Sky-cracking Rider

"Are they flying species?"

Chen Fei quickly glanced at the mission information given to him by Deputy Squadron Leader Devil Pepper,

Usually, flying mutants were rare, and even when they appeared, they were generally small and could not fly high. The tactics used against them were no different from those for land-based species—a bomb would obliterate them without leaving a trace.

This time, although the flying species weren't flying high, maintaining a low altitude of about a kilometer, it posed a risk of mountain collisions over the complex terrain of the Xingdu Kush Mountain Area, making turboprop aircraft like the Big Mouth Monster more advantageous.

"Ah! There's been way too many flying species lately; they're like flies, never-ending!"

Squadron Leader Chekhov Big Bear didn't even look back, leading with aircraft 211. The Genuine Fragrance Combat Flight Squadron lined up in a stagger like geese, maintaining an altitude of 3000.

The weather conditions were not good, with low clouds making the whole sky look gloomy.

To accurately search for targets, the flight formation had to maintain a height below the cloud layer, visually confirming any emerging mutant flying species.

In comparison to the maneuverability of flying species, land-based species were much easier to deal with—if one bomb didn't solve the problem, then two would!

The Big Mouth Monster of the Genuine Fragrance Combat Flight Squadron had enough payload to perform a small-scale carpet bombing with six aircraft working together.

If it weren't for the military contractor's restrictions on possessing ground cruise missiles, their striking power could have been enhanced significantly.

Flying species, once rare, had suddenly become common, almost every sortie encountered them, making handling them a bit more troublesome.

"Only four short-range combat missiles, two rocket nests, one 500-pound bomb on the centerline, and 500 rounds for the cannon."

Chen Fei tapped the dashboard in front of him, checked the weapons arrangements, and began to devise appropriate tactical plans.

Combat against aircraft and striking mutants were completely different strategies; the former emphasized maximum firepower, while the latter required more thought on maneuverability.

The mobility of flying species was even better than turboprop aircraft, undoubtedly adding difficulty to the pursuit.

Even with programmable short-range combat missiles, their advantages and disadvantages were clear—they could easily miss the target. Thus, Chen Fei set the detonation radius larger than the theoretical lethal radius, which would explode immediately upon nearing the target, significantly increasing the chances of successful elimination.

Most flying species, like human aircraft, were extremely vulnerable; lightly damaged, they would immediately lose the ability to fly.

Once they entered free-fall, whether they were flying species or aircraft, the ultimate outcomes were usually not much different.

Actually, the best weapon against flying species was still the cannon.

Once the HUD targeting system locked on, it could fire, and the barrage of bullets coming out would block all the target's evasive moves. Being hit by the thick bullets and shattered was their only fate, and visually, it was far more brutal than being obliterated by missiles—very stress-relieving.

Realizing he suddenly had such thoughts, Chen Fei couldn't help but shiver. Was he starting to become perverse, entertaining such terrifying ideas?

He quickly chanted in his mind: "Namo Amitabha, Gatling Bodhisattva with Six Perceptions, three hundred sixty million breaths, great mercy and compassion..."

Unknowingly, he had digressed.

"'Peanut Butter,' have you found the target?"

The voice of Deputy Squadron Leader Devil Pepper Irinei Rusios sounded through the dedicated communication channel of the Genuine Fragrance Squadron.

She was piloting the Big Mouth Monster 212, in the second position of the formation, paired with Chekhov Big Bear in a two-aircraft formation, though currently flying in the squadron's larger formation, with the three flights not split up.

"Not yet, we should see it in about 10 minutes."

Peanut Butter Chekhov glanced at the electronic map in front of him. There was still some distance to the target, and by the time the Genuine Fragrance Squadron arrived, the target would likely have moved from its original position and not be foolishly waiting to be hit; a new search would be necessary.

Ground-based radar scanning biotic targets was not as accurate as scanning aircraft; sometimes false signals happened.

In the mountainous region with complex weather and terrain, determining biological responses was not an easy task.

"Xiao Jiu, Light Mirror Spell, search for mutants."

Chen Fei tapped Little Bird's head, activating the Pure Light Sparrow module.

"Jiu!"

A light screen flickered and appeared in front of Chen Fei, about fifteen-sixteen inches diagonally, displaying the view directly in front of aircraft 211, continuously zooming in and expanding to hundreds of kilometers away.

A pair of large birds appeared on the screen.

Chen Fei waved his finger, saying, "Not these two; they're big old eagles. Xiao Jiu, stay away from them in the future."

"Jiu!"

Xiao Jiu expressed defiance—it wasn't afraid of big old eagles!

Chen Fei added, "Big old eagles are protected animals; you can't harm them."

Little Bird: "???"

Well then... no problem, no problem!

Regrettably, Pure Light Sparrow wasn't a protected species—really sorry about that!

