Sky-cracking Rider

The fire cloud, not yet fully dissipated, was abruptly torn apart, and the ferocious beast reappeared in everyone's view. With huge blade wings casting out waves of phantoms and a massive vortex forming behind it, the Metallic Dragon, covered in dust and with its blade thorns askew from six missile blasts, turned and accelerated unexpectedly and agilely.

The intense gas jetting out between the blade wings was visible to the naked eye, like an invisible, nearly transparent wing added to the dragon's wings.

More than ten spikes detached from the dragon's body, heading towards the incoming "Dragon Slayer Missile."

Standing in the wind, even pigs could fly, let alone the Metallic Dragon, which was like a flying battleship, and a fast one at that.

On the Metallic Dragon, there was no trace of aerodynamics or fluid dynamics, making this creature a blatant defiance of scientific principles.

Close-quarters bayonet fighting was always extremely dangerous, Major Chekhov in the front seat of Aircraft 211 roared with all his might, "Too close, everyone evade, brace for impact!"

Throttle pushed to maximum output, all-out disengagement...

The view outside the cockpit suddenly changed, a true whirlwind that dizzied the senses.

If evasion was not an option, then they would have to brace for impact and leave their fates to God.

Boom!~

The aircraft trembled violently, with rumbling sounds echoing in his ears, accompanied by various squeaking and groaning noises. Chen Fei did not doubt that this turboprop aircraft could disintegrate in midair the very next second.

He even saw a blue shockwave sweeping over the fuselage at lightning speed, scattering the "Genuine Fragrance" Squadron's three-formation tactics in the blink of an eye.

Within the killing radius of the "Dragon Slayer Missile," everything vanished into ash, its destructive power comparable to a nuclear strike, yet it left no nuclear radiation residue or long-term environmental impact.

Chen Fei, the kid, felt like vomiting...

I want to go home!

"My baby, steady, hold steady, hold steady! Ahhhhh!!!"

Major Chekhov, however, was oblivious, gripping the control stick and muttering nonstop like a madman, struggling to adapt to the turbulence enveloping the aircraft and trying to regain balance.

It was foreseeable that after such severe turbulence, the lifespan of this turboprop aircraft was significantly reduced, even sustaining internal structural damage.

"'Peanut Butter,' bearing 49, altitude 4500 meters."

Fortunately, the communication equipment was unaffected, and the voice of "Fragrant Orchid" Carlos Silva Lane, the pilot of the lead aircraft in the second squadron, Aircraft 213, urgently echoed in the ears of the two persons inside Aircraft 211; he was almost gasping as he spoke these words.

"What?"

Chen Fei looked up, only then noticing that, unbeknownst to him, a vast shadow had rapidly enveloped them.

The sharp giant blade wings were tattered, but visible to the naked eye, they swiftly regenerated. Rows of sharp blades neatly realigned themselves while part of the dragon's tail vanished into thin air. It was indeed a testament to the "Dragon Slayer Missile," capable of inflicting severe damage on the giant dragon so suddenly.

The terrifying creature fixed its murderous and crazed gaze fiercely on the cockpit, its killing intent tangible, causing his heart involuntarily to skip and chilling him to the bone.

Images of a turboprop combat plane being ripped to shreds flashed through his mind like lightning.

Doomed!

"Rookie, brace yourself—we're diving."

Chekhov, no longer concerned about the condition of his aircraft, pushed the throttle to the max and slammed the joystick all the way, doing his best to dodge the Metallic Dragon's strike.

The PT6A engine of "Big Mouth Monster" number 211 achieved peak output, the aircraft spiraled and dove continuously while releasing all its infrared heat flare jamming missiles without reservation, filling the sky with countless dazzling red dots like celestial maidens scattering flowers.

Big Bear roared incoherently as he pulled every trick out of the bag to maneuver the light turboprop attack aircraft, dancing on the line between life and death...a series of narrow escapes ensued.

A mature and stable engine can often gracefully handle all sorts of emergencies. The significance of iterations is in refining details, not discarding past successes—an enduring series isn't surprising even if it lasts for centuries.

The roar of the turboprop engine was in no way inferior to the dragon's furious bellow.

The A-39B "Big Mouth Monster" fully utilized its low-altitude maneuverability advantages as a light turboprop attack aircraft, eluding the enraged and desperate lunges of the evil dragon by nimbly maneuvering left, right, up, down, and rolling—using the cover of close-to-ground terrain to narrowly avoid deadly Blade Thorns and a fate of utter destruction, again and again.

"Fox1!"

"Fox1!"

The two other squadrons daringly moved closer to launch generic programmable close combat missiles attacking the Metallic Dragon, buying Major Chekhov and rookie Chen Fei precious time to escape.

Then followed a barrage of bombing, crisscrossing trajectories with the sky ablaze as if about to ignite.

But! No! Use!

The thick-skinned "Supersonic Battleship" was hardly vulnerable to mere combat bombs; at most, they'd get a bit dirty. Only the so-called "Dragon Slayer Missile," the KDK-1 aspirated high supersonic smart missile, truly threatened the Metallic Dragon.

Major Chekhov's wingman pilot, the short-haired Iline, anxiously said, "Keep using the 'Dragon Slayer Missile'!"

"Big Mouth Monster" could only carry one "Dragon Slayer Missile." Once launched, it could only provide support.

The Metallic Dragon was cunning enough to flee the lethal radius of the "Dragon Slayer Missile" despite its injuries, otherwise, no matter what, that last hit could have severely damaged it, or even killed it outright.

