"Landmines?"
With bewildered eyes, the retreating Coordinator soldiers stared at their comrade's Mobile Suit lying on the ground.
They hesitated to move forward.
After all, who knew how many more landmines were planted along their retreat path? Where was safe and where wasn't?
The primary concern was the current state of their comrade's Mobile Suit on the ground.
The damage wasn't fatal, but the humiliation was immense.
The functional loss was far too great.
As everyone knows, upright humanoid objects rely entirely on two legs to stand or run.
Now, these landmines that had appeared out of nowhere weren't powerful enough to destroy a Mobile Suit in one hit.
But they could easily blow off a Mobile Suit's foot or half of it.
Consequently, a Mobile Suit that lost its foot, now crippled, had no choice but to lie on the ground.
And in the current situation, what difference was there between being immobilized and waiting for death?
"Evil Naturals!"
Staring at their comrade on the ground, the retreat path, and the insurmountable wall of advancing artillery fire behind them, the Coordinator soldiers, trapped in a dilemma, racked their brains but couldn't understand.
Why had the situation suddenly turned like this?
"How did these landmines even appear?"
"Shouldn't landmines be buried in advance?"
"Could it be that the evil Naturals have become so powerful that they can turn invisible?"
"Or have they learned to bury landmines out of thin air behind us?"
One Coordinator, unwilling to accept the situation, fired off a series of soul-searching questions to his comrades beside him.
Of course, no one on the scene could answer his questions.
They had traversed this landmine-laden path back and forth several times before, and there were definitely no landmines back then.
Otherwise, those landmines would have exploded long ago!
But time didn't permit them to remain in a deadlock here.
Because the East Asian Army's artillery fire was about to reach right above their heads.
"Rolling Landmines!"
Recalling a documentary he had seen during his military training, one Coordinator gritted his teeth and suggested.
"Rolling Landmines?"
The other Coordinator soldiers exchanged glances upon hearing this suggestion.
What a desperate measure to resort to!
But did they have any other choice in their current situation?
Staying put meant enduring the artillery shells head-on, with almost certain death.
Selecting some to act as Rolling Landmines, judging by the landmines' destructive power, would at most result in their Mobile Suits being destroyed.
But the pilots in the cockpits would survive.
"I'll do it."
Having thought it through and facing the inevitable, a group of brave Coordinators stepped forward.
They declared they would take on the first wave of Rolling Landmines.
"Let us do it instead. Preserve your useful bodies to fight the evil Naturals to the end."
Before the first group of Coordinator soldiers could maneuver their Mobile Suits to lie down, those who had already been struck by landmines and were lying on the ground...
They actively rolled their Mobile Suits over, rumbling like rolling gourds, forcibly carving out a precious safe passage.
"Everyone!"
With tears in their eyes, watching their sacrificing comrades—those Rolling Landmine warriors—the remaining Coordinator soldiers quickly followed the path, determined not to let their sacrifice go to waste.
"I know where the landmines came from!"
Walking along the smoke-filled road, an observant Coordinator soldier suddenly exclaimed.
"What? What?"
Hearing this, the other Coordinator soldiers immediately perked up and asked eagerly.
Everyone wanted to know the reason behind these detestable minefields that must have been laid by the East Asian Army!
"Look!"
The soldier who first noticed something wrong pointed at yellowish metal objects that had been shaken loose from the soil layer - possibly due to landmine explosions or vibrations from Mobile Suit movements.
The fallen metal objects could be seen transforming from square box-like forms right before everyone's eyes, turning into low-profile six-legged devices resembling spiders.
"Military Unmanned Spiders?"
After clearly identifying what the objects were, the Coordinator soldiers on site found themselves thoroughly frustrated.
Compared to the 20-meter tall Mobile Suits, these Military Unmanned Spiders on the ground were minuscule. It was somewhat understandable that they had been overlooked. The cunning unmanned spiders had taken advantage of the Natural's massive offensive earlier to secretly circle around and position themselves along the retreat route, making their ambush understandable in hindsight.
"Damn bastards! When these evil Naturals can't defeat our great Coordinators, they resort to these shameless tricks!"
Having identified the culprits, the Coordinator soldiers who were accustomed to smooth operations found themselves repeatedly thwarted. Some furious soldiers raised their guns and fired shells filled with rage at those tiny Military Unmanned Spiders.
"Whoosh, boom!"
Shells flew past and exploded upon impact with the ground.
"Hahaha! Let's see if you spiders can survive that!"
With one person taking the lead, the other Coordinators began wasting shells recklessly on the ground.
However, these Coordinator soldiers, dominated by rage, were focusing on the wrong threat.
The question was: besides the East Asian Army's wall-like artillery barrage approaching from behind them, what else might be following?
It's worth noting that since the First War period, there has been a tactic called combined arms assault!
Following behind the artillery barrage, the East Asian sergeant piloting the Rem Mobile Suit felt both amused and exasperated.
What kind of opponents were these?
Had his East Asian Army been suppressed by such militia-like forces in the past?
They had withdrawn without leaving a rearguard force, and venting their anger on the unmanned self-destruct spiders was one thing. But had they really not noticed our approach?
Should he credit the artillery battalion brothers behind him for their excellent shooting, or praise the silent operation of his Rem?
"Open fire!"
Regardless of what the Coordinators were doing, the sergeant raised his shield and aimed his rifle. The moment the friendly artillery barrage ceased, having already closed to very close range with the Coordinators, he shouted to signal the soldiers beside him to launch a storm-like assault.
"Damn it, the Naturals are attacking!"
