The British Isles had completely fallen, and the Atlantic Federation, which had been watching from the sidelines, suffered a heavy blow.
But at this point, the Atlantic Federation could only swallow its bitterness in silence, unable to voice its grievances.
After the Paradise Island Base in Ireland was occupied by the New Misurugi Kingdom, there had been thoughts of bypassing from the north to attack ZAFT, which had yet to gain a firm foothold on the island of Great Britain.
However, Salamandine strictly followed Reid's orders. Before the forces from the Paradise Island Base could even bypass the Faroe Islands after leaving the base, they were ambushed by a large contingent of Automated Soldier Murasames led by Ange and others.
In the open sea without the advantage of terrain protection, and with the Paradise Island Base lacking any notable aces at the time, they were soundly beaten and forced to retreat in disgrace back to their base.
After several attempts—such as nighttime infiltration, sending a decoy force to lure the enemy, bypassing with the main force, and using the Faroe Islands as a natural shield to intercept—all of which were thwarted by Salamandine, the Paradise Island Base could only continue to turtle up.
During the last attempt to use the Faroe Islands as a natural shield for interception, Ange led her forces to bypass from the south and directly attacked the Paradise Island Base. Right from the start, she used the Thirty-Thousand-Meter Great Sword to carve a massive chasm into the base, nearly causing the Atlantic Federation to lose the Paradise Island Base altogether.
If not for the fact that the support forces dispatched from the Paradise Island Base had not gone far and returned in time to reinforce,
and Salamandine, knowing her forces were limited and fearing a pincer attack from both front and rear, ordered a retreat, it remains uncertain whether the Paradise Island Base would still be in the hands of the Atlantic Federation.
In any case, by the time Reid led the forces from the Old Capital Base to Ireland to join up with Ange and the others, the Paradise Island Base had essentially ceased its provocations. The local Irish people were not overly resistant to the New Misurugi Kingdom's presence either.
After all, the military discipline of the New Misurugi Kingdom was comparable to that of the East Asian Republic. It was evident that even though the Equatorial Union's territory was almost entirely occupied by the two sides, the people were not at all worried about being persecuted by these soldiers.
In contrast, many resistance forces had emerged in the British Isles, employing tactics of rural areas encircling cities.
However, the ZAFT forces on the island knew they were only there temporarily and that the island would eventually be handed over to the New Misurugi Kingdom. As long as the resistance groups, armed with only a few guns and off-road vehicles, did not attack military camps, they were left to their own devices.
Still, Reid did not pay too much attention to the affairs on the island of Great Britain. Intelligence agents were already documenting the masterminds behind the scenes, and he was certain to carry out a purge once he set foot on the island.
After reuniting with Ange and the others, Reid focused on one task: constructing a temporary hangar large enough to shelter the Gran Chaos, parking the Gran Chaos inside, and preparing for the final G Invasion Mission.
There was no other choice. Once the ZAFT forces in the British Isles were ready, Athrun would immediately head south to attack the former French territories of the Eurasian Federation. At that point, the system would judge the phase mission as completed, and this final G Invasion Mission would be refreshed and lost.
Thus, Reid had to complete this G Invasion Mission during the window of time while ZAFT was preparing.
Moreover, Reid had not been idle during his voyage along the Mediterranean route. Using the factory aboard the Eternal Peace, he had manufactured over a hundred High-Vibration Great Swords.
These hundred-plus swords were intended for the Virgo IIs.
Although Code Amelias's team did not appear during the last G Invasion Mission, Reid did not believe they had simply vanished into obscurity.
Reid preferred to believe that their absence last time was because they hadn't fully digested the gains from the Iron-Blooded operation.
Thus, Reid decided to equip the Virgo II with a solid high-vibration great sword for close combat. After all, during the last Iron-Blooded universe mission, Code Amelias's squad had completely emptied Gjallarhorn's Martian branch warehouse. Coupled with subsequent raids everywhere, they must have hauled back quite a few Ahab Reactors.
In UC 0093, the Second Neo Zeon War was primarily fought in space, so Reid would definitely bring the Virgo II as his Mobile Doll.
Since the Virgo II's armaments were mostly beam-based, it could only rely on its fists when facing Mobile Suits equipped with Ahab Reactors. Therefore, a solid high-vibration great sword was needed to supplement close combat capabilities while effectively damaging Mobile Suits outfitted with Ahab Reactors.
No one found it strange that Reid built a factory building to conceal the Gran Chaos.
