Reid's words left Talia feeling very confused. The reinforcements from the New Misurugi Kingdom were numerous, but their warships were all Constellation-class and Argama-class vessels, the mainstay models from the last war.
Ships like the Gran Chaos with its super-powerful main cannon, the Balkis mobile fortress, or vessels like the Mystic Angel equipped with the latest miniaturized super cannons were absent from the support fleet.
To be honest, this support fleet's actual capacity to destroy the Junius 7 wreckage was quite limited. Even with their numbers, their actual firepower was only about the same as the forces originally stationed at the Junius 7 wreckage. At their absolute limit, they could destroy a quarter of the remaining mass of Junius 7.
The half of the Junius 7 wreckage that remained would still be a fatal threat to Earth. If it fell in one piece, the death toll would certainly be higher than the April Fools' Crisis during the last war.
Therefore, Talia tried to keep her tone as gentle as possible as she asked, "Lord Reid, are you sure you have enough firepower to take on a quarter-sphere, solid metal wreck with a maximum cross-sectional diameter of 8 kilometers all by yourself in the Hermes Zero? Do you really not need any help?"
Reid wasn't surprised by Talia's skepticism. After all, the Hermes Zero had put on a very impressive performance at the end of the last war. To others, it seemed as if Genesis had been obliterated by a single shot from the Hermes Zero.
PLANT, however, certainly knew how much beam damage Genesis's Phase Shift Armor could withstand at the time.
This was because Genesis's PS Armor had withstood the first beam from the Hermes Zero. It was only on the second shot that Reid, using some unknown method, had drastically increased the beam's power and pierced through Genesis's PS Armor.
However, based on the red light many had seen with their naked eyes back then, and the red particles that had just enveloped the Ice Phoenix Gundam, the answer to how the beam was amplified seemed to be emerging.
In any case, PLANT's post-war analysis, based on the diameter of the beam on the other side where it exited Genesis, allowed them to roughly calculate the power of the Hermes Zero's shot. Therefore, their judgment that its destructive power was insufficient was fundamentally correct.
There was no helping it; that was the kind of defense pure armor thickness provided. Genesis may have been massive back then, but it would have been an exaggeration if all its armor layers combined were even a dozen meters thick.
Frankly, if it truly had 8 kilometers of armor, setting aside what kind of behemoth Genesis would become, it wouldn't even need PS Armor for defense. The New Misurugi Kingdom would have to bring over the Balki Fortress or build a Solar Ray System right next to it to have any chance of breaking through.
In truth, Reid himself knew that even activating the Star Inheritor skill now might not be enough to directly destroy that half of the Junius 7 wreckage. After all, the number of people on this battlefield was incomparable to the front lines before the Jachin Due Fortress in the last war.
The New Misurugi Kingdom's forces were still primarily composed of Mobile Dolls, with relatively few living pilots, while the four ZAFT ships probably couldn't even muster a thousand people.
However, Reid's own Newtype abilities had also evolved, so he would only know the actual effect once he used it.
Thus, Reid spoke to Talia in a half-joking manner.
"Captain Talia, if I really can't do it, how about you at least pray for me with all your heart right now?"
After speaking, Reid didn't wait for Talia's reply. He connected to Ange in the Ice Phoenix Gundam and said, "Ange, use the Ice Phoenix Gundam's quantum communication to maintain contact with Star Palace City. If my cannon blast later fails to destroy a large area of the Junius 7 wreckage, contact Une and have her initiate the Prayer Plan. You'll take your Mobile Suit out and broadcast it live."
That's right. From his last use of the Star Inheritor skill, Reid was almost certain that as long as the thoughts were strong enough, they could be transmitted from Earth's surface and received by him in space. After all, the souls he had swept up back then had even been able to affect the residual souls on the Boaz Fortress battlefield.
In any case, by the time it reached the stage where support from the populace on the ground was needed, the Junius 7 wreckage would basically be on the verge of entering the atmosphere.
Of course, this was a last resort. It was definitely impossible to count on the Balkis to rush back now; a large fortress simply couldn't fly that fast.
As for the Gran Chaos, it should still be desperately clearing the metal fragments from the two military fortresses that had been captured by Earth's gravity.
So, after giving his instructions, Reid once again activated Star Inheritor, the skill that had sent him rolling through a sea of blood last time.
Perhaps it was because Reid's Newtype abilities had sublimated, or perhaps it was because the Junius 7 wreckage was moving too fast after being captured by gravity, but he couldn't capture the souls of the terrorists who had died on the battlefield because they were too far away (the ghosts of Junius 7 had vanished during Reid's Awakening). As a result, Reid didn't feel too many of the screams of the dying this time.
