Chapter 828

Chapter 828: Hunt

With Lin Mo’s thrust of Longinus, chaos in the manor faded quickly.

Just two fierce beasts had caused such a terrifying massacre. Those people outside the "crystal cage" watched the struggle between life and death with indifference. When death truly approached them, they might not even feel a hint of regret in their hearts.

Only a few survivors remained in the manor, and they were on the brink of collapse. Several were still trapped in immense fear, continuing to scream hysterically until they lost consciousness from exhaustion.

There were no more terrifying beast roars inside the manor; only distant cries of horror from outside could be heard, along with the roars of the beasts in the far distance.

One fierce beast charged out of the manor, wreaking havoc somewhere unknown.

"What is happening to Gold Coin? The main body is inactive, and the split hasn’t returned yet."

The Dragon Knight stared at the Longinus spear in his hand for a long while, but there was still no sign of movement within it.

Yet, he didn’t worry about the gold giant dragon having any accidents. The very fact that it could merge into the spear proved that the spear was made of metal. How could a gold element dragon, which fed on metals, not handle this metal? Perhaps it had choked.

Choked? Hmm! That’s possible. Wasn’t it held back the last time in the South China Sea?

Upon encountering unfamiliar food, it turned into a greedy monster.

Would this guy really die if he didn’t take it easy?

And the split part that had been released was still nowhere to be seen.

Right, it must have gone off for wild food; this guy had a history.

As for its original owner, the Dragon Knight had no intention of returning it. Trading this weapon for the life of the other was a great deal. Losing the item while preserving the life was far better than losing both. This made the Dragon Knight’s deal with Mr. DuPont seem extraordinarily reasonable, reflecting the fairness of knightly spirit.

The Dragon Knight was not one of those stubborn, inflexible individuals. If he were, how could Dragon Knight Morin have always kept that once unruly and dangerous gold giant dragon in check?

By killing that fierce beast, the Dragon Knight effectively saved the other survivors in the manor. Just consider it an old man like Lei Feng paying for everyone. Lin Mo’s worldview completely aligned with the principle of mutual benefit favored by Americans, or it could be said to be following local customs.

There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

The four-meter-long spear looked impressive as Lin Mo walked in a straight line. No matter if the obstructions in front were vehicles or bushes, he swung the Longinus spear, and the barriers crumbled like paper, shredded into pieces.

Thanks to the spear’s sharpness, even the attached Battle Energy did not suffer significant depletion. The more Lin Mo used it, the more he felt adept, moving like a human fierce beast, creating destruction wherever he went.

The already damaged Scarlet Manor was further left in ruin under the Dragon Knight’s rampage.

Bob’s family and those assisting them seemed to have hidden away, and the spots previously checked in the underground passage were empty. Lin Mo found a corner with no one around and unleashed several Light Mirror Techniques. One part continued searching for Bob’s family, while another focused on the sky where the sound of jet engines roared, watching the last remaining bio-war beast wreak havoc outside the manor.

…

The "Lightning" team was still 30 kilometers from the combat zone when they confirmed one of the four target signals relayed by satellite.

However, strangely, they only confirmed two target signals. One signal seemed to be a building, remaining stationary, while the other signal moved swiftly at speeds between 30 and 80 kilometers per hour. From the enlarged map, the movement trajectory appeared completely erratic.

The other two signals were nowhere to be found. Could these four targets be different objects? This was indeed thought-provoking.

"This is ‘Arnold,’ once again confirming target details. The opponent has no anti-air capabilities and no electronic countermeasures. Gentlemen, treat this like a usual training exercise—let’s eliminate them."

The combat airspace had excellent visibility—no clouds or complicated terrain.

Upon receiving the latest intelligence from the operations command center, two F-35 fighter jets breathed easier, gradually lowering their altitude in synchronization.

"Eagle King! Activate weapon systems and start the AESA terrain scanning! Confirm enemy-friendly identification signals!"

Eagle King David de Hitt heard the reminder from his wingman, "Nightmare" Todd Evans, through his helmet headset. He responded immediately, “Wingman Eagle King confirmed! Starting combat procedures!”

The F-35 "Lightning 2," equipped with the AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, had a lower output power than the F-22 "Raptor" AN/APG-77, with only half the number of transmission and reception units. However, its ground operating mode significantly excelled. Its synthetic aperture radar mapping (SAR), ground moving target indication (GMTI), and maritime moving target indication capabilities surpassed those of the AN/APG-77, attaining a lifespan of 8,000 hours, comparable to that of the fighter jet.

