Reid's words left McGillis uncertain—he couldn't tell whether the leader of this mysterious force was being serious or merely toying with him.
If it was serious, McGillis didn't believe anyone in this universe could perfectly impersonate him and have others actually believe it. To tarnish the Fareed family's reputation, one would need to stir trouble among the top-tier factions at the very least.
However, any faction that had risen to the world's pinnacle couldn't possibly be filled with idiots like Iok Kujan.
But if the other side was just having fun, what was the purpose? It couldn't just be sheer mischief.
So, McGillis prepared for both scenarios. Since he had the squad comms and camera on his Valber Graze activated, Isurugi Kamiche in the distance could hear the conversation and see his expressions.
Quietly, McGillis gestured toward the camera to signal an investigation, then said aloud:
"You jest, sir. My identity isn't so easily impersonated. Moreover, impersonating the head of a Seven Stars family would require immense audacity from both the executor and the planner."
McGillis's subtle movements didn't escape Nein's detection. She had already infiltrated his Mobile Suit's systems via Mirage Colloid. After all, Reid had previously captured the Valber Graze, so Nein was thoroughly familiar with its programming.
Seeing that McGillis had already initiated an investigation, Reid felt satisfied and remarked:
"Believe it or not, it's no skin off my nose."
With Reid's dismissive response, McGillis didn't press further and instead began probing:
"Very well, sir. Though you refuse to reveal yourself, may I ask how you intend to handle the MA known as Hashmal? It has disappeared now, presumably already retrieved by you."
Reid knew McGillis was merely using this question to gauge the forces behind him.
Even if Reid outright refused to answer, McGillis could deduce that he had no fear of Gjallarhorn.
So, Reid replied with malicious amusement:
"What if I said we plan to analyze this Mobile Suit, modify it, and use it to overthrow Gjallarhorn's dominion over the Earth Sphere? How would you react?"
McGillis immediately sensed that the other party likely had no such intention, but he responded with solemn conviction:
"Then I would stop you at all costs. Hashmal is the apocalyptic weapon that wiped out a quarter of the population three hundred years ago. I will not stand by and allow it to reappear on a large scale, triggering a second Calamity War."
McGillis's words were lofty and principled, and Orga beside him nodded in agreement.
For Orga, if this mysterious force truly sought to incite a second Calamity War, he had to find a way to prevent it—understanding well that no one is safe when disaster strikes.
However, Reid believed that if McGillis ever encountered someone intent on mass-producing Hashmal, he would likely allow them to produce a few units first before moving to eradicate them completely.
This way, McGillis could take advantage of the situation to seize leadership of Gjallarhorn and achieve the reforms he envisioned.
Although Reid did intend to mass-produce Hashmal, it wouldn't be in this universe. Thus, any ulterior motives McGillis harbored would be in vain.
So Reid stopped discussing the mass production of Hashmal, because while McGillis might sit back and watch, Orga would actually take it seriously.
"Forget it. With your current influence and strength, you're not qualified to confront a Hashmal army.
However, you won't see Hashmal being mass-produced - it was defeated 300 years ago. Now it only has some collection value.
As you've seen, the power of the Mobile Suits in my hands far surpasses so-called Mobile Armors.
As for overthrowing Gjallarhorn, guess whether I'm serious or not."
Just as Reid finished speaking, the roar of MS orbital drops suddenly echoed from the sky.
Looking up, dozens of Mobile Suits were entering Mars' atmosphere using atmospheric entry plates, heading straight for their location.
In the squad comms, Hoshino Ruri separated from sync and reported:
"These dropping Mobile Suits are from the Arianrhod Fleet. According to space telescope observations, this is only the first wave - the Arianrhod Fleet in space is still deploying more MS."
Hearing this, Reid thought this must be Rustal Elion's second wave of probing attacks. He said to McGillis and Orga before him with a hint of killing intent:
"Well, the answer about overthrowing Gjallarhorn is clear now. The Arianrhod Fleet has descended to engage me in battle."
Upon hearing this, McGillis broke out in a cold sweat. He was also a member of Gjallarhorn - would the person opposite him shoot him right now?
He was right next to the enemy's core forces. Even counting Gundam Barbatos Lupus on their side, that only made two Mobile Suits.
So McGillis quickly tried to save himself, saying:
"Your Excellency, might there be some misunderstanding with Gjallarhorn, or perhaps the Arianrhod Fleet has misunderstood you? I'm willing to serve as a hostage, letting Chairman Orga notify the Arianrhod Fleet to hold their attack."
