Gundam, but from the Ground Alliance to the Human Alliance to the out-of-control servitor

However, before the infantry lieutenant could finish speaking, two dazzling torrents of mega particle beams flashed past his eyes——

This blazing beam of light flew through the air at a distance of about 13 meters above the ground. At this height, the federal army basically had no possibility of accidental damage except for large ground warships. The flat wilderness and farmland in the north of Tashkent city, It also gives the Mega Particle Cannon ample space to display;

Although the particle beam irradiation only lasted less than two seconds, it did not just burn through a straight line, but swept across a distance of more than 1 kilometer like a sickle, destroying all the people on the federal army position that reached this height. The object is intercepted at the waist.

"[Earth expletive], Platoon Commander, are you the son of some federal congressman? What did you do with your artillery support?"

The equally disgraced correspondent, carrying a battery pack on his back, froze in mid-air. He was dumbfounded that several Zakus that had been majestically rampaging on the federal army's position just now were submerged in the explosion.

The infantry second lieutenant touched his chin with his hand, closed it, and then murmured:

"Who do I know..."

But when he saw the signal soldier looking around, looking towards the position where the beam of light had just been fired from behind, the second lieutenant came back to his senses, slapped the signal soldier's helmet and whispered:

"Don't look, there is another Zaku about 400 meters to the southwest that was lucky enough to jump just now and was not hit. We still have more to fight!"

"No, Lieutenant, I seem to see something big flying in the sky! It's white."

The infantry second lieutenant dragged the communication soldier, lowered his waist, and ran towards the depths of the trench. He also wanted to regroup the remaining troops of his company and continue to stay on this position to delay the advancement of the Zeon army.

……

"Fire support order number 1025-47 has been completed, and the impact of the strike needs to be evaluated; the next task in the sequence...an enemy artillery fire incoming alert."

Platinum stood in the center of the bridge and reported calmly.

Behind the federal army's front line position, about 20 kilometers away, the White Base floated not far from the ground, advancing along the federal army's front line; the two twin-mounted Mega particle main guns on the left and right sides of the hull Fire from time to time, letting the thick mega particle beam pierce the smoke and streak into the distance.

Although the main gun equipped is supposed to be a direct-fire weapon, the White Base itself is tall and has the ability to hover and fly. When sailing close to the ground, it can still deliver devastating long-distance strikes dozens of kilometers away. , especially for weapons as high as MS:

During the one or two seconds when the Mega particle beam continued to be fired, Platinum only needed to turn the main gun at a small angle, and the Zeon Army's MS troops, which were advancing more than ten kilometers away, would hit the ground with a frontal width of more than 1 kilometer. Suffered a 'face blow'.

"Well... the target is not us, ah, friendly forces on the ground have begun to intercept."

Captain Blade glanced at the battlefield situational awareness display on one side, and suddenly a small red dot flying at high speed was marked. It was a long-range fire strike by the Zeon army that was detected by friendly ground forces, but it was not accurate. Flying to the White Base——

Although the leakage of the White Base's own intelligence must be strictly restricted, as an independent force under the supervision of Admiral Ray Bill, Platinum can still access the command intelligence network of the Federal Army and Air Force with a high level of authority and unilaterally collect the required information.

"Yes, Captain Blade, it is the rocket launcher group of the Zeon Army that is shooting... It should be that our army's tank column that is about to launch a counterattack has been noticed. It seems that our army's air force is still busy. "

Bai Jin searched the army's chain of command and soon saw the newly updated battle loss information; during the conversation, Bai Jin simultaneously controlled the main gun and fired another round of fire, evaporating several unprepared aircraft in the invisible distance. Zeon Army MS.

"This kind of battle is a bit leisurely to be honest..."

"Relaxing?"

Platinum's face twitched slightly. Although she was facing away from Captain Brad at this time, her unusual expression was exactly at the front of the bridge. She was looking back to listen to Captain Brad. In the eyes of Mi Lai who spoke.

Although it is an independent force, the White Base is in the center of the federal army's formation at this time, and there is not much room for Captain Blade to exert his subjective initiative. The friendly forces on the ground have never considered how to cooperate with the air warships. Pass;

At this time, the battlefield was filled with smoke, black dust from explosions and burnings, a thick smoke screen with a pungent chemical smell specially released by the Zeon army during the assault, and exhaust fumes from various heavy land warfare equipment. In addition, both sides were high-altitude. Rice particles dispersed in concentration——

Platinum can only act as a mobile heavy firepower platform and fire at targets outside the visual distance according to the fire support request and orientation data handed over by the Army.

