With the Mobile Suits ready, Reid naturally began to assemble his team.
Since the objective this time was Hashmal, and the G Invasion mission team Code Amelias was certain to show up, Reid planned to bypass the one-ship entry limit and use the Gran Chaos directly. The ship was large enough and could freely enter and exit Mars's atmosphere, making it far more convenient than other vessels.
However, when it came to personnel selection, Reid decided not to bring the members of Tekkadan.
He chose not to bring them because he considered that they would encounter identical versions of themselves living entirely different lives, which they would find very strange.
This was especially true for Orga. The time they were heading to was Tekkadan's peak, right before their decline from prosperity to ruin. Seeing his original path achieve such great success would inevitably give him some ideas.
Although Gundam Barbatos Lupus and Garibaldi Rebake were the most optimal choices for fighting Hashmal, Reid felt his own Joyeuse Gundam was more than enough to handle it. Bringing those two Mobile Suits wouldn't make a difference.
Thus, on the pretext of guarding against a surprise attack from the Eurasian Federation, Reid had the entirety of Tekkadan transferred to the port base of the former Misurugi Kingdom.
As for the other members of his strategy team, Reid brought everyone except for Neil, who had yet to return from Europe.
In any case, the Z Plus Gundam's and Kampfer EX's Beam Rocket Launchers could be loaded with physical ammunition, and the Ice Phoenix Gundam and Gundam Artemis still had physical swords.
As for the Blade Angel and Mystic Lightning, their main armaments were physical blades, making them practically specialized Mobile Suits for the Iron-Blooded universe.
The only slightly awkward one was the Gundam Eclipse, whose attack methods were almost entirely beam-based. Reid prepared an electromagnetic sniper cannon for it to use.
It just so happened that with Neil absent, there was no sniper. He would just have Salya fill in temporarily; her shooting skills weren't bad, anyway.
Once the personnel were assembled, Reid initiated the G Invasion mission as usual from the underground base in Star Palace City.
P.D. 325, Mars MA Subjugation Campaign begins. No faction entry.
The moment Reid made his selection, the Gran Chaos was transported to the space near Mars.
Since the last G Invasion into the Iron-Blooded universe had been restricted to a single person, none of the people Reid brought this time had ever seen the terraformed Mars.
Upon seeing the brownish-red planet, complete with an atmosphere, clouds, and specks of green, they all rushed to the bridge to gaze out at it.
Reid had seen this version of Mars before, so his first priority was to check the protagonist Mobile Suits designated by the system.
As expected, Hashmal was worth 100 Merit Points, and Gundam Barbatos Lupus was worth 70.
Now that the targets were confirmed, the next step was to determine the current point in time.
Just as Reid was about to have Hoshino Ruri hack the network to check the time, the flare of a ship's engines suddenly appeared directly in front of the Gran Chaos.
The moment the ship appeared, Hoshino Ruri, without needing to be told, immediately used the port recorded from Nein's previous network intrusion to hack into Mars's Gjallarhorn computer and reported, "The fleet ahead belongs to Gjallarhorn's Lunar Outer Orbit Joint Fleet, the Arianrhod Fleet. The commander is Iok Kujan."
Hearing this, Reid knew exactly what the current time was.
This was the moment when that incompetent Iok Kujan was preparing to descend to Mars to capture McGillis, but due to his ignorance of Hashmal's characteristics, he would allow the active Ahab Reactors to get too close, thereby awakening the Mobile Armor that had been dormant for 300 years.
However, Reid had no intention of dealing with the fool. The fastest way to clear this G Invasion mission would be to shoot down Iok Kujan's command ship, a Needlefish-class Battleship, right now, letting Hashmal remain dormant. Then he could descend to Mars and destroy its central control hub while it slept to capture it.
But doing so wouldn't maximize his gains. He knew that the main force of the Arianrhod Fleet was still on its way, and Gundam Vidar, a Mobile Suit with three Ahab Reactors, was also one of his targets.
Most importantly, Code Amelias's team usually arrived shortly after he did.
Reid had no desire to get ambushed by Code Amelias's team halfway through his mission and plans.
In any case, Hashmal would cause a lot of trouble after waking up before it was finally destroyed, so there was plenty of time.
Therefore, Reid gave a direct order, "Ignore that ship. We'll remain cloaked and hidden. Liuli, release all the small Space Mines we brought. Then we'll change position and await the arrival of our old friends."
Hoshino Ruri naturally knew who Reid's "old friends" were and quickly maneuvered the ship to a new location.
Ange, meanwhile, walked up to Reid's side and asked with a half-smile, "Reid, when Haman's ship appears, should we just go Trans-Am and take a swing at her first?"
