Chapter 53: A Complete and Utter Defeat!

Finally, amidst the subtle and knowing glances of everyone present, Char still chose to surrender. Moreover, when Char and his disarmed companions were brought before Garma, the latter could not wait to step forward and pull Char into a tight embrace, making the atmosphere even more bizarre!

"It is truly wonderful that you all are safe!"

"I am so sorry, Garma! It was my fault that everyone got dragged into this!"

"What are you saying? This is my responsibility!"

Garma looked at Char’s deeply pained and aggrieved expression, mistakenly believing that his friend was tormenting himself with self-blame, and quickly chimed in.

"As your commander, the responsibility for this defeat rests entirely on my shoulders. So, Char, please say no more!"

Garma sighed heavily and continued.

"I honestly have no idea how I am going to face Brother Dozle next!"

If Macarius had been standing there, he would have very considerately comforted Garma and told him not to worry, because his brother would be joining him in a prison cell very shortly.

"Sir, the Red Dragon Team has fully regrouped and is accounted for!"

Having dealt with Char, Macarius immediately ordered his men to resupply. After all, the combat alert had not yet been lifted, and the Red Dragon Team had exhausted nearly two-thirds of their ammunition reserves during the preceding engagement. If any further fighting broke out, they would be caught unprepared.

Fortunately, this time they did not have to haul the heavy shells themselves; the maintenance department had specifically dispatched a crew to handle the logistical support. Consequently, the tank crewmen were finally able to sit down and have a sip of water.

Meanwhile, Macarius hurried over to Yodel’s command post to report in and await further orders.

"You’ve arrived just in time!"

"Commander Eugen has pulled all the armored forces away. Therefore, aside from those vehicles currently undergoing repairs, your squad is the only armored force at my immediate disposal!"

"So, we have a new mission?"

"Yes. Although the Zeon cadet forces that attacked the installation have been neutralized, the enemy at the spaceport is still putting up desperate resistance and has even seized control of several facilities."

"Does that mean we are being deployed there?"

"What on earth would you even do there?"

Yodel rolled his eyes. Why was this guy always so eager to blow everything up into the sky? The spaceport was hardly a place where one could fire wildly. If a stray shell breached a bulkhead or blew a hull breach, everyone present could instantly transform into cosmic dust together.

"I am sending John Miller and his detachment to handle that situation. Your objective is this instead!"

Yodel pulled up a new electronic map. Macarius instantly recognized the prominent building at the center of the display—it was none other than the ostentatious headquarters of the Zeon Military Academy!

"I will have Lieutenant Kahn lead a company of infantry along with a few guys from the intelligence detachment to assist you in capturing this location, disarming them, and rounding everyone up under guard!"

"What if we encounter armed resistance?"

"Suppress it decisively!"

"Understood!"

Once those matters were settled, seemingly worried that Macarius might actually resort to indiscriminate heavy firepower, Yodel felt compelled to add a word of caution.

"Listen, try to keep bloodshed to an absolute minimum if you can. After all, the ones still left over there are primarily just students. Furthermore, Dozle Zabi—he must be taken alive as well!"

"Understood!"

"Take another ten minutes to rest, grab some food and drinks, and wash your faces!"

Macarius saluted and departed the command post. He was not particularly exhausted, but he was certainly parched. Although his tank was equipped with an air conditioning system, the thick smoke and intense heat generated during the cannon fire were unavoidable.

Upon returning to the Red Dragon Team, the tank had already been resupplied. The maintenance crewmen were swarming around Red Dragon One, deliberating on how to deal with its battle-scarred exterior, for the vehicle currently looked somewhat wretched.

The composite armor on the upper glacis plate was in relatively decent shape, bearing only a few dozen superficial gouges inflicted by Zeon armored cars utilizing autocannons. The turret, however, was a horrific sight—densely pitted with countless impact marks and small craters. The sighting optics were cracked, and even the storage baskets on both sides had been completely sheared off, leaving only a few jagged, dangling steel bars swaying in the breeze.

"These shell craters and dents are easy enough to patch up and weld for you, but the optics will require a complete overhaul!"

"It is fine. There shouldn't be much combat left after this anyway. No need to rush the repairs; we can give her a proper overhaul and maintenance once everything is over!"

Macarius patted the flank of his Red Dragon One, wondering just how much longer he would be able to drive her. The Type 61 was a magnificent tank, but alas, there was no place for it in this era.

After a brief respite to consume some field rations and swallow down a few mouthfuls of cold water, Macarius grabbed his tanker helmet and dove back into his familiar position. However, instead of sealing himself entirely within the combat compartment, he left the upper half of his torso exposed outside the turret—he preferred watching the tank advance beneath him like this.

Of course, when actual combat erupted, diving back inside the fighting compartment remained the wisest choice!

