After Neil finished lecturing Shinn, the six Mobile Suits soon reached the waters surrounding the Faroe Islands.
However, as the six units continued approaching the main island of the Faroe Islands, the Dark Hunter Gundam's Clairvoyance System detected that this island wasn't as simple as the intelligence suggested.
When Reid built the Dark Hunter Gundam, he equipped its detection module with All-Domain Detection Equipment. Therefore, as the Dark Hunter Gundam approached the Faroe Islands, it immediately detected massive metal signatures behind the island's main tholeiitic basalt and volcanic rock structures.
This meant the island contained at least an underwater dock, and possibly even a massive underground facility.
Facing this situation, Neil immediately communicated through the sync:
"Brothers, we seem to have encountered trouble. There's a base beneath the main island of the Faroe Islands - intelligence never mentioned this. It appears our enemies might extend beyond just the island's garrison forces."
The others fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then Barry Howe proactively asked:
"Black Hand, what should we do? Should we take out this secret base while we're at it?"
Neil found himself missing Sumeragi at that moment - if she were here, they could simply ask her about such problems.
But now Neil had nobody to consult. Due to the Neutron Jammer's presence, their current location couldn't establish contact with any base in the New Misurugi Kingdom.
Moreover, the Dark Hunter Gundam used a Minovsky Reactor rather than a GN Drive, eliminating any possibility of quantum communication using GN Particles.
As squad commander, Neil had to make the judgment call himself.
With unknown enemy numbers and combat capabilities, reckless assault was out of the question. Thus Neil declared:
"Mission parameters remain unchanged. First, blow up the laboratory at maximum speed, then retreat into the sea.
If this underground base sends pursuers, we engage. If not, we leave it alone for now. Completing our assigned mission takes priority - this secret base falls outside our operational scope."
Nobody objected to Neil's decision, as deep penetration missions behind enemy lines without support were inherently dangerous. No one believed their six units could take on a secret base with completely unknown defensive capabilities.
However, the presence of an underground base necessarily implied underwater exits, meaning the main island's waters must contain extensive detection equipment.
Therefore, Neil ordered the squad to reduce speed. Relying on their Mobile Suits' superior Clairvoyance System detection range, he led the other five units around all detection devices, slowly approaching the northern coast of the Faroe Islands' main island.
Then, following the plan, five Assault GM Dominions burst from the water simultaneously, leaping onto the island before sprinting toward the laboratory.
Meanwhile, the Dark Hunter Gundam activated its Obscurant Umbrella System immediately upon surfacing, then ascended directly into high altitude using its compact Minovsky Flight System, preparing to provide sniper support from above.
The five Assault GM Dominions made quite a commotion, and the Faroe Islands' main island being small, they were spotted immediately by surrounding watchtower guards upon landing.
The guards looked at their rifles and decisively concluded that soldiers earning mere hundreds per month shouldn't risk their lives. Without hesitation, they slid down their ladders, not even bothering to sound alarms.
After all, during such surprise attacks, enemies would inevitably eliminate watchtowers first. Unless Mobile Suits possessed stealth capabilities, exposure meant the assault phase had begun.
The guard's choice was wise. After beginning their sprint, Ghost, positioned at the rear, casually shot and destroyed the surrounding watchtower with a single shot—after all, why leave it standing to alert the enemy?
Thus, the explosion of the watchtower became the signal notifying the entire island's Atlantic Federation forces of the intrusion.
The island's air raid alarms instantly blared, informing all off-duty military personnel that they needed to return to their posts immediately.
Among them was someone who could be considered an acquaintance of Reid.
Canard Pars—who, after the end of the last war, had left Orb in frustration upon seeing Kira's seemingly self-destructive state, and had since vanished without a trace.
In truth, after leaving Orb, Canard had sought out the Coordinator researcher who had rescued him from Mendel but had repeatedly tormented him, loudly declaring that he had defeated Kira, the Strongest Coordinator, and that he was not a defective product.
Of course, in this regard, Canard Pars wasn't exactly lying. Right after the first war, during Kira's reclusive period aboard the Archangel, he had indeed been beaten by Canard Pars.
Moreover, in terms of hand-to-hand combat, Kira was genuinely no match for the well-trained Canard Pars.
What exactly Canard Pars said or did with that Coordinator researcher in the end remains unknown, but he certainly didn't take the researcher's life.
In the end, Canard Pars returned to Europe with a carefree attitude and began his life as a working man.
It must be said that aside from combat, Canard Pars didn't possess many skills. Initially, he worked operating heavy machinery for others, but he grew bored quickly and resigned on his own accord.