What Reid could feel now were the constant shouts from the pilots of the New Misurugi Kingdom and PLANT as they maneuvered their Mobile Suits, trying to destroy the Junius 7 wreckage as quickly as possible. It was noisy, but not to the point of affecting his mind.
However, Star Inheritor still had its intended effect. This time, countless green lights converged on Reid from the manned Mobile Suits. To others, it was visible to the naked eye, but no mechanical instrument, including camera lenses, could detect this light.
As the Hermes Zero was enveloped in the green light of souls, Reid piloted the Mobile Suit and rushed beneath the half of the Junius 7 wreckage that was rapidly plummeting toward Earth. He then raised the Destroyer Beam Cannon and fired.
At such a close distance against such a large target, there was naturally no possibility of missing. The beam, dyed golden-green by the light of souls, struck the Junius 7 wreckage directly.
From the Minerva's perspective, this massive piece of Junius 7 wreckage was actually slowed down for a moment by the beam.
Yes, according to the Minerva's sensor data, the power of this single shot was enough to decelerate a metal wreck 16 kilometers long with a maximum cross-sectional diameter of 8 kilometers that had been captured by Earth's gravity.
Keep in mind, this was a beam fired from a Mobile Suit. The concepts of cutting and impact-based deceleration were completely different.
In the process of cutting, the required energy is mainly used to overcome the material's binding forces, separating its molecules.
An impact usually involves the transfer of kinetic energy, such as in a high-speed collision or explosion. The power required is mainly used to accelerate an object enough to overcome the material's structural integrity or to shatter it.
In terms of results, cutting generally requires less energy because it focuses on gradually separating the material, whereas an impact requires more energy because it needs to overcome the material's integrity instantaneously.
In other words, this shot from the Hermes Zero was definitely more powerful than the Ice Phoenix Gundam's slash from just before.
But the actual effect of the Hermes Zero's shot was not as good as the Ice Phoenix Gundam's slash.
The Junius 7 wreckage had indeed slowed down, but it was still in a state of descent, pressing down on the Hermes Zero against the beam it was firing.
Since Reid hadn't lost his sanity this time, the pressure of seeing such a massive rock hurtling toward him was immense.
In the end, Reid chose to evade. Just before his danger sense nearly snapped his nerves, he dodged the crushing impact of the Junius 7 wreckage at high speed.
Looking at the result of the Hermes Zero's shot, it had completely blasted the quarter-circle piece of Junius 7 wreckage into a shape resembling a thick beast's tooth, deeply concave on the bottom and pointed at the top.
A rough estimate suggested that the shot had just blasted away about one-eighth of the wreckage's mass. At the same time, the impact shattered all the rock apart from the metal block, sending it scattering like a meteor shower toward Earth, only to be intercepted by the Earth orbital defense forces further below.
Yes, the Junius 7 wreckage had now rapidly fallen to the vicinity of Earth's orbit. Any further, and it would enter the atmosphere.
Following Reid's orders, Ange contacted Une in Star Palace City and began a live broadcast.
By now, the entire New Misurugi Kingdom knew that seven abandoned colony satellites and fortress remnants were falling toward Earth, and that the planet was facing a threat akin to the great meteorite that ended the dinosaurs' reign during the Cretaceous period.
Therefore, whether in underground air-raid shelters or for those who couldn't get in and could only wait for death at home or in some other subterranean area, all they could see on every television channel in the New Misurugi Kingdom were real-time reports on the colony wreckage.
To be honest, when the other six pieces of wreckage had all been destroyed, the people of the New Misurugi Kingdom had cheered with joy. The pressure was instantly reduced sevenfold, and everyone felt a sense of relief.
But the fact that this last piece of Junius 7 wreckage remained unresolved slowly made people's hearts clench with anxiety again.
Then, Une's nationwide address began, accompanied by footage of the falling Junius 7 wreckage.
"Citizens of the New Misurugi Kingdom, what you are seeing now is footage from beyond geosynchronous orbit, where the New Misurugi Kingdom's military is clearing the final piece of wreckage.
"Regrettably, despite our best efforts, we have only managed to intercept half the mass of the Junius 7 wreckage outside of Earth. The remaining part is now about to fall to Earth.
"But Chairman of the Military Committee Reid Isaac has not given up. He is still leading his troops in a final struggle.
