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

Chapter 140 I knew it
Like dominoes, with the failure of the Imperial Guard Brigade to relieve the siege, the fate of the pursuing Zeon Central Group forces was firmly locked.

Without roads and railways, heavy equipment had to expend its own motorcycle hours traversing the wilderness, resulting in unimaginable losses. A Zeon armored brigade attempting to break out from the north lost nearly three-quarters of its tracked vehicles during a two-day march, and even many of its wheeled armored vehicles were damaged.

While mobile suits that cannot be transported by flatbeds and can only move on foot have outstanding off-road capabilities, the long marches of hundreds of kilometers will also cause accelerated wear and tear on the internal parts, especially the most important leg mechanisms, some of which have a lifespan that can be measured in hours.

While the mobile suit's flying kick looks and feels great, the cost is that every kick means broken gears and cracked conduits.

If it were just these factors alone, the reserves and airlift support of the Zeon logistics support forces would be sufficient to bring all the equipment back to base.

But now they are retreating, and the most important logistics support units are the first to leave. In other words, they cannot provide timely support to the troops in the rear. The Zeon troops covering the rear have damaged their equipment and can only rely on their own support personnel. These technicians do not have heavy equipment, and when they encounter problems that cannot be repaired, they can only abandon the equipment.

That's right, it was abandoned rather than destroyed, because in this chaotic situation, the Zeon forces could not get stable supplies, not only ammunition, but also food and fuel. As for scavenging from the civilians, that was even more impossible. Thanks to the concentration camp policy implemented by the Führer's guard in the occupied territories, the local people's goodwill towards the Zeon army plummeted.

Now, the guerrillas are everywhere in the occupied territories, all because of the Zeon army's excellent racial selection theory. If the local villagers don't sneak up and shoot at a lone Zeon army unit, they're already being kind!

Just like the villagers rescued by the Red Dragons, the reason why the defenders of Winnemaca were able to maintain their strong fighting spirit was also thanks to those technicians. Although they shouted that they would avoid danger, these technical engineers would still rush to the front line during the lulls in the fighting to provide timely support to the front-line troops.

In addition to the factors mentioned above, the Zeon forces must also consider the most important factor: the continuous strikes from the Federal Air Force.

Because of its ambition to build a powerful navy and sever ties with the mainland, the Zeon forces have invested very little in atmospheric air power, which has made it impossible for their Dopp fighters to reliably gain air superiority in any region.

Especially when the central group was on the verge of collapse, the Zeon Air Force had to shoulder the dual tasks of ground support and air superiority. However, for the Second Air Force under the North American Command, ground support would not be able to cover the skies of friendly forces, and air superiority would not be able to help friendly forces withstand the Federation's armored onslaught.

On the contrary, under the continuous air strikes, the Federal Air Force's Flying Ray bomber group no longer needed escorts. They could swagger around in the sky, freely choosing targets and then kicking them to death from the air.

Thus, three days after the Royal Guard Brigade was forced to retreat and Garma, who was on the Gau-class ship, had to return due to the continuous attacks of Swordfish, the Zeon Central Group completely collapsed.

The Central Group Command could only order the units to abandon the heavy equipment they could not take with them and maintain a state of mobility in preparation for withdrawing back to the Portland area along the high desert line.

Even so, in the end, Zeon's Central Group only managed to withdraw less than 50,000 troops, and these troops basically lost most of their tanks, armored vehicles, and even artillery. As for the mobile suit units, only about 600 were able to withdraw. In other words, the Central Group lost two-thirds of its mobile suits, including some new mobile suits like the Tiger.

On the fourth day, the Type 61 tanks belonging to the 29th Armored Division finally arrived on the highway outside Winnemarca.

"You bunch of useless trash, you're fucking late! We've already wiped out the enemy!"

The lazy paratroopers sat by the roadside, eating and drinking without a care in the world, and making fun of the passing tank crews. These tank crews thought they were there to provide emergency support, but when they arrived, they found that their so-called sprint was a joke. There was not a single enemy in sight, except for mountains of Zeon equipment wreckage.
So the tank crews didn't mind the paratroopers' good-natured teasing and generously shared their supplies with the paratroopers.

