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

Chapter 174 Launch Moment
"Estimated arrival time: two minutes!"

Marcarius had already seen the burning Baikonur base, with countless fire rains falling on the land from all directions. Amidst the flames, the Zeon forces' positions transformed into a fire-breathing monster, retaliating against the surrounding area.

As Makarius watched the approaching intersection on the map, he released the weapon safety and, once the blue triangle representing him crossed the dotted line on the electronic map, immediately pulled the G3 Gundam into the air.

"Federation Mobile Suit!"

Upon seeing the enemy signal on the radar, the Zeon soldier on guard duty immediately rushed to the siren next to him, while his colleagues were already activating the emergency defense system. As the radar illuminated the area, the anti-aircraft missiles on the Zeon position began to warm up their engines, and the rapid-fire machine guns also turned towards Makarius.

The G3 Gundam, standing on the platform, made no move to react. It simply floated in the air, raised its beam rifle, aimed it at the Zeon troops on the ground, and made a firing motion.

Immediately afterwards, missile launchers, automatic anti-aircraft guns, and even the power supply vehicles and radar vehicles that control them all exploded violently.

"what happened?"

"There are enemies above us too!"

Although he wasn't a Newtype, Shirou Amada was still an elite pilot, and with Aina's assistance, his attack coordination with Macarius was seamless. It was almost as if wherever Macarius looked, the beam cannon would be aimed at that spot.

At this moment, Apsaras, firing at full power, appeared to the Zeon soldiers like a giant bewitching demon crawling out of hell. The beams shooting from its enormous eyeballs sliced ​​through the earth, melting the surface into flowing lava that gradually devoured the equipment and buildings that had not yet been destroyed.

Marcarius glanced at the countdown on the screen in front of him. In just two minutes, two division-sized air defense positions deployed by the Zeon forces outside the launch zone were wiped out. The entire scene was a mess, with the melting ground and scorching air making it feel like being in purgatory.

As the Zeon soldiers struggling to escape looked through the distorted air at the sky that was beginning to lighten, all they could see was the blood-red Gundam with its eyes glowing a vivid red light, looking down at the earth from mid-air.

Then, behind him, a dense array of Federation mobile suits appeared, each mounted on a flight ramp.

"Boss, we've detected a green signal flare!"

"Go and meet up with them immediately!"

After dealing with the Zeon air defense positions, the Red Dragon battle group moved straight into the launch zone. At that moment, the Federation special forces, who had captured the nuclear missile silos with an incredibly brilliant surprise attack at dawn, were also being counterattacked by the Zeon forces. Seeing the huge steel giant rushing towards them, the commander of the Federation special forces immediately drew his signal pistol and fired three shots into the sky.

"Federal Army Mobile Forces, prepare for battle!"

The Zeon forces, attempting to retake the missile silos, were aware that the Federation forces were advancing towards them. One Zaku unit after another immediately took precautions, but what appeared before them first was not the Federation's GMs, but rather a barrage of heavy rockets hurtling towards them.

Amidst the exploding light of the rockets, Amuro's Elf Gundam took the lead, landing from its flight platform and immediately unleashing a massacre while still shrouded in smoke and dust, wielding its beam dagger.

One after another, the Zakus, blown to pieces, didn't even have time to raise their weapons before their cockpits were pierced by beam daggers. Meanwhile, after Amuro got off to a good start, Makarius, holding a double-barreled rifle, was also taking precise shots at the Zeon soldiers on the ground from his superior position.

Dozens of Zeon mobile suits were reduced to burning wreckage in an instant. The Zeon troops who accompanied the mobile suits in their attack tried to hold on, but as more and more GMs landed and opened fire on them, the Zeon soldiers could only abandon their broken limbs and struggle to escape to safety.

"Thanks for your support, I'll leave the rest to you!"

After the Red Dragon battle group cleared the area around the missile silos, the federal special forces soldiers were able to focus on removing the nuclear warheads from the missiles.

"Federal forces raiding the launch zone?"

