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

Chapter 130 Bodyguard
"Commander, there is a letter here that I would like you to take a look at!"

At the California base, after finally cornering Kalmar, a Zeon colonel immediately handed a letter that had clearly been opened and checked to the recipient's secretary.

"what is this?"

"A letter to you!"

"I know, who gave it to me?"

Kalmar looked puzzled. With the development of technology, these days everyone can make video calls across the universe, so why would anyone still like to write handwritten letters?
"It was sent by the Federal Army troops at the front. The sender was the commander of the 4th Armored Division of the Federal Army, but the writer was someone else, that person!"

"Which person?"

Karma took the letter with a puzzled look down, and then couldn't help but shudder.

"Macarius!"

Karma's vision went black for a moment, and he felt a bitter taste in his mouth. How did he end up being targeted by this damned killer?
However, he still gritted his teeth and continued watching.

"My dearest Karmazabi, it's as if we're face to face. It's been over a year since we last parted ways in the Guardian's Territory, and I've thought of you constantly. After all, in the midst of war, only your poignant love story with Char can ease my fear of death..."

"But unforeseen events can happen at any time, and misfortune can strike at any moment. I never expected that Zeon and the Federation would be at war. This is probably not good news for me, because I'm going to be forced to kill my favorite gay couple..."

"However, since you are in North America, I have an idea to end the war quickly. How about we have a one-on-one mobile suit life-or-death battle? This way we can avoid sacrificing more ordinary soldiers. As the successor of the Zabi family, Lord Karma should have the courage to do this, right? You will definitely take the opportunity to sacrifice one person to save the world, won't you!"

"If you agree to my proposal, then we can discuss the time and place. I suggest you come in person. Of course, rest assured, I certainly won't have two hundred snipers lying in ambush waiting for you!"

"Damn bastard!"

Karma immediately wanted to tear the letter to shreds; it was too insulting.

"That damn guy, he actually wants to fight me one-on-one!"

The colonel immediately responded with a surprised "hmm," thinking, "Wait a minute, there were some strange things in the letter, why didn't you mention them at all!"
"Are many people aware of this letter?"

"Not many, but I can't guarantee the Federation Army won't publicize it!"

"I understand!"

Karma then put her gloves back in the room and turned to sit back down at her desk.

"Sir, the assault team is ready..."

Just then, Karma's former captain of the royal guard walked in excitedly, fully equipped. When he saw Karma removing her armor, he was taken aback.

"Sir, are we not going to make any moves today?"

"Hmm, let's put it aside for now!"

Karma nodded calmly. Of course, if it weren't for her trembling legs behind the desk, Karma would have liked to show off her bravery.

How could he not be afraid? It was his first time becoming a leader of the military academy and his first time leading an uprising. It should have been a glorious beginning, like a fledgling eagle spreading its wings. But then he encountered Makarius. Although Karma had not been injured in the battle, he had seen his classmates who were covered in wounds and heard them tell him how that tank destroyed their position.

Therefore, Karma made up his mind that in the future, when it came to clearing out guerrillas, he would better sit in the Gau and command, avoiding fighting on the ground, lest he be suddenly appeared and killed by Macarius.

"Um, Lady Karma, actually, Gau isn't safe either. You forgot, Gundams have beam rifles!"

Karma's bodyguard captain was captured along with Karma back then, so he knows best what the boss is thinking!
"then what do I do?"

"Now that things have come to this, you certainly can't back down. Why don't you stay at the base and take command? After all, the heavy responsibility of this million-strong army rests on your shoulders!"

The captain of the personal guard offered his sincere advice.

"Furthermore, I suggest you reply to the other party with the same statement!"

So, on the third day after receiving the letter, the Federal Army's forward positions received a reply from Kalmar.

Following Colonel Taylor's instructions, after receiving the letter, the military police first inspected it. Once they confirmed the letter was safe, one of the military police officers jumped directly onto a Fangfang armed helicopter and delivered the letter back to Salt Lake City, which had become a logistics base for the Federal Army.

At this moment, a large number of logistics support departments from various units have gathered here. Although Salt Lake City has been destroyed in the war, the landscape of the salt lake has been relatively well preserved. Therefore, during rest periods, many people come to the lake to play.