Reid heard this and knew it was a trick question. He could only ask back awkwardly, "Ange, don't you think it would be more satisfying to capture Haman and tame her slowly?"
In response to Reid's answer, Ange simply rolled her eyes. Like hell it's more satisfying to capture and tame her, she thought. You, Reid, just can't bear to part with your lover on the outside.
So, Ange didn't bother saying anything more to Reid and left the bridge with Salya and Hilda to stand by in their Mobile Suits.
Ange knew very well that getting Reid to agree to kill Haman was impossible.
But if she were to "accidentally" shoot Haman down during battle, Reid certainly wouldn't say anything. At most, he would silently lament the loss of the wild flower he had picked.
At this moment, Reid took Ange's lack of argument as a concession and naturally wouldn't say anything that might provoke her further. He just silently followed his wife to the Hangar. He would have to sortie against Haman's group himself. After all, they had been intimate. As long as Haman was willing to renounce the darkness and join the light, Reid would definitely not kill her.
With Reid and Ange gone, Noin, Nein, and the Xia sisters naturally followed.
As for the Black Tri-Stars and Belfgang, they all agreed it was best not to get involved in the big boss's family affairs. They decided to wait until the others were far away before taking a detour to the Hangar themselves.
While the Gran Chaos's Hangar was tense with Reid wanting to protect his wild flower and Ange wanting to ruthlessly crush it, something happened.
As expected, the New Danuu's Child, also cloaked, arrived at the Gran Chaos's original entry point.
Then, "fireworks" went off all around the New Danuu's Child—a dense field of Space Mines, Reid's welcoming gift for Haman.
After their last battle, Reid knew that simply placing surveillance devices was now useless; the New Danuu's Child could also cloak.
So this time, Reid switched entirely to Space Mines, and small ones at that. The goal wasn't to kill the enemy, but to expose the New Danuu's Child's position through a series of explosions. (Large ones wouldn't have been effective either; it's very difficult for a space mine to destroy a warship's armor, and Reid's goal wasn't to kill anyone.)
However, Teletha on the New Danuu's Child reacted quickly. Realizing that cloaking was useless amidst all the small mines, the New Danuu's Child immediately deactivated its cloak, turned back towards Earth, and pushed its engines to maximum, trying to plow through the minefield and escape.
Seeing this, Reid thought, Running away the moment we meet? That's showing me no respect. He decisively gave the order.
"All units, sortie! Liuli, provide a round of missile cover. Everyone else, the objective is to intercept and capture the New Danuu's Child. If possible, destroy its engines directly. Remember to be careful of the World Impact."
At Reid's command, the Gran Chaos instantly decloaked, launched its MS, and fired a volley of missiles at the New Danuu's Child.
However, inside the New Danuu's Child at that moment, Loli Amelias looked at the enormous Gran Chaos behind them and asked McGillis, who was standing behind her, with a clear lack of confidence, "McGillis, are you sure the message you sent to this world's forces stationed on Mars will be received and that they'll definitely come?"
McGillis replied with great certainty, "Of course. This is a distress signal known only to the heirs of the Seven Stars. Upon receiving it, all forces must come to our aid immediately, unless they are engaged in an urgent wartime mission. However, Reid's forces are coming on strong. Amelias, are you ready? We don't plan on sortieing this time."
Loli Amelias heard this and said impatiently, "I know, how many times have you all said it? Our goal in this world isn't to fight that kid Reid, but to quickly break away and use your identity to collect rare resources and materials.
"Honestly, you guys complain that I'm too slow at summoning Mobile Suits to gather materials. It's so infuriating. By the way, McGillis, just how rich are you in this world? Can you really find everything on that list?"
To this question, McGillis answered confidently, "Rest assured, I have many secret accounts in this universe. As long as we shake Reid, find a Colony Satellite near Mars, and go to the black market there, we can buy the vast majority of things.
"Besides, I have some standing in this world. Many people will do me a favor."
After McGillis's explanation, Loli Amelias was still clearly dissatisfied with just collecting materials and stomped her feet on the spot.
However, the other four clearly ignored Loli Amelias's tantrum. Haman just said with a smile, "Amelias, stop stomping your feet. Summon the flower I prepared for Reid. We won't be able to talk this time, so let's send a flower first to express my feelings."
Loli Amelias heard this, looked at Haman speechlessly, and then retorted, "You're telling me that thing is a flower? Forget it, I don't understand your and Reid's emotional entanglements. I'll summon it for you now."
At this moment, Reid and his team, who were charging towards the New Danuu's Child, suddenly noticed that the ship, which had been plowing through the mines, seemed to freeze in place, suddenly motionless.
