With Vidal's death, as far as this world was concerned, Gaelio Bauduin had truly died long ago at McGillis' hands.
After all, Rustal Elion wouldn't voluntarily help McGillis alleviate what little guilt he felt over killing his friend.
After Ange captured Gundam Vidar, she ignored the remaining grunt units and delivered it directly to Reid.
After having the system capture the Mobile Suit, Reid observed that the structural damage from its previous violent operation had been completely repaired by nanomachines, and the Trans-Am side effects had already worn off. He decided to prepare another gift for McGillis.
By this time, the ground battle had concluded, and the others had gone to support the four intercepting the orbital descent force.
Hoshino Ruri also notified Reid that all Mobile Suits from the Arianrhod fleet outside Mars had been deployed, leaving only a few lonely motherships waiting in space.
Upon hearing this, Reid remarked that motherships were worth quite a few G-Coins and it would be better to claim them. He immediately announced in the squad comms:
"Alright, we've fought enough for today. It's time to wrap things up. Ange, Noin, let's head to space and deal with the motherships."
Ange and Noin naturally had no objections. After all, both Ice Phoenix Gundam and Gundam Artemis possessed the capability to break through planetary atmosphere solo. With their abilities, handling a few ships without Mobile Suit escorts and armed only with projectile weapons would be effortless.
Thus, the next moment, under the stunned gazes of Tekkadan spectators, Joyeuse Gundam, Ice Phoenix Gundam, and Gundam Artemis transformed into reverse-trailing meteors and shot through Mars' atmosphere.
Within five minutes, Isurugi Camice reported to McGillis that the entire Arianrhod fleet outside Mars had been annihilated.
When Joyeuse Gundam, Ice Phoenix Gundam, and Gundam Artemis descended intact once more, Orga spoke with unusual exasperation:
"Lord McGillis, perhaps we should withdraw for now."
Orga's meaning was clear to McGillis - this mysterious force was clearly unfriendly toward Gjallarhorn. With the Arianrhod fleet completely destroyed, if they intended to continue purging Gjallarhorn forces, McGillis would be next.
Orga's concerns weren't unfounded, but McGillis' thinking remained sharp.
He understood perfectly well that if this mysterious force wanted him dead, they could have acted right after their conversation ended.
And to be frank, given the current disparity in combat power between both sides, where could he possibly retreat to if they truly intended to kill him? It seemed unless he could instantly teleport back to Earth, death was inevitable.
Coincidentally, as Orga and McGillis were conversing, the recently landed Joyeuse Gundam approached Tekkadan's position accompanied by Blade Angel Gundam and NT-X2 Gundam.
At this moment, Tekkadan members grew extremely tense, with even Mikazuki gripping Gundam Barbatos Lupus' controls tightly.
Having witnessed the previous two battles, everyone in Tekkadan recognized this mysterious force's combat prowess was absurdly exaggerated - their own side genuinely seemed outmatched.
Fortunately, Reid hadn't come to fight. Flying before Orga, he initiated conversation:
"Leader Orga, I'd like to make a deal with you. Care to discuss it?"
Orga couldn't figure out what his organization possessed that this mysterious force could possibly want, but since they had made the request, he wiped sweat from his forehead and asked nervously:
"A transaction? Interesting. Do elaborate."
Reid had only considered making a deal with Tekkadan after capturing Gundam Vidar. Three days wouldn't be enough to collect many Gundam Frames on his own. Moreover, without resorting to force, obtaining the two frames currently in Tekkadan's possession would be difficult.
Thus, Reid thought of trading technology for them.
However, Reid didn't start with discussing technology and went straight to naming his price:
"Boss Orga, I want your Gundam Gusion Rebake Full City and Gundam Flauros. Name your price."
Orga was somewhat surprised upon hearing this. Given the combat capabilities of the opposing force's Mobile Suits, why would they be interested in their two battered machines?
After a moment's thought, Orga seemed to realize something and asked:
"Gundam Gusion Rebake Full City and Gundam Flauros... Are you collecting Gundam Frames? Then why not ask for Barbatos?"
Reid didn't conceal anything on this matter and replied directly:
"Because I already possess the Gundam Frame technology from Barbatos. Besides, Boss Orga wouldn't sell me all your main combat units."
