Great, we're doomed now!

"—!"

The time may be two or three seconds, but for both Ye Shou and M·A, it feels like dozens of times slower than the actual time.

Even the movements of [Bayeri] and [Michael] inexplicably froze, and the surrounding drones even began to malfunction.

At this moment, Ye Shou's thoughts seemed to detach from his body and enter the world of Gundam, but it also seemed that even this steel body could not bind him, and he eventually entered the vast universe.

He was not alone.

A strange, platinum-colored object also floats in this vast universe.

Its main body is a constantly changing regular geometric shape, with free-floating energy around it like wings. Hazy and dreamlike aurora waves spread out from above its head, and scattered points of light can be vaguely seen in this space. When the aurora flashes, they also "blink" in response.

Ye Shou looked around and discovered that there were also quite a few golden specks of light hidden among the stars, and faint, wispy threads extending from the depths of the void, gathering around him... He was inexplicably curious about his current appearance.

Although there was no evidence, Ye Shou knew that the other party was "looking" in his direction, and he returned the gaze.

Neither side spoke, as if it were just a chance encounter. Only Michael's increasingly frequent transformations and the inexplicable glint in Ye Shou's eyes hinted that "their" hearts were not so cold.

Ye Shou didn't know what he was encountering. Before this, he only thought that M·A was an evolved artificial intelligence that had developed independent consciousness, but it was still far from a complete personality.

The evidence is that when the maid separated the living spirit from it, she did not sense the existence of a "soul".

But perhaps he underestimated his opponent...

M·A is an entity capable of autonomous evolution. Judging from the appearance of the humanoid machine and [Michael], when facing the Gundam army led by Ye Shou, it was impossible to analyze it using any existing data model because of the unconventional combat capabilities of the "Mazinger".

Therefore, it was necessary to develop a new model specifically for this purpose, especially using Ye Shou as a reference, and then create [Michael].

While striving to imitate and surpass Ye Shou, it developed new technologies to achieve its goal, instilled new combat logic into the mechs, and much more...

It probably couldn't understand the necessity of these operations itself, but imitating them actually promoted its iteration!

Strictly speaking, it was the massive M·A community that collectively created a sense of community when uploading data!

If it were allowed to continue developing, a true soul might be born... But how could Ye Shou allow such a thing to happen?

—Hmm!

In reality, Ye Shou's eyes narrowed as he realized that he had been lost in thought at a crucial moment. He was shocked and cold sweat immediately broke out on his back.

Fortunately, Michael was in the same situation, and seemingly even more serious. Ye Shou, who woke up a second earlier, saw the other raise his head and see red light shining from his eyes. Without thinking, he grabbed his longsword and slashed down fiercely.

Clang!

Michael tried to dodge by turning to the side, but a sword cut into his chest armor from his shoulder. However, he immediately retaliated after waking up, stabbing his crimson longsword towards the cockpit!

Bang!

The two machines separated again, and at the same time, the third wave of Gangnail storm was coming. Ye Shou was not afraid of danger and mobilized the Black Chain Tail Blade to protect himself completely. In a series of steel collisions, the damaged cockpit door was hit repeatedly.

Then, as if giving up, the hatch was automatically ejected.

Won?

Michael was puzzled. Judging from the past battles recorded in the regular database, this situation could basically be considered a victory.

But where does this "unease" come from?

"!"

A figure appeared outside the cockpit, wearing strange power armor, wielding a greatsword that appeared out of nowhere, and slashed down a drone that had gotten too close!

That was a greatsword reforged from Hasmon's tail blade, with a size and mass that humans could not handle, but when swung so quickly, the force generated was even enough to break through Bruman's armor!

Despite the lightweight modifications made to the drone's armor for improved mobility, it's still a true M·A...

This unbelievable scene has even put the killing AI in a logical contradiction.

After Ye Shou finished doing this, he looked up and exchanged a glance with Michael.

　It was stunned.

No kidding, I was genuinely stunned, just like when a computer freezes.

From the time of the Calamity Wars—no, from the time the computer was invented—there is absolutely no such special example in the vast and complex database!

Ye Shou leaped forward, charging from the demon god to the angel. At the same time, [Bayeli], unmanned, also began to move, performing the exact same action as him—

"cut"!

—Two heavy swords, one large and one small, fell down. The crimson double blades blocked the chief demon god, but the human longsword was unstoppable and pierced directly into Michael's forehead!

[Analysis: Material is Gundam alloy... Error, error, analysis unavailable...]

[Defense vulnerability detected... Data uploaded]

At this moment, M·A's independent consciousness discovered something:

It considers humanity as its hypothetical enemy, and all its weapons exist to slaughter humans.

But none of its machines, not even the smallest Blueman, had any contingency plans against human attacks with melee weapons!

[Upload...analysis...will definitely be usable next time...on this machine...]

Bang!

The golden sword fell a second time, and a steel human head flew out of the vacuum.

Chapter 191: Do You Dare to Disobey [Bayeri]?! (6.5K)

"Did we win?"

In a space filled with floating steel debris, the human warriors looked around blankly until there were no more enemy radar signals.

What came into view were two satellites that were almost completely destroyed, and a fleet that had lost a third of its main force. Not to mention the various types of mobile suits, more than 700 were deployed when they set out, but now only 300 were still in relatively good condition. Even if you include those that were withdrawn from the battlefield due to severe damage, there would not be more than 500.

The observers on the flagship were rapidly tallying the casualties, and the answer they received brought tears to his eyes.

The Demon Legion suffered particularly heavy losses; more than half of the Gundam's sturdy frame was destroyed in this battle!

The reason is that they actively confronted M·A's hidden trump card and entered a life-or-death meat grinder!

