Chapter 717: Don’t Worry! We’re Going Home!

“You!”

With the situation reaching this point, Yuri should have acted decisively. Suddenly, a surge of courage emerged from somewhere within him, and he reached for his parachute knife.

The sharp blade was meant to cut through parachute lines.

As the parachute unburdened itself from its weight, it shot upward, or rather, the descent speed slowed dramatically, leaving the fighter jet and Yuri trailing behind.

Lin Mo, clad in matte black tactical armor, stood on the dashboard of the cockpit and the seat. He was no longer just sitting in the cockpit controlling the fighter jet; he was literally standing atop the aircraft.

The soles of “Dragon General’s” boots automatically transformed, extending gripping mechanisms that made Lin Mo stand even more securely.

The meticulously designed utility of this dual-use system showcased its capabilities spectacularly, as the remote-controlled fighter jet and locking mechanisms seemed to have been prepped by Henghai Defense for such a situation.

Of course, this was just a coincidence; the manufacturer, Henghai Defense, did not possess foresight.

The bold imagery captured from the few reconnaissance aircraft moving closer flashed in the minds of almost everyone, conjuring a striking image: a fierce, menacing giant dragon unfurled its massive wings that obscured the sky, and a knight clad in magnificent armor raised a colossal sword, its silver blade radiating a dazzling light, dominating the sky.

That was the supreme king of the skies, looking down upon all the insignificant creatures below, declaring an unyielding authority.

Some people couldn’t help but rub their eyes, momentarily regaining clarity. They were watching a live broadcast, not a Hollywood fantasy blockbuster.

How could a fighter pilot be a Dragon Knight?

It must be a daydream! Yes, that’s it!

Lin Mo did not realize that as he stood on the X-1, the aura of the Dragon Knight and the fighting spirit surged forth without reservation, almost as if he were standing on his own gold giant dragon (although truth be told, there was no difference; that fool didn’t even realize he was fooling himself).

As the X-1 forward-swept wing fighter jet neared Yuri, Lin Mo decisively reached out, grabbed Yuri’s hand, and spun him into the cockpit behind him.

Many suddenly realized that the X-1 was a two-seater!

Indeed, it was a two-seater!

Hell no, did they really expect two pilots to engage in a princess carry in such a cramped space?

The swirling yellow sand rose into the air. Just before a forward-swept wing fighter jet was about to crash to the ground, it swiftly pulled its nose up, barely skimming over several sand dunes and leveling off successfully.

At an altitude below 3,000 meters, even without a cockpit cover, it no longer mattered.

“‘Number 13,’ I owe you my life!”

Struggling with the last of his strength, Yuri fastened himself to the back seat of the cockpit with a seatbelt, having snatched back his life, and he gasped, feeling grateful to be alive.

The ace fighter pilot of a nation was no better off than a dog in "Abyss Nirvana," and it was no wonder the Death Team Battle had only one chance for entry; once a pilot participated, they would never be eligible for future selections again.

If the next draw occurred, not many would dare to participate in such a deadly event; this was not a challenge, it was suicide.

The pilots who survived the Death Team Battle would likely become the pillars of their nation’s air force in the future. Their mental resilience and air combat skills would increase dramatically; nothing could enhance combat ability better than real combat experience.

But Yuri quickly thought of “Monkey.” His expression darkened; the Iranian pilot only chose to perish with the enemy for his sake. An unprecedented scale of the Death Team Battle had created countless families that lost fathers, sons, and husbands.

In such a scenario, a team member would likely make the same resolute choice if they were in Yuri’s shoes. There was no room for hesitation in that situation; he thought this as he acted.

In the end, only a few lucky ones managed to eject and land safely on the ground.

“Don’t worry! We’re going home!”

Lin Mo did not look back, focusing intently on piloting the damaged X-1, maintaining a low-altitude flight at 500 meters.

“Hmm, going home…”

A voice called from the back seat, surprisingly overpowering the roar of the engine. Yuri was clearly exhausted; once he relaxed, he fell asleep on the vibrating and noisy fighter jet, seeming quite peaceful, almost drooling.

In the corner of the cockpit, the last Light Mirror Technique displayed the scene from the rear seat. The Light Mirror flickered, dissipating into the air like a soap bubble.

Every Air Knight was a fool who would unthinkingly sacrifice their life for a comrade! A big idiot!

Lin Mo took the risk to pull Yuri back from the brink, just as Yuri had once risked his life to avoid dragging Lin Mo down.

I will be brave against the strong.—I will bravely face strong enemies.

