Chapter 44: The Situation Escalates

"We almost forgot about those guys!"

The people Eugen referred to were, naturally, the personnel of the Zeon Military Academy, who shared the Guardian Sector with the garrison forces. The academy currently had a strength of over a thousand individuals. While that was negligible compared to the main garrison, the situation changed dramatically once the garrison's combat units and fleet departed en masse to enforce martial law in Zum City.

The second-tier personnel and meager military police left behind at the base would simply not be enough.

"Alright, do as you say. Yodel, execute the order immediately!"

It wasn't that Eugen hadn't considered leaving behind more personnel, but the problem was that he simply couldn't afford to. There were far too many enterprises in Zum City that the Federation forces were tasked with protecting. Many of these businesses, having managed to expand their operations into Zeon territory, undoubtedly maintained ambiguous ties with officials back within the Federation. Consequently, these individuals had bypassed normal channels and directly called Eugen's command post, effectively forcing him to lead a detachment to Zum City just to escape the pressure.

However, with Macarius around, Eugen suddenly felt that such precautions might be entirely unnecessary. He had a hunch that fully loading Red Dragon One and letting Macarius single-handedly obliterate the Zeon Military Academy wouldn't be all that difficult.

"As for you lot, head to the armory and draw live ammunition. I'll have someone inspect the tanks again to make sure there are no issues!"

Shortly after, an order rang out, summoning the members of the Red Dragon Team to the ammunition depot.

"Holy shit, live rounds?"

Yudin was thoroughly startled when a transport trolley delivered a batch of shells, complete with stenciled markings detailing the ammunition type, right in front of him.

While they fired cannons every single day during exercises, the number of times they had laid eyes on actual live ammunition could be counted on one hand. Aside from the mandatory annual live-fire drills, they practically never touched the stuff. During regular training, they used inert training rounds that replicated every property of live ammunition except for its lethality.

"Are we heading to Zum City as well?"

"Negative, we are on combat readiness duty right here in the Guardian Sector!"

Macarius replied without lifting his head, currently busy cross-referencing information with the ammunition depot keeper.

The standard ammunition load for a Type 61 tank was fifty-four rounds. Its 150mm main gun could fire a variety of projectiles, including conventional armor-piercing shells and high-explosive shells, as well as specialized munitions like gun-launched missiles and satellite-guided artillery shells.

However, due to the environmental constraints inside a space colony, satellite-guided munitions were entirely unusable. Furthermore, gun-launched missiles were delicate, high-value items that could not be deployed carelessly. Therefore, the projectile baskets of their automatic loaders were stocked primarily with conventional ordnance.

Moreover, unlike in video games, real tanks deployed with a full ammunition load—or even packed with a few extra rounds. In the composition of shell types, high-explosive anti-tank rounds and high-explosive fragmentation rounds held a much larger share, while armor-piercing rounds were far fewer. After all, a tank crew had to handle a diverse array of tasks rather than engage solely in single-minded tank-on-tank combat.

In addition to the main gun shells, the tank's two 7.62mm coaxial machine guns, the commander's 13.2mm heavy machine gun, and a backup M299 light machine gun all required a sufficient supply of ammunition.

Likewise, keeping in mind worst-case scenarios where a combat vehicle malfunctioned and the crew was forced to abandon it, the crew members also needed to carry their own personal self-defense weapons.

"Yet the vibe you're giving me, Cap, feels like we're about to fight a real war!"

"Because this is also an excellent opportunity to train you all. I've already spoken with the Chief of Staff: the Red Dragon Team will independently select advantageous positions while executing combat readiness duties. So, once you've finished loading the shells and rations, move out and follow me to find an ambush site!"

Macarius looked at his subordinates. He desperately wanted every single one of them to survive the coming war. To that end, ever since they had entered the academy, he had put them through grueling, relentless paces. Yet right now, he felt as though he still hadn't trained them hard enough.

"You've been a bit high-strung lately."

While everyone else was busy hauling shells, Andrei walked up to him with a cigarette dangling from his lips—only to be met with a swift, heavy punch to the face from the ammunition depot keeper.

"My sincere apologies!"

Andrei quickly apologized. It was all Macarius's fault; he had grown far too used to smoking whenever he had heart-to-hearts with him in the past, so when he wanted to chat for a bit just now, old habits had simply taken over!

"Yeah, well, that's because we're out of time!"

Macarius pulled a pistol from a nearby weapons crate, inspected it thoroughly, and spoke.

"A war is coming."

"True. It's not just you; the brothers can feel it too. But there's no need to stress yourself out this much. When the sky falls, don't we have bigwigs like your grandfather holding it up?"

"I know, but I just..."

Macarius, usually so eloquent and sharp with his words, found himself completely at a loss.

"So, there's no need to rush. If things are bound to happen, your current strength isn't enough to stop them. Just focus on doing what's right in front of you first!"

"You're as good at comforting people as ever. Even if it's completely useless, thanks, brother."

"Don't mention it. Now go haul some ammo. You always skip work under the pretense of checking the inventory list—this time, I'm checking it!"

While the Red Dragon Team was busy with their preparations, the forty-eight-hour ultimatum issued by the Federation government quickly elapsed. Yet, the Zeon faction gave not the slightest response. Consequently, the Federation garrison forces, having completed their preparations long in advance, swiftly boarded transport ships and landed in Zum City.

Commander Eugen had no desire to push things to absolute extremes. Therefore, the first batch of infantry regiments entering Zum City carried no live-fire weapons; instead, they were equipped with riot shotguns firing tear gas and beanbag rounds. Their armored vehicles were also outfitted with high-pressure water cannons and sonic emitters.

While these pieces of equipment lacked the lethal deterrent of firearms, they were more than sufficient to force Zeon civilians back.

"The Federation army is here! We're saved!"

Outside a Federation facility closest to the port, thousands of Zeon citizens had gathered around the courtyard walls, hurling stones and Molotov cocktails inside. Suddenly, a harsh warning blared through the loudspeakers.

The moment these Zeon individuals turned around, they spotted dozens of heavily armed Federation soldiers advancing under the cover of armored vehicles.

For reasons defying all logic, these Zeon civilians actually turned and charged straight toward the Federation troops, instantly triggering a barrage of noise and commotion.

Under a synchronized volley from the shotguns, rubber bullets and tear gas canisters rained directly into the Zeon formation. Dozens of unfortunate souls shrieked and scrambled backward, while others attempted to hold their ground against the irritating fumes. But the moment they finally managed to gasp for breath, high-pressure water cannons lashed out relentlessly.

The torrents emitted by these water cannons were designed for firefighting within the colonies; the streams were violent and immensely powerful. The Zeon rioters were knocked about like a row of toppled dominoes, the forceful water currents sending them sprawling in all directions while blasting weapons like Molotov cocktails out of their hands and away into the distance.

Left with no other choice, the Zeon crowd broke apart in utter disarray, fleeing the scene to await a chance to regroup.

"The tactics are effective. Advance!"