After the Paramail First Squad of Arzenal began integrating into life in the New Miserly Kingdom, Reid stopped paying them much attention.
After spending three days and nights with Ange, satisfying the queen's demands, Reid finally returned to Star Palace City to resume his work.
The data analysis for the Epyon Gundam and the MD Virgos had been completed, with all relevant materials uploaded to the still-draped Science Academy. Both Elvira Hill and Tem Ray had already received the data to begin new rounds of research.
Elvira Hill naturally focused on deciphering the Epyon System. While a system capable of indiscriminately reading the emotions of those around it was dangerous, it still held significant research value.
As for Tem Ray, he was more interested in the frame of the Epyon Gundam. According to the parameters, its flexibility surpassed all existing frames in their possession, making it highly worthy of study.
Meanwhile, Reid wasted no time upon returning to Star Palace City, immediately starting production on new mass-produced units and commander-type Mobile Suits.
This request had come from Noin, who felt that the Wing Gundam was currently difficult to coordinate with subordinates. The New Miserly Kingdom couldn't rely on the MD System forever—they needed to cultivate their own elite squad.
Thus, Noin proposed the need for an elite Mobile Suit capable of squad coordination.
For Reid, this wasn't a difficult task. During the development of the Hermes Zero, its scaled-down mass-production variant had already been completed.
Just as Reid had once joked that the initial blueprints of the Hermes Zero resembled the Delta Gundam, this time he planned to directly roll out the Delta Plus—after all, it had originally been developed with mass production in mind. (Fun fact: The Delta Plus was essentially just the UC 0090 Delta Gundam with modified armor and a new color scheme. Though it was deployed in UC 0096, all its technology was from UC 0090, and its performance was slightly worse than the ReZEL from UC 0095.)
Still, Reid made modifications to the Delta Plus. With the Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactor no longer needing to be concealed—since both the Earth Alliance and PLANT were already aware that the New Miserly Kingdom had discovered a new type of particle with radar-jamming capabilities several times stronger than the Neutron Jammer—the reactor, combined with the electric propulsion systems of the Cosmic Era universe, allowed the Delta Plus to completely eliminate its original fuel tanks.
The freed-up space was immediately filled with the newly acquired Electromagnetic Armor support system. The basic armaments remained the same: a Long-Range MEGA Beam Rifle, a Shield with dual grenade launchers, and two Beam Sabers—all of which had ample energy supply.
The cockpit retained the same design, equipped with the Bio-Sensor System from the Zeta Gundam and paired with a Learning Computer.
For a mass-produced unit, this configuration was downright luxurious. Only Reid, backed by the Factory Module, could afford such extravagance.
That said, Reid didn't plan to produce too many Delta Plus units. With so few qualified pilots available, five units would suffice to outfit a single squad.
As for Noin's commander unit, Reid couldn't design anything too flashy due to requirements, so he directly created the Delta Gundam Kai, a sister unit to the Delta Plus from the same era with superior performance.
The main reason for choosing the Delta Gundam Kai was its two additional Prototype Wing Funnels compared to the Delta Plus.
Noin was already a Newtype, and a Newtype without funnels was like eating dumplings without vinegar—Reid always felt something was missing.
Moreover, Reid creatively applied technology from the Circular Magnetic Defense Shield.
However, this wasn't to create an Electromagnetic Pulse Shield. Instead, magnetic shield patches were attached beneath the Wing Funnels as anchors, connecting to the charging backpack.
The resulting electromagnetic field wasn't for defense either—it simply created a powerful electromagnetic field around the Mobile Suit, allowing the Wing Funnels to deploy in atmospheric conditions.
Although their hovering range couldn't exceed ten meters from the unit, this was enough to utilize the Wing Funnels' multi-angle targeting capability.
Of course, Reid equipped Noin's unit with all necessary special functions—the Lambda Driver was mandatory, and he also installed the PX System.
Through technical analysis, Reid had determined that the so-called PX System compatibility actually referred to humans with high Newtype potential.
The PX System was a support system that utilized heightened sensory perception during specific states of tension—essentially a weakened version of the Zero System, mimicking a Newtype's ability to predict enemy attacks.
Thus, the greater one's Newtype potential, the fewer side effects this system would produce.
Admittedly, this system was useless for powerful Newtypes like Reid—the minor mobility improvements it provided came from overclocking the Mobile Suit's engine, offering negligible enhancement.
But for Noin, whose Newtype abilities weren't yet fully developed, the PX System served as excellent support. Moreover, the Newtype Psycommu System acted as a mediator, preventing the PX System from overly straining the pilot's mind.
With this, Reid could consider Noin's unit complete. For the next ten-plus days, he'd leave her to train with the newly formed MS elite squad.
After completing both Delta units, Reid spent the remaining half-month in spectator mode.
