Chapter 711: The Unprincipled Giant Dragon

The fire rate of a medium-range air-to-air missile is Mach 4, equivalent to almost 1,300 meters per second. In air combat, from the moment a pilot can visually see the missile until it hits, it takes no more than seven seconds.

A fighter jet flying at high speed cannot roll over even a dozen times in one second, let alone half a roll, or it would tear itself apart due to excessive aerodynamic drag. Unless it’s a close-range dogfight, in battles that mainly use missiles as the attack method, a tactical maneuver usually takes at least three to four seconds.

Sometimes, missiles approach so fast that the pilot of the target fighter seems to be unaware and ends up getting blown up. The agility of a fighter jet at high speed cannot keep up with the pilot’s maneuvers, and the response timing is insufficient, leading to such outcomes.

Agility and speed always balance each other on opposite sides of the scale. Aviation experts have always struggled to design fighter jets that can maintain high-speed capabilities while also being agile, but these two critical performances seem irreconcilable, like a spear and a shield.

Fighter jets, especially jet fighters, cannot be as nimble as birds; therefore, they require more reaction time to adjust for evasion and attack maneuvers. From when “Storm” shouted to abandon the aircraft to when the enemy missiles hit, only six or seven seconds passed. If he and “Curved Blade” had hesitated for even a second more, the outcome would likely have been the same for them.

The flight principles of their aviation are vastly different from ordinary flying beasts. The gold element dragon kin relies on Void Magnetism to hover and generally doesn’t consider aerodynamics, as their strong physical power ignores aerodynamic resistance.

However, the flight and combat forms of the gold element dragons are filled with sharp elements that unconsciously align with aerodynamics. Wind element dragons generate wind pressure behind them to aid their flight, while fire element dragons produce high-temperature, high-pressure airflows beneath their wings to assist with flight. The dragons controlling the skies always leverage their elemental nature advantages to create unique flying techniques.

Shifting the focus back, after “Storm” and “Curved Blade” abandoned their aircraft, the three missiles lacking combat guidance posed no threat to the aces, especially not to special tier and near special tier pilots. The actions of the two government army pilots merely served to annoy their opponents while giving their companions a slight advantage.

"Is this even interesting?"

“Zorro” felt extremely frustrated by the government team’s last-ditch efforts.

"Just consider it the powerless resistance of the weak."

In the eyes of “Eagle King,” the enemy’s counterattack resembled the pathetic moans of a delicate girl, stripped bare by a strong man, evoking a distaste for his previous eagerness.

He had no intention of chasing down and finishing off the pair hanging beneath the parachute; a real man should fight until the end. What was ejection worth? Didn’t they understand that dying on a sickbed was a soldier’s greatest shame?

Having witnessed the Iranian pilot “Monkey” bravely sacrificing himself in his F-14 Tomcat for a final strike, taking out the enemy, the “Eagle King” believed that this was the true embodiment of an Air Knight, genuinely raising his thumb in appreciation: “Warrior!”

“Zorro” and “Eagle King” merely shifted their aircraft slightly, even too lazy to release infrared decoys. The three close-range combat missiles lacked the power to make an impact, and after missing their targets, they detonated into three fireballs, having lost their direction quickly in a downward parabolic arc.

Due to the distance or the inability to adjust their attack vectors in time, Lin Mo and Yuri missed this meager opportunity.

“Number 13! Is your fighter still operational? Let’s take them out together! Then we can go home!”

Yuri remained full of fighting spirit, unbothered by the rank of his opponents. He wanted to avenge “Monkey,” whose last words resonated in his mind.

He just heard Lin Mo mention that his fighter was out of control. What kind of digital combat system was this? Even in an uncontrolled state, it was this powerful.

Maybe it was the unmanned combat mode of the fighter; it wasn’t unheard of. Many countries were secretly developing advanced technology to replace fighter pilots in combat.

Rumors suggested that Boeing had recently lost several sixth-generation fighter technology prototypes, which had been equipped with an intelligent combat system, causing elite U.S. pilots to be easily outmaneuvered.

And that wasn’t all; the out-of-control fighter had even transformed the F-22 Raptor into the world’s most expensive fireworks.

To this day, this scandal, seen as a great humiliation within the American aviation industry, has been tightly sealed by Boeing and the military. Only seasoned insiders heard of it, making it a laughingstock among aviation giants.

If revealed, it would certainly trigger a huge uproar internationally and cause public panic. Who knows where sixth-generation fighters armed with real ammunition could appear! One of the design parameters of the sixth-generation fighter itself is high endurance and the ability to accomplish global missions, making any corner of the Earth a feasible target.

Pandora’s box released disaster and misfortune, and no one expected this would come true. The internal turmoil caused by Boeing almost resulted in serious consequences.

During the battle, while fulfilling his task of filling his stomach, Lin Mo leisurely replied to Yuri, “No problem, take care of yourself! Don’t form up for now! I’ll fix this quickly, and then we can use the scissors tactic together to take them down.”

