Gundam: From Piece to Player

He was also a driving prodigy discovered by Jung in the MS training brigade.

It is said that he learned all the MS operation skills in a week, and after 21 days (three weeks), he was able to compete on equal footing with elite MS veterans.

After piloting the MS for two months, Jung was unable to defeat him in a one-on-one fight... Although Jung was a sniper, he was not the kind of ACE pilot who was good at one-on-one combat.

But this already demonstrates the terrifying potential for growth in this young man.

"Maybe they're the new humans that Zeon is promoting," Tianm thought.

As a Mega Particle Cannon shot grazed the Raffaele-class destroyer, a missile flew straight toward the stern.

Just as it was about to hit, a beam of light from the opened hatch detonated it, and Gundam Unit 1 (RX-78-1) flew out from the stern and quickly approached the Great Zam.

"General, it's a mobile suit from Project V!"

"I know, this bastard MS has spilled a lot of our army's blood, now he'll die here!" Dozru roared.

The missiles from the Big Zam were heading straight for Unit 1, but Unit 1 deftly changed course and accelerated to dodge the incoming missiles.

Those that couldn't be dodged were destroyed with the Vulcan cannon, and one missile was even cleaved down with a beam saber.

They had already passed through the sight of the Great Zam.

"Quickly, this guy is trying to circle around our blind spot, turn around immediately!" Dozru hurriedly commanded.

"Sir, we are working hard." The two operators in charge of driving also shouted, but the Great Zam was at high speed, which made its turning speed slower than that of the sensitive MS.

Despite being equipped with 16 Mega Particle Cannons, the sheer size of the Great Zam left it with considerable blind spots. However, once the Great Zam turned around...

But they found that there was no one below.

"Never mind that, start blind firing immediately."

Realizing he was a step too slow to turn, Dozru had no choice but to order blind firing, and Big Zam opened fire rapidly in all directions.

Still, not a single hit.

Where is Unit 1?

The answer is that he used his maneuverability to sneak under the machine and grab onto Big Zam's long legs, so no matter how much he shook, he couldn't see him.

MS are not like those Transformers in cartoons... they have no consciousness. Due to unfamiliarity with the operation, the tension, and the influx of various information, the pilot of the Big Zam did not notice that the pressure on the sensors in his feet was unusual.

At this moment, Unit 1 had found an opportunity and threw the hilt of its beam saber toward the jet thrusters below the Big Zam.

Then, aiming the beam rifle at the sword hilt, the exploding E-CAP energy caused a chain reaction of explosions beneath the Great Zam.

A leak in the helium-3 fuel pipeline caused an internal fire, melting the reactor core. The intense heat turned the area beneath the Great Zam reactor a deep red, resembling a half-cooked crab.

This machine, which already has serious heat dissipation problems, is nearing the end of its life, even if left unattended.

Only then did Dozle realize that his feet had been grabbed, and he roared as he tried to grab the Gundam.

But it was too late; the Gundam easily dodged the attack thanks to its excessive propulsion.

The beam rifle continued firing through the "wound" beneath the Great Zam, while the I-field, which was experiencing a power supply problem, collapsed like a balloon struck by a sharp weapon, and the Mega Particle Beam pierced through the machine's nuclear fusion reactor.

The lower hemisphere of Big Zam burst into flames.

Inside the cockpit, the two pilots were dead; Dozru's lower body was completely charred, his consciousness blurred, and he had no vision. The photo of Dozru reaching out to touch was of his wife, Sena, and Mineva.

An even larger blue fireball exploded on the battlefield—this soldier, whose hands were covered in the blood of civilians but who had no regrets for his country, died in the explosion of the nuclear fusion reactor.

Meanwhile, Tiam, from the Laffey-class, simply breathed a deep sigh of relief.

Although a bit slick, this young man's driving skills are still excellent.

We're saved. This machine must be Solomon's trump card.

"All units at the front, listen up! Our army has gained the initiative in the battle. From now on, all personnel at all levels should focus on persuading others to surrender and do their best to ensure the integrity of the Solomon Fortress. This will be our stronghold from now on. Also, we must capture Dozru, this despicable war criminal, alive."

--

The Battle of Solomon ended, but the Union Army searched the entire fortress without finding Dozru, the third son of the Zabi family. They finally learned from prisoners that he had been killed in battle.

The Federation forces achieved their first major victory since the start of the war, proving to the world that the Federation was not entirely useless in terms of its military... at least the Space Force was capable of fighting.

After rescuing Lord Dozle's widow, Fleet 101 disappeared into space, receiving no response to the daily laser communications sent by the General Staff... The 15 warships vanished into space.

When the General Staff sent a message requesting clarification from General Kalmar, the general replied that it was a classified mission and he could not disclose any information.

The General Staff was too preoccupied to attend to this matter, as the Federation fleet, using Solomon as its base, was preparing to advance toward the far side of the moon.

On December 15th, Char finally arrived at the Granada base and made his way to Kycilia Zabi, the second-in-command of the Zabi family.

He was invited to a meeting in a basement beneath the military base.

Char didn't expect this moment to come so soon, though he had rehearsed this scenario many times before.

