Chapter 746: Interception

Upon hearing that four fighter jets were lurking nearby, ready to attack, and had already activated their missiles, not to mention the large laser cannons and ballistic missiles whose locations were unknown, the gold giant dragon felt instantly defeated.

It was no joke; after dealing with that asteroid, the next unfortunate target would definitely be Gold Coin itself.

A casual brush from a laser cannon could vaporize half of its dragon body on the spot.

If it were to take a few hits from ballistic missiles, without any involvement from the four heavily armed fighter jets, the gold giant dragon would immediately turn to ashes.

It frightened the dragon.

Before Lin Mo could think of a reason to stop this greedy creature’s foolish ideas, the practical-minded dragon quickly shrank back to where it had come from.

…

The large laser cannons and ballistic missiles, stationed elsewhere, might be commanded by other units, but the five fighter jets in the sky were coordinated by the AWACS-2000 “South China Tiger.”

For the powerful AWACS-2000, coordinating the five fighter jets was an easy task; they just needed to appear in the right positions, calculate the lead time for them, and launch the PL-13 long-range air-to-air missiles.

Although their performance was advanced, catching up to an asteroid speeding at dozens of Mach was nearly impossible.

In a sense, these five very advanced fighter jets were merely airborne artillery platforms for the AWACS-2000.

“Now we will begin data sharing; everyone, please pay attention to receive.”

As the voice from the AWACS-2000 “South China Tiger” arrived, one of the main screens in the fighter jets displayed a map after data synchronization.

The military wireless data link technology of the fighter jets was far more powerful than civilian Wi-Fi. Despite various encryption and verification, the use of hard decoding technology didn’t affect the speed at all; the amount of hardware programming used in military electronics far surpassed that of civilian electronics.

A small dot was moving along a dotted line, and with every step it took, the dot behind it turned into a solid line.

This was the trajectory of the asteroid fragment, nearly identical to the military’s predictive data; even if there was some deviation, it wouldn’t be significant.

The military base marked on the electronic map was now completely empty; all personnel had evacuated to a radius of 50 kilometers and set up a blockade to prevent anyone from entering.

Fortunately, the troops stationed here had good organization and discipline; when an order was given, they could respond quickly.

If it had been an ordinary village, the evacuation would have been much more complicated—dealing with rumors, people hiding, and even some elderly residents refusing to leave the homes they cherished. Not to mention, it would be nearly impossible to move those who were fond of their belongings within just fourteen hours.

Due to time constraints, most supplies in the military base couldn’t be moved in time, leaving some livestock abandoned, wandering within the camp. This was also a test; they wanted to see how those animals would fare when the asteroid really hit, similar to a nuclear weapons test site.

In the eyes of the astronomers, they were indifferent to the military base and treated it as a natural testing ground to utilize. Regardless of the outcome, they wouldn’t suffer any losses.

If someone entered the military camp, they would undoubtedly feel the atmosphere of a barren, apocalyptic world.

After passing through the atmosphere, the asteroid fragment, which was about three hundred meters in diameter, if it contained a significant amount of metal, would likely leave behind a volume of nearly three meters.

Even if it remained less than one percent, its incredible speed and mass would unleash a power almost equal to that of any Gauss electromagnetic shell of the same volume, and potentially even more terrifying.

At the moment of impact, the shockwave could sweep away everything within a radius of 1,000 meters that was above ground level, leaving behind a crater nearly one hundred meters wide.

Thus, everyone who received this emergency notification, including those from the Aerospace Department, Second Artillery, Air Force, and Army, felt a chill run down their spines, and they all sprung into urgent action, joining forces to face this unexpected cosmic disaster.

One warning aircraft and five fighter jets were now fully prepared, even though they were merely the third-tier backup team.

Light Mirror Technique activated!

The cockpit of the X-8 “Monstrous” displayed an array of irregular light mirrors pieced together, forming a second transparent screen over the canopy that nearly filled the entire cockpit. The fighter jet’s canopy itself also had some display functions.

This overlay made the digital combat capabilities of the X-8 “Monstrous” even more formidable.

In the far distance, an extremely strong fluctuation of light-element energy emerged. Lin Mo’s expression shifted; only those wielding elemental power could sense such intense energy reactions.

Although lasers are not magic, they are still a pure light-element attack method, and photons stimulated to their extremes have an activity level that is in no way inferior to the light element energy found in the world of the Magic Civilization.

