Chapter 225: The Battle for the Spaceport's Defense
After cleaning up the battlefield, Tolle towed away the two captured space pirate battleships and departed the area.
But before leaving, he secretly implanted some neo DG Cells into Nase's assault battleship, the Hammerhead.
That way, he could track all their movements—after a few "coincidental" encounters, they'd have no choice but to welcome him whether they liked it or not.
In the meantime, Tolle continued consolidating control over the Martian sector's various space pirate organizations.
Most of the pirates who caught wind of his rise fled the region.
With over thirty battleships and a hundred or two mobile suits under his command, Tolle had rightfully become the undisputed King of Space Pirates in the Martian zone.
Openly and confidently, he brought his spaceport base into the light, fixing it squarely along the vital route between Mars and Earth.
He was deliberately testing Gjallarhorn's limits, forcing them to acknowledge his presence and legitimacy.
As expected, Gjallarhorn soon assembled a fleet and came knocking.
On the spaceport base, the radar operator called out to Tolle, who was in the middle of adjusting the newly completed Seraphim:
"Report, Supreme Councilor—massive communications interference detected near the spaceport base!
Optical sensors show a large number of Gjallarhorn assault battleships approaching.
Confirmed count: sixty… no, over seventy vessels! Mobile Suits—more than three hundred!"
Tolle immediately dashed toward the hangar while shouting,
"Sound First Battle Alert! All hands to combat readiness!
Deploy every ship and mobile suit to defend both flanks of the spaceport base!
All batteries and missile launchers—prepare to fire on my command!"
"Yes, Supreme Councilor!"
Climbing into his Heavy Firepower-Type Bael Gundam, Tolle ordered Nami,
"Nami, have the Schmagia units aboard Seraphim immediately activate the Ascension Keys for pilots Treize, Zechs, Heero, and Chang Wufei.
Let them sortie in their customized Graze units!"
"Yes, Master. Nami will see to it at once."
Tolle had just issued the command when he paused, realizing what those "problem-child" Gundam pilots were like. He hesitated and asked,
"Wait, Nami… are you sure letting those maniacs out won't cause trouble?"
Inside his mind, Nami gave her chest a confident pat and replied,
"Relax, Master. While they may retain some of their original quirks, as warriors they'll perform flawlessly.
As long as we reclaim the Ascension Keys after battle, they won't interfere with your normal life."
"Good. Once the battle's over, recover the keys immediately."
"Understood, Master. Nami guarantees it."
Before launching, Tolle had Nami connect two large ammunition pods directly to the Bael Gundam's twin Gatling cannons.
He also loaded his shoulders and legs with micro-missiles—over two hundred in total.
Tens of thousands of rounds of ammo and hundreds of missiles—more than enough to make the Gjallarhorn army suffer.
Zola, Ange, Coco, and Miranda's customized Graze units were also loaded to the brim: each carrying four machine guns, two shoulder-mounted missile launchers, and more.
Meanwhile, Lynn Minmay went to the Seraphim's performance hall, ready to employ her "musical tactics" even in this chaotic Gundam world—singing to raise morale among the restless ex-pirates.
Before attacking, Tolle opened a broadcast to Gjallarhorn—
a formal warning before doing "business" openly and legitimately.
"Gjallarhorn forces! You have trespassed into the private territory of the Spark Interstellar Trade Security Group.
Leave immediately, or we will retaliate!"
The Gjallarhorn commander completely ignored him and ordered an assault.
Missiles and main cannons from the front-line warships lit up the void, raining fire on the spaceport base.
Tolle responded instantly, commanding the base's batteries to return fire. A storm of shells and missiles surged toward the Gjallarhorn fleet.
In the opening exchange, the spaceport had the clear upper hand—its defensive fire not only intercepted the enemy barrage but also shattered Gjallarhorn's formation.
Seizing the moment, Tolle ordered a hidden strike: dozens of Nami-designed octopus-shaped self-destruct drones, each a living bomb, surged out from the asteroid belt.
They latched onto enemy hulls, and before the Gjallarhorn troops could react, detonated in blinding flashes.
The entire outer line of warships was obliterated.
Tolle, as always, used his "capture the leader first" tactic—ignoring the distraction of enemy mobile suits, he charged straight into the heart of their fleet.
Activating the Alaya-Vijnana system, he invoked the psychic commands "Soul" and "Show Mercy."
Raising both Gatling cannons and his right-shoulder armor-piercing launcher, he opened four missile bays and unleashed a full salvo at the surrounding ships.
He darted through the fleet at high speed, keeping his fingers locked on the firing triggers—total firepower unleashed in one continuous burst.
He'd tested this before: as long as the attack didn't pause, "Soul" and "Show Mercy" would remain active.
Map-type attacks counted as single actions—his all-out, continuous barrage functioned as a simplified version of one.
By the time both massive ammo pods were spent, all seventy-plus Gjallarhorn warships were silent—their cannons and launchers completely destroyed.
Tolle, never one to turn the other cheek, had also infected the disabled ships with neo DG Cells during his assault.
Once they returned to base, the infection would spread—making this entire Gjallarhorn corps his to command.
If Gjallarhorn dared deploy their Gundam Frames next, well—then they couldn't blame him for "lacking virtue."
He'd simply turn their own troops against them, stabbing Gjallarhorn in the back and seizing their prized Gundam forces.
Let's see what they'd do then.
After wiping out the fleet, Tolle reloaded the Gatling cannons and charged toward the Gjallarhorn mobile suit formations—once again invoking "Soul" and "Show Mercy" as he rained fire upon them with relentless precision.