Sky-cracking Rider

Boom!~

Aside from Chen Fei, who was in a state of unity with the aircraft, no one heard the dull thud that occurred when a light-based spell shield enveloped Aircraft 211 and collided with an oncoming Pseudo-Dragon FA-143.

"Is that, a magic shield?"

The closest deputy squadron leader, "Devil Pepper" Irinei Rusios, muttered to herself in shock as she witnessed the light dissipating.

In battle, situations change in the blink of an eye and even the most experienced pilots can't prevent accidents from happening.

What happens, happens; such is fate, and one must accept it!

"Magic shield?"

The eyes of "Sauerkraut" Tempun Schneider, seated in the rear of Aircraft 212, went wide.

"'Sauerkraut,' snap out of it!"

Sitting in the front, "Devil Pepper" Irinei Rusios noticed the fire control operator's confusion and quickly urged him on while firing a missile that forced an opportunistic mutant to retreat.

The missile followed, and the Pseudo-Dragon FA-143, nearly incapable of handling combat bombs, relied almost entirely on instinct and the maneuvering advantage of flapping its wings.

Boom!~
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The fireball exploded, and the Pseudo-Dragon FA-143, unable to escape, was engulfed in flames and shattered as it fell to the ground.

"'Peanut Butter,' go ahead and ram them; 'Rookie' is a metal elemental psychic, and with him there, Aircraft 211 is not as fragile as you think, not to mention Xiao Jiu is here as well, did you see? That was a light-based magic shield just now."

The insightful "Devil Pepper" Irinei Rusios immediately reminded Squadron Leader Chekhov of their current advantages.

Metal Ability User + Light-element Magical Beast, a double insurance; isn't that just a flying tank?

"Ah?"

Chekhov looked baffled, unaware of such slick maneuvers.

"So, charge! Big Bear!"

Chen Fei patted the back of the front seat.

"I am not Big Bear."

Big Bear stubbornly insisted.

"Peanut Butter" was a traditional call sign, but almost everyone felt "Big Bear" suited him better, bulky and bear-like, practically a living bear in human form.

"Chirp!"

Little Bird chirped gleefully amidst the chaos.

"Devil Pepper" Irinei Rusios reminded again, "There aren't many mutants left, end the battle quickly!"

"Got it!" Chekhov responded gruffly.

As Big Bear's fire control operator, Chen Fei knew that Bear would surely receive a lecture later.

Fire Serpents crisscrossed the sky as hunter and prey repeatedly switched roles. Overall, "Genuine Fragrance" squadron firmly maintained the upper hand; however, underestimating the opponent could still lead to those knockoff dragons making a deadly comeback.

Despite having the protection of Chen Fei, a metal ability user, and Xiao Jiu, a Pure Light Sparrow, Chekhov was still cautious and maintained a careful distance from his counterpart during the close combat.

It's a joke, using a fighter jet as if it were a tank is such an absurd tactic.

Chekhov would never dare to do it; he'd sooner die.

Chekhov Big Bear was naturally reluctant, but the mutant flying species thought otherwise. Suddenly, all the Pseudo-Dragons FA-143 abandoned their current opponents and swooped towards Chekhov and Chen Fei in Aircraft 211.

"'Peanut Butter,' be careful!"

"Squadron leader! Careful, they are charging at you..."

Indeed, the cunning mutants knew the principle of severing a finger to hurt all ten; rather than being gradually shot down, they preferred a desperate bid to take down at least one "Big Mouth Monster."

"I knew it!"

Chen Fei sighed.

The light-based magic shield cast by Xiao Jiu had indeed caught the mutants' attention.

Mutants from the Xingdu Kush Mountain Area were becoming smarter, no longer foolishly taking hits without dodging as they had before.

Precisely because eradicating mutants was so straightforward, each aircrew base was highly coveted by military contractors. Owning an aircrew base was like owning a golden rice bowl, securing a steady meal from the Blue Star Global United Defense Committee. This was unlike their peers who didn't even have a proper base, miserably waiting for jobs to fall from the sky, possibly to be intercepted by other contractors, leading to chaotic clashes.

"'Rookie,' hold on tight! And Xiao Jiu, don't fly around wildly aaaaah..."

Chekhov Big Bear bellowed as he began extreme flying, maneuvering the "Big Mouth Monster" skillfully to dodge the enveloping Pseudo-Dragons FA-143.

Even the wingman in Aircraft 212 was left far behind.

Yet, the Pseudo-Dragons FA-143, as if fixated on Aircraft 211, relentlessly pursued it, ignoring everything else.

"Know! It!"

Chen Fei responded, exhausted; such minor overloads were trivial to him, especially since being in a human-machine integration state effectively avoided peak overload forces. This invisible kinetic energy moved like a blob of soft mercury, flowing back and forth within the aircraft with each maneuver.