The target posed no threat to the fighter jets, meaning that any fighter jet could easily suppress it. This allowed the temporarily designated "Lightning" team to safely drop their altitude below 1,000 meters, achieving suitable visual range and ensuring enough striking precision.

Eagle King David de Hitt and Nightmare Todd Evans both looked down at the ground. Multiple fires erupted below, and many bright car headlights wandered around aimlessly. Although some moonlight provided a degree of visibility, darkness remained the night’s dominant tone. Through the flickering flames, they could faintly see that the fires were burning vehicles.

Could it be that a rebellion party was forming below?

As the two fighter jets roared overhead, people on the ground, panicked and uncertain of where to go, were terrified and focused solely on pressing the gas pedal, wanting to flee from that fearsome beast. They hardly noticed the tremendous roar of the jets above.

“Activate the EODAS (Electro-Optical Distributed Aperture System) and EOTS (Electro-Optical Targeting System), switch to night vision mode. Oh, damn! What is that?”

The Eagle King activated the electro-optical system, and with the help of high-tech warfare equipment, he finally got a clear view of everything on the ground. Almost simultaneously, he and his longtime friend Nightmare gasped in surprise.

It was a fierce beast larger than an ordinary sedan, comparable to a tank, and one of the target signals from the operations command center landed right on this beast.

“My God, a monster! Where did it come from? Activate the infrared thermal imaging system; let me see if it’s a man-made object or a living creature.” Nightmare quickly operated the system and opened a reconnaissance functional module, but what he saw shocked him even more. “Damn it, that thing is alive!”

The infrared biological response of the bio-war beast appeared exceptionally prominent on the thermal imaging screen. From its shape and movements, it seemed to be tearing apart a human body, whose infrared response was gradually cooling—a clear sign that it had just died moments ago.

This wasn’t a movie or special effects; the reality had surpassed the imaginations of the two pilots, leaving Eagle King and Nightmare deeply frightened.

Arnold Air Force Base immediately sent another alert: “Lightning team, proceed with the operational mission now!”

Through the satellite, the combat data link on the two F-35s remained in a state of information sharing. Whatever the pilots saw, the operations command center at Arnold Air Force Base could also see.

“Nightmare, this monster is mine!”

Without thinking twice, the Eagle King couldn’t allow the beast to continue its carnage. Once he reconfirmed with his wingman Nightmare, he immediately locked onto the beast, directing the nose of the aircraft straight at the target and commenced a high-speed dive.

The belly weapon bay of the F-35 "Lightning 2" slowly opened.

“Activate GPS joint guidance, prepare a CBU-55B! Attack countdown, three, two, one, drop!”

Roar!

Realizing there were unidentified flying objects in the sky, the beast became alarmed, turned its head to look up, and let out a tremendous roar. Without hesitation, it dropped the remains of the human body it had barely gnawed on and sprinted towards Scarlet Manor.

Cunning as a fox, coordinated like a wolf, fierce as a tiger, dashing like a leopard, and enduring like a bull, it possessed an omnivorous nature like a bear, displaying aggression and survival abilities that surpassed any creature in nature. The fierce beasts developed by the military’s secret bio-laboratory almost perfectly showcased their true combat performance.

The enormous roar of the engines thundered above the beast’s head, as suddenly, a small black dot fell rapidly from the sky, splitting into three parts, deploying slowing parachutes as they headed towards the predicted attack point.

Boom!

A thunderous explosion accompanied the release of three BLU-73/B oil-gas bombs from the CBU-55B, creating three massive, blazing red fireballs that engulfed the ground, and the shockwave’s white halo instantly expanded hundreds of meters.

“Missed the target; it’s still alive!”

As the blinding fireballs began to dissipate, the Eagle King hadn’t even managed to turn the aircraft’s nose to confirm the attack’s effectiveness when he heard the voice from the operations command center.

The target signal remained, meaning the fierce beast was still alive.

During the earlier earth-shattering explosion, the beast, which had quickly turned away, was lifted by the shockwave’s gusts and thrown over twenty meters away, but it had fortunately escaped the lethal radius. Shaking its head, it stumbled as it got back on its feet and continued to run wildly.

The bio-war beast’s defense capabilities and endurance, stimulated by its will to survive, displayed an astonishing performance that exceeded its design parameters.

However, humanity’s high-tech warfare wouldn’t let it get away easily. A barrage of dense 25-millimeter cannon ammunition swept in fiercely.