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

Chapter 180 The Zeonians Blocking the Door
"Attention! Salute!"

When Markarius boarded his Trafalgar-class ship with his command staff, Paul Cassius, the squadron commander, was already waiting on the bridge.

"Captain Cassius, are you satisfied with this new ship?"

"Very satisfied, this is much bigger than the White Base!"

This wasn't the first time the two had met. He had already met with the other party and sought his opinion when he made his critical comment on the White Base. Captain Paul never expected that he, the captain of a mere assault landing ship, would be chosen to become the fleet commander of an independent fleet. He had even prepared to stay at the White Base until his retirement.

So when Markarius asked for his opinion, Captain Paul readily agreed.

With his departure, the position of captain of the White Base naturally became vacant. As a result, Bradnoa, who dared to kiss his superior, was promoted one rank and became the new commander of the White Base.

In fact, Brad had been living in fear these past few days. After all, he was just a lowly lieutenant who was just passing by. He was naturally annoyed to see an unknown young man commenting on the warship that was his lifeline. So he went up and questioned him, and then he found that he had kicked a hornet's nest.

Since then, Brad was even prepared to be transferred to the kitchen to wash potatoes. However, his promotion was not unreasonable. Captain Paul Cassius thought highly of this young man. He was skilled and capable. White Base had traveled to and from space several times and had also fought against Zeon warships. Brad commanded the warship's turrets to sink a Zeon cruiser, Musai, on his first mission.

Captain Paul was relieved to have the White Base handed over to him.

Soon, the entire Red Dragon battle group was fully loaded, and then the huge cranes in the dock connected the warships and booster rockets together.

Using propellant rockets to launch warships into the air is so costly that it would give any financial expert a headache. But for the sake of victory, the Federation forces had no choice but to grit their teeth and persevere. Of course, this launch method looks dangerous and is actually not safe, because during the ascent phase, neither Magellan nor Salamis can do anything. At present, the Federation forces can only guarantee that the White Trojan-class warships can fly within the atmosphere. If a problem occurs, the former two will be pulled directly to the ground by gravity and turn into brilliant fireworks.

As for being attacked, the outcome wouldn't be much better. Just like the Zanzibar of the Zeon forces, it would be turned into a lighter in the sky with a single hit. Therefore, before the launch, the Federal Air Force had already sealed off the surrounding airspace. Even a paper airplane that flew out would be greeted by more than a dozen missiles.

"Are you ready?"

After receiving affirmative responses from all departments, Paul, sitting in the captain's seat, immediately turned to look at Makarius beside him.

"Then you give the orders, young man!"

"Okay!"

Marcarius straightened his collar and then waved his hand.

"Target: Space! Enterprise (Trafalgar-class ship name), launch!"

Subsequently, the massive warship was sent into the launch orbit, and as the rocket booster engines began to burn, the ships of the Red Dragon battle group, led by the Enterprise, gradually broke free from the constraints of gravity.

The azure sky gradually turned black, and the earth behind them shrank little by little. After an absolutely unforgettable ascent, Enterprise finally reached near-Earth orbit.

The booster rockets detached, the warship engines ignited, and then the battle group truly left Earth and entered space.

Outside the ship's porthole, Makarius also saw some floating steel debris. This debris also belonged to the Federation fleet and was left behind by Federation warships that had been attacked by the Zeon forces. The broken debris floated quietly on the tracks, like a warning sign, telling everyone who arrived here that space was not safe.

"Take out reconnaissance aircraft, send the White Base forward to scout ahead, release all mobile suits, and expand the defensive perimeter. Captain Paul, after I leave, the fleet will be under your command!"

"understand!"

Colonel Paul nodded. He had long guessed that this guy was a restless fellow. He would naturally not miss the opportunity to pilot a mobile suit. But as the deputy commander of the battle group, wasn't that what he did?

Along with the Enterprise, besides the White Base, there was also a squadron of Salamis cruisers. These cruisers were now the Enterprise's solid shield. Under Colonel Paul's command, the Salamis quickly established an absolute defensive perimeter centered on the Enterprise.

