No sooner had Reid finished speaking than the Titans' main force arrived at Sedan Gate.
This time, the Titans had truly gone all out, disregarding rear defenses entirely. Watching the densely packed blips on his radar, Reid felt his scalp tingle. If he had even a hint of trypophobia, he might have fainted on the spot.
Fortunately, the Gwadan and Aries arrived just in time to provide covering fire. Beams and missiles streaked past Reid's squad, forcing the first wave of Titans to scatter and evade, disrupting their formation.
Meanwhile, as the Gwadan retreated backward, it continuously deployed decoy balloons disguised as large asteroids—chained together with high-tensile alloy cables. Any Mobile Suit charging at high speed risked being sliced in half upon collision, while sturdier units would get entangled and become easy targets.
Seizing the opportunity, Reid issued new orders over squad comms:
"Noin, take position on the Gwadan's deck for sniping. Once it falls back, relocate to the Aries.
"Yulan, you do the same—support the ships' firepower near the Aries and deal with any incoming Mobile Suits.
"Ange, Gaia, Ortega, Mash—you four are on free assault. Use your mobility to harass the enemy and expand the combat zone, but don't let yourselves get surrounded."
With that, Reid flew behind one of the decoy asteroids and activated the Mirage Colloid System, ready to give the Titans a taste of horror.
Meanwhile, Ange wasted no time. Piloting the Immortal Aegis, she plunged into enemy lines, weaving through beams to gun down three or four High Zacks with her Beam Machine Gun before unleashing a full missile salvo from her wings—turning the void into a bombing range.
The Black Tri-Stars weren't idle either. Their newly developed trio-combo technique, the Black Meteor Attack plus 2.0, was wreaking havoc.
The three moved like a budget three-headed, six-armed monster. The lead unit raised its Shield, maneuvering while laying down suppressive fire to force enemies into evasive maneuvers. The other two matched its movements perfectly, finishing off stragglers and fending off flanking units with precision.
After watching for a moment, Reid stopped worrying about them. They were like lions (or in the Tri-Stars' case, a three-headed lion) charging into a pack of jackals—scattering the enemy while barely taking return fire.
His real concern was the two ships. Despite Ange and the Tri-Stars thinning the Titans' ranks, over a dozen Mobile Suits still broke through to the Gwadan and Aries.
The Gwadan did deploy its own MS squad, but ninety percent of these Gaza-C pilots were greenhorns on their first sortie. While the Gaza-C was flawed, its MA Mode at least offered decent mobility and firepower. Yet these rookies rigidly followed textbook MS defensive tactics, transforming into their MS Mode—a form arguably worse than a One Year War-era Zaku II—and standing still to shoot.
This was practically asking to be shot down on the battlefield. With the Gaza-C's defensive capabilities, even a glancing hit would cripple them, and a direct strike meant certain destruction.
Reid couldn't stand watching anymore. He directly patched into the Gwadan's communications and roared at the bridge commander:
"Who's in charge of your MS units? Are they just standing out there as stationary targets for the enemy to rack up kills? Order them all to transform into MA Mode and move! Don't you understand high-mobility combat?!"
Reid's furious shout left the Gwadan's bridge crew speechless. After all, Reid's squad was currently chasing Titans forces through MS formations dozens of times their size. Even the two MS units defending near the ship had shot down nearly ten enemy units in just minutes.
Meanwhile, their own MS forces had only achieved single-digit victories while losing over a dozen Mobile Suits.
Under Haman's piercing gaze from the side, the bridge commander wiped cold sweat from his brow and reluctantly asked:
"Apologies, Colonel Reid, but could you explain exactly how to execute this high-mobility combat? Our MS pilots probably can't maneuver through enemy formations like Mr. Gaia does."
Reid was at a loss for words. Had Neo Zeon's pilots really become this incompetent? They hadn't seemed this bad during the ZZ era. I guess new recruits only improve through the crucible of war.
So Reid shouted again over the team channel:
"Gaia, Ortega, Mash - you three fall back and help the rookies. Show them how to conduct high-mobility combat around the ship.
Ange, you return too. The AEUG forces will arrive soon. We just need to hold out for one more wave.
Aries, fire all weapons to cover their retreat!"