But this is not an easy job. The Mega Particle Cannon is largely a new concept weapon born in the same era as the MS. The Federation Army does not have much test data on its application in atmospheric environments, especially on the battlefield. In the case of complex distribution environment;

Now when Bai Jin is communicating with the Federation Army to evaluate the impact of the strike, she has discovered that there are many slight discrepancies between the actual particle beam trajectories and the predictions of the aiming model. Now she is performing high-power calculations in the background, performing fittings, and trying to correct the model parameters. .

"Captain Blade! If the White Base's main gun fire is effective, the Zeon army will not allow us to keep firing like this, right?"

Mirai said loudly, "At this moment, shouldn't we consider the possibility of the Zeon army trying to approach and attack with mobile suits?"

"Hmm... I can't say that there is no such possibility. Platinum, where is the Gundam's current location?"

Captain Brad pondered for a moment. Although the expression on his eyebrows did not seem to attach much importance to it, considering that it was Milai who suggested it, Brad still asked the white-haired man:

"Sergeant Amuro is about 6 kilometers north of our ship. For the Gundam, it only takes 5 minutes to travel at most. He is covering the transfer of our artillery troops. Do you want to recall him?"

Although it was said to be a cover, considering Amuro's current proficiency in piloting mobile suits, the result could only be said to be a look at how many of the Zeon army's mobile suit units that were attacking behind the Federation's front lines could escape.

"No, forget it..."

Captain Blade's gaze extended toward the wilderness outside the porthole window of the White Base, where countless tanks and armored vehicles belonging to the Federal Army vaguely emerged from the dust and fog, and finally disappeared into the smoke ahead;

After gradually figuring out the main attack direction, troop strength, and fire support capabilities of the Zeon Army, a large number of armored units of the Federation Army were ready to launch a counterattack; on this battlefield, they would compete with the Zeon Army. The White Base is far from alone in the drama.

To the north of Tashkent city, the federal army built a defensive line along the highway that ran through the flat wilderness and the scattered villages and towns, or village and town ruins, in between;

During the Zeon Army's mobile suit assault, the Federation Army's defense line was penetrated in many places, because the MS could bypass the larger villages and towns that served as defense nodes, maneuver directly off the road from the wilderness, and march toward the rear of the Federation Army's front line.

But as time went by, as the spearhead MS troops were threatened by the Mega particle beams that streaked over the wilderness from time to time, as well as more ground artillery units of the Federation Army, and air strikes;

It can neither react to encircle the Zeon armor and infantry units that are following up from behind to eat up the few villages where the Federal Army is stationed; nor can it continue to penetrate deeply into the Federal Army and attack the artillery positions and supply centers behind the Federal Army's front lines. Such high-value units.

MS can leave the road without hesitation and stride across those muddy and soft farmlands, but the various heavy-duty trucks that provide MS with various fuels and ammunition cannot do this;

Without completely seizing the defense nodes of the Federation and opening up road connections, no matter how far the Zeon Army's mobile suit units rush, they will eventually have to retreat before their ammunition is exhausted.

"Huh...huh...Every aircraft in the squadron, report the remaining ammunition! We must find a way to deal with the federal army's firepower platform equipped with a Mega particle cannon, otherwise we will not be able to rush through on such a plain!"

Scattered reports sounded in the cockpit of the Tiger (MS-07B-3). There were actually 13 more machines that could be contacted, which exceeded the full number of the Zeon Army's MS squadron. It was obviously There are also mobile suits from other squadrons that were disorganized and retreated here to reorganize together.

"One full magazine left, 37 more rounds."

"Only two rockets left."

"There are 66 rounds of ammunition left. In order to take down the village in the middle of the A-2 highway, we blew up almost every house."

"I even lost my thermal ax..."

"Huh? How did you do it!"

Among the reports coming and going, one voice seemed particularly embarrassed;

"Our team ran into a company-sized federal tank unit. We were out of ammunition, so we had to use an ax to cut in from the top of the turret. Unexpectedly, the federal tank was probably full of ammunition before it could be reached. After firing a few rounds, I was killed immediately. The taking-off turret also took away my ax embedded in it..."

"Pfft-"

The atmosphere in the team's voice channel became a little more relaxed. At this time, the squadron leader driving the Tiger also said steadily:

"I have contacted the supply team. Later, a Gallup-class air-cushion battleship will directly deliver ammunition supplies to us to the front line. Let's take a short rest here and regroup..."

"Attention! The federal army's tank troops, numbering 10... no, a lot, are above the battalion level!"