After the Enterprise released its reconnaissance aircraft, the catapult decks on both sides of the ship immediately began launching GM missiles. These GMs would supplement the fleet's firepower and also bear the important responsibility of filling in the fleet's blind spots.

Once such a warning zone is established, the advance force can quietly wait for the arrival of the subsequent Columbus-class ships, which will be escorted by a detachment of Salamis and will also carry more mobile forces. After their arrival, the battle group can double the warning zone, allowing the Tiam fleet still on the ground to launch all its forces with peace of mind.

The Red Dragon battle group's operations were not particularly secretive, and as a result, they were quickly discovered by the Zeon forces that were roaming in near-Earth orbit. Seeing that the Federation fleet had split into two groups, the Zeon commander immediately conceived the idea of ​​taking advantage of the situation to launch a surprise attack.

These commanders, who have long been directing warships in close combat with the Federation forces in near-Earth orbit, are not as uninformed as ordinary soldiers on Earth who are surrounded and annihilated. Knowing that the Principality has fallen into decline, these captains naturally hope to strike as much of the Federation's fighting power as possible, even if it is risky. As long as it can delay the Federation's actions and interfere with their ability to gather forces, these Zeon captains will not hesitate to carry out their orders.

"Ignore that aircraft carrier, there are too many GMs!"

Through the reconnaissance reports from the forward units, the Zeon commander quickly discerned the Federation's troop deployment. While the aircraft carrier was a good target, it could carry at least a squadron of GM GS ships, plus the four Salamis ships providing support. It was simply beyond the capabilities of his small fleet of only three Musai-class ships.

But the White Base is different. This ship has traveled back and forth between Earth and Luna II many times and has a history of fighting with the Zeon forces. Therefore, the Zeon commander knows that this ship does not have many mobile suits. Even if its own firepower is not weak, they also have three Musai-class cruisers, plus a full thirteen Rico Dom units. Today, they will make sure that the White Base does not return!
"Order the mobile suit squadrons to attack. Five minutes after the mobile suit squadrons depart, the fleet will set sail and prepare to disperse them like grains of rice. Once the war begins, I must cut off their communication channels!"

Captain Zeon said this to his subordinates.

While the Zeon warship remained silent and dormant, on the White Base, Captain Bright was also silently assessing the surrounding situation. He simply did not believe that such a large target as the battle group had not attracted the attention of the Zeon. Therefore, Bright ordered all the sensors on the bridge to be turned on to the maximum, and even non-essential personnel were sent to various positions on the warship to keep watch, all in order to guard against a Zeon sneak attack.

After all, this was his first mission as captain, and he absolutely couldn't mess it up!
However, the residual rice grains scattered throughout the space still greatly interfered with the White Base's detection. It wasn't until the Zeon began to act and released a large number of rice grains that Brad received a report.

"A Zeon warship has been spotted on the right side of our ship. Type confirmed as Musai-class. It is approaching! Distance 14000!"

"A Musai-class destroyer is approaching at high speed from behind!"

"There are enemies ahead too!"

"An encirclement?"

Brad frowned. There were enemies in three directions. The left side seemed the safest, but his intuition told him that this place was not simple!
"Conduct a three-dimensional scan of the left-side space region!"

Then, Brad's heart finally died. The jammed radar showed a series of unidentified small reflection signals, less than 7000 meters away from the white base. They were obviously the mobile suits carried by these Musai!

"All ships, prepare for battle..." "Captain Brad, please allow me to sortie!"

Amuro, who had already been officially assigned to the White Base, suddenly interrupted Brad's orders.

"But Lieutenant Amuro, the enemy has thirteen mobile suits!"

"It's alright, it's a little little, but it's still a pretty good appetizer!"

Amuro, already dressed in his gear and seated in the cockpit, urged Brad again.

"This is a great opportunity for me to improve my K/D ratio. If that guy comes, I won't be able to get many kills!"

Seeing that Amuro insisted, Bright had no choice but to order the hangar to be opened. As soon as the door opened, the original Gundam that Amuro was riding flew out like an arrow.

