Chapter 666

Chapter 666: "Shinshin" Squad

Hmph, enjoy your moment of triumph! The old version of "Joan of Arc" left, filled with anger.

The battle was set!

Two opponents!

The duel where one faced two gained major promotion from the organizers of Abyss Nirvana, becoming a highlight of the novice tier death match.

However, not everyone supported the "Number 13" pilot. Despite his breathtaking air combat skills in the first three battles, a novice tier level seven pilot was almost equal to a near-ace; one may not necessarily be Lin Mo’s opponent, but two could create a qualitative change from sheer numbers.

Marina Ivanovna’s former employer, who brought "Joan of Arc" into Abyss Nirvana, placed a heavy bet on Lin Mo’s opponents, as if seeking revenge.

It was either a coincidence or intentional on the part of the organizers, but both of Lin Mo’s challengers turned out to be Japanese pilots.

What Lin Mo didn’t know was that these two Japanese pilots were among those who had stood up for him during a tough fight against another Japanese fighter, one famously known as "Lei Feng."

What a twist, encountering bitter enemies on the battlefield!

The organizers no longer had to worry about either side showing mercy or withdrawing from combat.

The combat ability of a two-aircraft formation was not simply the result of one plus one equaling two. As the saying goes, "Even the best fighter would struggle against four hands." The alternating attack and defense tactics often caused a solitary opponent to quickly fall into disarray.

Moreover, having pilots from the same country working together heightened the tension. Many believed that "Number 13" was at a significant disadvantage in this punitive duel, which led to a sharp change in the odds, reaching 1:1.5.

Just as the Earth is round and anything can happen, despite many betting on the Japanese pilots, some spectators remained captivated by Lin Mo’s dazzling aerial skills, unwaveringly betting large sums on him, including Sally, the head of the Dragoon Consortium.

“Number 13 is ready!” Lin Mo checked the aircraft systems. The self-test was complete, and he established data links with "Dragon General." The helmet targeting module activated automatically, and a picture-in-picture display appeared in his visor, showing the targeting reticles for the cannon and the Gauss electromagnetic cannon.

"The weather conditions are good; you are cleared for takeoff. Good luck, Number 13!" came the clearance command from the airport ground tower.

Yasha had unilaterally provided him with two additional close-range combat missiles, and he hung four close-range missiles under the wings, creating an imposing setup. This extravagant configuration cost him 20 points.

If he could shoot down those two opponents, the investment would be worth it, as he could earn back over 60 points and successfully ascend to the intermediate ace tier, securing more combat points.

Sally and Yasha had already obtained his opponents’ data beforehand. Now Yasha had also learned to acquire free intelligence from Sally, sending it back home for analysis to provide professional tactical support.

Although Lin Mo fought alone, he was not truly fighting solo.

The model of the Japanese double-formation fighter jets was the ATD-X "Shinshin," a Japanese version of the YF-23 fighter jet, which had been eliminated by Lockheed Martin, produced by Northrop and Mike Donald Douglas. This model was smaller and more streamlined than the YF-23 prototype, yet its aerodynamic design was largely similar.

Comparable to a fourth-generation fighter, it posed a challenge to the National Defense Star’s counterfeit X-1 fighter jet. However, this was only the case when Lin Mo did not harness the power of the gold giant dragon, which he had now integrated into his aircraft without needing further instructions, serving as his combat support.

“Morin, be careful!”

Sally’s voice came through on the radio.

It seemed even the stiff "Yasha" had relented, allowing Sally to use the communication devices provided by the organizers.

Challenging two seemingly strong opponents at once left Sally, who had reviewed the intelligence, feeling anxious.

“Good!”

Lin Mo offered no further comment; his eyes narrowed as he entered a state of intense focus.

Today, he should be able to perform at his best—he just had to ensure "Shinshin" didn’t let him down.

While the Anti-Government Forces and the Syrian government army fought fiercely, the truth was that the Anti-Government Forces had only initially revolted from their stronghold in Damascus and several small border towns. They then consolidated their forces, occupying the northern regions of Syria that bordered Turkey. In reality, even though they appeared evenly matched against the government army, they only held a small fraction of Syrian territory.

The Anti-Government Forces did not lack ambition to seize more land, but vast tracts of uninhabited areas existed within Syria, particularly in the south, which was entirely tropical desert climate with hot, dry summers.

This made Syria the best venue for the "Abyss Nirvana" international pilot death match.

Even if the organizers of "Abyss Nirvana" wanted to make money, they couldn’t designate a combat area over densely populated regions.

Below lay an endless sea of sand, countless dunes trailing behind, while the Light Mirror Technique array in the X-1 cockpit had already locked onto its opponent.

