In the eight hundredth year of the cosmic calendar, Yang Wen-li and his irregular troops once again seized Iserlohn Fortress through ingenious tactics. Resistance forces dissatisfied with imperial rule rallied under Yang's banner. Meanwhile, news arrived that froze Yang's blood: Marshal Alexander Piccolo had fallen in battle. Emperor Reinhard issued the Winter Rose Garden Edict, declaring the dissolution of the Free Planets Alliance and appointing Reuenthar as governor of the former alliance territories. Reinhard then led his army in person toward the Liberation Corridor connecting Iserlohn Fortress and the El Fasil Starfield, intent on confronting Yang Wen-li directly.