After Nein confirmed the surrounding environment was clear, Reid piloted the Mobile Suit toward the Martian surface ahead.
The system once again marked only Barbatos as the primary target, with 70 Merit Points. It seemed the battle between the Graze and Barbatos wasn't exactly evenly matched.
But Reid's targets certainly weren't limited to just Barbatos (transliterated as Bael Baatos is also acceptable—no need to dwell on it here). GN Drives were expensive, and Ahab Reactors probably weren't much better.
Although it was still unclear whether the twin Ahab Reactors of the Gundam Frame had any special requirements, the near-beam-immune Nano-Laminate Armor was a hard requirement for Ahab Reactors—the more, the merrier.
So Gjallarhorn's Graze units were also on Reid's target list.
During G Invasion Campaigns, the system usually didn't drop Reid too far from the battlefield. Soon, Nein synchronized and reported:
"There's a space station in the low-orbit region ahead to the right—no, I'm detecting port facilities. It should be a small spacecraft docking station."
Hearing this, Reid pulled up the visual feed and confirmed it was indeed a spacecraft docking point with a small port. This was likely the destination of Tekkadan's surface plan in the original story, where they would transfer to an Aukus Group transport ship.
Now that the story location was identified, the plot itself should be starting soon.
Reid instructed Nein:
"Nein, shut down the Mobile Suit's thrusters. Approach the spacecraft station using inertia and maneuvering thrusters. Observe whether any shuttles from Mars are currently approaching the station."
Reid ordered the thrusters shut down because he wasn't sure if Gjallarhorn had thermal detection or similar surveillance methods.
Due to the unique nature of the P.D. universe (where Ahab Waves generated by operating Ahab Reactors were nearly impossible to conceal), the primary military detection method had shifted to Ahab Wave detectors.
However, thermal sensors and specialized particle detectors weren't particularly advanced technology for space travel. Besides, the P.D. universe had a glorious past—the Calamity War era of the previous century was actually this universe's peak period.
The P.D. era was essentially a post-disaster epoch. After all, even the twin Ahab Reactor technology for Gundam Frames had been lost, and many technologies now relied on archaeological rediscovery.
Although Reid privately believed the Blade Angel Gundam was nearly invincible in this era, caution was the parent of safety. It was better to remain hidden when possible. Otherwise, scaring off the constantly-running Orga Itsuka would be troublesome.
With Reid's command given, Nein naturally complied. The Blade Angel Gundam's original flight speed wasn't slow, and it soon reached the outer wall of the spacecraft station using inertia. At this point, Nein reported again:
"Detected a shuttlecraft that just launched from Mars. There's also an... armed transport ship? On its flank??"
Nein's confusion was actually quite reasonable. In the Iron-Blooded universe, the "warships" of several minor Martian factions were less like actual warships and more like transport ships with heavy armor bolted onto the bow and a couple of small cannons added—essentially armed transports.
Even Tekkadan's Iokton was a sorry sight like this (it only improved slightly later with added missile launchers and other weapons). Although classified as a Strike armor ship, that designation was more aspirational than factual. If you lined up all the protagonist faction ships from the Gundam universe for one-on-one duels, Iokton would definitely be in the bottom tier.
So after a glance at these two ships, Reid didn't pay them much attention and instead asked:
"Nein, can you use the Mobile Suit's computer to hack into the local network? Just collect the names and locations of Mars' major current factions from the web."
Nein wasn't the type of artificial intelligence that could infiltrate networks as easily as eating or drinking. According to Nein, networks were like physical houses - while any door could be entered, she was just an ordinary person. How many ordinary people do you know who have lock-picking skills?
However, while Nein couldn't pick locks, Reid could provide the tools. The AI erosion virus from the Full Metal universe and the quantum computer virus from the CE Universe were more than sufficient (both sets had been recompiled by Hoshino Ruri). Basically, even with different code structures in other universes, unless they had overwhelming computational power, it would be very difficult to stop these two self-compiling viruses.
So Nein easily pried open the shuttle station network's firewall using the viruses without triggering any alarms.
Once the door was open, Nein browsing the network was like strolling through a marketplace, quickly finding the intelligence Reid needed.
Meanwhile, the Aukus Group had openly betrayed them. After all, Tekkadan was formed after a labor revolt that replaced Chryse Guard Security, consisting entirely of Chryse's child soldiers.
Their opponent was Gjallarhorn, the absolute hegemon of the Earth Sphere (though Mars technically fell under Gjallarhorn's jurisdiction).