Having said this, Reid changed tactics. Bypassing the MS forces, he once again sneaked up to the Titans ships that had reached the frontlines, beginning his grim reaper's count.
The pursuing Titans fleet, seeing their vanguard ships inexplicably exploding one after another, quickly realized something was wrong.
Soon, experienced captains ordered their ships to slow down and lay down indiscriminate machine gun fire, trying to flush out this invisible enemy.
This was exactly what Reid wanted. His ultimate goal was to buy time for the Gwadan's retreat. As long as the Titans didn't charge at full speed, they wouldn't be able to bring the Gwadan within firing range before it linked up with the AEUG fleet.
While Reid had more flexibility in MS combat, if this turned into a fleet battle, even if all the enemy ships were just Salamis Kai Class, over a dozen warships firing in volleys would leave the Gwadan crippled if not destroyed.
After all, not even Reid's Mobile Suits could continuously withstand ship-grade beam attacks.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly. With the enemy fleet slowing down, the Gwadan managed to hold out until the AEUG forces arrived.
According to their agreement, dealing with the Titans would now be AEUG's responsibility. After all, Neo Zeon only had three or four ships total, and currently only the Gwadan and Aries (which AEUG considered a Neo Zeon vessel) were at the frontline.
Once AEUG's main force had engaged the pursuing Titans units, Reid naturally ordered his squad to return to their ship - it was time to sit back and watch the show.
Back aboard the Aries, Reid was thoughtfully observing the distant Sedan Gate when suddenly, a communication came through from the Gwadan.
The communication was naturally from Haman. She found an excuse and immediately said:
"Colonel Reid, congratulations. According to preliminary statistics, everyone in your squad has shot down over ten Mobile Suits, and Miss Ange alone has roughly thirty. Lady Mineva has decided to award you medals—enough to crush you under their weight."
Reid, seeing that Haman clearly just wanted to chat for no reason, replied helplessly:
"Honestly, too many medals are useless. Haman, why not give us something more practical?"
At his words, Haman deliberately adopted a suggestive tone:
"Oh? Practical? What exactly do you want, Reid? Why don't you come aboard the Gwadan, and we can discuss it in detail."
Cold sweat nearly broke out on Reid's back. If Haman kept this up, Noin would probably come to squeeze him dry. He quickly steered the conversation back to business:
"Let's not talk about that for now. Haman, how long do you estimate before A Baoa Qu realizes that Axis is on a collision course with them?"
Hearing Reid shift to serious matters, Haman naturally stopped teasing him and answered earnestly:
"Impact is roughly an hour and a half away. The Titans forces stationed at A Baoa Qu should already be aware of Axis's movement. They'll likely withdraw soon and stop engaging with the AEUG fleet."
"The current commander at A Baoa Qu is probably still Bask Om. As long as he isn't a complete fool, he'll order a swift gathering of Mobile Suits and supplies before concentrating forces to evacuate the A Baoa Qu fortress."
No sooner had Haman finished speaking than her words were proven true. The Titans forces on the frontlines, who had been overwhelming the AEUG fleet with sheer numbers, suddenly received a retreat signal from their rear.
Faced with the threat to their lives, Bask Om had decisively ordered the frontline troops to withdraw. After all, avenging Jamitov Hymem was far less important than saving their own skins and consolidating Titans' forces to seize power for himself.
Watching the Titans retreat, Reid chuckled:
"It seems the Titans are about to descend into internal chaos. From what I know, that Paptimus Scirocco isn't the type to sit idle either. With a Jupiter-class battleship under his command, he's got plenty of confidence."
Haman agreed with Reid's assessment, nodding:
"Indeed, it's predictable that Paptimus Scirocco and Bask Om will fight over control of the Titans."
"But this also makes it easier for us to take advantage of the chaos. I'm preparing to redirect our fleet to seize the weakly defended Gryps II Satellite Laser Cannon."
"Once we control the Satellite Laser Cannon, no matter whether the Titans or AEUG gain the upper hand, a single shot from us will make the Earth Sphere Neo Zeon's domain."
"Oh, and I've programmed Axis—after colliding with A Baoa Qu, it will immediately change course and crash into the lunar city of Granada, directly destroying AEUG's headquarters."
Though Reid had long known Haman's plan, he still found it a bit excessive. She was too aggressive.
