At 3 a.m., after several hours of rest, Reid and Kira, the two main combatants, had adjusted their spirits to peak condition.
Thus, the two began their operation as planned.
Reid first piloted the Gundam Eclipse with the Mirage Colloid System activated to conduct a high-altitude survey of the terrain around the Dominion's docking location, scouting for a suitable sniper position.
Although sniping directly from high altitude while cloaked was possible, the excessive distance and Earth's atmospheric diffusion effects on beams made it difficult to guarantee a one-shot hit on the bridge from extreme altitudes.
After all, most ultra-long-range beam rifles in the Gundam Universe designed for ground-to-space combat required matching specialized generators and unique beam condensing barrels. Only through their combined effect could beam cohesion be enhanced enough to resist atmospheric interference.
Clearly, the Gundam Eclipse lacked this power generation system. Firing the beam sniper rifle from seven or eight thousand meters up meant even minor airflow variations would cause misses.
As for lowering the altitude - while the Gundam Eclipse's heat signature with the Mirage Colloid activated was lower than ordinary Mobile Suits, approaching within two or three kilometers of the Dominion would definitely trigger its thermal radar.
Even small transport planes without any heat masking would be detected from five or six kilometers away.
It was worth noting that Reid had possessed the Dominion for some time previously. Casual performance tests had revealed that while its armaments and appearance matched the Archangel's, its electronic components were actually more advanced.
This resulted in the Dominion having superior detection range compared to the Archangel.
Therefore, the most suitable sniper position remained on the ground, where the Gundam Eclipse could approach the Dominion on foot.
However, Reid remained cautious while approaching the Dominion's camp. This was the Amazon Rainforest - concealment conditions applied equally to both sides.
If the Atlantic Federation had laid contact traps in the surrounding woodland, the Gundam Eclipse would still have collision volume even while cloaked. Triggering traps would easily alert the enemy.
Thus Reid adopted a crude method to test for traps - herding ground animals through the area to trigger them.
Reid's luck held as he quickly found several wild boars nearby.
Using the Lambda Driver, he lifted and transported them to within three kilometers of the Dominion camp, then drove the boars inward.
As expected, the Atlantic Federation base alarms sounded shortly after. Through his cameras, Reid identified the Atlantic Federation's trap.
It was an electrified wire mesh laid across the rainforest floor - apparently a weight-triggered electric net trap.
The weight trigger prevented frequent false alarms from small animals resting on it, while any contact by humans or Mobile Suits would immediately activate it.
The subsequent Atlantic Federation squad that arrived chuckled upon discovering the triggered trap contained only two wild boars, joking about adding meat to tomorrow's menu. After laying traps for so long, they'd finally caught edible prey.
Since the Atlantic Federation assumed the boars had accidentally triggered the trap, they naturally deactivated the alarms and returned to their routines.
Reid had likely deduced that the Atlantic Federation must have laid numerous traps like this in the rainforest surrounding the Dominion's docking area. It seemed the current commander of the Dominion was an experienced military veteran.
At this realization, Reid instantly sensed trouble. While he knew to watch for traps, Kira did not.
When choosing an ambush spot on high ground, Kira would inevitably pick a location with a direct line of sight to the Atlantic Federation's docking zone.
Since the current Archangel commander had the foresight to deploy traps three kilometers out, they would certainly have trapped all obvious observation and sniper positions around the area.
Sure enough, before Reid could warn Kira about the traps, alarms blared again from the Atlantic Federation camp.
This time, the Dominion directly activated its engines, turned toward Kira's hiding position, and deployed three Mobile Suits: the Propulsion Seize Gundam, Stolen Gundam, and Gundam Calamity. Clearly, Kira's position had been compromised.
Yet misfortune might be a blessing in disguise. Kira's exposure created a perfect opportunity for Reid to strike.
As the Dominion lifted off, it completely exposed its stern to Reid.
Without hesitation, Reid deactivated the Gundam Eclipse's stealth system and charged toward the Dominion's rear. Both Magellan Shoulder Cannons roared to life, unleashing hell upon the warship.
The Magellan's destructive power was terrifying. The Dominion's stern was instantly shredded, its thrusters erupting in a massive explosion. The newly launched ship plummeted straight down.
Reid, never one to show mercy upon gaining advantage, immediately pursued the falling Dominion. At close range, he fired another Magellan Shoulder Cannon shot directly into the bridge.
Half the Dominion's bridge instantly melted away. No one inside could have survived.
And as was tradition in the Gundam Universe, the bridge explosion triggered a chain reaction throughout the entire vessel. The Dominion, whose destiny Reid had altered to survive the Second Battle of Yakin Due, ultimately met its end in South America - sunk by Reid's own hands.
After completing the task, Reid took a sniper shot at the Propulsion Seize Gundam heading toward Kira's direction.
The attack on the Dominion naturally alerted the three Mobile Suits that were supposed to attack Kira.
