Great, we're doomed now!

They tested the waters by having people meet privately with key members of the Gundam Legion, and surprisingly, they received no warnings or obstruction. Apart from Agunica, the pilots who were contacted also expressed a friendly attitude, and a few even wavered.

This delighted them!

Moreover, the pilots' reactions were also quite normal.

After all, Ye Shou didn't seem to have any intention of becoming the "Great Ruler of Earth." He was a morally upright leader who didn't want to advance, but he couldn't stop his subordinates from pursuing higher goals.

If Zhao Kuangyin hadn't worn the dragon robe, he would most likely have been killed by his subordinates... No one could have killed Ye Shou, but he was destined to be disloyal and alienated.

This is a logical statement that makes perfect sense.

Throughout history, there have been countless examples of this, so the higher-ups catered to their desires, promising pilots preferential treatment that they could never obtain within the legion, and even the qualification to directly enter the core of power.

Once they had recruited a sufficient number of pilots and felt confident in their resources, their ambitions naturally became more active:

Nobody wants Mars to be independent.

In the old days, when Earth's economy exploited Mars, the high-ranking officials and their families were the main force behind it. They relied on this enormous profit to unite those financial magnates and gain their support.

Businesses couldn't continue during the Calamity War, so they had to stop. But what happened after the war ended?

Should we relinquish the benefits of Mars?

The problem is, where can we find equivalent compensation?

—This can be seen in 20th-century history. After World War II, European countries such as Britain and France also tried to maintain the colonial system until they were exhausted.

Even if they really can't control it, they will still plant mines in the colonies in a way that harms others and themselves!

India and Pakistan are the most typical examples.

According to the Earth's leadership, even if Mars were to become independent, the various colonies would have to be made to become disunited and unable to unite, so as to ensure Earth's dominance!

The undercurrents surging within this solar system are perhaps more terrifying than any open war...

Against this backdrop, Ye Shou remained unmoved, seemingly oblivious to the underhanded dealings, and allowed his subordinates to do as they pleased, demanding little more than discipline on the battlefield.

As a result, the Gundam Corps quickly split into several factions, most of which were from Earth and therefore generally sided with the Earth Alliance.

Mars is already starting to worry: with Earth holding such a significant advantage, will it still be willing to form a joint Earth-Mars government after the war...?

They even went to Ye Shou to ask him to say something, but he brushed them off with the excuse that "soldiers don't care about politics," forcing the Martian colony to stick together for warmth.

Ye Shou seems to be only concerned with war. His legion is invincible on the battlefield. In the two latest large-scale battles, he sank the Kabbalah-class battleship "Su" and successfully established an outpost on Deimos. Only Phobos is left to drive M·A out of the way.

At this point, he slowed down and did not eliminate the threat completely.

As everyone knows, this was done by using Phobos as bait, waiting for "O" from Jupiter's orbit to come to the rescue.

"O" is M·A's last super battleship, and it is said to be the most powerful in terms of firepower. If it can be destroyed, M·A's military force will be completely broken, and all that will be left is to continuously besiege and kill the remaining troops.

Ye Shou cannot afford any mistakes in this battle!

-

"Lord Kuze, you should know that the semi-metals that Mars produces are an important resource for the production of warships and mobile suits. If all ownership of the minerals is transferred to Mars... then Earth will be at their mercy."

Inside the reception room, a well-dressed and polite middle-aged man was persuading Ye Shou, who was sitting opposite him.

“That’s true.” Ye Shou nodded in agreement.

"There are many voices on Mars calling for independence, and to be honest, the countries around Earth also support this idea... But who can guarantee that after they become independent, they won't monopolize resources and then exploit Earth's economic sphere?"

The diplomat does not represent any country, but is a senior staff member of the Allied Forces. This time, he did not try to bribe Ye Shou, nor did he deliberately slander Mars. Every word he said was an objective fact.

"Moreover, Mars is not lacking in minerals and industry. Once its military potential is unleashed, it's hard to say whether the Earth Alliance, which lacks warships, can be its match."

