Chapter 387

Chapter 387: Cloud Explosion

Immediately, two 250-kilogram aerial bombs dropped from the wings of the J-8, one aimed at the cave entrance and the other targeting the area with the highest concentration of anti-aircraft machine guns.

“Damn it, I’m going to mess this up!”

After releasing the bombs, the Tabby Cat sensed something was off as a sudden change swept through the smoky air below. A strong gust of wind seemed to blow through, affecting the two dropped bombs. Despite their self-correcting capabilities, they were powerless against the abrupt strong wind.

At an altitude of 3,000 meters, especially in the mountains, mountain winds were quite common.

The two bombs veered off their intended paths, landing on an unoccupied section of the mountainside. The explosion sent rocks flying, and the falling debris and shockwave only momentarily delayed the firepower of the armed militants’ anti-aircraft machine guns, which resumed firing shortly after.

“Boss! Help me reload!”

At the start of the attack, the once-confident Tabby Cat now hung his head low, feeling defeated as he called for help from Lin Mo. He had nearly run out of ammunition, with only two rocket pods and cannon rounds left.

When the bombs were dropped, the Dragon General’s aviation tactical functions automatically tracked their parabolic trajectory and quickly calculated their impact points, displaying them on the helmet display.

So, when the Tabby Cat shouted about his misfire, Lin Mo wasn’t surprised. He simply replied, “Alright, cover me.”

As he saw two Chinese Air Force fighters circling overhead for the fourth time, Nuka’s hoarse voice echoed from the ground, urging, “Hold on! They can’t take us down! As long as we hold out, victory will be ours.”

The so-called victory didn’t even involve shooting down the enemy; for these armed militants, just surviving and breathing another breath of this world was a victory worth boasting about for life.

A single soldier battling against a fighter jet was basically like trying to stop a car with a praying mantis; it was a futile effort.

The 30mm cannon of the J-8 was even more terrifying than the 23mm cannon of the J-18, creating a bloody mist mixed with flying rocks wherever it swept across the battlefield. This formed an unrecognizable, muddy terrain filled with a strong smell of blood.

Adding to the chaos was the rocket bombs that occasionally fired, acting like a sickle of death for the armed personnel on the ground.

Locking on!

The Light Mirror Technique and the aviation tactical helmet’s targeting systems synchronized to lock onto the target, and almost simultaneously, two 500-kilogram high-energy cloud explosive bombs were released.

“Pull up! Tabby Cat!”

After releasing the bombs, Lin Mo continued guiding for a second or two before pulling the nose of the aircraft straight up.

“What? Ah, Stinger missiles!” The J-8, positioned 500 meters ahead at the same altitude as the J-18, was firing its cannon to suppress the anti-aircraft fire when the alarm blared in the cockpit.

Oh no, he had gotten too cocky! To attack the ground, he inevitably pointed the aircraft at the ground target, lowering its altitude and giving the enemy a chance.

Stinger missiles still had a considerable hit rate within range, and since he couldn’t use the cannon against missiles, he could only evade. He immediately guided the aircraft to climb vertically, urgently gaining altitude to escape the incoming anti-aircraft missiles while continuously releasing infrared decoys.

The maximum speed of Stinger missiles was only 2.2 Mach, which posed little threat to the J-8 and J-18, both exceeding 2.2 Mach. They were even less concerning than the 12.7 millimeter caliber anti-aircraft machine guns.

As long as they reached above the maximum firing altitude of 3,800 meters, the fighter jets would be safe. Both planes swiftly executed a daring vertical climb to shake off the missile pursuit.

The two silver birds shot straight into the sky, continually barrel rolling and dropping a large number of infrared decoys, creating a mesmerizing spectacle in the sky.

“Damn it! Get down!”

Nuka, who finally found the opportunity to launch Stinger missiles again, saw the two tiny black dots falling and wasn’t blown off course this time by the sudden strong mountain winds. He realized panic struck him; the pilots were not going to let them off the hook.

One of the small black dots sped towards the cave, and before it hit the ground, it erupted into a massive cloud of black smoke, surging into the cave with fierce force.

“It’s over…” Nuka barely saw a flash of fire before the ensuing loud bang and shockwave extinguished any lingering consciousness he had in this world.

The two 500-kilogram cloud explosive bombs detonated one after another near the entrance of the cave. The high-energy cloud explosive fuel surged over most of the armed militants, and the subsequent fireball and shockwave swept across an area of nearly one thousand square meters.

