Why would I join the army if I can’t drive a Gundam!

Chapter 97: Battle of Loum (I)

"stand at attention!"

"salute!"

"Raise the gun!"

Although a new war is imminent, there is something more important for the returning Fourth Fleet.

As the honor guards fired their ceremonial rifles, the flags of the Space Army were carefully placed on each coffin by soldiers in uniform.

Most of these coffins do not contain the remains of fallen soldiers, but their remaining clothes or other items. In the fierce space battles, there are very few fallen soldiers with intact remains.

In addition to the fleet officers and soldiers, there were nearly ninety pilot helmets neatly arranged in a corner. Only one-third of the mobile suits that followed the Fourth Fleet survived, especially those who carried out the final rocket-blasting mission. Including Macharius, only three people returned in the end.

The last surviving Jim was hidden in the wreckage of a satellite. Apart from her, no other familiar faces returned from space with a smile of joy and victory. The Nelson even searched the ruins for a long time while sending signals, but in the end, all it found were some damaged and unrecognizable wreckage of Jim.

And now, seeing the comrades they knew before turned into black and white photos placed in front of the coffin, everyone's mood was not very good.

But the person is gone, and those who survive have to carry on the former's vision and continue to fight.

Especially when the reconnaissance team discovered that the Zeon army had begun to gather again, and even the mobile attack force to which Kycilia belonged, which had previously occupied the lunar city, began to withdraw its combat forces.

Everyone in the federal army knew that a new decisive battle was about to begin.

There is no reason for the Zeon people to shrink their forces for no reason. Now, when these troops begin to gather towards the Solomon Fortress built by Zeon, it means that the Zeon people are definitely going to do something earth-shattering.

Soon, the reconnaissance team once again captured the movements of the Zeon fleet.

Dozle assembled almost all of Zeon's mobile forces and its own main fleet, forming an extremely large cluster and heading towards Side 5 Loum.

In response, the Federation Army reassembled on Luna II and gathered all its main fleets, piecing together a huge fleet cluster that was three times the size of Zeon's fleet. It was handed over to Commander Rebil of the Space Army and embarked on the journey to Loum.

At this moment, a week had passed since the First Battle of Britain. The arsenal on Luna II worked overtime to produce another eighty Jims for the Federation Army that was about to enter the battlefield. However, the problem facing the Federation Army at this moment was that the number of machines was greater than the number of pilots.

Although there were more than 300 pilots trained by the Training Corps, most of those belonging to other branches of the military had graduated and returned to Earth after the war broke out, and most of those belonging to the Space Force had died in the First Battle of Britain.

So now, the Federation Army has one pilot and 1.5 machines, but this good news is not something to laugh at.

"But this is good news. Now that our mecha is broken, we don't have to worry about coming back without one!"

Macharius said this while sitting on the feet of his brand new Gundam.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Then, the other pilots burst into laughter.

But as he laughed, his voice became lower.

Macharius understood this. After all, this time, the difference in the number of mobile suits between the two sides was not just ten times. According to intelligence, the number of mobile suits of the combined Dozle Fleet and the Grenada Fleet (that is, Kycilia's troops) would not be less than three thousand.

The federal army only had about fifty men who could be deployed to fight at the moment. Originally, the Armored Training Corps could send out another thirty pilot trainees, but after thinking for a moment, Rebil gave up the idea.

After all, there is no qualitative difference between fifty against three thousand and eighty against three thousand. These trainees have not completed their training yet. Sending them out now is tantamount to murder.

"What are you looking at? The Zeon people have deployed a force dozens of times greater than ours to deal with us. Doesn't this mean we are too strong?"

Just as the atmosphere in the cabin was about to freeze, a rather pleasant female voice suddenly rang out.

Macharius did not turn his head. He remembered the other party's identity. She was one of the few female pilots in the Armored Training Corps. She had fought against him 33 times in simulated battles and lost 33 times.

In addition to these, the opponent is also a survivor of the British Operation Raid, Lieutenant Nagase Ying from the East Asia Air Force.

"Yeah, but there are only a few dozen of them. I don't think they're enough for me to fight. If anyone of you thinks you can't win, you can give me some!"

Macharius also took over the other party's words, stood up from the Gundam's feet, and spoke loudly.

"Exactly, who is this? So weak that he can't even kill dozens of enemies. Hurry up and retire and go home to take care of your kids. Don't delay me from getting my medal!"

"It must be Rex. This guy peed his pants when he came back that day!"

"Bullshit, I was the one who knocked over the kettle. And you're calling me weak? The Zeon mobile suit's heat axe ripped through my cockpit, and then I counterattacked with my beam saber. I'm still afraid of them! When the time comes, I'll kill them all one by one!"