After rendezvoused with Lieutenant Kahn’s infantry detachment, the assault force, spearheaded by the battle-scarred Red Dragon One, launched its advance toward the Zeon Military Academy.

At that moment, the Zeon Military Academy was brightly illuminated. The news that Garma had led all senior-year cadets and the majority of juniors on a rogue operation had already spread through every barracks. To suppress the agitated younger students, Dozle had no choice but to order the remaining faculty members and a handful of military police to herd all the remaining students into the grand auditorium to sleep on makeshift bedding on the floor.

Dozle himself had personally donned his full military uniform and taken up a post like a fierce temple guardian right at the double doors of the auditorium, purely to deter any cadets from getting out of hand if the faculty lost control.

The moment his massive, gorilla-like physique blocked the main entrance, the auditorium fell into an immediate and absolute hush. The cadets who had been whispering under their blankets just moments prior frantically buried their heads deep inside their sleeping bags.

"Sigh, what a bunch of kids who refuse to give anyone any peace of mind!"

Seated on a chair, Dozle sighed heavily, resting his head in one hand as he stared blankly up at the ceiling overhead.

Then, a steaming cup of tea was gently extended toward him.

"Sir, please partake!"

"Why aren't you asleep yet?"

Seeing Sena standing beside him, even more dutiful and vigilant than his actual guards, Dozle felt a fresh wave of helplessness.

"I must wait for Mr. Garma and the others to return!"

Sena stated with unyielding firmness.

"Besides, I promised Mr. Garma that I would keep you occupied!"

"Well, you have certainly succeeded in that!"

Dozle retorted with a mixture of exasperation and amusement. In his heart, however, he could not help but admire this young girl. Putting aside everything else, just the sheer nerve of this girl drawing a pistol and aiming it directly at him earlier made him develop a budding interest in this young lady hailing from Side 4, Moore!

"My apologies, Sir!"

"Very well, there is no need to dwell on it any longer. Now, let us simply wait for their good tidings!"

"Have no fear, Sir! They will undoubtedly succeed!"

The moment the topic turned to this, Sena’s eyes lit up with spirited enthusiasm. As the eighth-ranked student academically, she was acutely aware of the cadets' capabilities. With several hundred students deployed, suppressing a few thousand Federation troops would be child's play!

"Let us hope so, otherwise..."

The mere thought of his father sent a sudden shiver of dread crawling across Dozle's scalp. King Degwin doted on his youngest son above all others; should anything befall the boy, Dozle would have no way to answer to the old patriarch!

Just as the two of them were engaged in idle chatter, the hot tea resting on the nearby table suddenly rippled with concentric circles, followed by the teacup itself beginning to vibrate gently.

"Vehicles are approaching!"

"It must be Mr. Garma and the others returning!"

Thanks to the Federation's electronic jamming, all external communication channels for the military academy had been rendered entirely useless. The only functioning link remaining was the wired field telephone on Dozle's desk connecting directly to the gatehouse.

Without hesitation, Dozle snatched up the receiver to demand an explanation from the sentry at the main gate regarding what was transpiring!

"Affirmative, Mr. Garma and the others have returned!"

At the academy's main gate, several Zeon sentries lay motionless on the ground, having breathed their last. The one answering the telephone was none other than Spears, who had arrived ahead of time with his reconnaissance squad. Utilizing the shadows, he and a few cadets had infiltrated the perimeter, disabled the surveillance systems, and silently eliminated the gate guards.

When Dozle’s call came through, Spears was momentarily flustered, but with Macarius and the main force only a few hundred meters away, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and answer.

At that moment, Dozle's mind was entirely consumed with thoughts of Garma, completely failing to notice that the voice of the sentry at the gate sounded entirely different from the one he expected.

"Then have him roll straight to the auditorium this instant!"

With that, Dozle stood up, glanced around the room, and then abruptly kicked his wooden stool apart, snapping off one of its legs. He intended to use that wooden club to thoroughly thrash Garma's backside!

Simultaneously, Macarius's tank had rolled right up to the military academy's front gates.

Accompanied by the thunderous roar of its engine, the ornate steel gates—crafted by hand at considerable expense—shattered inward under the impact, immediately crushed into twisted scrap metal beneath the heavy tracks of the Federation tank.

"Reaper, main gate has been breached. No resistance encountered!"

"Received. Proceed according to the established plan!"

The armored personnel carriers trailing closely behind the lead tank accelerated, surging into the campus grounds. They immediately branched out along predetermined routes toward the dormitories, armory, and administration building respectively.

Meanwhile, Macarius led Spears and the members of the intelligence detachment straight toward Dozle's quarters.

"Wait, this is wrong... these are not our vehicles!"

As the violent tremors grew progressively more intense, Dozle—who had been forced to remain inside the auditorium to keep the restless cadets under control—finally realized something was amiss, and his complexion turned ghastly pale.

A split second later, the sharp crack of gunfire shattered the silence.

