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

Chapter 328 The Disappointed Losers!

"Sir, your dinner is ready!"

"Send it over here!"

A trolley appeared in front of Lieutenant General Mark Bay’s office. Then, two logistics officers wearing chef’s hats entered the room and began an extremely professional meal preparation process. They laid a tablecloth and cutlery on Mark Bay’s special lift-up table, lit candles, and placed a bottle of decanted red wine on it.

Then, one after another, exquisite dishes were taken out of the insulated box of the food cart and placed on the table, steaming hot and fragrant.

Mark Bay, on the other hand, straightened his clothes, wiped his hands with a rolled-up hot towel, and then leisurely picked up his knife and fork.

However, looking at the steak in front of him, he suddenly lost his appetite.

It wasn't that the cook's food was bad; the main problem was that Mark Bay couldn't eat anything, even if he were presented with the most delicious food, just because he thought of that photo in the newspaper.

Indeed, when the Federation Army held a banquet, Makarius had photos taken and published in the media with a large, eye-catching headline.

Then, the media signals of these electronic newspapers were naturally received by the Zeon fleet, and Mark Bay saw them clearly. In fact, the newspapers even contained the nickname that Makarius had given him.

"What a load of crap, what kind of transport captain is that!"

Thinking of this, Mark Bay suddenly slammed his cutlery on the table and stood up abruptly, startling his adjutant.

"Sir, nobody said that!"

"I know, that's it, that's it!"

Markbe's hands were trembling. He had served in the military for decades, and while he wouldn't say he had worked tirelessly, he had certainly been conscientious. Yet, he was insulted like this by a junior like Markarius. Was it really necessary? Not only had he suffered repeated defeats at Markarius's hands, but now he was being given such a nickname. It was as if he would lose all his integrity even after he died!

"That damn brat! I knew he was no good back in Antarctica!"

Thinking of this, Mark Bay sat down again, picked up his knife and fork to cut his steak, dipped it in a dollop of mashed potatoes, and put it in his mouth. But as he ate, he suddenly felt aggrieved.

"It's a pity I didn't have the chance back then, otherwise I would have killed this guy!"

As he spoke, the fuming Mark Bay grabbed a steak and put it in his mouth, prompting his adjutant to offer words of comfort.

"Sir, don't eat so fast, you might choke!"

"It's alright, I'd rather choke to death than be insulted like this. How can I face anyone to live?"

Despite saying that, Mark Bell grabbed a glass of red wine and started chugging it straight to his lips. His uncouth eating habits made his adjutant hesitate, wondering if he should call a doctor to check on his superior, just in case something serious had happened.

At the same time, he couldn't help but sigh. He didn't know if their expedition was right or wrong. They had come with the intention of making a name for themselves, but now they were beaten badly and even mocked by their opponents. They didn't even dare to complain, and because of the power of the Federation Army, they didn't even dare to collect the bodies of their comrades.

While the advantage of doing so was that no more pensions were needed, the disadvantages were also obvious. The already low morale plummeted even further, and some remnants of the Zeon forces who had been active in the Earth Sphere for many years even committed suicide in despair. After all, they had endured humiliation and hardship, even being forced to eat the relief food provided by the Federation and work for the Federation to earn that undignified salary, all in the hope that one day the Zeon forces would return like lightning from the other side of the universe and take them to continue their fun of shooting at the space inhabitants.

But now, the allied forces, who returned like lightning, won a battle and were then chased around everywhere. Haven't all those years of hardship been for nothing?
"Sir, how about we?"

"Stop! Don't mention it!"

Having already devoured his steak, Mark Bay, who was now stuffing a piece of foie gras with hummus bread into his mouth, suddenly roared angrily.

"Don't mention that phrase, I don't want to hear it!"

"But we still have time!"

"Even if we have time, it won't work. Should we escape back to Axis? And then what? We're in this state now that we're back. Do you think we can win by gathering the troops under Hamman's command again?"

"But there is still hope!"

"I hope so. Believe it or not, if Axis launches a full-scale counterattack, their fate will be even worse than ours. Faced with a much larger fleet like ours, will the Federation still continue to use those restricted weapons? Guess how long it would take Makarius to wipe us out if he were given enough nuclear weapons?"

"During the Battle of Britain, how Dozle's fleet was crippled? At that time, the Federation was unprepared and hastily responded. Now, as you have seen, the enemy was prepared for our arrival. If it weren't for the Reef Space Zone providing us with a hiding place, whether you and I would still be alive is unknown!"

The adjutant remained silent, only pouring Mark Bay another glass of wine, while the latter turned his attention back to the food and continued to eat heartily.

At his age, eating so much is actually very bad for his health, but the immense pressure leaves him with nowhere to vent, so he can only release it through eating.

"Sir, our forces have received an old communication code from the One Year War era, confirming the identity as Lieutenant General Delaz!"

Just then, an officer rushed into the room and reported urgently.

"what?"

"Has your identity been confirmed?"

"Yes, it has been verified; it is indeed Lieutenant General Delaz!"

"This old bastard is still alive?"

A glimmer of light finally appeared in Mark Bay's eyes.

"No, the other person is still alive and well!"

"Where is he now?"

"They are rendezvousing with our troops. Where are they?"

The officer suddenly pointed out the porthole, and then everyone saw a small point of light appear in the starry sky. Soon, the point of light grew bigger and bigger until it finally turned into a dilapidated Chibe-class battleship flashing its navigation lights.

"Hmm, it's a good ship!"

On the dilapidated Chebe-class ship, Vice Admiral Delaz, dressed in a faded officer's uniform and a patched overcoat, looked more than ten years older than in 0082. He had begun to critique the Mark Bay's flagship. After all, the Gevadan was an upgrade from the Gevakin, and Delaz had previously had a Gevakin as his flagship. Now, looking at this ship that bore some resemblance to his own flagship, his eyes couldn't help but redden.

Soon, under the watchful eyes of numerous Zeon warships, the Chebe-class vessel began docking with Gevadan. The moment the pier was connected, Marco, his face and hands covered in oil, rushed out, ready to give Delaz a good hug. But when he saw Delaz, he couldn't help but stop in his tracks.

Because the person standing in front of him, Diraz, was simply too frightening. Despite being in his prime, he looked like a little old man, much thinner and listless, completely different from how he looked in 79.

"Lord Mark Bay, how have you been?"

Hearing the other person's slightly hoarse voice, Mark Bay suddenly felt a lump in his throat. On one hand, he felt sorry for Diraz's appearance, and on the other hand, he seemed to think of himself. If he stayed like this, he would probably be in an even worse situation than the other person.

After all, Delaz used to be a strong, burly man, and he was slightly thinner than the other man.

Now, the other party is almost a pile of bones!
At this moment, Mark Bay couldn't utter the words he had prepared, not even any words of comfort. He could only turn around, wipe his tears, and then pull Delaz towards the ship.

"How did you become like this?"

At this moment, the feud between Kycilia and Gihren was no longer important, nor was there any need to dwell on revenge killings or fierce competition. Even the resentment in Marco Bay's heart caused by the nickname given to him by Macarius had dissipated.

So what if he gets nicknames? Look at this guy in front of me. He's been fighting against the Federation army for so many years, and look what he's become.

"It's alright, none of that matters!"

After sitting down, Diraz didn't care about hygiene. He grabbed the red wine that Mark Bay hadn't finished and took a big gulp before coughing a few times.

"This is wonderful! I thought I'd never taste this again in my life!"

"No rush, no rush, I have plenty more!"

"Take your time drinking, there's food and drinks too. Once you're here, don't leave!"

That's what I'm planning to do too!

Diraz touched his mouth, then patted Mark Bay's hand.

"To be honest, I've been looking forward to your return for a long time. Sometimes, I even thought you might never come back. I never expected this!"

"So why don't you go back to Axis? Or at least go to Mars!"

"I'm too ashamed to go!"

Diraz's eyes also reddened as he spoke.

“I lost the entire fleet. In the end, only this one ship and a few hundred men were left. At that time, I even thought about dying, but they persuaded me to stay, saying that you would come back sooner or later. I had something to look forward to. Now I've been waiting and waiting, and finally you've come!”

Upon hearing this, Mark Bay could only manage a wry smile.

"You waited for us, and now that we're here, what good is it? We have a fleet, but we don't even dare to engage the Federation forces. We're being chased by Federation warships that are far outnumbered by us. Now, even our logistics fleet has been wiped out!"

"It was the right thing to do not fight them!"

Diraz completely ignored Mark Bay's self-deprecating humor. On the contrary, he seemed to have entered a state of frenzy, even standing up and talking non-stop with his back to Mark Bay.

"If I had understood this sooner, my fleet might not have been lost in vain. The Federation now is impossible to destroy from the outside, not even in our heyday. I've been thinking about this for years!"

"We've completely used the wrong approach. We should have chosen a different method: dismantle the Federation and let them fall into chaos!"

"You know what? I even had a dream once where the Federation split up, and the Earth Federation Forces and the Space Federation Forces were fighting each other. I was so excited that I couldn't sleep for three whole days!"

Looking at Delaz raising his hands toward the ceiling, Mark Bay's adjutant felt it was necessary to call the doctor. There had been Zeon commanders who had been beaten down by the Federation army before, but these two seemed to be the first to have suffered mental breakdowns from such a beating!
However, Mark Bay's attention was completely off the adjutant's strange expression; instead, he pulled Delaz down to sit.

"That dream is beautiful, but it's not realistic!"

"No, that dream was a revelation, you know? I made a mistake. I should have found a way to send my fleet to drop a few more colony satellites or asteroids, not to destroy any Federation military bases, but to attack important food-producing areas, so that Earth would completely lose its ability to supply enough food. At that time, they would have to obtain enough food from space, which would inevitably lead to a conflict between the space inhabitants and the Earth Federation. The Earth Federation, which would suffer heavy losses, would also have to increase its exploitation of the space colonies to obtain taxes to maintain its own operation!"

"At that time, they will fall into a vicious cycle. They will not be able to support the space fleet or feed the civilians, so they will have to increase their exploitation. The profits they obtain will be used to stabilize their own rule, making it even more difficult to stabilize the army and the people's hearts!"

"In that case, we won't even need to lift a finger; they'll be finished on their own!"

Delaz's words also caught Mark Bay's eye. Dropping mass weapons was indeed the most convenient method. Anyway, there were plenty of colonies. Just throw one down and the Federation would be in a panic.

However, although it sounds simple, this plan has two minor problems: how to seize the colony satellite and how to break through the federal blockade to drop the satellite.

Mark Bay estimated that his fleet didn't have the capability, but he wasn't limited to just dropping colonies!

He hadn't forgotten his purpose in coming. The biological weapons in the minaret were no less powerful than mere colony satellites, and even more effective. A single satellite could destroy at most a continent, but that thing was different; if it were dropped, the entire Earth would be doomed!

So why not combine the two?

Mark Bay now understands that his desire for stable development and long-term planning is simply unrealistic. Doing so will only lead to a more miserable end. Look at the actions of the Federation Army; they are pressing forward step by step. If this continues, he will only end up like the delusional Delaz.

"Actually, I came to the Earth Sphere for a specific purpose!"

"Lord Delaz, have you ever heard of the minaret?"

"Minaret?"

Diraz patted his dull, droopy head, racked his brains for a moment, and finally remembered the name.

"That, the exquisite toy that Kycilia made?"

"It's not a toy, but a weapon of revenge for the Zabi family, Lord Delaz. I think we'll have a lot in common when it comes to revenge!"

"Really? Tell me more!"

(End of this chapter)