up a dozen strong-willed pedestrians, linked arms to form a human wall in front of the convoy, and shouted at the crowd.

"Everyone clear the way! Let the convoy through!"

Instantly, the crowd sprang into action, carving out a clear path for the convoy.

"Not a bad method. At this rate, we'll be at the estate in no time!"
"Indeed, the Zeon people probably never imagined we'd pull a stunt like this!"

As Macarius spoke, he suddenly noticed a few figures squeezing their way out onto the newly cleared path ahead.

"Is this ever going to end?"

Major Mars of the Leader's Bodyguard Unit never expected that a simple agitation mission assigned from above would end up alarming the Sovereign himself. Particularly upon learning that the approaching convoy was supposedly driven by Leader Gihren in person, he felt as though the sky was falling.

"Quick, quick, quick! Go and escort the convoy!"

Major Mars wished he could sprout wings and fly across the crowd. He could already see the oncoming convoy and noticed that its escort was pitifully sparse, filling the major with sheer terror. He had personally witnessed the assassinations targeting the Zabi family back in the day—though at the time he was merely a flag-bearing grunt, whereas now he was an officer wielding life-and-death authority.

Therefore, seeing the convoy so dangerously close to the pedestrians made his heart leap into his throat, terrified that someone might suddenly pop out screaming "Death to Gihren!" and detonate the armored vehicle along with everyone inside.

Consequently, he and his subordinates had to resort to kicking and shoving the blocking pedestrians to finally carve out a pathway.

Then, from a distance, the major raised his arm and began saluting the convoy.

"Sieg Zeon!"

When the armored vehicle finally ground to a halt once more, the major shouted the slogan with intense fervor, only to quickly realize something was amiss. Wasn't Premier Gihren supposed to be driving personally? Why had they turned into student soldiers?

"Who are you people?"

Looking at Macarius's excessively youthful appearance, Major Mars, a battle-hardened fascist fighter, immediately grew suspicious. While other Zeon units might employ young student soldiers, the Leader's Bodyguard Unit was different; the secret police demanded ruthless, seasoned, and reliable adults. Furthermore, their uniforms were worn incorrectly—though they wore the Leader's Guard uniform, there were no other insignia.

"We are the Leader's Bodyguards on a classified mission. What do you think you're doing blocking our vehicle? Are you attempting to assassinate His Majesty? Do you want your entire family sent to the decompression chamber?"
"I am SS Major Mars! What mission are you executing? Show me your identification documents!"

By this point, the major realized that neither the Leader nor the Sovereign could possibly be in this vehicle. Thus, out of a sense of duty to the Leader, he needed to ascertain their true identities.

"Get ready to move."

Macarius made a hand gesture behind his back, and a cough crackled through his earpiece.

This was Andrei's signal that he was ready.

Running into the Leader's Guard here was something Macarius hadn't anticipated, especially since their cover wouldn't hold up to any real scrutiny. They were merely wearing uniforms on top, while their inner garments and combat boots were distinctly those of the Federation military.

Therefore, they had to strike first!

"Hand over your documents, Major. How do we know you aren't impostors?"
"Hmph, then you'd better take a good look!"

Mars was already plotting how to send these audacious bastards to the decompression chamber, so he tossed his identification over. He was certain that once this person saw his credentials, they would tremble with fear.

Catching the ID with his right hand, Macarius didn't open it immediately. Instead, he pulled out his own identification with his left hand and deftly switched hands under the guise of shifting his perspective.

Then, he opened his own document.

"Bulls***, you're Federation spies!"

With that, holding his own open ID up by the portrait, he shoved it right into Mars's face.

"What?"

Before Mars could react, Macarius delivered a flying kick straight at him.

Seeing this, Mars's subordinates rushed forward to help, but a sharp whistle blew from behind Macarius.

Seven or eight soldiers from the Leader's Guard also surged forward in unison, engaging them in a chaotic melee.

The surrounding pedestrians were utterly bewildered by the sudden turn of events, and the young man who had previously cleared the way for Macarius came running over.

"These guys are Federation spies! They're trying to assassinate the Leader!"

Spotting the young man, Macarius promptly flashed his identification.

"We pulled these off them!"

Hearing this, the young man let out a roar.

"Protect His Highness!"