After leaving the center of the small town battlefield, Reid was somewhat surprised that Norris Packard hadn't pursued him. However, the sudden intensification of gunfire from behind suggested that Norris Packard had likely clashed with the three members of the 08th MS Team, just as in the original story.
This suited Reid's intentions. In fact, if not for the presence of the Apsalus III—an MA that exceeded standard specifications—Shiro Amada's Ez8 Gundam and Norris Packard's B3 Type Gouf should have been the protagonist units that offered additional Merit Points.
Under normal circumstances, Reid wouldn't have allowed them to fight each other, lest he lose those valuable Merit Points. But now, with all the Merit Points concentrated on the Apsalus III alone, the Ez8 Gundam and B3 Type Gouf were only worth some G-Coins. Reid figured that if they were lost, so be it. Besides, the likelihood of both sides annihilating each other was minimal. The outcome would probably mirror the original story, ending with the B3 Type Gouf being shot down.
After all, Reid had already disabled the B3 Type Gouf's ranged weapons. If Shiro Amada still managed to screw up worse than in the original, Reid would have to conclude that this so-called protagonist was utterly incompetent.
However, when Reid returned to the battlefield after destroying the last Guntank and two Ground Combat Mass Production GMs that had converged on him, he was met with a jaw-dropping scene.
Both sides on the battlefield had fought to the brink of exhaustion. The two remaining Ground Combat Type Zaku IIs that had been present when Reid left had already been destroyed. Of the 08th MS Team's two ground combat type Gundams, the one with the Gundam head had lost its right arm. A massive gash ran across its waist, likely nearly slicing into the cockpit. Now, it was using its left arm to prop up a 180mm Cannon on the shoulder of the other Gundam.
As for the other ground combat type Gundam—which in the original story had temporarily been fitted with a GM head—it had now lost that GM head again. Without its primary sensors, the Gundam had no long-range targeting capability. Opening the cockpit to aim would be tantamount to suicide. At this point, it could only serve as a makeshift gun mount or help carry supplies.
Meanwhile, the Ez8 Gundam and the B3 Type Gouf had moved their battle to another street. Reid could see them locked in close-quarters combat, with the B3 Type Gouf—now reduced to a one-armed state—relentlessly pursuing the Ez8 Gundam with its remaining arm. Though the Ez8 Gundam was largely unharmed, it was forced into a defensive stance, dodging frantically. Strangely, despite having a machine gun, it wasn't firing, as if pushed to the edge of defeat.
Reid vaguely recalled that this situation likely meant the Ez8 had run out of machine gun ammo. But what baffled him was how the B3 Type Gouf—already stripped of its ranged weapons—had managed to push both ground combat type Gundams and the Ez8 Gundam into such dire straits.
Still, curiosity had no place on the battlefield. The true path to victory was to strike while the enemy was vulnerable. Without hesitation, Reid charged through a gap in the buildings and launched an assault on the two battered ground combat type Gundams.
However, thanks to Eledore Massis' presence, Reid's approach was detected, making this ambush far less successful than he had hoped.
The moment the NT-1 appeared, the headless ground combat type Gundam raised its 100mm Machine Gun and unleashed a barrage at Reid. Its cockpit was already open, revealing the tomboyish pilot Karen Joshua, who had clearly been aiming for a while. It was likely that Eledore Massis had predicted Reid's possible position.
Simultaneously, another ground combat type Gundam turned its 180mm Cannon toward Reid.
However, this had little effect on Reid. The 100mm Machine Gun of the ground combat type Gundam wasn't much stronger than a Zaku's pea shooter. With the Luna Titanium Alloy armor of a Gundam's specifications, it could practically shrug off such weapons—Amuro had demonstrated this many times with the RX-78-2.
And now, Reid was charging forward with a Shield modified from Chobham Armor. This machine gun couldn't even scratch the surface—it was pure equipment superiority.
Watching this, Karen Joshua could only let out a frustrated roar. Unfortunately, roaring wouldn't actually buff her mobile suit. If the machine gun couldn't deal damage, it just couldn't. Moreover, the NT-1 Gundam's charge was faster than they had anticipated.
The other ground combat type Gundam only had one arm left, so its weapon turned slowly. Before it could fully aim, the NT-1 Gundam was already upon them.
Without hesitation, Reid drew his Beam Saber and reduced the one-armed ground combat type Gundam to a limbless wreck. Then, he pointed the Beam Saber at Karen Joshua, who was still trying to draw her own weapon, and broadcasted:
"A woman? Fine. Jump out of your Gundam now, take your comrades, and retreat. You'll live."
Reid did this partly to salvage at least one ground combat type Gundam—Karen Joshua's headless unit was perfect. As for Terry Sanders Jr.'s machine, disarming it would likely push its damage rate past 70%.
Moreover, Reid chose to disable rather than destroy the mobile suits because he didn't want Karen Joshua to go berserk upon seeing her squadmates die. Without their machines, these two posed no threat. The "woman" remark was just an excuse.
