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

Chapter 155 Char, There's Good News
"As expected of the Red Dragon!"

"Maintain formation, don't scatter!"

"Did you hear that? Stick close to the red dragon and you'll survive!"

Macarius's G3 Gundam was already wreaking havoc on the Zeon front. Although he didn't have any comrades from the Red Dragon Team by his side, the pilots from other units of the Federation Forces had become his most loyal supporters, following in Macarius's footsteps and carving a path through the Zeon lines.

Everyone was astonished by Makarius's formidable long-range shooting ability, so much so that the dozen or so GMs following behind him were all converted into beam rifle carriers, specifically for carrying Makarius's guns.

Of course, besides carrying guns, these guys also act as human shields, cheerleaders, scouts, and so on.

It wasn't that these guys didn't want to fight, but that Makarius was reaping kills too quickly. No one who wasn't an elite pilot could withstand a single blow from his gun. Ordinary Zeon pilots didn't even have time to fire their guns before being riddled with bullets by his beam rifle.

Just over two hours after launching the attack, Makarius had transformed into a sharp dagger piercing the belly of the Zeon army, ruthlessly cutting through their formation.

"Sir, it's still too dangerous here. You should retreat a bit!"

"Where is it not dangerous?"

Listening to the intense gunfire that was no longer discernible from any direction, and looking at the soldiers deployed on the surrounding houses as if facing a formidable enemy, the commander, who had just stepped down from the Gallup-class aircraft carrier, couldn't help but smile wryly as he looked at his subordinates beside him.

"Did you hear that cannon fire?"

"It's only about ten kilometers away from us, there's nowhere safe anymore!"

"Then at least please go back to the Gallup-class; it's safer there!"

"I'm just getting some fresh air, I'll be back in a bit!"

As the commander spoke, he had someone bring over the map.

"If our troops are forced to retreat now..."

Before the commander, who was looking at the map, could finish speaking, an extremely piercing whistling sound came from above them, startling the Zeon officers into shrinking back.

"Don't be afraid, that's a large pallet-class aircraft carrier from the Federation Army. The fact that we can hear it proves we're still safe!"

What is their goal?

"It's our warship!"

The commander looked toward the impact point of the shells. Although he couldn't see it, he knew there was a Dabud-class battleship there that had accompanied the Second Division's attack. Clearly, the Federation forces had noticed the ship, and now they were inviting the Dabud-class to a land-based battleship duel.

The Dabd-class frigates responded quickly, firing a salvo at the other side. The two warships then engaged in a firefight at a distance of over 100 kilometers.

However, after only a few rounds of firing, the Federation forces once again deployed a large pallet-sized force, initiating a brutal two-on-one attack.

Due to the complex battlefield environment, the battleships were unable to use the high-tech methods of the past and could only use the old method of aircraft-assisted fire correction. Just as a Federation reconnaissance aircraft was correcting its artillery fire, the crew on board saw a large area of ​​rice-grain interference on the radar.

Unlike typical rice-grain scattering areas, the rice grains in this area were highly active, indicating that machines were continuously scattering them. This naturally attracted the attention of the Federal Army, who then notified nearby Federal Army units.

"Rice grain interference zone?"

Marcarius glanced at the map and immediately became interested. Although his initial target was not this place, but the neighboring region, where, according to reports from the Federation forces, a poor imitation of the Red Dragon had appeared, he had specifically wanted to go and meet it. But now, seeing such a strange area on the map, Marcarius naturally became interested.

"Commander Butler, have your men come with me, we're going here!"

"No problem, but is one group enough?"

"Enough, unless the Zeon people here can conjure up a division of Zeon ships for me!"

Then, the federal troops, advancing at breakneck speed, defeated several small units nearby and approached the city of Reading on the map.

"Sir, please leave immediately! Federal troops are approaching!"

"Have you confirmed the enemy's size?"

The Zeon commander, who was in the city, was not flustered. Instead, he inquired about the specific enemy situation.

"The situation is unclear. The enemy force consisted mainly of mobile suits and included elite pilots. Our alert forces were wiped out before they could even issue a warning!"

"First, get the guard battalion into battle to hold them off. Then send a message to Red Comet, asking him to come and provide support immediately!"

No sooner had the Zeon commander given his orders than the sound of Zaku machine guns firing came from outside the city. After jumping onto the Gallup-class ship, the commander immediately used the ship's equipment to look into the distance. He saw an unknown number of GMs appearing in rows on the horizon. In addition to the GMs, there were even several artillery-type steel tanks deployed on the high ground outside the city. Clearly, this was not a small-scale harassment, but a main force of the Federation Army that had stumbled upon his command post.