The ordinary soldiers of the New Misurugi Kingdom all thought their Commissioner was scheming some underhanded tactics again—stationing guards so strictly around this warehouse that even Stella, who could roam freely anywhere in the Old Capital Base, wasn't allowed near without permission. It was practically screaming "there's a conspiracy here" on their faces.
If even the ordinary soldiers of the New Misurugi Kingdom thought this way, other countries were even more suspicious. The Atlantic Federation had been on edge ever since the Gran Chaos was hidden away.
They feared that the New Misurugi Kingdom had actually sent the Gran Chaos on a stealth mission elsewhere. For a time, the entire eastern coast of the Atlantic Federation was on high alert, terrified that the Gran Chaos might launch a surprise attack on their developed eastern cities.
Of course, the Atlantic Federation's worries were unfounded. Reid had set up the factory building and stationed locals for strict guarding merely to cover up the brief moment of disappearance during the G Invasion Mission.
Although Noin, Salya, and Hilda still couldn't participate in this G Invasion Mission, the fully re-equipped Tekkadan members had all returned, and the Mobile Doll had been upgraded to the Virgo II. They had no reason to fear facing Char's Neo Zeon and Londo Bell from the original story.
Thus, once all personnel were assembled, Reid immediately initiated the final G Invasion Mission of this phase, entering UC 0093 and the Second Neo Zeon War as a factionless entity.
As the Red Code vanished, Reid found that the system had dropped him at the edge of a battlefield this time.
Ahead was a small mining asteroid with obvious signs of artificial modification, around which numerous Jegans and Geara Dogas were engaged in combat.
At that moment, Hoshino Ruri reported, "Detected the mothership of both combatants ahead. Based on available data comparison, one is a Rewloola-class, and the other is a Ra Cailum-class."
Hearing this, Reid could basically determine that this was likely the beginning of the Second Neo Zeon War—the first step of the Earth Cold Climate Operation. The mining asteroid ahead was probably Luna V.
To be honest, this was an opportunity—a chance to shoot down Amuro before he obtained the Nu Gundam.
After all, if you asked a hundred people familiar with Gundam whether Amuro in the Re-GZ or Amuro in the Nu Gundam was more powerful, no one would believe that, in Amuro's hands, the Re-GZ could surpass the Nu Gundam.
But if they charged in now to attack Amuro while he was still piloting the Re-GZ, it would give Code Amelias a chance to escape and roam freely in this sector of space for a while.
Normally, to ensure success on both fronts simultaneously, Reid would have to make some trade-offs between the two.
But here, Reid decided to take a slight risk, declaring that as an adult, he wanted it all.
Thus, Reid solemnly ordered:
"Gran Chaos will release marker mines at its current position. Ice Phoenix Gundam, Blade Angel Gundam, Jet Black Hunter, Mystic Lightning, and Kampfer EX will sortie in advance, activating stealth and lying in wait at the landing site.
Once Code Amelias' forces arrive, Ange, you will immediately activate Trans-Am and strike the mothership. If Ice Phoenix Gundam fails to destroy the mothership instantly, the others will prioritize attacking it.
Once the enemy Mobile Suits sortie, destroy them outright."
Hearing Reid order the complete destruction of all enemies, Ange asked if he didn't care about his little lover, Haman.
However, the next moment, after a brief hesitation, Reid added:
"If Butterfly Shadow Qubeley and Fallen Angel manage to sortie, try to capture them if possible.
But capturing them is secondary. The top priority is destroying the mothership, so don't worry about who's inside when attacking it.
Also, remember, your lives are the most important. If Code Amelias has any secret weapons, you are permitted to retreat first. There will be plenty of time to fight them in the future—I don't necessarily need to wipe them out today."
Hearing this, Ange nodded. This was Reid's normal reaction.
Reid was always ruthless toward enemies but treated his own people very well. Since Haman had entrusted herself to Reid, regardless of her intentions at the time, unless she actually fired at Reid, he would definitely show her some mercy.
In fact, from Reid's direct order for Ange to activate Trans-Am and strike the mothership, it was clear he was serious, because Ange would never hold back when dealing with Haman, the "other woman."
So, only if Haman survived Ange's blade would there be any possibility of capture.
Since Reid had made his stance clear, Ange naturally wouldn't make a fuss. After all, if she failed to eliminate the "other woman" and allowed her to escape, there would be nothing to complain about.
Seeing Ange nod in understanding, Reid continued issuing orders:
"After deploying Ange and the others, Gran Chaos will deactivate stealth and intervene in the battle ahead. Yufang and Tekkadan will sortie with me, prioritizing the complete annihilation of the Earth Federation forces.