Reid thought that no matter which universe it was, McGillis was always the same - once at a disadvantage, he yielded quite readily.
However, Reid had no intention of making things difficult for McGillis, because he could already see that the lead Mobile Suit in the descending forces was Gundam Vidar.
So Reid said directly:
"Don't worry, envoys aren't killed even when two armies are at war. I won't do anything to you. You can now retreat to Tekkadan's forces. Whether you cooperate with the Arianrhod Fleet to attack us or remain on the sidelines is your decision.
By the way, there's no misunderstanding between me and the Arianrhod Fleet. Before I descended, I eliminated a female MS pilot named Julieta Juris and five warships from Gjallarhorn's Mars branch. I also just casually took care of Iok Kujan."
Hearing this, McGillis thought: Damn, Julieta Juris was one of Rustal Elion's most trusted subordinates, and the Kujan family that Iok represented was a staunch ally of the Elion family. This was quite the serious grudge.
However, as long as he could survive, these matters didn't seem bad for him. With Rustal Elion's forces weakened, it would be easier for him to reach that coveted position.
As for the losses of Gjallarhorn's Mars branch, that was still within McGillis' acceptable range.
So McGillis now said to Orga:
"Chairman Orga, let's withdraw first. We don't need to participate in the Arianrhod Fleet's battle."
McGillis's action was a gesture of goodwill toward Reid, indicating that he would not participate in the upcoming battle and was not an enemy.
Moreover, McGillis deliberately separated the Arianrhod Fleet from Gjallarhorn in his words, emphasizing that this was the Arianrhod Fleet's fight, not Gjallarhorn's.
Seeing McGillis being so sensible, Reid naturally let him and Orga leave without hesitation. Although Reid had originally intended to discuss a business deal with Orga, it seemed that demonstrating their strength further would make negotiations smoother later.
At that moment, the airborne units of the Arianrhod Fleet above had already landed and were assembling on the ground two kilometers away.
Due to the Gran Chaos deploying a large number of Mobile Dolls to collect Pluman, Gaelio Bauduin, under the alias Vidal, judged that his forces were at a numerical disadvantage. He dared not land directly in the enemy camp to avoid being swarmed and eliminated immediately upon touchdown.
During the descent, Vidal spotted the Schwalbe Graze and the Gundam Barbatos Lupus in the enemy camp.
Based on his understanding of his close friend, Vidal could guess that McGillis likely wanted to recruit this unit under his command.
Of course, this was Vidal's assessment without knowing that the enemy he faced was capable of single-handedly annihilating a Mobile Armor.
Thus, to spoil McGillis's plans, Vidal immediately led his troops to confront Reid's squad after landing and broadcasted loudly on an open channel:
"Villains who murdered Julieta Juris and destroyed five warships of Gjallarhorn's Mars branch, I demand you lay down your weapons and surrender immediately. In doing so, I can ensure you receive the fairest trial in court."
As Vidal spoke, McGillis and Orga had just left Reid's camp.
At that moment, both of them looked at the lead Gundam with expressions of admiration for its bravery.
The pilot inside clearly had no idea what kind of enemy he was facing, yet he still demanded they surrender their weapons.
Fortunately, on Reid's side, they understood the basis of Vidal's confidence.
The Alaya-Vijnana System Type E—an inhumane system created using Ein Dalton's human brain—allowed those without Alaya-Vijnana System modifications to unleash the true power of the Gundam Frame.
Reid had no plans to mass-produce this system, as its creation using human brains was far too unethical. However, technology was just technology, and it was necessary to retrieve and document it.
Just as Reid was about to lead his team to engage the enemy, Ange suddenly spoke up over the squad comms:
"Reid, you've already fought a Mobile Armor today. This guy looks interesting—leave him to me. The commander can't always lead the charge. You want to capture it, right? I'll try my best to keep the Mobile Suit intact."
Upon hearing this, Reid immediately wanted to retort: I'm the commander, but you're the publicly recognized queen. If the commander can't lead the charge, does that mean the queen can?
However, seeing how enthusiastic Ange was and considering the enemy numbers weren't overwhelming, Reid gave the order:
"Fine, Ange, you handle the leader. The rest of you—Gaia, Mash, Ortega, Hilda—coordinate with the Gran Chaos to intercept the other Mobile Suits descending from space.