Little Bird shimmered radiantly, protecting itself with a palm-sized light-based magic shield. It even knew to buff itself first to protect its delicate body.

Actually, this was the main reason why Chen Fei and Squadron Leader Chekhov didn't want the little one entering the cockpit; surprisingly, the little fellow had figured out a solution by itself.

However, as previously reported, the Pseudo-Dragon FA-143, when at full acceleration, was not inferior to the "Big Mouth Monster" turboprop aircraft.

Several Pseudo-Dragons FA-143 tightly encircled the 211 craft, not caring about collisions, or rather, they seemed intent on crashing into it.

The other pilots of the "Genuine Fragrance" squadron had no better options. Hesitant to use missiles and rocket nests, they could only occasionally fire borderline shots from the cannons. Even Squadron Leader Chekhov's wingman, "Devil Pepper" Irinei Rusios, couldn't get close enough, constantly pushed away by these counterfeit dragons, as the mutants were determined to bring down Chekhov's 211 aircraft.

Human-made combat aircraft were entirely inadequate for hard confrontations in the sky, relying only on sharp offensive weapons.

"Aaaaah! These riffraff have all gone mad aaaaah!"

Frantically pulling the control stick and pushing the throttle lever all the way, Chekhov kept stomping on the rudder to maintain as much mobility energy as needed for nimble evasion, often skirting on the verge of stalling.

The "Big Mouth Monster" is a statically stable turboprop aircraft; it's easy to recover from a stall--the simplest way is to let go, do nothing, and the aircraft will naturally level out.

But in this critical moment, stalling meant a sure death with no place to be buried. Those fearless mutant Pseudo-Dragons FA-143 would just casually hit the aircraft.

Speaking of which, that moment came fast, bang!

And it really did hit!

The cockpit distinctly felt a violent shake.

"We're done for!" Chekhov bellowed as he twisted the control stick into a hoop, and then he suddenly paused, his face full of horror as he quickly yelled, "'Rookie,' don't eject yet, don't eject!"

Ejecting too early was out of the question. If Chen Fei didn't eject, he couldn't either. Designs like joint eject and automatic eject had a high failure rate on the "Big Mouth Monster" so they were not adopted.

Outside were frenzied mutants itching to shred the 211 craft to pieces. Ejecting now would be like sheep walking into the lion's den, ready to be devoured in one bite, quickly becoming "Here you go (poop)."

If they could break free from the mutant's encirclement before ejecting, perhaps there would still be a chance for survival.

"Got! It!"

Chen Fei was still not alarmed, his expression unchanged, despite the big bear's constant cries and yells.

Let's go!

The 211 craft suddenly pitched up, climbing vertically.

"Ah ah ah! It's out of control!"

Chekhov's tenor rivalled the "breaking of tiles."

Above them, a Pseudo-Dragon FA-143 couldn't dodge in time and was hit directly, the cockpit canopy completely smothered in blood.

Yet the 211 craft, undeterred, turned into a skyrocket, continuing its ascent with undiminished speed.

After a massive air disaster scene, this thing truly started defying science.

"Gravity adjustment module, 5%"

The current thrust-to-weight ratio of the PT6A series engine... something, smash the calculator.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."

Chekhov's lung capacity was indeed impressive, still going strong after a minute without pause.

Inside the communications channel, silence prevailed.

Chen Fei casually pressed a button, and the 211 craft dropped an "egg."

A 500-pound bomb detached from the fuselage's center mount, shot upwards about ten meters, then began descending.

The desperate Pseudo-Dragons FA-143 flapped their wings energetically, doggedly pursuing from below. One of them opened its mouth wide... the bomb went straight down its throat.

Burp!~

The mutant let out a satisfied belch.

In the next second, violent flames burst from its body, instantly engulfing all its companions.

High-altitude air currents swept away the blood stuck on the cockpit canopy and aircraft's surface. The triple-coating didn't allow the sticky stuff to remain.

On the ground, a Pseudo-Dragon FA-143 with a broken wing powerlessly fell from the sky, landing heavily, twitched its neck, its cries growing fainter.

Boom!~

A thick Electric Dragon flashed inside the dark clouds, spreading out over thousands of meters and forming a bizarre, intricate tree-shaped pattern.

Pea-sized muddy raindrops began to fall massively from the sky; the storm arrived, shrouding the world in a curtain of rain.

As the 211 aircraft continued its vertical climb before reaching the dense rain clouds, it gracefully leveled out, descending gently in a spiral trajectory as the "Genuine Fragrance" squadron's "Big Mouth Monsters," one after the other, followed, reforming into an oblique line formation.

"What just happened?"

With his heart pounding like a wild boar on a rampage, Squadron Leader Chekhov Big Bear gasped heavily. He had lost control of the 211 aircraft completely, letting go and allowing the craft to maintain a spiraling descent.

Without guessing, it was clear, this was no miracle; the "Rookie" behind him was operating this "Big Mouth Monster".

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