Gundam: From Piece to Player

The exploding nuclear fireball engulfed the machine, and Byarlan used the shockwave to roll away. The next moment, four beams of light shot out and covered its original location.

Byarlan fired two infrared smoke grenades from his arm, briefly disrupting the enemy's detectors... giving him a chance to catch his breath.

“Four left…” Jellett gasped for breath. If the enemy were on guard and continued to widen the distance, the battle wouldn’t be so easy.

At this point, the aircraft's enemy detection alarm begins to sound.

Jellett forgot one thing: the interference from infrared smoke grenades is two-way; they block the opponent's attack but also obscure his own vision.

A huge shadow appeared on the edge of the linear screen, and the rounded outline and heavy armor of the big yellow thing indicated that it was not the kind of "mass-produced" product.

"They actually dared to get close; this distance is advantageous to me!"

Jerid thought to himself that he was really lucky. Byalan's weakness was long-range shooting, but when it came to close combat, that was the new machine's strength!

"A new mecha?" Sirocco examined the mecha opposite him. "It seems to be severely unbalanced in its specializations."

Theo raised his beam rifle and fired at Byarlan. Byarlan quickly sidestepped to avoid two of the shots, but the third beam grazed his right flank and caused an explosion.

"Did you get hit? This isn't over yet!"

In the instant the two crossed paths, Jellett vaguely saw the other side draw four beam sabers, drawing four elusive trajectories.

At this moment, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and swing his two beam sabers at his opponent.

However, at the very moment of detonation, the opponent's thrusters erupted with exhaust flames, propelling the machine to a bizarre change of direction during the slash, dodging Byarlan's attack while simultaneously plunging the blade into its side, severing it at the waist.

"Damn it, I want to keep climbing, I want to keep becoming a big shot!"

Unwilling to give up, Jellett wanted to launch a final charge against Theo, but Theo simply raised his gun and aimed at her, as if delivering a judgment.

A beam of light pierced through the cockpit of the Byarlant, and Jellit was completely vaporized under the beam. The upper half of the Byarlant, now without its pilot, glided in the void for a period of time before the propellant was exhausted.

It flashed briefly before fading into eternal darkness.

"Sarah, what's the situation in other areas? I need to know the casualty ratio."

"Alright, the battles in the seven theaters have ended. Our side has 1 unit shot down, 1 unit severely damaged, and 1 unit moderately damaged. We have sunk 42 enemy mobile suits and 23 warships of various types," Sara read out the battle report.

"Well, the results of the initial battle are quite good... The performance of the mass-produced Theta is still able to completely suppress the opponent during this period." Sirocco was quite satisfied with the results of his elite troops' maiden battle.

"Should we continue with the guerrilla warfare orders, or assist the Zeon forces in capturing the fortress?"

"No, let's go to Blue Noah and help our 'friendly forces' wipe out the Murasame Corps there first."

Chapter 304 [Mother and Child] Floating Cannons

Sirocco's mass-produced Theta Legion destroyed nearly half of the Federation hawks' fleet as soon as it entered the battlefield, leaving only 20 warships anchored in Solomon's inner harbor.

The already disadvantageous control of the universe was completely lost, and Zeon's fleet also "besieged" Solomon and Blue Noah from the outside - which means that even if the Federation hawks can spare more fleets, they must break through this encirclement.

Similarly, after suffering some casualties, the four assault landing ships purchased from AE successfully breached the gates of Sector A of the Solomon Fortress.

Commander-in-Chief Char Aznable, who was directing operations from the Gwaban-class flagship and watching his forces advance with unstoppable momentum, was experiencing a feeling he had never had since the One Year War—Zeon was finally the side with superior forces, and the number of its fleets and mobile suits had surpassed that of the Federation.

After thinking for a moment, he looked at Nana, the newly promoted adjutant beside him.

"The command from now on is in your hands."

"Commander-in-Chief?"

"When I go to the battlefield, I still want to minimize the casualties of my side in the amphibious assault."

"But?"

