Chapter 175 207: The Angel’s Blessing.

Shinji had clear personal likes and dislikes; he always had a great fondness for people who were loyal, possessed a sense of mission, and were tough-minded. It made Misato Katsuragi a bit jealous.

'I'm a Major too, so why do I get lectured by you all day?'

"Hey, are you just going to let them run wild? Didn't you say you wanted to capture the Angel?"

The two had come to the base's observation tower. Separated by thick glass, the world outside was a pale, desolate land. The airfield was bustling, piled high with various supplies and vehicles. An airborne brigade's equipment was being deployed; these were VDV troops brought in from afar.

"Capture doesn't mean we have to go to the deep sea. Running into the enemy's home turf to fight is foolish," Shinji replied without turning his head.

"Do you think the Fifteenth Angel is very powerful?"

"There is no evidence to suggest it is powerful."

"Then why have no confidence?"

"Because I am never arrogant. Even if an Angel were as weak as a mortal, I would still draw up a meticulous plan and use my full strength against it."

'This Children is clearly super strong, yet overly cautious?'

Misato silently opened her mouth. Shinji was indeed very cautious; even when he took risks, it was with at least a fifty-percent assurance of success, yet no one dared to call him cowardly.

She didn't know that in 40K, there were too many painful lessons. Even a Primarch or a Greater Daemon could flip the table if they weren't careful, so Shinji always prepared for the worst.

"Don't worry. Capturing the Angel isn't important; I want an answer. Ritsuko, is the detection array ready?"

"It's 90% constructed. I am currently tuning it myself and borrowing MAGI's computing power for analysis."

Ritsuko Akagi, having changed into her lab coat, walked over with her hands in her pockets, pointing at the camp next to the airfield. A giant piece of equipment towered there, covered in a dense array of antennas.

"The Fifteenth Angel's current energy data has been collected. Let the Russian military test its response in a moment."

"Good. When does the operation start?"

Misato Katsuragi raised her hand and handed over a tablet. "It's already started."

The giants of the North act fast. Once they confirmed NERV wouldn't interfere, their prepared war machines began to roar. This was also one of the changes since the Great Upheaval; now, even Shinji himself couldn't be entirely certain if the Angels would still head toward Tokyo-3.

Even if they did, they would certainly not act foolishly like moths to a flame as before, causing intense collateral damage.

This made the surrounding neighboring countries uneasy. Previously, the Angels had nothing to do with them—they could just sit back and watch the show—but now, it was different.

If they didn't seize the chance to resolve the Angel while Unit 01 was there to provide a safety net, what would happen if this time bomb buried under the ice cap exploded one day? If it were on the level of the Angel of Light, the weapons of the old era wouldn't even count as scrap metal.

The destructive power of the Angels was too terrifying; it only took one hour for them to erase a city of millions from the map.

The countdown hit zero. Everyone felt the floor shake, and a mushroom cloud rising from over a hundred kilometers away was clearly visible.

"As expected, in Russia, hydrogen bombs are omnipotent. In the old days, they were used to blow up reservoirs; now, they're used to break open the frozen sea."

"During the Sky Angel incident, it was determined that nuclear bombs lacked sufficient energy concentration and were useless against the AT Field. But using them as waste recycling is better than them being controlled by an Angel similar to the Terror Angel."

Shinji admired the art of the explosion, inadvertently bringing up a chilling topic.

That's right, the computing power of that Terror Angel was terrifying. If it hadn't invaded the headquarters to grapple with MAGI, it probably could have controlled every nuclear missile in the world in minutes. If they had all been launched at once, humanity would have been finished long ago.

"Is that 'God's' mercy? He certainly didn't think about destroying humanity." Ritsuko drew in a cold breath; the air in this place was truly cold enough.

"Mercy, my ass. There's just no need. He wants to harvest the fruit; otherwise, why sow the seeds?" Shinji dismissed the idea with disdain. If he hadn't gone to 40K for further studies, the "Human Instrumentality Project" would have had a 99% chance of success—yes, just like in Ayanami Rei's strange dream.

After destruction comes rebirth, and after rebirth comes destruction. Countless cycles of soul reincarnation—didn't that provide sufficient nourishment?

Returning to the present, he was on this business trip to verify the "Emperor's Conjecture" and find concrete evidence of the Dead Sea Scrolls being breached.

As the ice cap evaporated, N2 mines encased in special pressure-resistant shells were launched from high altitude and from the seabed. The deployed underwater drones watched every detail.

"N2 mines hitting the water. Count: 71. Tsk, every country is pushing production to the limit for these things." Misato Katsuragi was in charge of explaining the battle situation.

"They are, after all, the only conventional weapons that pose a threat to Angels without leaving behind any pollution," Shinji answered casually, turning to look at Ritsuko, who was directing the external detection array via a data link.

"What is the Angel's response? Any energy spike?"

"None for now. The energy curve is flat. I haven't found anything like a Negative Universe rift."

"It seems even more sluggish than I imagined. Let them keep blasting."