Completely unexpected - right behind the wall-like artillery barrage, the supposedly cowardly Naturals had actually followed up. Caught off guard by the East Asian Army's assault, many Coordinator soldiers with their backs turned to the East Asian forces fell.
After all, the East Asian Army's Mobile Suits had the advantage of surprise, and they were all armed with Beam Rifles!
"Don't panic! We are the undefeated ZAFT Forces!"
Among the Coordinator soldiers, some felt their hearts turn cold, while others remained stubbornly hardliners to the end.
Watching the East Asian Army troops who had finally stopped crouching in the trenches taking potshots and instead stepped out to pursue them, these soldiers didn't retreat but advanced, surprisingly not even drawing their guns to exchange fire with the enemy.
"Draw blades! Close-quarters combat!"
Howling, these Coordinator soldiers unsheathed the Heavy Swords at their waists, determined to show the East Asian Army just how formidable the Coordinators' sword-drawing techniques could be!
Braving the East Asian Army's hail of gunfire, the Coordinator soldiers, displaying their bold martial prowess, launched a reckless charge.
Facing these Coordinators who extremely pursued individual combat prowess, the East Asian Army was more than happy to see the enemy make such a choice.
Their fingers rapidly pulled triggers, unleashing a far denser barrage of beams than before.
"Boom, boom, boom, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh."
Explosions and gunfire rose and fell in succession.
By now, the battles at various checkpoints had reached a fever-pitched climax.
"Waaah ya ya!Most of the fiercely charging Coordinators fell on their charge path, paying a heavy price.
Yet, given the sheer number of charging Coordinators, there were always stragglers who, charging headlong, managed to evade the East Asian Army's beam attacks.
"Now it's my turn!"
The Coordinator soldier looked ecstatically at the enemy within arm's reach, his eyes fixed on the shields that kept deflecting his comrades' attacks.
"I told you, long-range attacks are useless against Naturals—close combat is the way to go!"
Raising his Heavy Sword, the charging Coordinator was confident that this strike would cleave the cowardly Natural hiding behind the shield clean in two.
"Shield charge!"
However, when it came to killing with cold weapons, the East Asian Army claimed to have some modest experience of their own.
Shields thick enough to withstand Coordinator rifle fire were steadily raised by the front row of Rems in the East Asian Army.
Then, facing enemy Genes or Qilin raising their swords to strike, they formed a tight military formation with their shields, each soldier advancing in perfect unison.
"Crash!"
A deafening impact erupted as the Coordinator-controlled Mobile Suits slammed heavily into the East Asian Army's Rem shield formation.
"Damn it!"
Jostled unsteadily by the shields, nearly toppling over, the Coordinator inside the Mobile Suit yelled furiously while still attempting to slash at the advancing East Asian Army Rems.
But the East Asian Army Rems clearly weren't going to give them the chance.
The shield formation loosened slightly, and from gaps between the connections, Beam Spears extended out.
"Zzzzt."
The unpleasant sound of beam blades piercing metal softly resonated.
Soon, the struck Coordinator's Mobile Suit fell silent.
To the Coordinators in the rear, it looked as if the previously lively Mobile Suits had suddenly turned limp and were inexplicably dragged into the enemy's formation, vanishing without a trace, never to be seen again.
"Demons! Demons!"
The Coordinator soldiers who had chosen to exchange fire with the East Asian Army from the rear felt their hearts plunge to the poles, each one icy cold.
Staring at the enemy ahead—their formation strict, every step rhythmic, harvesting the souls of their comrades—they watched as the enemy raised and lowered their blades, they saw their own comrades charging forward one after another.
But it was all in vain!
No matter how valiant, how self-sacrificing.
It's easier to shake mountains than to shake the East Asian Army!
The Coordinators racked their brains but couldn't comprehend how the enemy achieved such chilling discipline!
"Boom, boom, boom."
Trapped between a tiger ahead and wolves behind.
The advancing East Asian Army kept them fully occupied, while the enemy's military unmanned suicide spiders along their retreat route began joining the fray.
Emerging from the soil, the military unmanned suicide spiders scanned the battlefield with compound eyes glowing with a crimson light.
As the red lights flickered, these unmanned suicide spiders each locked onto their targets.
Moving on six mechanical limbs, they clattered toward their selected objectives.
Thus, explosions erupted once more, and Coordinator Mobile Suits, having lost their footing, toppled one after another.
From this point on, it was only a matter of time before the Coordinator forces attacking various checkpoints fell into complete rout.
Perhaps some battles elsewhere weren't as arduous as here, but defeat remained inevitable.
Because in places unseen by the Coordinators, along the coastal shores of Alaska.
Rows of East Asian Alliance-painted Rems were wading from transport ships toward the shore, their figures covering every stretch of beach.
With engines roaring to life, multiple rocket launcher units, serving as auxiliary combat forces, were assembling.
In the sky, squadron after squadron of fighter jets screamed past, tearing through the heavens, while armed helicopters laden with missiles on both wings hovered at low altitudes, creating a coordinated spectacle.
And, to clear out any Coordinator soldiers who might be hiding in various concealed corners.
East Asian Army light infantry, their determined eyes visible beneath their helmets, had already set out ahead in armored personnel carriers.
Prepared to sweep every inch of the reclaimed frontline.
Leaving no escapees behind.
"Pei Qiang, what a grand spectacle! Make sure you stick close to me!"
"Understood, Master. We're part of the military observation delegation, we don't have to go into combat. Don't be so tense."
"Tense? Who's tense! I'm not tense at all—I'm excited!"
(End of Chapter)