Thus, Olga Sabnak - who had undergone Secondary Enhancement - effortlessly manipulated the Propulsion Seize Gundam's Energy Deflection Device to distort and refract the beam, blocking Reid's shot.
However, the Secondary Enhancement also made Olga Sabnak extremely irritable and prone to rage-induced recklessness.
After being attacked by the Gundam Eclipse, Olga Sabnak immediately roared "Seeking death!" without a second thought, turning his Mobile Suit to charge at the Gundam Eclipse.
Meanwhile, the Stolen Gundam and Gundam Calamity pilots were momentarily stunned. Though also Enhanced Persons, their enhancement levels were relatively low, leaving them clear-headed. Faced with their mothership's destruction, they hesitated briefly.
Their hesitation didn't last long, as they noticed the unknown Mobile Suit was incredibly fast, soon drawing the Propulsion Seize Gundam out of visual range.
The choice then became simple. Rather than chasing after a completely unknown machine, both Emilio Broderick and Dana Snipe decided the MBF-P04 Gundam Green Astray with its hideous backpack would be much easier to handle.
After all, the MBF-P04 Gundam Green Astray primarily uses projectile weapons. While its firepower is quite formidable, it has limited effectiveness against Mobile Suits equipped with VPS Armor.
As for that unknown Mobile Suit, just look at the Dominion's bridge - the power of its Beam Cannon rivals that of a warship's main gun. A single graze would mean certain death.
Moreover, Olga Sabnak was simply too insane. These two junior Enhanced Persons really didn't want to team up with him in combat, because when this guy got excited, he genuinely didn't care about his allies. Who could tolerate accidentally getting caught in friendly fire?
Therefore, the Stolen Gundam and Gundam Calamity formed a riding formation and continued heading toward Kira's hiding spot, planning to pick on this easier target.
Setting aside the battle between the Green Astray versus the Stolen Gundam and Gundam Calamity for now - although Kira's Mobile Suit was garbage, his piloting skills far surpassed both of theirs. Even if he couldn't win, he could definitely hold out for some time.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Reid, who had already transformed his Mobile Suit into MA Mode for flight, noticed that the Propulsion Seize Gundam's MA Mode could actually keep up with him. Had the Atlantic Federation achieved some technological breakthrough? How could a Mobile Suit loaded with so many weapons, with aerodynamics seemingly thrown into the garbage dump, fly this fast?
It was important to understand that the Gundam Eclipse could fly this fast primarily because the AC Gundanium Alloy was sufficiently lightweight, and secondly because the Lambda Driver could directly form a Fluid Shroud to reduce air resistance.
Reid possessed complete data on the Atlantic Federation's three second-generation G Weapons. Unless the Atlantic Federation was using nothing but Foam Metal, this Propulsion Seize Gundam must weigh close to a hundred tons. How could something of this volume achieve Mach 1 speed? Was this guy cheating or something?
However, regardless of whether it was cheating or not, Reid felt he had lured the Propulsion Seize Gundam far enough away. It was time to harvest.
So Reid manipulated his Mobile Suit to instantly transform into MS Mode during high-speed flight, completing a 180-degree turn before firing two Magellan Shoulder Cannons at the Propulsion Seize Gundam.
Olga Sabnak's reaction speed was remarkably fast now. Facing Reid's head-on "ambush," although he couldn't manipulate his Mobile Suit to transform at high speed like Reid could, he knew how to roll.
With a standard fighter jet-style aerial roll, the Propulsion Seize Gundam dodged these two Magellan beam shots.
However, Reid immediately seized the opportunity while the Propulsion Seize Gundam hadn't transformed and was charging toward him, manipulating the Gundam Eclipse to deploy two wrist blades and preparing to engage in close combat.
After all, the Propulsion Seize Gundam in MA Mode could perform tactical maneuvers just like a fighter jet. With Olga Sabnak's secondary enhancement, his reaction speed had approached that of top-tier pilots like Kira and Athrun (without using SEED mode), making him difficult to hit with ranged weapons.
When Olga Sabnak saw the Gundam Eclipse deploy close-combat weapons, he knew his opponent wanted to fight at close range.
At this point, emergency braking and turning around would definitely be too late, and staying in place would make him a sitting duck.
As for charging forward in MA Mode to engage in close combat using the two forward-protruding wrist claws, Olga Sabnak thought to himself - he might be crazy, but he wasn't stupid.
Therefore, Olga Sabnak chose an extremely risky maneuver.
The Propulsion Seize Gundam's thrusters instantly cut out, but the Mobile Suit's equipped 125mm high-energy long-range beam cannon and 100mm "Wrath" energy cannon simultaneously fired at the Gundam Eclipse ahead.
This shot wasn't really intended to hit the Gundam Eclipse, but rather to halt its advance while using the recoil to destabilize the Mobile Suit and cause it to plummet rapidly.