This wasn't due to laziness—a mysterious Eastern force had discovered someone trying to encroach on its territory and had erupted in full fury.
August 8th was originally the date when the Atlantic Federation launched Operation Double Eight against the Oceania Union.
Instead, Operation Double Eight became the day when Eurasian Federation and East Asian Republic coalition forces retook the Suez Canal.
By this time, the Eurasian Federation had acquired the Atlantic Federation's Strike Dagger technology and placed massive orders for the East Asian Republic's export-model Celestial Soldiers.
The East Asian Republic primarily handled rear support during this battle, deploying a unit to protect supply lines.
The conflict lasted only a single day before ZAFT's Earth forces abandoned the Suez Canal, completely withdrawing from Africa to hole up in their Gibraltar base.
With Carpentaria Base in Australia gone, the Gibraltar base became ZAFT Earth Forces' final stronghold. To prevent its loss, they had no choice but to defend it at all costs.
Fortunately, the Guerrilla and ZOno still held an advantage at sea, and the Atlantic Federation had not sold the Deep Forbidden to the Eurasian Federation. As a result, the Gibraltar base was successfully defended in subsequent battles.
After the battle at the Suez Canal, the East Asian Republic withdrew. Over the next ten days or so, they unveiled new military assets every few days, causing a global media frenzy.
First, the East Asian Republic had already absorbed the technology of the Altron Gundam and Heavyarms Gundam, developing corresponding new models—the Azure Dragon Gundam (an Altron Gundam equipped with the Mirage Colloid System) and the Black Tortoise Gundam (a fully armored version of the Heavyarms Gundam).
The key point was that while most nations produced Gundams in single digits, the East Asian Republic debuted fifty units each of the Azure Dragon and Black Tortoise Gundams. How many more they had in reserve remained known only to them.
Just as global media began focusing on the two newly unveiled Gundams and speculating about their capabilities, the East Asian Republic revealed the second-generation Celestial Warrior—the Celestial Warrior II.
This Mobile Suit maintained the lightweight design of its predecessor but replaced the backpack-mounted 240mm cannon with a quadruple-barreled 130mm Beam Gatling Cannon. Both arm guards were also equipped with twin-linked 120mm heavy machine guns.
To supplement close-combat capabilities, a Beam Saber was mounted at the waist, while the hands remained free to wield firearms or shields.
This new Celestial Warrior completely outclassed the old model. At this point, the Eurasian Federation finally realized why the East Asian Republic had been so eager to sell them the original Celestial Warriors—even without downgrading some units for export. It turned out they were already upgrading their domestic forces with new models and offloading the old ones.
However, in actual combat, Eurasian Federation soldiers praised the Celestial Warriors as incredibly effective—far superior to the Atlantic Federation's fragile, plastic-toy-like Strike Daggers. Survival rates on the battlefield skyrocketed.
Thus, while the East Asian Republic had essentially sold them outdated equipment, the Eurasian Federation had no real grounds for complaint. After all, the original Celestial Warrior had only been in production for a little over a year. If anyone dared call them "outdated," the East Asian Republic's export officials wouldn't take it lightly.
This time, the East Asian Republic unveiled over three hundred Celestial Warrior II units, clearly targeting PLANT.
By now, Earth's nations and PLANT assumed the East Asian Republic had reached the limit of its military buildup. The sheer scale of these deployments was terrifying—enough to make one think the East Asian Republic was preparing for a global unification war. After all, what foreign observers could see was usually just the tip of the iceberg.
Yet, a few days later, thirty massive warships suddenly emerged from the East Asian Republic's inland regions.
These were the new Kunpeng-class Aerospace Battleships, each over a thousand meters long—unrivaled except by the New Miserly Kingdom's so-called "Cosmic Battleship," the Balkis, which was more of a space fortress.
(These warships were designed specifically for the East Asian Republic by a fellow enthusiast, "S," using AI-generated artwork.)
According to official data, the Kunpeng-class battleships featured two 225cm Gottfried Mk-71 high-energy Beam Cannons concealed beneath armor plating on each side.
Additionally, twenty large missile launchers were positioned at the rear flanks, while a retractable Lohengrin Positron Blaster was mounted atop the bow.
The Mobile Suit launch bays were located at the front of the ship, similar to the design of the Agamemnon-class.
In fact, the entire battleship was clearly a super-upgraded version of the Agamemnon-class.
The moment the citizens of the Atlantic Federation laid eyes on the battleship, they immediately cried out that the East Asian Republic's "copycat eyes" had struck again—using their own designs as blueprints to create something even bigger and more powerful.
These three consecutive blows left the rest of the world stunned, with ZAFT's Earth forces frantically sending warnings back to their homeland.
