Chapter 24: Operation Landmine!

"Char, why don't we continue? The enemy might have only buried that one mine!"

"No, that's not it!" Char replied with great certainty.

"In the era of Old Earth, a military strategist once said: 'Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.' This means when you are in a disadvantageous position, you must deliberately feign strength to deter the opponent from attacking rashly. Conversely, when your forces are powerful, you must deliberately appear empty or expose flaws to lure the enemy into an attack and fall into your trap. It is a strategy of masking true power to numb the opponent."

"That first mine was meant to lull us into a false sense of security. Our combat engineers found nothing else, so when we encountered a second, we would proceed as usual out of habit. That is exactly the enemy's ruse."

As he spoke, Char looked up at the two tank tracks leading deep into the dense forest, then continued, "I guarantee that for the remainder of the road, the enemy has certainly laid more mines, just waiting for us."

Several Zeon cadets serving as officers nodded in sudden realization. "Char, you truly live up to your reputation. But why don't the instructors at the academy teach us these things?"

"That, I do not know."

Looking at the perplexed cadets, Char couldn't help but sneer. To isolate the grassroots population from Earth as much as possible, the Zabi family would go so far as to propagandize that the genetics of Zeon citizens were different from those of Earthlings. Teaching these Earth-based tactics would only make it harder to sever ties with the planet.

Following this, the Zeon mechanized infantry company chose a path that looked completely untouched. This route was not only in better condition than the previous one, but the incline was also much gentler, allowing the armored vehicles to move faster.

"Damn it!" Seeing Char's convoy resolutely drive onto that road, Dozle, who was observing the exercise, felt his heart tighten. He wanted to scream, *Don't go there! It's a minefield!*

Unfortunately, Char was not yet a Newtype—and even if he were, he could not hear Dozle's inner thoughts. Thus, led by the lead armored vehicle, the convoy sped forward, charging headlong into the minefield.

"Armored vehicle hit a mine and destroyed. Infantry transport vehicle hit a mine and destroyed..."

Char, who was planning his next move, was still lost in thought when a series of reports suddenly crackled over the communication channel.

"What's going on? Is there fighting on Garma's side?"

"No, it's us. The convoy has entered a massive minefield!"

"How is that possible?" Char exclaimed, his voice filled with agitation. He jumped off his transport vehicle and looked ahead, seeing the first three or four vehicles in the convoy already deploying infantry, preparing to evacuate the site.

"Is the enemy commander a monster? Can they even predict our route choices after we change paths?"

"It seems our luck is truly terrible," said Cennamie, the commander of the first company, who had also stepped out of her vehicle with a look of resignation.

"Indeed. But if they've concentrated all their mines here, then Garma's front must have far fewer!"

"That's true. The Federation forces have a limited number of mines. If they are all deployed on the flanks, there certainly won't be many at the front!"

Cenn's eyes lit up. She picked up the radio and relayed the intelligence to Garma, who was commanding on the front line.

"If that's the case!" Garma Zabi was delighted upon hearing this; he felt he had grasped the key to victory.

"We will use mortars to suppress the enemy tanks and smoke grenades to block their line of sight. Then, we'll use armored vehicles to dash to close range and deploy anti-tank infantry. Since we have two mechanized infantry companies, we can push forward in one go. The Federation force has less than half our numbers. As long as we are fast enough, we can overwhelm them!"

After Char left, Garma's personal guard became his staff officers. While their performance wasn't poor—they were certainly capable of being competent combat officers—they lacked strategic depth. Perhaps Garma would have fared better acting on his own, but without Char as his "wise advisor," his confidence was naturally shaken. Thus, when the guard suggested the plan, he pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"Then, Lord Garma, please let me serve as the assault commander!" the captain of the guard, a stout cadet, volunteered.

"Very well. I leave this arduous task to you."

"Everything for the Zabi family! Sieg Zeon!" The captain shouted the slogan passionately, then grabbed his helmet and rifle to assemble the troops.

After some mobilization, the rested and eager Zeon cadets immediately shouted bold slogans about teaching the Federation a lesson and piled into the transport vehicles.

Although using lightly armored wheeled transport vehicles and tracked infantry fighting vehicles to assault a defensive line was a foolish tactic, the Zeon forces had no other armored assets. They couldn't very well make the infantry charge on foot; riding in vehicles at least ensured they conserved their stamina. After all, not everyone could carry full combat gear for several kilometers and then engage in fierce fighting.

"Sieg Zeon!"

Following another chant over the channel, dozens of armored vehicles formed an assault formation and launched an attack on the Federation positions. Simultaneously, the heavy mortar company commanded by Garma began providing fire support. Smoke grenades detonated one after another. As the heavy rain had gradually ceased, the smoke spread to its normal range, and the Zeon forces quickly laid down a long smoke screen on the reverse slope, blocking Macarius's view.

"Using that trick again!"

"Do they think we only have two eyes?"

"The Zeon forces have no tanks; forgive them for their limited options."

"True. Red Dragon Two, Three, this is Red Dragon One. Are you ready?"

"Guidance is ready. Just fire when you're ready!"

"No rush. Let them fall into chaos first!"

During the exchange, the Zeon convoy reached the barbed wire. Moments later, several shells fell from the sky, blasting gaps through which the vehicles could pass.

"Move, move, move!"

Led by their commander, a large number of Zeon infantry bravely jumped off their vehicles and, under the cover of the 20mm autocannons of the infantry fighting vehicles, charged into the Federation's minefield.

"You have triggered a mine and are KIA. Please exit the exercise immediately!"

...

Soon, notifications began sounding in the headsets of many Zeon cadets.

"There are mines here too! This is a trap!" a soldier who had triggered a mine shouted in frustration.