The next scene captured a group of yaks fighting, and well, each was sliced with fifteen large knives, all set up on a barbecue rack.

"It can fly and it's huge!"

Chen Fei patiently directed Little Bird to capture useful footage.

This time it was a flock of swans, quite large, but still not the target he was looking for.

"Jiu!"

About a dozen fierce exotic beasts were vigorously flapping their wings in mid-air.

Chen Fei exclaimed in surprise, "Eh? Aren't these bipedal flying dragons?"

"'Rookie,' what do you see?"

The Squadron Leader Chekhov in the front seat had long pricked up his ears, listening to the chatter of the man and bird in the back seat.

The Human Order First Rank "Light Mirror Spell" was indeed very useful. Though its estimated distance couldn't match ground-based radar, its accuracy could blow any radar out of the water.

"It looks like a bipedal flying dragon, uh, but seems a bit different."

Chen Fei examined the image presented by the "Light Mirror Spell."

If he remembered correctly, the back of a bipedal flying dragon was flat, which allowed for a saddle to be mounted, hence the profession of Dragon Riders existed.

But in the footage captured by Xiao Jiu, these creatures resembling bipedal flying dragons had thick, sharp spines protruding along their vertebrae, not just on the back, but almost all over the body, with sharp bone spurs at every joint, completely unsuitable for riding. Just sitting on them would cause severe injury on the spot.

"What do they look like?"

Squadron Leader Chekhov, though unable to see the image on the "Light Mirror Spell" display, still guessed some details.

He couldn't command the Pure Light Sparrow as freely as Chen Fei and let it display the Light Mirror Spell as he wished.

Sometimes, even asking this little bird to cast a Light Healing Technique required pampering it like a spoilt ancestor.

Only Boss Hana and Head Chef Mr. Abel could make the little guy give them some face; for others, it wouldn't even spare a second glance.

"Look here!"

Chen Fei pushed the light screen forward with his palm to bring it in front of Squadron Leader Chekhov.

Of course, it wasn't because he was pushing it, but because Little Bird was cooperating.

"Hmm, this thing really is handy!"

As Chekhov exclaimed in surprise, he then loudly shouted, "Yes, that's them, brothers, target sighted right ahead!"

"Xiao Jiu, lock onto them!"

Chen Fei pulled back the light screen, then said, "What are these guys called? They seem to be a new species I haven't seen before." Read latest chapters at empire

Chekhov Big Bear said, "Yes, a new species! The official scientific name defined by the Joint Defense Committee is Pseudo-Dragon FA-143!"

"143, the 143rd variant?"

Chen Fei gasped in shock. It seemed this counterfeit dragon mutant was not a first-time occurrence.

Pseudo-Dragon FA-143, "Pseudo-Dragon" being the broad category name, "FA" meaning unclear, perhaps a unique coding method by the Blue Star Global United Defense Committee, but "143" indicates the known mutation iteration, with the actual number of iterations likely even exceeding this figure.

"Be careful, these mutants are not low in intelligence, very cunning, and fly very fast. They are almost as fast as Big Mouth Monsters at full sprint, but their turning radius at full speed is much larger than that of Big Mouth Monsters, which presents an opportunity."

During the days Boss Hana and Chen Fei were not at the base, Squadron Leader Chekhov led the Genuine Fragrance Squadron comrades to confront this type of mutant more than once. Coupled with the mutation-related intelligence shared by the Blue Star Global United Defense Committee promptly, they had figured out the characteristics of this pseudo-dragon mutant.

Missing by a fraction can mean error by a thousand miles. The large turning radius of Pseudo-Dragon FA-143 gave Big Mouth Monster pilots a chance. By pulling a few more turns, these mutants would expose themselves within the firing angle of the aircraft, allowing for missiles or autocannons to strike at will.

However, since Xiao Jiu's Light Mirror Spell could not detect distance, only roughly determine direction, it still needed to be combined with radar for more accurate assessments.

Minutes later, the onboard radar also captured signal feedback from several flying objects.

At least eleven Pseudo-Dragon mutants were located in front of the nose, slightly off by five degrees, partly due to the error in the Light Mirror Spell's judgment and partly because they were also maneuvering.

"Encircle them, dive in first, then squad split, cover each other, combine kite tactics and fishing tactics, be mindful of conserving ammunition, go for it, hoorah!"

Squadron Leader Chekhov had just finished speaking when he pushed the throttle, and the Big Mouth Monster turboprop aircraft immediately dived down from an altitude of 3500 meters to 1000 meters.

The cluster of mutant flying species, however, were completely unaware of this and continued their group flight leisurely. One of them, seemingly hearing an abnormal noise, inadvertently looked up into the sky and spotted the fiercely approaching Genuine Fragrance Combat Flight Squadron, immediately emitting a panicked howl.

"Hmm hmm hmm!"

The loud noise started to become more frequent.

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