Jim then engaged in fierce fighting with the Zeon forces in the city, and as soon as the two sides opened fire, the Union Army knew that they had caught a big fish!

"Major Kliny, we have confirmed the existence of a special-purpose machine!"

"What the hell? Show me the image!"

Then, a strange Zaku with a sand-painted design, carrying a 180mm shoulder gun and a twin missile launcher on its right side, appeared in front of Makarius.

"Zakuganon?"

"Watch out for his shoulder cannon, your Jim can't take it!"

Marcarius then quickened his pace as he circled around, though he wasn't sure why such rare creatures existed here, but circling around was definitely the right thing to do!

Instead of launching an attack, Zakuganon stayed in the city, constantly using its shoulder-mounted cannon to roam and draw the fire of the Federation's steel tanks.

Meanwhile, the Gallup-class ship was also rapidly withdrawing its forces and preparing to retreat. By the time the Federation forces spotted the Gallup-class ship and tried to fire upon it, it was too late. The ship had already started its engines and begun its retreat under the cover of buildings.

The Zaku Ganon that had outmaneuvered the Federation forces quickly followed, leaving only the Zaku on the perimeter desperately trying to hold off the Federation troops.

"Hahaha, it seems the Federation forces really didn't expect this. If they had ambushed us from behind, we would have been finished!"

The Zeon commander, sitting on the bridge, breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but sigh. Then, a blinding purple beam shot out from the side of the road, shattering the towering watchtower of the Gallup-class ship.

"Sir, Federation mobile suits have appeared on our left! Yes, it's Red Dragon!"

"Nani?"

The Zeon commander rushed to the command platform and saw a Gundam, almost entirely painted red, appearing behind the swirling shadows of buildings.

"The enemy is about to open fire, take cover!"

Seeing the beam rifle in the enemy's hand glow again, the Zeon commander immediately shouted, and the helmsman, who was piloting the ship, turned the rudder to the right. The next second, a beam of light that should have hit the ship flew past the left engine.

"We've lost the left engine!"

"Redistribute the power, send out the guards, and all those Chui are to attack!"

Then Gallup's hatch opened, and three ground-based Zaku jumped out of the cabin one after another. Behind them were three strange-looking tracked vehicles that resembled coat hangers.

Makarius intended to fire another shot at the Gallup-class, but his senses suddenly began to warn him, forcing him to brake suddenly. Then, a 180mm high-explosive round grazed the G3 Gundam and blasted a small building not far away into the sky.

"Thank goodness it wasn't a beam weapon!"

Makarius looked to the other side, where the Zaku Cannon, after firing a shell, began to move towards the friendly unit while reloading, clearly trying to buy time for it.

However, how could Macarius give the opponent another chance to fire a second shot? The G3 Gundam started again. He silently calculated the opponent's movement speed, then leaped up onto the building next to him. After silently apologizing to the homeowner, Macarius pulled the trigger.

Then, the beam rifle fired, firing a particle beam that pierced through three buildings in one go. The particle beam that had penetrated the buildings then precisely pierced the Zakuganon's head monitor.

After landing, Makarius raised his shield in front of him, using the shield, which was already covered in gunfire marks, to protect the cockpit. He continued to charge the rifle. After the charge was completed, the G3 Gundam suddenly slid to his knees, opening the shield and revealing the rifle in his hand.

One of the ground-based Zaku was penetrated before it had even fired half its ammunition. G3, having finished its slide, rose up and leaped again using the building as cover. At the same time, it raised its shield in its left hand and launched a rocket, hitting the second Zaku. The pilot of the third Zaku could only frantically unleash a barrage of bullets behind Macarius, only raising his gun again after the latter landed.

The three ground-based Zaku tanks were destroyed so swiftly and cleanly, while the remaining Chui tanks hadn't even left the town yet, until Markarius, who was chasing Gallup, collided with them.

Amid the driver's desperate screams, the G3 Gundam stomped down, destroying one Chui tank. Then, as it took another step, a second Chui tank was kicked over.

"Sorry, I thought it was a speed bump!"

Ignoring the remaining remnants, Markarius sped up and caught up. Soon, he spotted Gallup advancing. Having lost half of its propulsion engines, Gallup's speed had decreased significantly.

"Then let me help you!"

Makarius raised his rifle and fired a shot, instantly turning Gallup's intact right-side engine into dust and disappearing into thin air.

Seeing the approaching Gundam, Gallup wanted to fire with the main cannon on the rear, but the Gundam just twisted its body and the shell flew past the enemy to the rear. Then, a rocket was fired from the shield again, blowing the enemy's turret into the sky.