When Lieutenant General Mark Bay, who was moving toward the launch site, heard the news, his face turned green. He was still preparing to return to space on a rocket.

"Why would those guys raid the launch site? Wait, they're after the nuclear missile!"

"Yes, the missile silos have been captured by the Federation forces. They have used special forces to infiltrate our positions, and our army also has Federation moles providing support..."

"This is not the time to talk about this. Immediately mobilize the troops and drive them out!"

Upon learning that the attacking force was the Red Dragon battle group, Mark Bay didn't even dare to say anything about annihilating them. He simply ordered his men to use every means possible to force them out of the launch zone.

"Also, immediately deploy the reserve forces!"

Which reserve team should be used?

"all!"

"Send up everyone who can breathe!"

Then, Makarius saw a large number of Zeon infantrymen appearing outside their defensive line, advancing towards it under the cover of a few Magella tanks and Marder infantry fighting vehicles.

"Trying to win by sheer volume?"

"Unfortunately, we have quite a lot here too!"

Makarius has deployed the entire battle group, including mobile suits and armored units, in the launch zone. Even the field hospital has set up tents in a safe location, ready to receive the wounded at any time.

Thus, these Zeon infantrymen, who were initially driven by their officers to participate in the attack, encountered fierce resistance from their own comrades.

The Federation infantry set up various light and heavy weapons and began to sweep the Zeon infantry who were advancing in skirmish lines. The Magella were also detonating one after another under the GM's burst fire. The Marder infantry fighting vehicle, which the GM pilots looked down on, was a hot commodity in the eyes of the Type 61 tank crew.

These crews didn't even use armor-piercing rounds; instead, they loaded high-explosive shells and blasted the infantry fighting vehicles to pieces.

An entire regiment of Zeon infantrymen was wiped out before they even entered rifle range, but even so, the Zeon infantrymen continued to attack relentlessly, taking over from the annihilated friendly forces.

After the second regiment suffered heavy losses, the Zeon mobile suits that had been serving as reserves at the base finally arrived at the battlefield.

"Hey, it's the Red Wolf Squad! They wiped out five Federation fleets in Loom!"

Upon seeing the paint scheme of the Zeon mobile suits that had come to reinforce them, the Zeon soldiers who were being killed by Federation artillery fire on the ground cheered, as if the arrival of this force would allow them to turn the tide against the Federation forces.

"Everyone, be careful, our enemy is not..."

The commander of this Zeon Red Wolves squad was a woman named Ilya Solari. When her squad arrived at the battlefield, Solari already knew the nature of their opponent. Just as she was instructing her subordinates to be careful, a blinding beam of light shot from afar, piercing through one of her Zaku tanks.

"Kyle? Scatter!"

Solari stared in disbelief as the Zaku, with a gaping hole in his chest, staggered to the ground, crushing a group of unfortunate infantrymen into a bloody pulp.

"How did that guy do that, you bastard!"

The first one to be taken down was Kyle, the sniper from the Red Wolf squad. He was supposed to be the one launching the attack from the furthest distance, but now, Kyle didn't even see the enemy before he was burned to ashes by a single shot.

Just as the Red Wolf team's machines dispersed, a second beam of light struck again, piercing through the side of the second Zaku that was still moving.

"Rider!"

"That guy's accurate. We need to keep moving, LeSean, did you hear me?"

Captain Solari, unable to check on the second fallen comrade, could only shout into the radio to his surviving men.

But fate seemed to be playing a joke on her; the third Zaku was hit head-on by the beam again before it could even run a hundred meters.

"Amuro, have you ever seen a Gundam up close? It has saved an unimaginable number of lives!"

As easily as taking a sip of water, after taking down three Zaku on the ground beyond the machine's detection range with a beam rifle, Makarius suddenly told Amuro a lame joke, which Amuro chuckled at and then said.

"If Gundam doesn't save lives, are we supposed to rely on Zaku to do it?"

