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

Chapter 142 You hit me, my dad...

"Get out! Get out of here!"

After a few dull thuds, several guards from the Kalmar Royal Guard left the room along with the scattered artifacts and other miscellaneous items.

"Ugh!"

The captain of the guard looked at his disheveled subordinates and then directed the others to clean up the debris that had been thrown out. If Mark Bay were here, he would probably feel sorry for them, because what Karma threw out were all genuine gifts from the locals.

"Mr. Char, please persuade Lord Karma!"

The captain of the personal guard picked up a shard of a vase from the Southern Song Dynasty and then spoke to Xia Ya.

"The master hasn't eaten or drunk anything for two days!"

Since the defeat of the Central Group, Kalmar, who had returned to California, had become withdrawn and locked himself in his room, refusing to eat or drink. Anyone who tried to enter was beaten and kicked out, and several members of his personal guard even had their heads smashed.

However, none of these loyal guards blamed Karma. In fact, they secretly felt sorry for her. After all, no matter what, she was just a kid in her early twenties, and her ability to withstand pressure was naturally not very strong. Moreover, in the current situation, even if Dozru came, he would only be able to shut himself up.

"I understand!"

Xia nodded, then took the food handed to him by his subordinate, and went back into the room.

Didn't I tell you not to bother me?

Hearing footsteps, Karma, looking dejected and even sporting stubble, angrily raised his head again. However, upon recognizing the person in front of him, he swallowed back the words he was about to utter.

"Eat some!"

Char placed the food in front of the other person and then spoke.

"I can't eat, Char, I can't eat!"

Karma's voice was hoarse and his body was emaciated; anyone who didn't know better would think he was smoking marijuana.

"Cheer up, Karma. This isn't the time for you to throw a tantrum. Hundreds of thousands of troops are waiting for your orders, and the army headquarters needs you to take charge..."

"Do I still have the right to do this? I lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers, and countless lives were sacrificed to achieve victory. Xia, how can I face my father? How can I face the families of those soldiers?"

"But now, you are the commander of the army group, no matter what, you should..."

"Then I won't be the commander!"

Karma shouted, and then Char stepped forward, grabbed him by the collar, and then, to Karma's astonishment, raised his right hand.

"A self-righteous and naive young master!"

Char Aznable slammed a punch into Karma's face, sending a jolt through Karma and causing his body to convulse.

"You, you hit me?"

Char executed a spinning motion and then delivered another punch to his opponent.

"Even my dad has never hit me!"

“If my dad could make me a field army commander so easily without any tests, I wouldn’t be sitting here crying like a little girl!”

Char looked at Karma sitting on the ground and said excitedly.

"If you're a man, then take responsibility! Either go back to space, back to Zeon, and continue hiding under your father's wing, or stay here and show me the responsibility you have as a field army commander!"

“Kalma, you used to be everyone’s hope. Did you think they chose to follow you because of your identity? Think of those comrades who died in the uprising. They couldn’t even have their bodies properly recovered, but we are still alive. Is that fair to them?”

"You can throw away the food in front of you as you please, but the soldiers on the front lines haven't had a hot meal in three days. And those people outside, they all have their own jobs, but now, everything is coming to a standstill because of you. Put away your spoiled brat attitude, Karma, this is hell!"

Then, Xia strode out, and behind him, only suppressed sobs and swallowing sounds could be heard.

He's just a young master, after all. If he really wants to abandon his responsibilities and leave, that would be terrible. He should stay on Earth and continue fighting. After all, this is all for the Zabi family's great cause. Are you going to desert your post?

Karma considered Char a confidant and close friend, but for Char, scheming against Karma had become part of his daily life. Therefore, no matter what, he would not let this guy return to space safely!

Of course, although that's what she was thinking, when she got to the door, Xia put on a concerned expression.

"He ate it. We've been giving the commander better treatment these past few days; he's under too much pressure!"

"Thank you very much!"

The Zeon officers in the Royal Guard were moved to tears of gratitude; it was all thanks to Mr. Char Aznable who was able to persuade the other side!
Then, the many officers waiting outside saw Karma, whose face was red and swollen, walk out neatly and with an extremely high spirit.

"I'm sorry, everyone, for making you worry!"

"It's nothing, it's just that we're incompetent and have troubled you!"

"Alright, now is not the time to talk about this. The Federation forces are advancing towards the California base. We must find a way to stop their offensive and launch a counterattack, otherwise, we'll all really be sent back to space!"

Karma unconsciously moved his face, and the pain made him gasp.

That damned Char, he's really ruthless! "Lord Karma, I think our North and South Groups are no longer of any use. We should withdraw one of them to strengthen the defenses of the California base, defeat the Federation's offensive in the defensive battle, and then launch a counter-offensive!"

This plan is indeed a very good option for Kalmar. The troops that withdrew from the central group have returned to the California base and started building the defense line. Their arrival has indeed alleviated the shortage of troops. However, these troops have abandoned a huge amount of military equipment and combat supplies, which are difficult to replenish in the short term. If a group from the south or north is recalled, the equipment problem can naturally be solved.

The plan was good, but its execution was a little problematic, because if a cluster was withdrawn, it would mean that the Zeon forces' gains in the area would all be lost!
Therefore, the plan was immediately met with opposition as soon as it was proposed.

"No, do you mean our army should abandon the occupied areas?"

"These occupied areas have now become a problem hindering our army's path to victory!"

"But these areas also have a large number of resource extraction sites. Without these resources, it will be even more difficult for our army to win!"

Subsequently, the arguments between supporters and opponents escalated, forcing Karma to bang on the table.