After crippling the opponent's ability to resist, Markarius intended to capture the Gallup, but the next second, his senses began to warn him again.

Four whistling rockets hurtled towards him. As Makarius raised his shield, he fired his first cannon again, detonating the four rockets in mid-air.

After the explosion, a bright red, highly mobile Zaku made a dazzling appearance from afar.

Looking at the red, highly mobile Zaku, a lively little tune immediately popped into Makarius's head.

"It's a red comet! We're saved!"

Gallup's Zeon troops immediately cheered.

The High Mobility Zaku also stopped in front of Gallup, confronting the G3 Gundam.

"Long time no see, Char. You've been doing well lately, piloting a High Mobility Zaku now. Unlike me, I only have this Gundam to fly!"

Hearing the voice coming from the public channel, Xia Ya couldn't help but chuckle. This guy always had to put on an act in front of him every time they met.

"Then let's switch?"

"Sure, you can come down first!"

"Then why didn't you go down first?"

"I'm afraid you're plotting against me!"

"Then I'll go first, and you won't hold it against me?"

"Didn't this mean our plan failed?"

Xia was speechless for a moment. He had thought the other party would be a good person, but he hadn't expected that he had been overthinking things.

"So it seems we have nothing to talk about today?"

"We can talk, you come back with me, and I'll consider it a defection on the front lines. The people on Gallup will also be credited to you. You'll be a high-ranking official in the Federation, which would be a great thing!"

"That's impossible!"

"Xia, what are you doing? Kill him already!"

Just as the two were chatting idly, the Zeon commander on Gallup began to anxiously urge them on the channel.

Seeing Char poised to attack, clearly wanting to test how many moves the High Mobility Zaku could withstand against him, Macarius spoke slowly and deliberately.

"So, before we fight, let me ask you, do you want to know where she is?"

"I do not want!"

Xia gritted his teeth and said, word by word.

"Tsk tsk, how pathetic. The good brother has actually disowned his sister. I never thought Caspar would become so cold-blooded. I'll have to have a good talk with Artesia when I get back!"

"?"

When the Zeon commander heard the name, he was stunned. When he realized what the name meant, cold sweat suddenly broke out on his forehead.

"Surrender immediately! Quickly, surrender to Gundam!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs, but when he looked up, he saw that the high-mobility Zaku in front of Gallup had turned around at some point.

The next second, Char's heat axe pierced Gallup's armor, killing everyone inside. At the same time, Char didn't forget to dismantle the entire ship to prevent any survivors from being left behind.

Then he turned to look at G3.

"you do this delibrately!"

"Yes, it was intentional. Now that Artesia is on my team, don't you want to see her?"

"Yes, I miss her. She's my only family, but I can't see her. I have things to do!"

"I see. Then leave a message for her. Don't worry, I'll make sure she's safe!"

Makarius then turned on the recording equipment.

Then, Xia Ya said a few simple words. At this moment, he finally took off all his disguise and showed his true self. He used a mixture of emotions, such as guilt, sadness and joy, to record the bits and pieces of the past years in the machine in simple sentences.

After he finished speaking, Char Aznable reverted to being the cold, red comet once again.

"Then I'm entrusting my sister to you!"

Although reluctant, Xia had to admit that Artesia was the safest person for him with Macarius. At least the other party wouldn't use her for anything. That damn guy had some bad ideas and used them all on himself!

Then, Char prepared to leave. He had destroyed the headquarters of the 2nd Zeon Division, leaving nothing behind. So, he now had to find a way to escape back to the California base. Staying here would only lead to him being constantly schemed against by shameless villains.

Just as Char was about to leave, Makarius suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, by the way, one more thing!"

"what?"

"Taking care of your sister isn't easy either, shouldn't you give her some living expenses or something? I won't ask for much, just two chests of gold!"

"Where am I supposed to find gold for you now?"

Char hadn't expected the other party to bring up this.

"Then just leave it at that. I'll pay you next time we meet. I'll calculate the late payment fee at the highest interest rate!"

Before Marcarius could finish speaking, Char's mobile suit had already disappeared, leaving only a trail of exhaust fumes.

Seeing the other party's disheveled appearance as they left, Makarius sighed.

"Looks like they're really panicking; they can't even completely silence the witnesses!"

Then, the G3 Gundam suddenly turned around and pulled the trigger at the building behind it. A Chui tank and the building it was hiding in were destroyed. Even so, Makarius did not leave. He carefully checked the scene and made sure that no Zeon soldiers were left alive before rushing to meet up with his allies.

(End of this chapter)