The activity a thousand meters below could no longer be seen from the surface. When the N2 mines reached their positions, the energy unleashed turned the entire screen a stark white. Millions of tons of TNT exploded simultaneously; even the eternal ice of fantasy novels would be annihilated on the spot.

Violent underwater currents surged to the surface. Shinji suddenly saw a spectacular sight: the mirror-like frozen sea began to shatter one after another, and the countless flying "shards" were magnificent.

"The Angel is reacting." Ritsuko's brow furrowed. Science allowed her to see what the naked eye couldn't: the flat curve suddenly fluctuated, and then, as if a dead man had come back to life, the pulse frequency began to beat faster and faster.

Waking an Angel with 71 N2 mines—anyone would have some "morning grogginess."

Of course, that wasn't important. The second phase of testing began immediately. A specially modified submersible rushed toward the Angel like a torpedo. A flash of intense light crossed the dark seabed, and the signal vanished instantly.

"It's an Angel beam. The analysis results are out: approximately 2 units of intensity."

This was the latest result from NERV's study of the Angels—something only produced under Shinji's strong insistence. He had never understood how such complex, distinct alien beings could lack a standard of strength.

Every Angel was different, possessing its own characteristics and "authority," but every one of them had an AT Field. The beam that exploded with a "Biu" was the manifestation of field strength. Most Angels possessed this move.

The S² organ provided inexhaustible energy, but there was an upper limit to the energy an Angel could hold, which was why there was a distinction between strong and weak.

"Strength 2. That's not even at the level of the Rain Angel." Misato Katsuragi pulled out her data book, which contained a relatively accurate data map. "The Angel of Light's strength was 10. Is this Fifteenth Angel too weak, or is it not fully developed?"

"It's not that simple. AT Field strength is just one standard. Do you think this is a video game skill level?" Shinji began to lecture. He wasn't that shallow. To be honest, alien beings like Angels were considered powerful even if placed in 40K.

The strength of an AT Field didn't mean everything. Don't forget the Terror Angel and the Night Angel—their AT Field strengths were very weak, but the trouble lay in their "authority," their unique, distinct special tricks.

"Tell the Russian military to attack with full force. I want to see what special tricks this Angel has. Ritsuko, continue close monitoring."

Shinji didn't even need to order it; nuclear torpedoes and depth charges were hurled down relentlessly. If Russia lacked anything, it certainly wasn't these high-yield "local specialties." The NERV personnel didn't need to participate; they just had to stare at the screens.

"AT Field strength hasn't increased, but the seawater is condensing, forming a thick ice cap that triggers various weapons prematurely. It has begun to counterattack. The attack range is very large; the Akula is showing signs of freezing."

The battle continued. Angels wouldn't hide their abilities. Even if they possessed the Fruit of Wisdom like humans, if they were sleeping soundly and got bombarded relentlessly, they would fight back with everything they had.

"Looks like its ability is freezing?" Shinji rubbed his chin. He didn't know what abilities or form the Fifteenth Angel had in the original records of the Dead Sea Scrolls, so he simply said, "Then let's name it the Ice Angel."

This didn't quite conform to NERV's naming conventions. In truth, the naming of each Angel followed the Bible—for example, the Angel of Light is called Sahaquiel, who in myth helped David kill Goliath. However, it was clear that an Astartes wouldn't concern himself with "false gods" like the Christian deity.

Ritsuko didn't object and immediately changed the codename. The Ice Angel annihilated all the Russian military's attacks and then stopped in the cold deep sea.

"Is it dazed?"

"I don't know. Perhaps it's not supposed to appear on stage right now in the script, and it needs time to figure out what it's supposed to do."

Shinji narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. This was already bad news.

Because Angels didn't need such complex operations. They were supposed to sleep, wake up at the scheduled time, and then follow their instincts to the Terminal Dogma area beneath Tokyo-3.

Yes, like robots with pre-set programs—where was the need to receive new instructions?

The Russian military didn't know all these intricacies. They had a ready-made target; why wait to blast it? The second batch of Tu-160 strategic bombers reached their positions and dropped dozens of N2 mines in waves.

"Second wave of attacks commencing. The auxiliary calculation results have already been sent to them."

NERV's experts weren't just there to watch. After the first wave of probing attacks, they had grasped the Angel's skills and intensity. The second attack had sufficient data support.

"First batch of N2 mines, detonate. The Ice Angel's solidified ice layer is shattering. Second batch, boosters ignited, heading to preset detonation positions. Predicted chance of breaking the AT Field: 87%. Third batch of N2 mines, entering the water!"

In the deep sea, bubbles churned. Before the Ice Angel could solidify a new defense, dozens of N2 mines scattered like flower petals, aiming to envelop the Angel in the center and release maximum attack intensity.

This was a collision between the human Fruit of Wisdom and the Angel's Fruit of Life. Humans sought weaknesses through probing, bringing their wisdom-crafted weapons to their limit—a wrestling match between intelligence and power.

Indeed, wisdom and power were inherently equal. But—

Shinji's eyes widened. The flames in his gaze seemed to pierce through the wind, snow, and ice, stabbing into the deep sea.

"The Angel now has a blessing."

Read ahead (100 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting