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

Chapter 280 The Spine That Was Removed
"Fire!"

"Free fire!"

The Federation fleet, mainly composed of three Birmingham ships, formed a firing squad and, under the roar of the gunners, launched a final offensive against the remaining Zeon fleet.

Under the long-range suppression of the Birmingham-class destroyers, the remaining Zeon warships could barely move. Unable to enter effective firing range, they found it extremely difficult to retaliate and could only watch helplessly as their ships were melted and disintegrated bit by bit in the torrent.

At this moment, the remaining Zeon officers and soldiers on the Gwadian suddenly remembered the Federation warships they had besieged during the Battle of Loum. This moment was just like that moment!
Ultimately, after being hit by six particle beams, the Gwadian was shattered into four pieces of varying sizes. Even so, the Federation forces did not intend to stop. Every gunner continued to fire until the wreckage was completely destroyed.

While the space battle raged on, the trial in London also reached its climax. After several days of statements and testimonies, Dozrou, who was accused of more than 130 crimes, finally had his turn to speak.

Facing the gaze of the entire audience and countless cameras, Dozru made no excuses or attempts to cover up his actions. He simply stood there calmly and spoke.

"I plead guilty!"

Subsequently, Dozru truthfully confessed to every military operation he planned that caused heavy casualties, including details of the planned battles and whether he was aware of the consequences of doing so.

Dozle's straightforward confession caused an uproar throughout the entire Earth Sphere. Everyone thought he would deny everything and try to cover it up, but to everyone's surprise, Dozle admitted it so readily!
The revelation of those events not only gave everyone a new understanding of the cold-blooded ruthlessness of the Zeon military leadership, but also left the escapees who had experienced them utterly astonished.

"Ah ah ah ah ah!"

Especially those Zeon veterans who attacked the colony satellites, many of whom are still serving time in federal military prisons, are now unable to control their emotions.

In the past, they could use excuses such as collateral damage in war and force majeure to explain their actions. But now, they have discovered that the military high command knew all this and had a clear objective: to carry out a purge and massacre. Their so-called righteousness and ideals were nothing but excuses to cover up their crimes.

Equally insane was Simakarahou, hiding in a corner of space. This heroine of the Zeon Marine Corps was rolling around on her flagship, crying and laughing like a quarrelsome shrew. As the direct executor of the poison gas injection into the colony, she had become the scapegoat for her superiors. Now, hearing Dozle admit to it all, the resentment she had been harboring for years, like a stray dog ​​hiding everywhere, finally had a place to be vented.

The remaining members of the party who had participated in the attack and were now fleeing were devastated. One of them, who had lost an arm to federal artillery fire, angrily took off his military cap, which he had worn for many years, and slammed it to the ground. He then stomped on it with his muddy boots.

"Then what are we? What are we? Ah!"

The military cap and insignia were quickly stained and deformed by mud mixed with remnants of blood and flesh, and the armless remnant, exhausted after venting his anger, knelt on the ground and roared madly again.

Dozru's speech had a far greater impact on the remnants than the Federation's artillery fire. In the days following his speech, many of the remnants who had launched attacks on the various sides abandoned their hiding places and surrendered, no longer relying on buildings and Federation troops for cover.

Many chose to end their own lives, after all, for them, Dozru was a banner of resistance, and now that banner had fallen, their lives naturally had no future.

From this perspective, Gihren's past military achievements were quite successful, after all, he was able to cultivate such a group of loyalists who continued to fight for so long even after his death. However, on the other hand, it also proves Gihren's incompetence, since he could not even resist for as long as a common soldier.

The trial of Dozru concluded with his guilty plea.

Dozru, who was guilty of more than a hundred war crimes, was ultimately sentenced to death by hanging, with the execution to be scheduled for a later date. Dozru was not surprised by this outcome, after all, he already knew during the One Year War that the Federation had prepared a gallows specifically for each member of the Zabi family.

Back then, Dozle had joked about it with his subordinates, saying that he would rather shoot himself than go to the Federation's gallows, but now, the boomerang has come back to haunt him.

Although it was said to be a scheduled date, it wasn't long before Dozru, who was being held in a nearby London military prison, faced his final moment on the second Sunday after the trial.

It was a rare sunny day, with no clouds in the sky and only a bright sun hanging in the sky. Dozru, who got up early, had his hair trimmed and his face shaved by his personal attendants. Finally, he changed into an ordinary Zeon uniform without any markings, as he had requested. After enjoying a sumptuous steak dinner and drinking half a bottle of his favorite Bordeaux wine, Dozru was taken to the execution ground by the military police.

Then, accompanied by the intense drumbeats of the military band, the noose was tightly fastened around Dozru's neck.

Finally, as the last drumbeat abruptly ceased, the executioner pulled the lever beside him.

Five minutes later, Dozru, who had been examined by a dozen or so professional doctors, was found to have lost vital signs. His body will be cremated and buried on the Sydney coast of Australia.

It just so happens that this sea was created by Dozru, so it's quite fitting to bury him here.

His tombstone was also very simple, without any fancy decorations. It only contained a few sentences about his life, and finally, an epitaph written by the Commander-in-Chief of the Union Army, Reibill.

"A soldier, a war criminal, a father!" In fact, some people within the Federation wanted to throw Dozru's ashes into the sea to feed the fish, but most members of Congress chose to let him rest in peace. After all, the Federation had won the victory, so it should show its magnanimity and compassion. Thanks to Dozru, a group of Zeon prisoners of war who had behaved well in military prisons were later granted amnesty.