Any adult would know which side to choose, especially people operating on Mars during this period - similar to the early American Wild West pioneers, where armed forces were mostly mercenaries, gangs, and arms dealers. The so-called security forces (Gjallarhorn didn't handle Mars security) had nearly zero combat effectiveness. Expecting these people to have professional ethics was like hoping to become the Martian King in your dreams.
Therefore, the Aukus Group decisively sold out Tekkadan to assist Gjallarhorn.
Gjallarhorn had already clashed with Tekkadan several times because Tekkadan insisted on escorting Kudelia Aina Bernstein, the central figure of the Martian independence movement, to Earth.
(From the author's perspective, Gjallarhorn was probably afraid that Earth nations and corporations would use the pretext of exploiting Martian settlers to interfere in Martian affairs, preventing Gjallarhorn from continuing to exploit Martian settlers for major profits. That's why the commander responsible for Mars defense was so desperate to eliminate Kudelia.)
Now they naturally dispatched Mobile Suits to directly assault Tekkadan's shuttlecraft.
From Reid's perspective, he could clearly see the assault force consisted of one EB-06s Graze Commander Type and three EB-06 Graze units.
While watching the original work, Reid had been somewhat puzzled about why the commander of Mars defense forces would personally pilot a Mobile Suit into battle. This led to his defeat, after which Gjallarhorn's Martian forces gradually came under McGillis Fareed's control.
What? You say Reid himself also goes to the frontlines as supreme commander? Well, never mind then. That commander did the right thing - he just had a rather significant misjudgment of his own capabilities.
Actually, Gjallarhorn had also severely underestimated Tekkadan.
While Orga's most famous meme was the "Flower of Hope," he was also a calculated mad gambler.
From Tekkadan's founding, Orga had been gambling with their lives repeatedly - one loss would mean complete destruction.
But he won all his early bets, which subsequently amplified his gambling tendencies until he finally lost, resulting in Tekkadan being nailed to history's pillar of shame.
A gambler would never leave their wins and losses entirely in the hands of others.
Thus, Gjallarhorn's assumption that their opponent this time was merely an unarmed shuttlecraft was a complete misjudgment.
While four Graze units could easily handle an unarmed shuttle, this shuttle happened to contain the Gundam Barbatos.
However, Reid planned to delay Barbatos' appearance this time—he intended to take all four Graze units for himself and couldn't let Mikazuki Augus wreck them all.
And so, as the Graze units surrounded Tekkadan's shuttle and the Tekkadan members inside pummeled the traitor Togo Millonin (though he had been tricked by the Aukus Group, he had indeed sold out Orga and the others), Reid aimed the Blade Angel's Electromagnetic Rifle. Amplifying its power with the Lambda Driver, he fired at the right arm of the Graze positioned directly in front of the shuttle.
Instantly, sparks erupted from the Graze's right side as the electromagnetic bullet pierced clean through its entire arm, the impact sending the Mobile Suit spinning like a top.
Observing the effect of the shot, Reid murmured,
"Huh, this Nano-Laminate Armor is tougher than I expected."
Nein, clearly hearing Reid's remark, promptly stated,
"Based on impact analysis, the physical defensive strength of this unit's armor is comparable to Luna Titanium Alloy. Aside from the head-mounted Vulcan Gun, all of this unit's weaponry can inflict effective damage."
Reid immediately understood Nein was using the explanation to mock him—essentially saying, "Why are you surprised by such a piece of junk?"
But what surprised Reid was that the Graze, as a grunt unit, had physical defense on par with Mobile Suits from the UC0090 era, which was indeed unexpected.
This piqued Reid's interest in Nano-Laminate Armor even more. Considering the Graze weighed only thirty tons—while not as absurdly light as AC Gundanium Alloy—it was exceptionally lightweight compared to other Mobile Suits in the Gundam Universe. Given its demonstrated physical resistance and known exceptional beam defense, it could perfectly serve as the primary armor for the New Misurugi Kingdom's main forces.
Therefore, Reid ceased hiding. The Blade Angel deactivated its Electronic Camouflage and charged forward, rifle raised, directly into enemy fire.
Since the Nano-Laminate Armor's physical strength resembled Luna Titanium Alloy, the Blade Angel's Electromagnetic Rifle could still severely deform the armor even without Lambda Driver amplification.
