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

Chapter 144 Zeon's Counterattack!

"Hey Lacey, you know what? Tom and I made a bet on who won the championship between the Cubs and the Red Sox in '78. How about you be my witness?"

On a forest road, a squadron of GMs belonging to the 29th Armored Division, accompanied by a large number of accompanying troops, is advancing toward the mountain pass.

Perhaps because they hadn't encountered any enemy activity yet, the GM pilots relaxed a bit, and then two of them even made a bet about a joke they'd heard earlier.

"Okay, how much are you betting?"

"How about the Five Hai Special?"

"Looks like someone's going to lose these five today!"

"You can make bets all you want, but keep an eye on your surroundings!"

While his men were laughing and joking, Commander Jim reprimanded them over the channel, clearly dissatisfied.

"No problem, boss. Look, isn't there a dog cart following us?"

A GM pilot looked at the Bloodhound armored vehicle at his feet. This armored vehicle, equipped with highly sensitive sensors, was constantly listening to the sounds of the wind and grass in the dense forest on both sides. Not to mention, every few minutes, it would stop and deploy a reconnaissance device to listen for vibration echoes in the vicinity. As long as there were Zeon people, nothing could escape their notice!

"That would be best!"

"Tom, I'm telling you, the Red Sox won the championship in '78!"

"Bullshit, it's clearly the Little Bears team!"

"The Cubs were champions in '77, don't believe me? Ask Lacey."

"Really?"

"Of course it's true, brother, give it to me quickly..."

"call out!"

Before the pilot, called Lacey, could finish speaking, a streak of light flew in from afar, emitting a sharp whistling sound, and struck Jim in the chest.

"Sniper! The mountain pass ahead!"

Captain Jim spotted the enemy firing at them immediately. He quickly raised his assault rifle and fired a volley of bullets in the direction of the sniper.

"Spread out, spread out!"

There were many federal troops on the highway, but after the attack, they did not panic and instead responded in an orderly manner.

The Type 61 tanks in front of the infantry quickly fired their vehicle-mounted smoke grenades, creating a smoke wall to cover the infantry behind them.

Meanwhile, the infantry fighting vehicles, fully loaded with infantry, quickly drove off the road and unloaded the infantry. At the same time, the pilots of the GM squad quickly took over from the captain who had run out of ammunition and began suppressing fire on the hilltop.

"Distance, 4300, armor-piercing rounds loaded, fire!"

The Type 61 artillery also joined in, and whistling shells landed one after another on the hilltop, instantly kicking up clouds of dust.

"That was a quick reaction!"

Looking at the earthen slope being bombarded in front of him, the Zaku pilot hiding on the reverse slope couldn't help but sigh. His special anti-ship rifle was a live-fire weapon, and he had to adjust some parameters when firing. As a result, he was suppressed and unable to lift his head because of this one pause.

"However, how do you know I'm the only one here?"

The Zaku pilot watched as the rockets fell again, then calmly popped a biscuit into his mouth.

Meanwhile, down the mountain, the Federation forces had quickly deployed their attack formation in the forest. The tanks assigned to the mobile soldiers had already driven off the road and were using the roadbed as cover to continuously suppress the enemy snipers at the mountain pass.

Behind them, the infantrymen quickly set up the Queen Missiles assigned to them, while the Bloodhound armored vehicles on the side had switched to listening mode.

On their flanks, the remaining four GMs had split into two groups and quickly moved to flank the mountain pass from both sides.

"Damn bastard!"

When the scouts tried to open the cockpit, only to find a mangled corpse, the GM pilots gritted their teeth, wishing they could catch the culprit, skin him alive, and devour his flesh.

As they advanced toward the mountain pass, the Federal officer in the Bloodhound vehicle behind them, who was responsible for monitoring the surrounding shockwaves, suddenly changed his expression.

"Stop Jim's advance! Enemy mobile suits are closing in from both flanks!"

"trap?"

"Call for battalion support. Infantry and tanks, hold your ground and defend!"

Captain Jim's expression was grave. He had already heard the commotion in the dense forest and could even vaguely see a figure flashing by in the woods. But they couldn't turn back now. Without their cover, those tanks and infantry would be finished!
"Be on guard, those guys are coming!"