The others, help Ange clear a dueling area. As for me, I'll take it easy this time and act as the reserve unit."
As soon as Reid finished speaking, Ange charged out in her Ice Phoenix Gundam, excitedly shouting over the squad channel.
"Noin, Yufang, Yulan, Salya, let's move out."
Noin, Yufang, Yulan, and Salya didn't dare hesitate, immediately piloting their own Mobile Suits to follow.
Seeing the enemy respond to his words with a charge, Vidal directly ordered opening fire to intercept, while he himself used Gundam Vidar's assault rifle to continuously shoot at the leading Ice Phoenix Gundam.
However, whether it was Gundam Vidar's assault rifle or the Reginlaze's GR-W11 130mm Rifle, when hitting AC Gundanium Alloy, unless seven or eight bullets consecutively struck the same point, they couldn't even leave a dent.
Moreover, the Ice Phoenix Gundam, Gundam Artemis, and Blade Angel Gundam could all deploy GN Shields, making these solid projectile weapons—already considered low-powered in the Gundam Universe—completely incapable of breaching their defenses.
Thus, the five machines led by Ice Phoenix Gundam charged directly into the enemy formation while withstanding all the gunfire.
Seeing the enemy completely unafraid of their shooting, Vidal quickly manipulated Gundam Vidar to draw its Demolition Sword, preparing for close combat.
But Vidal's MS piloting skills were truly lacking—possibly even worse than Julieta Juris.
So, when Ange simply drew one Blade Wing and executed a downward slash, she successfully cleaved the slender Demolition Sword in two.
Although Vidal manipulated Gundam Vidar to borrow the force from Ice Phoenix Gundam's movement to retreat slightly, avoiding having his chest armor sliced open by Ange in the first exchange, Gundam Vidar now completely lost its balance.
Since the Foot Blades were beam attacks, they could hardly damage the Nano-Laminate Armor.
So when Ange saw Gundam Vidar had lost all posture, she directly kicked out, sending Gundam Vidar flying. It landed flat on its backside in a "level sand falling goose" posture, grinding a trench into the ground along the way.
Then Ange immediately fired Ice Phoenix Gundam's signature Absolute Zero Bullet in pursuit, intending to directly freeze Gundam Vidar for a flawless capture.
However, the moment his machine was kicked away in the first exchange, Vidal realized he was no match for the enemy machine. So he shouted "Ein!" and activated the Alaya-Vijnana System Type E.
As the system activated, blue light instantly flashed in Gundam Vidar's eyes. Though it couldn't produce light trails like Mikazuki's unleashed Gundam Barbatos, the machine's reaction speed and mobility skyrocketed.
Just before the Absolute Zero Bullet could hit it, Gundam Vidar executed an exceptionally agile high jump, causing the Absolute Zero Bullet to completely miss its target.
However, the extreme cold dispersed after the Absolute Zero Bullet's explosion instantly froze the water molecules in the Martian atmosphere around the impact point, causing the struck area to erupt with a large number of extremely cold ice shards that enveloped Gundam Vidar's lower body.
This directly caused frost to form on Gundam Vidar's lower half.
This Gundam Vidar clearly lacked polar environment protection—the extreme cold frost directly affected the leg joints' movement. So upon landing, even with the Alaya-Vijnana System Type E activated, the machine still knelt on the ground due to uncontrolled leg joints.
Seeing the enemy suddenly offering such a grand courtesy, Ange didn't hold back either. Six Funnel Blades launched, directly targeting Gundam Vidar's joints and main rear thrusters.
Gundam Vidar could now only move awkwardly using its thrusters, completely unable to defend against such attacks.
As a result, its rear thrusters were directly pierced and destroyed by Funnel Blades, with one Funnel Blade embedded in each knee joint and arm joint.
At this point, Gundam Vidar was no different from a Limbless Suit, collapsing stiffly without resistance.
Without hesitation, Ange slammed her palm against the cockpit section, using the Lambda Driver to lethally vibrate the pilot Vidal inside.
It must be said that in this universe, Vidal had chosen the wrong opponent by following Rustal Elion—he never got to discern McGillis's intentions, nor did he achieve his revenge, thus exiting the stage just like that.
--Enjoying the story? Want more chapters? Check out my Patreon and support me for 40+ advance chapters.
Just search for "LegendaryTL" on Patreon!"
Thanks!