In the following period, Canard took on jobs as a bodyguard, mercenary, and even dabbled as a junk dealer for a time.
Just before the outbreak of the second war, the Eurasian Federation, urgently in need of ace pilots, tracked down Canard Pars and offered to re-enlist him with exceptionally favorable terms.
From the Eurasian Federation's perspective, Canard Pars's combat prowess was highly impressive, and his exceptionally outstanding fighting abilities might even be a sign of a Newtype Awakening.
Normally, Canard Pars would have been unwilling to rejoin the military, as he was quite content with his carefree lifestyle.
However, the person sent by the Eurasian Federation to recruit him was Murol Pistis.
In the original manga, Murol Pistis was Canard Pars's comrade, responsible for commanding the Agamemnon-class carrier Ortega, which specialized in transporting the Hyperion Gundam.
In the original story, Murol Pistis was very supportive of Canard Pars, and there was even a hint of ambiguity between the two.
However, in the original storyline, Canard was initially solely focused on finding Kira, and later fixated on Preya—essentially, he only had eyes for men, not women. As a result, that subtle tension never developed further. Still, it's safe to say the two had a certain connection.
By this time, free of all psychological burdens, Canard Pars found himself intrigued by Murol Pistis upon their meeting and promptly decided to rejoin the Eurasian Federation.
Subsequently, the two were assigned to the X Task Force, where they repeatedly clashed with ZAFT forces at the Gibraltar Base, successfully disrupting several of ZAFT's military operations.
However, as fate would have it, the X Task Force was secretly dispatched to a hidden base in the Faroe Islands to rendezvous with a covert Atlantic Federation unit. It seemed both sides were preparing to join forces for a major operation.
This was also the reason why intelligence agents from the New Misurugi Kingdom would find no other units resupplying at the Faroe Islands base today.
Since two highly classified units were secretly resupplying here, ordinary intelligence personnel naturally wouldn't be aware of it.
During the resupply break, with the Faroe Islands being famous tourist destinations, Canard Pars surprisingly had a moment of inspiration and invited Murol Pistis to a local small restaurant for a meal.
Their conversation about daily life was quite harmonious initially, but before all dishes were served, the island's alarm sounded.
Canard Pars could only suppress his frustration and rush back to the port base with Murol Pistis, intending to sortie in his Mobile Suit and teach the bastard who ruined his date a lesson!
However, as Canard Pars pulled Murol Pistis back to the port, they saw a massive mushroom cloud rising from Mount Slettara on the main island of the Faroe Islands, precisely in the direction of the ongoing combat.
Reacting swiftly, Canard Pars immediately tackled Murol Pistis to the ground, shielding her with his own body as a human shield.
Almost the instant Canard Pars pinned Murol Pistis down, the shockwave from the massive explosion reached them.
Fortunately for Canard Pars, no large debris or other objects struck him with the blast wave—aside from his clothes being covered in dust, he remained completely unharmed.
By now, the Mobile Suits of the Atlantic Federation's secret unit finally emerged: the Noir Strike, Azure Duel, and Verdant Buster rushed out from the secret base exit at the port. Clearly, the Atlantic Federation's secret unit was none other than the Phantom Pain Unit.
Seeing their allies mobilizing, Murol Pistis beneath Canard Pars quickly composed herself, setting aside the sweet flutter from being protected. Despite her dislike for the Atlantic Federation, they were currently allies, so she said:
"Canard, we're already at the base entrance. Don't worry about me—I'll head straight back to the Spengler-class. We don't know the enemy's numbers or strength. If it's too much, fall back to the ship and we'll evacuate the Faroe Islands. After all, command never gave us any mission to coordinate with the Atlantic Federation's secret unit."
Canard nodded immediately, his anger needing an outlet. He stood up and responded:
"Got it. I'm heading to the port hangar to launch the Hyperion G. Let's see who's bold enough to interrupt my date!"
With that, Canard ran off without noticing the faint blush on Murol Pistis's face when he referred to their meal as a "date."
Switching scenes to the unnamed squad.
After Ghost snipped the watchtower and triggered the alarm, the entire Faroe Islands erupted into chaos, with everyone rushing out to see what was happening.
They then spotted five massive Mobile Suits charging toward Mount Slettara in the distance.
Civilians on the islands immediately realized enemies were attacking and hurriedly evacuated with their families to nearby bunkers or home basements.
Military personnel, however, generally recognized these five Mobile Suits as the Assault GM Dominion, exclusive to the New Misurugi Kingdom.