At this point, the PLANT Supreme Council was equally dumbfounded. The East Asian Republic had always been the most passive among the three Earth Alliance nations when it came to war. Even when they deployed the Celestial Soldiers and Celestial Generals to gain retaliatory capabilities, the East Asian Republic hadn't launched large-scale counterattacks, focusing primarily on defensive operations.
So why were they suddenly becoming so aggressive now, as if they wanted to crush PLANT even more fervently than the Atlantic Federation?
Had Reid known what the PLANT Supreme Council was thinking, he would have laughed at their utter lack of understanding about the East Asian Republic.
Initially, the conflict between the East Asian Republic and PLANT stemmed solely from PLANT tearing up the previously signed supply agreements (official lore states that all three Earth Alliance nations initially had supervisory authority over PLANT and exploited its labor force). That was why they joined the Atlantic Federation and the Eurasian Federation in declaring war on PLANT.
As for why Coordinators were unpopular in the East Asian Republic, it all boiled down to third-generation Coordinators being unable to reproduce. The East Asian Republic adhered to the principle that "of the three unfilial acts, leaving no descendants is the gravest." Pure third-generation Coordinators being unable to bear children was an absolute dealbreaker.
Moreover, many elders suspected that even if these Coordinators intermarried with Naturals in the future, fertility issues would persist. Trying to reason with these elders using science was futile—no one would listen. Coupled with the sensationalism of self-media at the time, this directly led to Coordinators' reputation collapsing in the East Asian Republic.
The few Coordinators who remained in the East Asian Republic today had almost all intermarried with Naturals and had children. As long as reproduction was guaranteed, the East Asian Republic was quite tolerant.
Up to this point, the conflict between the two sides was purely about money, which was why the East Asian Republic acted so passively—mostly just providing funds and supplies, playing the role of a "sugar daddy."
But starting with the April Fools' Day Crisis, the nature of the conflict changed. The food crisis triggered by the Neutron Jammers didn't hit the grain-hoarding East Asian Republic as hard as other nations, but many still died due to its massive population. When you factored in deaths from autonomous vehicle crashes caused by failed wireless networks and hospital patient fatalities due to power outages, it became a blood feud. That was why the East Asian Republic refused to yield an inch during the Battle of Nova, clashing relentlessly with ZAFT's space forces.
Back then, however, the technological gap was too wide. Suffering catastrophic losses, the East Asian Republic ultimately withdrew from the Battle of Nova.
By this stage of the war, the East Asian Republic realized that deploying troops overseas was essentially feeding them to ZAFT. So they began consolidating their forces, sharpening their weapons, and biding their time for a decisive battle to settle things once and for all.
In the original timeline, the East Asian Republic never found the right opportunity due to the technological disparity, and the first war ended without their moment.
But this time, after learning that PLANT might use Genesis to devastate Earth's environment and exterminate all Naturals, the East Asian Republic was truly backed into a corner.
If there was anything the East Asian Republic hated more than a blood feud, it was the idea of being robbed of the ability to farm forever.
At this time, the East Asian Republic was unusually united within. After all, if they didn't want to live as second-class citizens under the threat of Genesis, they had no choice but to go all out now. It could be said they were playing all their cards, intending to settle PLANT in one decisive battle.
Seeing the East Asian Republic finally getting serious, both the Atlantic Federation and Eurasian Federation naturally applauded the move. Under the threat of Genesis, the stronger their side became, the better. At worst, they could always find ways to gradually weaken the East Asian Republic after the war. After all, the East Asian Republic had always been "reasonable."
As for Reid, after his initial surprise, he quickly grew accustomed to it. He was well aware of that nation's potential. With the technological gap eliminated by his efforts, it was no wonder they could demonstrate such combat prowess.
This only benefited Reid. The stronger the Earth Alliance became, the easier it would be to destroy Genesis.
After all, Reid's ultimate goal had always been to annihilate Genesis. Even eliminating Patrick Zala was just a side objective.
However, while Reid remained unhurried, Lacus and Athrun were genuinely anxious. According to intelligence, they had visited the Pacific islands near Orb several times during this period—likely seeking out Reverend Malchio.
Soon after, Reid received a message from Murrue, stating that Lacus wanted the Three Ships Alliance to set sail for the L4 Colony Satellite cluster in the fourth orbital space, presumably to receive reinforcements.
Upon hearing this, Reid instructed Murrue to cooperate with Lacus. After all, Lacus wouldn't dare to have the Archangel and Kusanagi assist in defending PLANT—intercepting nuclear missiles would be the limit.
Any more than that, and neither Murrue nor Yin Kagari—who had returned to rebuild their government—would comply, nor would Todaka, the newly assigned captain of the Kusanagi (the captain of Orb's Takemikazuchi in SEED; the author isn't sure about the correct translation of his name).
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