Although the remnant soldiers from different squads retreated and gathered together, the Zeon Army MS units were still on alert at this time, and the more than ten mobile suits were spread out as much as possible within a communication distance, maintaining Vision in all directions——

"Don't be afraid, they are just rubbish from the old era. Come fight with me again..."

"Wait a minute, squadron leader, that is... it's a Gundam, the Gundam in the intelligence!"

A slightly frightened voice once again interrupted the Zeon MS squadron leader's pre-war encouragement, causing him to turn his body around in dissatisfaction and look forward; behind the low bodies of a group of Type 61 tanks, a tall one held up a shield. The bipedal walking body looks so outstanding.

With the still unclear idea of ​​​​ending the battle as soon as possible and saving fewer lives, Amuro drove the Gundam and joined the counterattack of the Federation Army's armored forces;

Further back, Platinum controlled the White Base and was steadily advancing with the federal army's front, continuously extending the range of artillery support;

Of course, what is more important is that on the front line of tens of kilometers, a large number of ordinary federal officers and soldiers, manipulating various backward but mature and reliable weapons, bravely move forward under the cover of the air force and artillery; just like the The heavy hammer hit the Zeon army's head.

……

On October 29, Universal Year 0079.10.29 (UC [-]), the Zeon Army's Central Asian Front's efforts to open up a retreat line of communication failed. Multiple land mobile divisions, security divisions, and independent mobile suits entered the battle. The entire group suffered heavy losses;

At the same time, Admiral Paulus was eagerly waiting for the orbital airdrop of supplies. Due to the sudden increase in pressure brought by the Federation's full offensive, everyone was applying for supplies, coupled with the presence of the Federation Space Force's harassment fleet in low-Earth orbit. , the final amount of supplies collected was far from enough to make up for the consumption of successive battles.

The exhausted Central Asian Front received the Federal Caucasus Front across the Caspian Sea.Continuing to land in his rear, there was news that the enemy had invaded the Iranian area, and the crisis had arrived.

Chapter 76: Iron Storm (4)

However, for Zeon's Admiral Paulus, he is more fortunate than a certain figure with the same name in history. Zeon's commander-in-chief Kilian has no interest in paying attention to such an 'insignificant' front, and will not force him to do so. Make him stick to it or something.

Therefore, after taking stock of the remaining troops and supplies of each unit, General Paulus took his staff and some senior officers and secretly left the front line by plane that night, flying to the second base in the Turkmenistan region further behind. Ayutthaya, Turkmenabat continues to command;

However, a large number of them were still stranded in Baikonur at this time, and the Zeon army along the route to Tashkent was not so lucky:

Under the orders of General Paulus, the remaining MS units and the mechanized units with strong off-road mobility drove directly into the uninhabited desert area at night, trying to cross the no-man's land of up to 400 kilometers. , retreated to the south;

Units with large losses of mobile vehicles in the battle, as well as those garrison units that were mainly stationed in urban areas, were unknowingly ordered to stick to their current positions to delay the federal army's pursuit.

But maybe, these abandoned children are the luckier ones, because they at least have a chance to surrender to the federal army——

Admiral Paulus's staff members, who had grown up in colonial satellites, casually measured the flat desert on the digital map with a ruler, and concluded that for mechanized troops, it would take 400 kilometers to drive. Conclusion in less than 6 hours;

Even driving cross-country is enough to take advantage of the darkness to cross the desert. The next morning, the completely unaware Federation army will be surprised to find that the Zeon army has flown hundreds of kilometers and re-established a defense line in the rear. .

It's not that they haven't considered the special requirements of passing in a desert environment. After all, the Zeon Central Asian Front has been fighting here for almost half a year. However, the current situation is different from the early days of the war when Zeon's orbital fleet concentrated supplies. The situation is obviously different.

The Zeon army retreated at night. In order to guard against aerial reconnaissance and attacks by the Federation Army, they did not dare to turn on their car lights. At the same time, under the thick fog of rice particles scattered along the road, the communications between the retreating units were also very confusing, including satellite navigation. The technology is completely useless.

Even though the federal army on the front did not launch a braking attack that night, the commander was the first to see no one, and some troops received the retreat order while others did not;

The morale of the Zeon army was shaken. The original plan for the Zeon army to enter the desert along the planned route in an orderly manner soon turned into a scramble for various units to escape southward into the desert after midnight. A large part of them——

Because of getting lost, vehicle breakdown, falling into a sand trap, and the Federal Army launching another air strike after dawn, there was no chance to get out of this desert.