Sure enough, though Karen Joshua was furious at Reid's condescension, the thought of Terry Sanders Jr., Eledore Massis, and Michel Ninorich—who were in the nearby support vehicle—likely dying if she acted recklessly kept her in check. Their squad leader wouldn't be able to reinforce them in time.
So Karen Joshua obediently jumped out of her machine, and Reid kept his word, sparing the rest. He merely used his Gundam to snap off the support vehicle's communication antenna, cutting off Eledore Massis's surveillance, then ordered the system to recover the headless ground combat type Gundam.
This surreal scene once again shattered the onlookers' worldviews. Even if they spoke of it later, they'd likely be dismissed as cowards who had lost their nerve on the battlefield—no one would believe them.
As for Reid, he paid them no further mind. Instead, he piloted the NT-1 Gundam in a single leap toward the battlefield where the Ez8 Gundam and B3 Type Gouf were engaged. It was time to reap the harvest.
At that moment, over on the battlefield, the B3 Type Gouf achieved a phased victory just like in the original story. The Ez8 Gundam's left arm was disabled, and the entire machine was paralyzed after being electrocuted by the Heat Rod. Norris Packard manipulated the Gouf to lift the Ez8 Gundam by its head with one hand, intending to use it as leverage to threaten the two ground combat type Gundams that hadn't completely lost their combat capabilities yet.
However, Reid couldn't care less about the Ez8 Gundam's current state—his priority was taking down the B3 Type Gouf first.
Without hesitation, Reid immediately drew his Beam Rifle and fired a shot straight at the B3 Type Gouf's cockpit without a second thought.
Though caught off guard, Norris Packard's reflexes were quick. The moment the lock-on alarm sounded, he didn't even bother identifying the attacker—he simply hurled the Federation Gundam in his grasp toward the direction of the incoming attack.
Thus, the already paralyzed Ez8 Gundam was obliterated by Reid's beam shot. Inside it, Shiro Amada—one of the rare Gundam protagonists who originally had a girlfriend, a home, and a relatively peaceful ending—was now dead beyond any doubt, likely without even leaving a complete corpse behind.
Yet Reid felt no emotional fluctuation over this. Now that he had secured the ground combat type Gundams, there was no reason for him to hold back against the Ez8 Gundam. After all, this machine was just a temporary modification of the ground combat type Gundam. While its performance had improved, it lacked any proprietary technology.
So, without pause, Reid fired another shot through the flames of the Ez8 Gundam's explosion, predicting the B3 Type Gouf's landing spot. However, Norris Packard got lucky—Reid's prediction missed, and the beam only grazed the Gouf's leg before flying wide.
But this only bought Norris Packard a few extra seconds. The moment he saw the NT-1 Gundam appear, he abandoned any hope of surviving the day.
Firing a red flare skyward from behind him, signaling that he wouldn't be returning, he then roared over open comms, "Die, Federation Gundam!!" and charged at the NT-1 Gundam with his Heat Sword in a final, desperate assault.
Truth be told, Norris Packard cut a rather tragic figure at this moment. Yet Reid remained utterly unmoved, simply continuing to fire at the Gouf's cockpit.
To Reid's surprise, Norris Packard repeated his earlier trick. After several exchanges, he had already figured out Reid's preference for targeting the cockpit. Anticipating the shot, he threw his Heat Sword to intercept and detonate the incoming beam.
Then, ignoring the damage and shockwaves from the close-range explosion, he forced his way right in front of the NT-1 Gundam.
It all happened in an instant—exploiting the firing interval of the Beam Rifle, leaving Reid no time to follow up with another shot.
Left with no choice, Reid maneuvered his machine to raise its Shield in front while executing a massive backward leap.
But Norris Packard was now fighting with complete disregard for his life. The Gouf's right wrist shot out its Heat Rod, latching onto the NT-1 Gundam's Shield. Instead of delivering an electric shock, he used it to yank his machine toward the Gundam.
Seeing his opponent so desperate to close the distance, Reid immediately sensed danger. Without hesitation, he jettisoned the Shield and had his machine lie flat on its back, firing all thrusters to retreat.
As it turned out, Reid's judgment was correct—the moment the B3 Type Gouf collided with the discarded Shield, it self-destructed.
It's important to know that the B3 Type Gouf uses Minovsky Ultracompact Fusion Reactors. When destroyed, the explosions are primarily caused by ammunition and hydraulic oil detonations, which are completely different in magnitude from a controlled self-destruction initiated by the mobile suit.
While not equivalent to a tactical nuclear explosion, the blast was comparable in power to a large fuel-air bomb.
Fortunately, Reid had retreated quickly enough and had a Shield to block the direct impact. The self-destruction only sent a shockwave his way. Having learned from past mistakes, Reid's NT-1 Gundam had excellent EMP shielding, so the residual effects didn't damage it at all—though the Shield was completely destroyed.
(End of Chapter)