Xiao Ran was willing to take part in the Odyssey Operation not merely because the Main Mission required it. Main Mission Three was not limited to being completed during the Odyssey Operation either; after the mission was issued, he could also slowly carry out sneak attacks on military facilities belonging to both the Federation and Zeon.
The reason he was joining this operation was also because Xiao Ran wanted to gradually establish his own prestige and honor within the Earth Federation Army, eventually turning them into the support and trust of Federal Army soldiers. Once he revealed the Original Constitution and completely turned against the Earth Federation, he would be able to quickly gather a group of supporters with combat capability. Even if those supporters were only rank-and-file soldiers, the blow they could deal to the Earth Federation would still be enormous.
The Federation's Odyssey Operation plan might have been classified, but such a massive troop deployment could not be concealed from Zeon. Not to mention the spies both sides had planted in each other's ranks. Even if Zeon did not know the true details of the Odyssey Operation, it could still accurately determine the Earth Federation's target. Zeon had likewise made preparations for battle.
As the operation time drew closer, the first shot of the battle rang out before the sun had risen. The gunfire initiated by the Earth Federation was immediately met with fierce Zeon counterfire. In an instant, the flames of war illuminated the still-dark sky as brightly as day. From the very beginning, this massive battle involving more than five million people had fallen into an extremely deadlocked state, with a war of attrition already taking shape.
Both the Federation and Zeon were completely engulfed by artillery fire. Tanks turned into blazing heaps of scrap metal