The Light Mirror Technique displayed an image of a massive green beam shooting from the ground into the sky, disappearing among the clouds and reaching into the endless sky.

This was not the only terrifying beam; multiple Light Mirror Techniques were providing similar imagery. Unless the pilots were at an extremely close distance, they would be unable to detect any anomalies in the bright high-altitude light.

Not just one thick laser beam, but at least eight laser cannons, were positioned across different locations on the ground, focusing on a point beyond the radius observable by the Light Mirror Technique, likely situated outside the atmosphere.

The military was implementing a powerful strike against outer space. The beams lasted only half a second before vanishing.

However, Lin Mo knew that even a laser beam lasting just one-tenth of a second could instantly vaporize his X-8 “Monstrous” fighter jet. Even if the gold giant dragon revealed its true form, the outcome would probably not differ much.

Truly impressive!

Lin Mo had long been aware that his country ranked among the top in the world for laser technology development, but witnessing its combat capabilities was shockingly terrifying.

In the next moment, an unusual arc of electricity flashed across the sky. A red point of light left a very brief visual afterimage as it shot toward the heavens, moving at a speed of at least over 20 Mach.

An electromagnetic railgun?

What a surprise!

Lin Mo’s expression grew serious. Judging by the range, the electromagnetic railgun must have launched its second strike ahead of the ballistic missile; its activation meant that the stunning laser cannon barrage had not achieved the results expected.

Next, there should be an interception by ballistic missiles.

Sure enough, a voice from the cockpit of the X-8 “Monstrous” announced the message from “South China Tiger.”

“All units prepare! Forward interception failed; the target has entered the atmosphere. Ballistic missiles have been launched. Prepare for a 45-second countdown!”

The two forward defenses had failed to intercept, and a distant rumble resonated through the air as Gauss electromagnetic shells tore through the atmosphere, creating some unique physical phenomena.

In the distance, another red point of light shot rapidly into the sky, seemingly unwilling to concede, launching a second attack, while the laser cannons made no further response.

Laser weapons, though immensely powerful, consumed vast amounts of energy. If using chemical laser weapons, reloading them for another launch wasn’t an easy task. Even with free electron laser technology, cooling down the cannon would take considerable time.

Under normal circumstances, when facing high-speed targets, laser cannons typically only had a single strike capability, and air refraction and dust interference presented challenges; the visible Tyndall effect was actually a kind of energy loss.

The electromagnetic railgun also had high energy costs and was influenced by the Earth’s gravity, usually being able to target only within the atmospheric layer.

When Lin Mo observed the second launch of the electromagnetic railgun, the asteroid fragment had already successfully penetrated the atmosphere.

“Dragon Knight, please prepare. We will now correct the angle to 15 degrees, 19 minutes, 47 seconds east. Beginning the launch countdown, 30 seconds. I suggest you authorize the launch system to me.”

Once “South China Tiger” ensured Lin Mo’s position was adjusted, the high-altitude hovering performance of this forward-swept wing fighter jet amazed them. It intended to use the X-8 “Monstrous” as a floating remote artillery platform. The AWACS-2000 combat system had the capability to take over even the missiles after launch.

Don’t be mistaken; the large warning aircraft was not without weaponry. With proper coordination, its attacking power could rival that of any main fighter jet squadron.

From other Light Mirror Techniques came reports from additional fighter jets maintaining the nose of their aircraft at the lowest speed, clearly receiving one-on-one assistance from the technicians aboard the “South China Tiger.”

In the overlapping Light Mirror Technique of the cockpit’s front section and cannon targeting sight, Lin Mo saw a massive fireball rapidly approaching, as if a demon had burst forth from hell into the light of the human world.

The asteroid fragment burned fiercely due to air friction, emitting thick black smoke. Even from a distance, one could feel the molten metal-like heat; anyone within a ten-meter radius would likely be incinerated by the thermal radiation it emitted.

The first two interception attempts clearly had not been very effective.

The rolling thick smoke likely severely diminished the laser beam’s power, and the irregular shape continued to roll, making it unavoidable for the electromagnetic railgun’s shooting parameters to have errors.

On the display screen sharing the updated target data, the asteroid fragment slowed significantly after entering the atmosphere due to air resistance, but it still moved at an astonishing speed, enough to surpass any aircraft in the world.

Lin Mo and the others had to attempt an interception at the computed location ahead, trying to divert it from its original trajectory.

PL-13 locked on!

Launch!