But the fruitful results did not disappoint the sacrifices of these heroes. The humanoid M·A was almost completely annihilated, the enemy's capital ship "O" was sunk, and more than three-quarters of the various large mobile suits were lost. Only a small number of them withdrew from the battlefield and entered the Martian atmosphere, and then many of them were shot down by the land-based electromagnetic cannon... The rest had lost the ability to organize large-scale battles.

Their forces are unable to occupy mining areas and industrial cities, thus losing the ability to generate new blood. Under the persistent encirclement and suppression by humans, they will inevitably be wiped out.

"Does this mean... the war is about to end?"

The soldiers were in a daze. This exciting moment had arrived, but no one cheered. The heavy price had numbed their emotions, and their souls may have been left on this battlefield forever.

However, when this message was transmitted to Mars via radio waves and then relayed to Earth, about half an hour later, all of human civilization, all cities, settlements, and tribes, regardless of their faction, even cults that believed in mechanical gods, began to cheer and weep, celebrating the end of the "Apocalyptic" era.

A new era has begun. For the next hundreds or even thousands of years, people will use today as a dividing line to divide history into two parts!

Of course, the soldiers were unaware of the great feat they had just accomplished. At that moment, they felt no glory, but were immersed in grief, quietly watching over the bodies that had been collected.

Apart from those that were completely destroyed, the fleet tried to collect all the bodies they could find, even though most of them would be burned in the explosion. Only the aircraft serial numbers and smart chips could identify their original identities. Most of these bodies were placed in sealed recovery pods so that their comrades or relatives would not see what they looked like now.

The survivors, piloting mobile suits, spontaneously lined up to allow the search and rescue personnel escorting the bodies to pass through the middle, silently watching their former comrades depart one by one.

The last to be transported were the Gundam pilots, who were all taken into the flagship's hangar. Some of them were already sobbing on the communication channel.

Although they had already heard too much bad news, when a certain announcement spread throughout the army, it still shook everyone to their core. Some were so grief-stricken that they lost their composure, while others were overwhelmed with fear.

Kuze Yoshimori, the chief pilot of the Gundam Legion and commander-in-chief of the Earthfire Alliance, has been killed in action.

-

Later, when those who experienced it firsthand wrote their memoirs, they used a very peculiar metaphor:

When Kuzeha Mori's coffin (recovery capsule) was transported back to the flagship by Agnica and Birdwin, everyone was undoubtedly saddened, but there was also a strange fear and unease. No one knew what to do next.

This man left a deep mark on the Legion. Human elites from all over the world were united to fight side by side under the same banner, and the belief they relied on was proposed by him and implanted into everyone's consensus.

After defeating M·A, he suddenly disappeared, like a captain who led his crew out of a storm and vanished. Everyone looked at the uncontrolled rudder and the vast ocean, completely unaware of where this great ship would sail...

"Is it confirmed?"

"Without a doubt, a large number of witnesses saw his cockpit being hit by the enemy leader's machine. Although the video is incomplete due to radio interference, our Gundam pilots have personally confirmed this."

On the high platform of the hangar, two men dressed in clerical uniforms looked at the recovery pod surrounded by people in silent mourning, and then at the many pods arranged in an orderly fashion in the deeper part. Despite having a mission, they were also affected by the atmosphere and showed regret.

Despite their differing stances, they deeply identify with and support the Gundam Legion on a spiritual level, and hold the newly emerged [Bayeri] and its pilot in high esteem.

Even if there are differences on a political level, those people are ultimately heroes of all mankind.

"Judging from the restored video, the enemy was defeated by a mutually destructive tactic. The cockpit had already been destroyed, and it was impossible for the person inside to be unharmed in that state. If the life support system failed, the overload of the machine alone would have killed him."

It was probably by utilizing the [Alaya-vijnana] system that it was able to control its machine even in its dying moments, persisting until all humanoid M·A units were annihilated… It's a pity it didn't get to see humanity's future.

"Now that the 'Legion Master' has already... how will Earth react?"

"No major power would agree to have a superior military force above them. This might be tolerable during wartime, but when it comes to planning the post-war landscape, nobody likes being told what to do."

Especially...the problem of Mars.

"Is Mars after M·A? That's really..."

"I don't agree in principle either, but what do Martians think? They certainly don't want to continue being governed by Earth's long arm."

Unfortunately, Earth will not allow Mars to become independent. Even if an agreement could be reached on mineral resources, it would definitely sow the seeds of future problems—what if Mars becomes more powerful than Earth in the future?

"I understand, there are many similar examples in history..."

“We just need to relay the intelligence back.” The older man sighed slightly. “But now, as members of the fleet, we should pay tribute to these heroes.”

The two men took off their hats, bowed their heads, closed their eyes, and mourned in silence for a long time.

Just as they were about to leave, a commotion suddenly arose below:

"What are you saying! Of course we must escort the lord's remains back to Sydney; this is the shared wish of everyone in the legion!"

"Really? You know the Lord's wishes before his death. Bringing the Legion back to Earth now would only conflict with his ideals. His body should remain on Mars for now, and we should return to Sydney after everything has settled down!"

"In the end, it's not even certain whether the adult was born on Earth. He also said that Mars has a very special meaning to him."

What do you mean?

"The funeral of the adults, the future of the legion—these are not matters for you to decide, whether it be in Agnica, with Lady Lucy, or with the original twelve apostles!"

"You two calm down!"

Volker stepped forward, pulled the arguing group apart, and shouted in a loud voice, "This is before Lord Kuze's spirit tablet, how can you be so disrespectful!"

"I... I just want to follow the adults' wishes and let the legion stay on Mars."

"Gundam isn't a machine developed on Mars!"