As Captain Jim and his teammates stood ready, the commotion in the dense forest suddenly vanished. Then, apart from the artillery fire from friendly forces behind them, the Jim pilots heard nothing until the long, seemingly year-long, but actually less than five-minute, silent standoff abruptly ended.

Then, accompanied by the scraping sound of trees falling, a dark green Zaku suddenly charged out, brandishing its 120mm machine gun.

Captain Jim raised his shield to protect his body, maneuvered his mobile suit with a nimble roll to dodge the enemy's barrage, and returned fire. His bursts of fire were very accurate, shattering the Zaku's shoulder shield in just two or three rounds. Then, he swiftly and decisively fired all his ammunition at the enemy's exposed body.

As the Zaku was hit and convulsed amidst the hail of bullets, another Zaku suddenly appeared from the captain's left, wielding a two-handed thermal axe, and swiftly severed Captain Jim's right hand.

"Damn it!"

The second GM immediately turned around and raised its gun, wanting to rescue the captain, but just as it turned its MG79 around, a Zaku carrying a 280mm rocket launcher rushed out from beside it.

The Zaku advanced at full power and then pulled the trigger on the Jim.

Just as Jim's pilot pulled the trigger, a rocket blasted up and blew his machine to pieces.

After having his right hand cut off, Captain Jim, in a moment of quick thinking, used his shield as a weapon to strike the Zaku, causing it to stumble. He then used the shield as a grenade to smash it at the Zaku, and in the next second, he drew his beam saber with his left hand and lunged at the Zaku.

Upon seeing the incoming shield, the Zaku, which was under attack, cleaved it in two without thinking. Then, his monitor was suddenly filled with the appearance of the GM, which startled the pilot.

Then, the GM crashed into the Zaku's chest at full speed. However, the Zaku was not pierced by the beam saber. Instead, a cross-shaped thermal longsword appeared under the GM's armpit.

Then, under the watchful eyes of the Zaku pilot, a dark green, high-mobility Zaku emerged from the side and drew its heat sword.

"Kid, watch your step next time!"

"Yes, thank you for the rescue, Captain Aigba!"

The Zaku's pilot then realized that it was the captain beside him who had saved him.

"Quick reaction, a real warrior, what a pity!" The pilot of the high-mobility Zaku kicked the unresponsive GM on the ground, then looked to his right.

They could not see anything at all as they fell into the dense forest, where intense gunfire and explosions could be heard continuously, but soon these sounds disappeared completely.

"nailed it?"

"It's done, Captain! These guys are no match for me!"

"Don't get cocky. If it weren't for your good machine, you would have been taken down by the enemy long ago!"

"So now, Captain, should we take advantage of this momentum and wipe out those Federation troops ahead?"

"No, not for now. Let the others maintain their offensive!"

After losing all their GMs, the Federation forces were indeed somewhat panicked. After all, in the dense forest, the Type 61's range advantage could not be utilized, and once the mobile suits got close, they would be finished.

Can you confirm how many mobile suits there are?

"At this time, we can only confirm that there are six units!"

"Damn it, the guy who could take down Masor in an instant must be a master, or a special machine. We can't retreat, the reinforcements from the rear will be here soon!"

The tank squad commander wiped the sweat from his brow and spoke over the radio.

"I understand, I'll make sure the brothers hold on!"

The federal infantrymen were already digging kneeling firing positions. Although the surrounding trees looked thick enough to withstand bullets, they were still far from being able to withstand artillery fire.

Just as the infantrymen were engrossed in their work, the whistling sound of artillery fire came again from the woods.

"Take cover, fire!"

The next second, a volley of rockets whistled down and shook the ground of the Federation army's position. Before the dust had settled, the Zaku began bombarding again.

"Fire!"

Seeing the shadows leaping through the forest, the Type 61 immediately began to unleash its full firepower in all directions. The whistling armor-piercing shells tore through rows of trees, sending wood chips flying and dust scattering everywhere.

Meanwhile, the Federation infantry also did their utmost to fight back. Wire-guided missiles, rocket launchers, grenade launchers, and automatic cannons on infantry fighting vehicles were all fired at the Zakus that were about to launch an attack. The dense gunfire shook the entire forest.