The theoretical lethal power of the KDK-1 aspirated high supersonic smart missile was sufficient to deal fatal injuries to any giant dragon, even a Metallic Dragon, but this optimal effect was contingent on a direct hit. If the target was aware and escaped in time, the effectiveness would be greatly reduced, the greater the distance, the weaker the lethal effect.

The Metallic Dragon burst out of the smoky haze, roared loudly, and furiously swiped its blade wings, launching a barrage of Blade Thorns.

"Watch out for Dragon Spikes!"

When the Giant Dragon stretched its Blade Wings to the maximum, making them burst out like a hedgehog's spikes, Irinei Rusios had a bad feeling.

Her premonition was right. The next second, Dragon Spikes with immense kinetic energy flew chaotically across the sky, covering the entire airspace where the Genuine Fragrance Combat Flight Squadron was located, with absolutely no dead angles.

The sky looked like it was raining Dragon Spikes, and it was already too late to escape safely. Even attempting evasive maneuvers was just a matter of luck.

"Mayday, Mayday, Mayday! Aircraft 215 out of control, Aircraft 215 out of control, we're ejecting!"

"Ahhhh! I'm injured!"

"'Dragon Artemisia' reporting, 'Braised Sauce' is injured, thigh penetrated by a Dragon Spike, unable to eject, AFT linked ejection mode failed, Aircraft 214 withdrawing from combat!"

An A-39B "Big Mouth Monster" turboprop attack aircraft, with a Dragon Spike stuck in its cockpit, decisively streaked toward the distant horizon, made a half-circle, and then turned towards Aircrew Base 911.

"This is 911, start preparing the Magnetic Catcher, it will be preheated in one minute, hang in there, brother!"

Another aircraft, numbered "215," with several large holes in its body and trailing increasingly thick black smoke, tilted towards the ground, its cockpit cover suddenly flew off, and the front and rear pilot seats were ejected, opening their parachutes as they drifted in the wind.

Aircraft 215 exploded mid-air before it could crash to the ground, just over a hundred meters above the surface. Numerous pieces, flames, and smoke spread across a wide area, missing the Magnetic Catchers positioned near the main runway.

Thankfully, the timely ejection of parachutes averted a fatal crash.

The fire control operator was pierced in the thigh by a Dragon Spike. The pilot "Dragon Artemisia" had no choice but to withdraw from combat early, and as Aircraft 214 approached Aircrew Base 911 on its return journey, the plane unexpectedly snapped in half right at the cockpit.

That incident actually provided an opportunity for ejection, allowing both pilots to exit the cockpit.

The parachutes of both opened one after the other, but the fire control operator still had the Dragon Spike embedded in his thigh. By the time he was found by a nearby colleague, his face was already deadly pale and he had lost consciousness.

Two Z-9 armed helicopters ventured close to the combat airspace to begin the retrieval (and scavenging) operation.

Rescue pairings make the job less tiring—alive you pick people up, dead you collect bodies, shattered remains are still collected.

The Magnetic Catcher prepared to assist the turboprop in emergency landing had its pre-heating halted. The device really consumed too much electricity, and even the Target Low Temperature Nuclear Fusion Energy Tower, which could power the entire Aircrew Base, was not enough to sustain this power-hungry tiger for long.

"'Peanut Butter,' we've lost 214 and 215."

"Devil Pepper," still with her heart pounding, glanced around and noticed out of six "Big Mouth Monsters," only four remained, circling the fiercely intense combat zone hesitantly, not daring to close in again.

If it happened again, she feared her luck might run out.

"No worries, we still have Dragon Slayer Missiles. Rookie, are you still alive?"

Major Chekhov showed no sign of backing down; he even took a moment to check on the young man in the back seat.

Surprisingly, the rookie was still conscious and hadn't fainted during the continuous tactical maneuvers.

"I, I'm okay!"

Adrenaline pumping, he had even forgotten to be scared. When he said this, Chen Fei didn't know his face was devoid of all color, frighteningly pale, his upper and lower teeth chattering intensely.

Is this thing really freaking awesome???

Give me a break!

You scared me to death!!!

"Brothers, it's time to go all out!"

"Genuine Fragrance" squadron leader, flying call-sign "Peanut Butter," Major Chekhov's tone became serious, no longer carefree as before, as if he had sobered up somewhat.

After being entangled by multiple fighter jets up till now, having had its fill of Close Combat Missiles and just having experienced a massive burst of Dragon Spike rain, the Metallic Giant Dragon was inevitably severely drained. One could see its reformed Blade Wings were considerably smaller than before.

Even without using the Dragon Slayer Missiles, it wouldn't be long before they could grind down this mad Dragon of Slaughter the hard way.

???

Σ(°△°|||)︴Chen Fei was taken aback.

Suddenly, shock!

Hey, hey, hey! I'm innocent!

I'm not combat personnel!

Enough already, you stinking Big Bear!

Do you fancy dying in some unique way?

Throughout history, only fools live in loneliness, only those who court death leave their names behind.

"Little Chili, cover us. Rookie, Emperor's Holy Sword, follow me with the sword chariot, Ura!~"

Ignoring the protests from Chen Fei in the back seat, Major Chekhov took a deep breath, howled loudly, pushed the throttle lever, and with more fuel fed to the turboprop engine, it instantly generated greater power. With many new scratches and dents on its body, the nearly wrecked "Big Mouth Monster" charged again toward the ferocious Metallic Giant Dragon.

Some tasks must be done by someone, even if it means being a hero for just a few seconds.

If it's a one-way journey, so be it!

Now, while it's weakened, was the best time to take its life. If they let it recover, it would only become more difficult to handle, as Metallic Dragons are notoriously petty and vindictive.

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