Perhaps in their hearts, everyone was still unsure, but now, their morale had indeed been restored, and the atmosphere was no longer tense. There was even a pilot who, relying on his status as an officer, went to tease the passing female maintenance soldiers, and then was dragged by the burly maintenance men to do hard labor.

At this moment, Nagase Ying also walked to Macharius' side and stretched out his right hand.

"Nagase Ying, codename Edgeblade!"

"Macarius Skrini, the Red Dragon, but you can call me Dragon Knight too!"

Macharius shook the other's hand, then moved his butt to give the other half a space.

"That's a good inspirational quote. Where did you learn that?"

"Back home, our flight instructor used to be a political officer. He's the best at boosting morale before an operation!"

"Well, I'll have to find time to learn. If you ask me to say anything, I'll just say, 'Brothers and sisters, let's kill them all, or tear their heads off and kick them like balls!'"

“That sounds exciting too!”

"Really? Then I'll yell a few more times, and you remember to applaud me!"

"Of course. After all, you are my immediate superior now!"

Nagase Ying pointed at Macharius's epaulettes. The latter had taken off his captain rank and put on major's epaulettes. This could be considered a promotion on the spot!

A seventeen-year-old major would definitely be considered a joke in other places, but for these pilots, everyone even felt that this rank was too low. Just based on the number of kills that Macharius had surpassed the entire army, Major Junger was currently ranked second, but his number of kills was only seventeen, but Macharius had exceeded one hundred, and the number of kills from the second to the tenth combined was not as many as his.

So, in a sense, what Nagase Ying said was indeed correct. Macharius really needed more manpower from the Zeon Army to deal with him. As for why he was his immediate superior, it was because Macharius's Red Dragon Squadron was about to be expanded. The Space Force Command planned to add some aces to it later to expand it into an elite squadron.

This is the value of being the first in the Federation to shoot down enemy planes. Ordinary pilots are not even qualified to reach the threshold of the Red Dragon Team. Only an ace who has shot down five enemy planes can enter.

Nagase Ying's current record is seven, so she is naturally qualified. In addition, she is the only one left alive in her squadron, so the headquarters simply sent her to the Red Dragon Team. As for her original squadron, there will be newcomers to replace the fallen predecessors and continue to move forward waving the flag!

Unfortunately, Macharius currently has no chance to hold a welcoming ceremony and can only shake hands with the other party to express his gratitude.

At this moment, Side 5 Loum was already vaguely visible, but the colonial satellite had turned into a battlefield. Countless civilian ships were struggling to escape in the hail of bullets, and the few remaining garrison ships were also dissipating bit by bit under the artillery fire of the Zeon fleet.

"Sir, the reconnaissance aircraft reported that the Zeon forces were installing a nuclear pulse rocket engine on Satellite 11!"

"Are you planning on dropping another colony satellite on Earth, Dozle?"

Rebil's eyes on his flagship immediately became extremely sharp.

"Order all fleets to deploy, charge main guns, and drive the Zeon forces out of the Loum space!"

"Notify Tianm and have him dispatch as many rescue ships as possible to assist the Rum government in evacuating the people!"

Tianm's Fourth Fleet had suffered heavy losses before and was no longer able to take on the main combat mission. Therefore, Leibil arranged it to the rear of the fleet to serve as a rearguard. Therefore, Leibil handed over the rescue mission to the other party.

He commanded his flagship, the Anankai, and under the protection of the fleet, pressed forward towards the Zeon army.

The powerful Federation fleet sent out its main forces, with more than sixty Magellan-class battleships launching a precise barrage of bullets at a distance of 28,000 kilometers.

In an instant, the vanguard of the Dozle fleet was engulfed in dense artillery fire.

"As expected of the Federation Army!"

Looking at the signals from the two Musai-class ships that disappeared in an instant, and the signal from another Musai-class ship that was severely damaged and had to withdraw from the battlefield, Dozle could only order his fleet to gradually retreat and temporarily avoid the sharp edge.

The Federation fleet took the opportunity to advance and began shooting at the engineering ships that were busy outside the colonial satellite.

This made the Zeon army's idea of ​​installing pulse rockets come to nothing. Several engineering ships had nowhere to escape under the salvo of Magellan and could only watch in despair as their warships were torn to pieces by the particle beams.

"Mobile Suit Unit Attack!"

After seeing the Federation fleet approaching, Dozle immediately issued new orders.

More than two thousand mobile suits emerged from the dark corners of the Loum space domain and charged towards the Federation fleet.

Due to Mi Li's interference, the defensive artillery fire of the Federation Army was greatly reduced, but even so, when this cluster consisting of more than 2 Zakus, more than Zidaras, and more than Zaku s launched an offensive, the dense anti-aircraft fire immediately smashed hundreds of mobile suits into pieces.