They could have waited for AEUG and the Titans to exhaust each other before acting, but Haman wanted to eliminate both major factions in one stroke, letting Neo Zeon grow fat in a single bite.
Also, Axis would cry if it knew how everyone keeps using it as a projectile to smash into things. It's a quasi-starship fortress capable of self-sufficiency with minimal supplies. (Don't ask why the air and water inside never run out—what kind of black tech is this? The author can only say: Gundam logic doesn't need to be scrutinized too closely.)
It's worth noting that within Neo Zeon, there's an unstable faction—the Zabi Restorationists. In the original ZZ era, it was precisely because Haman's ambitions kept expanding, combined with her inability to properly digest the sudden influx of Titans' assets, that the Zabi Restorationists deemed her no longer controllable and staged a rebellion.
This gave the AEUG, which had been on the back foot, a much-needed breathing space, allowing them to eventually turn the tables.
But Reid had no intention of warning Haman, as these events would only unfold after his departure. Right now, Haman seemed somewhat interested in him, but certainly not to the point of abandoning Neo Zeon to run away with him.
So, for someone who wasn't truly on his side, Reid wouldn't offer unnecessary advice. After all, a three-way free-for-all would be more advantageous for his own schemes. If Neo Zeon were to face off against either the AEUG or the Titans one-on-one, opportunities to fish in troubled waters would actually diminish.
Moreover, Reid was now planning to reel in a big fish. He turned to Haman and said:
"I have no objections to the arrangements for Axis. Given Gryps II's current defenses, you should be able to take it easily with the Gwadan. I know you've been holding back a few Gwadan-class warships."
"I plan to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to infiltrate the A Baoa Qu fortress and retrieve something. The Aries can stay here under the pretext of monitoring the AEUG fleet. Once I've secured what I need, I'll rendezvous with you at Gryps II."
Hearing this, Haman immediately grew anxious. It wasn't that she opposed Reid's plan to let the Aries operate independently—she simply thought infiltrating A Baoa Qu now was far too dangerous. If he failed to evacuate before Axis made impact, Reid would be doomed.
Thus, she vehemently objected:
"No! Going to A Baoa Qu now is far too risky. What could possibly be worth risking your life for? What if you can't evacuate in time? What if the Titans discover you?"
Reid didn't want to explain. Instead, he simply looked at her with confidence and said:
"Haman, don't forget what I used to do. If I can't infiltrate a chaotic fortress without screwing up, I might as well retire. Besides, I'm familiar with the layout there."
"So don't worry. It'll be like going home to fetch something—nothing will go wrong."
With Reid speaking so assuredly, Haman had no rebuttal. Given his system-assigned background, she couldn't question his professionalism. As for danger—if he feared it, why even step onto the battlefield? Why join a covert unit? Staying home to farm would be the safest option.
In the end, Haman reluctantly agreed to reserve her objections. She would lead her forces to Gryps II while Reid's unit operated alone.
This actually highlighted how Haman still prioritized her ambitions over Reid. If it had been Ange in her place, she would've insisted on staying—even if she could do nothing but wait—until Reid returned safely before taking any further action.
But Reid didn't mind Haman's behavior. After all, he had no intention of wooing this yandere. Unless he could be absolutely certain Haman was completely dependent on him, bringing her home would only destabilize his harem.
After the Gwadan turned and left, Reid immediately contacted Gaia, Ortega, and Mash, asking:
"Which of you three is more familiar with the terrain of A Baoa Qu? I'm planning to infiltrate and gather some intel."
Gaia answered Reid's question directly:
"Boss, as long as they haven't changed the layout, all three of us know the routes inside. We were stationed there for several months, after all."
Reid was satisfied with this answer and said decisively:
"Alright, then. You three switch to the Blitz Gundam—the cockpit should be able to squeeze all of you in.
Yulan, Yufang, and I will board the Mystic Lightning. Once we infiltrate A Baoa Qu, Yulan will stay on standby in the Mystic Lightning to keep an eye on both Mobile Suits so they don't get snatched by passing grunts. The rest of you will charge straight to the database with me. While we're at it, we'll plant some extra bombs around A Baoa Qu—let's give the retreating Titans one last surprise before we leave."
--Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LegendaryTL
Thanks!