At this moment, the Gold Coin, who was falsely posing as a Dragon Knight, would certainly not recognize Yuri as his wingman. The Gold Element Dragon Kin has always been a breed of lone wolves, and no one has ever heard of gold giant dragons preferring to form formations. Only the Dark War Dragons, who specialize in external battles, are good at coordinated formations.

Even in the fight against the Texi Empire, Gold Coin charged forward alone, enjoying a bit of magical cover from his comrades at most.

In the brief skirmish just now, this giant dragon didn’t even realize that its frantic attacks had undergone a complete transformation; at least it was much better than exposing itself under the radar of Team 7759.

The main reason humans stand out from numerous creatures as a wise species is their ability to skillfully use tools according to the situation!

As expected, Yuri maneuvered his fighter jet far away, unwilling to form up with the X-1 Forward-Swept Wing Fighter Jet. After all, that uncontrolled smart unmanned combat module might accidentally take him down instead, and that would be truly unfortunate!

“Gold Coin, it’s time to switch up!”

Lin Mo stuffed the unfinished energy bars into the compartment built into the aviation seat and tapped on the cockpit to remind the wandering gold element dragon.

This was a classic case of job snatching; with Gold Coin doing all the fighting, would Major Lin Mo even get to eat?!

“Morin! I’m not done yet; let me fight through ten more rounds!”

The gold element dragon was rare to enjoy its moment of glory in this world. It had always taken the role of taking hits for Lin Mo, shielding him from missiles. Now that it finally felt powerful, it was reluctant to withdraw so quickly.

“Still fighting? The battle is about to end; hurry and return control to me. The remaining two aren’t something you can deal with; they’re tougher than Colonel Jiang!”

Lin Mo lacked patience. Within visual range, “Zorro” and “Eagle King” had already begun to deploy traps, clearly aimed at countering his and Yuri’s dual scissors attack tactic.

“Really?! That sounds terrifying. Morin, you handle them; I’m outta here.”

The X-1 Forward-Swept Wing Fighter Jet suddenly jolted for no reason, as if Colonel Jiang’s shadow still loomed large in Gold Coin’s heart, causing the frightened gold element dragon to shamelessly wilt on the spot.

Uh-oh!

It was a proud dragon kin, fearless, and unflinching, even when causing a catastrophe. The gold giant dragon wasn’t something everyone could trample on like slime.

This guy has no shame at all!

Lin Mo’s hand trembled slightly, and the feedback from the machine immediately returned to the control stick, granting him control once more.

Had he known that invoking Colonel Jiang would make this disobedient giant dragon yield, he wouldn’t have wasted so much breath.

Recollecting himself, Lin Mo focused on the Light Mirror Technique. Since they dared to challenge the Dragon Knights, he didn’t mind engaging in a good fight with them, curious to see just how much he had learned from Colonel Jiang’s legacy.

Back at the Fifth Aerospace Training Center on the simulator, while no one officially stated anything, the air force high command quietly acknowledged that Lin Mo was the sole heir of Colonel Jiang Renbin, the captain of Team 7759. This record of air combat skills would automatically be logged into Lin Mo’s confidential personal file.

Team Battle death rule: Battle continues until three aircraft remain, or one side is completely eliminated.

Four fighter jets remained in the sky, two from each side. On the ground, all screens displayed a countdown; the team battle was approaching its final moments.

Across all broadcast screens, only one image remained.

However, no one expected that the government army’s team would end up with just two intermediate pilots, while all high-tier and special tier pilots from the team had been wiped out.

Some gamblers watching this scene collectively shook their heads, losing interest in the screens, as if they no longer wanted to continue watching, and left the mission center hall.

Many gamblers instead had the staff bring out champagne, red wine, and beer to celebrate in advance, as it seemed they were about to make a lot of money.

“Look! Number 13 and Yuri aren’t even forming up now; they’re done for.”

“Damn it, I bet ten million euros on Number 13. Why isn’t he in hell yet? Should I find an assassin to take out this bastard who made me lose so much money?”

“Hahaha, we’re going to win! Long live the Anti-Government Forces! Long live the Freedom Army! Long live freedom! Mr. Krol, please prepare the check. Once the battle is announced over, I expect it to be in my pocket on time.”

“Well, you lucky bastard! I hope you have this good luck next time too. Damn it, why don’t you get crushed by all that money? I mean, the money I lost to you could have been enough to turn you into meat paste!”

An intermediate pilot faced off against a special tier and a near special tier, with nearly one tier gap between them, and the final outcome was essentially predetermined. Most people were not optimistic about Lin Mo and Yuri.

Even if some had confidence in the intermediate “Number 13” before, now with a genuine special tier pilot “Zorro” partnering with “Eagle King,” their strength combined was far superior to the previous duo of two near special tier pilots, making any hope of victory even slimmer.