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

Chapter 171 Facing Death!

Perhaps to make a good impression on his new boss, Kinias put in the same hard work and dedication he used to have, and together with a group of Zeon technicians, carried out a thorough overhaul of the Apsaras that Macarius had brought in just three days.

The power reactor that powers the weapons was replaced, the external armor was replaced, and Apsaras's weapon system was redesigned with a limiter, allowing it to fire for a longer period at low power. Of course, this low power is only relative; it would not be strong enough to burn glass on the ground, but it would be more than enough to vaporize a mobile suit or a tank.

"By the way, couldn't this cannon be modified to be a diffusion type, like when I press a button and a circle of light comes out?"

"I plan to install this on Apsaras III because the internal redundancy is still too conservative and cannot drive such a powerful weapon system. At the same time, we also need to add additional cooling pipes!"

"Could you please provide me with a few external bot sites first?"

Marcarius was a staunch supporter of heavy firepower; even if there was only one cannon, no matter how powerful it was, he would still feel uncomfortable.

"External mounting point?"

Kinias wanted to slap himself. How could he not have thought of this? He could have just used a disposable rack to mount the enhanced firepower equipment, and then discarded it after firing. It would have been simple and effective, but he had never considered this way of working.

"As expected, it's much more pleasant to deal with professionals!"

"Don't worry, half a day is enough for us. So, what do you want to hang?"

Makarius pondered for a moment, then looked to the side. Just then, a GM passed by the hangar. Makarius looked at the cluster missile launchers mounted on the GM's two shoulders and immediately had an idea.

"I want that!"

How many do you need?

"How many? Hang them all up, lest Yuri think I can't afford them!"

Makarius waved his hand, and Kinias actually did it. Considering the take-off and landing requirements of the machine, the external hardpoints were all installed on Apsaras's back. Thus, Apsaras went from being a bread crab to a bread crab carrying rows of containers.

Kinias fully loaded the Makarius, installing 12 cluster missile launchers, each with 16 cells. These missile launchers did not have a turning function, nor did they need one. With just one button, these 192 cluster missiles could cover an entire area. Although their destructive power was not great, the sheer scale of the explosions was enormous.

After the missiles are fired, these launchers detach on their own, which is very convenient.

As for the driver, it was naturally Markarius himself. He didn't use the two-person driving mode, which was a small advantage of the Newtypes, as they could handle this kind of operation that required cooperation.

The escort mission was carried out by the four flying tigers treasured by Kinias. These special-purpose mobile suits were modified specifically for long-range combat. The electric whips that ordinary tigers have, which can be used for swinging, were removed. In their place were multi-barreled machine guns on both sides, including a 75mm twin-mounted cannon on the left arm and a 35mm Gatling gun shield on the right arm. The melee weapon was a heat sword. However, considering that this operation required everyone to stay on the ground and move in and out quickly, the heat sword would most likely not be needed.

As for the pilots of the flying tigers, Macarius selected Amuro, Nagase Hotaru, Norris, and Kakuland. Norris was recruited by Macarius as a conscript, while Kakuland volunteered. After joining the Red Dragon battle group, he had not yet made any contributions and felt that he had little face in the battle group, so he wanted to participate in some battles so that he could join in and chat a bit when everyone was bragging in the battle group.

After all, the atmosphere in the Red Dragon Battle Group is quite different from other Federation Army units. Everyone who can enter this unit is an elite pilot, so past personnel relationships and family backgrounds are completely unimportant. Everyone speaks based on their strength. Although Kakuland is also considered an ace, his number of kills is not high, just over twenty. You should know that in the Red Dragon Battle Group, a captain-level figure like him has an average of over forty kills, and the earlier batch even had sixty or seventy. Nagase Hotaru, who served as the vice captain, has even exceeded eighty kills.

As for Norris, he was just there to make up the numbers. There weren't many people who could master the flying tiger piloting skills in a short time, so he was pulled up. Norris still had a little psychological burden about having to kill his old friends right after switching sides. Therefore, Markarius didn't ask him to participate in the battle, but hoped that he could ensure the safety of the other three.

