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

Chapter 247 Don’t take the usual path

"Sir, your machine is ready!"

"Thank you for your hard work. Here's my card, use it to buy everyone drinks!"

Makarius patted the maintenance worker on the shoulder and handed him his meal card. It could be used at any military-affiliated institution or unit within the Federation. Although it was a meal card, it could also be used to pay for vending machines or convenience stores.

Despite the many expenses on the warship, there were still plenty of self-service beverage machines. The General Affairs Department had installed vending machines in many public areas for the soldiers to use as needed.

"Then we won't be polite!"

The maintenance worker didn't stand on ceremony; he took the meal card and, along with his colleague, pulled a small cart to go on a big shopping spree. After all, after such intense and demanding maintenance work, a refreshing glass of water was the perfect way to soothe their weary bodies and minds.

The reason they were pulling the cart wasn't because they wanted to rip off Macarius, but because Macarius had hired the entire ship's maintenance crew, which was too much to handle by hand. A small cart for transporting ammunition was just right!

"Well then, I wish you a successful mission, sir!"

"I'll lend you some good words!"

Boarding the cockpit and inserting the activation key—this process has become as natural to Makarius as eating and drinking, an unconscious habit. As for whether he gets tired of piloting Gundams, it's impossible for him to. If he had a choice, Makarius would choose to pilot Gundams for the rest of his life!

Then, with the catapult spinning at high speed, the all-red NT1 Gundam roared away from the Spartan and soared into the boundless blue sky.

Then, a red-painted Dede flying platform swooped down from mid-air and caught the NT1 steadily.

Although the attack was quite spectacular, unfortunately, the enemy on the ground obviously couldn't see the Red Dragon's dazzling appearance at all, because they had withdrawn all their forces from the outer perimeter. All the outer defenses were connected to the seawater, and even the tunnels were blown up a second time to prevent the Federation army from invading.

Now, the most elite members of the Nanyang Alliance and almost all of its elite troops have retreated to underground bases located on and near the Taal Island volcano.

The entire outer perimeter and surface of the island became the control area of ​​the Federation Army. When Makarius arrived on the ground on the ramp, the Federation Marines who had launched the earlier attack had already established a forward base in a small town just a few kilometers from the volcano. Relying on rapidly deployed equipment, a field kitchen, a shower barracks, and a field hospital were established in less than half a day.

"Were our brothers seriously injured or killed?"

Seeing many people going in and out of the field hospital, Makarius asked the dragon, who was rinsing his Gilai from the salt in the seawater, with a puzzled look.

The latter shook his head, holding up the water pipe.

"No, it's because those guys knew a pretty head nurse had arrived, so they all ran off to see what was going on!"

"Wow, so she's really beautiful?"

"Yes, and you know the colonel too!"

"Sera?"

Marcarius was also somewhat surprised, because he was going to the academy for further studies, so he naturally couldn't take the pretty girls around anymore. Therefore, based on the principle of studying together, Nagase Hotaru, Chloe, and a group of old subordinates from the Red Dragon Team were all sent to the Mobile Suit Academy in California by him, and Sera was no exception. Marcarius even specifically consulted her about her intentions.

Now, Sera, who should have been continuing at the medical school, has come to the front lines. Although it's uncertain, Makarius guesses that she must have come to find him!
However, there was something more important to do, so Makarius did not go to the field hospital, but instead went to the front-line command post.

After clearing the enemy from the island's surface, attacking the mountain fortress naturally became the top priority for the federal forces. Currently, the Marine Corps' reconnaissance company soldiers are carrying detection equipment to search for possible entrances and exits on the surface of the volcano.

Indeed, the first difficulty the Federal Army encountered after standing ready for battle, or even being fully prepared, was not the strength of the enemy's defenses, but rather that they could not find the entrances and exits of the Nanyang Alliance base.

While space fortresses like the Taal base of the Nanyang Alliance and the Solomon Abaoa Air Base are not significantly different in structure, the latter was designed for space fleets to dock, and therefore has many channels that allow warships to pass.

However, the Taal base of the Nanyang Alliance did not have an open harbor. Although the base had a hidden underwater passage for submarines, this passage was blown up after the arrival of the federal forces.

This was a situation the Federation forces had never considered; it was the first time they had ever had to forge their own path to victory.

"If we use bunker buster bombs, we'll need to conduct a second scan of the mountain to ensure a suitable road can be cleared, but that would take at least another week..."

"Hasn't the reconnaissance unit's scan results come out yet? I refuse to believe that this base doesn't have a single road leading to the outside world!"

Then, according to the report transmitted by the instrument, the outer shell of the Nanyang Alliance's volcanic base was covered with thick rock walls, and no possible exit could be found. As for the surface area, it was even more complicated. The entire island was more than 20 kilometers long and wide, and the surface area was huge. In addition, with dense vegetation, it was even more difficult to find an exit.

"No wonder these guys cut off all contact with the outside world and stayed inside, building a turtle shell, right? Do they think that after they stay inside for a while, we'll have to retreat?"

"That might really be their thinking. According to the intelligence we've gathered from prisoners we've captured elsewhere, they've been transporting supplies to headquarters for a long time!"

"These guys really picked a good spot!"

Taal Island is a volcanic island, and its volcano is still active, so it has abundant geothermal resources. Therefore, the Nanyang Alliance does not need to worry about electricity. As for fresh water, it can meet the demand through purifiers. In addition, there are sufficient food reserves. Obviously, from the beginning, engaging in a long-term armed standoff with the Federal Army has been part of the Nanyang Alliance's backup plan.

Makarius looked at the report and then slammed his hand on the table.

"Standing out? What's there to stand out about? I don't have time to play games with them. If we can't find a way in, then we'll blast a way out!"