However, Mi Li's interference also had a significant impact on the command of the Federal Army. More than a hundred Zidas advancing at full speed put great pressure on the Federal Army's outer fleet. Because of Mi Li's interference, their interception efficiency was greatly reduced, allowing these machines to successfully break into the Federal Army fleet array.

Afterwards, these deeply brainwashed young soldiers began to use their nuclear rocket launchers to indiscriminately shoot at the surroundings.

Because the collateral damage caused by a nuclear bomb hitting the core area of ​​a battleship is too great, the veterans of the Zeon army will fire from a distance.

But these young soldiers were different. They didn't have the same accuracy as the veterans, so they made do with the distance. Determined to sacrifice themselves for the Zabi family's cause, they would simply push their rocket launchers to a distance of several thousand meters, or even hundreds of meters before opening fire.

Doing so not only ensures the hit rate and killing effect, but also causes collateral damage to the young soldier driving Zida, or even a simple one-for-one exchange.

Such a reckless fighting style made the federal fleet dizzy. They did not expect that someone would actually do this. After rushing into the federal army formation, these Zda were all killed in less than half an hour, but the number of federal warships destroyed or damaged by them also exceeded double digits.

Thanks to Zida's desperate charge, the remaining Zeon mobile suits successfully tore through the Federation's defense line, broke into the Federation's formation in one breath, and began to attack together with their own warships.

"Commander, should we order the mobile suit unit to move out?"

"No, wait a minute, Dozle's tactics won't be that simple!"

Although the fleet's flanks were dissipating like snowflakes under the nuclear bombing of the Zeon army, Rebil still did not order the mobile suits on standby in the rear to go out. Instead, more than a hundred Swordfish fighters rushed to support.

Although the arrival of these fighters did not reverse the situation, it did make the precarious front slightly more stable. However, the price they paid was extremely heavy. The Zaku's maneuverability in space far exceeded that of the Swordfish, and its firepower even crushed the Swordfish fighter. However, even so, these pilots still gritted their teeth and continued to deal with the enemy.

At this moment, the Zeon fleet, which had just retreated, made a counterattack. Led by Kycilia's own flagship, the Gwakin, the other three Gwakin-class battleships, which were the symbol of Zeon's military power, and a combined fleet of more than a hundred Musai-class and Chibe-class battleships, formed a battle line and began a fierce attack on the Federation fleet.

Dense beams of light continued to light up, and the missiles with white smoke trails blocked the view of the entire battlefield. The continuously shining light illuminated the entire universe.

When the Federation Army and the Zeon Army started a full-scale battle, above the Federation Fleet, Dozle's killing move, which he had accumulated for a long time and was reluctant to use even when his own fleet suffered consecutive losses of warships, finally appeared!
With the veterans of the original training brigade as the core, and the addition of other elites trained in recent years, a total of more than a thousand Zaku 2s, all piloted by Zeon veterans, arrived above the Federation fleet with the cover of rice, and then, with an indomitable momentum, charged down.

"God, kneel before me!"

Among them was Char, who had changed into a brand new machine and put on a pilot's uniform. His fire control locked onto a Salamis that was exchanging fire with its own battleship, and then a nuclear bomb was fired from the rocket launcher.

Faced with the attack fire from above, the Salamis had no time to defend itself. The close-in defense turrets and the battleship's main guns were still shifting direction when the nuclear warhead hit the armor of the Salamis.

The explosion instantly tore through the battleship's armor and internal cabins, and went all the way down, directly penetrating the energy depot and engine. Then, before the battleship's damage control personnel could react, a chain reaction explosion occurred in the energy depot, directly blowing the Salamis into countless pieces.

"That's right, that's right, that's right!"

Looking at the enemy reduced to ashes, Char finally found some confidence. He stepped hard on the thrusters, feeling the pleasure brought by the lightning speed, and then took aim at another Salamis again.

"The second one, this is my second victory!"

After watching the Salamis being hit in the vitals by him and then exploded into two pieces of space junk, Char couldn't help but touch the corners of his moist eyes.

Finally, his past failures were reversed. He was no longer the unlucky guy who was devastated by continuous attacks, but a cold-blooded battleship killer. The military force that the Federation Army was proud of was evaporating bit by bit under his hands!
This made Char feel a little elated, and he even couldn't help but think of Macharius, the formidable opponent who had brought him several defeats in the past.

So, after sinking another Magellan-class battleship, Char finally couldn't help it. He looked at the gradually disintegrating battleship hull and talked to himself in the cabin.

"Macarius, I'm doing something greedy right now. If you can hear me, please stop me!"

(End of this chapter)