"Don't worry, I'm not only an ace, but also a new-type."

Nana knew she couldn't persuade the other party, so she could only say, "Please be extremely careful."

Five minutes later, a 25-meter-tall heavy mobile suit took off from the bridge.

The AMX-015 Gaimack is a mass-produced heavy mobile suit dedicated to NewTypes, representing the latest technology from the New Human Research Institute of the Zeon Republic. It was designed from the outset as a "fourth-generation cutting-edge mobile suit with extreme firepower." It has as many as 14 beam cannons on its body alone, most of which can fire in rapid succession. The chest particle cannon can also fire in rapid succession due to its terrifying generator output.

Its cockpit has also been moved to the head, which is the largest head among fourth-generation MS. The huge three antennas are designed for the use of the Psycommu system, which is related to the two unique weapons on the rear of the machine - the [Mother and Daughter] floating cone cannons.

The two floating cones contain engines and boosters, enabling them to deliver sustained, high-intensity, long-distance, wide-range, and weakly patterned beam strikes.

The main attack method is to first separate the [mother] floating cone from the main body, which can reach the target's location and range faster than ordinary floating cannons. Then, using the mother body as a relay point, the [daughter] floating cannons are separated again to spread to a more outer perimeter, thus forming a fire network covering a distance of more than 40 kilometers.

After this machine was equipped to members of the Newtype forces, they all gave it high praise—but Commander-in-Chief Char Aznable thought its mobility was too poor after his first piloting of it.

—The increased weight caused by the generator with its increased firepower makes the number of nozzles insufficient for such a large volume.

The large number of cannons required flexible use, and the uneven distribution of energy consumption further worsened the machine's mobility.

Therefore, to meet Char Aznable's actual combat requirements, his dedicated Gaymark had its firepower and generators reduced from 14 to 10, trading the reduced weight for a higher thrust-to-weight ratio and greater maneuverability.

After piloting the modified special machine, the commander-in-chief finally gave it an excellent rating.

After Char boarded his mobile suit, he flew towards the area with the most enemies, the area where the front-line troops were engaged in a fierce battle.

The battle zone is a port. Because the Federation sent a sufficient number of MS units to fill the gap, the Zeon forces had to send in MS units as well for a brutal fight.

The MS force was actually composed of GM IIs—a type of mobile suit based on a low-cost machine whose main attack method was a beam rifle… There were many of them, but that was all; a considerable number of the pilots were novices and rookies, and they might have been brought in by maintenance crews to make up the numbers.

The Zeon army's Draison mass-produced model was portrayed as a war god capable of taking on several opponents single-handedly.

"Does the Federation have no more troops available?"

Char couldn't help but sigh. With a thought, the two [Mother] floating cone cannons on Gemmark's back began to detach and fire, flying towards the area with the densest enemy forces. After reaching the combat airspace, a total of 28 [Subs] were launched from them, bringing the total number of floating cannons to 56 to fly towards the enemy.

With the help of a three-antenna brainwave radar, Char simultaneously locked onto more than 28 targets, ensuring that each mobile suit could be assigned two [sub] funnels.

"Go!"

[Sub] The funnels began to approach the Federation's MS cluster. In just 3 seconds, the beam firepower of the funnels filled the battlefield, destroying 30 Federation MS. Char's attack was not over yet. He retrieved the funnels and charged towards the enemy camp. Seeing this, the Federation's MS forces rushed forward, including some who drew their beam sabers and wanted to engage in close combat.

This was exactly what Char wanted.

The Gaimak's ten mega particle cannons exploded in the center of the enemy ranks. As it moved, the mega particle beam cannons on it continued to fire. The GM II in front of it was like being mowed down by a mowing machine. The ten mega particle beams could guarantee a one-hit kill within a range of 5 kilometers.

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief Xia!"

"Follow the Commander-in-Chief and charge forward to retake Solomon!"

Seeing their commander-in-chief personally taking to the battlefield, the morale of the Zeon troops behind them soared.

The landing craft cleared the way and completed the landing. Seeing that the battle was over, Char didn't linger and headed towards the next, more difficult landing zone.

"The Newtype forces didn't even go? They'd rather go themselves than send their strongest fighters... Char will keep some trump cards up his sleeve."

While remaining hidden, Karma, piloting Cupid, followed the area where Char's red mobile suit was located.

In his view, the battle had reached the cleanup phase. He had just returned from Blue Noah—that area was basically under the control of the Lunar Army, while Solomon had been completely handed over to the Zeon Army… This also reflected the division of spoils between the two sides.

The federal hawks are finished.

Wouldn't we have come all this way for nothing?

Just as Kalma was thinking this, a notification appeared on Cupid's screen: "[High-energy brainwave signal detected. Please ensure that the relevant Psycommu devices are turned off.]"

An extremely powerful invisible shockwave emanated from Solomon and Blue Noah, radiating outwards.

The moment Karma was hit by this wave, even though the Cupid cockpit was specially coated with a brainwave-absorbing material, she felt a headache and saw some disgusting images.

When he turned his attention back to the battlefield, he found that both Federation and Zeon combat forces, after being swept by the shockwave, seemed to have had their souls stolen instantly, maintaining the inertia they had before the impact.

Karma quickly turned his gaze toward Char, his mobile suit continuing to fly forward.

It feels like someone driving at high speed loses consciousness while the car continues to speed away.

Karma piloted Cupid and chased after the other party, grabbing him and getting close enough to make contact... Communication was established, but Char remained silent.

Why is there no response?

Chapter 305 Mind-Blowing Weapons and Missile Rain

Alice quickly checked what maneuver was needed to get Char's foot off the accelerator.

Cupid then carried Gemmark through a rapid roll, and Gemmark's thrust disappeared in a short time.

After Alice continued to decelerate the machine, Garma found the button to open the Geyser Mark's cockpit from the outside—thanks to her familiarity with Zeon-type machines, this was not difficult.

After entering the cockpit, Karma was able to confirm the situation of her childhood friend.

Wearing a yellow pilot's suit, Char's pupils dilated, and he stared blankly ahead.

After a quick scan with the equipment, the situation doesn't seem very optimistic... It seems like it will need to be taken back to specialized medical equipment for treatment.

Karma had no choice but to take his machine back to the Marso.

The federal hawks have likely employed a soft-kill MAP weapon.

The distance between the Maso and the fleet was far enough that the impact was relatively small. After landing in the hangar, Kalma saw Banagher, Macho, and Niaan resting on stretchers under the care of medical personnel, their faces pale.

"How's the analysis going?" Karma asked Alice.

"Big brother, do you remember that Dr. Murasame once developed a weapon that could interfere with mental processes? This is an enlarged version of that little gadget. Any human will be affected by this thing, causing mental breakdown. New humans will be even more affected because their brainwave receivers are highly developed."

Is it possible to fire again in a short period of time?

"Have."

"She's got a bit of a supermodel vibe."

"However, this thing doesn't distinguish between friend and foe. Cupid's brainwave protection is already the best. If you want to completely protect yourself within the killing range of this weapon, the cost would be unimaginably high. But if one side is a force composed entirely of AI, then this effect can be avoided."

Alice was suggesting that Karma could use the unmanned MS units in the experiment to launch an attack, but he didn't want to use them here... These were meant to be used against the New Federation, and it wasn't wise to reveal his trump card too early.

Well, let those doves help clear the way first. They've been watching for long enough, haven't they?

.

“It’s a weapon that can’t distinguish friend from foe.” Collini forced back the nausea in his head and looked at Djamitov, who looked pale beside him.

Although those within the center of the [Mind Shock Weapon]'s effect are least affected, they are not immune to all damage.

The aftereffects of the Soul Impact System made it seem difficult for him to concentrate.

“Admiral, we have no other choice at this point,” Jamitov said. “I have ordered the 20 warships in the protected area and the remaining MS forces to prepare for attack.”

"Then let's do it this way. Right now, we're the only active unit on the battlefield."