"But the deployment of the bunker buster bombs still requires Gabro's signature..."

"Bring the Trojan-class main cannon and clear a path for us!"

"Colonel?"

The federal officers at the command post even doubted whether they had heard correctly.

"You just said?"

"Use the main guns of the warship?"

"Blow up a path?"

"Yeah, what's the problem? Do you expect me to drive a mobile suit and dig a path for you with a pickaxe?"

"That's not impossible either!"

The federal officer who was familiar with Makarius immediately laughed.

"But if that happens, I reckon Chief Engineer Sakaki Kiyoshi will take us out first!"

"You bastards, what do you take these precious mobile suits for?!"

As they spoke, one of the officers even mimicked the other's tone, and everyone burst into laughter. However, once the laughter subsided, their tone changed.

"However, if we're going to use naval guns, then I think my men can take the lead!"

"This was said by a purebred mobile suit commander."

His troops received a batch of new equipment a couple of days ago, including a large shield newly developed by the Naval Strategic Research Institute. This shield is 40 percent larger than the old equipment, and when Jim holds it, it's no different from holding a large door panel.

This model of shield was developed for mobile suits responsible for security at key locations, commonly known as shields to protect officers from bullets. Therefore, these newly produced shields were sent to test their protective performance. However, due to their excessive weight, the GM pilots were unwilling to carry them in the initial battles. But if Markarius's plan is followed, then these shields will have their purpose!

"Then, pass the plan on to fleet command!"

"These guys!"

Jamitov hadn't expected that Makarius would pull off such a big stunt as soon as he came down. He initially wanted to reprimand the other man for being a bit delusional, but then he realized that he himself had never seen such a grand scene before.

"Artillery Chief, is this plan feasible?"

"Sir, I'm not sure, but theoretically it should be fine. Of course, we need to identify the weak points in the mountain first!"

"Then let's prepare accordingly!"

Subsequently, news of the strike fleet's plan to use naval guns to create a breach quickly spread throughout the entire Federation forces.

"This is the first time I've ever seen this! Guys, hurry up and grab a spot!"

The naval soldiers, who were originally thinking about getting closer to the pretty nurses at the field hospital, suddenly rushed out again. Then, they found a very good observation position at the foot of the mountain where the reconnaissance company was located, ready to observe the entire process of opening the ship's gun doors.

"These soldiers are really fickle!"

The female medics, who were once highly sought after, clearly couldn't accept this disparity.

"Miss Sera, why do you look so happy?"

"Because I want to see it too!"

Sera knew without a doubt that this plan must have been proposed by Makarius, since no one else would be so audacious.

As someone who had high expectations for Makarius, Sera also wanted to see what tricks he could pull off, after all, this was the Makarius she remembered!

The Southern Alliance was not entirely unaware of the Federal Army's actions, but they only saw the Federal Army racking their brains to find a way into the base. They had no idea what grand plan the Federal Army, led by Makarius and already somewhat frenzied, was devising.

"Go ahead and look for it. You won't find the passage even if you search for a year!"

Donnie watched the federal troops' movements on the monitor.

"How are our troops preparing?"

"The assault team is ready; we're just waiting for Lei Fan and Hu Sengzheng to be settled as well!"

One of the monk commanders replied in this way.

"There are no problems with the monk. The first psycho-Zaku has completed its final assembly. It's just a pity that the beam weapon that was supposed to be delivered was lost due to the Federation's blockade!"

"It's alright, weapons are just external objects!"

Just as Doni was still feeling regretful, Lefan Hu's voice entered his mind.

"Sengzheng?"

Doni immediately stood up excitedly and saw Lefan Hu, who looked much thinner than before, appear at the entrance of his command post.

"You've suffered so much!"

"This is nothing. Hardship is just a test for us. Only by overcoming this hurdle can we see the other side!"

Lei Fanhu clasped his hands together and bowed to all the monk soldiers in the command post.

"Then, I'll leave tonight's counterattack to you!"

"Everything for the Order!"

Encouraged by Lei Fanhu, the monk soldiers immediately became excited and their faces flushed red. They wished it were nighttime so they could launch a second counterattack against the Federation army through the hidden underground passage. The Federation army had clearly relaxed its vigilance on the surrounding environment, and their counterattack would surely cause heavy losses to the enemy!

But what Elder Doni and even Revanhu never expected was that just as they were preparing to mobilize their troops, four Pegasus-class ships had already completed their tactical formation in the airspace not far from Taal Island.

"Report, the optical sight has been calibrated!"

"The warship's attitude control is excellent!"

"Order all ships to charge their main guns. If anyone misses, I'll give him a good talking to in the octagon!"

Captain Vincent, as the unified command commander, clenched his fists nervously. Although the Pegasus-class main guns were quite powerful, this was the first time they had been used to drill holes in a mountain. If successful, his name would surely be recorded in the naval academy's textbooks. Therefore, Captain Vincent would not allow any accidents to happen. He swore on his boxing championship trophy!
"Captain, main guns are fully charged!"

"Ready? Fire!"

Upon hearing his subordinate's report, Captain Vincent casually flicked his right index finger and thumb, naturally shaking off the sweat from his palm as well.

However, the crew members, whose attention was focused on the main control screen, didn't have time to pay attention to this. Everyone craned their necks and stared intently at the big screen.

The next second, the warship trembled, and then, under everyone's watchful eyes, two beams of particles shot out from the main cannons on both sides of the warship and flew toward Taal Volcano.

Subsequently, the particle beams launched by the four warships converged in mid-air and then slammed into one side of the volcano along their direct trajectory.

Following closely behind were billowing smoke and flying debris; the shockwave from the explosion even caused the island to shake slightly.

"Keep firing! I want to see the mountainside blasted through with my own eyes!"

(End of this chapter)