Chapter 28: Flares and Smoke Grenades!

Macarius’s judgment was flawless. The Zeon forces had spent the entire afternoon busy mobilizing personnel and supplies in preparation for a night raid, leaving everyone else relatively relaxed, save for the need to dodge the occasional shell.

Even the Red Dragon 3 managed to complete its repairs before nightfall. Shortly after, the group experienced the artificial day-to-night transition of the space colony.

It was clear that the colony’s controllers wanted the transition to feel realistic, but the harsh, one-second dimming of the lights made it feel blatantly artificial. The simulated moonlight was even worse, though it was the best one could expect from a closed-system satellite. In some of the Zeon slum colonies, day and night transitions were nothing more than a simple flick of a light switch.

The Federation troops in their positions had long since prepared their thermal-fusion night-vision goggles. The tank crews were no exception; they possessed even higher-definition vehicular night-vision systems, capable of spotting a rabbit from four kilometers away.

Under the cold, hollow glow of the simulated moonlight, Macarius suddenly felt as though his perception had sharpened slightly. He preferred to attribute this to the quiet of the night, which allowed him to hear the hurried footsteps of the Zeon soldiers amidst the rustling of the forest.

"John, there’s movement at the front!"

"Huh? My men haven't picked up anything. You kid, how are your ears that sharp?"

After confirming that the infantry were on high alert, Macarius shifted his attention to the rear. Through the vehicular night-vision display, he could clearly see a significant number of Zeon soldiers infiltrating from the high ground behind them. Unfortunately, the thermal imaging wasn't clear enough for facial recognition, so he couldn't identify where Char was.

"There’s movement at the rear, too. Are your men ready?"

"Of course, we’re just waiting for your order!"

"Good, then get ready!"

Macarius picked up the infantry-grade rotary grenade launcher by his side. It was already loaded with six flares—his surprise for the Zeon forces.

"Enemy at the front, four hundred meters!"

"Enemy at the flank-rear, three hundred meters!"

"Enemy at the front, two hundred meters!"

"Enemy at the flank-rear, one hundred meters!"

As the sentry finished the last report, Macarius grabbed the launcher and fired all six rounds into the sky in rapid succession. Then, it became day.

The six flares streaked into the sky, releasing millions of lumens of blinding light. The Zeon cadets, who had been advancing cautiously while wearing night-vision goggles, couldn't help but scream in agony.

The Federation soldiers, however, had been prepared and had removed their goggles beforehand.

"It’s a trap!" someone on the Zeon side shouted, followed immediately by the crackle of gunfire.

"Oh, so we couldn't get close enough after all?"

Char, who had also been caught off guard by the flares, sighed. From the high ground, he had spotted the Federation tanks hiding behind their cover. He had hoped to close the distance to launch a better attack, but ultimately, they had failed.

It didn't matter, though. The tank coordinates had already been relayed to the artillery. Despite the sudden turn of events, the moment the shooting started, the artillery would open fire immediately. Those Federation tanks were done for.

"Follow me! Let's go!"

With that, Char gripped his rifle and charged to the front of his unit.

Meanwhile, Macarius, having fired the flares, didn't even wait to retreat back into the tank before ordering everyone to start their engines. The Red Dragon team drove their vehicles deep into the interior of their position, abandoning the outer perimeter entirely.

"The enemy is retreating!" the Zeon cadets rushing in from the rear were overjoyed. Victory seemed within their grasp; everyone picked up their pace, desperate to reach the position in the shortest time possible.

"Now! Smoke grenades!"

The four tanks fired their eight main cannons in unison, launching a volley of smoke shells at the rear position. They fired a second and then a third round, creating a curtain of smoke that completely blinded the Zeon forces. By now, the flares had burned out, and the battlefield plunged back into darkness.

"Watch out for an ambush!"

Seeing the smoke, Char immediately realized something was wrong and shouted to those around him, but the sound of mortar shells raining down from the sky drowned out his warning.

Then, from the front of the smoke screen, a hail of bullets erupted!

"Fire! Give them hell!"

The Zeon cadets, startled by the rain of bullets, retaliated with even heavier fire. The result was a fierce exchange where men fell on both sides.

"Garma, the enemy fire on my side is heavy. We’re suppressed! How is it on your end?"

"We’re in a fierce firefight too! Hold on, we’re about to break through!"

"Understood!"

Learning that both sides were engaged in heavy combat left Char momentarily confused. Logically, the Federation’s firepower shouldn't be this intense; they didn't have enough men. If they were holding off Garma, they shouldn't have the strength to hold them off as well!

"Probably their last desperate struggle!" said Zenamier, wiping sweat from her forehead. She swapped in a fresh magazine and continued to spray fire into the smoke.

Amidst the chaotic gunfire, Garma’s mortar shells began to fall. But the more Char listened, the more something felt wrong. Why were the shells landing closer and closer to them?

Then, in the trench, Char felt a surge of panic for the first time. A dense barrage of shells came crashing down directly onto their heads, precisely covering the company he was leading. In this single round of bombardment, his company lost fully two-thirds of its men!

"Cease fire, Garma! You’re hitting friendly forces!"

"What? We’re attacking friendly forces? Cease fire, cease fire immediately!" Garma shouted into the radio, grabbing the handset. "But we were firing on the coordinates provided by the Second Company!"

"The Second Company's coordinates?"

Char froze, as if he had grasped a terrible truth. His expression was blank for a moment before returning to his usual indifferent, emotionless mask, though his voice carried a hint of mockery.

"Garma, it seems we’ve been tricked."

"What do you mean, Char?"

"It means we’ve both been played. Tell them to cease fire!"

Moments later, the fire coming from the front vanished without a trace.

"This is..." Zenamier’s mouth hung open, her eyes wide.

"We were firing on our own men!"

Char looked through the thinning smoke toward the front and saw several familiar faces.

"We’ve all been deceived!"

"The Federation troops aren't between us? Then where are they?"

"They’re on our flank!"

Char pointed toward the flank of the friendly forces at the front, where the sound of guns and cannons had never ceased.

"Help! We’re under counterattack by the Federation! We can't hold them off!"