Munitions Empire

Inside the headquarters, echoing with alarms, Xiao Yun finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the enemy's technology indeed did not allow them to use nighttime bombing to destroy the southern oil fields.

That made things easier. As long as the enemy bombed during the day, his air force could deploy interceptors, and the Butcher Fighter Jets were far more formidable than the inexperienced 88 mm caliber anti-aircraft guns.

"The fighter jet troops are urgently taking off, and 10 patrol fighter jets have already headed to intercept! The number of enemy planes is unknown, but according to the radar, it's more than 50!" A military officer nervously reported the status of the airspace.

Although radar had been employed in actual combat in the Central Region, this new technology was still so novel that it left people feeling uncertain.

Xiao Yun stood in front of the map, watching as a female officer used a pushrod to move wooden airplane models to their respective positions; the entire airspace situation was clear at a glance. A massive air battle, unprecedented in scale, was about to erupt.

On the other side, in the cold sky, pilots of the Dahua Empire tightly wrapped their leather coats around themselves. A thick scarf was wound around his neck; the cold air hit his face, numbing his mouth.

They were flying at an altitude of over 3,700 meters, where the air was bitterly cold. All the bombers were fully fueled, with a row of relatively small bombs hanging under the wings.

The payload of these bombers was actually not very high, even less than that of the massive airships, but their speed was fast, making them unlikely targets for ground anti-aircraft guns.

Lacking radio communication equipment, the formation of these planes in the sky depended entirely on visual contact, with pilots mainly communicating through hand signals.

Most of the mission had to be pre-arranged before takeoff, with only basic communications possible, sometimes even needing to shout loudly when flying close to convey messages.

This technology simply did not support nighttime bombing. Thus, knowing that they might be intercepted by Tang army planes, the Dahua Empire's air force chose to carry out the bombing of the southern oil fields during the day.

What emboldened these bomber pilots was the escort of over 100 Dahua Type-1 Fighter Jets flying above them. The rear part of these fighter jets was made of wood, but the front wings and nose were metal-skinned, with a single wing design that was quite advanced.

Compared to Shireck's fighter jets and the Camel Fighter Jets sold by Tang Country, Dahua Empire's self-designed Dahua Type-1 Fighter Jets were faster, featuring retractable front landing gear, hence they performed very well.

It was because of this escorting fighter jet that the commanders of the Dahua Empire's air force gained the courage to launch a daytime strike.

This time, they assembled 200 bombers and escorted them with 100 Dahua Type-1 Fighter Jets, aggressively targeting the southern oil fields occupied by Tang Country.

Unaware that Tang army possessed advanced radar equipment, Dahua had kept this bombing mission strictly confidential before execution.

Previously, they noticed that their planes were always detected and intercepted by Tang army, initially thinking there was a traitor leaking plans.

Having no choice, as many pilots and commanders had trained in Tang Country, the high command of the Dahua air force assumed infiltration was rampant and approached security with utmost strictness.

To execute this "secret mission," Dahua even isolated the pilots, forbidding personal belongings, directly pulling them to the base to ensure no leakage of plans.

After some self-congratulatory fuss, the bombing mission finally commenced. Yet, right after the planes took off from Sword Pavilion, they were detected by a frontline Tang army radar station.

Dahua Empire's bombers were also equipped with defensive machine guns, with open cockpits on the nose and spine, where gunners stood to fend off approaching aircraft.

On entering the airspace controlled by Tang Country, all Dahua pilots tensed up. Though their formation was so vast that it seemed endless, every pilot flying in this group knew this sky was not theirs.

Here, the rulers were those ugly-looking fighter jets bearing dragon emblems on their wings, with bulging, conspicuously yellow-painted noses.

Despite their unattractive appearance, these Butcher Fighter Jets, known for their incredible speed and fierce firepower, were monstrously strong.

No one wanted to encounter them in the sky, especially since Tang army's planes often appeared in groups that were just as numerous as those of the Dahua Empire.

Unlike Tang pilots who could chat through radio communications, Dahua's pilots could only fly their planes in solitude once they ascended.

In the turbulent airflow, they conducted their monotonous tasks with utmost attention, loaded with fuel and ammunition, the cumbersome bombers had almost no maneuverability, and all a pilot could do when attacked was pray.

The good news was that they were escorted by faster, more capable fighter jets overhead, significantly more powerful than the previous Camel Fighter Jets.