As for himself, he wasn't worried at all!

"If you want to shoot me down, you'd have to bring a Unicorn or a Phoenix first. With your current Zeon mobile suit, forget it!"

Afterwards, Makarius, now dressed in his special uniform, sat in the spacious cabin of Apsalas.

"Hmm, we can sell this stool to Amada Shirou secondhand. After all, Aina sat on it. Asking him for fifty or sixty thousand shouldn't be a problem!"

While waiting for the system to perform a self-check, Makarius couldn't help but think.

Then, once the screen was fully lit and the base's exits were fully open, Makarius pushed the throttle valve to its maximum.

"Makalius Skriny, Apsalas, attack!"

Despite carrying a large number of missile launchers, Apsalas' speed was not reduced much. After taking off from the base, Makarius immediately flew towards Chelyabinsk. Kinyas' research base was near the Aral Sea, while Yuri's command post was in a desert about 400 kilometers south of Chelyabinsk. The three were on the same flight path, so they were easy to identify.

As for why Major General Yuri didn't set up the base in the city, there were naturally reasons. In the past, civilians in the city would have been wary of the arrogant Zeon army, but with the Federation army's counter-offensive and the infiltration of a large number of guerrillas and Federation agents, the Zeon people are now seen as easy targets by the civilians. Especially in the city, if you're not careful, some unlucky guy will have his head chopped off in an unknown alley.

One of Yuri's regimental commanders died in this way. He was riding around the city in an open-top jeep when a bomb was thrown into the car by federal guerrillas. Although the attackers were killed on the spot by the armored vehicle behind the jeep, the regimental commander's entire lower limbs were blown off by the bomb. He was sent to the hospital and groaned for three days before dying.

Therefore, from then on, Yuri ordered all command, logistics and medical departments to withdraw from the city. Except for combat troops, anyone who wanted to enter the city had to go in groups, otherwise, it would easily become a military achievement for the Federation guerrillas.

Meanwhile, in his base, Kinnias hummed a Zeon folk song from his hometown while checking the time. After confirming that Makarius was close to the enemy's command post, Kinnias took the initiative to make a communication with him.

"Please help me find Commander Yuri!"

Perhaps because he was in a good mood, Kinias even used honorifics when speaking to the operator. Then, the call was connected, and Lieutenant General Yuri, with his collar open and revealing his two muscular chest muscles, grinned and showed off his big white teeth as he appeared in front of Kinias.

"You're just in time to contact me, old friend! I was just about to reach out to you!"

"What's the matter?"

"I need to transfer three of your battalions. Is that alright?"

"No problem, adjust it as you like!"

Yuri was somewhat surprised to see Kinias so readily agree.

"You're so quick to agree?"

"What else can I do? You've already canceled my project, what else can I do?"

"Kinias, times have changed. Our army is producing new mobile suits at the Baikonur base. Do you know how much combat power we could gain if we transferred Apsaras's resources there?"

"Then my Apsaras isn't a fighting force?"

"That's just a flashy but impractical toy!"

Yuri frowned again, thinking Kinias might still want to try, and then refused. "Our army doesn't have the capacity to continue your project, so give up. This is not only my order, but also Lieutenant General Mark Bay's intention. He also wants to transfer you to the reserve division as a reserve commander. Your base can also be prepared to close!"

Upon hearing this, Kinias was filled with rage. The so-called reserve division was not a specific unit designation, but rather Zeon's reserve replenishment organization, responsible for scavenging all combat-ready soldiers, including the retreating troops from the front lines, wounded soldiers without veteran units, and a large number of logistics soldiers. To make Kinias do this was tantamount to exile, since Kinias was a technical major general. Even if he were to be transferred, he should be sent to the research department of Baikonur or another base.

Upon hearing this, Kinias's last shred of friendship towards Yuri vanished completely.

"Okay, I agree to everything!"

"You, you seem a bit off today!"

"Because I feel that this is the attitude one should maintain towards a dying person; whatever you say, I will agree!"
"Kinias, what do you mean?"