Among these prisoners of war was a Zeon officer named Kukurusdouan. After his release, he did not choose to return to Zeon by ship. Instead, he used the meager wages he earned while working in prison to embark on a journey to Central Asia. In the end, he contracted hundreds of acres of land there and became a genuine farmer. He also adopted more than ten war orphans.

A year later, he married another female prisoner of war who was released from the newest batch, and who was also his former subordinate, a pilot named Selma Revens.

Of course, where there is appeasement, there is bound to be anger. Thanks to Ejudilaz, Anaheim Electronics' Advanced Development Department Plant No. 1 at Von Braun suffered severe losses, with more than a third of its technicians killed, one prototype Gundam severely damaged in battle, and another mobile suit also badly damaged. This forced the GP project to be delayed, and most importantly, Anaheim had to bear the economic losses itself!

This incident was a resounding slap in the face to Anaheim, which had been making great strides in the post-war era with its strong economic power, seemingly poised to become the world's leading military power.

But now, before he has even become the leader, he has been beating up by the remnants of the regime. And the most crucial thing is that this was actually caused by their own actions, since the Lunar City Autonomy Treaty stipulates that the Federation may not station heavy troops in the Lunar Cities.

Therefore, the forces that resisted the remnants were Anaheim's own defense forces. Although they were equipped with brand-new GM-C mobile suits, their tactical skills were not good enough, and they suffered heavy losses in close combat with the Zeon forces.

If it weren't for the Earth Federation's lunar fleet providing emergency reinforcements, along with the two Gundam units fighting desperately to stop them, the Zeon forces might have actually sent Factory One to the sky.

After all, there were even Zeon mobile suits that were prepared to use their own nuclear reactors as bombs to detonate the factory, but at the last moment, the pilot was killed by a sword from the standard armored Gilai of the lunar fleet, thus saving the factory.

This attack can be described as a tsunami within Anaheim. After all, the lunar city has always prided itself on being the elite of humanity, regarding the lunar city as a warm harbor in the midst of turbulent waves. But now, the stinking remnants have stormed into the harbor, slaughtering the high-ranking elites like pigs. Even a senior expert with a prominent reputation within Anaheim has been killed.

Moreover, Anaheim Electronics' stock price fluctuated as a result, which also triggered a chain reaction in other areas. Although it did not wipe out all the gains overnight, the losses were enough to make the company's financial investors furious.

As a result of this incident, the former Zeon personnel in Anaheim were finally subjected to an internal investigation, and the results were naturally shocking: these guys had betrayed their own side and provided resources to the remnants.

However, Anaheim did not carry out a major purge; it simply identified a few typical cases and handed them over to the Federation Army for processing.

After all, Anaheim is a company, and capitalists are profit-driven. These Zeon engineers are working for Anaheim's projects, and this review could even be used as leverage against them.

However, for Nina, this attack was not without its good thing, because the senior engineer who died in the attack was her teacher who was always manipulating her. As for Nina herself, after the attack, when Anaheim Electronics conducted a second review of the project, she was promoted because she was most familiar with the project. Not only did her salary increase, but she was also able to sit in the front row during meetings.

Of course, there were downsides as well. They had to learn from the combat experience of the mechs and work overtime again to catch up with the development schedule.

Meanwhile, federal lawmakers in lunar cities began lobbying within the Federation, hoping that the Federation could establish a rapid reaction force to prevent such a situation from happening again.

However, this approach of strengthening the Federation Army was not approved by most members of parliament, but Anaheim did not give up and continued to make efforts. As for the Federation Army, in order not to attract the attention of the Federation Army's high command, Anaheim did not get too involved. After all, it is taboo for businessmen to get involved in the military. Previously, there were many institutions and facilities established by Anaheim within the Federation Army, but they were either shut down or returned to the jurisdiction of the Federation Army by Rebil during the One Year War.

Furthermore, the Federation Army has established a separate institution, the Naval Strategic Research Institute, making such a clear statement that Anaheim is well aware of the implications.

Of course, the most heartbroken person is Aijudilaz, who survived by sheer luck. He has now become a bounty target for both the underworld and the legitimate world. Anaheim has offered a high price for this culprit, but given that his whereabouts are a mystery, many aspiring individuals who want to make a fortune can only stare blankly at the bounty.

After Delaz fled back to his base in the Reef Space Region, he fell seriously ill and never recovered. At this point, apart from one Chibe-class ship that had escaped, his only remaining subordinates were some logistics ships that stayed behind at the base. The personnel losses were even more severe, with all of his mobile suit units being wiped out by the Federation forces. To make matters worse, the exchange ratio with the enemy reached an astonishing eleven to one.

It can be said that at this moment, the Delaz fleet is no longer a toothless tiger. With only one Chebe-class ship, they are not even comparable to the pirate fleet of Simakarahou, which has at least three Zanzibar-class ships.

Faced with the bleak scene, the bedridden Diraz was like a boneless old dog, having lost all his former vigor. Facing his only remaining subordinates who came to visit him, he could only sigh helplessly.

"Right now, we can only rely on the allies of Axis!"

"Can we count on them?"

"We had no choice, but thankfully, they've already started again from the Earth Sphere!"

The officers Delaz was referring to were the advance team officers under Markbe. After the Delaz fleet was severely damaged and had to return, they immediately set off back to Axis. After all, the news of the complete annihilation of the Delaz fleet was too shocking and they needed to let the other side know as soon as possible.

As for Diraz himself, he could only place his hopes for revenge on Axis's allies, since they were now powerless to do anything!

(End of this chapter)