Battle in the Dense Forest

The crosshairs locked onto a military-green mechanical giant within the scope.

The mechanical giant was walking through the dense forest, its iconic mono-eye sensor constantly sweeping left and right.

In the light drizzle blanketing this Southeast Asian land, the red glow of that single eye blurred, chilling to the bone.

Behind it, two identical giants followed in a triangular formation.

These were the enemy: large-scale mobile units known as MS, developed by the Principality of Zeon to bridge the gap in military strength.

They had replaced tanks on the gravity front, becoming armored units capable of swaying the outcome of the war.

"Three Zaku, moving northwest. How lucky. Karen, data sent!"

Although their official model designation was Zaku II, everyone simply called them Zaku.

Eli Li did not rush to pull the trigger on the control stick.

Instead, he checked the data transmission on the communication screen beside him.

It was worth noting that wireless communication was notoriously difficult to achieve on this soil.

Under the influence of special particles known as Minovsky Particles, electromagnetic waves suffered massive interference, often leaving long-range communications filled with nothing but static.

In areas of high concentration, losing contact on the battlefield was a common occurrence.

This rendered guided weapons like missiles and anti-aircraft guns ineffective.

For a time, this war that had swept across the entire human world—even triggering the fall of space colonies—had regressed to the combat modes of the Second World War.

Just like now, Eli was piloting the Earth Federation's latest combat weapon, yet he had to rely on optical sights to aim.

Incidentally, the communication between Eli and Karen relied on a fiber-optic cable laid across the ground, exchanging data via a wired connection.

"Received, ready to fire at any time!"

A strong, feminine voice came from the other side of the comms.

The woman named Karen spoke with a rough, gravelly tone; perhaps this was what they called the alienation of war?

After confirming once more that the MS known as Zaku had not changed its route, Eli quietly shifted his crosshairs to lock onto the one in the middle of the trio.

As the Earth Federation, the faction opposing the Principality of Zeon, they naturally possessed their own MS counterparts—though they had appeared on the battlefield nearly half a year late.

And what Eli was piloting was the Earth Federation's cutting-edge MS: the Gundam Ground Type!

The name Gundam originated from another legendary machine, but that is a story for another time.

Right now, this Gundam Ground Type, with the number "06" printed on its left shoulder armor, was in a half-crouch. Under the cover of the dense forest, it slowly raised its weapon, resting it upon the shield planted in the ground to serve as a stabilizer.

It was a 180mm Cannon, possessing overwhelming firepower capable of destroying an enemy in a single shot.

"BOOM!"

The roar of the cannon fire instantly shattered the silence of the rainforest!

However, this was not an attack launched by Eli's machine.

On a hilltop to the west of Eli's position, the 180mm Cannon held by another Gundam Ground Type was venting smoke from its muzzle.

It was the Gundam Ground Type piloted by Karen.

However, this shot merely struck the earth, kicking up a massive crater without causing any casualties.

The Zaku Karen had targeted—the one at the very rear of the squad—had happened to stop because of a fallen tree in its path, causing her shell to whistle right past its front.

The Zaku's pilot could even see the ripples in the air caused by the high-speed projectile.

"Enemy attack!"

A shrill cry immediately rang out across the comms of the three Zaku.

Even though that shot had missed, the three Zaku did not dare to be careless; they immediately engaged their back thrusters and scattered.

Sure enough, the next instant, another shell whistled through the air!

It was another round of fire from Karen, who had corrected her trajectory based on the data transmitted by Eli.

But this time, it struck the target Karen had aimed for with precision.

The Zaku was not hit directly in the cockpit; only its left side took the impact of the shell.

Even so, the kinetic energy carried by the projectile sent the entire steel giant flying off the ground, causing it to topple over to the side.

Judging by the flying debris and the mechanical arm, that Zaku had likely lost all combat capability.

Eli could faintly hear the shouts of a man in his ear, but they were unclear, making it difficult to understand the content.

It was like the buzzing of mosquitoes in the rainforest at night in Southeast Asia—one could determine the direction, but never quite pinpoint where they were.

However, the flock of birds startled into flight in Karen's direction had exposed her position.

"You can pull back now, Karen. Leave the rest to me!"

Eli watched as the Zaku he was targeting raised its Maggia Cannon, aiming toward Karen's position under the direction of the lead unit.

Even though this so-called Maggia Cannon was a field-expedient weapon created by the Zeon forces by combining a Maggia Tank turret with a Zaku machine gun, its 175mm caliber still packed considerable power.

To be safe, it was better to have his ally retreat for the time being.

Once he confirmed that Karen had successfully retreated from the position on the other end of the communication cable, Eli no longer felt the need to hide his presence!

The 180mm Cannon in his hands opened fire instantly!

The Zaku, which had remained stationary to aim, had been locked onto by Eli for some time; in the next instant, its front chest armor was shattered, and the pilot inside perished on the spot without even a final word.

The man's sorrowful cry faintly echoed in Eli's ears once more.

Having grown accustomed to such things, Eli did not hesitate for even a fraction of a second.

The dual optical sensors of the Gundam Ground Type flared to life as the entire mobile suit rose from the dense forest.

The camouflage netting used for concealment was torn away, and the communication cable connection was severed with a rough jerk.

At the same time, the 180mm Cannon in his hands had finished reloading, and Eli immediately aimed it toward the direction of the final Zaku.

The Zaku wielding the bazooka was clearly a veteran; it identified Eli's position immediately and fired its weapon while simultaneously executing an evasive maneuver.

Eli fired his cannon in return.

However, this shot failed to score a hit due to the Zaku's evasive movement.

Eli felt no frustration; instead, he oriented the mobile suit's front toward the incoming rocket, firing the Vulcan cannon mounted on the left chest to detonate it in mid-air.

Without pausing, Eli immediately maneuvered the suit forward a few steps, released the cannon to let it drop to the ground, stooped down to retrieve the shield that had been stuck into the earth as a support, and reattached it to the mounting point on his left arm.

He then operated the suit's right arm to grip the 100mm Machine Gun placed nearby, ignited the thrusters on his back, and charged toward the last remaining Zaku.