Shortly after the 29th Division arrived, even larger numbers of federal troops arrived and crossed Winnemarca, continuing their advance along the road.

"see it!"

Marcarius walked ahead with his hands behind his back, and an endless column of vehicles drove past him along the roadside. Behind him was Ramball, who had changed into Zeon military uniform.

"I see!"

Looking at the endless queue, Ramball knew what Makarius was going to say, and he knew even more.

Because after seeing him, an unarmed Zeon officer, by the roadside, many Federation soldiers kept mocking him. But their words did not anger Ramball; instead, they made him feel even more ashamed.

"Go eat shit, you Zeon guy! Look closely, I'm from Hades!"

An angry federal soldier held his identification badge high.

"Go to hell, you bastard! You just wait and see, we'll do back to you exactly what you did to Sydney!"

Many armored vehicles also followed the example of the fallen commander of the 11th Baikonur Panzer Regiment, writing various slogans on their vehicles.

"Fight for my mother, fight for Karina!"

"For the people of Rum!"

"For side 4, number nine!"

These slogans, painted in white on the armor, were like resounding slaps to Lanbarar's face, making him so ashamed that he couldn't even lift his head.

"Do you know, Uncle Ramba, after you poured poison gas into the colony, Zeon lost all sense of justice!"

Ramball didn't speak, but knelt helplessly on the ground. He knew very well that if it weren't for Makarius and the group of military police beside him, he might have been beaten to death by the passing federal soldiers. In fact, to some extent, he would have preferred them to do so, because that would at least alleviate his guilt a little.

Seeing that the atmosphere was just right, Makarius took Ramball back to Winnemarca, where a squadron of Steel Belli transport planes were already waiting.

"Major, we are ready and can take off at any time!"

"Okay, wait a few minutes, I'll go give you a few instructions!"

After entrusting the affairs of the brigade to Nagase Hotaru, Makarius didn't forget to flick her forehead, telling her not to be so radical in the future.

"I don't want to lose such a reliable wingman like you!"

"I don't want to lose a captain like you who never crashes!"

Makarius then boarded the Gunberry, along with Ramball and all the Zeon prisoners under his command, as well as most of a squadron of special forces. They were there to protect Ramball, because according to the plan that Makarius had secretly submitted to the Federation headquarters, Ramball was the most important flag.

Subsequently, the group of aircraft rendezvoused with an equally large group of Swordfish aircraft. The Swordfish tightly protected the Steel Bailey group in the center until the Steel Bailey landed at Cheyenne Mountain Base.

As soon as he disembarked, Makarius saw a state-of-the-art Heavy Fork-class land battleship rumbling past on the distant horizon. Clearly, Cheyenne Mountain Base was already preparing for a follow-up attack on the California base.

Then, under the protection of special forces, he and Ramball descended along the tunnel, going underground for an unknown number of kilometers, before finally stopping in an office.

"Lord Reibill?"

As Santa Claus and General Grandpa entered the room, Makarius immediately abandoned all his unruliness and frivolity, and stood up to salute with the most standard demeanor of a federal soldier.

"Alright, don't be so polite, take a break!"

Santa Claus wouldn't believe that this upright and proper guy could come up with such a daring plan, but it was quite to his liking.

In front of Rebil, Ramball was as obedient as a greenhorn, completely unlike the arrogance he had shown when asking Macarius for a cigarette before entering the room.

"Lieutenant Colonel Ramball?"

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

When he heard Santa Claus call his name, Lambara jumped up like a rocket.

"Don't be nervous, your father and I are old friends!"

Rebil chuckled and served Lanbarar a cup of hot tea, which the latter accepted with utmost respect and then drank it down in one gulp, ignoring the heat.

This is a ruthless person!
This behavior made General Kim's eyebrows twitch three times. He wouldn't have dared to do this when he was young. He could only say that this boy was destined for greatness!
Then, Rebil began to reminisce about the past, all of which were related to the glory of the Lar family. During the reign of Zeon Deikun, the Lar family was able to rival the Zabi family. In fact, Ramball's father, Kimbalar, was hailed as Deikun's right-hand man. Who would have thought that so many years had passed and things would have changed so much, with the two families now separated by death!