The screams were immediately drowned out; the high-energy cloud explosive fuel was not harmless. Even if it didn’t ignite, it was akin to toxic poison.

Close to the ground, the air swirled, and the brush bowed towards the rising flames. The intense combustion quickly consumed the oxygen in the area engulfed by flames, making it nearly impossible for wounded militants, stunned by the blast, to escape suffocation.

And it wasn’t over yet; the mountains trembled violently. Not only did the cave entrance explode, but several nearby rocks suddenly crashed apart, revealing dark entrances and cracks. Then, torrential flames spewed forth as if to ignite the entire mountain.

The high-energy cloud explosive fuel closest to the cave entrance poured into the cave, further pushing in the chaos. The flames ignited the ammunition stored inside, causing a chain reaction of even larger explosions that blew open several hidden cave exits, including cracks that even the armed militants did not know about.

Everything unfolded within the blink of an eye; layers of infrared decoys fell like a meteor shower, enveloping the two incoming Stinger missiles.

Two fireballs emerged almost simultaneously in the sky, like ripe fruit hanging amongst a sea of flaming trees.

As the warning radar alarm faded from his ears, the Tabby Cat couldn’t help but laugh out loud, “Haha! We shook them off! Uh, our altitude is now 8,800 meters. Should we continue flying?” His eyes glanced at the altimeter, and he felt breathless from the rapid ascent.

At this height, the ordinary anti-aircraft weapons below couldn’t even touch them.

“Alright, level out. Let’s check the results!” Through the Light Mirror Technique, Lin Mo saw below where burned landscapes and swirling smoke lay. However, there seemed to be many other exits inside the mountain, which surprised him.

It seemed like the cave had multiple entrances, not just a single direct tunnel to darkness.

The J-8 and J-18 simultaneously changed course, circling back to survey the battlefield now engulfed in fire and smoke, with no anti-aircraft machine guns in sight.

“What’s going on? Big brother, what did you just drop?” The Tabby Cat noticed several scorched cave openings on the mountainside, indicating that a violent explosion had opened up the previously sealed or half-sealed exits.

At this point, even the Dragon Knight dropped the formalities, calling Lin Mo big brother. He assumed the bombs from Lin Mo’s aircraft were the same high-explosive aerial bombs he had, but he didn’t expect the explosion’s effects to be entirely different and extend into the mountainside.

The Tabby Cat could recognize the effects of the cloud explosive bomb but dared not confirm it; the power was indeed shocking.

The superiors initially ordered the elimination of the stationed militants, and destroying the cave entrance was enough. In such precarious terrain, not only cars but even pack animals struggled to enter. Large machinery couldn’t get through, and once the cave collapsed, it would be nearly equivalent to destroying the ammunition inside. Those few foot soldiers would need to dig for ages without success.

“500-kilogram high-energy cloud explosive bombs must have induced a detonation in the cave after fueling the explosion,” Lin Mo hadn’t anticipated such power. He only meant to drop the cloud explosive bombs into the cave; despite pre-adjusting the fuses before loading, they still detonated before touching the ground. Unlike regular cloud explosive bombs, which cover the ground in fire clouds from above, these exploded only after the cloud explosive fuel had spread and enveloped the surface.

The delayed detonation may have given the enemy a chance to hide or escape, but on these rugged mountains, there was nowhere to go.

“Exciting! Exciting!” The Tabby Cat couldn’t stop shouting, maneuvering the J-8 around the charred ground, peering out of the cockpit as if wanting to take it all in. This was his first combat mission, far more thrilling than shooting practice.

“Make sure to take photos! Collect battlefield data for later!” Taking advantage of the thinning smoke, Lin Mo swept the battlefield with the Light Mirror Technique, which had turned into a dead zone. The recording equipment of the J-18 “Red Eagle” documented the results of the attack, which would need to be submitted after returning.

The swirling smoke was quickly blown away by mountain winds, and both fighter jets began their return.

It seemed that since establishing the record, the Tabby Cat was chatty throughout the return flight, continuously asking Lin Mo questions, but Lin Mo remained uninterested, responding perfunctorily.

He understood that it was best for pilots to keep quiet; even though they were still in their home airspace, they couldn’t avoid surveillance from the "allied" electronic listening systems led by America, which included the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. As a sensitive figure in their country, it was wise to speak less during missions.