"Damn it, those guys are too fast, I can't lock on!"

"Vehicle number three has been destroyed!"

Despite the Federation forces' valiant resistance, their own losses continued to mount. The Zaku moved nimbly through the forest, bombarding the Federation positions from a distance with various weapons. Tanks and infantry fighting vehicles were constantly being destroyed, and infantrymen felled by shrapnel cried out helplessly. Because there were so many of them, the medical supplies carried by the medics were not even enough.

"Damn it, where are our reinforcements?"

Seeing his troops on the verge of annihilation, the tank commander was frantic. Just as he was about to order his troops to prepare for withdrawal, a friendly call finally came through the radio.

"Blue Sword 21, this is Thunder 33. We have arrived above the combat zone and are requesting instructions on ground strike targets!"

"The air force is here! Transmit the data immediately!"

Using a data link, the flying rays in the sky quickly determined the location of friendly forces and the approximate location of the enemy. Subsequently, satellite-guided heavy bombs were launched and fell towards the outer perimeter of the defending forces' positions.

Then came another earth-shaking tremor. The power of the heavy bombs was far beyond what the small water pipes of the army could match. Under the watchful eyes of the federal troops, huge columns of smoke rose up, sending sand and stones flying everywhere, some even landing on the federal army's positions.

"Blow those bastards to death!"

"here you go!"

As the stingray flashed across the sky, the surviving Federation soldiers below cheered.

After the explosion, the tank commander received news from the follow-up troops that the 29th Armored Division had dispatched a battalion of mobile soldiers and a regiment of tanks on their way to pick them up, and they would arrive in about twenty minutes at most.

"Damn it, these guys are too slow!"

The tank commander had just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard his men suddenly shout.

"Sir, something's wrong! We've detected an increase in Minovsky particle concentration!"

"Sir, the listening devices have detected the sounds of more mobile suits, nearly forty in number, and also tracked vehicles!"

"Damn it, they're not targeting us!"

The tank commander's expression changed drastically.

"Get me a few infantry fighting vehicles in top condition and have them immediately notify friendly forces!"

"Everyone, take your positions! The Zeon are about to launch a general offensive!"

Despite the Federation commander's swift response, the Zeon forces were even faster in their deployment, especially with the Zaku appearing again at this crucial moment. The pilot had been observing for a long time, located the tank marked with command insignia, and then pulled the trigger.

A high-speed armor-piercing round easily penetrated the armor of the Type 61, and the shrapnel killed the driver in front of him, while also severing the commander's leg.

The infantrymen hurriedly pulled the still-breathing commander out of the smoking tank. Before he completely lost consciousness due to excessive blood loss, the commander glanced back and saw two heavily damaged infantry fighting vehicles, whose power systems were still intact, rushing onto the road under the cover of friendly forces. Only then did the commander finally lose consciousness.

With the interference of the rice grains, the Federation forces could only rely on the old method to warn the friendly forces in the rear. However, the two speeding infantry fighting vehicles were quickly spotted by the Zaku, who was monitoring from a high place.

Then, two high-mobility Zaku tanks emerged from the dense forest and chased after the infantry fighting vehicle.

"Damn it! Speed ​​up, speed up!"

The infantry fighting vehicle commander felt a chill run down his spine when he saw the special-purpose aircraft appearing behind him. He could only hope that he could shake them off, but unfortunately, the speed of the high-mobility Zaku was far beyond their ability to outrun.

"It's no use, just accept your fate!"

As the Federation infantry fighting vehicle drew closer, the pilot of a high-mobility Zaku intended to use a thermal axe to take it down, but another unit had already raised its 120mm machine gun, so he had no choice but to open fire as well.

Under the barrage of 120 multi-purpose armor-piercing rounds, the two infantry fighting vehicles were instantly turned into burning fireballs, tumbling off the road and crashing into the forest.

Then, the high-mobility Zaku quickly returned to its original position, and most of the Federation troops who were holding out were annihilated. On both sides of the road, only the burning wreckage that was still crackling was left.

Meanwhile, the reinforcements from the rear were completely unaware of this!
"Come on, brothers, let's teach these Federal soldiers a lesson on how to fight!"

(End of this chapter)