Therefore, I sincerely request that, during the post-war review, you objectively assess the relationship between the two sides and not be swayed by either side's opinion.

"Hmm~" Ye Shou nodded in agreement.

"What are your demands?"

“We support Martian independence in principle,” the diplomat said after a moment’s thought, “but we cannot accept being completely expelled from Mars.”

"I believe that two clearly defined groups are bound to clash, so I agree with your point that Earth should indeed share in some of Mars' mineral resources, just as Mars should have a stake in Earth's resources... Is there anything else?"

After seeing the envoy off, the maid closed the door and turned around to see Ye Shou writing something down in a booklet.

“These annoying guys… Lord Ye Shou must find it ridiculous.”

"No, there's nothing to criticize. Dividing the spoils before the war is over is a fine tradition that has existed since ancient times."

Ye Shou shook his head: "And what he said does make sense."

"Isn't what you're doing ultimately aimed at pushing for Mars' independence?"

"Of course, my thoughts haven't changed. It's just... time is a very merciless thing."

Ye Shou laughed: "The Martian colonies, which seem so pitiful now, might turn around and dominate Earth in thirty or forty years—that's why I arranged that path for the legion."

"Can the legion system really last for three hundred years?" Liuli asked doubtfully.

"I can't be sure, but it won't be worse than 'the original'."

Strictly speaking, the main storyline was destined to be different after Ye Shou defeated M·A.

In the original storyline, the war between humanity and M·A was long and painful, and the conflict continued for a long time even after the appearance of Gundam and Gundam.

Although humanity ultimately won the victory, it paid an extremely heavy price, to the point that it set back the entire course of civilization!

For example, the moon, which was quickly captured by Ye Shou, was blown to pieces in the official history, leaving only the eternal crescent moon (Mikazuki) in the night sky, which led to the weapons of the Calamity War being regarded as taboo and sealed away.

The postwar reconstruction of Mars and Earth lasted for one or two hundred years!

Even now, it hasn't fully recovered to its former glory!

In the original work, the Gundam frame could be dug out and used directly. With slight modifications, it could overwhelm the most advanced modern mobile suits. An entire squadron of elite pilots was wiped out by a single ordinary M·A mobile suit. A fleet commander pulled out a Gundam Nail from three hundred years ago as his final weapon...

Many details show that the technical level of "Iron Blood" had deteriorated significantly in the past, and there has been no substantial progress even three hundred years later.

But things are different now. With Ye Shou's strong intervention, victory will be declared in less than a year. Humanity will only suffer minor damage, but will not be reduced to the point of civilizational regression.

So normally, their technology three hundred years from now should far surpass ours!

This is also one of the reasons why Ye Shou works so hard.

There's no shortage of reasons to justify being great, glorious, and righteous, but it's perfectly reasonable to also consider one's own needs.

He obtained the information on the Gundam Alloy and the Yahab Reactor on his very first day here.

However, the technology that is "three hundred years more advanced" can only be planted after the M·A is defeated, waiting to blossom and bear fruit in the future.

Ye Shou seemed to realize something and smiled inexplicably: "I really want to know right now what the future will be like after I change history."

Who knows, it might lead to a completely different worldview, and then who knows how many Fate Coins we'll collect!

-

【O】 was the last Kabbalah-class warship to be built. It was after its creation that M·A began to show signs of going out of control, eventually evolving into a large-scale rebellion that once pushed humanity to the brink of extinction.

Therefore, many people speculate that there may be some kind of "will" on this warship, which has organized decapitation operations in the past... needless to say, they failed.

However, this also alerted M·A, who placed [O] outside the influence of human forces to guard the Jupiter route, which was tantamount to serving as the general reserve force.

Now, this warship, which rarely sets out, has finally led its army to the Martian sphere after the successive falls of its sister ships, confronting the Gundam Legion across the vast expanse of space.

They are not afraid, so they will not run away from the battle. In fact, even the M.A. on Phobos shows no signs of collapse. Their fortifications are even stronger than the satellite itself!

"It's finally starting..."

Sitting on the bridge, Ye Shou gazed at the void on the screen, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.