"So, please, pray for our warriors. Pray for a miracle to happen. Pray that they can bring back the final victory."
After speaking, Une clasped her hands and began to pray in front of the entire nation.
In truth, ever since religion was thoroughly swept into the dustbin of history in the CE Universe, the word "pray" had not been heard in public for a very long time.
But in reality, it had only been 43 years since religion lost its credibility due to the winged whale fossil, Evidence 01. If one were to count from when religion completely disappeared from the public eye, it had only been a little over a decade.
After all, in CE 55, religious forces had even used the S2 influenza mutation to create the "Hammer of God" theory to further attack Coordinators, claiming their existence had provoked God's wrath.
Therefore, many adults still knew how to pray. They quickly taught their children how, and began to pray for Reid in Earth's outer orbit.
When over 90% of the people in the entire continent of Australia were praying for Reid, this immense wave of spiritual energy was naturally captured by Star Inheritor.
Thus, the mechanically invisible green light instantly transmitted from Australia to the Hermes Zero. To others, it was as if Earth itself was charging the Hermes Zero.
At this moment, Reid felt that his mind had never been so clear and powerful. The miracle triggered by Star Inheritor simultaneously entered its second stage.
The Hermes Zero's Minovsky Particles erupted in an instant. Just like the Ice Phoenix Gundam's GN Particle burst before, a massive amount of green Minovsky Particles surged out with the Hermes Zero as the epicenter.
This time, machines could capture the actual brilliance of the Minovsky Particles, and the index meter showing energy intensity went completely haywire, jumping erratically and randomly between 0 and its maximum value.
And unlike the Ice Phoenix Gundam's GN Particles, which simply dissipated naturally, these Minovsky Particles could be controlled to a certain extent by Reid, who, as a top-tier Newtype, had a very high affinity with them.
Under Reid's consciousness, the Minovsky Particles enveloped the Junius 7 wreckage that was rapidly falling toward Earth. Then, the wreckage, which had already begun to burn from friction upon entering the upper atmosphere, was stopped as if grasped by the hand of God. It rapidly decelerated to a standstill, as if Earth's gravity didn't exist.
Subsequently, the Hermes Zero transformed into a green meteor and flew beneath the Junius 7 wreckage again. All by itself, glowing with a green radiance, it pushed the massive metal rock away.
And it pushed faster and faster, soon disappearing from the detection range of the New Misurugi Kingdom and PLANT forces in geosynchronous orbit.
Seeing this, Ange knew that Reid had probably overdone it again with some power she didn't understand. Because Reid was overly cautious, he often prepared absurdly exaggerated trump cards to deal with danger.
So Ange turned off the Ice Phoenix Gundam's live broadcast and accelerated in pursuit at full power.
As for Reid, he was not like Amuro. When Amuro pushed the asteroid, he didn't have the spiritual support of an entire nation, which was why he had to sacrifice himself and Char, two Super Newtypes, to accomplish the feat of pushing Axis away.
When Axis was pushed away, Amuro's life was like a candle in the wind; he had no way of controlling the Mobile Suit to push the asteroid to any specific location.
But Reid, with the immense spiritual support from the people, was very clear-headed. Although, just as Ange had guessed, he had overdone it due to his unfamiliarity with this power. By the time he came to his senses, he had almost pushed the wreckage through a bunch of debris and out of the Circum-Terrestrial Debris Belt.
But Reid promptly exited the Star Inheritor mode, letting the wreckage fly on its own inertia. As for what it might hit, that was beyond his control.
Reid's condition this time was much better than the first time he used the Star Inheritor skill.
Right now, Reid felt as if he had pulled a 24-hour all-nighter in his previous life. His mind was a bit sluggish, his heart was beating fast, and he felt light-headed.
Although he was mentally exhausted, he didn't feel very sleepy. He was in a strange state of excitement.
So Reid simply let his mind go blank for a bit, drifting in the debris belt for a while.
Even with the support of the miracle triggered by the Minovsky Particles, the Hermes Zero's entire frame was now flashing red warnings. He couldn't force it to fly anymore.
In Reid's view, this old friend had been overloaded by him too many times. It was time for it to reach the end of its service life and enter the hall of fame. For now, he would let it rest.
In any case, the Mobile Suit's signal equipment was still functional. Someone would find him soon enough.
Sure enough, in less than half an hour, the Ice Phoenix Gundam found him.
However, when Ange connected the communication line, her first words were, "Reid, you've really made a scene this time. Une told me to tell you to play dead for a while. We're heading back to the country first."
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