After he came in, it wasn't the conversation with Kycilia that he had expected. There was a girl with a gourd-shaped haircut sitting there, operating a computer. She only glanced at him when he came in before typing on the keyboard.

When asked about it, Kycilia simply said that it was her secretary and that there was no need to worry about it, as she was one of her own.

Kycilia scrutinized him, and her aggressive gaze made him feel pressured.

After the initial pleasantries, Xia said, "Thank you for your trust. If you could provide me with two more Elmes, then with three Elmes I would have more than enough combat power."

Chapter 144 Casbal, You've Grown Up

Char made a joke about Elmes, trying to ease the tension that had been building since Elmes entered.

"Besides the one assigned to you, Elmes has one more, but I can't give it to you. However, there are two Brau Bros, which were originally allocated to the New Human forces."

“But before I give you any fighting power, you need to answer me,” Kycilia said. “Mark Bay has advised me more than once that you are an ambitious man. Red Comet, I want to know what your goals are now? Is it still to revive the Daicun faction?”

"Lady Kycilia, that's what I thought until a year or two ago, so after graduating from high school, I went to military school under an assumed name, hoping to make a name for myself."

Char took a sip of tea.

Has your opinion changed?

"The change came about after I met Kalmar. Perhaps the new age of humans is coming, and I want to contribute to this future, as well as to realize my father's ideal."

Kycilia frowned upon hearing the name Kalmar.

"Is that why you keep wanting to get promoted and gain more power?"

"Yes."

“Your will and determination are admirable, but would you mind taking off your mask? I’d like to see Caspar when he’s all grown up.”

Char then removed his mask. Although most people in the world knew who he was just by watching television, he was still not used to revealing his true face...

Kycilia admired Char's appearance with satisfaction, but soon her expression turned serious again.

Char couldn't guess Kycilia's thoughts, so he said something that even he found cheesy.

"I am now at your disposal."

“Haha.” Kycilia paused for a moment after hearing this, then laughed. “Why do I care about that? For me, what’s important right now is Char Aznable’s power. Even if you’re still thinking about revenge, we should wait until we defeat the Federation. I trust your loyalty.”

"Thank you. Hearing you say that has calmed me down considerably. My hands were trembling just before we met."

"Do you get nervous when you talk to Kalma?"

“Your Excellency is indeed Your Excellency. I have great respect for you. Karma and I were old classmates who shared a dormitory during our time at military academy,” Xia said. “Lord Karma taught me a great deal.”

"Don't let him corrupt you. Talent is one thing, but he's got all the arrogance now and is getting closer and closer to Kiralyn."

Kycilia said this with a smile, but Char could hear the strong dissatisfaction in her voice.

Has the relationship between the siblings in the Zabi family really become this strained?

What is their relationship with Gihren? Can we utilize this crucial intelligence?

"Tell me, why do you want to take over the Marines?"

Kycilia suddenly changed the subject and threw out another fatal question.

"Because they are the laziest unit in the Zeon army, I want to revitalize them by reorganizing this unit."

"lie."

Kycilia glanced behind Char out of the corner of her eye, and Char, noticing Kycilia's gaze, guessed at the abilities of the girl present. Without revealing his intentions, he answered "the truth."

“I can’t command any other troops… Lady Kycilia, I don’t want to be sidelined. I want to have a real army of my own.”

"Alright, then you show me your management skills and see if you can control this bunch of troublemakers."

Char passed the "interview," almost as if it were a gift—Kycilia was willing to give him command of the Marine Corps (a mobile division) and the Newtype forces as long as he told the truth... This made him feel somewhat incredulous.

"Thank you, Lady Kycilia. It's time for me to take my leave." Char tried to stand up and give a military salute.

Wait, why do I feel a little dizzy?

Char felt the world spinning around him.

He saw Kycilia's smiling, squinting eyes.

Damn it... the tea is poisoned.

Damn Kycilia, that shameless vixen, Char was filled with regret.

“Casbar Boy…you’re finally in my hands.”

As Xia lost consciousness due to the drugs placed in his tea and collapsed weakly onto the sofa, Kycilia removed her mask and trembled... She was laughing, it was so funny that he couldn't help but laugh.

Everything came too easily, it all seemed so unbelievable, and Char actually walked right into the trap step by step, in his overconfidence.

And then he asks her to take the Marine Corps—does he think she's an idiot?

It seems Karma doesn't consider you one of her own.

Since it was all just empty promises, the purpose was simply to lure Char over, and Kycilia made the promises without any psychological pressure.

For example, there's that woman whose gender is ambiguous—Karma's lover… Kycilia has always wanted to capture her to interrogate her and find out the whereabouts of the gold, so as to further blackmail Karma.

They made many excuses for this, such as asking her to come and participate in various meetings... She always found various reasons to refuse, regardless of whether she used a soft or hard tone, or an official or private explanation.

Kycilia could only conclude that this was what Kalmar had instructed her to do all along, to have Sally Stride treat her, Kycilia, as an enemy.

He turned his gaze once again to the young body before him, a body that had been trained for a long time and had killed countless enemies on the battlefield.

Kycilia could no longer suppress her longing... Casbal, you've grown up.

when--