Then, Reibal inquired about the current situation of the Diken in Zeon, and the answer was predictable: there were no Diken members in Zeon at present; those who were there were either on the battlefield or in labor camps.

"Do you know how many Zeon boy soldiers have been killed by our army so far?"

As they were talking, Rebil suddenly changed the subject and asked about Ramballar.

Upon hearing this, the latter's heart skipped a beat. He knew that most of those young soldiers were descendants of the Daken faction, so the atmosphere in the room instantly turned cold.

"I don't know!"

"The number of Zeon boy soldiers killed in action has now reached 40,000!"

Lieutenant General Kim Eun then replied in a very blunt manner.

Zeon had been recruiting child soldiers before the war, and after the war broke out, it sent nearly six figures of child soldiers into the army. A considerable number of them served on warships, but most were assigned to the Earth Attack Force. These child soldiers were widely distributed in engineering, logistics, reconnaissance and other departments. The tasks they performed were naturally very dangerous and intense, and the losses they caused were considerable.

In the ongoing Baku campaign, the Zeon army has made extensive use of child soldiers to carry out mine-clearing tactics at night to pave the way for the main force's advance, but the result has been heavy losses.

As for the participation of child soldiers in the war, it was also a taboo topic within Zeon. To put it bluntly, these descendants of the Deikun were deliberately sent to the battlefield. Their parents were purged, so these people were naturally labeled as heretics. As everyone knows, heretics are more abhorrent than paganism. In the past, because these descendants were young, the Führer's guard could not risk the wrath of the world by harming those children.

But on the battlefield, you don't need to worry about that!
Because enemy bullets and shells will conveniently eliminate those targets that couldn't be killed in the past due to their negative impact.

Gihren played this move very well, both eradicating the domestic opposition completely and using these eliminated child soldiers to incite Zeon's hostility and hatred towards the Federation.

It's safe to say that if this continues, it won't be long before the remnants of the Dieken faction within Zeon are completely wiped out.

"What do you want me to do?"

"It's not about what we want you to do, but what you can do for the Deikun faction. The Zabi family claims to have inherited Deikun's legacy, but they haven't done anything virtuous. We believe that the future of Zeon should still be entrusted to the Deikun faction!"

Rebil said slowly.

Admittedly, the Daken faction is also anti-Federal, but compared to the Zabi family, they are abnormally moderate. Moreover, the Federation needs some opposition forces within its ranks, and supporting the Daken faction now is also for the sake of post-war stability.

After the Central Group was largely wiped out, Zeon's defeat was only a matter of time. However, the Federation forces could not completely eliminate the die-hard Zabi family members. After the war, they also had to consider issues such as maintaining stability. Therefore, it was necessary to find a target that could divert these potential saboteurs.

If you have two enemies in front of you, one a heretic and the other a cultist, but you only have one bullet, who would you choose to shoot?

For the die-hard Zabi family supporters, the Daken faction is naturally more despicable than the Federation, since the latter's existence negates the meaning of their own existence. Therefore, it is only right to attack the latter first!
And Ramball is a very suitable spokesperson for the Daken faction. His deep-seated family feud is a very appealing factor for him!
After hearing Rebil's words, Ramball also glanced at Makarius, who was standing silently to the side.

"I knew this day would come sooner or later, so is that why you came to me in the first place?"

Ramball looked at Makarius and then slowly spoke.

"I suppose so. It would be a real shame not to take advantage of someone of your status. Actually, you don't have to agree. We have more suitable candidates, and in some ways, women are much easier to control than men!"

Makarius then revealed a little bit of information to the other party.

"female?"

Ramball quickly realized what was happening.

"I understand. So, can I think about it?"

　Honestly, some of the problems aren't my fault. I checked last night, and I said helplessly, but for some reason, after the update, it changed to "darling."
　　
　
(End of this chapter)