Marcarius, relying on his high rank, occupied the best spot by the lake. However, to his disappointment, there were very few bikinis to be seen; instead, there were mostly rough men in floral shorts.

Then, a military policeman sped across the road on a motorcycle.

"Major, your letter!"

"Thank you. Has Colonel Taylor seen it?"

"I've already seen it!"

"That's good. There are hamburgers and cola next door. Don't be shy, eat and drink your fill before you go!"

Marcarius took the letter and then pointed to his men who were having a barbecue party next door. They had worked hard in the past few days, and now that they were resting, they naturally wanted to have a good get-together, so barbecue and drinks were definitely a must.

The military police saluted without hesitation, then moved closer and began to happily devour the food.

"Kalma's reply?"

Several of Karma's old subordinates also gathered around, wanting to know how Karma would reply in his letter.

"That guy won't agree, will he?"

"If he had any brains at all, he would never agree to that!"

Then, Markarius opened the letter and quickly read its contents.

It must be said that Kalmar herself has an outstanding literary foundation. Her beautiful gold cursive handwriting is quite pleasing to the eye, and even the letter paper is specially made, with a faint fragrance on it.

However, the content is somewhat empty. After all, Karma doesn't have much to say to Markarius. Their relationship is far from that of friends; in fact, they are more like enemies. So, what common topics would you and your enemy have in common?

However, over the past year, Karma has been making progress. In his letter, he stood on the moral high ground and harshly criticized the Federation, explaining that Zeon was forced into war by the Federation.

Marcarius wasn't interested in any of this. He wasn't the Commander-in-Chief of the Federation Army, and he was currently powerless to change certain systems within the Federation. He simply looked at Karma's reply to see whether she would accept the war or not.

This is what Kalmar said.

"Out of respect for the soldiers, I would be very happy to accept your invitation, but times have changed and circumstances are different. Now, as the commander of an army, my life is no longer in my own hands, but depends on what my troops ask me to do. If my subordinates require me to pay the price with my life, then I will naturally not back down. But at this moment, I can only refuse with a heavy heart!"

"Coward!"

After reading the letter, Andrei rolled his eyes and quickly made a sharp comment.

"Isn't that obvious? He's the young master of the Zabi family. The entire principality will be his in the future. Is he out of his mind to challenge the boss? Besides, that guy's strength isn't even as good as that Zeon ace I killed before. That guy actually wiped out seventeen of our GMs!"

"What a pity! I wish he had agreed!"

Several battalion officers standing nearby also looked regretful. If Karma had agreed, they would have risked their reputations and all ganged up on him to chop him into mincemeat!

However, although no war broke out, the news still reached Dozle's ears. Although he had been kicked out of the command's decision-making circle, Dozle's own position was not affected. He was still a general commanding a large army. Therefore, he immediately prepared to send some reliable troops to Kalmar, especially elite pilots.

The first choice, naturally, would be that blond young man who messed up the mission and was then sent to space to continue beating up the Luna II Federation forces.

"Send me to Earth?"

Char Aznabul is going crazy. The Zabi family is just using him relentlessly, isn't they? "Yes, you and Karma are close friends from military academy. I think you'd be happy to fight alongside him, wouldn't you?"

No, I don't want to!
Char couldn't help but sigh and rub his forehead. Did Dozle think of him as the young master's nanny?
“I would naturally be happy to fight alongside Kalma, but I think the Federation forces on Luna II pose a greater threat, don’t I? They have recently added dozens of Salamis cruisers, and sometimes they even dare to break out of Luna II’s defense perimeter to launch attacks on our space blockade. I think they need me more here!”

"Leave those matters to Kycilia's Chimera team! Karma is more important!"

"Understood. When shall I depart?"

"No rush, I need to send another person over!"

The other person Dozru mentioned was Ramball, who was unemployed at home. After witnessing the Zeon army's indiscriminate attacks on the colonies following the end of the week-long battle, Ramball angrily retired from active duty.

In principle, such behavior by the other party should absolutely warrant a court-martial, but Dozru stepped in to protect him, just as he had protected Matsunaga Makoto, known as the White Wolf, back then. Not only that, he also continued to pay Ramball's salary without fail.

This was more out of appreciation and protection for talent. Ramball was a gentleman, and Dozru could even guarantee that he was the most upright officer in the Zeon army. In fact, if the Ramball family hadn't chosen the wrong side back then, Ramball's achievements might have been even greater than his.