Since Olga Sabnak's mind was now consumed entirely by madness, Reid couldn't anticipate his plan in advance. Though he knew Olga would open fire and had preemptively deployed the Beam Shields on both arms to block three beam attacks, after breaking through the barrage, he saw the Propulsion Seize Gundam spinning downward as if it had been shot down.
Reid was speechless—he hadn't even landed a single actual hit yet. Was the Gundam now pulling a stunt like faking a crash? Or was there a trick?
However, the next second, the Propulsion Seize Gundam slammed heavily into the ground.
Weighing nearly a hundred tons and falling from several thousand meters high, it instantly flattened a large section of the rainforest below and plowed a deep trench.
Thanks to the protection of VPS Armor and the cushioning effect of the trees, the Propulsion Seize Gundam itself didn't sustain major damage. As for the pilot, as long as he could withstand the impact, he still had the ability to fight.
Olga Sabnak clearly endured it—his secondarily enhanced body proved quite resilient. Though the impact made him feel like vomiting blood, having endured various torments regularly, his pain tolerance was exceptionally high.
Moreover, this maneuver—which would have drawn curses from logistics personnel—did make Reid hesitate momentarily, allowing the Propulsion Seize Gundam to successfully complete its transformation on the ground and stand up in MS Mode.
Seeing this, Reid, still unsure what Olga Sabnak was thinking, decided it wouldn't hurt to fire a couple of Magellan shots first.
Of course, these two attacks were again distorted by the Energy Deflection Device, striking the surrounding rainforest and igniting fires on the spot.
But Reid did this intentionally. The motion of the Propulsion Seize Gundam using the Energy Deflection Device was similar to that of the Forbidden Gundam—it needed to raise both arms, positioning the field generators on either side to block the front.
This caused the Mobile Suit's main camera to be briefly affected by the refracted beams, unable to capture the enemy's position directly ahead.
This brief window was Reid's opportunity to attack and strike.
As the Propulsion Seize Gundam raised its arms, Reid maneuvered the Gundam Eclipse to throw two Beam Boomerangs and immediately charged toward the grounded Mobile Suit.
After deflecting the beams, the Propulsion Seize Gundam immediately had to face the Beam Boomerangs.
Olga Sabnak handled these two boomerangs quite well: small Beam Sabers extended from the wrists' claws, and with punching motions, he struck down both boomerangs. The cost was merely the loss of function in the two fixed claws on his left and right wrists, though they could still be used as small wrist blades.
By now, the Gundam Eclipse had closed in successfully, but Olga Sabnak fought with complete disregard for his own life, trading blows with Reid. Ignoring where the Gundam Eclipse attacked him, he thrust both hands directly toward its cockpit.
As the saying goes, "the barefooted fear not the shod." How could Reid possibly trade injuries with the Propulsion Seize Gundam? He had to alter his move, changing his strike aimed at the Propulsion Seize Gundam's arms into a block. Using the Beam Shield to parry the attack, he took the opportunity to push the Propulsion Seize Gundam backward and immediately controlled the Mobile Suit to deliver a spinning kick with its right leg.
Olga Sabnak had no time to ponder why the enemy Mobile Suit could execute a spinning kick with such fluidity on the ground—a maneuver whose difficulty was incomparable to performing it mid-air.
However, the method to counter such an attack remained the same. Olga Sabnak raised his left arm to block, confident that with VPS Armor, a mere physical spinning kick couldn't possibly sever the Mobile Suit's arm.
Yet, it could—because Reid shamelessly activated the Leg Blades mid-kick.
Olga Sabnak had no reason to activate the Energy Deflection Device while blocking a physical attack, so the Mobile Suit's left arm was effortlessly severed by the Beam Foot Blade, which then proceeded to slice off half the head.
With the primary monitor destroyed, the front display screen in Olga Sabnak's cockpit went completely black, leaving him unable to react to Gundam Eclipse's follow-up attacks. In an instant, his Mobile Suit was reduced to a Limbless Suit.
Olga Sabnak himself, after being extracted from the cockpit by Reid—who pried it open and used the Lambda Driver to remove him—was still cursing furiously.
Reid noticed Olga Sabnak's face had turned purple, his eyes bloodshot, and knew that without his medication, he wouldn't last long.
So Reid ended his suffering swiftly, using the Lambda Driver to snap his neck, granting him a painless death.
The corpse was then tossed into the surrounding raging inferno, completely incinerated.
But as Reid surveyed the blazing surroundings, he realized that if he left immediately, there was no telling how long the fire would rage.
True to his principle of cleaning up his own mess, Reid directly exchanged for a massive quantity of water from the system shop and performed the "Great Waterfall Technique" on the spot, dousing all the surrounding flames. Only then did he pick up the cockpit of the Propulsion Seize Gundam and depart.
-Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LegendaryTL
Thanks!