"Alright, stop arguing. I just want to ask you all, if we don't recall the North and South Groups, where will our army get the troops it needs right now?"

The Zeon High Command provided the Earth Attack Force with a total of five divisions. Of course, these five divisions are more like army groups, because their subordinate units are not just divisions in size, but include main combat units, air squadrons, and various logistics support battalions, and even the navy, marine corps, naval aviation, etc.

Currently, two divisions are in Europe, three are in North America, and even the 7th Division, which Kycilia herself organized to defend the lunar cities, has withdrawn a large number of independent troops to fight on Earth. The Zeon forces have very limited mobile forces available.

The vastness of the Earth exceeded the imagination of the Zeon command, even though they had some understanding of the operational area.

At present, what the Zeon army lacks most is the most inconspicuous and ordinary infantry force. Because the occupied areas include a large number of cities, in order to control and suppress these areas, the Zeon army must disperse a large number of troops. These security forces are like sponges, able to silently absorb everything. No matter how many troops there are, it will not be enough.

However, there are not many young and middle-aged men left in Zeon. Maintaining industrial production requires a large number of skilled workers, and these people cannot be mobilized. Therefore, the conscription period can only be extended.

Currently, the recruitment age for the Zeon army is 18 to 40 years old, but after the defeat at the Battle of Salt Lake City, the recruitment department adjusted it to 16 to 45 years old.

In addition to the conscription period, the training time in the training camps has also been compressed to the limit. Now, a Zeon infantryman only has four weeks of training time, while the training time for armored soldiers and pilots is also constantly being reduced. In particular, the Dop pilots, who suffered the greatest losses, have had their flight time reduced to just over 100 hours to make up for the shortage.

In fact, as DeKin's most beloved youngest son, the situation in North America had always been on DeKin's mind. Especially after learning that most of the North American Army's Central Group had been annihilated, Prince DeKin's first thought was to bring Kalmar back from Earth.

However, his idea was rejected by Karma. Although she didn't say it outright, Karma was determined to fight the million soldiers on Earth to the last moment.

Therefore, Dekin could only urge the Zeon High Command to continue sending reinforcements to Kalma as much as possible.

The command could only fill in the gaps with those who hadn't had much training time, but fortunately these infantrymen only needed to squat in the trenches and fill in the lines, so the lack of training time didn't have much of an impact on them.

In addition to these regular troops, the Zeon High Command also sent some of the latest and improved technical equipment to Kalma.

First is the Gau-class aircraft carrier. This type of large aircraft carrier is currently in very short supply for the Zeon forces. Due to the Federation Forces' attack, the Zeon forces on the front lines urgently need giant fighters with high speed, long endurance, and large payload to transfer troops to various areas.

Moreover, the Gau-class destroyer itself has the capability to carry Dopp-class destroyers. In local battlefields, Dopp-class destroyers supported by the Gau-class destroyers can more sustainably compete for air superiority with the Federal Air Force.

As the war progressed, the Zeon forces realized that their newly acquired control of the sea was not very useful. Although their active submarines and marines had indeed inflicted losses on the Federation forces in the coastal areas through covert means and even occupied some islands, the Federation forces still possessed a massive air force and a global mobile strategic transport capability that was beyond the Zeon's imagination.

In addition to the Gau-class, the Zeon forces also developed an attack bomber named Derby-YS. After all, Dop's ground attack capability was not particularly outstanding. What could cause significant damage to the ground was a dedicated bomber with a large capacity, such as the Flying Ray, which made countless Zeon soldiers grit their teeth in hatred.

Besides these weapons, Karma had also made up his mind at the North American Command.

"Immediately recall the southern cluster!"

"Then the areas occupied by our army?"

"Abandon, but don't leave the Federation forces with any usable facilities!"

Karma said resolutely.

"Let the Southern Cluster destroy all industrial and resource facilities, disrupt urban transportation routes and public facilities, take everything that can be taken away, and destroy what cannot be taken away on the spot!"

"Is this a bit inappropriate? What if our army launches another attack later?"

"Let's not consider those things now. Also, the same goes for the population. We must take all the people with us and leave no usable resources for the Federation forces!"

Karma's words sent a chill down the spines of the high-ranking Zeon officers. Several of them even frowned as they looked at the commander of the Führer's Guard. However, what puzzled them was that even the commander of the Führer's Guard looked completely bewildered. Clearly, this plan was not their idea.

"Commander, if we do that, our retreat will be greatly slowed down!"

"It's alright. As long as the mobile infantry and armored units evacuate first, the rest can be handled by the infantry and the Führer's guard!"

“But, sir, operating the concentration camps in various places has already exhausted my troops. We do not have the spare capacity to carry out such a large-scale relocation operation!”

The commander of the Führer's guard also stood up reluctantly to voice his opposition. That involved millions of people, not millions of animals. Even millions of pigs would be difficult to manage.

"Then we'll only relocate the able-bodied men!"

"The elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled will also become a burden to the Federation Army. You can also destroy the city's food reserves, blow up all the water conservancy facilities, and destroy the farmland. In short, make all of this a burden to the Federation Army!"

Karma looked at his subordinates around him and spoke loudly.

"Now is not the time to dwell on whether the methods are cruel or not. Everyone, do you know that the Federation forces have already rebuilt part of their space fleet? They even attacked our space supply fleet just recently. We must inflict as many losses as possible on the Federation forces, otherwise, the California base will not be able to be held!"

In fact, Karma hadn't expected the situation to deteriorate so quickly. The Federation's Gabro base was launching newly built spaceships into the sky in days, and the control of space that Zeon had gained in the Battle of Loum was being gradually taken back by the Federation. Now, they really had no time left!
(End of this chapter)