I will help my brother knight.—I will help my knight brother.

I will be true to my friends.—I will treat my friends with loyalty.

The X-1 Forward-Swept Wing Fighter Jet had also sustained considerable damage. Had Lin Mo not been intimately familiar with the fighter’s internal structure and all its components, he wouldn’t have been able to manually adjust multiple parts, compensating for the original design’s redundancy, barely managing to keep the aircraft flying at a low altitude of 500 meters and returning at subsonic speed.

On the way back, Lin Mo spotted three humanoid bionic light combat-powered armors, "Ya Zi-2," hanging beneath three Flying Wolf rotorcraft; they seemed to be scrambling for scraps.

"Hey! I’m ‘White Wolf,’ Number 13, congratulations!"

As Lin Mo noticed the other side, the voice of the Flying Wolf rotorcraft pilot, White Wolf, filled the radio channel.

"Thank you!"

However, Lin Mo had no triumphant words; the battle-hardened Dragon Knight had long since become indifferent to success or failure.

Victory! That was only natural!

Defeat! Naturally, that meant dying meaningfully.

“Yasha” didn’t waste a second, seizing the initiative.

As the last explosion fireball of the Death Team Battle erupted, the newly supplied team and equipment were quickly deployed.

The luxurious array of the joint air fleet surprised the Dragon Knight.

The light combat-powered armor appeared quite bulky, but it didn’t seem as heavy as he expected; Lin Mo initially thought it would require at least a V-22 Osprey with a carrying capacity of 21.5 tons to transport it.

Perhaps it made extensive use of non-metal composite materials.

The humans in this world also considered that large combat weapons built mostly from metal materials might be easy to manufacture and assemble, but the ground couldn’t bear their weight; any movement could lead them to sink into a constant natural quicksand technique, like the gold element dragon kin.

The gold element dragon kin have a natural ability for Void Magnetism, but this world needed to compromise with similarly strong but lighter composite materials.

The carrying capacity of the Flying Wolf truly surprised Lin Mo; one rotorcraft carried a "Ya Zi-2" and appeared to have some leftover strength.

Could it be the advantages of rotorcraft?!

Lin Mo couldn’t help but take a longer look at the departing formation.

Behind the Flying Wolf fleet were more attack helicopters and transport helicopters. Lin Mo even spotted the previously unseen V-22 Osprey and the CH-47 Chinook medium transport helicopter.

The intensity of the battle for collecting fragments would never pale in comparison to the Death Team Battle.

The X-1 Forward-Swept Wing Fighter Jet safely returned to the airport; as soon as it slid into the transfer area’s parking lot, two rows of stretchers awaited.

Yuri’s team and Lin Mo’s team were huddled together, as if to welcome a life-threatening injured person like they were facing a formidable enemy.

Lin Mo did not expect that "Yasha" had not joined the Flying Wolf fleet but instead had two "Demon Hunter" soldiers carrying stretchers and medical personnel waiting on the parking area.

The parking area not only held the two teams but also many unfamiliar faces, who quickly surrounded Lin Mo’s Forward-Swept Wing Fighter Jet.

As Lin Mo shut down the engine, he was met with applause, a welcome for the hero.

Perhaps it was those gamblers who had made a fortune off Lin Mo, celebrating the return of their hero.

Lin Mo and Yuri’s turnaround truly shocked many, making this gamble a surprising upset.

Sally, the head of the Dragoon consortium, who had firmly placed a heavy bet on Lin Mo, had struck it rich with the Dragoon consortium’s pots, and it would likely take some time to digest this massive surprise.

Lin Mo pulled Yuri out of the back seat like he was lifting a sack of cotton, easily jumping to the ground.

"Are you crazy? Hurry, get on the stretcher, don’t try to be tough."

“Yasha” rushed over, shocked, trying to push Lin Mo onto the stretcher; in his eyes, Lin Mo’s action of jumping off the plane was akin to suicide.

Damn it, this undisciplined pilot was completely disregarding military order. With a perfectly good ladder, why jump off? He would definitely be locked in a small dark room for ten days or so.

This infuriated “Yasha”; he heard that some pilots who ejected during emergencies were found in a semi-paralyzed state without exception. This wasn’t due to combat injuries but internal harm from high overload during evasive maneuvers. The delicate insides were far too fragile against the overwhelming G-forces, where even organ displacement counted as a minor injury.

“I’m fine!”

Lin Mo didn’t look at “Yasha.” Instead, he gestured to Yuri’s bodyguard captain, the bald black giant Malcolm Ali, “Stretcher!”