The Zeon infantry, who had just been excited about the Red Wolves' appearance, were now all speechless. In particular, the Zeon soldier who had been excitedly explaining the Red Wolves' achievements to his allies was now burning with embarrassment, as if he had been slapped hard across the face.

The Red Wolf squad, which had wiped out five Federation fleets in the Battle of Loum, had three members killed by the enemy as easily as kicking a stray dog ​​to death before even entering the battlefield. This sudden change had already overloaded their brains.

"But they are facing the Red Dragon, which sank countless of our mobile suits and warships in Loom!"

Finally, a voice echoed softly from the crowd.

Then, with a silent sigh, another group of Zeon troops bypassed the still-smoking Zaku wreckage and launched an attack on the Federation forces' positions.

Watching her teammate disappear in an instant, Captain Solari could only vaguely control her mech and advance alongside the infantry. The beam that had just killed her subordinate did not shoot at her, which made her feel somewhat dazed.

"Does it mean you look down on me, or you're too lazy to even lift a finger?"

As Solari was thinking this, an unfamiliar voice came through her public radio channel.

"Captain Solari, does Red Comet know that you sank five fleets?"

"I……"

Solari immediately realized that the person he was talking to was the famous Red Dragon.

She wanted to answer, but then she suddenly heard a warning from friendly forces on the ground. Then, all that remained in Solari's view was a blinding light.

As the last Zaku, its body swaying with the large hole that had just appeared, collapsed helplessly onto the ground, a young Federation pilot in a Gundam fighting on the other side of the Baikonur base felt a sense of relief, as if something unpleasant had been weighing on him was dissipating, which made him even more excited.

"What did you say? The Red Wolves were wiped out?"

Mark Bay, who was almost at the launch site, couldn't help but roar.

"Then keep moving personnel around, and bring back the big demons from the front lines. Forget about the outer defenses; the most important thing now is the launch zone!"

Mark Bay was so anxious he was about to jump up. With the Red Dragon nearby, he dared not launch. Although dozens of rockets and several warships were ready to launch, he couldn't guarantee how many of these vehicles would make it safely into space, not to mention that he himself would be on one of them. So, he had no choice but to call back the important front-line squads. Since the chances of returning safely to space were slim anyway, he figured he might as well let the front-line troops serve Zeon on Earth until the very last moment, so that their mission wouldn't be in vain.

Soon, accompanied by the roar of engines, several Zeon squads equipped with Dom finally abandoned their allies at the front and reached the rear, immediately launching an attack on the launch zone.

To Mark Bay's utter astonishment, these demons met no better than the so-called Red Wolves. The enemy's beams seemed to have eyes, and even if the demons could run at speeds of 240 kilometers per hour, they still could not escape death.

Their rocket launchers failed to inflict any damage on the Federation forces, mainly because there was someone on the position with auto-aiming enabled. The rockets fired by the trolls were even intercepted by the enemy's beam rifles.

"Sir, I think now, you have no choice but to take a gamble!"

Seeing wave after wave of troops falling at the front, yet still unable to break through the Red Dragon's defenses, Mark Bay's adjutant whispered something.

"If we don't leave now, it will be too late. Now, we can only gamble that the Federation's intercepting firepower is not dense enough!"

"Let those Zanzibar ships launch first, let them draw our fire!"

Mark Bay then ordered the convoy to find the nearest HLV rocket on the edge of the road and then got on.

He was betting that among these dozens of HLVs and several Zanzibar cruisers, Makarius's first shot would definitely not be the one he was sitting on!

Then, Markarius noticed the anomaly in the entire launch area. As far as he could see, a large number of underground launch silos had been activated. Clearly, something was about to go into space!
"Quick, quick, brothers, get your weapons ready and start shooting the turkey!"

"Those Zeon guys are going to run away!"

Then, accompanied by a massive surge of steam rising from underground, and amidst violent tremors, a Zanzibar cruiser emerged from its launch silo and ascended into the sky.

Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, the spaceship suddenly exploded!

(End of this chapter)