Dozru was well aware of many things, but powerless to do anything about them. Now, he brazenly led his wife into Harmon's bar.

"Excuse me, we don't have a camp right now... Lord Dozru?"

Hamon, who was flirting with the drunken Lanbaral, wanted to refuse, but when he realized it was Dozru, he swallowed his words.

Dozru is here!

After patting Lanbaral's face, Hamon got up and went behind the bar to serve tea and pastries to the guests.

"No, just give me an ice-cold beer!"

Dozru sat down opposite Ramball with an imposing air, staring fiercely at Ramball as he stood up. When the beer was served, he raised his large mug and drank it all in one gulp.

"Comfortable!"

"General, you didn't abandon your busy military duties just to come and have a drink, did you?"

"What, you can't drink anymore? I paid for it, have another one!"

Dozru simply slammed the Zeonmark from his pocket onto the table.

Harmon glanced at Serena, who gave him a helpless look and could only order another ice-cold beer.

Dozru drank it all in one go again. When the third cup was served, he slowly picked up the dried squid on the table and put it in his mouth, chewing it in small bites.

I want you to go to Earth!

"I reject!"

"Let me finish speaking!"

Dozru swallowed the food in his mouth, then took a sip of wine to smooth it out, and continued speaking.

"I'm asking you to go there for no other reason than to protect Karma. You've heard about the Red Dragon, haven't you?"

Upon hearing the name Makarius, Ramball immediately snapped out of his daze, but he remained nonchalant and shook his head.

"I haven't heard much about him, but is that guy really that good?"

"Extremely powerful, one could even say they are the most powerful new humans to date!"

"He has destroyed more than 200 mobile suits in our army so far, not to mention countless other technical equipment. He even sank a Gwajin during the Battle of Loum!"

Ramball was also taken aback when he heard this. How come he didn't realize this guy was so fierce?
"He's got his eye on Karma?"

"Not only that, he was the one who suppressed the Zeon Military Academy uprising back then, and he also captured Karma alive!"

"Why don't you call Karma back?"

"To force the army commander to retreat without a fight, abandoning everything on Earth?"

"You're saying we can win this battle!"

"Whether we win or lose, at this point, we have no choice but to continue fighting. Are we going to let those million troops remain on Earth and be annihilated by the Federation forces?"

"But what can I change if I go?"

"I don't need you to change anything, I just need you to protect Karma. He's my only brother!"

Dozle was genuinely reluctant to entrust the task to others. He didn't have many skilled mobile suit pilots under his command, and even if he did, they would have to be used to fight against the Federation Space Forces, which were gradually recovering their strength. As for Kycilia and Kyren's people, he dared not use them at all.

Since Kalmar took office, he and Kiren Kycilia have become true rivals. With Deakin's favoritism, the two, who have no familial ties, are unlikely to resort to underhanded tactics, but they will certainly watch each other get into trouble.

Ramball's stance, however, seemed just right. He was not bribed by the other two, nor even by Dozru. He was only asking for help out of respect for their old friendship.

Although the Lall and Zabi families have a grudge, it will not affect the next generation of Lallbarr.

"This battle will not be won!"

Ramball poured Dozru another beer and then spoke slowly.

"I know!"

"Okay, if there are any problems, I'll protect Karma!"

After receiving Lanbaral's reply, Dozru also broke into a bright smile.

"Then, will you have a drink with me?"

"Don't you still have military affairs to handle?"

"It's not too late to do it tomorrow!"

"Alright, Harmon, bring out my treasures!"

After a fierce battle, Dozru, taking advantage of his physical strength, successfully outdrank Ramball. Then, he triumphantly sang a song and left the bar with Sena, who had become his best friend with Hamon.

Hamon looked at Ramball, who was lying motionless on the table, and was about to go up to help him when the latter suddenly sat up.

"It's fine!"

"So, you really want to go to Earth?"

"Yes, do you want to come with me?"

"Isn't that obvious? Perfect, if we go to Earth, we can see that guy, right?"

"Who are you talking about?"

“Marcarius, have you forgotten? He said we would meet again!”

Ramball paused for a moment, then gave a wry smile.

"So, you even considered this?"

(End of this chapter)