Chapter 200: The Battle for the Moon
Tolle piloted the Tallgeese Wing Zero straight toward the lunar base, firing his destructive beam cannon relentlessly at the Taurus drones swarming the sky.
He swept the cannon's energy beam back and forth across the airspace, and within moments, every remaining Taurus drone was obliterated.
Then Tolle maneuvered the Tallgeese Wing Zero downward toward the lunar surface, holding a high-speed spinning lance in his left hand and a beam saber in his right.
He dove into the battlefield in full-on rampage mode—both weapons slashing furiously in a deadly dance, cutting down Virgo drones left and right.
The poor Virgo drones didn't even have time to activate their reflective magnetic shields before being wiped out by the three Gundams, completely annihilating all unmanned units defending the lunar base.
Meanwhile, at the Barge Fortress, they too managed to destroy the Taurus drones—though at the cost of many beam cannons and space-type Leos.
In the end, Tolle technically had fewer kills, but Chang Wufei stubbornly insisted it was a draw and demanded a duel.
Tolle sighed helplessly and accepted his challenge once again—but this time, he turned off his Focus System. Not because he didn't want to use it, but because his mental energy was nearly depleted; if he kept it active, he'd pass out.
To keep things fair, both agreed to use only one weapon each.
The Altron Gundam wielded its twin-headed beam trident, while the Tallgeese Wing Zero used its beam saber. The two fought back and forth through dozens of fierce exchanges, evenly matched throughout.
Finally, Tolle narrowly won by a single move, defeating Chang Wufei.
Meanwhile, Lady Une had infiltrated the main control room alone, subduing every soldier inside. Only one fool tried to resist—so she killed him on the spot.
After Duo and Chang Wufei departed from the lunar base, Lady Une arranged for soldiers from the Barge base to take over the facility.
She then used the existing parts in the base to begin mass-producing Taurus and Virgo units without the MD System.
After all, sending soldiers into battle without drones was one thing—but sending them to fight enemies with beam rifles while armed only with knives was sheer suicide.
Lady Une would never commit such a foolish act that treated her soldiers as disposable. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had the five scientists design machines surpassing the Gundams in the first place.
However, the warmongers within the Romefeller Foundation still refused to give up. Even though Duke Dermail had been placed under house arrest by Treize, some ambitious members still dreamed of conquering the Earth.
They gathered all the Taurus drones produced on their allied colonies and deployed them together, preparing to attack the lunar base and reclaim it.
At that moment, a radar officer in the lunar base reported to Lady Une, "Colonel Lady Une, we've detected a massive cluster of heat signatures around the lunar perimeter. Confirmed—Taurus units. At least a hundred."
Lady Une glanced at the main monitor, then turned to Tolle. "Judging by their numbers, they must all be MD-controlled Tauruses. But that's fine—let the soldiers pilot the Virgos as a live combat exercise. Darks, you stay in reserve for now."
Darks shrugged. "Fine by me. Let them get some practice. I'll wait in the hangar—call me if you need me."
With that, Tolle strolled casually toward the hangar.
Soon, a large number of Virgos launched from the base, firing their beam cannons first at the incoming Taurus formation.
Those in the center of the enemy formation couldn't dodge in time and were instantly vaporized in large numbers.
However, the Taurus drones quickly scattered and retaliated, firing back with beam rifles and cannons of their own.
Most of the Virgos activated their reflective magnetic shields, some grouping together under a shared electromagnetic barrier for protection.
After the first exchange, not a single Virgo had been damaged. Encouraged, the soldiers launched a fierce counterattack.
They fought in teams of three—one on defense, two on offense.
The crossfire raged on, yet neither side gained a decisive edge.
Eventually, the Taurus formation, unable to advance, began retreating slowly.
The Virgo teams pursued, chasing after the withdrawing drones.
Watching from his cockpit, Tolle frowned. Something didn't feel right. He quickly opened his comm channel to Lady Une. "Lady Une, those MD Tauruses are moving strangely. Since when do unmanned units retreat? Shouldn't they fight to the end?"
Lady Une froze for a moment. He had a point—something was off.
She immediately issued an order: "Virgo teams, stop advancing! Don't move too far from the base—form a defensive line near—"
Before she could finish, countless hidden Taurus drones suddenly sprang to life nearby, ambushing the Virgos.
The soldiers barely had time to deploy their magnetic shields before several Virgos were destroyed—most with their cockpits targeted directly.
The surviving Taurus drones quickly grabbed the wrecked Virgo units and began fleeing the battlefield.
Tolle couldn't sit still any longer. He cursed himself for being lazy—if he'd launched earlier, the enemy wouldn't have gotten away with valuable Virgo data.
He immediately launched the Tallgeese Wing Zero from the hangar, its wings unfolding as it sped toward the battlefield.
Taking aim at the retreating Taurus formation carrying the Virgo wreckage, he fired a massive destructive beam.
But the Taurus drones performed an unexpected maneuver—they piled up their units, layering themselves to form a shield, sacrificing themselves to protect the ones carrying the damaged Virgos. They blocked the beam with sheer numbers.
The fleeing Tauruses then scattered in different directions. Tolle chased after them one by one, blasting away with his beam cannon. He didn't even bother switching weapons anymore.
Even so, several drones managed to escape with the Virgo remains.
After the battle, Tolle and Lady Une realized that human-piloted Virgos were far less agile than those controlled by the MD System. Against the Taurus drones, they were still at a disadvantage.
Not every pilot could adapt to the Virgo's complex controls or activate its magnetic shields in time.
With Nami's help, Tolle developed a revised version—the Virgo II—focused primarily on defense.