The Guerrillas' Ignorance

"BOOM!"

The blast wave instantly swirled around Eli's Gundam Ground Type.

This forced Eli, who had been in a crouched position suppressing the enemy ahead, to stand up and retreat.

During this process, Eli noticed that it wasn't just him under fire; all four Gundams were being targeted without exception.

Even the hover truck had a shell land right beside it.

As Eli retreated, he maneuvered his mobile suit to stoop down, shielding the hover truck behind his shield.

"Where is that fire coming from!"

Having grown accustomed to MS combat under gravity and having just secured a kill, Shiro Amada immediately asked for a status report.

Eledore had been calculating data from the very first moment; ignoring the damage the artillery barrage was doing to his ears via the sonar, he immediately pinpointed the direction of the incoming fire.

It was a hilltop, and a constant stream of artillery was raining down from there, pinning the squad firmly in place.

Eli could see that the Zaku units from that artillery position had already mobilized and were closing in on their location.

Even if the artillery fire hadn't caused effective damage yet, facing combat-ready Zaku units under these conditions would put immense pressure on even the Gundam Ground Types.

"Spread out!"

"Retreat individually!"

Eli and Shiro Amada issued orders one after another, and the four mobile suits and the hover truck immediately turned, heading away from the range of the artillery.

Facing such firepower, a frontal assault was absolutely out of the question.

Unfortunately, this position happened to cover a section of the highway, and this specific road was one of the Federation's most vital supply lines.

They had to take it out.

As this special squad retreated in an orderly fashion, Eli turned his head to look in another direction.

There, in his memory, there should be a waterfall.

With Eli's intervention, Shiro Amada had not left the squad to encounter Kiki of the guerrilla forces.

Having fought for three months, Eli had largely forgotten how the original plot unfolded, but he did remember this detail.

After all, being able to brazenly watch a girl bathe was a scene memorable enough to leave a lasting impression.

In any case, that was the only path to launch a pincer attack; in other words, it was necessary to face the guerrillas.

Once they regrouped in the rear and disembarked to discuss the battle plan, Eli brought up this idea.

"There are two large cannons at the front of this position; a frontal assault definitely won't work. So, we'll split into two groups for a pincer attack. If Lieutenant Shiro and I take a detour to launch an assault, we should be able to take them down."

Eli pointed at the map, relaying the idea Shiro Amada had in the original story.

The difference was that he chose to go with Shiro Amada—after all, it would be better if things like being captured because the guerrillas opened the cockpit hatch from the outside emergency release didn't happen.

"That's the area where the guerrillas are active. Is that going to be a problem?"

Karen had no objections to the overall operation; her only concern was that if they clashed with the guerrillas, the plan might be discovered by Zeon.

"It's fine. At the end of the day, they are on Federation territory. If they insist on hindering the Federation's efforts to reclaim lost land, we can't be blamed for being a bit rough."

To be honest, Eli held those guerrillas in low regard.

Although they operated under the banner of protecting their homeland, in reality, they often relied on support provided by the Federation while simultaneously obstructing Federation operations.

Yet, they were of no use when it came to fighting Zeon.

It wasn't that Eli couldn't understand the local civilians' desire for self-preservation, but this kind of behavior that hindered the Federation was unacceptable.

Without further delay, Eli and Shiro Amada's Gundam Ground Types set out lightly equipped, each carrying a 100mm machine gun as they advanced along the predetermined route.

The two Gundam Ground Types moved along the river without the slightest hesitation until they saw the waterfall.

It was indeed far from the conflict, boasting quite a beautiful view.

If he weren't on a mission, Eli might have actually had the leisure to stay here for a while.

But for now, Eli only used his mobile suit's cameras to survey the area once, confirming there were no signs of life before stepping forward to continue the advance.

"It's so beautiful... Eli, is Earth always this beautiful?"

Shiro Amada, who was seeing this for the first time, couldn't help but sigh in wonder as he followed Eli.

"I suppose so. This planet is beautiful by nature."

Eli said this, but he didn't feel much deep emotion inside.

Before coming here, he had never seen scenery outside of Earth, so he found all of this rather ordinary.

He was actually more curious about the barrel-shaped structures of the space colonies.

Though, the scenery of the space colonies he had seen since arriving in this world had far exceeded Eli's expectations.

"It's really great. I truly hope my family could come to Earth to see this... ah, sorry..."

Shiro Amada, who had become a bit exuberant after seeing the beautiful scenery, couldn't help but start talking about his family.

It was only at this moment that Shiro Amada realized Eli's family had likely already...

"It's alright. They must have thought the same, hoping to see the beautiful sights of Earth."

Even as a transmigrator who had never personally met the family of this body, Shiro Amada felt a genuine, heartfelt sorrow welling up from within the flesh when he heard those words.

The anguish of losing one's closest kin was still firmly etched into this body's memory.

Their very bodies had been cast down to Earth by the Zeon Forces, right there in Australia, in Sydney.

How could Eli not be grief-stricken?

"That is why the actions of the Zeon Forces are undoubtedly wrong. What we must do is drive them out and force them to abandon their unrealistic ambitions."

To Shiro Amada, Eli's demeanor was undoubtedly strong and worthy of admiration.

However...

For some reason, the image of Aina flashed through Shiro Amada's mind once again.

That woman with whom he had spent no more than a few hours.

"If there were good people within the Zeon Forces, Eli, would you..."

"Quiet!"

Just as Shiro Amada wanted to discuss other topics with him, Eli cut him off.

"What is it?"

Shiro Amada, living up to his training, immediately maneuvered his mobile suit into a defensive posture.

"Up ahead. Guerrillas."

Eli likewise assumed a combat stance.

At that moment, the leaves at the crown of a large tree ahead began to sway, and several figures emerged from within.

Standing at the very front, the orange-haired girl glared at the two mobile suits before her with undisguised loathing.

"What are the Federation Forces doing coming all the way out here!"