This time, not only did M·A come out in full force, but the Gundam Corps also brought out its strongest lineup.

Seventy-two Demon Gods, over six hundred mobile suits, and hundreds of various warships—all the capital ships had been refurbished in the Mars Factory; there were absolutely no shoddy replacements!

Even though Ye Shou wasn't sitting on [Bayeri], he could still clearly feel the blessing of the Legion's aura... This had reached the theoretical limit, easily allowing Ye Shou to unleash two hundred percent of his strength!

But at this point, he was not in a hurry to advance, and patiently waited for the fleet to slowly approach Phobos.

As they drew closer, [O] was already visible, and the number of M·A was boundless, seemingly more numerous than the stars!

"Phobos has almost completed one revolution... Let's begin now!"

Chapter 189 Bayeri VS Michael

The legion maintained a strict wedge formation, specifically divided into more than a dozen squads, keeping their distance from each other, with a large number of mobile suits guarding the warships.

Unlike surface warfare, the military formations here are arranged in a three-dimensional form. The warships and hundreds of mobile suits are like pixels of all sizes, forming an enlarged shuttle, which briefly confronts the M·A army in the space outside Phobos.

Beams of light flashed and crisscrossed in the void between the two sides like raindrops. Occasionally, a Bruemann who was advancing was destroyed by a precise shot, exploding into a brief fireball. The overall battle line, however, was like a tide crashing against an invisible dam, temporarily frozen.

The human fleet continued to disperse, but the battle lines remained unmoved, and the armor of the warships gleamed with a cold, hard light under the distant stars.

The MS units, consisting of three MS aircraft per combat unit, relied on the anti-aircraft firepower of the warships, like barnacles clinging to reefs, steadily resisting the waves of probing attacks from the M·A.

This stalemate was not cowardice, but a silent preparation. The legion was like an experienced gladiator, calmly observing every weakness of its opponent as it parried and defended.

—M·A, too, has not yet shown its true fangs.

The time was almost up; unified instructions were transmitted throughout the army via encrypted channels:

"Attention all ships, execute the 'Third' contingency plan. First echelon, retreat slowly and maintain formation integrity."

Moments after the order was given, the entire legion demonstrated a high degree of coordination.

The main engine nozzles of the assault ships and escort ships at the forefront dimmed, their auxiliary propulsion systems ignited intermittently, and they began to drift slowly backward at an almost imperceptible speed. They were not turning back, but rather keeping their thickest bow armor and densest gun barrels pointed at the enemy lines, advancing step by step like a fortress.

The actions of the MS unit were exemplary.

The hexagonal mechs at the forefront of the formation have almost all undergone heavy modifications. They use shields to block sporadic beam attacks while providing cover with precise bursts of fire, all while maintaining perfect synchronization with the retreating speed of the warship, as if they were being pulled along by invisible threads.

This highly efficient teamwork is not solely due to Ye Shou's efforts.

In fact, after so many years of war, the Allied forces have many elite veterans who are outstanding in both personal skills and experience, and some of them are no less than Gundam pilots.

The reason why they suffered losses in the previous confrontation with M·A was largely because these people were used to losing battles. The government agencies, each with their own ulterior motives, also lacked sufficient organization. Without morale and discipline, even the strongest soldiers were lambs to the slaughter on the battlefield.

Ye Shouneng was able to force M.A. to a decisive battle in less than a year. His cheat-like personal ability was one thing, but more importantly, through a few victories, he was able to give these people hope and ignite their ambition, just like the French men awakened by Joan of Arc.

(The fact that the Gundam pilot roster was quickly filled after the first Battle of Sydney, despite the strict recruitment standards, is the best proof of this.)

This can also be said to be the last potential that a race unleashed on the verge of extinction. The saying "Heroes of the world are as numerous as carp crossing a river" is absolutely true!

Agnica and others held him in high esteem, but what they didn't know was that Ye Shou was also amazed by their productivity, scientific and technological capabilities, mobilization ability, and fighting spirit!

The time it takes to build an aircraft carrier in the 21st century is enough for these people to rotate their main aircraft types twice.