Orga found this statement loaded with implications and exclaimed in surprise:
"You say you already have Barbatos' Gundam Frame technology? Wasn't the manufacturing technique for Gundam Frames lost long ago?"
To this question, Reid lied without batting an eye and responded dismissively:
"Only Gjallarhorn lost it. And frankly, I personally doubt whether it was truly lost. After all, Gjallarhorn would tell any lie to maintain their dominance."
Hearing this, Orga acknowledged that as a recently emerged local force on Mars, he had zero knowledge about such secrets.
However, Orga believed Reid's claim of possessing Gundam Frame technology - after all, the opposing force's Mobile Suits were unnaturally powerful, making their own so-called Gundam Frame units seem unworthy by comparison.
Truthfully, Orga was unwilling to sell Gundam Gusion Rebake Full City and Gundam Flauros. These two units were crucial to their combat capabilities - trading them for money might mean having the wealth but not the life to spend it.
Yet Orga didn't dare refuse outright either, as this mysterious force was clearly not to be trifled with. They had annihilated an entire Gjallarhorn fleet without hesitation - why would they hesitate against a small security company?
After consideration, Orga made a seemingly reasonable demand that he thought the other side would unlikely accept:
"I understand. Since you want Gundam Gusion Rebake Full City and Gundam Flauros, I'll name my price.
As you know, for a local security company like Tekkadan, Mobile Suits are essential for survival.
Therefore, if you're willing to exchange them for two Mobile Suits of equivalent performance, I have no objections."
Hearing this, Reid thought Orga remained as cunning as ever, still making life-risking gambles with major decisions.
The problem was, Reid's forces possessed no Mobile Suits matching the performance of Gundam Gusion Rebake Full City and Gundam Flauros - only Mass-Produced GM Astrays that were far inferior, and various MS in Reid's squad that far surpassed them.
Exchanging with a low-performance Mobile Suit—even if Orga were forced by his circumstances to agree—would certainly make it impossible for McGillis to procure another Gundam Frame for him within three days.
As for trading a high-performance unit, Reid felt it would be a terrible loss for him. After all, the Mobile Suits Reid brought this time were packed with countless black-tech features.
Thus, Reid directly refused:
"Leader Orga, I don't have any Mobile Suits with performance equivalent to those two Gundams. All I have are units far inferior that I use as cargo haulers, and others far superior that I cannot trade.
So, Leader Orga, to show my sincerity, I am willing to purchase them at ten times the black market price for a Gundam Frame."
Having said that, just like the first time he came to the Tekkadan universe, Reid exchanged a large quantity of gold bars from the G-Coin shop, piling them up with loud clangs into a small mountain as tall as the Gundam Barbatos Lupus.
Reid's extravagant spending had an overwhelming effect on Tekkadan, who had once been so poor they nearly had to eat dirt.
The onlookers around them all underwent an "Awakening," becoming "Innovators"—the light reflected in their eyes was pure gold.
Orga hesitated as he looked at this mountain of gold. Although Gundam Frames on the black market were priceless and hard to come by, with just one-tenth of this gold offered as a bounty, mercenaries and security companies would surely risk their lives to snatch a Gundam Frame and claim the reward.
However, Orga and the others were completely captivated by the gold.
McGillis, who had long risen above such base desires and saw money as mere dirt, was more concerned about how this gold had appeared out of thin air.
So, with Reid's tacit permission, McGillis manipulated his Schwalbe Graze to pick up a gold bar and scan it carefully, wondering if it might be some kind of illusion.
But anything produced by the system was guaranteed to be top quality. Although these gold bars were purchased as materials, they were absolutely 100% pure gold, impossible to replicate even by artificial means.
After scanning the gold bar for a long time with his Mobile Suit, McGillis couldn't resist opening a public channel to ask:
"Sir, this is undoubtedly gold of extremely high purity. But could you enlighten me—how did this gold come to be? Producing gold out of thin air is simply unheard of."
To this question, Reid responded with extreme Versailles flair:
"How did the gold get here? Space Transfer Technology. As the current head of the Fareed family, how could you not know this?"
McGillis had no idea what he was talking about. He had only seen Space Transfer Technology in sci-fi novels and fairy tales—when had it become a reality?
Even at the peak of human technology 300 years ago, before the Calamity War began, so-called Space Transfer Technology was something that hadn't even been theoretically completed.