"That's the idea. Enjoy your last moments of happiness, Yuri, my old friend!"

At that moment, Yuri's air defense radar also detected the high-speed moving Apsaras.

"Sir, an aircraft of our own forces is approaching; its model is Apsaras!"

"How is that possible? Wasn't that thing captured by the Federal Army? He couldn't possibly build another one!"

"That machine was captured by the Federal Army!"

"Kinias, have you gone mad?"

"I simply made the right choice. But you, Yuri, do you know that the Red Dragon is coming for you!"

Kinias's words struck Yuri's heart like a heavy hammer.

"Organize an air defense operation immediately and shoot that thing down!"

"The enemy is scattering rice grains; radar has lost target!"

"We still have to fight!"

Before Yuri could finish speaking, bursts of fire erupted in the sky. These were the flashes of light from Apsaras's beam cannon intercepting anti-air munitions fired by the Zeon forces on the ground. Then, seeing the Zeon base that was now close at hand, Makarius unleashed all the cluster missiles he was carrying in one go.

Nearly two hundred missiles split again at close range and then fell on the entire base, turning the command base into an inferno in an instant with continuous explosions.

After firing the missile, Makarius controlled Apsalas to draw a zigzag pattern in low-power firing mode across the anti-aircraft fire network of the Zeon base.

After being irradiated by the particle beam, radar, missile launchers, anti-aircraft guns, and any Zeon equipment in the firing path were instantly vaporized and evaporated by the beam, leaving not even a trace of debris.

Meanwhile, ordinary Zeon soldiers on the ground, unaware of the situation, saw Apsaras's paint scheme and couldn't help but let out a mournful cry.

"What's going on? Isn't Crimson Lightning one of ours? Why is she attacking us?"

"Is this the time to be arguing about this? Let's fight back!"

The Zeon troops on the ground saw the scorched earth and the devastation of the anti-aircraft facilities. Knowing there was no way to escape, they could only desperately fire at the large iron block flying in the sky with everything they had. Although the thing looked clumsy, under Macarius's control, it rapidly left all kinds of attacks behind. Only a few shrapnel occasionally hit Apsaras's armor, but apart from leaving white marks on it, it couldn't shake it at all.

Instead, Macarius continued to unleash death beams from the sky, incinerating all the mobile suits into dust.

While Apsaras was wreaking havoc, the four flying tigers guarding Apsaras also began attacking the Zeon base, raining down bullets and pinning down the Zeon troops below.

Several squads of Zaku attempted to take off in Dede to intercept the Flying Tiger, but Apsaras suddenly swept past them from behind and sliced ​​the machines into pieces in mid-air with a beam of light.

Lieutenant General Yuri in the command tower could only watch helplessly as his base was gradually turned into a sea of ​​fire, with nowhere to escape and nowhere to run. Apsaras seemed to be toying with him, destroying everything except the command tower bit by bit.

"I knew this day would come!"

"Apsaras pilot, does slaughtering my men bring you pleasure?"

Having exhausted all other options, Yuri could only angrily question them over the communication channel.

Then he heard a sneer coming from the channel.

"Yes, I'd like to know too. Lieutenant General Yuri, were you happy when you were slaughtering those space dwellers living on the colonies?"

"My men didn't do those things!"

"Then go tell those dead cosmic inhabitants that I was just sending your subordinates to meet those innocent civilians!"

As Makarius spoke, he maneuvered the aircraft to descend.

Apsaras then descended to the same height as Yuri's command tower.

"In my opinion, you and your men are pathetic, Lord Yuri!"

Through the monitor, Makarius saw Yuri standing by the window of the command tower. Yuri had driven his men to the lower level, and now he was the only one left on the upper level.

"You can't just claim to be innocent victims with clean hands when you're being slaughtered by the Federation forces!"

"Yes, you're right, let's get started!"

Yuri nodded, then slowly fastened the top button of his uniform, before nodding to Apsaras outside.

Then, Apsaras's beam completely evaporated the upper half of the command tower.

(End of this chapter)