"Captain Brad, should we have Guncannon follow?"

"No, let Guncannon protect the White Base. He can't keep up with Lieutenant Amuro's speed!"

Bradnoa watched Amuro speeding away and couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement. One against thirteen? Are all the pilots in the Red Dragon battle group this arrogant?

However, he soon lost track of Amuro's movements, as the three Zeomsayers continued to approach the White Base, and a fierce artillery battle ensued.

"Hmph, you dare to attack with just one mech? Who do you think you are, Crimson Lightning?"

On the Rike Domo, the Zeon commander leading the team couldn't help but laugh when he saw the lone signal. Although they hadn't had the Rike Domo for long, they had already destroyed several Federation mobile suits. The performance of this machine was unparalleled. If the enemy dared to send a machine to intercept it, they would be doomed!

"Captain, this machine isn't right, it doesn't seem to be a GM!"

"If it's not GM, then what is it, Gundam?"

"That's what the Great Demon Commander replied."

Then, once Amuro's machine entered the detection range of the Dom, the Dom commander screamed again.

"Holy crap, it really is a Gundam! Can you confirm who it is?"

After confirming the Federation's aircraft model, the commander was ready to turn and flee. If the enemy was Red Dragon, he would turn around immediately!
"It's not a red dragon, it's definitely a white demon!"

"White Devil, it's alright, brothers. He's just one person. We have thirteen mechs. Let's take him down!"

Knowing that the attacking enemy was not the Red Dragon, the Grand Demon Commander hesitated for a moment before making a decision. The White Demons had shot down less than half the number of Red Dragons, so their strength should be about half that of the Red Dragons. They still had a chance!

"Asshole, go to hell!"

Seeing that the enemy machine had entered its firing range, a Rikki Dom immediately grabbed its rocket launcher and locked onto the Founder Gundam. But just as the pilot pulled the trigger and fired the rocket, Amuro, who was moving at high speed, casually flicked his gun. The particle beam then cleanly detonated the Rikki Dom's rocket and hit the firing Rikki Dom.

"The first one!"

Amuro showed no fear of the enemy, only a desire to achieve great things. After firing the first shot, he paused only slightly before firing the second. Then, another high-speed moving Riku Domon was hit, with the interval between the two shots being less than ten seconds.

"Too slow, you guys are really too slow!"

In Amuro's eyes, who had been rigorously trained by Macarius, the movements of the Dom Rick, who was charging in battle formation, were ridiculously slow. How could he possibly lock onto him and launch rockets?
The third shot, the fourth shot...

As he approached at high speed, Amuro seemed to have activated an aimbot, firing seven shots in a minute, and soon, seven Leviathans became his spoils of war.

Then, the original Gundam and the Dom team closed the distance to about 100 meters. The pilots of the six Likko Dom units didn't even bother to lock on and fired rockets and chest beam cannons at the Gundam.

However, the opponent easily pierced through the barrage with incredible agility, leaving it behind, and in an instant, approached the commander of the Great Demon Team.

As the Commander's Dom unleashed its chest-mounted beam cannon once more, Amuro's Gundam nimbly spun around and appeared behind the Commander's Dom. Then, the beam saber was drawn, and the right-hand beam gun fired. Almost simultaneously, the Commander's Dom and the distant Ninth Dom lost signal.

And at this moment, it's only been one and a half minutes!

The Zeon commander, who was still directing the warships to besiege the white base, even thought he was dreaming, because only two minutes had passed since he started the attack. But where were his mobile suit units? Where were those thirteen brand-new Rico Domos, which had been manufactured less than a month ago?

"Sir, we have detected a new mobile suit approaching at three times the speed!"

"I know it's that guy!"

"It's not the Federation mobile suit that fought against our mobile suits, it's a new mobile suit!"

Just as the Zeon crew were reporting on the enemy situation, their warship suddenly shuddered.

"what happened?"

"Turret number two has been hit! Unable to fire!"

"How is that possible? The gunnery of that white base couldn't possibly be that accurate!"

"It's not an enemy warship, it's that enemy machine!"

(End of this chapter)