"Dammit! Sena, keep these kids locked down!"

Bellowing an order, Dozle bolted out toward the exterior of the auditorium. He heard the gunfire of the sentries stationed outside. As he rushed out, even louder bursts of gunfire echoed from nearby, followed immediately by a row of massive bullet holes tearing through the wall directly in front of him. The glass doors and windows shattered into glittering shards under the sweeping hail of machine-gun fire.

By the time Dozle scrambled back to his feet and burst out through the main exit, he was greeted by the horrifying sight of his outer sentries lying lifeless in pools of blood, their bodies literally torn apart by heavy 13.2mm machine-gun rounds!

The perpetrators of this carnage were none other than the Federation tanks rolling directly toward him!

"There's still someone out here?"

Perched atop the tank, a Federation soldier spotted another figure emerging from the building ahead and immediately moved to swivel the commander’s heavy machine gun toward the target. However, the tank abruptly slammed on its brakes, pitching violently and sending the crew sprawling, which disrupted their aim and prevented them from firing.

"Hold your fire!"

From within the combat compartment, Macarius had a crystal-clear view through his panoramic periscope. The man was attired in a senior officer's greatcoat and possessed that unmistakable, hulking physique—if this wasn't Dozle Zabi, who else could it be?

"Dismount, surround him, but do not shoot!"

Recognizing Dozle's identity as well, the surrounding Federation infantry rapidly deployed into a tactical formation, closing in to encircle him.

"You... you villains! What have you done to Garma?!"

Facing over a dozen fully armed Federation soldiers with fingers on their triggers, Dozle showed not a shred of fear, instead striding forward toward the tanks with mounting fury.

"Stop right there!"

Macarius fired a warning shot into the air with his sidearm, then shouted out.

"Lieutenant General Dozle Zabi, you and your cadets are surrounded by Federation forces! Order an immediate cessation of resistance!"

"Where is Garma? Is Garma safe?!"

"He is fine!"

"Then thank goodness! Thank goodness!"

The panic on Dozle's face instantly shifted into a bitter expression. Casting a glance at the Federation soldiers slowly closing in around him, he slowly prepared to raise his hands in surrender.

"Sir!"

Just as Dozle was about to yield, Sena’s voice rang out from nearby. What followed next was a scene that thoroughly terrified both Dozle and the Federation troops alike!

A massive wave of Zeon cadets came rushing forward, wielding table legs, baseball bats, or even bare fists. They threw themselves directly in front of Dozle, forming a human barrier to confront the Federation soldiers head-on.

"Damn it!"

Macarius reacted with lightning speed. Red Dragon One’s turret spun around instantly, training both main cannons directly upon the crowd massing before him.

"Drop your weapons and get on the ground with your hands behind your heads!"

"Hands on your heads! Do as he says!"

Dozle was utterly panicked. With so many cadets packed together, if a single Federation soldier suffered a nervous twitch on the trigger, it would instantly turn into a genuine massacre!

He therefore scrambled frantically to the front of the crowd, spreading his arms wide like a mother hen shielding her chicks, while roaring at the top of his lungs to command the Zeon cadets to obey the Federation orders.

"Sir! Let us fight these bastards to the death!"

"That's right!"

Unwilling to surrender, the Zeon cadets began shouting defiantly.

"Silence!"

Desperate to preserve the lives of these youths, Dozle put every ounce of strength into a thunderous bellow that shook the air.

"I am your Commandant! Obey my command!"

Moving in personally, he wrenched the makeshift weapons out of the hands of several cadets and hurled them toward the front of the formation.

"Comply immediately!"

In that instant, Dozle felt as though his face was burning with fiery humiliation. Cadets were his soldiers, and ordering soldiers to lay down their arms was an absolute disgrace to any commander. Yet, to ensure these children survived, he had no choice but to bear that profound shame upon his own back!

"You lot as well! Lower your muzzles! I'm talking to you—have a death wish, you dog?"

Macarius likewise ordered the Federation troops to point their weapons toward the ground, though he refused to lower his guard. The tank's main gun remained loaded with a high-explosive fragmentation shell, and he himself kept a firm grip on the heavy machine gun, glaring vigilantly at the Zeon cadets opposite him.

Through the joint efforts of both commanders, the hair-trigger tension in the air finally dissipated slightly. Crestfallen as if withered by frost, the Zeon cadets tossed their makeshift weapons onto the pavement and, following their Commandant's example, raised their hands into the air.

"I never imagined we would meet again under such circumstances."

As Dozle gazed up at Macarius perched atop the tank, a complex array of emotions flickered in his eyes—shock, disbelief, and a resigned sense of fatalism.

"Indeed. Nor did I anticipate, General, that you would end up as my prisoner. How capricious fate can be! However, I must apologize—this time, I am afraid I cannot afford to render you a proper military salute."

Leaning casually against the hatch rim, Macarius tilted his head with a faint smile.