Under normal circumstances, once a Landing Castle successfully reached the surface, it would swiftly establish overwhelming control over the surrounding region.
Compared to Martian technology, the United Forces of Earth's warships, fighters, and tanks were little more than toys that could be destroyed with ease.
And that was exactly what had been happening.
However, assistance from a third faction had made it extremely difficult for the Landing Castles to secure their territories.
This mysterious force possessed missile technology on par with Mars. More importantly, its laser weapons were even more advanced.
They had clearly perfected laser weaponry. Every combat platform they deployed carried lasers of varying power.
On the Martian side, only specialized Kataphrakts and the Landing Castles themselves possessed laser weapons. Ordinary Martian fighters were no match for the enemy aircraft and could be swept from the sky with ease.
The Counts' Kataphrakts were considerably more resistant to laser fire. They could endure several hits from the lasers mounted on the enemy's transforming fighters.
Some Counts possessed Kataphrakts capable of generating specialized defensive fields, allowing them to completely block the laser attacks.
The Kataphrakts piloted by their knightly retainers, however, lacked such sophisticated systems. A single hit from a high-output laser could potentially pierce straight through them.
"We've identified the gaps in this Martian Kataphrakt's defenses."
"There are thirteen in total."
"The simplest method of destroying it would be to saturate the entire area with high-yield melta warheads."
Melta weapons did not merely release intense heat to melt their targets. They worked by agitating matter at the subatomic level, causing it to cook, melt, and finally vaporize.
A sufficiently powerful melta warhead could destroy this Kataphrakt, even though almost its entire body was protected by an absolute-defense barrier.
Its defenses were not truly airtight. The Kataphrakt needed small openings so its internal sensors could perceive the outside world.
When a high-yield melta warhead detonated, the widespread subatomic agitation would penetrate through those gaps and destroy the machine from within.
Of course, that was merely the simplest method. It was also the most wasteful.
Accurately firing bullets or lasers through those gaps would also allow them to penetrate the interior. It would simply be more difficult and might require them to accept a few losses.
At worst, they might lose several fighters along with their pilots.
But even if the pilots were killed, it would not be a permanent death.
An android's core, the Black Box, was not easily destroyed. Even a tactical nuclear weapon could not annihilate one in a single strike.
As long as the Black Box survived, the YoRHa member would not truly die. Only their body would be destroyed.
Even if the enemy possessed enough power to destroy a Black Box, the android's consciousness data would be transferred to a Black Box aboard the warship, provided the original core was not destroyed instantaneously.
Black Boxes had originally been constructed using technology derived from Machine Lifeform cores, but they had since been upgraded.
Using the technology Kain brought back with him, YoRHa had successfully deciphered the Machine Lifeforms' core technology. They no longer needed to modify captured cores and could now manufacture Black Boxes themselves.
Future android models would therefore receive a comprehensive upgrade with even more powerful Black Boxes.
For now, YoRHa's command units were the last to receive those upgrades.
"Share this intelligence with the United Forces of Earth."
Kain issued the order.
The United Forces could figure out how to destroy the Martian Kataphrakts themselves. His people could not be expected to handle everything for them.
Besides, it was not yet time to begin the full-scale offensive.
Once Kain's group was about to make contact with the lunar base, the forces on Earth would simultaneously launch their operation to destroy the Landing Castles.
This would probably be the last order Kain could transmit before reaching the lunar base. Communications would be cut off afterward.
Half of the Moon had been shattered, leaving enormous quantities of debris scattered throughout Earth's orbit. Those fragments severely interfered with laser communications.
Ordinary electromagnetic communications were useless as well because the enemy was jamming them.
Still, contacting the other warships would not be difficult if necessary.
Kain could use the Hyperdimensional Channel to contact A2. Her people could then establish laser communication through the opening of an interdimensional passage and relay the message to the other warships.
The anti-gravity warship that had departed from Tanegashima, the Deucalion, had already reached geosynchronous orbit beneath the cover of optical camouflage.
It would pass through the dense field of lunar debris and approach what remained of the shattered Moon, then seize the communications facilities at the Martian lunar base.
However, because the ship relied on anti-gravity for propulsion, the farther it traveled from Earth, the weaker its thrust became.
After all, the anti-gravity system essentially generated a repulsive force opposite Earth's gravitational pull.
The Deucalion possessed another propulsion system capable of accelerating the ship, but using it would make them far easier for enemy radar to detect.
For now, they could only drift toward the lunar base under anti-gravity propulsion.
The Aldnoah Drive that supported the warship's anti-gravity systems was not actually limited to canceling the vessel's weight and allowing it to fly.
The Drive had originally been removed from a Martian Kataphrakt whose defining ability was the manipulation of gravity as a weapon. Theoretically, the Deucalion should also have been capable of weaponizing gravity.
As Kain had just discovered, it did indeed possess that function.
Unfortunately, only the Drive itself had been built with Martian technology. The rest of the ship had been constructed by Earth. Compatibility issues and the insufficient strength of its systems prevented it from unleashing the Drive's full potential.
Kain had discovered the gravity weapon because he could now activate Aldnoah himself.
He had obtained Asseylum's activation code.
It was not secondary authorization granted by her. That would have been like a computer administrator allowing a guest to access the system.
Kain now possessed administrator-level authority of his own.
He had obtained it by consuming a sample of Asseylum's blood.
In the Aldnoah.Zero anime, an activation factor could be transferred through her blood.
Nearly an entire day passed as the ship drifted through space.
"Mr. Kain, the Martian lunar base is now visible."
Darzana Magbaredge, who had assumed command of the warship, delivered the report.
Immediately afterward, they discovered something unusual.
Seven Landing Castles were stationed near the lunar base.
No, that was not quite right.
Five Landing Castles appeared to be confronting the other two. The tension between the two groups was palpable, and a battle looked ready to erupt at any moment.
"All right. We don't need to move any closer."
This distance was sufficient.
"Let's go, Asseylum."
"Of course."
Asseylum immediately followed him.
Before leaving Earth, she had already prepared herself to suggest the method 6O had mentioned for granting Kain an activation code.
However, before she could say anything, Kain had asked her for a sample of her blood. He believed he could obtain the activation code from it.
Asseylum had naturally agreed.
That meant there was no need to resort to the far more intimate bonding method 6O had proposed.
It was not that Asseylum had been unwilling. If that method had truly been necessary, she would not have regretted her decision.
If anything, when Kain explained that he only needed her blood, she felt a faint and inexplicable sense of disappointment.
But she could hardly ask whether he wanted to use the more intimate method anyway. Kain might think she was a terribly improper girl.
The two entered the hangar at the rear of the warship and climbed into a KV139 battlesuit obtained from the T'au Empire.
Once they entered the cockpit, Kain found a combat suit that would fit Asseylum, then fell silent.
The suit had clearly undergone further optimization. Its protective capabilities had improved, but its design had also become increasingly form-fitting and embarrassing.
Someone might easily assume he was a pervert for choosing it.
To be fair, that assumption would not be entirely wrong. He did like the design.
The KV139 had also been fitted with wings, an A-Drive System, and the first experimental application of DRAGOON System technology from the SEED universe.
After all those modifications, any Gundam fan who saw it would insist that it was a Gundam.
Kain had never given the machine a proper name. He did not see the point, since very few of his machines survived enough battles to be preserved intact.
Now, he would take the princess with him and launch a two-person assault on the lunar base with a single machine.
(End of Chapter)
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