Both "Shinshin" fighters were in supersonic cruising speed. They clearly weren’t using the previously announced XF-5 turbofan engines but rather more powerful engines that perhaps provided over 100 kilonewtons of thrust. This was likely a new test machine newly refined by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for combat verification.

The two ATD-X "Shinshin" fighter jets flew in a diagonal formation, searching for targets along a large radius arc. The stealth characteristics of the X-1 forward-swept wing fighter ensured it didn’t easily expose itself to the adversary’s radar system.

Stealth fighters were not common on the "Abyss Nirvana" battlefield. Due to the high cost of mid-to-long-range missiles, most participating pilots relied on affordable cannons and close-range missiles in combat. The dogfight model created by the organizers led to a very low occurrence of stealth and counter-stealth technology in battle, with the range of close-range air-to-air combat missiles being roughly equal to the distance visible to the naked eye.

The Japanese version of the "Raptor!" Lin Mo evaluated this after scanning every corner of the entity with the high-definition resolution of the Light Mirror Technique and quickly assessed the aerodynamic properties and approximate performance of the "Shinshin."

The Japanese must have paid a hefty price for this; dealing with the Americans, the Japanese are often synonymous with being big spenders.

"Coming is good!"

Pulling back the control stick, the X-1 forward-swept wing fighter climbed at a 30-degree angle, with Lin Mo, the inheritor of energy combat techniques, seizing the initiative.

The two "Shinshin" pilots still blindly followed their search procedures, their powerful active phased array radars alertly scanning the area.

The "misfire" that hit the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia was not without consequence; after studying the external stealth coating materials of the F-117, China quickly achieved domestic production, even creating a stealth coating that outperformed the original. Even the F-22 with its 2,200 transceiver units in the AN/APG-77 active phased array radar needed to be close—within about 8 kilometers—to detect the X-1 as a blip on its radar.

As the two "Shinshin" fighter jets operated in a small formation, the pilots conducted tactical reconnaissance while conversing.

"’Susanoo,’ the opponent is very strong; we must be cautious!"

"Don’t worry, ‘Yamata-no-Orochi.’ I’m not just relying on radar; I’ve activated the optical air distance system to scan. We’ll make it back alive."

"Stop with the defeatist talk, ‘Susanoo.’ We’ll defeat all our opponents."

"That’s right; we’ll definitely laugh last."

"Hey, look! At three o’clock, bad news—it’s ‘Number 13′; he spotted us! Quick, don’t let him take the six o’clock position!"

"’Yamata-no-Orochi,’ dodge!"

A barrage of red projectiles rained down from above.

The "Shinshin" squad was caught off guard; the three-piece deflection flaps on their dual engines responded instantly, causing their formation to break apart as the two fighter jets rolled away from each other.

"I see him! Open fire!"

The Japanese pilots clearly equipped their crafts with helmet-mounted sights. A missile launched from under one jet’s wing, directly aiming at the approaching X-1 forward-swept wing fighter.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Orange-red projectiles rained down from the sky, and it seemed like a pair of fiery wings unfurled behind the X-1.

Lin Mo never held back when it came to infrared heat flame bombs. Boom! The explosion came from 200 meters below the belly of the aircraft, as the close-range air-to-air combat missile collided with a heat flame bomb, meeting its end in a blaze of glory.

"Damn it, I missed!"

"Don’t panic, ‘Susanoo!’ We’ll surround him together; keep an eye on his six o’clock!"

The two Japanese "Shinshin" pilots didn’t give up; encouraging each other, they regained their fighting spirit.

The two "Shinshin" jets launched a scissor-cutting tactic aimed squarely at the X-1 forward-swept wing fighter, as the cannon and missiles began to reacquire their locks.

"Trying to surround us?"

Lin Mo sneered and quickly adjusted his speed, deploying four airbrakes that abruptly slowed his fighter jet.

Unexpectedly, the opponents shot past the X-1 forward-swept wing fighter with their "Shinshin" squad.

In aerial combat, the outcome often hinges on a blink of an eye; the Japanese pilots suddenly missed the optimal firing opportunity.

By the time they realized it, it was already too late.

The X-1 forward-swept wing fighter retracted its airbrakes and, using a short period of hover and powerful engine output, surged straight toward the passing "Shinshin" formation.

What a strange sight appeared in the sky.

The three fighter jets seemed to spiral forward as if moving within an invisible large barrel, turning the two-jet scissor tactic into a three-fighter aimless scissor maneuver, with one forward-swept wing fighter behaving like a parasite, while the "Shinshin" team’s all-out strike missed entirely.