Then, ripples that shook space itself swept out, forcibly immobilizing all of Reid's and his team's advancing Mobile Suits.
This time was even more exaggerated than the last. A sphere of code two hundred meters in diameter appeared behind the New Danuu's Child. Then, the code shell gradually shattered, revealing the enormous MA inside.
Then the World Impact ended, and the forced control over everyone was released.
Reid looked at the enormous crimson "flower" before him and couldn't help but complain, "Damn, they're using their ultimate right off the bat this time. And they brought out the Rafflesia."
However, complaints aside, the Rafflesia was clearly left behind by Code Amelias to cover their retreat. The New Danuu's Child was still fleeing towards Earth at full power.
For Iron Mask, who had been suddenly summoned to this world with his mind in a state of utter confusion, he had a warship fleeing at full speed behind him and over a dozen MS accompanied by a massive missile barrage attacking from the front.
Iron Mask didn't even need Amelias's suggestive control to know what choice to make.
He was seen piloting the Rafflesia to release all 125 of its mechanical tentacles, instantly transforming it into a Cthulhu-esque Mobile Suit.
Then, the Rafflesia's five "petals" unfolded, and its five Leaf MEGA Beam Cannons and the 125 small beam cannons at the tips of its tentacles fired in a volley at Reid's squad.
Faced with such dense firepower, Reid could only command, "Joyeuse Gundam, Ice Phoenix Gundam, and Gundam Artemis, shields up in front! The rest of the Mobile Suits, get behind us.
"Liuli, activate the Gran Chaos's forward Lightwave Defense System. This MA is a different type from Silver Lightning; its firepower is extremely dense."
As Reid's order was given, everyone immediately changed formation.
The three Gundams—Joyeuse Gundam, Ice Phoenix Gundam, and Gundam Artemis—activated their GN Fields at the very front. Noin also deployed Gundam Artemis's remote Photon Wave Barrier shields in front of them.
With this, unless the Rafflesia turned around and used the four super beam cannons at the base of its "stem" to attack, its other attacks would be unable to break through their shields.
The other Mobile Suits, which lacked powerful shields, could naturally advance safely behind the three units.
As for the distant Gran Chaos, with its forward Photon Wave Barrier active, the beams that had attenuated over the long flight path had no hope of breaking its shield.
Seeing that it would still be a while before they reached the Rafflesia, Reid issued another command, "Liuli, prepare the Shipboard Buster Beam Cannon. Give me the ray axis and firing time. Use the Mobile Suits for visual cover and give this flower a taste of it."
Hoshino Ruri heard this and, without a word, began charging the Shipboard Buster Beam Cannon. With the skill of Reid's team, there were no rookies who would be hit by the cannon after being given the ray axis and firing time.
At this moment, Iron Mask, his mind in chaos, could only make his Mobile Suit concentrate its increasingly dense fire on the approaching MS.
Unfortunately, the shields of Joyeuse Gundam, Ice Phoenix Gundam, and Gundam Artemis were simply too thick. For such low-power beams, the greatest drain on the shields came from the explosions caused by the collision of GN Particles and Minovsky Particles.
This directly resulted in the overly dense explosions completely obscuring the sight of the Gran Chaos charging its cannon in the rear.
When Joyeuse Gundam, Ice Phoenix Gundam, Gundam Artemis, and the other Mobile Suits behind them suddenly broke formation, Iron Mask only felt a sun rushing towards him.
The only good news was that the explosions had also obscured the Gran Chaos's line of sight, so Hoshino Ruri had fired based on a calculation of the Rafflesia's last seen position.
And due to its continuous firing, the Rafflesia had shifted its position somewhat.
Therefore, the Shipboard Buster Beam Cannon only grazed half of the Rafflesia's body.
But the Rafflesia was equipped with an I-Field, and its massive size ensured that its I-Field strength was abnormally monstrous.
Even a weapon as powerful as the Shipboard Buster Beam Cannon couldn't instantly melt half of the Rafflesia. The petal armor only slowly softened and was destroyed in the beam (in the original story, its base material strength could withstand a nuclear furnace explosion), which gave Iron Mask a chance to evade.
The thrusters on the lower half of the Rafflesia's body, which had been hit by the Destroyer Beam Cannon, suddenly flared, and the main body spun out of the cannon's attack axis.
But by this point, the side of the Rafflesia that had been hit was mostly disabled. Two of its petals were heavily damaged, their fronts melted into a slag, and the various cannons on them were certainly unusable. Furthermore, all the tentacles extending from beneath those two petals had been completely burned away.
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