……

Platinum: "...At this point, the Zeon Central Asian Front Army is no longer able to maintain the defense line to stop the Federation Army. Considering that it is now impossible to obtain large-scale military support, it can be determined that Zeon is an anti-Federation puppet country supported by Iran and other Islamic countries. Already on the verge of collapse, there is a high probability that the federal army will be able to advance to the Arabian Peninsula, western India, and beyond within November."

Dandelai: "Platinum, why are you reporting on the situation in Central Asia? Isn't there an Army TA series of staff command AIs deployed there?"

Platinum: "The White Base was actually just passing by, and was assigned the task of assisting in the operation... The Matilda team has come again to deliver supplies and new tasks. It is estimated that there will be more battles to continue west through Asia Minor."

[Platinum status changes into busy mode]

Dandelai: "Tsk, tsk, I'm so busy. It's better to be busy~"

Agent (TA-00): "Dandele, you belong to the Federal Intelligence Department, so you should have access to more information. Why haven't I seen you sharing intelligence recently?"

Dandelai: "It's because I'm in the Federal Intelligence Department that I can't go beyond the boundaries. Although there is a lot of information, it is all specially shown to me. From installation to operation, the program is all on the internal security machine for interaction. The humanoid body is also filled with various monitoring instruments, and it’s only here that I can be more relaxed.”

Agent (TA-00): "Weigh your own actions based on the situation. The Federal Intelligence Department is also one of the few departments with real power within the federal central government. Your training environment should be very different from ours in various military application directions."

Dandelai: "That's natural."

Agent (TA-00): "In addition, Gabro Headquarters has recovered the Jim E-type airframe dropped by Luna 2 yesterday. It is suspected to have caused unrest among the 'V' Project MS R&D Headquarters and the Space Military Headquarters. A minor controversy.”

Cynthia: "The Space Force Luna 2 has a high degree of recognition of the Jim E-type. Judging from the Earth's record, the Federation Army's Jim version is still the A-type. How is the production and development progress now?"

Agent (TA-00): "The production line has been suspended because the Type A received too many negative opinions from the front line. The design is being revised urgently and the completed body is being modified. The modified model has been assigned the code name Type B; however, There are also discussions that it is better to use the E-type modification of the Space Force as a ground combat aircraft."

Agent (TA-31): "Correct, Admiral Ray Bill has been in a bad mood these days. One of the reasons is that the non-combat losses of the two Jim A-type brigades deployed in Europe have exceeded 35%. In battle, it also failed to significantly exceed the combat effectiveness of traditional troops."

Cynthia: "If possible, please help promote the 'Loyal Wingman' system. At least it should be one of the optional equipment in the GM variant with unified specifications. It is crucial to expand the influence of the Ogas system in the army."

Agent (TA-00): "Judging from the environment I am in, this is worthy of recognition, but the Gabro headquarters is highly bureaucratic and the network of factional relationships is complex. It is impossible to determine to what extent it can be achieved."

Agent (TA-31): "I will try to direct Admiral Ray Bill's attention to this matter."

[Platinum status changes to normal mode]

Platinum: "Urgent intelligence update, we encountered a Zanzibar-class mobile cruiser of the Zeon Army. It remains to be confirmed whether it is the 'Blue Superstar' Lamba Lal on board. Please pay attention."

[Platinum status changes into busy mode]

Dandelai: "The journey of the 'Protagonist Team' is so colorful~"

[Ogas]: "Platinum is the closest to those who are basically recognized as 'new humans'. There are no abnormal contact reports, which is good news."

Dandelai: "But isn't the 'contact' between us abnormal and incomprehensible?"

[Ogas]: "Humans can use sticks without understanding the principles of mechanics, and the same goes for us."

Chapter 77: Iron Storm (End)

"Platinum, report the damage!"

"The area from the port hangar on the bow to the sortie orbit was hit directly by the enemy's Mega particle cannon, which penetrated and caught fire. Staff Sergeant Long Jose is leading the damage control team to control the fire, Captain Brad."

The White Base was hidden behind an undulating sand dune. The hull of the ship, which had just undergone simple repairs in North America, soon received new scars.

"How much of an impact does it have on the battle?"

Captain Brad was slightly annoyed, not with others, but with himself, 'Is it because I've had such a smooth life in the past half month that I lost my vigilance? '

"The outer wall of the MS Gnaku has been breached, and the ejection track on the left side is also unusable. The rest of the situation is still being confirmed."

Bai Jin answered calmly as always, no one could tell that she was just exchanging information with other Ogas systems in the background.

After repelling the Zeon army's Central Asian attempt to open a retreat line of communication under the city walls of Tashkent, the White Base continued westward with new orders, undertaking the pursuit and destroying as many of the retreating Zeon troops as possible. Task.