Salamandine, you and the Virgo II units will serve as the reserve force. Based on the situation on both battlefields, you will assign the Virgo II units to support whichever side needs it."
Reid's arrangement was an attempt to cover both battlefields as much as possible.
Moreover, Salamandine's instinct for warfare was sharper than Reid's, who relied on experience and knowledge of the "script." With her in charge, at least there shouldn't be any casualties on either battlefield.
It was only because the Luna V battle was just the beginning of the Second Neo Zeon War, with each side fielding only one warship, that Reid dared to split his forces. If Neo Zeon and Londo Bell's main forces were fully present, charging in with Tekkadan to face a host of elites would undoubtedly feel like being outnumbered.
After all, this was 0093, and both sides had large numbers of veterans who had survived the One Year War. Any one of them would be considered an elite among elites in any other universe.
The saying "never underestimate any veteran who survived the One Year War and lived to the Universal Century's hundredth year" is no joke. Those who treat it as a joke, unless blessed with extraordinary luck, have mostly died.
Upon Reid's command, everyone sprang into action.
After releasing Ange and the others, the Gran Chaos immediately deactivated its stealth mode and, following Reid's orders, fired a shipboard buster beam cannon at Luna V, making it appear as though they were there to resolve the satellite's descent issue.
Sure enough, when the massive beam, nearly 60 meters thick, pierced through all Mobile Suits in its path and struck Luna V directly, transforming it from a near-semicircle into what looked like a half-eaten sphere, both sides in the conflict were momentarily stunned.
Aboard the Ra Cailum, Reid's old friend, Bright Noa—who had already commandeered his warships twice and was on the verge of a third—shouted at the CIC:
"Damn it, how did such a massive warship appear out of nowhere? Find out which side they're on! Why didn't they notify allied forces to retreat before attacking Luna V? Is Captain Amuro alright?"
The Ra Cailum's CIC scrambled to gather information and establish contact, eventually reporting:
"Sir, there's no data on that warship. According to frontline reports, Captain Amuro is unharmed. However, we lost two Jegans in the recent bombardment."
Bright Noa breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, considering the loss of two Jegans acceptable. As for the lack of data on the warship, that seemed normal—he had no recollection of such a vessel.
Nevertheless, since they appeared to be preventing Luna V from crashing into Earth, he decided to treat them as non-hostile for now. Bright Noa continued:
"Try to establish contact with that warship and ask who they are. Instruct our Mobile Suits on the frontlines: if other Mobile Suits enter the battlefield, do not fire first. Identify them first."
As Bright Noa spoke, Reid led the Mobile Suit sortie. The Ra Cailum's CIC promptly announced:
"Unknown mothership has launched Mobile Suits. Heat signature analysis indicates all are unidentified units... Wait, visual feed shows what appears to be Jegan-type units among the unknown Mobile Suits."
With that, the CIC projected the ship's captured footage onto the bridge display.
The "Jegans" mentioned by the Ra Cailum's CIC were, of course, the Ghost Jegans piloted by the few Tekkadan members who hadn't yet upgraded their machines.
This only deepened Bright Noa's confusion. He muttered to himself:
"Those really are unfamiliar Jegans. Whose forces are these? Londo Bell is Earth Federation's special forces unit. Given the Earth Federation higher-ups' tendencies, they'd never establish a second unit like this. Could this be a force formed by Colony Satellite groups opposing Neo Zeon?"
While Bright Noa puzzled over whether the Gran Chaos was friend or foe, Neo Zeon was certain this newly emerged super-warship was an enemy.
Char, who had recently taken control of Neo Zeon, knew all too well the factions within the Colony Satellites. None of them had the capability to build a warship of this scale.
Even Neo Zeon would struggle to construct such a massive vessel; it would be more practical to build several Musaka-class ships with the same resources.
Since this ship couldn't belong to any Colony Satellite faction, regardless of which Earth-based force it represented, it was an enemy to Neo Zeon.
Moreover, this ship has clearly been preventing Luna V from falling to Earth.
That last shot blasted away at least one-sixth of Luna V's mass and altered its trajectory and orientation. Now, Neo Zeon needs to realign Luna V's head toward Earth to activate the large nuclear thrusters and push it into the planet.
At this point, Char no longer expects Luna V to hit a specific target—just crashing into Earth will suffice.
Thus, as Reid and the others set out, Char launched in the Sazabi. This time, instead of charging directly at Amuro, he rallied the remaining subordinates fighting on Luna V and headed straight for Reid and his team.
(End of Chapter)