Though it was unclear why the New Misurugi Kingdom's Mobile Suits had come here, these five units had been attacking facilities like watchtowers and lighthouses along their path—clearly an act of war.
Thus, the Atlantic Federation forces stationed here immediately deployed their Mobile Suits to intercept. Regardless of whether these five Assault GM Dominions were sent by the New Misurugi Kingdom, stopping their advance was the priority.
Unfortunately, even piloting Dagger Ls, these third-rate troops were mere target practice.
Their shooting accuracy was abysmal; the Dagger L's M703K Beam Rifle couldn't hit the Assault GM Dominions darting across the rocky, mountainous terrain.
In contrast, Xiaoqiang and Ghost's counterattacks were precise—almost every shot took down an enemy. Any Dagger Ls rushing from the port support were shot down as soon as they entered firing range.
Meanwhile, Shinn and Barry Howe only needed to charge ahead and clear the path. The initial phase of the mission went remarkably smoothly, with the Jet Black Hunter Gundam in the sky not even needing to intervene.
It wasn't until the five units reached the halfway point of Mt. Sletara and spotted the laboratory on the mountainside that they encountered any meaningful resistance.
From the laboratory buildings emerged two Lightning Pack Slaughter Daggers—units that shouldn't have been there.
Without a word, the Lightning Pack Slaughter Daggers unleashed a torrent of fire from their twin Type 70 Electromagnetic Cannons and MX703G Beam Rifles at the two Assault GM Dominions charging toward the lab.
At this level of firepower, a single Anti-Beam Shield couldn't withstand the assault. Shinn and Barry Howe had no choice but to evade to the sides.
However, Soap, positioned behind the two units, immediately opened fire with a Beam Machine Gun to suppress the two Lightning Pack Slaughter Daggers the moment their attacks hit the ground.
Faced with the suppressing fire from the Beam Machine Gun, the two Lightning Pack Slaughter Daggers had to raise their shields at the cost of limiting their field of vision, while continuing to counterattack with the Type 70 Electromagnetic Cannons on their backpacks.
But just as the two units raised their shields, Xiaoqiang's Armor-Piercing Rocket arrived. This weapon could destroy the standard Anti-Beam Shields of the Slaughter Daggers with a single hit, instantly shattering the left unit's shield.
The Lightning Pack Slaughter Dagger was thrown backward by the blast's impact, and in the next moment, Ghost's sniper shot struck its torso, blowing it up.
Meanwhile, the Lightning Pack Slaughter Dagger on the right had to face another deadly threat.
After dodging the first wave of attacks from the two Lightning Pack Slaughter Daggers, Shinn immediately detached the special bomb from his unit's back and said directly to Barry Howe:
"Puncher, help me with the bomb."
Without waiting for a flustered response from Barry Howe, who was scrambling to catch the bomb, Shinn pushed his Mobile Suit's thrusters to the maximum, raised his shield, and slammed directly into the Lightning Pack Slaughter Dagger on the right.
The pilot of this Lightning Pack Slaughter Dagger had been focused entirely on Soap's unit. By the time he noticed Shinn's Assault GM Dominion charging at him, it was too late.
The Slaughter Dagger had undergone lightweight modifications for stealth during operations, making it significantly lighter than the Assault GM Dominion equipped with underwater modules and cold-resistant armor.
Unsurprisingly, the Lightning Pack Slaughter Dagger was knocked flat by Shinn's Assault GM Dominion.
Shinn then swiftly drew his Beam Saber and finished off the Lightning Pack Slaughter Dagger as it tried to get up.
With both Lightning Pack Slaughter Daggers down, the path ahead was clear.
The entire laboratory had no other Mobile Suits stationed. The MS reinforcements from the port were held back by Soap, Xiaoqiang, and Ghost.
Shinn and Barry Howe quickly delivered the special bombs to the designated location and retreated.
Neil, holding the detonator, immediately triggered the bombs upon seeing the five had reached a safe distance.
Both bombs were specially crafted by Tem Ray—weapons created using high-concentration GN Particles and high-concentration Minovsky Particles.
When these two highly reactive particles collided at instantaneous accelerated speeds, they produced an explosion equivalent to a tactical nuclear bomb, yet remained environmentally clean—leaving no radiation or residual pollutants.
Moreover, if the bombs were damaged prematurely, they would only generate small explosions from normal particle collisions. If only one type of particle leaked, there wouldn't even be an explosion.
In truth, one bomb would have sufficed to destroy the laboratory. The second was brought solely as a precaution.
Thus, when both bombs detonated simultaneously, the laboratory was unequivocally erased from existence.
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