But the evidence was right before his eyes—the gold had indeed appeared out of nowhere—so McGillis had no grounds for refutation.
Meanwhile, Orga, overhearing their conversation, finally managed to tear his gaze away from the mountain of gold and, with what little rationality remained, said:
"Sir, I feel your sincerity, but I'm afraid I cannot exchange our Mobile Suits for gold.
Because if we lose two Gundams, we won't be able to protect this wealth. A mountain of gold like this would tempt even our parent organization, Teiwaz."
Hearing this, Reid expressed understanding. The groundwork had been laid well enough by now—it was time to propose the terms he had prepared. At this point, Orga surely wouldn't dare refuse him again.
"Alright, Captain Orga, since you don't want money, I'll trade with technology instead.
Armor technology that can completely defend against solid ammunition, manufacturing technology for Gundam Frames, or anti-gravity technology that allows battleships to fly in planetary atmospheres - which one would you choose?"
No sooner had Reid finished speaking than McGillis immediately jumped in and said,
"We'll trade! We'll trade! Orga, choose the armor that completely defends against solid ammunition. I'll make up for all the combat power your Tekkadan lacks, and we'll share the technology. The finished products will be distributed to you as well."
Actually, McGillis's current excitement was understandable. The three technologies Reid mentioned were all capable of directly altering the current sphere of influence among human factions in the solar system.
Even the anti-gravity technology for battleship atmospheric flight, which had the least impact, was enough to drastically change the power dynamics within Earth's sphere.
Of course, McGillis wanted the armor technology that completely defended against solid ammunition even more. If this thing were real, given that Gjallarhorn's entire arsenal currently used solid ammunition, obtaining it would be no different from activating god mode.
However, Orga was now completely drenched in cold sweat.
If he didn't agree to the technology exchange now, McGillis beside him would likely hold a grudge against him.
Moreover, having already refused the other party once before, if he rejected such a sincere offer a second time, the other side probably wouldn't give a third opportunity. The next step might well be forcible seizure.
After all, absolute power gave one the freedom to choose whether to grant mercy or disaster to the weak - that was the privilege of the powerful.
The problem was, any one of these three technologies would be even more dangerous for Tekkadan, whose research capabilities entirely depended on Teiwaz support, than that mountain of gold. It seemed he would have to deeply bind himself with McGillis.
So, after taking a deep breath, Orga straightened his back and replied,
"Deal. I'll exchange for the armor technology that completely defends against solid ammunition."
Reid nodded with satisfaction upon seeing the transaction completed. The so-called armor technology that completely defended against solid ammunition was naturally Phase Shift Armor.
Reid was purely stirring up trouble here. If the Iron-Blooded universe obtained PS Armor, it would inevitably develop into TPS Armor like in Reid's universe - with Nano-Laminate Armor as the outer armor and PS Armor as the inner armor.
This way, beam weapons in the Iron-Blooded universe would necessarily have to be redeveloped, all military industrial designs would need to be revised, and the resulting chaos would be anything but small.
The subsequent handover was quite simple. Tekkadan brought over the Gundam Gusion Rebake Full City and the Gundam Flauros, then the pilots disembarked.
Reid directly transmitted the PS Armor data to Tekkadan.
Although McGillis didn't understand the technology himself, there were people in the Gjallarhorn Mars branch that he controlled who did.
After sending out some parameter data, McGillis quickly received confirmation that if these parameters could be achieved, the combat value of solid ammunition would be greatly diminished in the future.
McGillis treated this as a priceless treasure, but the next moment, a subordinate's remark left him stunned:
"No wonder Lord McGillis has been collecting so many rare metals recently. So it's because you've mastered this technology. That explains everything."
McGillis froze for a long while, trying to recall when he had ever collected rare metals.
After confirming that he had absolutely never issued any orders to purchase rare metals in his memory, McGillis remembered the previous warning and loudly asked,
"What are you talking about! Me purchasing rare metals? When did this happen? Where did this order come from?"
McGillis' subordinate at the Gjallarhorn Mars branch replied with a strange tone:
"It was the order you personally gave two hours ago. You connected directly through the internal video line. You transferred all the equipment from the Mars branch warehouse and placed large rare metal orders with major interstellar corporations under Fareed's name. The deposits have already been fully paid."
(End of Chapter)