It wasn't like Barbatos' smoothbore cannon, which couldn't penetrate the armor unless fired at point-blank range. (Don't ask why a smoothbore cannon's power drops so significantly over a few hundred meters in vacuum—this is Gundam, no need to overanalyze; it's just how it's set.)
Both Gjallarhorn and Tekkadan were stunned, wondering where this Mobile Suit had come from. Why the extravagant particle effects? Was it some performance troupe's display unit?
Of course, the display unit theory was dismissed the next second. With Nein's assistance, Reid—already possessing high marksmanship—naturally didn't miss a shot against the moderately mobile Graze units.
If Reid hadn't needed to maintain 70% integrity for the system to recover the units, he would have sniped the cockpits outright in a few shots. Instead, he targeted limbs, essentially engaging in a "spinning top" style of shooting.
In no time, Reid closed in on the unlucky pilot who had lost his Mobile Suit's right arm to the ambush and had his breakfast churned up from the violent spinning.
Reid couldn't care less who was inside the cockpit at this moment. In his eyes, Ein Dalton—an important supporting character in Iron-Blooded Orphans' early stages—was no different from any other minor character.
Thus, as the Blade Angel approached the one-armed Graze, Reid manipulated the Mobile Suit's free left hand to press directly against the cockpit exterior, instantly killing the pilot inside with the Lambda Driver before shoving the Mobile Suit away.
Reid didn't immediately order the system to reclaim the Mobile Suit, as such supernatural occurrences might genuinely frighten Orga into fleeing. If Orga turned the shuttle around and headed back to Mars, Reid would have to chase after him after dealing with these four Graze units—far too troublesome.
It was better to keep Orga guessing whether the Blade Angel was friend or foe, increasing the likelihood he'd stick to the original plan and keep Mikazuki and Barbatos on standby.
From Gjallarhorn's perspective, they remained unaware Reid had already killed anyone.
To them, this unknown Mobile Suit had merely pushed aside an unresponsive ally.
The Graze's main body remained intact, leading others to assume system malfunctions had immobilized the Mobile Suit and cut off the pilot, never considering the possibility of the unknown unit killing the pilot through the armor.
The Graze Commander Type kept hailing the Blade Angel across all channels, repeatedly demanding Reid declare his affiliation.
Naturally, Reid ignored the Gjallarhorn Mars commander whose life expectancy was now counting down in seconds, instead accelerating toward the nearest remaining Graze.
By now, every Gjallarhorn member recognized this unknown Mobile Suit as hostile. Earlier, at longer ranges, all their shots had missed (Reid wasn't about to deliberately tank hits just because enemy weapons couldn't penetrate his armor). Now at closer distances, their shots still failed to connect.
The Gjallarhorn pilots could only complain internally—was this unknown Mobile Suit built for acrobatics? It moved with the agility of a canopy-dwelling monkey.
Since its appearance, three Graze units had been performing "outline tracing" with their GR-W01 Type 120mm Rifles, failing to even scratch the Mobile Suit's paint.
The situation only changed when the Blade Angel closed in on the second Graze.
This Graze's pilot, visibly frantic from the Blade Angel's agility, realized turning to flee would be suicidal given his Mobile Suit's slower speed.
So he hurled his rifle at the Blade Angel and drew his GR-H01 Type 9.8m Battle Axe for close combat.
The thrown rifle achieved Gjallarhorn's first effective hit against the Blade Angel, the machine gun bouncing harmlessly off the chest armor.
This, however, marked the pilot's only successful attack. As he raised his battle axe, the Blade Angel's left hand was already pressed against his cockpit.
The pilot would never swing that axe—he followed his comrade's fate, instantly killed by the Lambda Driver.
When the second Graze abruptly shut down, even a fool would recognize the Blade Angel was responsible.
A single touch disabling a Mobile Suit? The Gjallarhorn Mars commander wondered—what kind of technology was this? Another lost Calamity War-era relic?
However, this commander would have to ponder that question in hell. After the Sword Angel eliminated the second Graze, his Graze Commander Type became the closest Mobile Suit to the Sword Angel.
This was because the three Mobile Suits had initially positioned themselves with two Grazes flanking the Graze Commander Type from left and right, shielding it behind them.
Moreover, this commander's piloting skills were truly mediocre. Reid swung his right arm's Electric Entanglement Whip, delivering a shocking "electrotherapy" session before pulling the Mobile Suit close and sending him to meet his maker.
The remaining Graze, realizing escape was impossible, launched a desperate suicide charge against the Sword Angel—and then he truly died.
The process was as simple as the Sword Angel casually swatting a fly.
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